Across the United States, more schools are implementing policies restricting cellphones as concerns about digital distraction, mental health and academic performance rise. The scale of the issue is significant. According to a 2023 report from Common Sense Media, 97% of students between the ages of 11 and 17 use their cellphones at least once during the school day. These students spend […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Many US states are rethinking how students use cellphones − but digital tech still has a place in the classroom
The robotic mirror: Are we humans so good that we want copies?
Robots make headlines when they imitate us: they converse in almost human voices, write texts that sound like ours, or “read” emotions on a screen. But the truly important leap is another: to stop copying us and start complementing us, designing capabilities that fill in our gaps—attention, biases, fatigue—and valuing machines for their impact on […] … learn more→
What if we used screens to be closer to nature?
For some years now, children have been spending more and more time at home or indoors, staring at a screen, and less time outdoors or in natural spaces. This loss of contact with the natural environment has consequences for their development. Among the many concerns raised by this increase in screen use ( sedentary lifestyle, isolation, overexposure, and even addiction ), […] … learn more→
Why does autocorrect make so many mistakes?
We’re meeting a friend for lunch at a restaurant. When the first courses arrive, she interrupts the conversation to say, “Would you pass me the…” while looking at a specific spot on the table. We probably don’t need any more words or gestures to understand that she’s referring to salt and we pass it to […] … learn more→
Urban planning transformed: The role of drones in City mapping
Do you want to know how drones are being used in urban planning? Everyone in urban planning wants better, more precise data for smarter infrastructure and city development decisions. After all, improved mapping directly leads to: Better allocation of resources More efficient city building However… Mapping cities hasn’t changed all that much since the days […] … learn more→
Scientific objectivity is a myth – cultural values and beliefs always influence science and the people who do it
Even if you don’t recall many facts from high school biology, you likely remember the cells required for making babies: egg and sperm. Maybe you can picture a swarm of sperm cells battling each other in a race to be the first to penetrate the egg. For decades, scientific literature described human conception this way, […] … learn more→
As the status quo shifts, we’re becoming more forgiving when algorithms mess up
New inventions — like the printing press, magnetic compasses, steam engines, calculators and the internet — can create radical shifts in our everyday lives. Many of these new technologies were met with some degree of skepticism by those who lived through the transition. Over the past 30 years alone, we’ve seen our relationship with the internet transform […] … learn more→
How big data Is revolutionizing social sciences
The traces left by individuals on the internet and social media constitute a considerable source of digital data, known as big data. Some predicted the death of the social sciences with the emergence of this massive data set. On the contrary, it seems that the social sciences are transforming and refining their research methods thanks […] … learn more→
Forget AI-generated music, this music was composed using DNA sequences
As a molecular biologist, talking to the public about my work with DNA has often felt like trying to translate a foreign language. This got me thinking: could these scientific ideas be presented in an artistic way, to help people engage with them? The intersection of science and art is important for a few reasons. […] … learn more→
Research replication can determine how well science is working – but how do scientists replicate studies?
Back in high school chemistry, I remember waiting with my bench partner for crystals to form on our stick in the cup of blue solution. Other groups around us jumped with joy when their crystals formed, but my group just waited. When the bell rang, everyone left but me. My teacher came over, picked up […] … learn more→
