Variously described as "long-lost" or "recently discovered," the Gospel of Judas has been reexamined and again found to be authentic. By analyzing the unique ink used and how that ink interacted with the ancient papyrus, scientists concluded anew that the document is genuine. When first revealed in the...

Frans de Waal's new book The Bonobo and the Atheist asks a question that vexed Greek sages thousands of years ago and every philosopher since: are we moral because we believe in god, or do we believe in god because we are moral? Cutting to the...

As North Korea's creepy regime blusters and threatens, China proves powerless to reign in its crazy uncle. We should not be surprised at this impotence; but are however because almost every aspect of conventional wisdom about China is wrong.

We have short memories, and as a consequence we keep...

Most Americans have long forgotten that the roads we all take for granted have a rich history that reverberates even today in the current budget debacle and fight over sequestration. We equally give little thought to the extensive and complex air control systems that allow for tens of thousands of...

As the CPAC crowed cheers and offers standing ovations to the growing extremism of right wing idealism, the time has come to offer a comprehensive alternative to the politics of hate. Marc Rubio, the new darling of the right, harked back to the old and tired idea that...

Chimps once again triumph. Tetsuro Matsuzawa, a researcher at Kyoto University, showed that a chimpanzee named Ayumu clearly out-performed humans on some working memory tests, a category of short-term recall. What is surprising is that anybody finds this surprising. We continue to be blinded by our hubris and...

A recent HuffPost blog authored by Max Tegmark claims that religion and science are "closer than you think." The statistic provided as support to the claim is an MIT survey that shows only 11 percent of Americans belong to religions that "openly reject" evolution or modern cosmology, specifically...

How does one resign from a divine appointment? We just learned that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning his position as the voice of the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Holy See, and the head of state of Vatican City. Let us not forget that throughout...

In a recent public spat, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told former White House physician Connie Mariano to "shut up" about his weight when she expressed concern that he might die in office if he were elected president. Christie openly acknowledges that he struggles with his weight but...

Chimpanzees, our closest relatives, demonstrate something awfully close to culture, once considered uniquely human. Chimps toy with cultural evolution through tool use, also once regarded as exclusive to our species. A study published on January 30, 2013, in the journal PLOS ONE demonstrated how a cohort of chimps...

The human brain manages to make sense of a chaotic world by picking out patterns from the noise bombarding our senses. We don't see the trillions of photons coming into our eyes as pointillist smears of colors; we see trees and forests. We process all of that incessant sensory input...

When it comes to our brains, we have it all wrong.

A little background: a study published recently in Current Biology and summarized in a HuffPost article seeks to understand why more animals do not have larger brains. In my field of neurobiology this has been a long-standing...

Albert Einstein famously said that, "Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the former." Nothing proves the statement true more than the persistence of the idea of a benevolent god in Newtown, Connecticut.

The murder of 20 children in a...

I hear the voice of god. Well, OK, it is Pat Robertson whispering in my ear, but that is pretty close. The subject of his whispers seems to be expanding. Prognosticator and religious leader Robertson has gotten into the business of socio-economic analysis. Of President Obama the oracle...

"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
-- John Adams, 1797

In Austin, Texas, a trend has developed over the last decade in which people decorate trees with Christmas ornaments along major highways. The state transportation department has declared...

Let's be clear that the secession movement is racist no matter how vigorously that may be denied. There would be no movement if a white man was sitting in the Oval Office. The economy continues to recover in all sectors, unemployment continues to inch down, the auto industry is healthy...

For those agitating for small government, who believe government is the problem, take note of the deadly meningitis outbreak now spreading to 18 states. This is a harbinger of our future if we continue to cut government services. This outbreak is not an assault of nature but the result of...

One reaction to the presidential debate I found quite odd on the liberal side -- pundits claim that one mistake Romney made was to ride roughshod over a "female moderator" because that came across as bullying and disrespectful to women. I could not disagree more. If Romney was a jerk...

A recent article by Fredrik Dahl noted that Mexican authorities believe they are making progress in the war on drugs. Top-level operatives have been killed or captured, and even those at the next level down in the hierarchy are being brought down. Cartels can do less than before....

While I disagree, the conventional wisdom has concluded that Obama blew the debate, phoning it in instead of engaging his opponent. But no matter: the reaction and aftermath are much more instructive about the distinct differences between liberals and conservatives.

I just finished watching Saturday Night Live (SNL) do...