Bethany Cutmore-Scott

In ancient times, wildcats were fierce carnivorous hunters. And unlike dogs, who have undergone centuries of selective breeding, modern cats are genetically very similar to ancient cats. How did these solitary, fierce predators become our sofa sidekicks? Eva-Maria Geigl traces the domestication of the modern house cat.

On the edge of the vast Sahara desert, citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu and took to the wilderness. They buried chests in the desert sand, hid them in caves, and sealed them in secret rooms. Inside these chests was a treasure more valuable than gold: the city’s ancient books. Why were they hiding these priceless manuscripts? Elizabeth Cox digs into the literary tradition of Timbuktu.

Your favorite athlete closes in for a win; the crowd holds its breath, and at the crucial moment ... she misses the shot. That competitor just experienced the phenomenon known as “choking,” where despite months, even years, of practice, a person fails right when it matters most. Why does this happen, and what can we do to avoid it? Noa Kageyama and Pen-Pen Chen explain why we choke under pressure.

On the dusty roads of a small village, a traveling salesman was having difficulty selling his wares. As he wandered the outskirts of town in the hopes of finding some new customers, he heard a high-pitched yelp coming from the edge of the forest. Following the screams to their source, he discovered a trapped tanuki. Iseult Gillespie details the Japanese myth of the shape-shifting creature.

Much science fiction features white male heroes who blast aliens or become saviors of brown people. Octavia E. Butler knew she could tell a better story. She built stunning worlds rife with diverse characters, and brought nuance and depth to the representation of their experiences.

In a small town, a proud mother showed off her newborn son. Upon noticing his lucky birthmark, townsfolk predicted he would marry a princess. But soon, these rumors reached the wicked king. Enraged, the king stole the child away, and sent him hurtling down the river. But the infant’s luck proved greater than the king’s plan. Iseult Gillespie tells the tale of the boy’s journey to meet the Devil.

Axolotls are one of science’s most studied animals. Why, you ask? These extraordinary salamanders are masters of regeneration: they can flawlessly regenerate body parts ranging from amputated limbs and crushed spines to parts of their eyes and brains. So, how do they do it? And what other secrets are they keeping? Luis Zambrano explores the baffling biology of the axolotl.

Explore Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, “Divine Comedy,” a 3-part narrative that follows Dante’s journey for salvation through Hell.

Dive into Salman Rushdie's masterpiece, 'Midnight's Children,' a work of magical realism that deals with India's transition from British colonialism to independence.

Get informed on the science behind post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, its symptoms and how the brain reacts to trauma.

Get to know the story of Quanah Parker, a Native American warrior and leader, and the last chief of the Comanche tribe.

Discover history's first empire: Sumer, located in Mesopotamia, which built the world's first cities and created the first writing system.