Forget traditional garden rows and Pinterest-perfect raised beds. A new wave of gardeners—fueled by the rise of “chaos gardening”—is embracing a freer, wilder approach. Culinary plants are breaking out of the vegetable patch and popping up in unexpected places: nestled in flower beds, tucked into sidewalk cracks, or spilling from upcycled containers. 

What is chaos gardening—and why is it so popular?

Chaos gardening is the ultimate plant-lover’s rebellion. It’s low-stakes, low-structure, and high-surprise—perfect for gardeners who crave creativity over control. By scattering seeds or tucking plants in overlooked spaces, growers often discover new, more sustainable ways to cultivate food.

It’s also a celebration of adaptability. Culinary plants like mint, thyme, and garlic can thrive in unique microclimates or unconventional containers. Mushrooms can grow on food scraps. And grain? That can thrive in your front yard.

Take it from Brie Arthur, a horticulturist and author who’s turned edible gardening into an aesthetic statement. “As an avid food grower, I love experimenting with unusual crops like fava beans, sesame, turmeric, and rice!” she says. “Grains are a fun and practical food crop to include in gardens and containers—they are beautiful, bountiful, and always spark conversation. Front yard wheat is my favorite, yielding over 20 lbs of flour that I use for baking.”

The case for culinary plants outside the garden box

Planting edibles outside traditional beds isn’t just unconventional—it’s often more effective. Herbs like basil, parsley, and nasturtium attract pollinators, while tucking garlic near ornamentals can reduce pest pressure. Hardscapes and…

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Trilobites were a diverse group of ancient marine arthropods. Many trilobites lived on the seafloor but some occupied open water. New research has resolved the evolutionary history of a bizarre group of trilobites called the cyclopygids, named after the mythical one-eyed monster Cyclops, as their eyes gradually merged into a single large visual surface as they evolved.

Trilobites were ancient aquatic creepy-crawlies (arthropods) that lived between 521 Million years ago (Ma) to 252 Ma.

Around 21,000 species are known and they occupied many ecological niches; most lived on the seafloor (benthic) but some lived in the open ocean (pelagic).

Despite their diversity, we know relatively little about their overall evolutionary history.

One bizarre group of mainly Ordovician (485 to 444 Ma) trilobites are called cyclopygids, with 5 to 7 body (thoracic) segments and no genal spines at the corners of their head (cephalon).

Cyclopygids are named after the (Greek) mythical Cyclops because their eyes merged into one large visual surface with a wide angle of view as they evolved.

Cyclopygids lived in the deep, dark parts of the ocean (mesopelagic) — swimming at the lower limit of the photic zone — the so-called Twilight Zone, actively hunting small animals (zooplankton).

Some cyclopygids, such as Pricyclopyge, probably swam upside down and had light emitting (bioluminescent) organs on their third thoracic segment.

New research has resolved the evolutionary history of 47 cyclopygid genera using cladistic analysis, a method that groups organisms based on their shared derived characteristics.

A family called the Taihungshaniidae, mostly known from China, are basal to the families Nileidae and Cyclopygidae, the latter united by their enlarged (hypertrophied) eyes and include Illaenopsis, a supposed nileid.

As cyclopygids evolved they developed increased adaptations to a pelagic lifestyle, including larger eyes that gradually shifted to the edge of their cephalon, a…

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As the GOP works to complete its “big, beautiful bill,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) defended proposed work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

House Republicans have been tasked with finding $880 billion in Medicaid savings over the next decade — a substantial hurdle for lawmakers beholden to voters, 76% of whom oppose cuts to Medicaid, according to a recent KFF poll. Rather than explicitly cutting services, the GOP is reportedly looking to save money with work requirements for “able-bodied adults” who receive Medicaid.

“The person we’re taking it away from is the able-bodied adult with no children who refuses to work,” Crenshaw told FOX Business. “By the way, if they would just get a job, they could keep their Medicaid.”

The proposal would require able-bodied adults to work or volunteer 20 hours each week to qualify for Medicaid coverage.

Crenshaw’s comments echo GOP messaging on the issue.

“For some people, the best way to get back on your feet is to get off your ass,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said in February.

House Speaker Mike Johnson described the work requirement as a way to, “Return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day.”

Housing Secretary Scott Turner also framed the reform as the restoration of dignity. “We’ve created welfare as a lifestyle in our country,” Turner said. “Able-bodied, able-minded people that are receiving HUD funding should go to work and restore dignity.”

While the GOP insists work requirements are not benefit cuts, research has suggested otherwise.

In Arkansas, where Medicaid work requirements were implemented between June 2018 and March 2019 before a federal court deemed the program unlawful, more than 18,000 people lost coverage. Among those who lost…

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The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog
Carly Anne York
Basic Books, $30

What’s the purpose of your study? It’s the question many basic-science researchers dread. And it’s the question that Carly Anne York received about 10 years ago from a fellow volunteer at the Virginia Zoo. At the time, York was a Ph.D. student studying squid biomechanics. When the volunteer, a retired army officer, probed why taxpayer dollars should be spent on what he called “silly science,” all York could do was mutter about the inherent value of knowledge.

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In World First, Baby Receives Personalized CRISPR Gene-Editing Treatment

By Heidi Ledford & Nature magazine

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A spacefaring people needs more than rockets and stations. No civilization has ever been built on technical capability alone. It needs people who choose to remain and pursue life beyond Earth’s orbit. It is culture — rooted in beauty, repetition and meaning — that turns infrastructure into home. Without it, space will remain a sterile domain — often visited but never inhabited.

Private firms now lead the charge into orbit, the moon, and beyond. Their visions are ambitious: tourism, manufacturing — even settlement. But such ambitions require demand that persists beyond novelty. And demand will not endure unless space becomes desirable not only for its wonder but for its way of life. If the space economy is to grow, then space must become livable. Not in the sense of breathable air and safe shelter, but in the deeper sense of belonging. 

Culture creates that.

Among all the tools of culture, cuisine stands apart. Food enters daily life more reliably than literature or fashion. It is repeated, remembered and shared. It forms rituals without command and pleasures without instruction. Cuisine gives texture to identity and dignity to survival. Where language fails or art divides, a well-prepared meal unites.

Yet space food today remains trapped in the language of science fiction and novelty, such as freeze-dried ice cream. This must change. For space to feel lived-in, space cuisine must be elevated to the level of art. It must evoke tradition, comfort and meaning — without losing sight of the frontier’s constraints. If we are to remain in space, we must prepare meals, not rations.

Let the first meal be worth remembering.

The economics of space: why demand must be cultural

Establishing the culture of space is essential if humanity is ever to live beyond Earth. Space firms offering crewed, tourism, and eventually off-world ferry launch services cannot survive on prestige alone. To become and remain commercially viable, they must attain economies of scale,…

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Ways To Cope When Your Child Gets A Life-Altering Diagnosis

By Beth S. Russell

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Cicadidae is one of the most species-rich insect families today. However, compared to the number of living species, fossil records of Cicadidae are extremely limited. The newly-discovered species, Eoplatypleura messelensis, not only represents one of the earliest known Cicadidae fossil from the Eurasian continent, but also the oldest confirmed record of the subfamily Cicadinae worldwide to date.

Eoplatypleura messelensis lived in Europe approximately 47 million years ago (Eocene epoch).

“The family of true cicadas (Cicadidae) is one of the most species-rich insect groups today,” said Dr. Sonja Wedmann, a paleontologist at the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt/Main.

“Nevertheless, there are only very few fossil finds compared to the large number of modern species.”

“Within this family, the Platypleurini group is particularly striking — it has a wide distribution and contains many different species with special characteristics.”

“For the first time, we have now described a fossil from this group of cicadas.”

Two fossil specimens of Eoplatypleura messelensis were found at the Messel Pit, an oil shale open-cast mine that lies 10 km northeast of Darmstadt in the German state of Hesse.

“The new Messel fossil is characterized by a compact head with inconspicuous compound eyes and broad forewings with a noticeably curved leading edge,” said Dr. Hui Jiang, a paleontologist at the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt/Main, Charles University, the Universität Bonn and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology.

“Although the fossil is a female, its classification suggests that males of this group were capable of producing loud mating calls.”

The ancient insect had a body length of 2.65 cm and a wingspan of 6.82 cm, and is notable for its expansive and strikingly patterned wings.

“These patterns are similar to those of modern cicada species of the Platypleurini group, which live in woods and…

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