Articles Tagged with biology

Alternate histories (II)

Abandoning dragon engineering

What would you be if you weren’t you?

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The synthesis project

Ways of being intelligent

We present an idea that won’t work.

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A village in space

Interstellar genetics

A recent paper contemplates a very long voyage.

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Running the race

Man and animal

Why run on foot from Mount Vernon to Alexandria?

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Tradeoffs

In balance

Some actions are obviously good and right.  Looking more widely, it may be less obvious.

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Human limitations

What are people best suited for?

Perfection is one step away from extinction.

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The story of the bees

Yes, but not in Germany

Scientists try to ask simple questions and to design a controlled experiment, with “all other things being equal.”  It’s rarely possible.

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Science and social science

Differences among the PhDs

Methods and results differ among the various sciences.  This comes from differences in their subject matter and is not always understood, even by scientists.

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Hard problems and easy ones

What’s difficult is not always clear

Humans have accomplished some pretty amazing things, from putting men on the Moon (with old technology!) to sequencing their own heredity.  But stubborn problems that look much easier persist.

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Science and the long shot

Why new discoveries are over-hyped

We often hear of new scientific results that promise great things, especially in the health field, but then hear no more of them.  Most scientific ideas don’t work out.  Why, then, do we still hear the hype?

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