Technology & Innovation — March 21, 2011

Gold Continues Looking Golden

The U.S. economy is dealing with its problems by printing trillions of dollars. As these dollars flood the markets, investors have increasingly turned towards gold to hedge their currency doubts.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

As world economic and political stability are thrown increasingly into question, gold remains a confident answer for worried investors. “During last year, gold rose some 30%, leaving investors wondering if there was any upside left in the metal. But this year has brought renewed vigour to the demand for gold as a hedge against global uncertainty. Revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, uprising in Libya, protests in Bahrain, the deepening debt-crisis in the Euro Zone and tensions in the Middle East have all renewed the strength of gold as a safe haven.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Person examining a petri dish with tweezers, holding small colored objects, against a dark background.

Health

Are microplastics really destroying our health?

They’re in our brains, hearts, and blood — but what are they doing to us?

A statue of a thoughtful, seated philosopher on the right seems to be contemplating a calling, while a standing figure holding a lyre on the left adds harmony against the textured background.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: Can you have a “calling” without a caller?

If you’re an atheist with a vocation, who laid that path for you?

Close-up image of a human iris featuring vibrant blue and yellow hues with a dark pupil in the center.

The mystery at the heart of consciousness

“Is it possible that consciousness is a much more basic phenomenon in nature and is essentially pervading everything?”

▸

10 min

—

with

Annaka Harris

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Does the CMB really “prove” the Big Bang?

Since the mid-1960s, the CMB has been identified with the Big Bang’s leftover glow. Could any alternative explanations still work?

A wasp illustration in blue on grid paper is overlaid on a close-up image of effervescent bubbles in a golden alcoholic liquid.

Health

The first known animal that’s “immune” to alcohol intoxication

Could studying the Oriental hornet lead to a treatment for people with alcohol use disorder?

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

Is China Blocking Gmail?

The Chinese government may be intentionally disrupting access to Google and other Web services as part of a campaign to tighten Internet controls and censor material.