Book Review: Decoding the Reign of the Algorithm
In “Filterworld,” Kyle Chayka explores the many ways in which algorithm-driven online content has reshaped our lives, arguing that the addictive nature of social media and tailored feeds have bled...
View ArticleRise of the Lone Star Tick Brings New Disease Threats
The lone star tick is expanding northward, bringing novel maladies, from a meat allergy to the Bourbon virus. And in some regions, they’re threatening to topple the better-known blacklegged tick, which...
View ArticlePolice Turn to AI to Review Bodycam Footage
Body cameras were pitched by law enforcement authorities as a tool for building public trust between police and their communities in the wake of police killings of civilians like Michael Brown. But a...
View ArticleBuilding Durable Basketball Players From the Ground Up (Way Up)
Elite basketball puts a lot of strain on the body, and in the NBA, injuries are on the rise. An uptick in injury may be occurring among younger amateur players, too. In response, researchers are...
View ArticleAnorexia Should Never Be Considered a Terminal Illness
Less than half of those diagnosed with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa fully recover. Now, some psychiatrists are suggesting that some people cannot be cured and should be given palliative care....
View ArticleHow a Nuclear Weapons Lab Helped Crack a Serial-Killer Case
When California law-enforcement authorities were looking for a breakthrough in a notorious 1990s serial-murder case, they turned to an unlikely ally for help: the Forensic Science Center at Lawrence...
View ArticleEnvironmental DNA Is Everywhere. Scientists Are Gathering It All.
By sampling eDNA, or mixtures of genetic material, in water, soil, ice cores, cotton swabs, dead human bodies, or practically any environment imaginable, even thin air, it is now possible to search for...
View ArticleWomen and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis
Some 12 million U.S. adults are misdiagnosed every year, resulting in ICU admissions and deaths. But recent research has uncovered a disproportionate toll: Women and racial and ethnic minorities are 20...
View ArticleThe Revolution of Environmental DNA
In a six-part series, Undark explores the origins of environmental DNA collection. With new applications on the horizon, the eDNA era is raising keen hopes (and some nagging worries) about a technology...
View ArticleThe Uncharted World of Emerging Pathogens
The pandemic catalyzed a push for new technologies to help track viruses. Now, scientists around the world can sample environmental DNA from a cup of dirt, a vial of water, or even a puff of air. As a...
View ArticleWhy Doctors Avoid Talking With Patients About Gun Safety
Gun violence in the U.S. is a public health crisis, according to many medical associations. But a recent study suggests that most physicians don’t talk about firearm safety with their patients, and...
View ArticleInterview: Confronting the Riddle of Geoengineering
According to climate expert Rob Bellamy, large-scale technological interventions like solar geoengineering that seek to change the Earth’s environment or atmosphere to counter the effects of global...
View ArticlePolice Turn to AI to Review Bodycam Footage
Body cameras were pitched by law enforcement authorities as a tool for building public trust between police and their communities in the wake of police killings of civilians like Michael Brown. But a...
View ArticleBuilding Durable Basketball Players From the Ground Up (Way Up)
Elite basketball puts a lot of strain on the body, and in the NBA, injuries are on the rise. An uptick in injury may be occurring among younger amateur players, too. In response, researchers are...
View ArticleHow a Nuclear Weapons Lab Helped Crack a Serial-Killer Case
When California law-enforcement authorities were looking for a breakthrough in a notorious 1990s serial-murder case, they turned to an unlikely ally for help: the Forensic Science Center at Lawrence...
View ArticlePolice Turn to AI to Review Bodycam Footage
Body cameras were pitched by law enforcement authorities as a tool for building public trust between police and their communities in the wake of police killings of civilians like Michael Brown. But a...
View ArticleBuilding Durable Basketball Players From the Ground Up (Way Up)
Elite basketball puts a lot of strain on the body, and in the NBA, injuries are on the rise. An uptick in injury may be occurring among younger amateur players, too. In response, researchers are...
View ArticleHow a Nuclear Weapons Lab Helped Crack a Serial-Killer Case
When California law-enforcement authorities were looking for a breakthrough in a notorious 1990s serial-murder case, they turned to an unlikely ally for help: the Forensic Science Center at Lawrence...
View ArticleFor Captured Carbon, Scientists Plot a Sub-Ocean Tomb
Researchers are exploring the possibility of injecting excess carbon dioxide into the ocean floor to remove the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere on an enormous scale. It’s a controversial idea, but...
View ArticleThe Growing Environmental Footprint Of Generative AI
Generative artificial intelligence uses massive amounts of energy for computation and data storage and millions of gallons of water to cool the equipment at data centers. Now, legislators and...
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