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America’s most popular conspiracy theories and the science behind them.

The US Air Force and DARPA are even working on laser shielding. That’s right. Force fields.   

When black holes stop eating, galaxies fade away. “I’ll never, ever be full. I’ll always be hungry. Obviously, I’m not talking about food.” –Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Most large galaxies are […]

The flash lasts seconds, the brightness dies down in months. Yet centuries later, the remnant still shines. “When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things — not […]

If you “know” the answer before you ever begin, you might as well not even try. “I have difficulty to believe it, because nothing in Italy arrives ahead of time.” –Sergio […]

And could every black hole our Universe creates give rise to a baby Universe itself? “Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope,tied between beast and overman — a rope […]

Time travel has titillated scientists and science-fiction fans alike ever since HG Wells first conceived of it in the 19th century. But it plausible? Princeton astrophysicist John Richard Gott III discusses the two ways that it might be.

Psychedelics are experiencing a resurgence. What can we learn from bad trips? 

Did you know the Metro to Embarcadero Station passes through a buried Gold Rush ship?

How they get so big so fast is a mystery. Could “direct collapse” be the solution we’re seeking? “For something to collapse, not all systems have to shut down. In most […]

According to environmental activist and author Bill McKibben, the third world war is well underway: it is a battle between human beings and a changing climate, and the humans are losing. But there’s still hope.

If they change and distort spacetime as the ripples pass through, could what was once inside actually get out? “Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn […]

All teachers should strive to instill in their students the ability to think rationally and clearly communicate their conclusions. One educator has recommended using heavy metal as a focal topic in teaching sound thinking. 

And the story of how the greatest act of WWII sabotage stopped it. “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer In the 1930s, as Europe stood on […]

Nearly a quarter of Americans rely on sleeping pills—a trend that’s feeding obesity and depression levels.

The Federal Highway Administration has rescinded its approval for the use of an alternative roadside typeface called Clearview, once again making the 70-year-old Highway Gothic typeface the single standard for directional signage.

It might not be an actual supernova remnant, but thanks to 3D printing, it’s the next best thing! This article was written by Kim Kowal Arcand. Kim is the Visualization Lead […]

The reward of the doldrums is an uptick, however temporary, in your ability to make rational decisions.  

Not the show, the actual scientific theory itself! “Gamow was fantastic in his ideas. He was right, he was wrong. More often wrong than right. Always interesting; … and when his idea […]

It’s the rebels among us that change the world. 

If they shoot out straight lines of high-energy particles, why do they carve bubble-like shapes? “When a person starts to talk about their dreams, it’s as if something bubbles up […]

And if the Universe is expanding, does that mean these ripples can break the speed of light? “Einstein’s gravitational theory, which is said to be the greatest single achievement of […]

Our Universe is becoming colder, sparser and emptier. But is that its inevitable, ultimate fate? “Quintessence is a dynamic, time-evolving, and spatially dependent form of energy with negative pressure sufficient to […]

Robert Dear’s murders at a Planned Parenthood are only the latest in a long string of terrorist attacks by Americans. 

You know you’ve gone off the deep end when the human incarnation of Darth Vader says your proposal “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”

Women are being told that competing with one another isn’t very lady-like. Nature begs to differ.

Innovation isn’t always the result of invention and discovery. Sometimes the best way to innovate is to rethink something old.

You can get as much done in six hours as you can in eight hours, but with much less wasted time.

Is it how the Universe began, or just how our observable Universe began? They’re not the same! “These theories were based on the hypothesis that all the matter in the universe […]