Explore
Search results
The #MeToo movement has inspired a sister movement called #USToo, designed to expose and eliminate sexual harassment in the sciences. A sweeping new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine looks at the extent to which women in these fields are harassed on campuses, research labs, medical centers and other academic environments. The chillin...
Published studies have documented the many physical and mental health benefits of meditation, including decreased pain, better immune function, less anxiety and depression, a heightened sense of well-being, and greater happiness and emotional self-control. Google Scholar turns up almost 700,000 research documents on meditation, among them imaging studies that show increase...
Marijuana is now legal for medical purposes in 29 states, and nine states allow it to be sold for recreational use. With broad claims made for its physiological and psychological value, cannabis is being used to treat seizures and glaucoma, reduce pain and inflammation, stimulate appetite, lessen stress, boost the immune system, and much more. It has also been widely adopt...
The decline in trust of scientific institutions over the course of the pandemic is manifested in the number of Americans worried about the truth of scientific progress and the abilities of scientific leaders to be objective and credible. How do we rebuild trust?
The Biden administration’s vow to “trust the science” is admirable — but what does it truly mean? Trust in science and medical experts has been on the decline since the COVID-19 pandemic began, so are we truly following the advice of scientific experts? What can policymakers, business leaders, and citizens themselves do to better understand scientific and rational thinking...
Technology is swiftly disrupting all the norms of health care delivery, and more radical change lies ahead. Unmanned aerial vehicles (better known as drones) are delivering supplies; health services are moving out of medical settings and into the community; telemedicine is bringing specialty care to remote areas; and “collective superintelligence” at the intersection of hu...
Recent scientific evidence has confirmed significant links between lifestyle habits and cognitive health, but the many reports are often confusing, and sometimes contradictory. What does the new research reveal, and where do knowledge gaps remain? Can we translate what we are learning into practical strategies for improving memory performance and optimizing brain health?
While researching an article on the US Memory Championships, writer Joshua Foer was equally dubious and intrigued by one contestant’s claim that even an average memory, if used properly, could win the contest. After a year of memory training, under the tutelage of the world’s top memory athletes, he won the competition. Foer uses a live demonstration to show that there’s m...
The ability to endure is the essential trait in every extreme athletic endeavor. Hundred-mile races, Himalayan Mountain expeditions, and cross-continental treks all require humans to push harder and achieve more than we ever thought possible. How important is the delicate interplay between mind and body in the struggle to keep pushing despite an agonizing will to stop? Wha...
Genomic discoveries were supposed to transform medicine and move us to a new vision of preventive health care. But 15 years after the Human Genome Project was complete, that still hasn’t happened. Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer genetics companies are bypassing health care providers to market ancestry, disease risk, diet, exercise and even dating and wine applications direc...
Rural residents photograph ailing chickens to monitor the spread of Avian flu, mountaineer adventurers collect scat samples so microbes in isolated locations can be identified, and sailors take water samples that reveal the plastic afloat in the world’s oceans. These citizen scientists are ordinary people who collect data in the field that support researchers warning of di...
Atlantic Senior Editor Derek Thompson's national best-selling book looks at the hidden psychology of why we like what we like and reveals the economics of cultural markets that invisibly shape our lives. Shattering the sentimental myths of hit-making that dominate pop culture and business, Thompson shows that nothing “goes viral,” that quality is insufficient for success,...
No argument against genomic editing is going to halt that advancing science, given the remarkable potential of CRISPR and other disruptive technologies to treat or cure disease. But the pace of knowledge has come at breakneck speed, outpacing dialogue about the ethics and safety of altering human DNA. The announcement last November that a Chinese researcher had created the...
The recent leaps of science—sequencing the human genome, advancing the world-changing technology of CRISPR, deepening knowledge of the brain—owe much to Francis Collins’s brilliant mind and steady hand. Who better, then, to talk about what transformative discoveries come next? Genomics, immunotherapy, precision medicine, new uses for mRNA technology, and other interdiscipl...
Patients, and the networks of people who support them, already play a powerful role in sharpening our understanding of disease, but much more can be done to center their experiences in the design of biomedical research. With encouragement from the scientific, medical, consumer, and philanthropic communities, patients facing a broad range of medical challenges can grow thei...
Those who study human behavior have learned that simply by encouraging—or “nudging”—individuals toward the right decisions for themselves, dramatic improvements can be made. Cultural commentator David Brooks and Cass Sunstein, legal scholar and the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School, discuss the power of “nud...
Science communicators Greg and Mitch of AsapSCIENCE share their journey of using science to connect with an array of audiences and advocate for big issues such as climate change action and diversity. Join this live session, with Q&A, where you’ll learn how to use science in your own field to compel audiences to care about your cause. Presented by YouTube
Do you think of yourself as an introvert or an extrovert? Or have you discovered that you are an ambivert, a balanced person with some features of both personality types? At cocktail parties these days, there is talk that introverts are on the rise, but in truth there is no one “right” way to be – just ways that work best for each one of us. Nidhi Berry combines her exper...
Cutting-edge science reveals that if we adopt behaviors reflecting power and strength, we liberate ourselves from the fears and doubts that obstruct us. By redirecting our thoughts, actions, and even physiology, we free ourselves to be our best. Amy Cuddy, author of the upcoming book Presence, reveals the science underlying these and many other fascinating body-mind effect...
More than 140,000 people from more than 140 countries have told researchers just what they think and feel about science and key health challenges, such as vaccinations. Wellcome is releasing the findings for the first time at Aspen Ideas: Health. The largest such survey to date cuts across language, culture, and literacy levels to reveal how much people trust science, whet...