Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending February 7, 2015)
A roundup of the most interesting stories from other sites, collected by the staff at MIT Technology Review.
One Man’s Quest to Rid Wikipedia of Exactly One Grammatical Mistake
How one man’s war against the phrase “comprised of” has led him to make tens of thousands of edits to Wikipedia.
—Tom Simonite, San Francisco bureau chief
Why the US Government Is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones
How the White House drone crash embodies government fears about hobbyist drones.
—Tom Simonite
The Case Against Always Leaving the Toilet Seat Down
A critical look by economists at a key energy-efficiency problem.
—Kevin Bullis, senior editor, materials
Newly Discovered Networks Among Different Diseases Reveal Hidden Connections
Mining data to unveil hidden connections between diseases and new targets for therapy.
—Kevin Bullis
R U There?
Why text messaging is proving a valuable means of counseling, especially among vulnerable teenagers.
—Will Knight, news and analysis editor
New Clues to Mysterious Kidney Disease Afflicting Sugar Cane Workers
A high percentage of sugarcane workers are affected by a fatal kidney disease. Boston University is trying to figure out why.
—J. Juniper Friedman, associate Web producer
Bright Lights, Big Cities
A simple and cool interactive from the Economist illustrates the rise of “megacities” since 1950 and projects the growth of cities until 2030.
—Mike Orcutt, research editor
What Happened When I Confronted My Cruellest Troll
In this Guardian column, writer Lindy West describes what happened when she told the world about her meanest Internet troll—and got an apology. Trigger warning for violence, rape, and explicit language.
—Kristin Majcher, special projects editor