{"id":840435,"date":"2025-04-11T04:11:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T09:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/11\/the-download-detecting-bird-flu-and-powering-industrial-processes-with-nuclear-energy\/"},"modified":"2025-04-11T04:11:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T09:11:49","slug":"the-download-detecting-bird-flu-and-powering-industrial-processes-with-nuclear-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/11\/the-download-detecting-bird-flu-and-powering-industrial-processes-with-nuclear-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: detecting bird flu, and powering industrial processes with nuclear energy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: Donald Trump wants Apple to start building iPhones in America<\/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

A new biosensor can detect bird flu in five minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Over the winter, eggs suddenly became all but impossible to buy. As a bird flu outbreak rippled through dairy and poultry farms, grocery stores struggled to keep them on shelves.<\/p>\n

The shortages and record-high prices in February raised costs dramatically for restaurants and bakeries and led some shoppers to skip the breakfast staple entirely. But a team based at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a device that could help slow future outbreaks by detecting bird flu in air samples in just five minutes. <\/strong>Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Carly Kay<\/em><\/p>\n

This story is from the next edition of our print magazine, which is all about the body. <\/strong>Subscribe now<\/strong><\/a> to read it and get a copy of the magazine when it lands!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Texas chemical plant could get its own nuclear reactors<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Nuclear reactors could someday power a chemical plant in Texas, making it the first with such a facility onsite. The factory, which makes plastics and other materials, could become a model for power-hungry data centers and other industrial operations going forward.<\/p>\n

The plans are the work of Dow Chemical and X-energy, which last week applied for a construction permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency in the US that governs nuclear energy.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019ll be years before nuclear reactors will actually turn on, this application marks a major milestone for the project, and for the potential of advanced nuclear technology to power industrial processes. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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MIT Technology Review Narrated: Exosomes are touted as a trendy cure-all. We don\u2019t know if they work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

People are spending thousands of dollars on unproven exosome therapies for hair loss, skin aging, and acne, as well as more serious conditions like long covid and Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

This is our latest story<\/a> to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated <\/strong>podcast, which\u00a0 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

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 Donald Trump is confident Apple can make iPhones in the US\u00a0<\/strong>
Tim Cook is probably less sure about that. (9to5Mac<\/a>)
+ Politicians are obsessed with the fantasy of an America-made iPhone. <\/em>(404 Media<\/a>)
+ If you need a new phone, you\u2019re better off buying one now. <\/em>(Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

2 Trade groups are weighing up suing Trump to fight his tariffs<\/strong>
The Chamber of Commerce and other groups feel they may not have another option. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Trump has hit China with a 104% tariff. <\/em>(CNBC<\/a>)
+ What does he really hope to achieve? <\/em>(Vox<\/a>)
+ Even the conservative podcasters that helped him win aren\u2019t happy. <\/em>(FT<\/a> $)
+ Trump\u2019s tariffs will deliver a big blow to climate tech. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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3 The UK government is building a \u201cmurder prediction\u201d tool<\/strong>
But research shows that algorithmic crime prediction systems don\u2019t work. (The Guardian<\/a>)
+ Predictive policing algorithms are racist. They need to be dismantled. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 DOGE has converted magnetic tapes to digital records<\/strong>
The problem is, magnetic tapes are stable and safe. Digital records are both hackable and vulnerable to bit rot. (404 Media<\/a>)
+ Government technologists aren\u2019t happy about the switch. <\/em>(Economist<\/a> $)
+ Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? It\u2019s complex. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 The crypto industry isn\u2019t benefiting from Trump quite yet<\/strong>
In fact, VC investment has fallen. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ However, prosecutors are being told to stop pursuing certain crypto crimes. <\/em>(WP<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

6 Tech bros are building a Christian utopia in Appalachia
<\/strong>These groups have traditionally existed only online. Can building a town bring them together? (Mother Jones<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

7 California\u2019s only nuclear power plant is using AI
<\/strong>It\u2019s the first time generative AI has been used onsite at a power plant.(The Markup<\/a>)
+ Interest in nuclear power is surging. Is it enough to build new reactors? <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Custom 3D-printed railway shelters are being trialed in Japan
<\/strong>In a bid to help rural stations replace ageing infrastructure. (Ars Technica<\/a>)<\/p>\n

9 We\u2019re learning more about how the Titanic sank<\/strong>
Thanks to a new scan of its wreckage. (BBC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10 Would you ride this headless horse robot?<\/strong>
Kawasaki\u2019s outlandish concept model looks decidedly unsafe. (Vice<\/a>)
+ A skeptic\u2019s guide to humanoid-robot videos. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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

\u201ciPhone manufacturing isn\u2019t coming back to America.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014An anonymous source familiar with Apple\u2019s plans has some bad news for the Trump administration, the Washington Post<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

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

<\/a><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Inside effective altruism, where the far future counts a lot more than the present<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since its birth in the late 2000s, effective altruism has aimed to answer the question \u201cHow can those with means have the most impact on the world in a quantifiable way?\u201d\u2014and supplied methods for calculating the answer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that effective altruisms’ ideas have long faced criticism for reflecting white Western saviorism, alongside an avoidance of structural problems in favor of abstract math. And as believers pour even greater amounts of money into the movement\u2019s increasingly sci-fi ideals, such charges are only intensifying. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Rebecca Ackermann<\/em><\/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

+ Why is everybody suddenly obsessed with Dubai chocolate<\/a>? ????
+ Inside one academic\u2019s quest to locate the famous photograph<\/a> hanging on the wall of The Shining\u2019s Overlook Hotel.
+ Adorable: a Japanese town has created its own trading card game<\/a> featuring older men in the community.
+ I think it\u2019s safe to say Val Kilmer really didn\u2019t enjoy being in the largely forgotten film Spartan<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

Plus: Donald Trump wants Apple to start building iPhones in America 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. A new biosensor can detect bird flu in five minutes Over the winter, eggs suddenly became all but impossible to buy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":840436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105015,24097,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-840435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-detecting","category-download","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840435","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=840435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}