A genetic mutation possibly linked to malarial resistance may have helped drive the evolution of the genus Homo, humans’ ancient ancestor, a new study finds.
In his recent sermon to humanists, “Science Is Not Your Enemy,” the psychologist Steven Pinker makes an impressive plea for humanists to pay more attention to science and urges them to an interdisciplinary approach that he thinks has been sadly lacking. His general point is surely right: specialists in any area are likely to benefit…
Whether in Davos or almost anywhere else that leaders are discussing the world’s problems, they are missing by far the biggest issue: the rapidly deteriorating global environment and its ability to support civilization. The situation is pretty much an endgame. Unless pressing issues of the biology of the planet and of climate change generated by…
A global science assessment panel for biodiversity, modelled on the International Panel on Climate Change, was launched in Panama City in April. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (IPBES) was agreed to in June 2010 by more than 230 government representatives from more than 80 countries. Its aim is to influence global policy by…
Arguing for a “balanced theory of contingent-necessity in evolution.”
For several days in July, Greenland’s surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its 2-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from…
The idea for an eternal clock that would continue to keep time even after the universe ceased to exist has intrigued physicists. However, no one has figured out how one might be built, until now. Researchers have now proposed an experimental design for a “space-time crystal” that would be able to keep time forever. This…