In the Marvel comics and movies, a sickly army recruit named Steve Rogers becomes Captain America after receiving an injection of “super soldier” serum and being irradiated with Vita-Rays. Such a transformation may not yet be possible in real life, but science and technology are quickly catching up, says E. Paul Zehr.
Zehr is a neuroscientist in Canada. He’s also a martial arts master and a writer who explores the science of superheroes. In his most recent book, Chasing Captain America, Zehr explores the wild technologies that could make superpowers possible. He says that biology, tech, and engineering are converging to surpass the limits of human body. His previous books have focused on superheroes too. Becoming Batman outlines the athletic training a person would require if they wanted the abilities and muscles of the Caped Crusader. In Inventing Iron Man, he wrote about inventions needed to build a brain-controlled armored suit like Iron Man’s. We talked with Zehr about his origin story, the science of transformation, what we can learn from superheroes, and what comes next.
WHO INTRODUCED YOU TO COMIC BOOKS AND SUPERHEROES?
My mom. She was born in the 1930s, so she actually grew up during the golden age of comic books. She used to talk about the comics she would read as a kid. She’d read the comics and go to the movies and see the adventures of Batman or Superman. If you watch those old movies now, they’re terrible. But in any case, she was into these things. She gave that love of comics to me. And that got me interested.
Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.