When New York Times’ columnist David Carr prepared to apply for a newly created professorship in Boston University’s College of Communication, he realized he’d need a curriculum vitae, the so-called CV…
The village of Deir el-Medina in the West Bank of Luxor, Egypt.
Anne Austin
Records show that the Egyptian state provided health care to workers building royal tombs more than 3,000 years ago. But it was more about productivity than altruism.
Cute puppies were a dominant theme of this year’s Super Bowl adfest. But was it a bit too much?
Reuters
This was the year the Superbowl adfest finally hit the skids. The Twitter-storm that greeted this year’s supposedly iconic ads suggests they simply didn’t work like they usually do. The Los Angeles Times…
On January 11 1999, when Jon Stewart took over as host of The Daily Show from Craig Kilborn, no one could have predicted that, 16 years later, Stewart would become an icon of satire. Under Kilborn, the…
The bacteria living in your gut have more to do with your immune system than you might think.
Knorre/Shutterstock
Your intestines are home to many different kinds of bacteria (and some non-bacterial organisms as well). Together they’re called the “gut microbiome.” They come from the food you eat – and whatever else…
NBC news anchor Brian Williams and his memory “conflation” have become the media story.
Phil McCarten / Reuters
Many of us have asked ourselves in the past few days: can you really falsely remember something as significant as being in a helicopter that was shot down? And many of us probably think “No way,” and quickly…
Can Governor Baker continue to thread the needle?
Reuters
Charlie Baker is the new Governor of Massachusetts and, doggone it, he likes government. Though this notion is antithetical to most elite Republican office holders, Governor Baker is firmly in the blue…
Graham Beal led the Detroit Institute of Arts through the city’s financial crisis.
Les Ward
Graham Beal, the Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, recently announced that he will be retiring after fifteen years at the helm. Two of his achievements particularly stand out. The first is his…
It’s that time of year when the stakes can feel very high when choosing a chocolate for your sweetie. Yet the options are more bountiful and confounding than ever. Valentine’s Day chocolates in a growing…
The concept: a solar-powered fuel or chemical factory.
Brendan Cruz Colón
Photosynthesis – turning the sun’s energy into food for plants – is the biological system that feeds the world. But despite its awesome power, the process is extremely inefficient. We can’t really blame…
Will understanding more about the nanostructure of teeth mean the dentist’s drill will become endangered?
Trypode
Toothaches and root canals loom large in the collective memory and the whine of a dentist’s drill conjures unpleasant memories for most. Tooth decay and cavities most commonly affect the enamel that protects…
A male bonobo who likely holds some irrational biases when it comes to economic decision-making.
Christopher Krupenye
Just the other day I found myself in the waiting room of an automotive dealership. While my car was being serviced, I flipped through a product brochure. One ad for an oil change boasted that it would…
The Boston-area transit authority has had major disruptions and shut-downs this winter.
MaxVT/Flickr
Despite the Patriots winning the Super Bowl, January and February were not kind months for the people of Boston and New England. By February 10th, more than 60 inches of snow in 30 days fell on the city…
Sicily, 1943: Whose blood was this U.S. soldier getting?
NARA
Until 1950 the Red Cross segregated blood. It was thousands of African-Americans during World War II who forced the Red Cross to include them as donors and helped pave the way for activism of the 1960s.
Relationships are often interpreted as the outcome of an exchange of goods and services. Common knowledge says that the sexes want different things from a partner. These preferences are often reduced to…
Jon Stewart’s tenure at The Daily Show may ultimately be remembered more for how he skewered the mainstream media than for the laughs he generated.
Jason Reed/Reuters
Jon Stewart’s Tuesday night announcement that he’ll be leaving the Daily Show garnered an audible cry of disbelief from his live studio audience. Stewart himself was visibly emotional: “What is this fluid…
There are two million home care workers in the United States. They change diapers, administer medications, bathe and dress people and transfer the immobile from one place to another. They also take care…
Presidents Obama and Castro instigated rumors of a thaw when they shook hands for the first time at the memorial for Nelson Mandela in December last year.
Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
This past December, Presidents Barack Obama and Raoúl Castro ended over fifty years of economic and political isolation between the US and Cuba with their shock announcement that they intend to re-establish…
Artist’s concept of Giant Magellan Telescope once completed, with its seven mirrors.
Giant Magellan Telescope - GMTO Corporation
As an astronomer, I get a lot of requests for help. “I’d like to buy a telescope,” the conversation usually goes. “Can you give me some tips on what to look for?” Sadly, there’s little advice I can offer…
Zabibu Athumani and her son Abirai Mbaraka Sultani rest under an insecticide-treated bed net at their home. (Bagamoyo, Tanzania, 2011).
Gates Foundation
In January, the New York Times highlighted how insecticide treated nets meant to protect people from mosquitoes and malaria are now being used to haul fish in Africa. Among those using these nets to catch…
Red Army tells the story of the Russian hockey dynasty of the 1980s and early 1990s, focusing on the story of defenseman Slava Fetisov (pictured top right).
Variety
Gabe Polsky’s documentary Red Army opens with the film’s main subject – former NHL and Soviet hockey great Viacheslav (Slava) Fetisov – giving the finger to Polsky while checking his phone. At the film’s…
Was this guy just lucky? Or just prepared?
Reuters
More than a week after becoming football legend, the Super Bowl’s last-minute interception continues to prompt second guessing: did Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll make a bad call when he ordered Russell…
In the spring of 1950, Gordon Parks, the first African-American photographer for Life Magazine, returned to his hometown of Fort Scott, Kansas. On assignment for the magazine, Parks photographed his middle…
The energy imbalance gap is how many calories you consume versus how many you burn. Understanding how it differs among different populations could lead to better policies to target obesity.
Falling oil prices threaten to slow the US drilling boom. The downturn has also increased calls to lift the ban on exporting oil and natural gas from the US – an outdated policy that should be changed…