New Shades for a Dinobird's FeathersJune 15, 2013 – Extensive x-rays of the ancient bird Archaeopteryx reveal a previously unseen pattern in its feather pigments.
Best Summer Trips 2012May 11, 2012 – Just in time for summer, our travel editors present ten trips for nature lovers and urban explorers. Don't see your favorite destination here? Tell us in the comments or submit it to our new online community, Travel Favorites.
Sex, the Early YearsSeptember 24, 2014 – Sex is an ancient tradition. It’s older than today’s continents, older than dinosaurs, older than trees, dating back to a time when vertebrate life thrived in the seas but had not yet ventured onto land. Back then, over 435 million years ago, armored fish were among the first to try this new mode of perpetuating […]
Pictures: Canadian LandscapesSeptember 30, 2013 – Canada, coast to coast, is a huge country—and one filled with stunning scenery.
Reader Recs: America’s Best BBQ JointsApril 26, 2013 – A recent post on the best BBQ joints in the U.S. elicited a surprisingly dramatic response. From coast to coast (and beyond), readers wrote in with alternating approval and admonishment. And no one seemed shy when it came to pointing out what should have made the list. Here’s a roundup of recommendations from our ever-enlightening Intelligent Travel community.
America's StorytellerOctober 18, 2011 – Ken Burns travels the nation as a chronicler—and connoisseur—of its culture.
Evolution is WonderfulJune 02, 2013 – I’ll never forget the first time I saw the Milky Way. On a warm late August night in 2009, my wife and I stretched out on a campground table at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah to see the cloudy stretch of our home galaxy arc across the night sky. I had never been in a place […]
10 Things You Never Knew About UTAHOctober 07, 2013 – With 5 iconic National Parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion), Utah ranks third among states with National Parks (California has 9, Alaska, 8). In addition, Utah has 7 National Monuments (Cedar Breaks, Natural Bridges, Dinosaur, Rainbow Bridge, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Timpanogos Cave, and Hovenweep), as well as 6 National Forests (and 43 state…
3-D Printer Makes Synthetic Tissues from Watery DropsApril 04, 2013 – In the University of Oxford, Gabriel Villar has created a 3-D printer with a difference. While most such printers create three-dimensional objects by laying down metals or plastics in thin layers, this one prints in watery droplets. And rather than making dolls or artworks or replica dinosaur skulls, it fashions the droplets into something a […]
Wormholes in old books preserve a history of insectsNovember 20, 2012 – Absence can speak volumes. The lack of sediment in a flat piece of ground—a track—can testify to the footstep of a dinosaur that once walked on it. The lack of minerals in a solid shell—a hole—can reveal the presence of parasite that was once trapped in it. The world’s museums are full of such “trace […]
Ancient "Saber-Toothed Squirrel" FoundNovember 04, 2011 – The fossilized skull and teeth of a fanged, shrew-like mammal have been discovered in Argentina, a new study says.
Free to See: 20 U.S. MuseumsAugust 24, 2011 – These top-notch museums—of art, fashion, dinosaurs, and more—are free to the public some or all of the time. What are you waiting for?
How frogs climbed up into the Lost World: My story in tomorrow's New York TimesMay 07, 2012 – The tepuis of northern South America–tabletop mountains ringed by sheer cliffs rising up thousands of feet–inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Lost World. Doyle envisioned dinosaurs and other primordial creatures surviving on these remote islands in the sky. It turns out that the tepuis are indeed ancient vestiges. The surrounding land eroded away 70 million […]
Hunchback Dinosaur Found: Carnivorous "Camel"September 10, 2010 – The otherwise fearsome new one-ton predator sported an odd hunchback and scrawny feather precursors, puzzling scientists.
Southwest Guide: ColoradoApril 22, 2010 – Plan an adventure in the American Southwest with these Colorado trips.
How an African Elephant Comes TogetherFebruary 01, 2012 – Before my love of dinosaurs kicked in, I adored elephants. My four-year-old self spent hours on the couch watching elephant documentaries, pith helmet firmly affixed to my head and my faithful companion Koba at my side. (A black, plush elephant bigger than I was, Koba was filled with a cheap stuffing I was allergic to. […]