The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

In 1971, President Nixon declared “war on cancer.” In the forty years since, the U.S. has spent some $200 billion on research, but we’ve only cut the death rate by 5% (measured since 1950). Cancer. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

Robert Fogel writes in Foreign Policy this month:
In 2040, the Chinese economy will reach $123 trillion, or nearly three times the economic output of the entire globe in 2000… Although it will not have overtaken the. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

Hollywood notwithstanding, it seems fairly unlikely that mankind will be wiped out in 02012. But unfortunately, tales of mass extinction turn out to have some basis in reality; some even say we are already in the midst. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

The discovery of water on the moon is almost certainly the biggest Long News story of the year; it will make it much easier to build moon colonies, and it provides cheap fuel for travel to the. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

There may be more than nine billion humans by 2050, which begs the question: how will they all get fed? Particularly when you consider that we’re having trouble feeding the six billion who are already here. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

At a recent conference, Ray Kurzweil spoke about a future when tiny robots will swarm through our bloodstreams, repairing damage and curing disease. Well, the truth is, that future is already here — if you’re a mouse. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

Roy McDonald writes: “For the long news I’d suggest almost anything on mental health. My thesis is that we are in the stone age in understanding mental illness, minor and major and that it’s something. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

NASA is rethinking its mission. A few lucky space tourists are taking $20 million roller-coaster rides. But at this point, it’s unclear how soon, or whether, humans will return to the moon — and Mars seems. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

According to the most recent reports, we’re melting the icebergs. We’ve endangered fifty percent of the ocean’s coral species. And we’ve damaged sixty-three percent of the world’s fisheries. It seems we. . .   Read More

The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.

The brain has been called the most complicated machine ever built. But that doesn’t seem to be stopping those who are working to understand it, repair it, or improve it. Then again, what could go wrong. . .   Read More