CATEGORIES

HOUSE OF CARDS

TRY THE PERFECT EXPERIMENT—AND THEN REFLECT ON HOW IT WENT.

ACCIDENTALLY Delicious

Have you ever been really hungry, but there wasn't much to eat in your kitchen? Did you throw together a bunch of stuff you had on hand and were pleasantly surprised when it tasted good?

IS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEED TOO PERFECT?

EVERYONE'S LIFE CAN APPEAR PERFECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. On YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and similar apps, people tend to share their happiest, most picturesque moments. They carefully compose any text to get the message just right. They use filters and enhancements to glam up images and videos. The app sorts the posts with the most likes and comments to the top. The end result? All you see of others' lives is the best of the best.

Art ALERT!

THE CASE OF THE MASTERPIECE THAT WASN'T

MARYAM ZARINGHALAM

SCIENCE POLICY FELLOW AND WRITER

Lost Cat Treks More Than 800 Miles to Get Home

Rayne Beau (pronounced RANE-BO, as in \"rainbow\") is a two-year-old Siamese cat.

EASY AS ABC

But in number theory, well, it's complicated.

That Wanaka Tree Gets a Companion

\"THAT WANAKA TREE,\" AS IT'S CALLED, IS A FAMOUS WILLOW TREE THAT GROWS OUT OF LAKE WANAKA ON THE SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND.

Two College Students Devise Smart Glasses That Can ID People

YOU'RE WAITING FOR THE SUBWAY WITH A COUPLE OF YOUR FRIENDS.

Two Comb Jellies Can Fuse Their Bodies Together to Become One

COMB JELLIES ARE GELATIN-LIKE AND MOSTLY SEETHROUGH INVERTEBRATES, OR ANIMALS WITHOUT A BACKBONE, THAT FLOAT IN THE OCEAN NEAR SHORE.

When Good SCIENCE Goes BAD

Shrinking classes seemed like a good idea. But in one place, it turned out to have its limits.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is Shapeshifting, Astronomers Find

YOU THINK HURRICANES FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO CAN BE BIG?

Flawed Genius

STEVE JOBS'S IMPRESSIVE, MESSY CAREER

OOPS!

The ins and outs of news media corrections

Can You Repeat That?

It's a big deal that scientists check one another's work.

Scientists Reveal a Reason That Could Explain Mount Everest's Growth

MOUNT EVEREST, STANDING AT 29,032 FEET (8,849 METERS) ABOVE SEA LEVEL, IS THE TALLEST PEAK IN THE WORLD.

A 12-Year-Old Girl's Election Sticker Is a Winner

VOTING IS A FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOM FOR AMERICANS, A MEANS OF DOING ONE'S CIVIC DUTY AND A WAY AN INDIVIDUAL CAN EXPRESS THEIR VOICE. In 1971, the United States lowered its voting age to 18. But that doesn't mean kids and teens under 18 can't participate in elections in various ways.

If everything the human brain does is basically sets of electrical impulses, how exactly does that translate into a state of mind?

You're not the only one asking this question. Every neuroscientist in the world is wondering the exact same thing, says Zach Mainen

EARTH'S TINIEST BUILDERS

THE HIDDEN WORLD OF MICROBES IN THE EARTH'S CRUST

MUMMIES SPEAK

ABOUT MICROBES, MIGRATION, AND MORE

GOING WITH YOUR GUT

HOW DO MICROBES AFFECT OUR HEALTH? LET'S COUNT THE WAYS...

BUG Detective

A burglar sneaks into a house on a quiet street in New York City. He walks through the house, touching countertops and door handles. Finally, he steals a single card from a full deck. Then he leaves.

Little Creatures Among Us THE MANY MICROBES IN OUR DAILY LIVES

When you think you're alone, you're actually not. In the ground, the air, your room, and even your body are Strillions and trillions of creatures so tiny you can't see them.

A Mars Rock Found With Leopard Spots Could Be a Sign of Ancient Life

IN JULY, NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER CAME ACROSS A SPOTTED ROCK IN WHAT WAS ONCE A RIVERBED IN THE JEZERO CRATER ON MARS.

Para Athlete Uses Exoskeleton Suit to Carry the Olympic Torch

In July, a 36-year-old French tennis para athlete, Kevin Piette, got a chance to participate in this summer’s Olympic torch relay without using a wheelchair.

Ancient Egyptians May Have Used a Water System to Lift Stones to Build Pyramid

HOW ANCIENT EGYPTIANS BUILT THE MASSIVE PYRAMIDS IN EGYPT MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS AGO HAS LONG BEEN A TOPIC OF WONDER AND DEBATE.

Seals Can Make Big Dives Thanks to Their Big Hearts

SEALS AND SEA LIONS, WHICH ARE SEMI-AQUATIC MAMMALS, CAN HOLD THEIR BREATHS UNDERWATER FOR ESPECIALLY LONG PERIODS OF TIME.

THE BIG-CITY LIFE OF STEVEN J.BIKE SHOP RABBIT IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Bicycle Roots is a full-service bike shop. It's in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Joe Lawler is the co-owner and service manager. Perhaps more important, he's \"dad\" to the shop's most popular employee. That's Steven J. Lawler.

Wild Ones

WHAT FACTORS DRIVE PEOPLE TO BUY MONKEYS, TIGERS, AND OTHER WILD ANIMALS?

HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLD

A brief history