It was the fall of 1888, and the inhabitants of London were frozen with fear. “The air of Whitechapel is thick with murders and rumors of murder,” an article in The Star announced in September. “Whitechapel is panic-stricken,” with its inhabitants too terrified to travel the twisting, smoggy streets alone. The widespread terror in Whitechapel was all thanks to the work of a “murderous maniac,” according to the article, “who stalks through the streets,” targeting “the most miser ...read more
The only constant is change. At least, that’s what the Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited to have said. And while science and philosophy don’t always go hand in hand, there is some truth to Heraclitus’ notion. Change is inevitable and, in some cases, necessary for our species to evolve. While some change happens automatically, like the tides going in and out, some changes bloomed from scientific discoveries. Using fire to cook food and keep warm propelled our ancestors toward the fo ...read more
My in-laws always have a newspaper on their coffee table. So, before family dinners, I used to read each person’s horoscope aloud. Cancer for my mother-in-law and brother-in-law, Virgo for my father-in-law, Libra for my sister-in-law, and Pisces for my husband.If their star sign had a dismal divination, I simply made up a more positive reading. I did these substitutions for over a decade until my family realized I was fictionalizing the forecasts.But are horoscopes even real? Does having a des ...read more
It is no surprise that our canine companions age faster than humans. Some studies have found that our pups are similar in age to a 30-year-old human by the time they reach their first birthday. By four, the dog is nearing human middle age at 52.A new study suggests a dog's body size, age, and weight may influence the health ailments your pup may develop over time. The find, published today in PLOS ONE, is part of a more extensive nationwide study of how dogs age over time and its effects on ...read more
As Woolly Mammoths trekked across Alaska thousands of years ago, hunter-gatherers followed their every step. New research on the journey of a 14,000-year-old mammoth named Élmayųujey’eh — Elma, for short — has further illustrated the travels of beast and human alike throughout this prehistoric expanse.Researchers at the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility learned of Elma’s odyssey by analyzing isotopes from her tusk, which was first identified in 2009 at the Swan Point archaeological site i ...read more