Primarily driven by the large-scale adoption of electric vehicles, the production of lithium-ion batteries has spiked, raising the demand for cobalt—a cause of despair rather than prosperity in the African nation of Congo, where the metal is mined amid horrendous circumstances. “I remember looking at this destroyed landscape and these thousands of bodies laboring over…

Hip replacement surgery is one of the most common orthopedic surgeries performed in the United States each year, and has brought relief to millions who have suffered from painful conditions like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. But despite developments made in the past few decades, the procedure still carries potentially serious risks for some patients, especially…