Science & Technology

"The nineteenth century believed in science but the twentieth century does not." — Gertrude Stein

Semipublic Intellectual Sessions: “What Comes After CRISPR?”
A transcript of the panel discussion “What Comes After CRISPR?” – a satellite event of the Semipublic Intellectual Sessions, which took place on November 5.
Amy Webb, Eben Kirksey, Hank Greely, John Dupré, Julien Crockett, Kevin DaviesDec 6, 2021
- Science & Technology
Beautiful Lies: The Art of the Deep Fake
Nicholas Carr shows how Jonas Bendiksen’s beautiful photographs “open a door onto a weird and unsettling future.”
Nicholas CarrDec 6, 2021
- Science & Technology
The Life Arboreal
Barbara Kiser reviews three books about our relationship to trees and the forest.
Barbara KiserNov 2, 2021
- Science & Technology
Heels: A New Account of the Double Helix
Nathaniel Comfort reviews Howard Markel's new book about Rosalind Franklin, "The Secret of Life."
Nathaniel ComfortOct 26, 2021
- Science & Technology
“Scientific Nightmare”: The Backstory of the “DSM”
Andrew Scull gives stellar marks to Allan Horwitz’s history of the DSMs.
Andrew ScullOct 25, 2021
- Science & Technology
No Geniuses Here
W. Patrick McCray praises Eric Hintz’s new book on America’s independent inventors in the 20th century.
W. Patrick McCrayOct 21, 2021
- Science & Technology
The Mystery of the Cosmos: What Exactly Are We Looking For?
The key to understanding the universe may lie in grasping the ways it replicates itself.
Andrew StarkOct 21, 2021
- Science & Technology
Blade Runner: Grass and Our Future
Louise Schiavone explains how leaves of grass in all their variety are “now a piece of the complex puzzle that might hold off carbon overload.”
Louise L. SchiavoneOct 15, 2021
- Science & Technology
The Invention of “Xenophobia”
George Makari describes xenophobia’s complicated history as a concept, and reveals the curious role of a lone stenographer.
George MakariOct 6, 2021
- Science & Technology
Elites Against Extinction: The Dark History of a Cultural Paranoia
Our ideas about human extinction, including how human extinction might be prevented, have a dark history, explains Tyler Harper.
Tyler A. HarperSep 30, 2021
- Science & Technology
Why DNA Is No Key to Social Equality: On Kathryn Paige Harden’s “The Genetic Lottery”
A review of Kathryn Paige Harden’s “The Genetic Lottery.”
Anne O’Connor, Brenna M. Henn, Emily Klancher Merchant, Tina RulliSep 21, 2021
- Science & Technology
The Computer Says … What?
Reviewing “Making AI Intelligible,” Paul Dicken concludes it might be easier “to build a human that can talk to a computer, rather than the other way around.”
Paul DickenSep 13, 2021
- Science & Technology