Outsiders
The “Lab Leak”: It’s Not Enough to Say Accidents Happen
So far no one has come up with any clear account of how a coronavirus escaped biosafety level 4 barriers. Photograph by MihasLi / Shutterstock Disasters evoke a search for who to blame. Mishandled disasters make that search vital for anyone whose actions or inactions may have amplified the catastrophe’s damage. As the official United […]
How to Make Sense of Contradictory Science Papers
Published research is less about conclusions than science at play.
Tarzan Wasn’t for Her
It took an outsider to restore women to the story of human evolution.
How Taboos Can Help Protect the Oceans
Pacific Islanders are charting a new course for ocean conservation.
Are We Cut Out for Universal Morality?
If objective ethical values exist, we’ll have to give up tribalism to realize them.
Science Isn’t Here for Your Mommy Shaming
When people sensationalize research, parents pay the price.
The English Professor Who Foresaw Modern Neuroscience
Science and the humanities weren’t separate cultures to this critic.
The Profound Potential of Elon Musk’s New Rocket
An aerospace engineer explains why SpaceX’s Starship will change everything.
The Country Gentleman of Physics
Julian Barbour’s ideas about time and the universe have always roamed free of academia.
If Only 19th-Century America Had Listened to a Woman Scientist
Where might the US be if it heeded her discovery of global warming’s source?
