Fifty years ago researchers working in the Afar region of Ethiopia recovered a remarkable fossil of an ancient relative of ours. This specimen of a female hominin, or member of the human family, soon became the most famous fossil in the world. If you’ve ever had even a passing interest in human origins, you have… Continue reading The Lucy Fossil’s Extraordinary Journey to Becoming an Icon of Human Evolution
Baseball Mud Bath Has Scientific Backing
Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman. First, I just want to say that I believe radical optimism is going to be an important part of our tool kit in the months to come. So I’m going to do my best to bring you stories that show how… Continue reading Baseball Mud Bath Has Scientific Backing
I Destroyed a Car to Explore Some Music Myths
November 11, 2024 6 min read I Destroyed a Car to Explore Some Music Myths Two years of experimentation taught a Nashville guitarist not every musical myth makes sense By Jim Lill edited by Daniel Vergano Jim Lill playing his guitar made from a car. This is the story of how (and why) I had… Continue reading I Destroyed a Car to Explore Some Music Myths
Worker Protections for Extreme Heat in Peril after Trump’s Election
November 11, 2024 3 min read Worker Protections for Extreme Heat in Peril after Trump’s Election A Biden administration proposal that would require employers to provide cooling measures under extreme heat conditions may be scuttled by the incoming Trump administration By Ariel Wittenberg & E&E News A worker adjusts his helmet on a construction site in… Continue reading Worker Protections for Extreme Heat in Peril after Trump’s Election
Civic Education: The Phoenix Arises
The study of American history and government is undergoing an unprecedented renewal, akin to the phoenix – a mythical bird that is reborn by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. Major universities have recently launched independent institutes, sometimes called “schools of civic thought,” dedicated to the in-depth exploration of an American political tradition that… Continue reading Civic Education: The Phoenix Arises
Inserting Yourself Into the Bible (Weird Questions)
Podcast: Download MYS344: During Christmas week, we’re bringing you another round of weird questions for Jimmy Akin posed by Cy Kellett of Catholic Answers Live, including time travel and inserting yourself into the Bible, Adam and Eve and belly buttons, lost letters of St. Paul, Jimmy’s most wanted lost books of history, and more. Get… Continue reading Inserting Yourself Into the Bible (Weird Questions)
How Geometry Revealed Quantum Memory
I didn’t find math particularly exciting when I was in high school. To be honest, I only studied it when I went to university because it initially seemed quite easy to me. But in my very first math lecture as an undergraduate, I realized that everything I thought I knew about math was wrong. It… Continue reading How Geometry Revealed Quantum Memory
Trump’s Going Places With Energy, but Biden’s the Backseat Driver
Above, Joe Biden shows nostalgia for his prized 1967 Corvette, but little love for gas-guzzlers in general. Donald Trump’s plan to undo Biden’s “green” policies presents a case study in snarls a new President faces with an agenda opposed to his predecessor’s. By James Varney, RealClearInvestigationsDecember 26, 2024 For four years, President Joe Biden has… Continue reading Trump’s Going Places With Energy, but Biden’s the Backseat Driver
Jonny Kim’s Third Act: NASA Astronaut
Space explorers need grit, strength and resolve to navigate the hostile environments beyond Earth. This might explain why around 60 percent of NASA’s astronauts have come from military service. A smaller fraction have had medical experience. And Jonny Kim is among the fewer than a dozen in NASA’s history to share both backgrounds. After serving… Continue reading Jonny Kim’s Third Act: NASA Astronaut
If DOGE and MAHA Aim to Cut Waste and Control Health Costs …
Two mandates defining the incoming Trump administration are clear: cut wasteful spending and improve Americans’ health. The goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they share a solution. Health-care price transparency, an effort President Trump championed during his first term but which stalled out under Biden, is the low-hanging fruit that Trump’s firebrand appointees can… Continue reading If DOGE and MAHA Aim to Cut Waste and Control Health Costs …