Inroads to personalized AI trip planning

A new framework from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab supercharges language models, so they can reason over, interactively develop, and verify valid, complex travel agendas.

Lauren Hinkel | MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab • mit
June 10, 2025 ~9 min

How the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ positions US energy to be more costly for consumers and the climate

Some technologies could rapidly cut emissions, while others do little to fight climate change. The House bill favors the latter while nixing support for the former.

Daniel Cohan, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University • conversation
June 10, 2025 ~10 min


Why Dippy the dinosaur remains beloved, 120 years after arriving at the Natural History Museum

Dippy has been seen up close by more people around the world than any other dinosaur.

Michael J. Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol • conversation
June 5, 2025 ~7 min

Storm damage costs are often a mystery – that’s a problem for understanding extreme weather risk

Forecasters already patch together very rough estimates, and ending NOAA’s ‘billion-dollar disasters’ list means less access to insurance data. Texas’ state climatologists explain why that matters.

William Baule, Research Assistant Professor in Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University • conversation
June 4, 2025 ~9 min

What is vibe coding? A computer scientist explains what it means to have AI write computer code − and what risks that can entail

Vibe coding is a buzzy phrase that describes using AI language tools to write software. You enter a natural language phrase for what you want – to a point – and get back code.

Chetan Jaiswal, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Quinnipiac University • conversation
June 4, 2025 ~5 min

Extreme weather’s true damage cost is often a mystery – that’s a problem for understanding storm risk, but it can be fixed

Forecasters already patch together very rough estimates, and ending NOAA’s ‘billion-dollar disasters’ list means less access to insurance data. Texas’ state climatologists explain why that matters.

William Baule, Research Assistant Professor in Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University • conversation
June 4, 2025 ~9 min

What birds can teach us about repurposing waste

A process called “exaptation” places repurposing resources and adaptations at the heart of evolution; what if our homes were designed on the same basis?

David Farrier, Professor of Literature and the Environment, University of Edinburgh • conversation
June 2, 2025 ~6 min

Hurricane season is here, but FEMA’s policy change could leave low-income areas less protected

Low-income neighborhoods have the hardest time recovering from disasters without help. FEMA used to require cities to pay attention to them, but that’s changing.

Shannon Van Zandt, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University • conversation
May 30, 2025 ~8 min


Nature writing can feed the myth of the outside as a cure – but my own work has helped me reframe my illness

Through my reconnection with nature, I’ve reframed my experience of illness.

Louise Kenward, PhD Candidate, Centre for Place Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University • conversation
May 27, 2025 ~9 min

Five ways to inspire ocean connection: reflections from my 40-year marine ecology career

Sharing the stories of progress and innovation that show how our patches of the sea are recovering can show what’s possible and inspire further positive action.

Martin Attrill, Professor of Marine Ecology, University of Plymouth • conversation
May 23, 2025 ~8 min

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