Surprising Science
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New research finds that getting on the treadmill is much less effective for shedding girth than eating less.
Astronomers have discovered 32 new planets outside the solar system, bringing the total to over 400.
Stunning new images of Saturn at Equinox cast new light on the beautiful and distant planet.
Would you like to have access to your genetic information? Isn’t your genetic information fundamentally yours? Shouldn’t it be your choice whether to access it? These are the questions that […]
Last year Bill Maher released a movie ridiculing religious beliefs, including those of creationists. But he’s now ranting against vaccination (Orac’s blog is all over it), saying the same thing […]
Illegal pet turtles spike blamed for salmonella outbreak last year.
Research finds that only a few specific ‘friendly bacteria’ actually aid the immune system.
Scientists have developed the first artificial hand with feeling.
So corporate America is expected to keep most people healthy at a reasonable cost. As sportscaster Al Michaels once asked: “Do You Believe in Miracles?”
Conversations about mental health parity in insurance coverage trigger my repressed memory.
Where in the United States are teen-age girls most likely to become pregnant? According to this study, published last month in the journal Reproductive Health, the answer is: Where Evangelical […]
Great news, fans of continued existence! The world will not end in 2012, despite what you may have heard from a passing lunatic and/or viral marketer for this film. How […]
Francis Collins and J. Craig Venter are the scientists whose names will always be associated with mapping of the human genome — after racing to complete the job, the two […]
Technologists, Scenarist, Strategist Andres Agostini (Andy) Digital Business Card & E-mail Address …
Technologists, Scenarist, Strategist Andres Agostini (Andy) Digital Business Card & E-mail Address …
At a certain point in time—perhaps sooner than most people think—the ever-increasing average human lifespan will begin accelerating faster than people age. This moment, according to anti-aging expert Aubrey de […]
The current forecast for the H1N1 virus seems quite grim. Referred to originally as “swine flu” last spring, it has already spread to more than 180,000 cases worldwide, and shows no sign of slowing anytime soon. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology has predicted that 30 to 50 percent of the nation’s population could eventually be infected, with up to 90,000 deaths if the virus mutates into a more aggressive version.
What causes people to act as they do — the way they’re made, or the way they make, as they go through life? Often in the mind sciences, stable traits […]
After all the debates over the efficacy of Canadian health care, the Canadian government is pursuing a unique track in cutting the costs and easing some of the burden placed […]
It wasn’t greeted with the kind of fanfare it may have deserved, but five years ago when the $10-million Ansari X PRIZE was awarded, it helped usher in a new […]
Anti-aging expert Aubrey de Grey came through Big Think Friday afternoon looking not a bit older than when he first appeared on our site, in December 2007. He was in […]
It’s safer to travel by airplane than by car, but people feel more secure on the road. The likely reason is that we feel less threatened when we have some […]
Yesterday, Big Think went West to Mountain View, CA to sit down with Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of personal genetics company 23andMe, a Google-backed start-up that makes home genetics tests available […]
Yesterday, Wired Editor-in-Chief and author of “Free: The Future of a Radical Price”, Chris Anderson, joined Big Think’s co-founder, Peter Hopkins, for an interview in Mountain View, CA. Anderson offered […]
A lot of hay has been made in recent years out Paul Ekman’s idea that some basic facial expressions are universal — that all people express and recognize emotions like […]
Big Think had the pleasure of sitting down with Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D. this morning. Dr. Jamison is, first and foremost, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School […]
It’s mostly been examined as the nexus of the world’s wealthiest nations and drawn some skepticism for being hosted in Pittsburgh. But the recent G20 Summit, also saw enough protesters […]
Applied Omniscience Defined – from the scientific stance –
After President Obama addressed Congress about healthcare reform (that would be the You Lie! speech), a live Q & A was hosted by White House Communications Director, Anita Dunn. Demonstrating […]