Male widowbirds have an unusually large tail, making flight harder than it ought to be. But why evolve a tail that gets in the way? The answer is older than Methuselah: because chicks dig it. Yes, apparently for female widowbirds, at least, size matters. Back in the 1930s, a statistician...

When Pope Gregory XII abdicated some 600 years ago, it was in the service of ending a period of deep turmoil. By contrast, the current pope's decision to turn in his satin slippers has stunned many parishioners. If ever there was a window to start your own religion, this may...

I am fascinated by our veneration for the legal acumen of our predecessors. Growing up within a traditional Jewish background, I was taught that we should revere the legal debates of the Talmud, as its protagonists lived closer in time to when the Torah was delivered at Mt. Sinai. That...

As Hanukkah rolls around once more, I'm again thankful that Jews don't celebrate Christmas. While the lighting ceremony for Hanukkah candles looks fairly innocuous, at least in orthodox Judaism, it is predictably governed by many rules. The candles must be placed in a certain location, must burn for a prescribed...

The news this past year has been filled with some decadent expenditures. In April, we learned that an anonymous couple spent $100,000 dollars to spend a day with Tim Tebow, a backup quarterback with the New York Jets. Around the same time, the General Services Administration was embroiled in a...

When I opened the latest issue of Newsweek I was delighted to see that there was an article devoted to the out-of-body experience reported by Dr. Eben Alexander in his new book. Dr. Alexander and I are in many ways kindred spirits. As scientists interested in the brain, we both...

Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, Tyler Hamilton... a few names drawn from an extensive list of Olympic winners who doped their way to the top of the medal stand. The latest scandal may be imported from China. Swimmer Ye Shiwen swam the last lap of her 400m IM in 28.93 seconds,...