Discover Interview

Discover Interview: The Love Neuroscientist

Believe it or not, says psychologist Stephanie Ortigue, lust makes heavy intellectual demands involving complex thought. (Care to come upstairs and see my diplomas?) 12.27.2010

Discover Interview: The Dark Hunter

Physicist Elena Aprile is certain that dark matter exists. She just hasn’t found it yet. 11.17.2010

Discover Interview: The Gene Doctor Will See You Soon

First he made a machine that can read DNA at lightning speed. Now Leroy Hood wants to reach into the genome to revolutionize medicine. 11.16.2010

Discover Interview: Alarming Tales of International Hacking from a Cyber-Terrorism Czar

Spies and hackers know only too well about the security loopholes that riddle the Internet—and maybe even the guts of our computers. Former presidential advisor Richard Clarke has ideas for how we can prepare for the new world of virtual combat. 11.08.2010

Discover Interview: The Math Behind the Physics Behind the Universe

Shing-Tung Yau explains how he discovered the hidden dimensions of string theory. 04.27.2010

The Dr. Who Drank Infectious Broth, Gave Himself an Ulcer, and Solved a Medical Mystery

The medical elite thought they knew what caused ulcers and stomach cancer. But they were wrong—and did not want to hear the answer that was right. 04.08.2010

It's Gettin' Hot in Here: The Big Battle Over Climate Science

Two eminent climatologists share much different views: Michael Mann—whose private emails were hacked—points a finger at skeptics. Judith Curry believes humans are warming the planet but criticizes her colleagues for taking shortcuts. 03.10.2010

The Man Who Plucks All the Strings

Brian Greene says string theory is still scientific even if it's not falsifiable. 03.09.2010

Discover Interview: Space Is Getting Bigger, and It's Getting Bigger Faster

Saul Perlmutter changing our understanding of the entire universe by discovering that its expansion is accelerating. 02.22.2010

Discover Interview: The Man Who Builds Brains

Using computer processors that behave like neurons in the neocortex, Henry Markram is inching closer to building a simulated human brain—a truly conscious machine. 02.05.2010

Discover Interview: Miles of Wire, Reams of Print-Outs, and a Giant Discovery

Jocelyn Bell Burnell worked through old-school equipment and old-school sexism to find the first pulsar—the beginning of an extraordinary life in science. 12.29.2009

Discover Interview: Roger Penrose Says Physics Is Wrong, From String Theory to Quantum Mechanics

One of the greatest thinkers in physics says the human brain—and the universe itself—must function according to some theory we haven't yet discovered. 10.06.2009

Discover Interview: Thanks, Evolution, For Making the Great Building Material Called DNA

Electronic computers are great at what they do. But to accomplish really complicated physical tasks—like building an insect—Erik Winfree says you have to grow them from DNA. 08.11.2009

The Man Who Found Quarks and Made Sense of the Universe

Murray Gell-Mann had a smash success with particles, notorious dustups with Feynman, and a missed opportunity with Einstein. 03.17.2009

DNA Agrees With All the Other Science: Darwin Was Right

Molecular biologist Sean Carroll shows how evolution happens, one snippet of DNA at a time 02.19.2009

What Makes You Uniquely "You"?

Nobel laureate Gerald Edelman says your brain is one-of-a-kind in the history of the universe. 01.16.2009

Why Did Western Drs. Promote Tobacco While the Nazis Fought Cancer?

Robert Proctor looks at the way knowledge advances—and sometimes takes great leaps backwards. 01.08.2009

The "Monkey Whisperer" Learns the Secrets of Primate Economics

Laurie Santos penetrates the world of monkeys... and finds they're more like humans than we think. 10.13.2008

Fighting for the Right to Clone

Stem cell and cloning guru Robert Lanza has battled the Catholic Church, the White House, and violent protesters. 08.19.2008

The Lifesaving Work of the Man Behind "A Civil Action"

"Popular epidemiologist" Phil Brown comes to the aid of environmental contamination victims. 07.29.2008

Is the Universe Actually Made of Math?

Cosmologist Max Tegmark says mathematical formulas create reality. 06.16.2008

The Beautiful Mind of Freeman Dyson

Thoughts and illustrations from the head of a science legend. 06.09.2008

How Much Do Chemicals Affect Our Health?

Philip Landrigan tracks how dangers like the WTC can cause problems like ADD. 04.25.2008

From Haitian Zombie Poison to Inuit Knives Made of Feces

Wade Davis, a real-life Indiana Jones, chronicles cultures at the brink. 03.27.2008

George Schaller's Grand Plan to Save the Marco Polo Sheep

"Obviously humans are evolution’s greatest mistake," says the conservationist. 02.21.2008

A Chat With George W. Bush’s Conscience

Embryonic stem cells crashed against Leon Kass’ old-school moralism. 02.20.2008

Your Brain on Music, Magnets, and Meth

No one has seen oddities of the mind quite like Oliver Sacks has. 01.01.2008

The Man Who Imagined Wormholes and Schooled Hawking

Kip Thorne revolutionized physics, fixed up Contact, and straddled the Cold War divide. 11.09.2007

The Granddaddy of Space Colonization?

Fifty years after Sputnik, Burt Rutan leads a new space race. 10.08.2007

Why Has Steven Pinker Studied Verbs for 20 Years?

The rules of language may reveal how our brains really work. 09.17.2007

Discover Interview: Director of Iraq's National Museum

The archaeologist talks about the loss of artifacts and why he fled his homeland. 08.03.2007

William Gibson on the Past and Future

Somehow, cyberspace and the real world switched places. 07.30.2007

Sun's Shifts May Cause Global Warming

Physicist says carbon dioxide's no big deal 06.25.2007

David Brin Predicts the Future

Sci-fi author knew all about the Web, global warming, and more 06.07.2007

Is Morality Innate and Universal?

A hardwired moral code leaves a lot of room for interpretation. 05.10.2007

The Discover Interview: Paul Allen

Microsoft's co-founder throws his fortune at the frontiers of science. 04.23.2007

Raw Data: Beacon Bird of Climate Change

Penguin poop reveals secrets of the Antarctic climate. 04.04.2007

The Discover Interview: Jane Goodall

For 47 years, Goodall has studied, communicated with, and lived with chimps. 03.28.2007

The Discover Interview: Francis Collins

Top geneticist is a devout Christian and true believer in stem cell research. 02.20.2007

Discover Interview: Marvin Minsky

The legendary pioneer of artificial intelligence ponders the brain, bashes neuroscience, and lays out a plan for superhuman robot servants. 01.12.2007

The Discover Interview Jeffrey Sachs

He's got a plan to save the world. All it needs is a smart dose of science, some enlightened politicians, and about 0.7 percent of your money. 11.27.2006

The Discover Interview: David Baltimore

The retiring president of Caltech delivers some straight talk on AIDS research, celebrity science, and his role in one of the most talked-about fraud scandals of the past 25 years. 09.01.2006

Discover Interview: Will Wright

The master of the computer god game tackles alien life and dreams up a world that would make Darwin drool. 08.01.2006

The Discover Interview: Lisa Randall

One of physics' brightest stars ventures into 10 dimensions, visits other universes, explains gravity, and keeps her sense of humor. 07.29.2006

Discover Interview: E.O. Wilson

Biology's chief provocateur explores the evolutionary origins of cooperation, warfare, and the tribal mind 06.25.2006

The Discover Interview: John McCarter

The head of Chicago's Field Museum lends a powerful new voice to the evolution debate 05.28.2006

Interview: Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel

Does psychotherapy work? We'd be a lot more certain if we slapped a little science on it. 04.02.2006