That is right this moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s happening on the planet of know-how.
What’s subsequent for carbon removing?
After years of progress that spawned a whole bunch of startups, the nascent carbon removing sector seems to be going through a reckoning.Operating Tide, a promising aquaculture firm, shut down its operations final summer season, and a handful of different firms have shuttered, downsized, or pivoted in current months as properly. Enterprise investments have flagged. And the collective trade hasn’t made an entire lot extra progress towards Operating Tide’s formidable plans to sequester a billion tons of carbon dioxide by this yr.
The hype section is over and the sector is sliding into the turbulent enterprise trough that follows, consultants warn.
And the open query is: If the carbon removing sector is heading right into a painful if inevitable clearing-out cycle, the place will it go from there? Learn the total story.
—James Temple
This story is a part of MIT Know-how Overview’s What’s Subsequent collection, which appears throughout industries, developments, and applied sciences to offer you a primary take a look at the long run. You’ll be able to learn the remainder of them right here.
An AI app to measure ache is right here
This week I’ve additionally been questioning how science and know-how may also help reply that query—particularly in relation to ache.
Within the newest subject of MIT Know-how Overview’s print journal, Deena Mousa describes how an AI-powered smartphone app is getting used to evaluate how a lot ache an individual is in.
The app, and different instruments prefer it, may assist medical doctors and caregivers. They may very well be particularly helpful within the care of people that aren’t capable of inform others how they’re feeling.
However they’re removed from excellent. They usually open up all types of thorny questions on how we expertise, talk, and even deal with ache. Learn the total story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This text first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Know-how Overview’s weekly biotech e-newsletter. To obtain it in your inbox each Thursday, and skim articles like this primary, enroll right here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you right this moment’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Meta’s legal professionals suggested employees to take away elements of its teen psychological well being researchIts counsel advised researchers to dam or replace their work to cut back authorized legal responsibility. (Bloomberg $)+ Meta lately laid off greater than 100 employees tasked with monitoring dangers to person privateness. (NYT $)
2 Donald Trump has pardoned the convicted Binance founderChangpeng Zhao pleaded responsible to violating US cash laundering legal guidelines in 2023. (WSJ $)+ The transfer is prone to allow Binance to renew working within the US. (CNN)+ Trump has vowed to be extra crypto-friendly than the Biden administration. (Axios)
3 Anthropic and Google Cloud have signed a significant chips dealThe settlement is value tens of billions of {dollars}. (FT $)
4 Microsoft doesn’t need you to speak soiled to its AIIt’ll go away that form of factor to OpenAI, thanks very a lot. (CNBC)+ Copilot now has its personal model of Clippy—simply don’t attempt to get erotic with it. (The Verge)+ It’s fairly simple to get DeepSeek to speak soiled, nonetheless. (MIT Know-how Overview)5 Large Tech is footing the invoice for Trump’s White Home ballroomStand up Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. (TechCrunch)+ Crypto twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are additionally among the many donors. (CNN)
6 US investigators have busted a collection of high-tech playing schemesInvolving specially-designed contact lenses and x-ray tables. (NYT $)+ The case follows insider bets on basketball and poker video games rigged by the mafia. (BBC)+ Computerized card shufflers may be compromised, too. (Wired $)
7 Deepfake harassment instruments are simply accessible on social mediaAnd easy net searches. (404 Media)+ Bans on deepfakes take us solely to this point—right here’s what we actually want. (MIT Know-how Overview)
8 How algorithms can drive up costs onlineEven benign algorithms can generally yield unhealthy outcomes for consumers. (Quanta Journal)+ When AIs cut price, a much less superior agent may price you. (MIT Know-how Overview)
9 Methods to give an LLM mind rotTrain it on brief “superficial” posts from X, for a begin. (Ars Technica)+ AI skilled on AI rubbish spits out AI rubbish. (MIT Know-how Overview)
10 Meet the tech employees utilizing AI as little as possibleIn a bid to maintain their abilities sharp. (WP $)+ This professor thinks there are different methods to show individuals learn how to study. (The Atlantic $)
Quote of the day
“He was convicted. He’s not harmless.”
—Republican Senator Thom Tillis criticises Donald Trump’s determination to pardon convicted cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao, Politico reviews.
Yet one more factor
We’ve by no means understood how starvation works. That may be about to alter.
If you’re ravenous, starvation is sort of a demon. It awakens essentially the most historic and primitive elements of the mind, then commandeers different neural equipment to do its bidding till it will get what it desires.Though scientists have had some success in stimulating starvation in mice, we nonetheless don’t actually perceive how the impulse to eat works. Now, some consultants are following identified elements of the neural starvation circuits into uncharted elements of the mind to attempt to discover out.Their work may shed new gentle on the components which have brought about the variety of obese adults worldwide to skyrocket in recent times. And it may additionally assist clear up the mysteries round how and why a brand new class of weight-loss medication appears to work so properly. Learn the total story.
—Adam Piore
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)+ Center aged males are moving into cliff-jumping. Do you have to?+ Pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies feels like a fantastic concept to me.+ Christmas Island’s crabs are on the transfer! + Be careful when you’re taking the NY subway right this moment: you would possibly stumble upon these terrifying witches.
