Arts & Culture
Captain America vs. Thanos: Who's on the Side of Science?
The newly released film Avengers: Endgame can help us make sense of some real-world biotechnology
Stories by E. Paul Zehr
Policy & Ethics
Human Gene Editing: Great Power, Great Responsibility
Modifying the human germline has profound implications and must be approached with extraordinary care
Space
Captain America on Mars
The Marvel hero's origin story has implications for human adaptation to living on other planets
Policy & Ethics
The Olympic Motto, Cellular Memories and the Epigenetic Effects of Doping
Performance-enhancing substances such as steroids can still have an effect after athletes stop using them
Project Superhero: Using Pop Culture to Inspire Kids’ Interest in Science
In my pop-sci writing, mainly here, at Psychology Today, and in the books Becoming Batman and Inventing Iron Man, I use superheroes as foils for communicating science.
Putting Rocket Raccoon's Hippocampus Into Hyperdrive
Rocket Racoon is a stand out character in Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's rebooted comic series, which was adapted into a movie that came out August 1.
The Sciences
We're All X-Men as Far as Genetic Mutations Go
"Mutants became objects of fear and hatred." — Kitty Pryde narrating in the story "Days of Future Past" found in The Uncanny X-Men #141 in January 1980 "In her DNA they found the key to her mutant power." — Professor X musing about how Mystique was used to derive special powers for the Sentinel army [...]..
Tech
Spider-Man, Rhino and What It Takes to Power an Exoskeleton
"Get your mechanized mitts in the air!" — Spider-Man to Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 Sony Pictures) Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and appearing initially in a story by Lee with art by Jack Kirby in Amazing Fantasy #15 in August of 1962, Spider-Man has been a hugely popular and ever [...]..
Tech
Out of the Deep Freeze: Captain America, The Winter Soldier and the Wood Frog
"Put him back on ice..." -- Evil Hydra scientist Arnim Zola speaking about Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier There's a great convergence of activities occurring right now...
The exoskeletons are here! Inventing Iron Man Update 3.0
The fictional Iron Man exoskeleton debuted in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963 and was conceived, designed, created, and piloted by “world’s greatest engineer” Tony Stark.
Health
Fighting Tooth and Claw with Wolverine—Examining the Healing Power of an X-Man
“[Wolverine’s] mutation…He has uncharted regenerative capabilities, enabling him to heal rapidly…” Dr. Jean Grey to Cyclops and Professor Charles Xavier in the Marvel movie “X-Men” (2000) Wolverine was created, designed, and drawn by Len Wein, John Romita Sr., and Herb Trimpe and had his full comic book debut in “The Incredible Hulk” #181 in November [...]..
Evolution
Fighting Tooth and Claw with Wolverine Examining the Healing Power of an X-Man
“[Wolverine’s] mutation…He has uncharted regenerative capabilities, enabling him to heal rapidly…” Dr. Jean Grey to Cyclops and Professor Charles Xavier in the Marvel movie “X-Men” (2000) Wolverine was created, designed, and drawn by Len Wein, John Romita Sr., and Herb Trimpe and had his full comic book debut in “The Incredible Hulk” #181 in November of 1974...
Health
The Man of Steel, Myostatin, and Super Strength
As an infant, the Man Of Steel escaped Krypton’s red sun in a rocket lovingly prepared for him by his parents. Kal-L (but more commonly known as Kal-El) arrived under our yellow sun in Smallville to eventually become Clark Kent...
Mind
Iron Man Extreme Firmware Update 3.0
“Undergoing the Extremis Procedure remade my body from the inside out. Long story short, my body was turned into a kind of computer designed to interface with the Iron Man.
Health
Iron Man s Top 10 Heavy Metal Moments Reflections on the First 50 Years of Scientific R&D from Stark Industries
At the risk of stating the obvious, a key component of Iron Man’s mythology is the suit of armor. And all the science and engineering research and development that Tony Stark has poured into that suit—and related technology—through Stark Industries.With the next Marvel Studies movie (“Iron Man 3”) coming up in May, I thought this was a good time to reflect back on the Armored Avenger and some of the key moments in his last half century of life...
Evolution
Bumps and Bruises from Bruce to Batman, and Beyond
“Years of rigorous athletic training have enabled the Batman not only to resist but to recover from the brutal beating that would have mortally injured most men!” Comment in “Professor Strange’s fear dust” from Detective Comics #46, December 1940 “Wayne swaps the brace to his bad knee...
Evolution
Assembling an Avenger-Inside the Brain of Iron Man
When I first started reading comic books there were many superheroes that interested me. Naturally the list included Batman, Iron Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Thor, Nova, the Flash, the Black Panther, the Phantom, and lots more.What I enjoyed best of all were team ups where you got more heroes per page...
Health
The Fall and Rise of the Dark Knight-the Difficulties of Batman's Life While He Exists
[In 2008, JR Minkel interviewed me about my first book “ Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero ” and produced the scientificamerican.c
