Rod McCullom
Chicago
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Science + tech writer | Sr Contributor @UndarkMag | @SciAm @techreview @TheAtlantic @NatureNews etc | #BlackAndSTEM #AI #neuro | Alum @KSJatMIT @MIT @UChicago
Articles by Rod McCullom
Inside Chicago’s surveillance panopticon
Early on the morning of September 2, 2024, a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train was the scene of a random and horrific mass shooting. Four people were shot and killed on a westbound train as it approached the suburb of Forest Park. The police swiftly activated a digital dragnet—a surveillance network that connects thousands of cameras in the city.
As More Schools Turn to AI Weapons Detection, Questions Persist
On the morning of Jan. 22, 2025, Solomon Henderson went inside a restroom at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The 17-year-old student posted photos on social media, and, according to news reports, began livestreaming on Kick, a loosely moderated platform popular with video game streamers.
As More Schools Turn to AI Weapons Detection, Questions Persist
On the morning of Jan. 22, 2025, Solomon Henderson went inside a restroom at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The 17-year-old student posted photos on social media, and, according to news reports, began livestreaming on Kick, a loosely moderated platform popular with video game streamers.
As More Schools Turn to AI Weapons Detection, Questions Persist
On the morning of Jan. 22, 2025, Solomon Henderson went inside a restroom at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The 17-year-old student posted photos on social media, and, according to news reports, began livestreaming on Kick, a loosely moderated platform popular with video game streamers.
Fresh Insights Into the Stubborn Problem of Lead Water Pipes
Ashburn is a largely middle-class, predominately African American, Hispanic, and Latino community on Chicago’s far Southwest Side. The community borders two neighboring suburbs and is known for its high rate of home ownership and its many Cape Cod, ranch, and bungalow houses. Chakena Sims owns and resides in one of these homes in Ashburn with her family. She was raised in Chicago and recalled one key lesson she learned at a young age: Don’t trust the tap water.
Norway is all in on electric cars. What can the U.S. learn?
This story was originally published by Undark and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In January, the Norwegian Road Federation released a statistic that turned heads inside transportation and climate circles: Almost 90 percent of new cars sold in Norway the previous year were fully electric. By the end of this year, the government expects sales of new gasoline and diesel cars to fall to zero and meet its goal to end the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2025.
Norway is all in on electric cars. What can the U.S. learn?
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Norway Is All In on Electric Cars. What Can the U.S. Learn?
In January, the Norwegian Road Federation released a statistic that turned heads inside transportation and climate circles: Almost 90 percent of new cars sold in Norway the previous year were fully electric. By the end of this year, the government expects sales of new gasoline and diesel cars to fall to zero and meet its goal to end the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2025.
To Curb Online Sexual Abuse of Children, Experts Look to AI
Amanda Todd was 15 years old when, in September 2012, she uploaded a nearly nine-minute video to YouTube that detailed years of cyberbullying, harassment, and extortion. The abuse left her traumatized and depressed, Todd said. As a result, she turned to self-medication with drugs and alcohol, and, eventually, self-harm and cutting. The British Columbia high school student took her own life about one month later.
To Curb Online Sexual Abuse of Children, Experts Look to AI
Amanda Todd was 15 years old when, in September 2012, she uploaded a nearly nine-minute video to YouTube that detailed years of cyberbullying, harassment, and extortion. The abuse left her traumatized and depressed, Todd said. As a result, she turned to self-medication with drugs and alcohol, and, eventually, self-harm and cutting. The British Columbia high school student took her own life about one month later.
Are Schools With Armed Police Actually Safer?
On the morning of Sept. 4, 2024 about a month into the new school year at Apalachee High School near Atlanta, Georgia, a 14-year-old student named Colt Gray left his algebra class at around 9:45 a.m. About five minutes later, the student’s mother reportedly called the high school after receiving a disturbing text message from her son. School administrators dispatched two school resource officers — armed law enforcement officers assigned to public schools — to locate the student, according to CNN.
The Upside-Down World of Crime Statistics
Speaking at an Erie, Pennsylvania rally just two days before of the vice presidential debate, former President Donald Trump made a bold statement: Police should be allowed “one really violent day” to eradicate property crime and theft. Trump made the claim while presenting the narrative — which has become routine at his rallies — that crime is soaring across the nation, particularly offenses committed by migrants.
Cultural Competency in Health Care Can Save Lives
California’s Inland Empire is a broad swath of land east of Los Angeles, about five times the size of Connecticut, stretching through desert and surrounded by mountains. It’s one of the state’s fastest-growing regions, but it’s underresourced, with incomes and education levels lower than the state average. It is also medically underserved, with too few primary care physicians and specialists to adequately tend to the area’s increasing population.
Community engaged research can improve health equity, outcomes
<h1>No research about us without us?</h1> <p>When researchers include the people they study in the research process, outcomes improve.</p> <p>Written by Rod McCullom</p> <p>This <a rel="canonical" href="https://harvardpublichealth.org/equity/community-engaged-research-can-improve-health-equity-outcomes/">article</a> originally appeared in<a href="https://harvardpublichealth.org/">Harvard Public Health magazine</a>.
In some cities, second thoughts about gunshot detection sensors
More than seven years ago, when the city of Chicago began its broad deployment of acoustic technology to identify and locate gunfire in high-crime neighborhoods, supporters promoted the system — which uses acoustic sensors, GPS software, and machine learning algorithms to alert the police in real-time — as an effective way to reduce handgun violence. At that time, more than 90 cities had adopted the technology developed more than 25 years ago by a San Francisco Bay area firm called ShotSpotter.
In Some Cities, Second Thoughts About Gunshot Detection Sensors
More than seven years ago, when the city of Chicago began its broad deployment of acoustic technology to identify and locate gunfire in high-crime neighborhoods, supporters promoted the system — which uses acoustic sensors, GPS software, and machine learning algorithms to alert the police in real-time — as an effective way to reduce handgun violence. At that time, more than 90 cities had adopted the technology developed more than 25 years ago by a San Francisco Bay area firm called ShotSpotter.
When police shootings don’t kill: The data that gets left behind
Julie Ward is no stranger to the realities of gun violence. She worked for almost 15 years as a nurse in hospitals and emergency rooms from Arizona to Oregon and Washington. In that time, she said, she probably treated dozens of people harmed by gun violence, including teenagers, adults, and first responders. Those experiences led Ward to pursue a doctorate in health policy with a focus on gun violence prevention in the fall of 2019.
Do Video Doorbells Really Prevent Crime? Original
More people are using doorbell cameras and sharing the footage with the police, but there are few data showing their effectiveness On a Monday afternoon in late June, two women were outside on the 500 block of Gridley Avenue in Akron, Ohio, when they were shot. Moments earlier, three young men pulled up in a silver Ford Taurus, exited the vehicle, and opened fire before driving away, according to local media accounts.
Cities Giving Away Video Doorbells to Keep Neighborhoods Safe - But No Evidence the Technology Prevents Crime
Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free. By Rod McCullom On a Monday afternoon in late June, two women were outside on the 500 block of Gridley Avenue in Akron, Ohio, when they were shot. Moments earlier, three young men pulled up in a silver Ford Taurus, exited the vehicle, and opened fire before driving away, according to local media accounts. More than 40 shell casings were recovered, reports say, with bullets striking several vehicles and homes.
Robot police dogs are on patrol, but who’s holding the leash?
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Robot police dogs are on patrol, but who’s holding the leash?
This article is republished from Undark. Read the original article. In late May, after months of debate, the Los Angeles City Council approved the donation of a four-legged, doglike robot to the nation’s third-largest police department. The approval was granted at a public meeting that was interrupted at times by shouting, applause, banners such as “No Robot Dogs,” and the ejection of disruptive protesters, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Studies show a need for procedural justice in ‘hot spot’ policing
This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article. Most people outside of metropolitan Memphis have probably not heard of Shelby Farms. But the urban park in east Memphis boasts more than 4,500 acres of wetlands, forests, and lakes, making it one of the larger urban greenspaces in the country. On an overcast Saturday, January 7, Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old local amateur photographer who also worked for FedEx, decided to capture Shelby Farms’ nature and landscapes at sunset.
Studies Show a Need for Procedural Justice in 'Hot Spot' Policing
Most people outside of metropolitan Memphis have probably not heard of Shelby Farms. But the urban park in east Memphis boasts more than 4,500 acres of wetlands, forests, and lakes, making it one of the larger urban greenspaces in the country. On an overcast Saturday, January 7, Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old local amateur photographer who also worked for FedEx, decided to capture Shelby Farms’ nature and landscapes at sunset.
Why some mass shootings and their victims go uncounted
Early in the evening of Feb. 23, seven people were shot outside a grade school in northwest Philadelphia. Three men arrived on the scene in a gray Hyundai, and according to several reports, emerged from the vehicle and opened fire, striking five teenage boys, a 31-year-old woman, and her 2-year-old daughter. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. It was a brazen act in a city that has experienced higher rates of gun violence since the beginning of the pandemic.
Why Some Mass Shootings - And Their Victims - Go Uncounted
Early in the evening of Feb. 23, seven people were shot outside a grade school in northwest Philadelphia. Three men arrived on the scene in a gray Hyundai, and according to several reports, emerged from the vehicle and opened fire, striking five teenage boys, a 31-year-old woman, and her 2-year-old daughter. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. It was a brazen act in a city that has experienced higher rates of gun violence since the beginning of the pandemic.
Meet the woman making sure ARPA-H supercharges U.S. health innovation
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) was proposed by President Biden and adopted by Congress in March 2022. The Biden Administration hopes ARPA-H and its billion-dollar budget can do for biomedical innovation what the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has done for GPS, speech recognition, messenger RNA, and the internet—push high-risk, high-reward projects that catalyze change.
What science tells us about structural racism’s health impact
Racism’s impact on health outcomes is a relatively recent focus of public health research. Using the word “racism” itself is still challenging for some public health scholars, despite recent data clearly showing poorer health outcomes for Black people in the United States as a group compared to white people.
Is mass incarceration driving racial disparities in the pandemic?
Drive about 20 minutes southwest of downtown Chicago and you will notice the change in landscape as you approach 26th Street and California Avenue. Just inside the Little Village neighborhood is a 25-foot concrete wall, many rows of razor-wire fencing, and, behind that, intimidating brick and concrete architecture. These are the conspicuous visual cues of an urban correctional institution.
Is Mass Incarceration Driving Racial Disparities in the Pandemic?
Features One study in June linked 16 percent of COVID-19 cases in Chicago and across Illinois to Cook County Jail. November 13, 2020 • By Rod McCullom Drive about 20 minutes southwest of downtown Chicago and you will notice the change in landscape as you approach 26th Street and California Avenue. Just inside the Little Village neighborhood is a 25-foot concrete wall, many rows of razor-wire fencing, and, behind that, intimidating brick and concrete architecture.
Is Mass Incarceration Driving Racial Disparities in the Pandemic?
Features One study in June linked 16 percent of COVID-19 cases in Chicago and across Illinois to Cook County Jail. November 13, 2020 • By Rod McCullom Drive about 20 minutes southwest of downtown Chicago and you will notice the change in landscape as you approach 26th Street and California Avenue. Just inside the Little Village neighborhood is a 25-foot concrete wall, many rows of razor-wire fencing, and, behind that, intimidating brick and concrete architecture.
Maryland Voters Approve Same Sex Marriage Law
While much of the world’s attention last night was focused on the electoral map and what would eventually become a landslide re-election for President Barack Obama, history was also made right outside Washington D.C in the state of Maryland. About 52 percent of the voters said “yes” to Question 6 and choose to uphold the state’s same-sex marriage law, according to the Maryland Board of Elections. “This is incredible,” Laurel resident Tonya Parker told EBONY.com.
Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) medicine racially biased?
The power of artificial intelligence has transformed health care by using massive datasets to improve diagnostics, treatment, records management, and patient outcomes. Complex decisions that once took hours — such as making a breast or lung cancer diagnosis based on imaging studies, or deciding when patients should be discharged — are now resolved within seconds by machine learning and deep learning applications. Any technology, of course, will have its limitations and flaws.
Is artificial intelligence worsening COVID-19's toll on Black Americans?
The power of artificial intelligence has transformed health care by using massive datasets to improve diagnostics, treatment, records management, and patient outcomes. Complex decisions that once took hours — such as making a breast or lung cancer diagnosis based on imaging studies, or deciding when patients should be discharged — are now resolved within seconds by machine learning and deep learning applications. Any technology, of course, will have its limitations and flaws.
Artificial Intelligence, Health Disparities, and Covid-19
The power of artificial intelligence has transformed health care by using massive datasets to improve diagnostics, treatment, records management, and patient outcomes. Complex decisions that once took hours — such as making a breast or lung cancer diagnosis based on imaging studies, or deciding when patients should be discharged — are now resolved within seconds by machine learning and deep learning applications. Any technology, of course, will have its limitations and flaws.
How bullying may shape adolescent brains
In recent years, a steadily increasing volume of data has demonstrated that peer victimization—the clinical term for bullying—impacts hundreds of millions of children and adolescents, with the effects sometimes lasting years and, possibly, decades. The problem is even recognized as a global health challenge by the World Health Organization and the United Nations. And yet, researchers maintain there is still a limited understanding of how the behavior may physically shape the developing brain.
How Bullying May Shape Adolescent Brains
In recent years, a steadily increasing volume of data has demonstrated that peer victimization — the clinical term for bullying — impacts hundreds of millions of children and adolescents, with the effects sometimes lasting years and, possibly, decades. The problem is even recognized as a global health challenge by the World Health Organization and the United Nations. And yet, researchers maintain there is still a limited understanding of how the behavior may physically shape the developing brain.
How Bullying May Shape Adolescent Brains
In recent years, a steadily increasing volume of data has demonstrated that peer victimization — the clinical term for bullying — impacts hundreds of millions of children and adolescents, with the effects sometimes lasting years and, possibly, decades. The problem is even recognized as a global health challenge by the World Health Organization and the United Nations. And yet, researchers maintain there is still a limited understanding of how the behavior may physically shape the developing brain.
How Bullying May Shape Adolescent Brains
In recent years, a steadily increasing volume of data has demonstrated that peer victimization — the clinical term for bullying — impacts hundreds of millions of children and adolescents, with the effects sometimes lasting years and, possibly, decades. The problem is even recognized as a global health challenge by the World Health Organization and the United Nations. And yet, researchers maintain there is still a limited understanding of how the behavior may physically shape the developing brain.
AI Tool Could Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s
A new algorithm accurately identified more than 90 percent of people who would advance to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in about six years An estimated 5.7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease—the most common type of dementia—and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. Early diagnosis is crucial for patients to benefit from the few therapies available.
Training A.I to Predict Alzheimer's Disease
AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File As many as one in five people age 65 or older experience “mild cognitive impairment” — a condition marked by a slight decline in memory, language, or thought. Affected individuals may be prone to forgetting appointments or losing the thread of conversations. They also have a higher-than-average risk of developing the more pronounced cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments Related Articles
Training AI to Predict Alzheimer’s Disease
As many as one in five people age 65 or older experience “mild cognitive impairment” — a condition marked by a slight decline in memory, language, or thought. Affected individuals may be prone to forgetting appointments or losing the thread of conversations. They also have a higher-than-average risk of developing the more pronounced cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease. Yet for the majority of people, symptoms do not progress.
Google Searches Could Predict Heroin Overdoses
About 115 people nationwide die every day from opioid overdoses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A lack of timely, granular data exacerbates the crisis; one study showed opioid deaths were undercounted by as many as 70,000 between 1999 and 2015, making it difficult for governments to respond.
Picking Up the Pieces
Anselmo Fonseca had a plan as Hurricane Maria approached San Juan, Puerto Rico, late September 2017. The health and human rights advocate packed up his Toyota Prius and headed to a home near the iconic and mist-shrouded El Yunque Peak, the mountain located in the national forest of the same name. The reinforced concrete house in the hills offered an ideal refuge from the storm that forecasters believed could be the most devastating in the island’s history.
A murdered teen, two million tweets and an experiment to fight gun violence
In the middle of the day on 11 April 2014, a hooded gunman ambushed Gakirah Barnes on the streets of Chicago’s South Side. A volley of bullets struck her in the chest, jaw and neck. The 17-year-old died in a hospital bed two hours later. To many, her death was just another grim statistic from a city that has been struggling with gun violence. Last year, around 3,500 people were shot in Chicago, Illinois, of which 246 were aged 16 or younger; 38 of those children never celebrated another birthday.
How Indirect Violence Gets Under a Child's Skin, and Into the Brain
Eight years ago, New York University sociologist Patrick Sharkey published a paper whose conclusions shook the worlds of criminology and adolescent psychology. Researchers had long known that children exposed to violence and crime had poorer measures of memory, attention, planning, and focus — the cognitive processes collectively known as executive function — than peers whose lives were violence-free.
Your Fingerprints Can Show If You've Done Drugs
Fingerprints are the oldest and most widely used biometric marker. Artifacts unearthed from ancient Babylon, China, and Persia show that fingerprints were often used on clay tablets and seals for business transactions and official documents.
Fingerprint Scanning Technology Leaps Forward, But to What End?
Fingerprints are the oldest and most widely used biometric marker. Artifacts unearthed from ancient Babylon, China, and Persia show that fingerprints were often used on clay tablets and seals for business transactions and official documents.
Creating Criminals: The Misguided Crackdown on HIV/AIDS
California has long been at the vanguard of public health initiatives that were once derided as wrongheaded but are now considered mainstream: auto emissions tests, clean air and anti-smoking laws, bike helmet regulations, medical marijuana. But there’s at least one policy the state has had great cause to regret. In the mid-1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was sweeping through major cities like a scythe, with no end or cure in sight. An HIV diagnosis was considered a death sentence.
With Global Trials Expanding, More HIV Vaccines Are Put to the Test
It's been slightly more than 35 years since the first official reports of what would later become known as the human immunodeficiency virus. These initial cases were the beginning of a global epidemic that infected an estimated 78 million people, according to the Joint United-Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS. An estimated 37 million people are now living with the virus. About the same number -- approximately 35 million people -- have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
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