Selected Writings

Scientists Discover Exposed Bacteria Can Survive in Space for Years

SMITHSONIAN An experiment conducted outside the International Space Station leads to a controversial theory about how life might travel between planets Framed by an infinite backdrop of dark, lifeless space, a robotic arm on the International Space Station in 2015 mounted a box of exposed microbes on a handrail 250 miles above Earth. The hearty…

To Make Oxygen on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance Rover Needs MOXIE

SMITHSONIAN A new tool from the space agency may produce the gas, completing the next step for planning a round trip voyage Putting boots on Mars isn’t easy, but it’s a lot easier than bringing them back. This week, NASA launches its Perseverance rover on a one-way trip to the surface of Mars. Among many…

Were Women The True Artisans Behind Ancient Greek Ceramics

SAPIENS A new paper makes the case that scholars have ignored the role of female ceramicists in Greece going back some 3,000 years—and that this failing could speak to a more consequential blind spot involving gender. Painted over the enormous midsection of the Dipylon amphora—a nearly 2,800-year-old clay vase from Greece—silhouetted figures surround a corpse…

Cicadas Are Delightful Weirdos You Should Learn To Love

SMITHSONIAN As Brood IX takes flight for the first time in 17 years, cicada lovers have their ears open. Around this time of year, Marianne Alleyne hosts dozens of houseguests in her basement. Far from using camping equipment or cots, they sleep upside-down, clinging to a curtain. The entomologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign…

Decoding the chemistry behind cicada’s bacteria-killing wings

CHEMISTRY WORLD Meticulously organised fatty acids are responsible for the bacteria-killing, superhydrophobic nanostructures on cicada wings. The team behind the discovery hopes that its work will inspire antimicrobial surfaces that mimic cicada wings for use in settings such as hospitals. When in contact with dust, pollen and – importantly – water, the cicadas’ superhydrophobic wings…

Bioethics experts call on GoFundMe to ban unproven medical treatments

THE VERGE The authors worry about the spread of medical misinformation A bioethics study published on December 8th calls on crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to ditch campaigns for unproven and unsafe medical procedures. People turn to GoFundMe for help paying for all sorts of medical interventions. These campaigns have brought in over $650 million since 2010.…