Humankind’s Existentially Lucky Numbers
By GEORGE JOHNSON Bump the dials just barely on figures like alpha’s value or the mass of the […]
Science
Picture This? Some Just Can’t
By CARL ZIMMER Aphantasia, the inability to summon up mental images, is a little-known condition on the verge […]
The Inevitability of Yellow Teeth
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY In addition to external factors like drinking coffee and smoking, there are at least […]
Lasers, Magnetism Allow Glimpses of the Human Brain at Work
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS To the untrained eye, the graph looked like a very volatile day on Wall […]
Rings and Seasons of Saturn
On Saturn, the rings tell you the season. On Earth, today marks a solstice, the time when the […]
For Faithful, Social Justice Goals Demand Action on Environment
By JUSTIN GILLIS Many faith traditions are awakening to the burden that climate change is placing on poor […]
Toddlers Have Sense of Justice, Puppet Study Shows
By SINDYA N. BHANOO A new study has shown that 3- and 5-year-olds have a sense of so-called […]
Philae Comet Lander Back in Touch After 5-Day Gap
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The European Space Agency says its Philae lander has made contact again after a […]
37.2 Trillion: Galaxies or Human Cells?
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR The counting does not come easily, or exactly, but there are estimates for the number […]
Disappearing Porpoise: Down to 97 and Dropping Fast
By ALLIE WILKINSON The vaquita, found only in the Gulf of California, are threatened by gill-net fishing and […]