Science Without the BS

The public deserves honesty and respect. Scientists need to do a better job delivering, says Frederic Bertley, president of the COSI Science Center.

Thousands of Children Got Tested for Lead With Faulty Devices: What Parents Should Know

A company that makes tests for lead poisoning has agreed to resolve criminal charges that it concealed for years a malfunction that resulted in inaccurately low results. While many of the fault-prone devices were used from 2013 to 2017, some were being recalled as late as 2021. The Justice Department said the malfunction produced inaccurate results for “potentially tens of thousands” of children and other patients.

How Memories Are Made – And Preserved

Although working memory has very limited capacity – at any given time, it can accommodate just four to seven pieces of information – it is essential for normal human functioning and represents what Spitzer calls a ‘superpower’.

Tech Firms Are Making Computer Chips With Human Cells – Is It Ethical?

Although the name and scenario are fictional, this is a question we have to confront now. In December 2021, Melbourne-based Cortical Labs grew groups of neurons (brain cells) that were incorporated into a computer chip. The resulting hybrid chip works because both brains and neurons share a common language: electricity.

The War in Ukraine Ruins Russia’s Academic Ties With the West

russian academy of science

Russia has dissolved academic connections with the West through legislation on so-called “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations.” The government ramped up scrutiny of foreign funding and outlawed dozens of Western think tanks, charities, and universities that previously had worked in Russia.

Rest to Time Travel

time travel

Imagine that as you are sitting on your lawn chair, a rocket will be passing by at about 86 % the speed of light. Let us take it a step further and consider that you have a laser based clock consisting of a rod with parallel mirrors and, whenever fired, it would take the laser one second to travel to the top mirror, reflect off of it, and travel back to the bottom mirror.