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On TV, Neil deGrasse Tyson uses narrative to dramatize the importance of basic research.Last week in San Diego, I participated on a panel at the BIO 2008 meetings that focused […]

What is the structure of a caldera ... and if Yellowstone's magma was making its way to the surface, what might we expect to see as harbingers of eruption?

Like atoms in a molecule, we’re all linked together. Studying the complex matrix that results can illuminate everything from bucket brigades to Bernie Madoff.

According to a new study by scientists at the Astromaterials Research Science Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, “Mud volcanoes themselves are an indicator of a fluid-rich subsurface, and they […]

Standardized tests are supposed to measure innate abilities. The subject of your last conversation, the lead story on the news last night, the pictures on the wall at the test […]

The potential for psychiatry to pathologize normal human behavior is under the spotlight during the ongoing revision of an official list of mental disorders.

Penn Jillette visited Big Think and talked about his early conversion to atheism, his libertarian views, the unique chemistry between him and Teller, the history (and the future) of magic,  […]

Albert Einstein once said something very profound. He said the Universe could have been chaotic, random and ugly—and yet we have this gorgeous synthesis at the origin of the Universe […]

"Progress without pollution may sound utterly unrealistic, but businesses are putting green chemistry into practice," by using more ecologically benign chemicals, writes Scientific American.

Simply paying attention can do a lot to improve recollection, but scientists are also working on a wide variety of memory-boosting drugs.

“If I wanted to sponsor a bill,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) asked, “and it said, ‘Americans, you have to eat three vegetables and three fruits every day,’ and I got […]

The Center for Inquiry has posted a list of its many Darwin Day events scheduled for locations across the country. For science enthusiasts, these events serve as an important ritual […]

In chemistry, a free radical is the name for an atom or group of atoms having at least one unpaired electron, thus making it unstable and highly reactive. From the […]

Scientists have found that the brains of problem gamblers react more intensely to "near misses" than those of casual gamblers—possibly spurring them on to play more.

Josh Ritter had an epiphany while studying organic chemistry in college: he was meant to be a musician, not a scientist.

If you want to rile up a biologist and have no pointed stick handy, try this: Tell her that chemistry or physics are “harder,” more fundamentally “sciencey” sciences than hers. […]

Dr. Jonathan Castro, coauthor of a recent Nature paper on the ascent of magma at Chaiten in Chile, fields questions from Eruptions readers.

Organic chemistry’s an intricate subject. Media chatter about wellness, though, is an action movie, where “good” molecules (like Omega-3 fatty acids) battle “bad” ones (like LDL cholesterol). If they could, […]

Every baby born today in the Western world has a life expectancy of about 100 years, which means it will be alive in 2110. It’s nearly impossible to forecast in […]

According to Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize Foundation, the cost of getting you and your spacesuit into orbit could soon be about $120. That would mean a price […]

The Vanderbilt anthropologist describes how ultimately chemistry might fade. But when that happens, compromises can keep a relationship going.

Bacon has been relegated to old-hat status, despite being the “apple of food nerds’ eye for so long.” Meanwhile, America’s old-time cured country ham tantalizes taste buds and is beating bacon.

Today’s installment of our series “The Future in Motion” features Joseph Sussman, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, and Douglas Malewicki, Aerospace engineer and inventor of the SkyTran.  The SkyTran is […]

Michael Moore is in a class by himself when it comes to generating news attention, advance publicity, and box office for his documentary films. For example, when I was in […]

This week’s installment of “The Future in Motion” features a clip from an interview with Dr. Nate Lewis, a chemistry professor at CalTech. He and his team are busy developing […]

This spring in the sophomore-level course I teach on “Communication and Society,” we spent several weeks examining the many ways that individuals and groups are using the internet to alter […]

If you look at the evolution of the automobile, you’ll notice that there have never been any radical changes. Will we see any in the near future? Director of Advanced […]

What if you could bid on a parking spot eBay-style? Let’s say you have an emergency doctors appointment; you might be willing to pay $50. But if you’re just meeting […]

Molecules cooled to less than a millionth degree Kelvin above absolute zero can still react chemically with one another despite the temperature causing near-negligible collision motion.

From parasites that alter our brain chemistry to a deadly organism decimating Sudan, the “Parasite Rex” author introduces the creatures that make themselves at home in our bodies.