Nature
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Read more: New Fear Unlocked: Zombie Spiders
Deep within a damp, dark cave in Ireland, a lone spider clings to the wall. Its usual instinct is to hide in shadows and spin its web out of sight. But tonight, something is different. Drawn by an unseen force, the spider crawls away from its web and toward the mouth of the cave, into…
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Read more: The Siberian Unicorn and the Folklore of Fossils
In the frozen steppes of Siberia, beneath layers of permafrost and ice, there once lay a colossal skull unlike any other. The wind-whipped grasslands of the Ice Age had buried this secret for millennia. When at last the skull was unearthed by modern hands, its heavy bones spoke of a creature that bridged myth and…
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Read more: What are Microplastics and Why is Everyone Talking About Them?
Every day, countless primary microplastics enter the environment directly through human use. When you rinse off a face scrub that contains tiny polyethylene beads, those particles swirl down the drain and pass through water treatment filters with ease, eventually emptying into rivers and oceans. Each time you wash a fleece jacket or polyester shirt, hundreds…
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Read more: Tesla’s Pigeon: A Genius, His Friend, and the Myth of the “Bird Brain”
In the last few months I’ve become very close to birds. I’ve been raising a family of quails in my home. My new-found connection to the emotional and intellectual lives of birds reminded me of a story I’d heard about the genius of the modern world… In the twilight of his life, a lone figure…
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Read more: Eating Seasonal Produce: Winter Edition
Although we’re used to instant access to world produce… with everything available year-round we should consider how a seasonal diet can benefit our health. Eating like our ancestors isn’t just a fad or a flex… it can be crucial in a time of rapidly changing climate and political unrest. Winter casts a long shadow over…
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Read more: Toys as Friends: The Psychology of How Children View their Plush Companions
In a quiet corner of the house, a child sits cross-legged, absorbed in conversation. There’s no one else in the room (at least, not that we can see). But to the little girl chatting away, her companion is very real: an imaginary friend perched right beside her, nodding and giggling at all the right moments.…
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Read more: How Beer Domesticated Humans
Imagine a time in prehistory when humans stumbled upon a happy accident: a mash of wild grains left in a pot that turned into a fizzy, mildly intoxicating brew. The standard story of civilization suggests that our ancestors first domesticated grains to fill their bellies with bread, and only later discovered the pleasant side effect…
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Read more: Rethinking the Rat: From Villain to Hero
In the light of an early morning in a quiet field in Cambodia tiny paws scurry across the ground. A handler walks behind each creature, holding a thin tether. Suddenly, one of them stops and furiously scratches at the earth. The handler’s face cracks a smile. A soft click! sounds – a signal that the…
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Read more: Are Interstellar Objects Alien Spacecraft? The Mystery of ‘Oumuamua
In late 2017, astronomers in Hawaii spotted an object hurtling through our solar system that defied all expectations. It was small, elongated, and moving so fast that the Sun’s gravity could not hold onto it. This visitor was quickly recognized as the first interstellar object ever observed up close – meaning it came from another…
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Read more: Blue Zones: Places Where We Live Longer & Why
High in the mountains of Sardinia, Italy, a 95-year-old shepherd sets out at dawn, trekking up and down rocky hills with his goats. Half a world away on the Japanese island of Okinawa, a 100-year-old woman begins her day tending a small vegetable garden, later meeting her lifelong friends for a chat and green tea.…
