–Guest Post by Declan Fahy, AoE Science & Culture correspondent. There is a scene in The Iron Lady when former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is asked by her doctor […]
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–Guest post by American University student Becca Stern. People are often scared of topics they do not understand, explain Matthew R. Hartings and Declan Fahy in their article “Communicating Chemistry […]
Conventional measures of economic performance, such as investment and productivity, are often skewed to favor short-term profits. Here is how capitalism can take a longer view.
How can you take soup cans seriously? Is it possible to make high art out of low brow bits from comic books? Critics and even fans of Pop Art have […]
A teacher friend of mine wrote me recently. She said that her school was working on bringing in iPads for grades six and seven next year and asked if I […]
Henry Rollins says that in these turbulent times, it’s more difficult and important than ever to live heroically.
Today I thought I would throw out a question for you to consider: Since people who are married appear to be happier and healthier than people who are single, do […]
–Guest post by Kathrina Maramba, American University graduate student. Recently, Dr. David Agus appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote his new book The End of Illness. “Why […]
Henry Rollins shares the DIY philosophy he learned from Abraham Lincoln and has always tried to follow.
The prediction goes like this: China will overtake the US first in real GDP, then in per-capita GDP. In other words, it will become the new America. Yet doubts persist about Chinese growth.
An economic report compiled by the Economist details how many years of economic growth have been lost due to the global recession. Greece has lost 12 years; France, 6; the US, 10.
When the World Bank presidency becomes vacant in July, the US should break with tradition and help appoint an economist and development expert to the post, says Jeffrey Sachs.
This weekend, I spoke at the University of North Dakota, courtesy of an invitation from FUND, the local SSA affiliate. Yes, there are atheists in North Dakota! For those who […]
Iceland, a small, rocky outpost in the North Atlantic and home to just over 318,000 people is not a country that easily makes international headlines. But back in the 1970s, […]
If it is not illegal for a devout Muslim to become the president of the United States, why are people so hell bent on trying to prove that President Obama […]
You already know where you stand on Holden Caulfield. Either you found him a kindred spirit in your youth and continue to sympathize with him—less blindly, more wistfully—as you age; […]
Since the rise of the positive psychology movement a decade ago, happiness has been all the rage. But is it something more than having a cheerful personality? And how do we get happiness?
Japanese scientists have uncovered that the body overcompensates for the drain of physical activity by pumping the brain full of glycogen, a carbohydrate that acts as an energy store.
Brooks offends our pride by reminding us that the American level of social spending is the same as Europe’s. The difference is the method. The Europeans use taxes to fund public […]
Despite the chorus of neuroscientists who say they are finally unraveling the mind’s mysteries, do we understand ourselves better as a clump of cells and a blur of electricity?
The Climate Reality Project has produced an online video short linking effectively for viewers the parallels between the tobacco industry’s attempts to lie and downplay the threat of smoking with […]
The study of brain chemistry is the latest doubt cast over the idea that humans have a free and independent will. Now, thinkers are poking holes in what was once an air-tight case.
The Oscars are tonight! But why do we care so much? Not everyone is a movie buff. More likely, we are drawn to the lives of celebrities because of an evolutionary drive for status.
The same psychological risk perception factors that influence how scary things feel to you and me impact politicians in the same way.
Doctors have successfully transplanted human windpipes grown in laboratories but vital organs, like hearts and kidneys, are much more complex. How far away is that technology?
The way we think of and treat cancer is rapidly changing thanks to falling gene sequencing prices, growing data about cancer genetics and new drugs targeting specific mutated genes.
A number of grocery companies are testing virtual storefronts which allow shoppers at bus stops and subway platforms to buy groceries with their smartphones. Do you dread the supermarket?
Scientists have discovered how to inhibit the activity of pain-sensitive neurons by using a chemical compound that works like a photosensitive switch, turning pain off when exposed to light.
Companies are beginning to capitalize on the computing power of your smartphone to create new medical instruments—hardware and software—transforming the way we understand medicine.
Why do skeptics bother to debunk quackery if the rational adult who chooses to use these unverified methods harms no-one but himself?