A colleague of mine, a fellow sleep scientist, has something of a reputation. Whenever she stays at a hotel, she travels armed with a small “sleep retrofitting” toolkit: black duct tape to seal light leaks from inadequate curtains, sticky notes to cover glowing electronic displays, even her own pillow and white noise machine. Before she’s… Continue reading The Missing Star in Your Hotel Review? Sleep Quality
Quasicrystals Spill Secrets of Their Formation
“That’s just freaking awesome. It’s a really clever thing,” Glotzer said. “Until now, no one has ever successfully tried to do DFT calculations on something that wasn’t periodic.” Michael Widom, a physicist at Carnegie Mellon University, said the stability result might help explain how quasicrystals form in the first place. “It answers a fundamental question.… Continue reading Quasicrystals Spill Secrets of Their Formation
The State of Public Education in 2025 in Five Charts
Every year, RAND surveys thousands of teachers, principals, and superintendents who are members of the American Educator Panels to keep tabs on what is happening in K–12 public schools. We recently launched an American Youth Panel for people ages 12 to 21 and an American Parents Panel. Together, these panels now allow us to gather… Continue reading The State of Public Education in 2025 in Five Charts
Earth’s Core Appears To Be Leaking Up and Out of Earth’s Surface
Ruthenium-100, in particular, would have made it into the core during Earth’s formation. Then, later in the planet’s history, a swarm of meteors bombarded the surface. Based on meteorite samples, this added various other isotopes of ruthenium to the crust and mantle. With no more liquid iron precipitating downward, these other isotopes couldn’t reach the… Continue reading Earth’s Core Appears To Be Leaking Up and Out of Earth’s Surface
GLP-1 Agonists in Perimenopause: Unique Risks and Potential Opportunities
Glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s), including medications like Ozempic® and Zepbound®, have transformed weight management and treatment of chronic disease. But while GLP-1s are commonly used by perimenopausal women, this population has been largely ignored in studies of the drugs’ risks and benefits. Originally developed for Type 2 diabetes, these medications have gained FDA approval for… Continue reading GLP-1 Agonists in Perimenopause: Unique Risks and Potential Opportunities
The Creepy Calculus of Measuring Death Risk
People are generally bad at assessing probabilities. That’s why we have irrational fears and why we overestimate our odds of winning the lottery. Whenever I have to travel by plane, for example, my palms sweat, my heart races and my thoughts take a gloomy turn. I should be much more worried when I get on… Continue reading The Creepy Calculus of Measuring Death Risk
Raising Costs to Nuclear Proliferators
Israeli and U.S. military strikes in June have raised the cost to Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Proliferators must now weigh military risks along with political and financial costs. Iran may be a special case; it has invested so much that it may try to restart its nuclear arms effort. Other potential nuclear rogues may… Continue reading Raising Costs to Nuclear Proliferators
What FDA’s Planned Limits on COVID Vaccinations Mean for Health
Larry Saltzman has blood cancer. He’s also a retired doctor, so he knows getting covid-19 could be dangerous for him — his underlying illness puts him at high risk of serious complications and death. To avoid getting sick, he stays away from large gatherings, and he’s comforted knowing healthy people who get boosters protect him… Continue reading What FDA’s Planned Limits on COVID Vaccinations Mean for Health
Honobia Bigfoot Siege
Podcast: Download MYS378: A rural Oklahoma family faced nightly terror—food theft, rock attacks, and prowlers peering in windows. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli weigh Bigfoot vs. bear, hidden motives, and eerie mimicry. Could this siege change what we believe? Get all new episodes automatically and for free: Follow by Email | Watch this episode and… Continue reading Honobia Bigfoot Siege
Leashing Chinese AI Needs Smart Chip Controls
China’s stunning achievements in AI have one glaring weak spot: access to compute—the raw processing power that fuels AI and relies on large volumes of advanced semiconductors. The United States currently has a tenfold advantage over China in total compute capacity, a gap that may only widen over time. U.S. tech firms are pouring billions… Continue reading Leashing Chinese AI Needs Smart Chip Controls