Blogs

Hammerhead Sharks, Houston Toads, Heavy Metal and Other Links from the Brink

Rare sharks, toads, rhinos and bears are among the endangered species in the news this week.Hammer Time: David Shiffman offers 10 reasons why great and scalloped hammerhead sharks ( Sphyrna mokarran and S...

Suicide Used As Plot Device in Car Ad, Public Health Norms Be Damned

On May 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report showing that suicide among middle-aged Americans has risen substantially.

Physics Week in Review: May 4, 2013

This week saw the launch of a new science-and-culture magazine, Nautilus, with both print and online versions. I'll be contributing regular blog posts to the site.

The Next Black King of the Kentucky Derby - Kevin Krigger

I am really missing the States right now. Today marks the most exciting sport event in my book, the 139th Run for the Roses, the most exciting 2 minutes in Sports: The Kentucky Derby!

#SciAmBlogs Friday - Kiera Wilmot, happiness, unified theory, Clouded Leopards, moral landscape, and more.

- C.P. Frost - Making (Political) Moves - Jag Bhalla - Kahneman and Bentham's Bucket of Happiness - Evelyn Lamb - Award-Winning Teachers Put Math on Hands and Heads - Ashutosh Jogalekar - Why the search for a unified theory may turn out to be a pipe dream - Katie McKissick - Sea Star is Fine - John R...

Remnants of Supernova Found in Antarctica, and More - The Countdown, Episode 21

Links for the top 5 stories: Virgin Galactic Powers Up One-Way Ticket to Mars Most Famous Canadian YouTuber (in Space) Saturn Hurricane Antarctica's Supernova Sand...

A Flyer Makes It Official

Why the search for a unified theory may turn out to be a pipe dream

Unification is an ancient goal in physics. From the time that 19th century physicists like Maxwell and Clausius attempted to unite disparate physical phenomena, the search for a grand unified theory that would conjoin every known force and physical law has always been an implicit or explicit dream of physicists...

Kahneman and Bentham's Bucket of Happiness

We need a new happiness. The one most people use now is confusing even our smartest scientists. The problems start with "Bentham's bucket error" but Plato's pastry and a rare case of reality in Freud can revive healthier pursuits of happiness...

After 13-Year Quest, Clouded Leopards Confirmed Extinct in Taiwan

Thirteen years, 1,500 infrared cameras, hundreds of catnip-baited hair traps and an almost incalculable number of hours in the field have confirmed what scientists have long feared: the Formosan clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa brachyura ) is in all likelihood extinct...