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Fairy Tales and Folklore
Contents
Step into the timeless realm of fairy tales and folklore, exploring their enduring power to preserve cultural knowledge through generations. From Indigenous legends revealing astronomical insights to classic tales like Cinderella and Aladdin, these narratives connect us to distant cultures and ancient wisdom. We also examine efforts to safeguard folklore, showing how these stories resist erasure and stand as acts of resistance against tyranny.

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Culture & Tradition

Tamales: Honoring Tradition and Resilience in Ecuadorian Cuisine

Popular throughout Central and South America, the tamal is a traditional dish made from ground corn filled with a variety of ingredients, wrapped in leaves, and steamed until cooked. Believed to have originated in Mesoamerica as far back as 8000 BC, the name tamal originates from the Aztec Nahuatl word meaning “to wrap.”
Artifacts & Tech

Resurrecting the Bull of Nimrud: 3D-Printing Defies Iconoclastic Destruction

It isn’t hard to see why the Assyrians considered the massive and monumental Bull of Nimrud sculpture to be a guardian deity. Towering at an awe-inspiring 16 feet tall, this stone carving featured an imposing supernatural creature known as the lamassu. Bearing the face of a man, the body of a bull, and the wings of a bird, scholars argue that these features represented intelligence, strength, and freedom.
Dr. Beth Shapiro, Chief Science Officer at Colossal Biosciences, and Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO. Source: Image courtesy of Colossal Biosciences
Origins

Colossal Biosciences Leads the Charge for De-Extinction

Amongst genetic engineering and de-extinction initiatives, Colossal Biosciences stands at the forefront. Recognized as one of the TIME100 most influential companies in 2023, it is a biotechnology company founded by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and geneticist George Church. Colossal focuses on using advanced genetic engineering techniques, notably CRISPR technology—a precise tool used by scientists to edit genes—to advance de-extinction efforts.

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