Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards[1]. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are thirsty. But addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward
Why do people have different tastes in music? A music education expert explains why some songs are universally liked, while others aren’t
Curious Kids[1] is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [2]. Why do we have a certain taste in music, different than others? – Shirya R., age 11 When
Breaking down fat byproducts could lead to healthier aging − researchers identify a key enzyme that does just that
The journey of aging brings with it an unavoidable reality for many: an increased accumulation of body fat. Though much of society seems mostly focused on the aesthetics of being overweight, doctors look past any cosmetic concerns to focus on the health
Face recognition technology follows a long analog history of surveillance and control based on identifying physical features
American Amara Majeed was accused of terrorism[1] by the Sri Lankan police in 2019. Robert Williams was arrested outside his house[2] in Detroit and detained in jail for 18 hours for allegedly stealing watches in 2020. Randal Reid spent six days in jail
User experience was the innovation that launched a technology revolution
Technology innovation requires solving hard technical problems, right? Well, yes. And no. As the Apple Macintosh turns 40, what began as Apple prioritizing the squishy concept of “user experience” in its 1984 flagship product is, today, clearly vindicated
I’m an artist using scientific data as an artistic medium − here’s how I make meaning
As an artist working across media[1], I’ve used everything from thread to my voice to poetically translate and express information. Recently, I’ve been working with another medium – geologic datasets.
While scientists use data visualization to show the
Reining in AI means figuring out which regulation options are feasible, both technically and economically
Concern about generative artificial intelligence technologies seems to be growing[1] almost as fast as the spread of the technologies themselves. These worries are driven by unease about the possible spread of disinformation at a scale never seen before, and