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The day Darwin climbed Patagonia’s Mount Tarn, Conrad Martens painted it from across the bay.

The Beautiful Drawings by Darwin’s Artist-in-Residence

On the famous HMS Beagle voyage, painter Conrad Martens depicted the sights along the journey

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Discussion

Letters from our readers

Soon, Your Doctor Could Print a Human Organ on Demand

At a laboratory in North Carolina, scientists are working furiously to create a future in which replacement organs come from a machine

Successes were matched by failures like the McLean Deluxe, made with seaweed to save calories.

Taking Stock of 75 Years of McDonald’s

Has the original fast-food restaurant finally reached the end of its success?

Single-use cigarette lighters, collected by Mandy Barker, represent our transition to a consumerist, throw-away society.

Art Meets Science

This Artist Transforms Beach Trash Into Stunning, Majestic Images

Mandy Barker didn’t have spend too much time on the shores to collect enough debris for her masterpieces

Why Brain-to-Brain Communication Is No Longer Unthinkable

Exploring uncharted territory, neuroscientists are making strides with human subjects who can “talk” directly by using their minds

Filipino Cuisine Was Asian Fusion Before “Asian Fusion” Existed

A wave of Filipino families in Las Vegas is putting a Pacific spin on fried chicken, hot dogs and Sin City itself

Human cortical neurons in the brain.

The Quest to Upload Your Mind Into the Digital Space

The idea is about as science fiction as it gets. But surprising progress in neuroscience has some entrepreneurs ready to press “send”

How to Predict a Famine Before It Even Strikes

Hundred of miles about Earth, orbiting satellites are becoming a bold new weapon in the age-old fight against drought, disease and death

Before it departed from Abu Dhabi, the plane carried out an inaugural flight, taking off from the Payerne airport in Switzerland.

This Solar-Powered Plane is Currently Circumnavigating the World

With 17,000 solar cells in its wing and tail, the aircraft relies solely on sunshine to keep its motors running

Etude 1, 1967- 1968, is a piece of Thermo fax paper with an image that looks like a four-leaf-clover, with four overlapping circles. Each circle has concentric inner circles composed of individual letters of the alphabet.

New Works by Nam June Paik Are Discovered at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

While inventorying the massive archival materials left by the artist, a researcher comes across forgotten works of art

The Civil War

The Underappreciated and Forgotten Sites of the Civil War

To commemorate the end of the war 150 years ago, here are fascinating locales that remind us of the conflict’s sprawling impact

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Discussion April 2015

From our readers

Who Determined That the Sun Was a Star and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Hermione, 17 years in the making, replicates the original wartime frigate that ferried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780.

The Marquis de Lafayette Sails Again

Now that the ship that the Frenchman took on his 1780 trip to America has been rebuilt, its time to revisit his role in history

This particularly charming street in Colmar, France looks straight out of a fairy tale.

The 11 Most Endearing Small Streets Worth Visiting

These tiny corridors around the world invite you in with their charm and surprising level of bustle

Art Meets Science

The Terrible Beauty of Glaciers Melting and Oceans Rising

Daniel Beltra’s aerial photographs reveal the human impact on nature

Houston's futuristic Astrodome is home of the first skybox and an animated scoreboard,150 yards wide.

Remembering the Astrodome, the Eighth Wonder of the World

Fifty years after its grand opening, the spectre of the Houston stadium still looms large

The natural habitats of many bumblebees are nearly gone and restoring floral diversity is vital to promote their survival.

Can Returning Farmland to the Wild Help Bumblebees in Crisis?

Even if only a small percentage of current farmland became wild meadows, it could bring populations back to previous levels

A large colony of Mexican free-tailed bats can consume an estimated 250 tons of insects in a single night.

These Bats Use Sonar to Jam the Signals of Their Rivals

How hungry Mexican free-tails sabotage the competition

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