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With a long history of nebulous definitions, transhumanism today generally refers to a convergence of three technologies: genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics. These technologies, transhumanists believe, will soon enable human beings to radically remake themselves.
Bad men, maybe, but they practice good chemistry: that’s the goal of one scientist who consults with the entertainment industry on its depiction of science.
Following World War II, President Dwight Eisenhower attempted a risky balancing act between war and peace, secrecy and transparency.
In 1886 a bomb exploded during a labor protest in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. Eight anarchists were tried and found guilty; some were executed. In 2003 researchers reassessed the forensic evidence using modern technology. Yet sometimes even C.S.I.-level equipment cannot fully answer the fundamental question: guilty or not guilty?
Amphetamine didn’t cure anything, but it did make you feel better. Chemist Gordon Alles faced this paradox after patenting his discovery in 1932.
How did a seemingly benign chemical and a near-miraculous public-health initiative spark decades and decades debate?
One of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentaries was the controversial Gasland, in which money, science, and politics play a role in the development of natural-gas reserves in the eastern United States.
Absinthe, an alcoholic drink introduced to France in the 1840s, developed a decadent though violent reputation. To some the drink symbolized creativity and liberation, and to others, madness and despair. One thing was certain: more than science was behind European responses to its influence.
From lab accident to wonder drug to chemical has-been, saccharin’s history tracks the rise of consumer consciousness, government regulation, and the uncertainties underlying scientific evidence.