bigthinkeditor

The former vice president said that corn ethanol was a “mistake.” He went further, saying that he supported ethanol production because the first presidential primary is in Iowa.

The WikiLeaks cables reveal a profound hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership, says the world-renowned political dissident and linguist.

A frail mouse with failing organs was restored to vibrant youth when researchers re-activated production of the enzyme telomerase. Discovery News on the recently reported findings.

Are we free not to be radiated or groped? We are not. Naomi Wolf says we should follow the money when asking about new invasive airport security measures.

Mathematics seems to be a universal language and when you stop to think about it, that’s quite remarkable. Mark Vernon asks if mathematics is a divine language?

Optimism about a cure for HIV/AIDS is the highest it’s been since David Ho pioneered the Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART) drug cocktail in 1996.  Just last week, the powerful […]

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the epidemic. Here is a look back at the successes and disappointments of the past couple decades. [Click timeline to enlarge]

Narcissists, much to the surprise of many experts, are in the process of becoming an endangered species. The diagnosis will no longer be officially recognized by 2013.

As science shows our planet could warm by as much as seven degrees, researchers predict what problems that could cause. Discovery News reports on current warming targets.

As the number of allergy sufferers soar, potential cures are getting more radical. Alternative theories abound on why developed countries have such high rates of allergic reactions.

Even though Silvio Berlusconi’s political reign may be drawing to a close, thanks in part to recent accusations of colluding with Russia, his media legacy will live on.

Islamic suicide bombers are motivated by a lack of sex, says evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa. The scientist has put forth some controversial views on popular topics.

The mobile device has become such a ubiquitous technology that it is redefining the way we engage with people, information, and companies. It is changing society’s social fabric.

This huge uproar might make you think that QE2 represents some radical shift in the Fed’s mission. It doesn’t, says The New Yorker in defending the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

Although we might look foolish flailing around the living room, Kinect has managed to excite our flesh, and that means our emotions aren’t far behind, says Jonah Lehrer.

Why is the U.S. such an outliers when it comes to criminal sentencing? Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens writes for The New York Review of Books.

WikiLeaks plans to release an American bank’s damning internal documents early next year, the website’s leader Julian Assange has told Forbes Magazine.

He’s known as the “Berlin patient,” and he seems to be the first man to beat HIV. 

The first effective anti-retroviral treatment for HIV, Azidothymidine (AZT), was approved for treatment in 1987. But HIV is highly prone to mutations and thus likely to develop drug resistance. It […]

The disease seems to develop as beta amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles gather inside the brain to clog synapses and nerve cells—but what is its root cause?

“A lot of people get upset at young people,” says Walter Mosley, “They say, ‘Young people aren’t living up to their potential. Young people are interested in things which are […]

2010 has been the most exciting year for HIV/AIDS research since the discovery of the antiretroviral “cocktail” 15 years ago.

What made the decision in Bush v. Gore so startling was that it was the work of Justices who were considered, to greater or lesser extents, judicial conservatives.

Can an iTunes-style makeover bring the short story to new audiences? Ian Burrell of The Independent meets the authors and innovators who are selling small tales.

As evidenced by the Copenhagen Conference, global action is not going to stop climate change. The world needs to look harder at how to live with it, says The Economist.

The biggest problem that the Church faces in backing off its condemnation of contraception is a potential loss of religious authority, which is no small matter in a hierarchical church.

Evidence shows that the mobile phone is becoming indispensable to us: more people are paying for apps, and they’re more willing to trade privacy for benefits.

Being sociable has its advantages—across more than 500 mammal species, animals that lived in social groups had bigger brains than those that lived by themselves.

When you meet a paradox, you’ve got only two choices. One is to accept that the implausible is true; the other is to reject the conclusion, and explain why the argument is wrong.

The job of the media is not to protect the powerful from embarrassment. It is for governments to guard public secrets, and there is no national jeopardy in WikiLeaks’ revelations.