The Download: satellites’ climate impact, and OpenAI’s frantic release schedule

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

The world’s next big environmental problem could come from space

In September, a unique chase took place in the skies above Easter Island. From a rented jet, a team of researchers captured a satellite’s last moments as it fell out of space and blazed into ash across the sky, using cameras and scientific equipment. Their hope was to gather priceless insights into the physical and chemical processes that occur when satellites burn up as they fall to Earth at the end of their missions.

This kind of study is growing more urgent. The number of satellites in the sky is rapidly rising—with a tenfold increase forecast by the end of the decade. Letting these satellites burn up in the atmosphere at the end of their lives helps keep the quantity of space junk to a minimum. But doing so deposits satellite ash in the Earth’s atmosphere. This metallic ash could potentially alter the climate, and we don’t yet know how serious the problem is likely to be. Read the full story. 

—Tereza Pultarova

OpenAI’s “12 days of shipmas” tell us a lot about the AI arms race

Last week, OpenAI announced what it calls the 12 days of OpenAI, or 12 days of shipmas. On December 4, CEO Sam Altman took to X to announce that the company would be “doing 12 days of openai. each weekday, we will have a livestream with a launch or demo, some big ones and some stocking stuffers.”

The company will livestream about new products every morning for 12 business days in a row during December. It’s an impressive-sounding (and media-savvy) schedule, to be sure. But it also speaks to how tight the race between the AI bigs has become, and also how much OpenAI is scrambling to build more revenue. Read the full story. 

—Mat Honan

This story originally appeared in The Debrief with Mat Honan, our weekly take on what’s really going on behind the biggest tech headlines. The story is subscriber-only so nab a subscription too, if you haven’t already! Or you can sign up to the newsletter for free to get the next edition in your inbox on Friday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 The USDA is launching a national program to test milk for bird flu 
A full nine months after the current outbreak was first detected in dairy cows. (STAT)
+ The risk of a bird flu pandemic is rising. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Here’s what sets OpenAI’s new models apart 
They’re shifting from predicting to reasoning, which could be a huge deal. (The Atlantic $)
+ Regardless of whether capabilities are slowing, AI’s impact is only poised to grow. (Vox)
+ It may be comforting to dismiss AI as hype—but it misses the point. (Platformer)

3 A federal appeals court has upheld the US TikTok ban
But what happens next is anyone’s guess. (WSJ $)
+ Whether TikTok is banned or not, the actions against it have had a big impact. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Top internet sleuths are sitting out the hunt for the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer 
In fact, some are even criticizing people who are trying to help. (NBC)
+ Why so many Americans are at best indifferent to this particular murder. (New Yorker $)

5 Schools are attempting to stop teens self-harming before they even try
The AI tools they’re adopting could be doing far more damage than help, though. (NYT $)

6 China is building its own Starlink system
The Qianfan constellation could eventually grow to nearly 14,000 satellites. (The Economist $)
+ The end of the ISS will usher in a more commercialized future in space. (The Verge)

7 This was an exciting year for superconductors
Superconductivity—the flow of electric current with no resistance—was discovered in three new materials. (Quanta $)

8 Meet the world’s least productive programmers 
It seems a small minority of disillusioned ‘ghost engineers’ do pretty much no work at all. (WP $)

9 Why people are turning their backs on dating apps
There’s a large degree of fatigue, and a feeling that they’re somehow detached from reality. (The Guardian)

10 Fake snacks are racking up millions of views on Instagram 
There’s even a word for this trend: snackfishing. (Wired $)

Quote of the day

“I think Twitter and now X is like a crack addiction for him, though. He is clearly chasing a particular hit all the time and he has ended up self-radicalising himself with the platform he has purchased.”

—A former Twitter employee in London tells The Guardian how Elon Musk has changed since he purchased the platform.

 The big story

How electricity could help tackle a surprising climate villain

BOB O’CONNOR

January 2024

Cement is used to build everything from roads and buildings to dams and basement floors. But it’s also a climate threat. Cement production accounts for more than 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions—more than sectors like aviation, shipping, or landfills.

One solution to this climate catastrophe might be coursing through the pipes at Sublime Systems. The startup is developing an entirely new way to make cement. Instead of heating crushed-up rocks in lava-hot kilns, Sublime’s technology zaps them in water with electricity, kicking off chemical reactions that form the main ingredients in its cement.

But it faces huge challenges: competing with established industry players, and persuading builders to use its materials in the first place. Read the full story.

—Casey Crownhart

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ Who will be the Lord of Misrule in your household this Christmas?
+ People’s Wikipedia browsing data always makes for interesting reading.
+ Wait, so we’ve been mispronouncing these words all along? (Apart from espresso, c’mon)
+ The Muppet Christmas Carol might just be the greatest festive film. 

The Download: how OpenAI tests its models, and the ethics of uterus transplants

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

How OpenAI stress-tests its large language models

OpenAI has lifted the lid (just a crack) on its safety-testing processes. It has put out two papers describing how it stress-tests its powerful large language models to try to identify potential harmful or otherwise unwanted behavior, an approach known as red-teaming. 

The first paper describes how OpenAI directs an extensive network of human testers outside the company to vet the behavior of its models before they are released. The second presents a new way to automate parts of the testing process, using a large language model like GPT-4 to come up with novel ways to bypass its own guardrails. MIT Technology Review got an exclusive preview of the work. 

—Will Douglas Heaven

Who should get a uterus transplant? Experts aren’t sure.

Over 135 uterus transplants have been performed globally in the last decade, resulting in the births of over 50 healthy babies. The surgery has had profound consequences for these families—the recipients would not have been able to experience pregnancy any other way.

But legal and ethical questions continue to surround the procedure, which is still considered experimental. Who should be offered a uterus transplant? Could the procedure ever be offered to transgender women? And if so, who should pay for these surgeries? Read the full story. 

—Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter about the latest in biotech and health. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 OpenAI may launch a web browser
Which would be a full-frontal assault on Google (The Information $)
+ The Google browser break-up is an answer in search of a question. (FT $)
+ OpenAI accidentally deleted potential evidence in a training data lawsuit. (The Verge)

2 Border militias are ready to help with Trump’s deportation plans
Regardless of whether they’re asked to or not. (Wired $)
+ Trump’s administration plans to radically curb the powers of the federal agency that protects unions. (WP $)

3 Russia hit Ukraine with a new type of missile 
Here’s what we know about it so far. (The Guardian)

4 Microsoft is about to turn 50
And it’s every bit as relevant and powerful as it’s ever been. (Wired $)

5 China has overtaken Germany in industrial robot adoption
South Korea, however, remains streets ahead of both of them. (Reuters $)
+ Three reasons robots are about to become way more useful. (MIT Technology Review) 

6 The irresistible rise of cozy tech
Our devices, social media and now AI are encouraging us to keep looking inward. (New Yorker $)
+ Inside the cozy but creepy world of VR sleep rooms. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Churchgoers in a Swiss city have been spilling their secrets to AI Jesus
And they’re mostly really enjoying it. Watch out, priests. (The Guardian)

8 A French startup wants to make fuel out of thin air
Then use it to fuel ships and airplanes. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ Everything you need to know about alternative jet fuels. (MIT Technology Review) 

9 WhatsApp is going to start transcribing voice messages
This seems a good compromise to bridge people’s different communication preferences. (The Verge)

10 Want a new phone? You should consider second-hand
It’s better for the planet—and your wallet. (Vox)

Quote of the day

“Nope. 100% not true.”

—Jeff Bezos fires back at Elon Musk’s claim that he was telling everyone that Trump would lose pre-election in a rare post on X.

 The big story

This chemist is reimagining the discovery of materials using AI and automation

DEREK SHAPTON

October 2021

Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a Mexico City–born, Toronto-based chemist, has devoted much of his life to contemplating worst-case scenarios. What if climate change proceeds as expected, or gets significantly worse? Could we quickly come up with the materials we’ll need to cheaply capture carbon, or make batteries from something other than costly lithium?

Materials discovery—the science of creating and developing useful new substances—often moves at a frustratingly slow pace. The typical trial-and-error approach takes an average of two decades, making it too expensive and risky for most companies to pursue.

Aspuru-Guzik’s objective—which he shares with a growing number of computer-­savvy chemists—is to shrink that interval to a matter of months or years. And advances in AI, robotics, and computing are bringing new life to his vision. Read the full story.

—Simon Lewsen

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ Do you struggle with a lack of confidence? Here’s how to take up a bit more space.
+ These recipes will ensure you have a delicious Thanksgiving next week.
+ It’s impossible not to dream of lazy sunny days while gazing at Quentin Monge’s work. 
+ Tom Jones x Disturbed = very funny. 

The Download: AI replicas, and China’s climate role

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

AI can now create a replica of your personality

Imagine sitting down with an AI model for a spoken two-hour interview. A friendly voice guides you through a conversation that ranges from your childhood, your formative memories, and your career to your thoughts on immigration policy. Not long after, a virtual replica of you is able to embody your values and preferences with stunning accuracy.

That’s now possible, according to a new paper from a team including researchers from Stanford and Google DeepMind.

They recruited 1,000 people and, from interviews with them, created agent replicas of them all. To test how well the agents mimicked their human counterparts, participants did a series of tests, games and surveys, then the agents completed the same exercises. The results were 85% similar. Freaky. Read our story about the work, and why it matters.

—James O’Donnell

China’s complicated role in climate change

“But what about China?”

In debates about climate change, it’s usually only a matter of time until someone brings up China. Often, it comes in response to some statement about how the US and Europe are addressing the issue (or how they need to be).

Sometimes it can be done in bad faith. It’s a rhetorical way to throw up your hands, and essentially say: “if they aren’t taking responsibility, why should we?” 

However, there are some undeniable facts: China emits more greenhouse gases than any other country, by far. It’s one of the world’s most populous countries and a climate-tech powerhouse, and its economy is still developing. 

With many complicated factors at play, how should we think about the country’s role in addressing climate change? Read the full story. 

—Casey Crownhart

This story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things energy and climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.

Four ways to protect your art from AI 

Since the start of the generative AI boom, artists have been worried about losing their livelihoods to AI tools.

Unfortunately, there is little you can do if your work has been scraped into a data set and used in a model that is already out there. You can, however, take steps to prevent your work from being used in the future. Here are four ways to do that. 

—Melissa Heikkila

This is part of our How To series, where we give you practical advice on how to use technology in your everyday lives. You can read the rest of the series here.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: The world’s on the verge of a carbon storage boom

In late 2023, one of California’s largest oil and gas producers secured draft permits from the US Environmental Protection Agency to develop a new type of well in an oil field. If approved, it intends to drill a series of boreholes down to a sprawling sedimentary formation roughly 6,000 feet below the surface, where it will inject tens of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide to store it away forever.

Hundreds of similar projects are looming across the state, the US, and the world. Proponents hope it’s the start of a sort of oil boom in reverse, kick-starting a process through which the world will eventually bury more greenhouse gas than it adds to the atmosphere. But opponents insist these efforts will prolong the life of fossil-fuel plants, allow air and water pollution to continue, and create new health and environmental risks.

This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 How the Trump administration could hack your phone
Spyware acquired by the US government in September could fairly easily be turned on its own citizens. (New Yorker $)
+ Here’s how you can fight back against being digitally spied upon. (The Guardian)

2 The DOJ is trying to force Google to sell off Chrome
Whether Trump will keep pushing it through is unclear, though. (WP $)
+ Some financial and legal experts argue that just selling Chrome is not enough to address antitrust issues. (Wired $)

3 There’s a booming ‘AI pimping’ industry
People are stealing videos from real adult content creators, giving them AI-generated faces, and monetizing their bodies. (Wired $)
+ This viral AI avatar app undressed me—without my consent. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Here’s Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy plan for federal employees
Large-scale firings and an end to any form of remote work. (WSJ $)

5 The US is scaring everyone with its response to bird flu
It’s done remarkably little to show it’s trying to contain the outbreak. (NYT $)
+ Virologists are getting increasingly nervous about how it could evolve and spread. (MIT Technology Review)

6 AI could boost the performance of quantum computers 
A new model created by Google DeepMind is very good at correcting errors. (New Scientist $)
+ But AI could also make quantum computers less necessary. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Biden has approved the use of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine
It comes just days after he gave the go-ahead for it to use long-range missiles inside Russia. (Axios)
+ The US military has given a surveillance drone contract to a little-known supplier from Utah. (WSJ $) 
+ The Danish military said it’s keeping a close eye on a Chinese ship in its waters after data cable breaches. (Reuters $)

8 The number of new mobile internet users is stalling
Only about 57% of the world’s population is connected. (Rest of World)

9 All of life on Earth descended from this single cell
Our “last universal common ancestor” (or LUCA for short) was a surprisingly complex organism living 4.2 billion years ago. (Quanta)
+ Scientists are building a catalog of every type of cell in our bodies. (The Economist $)

10 What it’s like to live with a fluffy AI pet 
Try as we might, it seems we can’t help but form attachments to cute companion robots. (The Guardian) 

Quote of the day

“The free pumpkins have brought joy to many.”

—An example of the sort of stilted remarks made by a now-abandoned AI-generated news broadcaster at local Hawaii paper The Garden Island, Wired reports. 

 The big story

How Bitcoin mining devastated this New York town

GABRIELA BHASKAR

April 2022

If you had taken a gamble in 2017 and purchased Bitcoin, today you might be a millionaire many times over. But while the industry has provided windfalls for some, local communities have paid a high price, as people started scouring the world for cheap sources of energy to run large Bitcoin-mining farms.

It didn’t take long for a subsidiary of the popular Bitcoin mining firm Coinmint to lease a Family Dollar store in Plattsburgh, a city in New York state offering cheap power. Soon, the company was regularly drawing enough power for about 4,000 homes. And while other miners were quick to follow, the problems had already taken root. Read the full story.

—Lois Parshley

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ Cultivating gratitude is a proven way to make yourself happier.
+ You can’t beat a hot toddy when it’s cold outside.
+ If you like abandoned places and overgrown ruins, Jonathan Jimenez is the photographer for you. 
+ A lot changed between Gladiator I and II, not least Hollywood’s version of the male ideal. 

The Download: Clear’s identity ambitions, and the climate blame game

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

Inside Clear’s ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport 

Clear Secure is the most visible biometric identity company in the United States. Best known for its line-jumping service in airports, it’s also popping up at  sports arenas and stadiums all over the country. You can also use its identity verification platform to rent tools at Home Depot, put your profile in front of recruiters on LinkedIn, and, as of this month, verify your identity as a rider on Uber.

And soon enough, if Clear has its way, it may also be in your favorite retailer, bank, and even doctor’s office—or anywhere else that you currently have to pull out a wallet (or wait in line). 

While the company has been building toward this sweeping vision for years, it now seems its time has finally come. But as biometrics go mainstream, what—and who—bears the cost? Read the full story.  

—Eileen Guo

LinkedIn Live: Facial verification tech promises a frictionless future. But at what cost?

Do you use your face to unlock your phone, or speed through airport security? As biometrics companies move into more and more spaces, where else would you use this technology? The trade off seems simple: you scan your face, you get a frictionless future. But is it really? Join MIT Technology Review’s features and investigations team for a LinkedIn Live this Thursday, November 21, about the rise of facial verification tech and what it means to give up your face. Register for free.

Who’s to blame for climate change? It’s surprisingly complicated.

Once again, global greenhouse-gas emissions are projected to hit a new high in 2024. 

In this time of shifting political landscapes and ongoing international negotiations, many are quick to blame one country or another for an outsize role in causing climate change.

But assigning responsibility is complicated. These three visualizations help explain why.

—Casey Crownhart

Cyber Week Sale: subscriptions are half price!

Take advantage of epic savings on award-winning reporting, razor-sharp analysis, and expert insights on your favorite technology topics. Subscribe today to save 50% on an annual subscription, plus receive a free digital copy of our “Generative AI and the future of work” report. Don’t miss out.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 AI can now translate your voice in real-time during meetings
It’s part of Microsoft’s drive to push more AI into its products, but how well it works in the wild remains to be seen. (WP $)
+ Apple is having less success on that front, at least if its AI notification summaries are anything to go by. (The Atlantic $)

2 Anyone can buy data tracking US soldiers in Germany 
And the Pentagon is powerless to stop it.(Wired $)
+ It’s shockingly easy to buy sensitive data about US military personnel. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Bluesky now has over 20 million users 
Its user base has tripled in the last three months. (Engadget)
+ Truth Social, on the other hand, is not doing quite so well. (WP $)
+ The rise of Bluesky, and the splintering of social. (MIT Technology Review)

4 How Google created a culture of concealment 
It’s been preparing for antitrust action for over a decade, enforcing a policy where employees delete messages by default. (NYT $)
+ The company reacted angrily to reports it may be forced to sell Chrome. (BBC)

5 Project 2025 is already infiltrating the Trump administration 
Despite repeated denials, it’s clearly a blueprint for his next term. (Vox)
+ A hacker reportedly gained access to damaging testimonies about Matt Gaetz, his pick to be attorney general. (NYT $)

6 Quantum computers hit a major milestone for error-free calculation
This is a crucial part of making them useful for real-world tasks. (New Scientist $)

7 Technology is changing political speech
Slogans are becoming less effective. Now it’s more about saying different things to different audiences. (New Yorker $)

8 Lab-grown foie gras, anyone?
This could be the cultivated meat industry’s future: as a luxury product for the few. (Wired $)

9 Niantic is using Pokémon Go player data to build an AI navigation system
If it works, it could unlock some amazing capabilities in AR, robotics and beyond. (404 Media)

10 Minecraft is expanding into the real world
It has struck a $110 million deal with one of the world’s biggest theme park operators. (The Guardian)

Quote of the day

“Nobody believes that these cables were severed by accident.”

—Germany’s defense minister Boris Pistorius, tells reporters that the severing of two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea was a deliberate act of sabotage, the New York Times reports. 

 The big story

Are we alone in the universe?

ARIEL DAVIS

November 2023

The quest to determine if life is out there has gained greater scientific footing over the past 50 years. Back then, astronomers had yet to spot a single planet outside our solar system. Now we know the galaxy is teeming with a diversity of worlds.

We’re getting closer than ever before to learning how common living worlds like ours actually are. New tools, including artificial intelligence, could help scientists look past their preconceived notions of what constitutes life. Read the full story.

—Adam Mann

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ How to not only survive but thrive during the winter.
+ Fancy working from somewhere new? Here are some of the best cities for a workcation. 
+ Want to see David Bowie imitating Mick Jagger? Of course you do. 
+ It’s an old(ish) joke but still funny.

The Download: Bluesky’s rapid rise, and harmful fertility stereotypes

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

The rise of Bluesky, and the splintering of social

You may have read that it was a big week for Bluesky. If you’re not familiar, Bluesky is, essentially, a Twitter clone that publishes short-form status updates. Last Wednesday, The Verge reported it had crossed 15 million users. It’s just ticked over 19 million now, and is the number one app in Apple’s app store.

Meanwhile, Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter, reportedly signed up 15 million people in November alone. Both apps are surging in usage.

Many of these new users were seemingly fleeing X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in reaction to Elon Musk’s support of Donald Trump, and his moves to elevate right-leaning content on the platform. But there’s a deeper trend at play here. We’re seeing a long-term shift away from massive centralized social networks. Read the full story. 

—Mat Honan

This story is from The Debrief, our newly-launched newsletter written by our editor-in-chief Mat Honan. It’s his weekly take on the real stories behind the biggest news in tech—with some links to stories we love and the occasional recommendation thrown in for good measure. Sign up to get it every Friday!

Why the term “women of childbearing age” is problematic

—Jessica Hamzelou

Every journalist has favorite topics. Mine include the quest to delay or reverse human aging, and new technologies for reproductive health and fertility. So when I saw trailers for The Substance, a film centered on one middle-aged woman’s attempt to reexperience youth, I had to watch it.

I won’t spoil the movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet (although I should warn that it is not for the squeamish). But a key premise of the film involves harmful attitudes toward female aging. 

“Hey, did you know that a woman’s fertility starts to decrease by the age of 25?” a powerful male character asks early in the film. “At 50, it just stops,” he later adds. He never explains what stops, exactly, but to the viewer the message is pretty clear: If you’re a woman, your worth is tied to your fertility. Once your fertile window is over, so are you. 

The insidious idea that women’s bodies are, above all else, vessels for growing children has plenty of negative consequences for us all. But it also sets back scientific research and health policy. Read Jess’s story to learn how. 

This story is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter.  Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Trump plans to loosen US rules for self-driving cars 
No prizes for guessing who might be behind that idea. (Bloomberg $)
+ Elon Musk is ramping up his legal fight against OpenAI and Microsoft. (WSJ $)
+ Trump has appointed the FCC’s Brendan Carr to lead the agency. (NPR)
+ Robotaxis are here. It’s time to decide what to do about them. (MIT Technology Review)

2 How Bluesky is handling its explosive growth
It has just 20 employees, and they’re working round the clock to deal with bugs, outages and moderation issues. (NYT $)
+ Just joined Bluesky? Here’s how to use it. (The Verge)
+ How to fix the internet. (MIT Technology Review)

 3 Biden agreed to some small but significant AI limits with Xi Jinping 
I think we can all get behind the idea that nuclear weapons should be exclusively controlled by humans. (Politico)
+ Biden has lifted a ban on Ukraine using long-raise missiles to strike inside Russia. (BBC)

4 Big Tech is trying to sink the US online child safety bill 
And, as it stands, its lobbying efforts look very likely to succeed. (WSJ $)

5 Amazon has launched a rival to Temu and Shein 
Nothing on ‘Haul’ costs more than $20. (BBC)
+ Welcome to the slop era of online shopping. (The Atlantic $)

6 The Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Netflix was plagued by glitches
Despite that, 60 million households still tuned in. (Deadline)

7 AI models can work together faster in their own language 
Linking different models together could help tackle thorny problems individual ones can’t solve. (New Scientist $)

8 Tech companies are training their AI on movie subtitles 
A database called OpenSubtitles provides a rare glimpse into what goes into these systems. (The Atlantic $)

9 McDonald’s is trying to bring back NFTs
Remember those? (Gizmodo)

10 A lot of people are confusing Starlink satellites with UFOs
Guess it’ll take us a while for us to get used to seeing them. (Ars Technica)

Quote of the day

“F*** you, Elon Musk.”

—Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, makes her views clear during a speech calling for tougher social media regulation ahead of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Reuters reports.

 The big story

Alina Chan tweeted life into the idea that the virus came from a lab

COURTESY PHOTO

June 2021

Alina Chan started asking questions in March 2020. She was chatting with friends on Facebook about the virus then spreading out of China. She thought it was strange that no one had found any infected animal. She wondered why no one was admitting another possibility, which to her seemed very obvious: the outbreak might have been due to a lab accident.

Chan is a postdoc in a gene therapy lab at the Broad Institute, a prestigious research institute affiliated with both Harvard and MIT. Throughout 2020, Chan relentlessly stoked scientific argument, and wasn’t afraid to pit her brain against the best virologists in the world. Her persistence even helped change some researchers’ minds. Read the full story.

—Antonio Regalado

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ Why Quincy Jones was the best of the best.
+ These handy apps are a great way to save articles to read later on (Pocket is my own personal favorite.)
+ How to resurrect a ghost river in the Bronx.
+ Look after your stainless steel pans, and your stainless steel pans will look after you.