Distillations magazine

What happens when an earth-shattering discovery runs up against the scientifically impossible?

A fighter pilot’s tragic flight into a nuclear explosion leads to the discovery of two elements.

In the 1960s RCA created the world’s first liquid-crystal displays. How did the company fail to cash in on one of the modern world’s most ubiquitous technologies?

In the 1920s a pioneering journalist summoned the might of American women to revive a Nobelist’s career.

New forensics techniques are allowing researchers to solve historical mysteries based on the small traces we leave on everyday objects.

In the 1980s workers in an English peat bog started unearthing bodies, the apparent victims of violence.

Better photosynthesis, bomb-sniffing spinach, and that’s just the start of the ways plants are inspiring scientific innovation.

Distillations talks to the biochemist about the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, the tool’s promise, and dangers of its misuse.

Around the world a network of detectives searches for evidence of illicit nuclear activity. Is it enough to keep us safe from a nuclear catastrophe?

Lice can tell us a lot about who we are and where we came from.

A long-running genetics project in Siberia helps us understand how we made man’s best friend.

A historian of science goes searching for meaning in synthetic life.

A misunderstanding of hippo physiology gave rise to one of the most widespread and pointless practices in medical history.

Through fame, controversy, and peril Josiah Wedgwood and Joseph Priestley’s bond endured.

Can artificial intelligence help us decipher smell?

William Herschel had a conflicted relationship with his biggest creation.

Many tragic accidents have provided unexpectedly valuable information for scientists.

Is the mayonnaise substitute Just Mayo the future of food or just another product from the hype machine?