The New Detectorists

People have been metal detecting since 1881, when Alexander Graham Bell invented a device to find the bullet lodged in President James Garfield. But it took several more decades for recreational metal detectors — devices that resemble “sort of a skillet on the end of a pole,” as one newspaper put it in 1927 —…

Pools, From Above

A pool can be soothing long before you wade into its waters. Even viewed from a distance, pools can evoke a sense of stillness, a sense of calm. But often the most visually harmonious elements of pools remain hidden to us — until we look at them from a new perspective. In 2018, after purchasing…

Clinics Close, but Abortion Continues

Among women in the study, nearly half reported using the licensed abortion drug misoprostol or another medication in their most recent attempt to self-terminate a pregnancy, while 38 percent used herbs they heard could induce abortion, and nearly 20 percent used a physical method, such as being hit in the abdomen. Nearly 28 percent said…

Shopping for Fans

When the temperature rises, it’s time to break out the floor, table and desk fans, especially if you don’t have central air-conditioning. But in a thoughtfully designed home, that can sometimes feel bittersweet, because so many fans look awkward or downright ugly. “Let’s be real,” said Laura Umansky, the founder of Laura U Design Collective,…

Ethnic diversity helps identify more genomic regions linked to diabetes-related traits

By including multi-ethnic participants, a largescale genetic study has identified more regions of the genome linked to type 2 diabetes-related traits than if the research had been conducted in Europeans alone. The international MAGIC collaboration, made up of more than 400 global academics, conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis led by the University of Exeter.…

Medical AI models rely on ‘shortcuts’ that could lead to misdiagnosis of COVID-19

Artificial intelligence promises to be a powerful tool for improving the speed and accuracy of medical decision-making to improve patient outcomes. From diagnosing disease, to personalizing treatment, to predicting complications from surgery, AI could become as integral to patient care in the future as imaging and laboratory tests are today. But as University of Washington…