‘Still in the desert; had dinner with the 24-year-old’s parents last night which is always semi-relaxed because we’re basically the same age.’ –Bret Easton Ellis
What makes up 95 percent of the universe?
The answer to the most basic of questions—what’s out there?—has been undergoing constant revision for millennia. (…) It turns out that atoms and other particles we know and understand only make up about 5 percent of the whole shebang. (…)
Why do we need sleep?
Two prevailing theories argue that sleep either restores the energy we need to thrive, or it helps us adapt to threats. Both concepts turn on the idea that evolution made us sleep for a reason. (…)
How do we come to make decisions?
Like all matters relating to gray matter, the answers aren’t clear. “We probably don’t know 99 percent about how the brain does what it does,” says Charles “Ed” Connor, a professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute. Still, researchers are making great inroads in understanding things at the cellular and molecular levels, he adds. They understand that the brain collects information delivered by the senses, and when that data reaches a critical mass, parts of the prefrontal cortex act as judge and jury, leading us to come to a conclusion. (…)
When will an earthquake strike? (…)
Are we alone?
