Paul Ratner
Contributing Writer
Paul is a writer, filmmaker, and educator. He has written for years for Big Think and other outlets on transformative scientific research, history, and current events. His award-winning films like the true-life adventure "Moses on the Mesa" and the science documentary "The Caveman of Atomic City" have played at film festivals around the world. Paul also organizes numerous unique educational events, renowned film festivals, and competitions for thousands of people. He has degrees from Cornell University (BA) and Chapman University (MFA). You can follow Paul's work at paulratnerimagines.com, on Instagram, and Facebook.
Why did birds survive extinction while dinosaurs died out?
The brain of an ancient bird offers clues to the survival of its modern-day relatives.
28 ancient viruses unknown to science found in a Tibetan glacier
Scientists discover surviving viruses in 15,000-year-old glacier ice on the Tibetan Plateau in China.
Mammals dream about the world they are entering even before birth
A study finds that baby mammals dream about the world they are about to experience to prepare their senses.
Dogs know when people are lying
A new study tested to what extent dogs can sense human deception.
Babble hypothesis shows key factor to becoming a leader
Research shows that those who spend more time speaking tend to emerge as the leaders of groups, regardless of their intelligence.
Why so gassy? Mysterious methane detected on Saturn’s moon
Scientists do not know what is causing the overabundance of the gas.
Watch the stunning “icy fingers of death” instantly freeze creatures
Strange underwater icicles form in the Earth's coldest regions and freeze living organisms in place.
Astronomers train AI to reveal the true shape of galaxies
A new artificial intelligence method removes the effect of gravity on cosmic images, showing the real shapes of distant galaxies.
Discovery of new type of supernova explains ancient mystery
Astronomers find a third type of supernova and explain a mystery from 1054 AD.
Nazis created an anti-Semitic Bible and Aryan Jesus
A Nazi institute produced a Bible without the Old Testament that portrayed Jesus as an Aryan hero fighting Jewish people.
Study finds new ways of detecting dark matter in black holes
A new study proposes that Hawking radiation could be used to find dark matter in places like primordial black holes.
Cause of worst mass extinction ever found
A new study reveals what caused most life on Earth to die out during the end-Permian extinction, also known as the Great Dying.
Black hole mergers obey the laws of thermodynamics
An analysis of the gravitational wave data from black hole mergers show that the event horizon area, and entropy, always increases.
Galactic wind from early universe detected
Researchers discovered a galactic wind from a supermassive black hole that sheds light on the evolution of galaxies.
Pupil size surprisingly linked to differences in intelligence
Maybe eyes really are windows into the soul — or at least into the brain, as a new study finds.
Ancient megalodon shark was even bigger than estimated, finds study
A school lesson leads to more precise measurements of the extinct megalodon shark, one of the largest fish ever.
Is human consciousness creating reality?
Is the physical universe independent from us, or is it created by our minds, as suggested by scientist Robert Lanza?
Mystery of the gigantic Oort cloud from deep space explained
Astronomers possibly solve the mystery of how the enormous Oort cloud, with over 100 billion comet-like objects, was formed.
Is the universe infinite?
Determining if the universe is infinite pushes the limits of our knowledge.
Scientists find dark matter “bridges” that may reveal future of our galaxy
A new AI-generated map of dark matter shows previously undiscovered filamentary structures connecting galaxies.
Body augmentation: People adjust quickly to robotic third thumb
Scientists successfully trained people to use robotic extra thumbs, suggesting body augmentation could revolutionize future humans.
Researchers design an engine that uses information as fuel
A thought experiment from 1867 leads scientists to design a groundbreaking information engine.
7 most notorious and excessive Roman Emperors
These Roman Emperors were infamous for their debauchery and cruelty.
Physicists push limits of Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
New studies stretch the boundaries of physics, achieving quantum entanglement in larger systems.
Humanity’s most distant space probe captures a strange sound
A new paper reveals that the Voyager 1 spacecraft detected a constant hum coming from outside our Solar System.
From 1.8 million years ago, earliest evidence of human activity found
Scientists discover what our human ancestors were making inside the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa 1.8 million years ago.
Harvard professor’s study identifies the worst year in human history
A Harvard professor's study discovers the worst year to be alive.
Scientists test how to deflect asteroids with nuclear blasts
A study looks at how to use nuclear detonations to prevent asteroids from hitting Earth.
VR experiments manipulate how people feel about coffee
A new study looks at how images of coffee's origins affect the perception of its premiumness and quality.
A rogue ‘pristine’ comet reveals clues about the origins of our Solar System
New studies find the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov is the most "pristine" ever discovered.