Facebook became Meta – and the company's dangerous behavior came into sharp focus in 2021: 4 essential reads

Meta felt the heat in 2021 as whistleblower revelations, congressional ire and demands for data knocked the company back on its heels. Here’s a look at research into the problems Meta poses for society.

Eric Smalley, Science + Technology Editor • conversation
Dec. 20, 2021 ~8 min

The best way to protect personal biomedical data from hackers could be to treat the problem like a game

Keeping biomedical data private is important, but so is sharing it for research. Game theory can help researchers accomplish both.

Yevgeniy Vorobeychik, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Washington University in St Louis • conversation
Dec. 16, 2021 ~6 min


Blocking an immune system molecule in mice may help prevent long-term disabilities after traumatic brain injury

The molecule C1q has both protective and detrimental effects after traumatic brain injury. Blocking it after injury in mice restored normal brain rhythms during sleep and prevented epileptic spikes.

Jeanne Paz, Associate Investigator at Gladstone Institutes and Associate Professor of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco • conversation
Dec. 14, 2021 ~6 min

Why is my poop brown?

The answer is more complicated than you might think. It has to do with how your body gets rid of old red blood cells.

Hannibal Person, Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine, University of Washington • conversation
Dec. 13, 2021 ~4 min

Use of HIV prevention treatments is very low among Southern Black gay men

This finding suggests public health efforts will have to address the treatment barriers these men face – like poverty or homophobia – to meet the nation’s goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.

Xiaoming Li, Professor of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, University of South Carolina • conversation
Dec. 2, 2021 ~5 min

Who invented video games?

Video games are everywhere. So who was the first person to come up with the idea of playing a game on a computer screen?

Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Professor of Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz • conversation
Nov. 29, 2021 ~7 min

Why are barns painted red?

Barns are practical buildings, designed to safeguard farm animals and equipment. Why are so many of them painted to stand out from the landscape?

Thomas Durant Visser, Professor of Historic Preservation, University of Vermont • conversation
Nov. 22, 2021 ~6 min

A lab-stage mRNA vaccine targeting ticks may offer protection against Lyme and other tick-borne diseases

The study found that ticks were unable to feed on guinea pigs vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine, preventing transmission of the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.

Andaleeb Sajid, Staff Scientist, National Institutes of Health • conversation
Nov. 17, 2021 ~5 min


Gun violence soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study finds – but the reasons why are complex

The pandemic brought about a sharp rise in mental health concerns, deep unemployment and an unprecedented amount of social isolation – a potentially deadly combination alongside rising gun sales.

Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld, Associate Professor of Medicine, Penn State • conversation
Nov. 16, 2021 ~4 min

The FDA's lax oversight of research in developing countries can do harm to vulnerable participants

Regulatory loopholes for research conducted off US soil allow for questionable trials and misleading data to slip under the FDA’s radar.

C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut • conversation
Nov. 12, 2021 ~5 min

/

28