Blogs

The titular draughtsman looks through his perspective machine in this still from Peter Greenaway’s 1982 film The Draughtsman’s Contract

Digital Files and 3D Printing—in the Renaissance?

3D printing is a new technology that seems poised to change the world, but its origins date back all the way to the 15th century

None

What Does the Unbelievably Bad Air Quality in Beijing Do to the Human Body?

The level of soot in Beijing's air is off the charts, leading to higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks and other health problems

An illustration of Moby Dick attacking a whaling ship.

The True-Life Horror That Inspired 'Moby-Dick'

The whaler <i>Essex</i> was indeed sunk by a whale—and that's only the beginning

A habitable planet orbits a white dwarf. Here the ghostly blue ring is a planetary nebula—hydrogen gas the star ejected as it evolved from a red giant to a white dwarf.

E.T. Phone Home: New Research Could Detect Signs of Life in this Decade

Thanks to a proposal by astronomers Avi Loeb and Dan Maoz, we could find evidence of extraterrestrial life very soon

None

The War on Cancer Goes Stealth

With nanomedicine, the strategy is not to poison cancer cells or to blast them away but to trick them

None

The Fishy History of the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Sandwich

How a struggling entrepreneur in Ohio saved his burger business during Lent and changed the McDonald's menu for good.

Dust lofted up from the Sahara can be blown across the Pacific and seed clouds over California.

Dust from the Sahara Can Seed Rain and Snow Clouds Over the Western U.S.

Clouds above California contain dust and bacteria from China, the Middle East and even Africa, new research shows

Wild bees, such as this Andrena bee visiting highbush blueberry flowers, provide crucial pollination services to crops across the globe.

Could Disappearing Wild Insects Trigger a Global Crop Crisis?

Three-quarters of the world’s crops—including fruits, grains and nuts—depend on pollination, and the insects responsible are disappearing

None

Where Does the Tooth Fairy Put All Those Teeth?

A new video introduces kids to the wonders of museums with help from a familiar friend

This weekend is the 100th anniversary of the 1913 woman suffrage parade. Join the American History Museum in celebrating Women’s History Month with a family festival on Saturday.

Events March 1-3: A thriller film, a Women’s Suffrage Festival and Influential African American Women

This week, see Nicole Kidman melt down, celebrate women's rights and learn about great African American women you've never heard of

None

Suffragette City: That March that Made and Changed History in D.C. Turns 100

The civil rights procession that revitalized calls for the 19th amendment was the first to use D.C. as a backdrop

The dream of a gold miner—a nugget so big it can be handled like a small marble.

Hunting for Gold in the Amazonian Jungle

The author joins two American fortune-seekers on a gold-panning outing at the confluence of the Negro and Paute rivers

Portion of the cover of the February 1989 issue of Life magazine

In 1989, 'Life' Magazine Said Goodbye To Video Stores, Mailmen and Pennies…

In 1989, "Life" magazine predicted that, by the year 2000, many staples of modern American life might find themselves on the scrapheap of history

None

Nitpicking the Lice Genome to Track Humanity’s Past Footsteps

Lice DNA collected around the planet sheds light on the parasite's long history with our ancestors, a new study shows

None

From Pyenson Lab: When Is a Museum Specimen the Real Deal?

Can you tell the difference between a replica and the real thing? Does it matter? A curator at Natural History talks about copies, 3-D printing and museums

None

Video: This Stretchable Battery Could Power the Next Generation of Wearable Gadgets

Durable and rechargeable, the new battery can be stretched to 300 percent of its size and still provide power

None

Small Satellites—Some the Size of Postage Stamps—Are Transforming How Scientists Conduct Space-based Research

A new fleet of nanosatellites is zooming through space

None

What Makes These Avocados Different From All Others?

The spectrum of the fruit here is almost as varied as the people who grow them, and for avo advocates, Ecuador is an excellent place to go tasting

None

The American Plan to Build Nuclear Power Plants in the Ocean

This ill-advised scheme would have put gigantic barges just off the Atlantic coast? Where would it have started? New Jersey, of course

The AirWaves mask by Frog Shanghai

How to Survive China’s Pollution Problem: Masks and Bubbles

The air quality in China's biggest cities is famously atrocious, but designers think they may have found a way to combat the issue

Page 38 of 337