New Air-Conditioning Technology Could Be the Future of Cool

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August 29, 2023

During a sweltering summer of record-high temperatures, air conditioning has offered lifesaving relief. Paradoxically, these machines are also energy guzzlers that contribute to climate change. But researchers are trying to change that, by rethinking standard AC technology. Read more in this week's top story!

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology

Climate Change New Air-Conditioning Technology Could Be the Future of Cool Standard AC units cool buildings but contribute to global warming. New technology aims to change that By Lauren Leffer

Education ChatGPT Can Get Good Grades. What Should Educators Do about It? AI can generate clear, concise text—but people still need to learn how to write By Lauren Leffer

Electronics Do Blue-Light Glasses Help with Eyestrain? An analysis of previous trials suggests blue-light-filtering lenses may not reduce eyestrain or sleep problems By Karen Kwon

Education Social Media Algorithms Warp How People Learn from Each Other Social media companies' drive to keep you on their platforms clashes with how people evolved to learn from each other By William Brady,The Conversation US

Defense Meet the Physicist who Spoke Out against the Bomb She Helped Create After atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear physicist Katharine Way persuaded the world's greatest physicists to contribute essays to a book opposing nuclear weapons By Katie Hafner,Erica Huang,The Lost Women of Science Initiative

Biotech How Gene-Edited Insects Are Providing Food, Fuel and Waste Disposal Companies are recruiting black soldier flies and mealworms as a protein source in animal feed, fertilizer, biofuels and even as ingredients for burgers and shakes By Karl Gruber,Lisa Melton,Nature magazine

Artificial Intelligence ChatGPT and Other Language AIs Are Nothing without Humans Language model AIs seem smart because of how they string words together, but in reality, they can't do anything without many people guiding them every step of the way By John P. Nelson,The Conversation US

Space Exploration Chandrayaan-3 Makes Historic Touchdown on the Moon The successful lunar landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission makes India only the fourth country to achieve the feat By Jatan Mehta

Renewable Energy As Heat Waves Roast Texas, Batteries Keep Power Grid Humming A surge in battery storage is helping Texas beat the heat without additional fossil fuels By Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

QUOTE OF THE DAY "Dozens of websites are using AI chatbots to copy and repurpose articles from top publishers...offering a glimpse into how artificial intelligence tools risk undermining media companies and muddying the online news industry." Rachel Metz, Bloomberg

FROM THE ARCHIVE Air-Conditioning Should Be a Human Right in the Climate Crisis We need to protect vulnerable people from killer heat without destroying the environment By Rose M. Mutiso,Morgan D. Bazilian,Jacob Kincer,Brooke Bowser | May 2022

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