Brain injury research, treatment taking giant steps forward in ND

The treatment is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy. A legislatively approved pilot program got $300,000 in funding. The hope: prove the treatment so it becomes eligible for insurance reimbursements. Get the full story from inForum.

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

U.S. scientist urges action to save Lake Winnipeg

Did you know it’s possible to kill a lake? It is; it happened to Lake Erie. And a scientist who studied that catastrophe sees a similar pattern repeating with Lake Winnipeg. Why does it matter in Minot? The culprit is nutrient loading — particularly phosphorous. If you’ve noticed algae blooms in Minot’s river, you know

Read & Share   sourced from: Winnipeg Free Press

Hey Minot, care about the plastic problem?

Once you see it, you’ll see it everywhere. I’m talking about plastic. Particularly single-use plastic and especially plastic bags. This time of year is especially troublesome because we’re forced to look at what’s been hiding under the snow all winter. And if you’re among those who can’t unsee it and think we should do something

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US facial recognition will cover nearly everyone departing a U.S. airport

The rollout is already started, but completion is expected to take about four more years, At that point, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expects to capture facial recognition data on ~97% of all departing passengers. The goal is to keep track of who is coming and going and one benefit of that is a

Read & Share   sourced from: The Verge

The new digital divide is between people who opt out of algorithms and everyone else

From computers to cars to online dating, odds are high that more of your life is influenced by artificial intelligence and learning algorithms than you realize. These algorithms are why Facebook occasionally freaks you out. You’ve probably experienced this, it’s when your news feed seems to know what you’re thinking or what you want. Perhaps

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

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Is Music Good for Your Health?

If you’re wondering, the answer is yes. And the evidence is both anecdotal and clinical, but if you want more details, check out this column from NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist Julie Garden-Robinson.

Read & Share   sourced from: NDSU Extension Service

The robots are marching, and they can pull a truck, too

While this story is not exclusive to Minot, it helps remind us that we’re not immune to the march of technology. And this company — Boston Dynamics — has been the subject of past publishing here on The Minot Voice.  If you go back and watch those old videos, you’ll get a sense of how

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What’s the cure for distracted driving — more or less responsibility?

Self-driving and driver-assist technology is coming at us at a 65 miles per hour. Culturally, our response to adopt it will be closer to a reflex reaction than a calculated decision based on merits of the technology. But at least one driver is questioning whether more technology is the answer to curing our distracted driving

Read & Share   sourced from: New York Times

Let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as a free bag

If you weren’t aware, a group of passionate Minot citizens appealed to Minot’s City Council to take up the issue of single-use plastic — particularly disposable plastic bags. After months of information gathering and taking public comment, the group offered several recommendations intended to curb consumption. One of the primary recommendations is a 10-cent tax

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Teams searching for cheap way to stop algae blooms, with $10 million prize on the line

You have an efficient, cost-effective way to remove phosphorous from freshwater bodies? If so, you may want to enter it into an innovation competition sponsored The Everglades Foundation in Florida. The prize: $10,000,000. Whether North or South, algae blooms are an increasing problem and one of the primary contributors is phosphorus-rich runoff that feeds the

Read & Share   sourced from: NPR

Honeybees finding it harder to eat at America’s bee hot spot

It wasn’t that long ago that the conservation lands of North Dakota and South Dakota were a refuge of sorts, for honey bees. But policy changes and rising commodity prices led to changes in land use and in a short period of time, we’ve lost a lot of prime habitat.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

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What *Is* Meat, Anyway?

In a just-arising question, the answer to which is sure to have implications for North Dakota ranchers, we’ve found ourselves at a point in history where we’re asking — almost philosophically — what is meat? The question is born from the emerging technology that allows us to grow animal tissue in a lab. WIRED has

Read & Share   sourced from: WIRED

How to change your mind

In this edition of Brain Pickings, Maria Popova dives into Michael Pollan’s recent work titled ‘How to Change Your Mind’. His work dives into new studies and neuroscience exploring the benefits of treating depression, addiction, and iminent mortality with a rediscovered catylst that’s proven effective and rewiring our perspectives.

Read & Share   sourced from: The Marginalian

Public engagement in local decisions evolving rapidly on the shoulders of technology

How do we awaken citizens from their apathy and get them engaged with the decisions being made in their communities? One town in Colorado made an investment in technology, trashed the traditional model that only allowed input at live meetings, and catered to the lives of their citizens. The result is a cross-section of public

Read & Share   sourced from: Strong Towns

Inside X, the Moonshot Factory Racing to Build the Next Google

No, this isn’t the lead-in to an algebra joke. ‘X’ is the name of Google’s research and development factory — the place where the test out radical ideas to see if they can become viable companies. One of those, Loon, was the feature of a Minot Voice post long ago, and this article from WIRED captures

Read & Share   sourced from: WIRED

More Recycling Won’t Solve Plastic Pollution

Many residents in Minot want to see citywide recycling, but before we invest big in the facilities and equipment, perhaps we should ask — what problem is it we’re trying to solve? One answer we’d expect to hear is we need to reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment. If that’s the case, then Matt

Read & Share   sourced from: Scientific American