Exotic Fungus Creates Zombie Ants

Exotic Fungus Creates Zombie Ants

In a bizarre parasitic death sentence, a fungus turns carpenter ants into the walking dead and gets them to die in a spot that’s perfect for the fungus to grow and reproduce. Scientists have no clue how the fungus takes control of the brains of ants so...
Tears of Gaza: The War They Don’t Show You

Tears of Gaza: The War They Don’t Show You

“Disturbing, powerful and emotionally devastating, Tears of Gaza is less a conventional documentary than a record — presented with minimal gloss — of the 2008 to 2009 bombing of Gaza (dubbed ‘Operation Cast Lead’) by the Israeli military. Filmed by several Palestinian...
In Search of the Philosopher’s Stone

In Search of the Philosopher’s Stone

The philosopher’s stone (Latin: lapis philosophorum) is a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals (lead, for example) into gold (chrysopoeia) or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for...
Gaza, The World’s Largest Open-Air Prison

Gaza, The World’s Largest Open-Air Prison

A look at life under occupation. Gaza has the look of a Third World country, with pockets of wealth surrounded by hideous poverty. It is not, however, undeveloped. Rather it is “de-developed,” and very systematically so, to borrow the term from Sara Roy,...
Afghan Corruption, and How the U.S. Facilitates It

Afghan Corruption, and How the U.S. Facilitates It

When it comes to corruption in Afghanistan, the time may be now for the United States to look in the mirror and see what lessons can be learned from contracting out parts of that war. On Sept. 30, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the...
Inside Par-AnoIA: The Anonymous Intelligence Agency

Inside Par-AnoIA: The Anonymous Intelligence Agency

Paranoia is reputed to destroy you. But if you’re a whistleblower in search of a safe, neutral outlet, it just might save you instead. Par:AnoIA, short for Potentially Alarming Research: Anonymous Intelligence Agency, is a website designed to collect leaks, allow...
Quantum Measurements Leave Schrödinger’s Cat Alive

Quantum Measurements Leave Schrödinger’s Cat Alive

Schrödinger’s cat, the enduring icon of quantum mechanics, has been defied. By making constant but weak measurements of a quantum system, physicists have managed to probe a delicate quantum state without destroying it – the equivalent of taking a peek at...