In 1842, Anna Atkins, a 43-year-old amateur botanist from Kent, England, began experimenting with a brand-new photographic process called cyanotype or blue-print. Atkins arranged algae specimens collected from around the British Isles on a sheet of g
In July 1587, a British colonist named John White accompanied 117 people to settle a small island sheltered within the barrier islands of what would become North Carolina’s Outer Banks. When conditions proved harsher than anticipated, White agreed to
Genomicist Mark Stoeckle and three high school students have taken do-it-yourself science to a new level. Research headquarters are Stoeckle’s Upper West Side apartment, where he’s laid out pipettes, a thermocycler, and a gel reader in the spots usua
In late June 2009, a small group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park began to fall ill. One by one, 11 of the dozen apes started exhibiting severe respiratory problems. An investigation led by wildlife veterinarian Jean-Felix Kin
Earlier this month (August 13-14) thousands of children and bug-loving adults descended on the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, where all manner of insect—dead, alive, and deep fried—were on display to be looked at, touched and, yes...eat
Two sisters—Kate, a developmental biologist, and Helen, a high-end fashion designer—team up to develop a couture collection inspired by the first 1,000 hours of embryonic life. Dubbed Primitive Streak—after the early embryonic process that results in