Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Some Medical Ethicists Endorse NFTs—Here's Why

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April 19, 2022

Dear Reader,

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have been the subject of relentless hype. But now these tokens are receiving endorsements from an unusual source: medical ethicists. Some researchers suggest that minting NFTs of medical data could give people control over who can access their personal information.

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology

Privacy

Some Medical Ethicists Endorse NFTs--Here's Why

The technology could help patients exert control over their medical data

By Sara Harrison

Quantum Computing

How to Fix Quantum Computing Bugs

The same physics that makes quantum computers powerful also makes them finicky. New techniques aim to correct errors faster than they can build up

By Zaira Nazario

Renewable Energy

Mining for Clean Energy Could Undermine Biden's Environmental Justice Goals

Many proposed mines for minerals used in electric vehicles and clean tech will be located next to the lands of Indigenous people

By Jael Holzman,Scott Waldman,E&E News

Renewable Energy

In a First, Wind Generation Tops Coal and Nuclear Power for a Day

The milestone showed both how far renewable energy has come and the lengths the country must go to reach President Joe Biden's climate goals

By Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

Computing

Lost Women of Science Podcast, Season 2, Episode 3: The Experimental Rabbit

ENIAC, an early electronic computer, gets a makeover

By Katie Hafner,The Lost Women of Science Initiative

Space Exploration

Spy Satellites Confirmed Our Discovery of the First Meteor from beyond the Solar System

A high-speed fireball that struck Earth in 2014 looked to be interstellar in origin, but verifying this extraordinary claim required extraordinary cooperation from secretive defense programs

By Amir Siraj

Policy

Cryptocurrencies and NFTs Are a Buyer Beware Market

Scams and volatility plague this market, and the Biden administration is still trying to decide where the federal government fits in

By The Editors

Space Exploration

SpaceX's Starship and NASA's SLS Could Supercharge Space Science

Scientists are beginning to dream of how a new generation of super-heavy-lift rockets might enable revolutionary space telescopes and bigger, bolder interplanetary missions

By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Robotics

Drones Could Spot Crime Scenes from Afar

A system could aid forensic searches and crime-scene mapping by detecting reflections from human materials

By Rachel Berkowitz

Engineering

New Tech Conveys Emotional Touch Long-Distance

Complex social information can be felt through a virtual touch

By Richard Sima
FROM THE STORE

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Malware designed to target industrial control systems like power grids, factories, water utilities, and oil refineries represents a rare species of digital badness. So when the United States government warns of a piece of code built to target not just one of those industries, but potentially all of them, critical infrastructure owners worldwide should take notice."

Andy Greenberg, Wired

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FROM THE ARCHIVE

How Data Brokers Make Money Off Your Medical Records

Data brokers legally buy, sell and trade health information, but the practice risks undermining public confidence

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