One reason a total solar eclipse is so compelling is that it’s the one time humans can turn their soft, sensitive eyes to the sky…
HE GONE
Why calculating home run distances is like measuring sea level
It seems like it should be simple to calculate the distance of a home run: We know where the ball starts (at home plate) and…
WHAT A PREDICAMENT!
We watched “Face/Off” 20 years after its release to see how the science holds up
Nicolas Cage (domestic terrorist Castor Troy) lies on a hospital bed, in a medically induced coma. John Travolta (FBI agent Sean Archer) stands nearby, contemplating…
KEEP GETTING THOSE CHECKS
The snoozefest that was this year’s basketball playoffs can be explained by the broken economics of the NBA
Professional basketball is truly the sport where the superstar thrives. Most team sports involve so many players that a single athlete can only do so…
NO PLAN(ET) B
In honor of the March for Science, here are the best science-themed protest signs
For all that can be said about this remarkable chapter of history, one thing is certain: we are living in a golden age of protest…
ARMS INJECTION RACE
Stem-cell therapy is poised to disrupt the Tommy John epidemic in baseball
For about half a decade, it’s been something of an open secret in baseball that players—pitchers especially—regularly undergo stem-cell therapy to stave off surgeries and…
DON'T SEE THE LIGHT
More famous landmarks went dark during 2017’s Earth Hour than ever before to highlight the need for climate action
For the 10th year, cities around the world from Beijing to Paris turned off the lights on some of their most well-known and widely visited…
STAY SKEPTICAL
These are the science concepts you need to know to understand political life in 2017
It’s early days of 2017 still, but already it’s become apparent that this year science will play a larger role in public discourse than it…
SMALL GOVERNMENT
The US spends a disproportionate amount of health care dollars on five illnesses
America is notorious for overspending on health care. The World Bank estimates that the US spends 17.1% of its total GDP on health care, a…
THERE YOU ARE
Europe has launched a new satellite navigation system that will be precise down to a few centimeters
We tend to use “GPS” the way we use “Kleenex” or “Band-Aid”—as a brand name substitute for the generic “satellite navigation system.” But the Global…
BROKE ENVIRONMENT
Trump dismantling the EPA won’t save much money because the agency already spends so little
President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear he’s no fan of the US Environmental Protection Agency. As he campaigned throughout the past summer and fall,…
BI-PARTY-SAN
One in every five Americans is about to get legally high AF after this election
In the early hours of Nov. 9, Americans found out that their next president is Donald Trump; they also learned that marijuana’s slow drive to…
