Surprising Science — May 19, 2009

Tomorrow At Big Think: Biochemist Sir Paul Nurse

Nobel-prize winning biochemist Sir Paul Nurse comes to Big Think tomorrow to discuss cancer research and health care policy. Post your questions for the “David Beckham of science” here.

Over a career spanning four decades, Nurse has completed ground-breaking research into cell cycle regulation that has allowed significant insights into the underlying physiology of cancer. He was honored for his work with a Nobel Prize in 2001 and was bestowed knighthood for services to cancer research and cell biology.

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.

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