A tiny chip implant is enabling paralyzed and injured people to move objects by the power of their thoughts—the implications of brain-computer interface reach into the science fiction realm.
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We are working longer hours and retiring later so why shouldn’t we compensate by taking a pill to stimulate our brain—what’s the objection to staying awake and concentrating better?
This semester, 22 undergraduate and graduate students from a diversity of majors at American University have participated in a new course that I created titled “Science, Environment and the Media.” […]
Technology has changed the way that men buy sex making it possible for a greater share of sex workers to work indoors. This may sound like workers are moving off […]
Contrary to expectations, asthma rates have skyrocketed in urban areas in the U.S. that are not particularly clean; respiratory infections in early childhood may actually be a risk factor for it.
Female athletes may not be eligible to compete as women if they have natural testosterone levels in the male range, say new guidelines recommended by the International Olympic Commission.
Babies conceived through in vitro fertilization are significantly more likely to suffer complications because the procedure frequently produces twins or triplets, which are often born early.
For most of us, eight hours of sleep is excellent and six hours is no good, but what about if we split the difference? What is the threshold below which cognitive function begins to flag?
By manipulating eight strands of D.N.A. that control the production of a crucial hormone linked to old age, scientists believe they could slow down the ageing process and ward off age related conditions.
In a guest post today, Samantha Miller probes the relation between perceptions and reality in the organic food marketplace. Miller is a graduate student in Journalism at American University. She […]
It is a rare day when the US budget, or US domestic politics at all for that matter, is featured on Waq al-waq. But today is that day. Over at […]
“The budget is a profoundly moral document,” former Clinton advisor Paul Begala told Greg Sargent. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be.” Budgets, after all, reflect our priorities. […]
With the recent publication of Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein, it’s hard to avoid someone, somewhere (the New York Times is a safe bet) writing on the ins and outs […]
His agnosticism would make him a completely untenable candidate in modern times, especially within the Republican party.
20 million people live within a 50 mile radius of New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant, whose 35 year old reactors were built to withstand a 6.1 earthquake—far less […]
Four different types of radiation tend to accompany a nuclear accident like the Fukushima meltdown. Here, Dr. Kaku discusses the effects of each on the human body.
Last week, Simone Lewis-Koskinen contributed a valuable guest post on the communication challenges facing scientists and leaders hoping to elevate public concern over ocean acidification. In a follow-up post today, she […]
Tiny Fey’s new memoir, Bossypants, sets out some smart principles of management and leadership among amusing and insightful anecdotes.
Twitter may be fending off multi-billion dollar acquisition offers but it seems to be in turmoil and lacks vision. Mathew Ingram suggests it take a leaf out of Apple’s book.
Companies are still feeling their way forward on “globalization”. Should they develop leadership centrally or try to source talent locally? How best to manage a diverse workforce?
This is a column that starts out being about horse whispering and ends up being about leadership and politics. Move forward when there’s acceptance, pull back when spooked…
Survival-scenarios are popular in leadership training but what relevance do they have to the boardroom? Former Navy SEAL Rob Roy aims to instill an “I can make it through” confidence.
David Brooks of the New York Times delivered a lecture at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky last night. It was definitely the highlight of this trip to S.’s alma mater. […]
New research suggests family-friendly workplace policies may not increase profits, but they at least cover their cost. Better staff retention and work attitudes are among the payoffs.
The Allen Human Brain Atlas could launch a type of neuro-scientific Renaissance that finally decodes the mysteries within our minds.
Teamwork. Support. Group (there’s that word) synergy. These are all hallmarks of positive business-speak and, one would assume, business practice. They’ve become the modern calling cards of businessmen who want […]
One of my favorite scenes from Objectified is the IDEO toothbrush brainstorm. It never struck me before how hard it would be to redesign a product that has become so […]
Our decisions matter. You don’t need me to tell you that. Of course they matter. It almost seems a tautology, a restatement of the obvious, of the very definition of “decision.” And yet, even though we make decisions at every point in our lives . . .
When the BRIC companies first opened up to global capitalism they became addicted to Western clothing and beauty brands, but now they have emerged as beauty capitals in their own […]