CATEGORIES

Paradise LOST

Spin a globe slowly to find New Zealand. It’s one of the world’s most isolated island countries. Australia, the nearest significant land mass, is over a thousand miles away. Composed of two big islands stretching almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from north to south, and a galaxy of smaller islands, New Zealand is believed to be a fragment of the ancient southern continent of Gondwanaland.

Do You Really Want a Flying Car?

It's the year 2020. So where are all the flying cars? The vast majority of people still get to work and school in boring, ground-bound cars. Not to mention buses, trains, and bikes.

Up For a Challenge

University students compete with cutting-edge cars in the AutoDrive Challenge.

A System In Sync

Smart cars need smart roads.

Powering the Road Ahead

ARE HYBRIDS OR ELECTRIC VEHICLES THE WHEELS OF THE FUTURE?

Moral Machines - TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT SELF-DRIVING CARS

Have you ever heard of the trolley problem? It is a set of imaginary scenarios used by ethicists— people who ask questions about right and wrong.

SANJEEV SHARMA-TECHNOLOGY PIONEER

High-speed railroad cars, rockets, and now drones—what will mechanical engineer Sanjeev Sharma do next? Sharma is currently head of vehicle engineering at Matternet, a drone company in Mountain View, California. Whatever lies ahead, he’ll probably be at the forefront of new technologies that serve others.

OLIVIA WANLESS

AUTODRIVE TEAM CAPTAIN

MORPHING ART

It’s more than meets the eye.

Drone Home

UAVs MAY CHANGE THE WAY PACKAGES ARE DELIVERED.

DRIVERLESS ED

TEACHING CARS TO DRIVE THEMSELVES IS A LOT LIKE TEACHING PEOPLE.

Sole Beauty

The painful history of foot binding

Selling Socks to Save Seabirds

Brothers Will and Matty Gladstone are comitted to conservation.

Whose Foot?

Everybody is different. So why do we use feet to measure length?

Reflexology – A Different Kind of Map

There’s nothing like a foot rub after a long day. The question is, can putting pressure on the toes and heels help other body parts—like your head, back, and stomach— feel better too? Fans of reflexology think so. This practice uses massage on specific reflex points to relieve tension and improve health. It dates back more than 4,500 years, but doctors and scientists do not fully agree that rubbing the feet can cure ailments throughout the body.

Tyler Clites – Biomedical Engineer

Tyler Clites is a tinkerer. He’s been this way since childhood—coming up with inventions and taking things apart.

On Point

THIS DANCE TECHNIQUE LOOKS EFFORTLESS, BUT APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING.

Q&A

Q&A

MULTI-PURPOSE TOOLS

There are more than 10,000 species of birds. They range in size from birds that weigh less than an ounce to birds that weigh hundreds of pounds and can inflict a deadly kick. They live on land or water; in tropical rainforests or in the Arctic tundra; they climb trees or dive into water. So it’s not surprising that birds have many different types of feet capable of performing amazing feats.

10! 10! Say it again!

10! 10! Say it again!

Muse News

Muse News

Trial in Absentia

In the 40th century, the most intellectually advanced species in the galaxy initiates a project to bring back as many extinct species as possible. They have already returned hundreds of species to life after careful evaluation by the Committee for the Revivification of Extinct Species (CaRES). The purpose of the committee is to evaluate whether each species meets just one criterion: “There must be no overwhelming, compelling evidence that the species should not be revived.” Here is an excerpt from the transcript of the meeting where members debate the revivification of an extinct species: humans.

The Rise & Fall of the Terror Birds

AFTER THE DINOSAURS, A NEW PREDATOR REIGNED IN SOUTH AMERICA. FOR A WHILE.

SHOULD SCIENTISTS BRING BACK DINOSAURS?

IN THE JURASSIC PARK MOVIES, scientists bring dinosaurs to life.

MARIA A. GANDOLFO

Animals and insects aren’t the only ones that leave their remains in stone and amber! Meet paleobotanist Maria A. Gandolfo, who studies fossils made from flowering plants. A flowering plant tucks its seeds inside a flower instead of growing them on its leaves. Most of the plants we eat and use as medicine and fuel are flowering plants. Today they flower all over the planet—but that wasn’t always the case. Here Gandolfo explains what plant fossils can tell us and how flowering plants got to be such a big deal.

LOVE

My pets are my own true loves.

ERIN ARGYILAN

Erin Argyilan of Indiana University is known for her lively teaching style and leading some of the best geology field trips in the Chicagoland area. She takes people of all ages on interactive tours that lead to dune climbing, animal identifying, and accessing some of the rarest plants in the world. Read on to learn about the major mystery surrounding the Cretaceous Period’s effect on midwestern geology.

ARE WE LIVING IN THE ANTHROPOCENE?

A name can tell you a lot about a person. Take your last name, for example. Does it come from a certain language, a place where your ancestors were born, a traditional family occupation? How about your first name? What does it say about you? If you could change it, would you? What would you change it to, and why?

A Visit to the PAST

WELCOME TO TEXAS’ BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

THE DAY THE CRETACEOUS ENDED

When the asteroid hit, it sent Cret trillions of tons of molten rock and dust into the atmosphere, much of it hotter than the surface of the sun.