All Articles

Nature invented software billions of years before we did. “The origin of life is really the origin of software,” says Gregory Chaitin (inventor of mathematical metabiology). Life requires what software does. It is fundamentally algorithmic. And its complexity needs better thinking tools.

Whether or not you believe there’s a problem, we’re all part of the solution. “‎Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on […]

GMO opponents hope labels will scare customers away and kill the technology. New evidence suggests that labels are more likely to encourage sales than reduce them.

Everyone’s coming-of-age music sounds like a personal revolution, but when did music change for everyone and all at once?

Researchers find that brand loyalty isn’t the same as romantic love; the feelings they evoke would be better compared to a good friendship.

Using long-range iris-scanning technology, your identity can be determined from across the room with extremely high accuracy — as high as someone taking your fingerprints. 

Sometimes, it’s the most unexpected ingredients that give rise to the greatest results in the end. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” –Joseph Campbell When you […]

No matter how hard they try, comics never seem to be able to turn the genderist tide. As Jill Lepore points out, “They all look like porn stars.” Why do comics still get women heroes wrong?

The Taliban are undefeated. Should that earn them a state of their own?

The rate at which younger generations are eschewing organized religion is increasing, even from within the millennial generation, according to polls taken by the Pew Research Center.

Congress debated cutting $260 million from Amtrak’s budget as emergency crews searched through the rubble of a train accident that killed six passengers the night before.

Miscarriages are difficult to talk about, but the only way we can begin to heal is to let each other know we’re not alone.

Puritanism is not dead yet; the religious assumption of a nuclear family persists. Culturally, we’ve made great gains in same-sex marriage over the past half-decade, yet oddly the roles of women, in workplace pay and as caregivers, have not evolved much. Humans have long confused biology with theology.

When big companies put their brand on stadiums, does it change consumer behavior?

Because International has made shoes that can grow up to five sizes in five years, so no child has to go without.

The story of our neck of the woods, on the most cosmic of all scales. “We live in a world that has narrowed into a neighborhood before it has broadened […]

Men and women rate the trustworthiness of enhanced profile photos quite differently. Regardless, in either scenario, you’re more likely to get a date.

How do the people around us influence our eating habits? Researchers discover that we tend to mirror our environment when consuming food.

Ronald Dekker, a labour economist at Tilburg University, says part-time positions enjoy “first-tier” status.

Exposure to another language may help open children up to another perspective, allowing them to become better communicators.

Trivializing mental illness by making jokes on Twitter may not endear your followers to you.

The protein fiber that spiders spin to make their webs is stronger than almost anything humans can make. Now, with a bit of a push from scientists, spiders have actually created the strongest material known to humans.

Science works through experimentation and replication. Hypotheses are put forward; tests are run; and results are obtained. If something surprising or interesting is found in an experiment, other researchers can […]

The taxonomy team at Amazon is dropping “Boy” and “Girl” as categories for organizing its toys, as friends of those working at the online goods distributor recently announced on Twitter.

Philip Zimbardo, who became a household name after conducting the Stanford prison experiments, argues that our online culture is disproportionately harming boys.

Researchers say that when planning a diet, you should consider your feelings, and how they will play a role in your eating behavior.

Researchers have found watching events like the 9/11 terrorist attacks or a school shooting unfold over social media may have caused some trauma to viewers. They report some even experience PTSD symptoms.

Social media is a place where anyone with a keyboard can shout out their ideals — no matter how controversial. However, researchers are finding that anorexics are taking to these sites and flaunting their unhealthy mentalities toward eating.

NASA’s great observatories combine to give us a unique view of a sight no human ever saw the first time around. “And no one showed us to the landAnd no […]

Will Britain leave the EU? Would Maggie abandon Marge?