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A family photo of Andrea Yates, her husband and four of their five children. Yates killed all five by drowning them in a bathtub in 2001. Photo Courtesy of Yates Family/Getty Images

What’s behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill?

The framing of these stories of murder and mayhem have remained remarkably consistent since the invention of the printing press – and may reveal our own hidden fears and desires.
A large robot, loaded with sensors and cameras, designed to explore the ocean twilight zone. Marine Imaging Technologies, LLC © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Scientists envision an ‘internet of the ocean,’ with sensors and autonomous vehicles that can explore the deep sea and monitor its vital signs

The ocean twilight zone could store vast amounts of carbon captured from the atmosphere, but first we need a 4D monitoring system to ensure ramping up carbon storage does no harm.
Flying into Hurricane Harvey aboard a a P-3 Hurricane Hunter nicknamed Kermit in 2018. Lt. Kevin Doreumus/NOAA

Hurricane hunters flew through Ian’s powerful winds to forecast intensity – here’s what happens when the plane plunges into the eyewall of a storm

The meteorologist leading NOAA’s 2022 hurricane field program describes flying through eyewalls and the technology in these airborne labs for tracking rapid intensification in real time.
Permafrost and ice wedges have built up over millennia in the Arctic. When they thaw, they destabilize the surrounding landscape. Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Thawing permafrost is roiling the Arctic landscape, driven by a hidden world of changes beneath the surface as the climate warms

Ground is collapsing and massive lakes are draining in a matter of days. Thawing permafrost is having profound effects on the region and its infrastructure.
In a 1949 photograph, Mori works in his family’s nursery in San Leandro, Calif. Courtesy of Steven Y. Mori

Toshio Mori endured internment camps and overcame discrimination to become the first Japanese American to publish a book of fiction

On Dec. 2, 1941, a publication date was set for Mori’s first book. Five days later, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, upending the writer’s life and throwing the book’s publication into doubt.
Why did she do all the work while Santa got all the glory? What would happen if she delivered the toys? Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

How Mrs. Claus embodied 19th-century debates about women’s rights

Many early stories praise her work ethic and devotion. But with Mrs. Claus usually hitting the North Pole’s glass ceiling, some writers started to push back.
When asked how she wanted to be remembered, Tammy Faye replied, “My eyelashes and my walk with the Lord.” John Storey/Getty Images

Underneath all the makeup, who was the real Tammy Faye?

The subject of a new biopic, Tammy Faye was a televangelist icon. But she also represented another side of the evangelical coin – one that was big-hearted, vulnerable and accepting.

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