How Our Ancestors Broke through the Gray Ceiling

Are viruses our oldest ancestors?

Humans have a skewed view of viruses because we only notice them if they cause disease. In reality, however, viruses are much more than pathogens. HIV and influenza cause frightening health threats, but 1019 HIV particles worldwide are basically nothing compared to 1033 total number of viruses on our planet. Viruses are present in every species and every ecological niche, and affect every organ...

What did our ancestors eat?

Over the millennia various hominoids and hominids have subsisted on very different dietaries, depending on climate, hunting proficiency, food-processing technology, and available foods. The Australopithecines were not browsers and fruit-eaters with very high intakes of vitamin C; rather they were scavengers of kills made by other animals. The hominids who followed did include some cold-climate ...

Paleolithic nutrition : what did our ancestors eat ?

How I Broke the Confederate Code (137 Years Too Late)

We study a previously undeciphered Civil War cryptogram, limiting ourselves to pencil and paper, and discover not only a missive of military importance, but in the process, identify a new Confederate codeword. Our methods rely not only upon cryptanalysis of the encryption method but also on the exploitation of an elementary mistake.

Climbing through medicine's glass ceiling.

1887 quality of care but do not substantially reduce costs among a broad array of patients.3-5 As more empirical evidence comes in, it may become easier to identify specific ways to reduce costs; for now, the possibility and scope of the savings remain unclear. One approach that might improve the cost-effectiveness of disease-management and care-coordination strategies involves more accurately ...