No Death, No Taxes
The libertarian futurism of Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.
No Death, No Taxes
The libertarian futurism of Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.
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Bouncing Back May Be Tough, But So Are We
In 2005 the National Science Foundation brought together some unlikely collaborators—ecologists and psychologists among them—to talk about resilience. It turns out they had a lot in common. For decades researchers in each field had been studying the ways in which external events and stresses could transform complex systems. Their conclusions were strikingly similar: Resilience is…
Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over Record Distances
Two teams of researchers have extended the reach of quantum teleportation to unprecedented lengths, roughly equivalent to the distance between New York City and Philadelphia. But don’t expect teleportation stations to replace airports or train terminals—the teleportation scheme shifts only the quantum state of a single photon. And although part of the transfer happens instantaneously,…
Global Body Seeks Unified Approach to Assessing Science
The leaders of about 50 national research agencies in both the developed and developing worlds have announced the establishment of a Global Research Council (GRC) intended to examine issues of importance to science-funding agencies worldwide. According to a report on Nature News Blog, the GRC has already agreed to observe six principles for using peer…
Science, Faith, Politics … and Wolves
Once again, science, religion and politics have become entwined in a thorny public policy debate. This time, however, the discussion is not about abortion, birth control or health insurance mandates. It’s about wolves. Specifically, a bill in the Wisconsin Legislature to authorize a hunting season on wolves. Hunters approve of the season, and Republicans are…
You Can’t Do the Math Without the Words
Most people learn to count when they are children. Yet surprisingly, not all languages have words for numbers. A recent study shows that a few tongues lack number words and as a result, people in these cultures have a difficult time performing common quantitative tasks. The findings add new insight to the way people acquire…
Scientists Define New Limits of Microbial Life in Undersea Volcanoes
By some estimates, a third of Earth’s organisms live in our planet’s rocks and sediments, yet their lives are almost a complete mystery. The recent work of microbiologist James Holden of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and colleagues shines a light into this dark world. In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they…