Tag: ethics

Telling people they’re getting a placebo does not stop it from working After being given a placebo and viewing negative images, people felt less distress, even though they knew their treatment had no active ingredients.

Posted on February 9, 2021April 2, 2021 by EricaCurles 150 views

Does giving a placebo require lying to a patient? This study concludes...no! Placebos still work even when the patient knows, at least for emotional distress.

Do humans need to be altruistic to make it to Mars? Altruism is selfless action for the well-being of others. Philosophical ideas suggest that the vision of space settlement can be achieved by coordinated altruism over a long time.

Posted on September 13, 2020January 15, 2021 by Satyam Tiwari 112 views

Altruism, in principle, is selfless action for the well-being of others. Altruism may help us achieve our space exploration goals. Space agencies like NASA, SpaceX, and ESA are funding new projects to commercialize asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. These projects could deliver economic as well as scientific benefits…

How would we establish a society on Mars? Humans are not built for Mars. Or rather, Mars isn't built for us. Understanding the sacrifices such a massive undertaking needs is important to its success.

Posted on August 20, 2020April 13, 2021 by Tammy Witzens 636 views

Humans are not built for Mars. Or rather, Mars isn't built for us, yet. Understanding the sacrifices such a massive undertaking needs is important to its success.

For a Cooler Climate, Just Add Ice Should scientists attempt to slow climate change by intentionally increasing the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet to reflect sunlight away from the planet?

Posted on March 15, 2018July 27, 2021 by Fernando Favoretti Vital do Prado 44 views

Should we geoengineer larger ice caps to reflect radiation away from the Earth to cool the climate? Is this a good idea? This article briefly explores these questions, based on the work of Jacob Haqq-Misra of Blue Marble Space Institute of Science.