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They helped overthrow the regime, but can they overcome tradition and win their share of political clout? (Here: Women rally in Tripoli.)

Women: The Libyan Rebellion’s Secret Weapon

They helped overthrow Qaddafi by smuggling arms and spying on the government. Now the women of Libya are fighting for a greater voice in society

The little death in Venice: Casanova was forced to flee his beloved home town twice (the San Cassiano Canal).

Who Was Casanova?

The personal memoir of history’s most famous lover reveals a misunderstood intellectual who befriended the likes of Ben Franklin

Family-style dinner at the Noriega Hotel includes cabbage soup, pickled tongue and bowls of spicy Basque salsa.

Indulging in American Basque Cuisine

The Basques followed the sheep from Europe to the western United States and they brought with them their boardinghouse cuisine

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The Forest Of The Future

An ambitious project in Singapore will boast 18 supertrees, climbing up to 160 feet tall

Titanoboa, pictured with a dyrosaur and a turtle, ruled the swampy South American tropics 58 million years ago.

How Titanoboa, the 40-Foot-Long Snake, Was Found

In Colombia, the fossil of a gargantuan snake has stunned scientists, forcing them to rethink the nature of prehistoric life

The cover illustration of the Book Le Vingtieme Siecle by Albert Robida, depicts futuristic means of transport flying above a city.

The Origins of Futurism

The celebrated science fiction writer and author of Tomorrow Now, explains why you don’t need to be clairvoyant to predict the future

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Bruce McCall Illustrates the Future That Wasn’t

According to past predictions, we should be living in an era of flying cars and other marvels. But be glad that some advances haven’t happened

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How to Become the Engineers of Our Own Evolution

The “transhumanist” movement says better technology will enable you to replace more and more body parts—even your brain

“Closer Than We Think”, May 11, 1958

Before the Jetsons, Arthur Radebaugh Illustrated the Future

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the newspaper cartoonist dreamed up a madcap American utopia, filled with flying cars and fantastical skyscrapers

Chart Sources: Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.L., Randers, J. and Behrens III, W.W. (1972)

Looking Back on the Limits of Growth

Forty years after the release of the groundbreaking study, were the concerns about overpopulation and the environment correct?

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Dear Science Fiction Writers: Stop Being So Pessimistic!

Neal Stephenson created the Hieroglyph Project to convince sci-fi writers to stop worrying and learn to love the future

Tigers are thriving in and around India’s Nagarhole National Park, with a regional population of 250. “If we do everything right, we can have 500,” says big-cat biologist Ullas Karanth.

The Fight to Save the Tiger

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A Debate Over The Best Way to Protect the Tiger

Experts battle each other over a $350 million plan to keep the tiger from becoming extinct

The Prehistoric Giants Hall of Fame

What were the largest species of all time? Does the Tyrannosaurus rex make the list?

Wilson says our instinct to settle down both ensures our success and dooms us to conflict.

Edward O. Wilson’s New Take on Human Nature

The eminent biologist argues in a controversial new book that our Stone Age emotions are still at war with our high-tech sophistication

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Who Would Live on Wall Street?

In the wake of the financial crisis, New York’s financial district is getting something new: full-time residents

1950 depiction of a smoldering New York after a nuclear attack

Hiroshima, U.S.A.

In 1950, a popular magazine depicted what an atomic bomb would do to New York City—in gruesome detail

A selection of a new image of distant galaxies in the COSMOS field. Click to see the whole view.

Picture of the Week: A Deep View of the Universe

A new survey of a slice of the distant reaches of the universe reveals 200,000 galaxies

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When Runaway Planets Go 30 Million Miles Per Hour

A new discovery indicates some planets may be flung out of our galaxy at velocities a few percent of the speed of light

Naomi Braithwaite's footwear sketches for a design course at London College of Fashion

How Ideas Become Shoes: Creativity in Process

Using shoe design to understand human creativity

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