Tech: AI is giving Team USA an edge at the Olympics

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August 6—This week, extreme heat is harming critical infrastructure, the biometrics of a shallow pool at the Olympics, and a project to detect extremely small—but still dangerous —space junk. These stories and more below! --Ben Guarino, Associate Editor, Technology

Top Stories

See How Science Is Changing How U.S. Athletes Compete in the Olympics "Big data" and artificial intelligence are changing how elite American athletes train for the biggest competition in the world. Bart Vandever; Eli Woodhall

The Hidden Ways Extreme Heat Disrupts Infrastructure Scorching temperatures are further burdening an already-troubled infrastructure system across much of the U.S. in ways people are still learning to recognize Meghan Bartels

Is the Paris Olympics' Swimming Pool 'Slow'? Let's Dive into the Math Controversy surrounds whether the Olympic pool in the Paris La Défense Arena is not deep enough and slows swimmers. Is this contention true? Manon Bischoff

Giant, Sparkly Clams Hide the Most Efficient Solar Panels Ever Found Inside giant, iridescent clams are algal farms that could inspire highly efficient bioreactors Meghan Bartels

NASA Retires Asteroid-Hunting Telescope NASA's NEOWISE telescope has searched for asteroids, brown dwarfs and luminous galaxies. The spacecraft will soon burn up in Earth's atmosphere Meghan Bartels

AI Reaches Silver-Medal Level at This Year's Math Olympiad During the 2024 International Mathematical Olympiad, Google DeepMind debuted an AI program that can generate complex mathematical proofs Manon Bischoff

The Hidden Ways Extreme Heat Disrupts Infrastructure Scorching temperatures are further burdening an already-troubled infrastructure system across much of the U.S. in ways people are still learning to recognize Meghan Bartels

NASA Losing VIPER Rover Defangs the Science from Planned Moon Landings A former space agency official argues that cutting a robotic explorer pulls the scientific teeth from the Artemis program Thomas Zurbuchen, expert writer; Nadia Drake

This Researcher Is on a Crusade to Correct Wikipedia's Gender Imbalance Physicist Jess Wade explains the importance of recognizing female scientists on Wikipedia. She's created more than 2,000 Wikipedia articles to do just that Katie Hafner; Sophie McNulty; The Lost Women of Science Initiative

Baby Boomers Should Stand Up for New York City's Congestion Pricing Plan By canceling congestion pricing for drivers in New York City, the governor of New York State will hurt many retirees, who need the mass transport investments the move promised Sarah M. Kaufman, expert writer

Social Media Is Junk Food for Information Foragers Social media exploits our evolved need for information, feeding us fluff and outright misinformation. A new science of human collective behavior can help us retake control Carl T. Bergstrom, expert writer; C. Brandon Ogbunu, expert writer

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