Since Darwin revealed his seminal theory of evolution by natural selection, human beings have endeavored to understand their own evolutionary origins and history. A lot of questions still remain, but these mainly pertain to the specifics. Today, paleoanthropologists understand in great detail the evolutionary emergence of a number of traits that we consider, at least superficially, unique to modern humans.Human beings and chimpanzees, our closest living genetic relatives, are thought to share a ...read more

On Sept. 1, 1859, the brunt of a solar storm collided with Earth, disabling much of the world’s telegraph system. Sparks reportedly flew from telegraph machines, and the night sky turned an apocalyptic red, causing birds to chirp at what they thought was dawn.Today, scientists believe that in 1859, Earth collided with a massive number of electrically charged particles shot from the sun, all part of a coronal mass ejection. The episode became known as the Carrington Event, after the amateur ast ...read more

Earth is a complicated planet, with a huge number of complex processes working together to make the place livable for humans and every other organism. Since the industrial revolution began — and perhaps earlier — humans have been changing many of these components directly by removing resources like stored carbon or fresh water from the system or indirectly by releasing wasteful byproducts such as aerosols, carbon dioxide and other kinds of pollution.Earth scientists have broken down the majo ...read more

Colloquially known as the "sunshine vitamin," our bodies make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight — a built-in production system that hints at just how essential vitamin D is for our health.However, modern lifestyles that keep us indoors don't lend themselves to getting enough sun for sufficient vitamin D production. As a result, experts estimate that nearly a quarter of Americans aren't getting enough vitamin D.Despite its significance, questions remain: How much is enough? Can s ...read more

Pity the poor pumpkin: Since its domestication by early farmers around 10,000 years ago, few cultivars have been more burdened by myth and misinformation than this unassuming winter squash. But pumpkins are good for much more than warding away evil spirits (when carved) or acting as a delivery system for nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves (when pureed for pie).As it happens, pumpkins are nutritional powerhouses, pharmacological wonders and offer tasty treats for both humans and their pets. Here ...read more

Experts estimate that a new species of dinosaur is named every two weeks. While there is debate about whether these are all new species or, in some cases, previously discovered species being given new names, it's clear that there are a lot of dinosaur fossils out there. Scientists are digging them up and identifying them at a ferocious pace. As Riley Black, paleontologist and science writer, put it in a 2019 article in The New Scientist, we are in a "golden era of dinosaur discovery."Here a ...read more

Early people weathered the Last Ice Age in the significantly cooler uplands of central Spain, eschewing the warmer coastlines, according to a new archaeological survey. Its findings counter the prevailing wisdom that hunter-gatherers stuck close to the Mediterranean and Atlantic shorelines of the Iberian Peninsula, which include modern-day Spain and Portugal.The relative scarcity of evidence for inland settlement is not because the sites themselves are scarce, a statement from the researchers sa ...read more

In a world marked by the constant hustle and bustle of urban life, there exist communities that defy the norms of settled existence, embracing a lifestyle that revolves around perpetual movement. These enigmatic groups, often called nomads, have a rich history of following traditional lifestyles, and many of them still live as nomads all around the world.What Are Nomads?Nomads are communities of people who continually move (usually seasonally) rather than live in a permanent settlement. Experts ...read more

This story was originally published in our Nov/Dec 2023 issue as "Blowing Smoke?" Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.If you were to drown in the Thames River in the late 18th century, your best chance of survival would be for a good Samaritan to pull you from the water and carry you to a receiving house outfitted with basic medical equipment — possibly even located in the pub you had just stumbled out of — established by the local life-saving organization, the Roya ...read more

At first, it seems ridiculous — serial killers "retiring." After all, murdering isn't a career. And don’t serial killers have an innate urge to kill, a need that is overwhelming, complete and doesn’t falter throughout their lives? The truth is that the urge to kill can come and go in a serial killer’s life due to many factors. A number of murderers have taken long breaks from killing or even have stopped altogether. The Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, for instance, appears ...read more