What Does Paleo Parenting Look Like?
A new book that examines the strange protractedness of human childhood also argues against basing modern parenting practices on our distant ancestors.
Latest
Katie Martin / The Atlantic; Getty 22 Orphans Gave Up Everything to Distribute the World’s First Vaccine
Spain’s strategy for rolling out the smallpox vaccine ran into some very 19th-century problems.
Science History Images / Alamy The First Fatal Car Crash
Mary Ward, a naturalist and astronomer, decided to go for a ride in her cousin’s homemade automobile.
National Motor Museum / Getty The Bizarre Ways America’s First Spy Agency Tried to Overthrow Hitler
From undercover heiresses to hormone-injected vegetables, the early days of the Office of Strategic Services were marked by colorful hires and wild schemes.
Jack Wilkes / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty When Water Dooms Life
On Earth or on Mars, flooding can spell destruction for flourishing communities of microbes.
Ivan Alvarado / Reuters The Bitter Class Struggle Behind Our Definition of a Kilogram
Before standardization, units of measurement were often manipulated by tyrants to cheat peasants and steal land.
Jacques Brinon / AP Why Doctors Should Read Fiction
Could a simple literary exercise make physicians more caring?
Bettmann / Getty Artificial Intelligence Is Cracking Open the Vatican's Secret Archives
A new project untangles the handwritten texts in one of the world’s largest historical collections.
Alessandra Benedetti / Corbis / Getty The Flaw in America's 'Holy Grail' Against Gerrymandering
The efficiency gap is a highly praised tool for detecting partisan districting—but relying on it could be dangerous.
The Soviet Era's Deadliest Scientist Is Regaining Popularity in Russia
Trofim Lysenko’s spurious research prolonged famines that killed millions. So why is a fringe movement praising his legacy?
Hulton Deutsch / Corbis / Getty
