{"id":820710,"date":"2025-01-17T23:11:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T05:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/17\/the-download-how-to-save-social-media-and-leftover-embryos\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T23:11:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T05:11:48","slug":"the-download-how-to-save-social-media-and-leftover-embryos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/17\/the-download-how-to-save-social-media-and-leftover-embryos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: how to save social media, and \u201cleftover\u201d embryos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: the US Supreme Court is poised to make a ruling on TikTok’s fate<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

We need to protect the protocol that runs Bluesky<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014Eli Pariser & Deepti Doshi<\/em><\/p>\n

Last week, when Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta would be ending third-party fact-checking, it was a shocking pivot, but not exactly surprising. It\u2019s just the latest example of a billionaire flip-flop affecting our social lives on the internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zuckerberg isn\u2019t the only social media CEO careening all over the road: Elon Musk, since buying Twitter in 2022 and touting free speech as \u201cthe bedrock of a functioning democracy,\u201d has suspended journalists, restored tens of thousands of banned users, brought back political advertising, and weakened verification and harassment policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these capricious billionaires can do whatever they want because of an ownership model that privileges singular, centralized control in exchange for shareholder returns. The internet doesn\u2019t need to be like this. But as luck would have it, a new way is emerging just in time. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Deciding the fate of \u201cleftover\u201d embryos<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the past few months, I\u2019ve been working on a piece about IVF embryos<\/a>. The goal of in vitro fertilization is to create babies via a bit of lab work: Trigger the release of lots of eggs, introduce them to sperm in a lab, transfer one of the resulting embryos into a person\u2019s uterus, and cross your fingers for a healthy pregnancy. Sometimes it doesn\u2019t work. But often it does. For the article, I explored what happens to the healthy embryos that are left over.<\/p>\n

These days, responsible IVF clinics will always talk to people about the possibility of having leftover embryos before they begin treatment. But it can be really difficult to make these decisions before you\u2019ve even started treatment, and some people can\u2019t imagine having any left over\u2014or how they might feel about them. Read the full story<\/a>.

<\/strong>\u2014Jessica Hamzelou<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review\u2019s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, <\/strong>sign up here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MIT Technology Review Narrated: Palmer Luckey on the Pentagon\u2019s future of mixed reality<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, has set his sights on a new mixed-reality headset customer: the Pentagon. If designed well, his company Anduril\u2019s headset will automatically sort through countless pieces of information and flag the most important ones to soldiers in real time. But that\u2019s a big \u201cif.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is our latest story<\/a> to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated <\/strong>podcast, which we\u2019re publishing each week on Spotify<\/strong><\/a> and Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a>. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated<\/strong> on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it\u2019s released.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 The Biden administration won\u2019t force through a TikTok ban<\/strong>
But TikTok could choose to shut itself down on Sunday to prove a point. (ABC News<\/a>)
+ A Supreme Court decision is expected later today. <\/em>(NYT<\/a> $)
+ Every platform has a touch of TikTok about it these days. <\/em>(The Atlantic<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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2 Apple is pausing its AI news feature<\/strong>
Because it can\u2019t be trusted to meld news stories together without hallucinating. (BBC<\/a>)
+ The company is working on a fix to roll out in a future software update. <\/em>(WP<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

3 Meta is preparing for Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportations<\/strong>
By relaxing speech policies around immigration, Meta is poised to shape public opinion towards accepting Trump\u2019s plans to tear families apart. (404 Media<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 An uncrewed SpaceX rocket exploded during a test flight<\/strong>
Elon Musk says it was probably caused by a leak. (WSJ<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

5 The FBI believes that hackers accessed its agents\u2019 call logs<\/strong>
The data could link investigators to their secret sources. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

6 What it\u2019s like fighting fire with water
<\/strong>Dumping water on LA\u2019s wildfires may be inelegant, but it is effective. (NY Mag<\/a> $)
+ How investigators are attempting to trace the fires\u2019 origins. <\/em>(BBC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 The road to adapting Tesla\u2019s charges for other EVs is far from smooth<\/strong>
But it is happening, slowly but surely. (IEEE Spectrum<\/a>)
+ Donald Trump isn\u2019t a fan of EVs, but the market is undoubtedly growing. <\/em>(Vox<\/a>)
+ Why EV charging needs more than Tesla. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Bionic hands are getting far more sensitive <\/strong>????<\/strong>
<\/strong>A new study is shedding light on how to make them feel more realistic. (FT<\/a> $)
+ These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

9 Gen Z can\u2019t get enough of astrology apps ????<\/strong>
Stargazing is firmly back ein vogue among the younger generations. (Economist<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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10 Nintendo has finally unveiled its long-awaited Switch 2 console<\/strong>
Only for it to look a whole lot like its predecessor. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ But it\u2019ll probably sell a shedload of units anyway. <\/em>(Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cGoing viral is like winning the lottery\u2014nearly impossible to replicate.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Sarah Schauer, a former star on defunct video app Vine, offers creators left nervous by TikTok\u2019s uncertain future in the US some advice, the Washington Post<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

The big story<\/strong><\/p>\n

After 25 years of hype, embryonic stem cells are still waiting for their moment\u200b<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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August 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1998, researchers isolated powerful stem cells from human embryos. It was a breakthrough, since these cells are the starting point for human bodies and have the capacity to turn into any other type of cell\u2014heart cells, neurons, you name it.<\/p>\n

National Geographic would later summarize the incredible promise: “the dream is to launch a medical revolution in which ailing organs and tissues might be repaired\u201d with living replacements. It was the dawn of a new era. A holy grail. Pick your favorite clich\u00e9\u2014they all got airtime.<\/p>\n

Yet today, more than two decades later, there are no treatments on the market based on these cells. Not one. Our biotech editor Antonio Regalado set out to investigate why, and when that might change. Here\u2019s what he discovered<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>skeet ’em at me<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ If you’re planning on catching up with a friend this weekend\u2014stop! You should be hanging out<\/a> instead.
+ David Lynch<\/a> was a true visionary; an innovative artist and master of the truly weird. The world is a duller place without him.
+ The very best instant noodles<\/a>, ranked ($)
+\u00a0 Congratulations to the highly exclusive Cambridge University Tiddlywinks Club<\/a>, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Rhiannon Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: the US Supreme Court is poised to make a ruling on TikTok’s fate This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download ,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. We need to protect the protocol that runs Bluesky \u2014Eli Pariser & Deepti Doshi Last week, when Mark<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":820711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24097,700,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-820710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-download","category-social","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}