Science & Technology
Science & Technology
The Solution to “Adverse-Selection” in Health Insurance is Selfish-Selection
Stephen Bourque August 13, 2013
In a recent New York Times article, “For Obamacare to Work, Everyone Must Be In,” Robert H. Frank observes that for insurance companies to offer coverage at the same rate to everyone, including those with “pre-existing conditions,” they would have to charge higher premiums, which would induce healthier people to…
Science & Technology
BYU Engineers Develop Promising Spinal Disc Replacement
Derrick Nantz August 11, 2013
Biomedical Engineers at Brigham Young University have developed a cutting-edge artificial spinal disc that mimics the function of a natural disc. Developers Anton Bowdon, Larry Howell, and Peter Halverson hope their innovative artificial disc will serve as a new option for those suffering from severe back problems caused by disc…
Science & Technology
Praise Stem-Cell Burgers for Benefit to People Not “Environment”
Slade Mendenhall August 10, 2013
Recently Dutch scientists in London prepared the world’s first stem-cell burger, a development with great potential toward (among other things) making beef more affordable and nutritional. Mark Post of the University of Maastricht led the team that developed the burger over a two-year period; Google’s Sergey Brin funded the project.…
Science & Technology
Sony’s Video Headsets Radically Improve Surgeons’ Ability to See Inside Patients
Derrick Nantz August 6, 2013
Sony has recently developed a “head-mount image processing unit” for surgeons that gives them real-time, high-definition video of the inside of a patient during surgery. Sony, a company that has long been a dominant player in the video game industry, created a “Personal 3D Viewer Head Mounted Display” for video…
Science & Technology
Profit-driven Engineers Create Robots that Save Lives
Adam Jensen August 5, 2013
[caption id="attachment_7460" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Robotex[/caption] A young robotics company has found that keeping people out of harm’s way is great business. The company, Robotex, builds robots designed to (among other things) help emergency responders handle dangerous situations via remote control. Before Robotex robots, law enforcement officers had to search…
Science & Technology
Kudos to Scientists Improving Animal Organs for Use in Humans
Derrick Nantz August 4, 2013
In an interview with Popular Mechanics, Martine Rothblatt, founder and CEO of United Therapeutics, discusses the progress her company has made developing genetically enhanced pig lungs for transplantation in humans. Rothblatt, who entered the biotechnology field when her daughter was diagnosed with a life-threatening pulmonary disease, now believes she is…
Science & Technology
Alex Epstein Exposes Josh Fox’s Gasland II as Anti-All Technology
Ari Armstrong August 2, 2013
[caption id="attachment_7449" align="alignright" width="300"] Josh Fox: Linh Do[/caption] Living is risky. In 2011, for example, 123,000 people in the United States died from unintentional injuries, including 35,000 from motor vehicle accidents and 27,000 from falls (figures rounded). But we don’t quit driving because some people die in car accidents, and…
Science & Technology
London Mayor Warns of Energy Scarcity; an American Revolution Offers a Solution
David Biederman July 28, 2013
Recently the Mayor of London wrote that within two years, energy scarcity will “force some industries not to operate at peak times” in the city. His solution is to bring hydraulic fracturing to the country; he said, “We should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping…
Arts & Culture, Science & Technology
Coal Keeps The Lights On—Thank You, Jimmy Rose
David Biederman July 26, 2013
When Jimmy Rose performed part of his song “Coal Keeps the Lights On” on America’s Got Talent, he struck a chord with both the audience and the judges. Rose’s lyrics depict a coal miner whose hard work shows in his calloused hands and whose rewards shows in the “sundress on…
Science & Technology
Freedom and Fracking Lead To Record Increase in U.S. Oil Production
David Biederman July 23, 2013
The June 2013 BP Statistical Review of World Energy reported “that 2012 had the largest single-year increase in US oil production ever recorded.” Of all countries, the United States attained the “highest growth in production of both oil and natural gas,” an achievement made possible by horizontal drilling and hydraulic…