Finding the Tipping Points (Quanta Magazine)
by Gregory Barber
Six million years ago, the Earth was a snowball. Six thousand years ago, the Sahara was green. Changes from one state of order to another can be described using the mathematics of tipping points. But can we calculate what changes might be in our world’s future?

How to Disinfect the Air (Works in Progress)
by Gavriel Kleinwaks and Karam Elabd
Over the past century, water-cleaning technology has made us all far safer. But techniques for cleaning the air using rays of light never took off in the same way. Maybe soon they will.

Measuring Political Violence (The Conversation)
by Art Jipson and Paul J. Becker
Political violence really has been rising in recent years, but a lot of the rhetoric around it doesn’t actually align with the data.

Making New Body Parts (NPR)
by Terry Gross
New technologies like 3D printing and gene editing are making it easier to replace parts of ourselves. Science writer Mary Roach explains the weird new tech she learned about writing her latest book.

Life Through the Looking Glass (Nautilus)
by Molly Glick
Molecularly speaking, DNA is right-handed, while proteins are lefties. That affects the way life grows, including the effects of some drugs. It also means mirror versions of molecules engineered by people could be useful. But could they be dangerous?

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