There's a viral news story going around that claims scientists have found that using sunscreen increases your risk of death. As a redhead, this is relevant to my interests. But… Read the rest of the article: Is sunscreen dangerous? An actual scientist weighs in

Yesterday, the CDC announced the discovery of several vials of smallpox virus, forgotten in a storage room since the 1950s. Back in April, Nature's Sara Reardon wrote about the risks… Read the rest of the article: Prescient Nature article on forgotten smallpox samples

The Morbid Anatomy Museum recently acquired a 19th-century phrenological death mask. Liza Young, a museum studies student at St. John's University, tracked down its history.

There are some pretty freakish, but well-substantiated, reports this week that demonstrate just how much we still have to learn about stem cells and how they work (and don't work).

Now we know that Nikasitimos banged Timion (in the past continuous tense, implying a long stamina) on what is now a remote stone outcrop on the Agean island of Astypalaia,… Read the rest of the article: Very old erotic graffiti found in Greece

Komodo Dragons are venomous. All they need to kill prey much larger than themselves is a single bite.

Pelagornis sandersi is a 25-million-year-old bird with a 24-foot-long wingspan. Scientists now think it could have flown.

Pseudoscience for the win. It would be funny if it weren't for, you know, the Holocaust.

The legendary scientist had a frankly horrible perspective on interacting with women—and it's by his own account.

It's okay, cilantro lovers. The haters aren't wrong. They're just disabled.

I'd always sort of thought that people with severe peanut allergies could have a reaction from being too close to peanuts, even without touching them. Turns out, that's not true.… Read the rest of the article: How indirect allergen exposure works

As planners create parks to go with a new Vikings stadium, the Minneapolis Park History blog looks at why some parks became community hubs and others earned bad reputations. (Thanks,… Read the rest of the article: What makes a public park successful?

A recent study found that the urge to jump off tall things is pretty common, even among people who are not suicidal.

In 2010, I told you about Gliese 581g, a potentially habitable exoplanet that astronomers thought they had spotted orbiting a star more than 20 light years from Earth. Turns out,… Read the rest of the article: Once-hyped planet does not exist

A freaky looking blob that washed up on a Cape Cod beach is probably the viscera of a large marine animal.

This fantastic footage of a curious Pallas's Cat was taken last year in a zoo in England (I love the shot at :21.) There's a lot of misinformation flitting about… Read the rest of the article: Kitty sees you

Fascinating history at Nature, about the way war began the still-unfinished process of integrating female minds into the scientific world.

Fulgurites are glass tubes formed when lightning strikes a desert or beach. Artificial fulgurites are made by running a high-voltage arc through a tub of sand. I started searching for… Read the rest of the article: Making "petrified lightning" at home

From their inclusion in 16th-century paintings to their roles in famous families (including, probably, Darwin's), people with Down Syndrome are part of history. At the Down Wit Dat blog, there's… Read the rest of the article: A history of Down Syndrome

Emerald Ash Borer will likely kill 99% of the ash trees in North America. We can't stop it. So what happens next? At The New York Times, you can read… Read the rest of the article: What happens to forests when invasive insects win?