If you look at a map, it would appear obvious that the neighboring Norse folks settled both Iceland and the Faroe Islands. After all, Norway is the closest country to Iceland at around 900 miles, while it is also the nearest neighbor to the Faroe Islands — an archipelago of 18 islands in the North Atlantic — at around 350 miles.However, new evidence says the truth is more complicated. A genetic analysis shows that Icelandic people come from a relatively similar gene pool, while residents of ...read more

For decades, films have relied on computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create fantastical foreign landscapes.But there are still occasions when Hollywood goes for the real deal. When ancient temples or ruins appear in films, scholars describe the setting as real places, meaning they exist as seen on TV.Real places have led to film-inspired tourism, in which travelers take off to see on-screen favorites in real life. Here are four historical locations tourists can see for themselves.1. Ta Prohm (T ...read more

Deinosuchus lived during the late Cretaceous period, from 82 million years to 73 million years ago. This monster croc, whose habitat consisted of areas in North America from Montana to northern Mexico and New Jersey to Mississippi, would have seen a world that looked much different than it does today. At the time, the continent was much warmer, with a coastal, tropical, and subtropical climate similar to Florida or Georgia. And although Deinosuchus lived in freshwater, it could also be found in ...read more

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. Impressive as that is, there is plenty more to know about Everest. Think about this for a minute: The top of the mountain is covered with limestone that, a few hundred million years ago, was on the floor of the ocean. “It’s a remarkable example of how dynamic the planet is over geologic time,” says Sean Gallen, an Earth scientist at Colorado State University who studies, among other things, how mountains are formed.And then there’s the ...read more

We’ve all experienced this: You’re in the middle of a lovely dream. Perhaps you’re flying. As you’re soaring through the air, you meet an eagle. The eagle looks at you, opens its beak, and – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!Your alarm goes off. Dream over, time to get up.Many people – kids and adults alike – notice that when they wake up naturally from sleep, they feel more alert than if an alarm or another person, like a parent, wakes them up. Why is that?I’m a neurologist who studies the brain ...read more

Economists have a game that reveals how deeply individuals reason. Known as the 11-20 money request game, it is played between two players who each request an amount of money between 11 and 20 shekels, knowing that both will receive the amount they ask for. But there's a twist: if one player asks for exactly one shekel less than the other, that player earns a bonus of 20 shekels. This tests each player’s ability to think about what their opponent might do — a classic challenge of strategic r ...read more

When Hongjun Lin from New York University revisited the Jurassic Park films, something didn’t sound quite right. Lin, a dinosaur aficionado since his youth, was pretty sure the calls the creatures made were inaccurate. He was particularly focused on Parasaurolophus, a creature with a crest on the back of its head.“What if I told you that the sound of Parasaurolophus in the film Jurassic Park is not true?” Lin addressed a virtual press conference before presenting a research report on how t ...read more

Our master chefs in the SciStarter kitchen have been working overtime to bring you this delectable Thanksgiving menu, featuring citizen science projects guaranteed to satisfy even the most insatiable curiosity.Hors d'oeuvres: Nature's NotebookCredit: Nature's NotebookAt Nature’s Notebook, nature is always in season; currently, the program features the spicy flavors of autumn! Deepen your connection with nature by making observations as fall turns to winter. It’s a giant smorgasbord of activi ...read more

Knee injuries are common in athletes, accounting for 41 percent of all athletic injuries. But knee injuries aren’t limited to competitive athletes. In our everyday lives, an accident or a quick movement in the wrong direction can injure the knee and require medical treatment. A quarter of the adult population worldwide experiences knee pain each yearAs a physical therapist and board-certified orthopedic specialist, I help patients of all ages with knee injuries and degenerative conditions.Your ...read more

Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world suffer from urinary tract infections every year. Some groups are especially prone to chronic UTIs, including women, older adults, and some veterans.These infections are typically treated with antibiotics, but overusing these drugs can make the microbes they target resistant and reduce the medicines’ effectiveness.To solve this problem of chronic UTIs and antibiotic resistance, we combined our expertise in microbiologyand engineering to create ...read more