Daniel Rourke /stream

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The story of Z was supposed to be about how biohacking had allowed her to become immortal. She lived in the year 2040, and by most measures her life was happy.…

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In my life as a curator, only twice have a pair of eyes in an artwork ever really mesmerized me. The first pair gazed out from a painting by German surrealist…

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"Radical ecology" has come to mean a kind of left-wing back-to-the-landism that throws off consumer culture and mass production for a pastoral low-tech lifestyle.

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There is now compelling evidence to show that humanity’s impact on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and wildlife has pushed the world into a new geological epoch, according to a group of…

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When Michael Haas, a former senior airman with the US air force, looks back on the missions he flew over Afghanistan and other conflict zones in a six-year career operating military…

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In the May 15, 2014, edition of the journal Nature, Floyd Romesberg’s chemistry lab at San Diego’s Scripps Research Institute published a paper titled “A Semi-Synthetic Organism with an Expanded Genetic…

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Worldbuilding is the art of creating an alternate universe where the rules of present-day Earth life don't apply, and you have been appreciating that art for as long as you've been…

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Worldbuilding is an essential part of any work of fiction. But especially for science fiction or fantasy, it's the lifeblood of storytelling. But when worldbuilding fails, it can wreck your whole…

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McKenzie Wark gets at some very important issues in what we might call “the ontology of the Anthropocene” in this review of Jason Moore’s book Capitalism in the Web of Life.

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The ultimate fate of waste plastic is hazy – but we know future geologists will find traces of a fleeting era written in the stones. Welcome to the Plasticene ONE million…

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Is humanity’s impact on its environment so huge that the planet has entered a new geological era: the Anthropocene? The idea is gaining ground—and dividing scientists. Helen Gordon investigates

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The question persists: Is a virus alive? Or is it simply a clever organic machine? It lacks most all of things we associate with "life": the ability to reproduce (outside of…

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American history is filled with writers whose genius was underappreciated—or altogether ignored—in their lifetime. Most of Emily Dickinson’s poems weren’t discovered and published until after her death. F. Scott Fitzgerald “died…

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Thomas Thwaites is currently investigating what it might be like to live as a goat. He commissioned prosthetics for his arms and legs so that he could walk, as comfortably as…

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Living things have puzzled and challenged us since the dawn of our species. Even in the light of our modern scientific understanding, they seem remarkable.

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“In a single lifetime we have grown into a phenomenal global force. We move more sediment and rock annually than all natural processes such as erosion and rivers. We manage three…

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The ultimate fate of waste plastic is hazy – but we know future geologists will find traces of a fleeting era written in the stones. Welcome to the Plasticene ONE million…

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The story of Z was supposed to be about how biohacking had allowed her to become immortal. She lived in the year 2040, and by most measures her life was happy.…

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In my life as a curator, only twice have a pair of eyes in an artwork ever really mesmerized me. The first pair gazed out from a painting by German surrealist…

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TIDYING up is serious business. “Life truly begins only after you have put your house in order,” says Marie Kondo, whose bestseller “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying” has elevated a household…

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There is now compelling evidence to show that humanity’s impact on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and wildlife has pushed the world into a new geological epoch, according to a group of…

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Is the iconic 19th-century Parisian wanderer alive and well on the Internet? Look no further than the depths of Tumblr, YouTube, and Wikipedia for your answer.  A cyberflâneur, by definition, strolls…

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When Michael Haas, a former senior airman with the US air force, looks back on the missions he flew over Afghanistan and other conflict zones in a six-year career operating military…

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In the May 15, 2014, edition of the journal Nature, Floyd Romesberg’s chemistry lab at San Diego’s Scripps Research Institute published a paper titled “A Semi-Synthetic Organism with an Expanded Genetic…

Bookmark

Worldbuilding is the art of creating an alternate universe where the rules of present-day Earth life don't apply, and you have been appreciating that art for as long as you've been…

Bookmark

Worldbuilding is an essential part of any work of fiction. But especially for science fiction or fantasy, it's the lifeblood of storytelling. But when worldbuilding fails, it can wreck your whole…

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Plastics ... A Way to a Better More Carefree Life. Plastic, wrote Roland Barthes circa 1954, is “the first magical substance that consents to be prosaic.”2Roland Barthes, Mythologies, trans. Annette Lavers (New…

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Is humanity’s impact on its environment so huge that the planet has entered a new geological era: the Anthropocene? The idea is gaining ground—and dividing scientists. Helen Gordon investigates

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One person, a self-described “lone wolf,” admitted that dying alone was his greatest fear. Another urged readers to consider the things that give life heft and depth, the things that keep…

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American history is filled with writers whose genius was underappreciated—or altogether ignored—in their lifetime. Most of Emily Dickinson’s poems weren’t discovered and published until after her death. F. Scott Fitzgerald “died…

Bookmark

Thomas Thwaites is currently investigating what it might be like to live as a goat. He commissioned prosthetics for his arms and legs so that he could walk, as comfortably as…

Bookmark

Living things have puzzled and challenged us since the dawn of our species. Even in the light of our modern scientific understanding, they seem remarkable.

Bookmark

The ultimate fate of waste plastic is hazy – but we know future geologists will find traces of a fleeting era written in the stones. Welcome to the Plasticene ONE million…

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McKay's research focuses on the evolution of the solar system and the origin of life. McKay is currently involved in planning future Mars missions and has authored a number of studies…