science
Topics and developments in science and medicine, presented by Futurism.
The Scientific Method Vs. Pseudoscience in Archaeology
Real science demands inquiry, skepticism, and ability to prove theories using a hypothesis. Believing in pseudoscience can cause great harm to the mind. There is much logic used in the acquirement and interpretation of data. A theory is a systematic explanation that can reinterpret existing data so that new predictions can be made about new data. Using hypothesis becomes a matter of testing statements about something, which is linked to our broader understanding of the past. Archaeologists are interested in how people lived in the past through the study of gravesites featuring objects buried with the dead.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in Futurism
Are Humans A Virus On The Planet?
Out of every living organism on Earth, humans identify the closest with a virus. We expand uncontrollably, we destroy our host (our host being Earth,) and we have no stable means of not eradicating ourselves without expanding to a new planet.
By Kristopher Kristianson8 years ago in Futurism
Occam’s Razor
Occam’s razor is a term attributed to William of Ockham (1287-1347), an English Franciscan friar, philosopher and early scientist, who took a vow of poverty, and who helped come up with a concept that is used in science today which determines that the fewest assumptions is the easiest. Scientists have changed the meaning of the term “Occam’s razor” throughout the centuries since it was first coined. Isaac Newton said of Occam’s razor that, “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.” In other words, the simplest explanation rather than a complex explanation is always the better explanation.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in Futurism
We Earth Humans Are Polymorphic
By polymorphic, this means that we can all look different from one another. We even look different from our parents or like a combination of both parents. Unless we are twins, we all have genetic variations that make each other look different. Each person’s genome has 3 million differences but humans are also 99.9% the same. This gives white supremacists pause, no doubt. Genome variations are small, which leaves a few base pairs substituted for. If we are all truly based on similar genetic material despite our individual differences in appearance, then we are all more similar than many racists stop to think about.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in Futurism
Science, Religion, and Our Future
One thing I find in great abundance while observing the behaviors and beliefs of my fellow people is an utter lack of realization that we are a kind of ape, "monkey" if you wish to speak in modern slang. It’s always important to understand where we came from, to know the origins of our thought, so that we can recognize outdated and progressively harmful behaviors with a sense of urgency in order to eliminate them. People really do walk, talk, flirt, and fight just like monkeys, just slightly more advanced.
By Jacob Copeland8 years ago in Futurism
Are the Mayan’s Correct? Are We Heading for an Environmental Catastrophe?
The world is heading for an environmental catastrophe. This essay will focus on the belief of some leading scientists and environmentalists that we are in the process of a sixth mass extinction due to global warming and its acidifying effects on the world’s oceans. Firstly, it will focus on the previous five mass extinctions, from the first one 434 million years ago that wiped out 60 percent of all genera according to fossil records; to the last one at the end of the cretaceous period, 65 million years ago – famous for wiping out the dinosaurs. Then it will introduce the reason some scientists now agree was a leading factor in all five previous mass extinctions – cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae. It will then go into more detail on cyanobacteria, what they are, how they work and why they are significant contributors to mass extinctions and why scientists believe they will be responsible for a sixth mass extinction. The beneficial properties of cyanobacteria will be discussed also. It will then explain what stromatolites are and why they were the focus of scientific studies. A brief summary of the hypothesis of John Rodgers and James Castle, of Clemson University, and the conclusion they reached following their two year study will be given. Finally, the article will discuss Thermohaline Circulation also known as the Global Oceanic Conveyor Belt. Its purpose and a description of how it operates will demonstrate its importance in keeping the world alive and the consequences of rising global temperature.
By Michelle Spittle8 years ago in Futurism
At Northern Westchester Hospital, the Future Is Now for the Gamma Knife
Imagine if there was a better way to address an inoperable brain tumor than dousing the entire organ with multiple radiation treatments. What if doctors could concentrate an array of radiation beams to a precise focal point and eradicate the metastasis at the tip of a high tech burn. As it turns out, the future is actually the past, according to Dr. Alain C.J. de Lotbinière.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Futurism
Why You Should LOVE the Ocean
Picture this: your toes in the sand, the sun on your face, an icy drink in your hand, and the ocean as far as you can see. What's better than that? Nothing much, especially if you're from the Midwest like I am. Once it reaches November, the advantages of living in the middle of the country start to turn into disadvantages: snow, ice, and below-freezing temperatures quite often. By January I'm counting down the days 'til spring, and on those blissful days where the temperature is above 40 degrees, it's like a big bite of a Hershey's bar: sweet and amazing.
By Amelia Schaefer8 years ago in Futurism
Telepathy
Telepathy The psychic faculty of telepathy occurs when one person tries mind-to-mind communication on another person. Telepathy is a mental realm exclusively, and is a form of non-physical communication of ideology, emotion, physical sensations, and mental imagery. Memories can be sent via telepathy to other people. In the west, telepathy is confined to psychics who practice it in giving psychic readings. Repeating somebody’s sentence by saying the same exact comment they make is a form of telepathy. So is getting the right answer in class at the same time somebody else is getting it. Sometimes telepathy works by thinking hard about somebody and getting a phone call from them.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in Futurism
Paul Sutter (the "Spaceman") Makes My Points For Me: Why Most Physicists Know Nothing About True Time Travel Science
I think we could all agree that if someone is going to speak or write on something, then they should at least know what they're talking about, right? Well, a couple of months ago, I wrote piece for Futurism.media about how time travel to the past is almost here and that probably everything you knew about time travel is wrong because most physicists talking about it don't work on the problem. Well, guess what's happened since? I've made more progress on my own research, which is putting me within shooting range of hitting a 2019 mark for my goal of actually doing time travel to the past (more on that in another piece) and I discovered the perfect example of what I wrote about in previous article. Ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you "the Spaceman", Paul Sutter, an astrophysicist from the Ohio State University who is also the chief scientist (as if they really need one) for COSI, a kiddie science center in Columbus, OH. Paul has a video and wrote an article for Space.com on time travel under its Expert Voices op-eds and was unwitting enough to prove EVERYTHING I had talked about before. Trust me, he is AMAZING and proves conclusively that he's no time travel expert. Just for convenience sake, I'll deal with what he says in the video, first.
By Marshall Barnes8 years ago in Futurism
Silver Is a Girl's Best Friend?
Silver has long been valued as a precious metal, and it has been used in currency throughout many civilizations in the past and present. It has the highest conductivity of electricity and heat and the highest reflectivity of all metals. But alongside its obvious shiny aesthetic properties, it has also been used in diluted silver nitrate forms in disinfectants, added to bandages, catheters, and other medical instruments. In fact, in 2008 the ACTICOAT dressing with silver infused into it was developed for use on burns to eliminate infection and still be safe for patients with damaged immune systems. ACTICOAT was even found to eliminate MRSA within 30 minutes in laboratory tests!
By Francesca Lovett8 years ago in Futurism
