Issue_84
29 articles-
Electrons May Very Well Be Conscious
Panpsychists look at the many rungs on the complexity ladder of nature and see no obvious line between mind and no-mind.Illustration by Yurchanka Siarhei / Shutterstock This month, the cover of New Scientist ran the headline, “Is the Universe Conscious?” Mathematician and physicist Johannes Kleiner, at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy in Germany, told […] -
The Hidden Life of Viruses
The COVID-19 crisis has made the dark energy of evolution visible. -
Why COVID-19 Flare-Ups Will Keep Happening
Like earthquakes and forest fires, outbreaks have a “heavy tail” of large events. -
The Carouser and the Great Astronomer
It’s a fine line between oblivion and immortality. -
The Book That Invented the World
Now that we’re corralled into our homes and apartments, something seems pre-modern in how our worlds have shrunk. Unlike past quarantines, we’re also connected by digital technology to the rest of the globe, calling to mind poet John Donne’s line from a 1633 poem about making “one little room an everywhere.” Donne came of age […]
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Why People Feel Misinformed, Confused, and Terrified About the Pandemic
When I worked as a TV reporter covering health and science, I would often be recognized in public places. For the most part, the interactions were brief hellos or compliments. Two periods of time stand out when significant numbers of those who approached me were seeking detailed information: the earliest days of the pandemic that […]
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A Window on Africa’s Resilience
We called Greg Carr the other day to talk about the spread of the coronavirus in Africa. Carr, who has been featured in Nautilus, is the founder of the Gorongosa Restoration Project, a partnership with the Mozambique government to revive Gorongosa National Park, that environmental treasure trove at the southern end of the Rift Valley. […]
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What’s Missing in Pandemic Models
Philosophy is needed to put the science of COVID-19 in perspective.
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How Science Trumps Denial
Scientists putting their career and health on the line can take heart from Galileo.
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Guided by Plant Voices
Plants talk to this ecologist. They tell her how to do better science. -
How COVID-19 Will Pass from Pandemic to Prosaic
The final outcome of COVID-19 will ultimately be decided by our patience and the financial bottom line. -
Straight Talk About a COVID-19 Vaccine
There are many challenges to developing a vaccine that will be successful against COVID-19.eamesBot / Shutterstock Wayne Koff is one of the world’s experts on vaccine development, the president and CEO of the Human Vaccines Project. He possesses a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges along the road to a safe and effective vaccine […] -
The Economic Damage Is Barely Conceivable
In America, people who lose jobs don’t necessarily get them back. -
The Ecological Vision That Will Save Us
To avoid the next pandemic, we need a reckoning with our place in nature.