Marcelo Gleiser : NPR

Marcelo Gleiser Marcelo Gleiser is a contributor to the NPR blog 13.7: Cosmos & Culture.

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Marcelo Gleiser

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Thursday May 2, 2019

'Hacking Darwin' Explores Genetic Engineering — And What It Means To Be Human

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Sourcebooks

Review

'Hacking Darwin' Explores Genetic Engineering — And What It Means To Be Human

May 2, 2019 • The waters of genetic meddling are murky; in a new book, technology futurist Jamie Metzl reviews where we've been in the past as a guideline for where we might be headed.

Tuesday October 16, 2018

'Brief Answers To The Big Questions' Is Stephen Hawking's Parting Gift To Humanity

Physicist Stephen Hawking on Oct. 10, 1979, in Princeton, New Jersey. Santi Visalli/Getty Images hide caption

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Santi Visalli/Getty Images

Review

'Brief Answers To The Big Questions' Is Stephen Hawking's Parting Gift To Humanity

October 16, 2018 • The physicist's posthumous book highlights his belief in the rationality of nature and in our ability to uncover its secrets — and a faith in science's ability to solve humanity's biggest problems.

Monday September 17, 2018

'Accessory To War' An Uncomfortable Wake-Up Call For Some

Neil deGrasse Tyson attends Film Independent at LACMA presents StarTalk — A Conversation with Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, on June 5 in Los Angeles. Araya Diaz/Getty Images hide caption

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Araya Diaz/Getty Images

Review

Book Reviews

'Accessory To War' An Uncomfortable Wake-Up Call For Some

September 17, 2018 • An "unspoken alliance" between scientists and the military had been brewing for millennia prior to Hiroshima. Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang excel at detailing this union and its possible future.

Wednesday April 11, 2018

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

From The Big Bang To This Commentary

April 11, 2018 • In 13.7, we aimed to present the passion, the drama, the social and intellectual relevance of science as one of the deepest expressions of engagement with the unknown, says physicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday April 4, 2018

Suffering From Nature Deficit Disorder? Try Forest Bathing

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Review

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Suffering From Nature Deficit Disorder? Try Forest Bathing

April 4, 2018 • Positive scientific results aside, the idea of shinrin-yoku shouldn't be surprising: Who hasn't felt an inner sense of well-being when walking along a forest trail? asks commentator Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday March 28, 2018

Teaching And Learning At The Boundaries Of 2 Cultures

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Teaching And Learning At The Boundaries Of 2 Cultures

March 28, 2018 • We all stand to lose from the gulf between the sciences and the humanities, and the classroom is the ideal place for conversations between these two cultures to unfold, says professor Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday March 21, 2018

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Review

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Wrinkling Time To Heal A Family

March 21, 2018 • Showing science's enchanting side has the almost magical effect of opening new portals to what is possible, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday March 14, 2018

The Universe According To Albert Einstein: Relativity

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Universe According To Albert Einstein: Relativity

March 14, 2018 • When Einstein, born 139 years ago on Wednesday, came onto the science scene, physics was in crisis. New ideas were badly needed — it was the perfect moment for a trailblazer, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday March 7, 2018

Life Hacking Life: The Scary Premise Of 'Annihilation'

Natalie Portman plays Lena in Alex Garland's Annihilation, a fantasy sci-fi drama based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer. Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

Review

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Life Hacking Life: The Scary Premise Of 'Annihilation'

March 7, 2018 • As with Ex Machina, says Marcelo Gleiser, director Alex Garland is sending a warning: We are now hacking life itself and will continue to do so with growing efficiency. Are we creating our own doom?

Wednesday February 28, 2018

Biometric Data And The Rise Of Digital Dictatorship

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Biometric Data And The Rise Of Digital Dictatorship

February 28, 2018 • As historian and author Yuval Harari suggests, market forces and investor greed will keep moving the data revolution forward. But there are balancing forces to this onslaught, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday February 21, 2018

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Can We Change The Past?

February 21, 2018 • Putting humans and consciousness aside, at the level of quantum particles, Wheeler's delayed-choice experiments show that actions in the present can influence the past, says physicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Thursday February 15, 2018

A Scientific Search For A Ghost (Particle)

This image, taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, shows the supernova remnant SNR 0509-68.7, also known as N103B. It is located 160,000 light-years from Earth in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. Space Telescope Science Institute/NASA, ESA and Y.-H. Chu (Academia Sinica, Taipei) hide caption

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Space Telescope Science Institute/NASA, ESA and Y.-H. Chu (Academia Sinica, Taipei)

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

A Scientific Search For A Ghost (Particle)

February 15, 2018 • Scientists put a lot of effort into uncovering the history of these tiny bits of matter, in the hopes that it will tell us something about the universe, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday February 7, 2018

Our Ancestors, Elon Musk And The First Car In Space

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Our Ancestors, Elon Musk And The First Car In Space

February 7, 2018 • Musk's successful rocket launch is a step on the ambitious road to Mars; as with our adventurous ancestors, where we might go seems to be limited only by our imagination, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday January 31, 2018

The Microbial Eve: Our Oldest Ancestors Were Single-Celled Organisms

What scientists believe to be our oldest ancestor, the single-celled organism named LUCA, likely lived in extreme conditions where magma met water — in a setting similar to this one from Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Danita Delimont/Getty Images/Gallo Images hide caption

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Danita Delimont/Getty Images/Gallo Images

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Microbial Eve: Our Oldest Ancestors Were Single-Celled Organisms

January 31, 2018 • Consider this: Evidence points to a microbial Eve as our first ancestor — a tough, underwater organism withstanding extremes that became every other creature to ever live, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Tuesday January 23, 2018

Welcome To The Age Of Digital Transcendence

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Welcome To The Age Of Digital Transcendence

January 23, 2018 • Smartphones have become an extension of the owner; it is the closest we've ever become to being omnipresent and omniscient and — in a metaphorical sense, at least — divine, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday January 17, 2018

Black Holes: Where Reality Beats Fiction

Astronomers have discovered a star, shown in an artist's rendition, that appears to be orbiting an invisible black hole with about four times the mass of the sun. L. Calçada/ESO hide caption

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L. Calçada/ESO

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Black Holes: Where Reality Beats Fiction

January 17, 2018 • We know that at the heart of pretty much every galaxy, there is a giant black hole. There is a lot that we know about black holes — and a lot that we don't know, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday January 10, 2018

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Man As God: 'Frankenstein' Turns 200

January 10, 2018 • Mary Shelley cautioned us of the dangers of extending science into realms where we have little control of the outcomes; may we all read her tale — and take in its lessons, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday January 3, 2018

UFO Investigations: The Science And The Will To Believe

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

UFO Investigations: The Science And The Will To Believe

January 3, 2018 • Employing science's methodology is key — as it's the best antidote we have to the very human propensity to turn something we want to believe into a reality, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Thursday December 21, 2017

Latest 'Star Wars' Teaches The Value Of Failure

Stormtroopers pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' in London, on Dec. 12. Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP hide caption

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Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Latest 'Star Wars' Teaches The Value Of Failure

December 21, 2017 • The Last Jedi highlights the need for failure to find success, as the ongoing dynamic of The Force — the tug-of-war between good and evil — aptly defines our humanity, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Wednesday December 13, 2017

Without The U.S. Government, The World Unites To Fight Climate Change

France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, and Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel, right, pose for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower while aboard a boat cruising on the Seine River after the One Planet Summit, Paris, Tuesday, Dec. 12. Thibault Camus/AP hide caption

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Thibault Camus/AP