What if we could peer into a brain and see guilt or innocence? Brain scanning technology is trying to break its way into the courtroom, but can we—and should we—determine criminal fate based on high-tech images of the brain?

From diseases and disasters to the miracles wrought by evolution, the environmental forces that shape our lives are the inspiration for countless science writers. This event featured five award-winning authors whose best-selling books explore the complicated interplay of science, ethics, history and social responsibility.

National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia A. Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer who has been called a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress and “Hero for …

Sports and science don’t mix, right? Not if you ask biomedical engineer Cynthia Bir whose career focuses on using science and technology to keep athletes safe and to help them …

A century after Einstein’s mathematics suggested the possibility of black holes, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is finally observing them. The project’s latest achievement is the first image of the …

With ever more refined techniques for measuring complex brain activity, scientists are challenging the understanding of thought, memory and emotion–what we have traditionally called “the self.”