Neuralink’s Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology, brain chip, has demonstrated its potential to restore mobility to those with paralysis. However, the brain chip’s technical challenges and ethical dilemmas have begun to surface after its first clinical trial. The human brain and machine connection raises heated ethical discussions about BCI’s potential implications.
View More Neuralink’s Gamble: Public Response After First Clinical Trial’s Failure
CrowdStrike released a faulty system update that caused computers to crash on a large scale all over the world. From grounding flights, to delaying medical treatment, the outage reveals the dangers of putting all your cybersecurity defenses into one company.
View More CrowdStrike’s Global Computer Crash Fiasco
Organ donations and transplants are responsible for saving the lives of thousands of people per year. However, these procedures come with numerous complications, including ischemia-reperfusion, which can lead to transplant failure. A new method called normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is gaining more attention for its potential to reduce some of these complications compared to more traditional methods. Despite its potential, NRP is sparking ethical debates among the medical community.
View More Life and Morality: The Ethical Debate of Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Organ Transplants
NASA has shocked the scientific community with its proposition to decommission the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This has sparked a heated debate about the ethics of shutting down such a crucial scientific instrument. Given Chandra’s groundbreaking discoveries, historical significance, and potential for future research, many have come together to reverse the decision and preserve this invaluable asset for current and future generations of scientists and space enthusiasts.
View More Chandra X-ray Observatory: A Stellar Legacy at Risk
VAR technology was adapted to make calls made by referees more accurate. For better or worse it has changed the way soccer is played. The 2024 Euros have been riddled with examples of how VAR is hurting soccer.
View More Is VAR Ruining Football?
Smartphone addiction has become a significant concern, leading to a growing need for a “digital detox.” Social media, streaming services, and mobile games are primary contributors to increased screen time among smartphone users. Carefully curated algorithms drive users to spend countless hours on these applications, triggering dopamine releases and potentially leading to addiction. To address this concern, more people are opting to switch to a classic flip phone as a way to reduce their screen time and break the cycle of smartphone addiction.
View More Smartphone Addiction on the Rise: Are Flip Phones Making a Comeback?
Geoengineers at the University of Washington may have discovered a way to lower regional temperatures through the use of artificial marine cloud brightening (MCB). The team settled down in Alemade, California to start test runs of their project in early April. However, a lack of transparency on their part may get their research shut down.
View More Spraying the Bay: A Controversy
Starliner’s long-awaited Crew Flight Test will finally happen on May 6. Starliner is the Boeing-produced capsule that will hold the astronauts on their journey to the International Space Station. Although the launch date is set in stone, the constant malfunctions that have plagued Starliner and Boeing’s declining credibility indicate that a further delay would be the safest thing to do to ensure the crew’s safety.
View More Houston, We Have a Problem
Last week, the Arabian peninsula was hit by unprecedented rainfall, with parts of the desert nation United Arab Emirates receiving 10 inches of rain within 24 hours.
While this extreme weather mimics the patterns climate scientists have long warned about, some wonder if cloud seeding could instead be to blame for the catastrophic storms. However, scientists have debunked that theory, highlighting a public reluctance to believe that the global climate crisis is creating these extreme events. Linking these severe weather events to climate change is the first step to protecting human lives.
Four years ago, the game developers behind the hit game Borderlands 3 and McGill University partnered to create Borderlands Science, a minigame that gamers would complete to help researchers categorize DNA sequences from microbes found in the human gut. While the project was initially met with skepticism, it has since proven to be extremely successful. Over 4.5 million people have contributed to scientific research through the video game. Borderlands Science establishes an important precedent for the role video games can have in scientific research and social good.
View More Video Game Potential for Social Good