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Category Archives: Science
The Age of Re-Engineering: How Science Is Rewriting the Limits of Human Life
Just a century ago, the average human life expectancy in the United States hovered around 65 years. When the Social Security Act was signed into law in 1935, that exact age was chosen as the baseline for eligibility. The choice … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged aging, Aubrey de Grey, biology, CRISPR, DNA, gene editing, gene therapy, genetics, genome, healthspan, life, life expectancy, lifespan, longevity, longevity escape velocity, medicine, Shinya Yamanaka, Steven Austad
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Beyond Plastic: Rediscovering the Materials That Served Humanity for Millennia
When I recently wrote about our civilization quietly poisoning itself with microplastics, one reader asked a perfectly reasonable question: “If not plastic, then what?” It’s the right question. We’ve become so accustomed to plastic that many people can’t imagine life … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Society, Technology
Tagged cast iron, ceramics, chemistry, cookware, glass, history, microplastics, nanoplastics, plastic, pollution, public health, science, silicone, steel, technology
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A Civilization Poisoned by Progress: From Lead Pipes to Microplastics
History rarely repeats itself perfectly, but it often rhymes in chilling ways. We often look back at the giants of the past and wonder how a civilization so advanced, so structured and so dominant could simply dissolve. No collapse comes … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Society
Tagged dystopia, economy, extinction, future, history, Imperial Rome, lead, microplastics, nanoplastics, plastic, pollution, public health, science, technology
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These Aren’t the Aliens You’re Looking For
On a recent visit, my mother asked me what my thoughts were on those declassified UFO videos the United States government released. You know the ones, grainy, green-tinted, dramatic and supposedly the definitive proof that E.T. is playing tag with … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Air Force, alien life, aliens, Area 51, aviation, conspiracy, extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials, JANET, Lockheed, mythology, Nevada, Paradise Ranch, Roswell, science, UFO, ufologists
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Why Leave Earth? (An Earth Day Reflection on Going Beyond It)
This Earth Day, while we celebrate the only home we’ve ever known, it might seem strange to talk about leaving it, but after my recent post on the Artemis II mission, a reader asked a question that stopped me in … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Technology
Tagged Artemis II, Earth, Earth Day, exploration, International Space Station, Mars, Moon, NASA, science, space
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Riding the Invisible Currents of Gravity
After exploring why gravity doesn’t “turn off” and why astronauts in low Earth orbit are really just falling forever, we can finally follow that idea to its natural conclusion: what happens when you keep falling all the way to the … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Technology
Tagged Artemis II, Christina Koch, Earth, equi-gravis, falling, free-return trajectory, gravity, Jeremy Hansen, Lagrange points, Mars, Moon, orbital mechanics, physics, Reid Wiseman, rocketry, science, space travel, three-body problem, translunar trajectory, Victor Glover, weightlessness
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Falling Forever: Why 200 Miles Up Feels Like Zero Gravity
After I wrote about losing gravity, I was asked a great follow-up question: if the Earth is a massive object warping the fabric of spacetime and pulling everything toward it, why do astronauts appear like they’re floating in a giant … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged acceleration, artificial gravity, centrifugal force, Earth, freefall, general relativity, generational spacecraft, geodesic, Gravitron, gravity, International Space Station, Low Earth Orbit, mass, NASA, orbit, orbital mechanics, physics, relativity, science, spacetime, Sun, Vomit Comet, weight, weightlessness
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The Cheeseburger Constituency: Why Your Bathroom Scale Doesn’t Care How You Vote
I dread talking politics. In the current climate, saying “good morning” can feel like a partisan statement. No matter what I say, I risk offending half the room, and in a world where we’ve forgotten how to bridge the “Space … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Science, Society
Tagged causation, cheeseburgers, correlation, data analysis, economics, elections, food, ice cream, obesity, opinions, politics, sharks, statistics, voting
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