A new, three-part series, “Searching, Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science,” now airing on public television, features MIT physicist and author Alan Lightman, who explores timeless and deep ...

Perhaps because in the popular imagination meaning is mysterious and hard. We picture wise sages cloistered in remote caves meditating on the deepest questions of the universe, or larger than life ...

The specialized meaning of science words can lead to public confusion when the media apply scientific terms out of context. A poignant example recently occurred when the media reported the Antarctic ...

This definition works pretty well here on Earth (although there are some important exceptions, such as viruses), but experts have pointed out that if life exists elsewhere in the universe, it may not ...

A lot of things that try to pass themselves off as science, like homeopathy, clearly aren’t scientific. But it might surprise you to know that there’s no simple checklist or flow chart that lets you ...

Last week, I sat for an exam that induced more perspiration than was necessary. My previous exam had been more than a year ago and although the one last week was more of an informal affair (there were ...

Jamie Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

If you want to know the meaning of life, science probably can't help you much better than Kermit the Frog can. (For the record, Kermit says, "Always be yourself. Never take yourself too seriously. And ...