Articles Archive

June 19, 2023

Carl Sagan famously said, “Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a Universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.” Our crossword today features the latest theories from top physicists about the Universe.

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Life

“Protosterol biota” may explain one mysterious gap in the evolution of complex life

Embark on a journey through one of the most profound ecological transitions in the history of complex life.

a large piece of meat flying through the air.

Health

New drug for fatty liver disease cuts fat by 65%

And it seems to work alongside popular weight-loss medications, like Ozempic.

a black and white drawing of a man being hugged by another man.

The Past

How Guy Fawkes got caught

The documents that convicted the infamous traitor were all kept in this unassuming leather pouch.

a couple of men standing next to each other in front of a plane.

The Past

For years, the media ignored the Wright brothers’ breakthrough flight. Why?

Pessimism reigned supreme.

Starts With A Bang

Starts With A Bang Podcast #94 – Dark energy and cosmic growth

In a far-reaching discovery with astrophysicist Karolina Garcia, we discuss what’s in the Universe and how it grew up.

a painting of a triangle with an eye in it.

The Present

Conspirituality: How New Age conspiracy theories threaten public health

A new online religion is spreading misinformation and phony products.

a red ball of blood on a white background.

Health

Precision nutrition: How certain diets can starve cancer cells

Cancer likes glucose. So take it away.

a painting of a landscape with mountains and rain.

The Well

Why the search for meaning is not a job for science — or religion

Unlock the paradoxes of life through poetic realism.

Strange Maps

What do King Charles III, the Pope, and Canadian Inuit have in common?

Meet the world’s largest landowners.

Neuropsych

Children can only form vague memories — until their brain undergoes this shift

New research shows that the transition from general to specific memories involves the maturation of inhibitory neurons in the hippocampus.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Is the proton stable or unstable?

If we waited long enough, would even protons themselves decay? The far future stability of the Universe depends on it.

a flock of birds flying through a cloudy sky.

Life

A shocking number of birds are in trouble

Rich data on the global state of our feathered friends presents plenty of bad news — but also some bright spots.

a painting of a man with a hammer in his hand.

Thinking

We are spectacularly bad at predicting the future. Ignore the AI hype and fear

Nobody actually knows what will come of AI. But we can console ourselves with the knowledge that nobody has ever really known anything about the future.

a group of people standing in a cave with smoke coming out of it.

13.8

Lifelike chemicals may hold the secret to the origin of life

Origin of life studies have always focused on a set of strict environments that could give rise to life. Ante-life opens new possibilities.

a painting of a man and a woman sitting on a bench.

The Future

If an AI-trained surgical robot kills a patient, who is to blame?

From cosmetic procedures to heart operations, the introduction of AI will create an ethical minefield.

a drawing of a man with his gut microbiome highlighted.

Health

How intestinal viruses could help you live to be 100

A secret to a long, healthy life may lie in the diversity of gut viruses, which can supercharge bacterial metabolism and resist disease.

Starts With A Bang

How “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” explains cosmic reionization

What do the dark recesses of the early Universe and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have in common? More than you could have ever hoped for.

a man standing in front of a blackboard with writing on it.

Neuropsych

The man who tried to redeem the world with logic

Walter Pitts rose from the streets to MIT, but couldn’t escape himself.

a computer generated image of a speaker and a box.

13.8

The two roads to quantum gravity

How are we to deal with the quantization of spacetime and gravity?

Empowering growth

Business acumen training: A how-to guide

Business acumen training can help everyone from individual contributors to directors learn how to seize opportunities for growth.

a woman holding a cell phone with the text 986 suicide and christ's.

The Learning Curve

988: Most Americans are still unaware of the 911 alternative for mental health emergencies

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline relaunched last year with a new number, yet few Americans are aware of the helpline and its purpose.

a 3d model of a structure with blue and red balls.

The Present

Why flammable ice could be the energy savior we’ve been looking for

There may be more energy in methane hydrates than in all the world’s oil, coal, and gas combined. It could be the perfect “bridge fuel” to a clean energy future.

Starts With A Bang

The periodic table you grew up with is wrong

Up until 2002, we thought that the heaviest stable element was bismuth: #83 on the periodic table. That’s absolutely no longer the case.

a man holding a large red, green and white flag.

High Culture

The unsolved mystery of Europe’s oldest language

For linguists, the uniqueness of the Basque language represents an unsolved mystery. For its native speakers, long oppressed, it is a source of pride.