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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Seven science and tech breakthroughs you may have missed this year
A roundup of major science and tech achievements that flew under the radar in 2022, including new vaccines, advanced solar cells, and more.
How to use the brain’s own immune cells to stave off Alzheimer’s
Research suggests that microglia play a key role in preventing neurodegenerative diseases by helping to remove toxic waste.
Search engines and AI will make each other better
The tech behind ChatGPT isn’t ready to overthrow Google, but it could fix what’s wrong with search engines.
Rewilding: letting nature do its own thing
Rewilding organisations in Europe are reintroducing lost species including the Eurasian lynx and Marsican brown bear.
Engineered bacteria may one day prevent kidney stones
In a small proof-of-concept study, an engineered E. coli was able to reduce levels of a kidney stone-causing chemical.
“Galactic archeology” makes spectacular find: the Milky Way is over 13 billion years old
Scientists have pushed the Milky Way’s early history back more than 2 billion years: to less than 800 million years after the Big Bang.
Harvard and Kraft Heinz are trying to make sugar healthier
Instead of replacing sugar, Wyss scientists had an idea: what if they change sugar to make it healthier?
Neuroscientists recommend more carbs and less coffee to combat seasonal depression
Taking small steps to help your circadian rhythm adjust to winter could mean happier times during what are literally the darkest days.
Researchers have developed a way to “decode” depression
Baylor College of Medicine researchers have developed an electrode-based “mood decoder” capable of mapping brain activity to mood.
After 50 years, fusion power hits a major milestone
Researchers in California achieved net energy gain in a thermonuclear fusion experiment. But how great of a breakthrough is this, really?
MIT is testing light and sound to combat Alzheimer’s
MIT researchers are developing a therapy that uses 40-Hz light and sound to alter Alzheimer’s patients’ gamma waves.
Mega bacteria that can be seen with naked eye shakes up the field of microbiology
A newly discovered species of bacteria is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye. It also contains a DNA-containing nucleus.
Just a few short bursts of physical activity each day might yield huge health benefits
Researchers tracked 25,241 non-exercisers wearing accelerometers to find out of brief bursts of activity lowered their risk of dying.
World’s biggest cultivated meat factory is being built in the US
Israeli startup Believer Meats is building the world’s biggest cultivated meat factory in Wilson, North Carolina.
AI-based theory explains your weird dreams
Researchers suggest that dreaming helps us generalize our experiences so that we can adapt to new circumstances.
Generative AI: The technology of the year for 2022
It’s made headlines so often that there is no question that 2022 will be remembered as the year that Generative AI stunned the world.
How exercise changes your brain biology and protects your mental health
A psychiatrist and neuroscientist began to think of prescribing exercise as telling patients to take their “exercise pills.”
Stem cell breakthrough could save the northern white rhino
To save the northern white rhino species from extinction, researchers are turning stored rhino tissue samples into sperm and egg cells.
New battery is cheaper than lithium-ion with four times the capacity
A new type of room temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) battery could help solve the renewable energy storage problem.
Will physics prevent SpinLaunch from succeeding?
SpinLaunch has a working prototype successfully launching objects at 1,000 miles-per-hour, but will the laws of physics stand in the way?
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