Surprising Science — May 26, 2010

The Downside

The good news is Americans are living longer than ever; the bad news is this increases the chances of getting Alzheimer’s, and no preventative treatment has proven successful.

bigthinkeditor

The good news is Americans are living longer than ever; the bad news is this increases the chances of getting Alzheimer’s, and no preventative treatment has proven successful. “The current state of knowledge about the natural history of Alzheimer’s disease and about the aging process have hampered our understanding of what increases the risk of these conditions and how they may be prevented.”

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

Angst

Matthew Lynn at Bloomberg says Germany would do better to leave the Euro currency than impose domestic market reforms like bans on short-selling and speculation.