This week, Arizona passed a law that makes it a felony to knowingly terminate a pregnancy that was sought because of the race or sex of the fetus. Karen Franz, […]
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Over the past few years, scholars and scientists have been re-examining both the goals and the nature of science communication initiatives. In a guest post today, Melanie Gade reviews much […]
If you could pick as close to an anonymous volcano in the Pacific Northwest, you might be tempted to pick Newberry Caldera in Oregon (I might also take partial credit for […]
A range of environmental issues — from biodiversity to ocean acidification — have linkages to climate change. Yet, given polarized views on climate change, how can these linkages be effectively […]
They both experiment with language, recombining words and phrases in novel ways. Steven Pinker explains how his studies in childhood linguistics try to shed light on linguistic creativity in general.
This is Twilight, for poets. It’s not designed to fly over your head; it’s designed as to shoot straight to your heart.
Rather than hauling heavy atmospheric pumps from earth, the way to create a habitable atmosphere on Mars is to take advantage of its own topology, geography and nature.
Of all the news stories I’ve read over the last few days, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn has stuck in my mind […]
Ask a student, any student, what ‘R2P’ means, and you can be forgiven for the blank stare you are likely to receive. Flesh it out into ‘Responsibility to Protect’, and you are still likely to get […]
The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful atom smasher, may be only months away from finding a new elementary particle—a sign of a new force in nature—recent studies suggest.
Initial research indicating increasing temperature variation on Earth correlates with data showing the risk of species extinction is decreasing. But there are caveats, say the researchers.
A vast expanse of freshwater in the midst of the Arctic Ocean is set to wreak unpredictable changes on the climate in Europe and North America, new scientific analysis has shown.
More than a wild dream, Russia, the U.S. and other nations are to discuss cooperation on building a nuclear-powered spacecraft, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Given current technology, the vast distances between objects in outer space prohibit interstellar travel—missions to and from foreign stars—but a fusion powered spaceship could change that.
As more meteorites have been discovered in recent years, interest in them has flourished and an illegal sales market has boomed—much to the dismay of scientists who want to study them.
Workers near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex are sealing a leak releasing radioactive seawater into the ocean, though scientists say the radiation will dissipate in the Pacific.
California-based SpaceX has announced plans for a new rocket that it says will be the most powerful in the world—both government and private space ventures will benefit from the technology.
Why do Shakespeare’s plays have such a dramatic impact on readers and audiences? Philip Davis shows how Shakespeare’s use of language creates heightened brain activity, or what he calls “a theater of the brain.”
Today marked the publication of the new book Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution by Jeremy Bailenson and Jim Blasocovich. Infinite Reality gets inside all of the […]
Despite its significant downsides, nuclear energy is still absolutely vital for America’s (and the planet’s) future. This will become all the more true when cleaner fourth generation reactors become available.
Despite its significant downsides, nuclear energy is still absolutely vital for America’s (and the world’s) future. And this will become all the more true when cleaner, more powerful fourth generation […]
Did you know that within six hours the world’s deserts receive more energy than humankind consumes within a year? How awesome would it be to be able to tap into […]
Peter Diamandis has suggested we need to practice “planetary redundancy” and back up crucial information “off the planet.” What achievements of mankind deserve a place on this digital Noah’s Ark?
While natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes have captured our attention this summer, the scale of destruction is very slight compared to the worst man-made disasters.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot in Memphis forty-three years ago yesterday. Around the country, labor unions and civil rights held commemorative rallies protesting efforts in Wisconsin, Ohio, […]
Blogging destroys the future-oriented process of writing nonfiction and replaces it with a sense of constant presentness—everything you write is provisional because the facts, or your mind, could change.
The abolition of the sex trades will only happen when countries eliminate (as opposed to relocate) demand for sex workers.
The first time I came across this new phenomenon was in my interview with Jeff Evans, one of the co-founders of MindSnacks back in August 2010. When I asked him […]
Lebanon, a country plagued by slow Internet, was a popular choice for an International Emmy for “Digital Program: Fiction” at Cannes for its drama series Shankaboot.