Topics
Science & Tech
How Space Travel Can Kill You
Astronaut
Before humans can spend long periods of time in space, scientists need to find a way to solve the many health problems that astronauts face, including bone and muscle loss.
-
The illusion that time moves and is distinct from space is one of our deepest misconceptions about the natural world. Watch
-
The “Hedonizing Technologies” author wouldn’t bet against it. Ironing, she says, is already a sport. Watch
-
The Next Digital Technology: Us
Twenty years after predicting the “Negroponte switch” between wired and wireless technologies, Nicholas Negroponte describes another advance that will soon seem inevitable: the convergence of “biology and silicone.” Watch
Related Blogs
The Voice of Big Think
February 9, 2010 — 12:27 AM
Who're You Calling a Dumb Ape?
The capuchin monkeys that Dr. Laurie Santos and her research team work with are "clever—sometimes more clever than we are." Not only do they sometimes get the better of humans, they also yield a font of insights into the evolutionary origins of human psychological phenomena—including, as the Yale psychologist explains in her Big Think interview, the loss aversion and greed that caused the global financial meltdown. Read more
Mind Matters
February 5, 2010 — 11:23 AM
Black Swans, Male Strippers and Uncertainty
"This too, shall pass." Folk tales say this was engraved on a ring given to King Solomon, who had demanded a gift that would make him sad when he was happy, and happy when he was sad. I recall it whenever I'm confronted with the claim that history has a positive direction--that, by and large, we're progressing toward a more peaceful, just and prosperous future. And conversely, too, when I hear someone say we're on an inevitable path of decline and doom. Read more
Latest Ideas
Who're You Calling a Dumb Ape?
The capuchin monkeys that Dr. Laurie Santos and her research team work with are "clever—sometimes more clever than we are." Not only do they sometimes get the better of humans, they also yield a font of insights into the evolutionary origins of human psychological phenomena—including, as the Yale psychologist explains in her Big Think interview, the loss aversion and greed that caused the global financial meltdown. Read More
February 9, 2010
There’s a reason why the subtle trivialities of office life have long been a springboard for some of our most absurd humor: much of our day-to-day duties are arbitrary, unnecessary, yet seem to linger on in almost every profession. As today’s guest and co-founder of 37signals, Jason Fried, explains, we may have finally reached a point where we have the tools and incentives to actually move past the stifling pettiness of cubicle-culture and develop work spaces that are not only more human but also produce results. Read More
February 3, 2010
Is the Recession Giving Earth a Break?
The lower manufacturing output associated with the recession has had a tiny curbing effect on global CO2 emissions, buying us a tiny amount of extra time in which to address the climate crisis. That's the good news, says paleontologist and extinction expert Peter Ward. The bad news is that severe climate change is happening anyway, and its likely impact keeps him awake at night. Read More
February 1, 2010
The idea that “going back to nature” will solve the climate crisis is a dangerous misconception. Read More
February 1, 2010
Peter Ward explains how the scientific community can improve its dismal public outreach—and why he believes the problem of women in science is solving itself. Read More
February 1, 2010
Our inability to detect other life in the universe may stem from interstellar communication problems. Then again, it may be because Earth evolution is “like Mr. Bean.” Read More
February 1, 2010
The Oddest Little Planet in the Galaxy?
Why Earth may be exceptional, and life exceptionally rare in the universe. Read More
February 1, 2010
Big Think Interview With Peter Ward
An interview with the biologist and paleontologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. Read More
February 1, 2010
Big Think Interview With Kate Pickett
A conversation with the University of York Epidemiologist Read More
January 28, 2010
Parasites in the brain. Flu viruses in the human genome. Manmade species of e coli. Carl Zimmer, a science writer and lecturer who has lent his name to a species of tapeworm, isn't afraid to venture into the creepier, crawlier domains of science, as his Big Think interview proved. Read More
January 25, 2010
Daily Ideafeed
-
Tech Chronicles
Malicious Comments -
A staggering 95% of user-generated content for the second half of last year was “malicious,” according to a report from security film Websense.
February 9, 2010
-
Healthy Ale
Beer Bones -
Beer drinkers are toasting a new study which suggests that beer is good for your bones as it is rich in silicon and may help prevent osteoporosis.
February 9, 2010
-
Enceladus
Body of Water -
There now seems “little doubt” that Saturn’s moon Enceladus holds a “large body of liquid water” beneath its icy surface after a probe returned yet more evidence.
February 9, 2010
-
Congo
“Capital of Killing” -
Congo has become the “world capital of rape, torture and mutilation” during the brutal war that has killed over 5.4m people and is still raging, writes The New York Times.
February 9, 2010
-
Remote Consciousness
Is Avatar Real? -
While "Avatar" remains science-fiction, the fundamental components behind the film's escapades continue to progress and already have practical uses in medicine.
February 7, 2010
-
Large Hadron Collider
Collider Delay -
After being plagued with technical problems, the partical collider meant to discover the origins of the universe will not run at full power for at least another three years.
February 6, 2010
-
NASA Space Shuttle
Shuttle Chute -
NASA's space shuttle will be retired after the International Space Station is completed next year leaving manned space missions mostly in Russia's hands.
February 6, 2010
-
Magellan and Drake
Macrobenthos -
A new study of creatures that dwell on the seabed, known as macrobenthos, of the Straits of Magellan and Drake is helping scientists understand the biodiversity and ecology of the region.
February 5, 2010
-
Saviour?
Missionaries Charged -
Ten American missionaries arrested in Haiti for trying to remove 33 children from the country in the aftermath of last month's earthquake were charged yesterday with child kidnapping.
February 5, 2010
-
Hubble
Pluto Up Close -
NASA scientists have taken extraordinary photographs of former planet Pluto thanks to the technology of the Hubble Space Telescope, which has captured the spectacular gold-colored sphere.
February 5, 2010
-
Evolution
Origins Of The... -
DNA tests on Origin of the Species author Charles Darwin's great grandson have revealed that the founder of evolution evolved from the first group of Homo sapiens to leave Africa.
February 5, 2010
-
Optical Computing
Germanium Laser -
Scientists at MIT have demonstrated the first laser that operates using the germanium element in a move that could bring us closer to optical computing.
February 5, 2010
-
Blades Turning
Choppy Move -
Taiwan is planning to sign a $111m deal in the next few days to buy 20 helicopters from a European manufacturer in a move which could provoke an angry response from China.
February 5, 2010
-
Morbidly Obese
Missing Genes -
Some morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA according to new research, which conjectures that such genetic problems could actually cause a propensity to obesity.
February 4, 2010
-
Thinking Patients
“Vegetative” Talking -
Patients left in a “vegetative” state after suffering serious brain injury may still be able to understand and communicate according to groundbreaking new research.
February 4, 2010
-
Neuroscientist
Guilty! -
A Pakistani neuroscientist who trained at an elite American university has been found guilty on two charges of attempted murder for trying to kill US agents in Afghanistan in 2008.
February 4, 2010
-
Premature Births
Guardian Angel? -
Mutation of the gene dubbed the “guardian angel” for its ability to protect the body from genetic instability leads to cellular changes responsible for triggering premature birth.
February 3, 2010
-
Concept Vehicle
Puffin Flight -
NASA has unveiled a prototype for a new kind of vehicle which could revolutionize the way we travel. The “Puffin” takes off like a helicopter, flies like a plane and sounds like a car.
February 2, 2010
-
Aafia Siddiqui
“Science Doesn’t Apply” -
Lawyers fighting the case for Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman charged with attempting to murder US soldiers and FBI agents, have said the “laws of science do not apply in her case”.
February 2, 2010
-
Love Leaf
Salad Days -
Single women eat salad because they use their food to signal their attractiveness to men, according to a scientist who observed 470 students at McMaster University, Ontario.
February 2, 2010
-
Glucose $
Sweet Salary -
A new study has revealed that people who have recently consumed a sugary drink are more successful at negotiating a pay rise that those who do so on an empty stomach.
February 1, 2010
-
iPad
Not Flashy! -
Audience members present at its launch have noticed something missing from Steve Jobs’ latest Apple offering – apparently the iPad touch screen notebook won’t play flash video.
February 1, 2010
-
Aging Industry
Nuclear Leaks -
Despite recasting itself as a green energy alternative, nuclear power is still mistrusted by many due to recent leaks of radioactive material at more than 20 US nuclear plants.
February 1, 2010
-
Genetic Engineering
Fake Forests -
The first genetically modified forest has been planted by timber companies in the southeast replacing native pine with eucalyptus.
January 30, 2010
-
Schizophrenia
An Infection? -
Schizophrenia has a significant environmental link and can be triggered in the womb by an infection, with the symptoms lying dormant for years, according to new research.
January 29, 2010