Black Architects’ History of “Immeasurable Impact” on New Orleans

“Before the Civil War,” Architectural Digest reports, “New Orleans had the largest group of free people of color in the United States.” Though they have largely been omitted from history books, this persevering, prosperous group of citizens contributed substantially to the architectural development and present-day identity of the city—influencing stucco Creole cottages and larger town houses, which are still visible. Today, the Free People of Color …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Mapping the universe, making tiles from discarded eggshells, learning from squids and more

“DESI” Will Attempt to Create The Most Detailed 3D Map of the Universe As part of an ambitious new survey of the cosmos, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will analyze light collected by the ultra-powerful Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. “DESI will record not only a galaxy’s light but also its spectrum,” according to Smithsonian Magazine, “by measuring how much light a given …

The Vital Role of Longfin Squids’ Giant Nerve Fibers to Neuroscience

In 2020, a group of scientists at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory used the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to disable a gene in the Doryteuthis squid (aka the longfin squid). This milestone comes after years of neuroscience developments derived from this particular underwater creature and its dual nerve fibers, called axons. Research on these axons has provided insight into everything from simple nerve signaling to the …