Big Think
Viewpoint: ‘Fashionable nonsense’ — Why embracing a ‘sex spectrum’ is at odds with scientific data
The scientific community is increasingly embracing sociopolitical ideologies and philosophies that are blatantly at odds with scientific data. The highest ...
Why did humans evolve bigger brains than our hominid cousins?
Changes in the size and organization of the brain distinguish the emergence of modern humans, but we know little about ...
Acne affects half of people over 25 in Western countries — but it’s ‘basically nonexistent’ in non-industrialized societies. Why?
While acne affects half of people over age 25 in modern societies, it's basically nonexistent in non-industrialized societies. This disparity ...
Viewpoint: Challenging the ‘us vs. them tribalism myth’ — No, humans are not programmed by evolution to be in conflict with others
More than 200 million people were killed in the 20th century due to war and acts of genocide. Many of ...
Nature appears to have uniform laws guiding existence and evolution. Why?
In many ways, it’s the most remarkable fact of all about the Universe: that the constituents, the laws, and the ...
Viewpoint: Blind optimism — Cynicism plays an important role in science but it won’t help us solve the world’s most crushing problems
Pessimism sounds smart. Optimism sounds dumb. It’s no wonder, then, that pessimistic messages hit the headlines, and optimistic ones hardly ...
‘Rituals and intelligence evolved side by side’: How culture has shaped human evolution
No other animal uses ritual as extensively and compulsively as Homo sapiens. In fact, archaeologists often consider ritual to be ...
Do you take creatine as a workout supplement? It could soon be used to treat depression
A bounty of evidence shows that taking creatine supplements raises the threshold of fatigue, which particularly comes in handy for ...
We’re often too nervous to offer acts of kindness. Why?
In August of last year, BBC Radio 4 teamed up with psychologists at the University of Sussex to launch the ...
Patterns in the sand: We can sometimes predict how evolution will unfold
In a new paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, an international group of researchers demonstrated that a ...
Mars may once have housed life. Did it come from Earth?
In all the Universe, only Earth is known to be inhabited. But even among the Milky Way, billions of other ...
Neuroplasticity and epilepsy: Why our ever-adapting brain cells are a blessing and sometimes a curse
Brain plasticity is often touted as a miracle cure, but it does have a dark side. Addiction, for example, occurs ...
Are there evolutionary benefits to celibacy?
Evolution is often perceived as an individual affair: Traits that are helpful to the individual get passed on and eventually ...
Do you sleep through the night? Your brain rhythmically oscillates between awake and asleep up to 100 times a night
Sleep is a complex neurological process characterized by shifting brain patterns, fluids flushing in and out of the skull, and ...
Life on Earth is carbon-based — but on other planets, could life be built out on other chemical building blocks, like silicon?
When we search for life on other planets, what we usually mean is that we are looking for life as ...
Viewpoint: In response to historical misuse of genetics to defend eugenics, some egalitarians call for defunding. Here’s why that’s not the solution
Genetics has been hijacked by eugenicists, white supremacists, and run-of-the-mill bigots as a way to justify inequality for minorities. But ...
Are humans evolving and transforming by hybridizing with technology?
What may seem now to be obvious human traits will become less so as we grow progressively more integrated with ...
Exercise pill of the future? This molecule reduces body fat and regulates appetite in mice — but can it work for humans?
Exercise alters more than 9,800 molecules in your blood, a process that scientists have called a cellular “symphony.” ... But ...
Can the body exist without the brain? Is the human mind nothing more than a parasite?
Take a deep breath. Can you feel your lungs filling with air? Now look at your hand. Can you see ...
Orgasm gap: Why do women have fewer orgasms than men?
There exists a significant “orgasm gap” between heterosexual women and heterosexual men. A 2005 study found that 39% of women ...
If some dinosaurs developed advanced technology wiped out by asteroids, which species could it have been?
Very little remains from the Neanderthals, who lived just a few tens of thousands of years ago. Even very recent, ...
First links shown between climate change and human evolution
Imagine doing a homework assignment that forced you to leave your computer running for half a year. That is what ...
Dysfunction or constructive evolution? Adaptive reasons for minor psychological disorders
Lesleigh Pullman and colleagues recently set out to assess the hypothesis that psychopathy might not be a mental disorder, but ...
Some early hominins beat Homo sapiens out of Africa. Who were they?
Hominins, the branch of our family tree that separated itself from the other great apes, are believed to have ventured ...
What do parrots and humans have in common? Unraveling connection between longevity and brain size
When it comes to lifespan, birds truly stand out. Lifespan tends to increase with an animal’s body size, roughly speaking, ...
Short sleepers: This genetic mutation allows some people to thrive on as little as 4 hours a night
Too many Americans are sleep-deprived. Although the overwhelming majority of adults needs at least seven hours of sleep per night, ...
How nutrients in food impact genes and influence your health
People typically think of food as calories, energy and sustenance. However, the latest evidence suggests that food also “talks” to ...
Did White Europeans evolve separately from the rest of the world? A new book examines the racist allure of this pseudoscientific hypothesis
The model of evolution developed by Charles Darwin increasingly gained traction, bringing about a revolution in scientific thinking. It was now ...
