5 Intriguing Things is a curated collection of links that help us think about the future. Today's edition is guest-edited by Virginia Hughes. Subscribe to the daily newsletter.

News publishers lost the homepage firehose, and gained a social media flood. It's making the news more about readers, and less about news.

Welcome to Britain's National Collection of Yeast Cultures.

Illinois recently passed a law banning plastic microbeads, often found in soap, which can slip through treatment plants and end up in waterways.

The former House speaker loves Dallas Buyers Club, fears Michael Bloomberg, and says Congress needs a total overhaul.

Consumers say they want to shop ethically, but how many of them actually do?

Gut bacteria play a role in mood and emotion. Are probiotics the key to a better antidepressant?

Turns out there's someone scarier than Twisty the Clown.

The K-12 classroom doesn’t look the way it used to.

But there's a difference between imagining something and wanting to act on it, a new study says.