The moon, that giant lump of rock that has fascinated poets and scientists alike, may be about to get even more interesting. A new analysis of isotopes found in lunar minerals challenges the prevailing view of how Earth’s nearest neighbor formed. Most scientists believe Earth collided with a hypothetical, Mars-sized planet called Theia early in…
One of the most famous experiments in quantum physics, which first showed how particles can bizarrely behave like waves, has now been carried out on the largest molecules ever. Researchers have sent molecules containing either 58 or 114 atoms through the so-called “double-slit experiment,” showing that they cause an interference pattern that can only be…
Scientists want to know if planets can form near the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy. If so, the black hole could fling them out into space at enormous speeds that, from our vantage point, could appear to approach the speed of light. One way to answer the question, at least as…
A hot topic for several thousand years, the question of whether free will exists may never be settled to everyone’s satisfaction. But in a series of new articles for The Chronicle of Higher Education, six academics from diverse fields offer fresh perspectives from the standpoints of modern neuroscience and philosophy. Ultimately, they voted 4-2 in…
The Rockefeller Foundation and the Institute for the Future have invited gamers from all walks of life to join them on the Catalysts for Change platform to help identify new solutions to global poverty. Participants will leverage 140-character messages to play a game of cards, with each card capturing an idea. Game participants will use…
Increasing production and declining consumption of oil and gas have unexpectedly brought the United States markedly closer to a goal that has tantalized presidents since Richard Nixon: independence from foreign energy sources, a milestone that could reconfigure American foreign policy, the economy and more. In 2011, the country imported just 45 percent of the liquid…
Information security experts believe the blurring of the boundaries between computer and biological viruses is not too far-fetched—and could have very real consequences. The origins of each virus are strikingly different: A computer virus is designed, whereas a biological virus evolves under pressure from natural selection. But what would happen if these origins are switched?…
Every election year, political candidates of all stripes are called “knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.” In a recent column, Washington Post pundit Kathleen Parker asks if it’s fair that many U.S. women see the Republican party in precisely those terms. Barbara King’s question: Is that fair to the Neanderthals? King explains why Neanderthals weren’t at all the cartoonish,…
Even if you think your voting decisions emerge from thoughtful considerations about each candidate’s strengths, studies show that superficial traits have powerful influences on us, too. From their height to the attractiveness of their facial features to the pitch of their voices, according to accumulating evidence, candidates win or lose based on far more than…
Mercury is even weirder than expected, NASA’s MESSENGER probe is showing. For starters, the planet’s interior is built differently than anything else scientists have blueprints for. Unlike Earth’s, Mercury’s core — which gobbles up 85 percent of the planet’s radius — consists of three layers instead of two. At the planet’s heart lies a probable…