13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Second Genesis: Looking For Aliens Here, There And Everywhere

Did the seeds of life on Earth begin on Mars? Are we part of Earth's first alien invasion? Adam Frank says we may be looking at a future full of discoveries in our own solar system that could reset our understanding of life and its origin.

Will we need to tread lightly, in deference to the locals, when finally do make it to Mars?

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Planck Data: Universe Older And Slower

Results from the European Planck satellite point to an older and slower universe. Commentator Marcelo Gleiser says the data gives us confidence that cosmology is on the right track to explain the Universe in which we live.

Technicians prepare the Planck satellite for hydrazine fueling in April 2009.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Where Did Life Come From? The Mind? The Universe? Can We Even Know?

Can science explain the origins of the universe, of life and of the mind? Not completely, it turns out. But how far can it go in answering them? Commentator Marcelo Gleiser starts digging into these questions.

The Universe has an origin; whether we'll ever get to the bottom of it is the question.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Explaining Big Data

What "Big Data" really means in under 9 minutes. It's a video, so you can just sit back and watch as Christopher Barnatt digs into this topic.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

An Eclectic Mix Of Giants Takes On The Origin Of Life

Not only is there no consensus yet on how life might have started on Earth, there is not even any agreement on where it started. But still, many think the mystery of life's origin can be solved. Commentator Wim Hordijk revels in the subject at a conference hosted by Princeton University.

Many of life's building blocks can be found in the objects bombarding Earth from outer space. Does that mean that life, too, developed elsewhere before arriving here?

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Want to Find Aliens? Look For Their Debris

It may be far more likely that our first evidence of intelligent life in space will come by detecting their industrial waste. Commentator Adam Frank highlights a study on how we might spot the signs from Earth.

In this illustration, debris along the outer reaches of a planet-forming disk orbits in the glare of a distant sun.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Napoleon Chagnon Wars Flare Up Again In Anthropology

For decades anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon has incited uproar with his claims of genetically-rooted violence among Venezuela's Ya̧nomamö Indians. Now anthropologist Marshall Sahlins has resigned from the National Academy of Sciences, citing, among other things, Chagnon's election to the body. Why all the drama?

A member of the Ya̧nomamö people at Irotatheri community in Venezuela's Amazonas state, near the Brazilian border, in September 2012.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The End Of The Universe, The Higgs And All The 'Ifs'

The Universe could end tomorrow, courtesy of the newly-discovered Higgs. But, as commentator Marcelo Gleiser explains, there is really no need to panic.

Don't panic! The end of the Universe (as we know it) isn't likely to hit us for billions of years, if it comes at all. Pictured: the Milky Way rises above the ESO's ALMA facility in Chile.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Dispatch From CERN: Which Higgs?

Scientists have found a Higgs-like particle, a key component in modern physics theory. But is it the Higgs particle, or a new one, part of a more complex model?

A visualization of proton-proton collision events recorded by the Large Hadron Collider's (LHC) Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Convergent Evolution: Hyenas Offer Clues To The Human Past

Spotted hyenas live in groups that may exceed 100, working together to hunt and raise their young. They're incredibly successful social carnivores. New research suggests they may also hold clues to understanding the human evolutionary past.

Spotted hyena cubs socialize at their communal den in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya