Evolutionary Biology Meets Engineering

Number of words: 376 Scientists have determined the ideal wing shape for fast flapping flight — an advance that may lead to better methods for harvesting energy from water as well as for enhancing airspeed. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A, relies on a technique that mimics evolutionary biology … Read more

The Future of Law: AI vs. Human Lawyers

Number of words: 2,729 SINGAPORE: Last year, a man-versus-machine showdown took place in the United States. 20 top corporate lawyers from across the country were pitted against an artificial intelligence (AI) software developed by legal technology firm LawGeex, where they reviewed and approved everyday contracts over a period of two months. The results were astounding. … Read more

Exploring the Future of Educational Gaming in Science

Number of words: 463 Killer Snails makes educational games designed to spark interest in science among K-12 students. The startup was founded in 2015 by Mandë Holford, Jessica Ochoa Hendrix, and Lindsay Portnoy, who among them have decades of scientific research and teaching experience. From the outset, the partners knew the “play-break-fix” model would be … Read more

The Interplay of Technology and Economic Growth Explained

Number of words: 3,521  “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” … reads the banner hanging on the wall of a mammoth building, just across the street from my office. This quote is by Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. During a British Airways  flight from London to Washington DC in January … Read more

Navigating the New Age of Cognitive Technology

Number of words: 3,963 Human behavior has been shaped by technology ever since stone-tools were invented two million years back. Innovations that followed such as domestication of crops and animals and casting of metals created close-knit communities. Long-term group-thinking that started in such close-knit communities led to the Age of Enlightenment and then to the … Read more

The Double Standard of Food Marketing to Children

Number of words: 126 When the US Surgeon General finally got around to acknowledging that cigarette smoking is bad for our health, cigarette advertising was banned from TV and cigarette smoking advertising directed toward children was ultimately banned, including, for example, the Camel cigarette cartoon character whose image was designed to target children. But today … Read more