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As political upheaval spreads across North Africa and into the Persian Gulf, 2011 may turn out to be as momentous as 1971, the year when the nature of the region's petro-states first took shape.
Chernobyl and Three Mile Island did not stop nuclear power growth. Will the Japan nuclear crisis at Fukushima delay or end the 'nuclear renaissance'? Governments are reassessing their plans.
After 2008’s banking crisis, the recession in 2009, perhaps the next phase of global economic turmoil will come from public finances. The problem is especially acute in top-heavy Europe.
Egyptians voted in overwhelming numbers to approve a set of constitutional amendments, setting the stage for Egypt's first truly contested parliamentary and presidential elections in decades.
The U.S. economy is dealing with its problems by printing trillions of dollars. As these dollars flood the markets, investors have increasingly turned towards gold to hedge their currency doubts.
The Chinese government may be intentionally disrupting access to Google and other Web services as part of a campaign to tighten Internet controls and censor material.
Air power will be enough to escalate this war but not enough to win it. Although prohibited for now by the Security Council, "boots on the ground" will be required to remove Qaddafi.
The recent disasters to befall Japan, to be sure, are tragic, but these losses should not result in more than a small decline in the per capita standard of living of the Japanese people.
As emerging markets become major players in the world economy, nations must insist on growth that distributes income across populations in order to prevent protectionist trade policies.
Television is the most dominant form of cultural expression in our country, beating out movies, print publications, and books. Is it a good idea to cut your kid off in the name of—what exactly?
It's not just how free the market is. Some economists are looking at another factor that determines how much a country’s economy flourishes: how smart its people are.
A new mother’s body goes through many changes—among them, key parts of her brain get bigger. And the more these areas grow, the greater the mother-infant bond seems to be.
Similar to the way Google crawls the Internet, scientists have mapped a three-dimensional circuit of connected cells in the cerebral cortex, allowing them to navigate the mind's jungle.
How do you get your point across over an issue as contentious as climate change? As a hearing in the U.S. Congress last week showed, the evidence alone is not enough.
A host of celebrities from David Lynch to Russel Brand and Moby are helping to popularize meditation. Now many are overcoming its New Age, hippie stereotype and learning to relax.
A computer-music system that interacts directly with the user's brain, by picking up the tiny electrical impulses of neurons, may aid in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Preparing ourselves and our societies for crises—just as Japan does for earthquakes—strengthens communities and helps to calmly pool resources should a tragedy strike.
Distinguished neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran thinks that neuroscience can explain why humans make, or at least appreciate, art. But do we need a scientific explanation of art?
French writer and philosopher Pascal Bruckner says the values that accompany our time's ceaseless drive to be happy are counterproductive—what we need, he says, is a new humility.
The ancient Chinese practice of tai chi appears to relieve symptoms of depression in older people, a new study shows. Slow movement, breathing and meditation have clear health benefits.