Ed Cara

Image: Photo: Shutterstock Graphics: Vicky LetaRenowned puzzler Peter Winkler invented the addictive word game, HIPE, with some friends when they were juniors in high school. While it may not have become the overnight success of Wordle, the game did earn Winkler admission to Harvard. According to his book, Mathematical Mind-Benders, he wrote a college admission essay about how his verbal diversion sparked a local craze. Four years later, as a Harvard senior, Winkler overheard an admissions committee member quizzing a…

Image: Artiom Photo (Shutterstock)Your snack habit may be even more calorie-dense than you think, recent research suggests. A study estimated that snacking contributes to around 20% of an average American’s daily caloric intake, and these snacks often add little nutritional value. The scientists found, though, that people with type 2 diabetes seem to eat fewer snack-related calories. - Ed Cara Read More Image: Artiom Photo (Shutterstock)Your snack habit may be even more calorie-dense than you think, recent research…

Our most-read science stories this week contain a few timeless life lessons. One, don’t go into an MRI room carrying metal, particularly if that metal is a loaded gun. Two, don’t cross a killer whale, even if you’re a great white shark. And finally, never judge a sea cucumber by its cover—no matter how repulsive that cover appears to be. - Rose PastoreZillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | AI UnlockedWoman Enters MRI Machine With a Gun, Gets Shot in ButtImage: nimon (Shutterstock)A woman’s medical exam turned…

Twenty years ago, the Human Genome Project officially wrapped up. It was a feat of collaborative science that took 13 years—from 1990 to 2003—and involved researchers from around the globe.A Mononykus Hunts In ‘Prehistoric Planet’In honor of the anniversary, I spoke with Richard Gibbs, founder and director of the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center in Texas, who was one of the project’s leading figures. Gibbs shared his thoughts about the early days of studying DNA, the likely future of the genetics…

Specimens of orange peel fungus (Peziza or Aleuria aurantia), Pyronemataceae.Photo: De Agostini Editorial (Getty Images)Fungi are some of the strangest living things on Earth. Some are single-celled organisms like bacteria, other are multicellular beings akin to plants and animals. Some can even shapeshift between these forms of life. However they look, they’re an integral part of the environment: Many fungi act as nature’s recyclers, breaking down dead organic matter into something that can be reused by others. And we…

Tourists ride classic convertible cars on the Malecon beside the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, on Oct. 3, 2017. Photo: Desmond Boylan, File (AP)In the summer of 2017, reports of American and Canadian diplomats developing an unusual illness while stationed at their embassies in Havana, Cuba first emerged.These cases, which actually began in late 2016, seemed to follow a similar pattern: People would experience acute symptoms like nausea, headaches and hearing loss, which often appeared after they had heard strange noises…