Several years ago, I received a bad medical bill: $150 for an in-network doctors appointment that my health insurance was supposed to cover with a $30 co-pay. After multiple long and frustrating phone calls over several weeksduring which time nothing was resolvedI gave up and wrote a check for $150.
That experience convinced me that medical billing is confusing and error-ridden on purpose. Recent research backs this up. A staggering 80% of medical bills contain errors, most of which are easily preventable.
Under our current medical billing system, patients face a horrible catch-22: They can spend money on error-ridden bills or they can spend time getting them corrected. (If they have neither money nor time, then their bills may go to collections.)
Covering medical costs under an intentionally confusing system will always be an uphill battle. But until we change how we pay for healthcare as a society, heres what you can do to make medical bills fit better into your personal budget.
Take your time paying medical bills
Some healthcare providers may send a bill to you before your insurance company has had time to process your claim. If thats what has happened, your balance owed will look much higher than you expect. In that case, the bill may have a blank spot in the section labeled insurance payment or plan payment. Waiting to pay that bill until the insurance has come through will ensure you only pay what you owe.
But this isnt the only reason you may want to wait before paying a medical bill. If you expect to receive multiple bills because of a lengthy stay in a hospital or repeated specialist visits because of a particular health issue, it can also be a good idea to hold off on paying until you have received all of the related medical bills. This will allow you to double check that you have not been double-billed for any procedures or services before you start making payments.
You dont need to worry that waiting to pay will affect your credit. The time period before unpaid medical debt is reported to the three major credit bureaus was increased from six months to 1 year as of 2022. And as of 2023, medical debt under $500 is no longer reported to the credit bureaus.
Request an itemized bill
If you had multiple services, your bill may not list them all. Instead, patients often receive a summary bill that lumps all of the charges for services together. But its impossible to tell if there are any errors in a summary bill, which is why you should request an itemized bill if you dont receive one.
While hospitals generally will not send one without being asked, receiving an itemized bill upon request is one of your rights as a patient. The hospital is legally required to send it within 30 days of your request.
Also known as a superbill, the itemized bill lists each medical billing procedure code, the amount paid by insurance, and the amount you owe.
Check for mistakes
With the itemized list in front of you, check for mistakes. Some of the common errors you might find include:
Services or procedures erroneously listed multiple times
Procedures listed that you didnt receive
Charges listed that have already been paid
Amounts charged that are above legal limits
Charges for more expensive procedures than what you received
You may need to look up medical billing codes to make sense of the itemized bill. These codes can generally be found online by typing in the code with the term medical billing code. You can compare the description of the procedure you find online with your bill to see if the codes match the healthcare you received.
Dont forget basic fact-checking
Unfortunately, some of the most frustrating medical billing problems may stem from getting a basic fact wrong. An incorrect birthdate, patients with similar names, or someone accidentally transposing two numbers in a patients street address could be enough to trigger an insurance claim denial.
While you are checking medical bills for mistakes, make sure youre also looking at your personal information, including your birthday, billing address, date of healthcare service, medications, and other details.
Ask your medical provider for a price break
Just because the final charge you receive looks more like a phone number than a bill doesnt mean you have to pay that amount all at once. Many doctors accept payment over time with a payment plan and provide a no-fee method of making monthly payments. Providers may alternatively forgive a portion of your bill if you can make an immediate, smaller payment.
Its important to remember that doctors are not well served by the medical billing system, either. Doctors often sell medical debt to a collections agency after 90 days of delinquencybut for a fraction of whats owed. Which means medical providers would rather work with a patient to avoid losing money by sending the debt to collections.
Partner with a patient advocate
Having to navigate all of this while simultaneously recovering from injury or illness seems like the kind of dystopian nightmare that Suzanne Collins would consider a bit over-the-top. Thankfully, help is available via patient advocacy, and theres no fight-to-the-death requirement to access it.
Patient advocates work to help patients navigate the healthcare system so they can get the best care for their needs. This includes helping patients to understand and manage their medical bills.
To find a patient advocate, start by calling your hospital. Many hospitals have advocates on staff who can help you with the process of understanding your bills, correcting medical billing errors, and applying for financial assistance. Alternatively, you can search for a patient advocate or representative online. Check for advocacy groups that help with medical bills in your state or for patients with a secific condition or disease that you have.
If you have a chronic or life-threatening illness, the Patient Advocate Foundation is a nonprofit organization that can help you get and pay for care.
Navigating the broken system
Medical billing is not set up for clarity, low cost, or ease of use. When a patient gives up and pays more than they owe, the system is (most likely) working as intended. And until collectively we decide to change it, we are stuck with a system that requires an investment of time to avoid overpayment.
Until that happens, knowing your rights as a patient can help keep you from making costly mistakes with your medical bills. That includes the right to take up to a year to repay your medical bills before they are reported to the credit bureaus and the right to request itemized charges. In addition, keeping an eye out for mistakes, which are incredibly common, can help you avoid overcharges.
Finally, ask your medical provider for any discounts or payment plans they offer, and partner with a patient advocate so the burden isnt entirely on your shoulders.
Romantasy has already taken over TikTok, bookstores, and Kindles far and wide. Next, its conquering board games. Hasbro announced that its struck a multi-program deal with Rebecca Yarros and Entangled Publishing, the author and publisher of the hit romantasy novel Fourth Wing.
As the first installment of this collaboration, Hasbro is releasing a board game version of the Fourth Wing universe called Priorities. The game is now available for preorder at Amazon, Target, and Barnes & Noble, and will go on sale at most major retailers starting on October 1.
In recent years, the romantasy (romance-slash-fantasy) genre has taken off through online communities like BookTok and Bookstagram, where the discourse around popular series like Sarah J. Maas A Court of Thorns and Roses and Lauren Roberts Powerless has felt almost unavoidable. Few works have attracted as much attention as Yarros Fourth Wing (the first book in her Empyrean series), which soundly proved that romantasy is not just a subculture, but a commercially viable treasure trove of IP.
[Photo: Hasbro]
‘Fourth Wing’ conquers the board game
Within a week of its release last January, Onyx Stormthe latest installment of the Empyrean serieshad sold 2.7 million copies, and Yarros occupied the first three spots of the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, the series has snagged a show deal with Amazon MGM Studios, and, now, its own dedicated board game.
As one of Americas largest game and toy companies, Hasbro is picky about the IP it chooses to adapt. Historically, the company has worked with influential brands like Marvel, Star Wars, Transformers, and Nintendo for its licensed product launches. According to Ally Simpson, senior manager at Hasbro Games, Fourth Wings intensely dedicated fanbase, commercial success, and bestseller list placements made it a no-brainer for Hasbro. This is the companys first-ever foray into the romantasy genre.
When Hasbro considers a property for a game, we look at a wide array of factorsfrom cultural impact, the fanbase and passion, and potential for an engaging and authentic gameplay experience, Simpson says. We analyze sales data, social engagement, and overall buzz to gauge the long-term impact of the brand as well. Fourth Wing has it all.
[Photo: Hasbro]
Hasbro taps romantasy for fresh IP
According to a press release, Yarros herself was involved in every stage of the Priorities game development. The game, which involves ranking characters and features from the Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm books, is designed specifically to tap into the rise of book clubs among young readers (per the ticketing platform Eventbrite, book club event listings grew 24% in the United States in 2023 from the previous year).
Simpson says that Hasbros development team worked at unprecedented speed to build the game in only a few weeks, so that it could be delivered to fans while the hype is still fresh.
[Photo: Hasbro]
Hasbro declined to share further details on what the rest of its collaboration with Yarros will entail. However, Simpson says, the company is actively looking into romantasy as an area of possible future expansion.
We’re aways monitoring trends in entertainment and looking for opportunities to create games that resonate with a wide audience, Simpson says. The rise of romantasy is something we’ve been watching closely, and we believe it has a lot of potential for future game adaptations. As a passionate romantasy fan myself, I can attest to the fact that there is endless opportunity in this space for readers and gamers alike.
In Ralph Lauren’s latest campaign, Black men, women, and children wear the brand’s traditionally preppy clothes against idyllic coastal backdrops. The collection isn’t just some sort of woke fantasy of a post-racial America. It’s grounded in a very specific history that many Americans aren’t familiar with.
The setting of this campaign is Oak Bluffs, a section of Martha’s Vineyard that has been home to Black communities for more than a hundred years. Oak Bluffs was a haven for educated, middle-class Black families looking for respite in a racist, segregated country. And in this place of relative peace and safety, Black people were able to nurture excellence. Key figures of the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights Movement, from Langston Hughes to Martin Luther King Jr., spent time there. President Barack Obama vacationed there with his family and now owns a house in a neighboring town.
Ralph Lauren delves into this history in a gorgeous short film full of archival footage created in partnership with Morehouse and Spelman colleges. Directed by Cole Brown, A Portrait of the American Dream is a radical statement in our current cultural climate, when the notions of diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack.
Here is an American brand that understands how to meet the needs of Black consumers, who are expected to spend as much as $70 billion on fashion by 2030, according to McKinsey. Many pieces in this collection are already sold out. Rather than making a superficial effort to get these consumers to spend money, Ralph Lauren is doing the work.
The company began partnering with the historically Black Morehouse and Spelman colleges in 2022, working closely with Black academics and cultural critics to understand how students there helped influence preppy fashion as we know it. The Oak Bluff collection goes deeper, reflecting how members of the Black middle class enjoyed their leisure time.
[Photo: Nadine Ijewere/courtesy Ralph Lauren]
A tale of two fashion ads
Ralph Lauren’s new collection offers a contrast to American Eagle, which has been mired in controversy because of its recent campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. As my colleague Jeff Beer explains, American Eagle’s campaign hinged on the double entendre that Sweeney has great jeans and great genes.
In a video, the actress provides a scientific explanation of genetics, describing how genes pass physical traits from parents to offspring. Given that Sweeney is a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman, many people thought this ad reeked of eugenics, the idea that some people have better genes than others and that society should prevent the reproduction of those considered unfit.
The outcry about the American Eagle campaign featuring Sweeney has everything to do with the political and cultural climate we’re living in. The extreme rightwhich includes white supremacists and neo-Nazisis on the rise, while the Trump administration attacks organizations that invest in DEI programs.
In this context, it’s no surprise that a campaign about how a white woman has good genes evokes the most horrific aspects of racist history. The fact that American Eagle could not foresee how this campaign could go wrong suggests that it did not receive enough feedback from diverse people as it created its ad. Either the company did not have people in the room willing to point out how troubling it was, or the company didnt listen to those who did speak up.
[Photo: Nadine Ijewere/courtesy Ralph Lauren]
Ralph Lauren has taken a very different approach with its design process and marketing in recent years. It doesn’t just create clothes that celebrate the diverse strains of American history; it works closely with diverse designers, creatives, and thought leaders.
To create the Oak Bluff collection, in addition to historians and cultural experts at the two HBCUs, it partnered closely with the Marthas Vineyard African American Heritage Trail, the Marthas Vineyard Museum, and the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture.
[Photo: Nadine Ijewere/courtesy Ralph Lauren]
It also tapped Black creatives to produce the campaign. In addition to film director Brown, who spent summers on Marthas Vineyard for decades, the campaign features photography by Nadine Ijewere and video footage by Azariah Bjrvig.
Consider its 2023 collection, which celebrated Native American style. Ralph Lauren brought in Naiomi Glasses, a seventh-generation Navajo textile artist and designer, to create garments inspired by her culture, and also empowered Glasses to select Native Americans as models, photographers, and creative directors. The company now has an ongoing artist-in-residence program where it brings other artisans preserving heritage crafts to collaborate with Ralph Lauren’s creative teams.
[Photo: Nadine Ijewere/courtesy Ralph Lauren]
Good for business
To be clear, Ralph Lauren hasn’t always been this inclusive. For its classic American style, from preppy fashion to Native American iconograpy, in the past the 60-year-old brand appropriated aesthetics from Black and Indigenous communities, rather than collaborating with them. And the company was slow to bring in models of color for its campaigns.
The company is now willing to acknowledge its missteps and blind spots, and is trying to do things right. Its designers have learned that the way to be more inclusive is to partner with diverse creatives, listen closely to their points of view, and give them creative freedom.
[Photo: Nadine Ijewere/courtesy Ralph Lauren]
With all of these collections, Ralph Lauren also gives proceeds back to these communities. This time around, it has partnered with a nonprofit comprised of 100 Black female homeowners on Martha’s Vineyard to support historic building restoration on the island. It has devoted $2 million to support scholarships for students at 10 historically Black colleges and universities.
[Photo: Nadine Ijewere/courtesy Ralph Lauren]
Many companies, including Target and Amazon, have backed away from their DEI initiatives in response to Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in both the public and private sectors. So Ralph Lauren deserves credit for having the bravery to continue investing in programs that bring more diversity to its brand.
But make no mistake, this isn’t just a moral imperative. It’s good for business. America is becoming increasingly diverse. The U.S. census projects that white people will be a minority by 2045. Black and brown Americans will use their purchasing power to support brands that make an effort to understand them and respond to their needs. And they have long memories.
They will hold American Eagles Sweeney campaign as a mark against the brand for years to come. And they’ll remember Ralph Lauren’s Oak Bluff campaign the next time they shop for a sweater or dress.
Sometimes, the simplest photo feats are the most satisfying of all.
Me? Ive lost count of the number of times Ive needed to remove the background from an image for one reason or another. Maybe its a perfect portrait of my kids or a moderately acceptable photo of my own plus-sized potato headbut then whatevers in the background falls somewhere between messy and just plain meh.
Whatever the case may be, removing the background of an image is one of the simplest and most effective ways to edit a photo and take total control of how it looks. But it isnt always easy to figure out how to make that happenquickly, cleanly, and without all sorts of time-wasting hassles.
The tool Ive found for you today changes that once and for all.
Unearth all sorts of little-known tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. A spiffy new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday!
Buh-bye, background
Ive tried all sorts of image background removers over the years. Some of em are actually quite decent, but almost all of em have some sort of asteriska limit in how often you can use em without paying, a restriction in how large of a file you can download when youre done, or some other sort of constraint that keeps em from being completely ideal.
Todays tool is a rare exception.
Its a simple stand-alone image background remover thats completely free, entirely web-based, andas far as I can tell as of this moment, at leastwithout any meaningful restrictions around how and how often you use it.
The service is a relatively new (and certainly new to me!) element of the online Adobe Express service for image editing.
It takes literally 10 seconds to get going and pull off your first image transformation.
You just pull up this page in any browser, on any device youre using, and either click or tap the photo uploading box or just drag and drop an image from your device into that area.
All it takes is a single clickor a drag and dropto get going with Adobe’s web-based background remover. [Screengrab: Adobe Express]
In 10 seconds or less, the site will spit back a perfectly crisp version of your photo with the background completely erasedno rough edges, no awkward remnants, and no effort whatsoever from you to make it happen.
A handful of seconds, and bam: Adobe’s web tool has the background stripped out of your image and the file ready to be saved. [Screengrab: Adobe Express]
Heres the before and after of my sample image, for a closer comparison. Whats especially impressivethough slightly tough to see at this sizeis that in the original image, the edges of the Android figure were actually slightly blurry. But the tool still got it exactly right, on the first try, and made it look pixel-perfect without the background present.
My original image, at left, and the background-free version, at right. [Screengrab: Adobe Express]
The only catch Ive found with the tool so far is that after your first time using it, the site will prompt you to sign in for any subsequent requests. Thats because its goal seems to be to get you in the habit of using Adobes broader Adobe Express image editing suitewhich actually is free and can be quite useful in its base form but also includes an optional $10-a-month premium plan that the company ultimately wants you to embrace.
But you definitely dont have to do that to keep using the background remover for free as often as you like. Youll just have to sign in onceusing any email address, Google account, or existing Adobe IDand then you can keep on erasing image backgrounds quickly, easily, and effectively whenever the need arises.
Keep that link handy, my fellow image-infatuated iguana. If youre anything like me, your future self will thank you.
The Adobe image background remover runs entirely on the web. You can opt to download the Adobe Express Android or iOS app to find a similar function, but the real beauty of this tool is its simplicity and the lack of any required installations.
The tool is completely free to use.
And it follows Adobes standard privacy policy, which doesnt contain anything especially unusual or eyebrow-raising (and doesnt claim any rights to save, share, or do anything shady with your stuff).
Keep the discoveries coming with my free Cool Tools newsletter. You’ll get an instant introduction to an incredible audio tool and a new off-the-beaten-path treasure in your inbox every Wednesday!
The Apple TV is probably my favorite device that Apple makes. While the Apple TV app is in dire need of some basic improvements, the hardware box itself is a standoutespecially compared to competitors like Amazons Fire TV and Rokus streaming devices. This is largely thanks to the stellar Siri Remote, which makes navigating the device with your fingers or voice a cinch, and the powerful Apple silicon chip inside that makes the Apple TVs operating system, tvOS, run buttery smooth.
However, when it comes to being a device meant to sit at the center of your living room as an all-encompassing entertainment hub, the Apple TV is lacking in one big department: gaming. The Apple TV is technically a gaming console, since it can play rudimentary games and supports third-party console controllers. But no one is likely to replace their PlayStation or Xbox with one any time soon, because the current Apple TV lacks the processing power to run console-quality games.
Yet perhaps that could be changing. Recently, Ive noticed that Apple has been making moves that suggest the company may be on the cusp of turning the Apple TV into a full-blown PlayStation and Xbox competitor. Doing so would open up another potential billion-dollar revenue stream for the company.
The new Apple Games app is currently MIA from tvOS 26
At Apples Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year, the company unveiled a new cross-device app called Apple Games. The app acts as a central hub and launcher for all the games youve ever bought on Apples App Store or have access to via the companys Apple Arcade subscription service.
The Apple Games app also gives you quick access to game events and challenges, and helps you discover new games to play and see what games your friends are playing. In other words, the new Apple Games app is similar to the PlayStation 5 Game Hub and the Xbox Dashboardthe interfaces on the consoles that significantly differentiate the living room gaming experience from PCs.
Apple announced that Apple Games is coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 this fall. But the new app is conspicuously absent from the Apple TVs next operating system, tvOS 26, which also ships this fall. This is a notable omission, especially considering that Apple markets its Apple Arcade gaming service as a core feature of the Apple TV experience. It also offers thousands of mobile-level games through the tvOS App Store.
The more I think about the Apple Games omission from tvOS 26, the more it makes senseif Apple is set to turn the Apple TV into a true gaming console but doesn’t want anyone to know it yet.
[Photo: Apple]
The next Apple TV is rumored to have two key hardware improvements essential to top-line gaming consoles
Apple doesnt update the Apple TV as often as it does iPhones or even its iPads. Typically, years pass between Apple TV updates. The most recent Apple TV, the Apple TV 4K, was last updated in November 2022, nearly three years ago. That means it’s ripe for an update this year.
Rumors suggest that a new Apple TV is indeed coming later this year and that it will feature two significant hardware upgradesones that would enable it to become a true gaming console.
The first is an updated chipset. The current Apple TV 4K features the Apple A15 Bionic chip, the same one found in the iPhone 13 from 2021. Most people expect the next Apple TV to get a significant upgradeperhaps to the A18 or A18 Pro, found in the current iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series, or perhaps even the unreleased A19 chip, which will go into this years iPhone 17 series. Its also possible Apple could put the M1 or M2 chip, previously found in Macs and iPads, into the new Apple TV.
This jump from the A15 to the A18, A19, M1, or M2 would give the Apple TV the performance boost it needs to run AAA console games, such as the Resident Evil series from Capcom, which are currently capable of running (with controller support, no less) on the iPhone 15 Pro, thanks to its A17 Pro chip.
Another upgrade the next Apple TV is expected to get is a new Apple-designed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipset that will support the Wi-Fi 7 standard (via MacRumors). This standard offers lower latency and faster Wi-Fi speeds than the current Wi-Fi 6 standardsomething critical for gaming consoles and the bandwidth-hungry games that stream to them. The leading games console, the PlayStation 5 Pro, currently offers Wi-Fi 7 support.
In other words, the hardware components Apple needs to turn the next Apple TV into a PlayStation and Xbox competitor are all in the pipeline. And, increasingly, so is something else the Apple TV would need to become a true gaming console: increasing commitment to Apple’s platforms from major games studios.
More AAA games are hitting the Macand iPhonethan ever before
In the video game industry, the top games are known as AAA (triple-A) titles. These are the games with the most advanced graphics and the biggest budgets, and are frequently the highlights of the console gaming experience.
Historically, AAA game developers have shied away from releasing their major titles on the Mac (the Apple device with the hardware power most comparable to professional gaming consoles). But in the past year, thats changed a lot, thanks to Apple’s move to make game development on the Mac easier and more cost-effective than ever, thanks to tools like the company’s Game Porting Toolkit 3 and the hardware-accelerated graphics API, Metal 4, which makes graphics-intensive games look better on Mac and iPhone. Considering Apple devices are more popular than ever, game studios stand to financially benefit by bringing their biggest titles to Apple’s platforms and their millions of users.
In July alone, two major AAA titles made their debut on the Mac: CD Projekt Reds Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate and Deep Silvers Dead Island 2. Other major AAA titles have also been released on the Mac over the past few years, including Ubisofts Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Remedys Control Ultimate Edition, Kojima Productions Death Stranding Director’s Cut, Round 8 Studios Lies of P, 11 Bit Studios Frostpunk 2, and Capcoms Resident Evil series remastered editions. Additionally, more AAA titles are coming to the Mac this year, including IO Interactives Hitman World of Assassination, InZOI Studios InZOI, and Pearl Abyss Crimson Desert.
Most of these games require an M1 series chip or later, found in the companys Apple Silicon Macs released since 2020. Some, like the Resident Evil series, can even run on the A17 Pro and later, first introduced in 2023. Apples current A18 Pro is roughly equivalent to the M1 in terms of performance, and if Apple puts it, the M1 or M2, or the upcoming A19 Pro, inside the next Apple TV, as expected, there is no reason these AAA games that currently run on the Mac couldnt run on the new Apple TV. And if that happens, the Apple TV becomes a professional-level gaming console.
Turning the Apple TV into a gaming console makes sense for Apples ecosystem and the companys bottom line
When Apple announced the upcoming Apple Games app for all its devices except the Apple TV, it stood out as a glaring hole in the companys lineup, especially since Apple Games is a natural fit for the Apple TV. But when you take in the odd omission, along with recent rumors that the next Apple TV is set to get powerful new CPU and wireless chipsets, and the flood of new AAA titles hitting the Mac and iPhone this year, things start to look a lot clearer.
Yet something else leads me to believe that Apple could be turning the Apple TV into a gaming console this year: the companys history of being unwilling to let software announcements spoil new hardware features.
In the past, Apple has withheld software announcements at WWDC to avoid revealing upcoming hardware improvements to its devices. The AAA titles available on the Mac appear in Apple Games on the macOS 26 beta. If Apple had previewed Apple Games on the tvOS 26 beta, Mac games that run on the new unreleased Apple TV, including these AAA titles, might have also shown there. That would spoil a major, as-yet-unannounced feature for the as-yet-unannounced Apple TV.
Of course, all this is just conjecture on my part. Still, all the signs seem to be pointing to Apple TV becoming a true gaming console. This would make a lot of business sense for Apple. At price points of $129 or $149, depending on whether you want more storage and an ethernet connection, the current Apple TV 4K is much more expensive than such competitors as the Roku Streaming Stick 4K ($49), the Roku Ultra ($99), and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K ($49).
However, if Apple gives the new Apple TV gaming console capabilities, the current $129/$149 price suddenly looks like a bargain. A triple-A gaming experience on the Apple TV would be a unique selling point that Roku or Amazon couldnt compete with.
It could also give Apple a major new revenue stream in the form of 30% App Store commissions on AAA titles sold through the tvOS App Store. As of 2024, the global AAA gaming market is valued at approximately $75 billion annually, according to a July 2025 Business Research Insights report. Its expected to grow to nearly $108 billion by 2033.
But most of all, a new Apple TV with console gaming capabilities would further solidify the device as the digital heart of the living room and smart home, giving users another reason to stay within Apples ecosystem, both inside and outside the housean ancillary benefit Apple likely finds invaluable.
When youre on a camping trip, you might have to pack your own food and maybe something to filter or treat water that you find. But imagine your campsite is in space, where theres no water, and packing jugs of water would take up room when every inch of cargo space counts. Thats a key challenge engineers faced when designing the International Space Station (ISS).
Before NASA developed an advanced water recycling system, water made up nearly half the payload of shuttles traveling to the ISS. I am an environmental engineer and have conducted research at Kennedy Space Centers Space Life Sciences Laboratory. As part of this work, I helped to develop a closed-loop water recovery system.
Today, NASA recovers over 90% of the water used in space. Clean water keeps an astronaut crew hydrated, hygienic, and fed, as it can use it to rehydrate food. Recovering used water is a cornerstone of closed-loop life support, which is essential for future lunar bases, Mars missions, and even potential space settlements.
A close-up view of the water recovery systems racks these contain the hardware that provides a constant supply of clean water for four to six crew members aboard the ISS. [Photo: NASA]
NASAs environmental control and life support system is a set of equipment and processes that perform several functions to manage air and water quality, waste, atmospheric pressure, and emergency response systems such as fire detection and suppression. The water recovery systemone component of environmental control and life supportsupports the astronauts aboard the ISS and plays a central role in water recycling.
Water systems built for microgravity
In microgravity environments like the ISS, every form of water available is valuable. The water recovery systems on the ISS collect water from several sources, including urine, moisture in cabin air, and hygienemeaning from activities such as brushing teeth.
On Earth, wastewater includes various types of water: residential wastewater from sinks, showers and toilets; industrial wastewater from factories and manufacturing processes; and agricultural runoff, which contains fertilizers and pesticides.
In space, astronaut wastewater is much more concentrated than Earth-based wastewater. It contains significantly higher levels of ureaa compound from urinesalts, and surfactants from soaps and materials used for hygiene. To make the water safe to drink, the system needs to remove all of these quickly and effectively.
The water recovery systems used in space employ some of the same principles as Earth-based water treatment. However, they are specifically engineered to function in microgravity with minimal maintenance. These systems also must operate for months or even years without the need for replacement parts or hands-on intervention.
NASAs water recovery system captures and recycles nearly all forms of water used or generated aboard the space station. It routes the collected wastewater to a system called the water processor assembly, where it is purified into safe, potable water that exceeds many Earth-based drinking water standards.
The water recovery and treatment system on the ISS consists of several subsystems.
Recovering water from urine and sweat
The urine processor assembly recovers about 75% of the water from urine by heating and vacuum compression. The recovered water is sent to the water processor assembly for further treatment. The remaining liquid, called brine, still contains a significant amount of water. So, NASA developed a brine processor assembly system to extract the final fraction of water from this urine brine.
In the brine processor assembly, warm, dry air evaporates water from the leftover brine. A filter separates the contaminants from the water vapor, and the water vapor is collected to become drinking water. This innovation pushed the water recovery systems overall water recovery rate to an impressive 98%. The remaining 2% is combined with the other waste generated.
The filter used in brine processing has helped achieve 98% recovery. [Photo: NASA]
The air revitalization system condenses moisture from the cabin airprimarily water vapor from sweat and exhalationinto liquid water. It directs the recovered water to the water processor assembly, which treats all the collected water.
Treating recovered water
The water processor assemblys treatment process includes several steps.
First, all the recovered water goes through filters to remove suspended particles such as dust. Then, a series of filters removes salts and some of the organic contaminants, followed by a chemical process called catalytic oxidation that uses heat and oxygen to break down the remaining organic compounds. The final step is adding iodine to the water to prevent microbial growth while it is stored.
The output is potable wateroften cleaner than municipal tap water on Earth.
Getting to Mars and beyond
To make human missions to Mars possible, NASA has estimated that spacecraft must reclaim at least 98% of the water used on board. While self-sustaining travel to Mars is still a few years away, the new brine processor on the ISS has increased the water recovery rate enough that this 98% goal is now in reach. However, more work is needed to develop a compact system that can be used in a space ship.
The journey to Mars is complex, not just because of the distance involved, but because Mars and Earth are constantly moving in their respective orbits around the Sun.
The distance between the two planets varies depending on their positions. On average, theyre about 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) apart, with the shortest theoretical approach, when the two planets orbits bring them close together, taking 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers).
A typical crewed mission is expected to take about nine months one way. A round-trip mission to Mars, including surface operations and return trajectory planning, could take around three years. In addition, launch windows occur only every 26 months, when Earth and Mars align favorably.
As NASA prepares to send humans on multiyear expeditions to the red planet, space agencies around the world continue to focus on improving propulsion and perfecting life support systems. Advances in closed-loop systems, robotic support and autonomous operations are all inching the dream of putting humans on Mars closer to reality.
Berrin Tansel is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Florida International University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Whether youre sitting at your desk at work or shopping at the grocery store, you can feel it: the shared sense of uncertainty in the air. Economic indicators are shifting; tariffs have impacted trade flows, and experts predict the nations growth rate may be cut in half. Combined with broad geopolitical instability, this sense of economic uneasiness has seen consumer sentiment dip to its second-lowest point since 1952.
In this challenging climate, even industry giants like Target, Walmart, and Apple are forecasting declines in profits and sales. Yet, history shows that periods of uncertainty often spark innovation and resilience. Brands that can adapt, communicate clearly, and build trust with their customers are well positioned not just to endure, but to lead.
So, what can business leaders facing such turbulence do to persevere? Return to the compass that always points to a way to growth: delivering for the consumer. Showing up consistently, adapting with purpose, and becoming the steady heartbeat in their customers increasingly chaotic world.
The Power of Purpose in Uncertain Times
As a counterbalance to all the bad news, resilient brands can become a source of strength and reassurance by understanding their consumers and delivering positive impact. In times of uncertainty, brands can improve their customers day-to-day by bringing moments of joy and meaning into their lives. Whats more, they can also deepen those consumer connections by demonstrating alignment with customer values and aspirations for the future.
New research supports this call to action: 86% of consumers say brands play an important role in delivering a positive human future. But only 15% of companies are actively investing in efforts aligned to that purpose, a gap that speaks volumes. Consumers are quite willing to reward brands they see as positive difference-makers. Theyre nearly three times more likely to pay a premium, try new products and services, and even forgive mistakes from brands they think are working towards a better world. This is especially true among Gen Z consumers and younger generations, who prioritize brands that align with their ethical and social principles.
So, what does it really mean to deliver a positive human future, and how can brands demonstrate the commitment consumers are seeking? It doesnt mean you have to solve every global issueyou just have to show consumers that you understand their challenges and respond in ways that align to their values. When a single headline can shake markets and communities, consumers are looking for something steady to latch onto, and brands have the opportunity to hold strong.
Think Big with Small Gestures
For brands, this doesnt require a complete overhaul of business strategy or major new investments. It can start with a simple challenge: how can you show up in small, meaningful ways to brighten consumers days and give them something to look forward to? Consumers today are seeking more than transactions; they want relationships. Nearly 50% of U.S. consumers are willing to pay more for brands that understand and respond to their needsbrands that listen, learn, and use what they hear to deliver amazing experiences.
Take Little Spoon, for example. The baby food company didnt build trust by making grand gestures, but instead took the time to collaborate with parents and scientists to ensure parents have a voice in their childs health. They put their money where their mouth is to provide consistent engagement with parents through its Is This Normal community platform. They created a winning product that reflects real needs and values, showing up consistently for their customers when and where they needed them. Theyve successfully become more than a packaged goodtheyre a partner in parenting, building ardent fans through shared values.
To follow in similar footsteps, there are several actions brands can take, starting with active listening and reliability. By using customer insights to understand what matters most, brands can reflect those priorities in their messaging and offerings and then communicate those priorities regularly and consistently. This requires ongoing dialogue and genuine responsiveness to customer feedback and changing needs.
By ensuring consumers feel seen and heard, brands will not only build a customer base but also a community. This alignment becomes particularly powerful when economic pressures mount, and consumers are making more deliberate choices about where to spend their money.
Above all, its those small moments of joy that will make all the difference. Positive experiences dont require massive budgets, but they do require intentionality. Whether it’s unexpected customer service excellence, community-building initiatives, or simply consistent, reliable communication, these moments transform into lasting relationships.
Building Tomorrows Resilient Brands
The businesses that struggle during volatile times often share common characteristics: They become reactive rather than proactive, focus inward rather than on customer needs, or stop innovating to avoid risk.
Its more important to show up for customers during times of turbulence than when the waters are calm. Every interaction becomes an opportunity to build trust. Every product decision becomes a chance to show values alignment. Every communication becomes a moment to provide clarity and reassurance.
In a world where headlines shift by the hour, brands can emerge as a steady beacon. The brands that thrive arent necessarily the biggest or the loudest, but those that prioritize real connection with their consumers; those that are able to deliver impact in their day-to-day, and in the world they inhabit. When purse strings tighten, brands that build real relationships, spark joy in the uncertainty, and support a positive human future will build the kind of consumer loyalty that pays dividends through good times and bad.
Federal funding cuts have claimed their latest victim. On Friday, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced that it will wind down operations in light of a fatal federal funding shortfall.
The Trump administration asked for the targeted cuts in a rescissions request coupled with a major pullback in spending on foreign aid earlier this year. Congress ultimately complied and in July voted to slash $1.1 billion in federal funding from the CPB. The Republican-led measure was split along party lines, with no Democrats voting in its favor.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit, was authorized by Congress in 1967 to manage funding for public media in the U.S. as part of President Lyndon Johnsons sweeping domestic policy agenda.
Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country, CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.
The organization funds the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio, and 1,500 local TV and radio stations. Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, two icons of American public television, were made possible with funding through the CPB.
While PBS and NPR rely less heavily on government funds, federal money is crucial to member stations in rural areas. Those outlets face an existential threat from the cutsthe latest death knell for local news in the U.S.
Ford is recalling more than 300,000 vehicles over concerns that problems with the power brake assist system could lead to a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the safety notice, noting that the issue could extend stopping distances for a vehicle in motion.
The affected vehicles are 2025 versions of Fords Lincoln Navigator SUV, F-150 and Ranger trucks, and Expedition, Bronco, and Ranger SUVs. According to the NHTSA, the vehicles might also experience malfunctions in the electronic brake booster (EBB) module when using the advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) feature, which could similarly interfere with the power brake assist system and cause an accident. For affected vehicles, the EBB issue can be resolved with an over-the-air software update or at a dealership for free.
The new recall is the latest in a spate of recent recalls for the automaker. In July, Ford recalled almost 700,000 vehicles over a fuel leak problem that could cause a fire under the hood. That recall, which impacted some Bronco Sport and Ford Escape models, was the result of a yearlong investigation into ongoing problems with the vehicles fuel injectors. Just prior to that, an even wider recall was issued over worries about the low-pressure fuel pump on more than 850,000 Ford vehicles.
Car recalls are on the rise broadly, but Fords issues stand out. The manufacturer tops the list for the most vehicle recalls in the U.S., though the companys leadership hopes to nip future issues in the bud by holding new vehicles for an extra phase of quality checks. What were going to see long term is fewer recalls and lower warranty costs because of this new process, Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an earnings call last year.
If a new experiment pans out, Medicaid and Medicare could begin covering the costly weight-loss drugs that price out many Americans who might want to try them.
After killing a Biden-era plan with the same goal, the Trump administration is working on a five-year pilot program that would allow state Medicaid programs and Medicares prescription plan to opt into covering drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro for weight management, The Washington Post reports.
During its final months, the Biden administration proposed expanding Medicaid and Medicare coverage for popular weight-loss drugs, extending it to roughly 7.5 million people enrolled in those programs.
In April, the Trump administration tossed that plana move that was somewhat expected, given Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s vocal opposition to the weight-loss drugs that have taken America by storm. Now, something very similar appears to be back on the table.
Differences of opinion
Kennedys view is at odds with other members of the Trump administration, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Oz, a former surgeon best known as a daytime television personality prior to joining the federal government, has long boosted weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
Ill respect you no matter what your weight might be, but for those who want to lose a few pounds, Ozempic and other semaglutide medications can be a big help, Oz said in a social media post in 2023. We need to make it as easy as possible for people to meet their health goals, period.
Oz has been paid to promote the drugs in the past. In 2019, Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk sponsored a nine-minute-long infomercial on Ozs daytime talk show praising the benefits of using Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes.
On the other side of the coin, Kennedy at HHS is staunchly opposed to weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and has made misleading claims about the class of drugs in the past. Theyre counting on selling it to Americans because were so stupid and so addicted to drugs, Kennedy said in an interview he shared on Instagram last year.
Kennedy, a prominent figure in anti-vaccine circles before joining the Trump administration, has a long track record of elevating health conspiracy theories, even while promoting other commonsense ideas around health and wellness. Kennedy, who opposes the use of many prescription medications, believes that the prominence of processed foods in the American diet is a root cause of many of the countrys health woes.
What is the status now?
While Medicaid and Medicare dont evenly cover GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic for weight loss, 13 state Medicaid programs do offer coverage to treat obesity. For people on Medicaid and Medicare, coverage is much more widely available when GLP-1 drugs are prescribed for Type 2 diabetes.
The Washington Post reports that the trial program is slated to start in April 2026 for Medicaid and in January 2027 for Medicare. The program is connected to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which experiments with new ways to lower costs and deliver coverage for people enrolled in those subsidized insurance programs.
According to documents viewed by The Post, the program has yet to be finalized. Whether it goes into effect or not, the experimental plan to extend coverage shows that the anti-Ozempic faction of the Trump administration might find itself overruled when it comes to the weight-loss drug.
