Scientific Munchies

A Ken Burns iPad app, touchscreen subway maps, swapping sexism and more in our weekly look at the web

Even casual tokers know the drill: puff, puff, pass—the Doritos. As marijuana becomes even more mainstream, an interest in understanding all of its side effects is increasing too, and the latest to undergo a scientific investigation is pot’s curious ability to make users insatiably hungry. Researchers at French agency INSERM have worked with genetically modified mice to play around with CB1 receptors in nerve cells, …

Oldest Known Star Identified

A Ken Burns iPad app, touchscreen subway maps, swapping sexism and more in our weekly look at the web

Formed 13.6 billion years ago, a star now considered to be the oldest known to date was discovered by a team of Australian astronomers led by Dr. Stefan Keller. Its age was figured out by studying its iron content; Keller says, “The telltale sign that the star is so ancient is the complete absence of any detectable level of iron in the spectrum of light …

Swapping Sexism

A Ken Burns iPad app, touchscreen subway maps, swapping sexism and more in our weekly look at the web

As eye-opening as it is entertaining, the 10-minute short film “Oppressed Majority” by French filmmaker Eleonore Pourriat places a man at the center of the every day aggression most women undergo. The role reversal provides plenty of laughs, but more importantly packs a thoughtful punch. There’s no better way to learn about a day in the life of a woman than by opening the world …