We tend to think of archaeological sites as dead silent – empty ruins left by past cultures. But this isn’t how the people who lived in and used these sites would have experienced them.
People currently speak 7,000 languages around the globe.
Michael Gavin
There’s little research into origins of the geographic patterns of language diversity. A new model exploring processes that shaped Australia’s language diversity provides a template for investigators.
A scale model of one of the two LAGEOS satellites.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Quirky tourists, heads up! The old way to calculate geographical centers of U.S. states is out of date. To set course for a state’s true center, read up on the azimuthal equidistant projection.
Turkanas have contributed significantly to the conflict in Kenya’s Laikipia County.
Siegfried Modola/Reuters
An urban planning expert goes knee-deep into the murky history behind this popular phrase often used to describe the nation’s capital.
At one time, Bibles and Sears catalogs were printed here. Now, this building is known as the Lakeside Technology Center, one of the largest data centers in the world.
Teemu008/flicker
Data centers are taking over the factories where workers once processed checks, baked bread and printed Bibles. What will the rise of the information-based economy mean for American cities?
Malvoisie vineyards in Lanzarote.
Yummifruitbat/Wikipedia
From wine to cheese, geographical origin has long been used as a mark of quality in selling a wide array of agricultural products. How do we protect it?
Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 with a promise to redress historical in equalities in South Africa.
Shutterstock
New research suggests a mythical flood in China really happened about 4,000 years ago. It’s the latest case of scientists matching ancient tales to actual local natural disasters.
Education provides a way out of rural areas – but the transition to city life can be very hard.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
On printed maps, piling on the detail risks obscuring the meaning. This new digital map is really more of a database from which users can create different versions that match their own interests.
3D visualisation of the mega-canyon.
Jonathan Bamber, University of Bristol
A previously unknown canyon has been discovered in Greenland, hidden beneath the ice. It is at least 750 kilometres long. To put that in perspective, imagine a ten kilometre wide gorge, up to 800 metres…
From geysers to tectonic plate movements, corn syrup has the answers.
Trey Ratcliff
A decade ago, with Ross Griffiths of the Australian National University, we aimed to build a 4D model which could replicate the Earth’s tectonic processes. Now, our research has helped us understand how…
The emperor tamarin is one of several species of New World monkey … but how did they get there?
Apex Design
How did you get to work today? I walked to the station, caught a train, then walked to a bus stop and hopped on the 891 express. All this time, while I was travelling, I moved in space – in fact a lot…