What Is Consciousness and Do Humans Have a Monopoly on It?
There has not been so much excitement about the effect of electricity on the human body since Luigi Galvani discovered that an electrical stimulation of the nerves in the leg muscles of a dead frog caused it to kick. These early experiments inspired Mary Shelley in 1818 to write Frankenstein, a brilliant allegory about the […]
Ebola: Zombie Apocalypse, Biological Warfare or Marketing Hype?
Ask anyone what is Ebola, and the only reasonable answer you might get to this question is that it is a virus. The rest is fantasy, and these flights of fancy are not limited to the general public. At least one scientific editor has described the disease caused by the viral infection as a “Zombie […]
Antarctica’s Accelerating Ice Collapse: Massive Sea Level Rise in Decades
Imagine Antarctica. Imagine an island, with mountains, peaks, ridges, and valleys. Imagine further that a thick layer of ice covers, not only the surface of the island that lies above the sea but also an extensive portion of the perimeter that is beneath the sea. The peaks are higher above sea level than on any […]
Is the Flu Shot Worth the Chemical Cocktail?
With the 2013 flu season peaking from now until April, a question at the top of the debate pile is whether or not to receive a flu shot. Some argue that by not getting yourself vaccinated, you are putting another at risk of exposure to the disease. Others argue that if vaccinations work, then why […]
Climate Change: Dying by Two Degrees
The End Age for humanity will not be a date known to man, but a point of no return from climate change, about which we shall be as oblivious as if we had sleepwalked out of an airplane without a parachute. Scientists will describe their shock at the free fall, calculate the time of impact […]
