Science & Technology

Details: Written by: James Jin Kang and Paul Haskell-Dowland

How To Boost Your Internet Speed When Everyone Is Working From Home

With #StayAtHome and social distancing now becoming a way of life, an increasing number of people are relying on the internet for work, education and entertainment.

Details: Written by: Chris Impey

How Technology Can Combat The Rising Tide Of Fake Science

Science gets a lot of respect these days. Unfortunately, it’s also getting a lot of competition from misinformation.

Details: Written by: Ari Berkowitz

Why Sequencing The Human Genome Failed To Produce Big Breakthroughs In Disease

The Human Genome Project was an international scientific collaboration that successfully mapped, sequenced and made publicly available the genetic content of human chromosomes – or all human DNA.

Details: Written by: Gang Chen

Microwaving Sewage Waste May Make It Safe To Use As Fertilizer On Crops
Biosolids – primarily dead bacteria – from sewage plants are usually dumped into landfills. However, they are rich in nutrients and can potentially be used as fertilizers.

Details: Written by: Julie Shiels

Rediscovering Boredom In The Age Of The Smartphone
Smartphones have changed the way we inhabit public space and more specifically, how we fill our time while waiting.

Details: Written by: Gabriela Jurosz-Landa

Honoring the Cycles of Time, Nature, and Space
Western science, in its perception of quantitative time, might eventually edge toward a dynamic concept of time (such as the Maya have). Physicists such as Fay Dowker (2018) have started to look for a way out of the concept of fixed time. Dowker says that her teacher Stephen Hawking only touched on the question of whether time really passes.

Details: Written by: Elizabeth C. Tippett and Jesse King

Why Lawyers Are Trying To Scare You With Facebook Ads
Some ads can be more than misleading – they can put your health at risk.

Details: Written by: Ben Carter and Nicola Kalk

One In Four Children And Young People Show Signs Of Addiction To Smartphones
Love them or hate them, smartphones have become ubiquitous in everyday life. And while they have many positive uses, people remain concerned about the potential negative harms of excessively using them – especially in children and teens.

Details: Written by: Terri R. Kurtzberg

How To Tell If Your Digital Addiction Is Ruining Your Life
The fear that digital distractions are ruining our lives and friendships is widespread.

Details: Written by: Antonis Rokas

Thank Fungi For Your Cheese, Wine And Beer
It’s hard to imagine a holiday table without bread, meat, vegetables, wine, beer or a board of French cheeses for those with more adventurous palates.

Details: Written by: Duncan Walker

Electric Planes Are Here – But They Won't Solve Flying's Co2 Problem
The UK government plans to ban the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040. Clearly the plan is for all citizens to be driving electric or hybrid-electric cars, or – better still – riding bicycles.

Details: Written by: Alexis Blue

For Older Teens, Phone Dependence Can Predict Depression
Young people hooked on their smartphones may have an increased risk for depression and loneliness, researchers report.

Details: Written by: Salvatore Domenic Morgera

How Do Brains Tune In To One Neural Signal Out Of Billions?
The human brain sends hundreds of billions of neural signals each second. It’s an extraordinarily complex feat.

Details: Written by: Richard Gunderman

The Most Influential Scientist You May Never Have Heard Of
By the time he drew his self-portrait at age 45, Humboldt had tutored himself in every branch of science, spent more than five years on a 6,000-mile scientific trek through South America

Details: Written by: Maggie Villiger

What's The Right Way For Scientists To Edit Human Genes?
Since scientists first figured out how to edit genes with precision using a technology called CRISPR, they’ve been grappling with when and how to do it ethically.

Details: Written by: Mike Williams

A new technique grows live bone to repair craniofacial injuries by attaching a 3D-printed bioreactor—basically, a mold—to a rib.

Details: Written by: Kate C. Tilleczek

Young people are now fully ensconced in the digital age as it whirls around and within them.

Details: Written by: Alice Scott

How Wireless Charging Can Mess Up Your Phone’s Battery

Wirelessly charging your phone, while highly convenient, risks depleting the life of devices using typical lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), report researchers.

Details: Written by: Darren Cockburn

The Seven Principles of Conscious Digital Device Usage The speed at which digital device usage has spread is phenomenal. Many of us are spending hours of our time each day using these devices – usually looking at screens. I’m referring to things like phones, computers, tablets, TVs, virtual reality headsets and smart watches.

Details: Written by: Stephen Rice and Scott Winter

How Driverless Cars Are Going To Disrupt The Airline Industry

As driverless cars become more capable and more common, they will change people’s travel habits not only around their own communities but across much larger distances.