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Defrosting the Crests of Inca City, LAT: -81.5° LONG: 296.3° “The nature of this polygonal network, unique on Mars, remains poorly understood, but seems to be linked to volcanic dykes covered by eolian sand. These terrains are close to the South pole and undergo springtime defrosting in dark patches that become progressively larger as temperatures climb,” writes geophysicist Nicolas Mangold in This is Mars.

This Is Mars in Extremely High Resolution

French designer Xavier Barral pored over 30,000 images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera, selecting the most appealing for his book

The Nobel Prize medal

Blame Sloppy Journalism for the Nobel Prizes

Sloppy journalism and a early obituary may have prompted Nobel to try to rewrite his legacy

Plants and animals living in the tropics will be pushed out of their natural temperature range the fastest.

What Does “Unprecedented Climate” Mean?

Starting in just 30 years, the coldest year will still be hotter than any year in the past 150 years

A new study predicts the year in which major world cities will experience a persistently abnormal climate for the first time.

A New Study Calculates the Year Climate Change Will Hit Your City

Persistently abnormal weather will arrive at different areas at different times, hitting the tropics soonest

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Times of Famine Linked to Disproportionate Number of Female Births

Cultural factors like selective abortions de not explain the trend, rather it seems evolutionary biology does

Ancient Women Artists May Be Responsible for Most Cave Art

Previously, most researchers assumed that the people behind these mysterious artworks must have been men, but they were wrong

Want Your Mugshot Off the Internet? You’ll Have to Pay Up

Some companies are profiting off of mugshots - posting them on the internet for sale

5 Smithsonian Scientific Research Projects Shut Down by the Shutdown

The federal government shutdown has affected astronomy, paleontology fieldwork and research into animal behavior at the Smithsonian

Cockroaches Stick to Different Neighborhoods Just Like New Yorkers Do

Cockroaches from the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side and nearby Roosevelt Island all have a distinctly different genetic makeup from one another

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Watch How Money Is Made With LeVar Burton

How is our money made? It’s an often answered question, but here is LeVar Burton, of Reading Rainbow fame, answering it

Why Cheating Feels So Good

There are a lot of things that are wrong yet feel so right. Cheating, for some people, is one of them. And researchers are trying to figure out why

These Male Marsupials Put So Much Energy Into Mating, It Kills Them

Males with the largest testes, most fit sperm and longest endurance in the sack tended sired more offspring with promiscuous females

Designer Dave Hakkens bills Phonebloks, his concept for a new smartphone, as “a phone worth keeping.”

Is This the Last Smartphone You’ll Ever Need?

A Dutch designer has come up with a smartphone design that allows every essential function to be easily upgradeable

This Artists Recreates Great Works of Art Using Plastic Trinkets

Jane Perkins creates works of art using small plastic objects, most of which she recovered from junk shops, garage sales or friends

Men And Women’s Migraines Affect Different Parts of the Brain

Women’s migraines affect the parts of the brain that handle emotions

An oil well in North Dakota

Thanks to the Gas Boom, America Is Producing More Fuel Than Russia Or Saudi Arabia

This year the U.S. is set to overtake Russia as the world’s largest producer of oil and gas

New sensing technology reveals that the alpine swift, a small migratory bird, can remain aloft for more than 200 days without touching down.

This Bird Can Stay in Flight for Six Months Straight

A lightweight sensor attached to alpine swifts reveals that the small migratory birds can remain aloft for more than 200 days without touching down

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Cast Your Vote for the 2013 People’s Design Award

What represents the best in design?

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Government-Issued Guidelines Warn Chinese Tourists Not to Spit, Shout Or Overeat at Buffets

Last year, mainland Chinese became the top tourism spenders, dropping $102 billion in destinations around the world

Artist Nickolay Lamm’s depiction of a polar-grizzly hybrid

What Would a Cross Between a Polar Bear and a Grizzly Really Look Like?

As climate changes and Arctic sea ice melts, species shift habitats and may interbreed. Lamm digitally manipulates photographs to imagine these hybrids

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