Fun fact: Viruses, which cause everything from the common cold to COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), are not technically considered “alive” by many biologists. It seems like the simplest question in science: what makes something alive? We all think we know the answer. Dogs are alive. Rocks are not. Plants are alive. Plastic is not. But …
Fun fact: Physicist Roger Penrose, who won the Nobel Prize for black hole research, has also proposed a theory linking quantum physics to human consciousness. For centuries, philosophers and poets wrestled with the mystery of consciousness—the vivid, private experience of being alive. What makes the light “on” in your head? Why do neurons firing in …