Fringe Science: Parallel Universes, White Tulips, and Mad Scientists

Fringe has always been more than the sum of its parts--but its parts, too, are worth a closer look. The show combines a surfeit of mad science, some old-school sci-fi flair, and a dash of strawberry-milkshake whimsy to create the challenging, fascinating Pattern that keeps us coming back season after season and universe after universe.

Now, in Fringe Science, cutting-edge scientists, science writers, and science fiction authors and historians provide a smart, savvy, and accessible look at the world(s) of Fringe.

* MIT physics professor Max Tegmark illuminates the real-life possibilities of parallel universes
* Stephen Cass, founding editor of Discover's Science Not Fiction blog and a Senior Editor with Technology Review, unravels Fringe's use of time travel
* Award-winning science fiction historian Amy H. Sturgis walks us through the show's literary and television ancestors, from the 1800s on
* Television Without Pity staff writer Jacob Clifton looks at the role of the scientist, and scientific redemption, through the ever-shifting role of Massive Dynamic
* Garth Sundem, bestselling author of Brain Candy, explores the mysterious way that memory works, from why Walter forgets to how Olivia remembers
* Paul Levinson, award-winning author of The Silk Code, shows how Fringe re-invents themes from golden-age 1950s science fiction

And more, from lab cow Gene's scientific résumé to why the Observers should be wearing white lab coats.