Science & Society

Have you ever pondered public radio fund drives? Whether you’ve supported the station or not (I do), the drive persists; they keep asking for money the whole, dreary week. If you pay on the first day…

The question of whether record snows in the Northeast US says something about climate change is a scientific question. The NY Times shows us how not to report on a scientific issue: Skeptics of…

Wondering if the "natural" cleaning product you're using is really all that natural? Well, soon you won't have to wonder - the Natural Products Association (NPA) released a set of guidelines today…

Electronic cigarettes fail to deliver nicotine to the consumer and be should be regulated and packaged in a manner consistent with the product's effect – even if that effect is a total failure to…

"The Age of Stupid," a 2009 docudrama set in 2055, asks why didn't we save Earth when we had the chance. "Stupid" was first conceived by Director Franny Armstrong as a documentary integrating themes…

Marc Cenedella has excavated an old resume of da Vinci, the very definition of 'renaissance man' and  'genius'.  At the time, da Vinci was applying to work for the Duke of Milan. Wired UK…

The trial over gene patents, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al., is beginning. Discover summarizes the case: When Lisbeth Ceriani, a 43-year-old…

We scientists have a desperate need to make our science interesting to everyone-- including ourselves. Our terminology reflects this. In astronomy, we have the Big Bang. In comp sci, computers Crash…

The scientific community may agree that anthropogenic global warming poses a real threat, but the general public isn't all that worried about the changing climate. Public concern about global warming…

Planet Earth's Vanishing Act Dr Frank Drake said the phasing out of analogue transmissions from television, radio and radar was making our planet electronically invisible from outer space. "I was…