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What question or issue would you like MATTER to investigate next?

Ideas

Score (0 - 100)

 
What do we want/need our education system to do? Is it accomplishing that?
88
Are intellectual property laws a net benefit for society
80
What new materials will surround us in 20 years?
78
what will the life of the elderly look like in 25 years
74
(How) can the benefits of pure scientific research be valued?
73
Is an adequately funded public health system incompatible with US health care?
73
How can we engineer a fiscally sustainable society with ever-more senior citizens and ever-fewer taxpayers?
71
do environmental groups hold back science?
69
to what extent do scientific journals' pay walls hinder scientific and medical progress?
69
can we reverse the trend toward greater income inequality?
68
does international aid ultimately hold developing nations back?
67
Has innovation on open standards (think email, http) lost and the future of the net be all about proprietary technology (Twitter, Facebook)?
66
What will happen to computer chip design over the next 20 years?
65
corporate influence in pharmaceutical research
64
When there are multiple similar tech startups launching at the same time, what really determines the winners/losers?
64
(Why) are we willing to allow human DNA sequencing and genomes to become property of individuals and corporations?
64
Password protection is a broken system, so what are the alternatives and how do they measure up?
63
the impact of private companies on space exploration/exploitation
62
privacy in the era of social networks
61
The business of union-busting: the labor law industry
60
corporate influence in medical device research
60
the social determinants of health
60
How much profit do academic publishers make as gatekeepers of publicly funded research?
58
what happened to the billions spent on bank bailouts?
58
Social networking: the user as the product, privacy issues, identity fraud, and the psychology of our Internet persona
58
How will museums, libraries and archives operate in 25 years
58
claims that climate change will trigger conflicts between developing nations
58
the inside story of the discovery of the Higgs boson
57
How does the decrease in the number of journalists affect our thinking?
57
What would sequestration mean for population health
57
How is money spent during presidential elections and where does it come from?
57
industrial espionage by Chinese hackers
57
should the US have a manned space programme?
56
the impact of self-driving cars on our society and environment
56
corporate influence in energy research
54
Why is the United States one of the few countries to allow direct to consumer genetic testing?
54
How can we slow the emergence of drug-resistant diseases
53
The New Heretics - climate change sceptics and their portrayal by the media
53
the psychology of terrorism
53
Can investment in transport infrastructure revolutionise health?
53
does the computer security industry indulge in scaremongering?
53
how can we stop languages going extinct?
53
who profited from the billions spend on bank bailouts?
52
the best ways to combat terrorism though science
51
How does the supreme court case Citizens United affect presidential campaigns?
51
psychology of risk communication
50
the social and cultural impact of social media
50
Why does the US Patent Office allow patents on what appear to be extremely generic things, resulting in patent suing merry go round
49
the race to create a quantum computer
49
personalized medicine/medication
48
the environmental impact of fracking
48
What could an NHS national IT system offer the world?
48
the neuroscience of free will (or our lack of it)
47
the coming impact of global warming on developing nations
47
do we need philosophers?
46
are we ready for a flu pandemic?
46
food security in Africa
46
How will our language evolve over the next 25 years
45
Why did the Industrial Revolution happen where and when it did?
45
Should we be able to patent genes in an era of personal genomics
44
the race to create carbon-neutral passenger planes
44
the science of parenting
43
the coming impact of global warming on western nations
43
the psychology behind cheating
42
How do new religions get started
41
corporate influence in psychiatry
41
can we justify the huge cost of particle physics research?
41
corporate influence in agriculture
41
the use of child labor by western technology companies
40
the race to cure cancer
40
can science end racism?
40
Femicide and its connection to the drug "wars", U.S. factories, and systems of exploitation in Mexico, Central America, and the U.S.
39
Impact of global warming on third-world agriculture
38
will Obama’s healthcare reforms help Americans live longer lives?
38
Medical screening practices vary between countries. Are variations driven by evidence or demand? Does screening do more good or harm?
38
international variations in medical device regulation - why did PIP breast implants cause chaos in Europe but never get licensed in the USA?
38
will the rise of online education end the need for schools?
37
how many US schools teach creationism?
37
What decisions and people led to the Space Race?
36
the race to cure AIDS
36
Locally grown movement versus the agribusiness industry
35
What has been the legacy of previous Olympic Games?
26
why are kitten videos so popular?
24
what do public health doctors do all day?
23
What happens to food that doesn't get sold in the supermarket?
21
the fight to end doping in sports
21
will materials science ever produce an invisibility device?
21

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