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:
More
An ancient technique can improve your attention span
Life’s modern distractions, such as news and social media, have overwhelmed our evolutionarily designed attention spans.
Researchers are fighting to clear brain fog
Brain fog’s prevalence among long COVID patients has researchers focusing on understanding, and treating, it.
Future sailplanes could explore Mars like birds
Sailplanes could harvest wind energy from Mars’ atmosphere, probing unexplored regions for long stretches of time.
The Universe is flat. Here’s what that teaches us.
When we measure it, we find that our Universe really is flat. Here’s what we can learn from that, and why it matters so much.
Newly discovered exoplanet may be first covered in liquid water
The first ocean planet may have just been discovered in the “Goldilocks zone” of a star 100 light-years from Earth.
Is your mind just a parasite on your physical body?
What if there is nothing special about self-awareness? What if it is just evolutionary dead weight, bound to disappear soon?
How AI could learn from Aesop’s fables
When USC researchers tried to teach an AI simple fables, they discovered that the process is a lot harder than it sounds.
On the road to autonomous cars, driver fatigue will be a problem
New research from Waymo points the way to overcoming driver fatigue in cars that are almost — but not quite — self-driving.
A plasma reactor could help astronauts breathe on Mars
Future astronauts might produce oxygen on Mars by blasting carbon dioxide molecules apart inside a plasma reactor.
New industries are embracing apprenticeships
Eschewing costly college degrees, earn-and-learn apprenticeship programs are pushing into new industries.
5 drugs that changed the world (and what went wrong)
Anesthesia, penicillin, antibiotics, diazepam, and the birth control pill have all radically changed our lives.
Breakthrough in photosynthesis boosts plant growth up to 30%
In a small study, researchers have engineered soy plants to have higher yields thanks to improved photosynthesis.
Powerful new magnets bring fusion power a step closer
A new system for generating magnetic fields suitable for spherical tokamaks is fueling progress on nuclear fusion.
3D-printed wood furniture could ship flat, then dry into shape
A new way of 3D printing wood that takes advantage of warping could change how we build things in the future.
“Synthetic biomarkers” could catch your cancer in the future
When the body’s own biomarkers aren’t enough, researchers have begun creating their own to help fight cancer.
An international team sets out to cure genetic heart diseases with one shot
Researchers from the UK, US, and Singapore are beginning work on a genetic heart cure they hope to begin clinically testing within five years.
Researchers may have created a universal coronavirus vaccine
All currently licensed COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein’s S1 region, which is prone to mutations. We need a universal vaccine.
Stanford’s new microchip could put powerful AI on your devices
A Stanford-led team has developed a new microchip that could let us run advanced AI programs directly on our devices.
Pfizer’s RSV vaccine is 86% effective at preventing severe illness
According to a huge phase 3 trial, Pfizer’s RSV vaccine is nearly 86% effective at preventing severe illness in older adults.
Series|
Hard Reset
The future of energy starts with rebuilding the battery
Millions of tons of batteries are headed to landfills. Here’s the plan to save them.
Subscribe to the newsletter