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Distillations magazine

Unexpected Stories from Science’s Past

Hatching a Legend

Audubon and the Bird of Washington.

Read

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

People & Politics

A Tear Gas Tale

How the chemical agent made the transition from wartime weapon to domestic police tool.

Inventions & Discoveries

Women’s Work

The jogging craze of the 1970s required a change of equipment.

Health & Medicine

A Recipe for Good Health

John Harvey Kellogg’s Battle Creek Sanitarium was at the intersection of new ideas of religion, health, and nutrition.

Health & Medicine

A Killer of a Cure

For more than a century ozone therapy has been a source of false hope for the sick and ill-gotten gains for the crooked.

People & Politics

A Forgotten Star

A discovery by Indian scientist and statesman Meghnad Saha revealed the nature of stars.

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?