Section: Health & Science

Comcast says it should be able to create internet fast lanes for self-driving cars

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The first of a couple articles on the net neutrality issue, Comcast is arguing that the need to provide faster more reliable service to self-driving cars will warrant a competitive pricing model. That means they can charge more for certain types of data traffic. Medical uses and automated cars are the examples they use to

Read & Share   sourced from: The Verge

The world’s first crewless ship will launch next year

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Automation is coming; there’s nothing to be done about it. Why? Because it will be safer and more efficient. There’s no way to stop evolution toward those values. And it won’t just be cars and trucks. The video below tells the story of technology that’s already available, this ship is in production. The question we

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Stretch of Mississippi River in and around St. Cloud sheds its sullied history

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

For one city in Minnesota, the Mississippi River was just a water pathway that flowed through town. It was the place they dumped their sewage; it was the home of meat-packing plants that sent their environmental impacts downstream. They stopped the environmental damage they were doing a generation ago; now their eyes are opening to

Read & Share   sourced from: Star Tribune

Ward County asks N.D. board to stop cloud-seeding

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Yesterday, the Ward County Commission voted unanimously to discontinue the County’s weather modification program for the rest of the year. This article on the story comes from the Grand Forks Herald — particularly local coverage.  But in the article, you’ll find a bit more scientific context (along with a bit of honest commentary) on the theory

Read & Share   sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

A Toxic Legacy: North Dakota Looks To Clean Up Old Oilfield Waste

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

One of the considerable by-products of oil production in North Dakota is the extremely salty wastewater we get back along with the oil. It’s not a new problem. And though modern practices inject wastewater deep underground, there are still a number of legacy era brine pits that continue to leach salt water contamination into nearby

Read & Share   sourced from: Inside Energy

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Paddlers promote ‘positive trace ethic’ by cleaning up litter along Minnesota, St. Croix and Mississippi rivers

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The old mantra for the environmentally minded heading into the wilderness was, “take only pictures, leave only footprints”. But for a few, it seems that’s not good enough. The concept is called adventure stewardship, and the goal is to go out and have the fun recreationally but leave the environment better as a result. In

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Your Brain On Fentanyl

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Fentanyl is one of the dangerously potent synthetic derivatives of heroin that seems to be now more-regularly cut with the drug to increase the bang users get for the buck. It’s an alarming market-based reaction fed by increasing demand. And that fact that it’s now found on the streets — even in places like Minot

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ND coal studying supply of valuable rare earth elements

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The same geological history that produced North Dakota’s coal history may hold additional value in the form of rare earth elements essential to the electronics and defense industries. Extracting those elements is the challenge, but investment from several government agencies is refining the processes to determine the viability long-term. Jessica Holdman with the Bismarck Tribune

Read & Share   sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

Prairie Roots Food Co-op opens in Fargo with mix of natural, organic foods

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The manner in which shop for groceries is evolving and there’s no better evidence than the opening of another food co-op in the state. Prairie Roots Food Co-op opened their doors in downtown Fargo yesterday. The member-owned business uses 5,600 square feet to provide organic and natural food, much of it locally sourced.

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Self-Driving Cars Mean Cops Won’t Have Excuses to Pull People Over

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Self-driving cars are coming; there’s nothing to be done about it. Automation, in general, is going to radically remake the way we live our lives and our society, and if we look at self-driving cars as one of the early dominoes, the challenge then becomes what are the second, third, and fourth cultural dominoes that

Read & Share   sourced from: Motherboard

North Dakota continues sampling for larval zebra mussels in Red River

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

With people and boats moving around for the holiday weekend, here’s a reminder that we have some hard-to-see invaders that we’re trying to keep out of North Dakota waters. Zebra mussels are great hitchhikers, and the fact that there’s now worry and some evidence that they’ve migrated into the Red River drainage system is reason

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

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For Newborns Exposed To Opioids, Health Issues May Be The Least Of Their Problems

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

There’s some good news; the short-term withdrawal symptoms of babies exposed to opioids in the womb are manageable. The bad news, the same child is likely to start life in a difficult home environment, and the consequences of that are often much more significant. This interview-article from NPR presents a perspective worth noting as we

Read & Share   sourced from: NPR

A huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will soon change how you order seafood

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The headline is direct from the Quartz article, so the implications of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone won’t likely soon change the way we order seafood here in North Dakota — because we don’t order a lot of seafood. But we are opposed to the Waters of the U.S. rule here, which has been

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Western governors back Endangered Species Act, with changes

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The Western Governors Association, an association of 22-western Governors, met in Montana recently. Among the topics of business, a discussion and ultimately a resolution in support of the Endangered Species Act with a few caveats. Some of the concerns are that states have a larger voice in the federal decisions that impact them and that

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

UND wins $3.8 million for substance abuse services

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by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The personal fights have always been there. But now with the attention of politicians caught, it seems the funding to fight the drug abuse and addiction problems is starting to follow. Andrew Haffner with the Grand Forks Herald has the story on a $3.8 million grant for UND and how they’ll use the resources.

Read & Share   sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

The life-changing magic of getting a person to change their mind—even yourself

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

With those we care about, we try and try and try. Sometimes we need to do it ourselves, but we resist. Yes, I’m talking about change, particularly of our minds. And as our knowledge of how our brains work starts to align with observed behavior, we’re starting to get confirmation that changing minds is possible.

Read & Share   sourced from: Aeon