Ruby Beauties

A Picker’s Guide to Oregon’s Strawberry Varieties

Hoods aren’t the only berry in town.

05/20/2025 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden Illustrations by Mark Wang

Oregon Trails

8 Geologic Wonders of Oregon

Caves to canyons to cracks in the ground, our state rocks.

04/22/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson Illustrations by Jordan Kay

onstage

5 Standouts from the TEDxPortland 2025 Lineup

Soccer star Christine Sinclair, a psychedelic psychotherapist, and a Laika animator are billed for the local TED offshoot.

04/21/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Fact Check

What Is Contrast Therapy and Does It Work?

Advocates say alternating between hot saunas and cold plunges can have major wellness benefits. The research is a little more complicated.

11/05/2024 By Erin Ross Illustrations by Derek Abella

Sexually Implicit

Porn Is Everywhere. Why Has School Sex Ed Mostly Ignored It?

Even Oregon’s progressive health curriculum has struggled to address sexually explicit media, but it’s about to join the conversation in middle and high schools.

08/26/2024 By Ellee Thalheimer Illustrations by Matt Chase

Lingua Franca

Portland Artist Sidony O’Neal Mines Math and Art for Connective Tissue

What can mathematical proofs, linguistics, and swimming pool ladders teach us about each other?

08/13/2024 Photography by Jason Hill By Matthew Trueherz

SMOKE OUT

Wine Taste Like Cigars? New Coatings May Save Grapes from Smoke

Scientists sprang into action after wildfire smoke tainted many 2020 harvests.

02/07/2024 By Rebecca Jacobson

Saving the World

This Is Oregon Scientists' Plan to Save the World

The radical proposal of Oregon State University researchers aims to avoid climate change via greater biodiversity and more forestlands—and a no-growth economy.

01/20/2024 By Zoe Sayler

Psychology

Scientists Discover the Portland Personality

Our city is low on one critical trait, and it explains everything.

11/01/2023 By Arianne Cohen Illustrations by Chris Gash

Buzz Off

Why Are Mosquitoes Swarming Portland? For Starters, the County Didn’t Spray.

Mosquito populations are up fivefold this summer—and Multnomah County is giving out free mosquito fish to help limit their spread.

06/14/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Nature

Multnomah County Is Facing Its Largest Mosquito Outbreak since 2010

And ecologists say the worst is yet to come. Gulp.

07/13/2022 By Julia Silverman

Agribusiness

Down on Dairy? From Almond to Soy to Hazelnut, a Closer Look at the Options for Milk Alternatives

Nut milk won’t save us, either.

06/10/2022 By Michelle Harris

Agribusiness

Big Dairy, Long a Power Player in Oregon, Faces a Climate Change Crossroads

And an upstart new player claims it’s blazing a better path forward: carbon-neutral milk that does a planet good.

06/10/2022 By Ramona DeNies

Mammalia

Last of the Big Ones

Oregon researchers are on the trail of the elusive Hubbs’s beaked whale.

03/22/2022 By Cami Hughes

What to Do

4 New Oregon Museum Exhibits Focusing on History and the Environment

From exploring snow’s impact on the environment to unpacking immigrant stories of survival, these new exhibits will entertain and educate.

02/04/2022 By Gabriel Granillo

Climate Change

This Portland-Based Company Wants to Make Your Milk Carbon Neutral

Bill Gates and Mark Cuban are big fans.

11/03/2021 By Julia Silverman

Science

Look Up, Look Down, All Around—Hey, (It's an Oregon) Satellite

Students at Portland State University are making history by launching the first-ever made-in-Oregon satellite.

10/18/2021 By Karly Quadros

Look Up

The Northern Lights Put On A Show Over Oregon This Week

Unfortunately, it’s over. But sky-watchers should take heart: Sightings of the aurora borealis may be getting more frequent here in the next few years.

10/12/2021 By Julia Silverman

Astronomy

Once in a Blue Moon: Where to Stargaze Around Portland

Bring a blanket and some binoculars, but leave your phone at home to see the stars.

07/22/2021 By Cami Hughes

Footnotes

LISTEN: How to Recognize and Recover from Burnout

OSU professor Regan Gurung helps us break down what exactly burnout is, how to recognize it, and how we—as employees and employers—can prevent it and recover from it.

07/09/2021 By Gabriel Granillo