Science
August 18, 2017

100-Million-Year-Old Flowers Discovered Perfectly Preserved in Amber

Myanmar is known for its abundance of amber fossils, everything from dinosaur tail feathers to a 100-million-year-old baby bird have recently been discovered, encased in the fossilized tree resin. And now, thanks to researchers from Oregon State University, we know much more about seven, 100-million-year-old flowers that were discovered in amber from Myanmar. The minute flowers, which measure just 3.4 to 5 millimeters, were most likely dislodged from a tree by a dinosaur during the Cretaceous period.

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News
August 17, 2017

Yayoi Kusama Announces She’s Opening Her Own Museum in Tokyo

Celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is set to open her own museum in October 2017. The prolific artist, most well-known for her Mirror Room installations, recently announced without warning that the new Yayoi Kusama museum would open in Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood. A website for the museum is now online, stating that the first exhibition will be Creation Is a Solitary Pursuit, Love Is What Brings You Closer to Art.

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Design
August 16, 2017

91 Vintage Book Covers Brought to Life with Mesmerizing Animations

Digital artist Henning M. Lederer brings vintage book cover design to life through his ambitious ongoing animation project. The endeavor transforms science-themed textbooks from the mid-20th century and sets them into mesmerizing motion. Their imagery is abstract—comprising mostly of bold colors, geometric shapes, and easily-recognizable symbols—making them the perfect candidate for this type of treatment.

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Nature
August 15, 2017

Trees with “Crown Shyness” Mysteriously Avoid Touching Each Other

If you look up toward certain types of towering trees—including eucalyptus, Sitka spruce, and Japanese larch—you may notice a unique phenomenon: the uppermost branches don't touch. Known as “crown shyness,” this natural occurrence results in rupture-like patterns in the forest canopy that seem to perfectly outline the trees' striking silhouettes. Since scientists first started studying the topic in the 1920s, crown shyness has been observed between trees of the same and different species in locations across the globe.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.