Category: Quantum Stuff

Setting: Chesterfield High, an unusual school in the suburbs of Ohio. The teacher writes on the board: 2, 3, 5, 7, … How, he asks, do we complete this pattern? Now a student might say that the next term is 12. When the teacher asks him why, he says, “I looked out the window and… Continue reading Ian and the Limits of Rationality – Issue 107: The Edge

The genes that shape how educated you eventually become don’t necessarily have to be passed on to you.Photo Illustration by Peshkova / Shutterstock The phrase “Look down your nose” comes from a time when aristocrats were taller than commoners due to their superior nutrition. European elites would literally look down on their inferiors. So it… Continue reading The Hidden Link Between “Genetic Nurture” and Educational Achievement – Facts So Romantic

Researchers who helped to draft parts of the first United Nations environmental agreements nearly 30 years ago say that that low income countries are being massively let down in the current COP26 climate talks. The 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was attended by scientists and policymakers from rich and poor countries.… Continue reading COP Architects Furious at Lack of Climate Justice at Pivotal Summit

The natural world is a feast of color and pattern, but what is it all for? An orange tiger seems awfully conspicuous stalking its prey. Why not hide in the foliage with green or brown fur? Multiple species of tiny yellow damselfish swim over and around coral reefs. How do they mate with the right… Continue reading David Attenborough’s Life in Color – Issue 107: The Edge

When COVID-19 disrupted the world’s economies last year, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel use fell by two billion metric tons. As some of the lead scientists of the Global Carbon Project (an international group that tracks greenhouse gas emissions), we wrote about how to keep this emissions drop going, including how COVID… Continue reading Global Emissions Rebound to Pre-COVID Levels

Structuresstructure (noun): the arrangement of or relation between the parts of something complex; the organization of interrelated elements. 1. My partner trained as an architect, and now he is cursed. His curse is not just working like an architect works, with grueling hours and implacable clients, although that’s true. His curse is seeing like an… Continue reading How to Build a Society for All to Enjoy – Issue 107: The Edge

GLASGOW, Scotland—The U.S. and China announced a wide-ranging plan for climate cooperation yesterday to inject momentum into global efforts to contain warming. The joint declaration comes as climate talks speed toward a conclusion here, and officials hope that cooperation between the world’s two largest emitters could pave the way for progress at this year’s summit.… Continue reading U.S.-China Deal Boosts Climate Talks in Final Stretch

Few groups of animals encapsulate the extremes of longevity more than fish. While coral reef pygmy govies survive for less than ten weeks, Greenland sharks can endure more than 500 years. So when a team of biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, wanted to explore the genetics of aging, they grabbed their fishing gear.… Continue reading Genes Reveal How Some Rockfish Live up to 200 Years

A diamond that formed deep in the earth’s mantle contains a mineral never seen before in nature. The discovery is a rare glimpse into the deep mantle and may help reveal new information about the structure of the planet at depths of more than 660 kilometers. This, in turn, can help geologists better understand how… Continue reading New Mineral Discovered in Deep-Earth Diamond

When Mozambique’s civil war ended in 1992, more than 1 million people had lost their lives. Another 5 million were displaced. And the carnage was not restricted to humans: Gorongosa National Park, a 1,500-square-mile mosaic of habitats that was home to a richness of life almost unparalleled on Earth, had become a battlefield. Almost every… Continue reading Nature’s Fear Factor – Issue 107: The Edge