Gavin Weightman— Working backwards from the ‘eureka moment’ offers an intriguing perspective: we find the bicycle an inspiration for the aeroplane, a talking automaton suggesting the telephone, early television dependent on discoveries made with a blowpipe and the microchip manufactured with a printing technique that dates from the nineteenth century.
James Owen Weatherall— Imagine a house with no furniture. Is it empty? Presumably I haven’t given enough information to answer the question. There may be other stuff in the house: people, clothes, food, pets. Take all of this away, too. Indeed, take out all of the “stuff,” big and small.
Big ticket items like kidneys, livers, and hearts aren’t the only things that can be extracted from you after death. A look inside the cadaver trade and its shadowy history.
James Doty— Over the past few days, you have heard my colleagues discuss evolution, neuroanatomy, empathy, compassion, affiliative behavior, and the impact of genetics and the environment, as well as the concept of in-group versus out-group. Research is wonderful. It’s a great intellectual exercise. We can learn a great deal
Brian Fagan— Sustainable catches. These magic words now appear on many higher-end restaurant menus. Many top chefs and organic markets are working with fisherfolk to handle only catches from maintainable fisheries. This is wonderful and socially responsible, but how does this move stack up against the bigger picture of severely
Naomi Pfeffer— The existence of for-profit cadaver purveyors is no secret. Yet, it remains a largely invisible issue. Naomi Pfeffer’s thought-provoking work documents the history, politics, and ethics of the cadaver part trade in the United States and Britain as well as the incredible profits made from unpaid—and often unwitting—sources.
The road to social media stardom is difficult and rarely pays well. Brooke Erin Duffy shares stories of success and offers advice and a warning for those looking to make it big.
Everyone could use more sleep. Global sleep expert Dr. Meir Kryger has tips for doing just that along with an explanation of what happens to a body that doesn’t get enough sleep.
Solar eclipses have fascinated us since the beginning of human existence. Astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni discusses the cultural history of eclipses, the science behind them, and gives some tips for watching two upcoming US total solar eclipses.
Jenny Diski— The great advantage over real live creatures that my Three Bears had in common with Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, aside from not needing to be fed or produce droppings, was neoteny. Mickey and my ursine family looked only glancingly like a mouse or brown bears, and much more like babies.