What Would Happen If You Slipped on a Banana Peel?
Cartoons aren’t kidding about the slipperiness of banana peels.
Why Infinity Is No Ordinary Number
The idea of infinity is easy to come up with, but we must be careful what we do with it.
Making It in a Futuristic, Flooded New York
Author Kim Stanley Robinson imagines a version of New York City that’s swamped by sea level rise.
The Stars Behind Our Stellar Classification System
Author Dava Sobel explains how a group of women astronomers helped develop the classification system that scientists use to identify stars today.
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The Best Science Books Of 2016
Time travel, microbes, black holes, and polar bears.
Earth’s Next Frontier: The Anthropocene
Scientists say the earth has entered a new geological epoch: The Anthropocene. Author David Biello on what humans will have to do to make the planet endure.
Making An Entrance: The First Black Women At Langley Lab
In this excerpt from “Hidden Figures,” Margot Lee Shetterly describes the integration of Black female mathematicians at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.
The Operation That Created ‘Patient H.M.’
Author Luke Dittrich retells the story of the surgery his grandfather performed on Henry Molaison, which resulted in an unintended, life-changing side effect.
The Microbes We Share
Science writer Ed Yong describes the diverse ways that scientists and citizen scientists are studying our microbiomes.
Why You Don’t Want to Get Stung by a Tarantula Hawk
Biologist and author Justin O. Schmidt tells the story of getting stung by a tarantula hawk, whose sting is extremely excruciating.