Archeologists are making headway in the study of ancient toys, a long overlooked focus in the field — one that has them asking deeper questions about children’s play in early civilizations. Archaeologists have long studied ancient artifacts, religious motifs, and burial grounds to better understand history, and have made immense progress in the last century […]
Sustainable jet fuel alternatives will soon be taking flight in the commercial airlines industry. New York-based startup Air Company recently announced the launch of its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), made from captured carbon dioxide. Major airlines like JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, and even the United States Air Force, among others, have collectively committed to purchasing over […]
One young innovator is working to make scoliosis easier to treat — and notably more stylish — for adolescent patients. University of Cincinnati graduate Sangyu Xi earned the 2022 U.S. James Dyson Award for Airy, a customizable and repositionable brace that grows with its wearers. The international award aims to honor and inspire the next […]
For nearly two decades, Yasmeen Lari — Pakistan’s first female architect — has directed her considerable talents toward building sustainable shelters and infrastructure for people experiencing homelessness due to natural disasters. A co-founder of the nonprofit Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, 81-year-old Lari had initially retired from her storied career in architecture in 2000. However, she was […]
About 5,400 years ago, a Patagonian cypress seedling sprouted in a valley in present-day Chile. Over the millennia, the colossus grew to 100 feet tall, with a trunk 13 feet in diameter, making it one of the largest in Alerce Costero National Park. Now, research reported by Science indicates the tree may also be the […]
If you had a hammer, you could hammer in the morning, as the old song goes. But what would you do if you had 10,000 hammers? You’d open a hammer museum, of course. At least, that’s what collector Dave Pahl did in his tiny town of Haines, Alaska. Small and unassuming — aside from the […]
Antarctica is the continent least visited by world travelers, and its frigid temperatures — with a daily interior average of minus 71 degrees Fahrenheit — make it uninhabitable for people long-term. Although the terrain isn’t suitable for humans, a delicate and complex ecosystem exists amid the ice, and now tourists who do make it to […]
Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built a battery-free, wireless underwater camera that can travel up to 130 feet below the surface, a groundbreaking device that may one day be capable of collecting never-before-seen images of the deep sea. We know more about the surface of Mars than Earth’s ocean floors. To […]
With the fall equinox newly behind us, and as the evenings begin to grow longer, it’s an especially exciting time to turn your gaze toward the heavens. We’ve compiled a list of constellations, planets, and other celestial events to keep an eye out for in the October 2022 night sky, preferably while you’re wrapped up […]
In a first-of-its-kind “atlas,” researchers identified and described the links between 35 different types of cancer and their associated fungi. Though the findings, published in the science journal Cell last month, do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the two, they could help scientists discover more about the role fungal microorganisms play in the disease. […]
There are some unexpected heroes among the brave firefighters who protect civilians, animals, and plants from wildfires. Wildfires have a pattern of sweeping across North America during the hot summer months between June and August, and 2022 has seen a 112% increase in the average number of acres burned by wildfires in the last 10 […]
American artist David Popa is committed to his craft — so much so that when the 29-year-old became intrigued by the idea of what it would look like to paint on ice, he dove into the freezing ocean off the coast of Finland to find out. Alone with his supplies, he spent hours in the […]