World News
Find out what’s happening in Science & Society around the world. Discover changes to science policy and law, new scientific study results, Supreme Court rulings, debates about nature versus nurture, and news about the sharing of genetic information.
Tue, Feb 04
Yes, You’re Being Watched on the Internet
When you go shopping or visit the doctor, your smartphone tracks your journey there. What we like and share on Facebook and Instagram. What we listen to on Spotify or watch on YouTube. Our credit card transactions.
“All of those things create a data trail,” said Duke’s Jolynn Dellinger, who teaches classes on privacy law and ethics and technology at the Law School and Duke Science and Society.
In Dellinger’s course, “Privacy in a Post-Dobbs World: Sex, Contraception, Abortion and Surveillance,” students consider all the traces that people of reproductive age leave online on a daily basis, and how those could potentially be used against them.
Every moment of the day, almost every website, app and device we use is collecting our data. Where we go, who we talk to, what we look for on the internet, what we buy.
For people seeking abortions and also for their partners, it’s not hard to imagine how these digital footprints could suddenly become dangerous.
Tue, Jan 21
[LISTEN]: Your Brain Is The Next Tech Frontier
We’re entering a new era of brain monitoring and enhancement, but what are the ethical implications? This hour, TED speakers explore the potential and pitfalls of merging our minds with machines.
Guests include legal scholar and AI ethicist Nita Farahany, neurotechnologist and entrepreneur Conor Russomanno, neuroscientist and physician Sergiu Pașca and sous chef Kate Faulkner.
Fri, Jan 17
A Night Out With Science
It’s a Thursday evening in Durham and a little “Friday feel” permeates the food and entertainment hub surrounding Motorco Music Hall. Walkers on the sidewalk. Diners at outside tables. People grabbing drinks after work. Inside Motorco a few dozen people have gathered by the stage, but not to see a buzzworthy indie band. Rather, great white shark specialist and science communicator Michelle Jewell takes the microphone.
“What’s your favorite shark?” a young girl asks at one point.
“Not to be basic, but it’s the species I study,” Jewell says. She’s an entertainer, but in everything funny or clever she says is a nucleus of scientific fact. Great whites, she notes, are smart. “You can watch them suss you out.”
This is Periodic Tables, Duke Science and Society’s science café, and Jewell is a seasoned communicator who knows she’s there to entertain a lay audience. Her presentation centers on shark myths. Sometimes it’s funny. Sometimes it’s ridiculous and sometimes, such as when Jewell shares a picture of the conveyer belt of teeth inside a shark’s gums, it’s a little gnarly, which keeps the audience locked in. Yet for each myth Jewell addresses, she shares research-based facts about the predators she studies.
Tue, Jan 14
A Duke doctor works with N.C. State to make more accessible fashion for ALS patients
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Dr. Rick Bedlack is known as a champion of ALS patients. He’s also known for his flashy clothes.
Now, the Duke ALS researcher has the ultimate sparkly suit with matching mask by celebrity designer Jerry Lee Atwood, who has dressed Post Malone and Lil Naz X.
“I just thought it would be really neat if I could combine all the things I’ve learned with my love of fashion and put that into a suit somehow,” said Dr. Bedlack, Director of the Duke ALS Clinic.
Sun, Jan 12
Two Tiny Molecules Could Save Thousands From Blindness
A new study reveals the potential of two compounds in treating retinitis pigmentosa, a blinding genetic disorder.
These compounds, identified through virtual screening, have shown promising results in stabilizing rhodopsin protein and preventing retinal degeneration in animal models.
Breakthroughs in Retinitis Pigmentosa Treatment
Researchers have identified two promising compounds that may help treat retinitis pigmentosa, a group of inherited eye disorders that lead to blindness. The discovery, published today (January 14th) in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, was led by Beata Jastrzebska from Case Western Reserve University, USA, and her team. These compounds were uncovered using a virtual screening technique.
Retinitis pigmentosa occurs when genetic mutations cause the retinal protein rhodopsin to misfold, resulting in the death of retinal cells and progressive vision loss. Approximately 100,000 people in the United States are affected by this condition, creating an urgent need for treatments that can correct rhodopsin misfolding. Existing experimental therapies often rely on retinoid compounds, such as synthetic vitamin A derivatives. However, these treatments are highly sensitive to light and can be toxic, limiting their effectiveness and safety.