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“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. They are the real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them.” Christopher Reeve would have been 62-years-old yesterday. Next month will mark the ten-year anniversary of his death.

“As a child I was taught that to tell the truth was often painful. As an adult I have learned that not to tell the truth is more painful, and that the fear of telling the truth — whatever the truth may be — that fear is the most painful sensation of a moral life.”

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a prolific science fiction writer and biochemist. During his lifetime, Asimov authored or edited over 500 books and served as president of the American Humanist Association. […]

The Universe contains black holes billions of times as massive as our Sun. “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you […]

What would happen if you pulled a tiny chunk out of a neutron star? “Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up… […]

And if so, how does Einstein’s relativity — both special and general — cope? “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” -Mario Andretti The end of the week means another dip […]

The massive damage humans have done to the natural world has provoked a backlash that could be just as dangerous, or more. There is a growing global rejection of technology and almost anything human-made in favor of whatever is more ‘natural’. But a simplistic rejection of modern technologies eliminates many of our best options for solving the problems we’ve created.

How would you tell the story of our Universe to an 8-to-10 year old? “To begin, begin.” –William Wordsworth The Big Bang is maybe the greatest scientific achievement of the […]

While advanced math and Shakespeare combine to make a nightmare curriculum for some students, for artist Man Ray, one of the most intriguing minds of 20th century art, they were “such stuff as dreams are made on,” or at least art could be made from. A new exhibition at The Phillips Collection reunites the objects and photographs with the suite of paintings they inspired Man Ray to create and title Shakespearean Equations. Man Ray—Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare traces the artist’s travels between disciplines, between war-torn continents, and between media that became not only a journey from arithmetic to the Bard, but also a journey of artistic self-discovery.

It’s only a matter of time before another star has a close encounter with our Solar System. How long do we have? “From an incandescent mass we have originated, and […]

If everything began with a Big Bang and is expanding, is there a center? “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out […]

It’s not a surprise that making the most out of your college investment means choosing an optimal field of study. What may be surprising is that smoe seemingly successful majors don’t actually pay that well.

Not only are supercomputers able to perform research at a quicker pace than scientists, their processes offer a unique approach to culling information. Because of this, supercomputers are capable of making discoveries that scientists can’t. 

You have two choices when raising your kids in the internet age: shield them from the online bad or actively prepare them to be good e-citizens. While the former is easier and feels more safe, the latter will better serve the child through adulthood.

The quantum nature of the Universe ruins everything. “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” –Werner Heisenberg When you think about the […]

Can we pack the entire human race into Missouri, the “Show Me” state? We might as well try, because when it comes to making important decisions, we humans have a […]

On October 3, 1948, at 3:50 pm, Peter Blume finished his epic painting, years in the making, titled The Rock (shown above). “After a turbulent decade in which Peter Blume embarked on false starts, endured debilitating anxiety, experienced self-doubt, and found his faith in the creative process renewed,” Robert Cozzolino writes in the catalog to the new exhibition Peter Blume: Nature and Metamorphosis, finishing The Rock must have been a great relief. Blume recorded that date and time the way many record the birth of their children, for The Rock was his precious baby, but completing it marked a rebirth of sorts for Blume as a different kind of artist. Shaped by political and artistic currents of the first half of the 20th century, Blume emerges as a difficult to categorize artist, but also as a fascinating visionary who struggled to paint a personal reality clinging to the foundation of hope.

Do you know all of them, and what makes them so bright? Image credit: source unknown, but it contains #7 and #9 on the list, via http://st.gdefon.com/wallpapers_original/wallpapers/428170_orion_yupiter_betelgejze_rigel_aldebaran_pleyady_y_7408x4602_(www.GdeFon.ru).jpg. “I’m hungry for […]

As the Hubble Space Telescope nears its 25th anniversary, it never stops amazing us. “That I learned even as a three year-old that I see this world that is really […]

If something went horribly wrong, could you possibly return to Earth? Image credit: ISRO. “I sometimes catch myself looking up at the Moon, remembering the changes of fortune in our […]

A new gadget called the pd.id detects date rape drugs that may have been slipped inconspiculously into an unattended drink. The devices are battery powered and can be used repeatedly.

Violence against women continues to be a serious problem. Recent statistics indicate that around 35% of women have experienced violence in their lifetimes. That’s over a third of women worldwide. […]

Originating out beyond Neptune, thousands of world originate. Who’s the largest? It’s not who you expect, Pluto-lovers! “It is not when truth is dirty, but when it is shallow, that […]

What Are the Chances? Cornwall-shaped Lightning Hits Cornwall

Ramadan, the Islamic calendar’s month of fasting, begins Saturday evening. This presents a challenge to the many Muslim athletes competing worldwide, most notably in the World Cup.

While 2015 gives us all a fresh start, we can consider the Big Bang until today to be “One Universe Year.” What comes next? “And now we welcome the new […]

From asteroids to planets to stars and more, doubling what you’ve got can be disastrous! “Art has a double face, of expression and illusion, just like science has a double […]

And the undeniable physics of how fusion actually works. Image credit: The FIRE Place, via http://fire.pppl.gov/. “Between cold fusion and respectable science there is virtually no communication at all. …because the […]

We’re complex beings. No one denies that. However, there are also some basic laws that explain much of our behavior. One of those laws is reinforcement: specific behaviors that we’re […]

How a fundamental but unstable particle might be our first window into particle physics beyond the Standard Model. Image credit: Muon g-2 magnet, courtesy of Fermilab. “You suddenly realize that […]