Solving the Mystery of the Dancing Honey BeesFor centuries, the meanings of the conspicuous shaking, waggling, trembling, buzzing, and piping behaviors of worker honey bees were deep mysteries.
Could bird flu in cows lead to a human outbreak? Slow response worries scientistsResearchers worry that insufficient collection and reporting of data are hampering efforts to assess the scale of the bird-flu outbreak in US cattle — and could hold back efforts to bring the virus under control.
How newborn chicks are helping to settle a centuries-old debate about cognition and our sensesFor most of us, creating mental images based on speech or memory is very easy. If I say “cube”, you are probably already picturing one in your mind (although people with aphantasia have little or no mental imagery).
Sourdough Under the Microscope Reveals Microbes Cultivated Over GenerationsYou can thank yeast and bacteria for the distinctive taste and smell of the oldest leavened bread in history.
What Is Tucker Carlson Even Doing?This is part of Sly as Fox, a short series about the perils of underestimating Fox News in 2024. It is always sort of heartwarming when a person fulfills their peak potential.
Scientists Calculated the Energy Needed to Carry a Baby. Shocker: It’s a Lot.It takes a lot of energy to grow a baby — just ask anyone who has been pregnant. But scientists are only now discovering just how much.
In the race for space metals, companies hope to cash inIn April 2023, a satellite the size of a microwave launched to space. Its goal: to get ready to mine asteroids. While the mission, courtesy of a company called AstroForge, ran into problems, it’s part of a new wave of would-be asteroid miners hoping to cash in on cosmic resources.
Locks of Beethoven’s Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and IllnessesGerman composer Ludwig van Beethoven began losing his hearing in his 20s, a fact that deeply upset and embarrassed him. Over the years, his hearing loss worsened, and by the time he died at age 56 in 1827, the composer was totally deaf.
‘I’m needed there’‘Born of the devil and filled with the devil’s blood’ was Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s typically over the top dismissal of the Gulag medical system, which he had encountered at first hand in his years as a prisoner.
My Boyfriend Just Proposed His Favorite, “Forbidden” Role Play. It’s Hot But Terrifying.How to Do It is Slate’s sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Jessica and Rich here. It’s anonymous! My boyfriend of eight months just shared his biggest kink with me. It’s something he’s really into but felt ashamed to share.
Deep Space Nine Was Getting Good Long Before the Dominion WarA lot of Star Trek opinion is based on the paradoxical idea that the series within the franchise simply “get good” at some point. TNG’s not TNG until Riker has a beard, we say, ignoring all the fantastic ideas the series got into before that.
Bird flu in milk is alarming — but not for the reason you thinkThe US Department of Agriculture’s failed response to bird flu in cows, explained. Bird flu has had a busy couple of years.
'I thought they hated me' – Lyon on Ashes, Lancashire and BazballNathan Lyon was heartbroken, but wishes he'd allowed himself the time to take it all in. Ten months ago, the Australia off-spinner was limping down the Lord's pavilion steps and into Ashes folklore, his calf shredded and his series over.
A Martini Tour of New York CityThree years ago, as the pandemic was loosening its grip on the world, and as I started to recover from the aftereffects of a botched childhood circumcision that had returned to haunt me in middle age, I rediscovered the bottomless pleasure of a cold dry Martini.