Science

Hormone Oxytocin Linked To Kindness

nytimes.com | Natalie Angier | Posted 11.25.2009 | Living


Be thankful for your brain's supply of oxytocin, the celebrated peptide hormone that helps lubricate our every prosocial exchange that make human soci...

The Maya Really Did Warn Us About Our Future (Unintentionally)

Alex Higgins | Posted 11.23.2009 | Green


Alex Higgins

The Maya in the 8th century had little ability to understand the climate change that was happening to them. Our civilization knows what is happening and even has the ability to prevent catastrophe.

Why Brain Science Is Bad for Juvenile Justice

Alexandra Cox | Posted 11.23.2009 | Politics


Alexandra Cox

Brain research may convince the public that development is a fixed, undisputed path toward rational thought, thus further marginalizing those children who stray from the path of 'normal' development.

Al's Poem

William Petrocelli | Posted 11.23.2009 | Books


William Petrocelli

Al Gore keeps reassuring nervous audiences that we have the tools to solve the crisis. Time is short, he says, but it hasn't run out yet. And with all that, he had time to write a poem - one that Yeats might have been proud of.

Bill Bryson's 'Really Short History of Nearly Everything' Is The Dream Gift Book For Every Curious Kid

Jesse Kornbluth | Posted 11.20.2009 | Books


Jesse Kornbluth

Bill Bryson has created "A Really Short History of Nearly Everything," and he's done me -- and you, and every curious kid burdened by a dull textbook or a brain-dead science teacher -- a huge favor.

Back to the Bush Leagues on Arctic Drilling?

Trip Van Noppen | Posted 11.19.2009 | Green


Trip Van Noppen

In the Arctic waters surrounding Alaska, George W. Bush is still president, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has the chance to inaugurate a new regime.

Evangelicals Pray For Climate Change Legislation

guardian.co.uk | Posted 11.19.2009 | Green


Evangelicals are the bedrock of the Republican party and are often seen as skeptical of science, from global warming to evolution. So the initiative's...

The Cell Phone Brain Cancer Debate

Dr. Cara Natterson | Posted 11.16.2009 | Living


Dr. Cara Natterson

No one is certain what cell phones do to our brains when we endlessly rest them against our heads. At best, it's nothing. At worst, it's damage that will translate into an enormous spike in brain cancer.

Rot-Proof Apple Developed: Stays Fresh for 4 Months

treehugger.com | Posted 11.13.2009 | Green


Scientists in Australia have developed an apple that won't rot. Or, won't rot for a long, long time....

Humans Still Evolving As Brain Shrinks

LiveScience | Posted 11.13.2009 | Living


Evolution in humans is commonly thought to have essentially stopped in recent times. But there are plenty of examples that the human race is still evo...

Weight Gain Linked To Bacteria In Intestines

latimes.com | Thomas H. Maugh II | Posted 11.12.2009 | Living


A high-fat, high-sugar diet does more than pump calories into your body. It also alters the composition of bacteria in your intestines, making it easi...

Aardonyx celestae: New Dinosaur Species Discovered

AP | CELEAN JACOBSON | Posted 11.11.2009 | Green


JOHANNESBURG — A newly discovered dinosaur species that roamed the Earth about 200 million years ago may help explain how the creatures evolved ...

UK Considers Using Human DNA In Animals

AP | MARIA CHENG | Posted 11.10.2009 | World


LONDON — British scientists begin a new study on Tuesday to consider how human DNA is used in animal experiments and to determine what the bound...

Oceanophilia: The Neuroscience of Emotion and the Ocean

Wallace J Nichols | Posted 11.09.2009 | Impact


Wallace J Nichols

Let's mine neuroscience to develop a set of powerful conservation tools that educators, advocates, policymakers and scientists can use to better and more deeply engage, inspire and lead people in the restoration and protection of our beloved ocean.

Creationism And Intelligent Design Gain Foothold In Turkey

Washington Post | Marc Kaufman | Posted 11.08.2009 | World


With direct and indirect help from American foes of evolution, similarly-minded Turks have aggressively made the case that Charles Darwin's theory is ...

A Question of Harm -- The Legacy of Vaccination

Tim Ellis | Posted 11.06.2009 | Living


Tim Ellis

The anti-vaccination movement has picked up steam in the past few years, and authorities now believe that pockets of unvaccinated children are forming. This is beginning to have deadly results.

Electronics and Atrocities: Tech Supply Chains Must Do No Harm

David Sullivan | Posted 11.05.2009 | Technology


David Sullivan

Electronics companies should commit resources to trace supply chains back to the point of extraction, conduct audits, and check assurances for fraud to certify electronics products as conflict-free.

Housework After Sex, Not Sleep

Dr. Michael J. Breus | Posted 11.04.2009 | Living


Dr. Michael J. Breus

I wonder, are there ingredients in human sperm yet to be identified that can chemically alter a woman's body? Help her to conceive? Prepare the body for pregnancy?

Mapping The Link Between Alcohol, Cancer

Yahoo! News | Posted 10.29.2009 | Living


New research suggests that alcohol may boost the progression of cancer by stimulating a pathway inside cells....

Science Says Sex With Others Is Better

eSarcasm | Posted 10.28.2009 | Comedy


eSarcasm

Now, they aren't actually talking about humans -- they're talking about plants and animals able to reproduce both by themselves and with others. But that doesn't make it any less amusing.

Practicing Science -- With or Without Religion?

Dan Agin | Posted 10.23.2009 | Living


Dan Agin

The problem for the working scientist is that the essence of science is a self-conscious and mandatory objectivity -- which means dogma and doctrine are essentially antithetical.

CDs and Ardi and Vooks, Oh My!

Michael Sigman | Posted 10.19.2009 | Technology


Michael Sigman

It can be exhilarating to contemplate the digital and evolutionary future. But I don't know if I could bear a world of "vookcases," "vook reports," and God forbid, a New York Review of Vooks.

How Much Television is Too Much? Science Weighs In

Todd Kashdan | Posted 10.14.2009 | Living


Todd Kashdan

Let's move beyond the silly argument of how much television people should watch. If you are a parent, the amount of TV your children watch should not be another area for you to stress about.

Modern Man Is A Wimp, According To Anthropologist

Reuters | John Mehaffey | Posted 10.14.2009 | Home


Many prehistoric Australian aboriginals could have outrun world 100 and 200 meters record holder Usain Bolt in modern conditions. Any Neanderthal wom...

Ultra Slow Motion Video Of Bullet Impacts (VIDEO)

Posted 10.13.2009 | Technology


Chris Higgins at Mental Floss flags this very cool video of an ultra-slow motion camera capturing the impact of bullets on a variety of objects. Two ...