modern notion

Feature stories from a website devoted to the ultra curious. 

The ingenious and unprecedented Legal strategy to save peru's rainforests 

The Sierra del Divisor is a piece of land that has been drifting in a conservational “no man’s land” for years. Despite overwhelming international support to officially declare Sierra del Divisor a national park, including advocacy from pop culture icons and even a tweet of support from Michael Bloomberg, progress has been stagnant; the legislation to make that happen has been sitting on President Ollanta Humala desk for months...

Is crowdfunding the way to save science?

With government grants at their lowest since World War II, the race for scientific funding has grown more competitive than ever. Bills like the 21st Century Cures Act, legislation that aims to pour an extra $1.75 billion a year for the next five years into medical research, hope to change this reality. In the meantime, scientists worry about an impending intellectual recession...

Will china's illegitimate Heihaizi children ever have rights?

In October, China startled the world when officials announced the end of its notorious one-child policy. Since its inception 35 years ago, the government has strictly enforced the legislation with horrific tales of state-enforced abortions, sterilizations and even infanticide. The recent announcement may be good news, but it does nothing to legitimize the millions of heihaizi, the illegal “black children,” born to families despite the one-child policy...