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"It is really just a few decades since human rights became the world's preferred vocabulary for talking about justice." Slate reviews a new book on the history of human rights claims.
"Eat your heart out, Wolverine. The X-Men superhero won't be the only one with with metal fused into his skeleton if a new titanium foam proves suitable for strengthening bones."
"Advances in laser technology and the field of quantum information science have allowed researchers to demonstrate Einstein’s theories at much more ordinary scales."
"For millions of addicts around the world, Alcoholics Anonymous's basic text—informally known as the Big Book—is the Bible. And as they're about to find out, the Bible was edited."
"The world will soon get to know a lot more about the low-profile billionaire, or at least Hollywood's version of him." A film based on Mark Zuckerberg opens Friday in New York.
"If you adjust for inflation and income, Americans have never spent less on food than they have in recent years. And yet many feel we've also never paid such a high price."
"It has been the defining style of our era, but now it’s in retreat. Intelligent Life's Stephen Bayley works out whether less will soon be no more."
"The frontal cortex isn’t fully formed until late adolescence which means that the ability to concentrate is just beginning to solidify in babies. The result is that little kids struggle to focus."
"Now management science looks set for a thorough, biology-inspired overhaul. Expect plenty more lab coats in business-school corridors." The Economist on behavioral science.
"Economists may think of growth as endless, but the fact is that the Earth is finite, and sooner or later, as the human population soars towards nine billion, limits will be reached."
Philosophy and physics are not often thought of together in academia. While physicists develop calculations and models to describe the world around them, philosophers are more interested in the fuzzier […]
"Why does spicy food taste 'hot'? After all, a chili pepper at room temperature will still 'burn' our tongue and cause us to sweat." The Frontal Cortex on the physiology of taste.
"Extreme inequality in the U.S. is the result of tax-cutting ideology, which showers largesse on the GOP's deepest-pocketed supporters." Yale and Berkeley political science professors weigh in.
"With her latest show of edgy work on view in Berlin, Yoko Ono proves she can still pack a punch." Intelligent Life reviews the artist's show, Das Gift.
"Nations laid out their claims to territory in the polar North yesterday and the vast untapped mineral wealth that lies under the Arctic Ocean." The Independent reports.
"Computer simulations show that a stiff wind blowing from the east for 12 hours could have given the Israelites a land bridge that allowed them to escape Egypt over 3000 years ago."
"A newly-leaked study—which advises the German military—paints a bleak picture of the post-peak oil world, including a complete market collapse and various forms of social unrest."
"Today, the 'frankenfish'—a genetically modified salmon. Tomorrow, a 'frankenpig'? Probably." The Christian Science Monitor on the future of food in America.
How you sit and which hand you wright with may in part determine you political preferences. Recent research reveals that irrational processes account for much of our behavior.
Business and economics, not technology, are the real keys to progress in the energy frontier, says Department of Energy Under Secretary Steven Koonin.