Seed Vault

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on the Defense Production Act. The first article, on the history of the Defense Production Act, can be found here. When early data from Mexico suggested that a new strain of influenza, H1N1, might have a mortality rate between…

By Laura PoppickPhotographed by Greta RybusFrom our April 2020 issue When Will Bonsall was growing up in Waterville in the 1950s and ’60s, his family lived modestly, and their grocery budgets were often tight. His folks weren’t much for gardening, and what fresh produce they brought home was rationed among…

Cats is the greatest movie ever. Somehow it took the mysterious avant-garde sensibilities of Tarkovsky, the frantic new-wave energy of Godard, and the big budget blockbuster bombast of Spielberg, and combined them all into one flawlessly musical package. I was also high as shit when I watched it in the cinema.…

Humankind just faced a huge threat from the epidemic spread of the deadly Coronavirus. As the battle against the virus is still on-going, it not far-fetched to fear apocalypse or global catastrophe in the future. Advertisement Github, the U.S. based company and a subsidiary of Microsoft, which allows for hosting…

A snapshot of the Bitcoin codebase will be encoded onto film reels and stored for a thousand years under the arctic ice in Svalbard, Norway. The move is part of the GitHub Archive Program, with a mission to preserve open-source software, for future generations to learn about the culture of…

Rising out of the snowy expanse on a remote archipelago halfway between Norway and the North Pole, sits a granite edifice topped by a glowing art installation that resembles the Northern Lights. This is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a long-term storage facility which houses the world’s largest collection of…

Home News Entertainment The fourth episode of "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" sees host Neil deGrasse Tyson looking to the past and honoring botanist Nikolai Ivanovic Vavilov, pioneer of modern plant breeding. Vavilov's story is marked by both the tenacity and creativity we've come to expect from subjects in "Cosmos," though Vavilov's…

Life during a global pandemic takes on a surreal quality. The ubiquitous presence of social media and a constant fire hose of coronavirus news can make it particularly hard if you're already feeling anxious. So, we've put together a little round-up of recent science news that we find inspiring, encouraging,…

First Published: March 13, 2020 | Last Updated:March 13, 2020 The cast of which American sitcom will reunite exclusively for an untitled unscripted special for HBO Max to be directed by Ben Winston? Answer: Friends As of February, 2020, which country is India’s top trade partner? Answer: USA Which of…

By Adam Vaughan The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has been upgraded to protect against future climate changeSvalbard Global Seed VaultAs Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg looked on, conservationists from across the globe lugged precious cargo into the entrance of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which has now been upgraded to…