These salamanders snack on each other (but don't die) - Luis Zambrano

Discover the extraordinary regenerative powers of the axolotl, a salamander native to Mexico and one of science’s most studied animals. -- Axolotls are one of science’s most studied animals. Why, you ask? These extraordinary salamanders are masters of regeneration: they can flawlessly regenerate body parts ranging from amputated limbs and crushed...

1d

Why was India split into two countries? - Haimanti Roy

Dig into the 1947 Partition of India, when Britain split the region into two states, India and Pakistan, and the mass migrations and violence that followed. -- In 1947, the British viceroy announced that after 200 years of British rule, India would gain independence and be partitioned into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. What followed was one...

2d

What few people know about the program that "saved" America - Meg Jacobs

Explore the successes and failures of FDR’s New Deal, a set of legislation during the Great Depression which aimed to save the US economy. -- In 1932, one in four Americans was unemployed, marking the highest unemployment rate in the country’s history. The Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a New Deal— a comprehensive...

6d

A brief history of toilets - Francis de los Reyes

Explore the history of the toilet and how waste management has evolved from from ancient Mesopotamia to modern day. -- On sunny days, citizens of ancient Rome could be found exchanging news and gossip while attending to more urgent business at the public latrines. Today, most cultures consider trips to the restroom to be a more private occasion....

2w

The sharks that hunt in forests - Luka Seamus Wright

Discover the unique adaptations of marine forests, the ecosystems that provide food and shelter for sharks and diverse coastal species. -- Forests don’t usually come to mind as a habitat for sharks. But marine forests provide a home for 35% of the world’s sharks. Mangrove forests in particular function as an essential bridge between land and sea...

2w

Can you trust your memory? - Sheila Marie Orfano

Explore the Rashomon effect, where individuals give significantly different but equally believable accounts of the same event. -- A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime’s only known witnesses recount their version of the events. But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible...

2w

Ugly History: The U.S. Syphilis Experiment - Susan M. Reverby

Dig into the unethical Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which spanned 40 years and lied to its participants about receiving treatment for syphilis. -- Afflicting nearly 1 in 10 Americans, syphilis was ravaging the U.S. in the 1930s. Many doctors believed syphilis affected Black and white patients differently, and the Public Health Service launched an...

3w

A day in the life of the Oracle of Delphi - Mark Robinson

Follow Aristonike, an Oracle-in-training in Delphi, as she studies to become the Pythia and communicate Apollo’s will and prophecies. -- As the sun rises over Delphi in 500 BCE, Aristonike hurries to the temple of Apollo where a single oracle known as the Pythia communicates Apollo’s will. Reserved only for women, this is the most important job...

3w

Why do we have hair in such random places? - Nina G. Jablonski

Discover how humans lost their fur as they evolved from primates, and why we still have hair on our bodies. -- We have lots in common with our closest primate relatives. But comparatively, humans seem a bit… underdressed. Instead of thick fur covering our bodies, many of us mainly have hair on top of our heads— and a few other places. So, how...

3w

The epic of Gilgamesh, the king who tried to conquer death - Soraya Field Fiorio

Dive into the Epic of Gilgamesh, and follow the king of Uruk on a series of dangerous quests as he searches for immortality. -- In 1849, in the ancient city of Nineveh in Iraq, archaeologists sifted through dusty remains, hoping to find records to prove that Bible stories were true. What they found instead was a 4,000-year-old story inscribed...

4w