Observations
Masks and Emasculation: Why Some Men Refuse to Take Safety Precautions
They think it makes them look weak, and avoiding that is evidently more important to them than demonstrating responsible behavior
Blogs
Observations
How a Landmark Physics Paper from the 1970s Uncannily Describes the COVID-19 Pandemic
Phil Anderson’s article “More Is Different” describes how different levels of complexity require new ways of thinking. And as the virus multiplies and spreads, that’s just what the human race desperately needs...
Observations
The Fight against COVID-19 Threatens to Cause Collateral Health Damage
The pandemic is no excuse to abandon chronic disease management and prevention
Recent Posts
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It's official: Large Hadron Collider's troubles stem from electrical malfunction
Initial suspicions that a faulty electrical connection between two magnets inside the giant Large Hadron Collider (LHC) caused a helium leak that ultimately shut down the machine have proved correct...
Rock the vote -- online: Obama ad blitz targets video gamers
Does Joe the Plumber play video games? We're not sure what hobbies the invisible star of last night's presidential debate indulges in, but as far as Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is concerned, if you want to register young, eligible voters, you need to go to online gaming sites...
Human waste: Everything you ever wanted to know
We take it for granted, the humble commode, but waste disposal as we know it may not survive indefinitely.
Lucky for us, author Rose George fills us in on the history of the toilet — and the forces that necessitate its upgrade — in her new book The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters ...
Having brain surgery? Bring a banjo to the operating room
Lots of surgeons listen to music in the operating room. And it may even help some patients. At least that’s what New York Times reporter Daniel Wakin concluded from what must have been a very rigorous review of the medical literature two years ago...
Hubble hopes pinned to tricky remote-control reboot
The Hubble Space Telescope has had a long and illustrious run, helping to pin down the age of the universe and pointing the way to the existence of dark energy.
Baby come back: U.S. infant mortality ranking falls
The chance of a baby in the United States dying before its first birthday continues to get worse compared to that risk in other countries, new statistics show.
A pain ray? Military plans to use microwaves to control crowds
Sixty years ago, the Raytheon Company gave us the first microwave oven. Today, the company, perhaps better known for its missiles, is looking to sell the U.S.
Is food the new ethical dilemma?
We recently asked, is keeping kosher good for the environment? We tried to answer the question by running the carbon footprint numbers based on what you substituted for forbidden foods like pork and shellfish...
Hurricane Omar on track for Caribbean
Here comes another hurricane.
Omar could bring up to 20 inches of rain across Puerto Rico and the Northern Leeward islands — and life-threatening flash floods and mud slides — when it arrives over the next 24-36 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center...
New superbug making kids sick despite vaccine
A new superbug that causes meningitis and pneumonia in kids has public health officials worried: Serotype 19A of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium eludes most antibiotics and a vaccine intended to prevent infection...
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A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
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Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
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