April 2025. Did Colossal bring back the dire wolf? Short answer, not really. The long answer is a bit more complicated and goes into what ‘species’ actually means. Earlier in April, the biotech company Colossal put out a press release…
As climate change gets worse, more and more reports of disastrous forest fires have been hitting the news. But not all fires in the woods are bad—some of them can actually be instrumental in keeping an ecosystem healthy! Fire ecology…
You’ve probably seen pictures of origami before, or even folded some yourself! Origami is an ancient art form that originated in China in the 2nd century AD. It made its way to Japan around the 6th century, where it became…
Before smartphones and DSLRs were everywhere, photography was a physical, hands-on process. I’ll give you a quick overview of the chemistry behind the first type of photograph, the daguerreotype! Daguerreotypes were invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in France in 1839. They…
If you wander over to the high-altitude regions of the Andes, you might spot fields of white figures, kneeling as if in prayer. Known as penitentes (based on the Spanish for penitent, one in penance), these are snow formations in…
Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice. Its rich red stigmas and the difficulty in growing and harvesting it lend it the name of “red gold.” Nowadays, saffron’s biggest use is as a spice for flavoring. Historically, saffron has been…