Today is November 13, 2010, meaning it has been 25 years since the tragic lahar that killed over 23,000 people (video, graphic at times) in Armero, Colombia. This lahar was generated […]
All Articles
In guest post today, David Ropeik, author of “How Risky Is It,” takes a critical look at President Obama’s assertion in the days leading up to the election that many […]
Novelist Margaret Atwood recently shared her vision of the future where more and more people flock to cities despite the substandard quality of life they offer.
New evidence from a Texas capital punishment case demonstrates the death penalty was unjustly applied. It is the first such case ever against the death penalty.
“Do the billions of non-neuronal cells in the brain send messages of their own?” Nature’s Kerri Smith reports on a change in our understanding of the brain decades in the making.
“China holds all those dollars while the US holds the key to what they will be worth. It is a Mexican stand-off in which we could all be hurt.” The Guardian reports.
“Google TV may change the boob tube forever. But does the Internet really make for must-see TV?” Kevin Sintumuang writes a love letter to his television set.
Recent studies suggest that we derive more satisfaction from things we create ourselves. Known as the Ikea Effect, it could also explain American obesity, says Jonah Lehrer.
The world’s largest virtual real-estate deal took place this week on Second Life, a virtual world where people spend real money. The fictitious property went for $335,000.
Creating clean energy jobs is the wrong way to undo the recession, says Forbes’ Mark Mills. Today’s energy infrastructure represents a minor section of the American economy.
Religious families tend to have more children than atheist ones. From an evolutionary standpoint, this suggests belief in God is better suited to survival, says Phillip Longman.
Will Facebook’s plan to give its users @facebook.com email accounts rival Google’s Gmail? Tech Crunch thinks Facebook could do a better job at organizing the inbox.
Last week, Big Think blogger Frank Jacobs featured “The United States of Movies,” on his blog Strange Maps. The map, originally posted Reddit, assigned a movie to every U.S. state […]
Over at Mother Jones, Kevin Drum has nailed the real problem with the deficit-cutting ideas floated the other day by the the co-chairs of President Obama’s Commission of Fiscal Responsibility […]
Every year, millions of girls and women in the developing world miss up to 50 school and work because they are menstruating and lack access to the proper sanitary products, […]
For politicians, the election cycle never ends. Now that the 2010 midterms are over—or almost—it’s time to start thinking about 2012. Two years from now the real prize, the presidency, […]
We’ve made it through another week! Some news to round it out. Bulusan: The Philippine volcano continues to produce ash plumes, but PHIVOLCS announced that none of the ash sampled […]
In 2008, 41,269 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with HIV, an increase of 8% from only three years earlier. Known infections make up only 75% of total infections, leaving […]
Much of the privacy that so many of us cherish has been an economic fluke. Tracking technology has spun far out of control but the privacy problem is really one of our own making.
A study said to shake psychology’s foundations finds that daydreaming is rarely helpful. Furthermore, it challenges the idea that the mind responds to a stimulus out in the world.
It will take a revived patriotism to motivate Americans to do what needs to be done. …How can you love your country if you hate the other half of it?
Spiegel interprets envy and egotism at this year’s G-20 summit as a sign the days of close cooperation among the world’s big 20 economic powers may have ended.
“The ‘laws of war’ may sound like an antiquated concept in this age of robo-weapons. But, in truth, a clear international legal regime has never been more needed.”
It’s that other material — the truly vile and illegal stuff, hidden from public view — that represents the true threat to the fabric of decent society.
I secretly wish Obama was only human. As much as I admire his adult behavior, it would be understandable if he stood up to the bullies on the right.
Conceptions of even such fundamental domains as time can differ dramatically across cultures. In a remote Australian Aboriginal community, time is arranged in terms of east to west.
How have advertising’s highly-paid creatives and suits reacted to a highly-successful coffee ad featuring Al Pacino that left them completely out of the loop? Read for yourself here.
Does your sperm have oddly shaped or multiple heads? A breakthrough in fertility treatment magnifies sperm 18 times larger than seen before and eliminates DNA-damaged sperm.
“I’ll be your mirror,” The Velvet Underground sang in the song of the same name, “Reflect what you are, in case you don’t know.” In The Moment of Caravaggio, Michael […]
Talking Points Memo flags a headline today that captures some of what’s wrong with American politics. The headline, from George Stephanopoulos’ blog on ABC, reads, “Sen. Conrad: Extend All Tax […]