#TikTok lost another round in court today, on its appeal of a U.S. law that would force the video app to divorce from its China-based parent company or be banned. Lawyers for TikTok warn of ‘staggering’ consequences for #freespeech if the ban is allowed to happen. Here’s some analysis from #cybersecurity, #socialmedia and legal experts:
The Conversation
Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban: 5 essential reads on the case and its consequences
Whether the popular video app ends up sold, banned or untouched, the ruling in favor of the government’s national security claims has implication...
Talk about a fascinating role: Astronomer Chris Impey is part of an international advisory council designing messages for advanced alien civilizations—just in case they’re out there.
The Conversation
What does the NASA administrator do? The agency’s leader reaches for the stars while navigating budgets and politics back on Earth
NASA administrators have hard choices to make, but the outcomes are often out-of-this-world exciting.
 #News #Science #Astronomy #Space #ETPhoneHome #SETI
An app allows everyone to search for discriminatory roadway names, helping communities grasp the ubiquity of inequalities embedded in everyday spaces and the harm they cause:
The Conversation
Offensive names dot the American street map − a new app provides a way to track them
A newly released app allows users to search for discriminatory roadway names, helping communities grasp the ubiquity of inequalities embedded in ev...
Robots can now flip burgers, fry chicken, create pizzas, make sushi, prepare salads, serve ramen, bake bread, mix cocktails and do much more. AI can invent recipes based on the molecular compatibility of ingredients or whatever a kitchen has in stock. And more advanced concepts are in the works to automate the entire kitchen for fine dining.
The Conversation
Robots are coming to the kitchen − what that could mean for society and culture
Can automated restaurants still be community and cultural spaces, or will they become feeding stations for humans? These and other questions loom, ...
 #news #technology #restaurantindustry #AI #food #robots
Individual acts of #kindness and connection can have a real impact on making change. This is true at multiple levels: between individuals, between people and institutions, and between cultures. A psychologist who researches human connection has this inspiring read for #Thanksgiving:
The Conversation
An upward spiral – how small acts of kindness and connection really can change the world, according to psychology research
A psychologist and human connection researcher explains how individual acts of kindness and connection can have a real impact on global change when...
Americans agree the political system isn't serving them. From ranked-choice voting to multi-winner districts, Wellesley mathematics professor Ismar Volić explores 5 ideas to fix the political system:
The Conversation
Americans agree politics is broken − here are 5 ideas for fixing key problems
Surveys show Americans do not believe the political system is serving them. A mathematician of democracy highlights evidence-based changes that cou...
 #politics #democracy #math #news
New research on #kids and #attachment: There’s been a long-standing notion held by many psychologists that early attachment behaviors are mainly determined by a child’s temperament. No: Even children with characteristics of a difficult temperament can benefit from the advantages that come from multiple secure attachments.
The Conversation
‘Difficult’ children are only slightly more likely to have insecure attachments with parents
The quality of a child’s attachments to caregivers influences healthy development. And most kids with difficult temperaments do form secure attac...
Some people can visualize things perfectly in their mind’s eye, while others can’t. Here’s how your brain visualizes scenarios that you’re not actually looking at with your eyes, and why it can be so helpful to improve this skill:
The Conversation
What is mental imagery? Brain researchers explain the pictures in your mind and why they’re useful
Here’s how your brain visualizes scenarios that you’re not actually looking at with your eyes.
 #science #neuroscience #psychology
Anthrobots built from human lung cells could one day deliver drugs or clear arterial plaque, with a natural "kill switch" preventing uncontrolled growth.
The Conversation
Biobots arise from the cells of dead organisms − pushing the boundaries of life, death and medicine
Given the right conditions, certain types of cells are able to self-assemble into new lifeforms after the organism they were once part of has died.
 #health #science #bioengineering
A century ago, this woman, pioneering sex researcher Katharine Bement Davis, challenged the idea that respectable women did not – and should not – experience sexual desire, or have sex except to please men and have children. But while Americans’ understanding of sex has improved over the past century, the “orgasm gap” between men and women is still very much with us.
The Conversation
How a survey of over 2,000 women in the 1920s changed the way Americans thought about female sexuality
A century ago, a pioneering sex researcher challenged the idea that respectable women did not – and should not – experience sexual desire or ha...
 #womenshistory #history