The Sciences
Atomic Reporters Aim to Improve Nuclear Coverage
Yes, the Cold War ended long ago, but we still live in a nuclear-armed world, in which the possibility of nuclear war, terrorism and accidents is all too real.
Cross-Check
Critical views of science in the news
Chewing the Fat With Diet “Journalist” Gary Taubes
Weight-loss research has generated headlines lately, leading me to wonder what my pal Gary Taubes is up to. Over the past dozen years, Taubes has transformed himself from a mere journalist into a major player in dietary science, who has helped raise millions for research...
Environment
Merchants of Doubt Author Slams "Corrosive" Climate Change Skepticism
Historian of science Naomi Oreskes, now at Harvard, first came to my attention 20 years ago, when she and two co-authors argued in Science that “verification and validation of numerical models of natural systems is impossible.” In The End of Science, I cited the Oreskes et al...
Evolution
Chimp-Violence Researchers Respond to Criticism on Cross-Check
Is chimpanzee violence a product of nature or nurture? Genes or environment? Two weeks ago Nature published a report, "Lethal aggression in Pan is better explained by adaptive strategies than human impacts," in which 30 primatologists came down on the side of nature...
More Cool Sh*t I’ve Read Lately
I’ve been over-posting this month, so I’m going to make my monthly “Cool Sh*t” post short. (See last month’s candidates here.) Below are three articles that offer provocative takes by smart, informed authors on important topics...
Health
U.S. Department of Defense Health Official Speaks Out on Ebola and Other Threats
Earlier this month, I posted a Q&A on the Ebola outbreak with a Stevens colleague, medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail. MacPhail also put me in touch with someone who could provide more insight into the outbreak, Dr...
The Sciences
Physics Titan Still Thinks String Theory Is "On the Right Track"
At a 1990 conference on cosmology, I asked attendees, who included folks like Stephen Hawking, Michael Turner, James Peebles, Alan Guth and Andrei Linde, to nominate the smartest living physicist...
Anthropologist Brian Ferguson Challenges Claim that Chimp Violence is Adaptive
In my last post, I critiqued "Lethal aggression in Pan is better explained by adaptive strategies than human impacts," a new paper in Nature that represents a broadside in the old debate over whether war is innate...
Evolution
Chimp Violence Fails to Support Deep-Roots Theory of War
On this blog, in my book The End of War and elsewhere (see Further Reading and Viewing), I have knocked the deep roots theory of war, which holds that war stems from an instinct deeply embedded in the genes of our male ancestors...
My Weird ’96 Chat with Jerry Brown about Evils of Science
My growing concerns about science’s soul have aroused some old, odd memories. One dates back to 1996, shortly after the publication of The End of Science.
Blog Index
@ScientificAmerican
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
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Anecdotes from the Archive
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Anthropology in Practice
Exploring the human condition.
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Beautiful Minds
Insights into intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being
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Budding Scientist
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
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Cross-Check
Critical views of science in the news
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Dark Star Diaries
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Dog Spies
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
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Extinction Countdown
News and research about endangered species from around the world
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Eye of the Storm
The Science Behind Extreme Weather
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Frontiers for Young Minds
Science by and for kids ages 8-15
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Guest Blog
Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
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Hot Planet
Climate science in a changing world
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Illusion Chasers
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
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Life, Unbounded
Discussion and news about planets, exoplanets, and astrobiology
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Observations
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
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Roots of Unity
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
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Rosetta Stones
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
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SA Visual
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
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Talking back
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
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The Artful Amoeba
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
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Voices
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
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