Obamacare is going to get its day in the Supreme Court. The court granted certiorari in—literally, informed the lower courts that it would hear—three cases challenging the Affordable Care Act […]
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In theory, a single cell from one animal can be used to feed the entire global population, without stressing the environment, says a new short film on the future of meat production.
Deep in the heart of the cell, your DNA may be undergoing subtle changes that could lead to a devastating disease several years down the line. Scientists want to detect those changes.
As scientists gain a better understanding of how antibiotics work on a molecular level, they are learning how some superbugs become resistant. Can they also find a weakness?
You are on a date with a wonderful man/woman. He/she is speaking, but you are gazing lovingly into his/her eyes thinking how lucky you are having finally met your perfect […]
The Food and Drug Administration has banned a popular treatment for breast cancer, in use since 2008. Some patients claim the drug works; the FDA says the harms outweigh the benefits.
Impulsive and addictive behaviors are genetically linked in men, but not in women, says a new study from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The gene in question is called NRXN3.
“What is so distasteful about the Homeric gods,” W. H. Auden complains in his essay “The Frivolous & the Earnest,” is that they are well aware of human suffering but […]
Benetton’s controversial new “Unhate” ad campaign, which features pictures of world leaders like Barack Obama and China’s Hu Jintao caught in a liplock, actually raises a thought-provoking question: Is it […]
Parker, the creator of Napster and a key player in the rise of Facebook, is, as usual, thinking big. He worries about a warring tech industry and envisions how social media can transform politics.
Is the West presently severely disadvantaged with regard to Asia, if not in relative decline?
This week Big Think decided to give Twitter a big bear hug. Why? We realized the Twitosphere had (undeservedly) become the neglected stepchild of our various social media profiles. To […]
It’s fashionable and easy to blame vast, mysterious, authoritarian China for our economic problems. It’s also not quite fair.
Every Wednesday, Michio Kaku will be answering reader questions about physics and futuristic science. If you have a question for Dr. Kaku, just post it in the comments section below […]
Get your company going in just 54 hours. That’s what many businesses have accomplished by condensing their ideas and pitching to local entrepreneurs and investors.
Leadership in Congress is on the wane, say Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. Budget negotiations remain weighed down by special interests while the public yearns for big action.
Great thinkers are not much if their ideas never get noticed. And hey, it’s a jungle out there. Here is some advice about getting your thoughts into the marketplace—and getting noticed.
In my previous post in this series, I quoted a shockingly anti-atheist letter written by Rev. John Buehrens, former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. This letter repeated all the […]
From making your pitch to knowing when to leave as C.E.O., Richard Branson looks at common mistakes entrepreneurs make and gives advice about how to avoid them.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be at Skepticon IV this weekend in Springfield, Missouri, and I’m eagerly looking forward to it. Given the sheer number of fantastic speakers, we’re at […]
Using about 400 transistors, M.I.T. computer scientists have created a silicon chip that mimics one human synapse, removing a barrier to creating a machine that can learn like people.
“We are at the cusp of a revolution in medicine and biotechnology that will radically increase not just our life spans but also, and more importantly, our health spans,” says Sonia Arrison, author of 100: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything.
These words describe love, desire, and relationships that have no real English translation but they capture subtle realities that even English speakers have felt once or twice.
If astronomers spot a big one headed our way, our risk perception will switch to “It COULD happen to me, and SOON” and we’ll take the threat more seriously.
Reading the daily news (probably on a PC or tablet device) one might have the notion that ebooks were on a killing spree, destroying every part of the old media […]
It was a year ago that Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globe Awards and joked The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) accepts bribes. That joke certainly ruffled some feathers since a […]
Among the counterintuitive facts that leadership expert Jim Collins has uncovered is that personal charisma is largely irrelevant in successful leadership. In fact, it can be dangerous.
Advancements in 3D printing technology are revolutionizing consumption and manufacturing. Instead of throwing broken items away, fix them by printing a croudsourced spare part!
–Guest post by American University graduate student Natalie Shuster. Since 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has engaged in active conversation with national pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies regarding the […]
During his lifetime, Diego Rivera stood as one of the most important and controversial artists in the world. Today, thanks to the international feminist phenomenon of Frida Kahlo (who stood […]