A world without water is impossible to imagine because…well, because we wouldn’t be here to imagine it. Water is essential to the existence of every living thing. It hydrates. Cleans. Purifies. Calms. Invigorates. You can swim in it, soak in it, float on it…even skate away on it when the temperature allows. It’s no wonder that water has so many…
The new medium of photography came into its own during the Civil War, capturing thousands of images of soldiers, statesmen, freed slaves, and devastated towns and cities. Its impact on public perception of war was dramatic, demonstrating the power of visual media to shape public opinion. An exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City entitled “Photography…
Imagine a scar turning back into living, thriving tissue. Or a cell originally meant to develop into a specific organ becoming capable of turning into any kind of organ. Sounds like science fiction. But these possibilities are closing in fast, thanks to the pathbreaking field of epigenetics. Epigenetics goes beyond the boundaries of what’s possible in changing the function and…
Clinical psychologist Francine Shapiro was taking a stroll in 1987 when she noticed a curious phenomenon: the movement of her eyes seemed to reduce negative feelings associated with traumatic memories in her past. Her subsequent investigation revealed that other people had similar responses based on their eye movements. Dr. Shapiro’s curiosity didn’t stop there. She went on to develop an…
My independence from in-house imprisonment quickly ended when my freelance writing business dried up in 2008 while the bills continued to pour in. I landed a job as a copywriter at a pharmaceutical ad agency and girded myself for the adjustment to a 9-to-5-and-then-some world. But I was caught off guard by the age gap, made apparent during my first…
I dodged a bullet. It was self-inflicted. But I didn’t even know it had been fired at me. I was walking down the street and felt a lump in my calf. It hurt a lot—my whole leg felt warm. I’d better keep an eye on this, I thought. When I woke up the next morning, the lump was gone. No…
