About: blatcho

There’s a lot riding on farmers’ ability to fight weeds, which can strangle crops and destroy yields. To protect crops, farmers have two options: They can spray herbicides that pollute the environment and harm human health, or they can hire more workers. Unfortunately, both choices are becoming less tenable. Herbicide resistance is a growing problem […]

One of the 12 labors of Hercules, according to ancient lore, was to destroy a nine-headed monster called the Hydra. The challenge was that when Hercules used his sword to chop off one of the monster’s heads, two would grow back in its place. He therefore needed an additional weapon, a torch, to vanquish his […]

The esports venture uses blockchain to let fans call the shots in real time.

A look at what often goes wrong — and how companies can get it right.

And 10 strategies for employers to up their game.

It’s cellular immunity, not antibodies, that probably protects against the coronavirus’s worst effects—and scientists haven’t worked out how long it lasts.

Should you get the Ultra and enjoy the new 200-megapixel camera or stick with a smaller handset? We have recommendations.

An Iraqi translator for the US military emigrated to Texas to start a new life. He ended up becoming one of the biggest drug dealers on the dark web.

Tom Ward / Wired: A look at VISTA X-62A, an AI-operated F-16 test jet, considered to be a crucial first step toward US Air Force’s plans to build unmanned combat aerial vehicles  —  After successful autonomous flight tests in December, the military is ramping up its plans to bring artificial intelligence to the skies.

Connie Loizos / TechCrunch: A look at Worldcoin, which reorganized under parent company Tools for Humanity and lets users sign up via iris scans for a global ID and financial services  —  Fake virtual identities are nothing new.  The ability to so easily create them has been both a boon for social media platforms …

Bloomberg: A look at the rise and fall of Dubai-based ride-hailing firm Swvl, the Middle’s East first $1.5B Nasdaq-listed unicorn, now worth ~$9M after a 99%+ stock drop  —  In July 2021 the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was briefly lit up in brilliant red, with animated electronic text scrolling …

An artificial intelligence that has been trained on YouTube and podcast recordings generates speech from text prompts that sounds remarkably natural

Rather than obtaining a warrant, the bureau purchased sensitive data—a controversial practice that privacy advocates say is deeply problematic.

Some 11 billion pounds of plastic particles are blanketing the surface alone. But a new study points to hope—if countries act now.

After successful autonomous flight tests in December, the military is ramping up its plans to bring artificial intelligence to the skies.

Dell Cameron / Wired: The FBI acknowledges for the first time it bought US location data, director Christopher Wray says for a national security pilot project that’s no longer active  —  Rather than obtaining a warrant, the bureau purchased sensitive data—a controversial practice that privacy advocates say is deeply problematic.

Kate Clark / The Information: Sources: Anthropic, which focuses on researching AI safety, raised $300M led by Spark Capital at a $4.1B pre-money valuation, after Google invested $400M  —  Spark Capital is leading a $300 million investment in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, one of the primary startup challengers to OpenAI …

Bloomberg: Sources: Uber is exploring whether to spin off its Uber Freight logistics arm, likely via an IPO, to focus on its growing ride hailing and food delivery units  —  Uber Technologies Inc. is exploring whether to spin off its Uber Freight logistics arm in a sale or as a separate publicly traded company …

A paint that gets its colour from aluminium nanoparticles rather than pigment is also incredibly lightweight and reflective

Assil Halimi has loved science since he was a child, but it was a singular experience at a college internship that stoked his interest in nuclear engineering. As part of work on a conceptual design for an aircraft electric propulsion system, Halimi had to read a chart that compared the energy density of various fuel […]

A wildfire can pump smoke up into the stratosphere, where the particles drift for over a year. A new MIT study has found that while suspended there, these particles can trigger chemical reactions that erode the protective ozone layer shielding the Earth from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet radiation. The study, which appears today in Nature, […]

Only half of chief executives are confident they are able to provide high-quality digital experiences to customers, according to a new survey.

An analysis of 3,000 applications to Harvard Business School’s High Potentials Leadership Program reveals common challenges and opportunities.

Without broader commitments to advancing women, these programs can signal that women are deficient and need fixing.

Avian influenza has killed millions of birds. Shots to prevent it already exist. Why isn’t the entire poultry industry using them?

As the state’s solutions to pollution fail, the need for expensive air purifiers is driving a new kind of inequality.

Anjli Raval / Financial Times: A profile of former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, who was criticized for the company’s slow move into AI, cloud, and data analytics, as she releases a book on her life  —  The former IBM chief executive’s new book sheds light on her background, her working life — and her call […]

Bloomberg: Sources: after postponing construction at the end of 2022, Intel seeks an extra €4B-€5B from Germany to build its chip plant, taking the expected cost to ~€30B  —  Intel Corp. is seeking an additional 4 billion to 5 billion euros in subsidies from the German government …

Andrew Webster / The Verge: Panic launches Catalog, a curated game store for its handheld Playdate console with 16 titles, and raises the device’s price by $20 to $199 starting in April  —  As part of a showcase event, Panic announced that Catalog, a game store for its Playdate handheld, would be launching today.

During photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants absorbs packets of energy called photons from the sun’s rays. This energy is then transferred to a series of other chlorophyll molecules organized by protein scaffolds, funneling the energy into the next stage of photosynthesis. Those early light-harvesting stages of photosynthesis involve repeated excitation of pigments, as photons are passed […]

The rainy season is just getting started. It’s smart to stock up on all the right gear now.

The Bear and History of the World, Part II are just two of the shows you won’t want to miss on this streaming service.

Swatch’s new limited-edition Omega collaboration is on sale for just one day, but it’s not the luxury-busting timepiece we were hoping for.

Financial Times: Sources: EU regulators asked Twitter to hire more moderators and fact-checkers over concerns that Twitter aims to use more volunteers and AI to monitor content  —  Regulators are concerned that platform aims to use more volunteers and artificial intelligence to monitor content

Bloomberg: Source: Silvergate is in talks with FDIC officials about ways to avoid a shutdown, including lining up crypto-industry investors to help shore up its liquidity  —  US regulators have been sent to the headquarters of Silvergate Capital Corp., as the troubled crypto-friendly bank looks for a way to stay in business.

Rest of World: A look at the growing social media dubbing industry, which is helping MrBeast and other YouTubers reach global audiences and monetize videos in many languages  —  MrBeast and PewDiePie are part of a booming business that localizes social media videos for fans around the world.

An artificial intelligence that can create pictures of what people are looking at based on brain scans is impressive, but not ready for widespread use

The Margaret Cheney Room celebrated its reopening last month after significant updates and remodeling over the last several months. The celebration was led by Lauryn McNair, assistant dean of LBGTQ+ Women and Gender Services, and attended by MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles, Provost Cynthia Barnhart, and numerous students, staff, and alumni. In 1884, MIT founded the […]

Researchers from the Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) interdisciplinary research group of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, and their collaborators from Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory have developed the first-ever nanosensor that can detect and distinguish gibberellins (GAs), a class of hormones in plants that […]

Companies can make small changes that could dramatically increase retirement readiness.

A conversation with the former head of IBM about her own career, and how she chose to run the company.

There’s a reason “your” is in this headline.

Viewers are calling Corey Stoll’s character “unsettlingly strange.” His creation was even wilder.

A booming illicit market for OpenAI’s chatbot shows the huge potential, and risks, for Chinese generative AI.

Once praised for its generous social safety net, the country now collects troves of data on welfare claimants.

George Hammond / Financial Times: Many VCs question whether generative AI startups, currently attracting huge valuations, will make enough money, fearing a repeat of the crypto investment hype  —  Silicon Valley VCs fearing a repeat of falling crypto values warn against pouring cash into hype-fuelled start-ups

Wall Street Journal: YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram helped Monu Manesar, an Indian cow vigilante wanted in connection to two murders, thrive despite violent and Islamophobic posts  —  Killings prompt scrutiny of companies’ handling of influencer whose accounts thrived years with violent and anti-Muslim posts

New York Times: After Instagram added a prompt to cross-post on Facebook, sources say at Meta’s request, some young adults express surprise that their posts are on Facebook  —  Teenagers and young adults are flummoxed.  The reason it keeps happening involves an online prompt and product design.

New modeling estimates that food production could add a degree Celsius to global warming. But it also points to powerful ways to make diets more sustainable.

These are the first wireless, noise-canceling headphones that even the staunchest audio nerds can enjoy.