From the Big Bang to This Commentary
In the 13.7 blog, Marcelo and Adam Frank aimed to present the passion, the drama, the social and intellectual relevance of science as one of the deepest expressions of engagement with the unknown.
April 12, 2018
Suffering From Nature Deficit Disorder? Try Forest Bathing
Positive scientific results aside, the idea of shinrin-yoku shouldn't be surprising: Who hasn't felt an inner sense of well-being when walking along a forest trail?
April 9, 2018
Teaching and Learning at the Boundaries of Two Cultures
We all stand to lose from the gulf between the sciences and the humanities — and the classroom is the ideal place for conversations between these two cultures to unfold.
April 2, 2018
Wrinkling Time to Heal a Family
Showing science's enchanting side has the almost magical effect of opening new portals to what is possible.
March 27, 2018
The Universe According to Albert Einstein: Relativity
When Einstein, born 139 years ago last Wednesday, came onto the science scene, physics was in crisis. New ideas were badly needed — it was the perfect moment for a trailblazer.
March 20, 2018
Life Hacking Life: The Scary Premise of 'Annihilation'
As with Ex Machina, director Alex Garland is sending a warning: We are now hacking life itself and will continue to do so with growing efficiency. Are we creating our own doom?
March 13, 2018
Biometric Data and the Rise of Digital Dictatorship
As historian and author Yuval Harari suggests, market forces and investor greed will keep moving the data revolution forward. But there are balancing forces to this onslaught.
March 6, 2018
Can We Change the Past?
Putting humans and consciousness aside, at the level of quantum particles Wheeler's Delayed-Choice experiments show that actions in the present can influence the past.
February 28, 2018
A Scientific Search For A Ghost (Particle)
Scientists put a lot of effort into uncovering the history of these tiny bits of matter, in the hopes that it will tell us something about the universe.
February 21, 2018
Our Ancestors, Elon Musk, and the First Car in Space
Musk's successful rocket launch is a step on the ambitious road to Mars; as with our adventurous ancestors, where we might go seems to be limited only by our imagination.
February 13, 2018
The Microbial Eve: Our Oldest Ancestors Were Single-Celled Organisms
Consider this: Evidence points to a microbial Eve as our first ancestor — a tough, underwater organism withstanding extremes that became every other creature to ever live.
February 6, 2018
Welcome to the Age of Digital Transcendence
Smartphones have become an extension of the owner; it is the closest we've ever become to being omnipresent and omniscient and — in a metaphorical sense, at least — divine.
January 30, 2018
Black Holes: Where Reality Beats Fiction
We know that at the heart of pretty much every galaxy, there is a giant black hole. There is a lot that we know about black holes — and a lot that we don't know.
January 23, 2018
Man As God: 'Frankenstein' Turns 200
Mary Shelley cautioned us of the dangers of extending science into realms where we have little control of the outcomes; may we all read her tale — and take in its lessons.
January 16, 2018
UFO Investigations: The Science and the Will to Believe
Employing science's methodology is key — as it's the best antidote we have to the very human propensity to turn something we want to believe into a reality.
January 9, 2018
Latest 'Star Wars' Teaches the Value of Failure
The Last Jedi highlights the need for failure to find success, as the ongoing dynamic of The Force — the tug-of-war between good and evil — aptly defines our humanity.
December 28, 2017
Without the U.S. Government, the World Unites to Fight Climate Change
The One Planet Summit went on without President Trump last week. But state and local leaders in attendance renewed calls for adherence to the Paris Agreement targets.
December 20, 2017
Can Science Teach Us Something About How to Live?
In science, and in life, there is an artful balance between being cautious and adventurous; to find the balance takes experimentation, tolerance for mistakes, and humility.
December 13, 2017
Science and the Mystery of the Mind
We are still as ignorant about the "passage from the physics of the brain to the corresponding facts of consciousness" as John Tyndall and his Victorian colleagues were.
December 6, 2017
Video: A View of a Breathing Earth
In this visualization, based on data collected by scientists, we see Earth changing — its plants, surface winds, and sea currents responding to the energy coming from the sun.
December 4, 2017