Articles

A new study shows the tiny insects orient themselves by the stars.

African Dung Beetles Navigate At Night Using the Milky Way

A new study shows the tiny feces ball-rolling insects orient themselves by the stars

Painting of an Inuit woman with face tattoos, 1654. See a film by an Inuit director attempting to reclaim this tradition in “Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos.” Author unknown.

Events January 25-27: Persian Drama, Inuit Face Tattoos and Schubert’s Fantasy

None

Who Designed the Seal of the President of the United States?

We see it on the President's lectern and in the Oval Office, but who came up with the look and feel of it in the first place?

None

Scientists Dismiss Geo-Engineering as a Global Warming Quick Fix

A new study shows that dispersing minerals into oceans to stem climate change would be an inefficient and impractical process

The greening of Lower Manhattan

Learning From Nature How to Deal With Nature

As cities like New York prepare for what appears to be a future of more extreme weather, the focus increasingly is on following nature's lead

None

Origami: A Blend of Sculpture and Mathematics

Artist and MIT professor Erik Demaine makes flat geometric diagrams spring into elegant, three-dimensional origami sculptures

This sign just north of Tumbes is a clear sign, if the mangroves aren’t, that one is entering the muggy, and in some ways dangerous, tropics.

Ecuador, Land of Malaria, Iguanas, Mangoes and Mountains

The author leaves Peru behind and crosses into Ecuador, where he encounters his first sign of a mosquito

Men Commit Scientific Fraud Much More Frequently Than Women

According to a new study, they're also much more likely to lie about their findings as they climb the academic ladder

Herald Square circa 1907, when Ida Wood first moved into the Herald Square Hotel.

Everything Was Fake but Her Wealth

Ida Wood, who lived for decades as a recluse in a New York City hotel, would have taken her secrets to the grave—if here sister hadn't gotten there first

A Thai enforcement officer with one of the shocked, rescued babies.

Bag Full of Otters Recovered at Thai Airport

Eleven live otters turned up in a scanned bagged that someone had abandoned at the oversized luggage area of Bangkok's airport

Roy Wilkins (left) with Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House on November 29, 1963

NAACP Leader Roy Wilkins Predicts: “We’ll Elect A Negro President”

In 1970, the civil rights activist shared his prescient optimism about the future of race relations in the United States

Tile art in Iran. Learn how to make ornate designs like this — from carving to installation — in Tuesday night lessons at the Ripley Center.

Events January 22-24: Persian Tile Lessons, Arts & Craft Beer and MLK Book Signing

This week, learn to be a Persian artist, get crafty in Renwick Gallery and pick up an illustrated copy of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most famous speech

None

Why Hypercolor T-Shirts Were Just a One-Hit Wonder

Heat-sensitive color made this sportswear a hot item—but it didn't last

Gold’s been used for thousands of years to treat disease.

Nanoparticles With a Heart of Gold Can Kill Cancer Cells

Gold nanoparticles are multitaskers when it comes to destroying cancer cells, researchers have found

None

Stocking Up: Uncovering the Secrets to the Best Broth

What do the experts recommend you do to get the most flavorful soup possible?

Mercury is a liquid in its pure form.

After Millennia of Heavy Use, Mercury Gets the Boot

From an Elixir of Life to the Philosopher's Stone, mercury's long legacy is coming close to an end

None

Watch Jupiter “Kiss” the Moon Tonight

Tonight, night sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere can see Jupiter pass less than a finger's width away from the waxing Moon

Today, President Barack Obama will take the oath of office for his second term.

Inauguration Day 2013

All you need to know for the day: where to eat, rest and what to see

The funeral of James Idle in the village of Hullavington, on August 29, 1914

“The Grave Looked So Miserable”

None

The Gory Details of Artist Katrina van Grouw’s Unfeathered Birds

A British artist, with experience in ornithology, explains how she created anatomical drawings of 200 different species of birds for a new book

Page 686 of 1261