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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NASA beams home cat video from 19 million miles away
In a history-making demonstration, NASA used invisible lasers to send a cat video to Earth from deep space.
Mercedes-Benz adds special blue lights when its self-driving cars are “on”
Mercedes-Benz has added turquoise lights to its self-driving vehicles to indicate when its autonomous driving system is engaged.
Why is the value of money for happiness increasing?
While the old adage says that money can’t buy happiness, studies have determined that the more your income increases, the happier you are.
Does caffeine harm your decision-making?
A small study showed caffeine lessens decision-making. While preliminary, it raises questions about caffeine affects our “higher” cognitive functions.
How much CO2 can the world emit while keeping warming below 1.5°C and 2°C?
Researchers estimate how much more CO2 we can emit to keep temperatures below 1.5°C and 2°C to combat climate change.
This startup wants to track soil carbon with AI and satellites
Boomitra’s remote sensing technology combines data from Earth and space to verify when carbon is coming out of the air.
Vesuvius Challenge: Can AI decipher these mysterious ancient scrolls?
Herculaneum’s Villa de Papiri contains hundreds of ancient texts that were carbonized by Mt. Vesuvius. Now, they can only be deciphered by AI.
Microsoft is training an AI to help get nuclear reactors approved
Microsoft is training an AI to generate the paperwork needed to get next-gen nuclear reactors approved by regulators.
Why scientists are making transparent wood
Stronger than plastic and tougher than glass, the transparent wood is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows, and more
Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine works even better than thought
Adding Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine to a standard melanoma treatment dramatically reduces the risk of death or recurrence.
The 5 most exciting clinical trial results of 2023
In 2023, several potentially game-changing meds, including ones to treat pain and high cholesterol, showed huge promise in human trials.
Chemobrain is real. Here’s what to expect after cancer treatment.
Chemobrain, or chemofog, can significantly affect cancer survivors’ quality of life with its social, psychological, and economic impacts.
Watch amazing Meta AI translate language in near real-time
Meta has unveiled Seamless, a language translation AI that can quickly translate speech while preserving the original tone and emotion.
Google AI discovers 2.2 million new materials for a host of technologies
Google’s AI GNoME has predicted 2.2 million novel inorganic crystal structures. If synthesized in labs, they may pave the way for new technologies.
T-Minus: Counting down the 10 greatest space stories of 2023
Freethink’s countdown of the biggest space news of 2023, featuring major rocket launches, groundbreaking astronomy discoveries, and more.
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Hard Reset Podcast
Hard Reset Podcast: Maps | Episode #10
Instead of your static map or tilted, spinny globe – this technology would unlock a daily, real-time image of the entire world.
Deep neural networks show promise as models of human hearing
In the largest study yet of deep neural networks trained to perform auditory tasks, researchers found surprising similarities to human hearing.
Professor Giles Yeo on making sense of anti-obesity drugs
Anti-obesity drugs have been in the news, and for good reason; they seem to work. Giles Yeo talks us through some misconceptions at play.
How can we transform the mental health care system for today’s youth?
The mental wellbeing of children and young people is at the forefront of mind – and UNICEF and partners have a design plan to strengthen healthcare systems to meet the demand.
AI chatbots are coming to your workplace but are not necessarily coming for your job
AI chatbots might not be coming for your job after all, but AI fluency, the skill to understand and work with AI, will soon be essential.
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