Flying cars could soon become a reality

The year is 2015. “Mad scientist” Doc Brown has just brought wide-eyed teenager Marty McFly to the future in style: aboard a flying DeLorean. Although the time travelers are out of place, their mode of transportation is not. Cars zip by in the sky. We’re now 10 years past the future envisioned in Back to…

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AI could transform health care, but will it live up to the hype?

Citations S.A. Shah et al. Use of artificial intelligence–based detection of diabetic retinopathy in the US. JAMA Ophthalmology. Vol. 142, December 2024, p. 1171. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.4493. R. Amin et al. Immune digital twin blueprint: a comprehensive mechanistic model of the human immune system. bioRxiv. July 31, 2024. doi:10.1101/2020.03.11.988238. J.W. Kim et al. Surgical robot transformer (SRT):…

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Cosmic rays could help reveal how tornadoes form

Supercell thunderstorms are known for their devastatingly gnarly tornadoes, but exactly how the twisters form is poorly understood. A new study suggests that scientists could glean hints with a little help from the cosmos. Muons, subatomic particles that are like heavy versions of electrons, could reveal the atmospheric pressure within a thunderstorm and resulting tornado,…

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