Weird Things About Water

Water, good ol' H₂O, seems like a pretty simple substance to you and me. But in reality, water - the foundation of life and most common of liquid - is really weird and scientists actually don't completely understand how water works.

Webs on an early morning

Dew drops, each a splendid world of reflection - are caught in a silvery web on an early morning

What a Billion Muslims Really Think

Who Speaks for Islam? is the product of the Gallup World Poll's massive, multiyear research study. As part of this groundbreaking project, Gallup conducted tens of thousands of interviews with residents of more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have significant Muslim populations.

Gallup brings data-driven evidence -- the voices of a billion Muslims, not those of individual "experts" or "extremists" -- to one of the most heated and consequential debates of our time.

Whom should we trust?

Researchers have discovered that surprisingly small factors - where we meet someone, whether their posture mimics ours, even the slope of their eyebrows or the thickness of their chin - can matter as much or more than what they say about themselves.
We size up someone's trustworthiness within milliseconds of meeting them, and while we can revise our first impression, there are powerful psychological tendencies that often prevent us from doing so - tendencies that apply even more strongly if we've grown close.

Honesty: At the garage

Here is part of a series of videos on the subject of Honesty. What would the world be like if we all said exactly what we are thinking?

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Tiger Woods is just THAT good!

Atheist reads hate-mail from creationists

Check out this video in which famed atheist Richard Dawkins reads aloud the profane, violent, hateful email he gets from believers.

Iran's heartbreaking "solution" to homosexuality

An Iranian-born filmmaker learned that in Iran, homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. But the government has provided a way out for the nation’s gays and lesbians: a sex-change operation. Fully paid for by the state, the procedure would allow these people to conform to Iran’s theocratic standards of sexuality.

Eshaghian's film reveals a culture so steeped in hatred of gays and lesbians that it deems a sex change preferable to simply accepting differences in sexual orientation.

The Traffic Guru

by Tom Vanderbilt

Our behavior is heavily influenced by the ­decisions of Traffic Engineers every day. If you were asked to name a famous Traffic Engineer, though, chances are slight you would credit the onetime New York City traffic czar, Henry Barnes, with inventing the “Barnes Dance” - wherein an entire intersection is given over to a ­four-­way pedestrian ­crossing.

One traffic engineer, however, did achieve a measure of global celebrity with his ideas. The idea that made Hans Monderman most famous is that traditional traffic safety ­infra­structure - signs, lights, curbs, lines, and so ­on - ­is not only often unnecessary, but can endanger those it is meant to protect.

Killer Carbs: Scientist Finds Key To Overeating As We Age

A Monash University scientist has discovered that key appetite control cells in the human brain degenerate over time, causing increased hunger and potentially weight-gain as we grow older.

As published in Nature, the research by Dr Zane Andrews, a neuroendocrinologist found that the degeneration is more significant following meals rich in carbohydrates and sugars.