There's good and bad news on the horizon. OZY's The New + The Next email brings you both. Sadly, Major League Baseball appears poised to repeat NASCAR's mistake by cutting off its small-town roots. On the brighter side, robotic surgeries (pictured) are set to become much cheaper, and plastics and roads greener. Read on.
| A long-held monopoly over surgical robots is about to end, unshackling a field that could transform health care. Irish surgeon Barry O’Reilly became the first doctor in the British Isles to use a robot to remove a uterus back in 2007. Hysterectomies traditionally require cutting the patient open, which means long recovery times, not to mention health risks. But with the robot, O’Reilly inserted instruments into small keyholes, which he then operated using controls and a camera attached to the robots. The result? A more precise operation and a shorter recovery time. Given the multimillion dollar cost of surgical robots, such pioneering came at a steep price. But with key patents starting to run out for Intuitive Surgical, the maker of the groundbreaking Da Vinci robot, a range of other companies are moving into the market. Greater competition could make robot surgeries more accessible — while sparking innovation. | READ NOW |
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| | The car racing sport cut itself off from smaller towns that were its grassroots base. Now MLB could be headed the same way. NASCAR, the governing body of stock car racing in the U.S., dumped North Wilkesboro Speedway into history’s dustbin in 1996 when it took away the North Carolina track’s two lucrative Cup races. But apart from the track, it also left behind bitter fans, its grassroots, as it chased the dollar bonanza offered by bigger markets. More than two decades later, experts are cautioning that Major League Baseball might be poised to make the same mistake. MLB is studying a reorganization plan that includes stripping 42 mostly small towns and cities of their minor league affiliate teams following the 2020 season. This includes taking away affiliations from nine of the 10 teams that make up the 108-year-old Appalachian League mostly based in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and southern West Virginia. | READ NOW |
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| | | Roads with photovoltaic panels instead of asphalt could be the future. |
| | A new wave of female Indian scientists is breaking boundaries, paving the way for the next generation to challenge the patriarchy in science. |
| | Oil could have helped secure the future of Ecuador’s indigenous communities. Instead, it’s threatening them. |
| | For years, the green movement has seen plastics as villains. Europe's now turning that on its head. |
| | Ingrid Prueher coaches everyone from infants to athletes on how to catch quality zzz’s. |
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