Columbia Research Made Headlines in 2024
Smiling robots, nanoplastics, electric fish, and an archaeological dig in Peru were some of the biggest news stories of the year.
All year long, Columbia researchers conduct studies and write books that break new ground in how we understand the world around us (not to mention outer space). Often, those discoveries make the news. Here are a few of the headline-grabbing findings from 2024. Whether you’re curious about nanoplastics, smiling robots, or archaeological digs, you’re sure to find something to explore. Follow Columbia News all year to read about these and other findings as they arise– there are many more than we can list here.
Bottled Water Can Contain Hundreds of Thousands of Previously Uncounted Tiny Plastic Bits
Using newly refined technology, researchers entered the poorly known realm of nanoplastics, the spawn of microplastics that have broken down even further. For the first time, they counted and identified these minute particles in bottled water. They found that, on average, a liter contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments—10 to 100 times greater than previous estimates. Read about it on NPR.
The Global Battle to Regulate Technology
In her new book, Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology, Columbia Law School Professor Anu Bradford argues that there are three predominant frameworks for regulating technology: the American market-driven model, the Chinese state-driven model, and the European rights-driven model. She explores how these competing visions will shape the global digital landscape—and the future of liberal democracy. Read about it in The New Yorker.
New Research Shows That Most Early Galaxies Looked Like Breadsticks Rather Than Pizza Pies or Dough Balls
Columbia researchers analyzing images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found that galaxies in the early universe are often flat and elongated, like breadsticks—and are rarely round, like balls of pizza dough. Read about it in The New York Times, which used the analogy of bananas, rather than breadsticks, to describe the findings.
Do Some Electric Fish Sense the World Through Comrades' Auras?
It would be a game-changer if all members of a basketball team could see out of each other’s eyes in addition to their own. A research duo at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute has found evidence that this kind of collective sensing occurs in elephantnose fish. This instantaneous sharing of sensory intelligence could help the fish locate food, friends, and foes. Read about it on NPR.
Robot, Can You Say ‘Cheese’?
Columbia engineers built Emo, a silicon-clad robotic face that makes eye contact and uses two AI models to anticipate and replicate a person’s smile before the person actually smiles, a major advance. Read about it in Popular Science.
Why Anger is Bad for Your Heart
A new study led by a researcher at Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons found that a brief eight-minute bout of anger impairs the ability of blood vessels to dilate, raising the possibility that over time anger causes long-term vascular damage. Read about it in The Washington Post.
Some Mice May Owe Their Monogamy to a Newly Evolved Type of Cell
What makes the oldfield mouse steadfastly monogamous throughout its life while its closest rodent relatives are promiscuous? The answer may be a previously unknown hormone-generating cell, according to a new study published in Nature from scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute. Read about it in The Washington Post.
Study Challenges Popular Idea That Easter Islanders Committed ‘Ecocide’
A new study challenged the idea—common in scholarship and popularized by the book Collapse by Jared Diamond—that inhabitants of Easter Island ruined their environment. Instead, the settlers found ways to cope with the island’s severe limits, and maintained a small, stable population for centuries. Read about it in The Guardian.
Losing a Loved One May Speed Up Aging, Study Finds
A new Columbia study found that people who lost a parent, partner, sibling, or child, showed signs of older biological age compared to those who hadn’t experienced such losses. Read about it on Fox News.
Sterilization Rates Among Women Rose After Supreme Court Abortion Ruling
Before the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the rate of surgical sterilization in the United States had declined from a peak in the mid-1970s as effective reversible contraceptive methods became more accessible. Read about it in The New York Times.
Why Inflation Could Stay High Despite Central Bank Efforts
A new study argues that deglobalization, fiscal expansion, and other global trends will reverse the low inflation rates of recent decades, making the job of central banks more challenging. Read about it in Bloomberg.
The $282 Billion Toll: Quantifying the Economic Impact of Mental Illness
New research from Business School Professor Boaz Abramson pioneers a method for assessing the impact that mental illness has on GDP, making the case that expanding the availability of treatment services and improving treatment of mental illness, especially in late adolescence, could positively impact the economy. Read about it in Fortune.
Columbia Archaeologist Unearths ‘Thrilling’ New Findings in Peru
A dig led by Columbia art history and archaeology Professor Lisa Trever unearthed stunning new findings at the ancient site of Pañamarca, in northern Peru. The findings include a throne room adorned with painted images of a powerful woman. The findings deepen scholarly understanding of the ancient Moche culture of Peru, and confirm the growing consensus that women held more power in the society than most scholars have heretofore recognized. Read about it in The New York Times and in Archaeology Magazine, where it was named one of the top 10 discoveries of the year.
Does the U.S. Need a Military Cyber Force?
The U.S. already has a Cyber Command to confront cyber attacks, but it’s not a separate branch of the armed forces. A recent report by School of International and Public Affairs Professor Erica Lonergan argues that Cyber Command is falling short and that fixing the issues “demands nothing less than the establishment of an independent cyber service.” Read about it in The Wall Street Journal.