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Articles

Lockheed Martin’s networked spy rocks

Networked Rocks Could Let the Military Keep an Ear on the Ground

These rocks can not only spy on you, they can communicate with each other and report back to base

A fake mastodon fights for survival in a display at the La Brea tar pits.

Animals Trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits Would Take Months to Sink

New research shows that animals trapped in the tar would linger for months on end

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Here’s How to Make a Canoe Out of a Tree Trunk

The boats are fashioned entirely by hand using simple tools, and traditionally are carved from magongo tree wood

Read Seamus Heaney’s Last Known, Previously Unpublished Poem

Two months before he died, Heaney wrote “In a Field” at the request of poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy

How Does a Tea Kettle Whistle?

This might seem like an obvious question, but it turns out that no one has looked into it until now

We Might Soon Know What Ancient Greek Music Actually Sounded Like

Music has been with humans for a very, very long time. But as time marches on, history can lose the records of what that music sounded like

Kura

Does This Japanese Restaurant Chain Foretell the End of the Waiter?

A mechanized sushi diner drives down the cost of eating out, but does the experience feel as cold as the fish?

What is the Origin of Hollywood’s Red Carpet?

Curator Amy Henderson has rolled out the red carpet to a host of America’s dancing superstars in a new show at the Portrait Gallery

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Hibernation Doesn’t Have to Be Cold

Hibernation tends to go hand-in-hand with cold temperatures, but the greater mouse-tailed bat hibernates at a comfortable 68-degrees Fahrenheit

Photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher uses a powerful scanning electron microscope to capture all of a bee’s microscopic structures in stunning detail. Above: a bee’s antennae sockets, magnified 43 times.

What Does A Bee Look Like When It’s Magnified 3000 Times?

Photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher uses a powerful microscope to capture all of a bee’s microscopic structures and textures in stunning detail

The migration paths that may have brought people across the Bering Strait Land Bridge.

The Very First Americans May Have Had European Roots

Some early Americans came not from Asia, it seems, but by way of Europe

Men Shop for Groceries, And Food Companies Are Noticing

Those companies have designed dark, bold packaging and bigger “man-sized” portions

U.S. paratroopers drop into Grenada

30 Years Ago Today, the U.S. Invaded Grenada

The conflict pit the U.S. military against Grenadian revolutionaries and the Cuban army

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How TV’s “Person of Interest” Helps Us Understand the Surveillance Society

The creative minds behind the show and The Dark Knight talk about Americans’ perception of privacy

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The Most Isolated Tree in the World Was Killed by a (Probably Drunk) Driver

The acacia was the only tree for 250 miles in Niger’s Sahara desert and was used as a landmark by travelers and caravans

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The Inventive Mind of Walter Hunt, Yankee Mechanical Genius

The compulsively creative Hunt might be the greatest inventor you’ve never heard of

Energy Innovation

Follow the Glow-in-the-Dark Road

Durable, long lasting material can be painted onto streets and sidewalks to eliminate the need for lamp posts

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This Mouse Has Evolved An Immunity to Toxic Scorpion Venom

The bark scorpion’s sting can be deadly—but one of its predators, the grasshopper mouse, is impervious to both the pain and paralyzing effects of its venom

Coral Reefs Are Fighting Back Against Global Warming

When they get stressed by the heat, coral make their own shade by releasing a chemical that helps clouds form

Should EpiPens Be Stocked Everywhere People Eat?

Laws are in the works to get EpiPens into schools and restaurants

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