Nick Keppler

Joined: Jun 8, 2015

Nick Keppler is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Village Voice, Nerve, Vice, and Slate. When he’s not on his laptop, he’s probably kayaking on one of the city’s rivers with a Led Zeppelin track blaring through his earbuds.

Birds like this western meadowlark are singing earlier in the morning and later at night thanks to light pollution.

This may not give you the best reading of your body composition.

Overhead view of Pit 157 from Bergheim Saulager, showing a late Middle Neolithic violence-related bone collection analyzed in the study.

Sure, California seems obvious—but the others on the list might be surprising.

The soft vanilla or chocolate swirl, popularized by Dairy Queen and other franchises, just doesn’t meet strict government guidelines for ice cream. But it’s still delicious.

A household item that retails for less than $5 can provide a good first-line preventive measure against tick-borne illnesses.

Steven Spielberg took some poetic license in his shark-centric summer blockbuster.

In the summer of 1975, movie audiences learned all they ever wanted to know about bloodthirsty sharks from ‘Jaws.’ We asked shark scientists to set the record straight on Hollywood’s prodigious predator.

Ammonia from the birds’ guano can mix with other gases and form clouds, potentially cooling Earth’s surface and preserving Antarctic ice, a new study suggests.

NASA officially prohibits alcohol aboard its missions, but that didn’t stop some American astronauts from enjoying a wee nip with their Russian colleagues.

An American Huey helicopter sprays Agent Orange over Vietnam.

In a mission code-named Operation Ranch Hand, the U.S. military unleashed millions of gallons of the toxic defoliant during the Vietnam War—and some descendants of Vietnam veterans say they’re still paying the price.

If humans ever become a multi-planet species, some would have to spend years in space. And researchers have definitely speculated whether space travel would allow for reproduction.

Here’s what you need to know to keep yourself safe from the rodent-borne viral disease.

A fragment of the organic glass found inside the skull of the deceased individual in Herculaneum.

The Herculaneum resident, killed by the volcanic eruption in 79 CE, presents the only known vitrified brain on Earth. Now, researchers have a theory for how it happened.

These one-piece bathing suits, which are modeled after Star Trek: The Next Generation's Starfleet uniforms, are perfect for an afternoon in the Holodeck’s sauna program.

A detail of Edvard Munch’s ‘The Sick Child,’ a portrait of his sister who died of tuberculosis at age 15.

Tuberculosis may seem like a historic malady, but it’s still the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Here’s what you need to know about its past and current outbreaks.

Here's the scientifically backed way to make perfect hard-boiled eggs.

With the price of a dozen going through the roof, you may want to take more care in preparing hard-boiled eggs. Science is on the case.

Nick Keppler

Joined: Jun 8, 2015

Light Pollution Tricks Birds Into Singing Earlier in the Morning and Later at Night

Why Body Composition Scales Aren’t the Best Way to Measure Fitness

Smashed Skulls and Severed Limbs Suggest Stone Age Armies Brutalized Their Victims

The States Losing the Most Land to Wildfires, Mapped

Why Soft Serve Is Not Legally Ice Cream

This Simple Tool Can Help You Avoid the Tick-Borne Red Meat Allergy

Science vs. Hollywood: Shark Experts Separate ‘Jaws’ Fact from Fiction

Penguin Poop: The Latest Tool to Fight Climate Change

Can Astronauts Get Drunk in Space?

Agent Orange: Its Toxic History in the Vietnam War

Can We Have Babies in Space?

6 Essential Facts About Hantavirus

A Vesuvius Victim’s Brain Turned into Glass, and Scientists Think They Know How

Pool Party and Prosper With This Star Trek Swimsuit

12 Facts About Tuberculosis, the Victorian “Robber of Youth”

How to Cook a Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg, According to Science