Oct 27 How do bomb squads assess a suspicious package? By Prachi Patel , Scientific American Explosives experts use a combination of x-ray scans, chemical swabs and other tools to evaluate the parcel. Continue reading
Oct 25 Hazardous space junk is piling up. Can this satellite help? By Vicky Stein More than a half a million pieces of trash whiz at more than 17,000 miles per hour around the planet, threatening the lives of astronauts on the International Space Station and the functionality of satellites scattered across low Earth orbit. Continue reading
Oct 24 Watch 7:30 Does fear of reporting their own mental illness put doctors at risk of suicide? By Patrick Terpstra North Carolina physician Mitchell Hardison took his life and he isn’t alone. Studies show physicians have higher suicide rates than the general population. Hardison’s family says he felt discouraged by the medical community to seek mental health care. It’s raising… Continue watching
Oct 24 In a crash, should self-driving cars save passengers or pedestrians? 2 million people weigh in By Jamie Leventhal Researchers are using an online computer program to gauge how humans respond to tough ethical decisions involving AI technology for driverless vehicles. The results could inform car manufacturers and policy makers on how driverless vehicles should behave in life-or-death scenarios. Continue reading
Oct 22 The medical mystery that helped make Thomas Edison an inventor By Dr. Howard Markel Deafness allowed Edison to shut himself off from “all the meaningless sound that normal people hear.” But what caused his deafness is still debated by doctors and hearing experts to this day. Continue reading
Oct 21 America’s archaeology data keeps disappearing – even though the law says the government is supposed to preserve it By Keith Kintigh, The Conversation About 30,000 legally mandated archaeological investigations are conducted each year in the U.S. These projects are usually documented only in so-called “gray literature” reports that, in most cases, are not readily accessible, even to professional archaeologists. Continue reading
Oct 21 With genome sequencing, some sick infants are getting a shot at healthy lives By Meghana Keshavan, STAT Scientists say the data show over and over that early diagnosis of genetic disorders not only saves lives, but can keep long-term health care costs down. Continue reading
Oct 19 How winning Mega Millions could lead to bankruptcy By Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation Looking at lottery winners approximately 10 years after winning showed they saved just 16 cents of every dollar won. Continue reading
Oct 19 How the Smithsonian helped the FBI in the case of stolen ruby slippers By Julia Griffin Conservators put the FBI’s slippers through a battery of scientific tests. Their conclusion? These weren’t just any pair of heels. Continue reading
Oct 17 Watch Nonprofit helping low-income patients describes itself as ‘Match.com meets the Peace Corps’ By Cat Wise Physician shortages, as well as cost and distance, can make specialty care prohibitive for many low-income patients. A nonprofit aims to tackle those challenges by utilizing telehealth technology and retiring, volunteer doctors. Special correspondent Cat Wise explores “The MAVEN Project.”… Continue watching