Biology
Posted by Jason G. Goldman on May 29, 2013
If an intelligent alien species landed on the small bit of galactic rock that we call home, they might get out of their spaceships, have a look around, and decide that we—that is, our…
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Culture
Posted by Jennifer Ouellette on May 24, 2013
There is more to the world than meets the human eye, a fact that hit home for the 18th-century astronomer Sir Frederick William Herschel when he discovered infrared light—a wavelength…
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Ideas
Posted by Adam Frank on May 23, 2013
The mediocre universe… Depending on how you look at it, that is either a term of derision or an interesting, mind-warping concept. Cosmologists who are enamored of the theory that there…
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Biology
Posted by Veronique Greenwood on May 22, 2013
When the cicadas of Brood II burst into open air—and into song—later this month, after living 17 years in darkness below ground, they will have one thing on their collective, eerily…
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Biology
Posted by John Hawks on May 20, 2013
What a waste are two thumbs on the space bar. There they sit, nearly flaccid, punctuating the end of each word, awaiting the call to crack stone or to use sharp flakes to incise wood.It…
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Biology
Posted by Veronique Greenwood on May 17, 2013
I recently discovered that my 10-times-great-grandfather bought a good chunk of Brooklyn from the Lenape Indians. He was one of the first Dutch landowners on this continent, a man who had…
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Matter
Posted by Lee Billings on May 15, 2013
Despite their great distance from Earthbound politics, exoplanets were the topic of a joint hearing on May 9th of the House space and research subcommittees. The recent discovery of a trio…
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Ideas
Posted by Michael Segal on May 14, 2013
Is there something special about humanity’s method of understanding the world around us? If there are other intelligent beings in the world, would their knowledge be important in the…
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Culture
Posted by Jennifer Ouellette on May 13, 2013
One of the last things you’d expect to see at a physics conference is a physicist on stage, in a dapper hat, pounding out a few riffs of the blues on a keyboard. But that’s exactly…
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Biology
Posted by Rose Eveleth on May 10, 2013
Last week, we asked you to pick out human eyes from animal eyes that look similar. It was probably harder than you expected. This week’s eyeball challenge, again courtesy of some great…
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