Editor's note

Are mobile health apps helping your health? More than 300,000 health apps are available. While popular, these apps are uncharted – and unregulated – territory. Author Michael L. Millenson writes that not much research has been done on actual consumers to study how apps impact individual health.

Turkish officials have leaked grisly details of the alleged killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, driving a fresh wedge between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Since the 1960s, the two key U.S. allies and Middle East heavyweights have had a rocky relationship. Periods of warmth have been followed by sudden chills – often the result of being on opposing sides of regional power struggles, writes Nader Habibi, a scholar of Middle East economics and politics. Although Turkey appears to be amping up the pressure on the Saudi government over Khashoggi, the two countries’ tangled history suggests something else may be going on.

President Trump has been trying to drum up support for a Space Force, but the United States already has a space agency – NASA – which turned 60 years old this month. So why do we need a Space Force and what would it do? Political scientist Wendy Whitman Cobb explores whether a Space Force would pose international risks and reignite the race to militarize space.

Lynne Anderson

Health + Medicine Editor

Top stories

Jeff Williams, chief operating officer of Apple, talks about the Apple Watch 4 and its ability to detect irregularities in heartbeat on Sept. 12, 2018 in Cupertino, California. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

Why health apps are like the Wild West, with Apple just riding into town

Michael L. Millenson, Northwestern University

As health care grows more digital, an array of health apps promise to track steps, count heartbeats and look at moles. But without more FDA oversight, could we be shooting ourselves in the foot?

Things between Saudi Crown Prince Salman and Turkish President Erdogan have become rather tense. AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici

How Turkey and Saudi Arabia became frenemies – and why the Khashoggi case could change that

Nader Habibi, Brandeis University

The disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is worsening relations between US allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia. An expert on the region believes there may be a way out.

Crowds watch as the space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. AP Photo/Phil Sandlin

Would a Space Force mean the end of NASA?

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Cameron University

The United States already has a space agency: NASA. So why do we need a Space Force, and what would it do? Could a Space Force strain diplomatic relationships, reigniting the race to militarize space?

Science + Technology

  • Blockchains won’t fix internet voting security – and could make it worse

    Ari Juels, Cornell University; Ittay Eyal, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; Oded Naor, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

    The stability and integrity of democratic society are too important to be relegated to inherently flawed computer systems that are vulnerable to malfunctions and malicious attacks.

Politics + Society

Economy + Business

Arts + Culture

  • Legal weed: What your kids need to know

    Geraint Osborne, University of Alberta

    Parents can help protect their kids from cannabis abuse by openly discussing the health risks, the pleasures and the responsible ways to use the drug.

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Today’s quote

In the 18th century, Swiss political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted that games establish habits and attachments that will shape what kind of political actors children become.

 

'Fortnite' teaches the wrong lessons

 

Nicholas Tampio

Fordham University

Nicholas Tampio
 
Heat and Light podcast