Hello, and welcome to another issue of Kat’s Kable. I’ve taken a break for a week but I am back and running. With no further ado, here is the list for this week.
- Doctors have decades of experience fighting “fake news.” Here’s how they win - Interesting lessons from the medical profession on fact-checking, and how to interpret evidence. Nice case studies too, with M&M studies to whether babies should be born at home or in hospitals.
- The Blood of the Crab - Horseshoe crab blood is an indispensable part of modern medicine. Therefore, half a million of them (the crabs) are being “bled” every year to procure this elixir. The crabs are released into the wild after being bled, but are they strong and robust enough to survive this stress to their bodies? Is this sustainable? Are we bleeding the world dry of these creatures?
- End Pain Forever - Great Wired feature on pain, and how doctors may have discovered a gene in the human body that serves as a volume control of sorts for the amount of pain one feels. Steven Pete will break bones and not feel a thing, and Pam Costa says this : “Have you ever been out in the bitter, bitter cold, where your feet were ice?” she asks me. “Almost frostbite? Then you warm them up and it burns? That burning sensation: That is what it feels like all the time.”
- How Police Dogs Turned into Cybernetic Hunters - This is an investigation of dogs being specially trained for investigation and police work in the US.
But these dogs are dynamic systems. Their capacity for decision and error is both their biggest flaw and greatest strength. The dog, a learning machine, makes its own exceptions to situations based on an array of variables, including tells from their handler. Since these decisions ultimately lead to reception of a reward, then they are no longer innocent agents but cybernetic mercenaries, with decision making that is open to influence.
Given their inherently imperfect judgment and the dire consequences of their mistakes, why do dogs remain in the forefront of law enforcement? - India’s Silicon Valley Is Dying of Thirst. Your City May Be Next - The excellent Samanth Subramanian writes about the water crisis plaguing Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley. You should read this.
- There Is a Fake IDGod, and He Lives in China - Now in the age of the internet, it is easier than ever to get a fake ID card. You can order from China, and pay either in Bitcoin or via a Western Union transfer. Who do you buy from? IDGod. They describe themselves so :
“We offer high quality IDs at an affordable price. Every ID comes with a free duplicate and tracking number. All IDs are programmed to be scanned and to pass the backlight test. And….we do more then that! We offer you the chance to have a great time with your friends!” - One Runner Came Tantalizingly Close To A 2-Hour Marathon - It nearly happened! As part of Nike’s Breaking2 campaign, Eliud Kipchoge nearly ran a sub-two hour marathon. He was only half a minute slow. Of course, this wasn’t a competition marathon and he was aided by a pacing crew that blocked the wind etc. Will we get there soon?
- Love wildlife photos? There’s a good chance they weren’t shot in the wild
- The secret Instagram accounts teens use to share their realest, most intimate moments - This is a great find. How many of you have a rinsta (for real Insta) and a finsta (a fake Insta) both?
- The Amazing Dinosaur Found (Accidentally) by Miners in Canada - Dinosaurs have never been more exciting. A herbivorous nodosaur was preserved in exquisite detail, allowing researchers to piece together a huge amount about it from just one specimen found in a mine.
Have a great week ahead.