Google Chrome’s Quest to Kill the URL

Driven by security concerns, a desire to curb fraudulent sites and phishing attempts, Google Chrome’s usable security lead Emily Stark and her team aim to rework how the browser presents web addresses. Their goal includes the removal of long and complicated URLs—and two projects are currently underway. First, the just-launched TrickURI will help developers confirm URL accuracy. Second, Stark’s team is developing an alert system …

Germ Communities in Our Gut Talk to Our Brain

There are trillions of microbes inside the human body, and University College Cork professor Dr John Cryan’s studies indicate that these germ communities appear to influence both the brain and its behaviors. Since that groundbreaking and contested 2014 announcement, much more research has continued to support the idea that the human microbiome impacts depression, dementia, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and even Parkinson’s disease. All of this …

NASA Enlisted Artists to Envision the Future

In 1975, NASA began to conceptualize living conditions in space—hiring freelance illustrator Rick Guidice to bring the ideas to life. The resulting works actively shaped the public perception of life off Earth, and do so to this day. Guidice’s illustrations influenced synth-drenched soundscapes, runway shows and popular film—all while being quite literal guides for NASA’s potential population relocation plans (which could house nearly one million people). …