The Hyper-Vigilante
Well intentioned as they may be, trigger warnings nevertheless confuse victim with expert, and expert with advocate.
Dispatches
Animal, Vegetable, Intelligence
The humble cockatoo. Smarter than you think. (CC: David Cook Wildlife Photography) Plant neurobiologists argue the ways in which plants demonstrate behaviors that look very much like intelligence, memory, learning, and decision-making. Rather than relying on a brain and neurons, plants use a decentralized network, but both plants and…
Trans Fats’ Last Stand
Trans fats have met their final fate in an FDA ban. About time.
The Atomic Frenchman
The surprising positivist connection between Serge Gainsbourg and the Manhattan Project.
Let It Bee
No one will starve to death if honeybees disappea. But our food choices will be severely limited.
Language By Law
With 2010's Plain Writing Act, the U.S. government launched an official war against the "gobbledygook" and bureaucratize it helped create.
Desalination Complication
Why desalination is not as simple as filtering seawater.
Friendly Eyes
How the hormone of Oxytocin bonds us to man's best friend.
Faking It
The difference between the authentic and the fabricated is not always so clear.
What Is “Natural”?
We no longer need the term “natural,” but we do need products that are safe, well-researched, and sustainable.