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.
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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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New blood test predicts Alzheimer’s 3.5 years in advance
A blood sample and machine learning helps predict whether people with mild cognitive impairment will soon develop Alzheimer’s.
NASA’s “Lucy” will take a 40,000-mile detour to visit this asteroid
NASA has added a tenth asteroid flyby to the record-breaking Lucy mission so that it can test a new asteroid-tracking system.
Why changing your mind is a feature of evolution, not a bug
Reasoning by yourself is a much weaker tool than contributing your reasoning to a group and being flexible to changing your mind.
This near-Earth asteroid is 4.2 billion years old and nearly indestructible
By analyzing just three dust particles, researchers learned that the rubble pile asteroid Itokawa is 4.2 billion years old and hard to kill.
Rare Martian meteorite is full of complex carbon molecules
A 650-million-years-old meteorite found in Africa shows the rich and complex chemistry that once happened on Mars.
The most undervalued problem-solving tool? Lateral thinking.
Lateral thinking is a way of approaching problems. It deliberately forgoes obvious approaches in favor of oblique or unexpected ones.
New brain implant breaks record for turning thoughts into text
Stanford researchers have developed a brain-computer interface that allowed a woman to “type” 62 words per minute using only her thoughts.
Extreme heat is changing habits of daily life
Researchers found that extreme temperatures actually have a much larger effect on human activity than the previous estimations.
In Japan, humanoid robots could soon become part of the family
More than any other nation, Japan tends to feel comfortable with the idea of humanoid robots entering the home.
Simple tweak to cancer treatment reduces relapse risk by 28%
Delivering chemotherapy to colon cancer patients before and after surgery — instead of just after — reduces their risk of recurrence by 28%.
An open-source option is shaking up the microchip industry
The RISC-V architecture for microchips is transitioning from a novelty to a major player in the tech world.
Cosmic dust from Venus is inspiring new air pollution-busting technology
Inspired by chemistry observed on the surface of Venus, researchers produced a synthetic material that could improve air quality.
New AI will teach soldiers to dress wounds, fly helicopters in AR
DARPA is developing AI assistants that will display instructions to military personnel through augmented reality headsets.
This “ultrasound vortex” can quickly clear blood clots
Using spiraling ultrasound waves, researchers hope to remove stroke-causing blood clots faster and safer.
Microbiome-safe method could head off Staph infection
A microbiome-friendly method of controlling Staph colonization has aced phase 2 clinical trials.
First-of-its-kind exoskeleton for stroke rehab cleared by FDA
The FDA has cleared Wandercraft’s self-balancing, hands-free Atalante exoskeleton for use during stroke rehab.
Ancient mystery solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?
How have Roman walls held up so long? Their ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia.
This “living medicine” can eliminate a deadly lung infection
Researchers have engineered bacteria to create a “living medicine” against a nasty respiratory bug.
Study suggests that exercise should be prescribed to mental health patients
Researchers concluded that exercise should be prescribed to patients with mental health issues before psychiatric drugs.
How heat pumps of the 1800s are becoming the technology of the future
With ever-improving efficiencies, and rising sales in multiple countries, heat pumps are only getting harder for their detractors to dismiss.
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