Top 5 of the year: Sex robots + how not to be tracked on your phone

+ how tattoos influence your immune system [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 29 December 2019 [The Conversation]( [Give a year-end gift to The Conversation]( The Mark 1 robot resembles actor Scarlett Johansson. Reuters/Bobby Yip [Sex robots are here, but laws aren’t keeping up with the ethical and privacy issues they raise]( Francis X. Shen, University of Minnesota Intimacy with robots is closer than you think, and cities are already fighting the advent of sexbot brothels. Yet society has barely begun to explore their implications. A schoolteacher in the midst of receiving a full pe'a, the traditional Samoan tattoo generally worn by males. Christopher Lynn [Untangling tattoos’ influence on immune response]( Christopher D. Lynn, University of Alabama An anthropologist works in American Samoa, taking advantage of the island's longstanding tattoo culture to tease out the effects tattoos have on the body's immune function. - [Change your phone settings so Apple, Google can’t track your movements]( Jen King, Stanford University Most tech companies make it difficult for users to say no to aggressive surveillance practices. But it is helpful to know about the default settings on your smartphone and how to change them. - [Why saying ‘OK boomer’ at work is considered age discrimination – but millennial put-downs aren’t]( Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of Oregon An employment law expert explains why you shouldn't use an age-related insult at work to demean an older colleague. - [Rotating black holes may serve as gentle portals for hyperspace travel]( Gaurav Khanna, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Feel like visiting another star system or dimension? You can do this by traveling through a spacetime portal of a black hole. But you better choose carefully. All black holes are not created equal. [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111