3 Questions

3 Questions: Evelyn Fox Keller on the nature-nurture debatesIn a new book, prominent historian of science dismisses the ‘unanswerable’ question of whether heredity or the environment matter more in human development.

3 Questions: Joseph Coughlin on aging and drivingAs the Baby Boomers become senior citizens, is a mobility crisis coming down the road?

3 Questions: John Hansman on the Qantas A380 engine blowoutMIT aviation expert discusses why the engine failure could have resulted in a more serious outcome.

3 Questions: Michael Greenstone on deficit spendingAs deficit hawks appear poised for victory at the polls, the MIT economics professor presents the case for more spending on infrastructure and R&D.

3 Questions: ARPA-E chief on the energy challengeDuring MIT visit, Arun Majumdar issues a wake-up call but says his agency alone cannot solve the energy problem.

3 Questions: Nicholas Roy on deploying drones in U.S. skiesMIT robotics expert discusses the logistical hurdles of regulating unmanned aircraft for civilian use.

3 Questions: Richard Binzel on astronomers’ powerful new toolPan-STARRS, a telescope designed to reveal the ‘unexpected surprises’ in our solar system, including possible threats to Earth, just became fully operational.

3 Questions: Ray Magliozzi '72 on woodworkingWhen he's not fiddling with cars, Car Talk host Ray Magliozzi '72 pursues a woodworking hobby that started at MIT

3 Questions: Noelle Selin on curbing mercuryAs U.N. negotiations begin this week on a global mercury treaty, an MIT atmospheric scientist explains the challenges ahead.

3 Questions: John Marshall on the Gulf of Mexico oil spillAn MIT oceanographer discusses why ‘we have never had a spill like this’ — and what that means for cleanup efforts.

3 Questions: Stephen Connors on offshore wind farmsWhat the federal approval of the Cape Wind project will mean for Massachusetts and the nation

3 Questions: David Jones on heart problemsPhysician and historian of medicine explains why bypass surgery is popular even though it fails to help many patients.

3 Questions: Bill Gates on MITAfter speaking about the importance of giving back, the philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder spoke to MIT News about innovation and learning at MIT

3 Questions: David MacKay on renewable energyScience advisor to the British government talks about Climategate, the Copenhagen conference, and emission-free energy technology

3 Questions: Melissa Nobles on the U.S. CensusAs America’s decennial headcount gets under way, an MIT political scientist discusses the history of race and ethnicity in the U.S. Census.

3 Questions: David Miliband on Afghanistan’s futureBefore delivering the Compton Lecture, Britain’s foreign secretary sat down with MIT News to discuss the state of the war in Afghanistan

3 Questions: Hunt Allcott on behavioral economics and the energy crisisCan understanding human irrationality help solve our energy problems? An MIT researcher explains

3 Questions: Eduardo Kausel on Chile’s massive earthquakeHow stringent building codes limited damage in Chile, and why there’s cause for concern in parts of the U.S.

3 Questions: Steven Spear on Toyota’s troublesWith the vaunted Japanese automaker recalling millions of cars, the MIT senior lecturer explains what went wrong

3 Questions: David Mindell on Obama’s NASA proposalMIT space researcher predicts that if adopted, Obama’s proposed budget and policy will lead to more joint human-robotic space exploration

3 Questions: Bradford Hager on Haiti’s coming quakesThe MIT geophysicist expects more earthquakes could hit the region relatively soon.

3 Questions: Making unemployment workWith large numbers of Americans out of work, economist Ivan Werning suggests some better ways to make unemployment insurance operate

3 Questions: Henry Jacoby on CopenhagenThe co-director of MIT’s Global Change program discusses what to expect from the U.N. Climate Change Conference, and the effects of ‘Climategate’

3 Questions: Suzanne Corkin on the world’s most famous amnesicThis week, scientists plan to slice the brain of H.M., the amnesia patient who died last year and whose condition helped shed light on how memories are formed.

3 Questions: Sara Seager on searching for Earth-like planetsMIT planetary scientist discusses projects that aim to discover distant planets similar to our own, and what we can learn when we find them

3 Questions: Sergey Paltsev on the costs of climate-change legislationMIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change has pegged the annual cost of the proposed cap-and-trade legislation in Congress at $400 per U.S. household. But estimating the cost of doing nothing is far more difficult.

3 Questions: Jeffrey Harris on why we still don't have an HIV vaccineThe MIT economist blames inadequate incentives for the failure to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS. He argues governments should help industry create an HIV vaccine by sharing risk.

3 Questions: Steven Nahn on the elusive Higgs bosonTroubles at the Large Hadron Collider have led some physicists to suggest the Higgs boson is sabotaging its own discovery. Nahn explains why he disagrees.

3 Questions: Robert Solow on the struggle aheadThe MIT Nobel laureate explains why we need more economic stimulus — and more innovation.

3 Questions: Vincent Lépinay on bankers unleashedAn MIT anthropologist, who studies financial practices, discusses how ever-changing banking tools baffle regulators.