After an international team of scientists and staffers spent six months at a research station in Antarctica, their accents changed ever so slightly, according to an acoustic analysis by German researchers. The slang terms they shared include dingle...
Astronomers have spotted nearly 150 objects far out in space that are too small to be called stars, but they can’t be called planets, because they don’t orbit a star. They’re about the size of Jupiter, but given what we know about...
During the late 19th and early 20th century, thousands of volunteers helped crowdsource the Oxford English Dictionary. This venerable reference work includes citations sent in by inventors, eccentrics, scientists and educators, an Arctic explorer —...
Enthusiastic book recommendations! Martha’s savoring the biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the 19th-century explorer, polymath, and naturalist who revolutionized our understanding of nature and predicted the effects of human activity on...
shmoo n.— «Yeast cells don’t have casual sex. Preparations are involved. In particular, the cell must reshape itself, becoming elongated like a microscopic pear. Scientists have a name for a cell in such a state: “shmoo.” The...
tri-tip n.— «The “Science at the Lake” event will feature barbecue (tri-tip and hot dogs), live music by Threshold, a silent auction, door prizes and fun hands-on science exhibits.» —“Regional Roundup: Scientists invited...
