The world's best smells, how tree rings provide clues to climate change, and more.

Vivian Le's reads

Could AI help students with disabilities? New tools using artificial intelligence, including interactive robots and specialized eyeglasses, may be able to help students with autism and dyslexia and increase accessibility for those who are blind or deaf. Writing for the New York Times, Alina Tugend describes the development of these technologies and where researchers want to take them in the future.

The world's best smells. According to new research from the Karolinska Institutet and the University of Oxford, there may be some universal preferences (and revulsion) for certain smells. Writing for NPR, Dustin Jones explains why humans may be drawn towards certain smells, as well as which smells are considered the most appealing overall.

Alyssa Nystrom's reads

How some companies are navigating the return to in-person work. Over the past two years, many workers have struggled to maintain productivity as their personal and professional lives were "upended" during the Covid-19 crisis. Writing for the New York Times, Emma Goldberg details how some companies are navigating the return to in-person work amid rising mental health challenges among workers.

How tree rings provide clues to climate change. The rings of a tree reveal its age, but they can also give scientists a glimpse into the past—and future—of climate variability. Writing for the Washington Post, Karen Peterson explains how tree rings from centuries ago are helping researchers at the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research predict the future of climate change.