Immigrants come to the United States for countless reasons and under vastly different circumstances. Browse this photo essay to explore a few of these compelling stories.
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Brazilian Explorers Search “Medicine Factory” to Save Lives and Rainforest
We often think of cures for cancer as chemicals developed in laboratories, but nature may be the source of new remedies. Tom Phillips explains how researchers aim to tap into the medical possibilities of the Amazon rainforest—and at the same time protect this threatened environment from human development.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Rising from the inhumanity of World War II, the United Nations was established. In 1948, it set forth this declaration of what rights all people the world over should have.
Shark Attack Survivors Unite to Save Sharks
Imagine barely escaping a shark attack with your life and going on to become an advocate for protecting sharks. It happens more often than you’d think!
How Cliff Diving Works
Sometimes it’s best to avoid something you’re afraid of, especially if it’s dangerous. Visit this site to learn about one of the world’s most dangerous sports, cliff diving. Discover some of the sport’s basics, its most famous locations, and why it’s a good idea never to attempt it.
How Watching a Good Deed Elevates and Inspires
You might do a good deed for someone else just because it’s the right thing to do. Research shows, though, that you’re more likely to do that good deed if you’ve recently seen someone else do a good deed. This article discusses the infectiousness of altruism.
Natural Disasters
Visit this site to see stunning photographs, watch informative videos, and read all about natural disasters, including avalanches, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and wildfires.
5 Ways to Find Career Ideas
Do you already know what kind of career you want to pursue? Then you are lucky—and unique. If, like most of your peers, you don’t know “what you want to be when you grow up,” consider the helpful tips in this article.
To the South Pole and Back – The Hardest 105 days of my life
Ben Saunders talks about his epic, 105-day trek to the South Pole and back; the same route taken by Captain Scott on his ill-fated 1912 expedition.
What Is Your Dog Thinking? A Psychological Guide
Do dogs love each other? Do they feel guilty about the rotten things they sometimes do? Read Stanley Coren’s article to find the answers, and, while you’re at it, discover how to laugh like a dog, interpret a dog’s barks, and tell what a wagging tail really means.
A Conversation with Sir Patrick Stewart
In 2010, a modern version of The Tragedy of Macbeth appeared on PBS’s Great Performances. The star of that groundbreaking production, Sir Patrick Stewart, discusses the choices he and director Rupert Goold made to bring Shakespeare’s work to life on the small screen.
New Study Analyzes Heavy Metal Dancing
What is the relationship between mosh pits and nature? The answers to that question might surprise you! Two graduate students (who just so happen to be heavy-metal fans) are studying mosh pits to learn about particulate patterns and animal flocking behavior.
Play Me, I’m Yours
How can a piano, left in a public place for anyone to use, bring a community together? Read about this unexpected movement to find out.
Social Change
Review this collection of TED talks on social change; covering topics like justice, freedom, and the collective good.
What We Learned from 5 Million Books
Face it: we’re so overloaded with information that none of us can digest much of it. However, in this TED talk, Jean-Baptiste Michel and Erez Lieberman Aiden present ideas about what we can do—with the five million books and 500 billion words available online today. What do they reveal about who we were, are, and are becoming? Watch the video; then navigate to the site recommended by the speakers. Discover for yourself what five million books have to say!
Why did Gandhi march 240 miles for salt?
Salt may seem like a small thing to spark a revolution, but it’s crucial to human health. Learn more about why the Indian people rose up against English rule over the regulation of salt.
Macbeth’s curse: study identifies link between sleeplessness and paranoia
Shakespeare’s line, “Macbeth doth murder sleep”—and his guilt-ridden, sleepwalking Lady Macbeth—made a link between psychological distress and troubled sleep. Recent research shows that the Bard was onto something.
Searching the Brain for the Roots of Fear
Do you know the difference between fearing something and worrying about it? How do things that probably won’t do us any harm come to symbolize threats? This commentary from Joseph LeDoux, the director of the Emotional Brain Institute and a professor of neural science, describes the problems that arise when fear turns to anxiety.
Listening Is an Act of Love
Do you know someone whose story should be heard—and remembered? StoryCorps is a spectacular project in which people just like you, your family, and your friends sit down to chat and record stories from their lives. Visit the site to hear some amazing tales and watch a few videos. When you’ve finished, click the “Record Your Story” link to find out how you, too, can see to it that the stories of your family and friends get heard.
150 Years Later, Myths Persist about the Emancipation Proclamation
What did the Emancipation Proclamation really do? Three myths about this document are addressed in this article, which was written for the 150th anniversary of its signing.