The Curious Case of Motherhood and Longevity subtitled “Why do studies of the effects of reproduction on a woman’s body come to such wildly different conclusions?” was published earlier this month on Undark. In it, Olivia Campbell explores this complicated topic and talks with researchers about the factors involved. While many news stories gloss over the contradictory findings on the costs and benefits of reproduction for women Campbell is clear that, “We want the answer to be simple, but it just isn’t”.
Technology is Biased Too. How Do We Fix it? Turning to algorithms to avoid human error is problematic since human bias is built into technology. On FiveThirtyEight, Laura Hudson, discusses some research into how automated systems reinforce prejudice and why it is difficult to fix them.
From Science, two recent items related to sticky subjects…. Sci-Hub and Science Funding through the NIH:
- Sci-Hub’s cache of pirated papers in so big, subscription journals are doomed, data analyst suggests discusses this study in PeerJ.
- Relatively few NIH Grantees get Lion’s Share of Agency’s Funding refers to this study from the Berkman Klein Center.