A study out today in the journal Developmental Psychology suggests that animated text could make e-books superior to physical books. The study: Thirty-five children between three and five years old participated in a series of three experiments using two popular kids’ books: Cat’s Pajamas and Zoom City, both …Continue reading
Why the rise of the app has put thousands of people in the hospital
People are being distracted by apps on their phones, and getting injured as a result. Yes, people are stupid. The numbers: A new study, published today in JAMA, uses data submitted through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, which collects data on emergency …Continue reading
YouTube says it is finally trying to make the site less toxic
YouTube is responding to allegations that it allows racist and homophobic harassment on its platform. But now it has to actually enforce it. What happened? On Wednesday, YouTube announced an update to its harassment policy that means material that “maliciously insulted or demeaned others because …Continue reading
Screen time might be physically changing kids’ brains
A study published today in JAMA Pediatrics warns that kids’ literacy and language skills suffer with screen use, and MRI scans of their brains appear to back up the findings. The study: Forty-seven 3- to 5-year-olds took a test to measure their cognitive abilities, and …Continue reading
Reddit’s automoderator is the future of the internet, and deeply imperfect
For the past four years, Shagun Jhaver has moderated several subreddits, diligently scrolling through pages and blocking posts that violate community rules or are outright offensive. A PhD student at Georgia Tech whose research focuses on content moderation, Jhaver wondered if an …Continue reading
These amazing Met Gala looks took more than a thousand hours of 3D printing
Last night, 3D printing made an appearance in an area you might not expect: the Met Gala. The fund-raising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is famous for the impressive, wild, and avant-garde looks worn by some of …Continue reading
Digital immortality: How your life’s data means a version of you could live forever
Hossein Rahnama knows a CEO of a major financial company who wants to live on after he’s dead, and Rahnama thinks he can help him do it. Rahnama is creating a digital avatar for the CEO that they both hope could serve …Continue reading
The smartphone app that can tell you’re depressed before you know it yourself
There are about 45 million people in the US alone with a mental illness, and those illnesses and their courses of treatment can vary tremendously. But there is something most of those people have in common: a smartphone. A startup founded in …Continue reading
Soon your doctor will be able to wirelessly track your health—even through walls
Imagine a box, similar to a Wi-Fi router, that sits in your home and tracks all kinds of physiological signals as you move from room to room: breathing, heart rate, sleep, gait, and more. Dina Katabi, a professor of electrical engineering and …Continue reading
A stretchy stick-on patch can take blood pressure readings from deep inside your body
The last time you had your blood pressure checked, it was probably at a doctor’s office with a bulky cuff wrapped around your arm. One day soon, perhaps, you will just need a simple stick-on patch on your neck, no bigger than …Continue reading
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