The Download: what’s next for quantum computing, and hacking circadian clocks

1 year ago 160

For years, quantum’s quality rhythm was dominated by headlines astir record-setting systems. But this year, researchers are getting disconnected the hype bid and knuckling down to beingness successful the existent world—bucking the inclination of packing processors with ever much quantum bits, oregon “qubits,” successful favour of fewer, but higher prime qubits.

Companies are besides announcing caller chips designed to link straight to each other. It’s a determination that’s expected to accelerate the displacement toward “modular” quantum computers—and assistance the machines to standard up importantly successful the process. Read the afloat story.

—Michael Brooks

How drugs that hack our circadian clocks mightiness 1 time amended our health

We've got much than 1 biologic clock. Beyond the 1 that marches onwards arsenic we age, the circadian timepiece that sits successful our brains keeps our bodies successful rhythm. This timepiece helps power erstwhile we wake, eat, and sleep.

But there’s much to it than that. It besides controls the finer aspects of however our bodies work, by influencing hundreds of molecular clocks passim our cells and organs, from regulating our metabolisms to controlling however our genes marque proteins.

Now scientists are moving connected ways to tailor treatments to our circadian rhythms. Drugs that specifically people the clocks themselves are being explored successful the lab. Will we 1 time beryllium capable to hack our circadian clocks to amended our health? Read the afloat story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This communicative is from The Checkup, Jessica’s play newsletter giving you the wrong way connected each things biotech. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Thursday.

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+ AI is bringing the net to submerged Roman ruins. The exertion is making it easier to show underwater archaeological sites. Read the afloat story.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.

1 A caller covid subvariant is sweeping crossed the US 
But there’s nary grounds to suggest it’s much terrible than its predecessors. (The Atlantic $)
+ The WHO said it’s monitoring its dispersed closely. (Sky News)
+ Demand for covid drugs is soaring connected China’s achromatic market. (Rest of World)
+ The European Union “strongly” recommends subordinate states trial arrivals from China. (BBC)

2 Former Twitter workers are inactive waiting for severance pay
Many of them person been waiting for implicit 2 months. (Bloomberg $)
+ Hackers person shared 200 cardinal Twitter users' data. (The Register)
+ We’re witnessing the encephalon decease of Twitter. (MIT Technology Review)

3 It’s improbable that Celsius customers volition get their wealth back
Unfortunately for them, they didn’t truly ain astir of their cryptocurrency—the collapsed lender did. (WP $)
+ New York’s lawyer wide is suing Celsius’s founder. (NYT $)

4 Taiwan wants to physique its ain outer network 
In a bid to safeguard the state from imaginable attacks from China. (FT $)
+ Satellite-to-mobile phones are gaining traction astatine this year’s CES. (WSJ $)

5Two Wikipedia administrators person been jailed successful Saudi Arabia
In a draconian effort to power the website’s accusation astir the country. (The Guardian)

6 Inside Facebook’s governmental nightmare
Demoting “sensitive” newsfeed topics was acold from creaseless sailing. (WSJ $) 
+ Meta absorption moving overseas has been a headache, too. (The Information $)

7 Encouraging radical to donate kidneys is tough
Offering donors a fiscal inducement is 1 solution to lowering waiting lists. (Wired $)

8 Bionic penile implants could assistance dainty erectile dysfunction
Pigs with injured penises that received artificial insubstantial patches were capable to acquisition mean erections. (Motherboard)
+ Meet the wounded seasoned who got a penis transplant. (MIT Technology Review)

9 How tech lovers accommodate to beingness off-grid 🌱
It’s clip to put successful a upwind turbine! (The Next Web)

10 How meme-themed piñatas took disconnected 🪅
Political and societal media-themed designs are particularly popular. (Rest of World)

Quote of the day

"The top hazard is not taking one." 

—A punctuation from the website of Alex Mashinsky, the CEO of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, who stands accused of having defrauded investors retired of billions of dollars, Reuters reports.

The large story

Your archetypal lab-grown burger is coming soon—and it’ll beryllium “blended”

December 2020

One chill autumn nighttime successful 2010, Jessica Krieger was horrified by a documentary that showed the gruesome ways animals are slaughtered for food. Then an undergrad successful neuroscience, she threw herself into what astatine the clip was a fringe country of biotech research: increasing and harvesting edible carnal cells without sidesplitting immoderate sentient creatures.

While lab-grown nutrient was engaged trying to find its mode retired of the petri dish, plant-based nutrient substitutes were undergoing a revolution. But alternatively than treating their occurrence arsenic a threat, Krieger and a fig of different entrepreneurs spot it arsenic the opening they request to yet bring their creations to market—in the signifier of “blended meat,” melding the champion of the plant-based and cultured-meat substitutes. And it mightiness not beryllium agelong earlier you get a accidental to sensation it. Read the afloat story.

 —Niall Firth

We tin inactive person bully things

A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction successful these weird times. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line or tweet 'em astatine me.)

+ If you’re ever mislaid successful the wilderness, these indispensable survival skills volition basal you successful bully stead.
+ TikTok’s location cleaning tips are amazingly easy—and effectual to boot.
+ Learning each the large and insignificant scales connected a piano conscionable became a breeze.
+ Soft amaretti biscuits—yes please.
+ The US Transportation Security Administration has released its database of the weirdest finds of 2022—including a gun hidden successful peanut butter.

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