The scientific articles are written by researchers who attended the 2022 SPARKS! Serendipity Forum at CERN

Photo credit: Frontiers 

Frontiers for Young Minds, the award-winning, open-access scientific journal for kids, has published the first articles in a new collection in collaboration with CERN, one of the world’s largest centers for scientific research.

The collection, entitled 'SPARK-ing big questions: what is the future of health technology?', addresses key questions on how ground-breaking health technologies and science can improve human health for future generations.

The articles are written by researchers who attended the SPARKS! Serendipity Forum at CERN in 2022, an event for scientific and other experts to come together to collaborate, learn from each other, and address some of the complex problems facing society.

As one of the largest laboratories hosting collaborative research in the world, and a leader in fields that increase our knowledge of the universe and impact our lives, including health, CERN offers a platform to host such multidisciplinary discussions and curate the serendipity that may bring about benefits to society. The collaboration between Frontiers for Young Minds and CERN enables the sharing of this information with young audiences in a way that is accessible for them. As part of the unique Frontiers for Young Minds process, the articles have been reviewed by kids aged 8-15 to make sure the concepts are understandable for their peers. All articles are freely available on the journal website.

The first three articles in the collection are:

• New Scientific Technologies: Navigating the Path of Right and Wrong, Juan Enriquez, Excel Venture Management, USA. This article explores the ethics of new technologies and how to ensure developing technologies are used to help, not harm, humans.

• Doctors and Artificial Intelligence: Working Together for a Healthier Future, Jane Metcalfe, Proto.life, USA. This article examines how artificial intelligence can analyze data to find patterns that humans can’t and optimize patient care using personalized medicine.

• Medicine Gets Proactive: Prevention Is Better Than Cure, Michael Snyder and Ariel Ganz, Stanford University, USA. This article looks at how technology such as smartwatches and health-tracking apps can catch illnesses before humans get sick, an approach that could help humans live longer.

New articles will be added to the collection in January 2024 to help young minds engage with the topics of health literacy, open science, and bioinformatics. Together, the collection of articles will help the next generation of scientists and engaged citizens to understand and grapple with the big questions which they will have to face in their own healthcare as people continue to live longer. To read the articles, visit the Frontiers for Young Minds website.

About Frontiers for Young Minds

Frontiers for Young Minds is an award-winning, non-profit, open-access, scientific journal for kids that publishes articles written by leading researchers and peer reviewed by children aged 8-15. The journal features over 1,350 articles with over 38 million views and downloads, produced by 3,800 authors, mentored by 800+ scientists, and reviewed by 7,400+ youngsters from 65 countries worldwide. Frontiers for Young Minds publishes in eight subject areas (Astronomy and Physics, Biodiversity, Chemistry and Materials, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Human Health, Mathematics and Economics, Neuroscience and Psychology) with articles available in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and French.