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Air conditioners on a building. Scientists say there has been too little research into the role of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in the spread of the coronavirus. Sami Sarkis/Getty Images hide caption

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Sami Sarkis/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Can Air Conditioners Spread COVID-19?

August 15, 2020 • People are worried that the virus could be spread by air conditioning systems. Here's what researchers do — and don't yet — know.

Guess What's Showing Up In Our Shellfish? One Word: Plastics

Oysters, shown out of their shell, collect tiny plastic particles while in the water. These microplastics can eventually make their way into your dinner. Ken Christensen/KCTS Television hide caption

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Ken Christensen/KCTS Television

The Salt

Guess What's Showing Up In Our Shellfish? One Word: Plastics

ERTHFX

September 19, 2017 • Scientists predict that plastic in the ocean will eventually outweigh the fish there. Where is it all coming from? And is it making our food unsafe? Researchers are trying to find the answers.

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

At CERN, Hunting For Invisible Worlds

August 16, 2017 • With so many dedicated to solving nature's riddles at CERN, it's hard not to think of it as a modern cathedral, a link between reason and mystery, a place of pilgrimage, says blogger Marcelo Gleiser.

At CERN, In Search Of Nature's Building Blocks

Part of the LHC at CERN. Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption

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Getty Images/iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

At CERN, In Search Of Nature's Building Blocks

August 9, 2017 • In a world so divided by cultural and economic warfare, what happens at the European laboratory for particle physics stands out as a celebration of the best we have to offer, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Game Of Quarks: A Guide For The Perplexed

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Game Of Quarks: A Guide For The Perplexed

July 22, 2015 • Last week, scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of the "pentaquark" particle, clearing up 50 years of false signals and potential sightings, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Void Is A Busy Place

October 22, 2014 • Is there such a thing as complete emptiness or nothingness? Not according to modern physics, where empty space gets more active all the time, says commentator Marcelo Gleiser.

One way we make sense of the cosmos is to study what's in it, objects like this brown dwarf (artist's impression) observed by the ESO's ALMA project. Another way is to watch what happens when tiny particles are smashed together in "labs" such as the LHC at CERN. M. Kornmesser/ALMA/ESO/NAOJ/NRAO hide caption

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M. Kornmesser/ALMA/ESO/NAOJ/NRAO

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Recreating The Universe In The Lab

December 5, 2012 • Can scientists create universes in the lab? Although that may not be possible, physicists can recreate the young universe in high energy particle collisions. Recent results indicate that the young universe may be stranger than anticipated.

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Quantum Weirdness And Being A Little Bit Pregnant: (Part 3)

May 22, 2012 • We simply can't imagine, as in draw a picture in our heads, what quantum mechanics is pointing us to in terms of a "picture" of reality. We don't have the mental machinery to create images in our heads that embrace the reality our experiments imply.