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Distillations magazine

Unexpected Stories from Science’s Past

Of Mummies, Moss, and Magic

A conversation on the weapon salve, a sensational cure.

Read

Distillations articles reveal science’s powerful influence on our lives, past and present.

Inventions & Discoveries

Hacking Humans

Dissatisfied with the limitations of the human body, some people are modifying themselves with electronic compasses and magnetic implants.

People & Politics

Waging War on Immigration and Science

Remembering a Holocaust survivor, immigrant, and inventor.

Environment

Beyond Silent Spring: An Alternate History of DDT

Our histories of the infamous chemical often conflict with the facts.

Inventions & Discoveries

Winning Skin

A novel swimsuit reveals that faster isn’t necessarily better.

Inventions & Discoveries

Left Behind

In the early 19th century, Humphry Davy was a scientific superstar, but then science and the world around him changed.

Environment

Can Biotech Save the Rhino?

Or will it speed the animal’s demise?

Arts & Culture

The Third Sense

A Hollywood impresario tries to make his mark on the movie business.

Inventions & Discoveries

High Times

When does self-experimentation cross the line?

Health & Medicine

Chemical Hope

A molecule used in antifreeze may one day heal damaged spinal cords.

Arts & Culture

The Art Detective

How do art historians know who painted a work of art and when it was painted?

Early Science & Alchemy

The Language of Alchemy

Alchemists once wrote of chaos, dragons, and spirits, but did they know more about chemistry than we give them credit for?

People & Politics

Food Fight

Filippo Marinetti thought he could change Italian society through its collective belly.

Arts & Culture

Richard Hamilton’s Plastic Problem

Pop artists set themselves apart by addressing throwaway culture. But how could they make the disposable last?

Environment

The Flavor of Smog

In the 1940s two chemists joined forces to fight Los Angeles’s stinky, stinging air.

People & Politics

Large and in Charge

Ernest Lawrence championed the idea of science done collectively. But he failed to champion his own scientists during the Red Scare.

Environment

Imagining a Postcarbon Future

How do we think about a world that doesn’t yet exist?

Inventions & Discoveries

The Frontiersman

In Silicon Valley’s renegade days, a hardheaded Texan chased dreams of a flying car.

Health & Medicine

The Filter of Life

A simple invention that saved lives and led to the discovery of a hidden form of life.