Erin Blakemore

Erin Blakemore

 

Erin Blakemore is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist. Her work has appeared in publications like The Washington Post, TIME, mental_floss, Popular Science and JSTOR Daily. Learn more at erinblakemore.com.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault keeps backups of the world's seeds safe in case of catastrophe.

Syria Just Made a Major Seed Bank Deposit

Seeds from 49,000 types of crops will be backed up in Svalbard once more

Woodblock print on paper by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Japan Is Getting a Ninja Museum

Officials hope the iconic warriors can sneak more tourism into the country

Within Our Gates is the oldest surviving film by a black director.

Watch the Oldest-Known Surviving Film by an African-American Director

<i>Within Our Gates</i> was Oscar Micheaux’s response to a racist classic

Dachau's gate had a chilling message for its inmates.

Stolen ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ Gate Returns to Dachau

The identity of the thieves remains a mystery

Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst (pictured, left to right, in 1942) resisted the Nazis as members of the White Rose, a secret student group.

The Secret Student Group That Stood Up to the Nazis

The White Rose was short-lived, but its words were hard to ignore

Aleutian people stand on the deck of a ship forcibly evacuating them to southeastern Alaska.

The U.S. Forcibly Detained Native Alaskans During World War II

In the name of safety, Aleuts were held against their will under intolerable conditions in internment camps

This crop near Kagwada, South Sudan was destroyed first by armed rebels, then by roaming cattle who wiped it clean. South Sudan now faces a humanitarian crisis in the form of a famine.

With Tens of Thousands Facing Starvation, Famine Is Declared in Parts of South Sudan

One million more are “on the brink” of famine

African-American Girl Scouts chat at a camp named after Josephine Holloway, who pioneered scouting for girls of color.

Girl Scouting Was Once Segregated

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Ceres is much more than a rotating rock.

Organic Material Found on Ceres Hints at Potential for Life

Scientists are fired up about these building blocks of life

Sea surface temperatures are abnormally warm in the Pacific Ocean. Will that drive an El Niño event later this year?

Another El Niño Could Be On Its Way

There’s a 40 percent chance of the pattern later this year

The taxi of the future doesn't drive—it flies.

Dubai Will Get Self-Flying Taxis This Year

Bypass traffic with the taxi of the future

Logan (second from right) is the first ever boy American Girl doll.

American Girl Announces Boy

The toy titan’s newest doll is a boy named Logan

Seagrass grows near a village in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Researchers there recently discovered that coastal areas with seagrass have less bacteria than grassless areas.

Seagrasses Reduce Bacteria in Polluted Waters

A new study suggests the mesmerizing fields could be important for the health of humans and sea creatures alike

Henrietta Lacks was a real person—and her cancer cells have led to many medical discoveries.

New Claims Prove the Henrietta Lacks Controversy Is Far From Over

The family of the woman who changed science forever is seeking compensation

World Health Organization workers gear up to go into an old Ebola isolation ward in Lagos, Nigeria.

Superspreaders Caused Much of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic

Just three percent of infected people caused two thirds of overall infections

The smooching couple in the center left gave the bakery its nickname.

How a Pompeiian Bakery Became This Year's Hot Date Destination

The romance never dies at the House of the Chaste Lovers

Lake Oroville's dam is in danger of breach—but California's drought is still far from over.

Despite Dam Danger, California’s Still In a Drought

Look beneath the surface for an unresolved water crisis

What could be the only photos of Paul Gauguin and his Tahitian muse have surfaced. Gauguin is at the center of this photo, kissing a woman that could be his mistress Pahura.

Rare Photographs Could Show Paul Gauguin in Tahiti

The newly discovered photos are from the summer of 1896

This is wheat. And if Salish Blue has anything to do with it, it may one day become obsolete.

New Self-Sustaining “Wheat” Could Change the Farming Industry

It’s called Salish Blue, and it’s more than a science experiment

Permanent structures are not allowed in Dabaab, the world's largest refugee camp.

World’s Largest Refugee Camp Ordered to Stay Open

A Kenyan judge called the government's plan to close Dadaab "discriminatory"

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