Historically, most people have worried a lot about demons. In fact, while we are accustomed to think of pre-modern history as an age characterized by belief in God, it may […]

Recently, the FDA approved a home HIV testing kit to purchase over-the-counter.

The Supreme Court has helped define two kinds of patriotism: One which defends against outside intruders and one which promotes the common good. We need more of the latter.

Is religion the only thing that can inspire feelings of a transcendent hope? Perhaps that is the wrong question. Do we even need hope to live? British philosopher Julian Baggini responds. 

For Safraz Manzoor, a father of a 10 month-old daughter, most of the "advice" he received came in the form of societal expectations. Now he opens up about what fatherhood is really like. 

Intervening on the great  Crooked Timber vs. Bleeding Hearts Libertarians debate on freedom in the workplace, Matthew Yglesias says: My standard approach to this is that in almost all political contexts, including this one, both […]

Mind reading devices that can alert soldiers to things they've seen, but that their brains aren't yet aware of, could save lives. Some scientists worry it could also extend the theater of war. 

The big news this week is that the Large Hadron Collider, the massive particle accelerator at the European physics lab CERN, has apparently discovered the elusive and long-sought subatomic particle […]

In question is nothing less than the nature of literature from an evolutionary perspective. 

It’s a big challenge being a spiritual teacher in a secular culture. What could be more disconcerting than being a religious authority in a world where there is no consensus […]

If you think of all of the greatest viral campaigns in the world, you’d struggle to think of many from Asia. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t trying, and you […]

Competition is driving companies to automate more and more middle-class jobs. Sectors of the economy like legal research and nursing are being "hallowed out" says an MIT economist. 

This post is an introductory framework for moral infanticide. Before we can even discuss cases of ending an infant’s life for non-medical reasons, we must understand why infants’ lives can […]

By optimizing technologies currently on the market, cars will soon be unclogging traffic jams more efficiently than humans can. After the jam is cleared, control of the car is returned to the driver. 

By storing quantum data, or qubits, inside a specially-made diamond, researchers have made a technological breakthrough that should allow for a host of real-world quantum applications. 

Any doomsday prophet worth her salt will tell you about the coming water wars. But with the help of nanotechnology, desalination could become far less energy-intensive, i.e. cheaper.

The Higgs boson has helped scientists confirm that there exists a vast, though nearly invisible, field of energy without which all the Universe would be massless whizzing forces. 

Matt Yglesias replies to an argument from Mike Konczal: Mike Konczal has a fairly compelling argument that it would make sense to dismantle the entire crazy quilt of "submerged state" […]

When NASA's newest Mars rover, Curiosity, touches down, scientists will study its landing technology to understand how suitable it would be for sending a manned mission to Mars.

One piece of evidence among many that we live in a decadent time (decadence ain't all bad, but...) is that patriotism has become so controversial.  I'm going to avoid the […]