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Part of the primary mirror for the James Webb Space Telescope. Imagine this, but... more.

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No One Trusts Geoengineering—But Pretty Soon It's Not Going To Be a Choice

We're very quickly running out of time to deal with rising carbon emissions

Ballistic Recovery Systems, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has outfitted small aircraft with parachutes designed to support as much as 4,000 pounds.

Tech Watch

Will Commercial Airplanes Have Parachutes Someday?

Whole-aircraft parachutes are already being used in small planes to save lives, but one company believes they are also feasible for commercial airlines

"Cherry Tree" by Zandile Ntobela, 2011

Painting with Beads: A New Art Form Emerges in South Africa

"Ubuhle Women" at the Anacostia Community Museum showcases the work of a community of master beaders

Icelanders still hold strong to their belief in fairies

Cool Finds

Icelanders Protest a Road That Would Disturb Fairies

Nepal has the Yeti. The South has Bigfoot. Iceland has fairies

There are 40 ground-up crickets in every bar.

Are You Ready For Protein Bars Made From Crickets?

They’re good for you and the environment, but are they good enough to eat?

Cool Finds

How Scientists Recorded the Music Inside One Woman's Head

A patient was hallucinating musical scores, and researchers have managed to record it

California redwoods can live for more than a thousand years.

Save the Big Trees!

A large tree grows more quickly and sucks up a lot more carbon than a smaller one, scientists find

Northern bald ibises in a classic flying "V" formation.

Scientists Solve Mystery of Birds' Flying V

Migrating birds flap in and out of rhythm depending on where they are in formation

New research suggests that before the age of seven, you can remember plenty from before you were three. But after, you start to forget.

New Research

Don’t Give Your Kids and Pets Similar Sounding Names, Or You’ll Confuse Them

Your parents don't actually think you and your sibling are interchangeable

Whether or not there's a shortage of Velveeta, the processed cheese's history is long and complex.

There is No Shortage of History When it Comes to Velveeta

In the event of a full-blown Velveeta shortage, here's a little history to ease your pain

Cool Finds

What Prompts People to Eat Human Flesh?

Power, violence, revenge—and the heat of the moment

A locust swarm in Israel.

New Research

Grasshopper Gut Parasites Could Stop Ruinous Locust Swarms

The microbes confuse the chemical signals that tell pestilent locusts: swarm!

New Research

We Burn Just Half the Calories Other Mammals Do

Our slow metabolism helps explain why it takes us so long to grow up—and why we live such long lives

The beauty of the Thermomix is that its mixer bowl is augmented with a timer-controlled heating mechanism that enables it not only to cook, but also steam vegetables, melt butter and emulsify sauces and seasonings.

Tech Watch

This All-In-One Appliance Can Whip Up Entire Dishes

The German-made Thermomix—the Swiss Army knife of kitchen appliances—has a cult-like following in Europe

In addition to its limb-like front fins, Tiktaalik had large, mobile rear fins that it used to push itself around in the water.

New Research

Ancient Walking Fish May Have Walked on All Fours

A fossilized pelvis shows the fish had functioning rear “legs”

Hundreds of years before the Great Wall of China, seen here, there was another.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Chart the First Great Wall of China

Hundreds of years before the Great Wall, the Qi Dynasty built a wall of rammed earth

The finger pads of a person with adermatoglyphia are entirely smooth.

Curious Conditions

Adermatoglyphia: The Genetic Disorder Of People Born Without Fingerprints

The extremely rare disease causes no problems—apart from occasional difficulties with the authorities

A university in China sponsored a beauty contest for would-be flight attendants.

Cool Finds

China And Qatar Want Flight Attendants To Be Young, Single, Skinny And Female

Just like American airlines did in the 1960s

New Research

One More Point for Coffee: It Might Boost Memory-Making Abilities

Research indicates that two cups of caffeine-laced coffee might enhance your ability to remember certain details

Did the English discover Canada's west coast hundreds of years before it was officially charted by Spanish explorer Juan Perez?

New Research

Francis Drake May Have Discovered Western Canada Hundreds of Years Earlier, Kept Quiet About It

The discovery of a 16th century coin is threatening the story of British Columbia's history

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