More Than 40% of Languages Are at Risk of Fading Away Completely
Thousands of languages are considered endangered. Preservation requires documenting vocabulary and teaching new speakers before it's too late. ...read more
Author: Vishay Singh
Why Did Greenland’s Norse Colonies Mysteriously Vanish? Walrus Bones Hold the Clues
Norse hunters forged a lucrative ivory market in harsh climates. Why didn’t their success last? ...read more
Planetary Alignment Didn’t End the World in 1919. But One Professor Thought It Would
Famous for his drastic weather predictions, Albert F. Porta's name could be seen in local papers across the country in the early 1900s. His story is a cautionary tale of how fake news spreads when the world is in disarray. ...read more
What Shape Is the Universe?
As far as cosmologists can tell, space is almost perfectly flat. But what does this mean? ...read more
Jezero Crater: A Closer Look at the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site
Jezero Crater once could have been a prime location for martian microbial mats. And Perseverance aims to find out if any Martian fossils were left behind. ...read more
Astronauts Get Sick, Too. Here’s the Tech That Could Grow Medicine on Mars
Shipping drugs to the Red Planet would be costly and impractical. But what if the astronauts could grow their own pharmacy once they got there? ...read more
City Squirrels Look Different. Is Evolution Driving a Color Change?
Black squirrels — a relic of ancient, old-growth forests — are now more common in cities. To understand why, scientists want to track the color of squirrels in your backyard. ...read more
People Went Crazy for Almond Milk in the Middle Ages
Almond milk was a staple in medieval European cooking, especially during Lent. The ingredient appears in cookbooks starting in the 1200s. Going back even earlier, almond milk was listed as a cough remedy in an 8th century Islamic medical text. ...read more
A High-Powered Attorney Suffers From Memory Loss and Slips Into a Coma. What’s Going on?
Anne was at the peak of success. But when this 50-something started to experience confusion and memory loss, it didn’t take long for everything to come crashing down. ...read more
Read a Science Book, Learn Something New: Check Out ‘Mind Thief,’ ‘Beloved Beasts’ and ‘A Thousand Ways Denied’
Dig into the quest to understand Alzheimer’s, the roots of the conservation movement, and the environmental legacy of the oil industry in Louisiana. Then, watch a new Netflix documentary highlighting the role of soil management in our planet's future. ...read more