Science Just Gets in the Way of Things Being How We Want Them
Look, I know what I know. I think
Stories by Steve Mirsky
Economics Nobel Highlights Climate Action Necessity
William Nordhaus shared the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” with Paul Romer, "for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis."
Better Living through Evolution: Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using evolutionary principles to create highly efficient enzymes and antibodies, with numerous practical applications.
Nobel in Chemistry for New and Useful Chemical Entities via Evolutionary Principles
Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith and Gregory P. Winter share the 2018 chemistry Nobel for developing evolutionary-based techniques that lead to the creation of new chemical entities with useful properties.
Laser Advances That Changed Our Lives: Nobel Prize in Physics
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland shared the Nobel Prize for finding ways to control and enhance laser light, leading to numerous common applications.
Nobel in Physics for Controlling Laser Light
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland share the 2018 physics Nobel for their work with lasers that have led to numerous practical applications, such as eye surgery.
Unleashing Immunity against Cancer: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
James P. Allison and and Tasuku Honjo shared the Nobel Prize for their discovery of inhibition of negative immune regulation, the basis of new drugs against cancer.
Nobel for Helping the Immune System Fight Cancer
James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo share the Nobel Prize for their work on harnessing the cancer patient's own immune system to destroy tumors.
Blasey Ford Spells Out Trauma Memory Formation
Christine Blasey Ford's professional expertise came into play during her testimony regarding the Supreme Court nomination.
Where There's a Wills There's a Way to Explain the Home Run Rise
Astrophysicist and sports data scientist Meredith Wills talks about why a subtle change in major league baseballs may be behind the jump in home runs after 2014.
More People, but Less Hardship?
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann talks about the just-issued Goalkeepers Report, tracking progress against poverty and disease even as the population keeps rising.
Pirates Needed Science, Too
On International Talk Like a Pirate Day, here's an eye-patch-witness account of how science helps in all peg-leg walks of life, even piracy
Here's Looking at Humanity, Kid
Senior Editor Gary Stix talks about the September special issue of Scientific American, devoted to the science of being human. And Brown University evolutionary biologist Ken Miller discusses human chromosome 2 and what it tells us about us.
Beavers Made America Great, a New Book Explains
Castor canadensis constructed a continent
Life at the Improv: The Power of Imagination
Stephen Asma, professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, talks about his two latest books, The Evolution of Imagination and Why We Need Religion.
New Research about Eating, Sleeping, Eliminating and Snuggling
Recent research looks at basic bodily functions
Out with the Bad Science
NPR science journalist Richard Harris talks about his book, Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope and Wastes Billions.
Jupiter's Moon Total Hits 79
The International Astronomical Union reports that there are now 79 known Jovian moons, with a dozen found last year.
A Look at the Inner Lives of 13 Species of Animals You Think You Know
Animals' inner lives are stranger than we can imagine
Favorite Wine Grapes May Need Genetic Help
Wine book author Kevin Begos explains that just a few varieties of wine grapes dominate the industry, which leaves them vulnerable to potentially catastrophic disease outbreaks.