The tragic Boston terrorist attack is now the most photographed crime scene in history... and the amount of data generated by the Boston crime scene will seem minuscule in comparison to the data generated before, during and after tragedies that occur 5 and 10 years from now.

Today,...

I find this picture, from Jonathan Kalan for the New York Times, with a wicked-looking scar running across the back of a nine-month-old baby, particularly haunting. The sheer brutality of attacking a baby up close and personal in this way is unfathomable to me. I also realize that...

Everyone's favorite election guru, Nate Silver, crunched the numbers and provided a fascinating look at how insurgent Tea Party candidates were able to take on the Republican establishment with relatively little funding. The key analysis is the following: "the first $100,000 of spending goes a lot further in...

Though much has been said about the Tea Party, it has yet to be recognized for what it was -- irrefutable proof that ideas, not parties, win elections. In short, Citizens United sparked a political environment that resembles a startup company. And we haven't seen anything yet.

Despite underwhelming performance...

It's finally time to come clean: I am officially renouncing my belief in evolution. I have a Ph.D. in physics with an extensive background in neuroscience, and I can no longer say I believe in evolution. In fact, anyone with even a moderate science background who believes in evolution is...

The 2012 election process has shown that the relationship between science and public policy is in danger of becoming irreparably damaged. Mainstream politicians are no longer limiting scientifically baseless attacks to newer science like global climate change. They are also attempting to tear down long established scientific advancements...

As America struggles to deal with the federal deficit, it is important to maintain a long-term perspective on spending priorities. Specifically, investments in scientific research.

The history of federally funded scientific research began in the bleak, early days of WWII when America's victory was doubtful. Physicists, mathematicians, engineers, chemists and...

Simply put, The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) currently under development in Congress will provide a rapid way to sentence websites to death without the need for pesky things like judges and juries. Much to the surprise of nobody who understands how the Internet...

As a scientist, you must come to grips with the idea that your big fantasies aren't normal. Trust me when I say that your friends -- who get 'weekends' and go to the bar instead of staying late to run experiments -- give you strange looks when you tell them...