To understand the significance behind the fight for CRISPR (technically the CRISPR-Cas9 system), its best to explain its significance first. Simply put, CRISPR is a genome editing tool that is much more precise, quicker, and cheaper than anything that has come before it. CRISPR is essentially a pair of molecular scissors that allows scientists to …

In the modern world, there’s enough covert and overt surveillance occurring with enough regularity to make George Orwell’s predictions seem demure. From the Snowden-triggered revelations of 2013 to the endless cookies users accept while browsing the web, computer and smart phone users are leaving footprints everywhere they wander. Governments and corporations follow close behind, collecting …

Beth is a twenty-five-year old who lives and works in New York City. She, like many of her peers, keeps in touch with her old friends and classmates via Facebook, one of the most well-known online social media and social networking services. After her birthday party, Beth logs on to Facebook to post pictures to …

Amidst the usual end-of-year activities and the beginning of a transition of presidential power, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved a historic change for people with disabilities. On December 15, the FCC adopted a rule requiring telecommunications companies to support Real-Time Text (RTT) in their systems, replacing the outdated text telephony services (TTY). This rule …

On February 2, Snap, parent company of the popular social media app Snapchat, filed for its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, SNAP. The company’s decision to go public comes on the heels of a successful year that saw a 600% increase in revenue from 2015. What …

From Amazon’s helpful electronic assistant Alexa to televisions that track viewer preferences, these days people surround themselves with devices that continuously record information about their users. Even medical devices, like Pacemakers, are more frequently being offered with built-in network capability, creating an expansive Internet of Things that simultaneously increases efficiency and vulnerability for those that …

New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has set his sights on Charter Communications and its subsidiary Time Warner Cable (TWC). Following a sixteen-month investigation, reviewing internal TWC corporate documents and hundreds of thousands of internet speed tests, Schneiderman has filed a suit alleging the internet service provider (ISP) promised internet speeds it knew it would …

With all of the spectacle and controversy surrounding the recent inauguration of the incoming President, Donald Trump, it was easy to miss the passage of then-President Barack Obama’s final law.  Minutes before the inauguration, Obama signed the “Tested Ability to Leverage Exceptional National Talent Act of 2017” (Talent Act), codifying the existing Presidential Innovation Fellows …

How young is “too young” to learn about gun safety? 18 years? 15? 10? With new and improved gun technology the answer to these questions might be more shocking than once thought. A recent Chicago ordinance which imposed strict and cumbersome regulations on gun ranges was struck down, January 18, 2017. Most notably, the law …

I’m sure you’ve all seen the “check-engine” light come on in your car or on your motorcycle, and I’m sure you’ve wanted to get it checked out and removed as quickly as possible, partly due to caring about your vehicle, but mostly because those lights are annoying. Or maybe you’re the tinkering type and wanted …