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History & Society
Trace how culture, power, and ideas shape societies across time.
Every year, scientists like George Church get better at editing the genomes of human beings. But will genome editing help or hurt us?
We have a morbid curiosity about nautical disaster stories. The Irish "Wreck Viewer" offers a window into centuries of marine misfortune.
Germany finds itself once again allowing a murderous dictator to run rampant in Europe, though this time it is due to incompetence and technophobia rather than malice.
In the Saudi Arabian desert, the Al Naslaa rock formation looks completely unnatural. Its perfectly vertical split remains a mystery.
Knowing that technology would advance in the future, NASA put some moon rock samples into storage without opening them. Now, they have.
Syllipsimopodi bideni is small (about 12cm in length), has ten arms, suckers, fins, and a triangular pen of hard tissue inside its body for support.
The insects were just as accurate as trained dogs, although not as cuddly.
War is peace.
Outrage is a useful emotion that helped our ancient ancestors survive. Today, it leaves us feeling angry, tired, powerless, and miserable.
Nostalgia is a happy remembrance of the past, yet it also leaves us feeling sad. Perhaps ironically, it can serve as a painkiller.
Is there any good reason for assigning North and South the way we do, or could we have just as easily done the reverse?
The ranking is encouragingly diverse, with the top 10 featuring representation from five regions.
At the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Michigan, retrieving sunken vessels is the order of the day. Here’s how they do it.
We pretend as if economic sanctions are a peaceful way to coerce others into behaving. In reality, they are a potent tool of modern warfare.
Local researchers identify a striking rainbow-colored fairy wrasse found off the coast of the Maldives as a fish species all its own.
Discussions of human evolution are usually backward looking, as if the greatest triumphs and challenges were in the distant past.
A growing body of research shows that religious people seem to enjoy more psychological well-being compared to others.
The laws of physics state that you can't create or destroy matter without also creating or destroying an equal amount of antimatter. So how are we here?
60% of all potentially dangerous asteroids remain undetected.