When Henry Molaison (now widely known as H.M.) cracked his skull in an accident, he began blacking out and having seizures. In an attempt to cure him, daredevil surgeon, Dr. William Skoville, removed H.M.'s hippocampus. Luckily, the seizures did go away — but so did his long-term memory! Sam Kean walks us through this astonishing medical case, detailing everything H.M. taught us about the brain and memory.

The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 was one of the worst man-made disasters of the 20th century. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. During the accident itself, 31 people died, and long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being accounted for.

An abandoned ferris wheel and buildings reclaimed by nature - the remains of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster show what a city looks like when everyone disappears.

Looks like someone got all dressed up to celebrate not being turned into a Thanksgiving turkey dinner! Kidding... this strange bird is actually an ocellated turkey, native to the Yucatán Peninsula.

Israel-based company, StoreDot, has developed a battery made from a new material called nanodots that can charge a smartphone in just 30 seconds, and could be scaled up to charge an electric car within minutes. These special ‘nanodots’, which are artificial peptide molecules - about 2.1 nanometers in diameter - are released into the battery to rapidly increase its absorption and retention of power - almost like a sponge.

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Kenny is a white tiger that was ‘selectively’ inbred while in captivity in the United States. As zoos and exotic pet stores along with consumers have increased the demand for white tigers, breeders have attempted to recreate the ideal white tiger - large snout, blue eyes, white fur - by relying on a limited pool of white tigers that are in captivity.

The result? With such a limited gene pool, white tigers are born with an astoundingly high rate of deformities and health issues. For example, Kenny is mentally retarded, has significant physical limitations, and is considered the first tiger with down syndrome.


The 3 year-old male orangutan shown above also has characteristics that are similar to people with Down syndrome. It is seen from his h ...

Thermal springs in Laugarvatn, Iceland, are so hot that bread can be baked in the surrounding Earth!