Surprising Science — March 7, 2014

Mysterious Ubiquitous Earth Creature Can Survive in Space

If these mysterious creatures can survive in Space then maybe they came from space, according to this video from Vice. Tardigrades look like a George Lucas-depiction of a caterpillar. Researchers don’t know how they evolved and how they’re able to withstand extreme heat, extreme cold, ultraviolet radiation, solar radiation, x-ray radiation, and the other intense conditions of Space. The fact that they’re able to survive in off of Earth is suspicious indeed.

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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