The New Yorker - Elements

The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT

How personal productivity transformed work—and failed to.

The National-Security Case for Fixing Social Media

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Disinformation threatens our national well-being—and, as a nation, we can do something about it.

How We Discovered Water on the Moon

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 16:08:20 GMT

NASA’s interest in lunar water is not purely academic.

An Ad-Hoc Group of Activists and Academics Convene a "Real Facebook Oversight Board”

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Sue Halpern writes about the Real Facebook Oversight Board, an activist body that plans to help safeguard the U.S. election by applying broader oversight to Facebook’s activities.

What Will Cold-and-Flu Season Mean for the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 18:58:57 GMT

Carolyn Kormann on the coronavirus pandemic and how cold weather, seasonal flu, lack of federal leadership, and refusal to follow public-health experts’ guidelines could lead to more daily deaths and a chaotically dangerous winter.

Scientists Advance on One of Technology’s Holy Grails

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:41:02 GMT

Matthew Hutson writes about the growing field of de-novo protein design, led by David Baker, the founder and head of the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design.

Jonathan Rothberg’s Race to Invent the Ultimate Rapid At-Home COVID-19 Test

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes about the inventor and entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg and his work during the coronavirus pandemic toward a more convenient test for COVID-19.

What Can America Learn from Europe About Regulating Big Tech?

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Nick Romeo writes on the Dutch politician Marietje Schaake’s arrival in Silicon Valley, to join Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center, and the stark differences between American and European tech regulations.

How Vulnerable Is G.P.S.?

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 18:19:36 GMT

Greg Millner on the engineering professor Todd Humphreys, who has proved that the proliferation of G.P.S interference is a major reckoning for the country’s military and defense systems.

How Harvard’s Star Computer-Science Professor Built a Distance-Learning Empire

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Eren Orbey on how Harvard’s David Malan has worked to perfect online teaching, and what lessons his introductory course, CS50, might hold for the future of higher education, both during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

How a Treatment for the Coronavirus Turned Up in a Scientist’s Freezer

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 14:00:00 GMT

Paul Tullis writes about a team of Dutch scientists who have been ahead of the curve in their development of antibodies to treat COVID-19.

How to Plan a Space Mission

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 10:00:00 GMT

David Brown reports on a seminar at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where scientists learn what it takes to leave the Earth behind.

Why You Can’t Just Vote on Your Phone During the Pandemic

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 17:48:56 GMT

Sue Halpern writes about the United States government’s efforts to explore Internet and mobile voting, and explains that online-voting programs are a security nightmare, vulnerable to malware and manipulation.

How Utah’s Tech Industry Tried to Disrupt Coronavirus Testing

Sat, 13 Jun 2020 16:34:48 GMT

Robert P. Baird on TestUtah, a troubled coronavirus-testing initiative in Utah, led by tech startups with little prior experience in the field.

Immunity Passports and the Perils of Conferring Coronavirus Status

Fri, 22 May 2020 21:07:11 GMT

Sue Halpern writes about the logistical and ethical concerns of immunity passports, smartphone apps that promise to verify whether a user has been infected with COVID-19.

Can We Track COVID-19 and Protect Privacy at the Same Time?

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Sue Halpern on how epidemiologists, like Harvard’s Caroline Buckee, are working with tech companies to track the coronavirus, and on the future of Americans’ privacy with actors like Apple, Google, and Palantir joining the effort.

When SARS Ended

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Karl Taro Greenfeld on the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong in the spring of 2003, and how, when the viral spell broke, the city seemed to wake from a fever dream.

How 3-D Printers Are Helping to Fight the Coronavirus

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:49:47 GMT

Sue Halpern reports on efforts from health-care workers, designers, engineers, and fabricators to produce life-saving equipment to help coronavirus patients and medical workers.

From Bats to Human Lungs, the Evolution of a Coronavirus

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 11:54:39 GMT

Carolyn Kormann writes about the evolution of the novel coronavirus, and on the lifespans and adaptations of its relatives, the SARS and MERS viruses and the common cold.

What It’s Like to Be a Pregnant Physician During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 13:20:56 GMT

Rachel Pearson writes about being a pregnant physician working in the pediatrics ward in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, during the coronavirus outbreak and how that affects her approach to her work and her view of herself as a mother.