USA
Ponce De Leon Never Searched for the Fountain of Youth
How did this myth about the Spanish explorer even get its start?
June 2013 |
By Matthew Shaer
Yeasts of the Southern Wild
Maker of the “world famous buttermilk drop,” New Orleans actor Dwight Henry is expanding his baking empire
June 2013 |
By Roy Blount Jr.
Look, But Don’t Eat: Delicious Crocheted Dishes
This British designer crochets pizzas, veggies and cakes that look almost realistic enough to eat
May 22, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
The Internet Is Still for Porn—And Parents Are Trying to Figure Out How to Handle That
Welcome to the internet, there will be porn, are you ready for it?
May 21, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Bears That Have No Fish to Eat Eat Baby Elk Instead
The illegal introduction of lake trout in Yellowstone's lakes is having wide-reaching consequences
May 21, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
FDA Sticks Its Nose Into Fecal Transplant Procedures
The new regulations may kick off a wave of do-it-yourself fecal transplants at home, which likely will not turn out well
May 21, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Navy Dolphins Turn Up a Rare 19th-Century Torpedo
Called a Howell torpedo, the old military relic was a marvel in its day, and only 50 were ever made
May 21, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
How to Understand the Scale of the Oklahoma Tornado
In terms of size, speed and staying power the Oklahoma tornado was a force of nature
May 20, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Events May 21-23: A WWII Fighter Pilot’s Tale, Asian Pacific American Culture and the Mississippi River
This week, attend a talk by a decorated WWII fighter pilot, explore a new American History Museum exhibition and learn how you can help the Mississippi River
May 20, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Your Public Pool Probably Has Feces in It
In the majority of public pools health officials found E. coli and other fecal bacteria
May 20, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
How Edwin Hubble Became the 20th Century’s Greatest Astronomer
The young scientist demolished the old guard's ideas on the nature and size of the universe
May 20, 2013 |
By Gilbert King
Invasive Crazy Ants Are Eating Up Invasive Fire Ants in the South
How ecosystems will function if fire ants suddenly disappear and are replaced by crazy ants remains an open but worrying question
May 17, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Doctors Used to Use Live African Frogs As Pregnancy Tests
Now, those former test subjects may be spreading the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus around the world
May 16, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
So Long, Kepler: NASA’s Crack Exoplanet-Hunter Falls to Mechanical Failure
Kepler has changed our place in the universe, but now the four-year old satellite is down with a broken wheel
May 16, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
A U.S. Spy Agency’s Leftover, Hubble-Sized Satellite Could Be on Its Way to Mars
What do you do with a spare world-class satellite?
May 15, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Watch Out: This Year’s Fire Season Will Be Another Bad One for the West
A warm, dry winter has set the stage for another bad year of forest fires in the western U.S.
May 14, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Police Could Soon Get Their Hands on the U.S. Military’s ‘Pain Ray’
This high frequency microwave weapon makes you feel like your skin is burning, but leaves no scars
May 14, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Curses! The Four-Letter Word Renaissance Speakers Wouldn’t Flinch At
Back in the ninth century, the S-word referred to excrement in a matter-of-fact, not a vulgar, way
May 13, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Shell Is Drilling the World’s Deepest Offshore Oil Well in the Gulf of Mexico
The new well contains around 250 million barrels of recoverable oil total - or just over three percent of the oil used by the U.S. each year
May 09, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
U.S. Gives Mongolia Its Tyrannosauras Skeleton Back
The U.S. government is returning a Tyrannosaurus skeleton to Mongolia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art is giving two statues back to Cambodia
May 07, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer


