
Can Secondhand Shopping Dent Fast Fashion’s Environmental Damage?
Reusing clothes saves on emissions and water use, but researchers have lingering questions on exactly how much it can contribute to making the apparel industry more sustainable

Can Secondhand Shopping Dent Fast Fashion’s Environmental Damage?
Reusing clothes saves on emissions and water use, but researchers have lingering questions on exactly how much it can contribute to making the apparel industry more sustainable

Science News Briefs from around the Globe
A few brief reports about international science and technology from Brazil to Hong Kong, including one about male elephants in India exhibiting unusual social behaviors.


Recommended Books, November 2019
The ecosystem of a crime scene, how undercover patients changed psychiatric care, and more

We Owe Our Pumpkins to Pooping Megafauna
The pumpkin’s ancestor was an incredibly bitter, tennis-ball-sized squash—but it was apparently a common snack for mastodons. Christopher Intagliata reports.

NOVA’s Killer Floods Caused Me Unnecessary Pain and Suffering
What could have been an excellent documentary is marred by several glaring problems

One Man, Two Kinds of Creativity
Painter and mathematician Edward Belbruno inhabits both worlds with equal comfort

Engineering, Beauty and a Longing for the Infinite
A recent excursion to Italy made it clear to students and professors alike that these things are interrelated

How Harold Bloom, the Late Literary Critic, Helped Me Write The End of Science
Bloom’s book The Anxiety of Influence helped a science writer understand the plight of modern scientists trying to surpass their predecessors

Teeth Tell Black Death Genetic Tale
DNA from the teeth of medieval plague victims indicates the pathogen likely first arrived in eastern Europe before spreading across the continent.

On Philosophy, Death and the Sea
A young philosopher finds philosophy consoling because it is impossible.

Comparing Beauty in Math and Art
People pair mathematical proofs with paintings and pieces of music similarly

Recommended Books, October 2019
50 things to see in the night sky, untold stories of mathematical Americans, and more