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Articles

The titular draughtsman looks through his perspective machine in this still from Peter Greenaway’s 1982 film The Draughtsman’s Contract

Digital Files and 3D Printing—in the Renaissance?

3D printing is a new technology that seems poised to change the world, but its origins date back all the way to the 15th century

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What Does the Unbelievably Bad Air Quality in Beijing Do to the Human Body?

The level of soot in Beijing’s air is off the charts, leading to higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks and other health problems

An illustration of Moby Dick attacking a whaling ship.

The True-Life Horror That Inspired ‘Moby-Dick’

The whaler Essex was indeed sunk by a whale—and that’s only the beginning

A habitable planet orbits a white dwarf. Here the ghostly blue ring is a planetary nebula—hydrogen gas the star ejected as it evolved from a red giant to a white dwarf.

E.T. Phone Home: New Research Could Detect Signs of Life in this Decade

Thanks to a proposal by astronomers Avi Loeb and Dan Maoz, we could find evidence of extraterrestrial life very soon

American Football Players Aren’t the Only Ones With Head Injury Issues

Soccer players who head the ball could be injuring their brains, as well

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The War on Cancer Goes Stealth

With nanomedicine, the strategy is not to poison cancer cells or to blast them away but to trick them

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The Fishy History of the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Sandwich

How a struggling entrepreneur in Ohio saved his burger business during Lent and changed the McDonald’s menu for good.

Satellite photo of Earth's artificial lights at night.

A New Way to Illuminate Inequality Around the World

Want to know where the poor live? Look at where the light isn’t

How Did Plants Develop Photosynthesis?

For a large chunk of the Earth’s existence, flora have used the Sun’s light to turn the planet green

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Could Solar Panels on Your Roof Power Your Home?

Researchers at MIT are investigating how to turn houses in Cambridge, Massachusetts, into mini-power plants

Jeffrey Post, curator of the Smithsonian’s National Gem and Mineral Collection, says the size of the Dom Pedro Aquamarine is “unprecedented.”

Introducing the Dom Pedro Aquamarine

The one gem that can rival the Hope Diamond is finally on display at the Natural History Museum

Jellyfish glow with the flow in the Gulf of Maine and the Weddell Sea.

Bioluminescence: Light Is Much Better, Down Where It’s Wetter

From tracking a giant squid to decoding jellyfish alarms in the Gulf, a depth-defying scientist plunges under the sea

How Two Women Ended the Deadly Feather Trade

Birds like the snowy egret were on the brink of extinction, all because of their sought-after plumage

Goodall’s travels have often brought her face to face with exotic plants. In Cambodia, she was “awestruck” by the giant roots of an ancient strangler fig she found embracing the Ta Prohm temple at Angkor Wat.

Jane Goodall Reveals Her Lifelong Fascination With…Plants?

After studying chimpanzees for decades, the celebrated scientist turns her penetrating gaze on another life-form

Off the Auckland Islands, a southern right whale moves in for a closer look at Skerry’s diving partner.

Brian Skerry Has the World’s Best Job: Ocean Photographer

The freelancer’s new exhibit at the Natural History Museum captures the beauty, and fragility, of sea life

Scientists understand color vision in nonhuman animals by studying the properties of cone cells.

Can Animals Decipher Colors and More Questions From Our Readers

Clouds, bluegrass, chipmunks and Picasso round out this month’s batch of questions

Dust lofted up from the Sahara can be blown across the Pacific and seed clouds over California.

Dust from the Sahara Can Seed Rain and Snow Clouds Over the Western U.S.

Clouds above California contain dust and bacteria from China, the Middle East and even Africa, new research shows

Wild bees, such as this Andrena bee visiting highbush blueberry flowers, provide crucial pollination services to crops across the globe.

Could Disappearing Wild Insects Trigger a Global Crop Crisis?

Three-quarters of the world’s crops—including fruits, grains and nuts—depend on pollination, and the insects responsible are disappearing

A Chinook helicopter caries supplies to the stranded Kulluk oil drilling platform in January.

Arctic Drilling Is On Hiatus As Shell Packs It In

After a string of mishaps, Shell is pausing their bid to drill the Arctic seas

This weekend is the 100th anniversary of the 1913 woman suffrage parade. Join the American History Museum in celebrating Women’s History Month with a family festival on Saturday.

Events March 1-3: A thriller film, a Women’s Suffrage Festival and Influential African American Women

This week, see Nicole Kidman melt down, celebrate women’s rights and learn about great African American women you’ve never heard of

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