The Digital Frontier
Advancements in 20th century medicine reshaped society and made good health an expectation, not an exception. Now, 21st century breakthroughs may end disease, reverse aging, and restore sight and hearing — perhaps sooner than we think.
Featured
The West needs more water. This Nobel winner may have the answer.
Paul Migrom has an Emmy, a Nobel, and a successful company. There’s one more big problem on the to-do list.
Police spend 40% of their time on paperwork. Can AI help?
Axon’s AI innovations promise to free officers from desks, but not without questions of ethics. CEO Rick Smith addresses concerns and community trust:
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China’s COVID-19 cases surge, with low elderly vaccination rates
China’s “zero-COVID” policies may be contributing to a surge of cases that has forced 50 million people into lockdown.
Safer painkillers: A novel drug treats pain without killing people
Painkillers have nasty side effects, such as organ damage or addiction. Researchers have discovered a new drug that may cause none of these.
CRISPR cattle cleared for the first time by FDA
Beef cattle genetically altered to be less susceptible to heat stress have been cleared for human consumption by the FDA.
Steering wheels now optional for driverless cars in US
Driverless cars no longer need to have manual controls, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s safety standards.
Anti-aging isn’t a scam, but immortality almost certainly is
A new biotech firm with $3 billion in funding has announced plans to combat aging. But what does that mean for human life span, exactly?
Hugging a cushion that “breathes” can reduce anxiety
A study found that hugging a cushion that “breathes” was able to reduce anxiety for students prior to a test as much as guided meditation.
3D ocean farming: creating food while cleaning the ocean
3D ocean farming can help us feed Earth’s growing population while also improving the health of the oceans.
Drones and AI recover a meteorite for the first time
Australian researchers have trained an AI to locate fallen space rocks using footage from autonomous drone surveys.
Clues to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder hidden in the dark genome
A new study suggests that the causes of these disorders are hidden in “dark genes,” which may account for the enigma of their development.
NASA opens untouched moon rock container from 50 years ago
NASA is opening a vacuum-sealed sample of moon rock and gas to help astronauts prepare for the next mission to the moon.
This company is tackling Kuwait’s ‘tire graveyard’ problem by tire recycling
Kuwait wants to build 25,000 new houses on the site of a former tire graveyard. Here’s how they’re going to do it.
Moderna will develop mRNA vaccines for Ebola, malaria, other major threats
Moderna is developing mRNA vaccines for 15 “priority” pathogens and launching a program giving other developers access to its mRNA tech.
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Hard Reset
Should war robots have “license to kill?”
War is changing. As drones replace snipers, we must consider the ethics of machines making life or death decisions.
Oculus exec bets $10,000 we’ll have fully autonomous cars by 2030
An Oculus exec has publicly bet $10,000 that vehicles with Level 5 autonomy will arrive on city streets by 2030.
Scientists discover how the AIDS virus breaks cellular “lockdown”
HIV replication continues even when infected cells shut down. New research shows how.
Psychosomatic illness: Are some diseases caused by our memories?
The brain appears to remember immune responses, and memories can trigger them to happen again.
Baby thrives after first-of-its-kind heart transplant
A baby’s first-of-its-kind heart transplant could help future patients avoid organ rejection and reduce the need for immunosuppressant drugs.
4 things you need to know about the metaverse
Technology that merges the virtual and physical worlds could start to become a reality for consumers in just a few years.
Win-win: we can make fertilizer by purifying wastewater
Stanford engineers have developed a cost-effective way to convert a toxic byproduct of a wastewater filtration process into useful chemicals.
Elon Musk: Europe should revive nuclear energy
The Ukraine crisis has highlighted Europe’s dependence on Russia for fossil fuels. Is more nuclear energy the solution?
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