The Atlantic – Gift Article: “Over the past year, the writers on The Atlantic’s Science, Technology, and Health desk have investigated academic fraud, tracked infectious-disease outbreaks, studied the evolution of artificial intelligence, and chronicled extreme weather events. We’ve reported on the quirks of animal behavior and the latest in psychedelics research. Along the way, we stumbled across facts that surprised, sobered, and humbled us, and we wanted to share them with you. We hope they blow your mind too..[snipped]

• Your body carries literal pieces of your mom—and maybe your grandmother, siblings, aunts, and uncles
• In July, a cybersecurity company accidentally introduced a single software bug that canceled or delayed tens of thousands of flights and trains, halted surgeries, and blacked out television broadcasts around the world.
• Elephants and parrots use namelike calls that identify them as individuals. Whales and bats might too.
• BRCA mutations, famously linked to breast cancer, can also lead to cancer in the pancreas and prostate.
• The 10,000-steps-a-day goal doesn’t originate from clinical science. Instead, it comes from a 1965 marketing campaign by a Japanese company that was selling pedometers.