A gene believed to have protected human survival in ancient times may have become a rogue agent that nudges many contemporary humans toward Alzheimer’s disease. Fluorescent In-Situ Hybridization (FISH) identification of human chromosomes, Image by Steven M. Carr, after original by Genetix Dr. Ben Trumble is an anthropologist trained in evolutionary medicine who spent years learning about the lives of the Tsimane people, an indigenous forager-farming group in Bolivia. Interviewed in a New York Times story by Pagan [...]

Astrophysicist Finds Planets in Orbital Resonance When the discovery of TRAPPIST-1, a system of seven earth sized planets orbiting around a sun 39 light years from our sun, was announced earlier this year, astronomers were excited by the possibility of life in these distant worlds. It appeared there might be lakes and oceans on the surfaces of three or more of these planets. Daniel Tamayo, an astrophysicist at the University of Toronto at Scarborough’s Center for Planetary Sciences and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, had a different focus. A Quanta magazine article by [...]

Imagination and Creativity are Different Are we so enamored with technical innovations, with the incremental improvements to all our gadgets, devices and the latest trendy life styles fads that we forget the possibilities of grander visions? Brian Reich thinks so. In his new book, The Imagination Gap, Reich argues that the pace of change today is so rapid that it's easy to become focused on small novelties that we think will make our lives dramatically different. He calls it innovation [...]