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New Ways Of Viewing Scientific History

Patricia Fara, a historian of science at Cambridge University and the 2022 recipient of the Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics, spoke about her work and the role of science history in today’s world. This is an extract from her interview.

Controlling Artificial Intelligence

Anthropologist Beth Singler at the University of Cambridge studies our relationship with AI and robotics and believes that we should be more critical of those making decisions about how AI is used.

How Insufficient Sleep Can Damage Your Immune Stem Cells

The findings help draw a direct line between sleep problems and cardiovascular disease, as well as offering some clues to how general immune dysfunction can be triggered by poor sleep.

New Trial Finds First-Ever Alzheimer's Drug To Slow Cognitive Decline

"The prospect of a disease-modifying drug for Alzheimer's disease is an exciting one, which could improve many lives."

Pfizer Pays Almost $120 Million For App That Claims To Detect COVID From A Cough

Pfizer has shelled out nearly US$120 million to acquire a small Australian company claiming to have developed a smartphone app that can accurately diagnose COVID-19 by analysing the sound of a cough.

How AI Is Deepening Our Understanding Of The Brain

"With deep learning networks you can train them to do well on tasks" that standard brain-inspired models couldn't previously solve.

NASA Can Now Reliably Produce Oxygen On Mars

MOXIE can reliably convert carbon dioxide into a small tree's worth of oxygen.

Scientists Made Hydrogen Fuel From Air And Solar Power

At the moment the biggest barrier for green hydrogen is cost.

The First Human Trials Of A Memory Prosthesis Look Promising

At the very least the study shows that, similar to a brain-controlled prosthetic limb, a memory chip isn't impossible for people who need it the most.

People Are Loving The World's Biggest Four-Day Workweek Trial-And They're Just As Productive

Overall, 86 percent of the survey respondents said they're likely or extremely likely to want to stick with a four-day work week after the trial ends in three months.

Super-Earths Are Bigger And More Habitable Than Earth, And Astronomers Are Discovering More.

Astronomers know that the ingredients for life are out there, but habitable does not mean inhabited. Until researchers find evidence of life elsewhere, it's possible that life on Earth was a unique accident.

The Tech That Will Push VR To The Limits Of The Human Eye

It's important to remember that there are a host of issues other than just better displays that will need to be solved if VR is to become widely commercialized.