Blogs

Weekend Events Feb 10-12: Mourning, The Power of Chocolate Festival, and the Emerson String Quartet

February 9, 2012

Lab-grown Babies in the Year 2030

A 1930 book argued that women’s “liberation from the dangers of childbirth” would be a crucial first step toward gender equality

February 9, 2012

Who Was the First to Discover Dinosaur Eggs?

Despite an immense wave of publicity heralding the discovery of dinosaur eggs in 1923, French paleontologists had discovered them decades earlier

February 8, 2012

When Uncle Sam Backs Your Film

How Act of Valor is only the latest in a long history of official military involvement in the film industry

February 8, 2012

Charles McIlvaine, Pioneer of American Mycophagy

“I take no man’s word for the qualities of a toadstool,” said the man who took it upon himself to sample more than 600 species

February 8, 2012

The Wandering Albatross and Global Warming

The giant oceanic birds are producing more and plumper chicks, at least for now

February 8, 2012

Sugar of Lead: A Deadly Sweetener

Did ancient Romans, Pope Clement II or Ludwig van Beethoven overdose on a sweet salt of lead?

February 7, 2012

New Zealand’s Darkest, Bloodiest Secret: The Sandfly

Kiwi recommendations for stopping the biting beasts: DEET, geranium leaves, garlic, rancid bacon, Marmite, Vegemite. Does anything really work?

February 7, 2012

How Much the Hope Diamond is Worth and Other Questions From Our Readers

From American art, history and culture, air and space technology, Asian art and any of the sciences from astronomy to zoology, we’ll find an answer

February 7, 2012

The Man Who Wouldn’t Die

The plot to kill Michael Malloy for life-insurance money seemed foolproof—until the conspirators actually tried it

February 7, 2012

What Happens Before a Volcano Blows?

Volcanologists thought that the buildup to an eruption would take centuries. But this report adds to a suspicion that it can happen faster than expected

February 7, 2012

Judging a Dinosaur By its Cover

A new study suggests that you can distinguish different hadrosaur species by their pebbly hides alone

February 7, 2012

Bedtime Reading From Beatrix Potter: Amateur Mycologist

Would Flopsy, Mopsy and Peter Cottontail have been conceived had it not been for the biases of Victorian era science?

February 6, 2012

What Ever Happened to the Short Film?

Why short films still win Oscars

February 6, 2012

10 Bright Ideas to Get You Through February

It’s not easy to think happy thoughts this time of year. But here are some examples of innovative thinking that remind us it will get better

February 6, 2012

What the Inuit Taught Scientists About Killer Whales

The native people knew what orcas ate, how they hunted prey, how the prey responded to the whales and when and where predation occurred

February 6, 2012

Dinosaur Deep Freeze

An animated short suggests dinosaurs died out for want of winter coats

February 6, 2012

Events Feb 7-9: Water Matters, Multiplicity, and Touki Bouki

Learn why water matters, take a tour of the American Art Museum’s exhibition, Multiplicity, and enjoy a free film at the African Art House Film Festival

February 6, 2012

As American as Doritos, Bud and Chrysler

The Super Bowl has always been about more than just the outcome of the game

February 5, 2012

The Debate Over Dinosaur Sight

Did Velociraptor hunt under the cover of darkness?

February 3, 2012