Artificial intelligence is fast becoming part of the furniture. A decade after IBM’s Watson[1] triumphed on “Jeopardy!,” generative AI models are in kitchens and home offices. People often talk about AI in science fiction terms, yet the most consequential change in 2025 may be its banal ubiquity.
To appreciate how ordinary AI use has...
People have been using flat, ribbonlike materials, such as reed strips, to make woven baskets[1] for thousands of years[2]. This weaving method has reemerged as a technique for engineers to create textile and fabric structures with complex geometry. While beautiful and intricate, these baskets can also be surprisingly strong.
Dinosaur “mummies” couldn’t have been further from my mind as I trudged up a grassy knoll on the Zerbst Ranch in east-central Wyoming, followed by University of Chicago undergraduates on a field trip linked to my “Dinosaur Science[1]” course.
As a university professor[2], I realized early that to understand paleontology, students would...
Imagine a sloth. You probably picture a medium-size, tree-dwelling creature[1] hanging from a branch. Today’s sloths – commonly featured on children’s backpacks, stationery and lunch boxes – are slow-moving creatures, living inconspicuously in Central American and South...