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We are discovering that the subtleties of our psychological lives are being managed by specific modules in our brains.

Does money, even when borrowed, make us happier – or does the state of owing money add to our dissatisfaction and stress?

New research from the American Psychological Association states that money doesn’t affect if you’re happy, but does influence how you find happiness. 

Even though we’ve never seen them, here’s what we already know. “Suddenly whole new programs open up, things you can do that you could never do before. It’d be great scientifically, […]

We’ve all heard the line “free will is an illusion”. But it may be much more an allusion—to society and culture and our surroundings—than we’ve ever given it credit for.

Knowing how fat responds to when we eat could lead to better weight loss programs.

When a ‘Rick and Morty’ fan recently tweeted at Dan Harmon asking how to deal with depression, it didn’t take him long to reply.

From striking women with goat’s skin to showering them with chocolates and flowers, here is how Valentine’s Day became the holiday we know today.   

If nothing can escape from beneath the event horizon, where do these phenomena come from? The most important feature of a black hole is that it has an event horizon: a […]

Today, our visible Universe contains 2 trillion galaxies, each with billions of stars. But when did the very first one appear? When we look out at our Universe today, there are […]

There are only two perfect numbers that fit on the calendar: 6 and 28, making June 28th Perfect Number Day. Find out what makes a number perfect, and why they matter. […]

The rise of driverless cars will save lives, time, and spark a $7 Trillion “Passenger Economy.” But it will also destroy jobs. What should we do?

Is it better to have the harm of 100 sexual assaults than the harm of one false conviction?

What’s the secret language of depression? 

Scientists have discovered an endless energy supply in the naturally occurring Brownian motion of graphene.

In her enlightening new book, Blue Dreams, Lauren Slater covers the history of psychotropic drugs.

There’s a big reason no one, not even Stephen Hawking, could fill Carl Sagan’s shoes. Everyone has a unique story to tell. For scientists, that story is one that usually only […]

In The Road to Character, David Brooks argues that our moral vocabulary is severely lacking.

Breakthrough gene therapy allows doctors to replace 80% of an epidermolysis bullosa patient’s skin.

Here are some of the best books on the rich history, rabid speculations and intriguing fictionalized world of artificial intelligence.

Are we looking for life in all the wrong ways, like SETI with smoke signals? A little over 80 years ago, humanity first began broadcasting radio and television signals with enough […]

Most stars obey very similar rules, making them almost entirely predictable. But then, there are the weirdos. Catch this live-blog event to learn more. When we look out at the Universe […]

Where gravity comes from has been an utter mystery. String theory offers an explanation. 

“Enforcing language norms is a way of enforcing power structures.”

The ingredients for life are everywhere, but so far the only life we know of comes from Earth. Here’s how that might change. Ever since human beings first turned our eyes […]

Once a lucrative exercise anyone could do, bitcoin mining has grown out of control, and governments are weighing what to do.

Singer-songwriter Ryan O’Neal composes the songs of the cosmos.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, famous in part for using his scientific literacy to point out flaws in TV and movies, recently criticized the good and bad science behind HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Scientists feel under attack. This is how they’re fighting back.

Scientists are supposed to reach their conclusions after doing research and weighing the evidence but, in economics, conclusions can come first, with economists supporting a thesis that fits their moral worldview.