Pumpkin Spice Lattes Aren’t Going to Kill Us

Many Foods We Eat Contain Chemicals with Unpronounceable Names, But That Doesn’t Mean We Have to Fear Them

We have a love-hate relationship with mass-produced food. It is convenient, consistent, and inhospitable to the bacteria and mold that for most of human existence limited how long we could store and eat certain foods. But every few months, a revelation about the modern food we take for granted emerges to stoke our anxieties.

You may have heard at the end of August about Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte which contains, with every autumnal sip, Class IV Caramel Color and a tiny bit of 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), a chemical produced when the …

by Raychelle Burks | October 13, 2014

The Path to Mars Goes From Lebanon to Pasadena

Growing Up in the Middle East, I Loved John Wayne and Gazing at the Stars. I Came to America Believing Nothing Was Impossible.

by Charles Elachi | September 25, 2014

“Only the United States could do this.” Those words were uttered by the head of a foreign space agency who was one of my VIP guests at NASA’s Jet Propulsion …

When Science and Science Fiction Collide

Lawrence M. Krauss and Neal Stephenson on Optimism, Inspiration, and the Problem with Human Space Travel

by Sarah Rothbard | September 16, 2014

What happens when you bring together scientists and science fiction writers? Zócalo and the Arizona State University Center for Science and the Imagination brought physicist Lawrence M. Krauss and science …

What Came First—the Fiction or the Science?

Hieroglyph

by Lawrence M. Krauss | September 13, 2014

Did most astronauts grow up watching Star Trek—and is it possible they learned anything useful from the adventures of the USS Enterprise? Is it coincidence that Isaac Asimov was the …

Let’s Violate the Laws of Physics

Ideas from Science Fiction That Should Become Reality

September 12, 2014

Science fiction writers can be eerily prescient. Consider what John Brunner got right about our world in 2010, as described in his 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar: a world shaken …

If You Want to Be a Rock Star, Study Physics

Convincing Teenagers That Energy and Entropy Are Sexy Could Give the U.S. a Much-Needed Boost in Science Education

by Christine McKinley | August 19, 2014

In high school, instead of calling the study of motion and energy “Basic Physics,” I propose we call it “Advanced Tactics for Rock Stars and Secret Agents.” To kick off …

How Quarantine Has Turned Us Into Gardeners of Our Bodies’ Ancient Microbial Wilderness

As We Separate to Avoid a Virus, We Are Becoming Islands of Social Bacteria, Fungi, and Even Mites

The Deadly Toxin Outbreak That Spurred America’s Food Safety System

To Prevent Botulism in Tinned Goods, Scientists and Canners Worked With the Government to Protect the Public

Why We Need to Define “Nanomaterial”

Ambiguity Makes It Difficult to Regulate the Technology’s Potential Benefits and Harm to Our Bodies and Environment

Go Ahead: Eat Your Genetically Modified Vegetables

Experts Say GMO Controversies Are Overblown—and Distract Us From Bigger Food Problems

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