Surprising Science — April 22, 2010

Heirloom Hybrids

Plant breeders are offering hybrid heirloom tomatoes this year that they claim “have the distinct flavors and funky looks of heirlooms but are more disease-resistant and abundantly productive.”

bigthinkeditor

A number of plant breeders are offering hybrid heirloom tomatoes this year that they claim “have the distinct flavors and funky looks of heirlooms but are more disease-resistant and abundantly productive.” Tomato purists may cringe, but some of the new varieties “are bred to better withstand diseases and microscopic critters that can harm plants.”

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

Culture & Religion

Obama’s Certificate

“The ‘birther’ myth is the political equivalent of a horror-movie villain: Not only does it refuse to die, but every time someone tries to kill it, it only comes back stronger,” writes Christopher Beam.