A couple weeks ago we learned about how rocks from space can destroy cabins, cities, and even civilizations with little to no warning. Very few things in nature hold as much destructive potential as a wayward hunk of solar system leftovers on an unlucky path, but there is one other event that comes close and...

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One of the more interesting things science can do for us is help us to imagine the end of the world. Whether it is born out of fear or just a sick fascination with our own demise, the number of disaster movies that hit theatres around the world every couple of years speaks to the...

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If you grew up during the 90's in Southern Canada, Northern Mexico, or anywhere in between, you probably have some fond memories involving Monarch butterflies. While the best that most insects can hope for is humans not noticing them, Monarchs have attained a special place in many people’s hearts mostly because they don’t bite and...

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Civilization is a pretty astounding thing. The idea that one species can rise up from the struggle of nature to separate itself into an organized, globally-connected network of distinct but related cultures is pretty impressive; but it is also wrong. The connectedness bit is fair enough, but the idea that humans built civilization without help...

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You sweat enough each day to fill a 1 liter milk jug. More if you exercise that day.

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For something that is located so close to our brains, we spend surprisingly little time thinking about our earwax. That is likely because earwax doesn’t appear to do a great deal for us. Mostly, it is just a nuisance that we have to clean out every once in a while.That may be the common perception,...

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Of all the species that have ever lives on Earth, approximately 99.9% are now extinct. As Bill Bryson puts in in A Short History of Nearly Everything, all life that currently exists could be attributed to a rounding error.

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The thing I hate about horror movies is the silent moment before something jumps out to scare you. The anticipation and the knowledge that there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself from jumping out of your skin is enough to make you want to hit fast-forward (or just skip ahead if you’re too...

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The world spends more on military expenses every 13 hours than it cost to send the Curiosity rover to Mars.

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