Surprising Science — March 18, 2011

The Dawn of Personalized Medicine

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Conventional chemotherapy is like trying to turn off the lights in your kitchen by nuking your house. Personalized medicine will try to turn off the lights by flipping a switch.

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Could the CMB arise from galaxies, not the Big Bang?

The CMB has long been considered the Big Bang’s “smoking gun” evidence. But after what JWST saw, might it come from early galaxies instead?

Microscopic view of green cyanobacteria chains forming spiral and linear patterns against a dark background, highlighting their role within the microbiome.

Books

Why your microbiome may matter more than DNA for your lifelong health

In “The Microbiome Master Key,” Brett and Jessica Finlay argue that we need to stop waging war on all germs and start working with the microbes that make us who we are.

Silhouette of a person standing with hands in pockets, surrounded by concentric oval lines resembling tree rings that symbolize lifespan, in various shades of brown.

Health

5 science-backed ways to extend your healthspan

Living longer is only half the equation. Here’s how to stay healthier for more of those years.

A green skull in the background appears to stare through a glass of champagne centered in the foreground, evoking Agatha Christie poisons, all set against a black backdrop.

Big Think Books

Murder, she measured: The impressive science behind Agatha Christie’s poisons

Kathryn Harkup, chemist and author of V Is for Venom, joins Big Think to discuss why Christie isn’t just a brilliant writer but a unique science communicator.

A digital illustration showing a glowing blue particle on the left, evoking cosmic inflation, transitioning into a geometric, grid-like structure on a purple background on the right.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Does cosmic inflation violate energy conservation?

A few physical quantities, in all laboratory experiments, are always conserved: including energy. But for the entire Universe? Not so much.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Liberal Education and Entrepreneurship

I have to admit I’ve been warming up a bit to the out-there techno-optimism of Ray Kurzweil displayed so prominently on BIG THINK. He (like lots of people) has been […]