Between the ages of five and eight month, infants develop surprisingly complex moral attitudes, considering the context of an action when determining whether it is right or wrong.
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–Guest post by Kristen Moses, American University graduate student. On July 20, 2011, the UN declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia due to the worst drought in […]
Studies show that more agreeable men and women are less likely to be put in management positions and earn less money than their bristly colleagues. Why are we biased against kindness?
Since March of this year, a series of extraordinary paper sculptures has appeared in various locations around Edinburgh, Scotland. Each location is a library or other institution devoted to the […]
Promiscuity in US high schools is at a twenty year low and teen birth rates have fallen by over one third from 1991 through to 2009. So why is it […]
by Tauriq Moosa When someone defies the odds, it’s common practice for him or her to attribute their ‘winning’ to what we might call tokens: a lucky jacket, a prayer, some […]
Ordinary people are taking control of their health data, making their DNA public and running their own experiments. Their big question: Why should science be limited to professionals?
A provision of the new health care law, which requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect on actual medical care, has entered into force.
A new Pew survey reveals that as the economy shows signs of a modest recovery, public belief in climate change may be on the rise. Understanding how climate change perceptions […]
By producing medically useful amounts of endoderm cells from human stem cells, Canadian scientists have overcome a major hurdle in developing treatments for diabetes and liver diseases.
California’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it is not a federal crime to sell your bone marrow. A lawyer in the case says your marrow could go for as much as three grand.
Some studies are finding that male circumcision decreases the odds that a heterosexual man will contract HIV by 57 percent or more. The operation is being performed more frequently.
Scientists in California have shown that a single injection of an HIV-neutralizing antibody into the muscle cells of live mice completely protected the animals against HIV transmission.
While inbreeding increases the risk of birth defects among close relatives, research demonstrates it is not the horror story we image. In some cases, it may produce healthier offspring.
By extracting stem cells from patients with diseases like diabetes, Down syndrome, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia, scientists can examine how the disorders affect the body.
When the bodies of newborns lack iron, physical and mental development can be stifled. New research suggests that leaving the umbilical cord attached longer prevents iron deficiencies.
The typical American kindergarten now resembles a really bad first-grade classroom. Even preschool teachers are told to sacrifice opportunities for imaginative play in favor of drilling young children until they master a defined set of skills.
A well-managed loop that links customer experience feedback with recommendations on social networks like Facebook and Twitter can increase traffic and create happier customers.
Even though it’s beneficial for the US to cooperate with the Chinese wherever and whenever possible, we must have the confidence and will to compete with them in markets where we can press our advantage and fortify our own economy.
A November Pew survey reveals a slight upward shift in public belief in climate change. A number of factors likely account for the rise in belief but the most parsimonious explanation […]
Historian Niall Ferguson responds to a recent study suggesting that the US is on the verge of a manufacturing renaissance. He believes that major legal and economic reforms would have to take place first.
Big Think seems to be involved in a lot of meme-creation these days. And two prominent examples, featuring past Big Think experts Neil deGrasse Tyson and Salman Rushdie, happen to involve the word “badass.”
Barney Frank, the outspoken Congressman from Massachusetts, has resigned after three decades as a legislator. Even his allies say his abrasive manner stood in the way of reform.
–Guest post by Helen Wong, American University graduate student. In August 2011 the United Nations (UN) officially announced that Somalia was under famine. According to Ban Ki-Moon, the secretary general […]
Once the purview of lean start ups, big business is finally learning the disruptive innovation game. By entering new markets and listening to the little guys, big may be here to stay.
–Guest post by Francesca Ernst, American University graduate student. As we draw closer to November 2012, pundits, columnists, and reporters alike are all discussing the ways President Obama must transcend […]
Starting a business is not just about making money. A growing class of individuals are helping communities prosper through market-based solutions and profiting in the mean time.
Sleeping under your desk, eating food in bar form, dreading once-pleasant social diversions. If this is what it takes to start a new company, is it worth it? Are you being made a slave?
For many Americans a “moment of Zen” is the segment that ends every episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Those brief glimpses of contemporary life usually reprise an […]
I may have mentioned that, at Skepticon IV, JT Eberhard gave a fantastic talk on why the skeptical community must concern itself with mental illness. For the most part, the […]