That is as we speak’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what is going on on on the earth of expertise.
The danger of a fowl flu pandemic is rising
How fearful ought to we be about fowl flu? The previous few months have seen some probably worrisome developments within the US, together with the continued unfold of the virus amongst dairy cattle, the detection of the virus in a pig in addition to cow’s milk, and—most regarding of all—the rising variety of human infections.
We don’t but have any proof that the virus is spreading between individuals, however the threat of a possible pandemic has elevated since MIT Know-how Evaluation final lined this subject a few months in the past.
The excellent news is we’re in a significantly better place to sort out any potential future flu outbreaks than we had been to face covid-19 again in 2020, provided that we have already got vaccines. However, on the entire, it’s not trying nice. Learn the complete story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly e-newsletter providing you with the within observe on all issues well being and biotech. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.
The moon is just the start for this waterless concrete
If NASA establishes a everlasting presence on the moon, its astronauts’ properties may very well be manufactured from a brand new 3D-printable, waterless concrete. Sometime, so may yours. By accelerating the curing course of for extra speedy building, this sulfur-based compound might change into simply as relevant on our residence terrain as it’s on lunar soil.
Conventional concrete requires giant quantities of water, a commodity that will probably be briefly provide on the moon, and sending simply 1 kilogram of it to the moon prices roughly $1.2 million.
As a substitute, NASA hopes to create new supplies from lunar soil and finally adapt the identical methods for constructing on Mars. However creating the proper waterless “lunarcrete” is less complicated stated than completed. Learn the complete story.
—Jenna Ahart
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Australia has banned under-16s from utilizing social media
However the legislation is well circumvented, and will create extra issues than it solves. (WP $)
+ Unsurprisingly, the tech giants aren’t followers of the ruling. (Fortune)
+ Australians’ reactions to the information look like pretty blended. (BBC)
2 US retailers are urging consumers to purchase earlier than new tariffs kick in
It’s yet one more advertising tactic to drive gross sales through the busiest time for purchasing. (WSJ $)
+ Are you among the many horde of this yr’s Black Friday refuseniks? (FT $)
+ How Trump’s tariffs might drive up the price of batteries, EVs, and extra. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
3 Canada is suing Google for ‘making a monopoly’
The swimsuit is following within the footsteps of the US authorities. (NYT $)
+ It’s becoming a member of requires the colossal firm to promote two items of selling software program. (WSJ $)
+ Google’s antitrust intestine punch and the Trump wild card. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
4 How China got here to dominate the automotive export market
And spook the EU and US within the course of. (NYT $)
+ Beneficiant authorities subsidies additionally performed a not insignificant half. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
5 A UK politician says companies ought to use robots over migrants
Automating duties like fruit selecting would scale back the UK’s internet migration figures, he claims. (The Guardian)
+ Inside Japan’s lengthy experiment in automating elder care. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
6 North Korean hackers have stolen billions in crypto
The illicit foreign money is funneled into funding its nuclear weapons program. (TechCrunch)
7 America refuses to surrender its dream of troopers in exoskeletons
It’s been testing the fits for many years. Why haven’t they caught on? (Wired $)
+ This robotic exoskeleton will help runners dash sooner. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
8 Is it actually potential to receives a commission to do just about nothing?
This Stanford thinks one in 10 engineers is doing precisely that. (404 Media)
+ Large Tech has change into preoccupied with figuring out and firing freeloaders. (Insider $)
9 GitHub can educate you to bake bread 🍞
That includes flowcharts, tables, and timelines galore. (Ars Technica)
10 Right here’s how a diamond is grown in a lab 💎
Are you able to inform the distinction between them and the true deal? (WP $)
Quote of the day
“It’s unimaginable to be a teen in most components of the world with out social media.”
—Stephen Scheeler, the previous head of Fb in Australia and New Zealand, tells Bloomberg about his doubts whether or not Australia’s new ban on social media for youngsters can really be enforced.
The massive story
Subsequent slide, please: A short historical past of the company presentation
August 2023
PowerPoint is in all places. It’s utilized in non secular sermons; by schoolchildren getting ready ebook studies; at funerals and weddings. In 2010, Microsoft introduced that PowerPoint was put in on greater than a billion computer systems worldwide.
However earlier than PowerPoint, 35-millimeter movie slides had been king. They had been the one medium for the sorts of high-impact shows given by CEOs and prime brass at annual conferences for stockholders, workers, and salespeople.