Colour coded: What should you do when the bear is cinnamon?
The American black bear, Ursus americanus, did not get the memo when that saying was circulated: It comes in a variety of shades, including blond and...
New world order: Is this the end of peace through trade?
In my most recent column, I talked about the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which has governed world trade since 1948. This trading system...
The ankylosaur’s tail-club wasn’t only swinging at T Rex
Most of the ankylosaur’s body was encased in bony plates that jutted out into jagged points, and some lugged around a sledgehammer-like tail club...
Puzzling entry: They’re taking jigsaws to infinity and beyond
Rosenkrantz loves fungi, lichens and coral because, she said, “they’re pretty strange, compared to us.” From the top, the hexagonal polypore looks...
Call of Revolution: Can the Iranians topple the Ayatollah?
The rigidity of Iran’s hard-liners is driven not only by ideological conviction, but also by a keen understanding of the interplay between the rulers...
Brains, Brawn, or Both: What drove the creation of modern dog breeds?
Breeds that were created for similar roles — whether rounding up sheep or flushing birds into the air — tend to cluster into distinct genetic...
Stretching Out: What Twitter does to our sense of time
This lesson from offline spaces can be applied to digital habits, especially the ones that shape our experience of time. Which digital rhythms are we...
Status quo: How a good book became the ‘richest’ of holiday gifts
In a collection of “Epigrams,” the first-century poet Martial published a (very extensive) list of suggestions for “The Presents Made to Guests at...
