Tag: Science

March 16, 2012

Nicoli Nattrass on Pro-Science Advocacy and Challenging AIDS Denialists

We conclude our week-long feature on The AIDS Conspiracy: Science Fights Back, by Nicoli Nattrass with an excerpt from her conclusion in which she considers the challenges in confronting AIDS denialists particularly in the Internet Age: Will This Popular Enlightenment...

February 23, 2012

Scientific American Interviews Michael E. Mann

“We’ve lost three years to do something about climate change, and that’s a huge opportunity cost. Each year we wait, it gets that much more difficult to stabilize carbon dioxide concentrations below levels that might very well be dangerous. I...

February 22, 2012

Michael Mann Discusses "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars" with Chris Mooney

In a fascinating interview with Chris Mooney on Point of Inquiry, Michael Mann discusses a variety of issues relating to his new book, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines. Chris Mooney begins the interview...

February 3, 2012

Better Food Through Science — The Kitchen as Laboratory

“We strongly believe that the proper use of the scientific method in the areas of food design, production, and distribution can be of great benefit to society.”—Cesar Vega and David J. McClements We conclude our week-long feature on The Kitchen...

February 2, 2012

Bacon: The Slice of Life — The Kitchen as Laboratory

“Whether used as a breakfast meat, a cooking ingredient, or strictly for flavoring, bacon is one of the most universally enjoyed foods in the world. It is hard to deny that bacon is an important part of our most fundamental...

February 1, 2012

The Science of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich from The Kitchen as Laboratory

It is not everyday that we have the opportunity to have a post on grilled cheese sandwich, so we were glad to see that The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking opens with Jennifer Kimmel’s...

December 14, 2011

Michael Mann — A Look Into Our Climate: Past To Present To Future

The following video features Michael Mann, author of the forthcoming The Hockey Stick: Dispatches from the Front Lines. In the talk given at a TEDx event, Mann explains the scientific data pointing to global warming.

December 8, 2011

Neurogastronomy: Language and Flavor

One of the facets of the brain and food that Gordon Shepherd links in Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters is the role of language. Below is an excerpt from the book on this subject. (For...

December 7, 2011

How Neurogastronomy Can Fight Obesity and Fast-Food Cravings

Gordon Shepherd, author of Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters, recently talked with The Chronicle of Higher Education about his book. In the article Shepherd discusses the science behind neurogastronomy and the ways in which we...

December 4, 2011

Neurogastronomy and Why Smell Matters for the Food We Love

“Rather than being weak and vestigial, human smell appears to be quite powerful. Some have even suggested that humans and their primate relatives are “supersmellers” among ani­mals. It is time, therefore, for a new appreciation of this much maligned and...

November 28, 2011

B. Alan Wallace: Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic

This week’s featured book is Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice, by Alan Wallace. The following is the conclusion to the book’s opening chapter, Toward a Revolution in the Mind Sciences: Galileo,...