Just weeks ago, one of the largest ever surveys on memory was completed and data are beginning to come in. Our memory of certain events is hardly reliable, say the study's authors.

The subconscious has an uncanny processing power which translates data into feeling rather than syllogistic chains. In many cases, emotion succeeds where rationality does not. 

Swiss scientists are vying for $1.3 billion dollars in grant funds to construct an artificial human brain. The open source coding for the brain would be made available to all researchers. 

Metacognition is the science of introspection. How well we know ourselves compared to how well we think we know ourselves could have profound consequences for medicine and philosophy. 

Scientists have found an flatworm species that can overcome the aging process, potentially becoming immortal by rejuvenating their telomeres. What can humans learn from the process?

The Red Planet will be the closest distance to Earth in over two years tonight in an event called The Mars Opposition. That means martian features and polar caps will […]

A global organization called Friends of Science in Medicine, of which several prominent physicians are a member, is fighting to take alternative medicine curriculum out of universities. 

I suggested, although not as insistently as I should have, that February would be the month of Santorum. Well, it was. Santorum was so impressive that he was the non-Romney who came closest to winning.    

You may have noticed that, according to the counter on the sidebar, I just passed 100 posts on Big Think this week. This is a milestone, but I hope it's […]

Imagine if Rip Van Winkle fell asleep in 1992 and woke up yesterday. He would probably be amazed at the extent to which our national conversation on reproductive health has […]

MIT scientists have developed a way to deliver messages to cancer-causing genes using a method known as RNA interference. The tool could help treat neurological and immune disorders, too.

Body sensors linked with mobile devices are increasingly able to measure changes in your body. For those experiencing stress-related disorders, it could mean a new way of treatment. 

Will advances in genetics that allow individuals to be treated for disease according to their unique DNA bring about the end of medicine? Some doctors are wildly optimistic. Others, not.

Practically every progressive Democrat in the country knows what ALEC stands for—American Legislative Exchange Council—and the true purpose behind it. Rich conservatives basically took the model that has been used […]

We've all been forced at some point to listen to someone yammering obnoxiously on their cell phone in a public place. But now we can fight back. Japanese engineers have […]

Leigh Gallagher describers her decision to freeze her eggs and how having this option "to put the biological clock on hold is incredibly empowering."

What is the Big Idea? Vladimir Putin’s waning popularity is prompting the opposition to allege that voter fraud is the primary explanation for his inevitable win in Sunday’s presidential elections. […]

You may think you are a good listener. Who doesn't, after all? But many people show they are listening without hearing a word, resulting in miscalculations and bad decisions. 

Quick. Grab a pencil. Some crayons. A notepad. Wrap your brain around this Friday's Big Enigma from Ivan Moscovitch's The Big Book of Brain Games.  Share a photo of your solution […]