The Deep-Sea Floor Rivals Rain Forests in Diversity of Life
Blue luminescence and marine snow define a world where millions of species of worms and other invertebrates live out their lives
How the Body Defends Itself From the Risky Business of Living
Our cells take trillions of ‘hits’ each day from toxins both natural and man-made, but hardworking enzymes repair the damage
Climate Is Often a Matter of Inches and a Little Water
Planners ignore microclimates at their peril: mistakes can mean frozen crops, lower house values and camper vans blown off the highway
Phenomena, Comment & Notes
Today’s physics allow outrageous possibilities: faster-than-light travel across the galaxy, or even our learning to make new universes to specification
Risk: Where do real dangers lie?
We have always had to assess the chances that bad things will happen; now, new tools give us hard numbers but also raise new questions
The Object at Hand
The story behind the Smithsonian’s display tiger leads back into tiger history, man-eating and otherwise, and back to the fact that tigers are endangered
That ‘Little Armored Thing’ Doesn’t Get by on Looks Alone
It appears to be made out of spare parts, but the only mammal equipped with a carapace is actually a model of ecological efficiency
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Elephant Seals, the Champion Divers of the Deep
These ponderous pinnipeds continually set new records for diving to crushing depths; researchers are hard at work to discover just how they do it
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Chimney Sweeps Are Plunging Into Their Work Again
With more of us using fireplaces and modern high-efficiency wood stoves, the ancient profession is getting a new lease on soot
Phenomena, Comment & Notes
Iceberg armadas and flickering climates: how one good idea led to more, and we appreciated anew the world’s complexity
The Great Martian Fossil Hunt
If bacterial life did arise on an Earth-like early Mars, we should be able to find its fossil remains preserved in those red rocks
Seeking gifts from the sea, Sanibel-style
Seeking gifts from the sea, Sanibel-style
Around the Mall & Beyond
Plant and the butterflies will come: This summer the Smithsonian’s new garden welcomes its winged visitors
My Psychiatrist Tells Me I Have ‘Sci-Fitis’…
On an ordinary April day the weirdness came to town
My Dog Has Fleas, Also My Cat, My Bird, My…
These tiny prehistoric parasites have evolved a bold array of weapons, the better to torture their hosts
Flutter by and Be Counted!
At the Fourth of July Butterfly Count, devotees census swallowtails, wood-nymphs and all their colorful kin
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