About: blatcho

The company is taking orders for its 155-mph sports car—but sadly the Polestar 6 will be a no-fly drone zone.

David Pan / Bloomberg: Top publicly-traded US bitcoin miners Core Scientific, Marathon Digital, and Riot Blockchain lost $862M, $192M, and $366M in Q2 respectively after impairments  —  The three-largest US publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies lost over $1 billion in the second quarter after taking a series …

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: Israel-based Pliops, which makes chips for data centers that boost the performance of databases and other apps that run on flash memory, raised a $100M Series D  —  Analyzing data generated within the enterprise — for example, sales and purchasing data — can lead to insights that improve operations.

Bloomberg: Sources: for years, the SEC and CFTC were hindered by banks’ usage of messaging apps like WhatsApp to skirt archiving rules; ~10 banks may be fined ~$2B total  —  Record fines that the world’s biggest investment banks are expected to pay in the coming months reflect years of frustration among US regulators …

One of the long-promised benefits of quantum computers is simulating molecules very quickly, but it turns out that these extra-fast speeds might not be possible

This spring, some members of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) — a group representing the world’s most accomplished engineers — were tasked with electing the institution’s next vice president. MIT’s Wesley Harris emerged as their top choice. Officially announced as NAE’s new VP, Harris will help advance its mission to expand U.S. engineering frontiers […]

A conversation about practical ways to handle negative relationships with people at work.

Lessons in risk management based on research on Texas businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey.

How to craft a location strategy that bridges the digital and physical worlds.

Climate change is making fire season worse. Now astronomers are feeling the heat.

The company’s latest fitness tracker has onboard GPS and is surprisingly … not as crappy as before.

Hi-res imaging can help determine cause of death in very young babies—giving parents answers without the distress of an invasive autopsy.

Sara Fischer / Axios: Oracle begins “regular vetting and validation” of TikTok’s algorithms and content moderation models to ensure they aren’t manipulated by Chinese authorities  —  Oracle has begun vetting TikTok’s algorithms and content moderation models to ensure they aren’t manipulated by Chinese authorities, Axios has learned.

Lulu Yilun Chen / Bloomberg: Analysis: Fidelity cut its estimate for Ant Group’s valuation to $70B at the end of May, down from $78B in June 2021 and $235B before Ant’s failed IPO in 2020  —  Fintech giant Ant Group Co.’s valuation was trimmed again by global investors who bought private shares ahead of its […]

Globes Online: Tel Aviv-based Guesty, a property management service for short-term rentals, raised a $170M Series E led by Apax Digital, MSD Partners, and Sixth Street Growth  —  The Tel Aviv-based property management platform for the short-term rental and hospitality industry has tripled its valuation since last year.

What’s the best way to help someone living in extreme poverty? Some might say improved access to food while others might focus on health care or education. All are worthy causes, but the truth is that the needs of people in extreme poverty vary. Walk through a slum in Kenya, for instance, and you might […]

Antoine Gara / Financial Times: Filing: Elliott Management sold all of its 10M shares in Twitter in Q2 amid Musk’s takeover bid; the hedge fund had no common stock in Twitter as of June 30  —  Activist investor held 10mn shares as they rallied on news of Tesla founder’s $44bn takeover  —  The activist hedge […]

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: Sources: Apple sets a return-to-office deadline of September 5, for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and a regular third day that will be determined by individual teams  —  Apple Inc. has set a Sept. 5 deadline for corporate employees to be in the office at least three days a week after delaying …

Bloomberg: A judge orders Twitter to give Elon Musk documents from a former Twitter executive Musk said was a key witness but denies Musk’s similar request for 21 others  —  Twitter Inc. was ordered to hand over files from its former consumer product head to Elon Musk on spam and bot accounts the billionaire …

The Airbus Zephyr S, a military reconnaissance aircraft, has more than doubled the record it set in 2018 for an uncrewed flight duration

The after-effects of nuclear war would be catastrophic for agriculture. Simulations show billions of people could starve depending on the size of the conflict

LEGO blocks can be manually attached to each other in certain prescribed ways to create complex structures. What if we could engineer living LEGO-like structures that can self-replicate and move around, and can be programmed to grow and self-assemble into any desired target shape? An interdisciplinary research team, led by MIT professor Jörn Dunkel and […]

In an example of the adage “everything old is new again,” MIT engineers report a new discovery in semiconductors, well-known materials that have been the focus of intense study for over 100 years thanks to their many applications in electronic devices. The team found that these important materials not only become much stiffer in response […]

Amy E. Keating, the Jay A. Stein Professor of Biology and a professor of biological engineering, has been named head of the Department of Biology, effective today. She succeeds Alan Grossman, the Praecis Professor of Biology at MIT, who led the department since 2014. “Professor Keating is a leading researcher in her field, employing computational […]

Choose the right people, then make sure they’re prepared.

Reflecting on our own experiences of being disadvantaged or marginalized can help us better empathize with our peers.

Influencers are encouraging people to ditch hormonal contraception. Fixing feeds will require mending mistrust between doctors and patients.

For anyone getting back into the sport, or just starting for the first time, here’s the go-to gear to get you rolling.

The legislation adds fuel to a major push for a US battery supply chain. But inconvenient geography is the least of the challenges ahead.

Alex Webb / Bloomberg: Meta focusing on Europe makes sense for three reasons: raising ARPU in the region to US levels, facing off regulatory headwinds, and attracting cheaper talent  —  A sizable chunk of the executive team at Meta Platforms Inc.—Facebook, to you and me—is decamping to London.

Lily Hay Newman / Wired: A “jailbreak” for John Deere tractors, helping farmers modify and repair them, highlights issues with securing farm equipment and the right-to-repair debate  —  A hacker has formulated an exploit that provides root access to two popular models of the company’s farm equipment.

Lucy Harley-McKeown / The Block: Galaxy Digital terminates its $1.2B acquisition of crypto custodian BitGo, announced in May 2021, after the service failed to provide audited statements  —  – Galaxy Digital announced on Monday that it would terminate its deal with crypto custodian BitGo, which had been announced in May 2021.

These WIRED-tested two-wheelers will help you scoot scoot scoot around town.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: Sources: Apple ads team lead Todd Teresi is now reporting directly to Eddy Cue and wants to increase the group’s ad revenues from $4B a year to double digits  —  Apple is set to expand ads to new areas of your iPhone and iPad in search of its next big revenue […]

David McCabe / New York Times: A look at the growing bipartisan scrutiny of TikTok in the US; email: House officials told staff they did not recommend using the app, citing security concerns  —  National security concerns over the Chinese-owned viral video app remain unresolved.  Lawmakers and regulators are increasingly pushing for action.

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: New York City-based Kumospace, which offers video chat and remote work tools with a “virtual office” feel, has raised a $21M Series A led by Lightspeed  —  After more than two years of remote work, many employees have no interest in returning to the office — at least not without good […]

The Gear team spends countless hours in front of displays while reviewing gadgets galore. So we reviewed those too (including a portable screen).

A hidden link between two seemingly unrelated particle collision outcomes shows a mysterious web of mathematical connections between disparate theories.

Cissy Zhou / Nikkei Asia: Source: China has blocked Tencent-backed health platform DXY from posting on Weibo, WeChat, and Douyin amid its criticism of China’s efforts to fight COVID-19  —  Dingxiang Yuan posted articles debunking use of traditional medicine for virus  —  HONG KONG — China has suspended …

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: A profile of COO Javier Olivan, who has become Meta’s “unofficial fixer” and has had a hand in all of the company’s major competitive battles and acquisitions  —  In 2008, Facebook was offered only in English—and struggling to expand internationally.

Mark Sullivan / Fast Company: D-Wave completed its planned SPAC merger last week, the third quantum computing startup, after Rigetti and IonQ, to go public via SPAC within the last year  —  Yet another quantum computing company has gone public via SPAC.  —  D-Wave completed a planned merger on Monday with DPCM Capital …

Think about almost any locale where people live: Why does it have its current built form? Why do people reside where they do? No doubt there are quirks of geography or history involved. But places are also shaped by money, politics, and the law — in short, by power. Studying those issues is the work […]

The Veterans Affairs’ VistA software has a vulnerability that could let an attacker “masquerade as a doctor,” a security researcher warns.

Plus: Ring cameras get their own show, Google calls out Apple’s messaging, and we unpack Unpacked.

Emma Roth / The Verge: Uber will end its free loyalty program Uber Rewards on November 1, 2022, to focus on its new Uber One membership program  —  You have until October 31st to spend your leftover Uber Rewards points  —  Uber is ending its free loyalty program, Uber Rewards, so it can turn its […]

Reuters: China’s internet watchdog publishes a list of 30 algorithms used in popular apps, including Wechat, Taobao, and Douyin, with brief descriptions of their use  —  China’s top internet watchdog said on Friday tech giants such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group have submitted details …

Chris Metinko / Crunchbase News: Overtime, which distributes original sports content on social media channels, raised a $100M Series D at a $500M valuation, bringing its total funding to $250M  —  Sports league startup Overtime closed a $100 million Series D valuing the company at $500 million.

Mountaintop removal destroyed Appalachia’s land. Then came the floodwaters.

Apple’s laptops are expensive, and you’ll have to make some hard choices to pick the right one. Let us help.

Gearing up for the new school year? We’ve found plenty of savings on all the essential gadgets and supplies.