Dead Ends is a fun, macabre medical history for kids

In 1890, a German scientist named Robert Koch thought he’d invented a cure for tuberculosis, a substance derived from the infecting bacterium itself that he dubbed Tuberculin. His substance didn’t actually cure anyone, but it was eventually widely used as a diagnostic skin test. Koch’s successful failure is just one of the many colorful cases … Read more

YouTubers aren’t relying on ad revenue anymore — here’s how some are diversifying

YouTube has become the biggest platform out there, offering tons of opportunities for creators to earn a living. Back in June, the company reported that its creative ecosystem added over $55 billion to the U.S. GDP and created more than 490,000 full-time jobs. However, many YouTubers have reduced their reliance on ad revenue and brand … Read more

Ring cameras are about to get increasingly chummy with law enforcement

Law enforcement agencies will soon have easier access to footage captured by Amazon’s Ring smart cameras. In a partnership announced this week, Amazon will allow approximately 5,000 local law enforcement agencies to request access to Ring camera footage via surveillance platforms from Flock Safety. Ring cooperating with law enforcement and the reported use of Flock … Read more

Vaginal condition treatment update: Men should get treated, too

For some cases of bacterial vaginosis, treatment should include a package deal, doctors now say. The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) updated its clinical guidance Friday to fit with recent data indicating that treatment for recurring bacterial vaginosis (BV) in women is significantly more effective if their male partners are also treated at … Read more

Wikipedia says traffic is falling due to AI search summaries and social video

Wikipedia is often described as the last good website on an internet increasingly filled with toxic social media and AI slop. But it seems the online encyclopedia is not completely immune to broader trends, with human pageviews falling 8% year-over-year, according to a new blog post from Marshall Miller of the Wikimedia Foundation. The foundation … Read more

With deadline looming, 4 of 9 universities reject Trump’s “compact” to remake higher ed

Earlier this month, the Trump administration made nine elite universities an offer they couldn’t refuse: bring in more conservatives while shutting down “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas,” give up control of admissions and hiring decisions, agree to “biological” definitions of sex and gender, don’t raise tuition for … Read more

Spyware maker NSO Group blocked from WhatsApp

A federal judge has granted Meta-owned WhatsApp’s request for a permanent injunction blocking Israeli cyberintelligence company NSO Group from targeting the messaging app’s users. At the same time, the judge dramatically reduced the fine that NSO Group must pay to Meta. Earlier this year, a jury decided that the cyberintelligence company would have to pay … Read more

Roberta Williams’ The Colonel’s Bequest was a different type of adventure game

However, my mom was another story. I remember her playing Dr. Mario a lot, and we played Donkey Kong Country together when I was young—standard millennial childhood family gaming stuff. But the games I most associate with her from my childhood are adventure games. She liked King’s Quest, of course—but I also remember her being … Read more

Information Could Be a Fundamental Part of the Universe—and May Explain Dark Energy and Dark Matter

For more than a century, physics has been built on two great theories. Einstein’s general relativity explains gravity as the bending of space and time. Quantum mechanics governs the world of particles and fields. Both work brilliantly in their own domains. But put them together and contradictions appear—especially when it comes to black holes, dark … Read more