The Economist

Life in the universe

Frank Drake, Martin Rees, Stephen Hawking, Yuri Milner, Jack Szostak

Recent astronomical data reveals billions of Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, prompting expanded searches for extraterrestrial intelligence through projects like Breakthrough Listen and the upcoming James Webb Telescope. Researchers are simultaneously investigating local habitability on Mars, Europa, and Enceladus while laboratories such as Jack Szostak's attempt to synthesize life from primordial chemicals. These dual efforts aim to determine whether life is a cosmic inevitability or a rare phenomenon by analyzing biosignatures and achieving spontaneous self-replication in protocells.

The World If… malaria drugs stop working

Following the 2016 emergence of drug-resistant malaria strains in Southeast Asia that spread globally via human travel, African healthcare systems faced collapsing treatment rates and billions in annual economic losses. In response, scientists initiated 2020 and 2021 strategies involving genetically engineered sterile male mosquitoes and novel transmission-blocking vaccines in Mali to suppress parasite spread. While health officials emphasized that a multi-pronged approach combining diagnostics and vector control was essential to prevent further societal breakdown, the slow pace of these new interventions contrasted sharply with the escalating mortality of over 2,000 daily deaths.

America's elderly prisoner boom

Samuel Baxter, Phillip Burdick, Glenn Crites, Dr. Steed, Glenn Kreitz

The rapid aging of the U.S. prison population has sparked the "Goldcoats" volunteer program at facilities like California Men's Colony, where elderly inmates provide low-cost peer care and protection to their vulnerable, prematurely aging counterparts. This initiative addresses critical health and safety gaps caused by dementia and predation while offering participants like life-sentence prisoner Samuel Baxter a mechanism for mutual survival and future security. Simultaneously, grief counselor Philip Burdick supports terminally ill inmates through hospice services, highlighting a systemic shift where legislative reforms have concentrated aging, high-risk populations in state prisons without adequate external resources for release.

How Portugal and Colorado solved their drug problems

Portugal's 2001 decriminalization and Colorado's 2014 legalization serve as contrasting case studies shifting drug policy from criminal punishment to public health and economic regulation. These measures successfully reduced overdose deaths in Portugal, while Colorado generated over $700 million in annual revenue and decreased teenage usage without collapsing the illicit market. Despite these successes, global criminal networks remain dominant within the $300 billion illicit trade, even as nearly half of U.S. states adopt similar regulatory frameworks.

The Bhopal gas tragedy: Toxic legacy

Sanjay Yadav, Satinath Sarangi, Jeevan Shinde, Hajira B.

On December 2, 1984, a toxic gas leak at the American-operated Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killed thousands and left 570,000 people with chronic health disorders, while groundwater contamination persists three decades later. Although Union Carbide settled for $470 million, victims and advocates argue the compensation is inadequate given the scale of permanent injuries and the parent company Dow Chemical's refusal to accept liability. Current efforts by Indian authorities to revise death statistics and expand compensation face criticism from groups like the Sambhavna Trust, which reports that 93% of affected individuals are incorrectly categorized with only temporary injuries.

How tesla electricity can create wireless power

Nikola Tesla, JP Morgan, Josh Smith

Y-Tricity is reviving Nikola Tesla's wireless power concepts with a resonant magnetic system capable of delivering electricity through walls and charging multiple devices simultaneously, while Intel Labs researchers Josh Smith and Alanson Sample are developing the WARP project to harvest ambient radio frequencies from distant TV towers. These divergent approaches aim to eliminate disposable batteries by powering low-consumption sensors with continuous energy and enabling "drop-and-charge" functionality for portable electronics within household environments. By addressing safety standards and extending power ranges beyond traditional line-of-sight limitations, both initiatives seek to reduce electronic waste and integrate persistent power sources directly into consumer infrastructure.