“I know when I want to receive stellar work, I can call Alexander to deliver it.”
Allison Scola
Columbia University
Science & Tech | Health | Music & Art | Business | Law & Justice | Travel | Personal
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Quantum Leap
A New York startup is racing tech’s biggest names to take quantum computing out of the lab and turn it into something that businesses can actually use. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Peter Agre’s Third Act
How a humble Nobel laureate found a new mission: science diplomacy. (HBPH Magazine)
Will Science End Obesity?
From status symbol to character flaw, obesity has represented different things at different times. Today’s researchers think of it as a biologically complex disorder—and they’re beginning to unravel its mysteries.
Seeking the Origin Story of De Novo Genes
A scientist studies the mysterious genes that emerge from silent stretches of DNA. (Rockefeller News)
Is AI Ok?
Massaging machine-learning algorithms to reduce—not perpetuate—human bias. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
My Own Devices
A Google engineer discusses the future of digital privacy. (Techer)
The Drug Hunter
After decades of groundbreaking work here in the US, a Kenyan chemist dreams of turning his home country into a scientific powerhouse. (art|sci)
Eyes in the Skies
Harnessing the power of space-age intelligence for the commercial sector. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Obituary for a Motion Sickness Expert
Meet Victor Wilson, a WWII refugee who escaped Nazi-occupied Europe and helped figure out why astronauts get space-sick. (Rockefeller News)
This Isn’t Drosophila
Scientists are on a mission to defang one of the world’s most dangerous mosquitos. Step one? Get her to cooperate. (Seek)
Ready to Rumble
A geophysicist brings fault lines into sharper focus. (Techer)
Microscope Man
Scott Kuo helps researchers see more deeply. (Johns Hopkins Magazine)
A Crash Course in Quantum Computing
A physicist explains how quantum computers work, what makes them special—and how soon we might get our hands on them. (Denison Magazine)
Printing in 4D
Engineers develop origami-inspired heart implants that grow along with patients over time. (Johns Hopkins Magazine)
Sensing a Pattern
How wearable and implantable technology is changing the future of health care. (HBPH Magazine)
A Great Chill Has Unlocked Biology
The ultra-cold technique of cryo-electron microscopy has set the world of structural biology on fire. (Seek)
Making Sense of What We Hear
A researcher uses the science of sound perception to combat hearing loss. (art|sci)
A Shining Light
A photochemist mentors aspiring scientists. (art|sci)
All That Buzz
The newest hope for disease control? Hack mosquitoes’ sense of smell. (HBPH Magazine)
The Universe Might Just Be Curved
New research suggests that maybe, just maybe, the universe could be sphere-shaped. (Johns Hopkins Magazine)
Physics Is the New Biology
Scientists explore the mechanics of being alive. (Seek)
Taming the System
Keeping the peace in the rough-and-tumble world of online gaming. (Techer)
All the World’s Genes, at Our Fingertips
A bit of genetic trickery, borrowed from bacteria, has made gene editing easy. The question now is how to make good use of it. (Seek)
A Biologist’s Mission
Biologist Emmett Jolly beat the odds to become a scientist. Now he fights monsters. (art|sci)
Dark Matters
Scientists discover a new law of nature—and throw into question much of what we thought we know about the universe. (Think)
Pieces of Me
Miniature plastic chips with cells embedded are a quick and effective way to test drugs. (Discover)
Information Overload
A blizzard of big data promises to revolutionize biomedical science—if researchers can make sense of it all. (Dartmouth Medicine)
Social Science
Jean and Joe Sanger have spent a lifetime together in the lab, revolutionizing cell biology along the way. (Dartmouth Medicine)
Device Offers a Roadside Dope Test
A handheld doohickey uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect trace amounts of weed, meth, and heroin. (MIT Technology Review)
Spinning a Good Tale
Quantum mechanics may hold the key to a hand-held biology laboratory. (The Economist.) [This one’s behind a paywall, so I’ve linked to the audio version, complete with a posh British accent.]
Startup Plans to Solve Online Identity Theft, But Does Anyone Care?
A Montreal startup has a plan to make online identity theft a thing of the past. The only problem? No one gives a rat’s ass. (Wired)
Rising Rents Give Rise to Shrinking Audio Studios
Rising rents and new technology are cramming recording studios into ever-smaller spaces. Welcome to the vest-pocket studio. (Wired)
The Blue-Green Revolution
Can algae deliver on the promise of a biofueled future? (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
HEALTH
Health at Heart
An economist and a pediatrician discuss some of the thorniest issues surrounding healthcare and health policy, and how we can solve them. (AMS Newsletter)
Their Aim Is True
Known as ‘bent arrows,’ these students changed direction to pursue MDs. (Think)
A Role in a Renaissance
A gift from an unlikely source supports research into psychedelics as a tool for treating mental health disorders. (Planning Matters)
Physician, Heal Thy World
You probably don’t associate Google with public health. But physician and public health expert Vuong “Von” Nguyen is doing his best to change that. (Rice Magazine)
A Transformation of Mercy
A former West Philadelphia safety-net hospital is becoming something totally new: a resource hub for achieving health equity and sustaining public health. (Penn Medicine)
Investigating Dizziness
A neurologist searches for a way to help physicians distinguish between harmless dizziness and the kind that indicates a stroke. (Planning Matters)
Taking Eye Care Into the Community
A community-based program aims to help older public-housing residents safeguard their vision. (Columbia Medicine)
Violence, Interrupted
Arrests and incarceration won’t stop urban gun violence. But community violence prevention might. (HBPH Magazine)
Warning! Sepsis Ahead
A leading killer of hospitalized patients just may have met its match. (Hopkins Medicine)
Gun Violence: Can Research Help?
A Columbia University coalition aims to create a new generation of researchers to help solve gun violence. (Columbia Medicine)
How to Convince Reluctant Republicans to Get COVID Vaccines
In a polarized nation, a dose of partisan public health messaging can be more effective. (Stanford Business)
A Fuller Picture
Rasika Mathias wants to level the playing field of genetic studies—and make the benefits of personalized medicine available to all. (Hopkins Medicine)
The Future of Hospitals
Economics and technology are driving big changes in patient care. (Penn Law Journal)
Invisible Pandemic
The initial coronavirus surge has passed, but the mental health fallout persists. (HBPH Magazine)
The Life of a Hospitalist
Meet the doctors who never leave the hospital. (Columbia Medicine)
Mapping the Good and the Bad of Pandemic-Related Restrictions
A new computer model could help policymakers choose the right reopening strategy. (Stanford Business)
Public Health in Prison
The coronavirus pandemic is underscoring the importance of caring for prisoners and their communities. (Columbia Public Health)
Save the World, Baker
Injury prevention expert Sue Baker has spent her career making the world a safer place. (HBPH Magazine)
The Man Behind the Curtain
In a career spanning decades and continents, Henry Mosley quietly transformed the field of public health. (HBPH Magazine)
Overcoming Depression
A psychologist combats an upsurge of hopelessness. (art|sci)
The Good Behavior Game: The Game that Keeps on Giving
A simple classroom management strategy pays dividends for a lifetime. (HBPH Magazine)
Emerging from the Age of HIV
First, it was a death sentence. Then, a life sentence. Now researchers aim to rid the world of the virus once and for all. (Seek)
Flood of Injustice
The latest health impact of a warming planet? Climate gentrification—the pricing of vulnerable populations out of their homes. (HBPH Magazine)
Understanding an Epidemic
Researchers delve into the expanding opioid epidemic—and try to combat it. (Think)
Food For Sight
A vitamin deficiency threatens the vision and lives of millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Biofortified staple crops could provide a nutritional safety net. (HBPH Magazine)
Expanding the CDM Footprint
Columbia University’s College of Dental Medicine goes abroad. (Columbia Dental Medicine)
Expanding Access to Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
Janis Luque had all but given up on doctors. Then she found the right one. (NYU Langone News & Views)
Beyond Recognition
Face blindness leads neuroscientists into uncharted nooks of the brain. (Seek)
Stalking the Zika Virus
A biotech startup tries to thwart an emerging health crisis and develop a new model for vaccines. (Penn Law Journal)
Sound Patterns
Searching for the genetic roots of speech disorders. (art|sci)
At Their Own Risk
Do the dangers of concussion among our nation’s youth outweigh the benefits of contact sports? (At Buffalo)
Navigating the Brain
High-tech gear helps brain surgeons operate more safely and effectively. (Biomedical Computation Review)
Unlocking the Secrets of Insulin
Discovering exactly how insulin interacts with cells could point researchers toward new, improved treatments for diabetes and other diseases. (Think)
The Race Against Alzheimer’s
Want to keep your aging brain in tip-top shape? Don’t get too excited. (Arts & Sciences)
Turning Spaghetti into Numbers
A newly discovered cognitive impairment scrambles the brain’s ability to perceive letters and numbers. (Arts & Sciences)
Dogs, Doses and Devices
How the FDA uses computational modeling to improve health and safety. (Biomedical Computation Review)
MUSIC & ART
The Music Is the Message
Pianist and management professor Frank Barrett spreads the lessons of jazz far and wide. (Think)
The Future Sounds Bright
Immersive multimedia events blend music and light to create multisensory magic. (Berklee Today)
Digging up the Past to Inspire the Future
The Museum of Jewish Montreal builds on the city’s rich Jewish heritage to support arts, culture, and community-building. (CANVAS)
A Rare Bird
Titmouse animation studio flies high. (Visual Arts Journal)
A Dance in the Sky
With help from famed architect William Pedersen, a multibillion dollar project is transforming the New York City skyline. (Minnesota Alumni)
The Sound of Hacked Dolls’ Heads
Dan Farkas subjects kids’ toys to Borg-like modifications, then makes music with them. (Wired)
From Pixar to Beyoncé
Celebrating 30 years of pioneering computer art. (Visual Arts Journal)
Habitats for Humanities
Loosening up artists’ residencies. (Visual Arts Journal)
Real Enemies
A multimedia show uses an anxiety-inducing score and set to bring audience members face to face with some of America’s classic conspiracies. (The Guardian)
Historian at Heart
Best-selling author David Nasaw brings serious historical scholarship to the widest audience he can. (Bucknell Magazine)
Roots Music
Recording works for the Milken Archive of Jewish American music brought renowned conductor Gerard Schwarz back to his Jewish roots. (The Milken Archive)
Synthesizers
Young composers combine classical music with Jewish sources to find something fresh and new. (Tablet)
Not So Still Life, With Music
If talking about music is like painting with architecture, what must painting about music be like? The artist Ralph Gilbert has a few thoughts. (The Milken Archive)
Plucky Move
A picture of his Polish grandfather’s mandolin orchestra inspired Avner Yonai to start his own. (Tablet)
Bernard Haitink: A Personal Approach
Those who worked with the legendary conductor appreciated his humanity as much as his musicianship. (The Juilliard Journal)
Jazzed Up
Former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky’s poetry gets a rhythm section. (Tablet)
The Sounds of Science
Computer music moves out of the lab. (The Walrus)
From Crypto to Jazz
A jazz saxophonist draws on cryptography and number theory for his riffs and rhythms. (Wired)
The Restless Opera Company
Many musicians can trace their choice of career to an act of teenage rebellion. But Eric Stern may be one of the few whose youthful bad-boy urges led him to opera. (The Forward)
Life After the Death of Jazz
The sound you hear over the bellyaching of purists is jazz’s fresh new blend. (The Walrus)
BUSINESS
New Data on the Quality of ESG Audits Catches Regulators’ Attention
A closer look at ESG verification is influencing the debate over requiring corporations to report their carbon emissions. (Stanford Business)
In a Polarized World, an Open Mind Can Hurt Your Reputation
Americans say they value open-mindedness—until their political allies listen to what the other side is saying. (Stanford Business)
Big Investors Say They Use ESG to Reduce Risk (But Mostly Focus on the E and G)
A new survey offers a rare window into how the world’s largest institutional investors think about environmental, social, and governance priorities. (Stanford Business)
Turning Science into Startups
How a public research university in the Rocky Mountains became one of the nation’s top incubators for deep-tech startups. (Coloradan Magazine)
What Lies Beneath
Shifting to clean energy means electrifying transportation. KoBold Metals is trying to get us there faster. (AMS Newsletter)
Yes “We” Can
Replacing “you” with “we” can make a message less threatening—and less likely to be censored. (Stanford Business)
Chief Sustainability Officers Are in It for the Long Haul
Want to know what, exactly, a chief sustainability or impact officer actually does? Read on. (Stanford Business)
Solving for Z
Gen Z workers are in high demand—and they know it. Here’s how companies can recruit and retain the next generation. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Curb Appeal
Can Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch clean up New York City? (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
“We Have 30 Extra Years”: A New Way of Thinking About Aging
People around the world are living, working, and learning longer. Get ready to upgrade your old ideas about longevity. (Stanford Business)
Clearing the Air
A Texas startup aims to decarbonize industrial chemical processing, and prevent a gigaton of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere. (Rice Business)
The ESG Generation Gap
Younger investors are more willing to put money behind environmental and social goals—even if it’s costlier. (Stanford Business)
The Promise and Pitfalls of Investing for Change
Navigating the line between opportunity and uncertainty in the ESG boom. (Stanford Business)
Full Circle
As businesses aim to reduce their environmental impacts, circular practices that can be tracked back thousands of years are gaining momentum. (Macalester Today)
An Insider’s Perspective
A concerned father uses venture capital to drive advances in autism care. (Denison Magazine)
New Wave
Marine-energy startups tap the power of tides and waves to fuel a low-carbon future. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Why Divestment Doesn’t Hurt “Dirty” Companies
Bad news for impact investors: Selling off stocks in corporations that don’t meet your values doesn’t really change their behavior. (Stanford Business)
Keeping the Lights On
In the Congo, few people have access to reliable energy, and even fewer have access to formal financial services. Tony Ngumbu is trying to solve both problems with one startup. (Rice Business)
Green Giants
Forget about electric cars and meatless meat: If you really want to combat climate change, look to risk management and private equity. (Stanford Business)
Pandemic, Panic and Profit
Which businesses will thrive, and which will struggle, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? (The Darden Report)
Going Up?
You’re riding a wage escalator. And your race and gender can make a big difference in the quality of your ride. (W.P. Carey Magazine)
How We Adapted
If you want to move a business school’s curriculum online in a single weekend due to a global health crisis, you better practice what you teach. (Stanford Business)
The Rise of the ‘Liberaltarian’
Tech industry millionaires are moving the Democratic Party to the left on almost every issue except government regulation. Unions beware. (Stanford Business)
Up on the Corner
Nadine Dlodlo’s community-centered approach to redeveloping a once-vibrant section of Baltimore offers a blueprint for reviving neighborhoods across the globe. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
The Crisis Leadership Playbook
Don’t just tell your constituents how you’re responding to a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Ask them what they want, listen to them, and engage. (Stanford Business)
Beyond the Plastisphere
We’re burying the planet in plastic waste. Can a rising tide of good ideas help pull us out? (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
City on a Hill
There’s no silver bullet for economic recovery in Appalachia. It’s going to take a whole new ecosystem—which is just what Geoff Marietta has built. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Up by the Roots
Inside New York City’s push to become a global fintech capital—and what its ascent can teach other cities. (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Ethical Threads
Behind the global apparel industry’s push for human rights. (Hue)
Boxed In
Fewer Americans are moving across state lines in search of higher wages. That’s a problem. (Think)
Supercharged
Is the electric car finally on the road to mass-market adoption? (HBS Alumni Bulletin)
Life in My ($135) Bargain Shorts
Test-riding a pair of fancy-fabric action pants. (Pomona College Magazine)
LAW & JUSTICE
Sowing the Seeds of Rural Entrepreneurship
The path from software developer to manager of a legal clinic for rural entrepreneurs may not seem like an obvious one. But for this professor, it all makes sense. (Gargoyle)
Firearm Forensics on Trial
Defense attorneys appealing a murder conviction enlisted the expertise of statisticians to determine whether the field of firearm forensics is grounded in solid science. The answer? Not even close. (HBPH Magazine)
Democracy in Crisis
With democracy under siege around the globe, legal scholars seek to understand—and resist—authoritarianism. (Gargoyle)
An Independent Mind
Libertarian legal scholar Jonathan Adler pursues principle over politics. (Think)
Providing Access to Justice for Immigrants and Asylum Seekers
Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic (IJC) at the University of Wisconsin Law School, has a knot in the pit of her stomach. (Gargoyle)
Bending Toward Justice
In the face of police brutality and mass protests, a business school asks: How can we answer the call to improve our world and address systemic racism and oppression? (Rice Business)
The Case of Inmate No. A246292
Dean Gillispie has spent 20 years in prison for kidnapping and rape. Former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has made it his job to free him. (Denison Magazine)
The Organizer
Activist and organizer Dante Barry talks about the people and events that shaped him, and his ongoing fight for social justice. (Monmouth Magazine)
Man in the Middle
Saliba Sarsar has dedicated his life’s work to healing the differences between Israelis and Palestinians. (Monmouth Magazine)
No Más
After witnessing terrible wrongs as a medical student, Dr. Karen Benker devoted her career to the fight for medical justice. (Pomona College Magazine)
Open-Door Policy
How a small group of faculty and students helped bring gay life at Denison University out of the closet. (Denison Magazine)
Restoring Justice
Confronting a man involved in the murder of her own parents turned Noreen Deiss into an advocate for restorative justice. (Gargoyle)
Women in Law: Six UW Trailblazers
The playing field is not level for men and women entering the legal profession. But as the stories of these six pioneers demonstrate, the situation has improved over the past century or so. (Gargoyle)
TRAVEL
Sefarad No More
In which the author’s attempt to discover traces of Spain’s medieval Jewish community does not go as planned. (Kveller)
Whale Watching from Land
If you want to see whales, you needn’t bother chasing after them in a boat. Just pitch a tent by the St. Lawrence River and wait for them to come to you. (The Montreal Gazette)
Barbadian Wonders Coax Kids Out of Their Shells
Calm waters, green monkeys, and giant caves: Barbados has something for everyone, no matter how young. (The Boston Globe)
Lost Music of Istanbul’s Sephardic Jews
Istanbul was once a center of Sephardic Jewish life and music. But that energy has moved elsewhere. (The Forward)
Ocean Pew
Though only a tiny fraction of what it was in the 18th century, Barbados’s Jewish community—and its 1750 synagogue—still stand proud. (Tablet)
A Food Tour of Montreal’s Plateau
Bingeing on Jewish delicacies in my hometown. (The Forward)
Visiting the Hamptons, but Not Paying the Price
For resort chic on a budget, pitch a tent and (sort of) rough it. (The New York Times)
PERSONAL ESSAYS
Traveling While Jewish
A recent visit to a Muslim country raised unwelcome questions—and unnecessary fears. (Kveller)
Drums, Lies, and Audiotape
When I was invited to drum in Ghana, I gladly accepted. Then something went wrong. (Nautilus)
Bending Traditions in Ghana
Though you’d never guess it by looking at me, I was once an African drummer. (The Forward)