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The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

The weirdest things we learned this week: Curing syphilis with malaria, ejecting bears from planes, and discovering new beer yeasts

Our editors scrounged up some truly bizarre facts.

By Rachel Feltman

Wildlife

These animals will self-amputate arms, legs, and even sex organs to survive

And for other weird reasons, too.

By Anna Brooks

Gear

Nikon is officially working on a full-frame mirrorless camera with a new lens mount

One of the world's biggest camera makers is crafting a whole new camera system.

By Stan Horaczek

Science

To understand fossils, scientists are baking their own

How to condense a 10,000 year cooking time into 24 hours.

By Erin Blakemore

Ask Us Anything

Why can’t I use my dog’s tick prevention medicine?

The treatment isn't toxic to us, but it still wouldn't work very well.

By Nicole Wetsman

Vaccines

A female Ebola survivor infected her family more than a year after she had the illness

A case study in how viruses are sneakier than we sometimes think.

By Neel V. Patel

Sharks

The U.S. protects alpha predators, but its most famous shark hunter isn’t out of business yet

Sportsmen like Mark the Shark adjust to the era of catch-and-release deep-sea fishing.

By Andrew Zaleski

Health

Why do paper cuts hurt so much?

The injury itself is minor, but the resulting pain and emotional response are not.

By Gabriel Neal/The Conversation

Animals

Dr. Seuss might have written the Lorax after seeing these creatures in Kenya

Seeing these mustachioed monkeys during an episode of writer’s block gave Theodor Seuss Geisel the inspiration he needed to write his memorable ecological fable.

By Kat Eschner

Moons

Evidence of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa could be just inches below the surface

Researchers might not have to dig as deep as they thought to find proof of biological activity.

By John Wenz

Electric Vehicles

Electric race cars will finally get through a race without recharging

A power boost for Formula E.

By Jeremy Deaton

Endangered Species

Here are 10 plants and animals that might have gone extinct without the Endangered Species Act

The administration has proposed changes to the popular law.

By Anna Brooks

Solar System

Neptune, Titan, Jupiter, and Pluto look gorgeous in these new photos

A good week for space photography

By Mary Beth Griggs

Social Media

Here’s what you can do if your social media post gets taken down

You can appeal when your social media content gets taken down, but you need to know where to look.

By Stan Horaczek

Laminated material environmentally responsive textile design

Engineering

This textile’s twitching tendrils hint at a future of programmable materials

Responsive environments. No robots needed.

By Eleanor Cummins

Health

The truth behind 8 common misconceptions about drugs

Your spine doesn't store LSD, and MDMA doesn’t put holes in your brain.

By Sara Chodosh

Life Skills

It’s surprisingly easy for your headphones to damage your hearing

Here's how to check.

By Whitson Gordon

Engineering

Termites are nature’s most amazing skyscraper engineers

Their towers even have central air.