Another year, another set of climate records. Here are the top ten signs you are living in a warming world, 2012 edition:
Professor of psychology Michael Gazzaniga is spelling out a cautionary tale about the uses of neuroscience in society. Author Metanexus Editors
There were many really big moments in science this year. From finding a long, long sought subatomic particle to pushing the limits of extraterrestrial exploration to righting an ethical wrong, science took some big steps in 2012. While they may not all be discoveries exactly, they all will have a major, lasting impact on science…
Stop that noise! Many creatures, such as human babies, chimpanzees, and chicks, react negatively to dissonance—harsh, unstable, grating sounds. Since the days of the ancient Greeks, scientists have wondered why the ear prefers harmony. Now, scientists suggest that the reason may go deeper than an aversion to the way clashing notes abrade auditory nerves; instead,…
On an overcast afternoon in late April, physics professors and students crowded into a wood-paneled lecture hall at Columbia University for a talk by Nima Arkani-Hamed, a high-profile theorist visiting from the Institute for Advanced Study in nearby Princeton, N.J. With his dark, shoulder-length hair shoved behind his ears, Arkani-Hamed laid out the dual, seemingly…
We do not have to sacrifice training in research in order to provide our students with a liberal education, just as we do not have to fragment and deform so much of our students’ education, as we do now.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The loss has been spurred by a combination of factors including hurricanes, coral-eating starfish and coral bleaching. The paper is the most comprehensive survey of a…