Education policy
Carl Sagan, and the Rise of the ‘Celebrity Scientist’
The following is an excerpt from The New Celebrity Scientists, by Declan Fahy. Listen to SciFri on Friday, May 1, to hear Fahy talk more about famous scientists and their work. Beginning in 1970, the amount of science reported in the media exploded. In the United States, the 1970s and 1980s saw the creation of […]
Is ‘Brain Spyware’ In Our Future?
The following is an excerpt from Future Crimes by Marc Goodman. Listen to SciFri on Friday, February 27, 2015 to hear Goodman talk about technology and crime. A number of technologies are taking us ever deeper into the workings of the human mind, in particular functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a noninvasive test that uses […]
Should These Scientific Ideas Be Retired?
The following are two excerpts from the book This Idea Must Die, edited by John Brockman. Listen to SciFri on Friday, February 27, 2015, to hear Seth Lloyd and Sean Carroll discuss their ideas. And let us know if you think these scientific ideas must die by clicking the Twitter links after each essay. THE […]
How Can We Clean Up an Oil Spill?
Do you want to try cleaning up an oil spill yourself? This experiment will help you understand why it is such a difficult task. All of the tools you will need are environmentally friendly and easy to find. Resource Type: Activity Grade Level: 6 – 12 Subject Area: Chemistry Topics: Observations, separating mixtures Time: 30 minutes […]
Q&A With Emily Graslie
Emily Graslie’s had a pretty big week. On Wednesday, the art-student-turned-star-science-communicator celebrated the release of the 100th episode of her popular YouTube series, “The Brain Scoop,” which offers a behind-the-scenes look at Chicago’s Field Museum, where she works. The series is also on its way to hitting 250,000 subscribers by the end of the week. […]
South Korea falls silent for college entrance exams — but students still feel the pressure
Every year in South Korea, high school seniors are faced with the biggest challenge of their young lives — college entrance exams. Teens are told their whole futures depend on how well they score, and the entire country works to accommodate the stressed out test takers.