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Rural residents photograph ailing chickens to monitor the spread of Avian flu, mountaineer adventurers collect scat samples so microbes in isolated locations can be identified, and sailors take water samples that reveal the plastic afloat in the world’s oceans. These citizen scientists are ordinary people who collect data in the field that support researchers warning of disease outbreaks, studying the origins of antibiotic resistance, assessing pollution levels, and tracking community health. There’s nothing amateurish about their efforts – these cost-effective partnerships lead to genuine scientific discoveries. What can we learn from this kind of crowd-sourced data?
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Health
As we wrap-up another year of elevating big ideas at Aspen Ideas: Health, we're excited to share the 15 most-watched sessions from the event. These conversations with inspirin...
Each year brings more destructive natural disasters and growing evidence of the challenging future we face if we don’t address climate change. But the biggest cause of climate...
New technologies have always led to changes in society, though not always as quickly or drastically as people feared. Could artificial intelligence be different? Instead of le...
Research on aging and extending life and healthspan has ventured beyond humans to our best animal friends – dogs. In less than a year, dog owners may be able to buy a drug tha...
In America, millions of people struggle with mental health including depression, anxiety, and more — all further exacerbated by living through a pandemic. The National Allianc...
Our attitudes, habits, pleasures, and responsibilities shift across the generations, influencing the health challenges we face and how we respond to them. Expectations about h...
If we do absolutely nothing to mitigate climate change, scientists estimate the toll could be $38 trillion a year in damages. Industrialized countries like the United States,...
The United States spends $4.3 trillion—almost one fifth of the nation’s GDP—on health care. As the scale of the medical enterprise expands, venture capitalists are pursuing th...
Today's kids are coming of age against a backdrop of political, social, technological and economic upheaval. While these circumstances are shaping a precocious generation that...
Advocates, healthcare providers, legislators, researchers, and venture capitalists are bringing the unique health needs of women to light – from vigorous policy debates on iss...
From the debate over reproductive rights to the epidemic of gun violence to the youth mental health crisis, this year's Aspen Ideas: Health sessions tackled many of today's mo...
The recognition that all things are connected is at once a scientific principle and a philosophical touchstone. Humans, animals, and the environment are intertwined in complex...
Everywhere you look, there’s a headline about the power of artificial intelligence and how it will impact our lives in ways we have not yet imagined. From advancing medicine t...
Where will artificial intelligence be in five years, or 10 or 20? What happens if the technology is regulated? And if it isn’t? How will it shape the world and the way we live...
Whether they publicly tout it or not, U.S. technology companies play a powerful role in politics, cultural issues and the way we live. Founder and investor Peter Thiel is one...
A couple of degrees makes a world of difference — megafires, rising seas, failing infrastructure, and food systems require our immediate attention. Demands on dwindling natura...
Our need for human connection is profound and deep. Yet, today, one in two adults are living with measurable levels of loneliness – and the numbers are even higher among young...
Women are crucial to the climate movement, but their voices are often underrepresented and their work goes under-supported. Meet just a few of the women from this year’s Aspen...
For as long as humans have looked at the skies, we’ve speculated about whether there is life in space. Scientists, the U.S. military and the CIA have all searched for proof of...
AI has the potential to create vibrant, inclusive communities as civil society organizations harness it to tackle inequality, industry leverages it to foster fairer practices,...