The hidden cost of convenience: How your data pulls in hundreds of billions of dollars for app and social media companies

Many of the apps and social media platforms you use every day may not charge you money, but often there is a price to pay – your privacy.

Jack West, PhD Student in Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison • conversation
July 1, 2025 ~13 min

Why the US bombed a bunch of metal tubes − a nuclear engineer explains the importance of centrifuges to Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons

Iran has a long history of enriching uranium in an effort to develop nuclear weapons. It’s not clear how far the US attack set back Iran’s production of bomb-grade uranium.

Anna Erickson, Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
July 1, 2025 ~8 min


Keeping brain-dead pregnant women on life support raises ethical issues that go beyond abortion politics

Adriana Smith’s body was kept on life support for 16 weeks so her fetus could gestate. Abortion politics don’t capture the ethical complexities of such situations.

Lindsey Breitwieser, Assistant Professor of Gender & Women's Studies, Hollins University • conversation
July 1, 2025 ~11 min

Invasive carp threaten the Great Lakes − and reveal a surprising twist in national politics

Democratic governors and President Donald Trump agree to fight an invasion of non-native fish that has spread up the Mississippi River and threatens the Great Lakes.

Mike Shriberg, Professor of Practice & Engagement, School for Environment & Sustainability, University of Michigan • conversation
July 1, 2025 ~10 min

From Roman drains to ancient filters, these artefacts show how solutions to water contamination have evolved

Having to protect and conserve drinking water and its sources is as relevant today as it always has been.

Rosa Busquets, Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University • conversation
July 1, 2025 ~7 min

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Scientists have discovered that certain species of microbe found in the human gut can absorb PFAS - the toxic and long-lasting ‘forever chemicals.’ They say

Cambridge University News • cambridge
July 1, 2025 ~5 min

New imaging technique reconstructs the shapes of hidden objects

By leveraging reflections from wireless signals like Wi-Fi, the system could allow robots to find and manipulate items that are blocked from view.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
July 1, 2025 ~8 min

‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity

Scientists once thought Antarctica might hold onto its sea ice as the world warmed. No longer.

Alessandro Silvano, NERC Independent Research Fellow in Oceanography, University of Southampton • conversation
June 30, 2025 ~7 min


New method combines imaging and sequencing to study gene function in intact tissue

The approach collects multiple types of imaging and sequencing data from the same cells, leading to new insights into mouse liver biology.

Whitehead Institute • mit
June 30, 2025 ~9 min

Accelerating scientific discovery with AI

FutureHouse, co-founded by Sam Rodriques PhD ’19, has developed AI agents to automate key steps on the path toward scientific progress.

Zach Winn | MIT News • mit
June 30, 2025 ~8 min

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