Ephrat Livni

Before Facebook and Twitter existed to explain us to ourselves, we knew the weather made us moody because we were gloomy on rainy days and cheery when the sun shone. Until social media was invented, however, there was no scientific way to measure the connection between moods and meteorology on a large scale, to see if that link manifests in our expressions, or measure the effects of the weather compared to other big events.

P-22 is a big cat in Hollywood.

A sustainable future powered by the sea could soon be a reality.

Adrian Bejan is a rebel with a cause and a good job.

Gloomy octopuses—also known as common Sydney octopuses, or octopus tetricus—have long had a reputation for being loners. Marine biologists once thought they inhabited the subtropical waters off eastern Australia and northern New Zealand in solitude, meeting only to mate, once a year. But now there’s proof these cephalopods sometimes hang out in small cities.

Perhaps you’ve stumped Siri before, asking Apple’s automated assistant things like, “What is the meaning of life?” or “How can I be healthier and happier?”

You may know GrubHub as a food delivery service. Right now, however, the company is intent on convincing a federal court in California that delivery isn’t really what it does.

For an 83-year-old Utah Republican who says he is “strongly against recreational marijuana use,” Orrin Hatch has a remarkable command of cannabis-related slang.

Say you need a quick document translation. You choose an online tool, pick the language you want, copy your text, drop the text in, and presto! In moments you can read a version in your desired tongue. Great, right?

Even hardened cynics may wince over the findings of a new report from US senator Claire McCaskill outlining a drug company’s elaborate scheme to get paid for a cancer pain medication by faking disease diagnoses.

Academics construct narratives about the past using fragments and artifacts. Sometimes they also fill in the gaps on their discoveries, making assumptions that reveal more about contemporary thinking than they do about history.

If you’re reading this, you’re doing alright and can apparently survive. But do you know what it takes to thrive?

Once upon a time, people believed in the soul, a god-given vital force that animated human beings and left the body upon death. Around the 1500s, this theory of vitalism fell from fashion and we started to see beings as more like machines.

Leaders of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC voted on Sept. 6 to immediately remove two stained-glass windows that honor generals of the Confederate Army in the US Civil War. The decision comes after two years of deliberation over whether the windows are “an appropriate part of the sacred fabric of a spiritual home for the nation,” according to church leaders.

Wild dogs aren’t totally wild, it turns out. As in any society, there are complex rules in their packs, plus powerful types who disproportionately influence the group. Yet the will of the many does at times prevail.

The US National Hurricane Center anticipates that by Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 6) the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico will be slammed by a category 5 hurricane, Irma, to be followed by a tropical storm, dubbed Jose. Puerto Rico is already struggling with power supply woes, and Ricardo Ramos, the director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is predicting four-to-six-month blackouts in parts of the US territory.

Don’t wait for a total solar eclipse, like the one that occurred on Aug. 21, to marvel at the universe. Do it every day. Cultivating awe is possible and is scientifically proven to have mental and physical health benefits. It’ll even make time feel more expansive, if only you make the time for it.

Marijuana-related businesses face a funny problem: they make lots of money yet can’t securely put it in banks. The US banking system is nationally regulated and weed’s illegal under federal law, a Schedule I substance with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Talcum powder was once thought safe enough for a baby’s bottom and a lady’s, well…lady parts. It absorbs moisture, minimizes friction, and is used to prevent rashes—US manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for many years promoted the powder for infant care and feminine hygiene.

Updated Aug. 21, 7:00 pm EST: The next total solar eclipse in the US will take place in just seven years. Its path will run through Texas, and across the Midwest and East Coast on April 8, 2024. Get ready. Plan an adventure; book a hotel; decide what to wear. But don’t save those special solar glasses you got for this year’s eclipse if the lenses are torn, wrinkled or scratched.

Dear Jacob and Maya,

The total solar eclipse will impact you whether you believe in astrology or not, so be prepared for the celestial shakeup.

The internet feels like a worse place lately. In March, the Pew Research Center cited hate memes, manipulative bots spewing fake news, and media reports declaring the end of internet innocence as evidence that the social web isn’t “a space where disparate views, ideas and conversations [can] constructively converge.”

Like many, energy expert Phil Mihlmester is looking forward to the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. Although he’s not in the path of totality, Mihlmester plans to step outside under a briefly darkened Maryland sky, don special glasses, look up, and marvel, assuming the weather allows it.