A single wound on a cow was once an open invitation to devastation. The New World screwworm, a parasitic fly, laid its eggs in the exposed tissue of livestock, and within hours, newly hatched larvae would begin burrowing into living flesh. Unlike typical maggots that feed on dead tissue, screwworm larvae consumed healthy tissue, carving […]
In January 2024, a thirty-year-old quadriplegic named Noland Arbaugh became the first person to receive Neuralinks implanted brain chip. Within weeks he was moving a cursor across a screen, playing chess, and browsing the internetall by thinking about moving his hand. A few months later, researchers at the University of California, Davis activated a different […]
The data centers that support artificial intelligence consume electricity at a scale rivaling cities. Training OpenAIs ChatGPT-4 required roughly 50,000 megawatt-hours of electricity. That is enough to power San Francisco for three days. As models grow more complex, training requirements and operational demands soar. ChatGPT-5 is estimated to use around 45,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each […]
The gig economy continues to occupy a measurable, though methodologically complex, segment of the U.S. labor market. According to the Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 published by the Federal Reserve, 13% of individuals reported earning income from selling goods, and 9% reported earning income from short-term tasks such as ridesharing, […]
Imagine a coworker who is peerless in speed, responsiveness, and breadth of knowledge, yet possesses a catastrophic character flaw: they will occasionally, with absolute conviction, state a falsehood as an undeniable fact in a manner completely indistinguishable from their usual brilliant demeanor. In a vacuum, their productivity is a marvel – you might continue work […]
Thomas C. Reynolds
As encryption and cryptography increasingly intersect with privacy law, criminal procedure, export controls, national security, and emerging regulatory frameworks, legal professionals with a working understanding of this technology are better equipped to counsel their clients, resolve their problems, and be assured that encryption does in fact meet the confidentiality requirements of ABA professional responsibility Rule […]
Eileen A. W. Kelley
This Technology Explainer examines how climate models help scientists understand Earths dynamic climate system and predict future climate changes. These models are the primary tool scientists have for evaluating the effects of anthropogenic emissions on our climate. In this capacity, climate models are crucial for providing policymakers with the scientific evidence on which they can […]
American nuclear power is experiencing a renaissance, supported by an ideologically diverse set of parties. This shift in public attitudes, which have generally been inimical to nuclear energy, belies a cold economic reality: electricity demand is growing, and more generation capacity is needed to meet it. Nuclear power proponents insist that nuclear is the only […]
Mary K. Bass
The pharmaceutical industry confronts a persistent bottleneck: despite clearing preclinical testing, more than 90% of drug candidates fail in human trials. Unanticipated toxicity remains a major contributor to attrition across therapeutic areas. This failure rate reflects fundamental deficiencies in conventional preclinical toxicity testing methodologies, which are often unable to reliably predict human responses to new […]
Mary K. Bass
This Technology Explainer explores the rising role of genomic engineering in medicine and its emergent ability to detect, treat, and cure human disease at the genetic root. While genomic engineering encompasses a broad array of approaches, this Explainer narrows its scope to gene and cell therapy, distinct yet closely intertwined strategies in clinical practice. Given […]