MIT President L. Rafael Reif recently joined Raúl Rodríguez, associate vice president of internationalization at Tecnológico de Monterrey, for a wide-ranging fireside chat about the power of education and its impact in addressing global issues, even more so in a post pandemic world. “When I was younger, my parents used to always tell me and my […]
How to weigh your options
The Black-Scholes-Merton model, the world’s most famous method of pricing stock options, emerged from MIT in the early 1970s. But as Robert C. Merton, one of its co-creators, explained in an annual Institute lecture on Monday, the real value of the method does not simply lie in understanding the value of stocks. It lies in […]
Video Quick Take: Sitecore’s Steve Tzikakis on Why Experience is Redefining the Future of Business – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM SITECORE
Sponsor content from Sitecore.
How to Be a Supportive Manager When Times Are Tough
Is anyone really focused on work right now?
Talking to Your Customers About Prices
Even if inflation means you have to charge more, don’t try to hide it from your customers.
Digging in the Dirt: 4 Home Composters Reviewed and Rated
Turn food scraps into compost for your garden with one of these indoor, odor-free devices.
The Enduring Legacy of Clubhouse’s Chatty Revolution
The app’s buzz may have quieted down, but its spirit still animates the social internet.
Wear Your Lights as You Bike in the Nutcase Vio Helmet
Forgot your bike lights? This 360-degree illuminated helmet has you covered.
Analysis: majority of the most-viewed Reels on Meta’s platforms are anonymous or reposted; Meta says Reels is Instagram’s biggest engagement growth contributor (Shirin Ghaffary/Vox)
Shirin Ghaffary / Vox: Analysis: majority of the most-viewed Reels on Meta’s platforms are anonymous or reposted; Meta says Reels is Instagram’s biggest engagement growth contributor — Facebook’s pivot back to video shows how badly it needs young people. — Meta, the parent company of Facebook, needs to stay relevant.
Avalanche is now the fourth largest blockchain for DeFi protocols by “total value locked”, at $10B+, ahead of Solana, with its AVAX token rising 2,800% in 2021 (Tracy Wang/CoinDesk)
Tracy Wang / CoinDesk: Avalanche is now the fourth largest blockchain for DeFi protocols by “total value locked”, at $10B+, ahead of Solana, with its AVAX token rising 2,800% in 2021 — To the crypto-conscious, blockchain industry conferences have become annual pilgrimages of sorts …
A look at 3C, a “grassroots” group of SMBs against Big Tech regulation, financed by Google and Amazon, which claims support from SMBs that haven’t heard of it (CNBC)
CNBC: A look at 3C, a “grassroots” group of SMBs against Big Tech regulation, financed by Google and Amazon, which claims support from SMBs that haven’t heard of it — – The Connected Commerce Council, which pitches itself as a grassroots movement representing small business owners …
With new industry, a new era for cities
Kista Science City, just north of Stockholm, is Sweden’s version of Silicon Valley. Anchored by a few big firms and a university, it has become northern Europe’s main high-tech center, with housing mixed in so that people live and work in the same general area. Around the globe, a similar pattern is visible in many […]
Solving the challenges of robotic pizza-making
Imagine a pizza maker working with a ball of dough. She might use a spatula to lift the dough onto a cutting board then use a rolling pin to flatten it into a circle. Easy, right? Not if this pizza maker is a robot. For a robot, working with a deformable object like dough is […]
A judge invalidates Massachusetts’ fiduciary duty rule against Robinhood that underlies a 2020 suit accusing the firm of encouraging users to place risky trades (Nate Raymond/Reuters)
Nate Raymond / Reuters: A judge invalidates Massachusetts’ fiduciary duty rule against Robinhood that underlies a 2020 suit accusing the firm of encouraging users to place risky trades — A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday dealt state securities regulators a major setback in their enforcement action …
Chainalysis: $1B+ in crypto was stolen from bridge-related exploits in a little over a year across seven incidents; Dune: $21B+ is locked on Ethereum bridges (Olga Kharif/Bloomberg)
Olga Kharif / Bloomberg: Chainalysis: $1B+ in crypto was stolen from bridge-related exploits in a little over a year across seven incidents; Dune: $21B+ is locked on Ethereum bridges — The hack of a so-called bridge supporting Axie Infinity’s play-to-earn game revealed this week highlights the increasingly problematic nature …
India-based social commerce startup Citymall, which targets consumers in Tier 2, 3, and 4 towns, raises a $75M Series C led by Norwest Venture Partners (Kul Bhushan/Tech in Asia)
Kul Bhushan / Tech in Asia: India-based social commerce startup Citymall, which targets consumers in Tier 2, 3, and 4 towns, raises a $75M Series C led by Norwest Venture Partners — Citymall, an India-based social commerce startup, has raised US$75 million in a series C round led by Norwest Venture Partners.
AI can create a computer inside itself to run another AI or play Pong
An artificial intelligence trained to mimic the logic circuits of an ordinary computer can run code within itself, potentially speeding up certain calculations
Could nuclear material stolen from Chernobyl be used in a dirty bomb?
Scientists at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant say that radioactive material was stolen by looters during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
How Your Leadership Style Can Inform Your Parenting
Apply strengths from work to communicate more effectively with your teenager.
The Rise of the “Corporate Nomad”
Why exploring different hubs of your company’s network will become an increasingly popular option.
Video Quick Take: Deloitte’s John Mennel on How Purpose Delivers Corporate Value – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM DELOITTE
Sponsor content from Deloitte.
The First Drug-Releasing Contact Lens Is Here
The FDA has approved daily disposables that release anti-allergy medication. Experts hope lenses could one day help treat cataracts and glaucoma.
Russians Need VPNs. The Kremlin Hates Them
VPNs are divided between trying to help Russians stay connected to the global web and steering clear of Putin’s messy politics.
How to Stop Doomscrolling—With Psychology
Awareness and a bit of habit hacking can keep you out of a technology tailspin.
Cyberpion, which helps companies secure outside-facing assets and infrastructure, raises a $27M Series A led by U.S. Venture Partners (Frederic Lardinois/TechCrunch)
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch: Cyberpion, which helps companies secure outside-facing assets and infrastructure, raises a $27M Series A led by U.S. Venture Partners — It’s no secret that digital supply chains are increasingly under attack as hackers look to use this vector to get access to company networks and confidential information.
The UK’s FCA extends a key deadline, set for Thursday, for approving crypto companies; the FCA has so far approved 33 companies (Emily Nicolle/Bloomberg)
Emily Nicolle / Bloomberg: The UK’s FCA extends a key deadline, set for Thursday, for approving crypto companies; the FCA has so far approved 33 companies — The U.K.’s financial regulator is extending a Thursday deadline for its approval of crypto operations, giving a dozen firms more time to get their applications or affairs in […]
Meta paid Republican consulting firm Targeted Victory to orchestrate a campaign against TikTok in the US, including placing op-eps in regional news outlets (Washington Post)
Washington Post: Meta paid Republican consulting firm Targeted Victory to orchestrate a campaign against TikTok in the US, including placing op-eps in regional news outlets — Facebook parent company Meta is paying one of the biggest Republican consulting firms in the country to orchestrate a nationwide campaign seeking …
Fighting discrimination in mortgage lending
Although the U.S. Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in mortgage lending, biases still impact many borrowers. One 2021 Journal of Financial Economics study found that borrowers from minority groups were charged interest rates that were nearly 8 percent higher and were rejected for loans 14 percent more often than those from privileged groups. When […]
Lotus’ All-Electric Eletre SUV Has a Grill That ‘Breathes’
This 600-horsepower, 373-mile EV boasts a light show worthy of Knight Rider’s KITT and is the first production car with retractable lidar for self-driving.
Forcing WhatsApp and iMessage to Work Together Is Doomed to Fail
Europe’s Digital Markets Act requires interoperability between popular messaging apps. But experts warn encryption could be compromised.
4 Women Photographers on the Hardest Photo They Ever Took
In honor of Women’s History Month, we talked about the stories behind these artists’ most challenging images—from the personal to the political.
Chinese AR glasses maker Nreal raises a $60M Series C extension led by Alibaba, bringing its total funding to $200M in the past 12 months (Rita Liao/TechCrunch)
Rita Liao / TechCrunch: Chinese AR glasses maker Nreal raises a $60M Series C extension led by Alibaba, bringing its total funding to $200M in the past 12 months — China’s augmented reality startup Nreal is on a roll. The company, which hopes to bring AR to the masses by making bright-color, lightweight smart glasses […]
Counterpoint: Motorola was the third largest smartphone OEM in the US in 2021, with a 10% market share, up 131% YoY, filling the void left by LG’s exit (Michail/GSMArena.com)
Michail / GSMArena.com: Counterpoint: Motorola was the third largest smartphone OEM in the US in 2021, with a 10% market share, up 131% YoY, filling the void left by LG’s exit — LG officially shut down its mobile division last April which left a sizeable hole in the US smartphone market and based …
Meta updates Messenger with Slack-like shortcuts, /silent to reply without a notification and @everyone to notify all, and plans to add more, like /pay and /gif (Jay Peters/The Verge)
Jay Peters / The Verge: Meta updates Messenger with Slack-like shortcuts, /silent to reply without a notification and @everyone to notify all, and plans to add more, like /pay and /gif — There’s also one that pings everyone, so please use it responsibly — Meta, the parent company of Facebook …
For Refugees in Detention Camps, Smartphones Are a Lifeline
Smartphones can plot travel routes, contact loved ones, and collect evidence of abuse. As one refugee put it, “this sim card is our life.”
Companies May Soon Have to Reveal a Hidden Risk: Carbon Emissions
Big businesses set splashy climate targets but don’t always reveal their data. The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to change that—to protect investors.
New York Taxi Drivers Hated Uber. Now They’re Going to Help It
After almost a decade of animosity and lawsuits, cabbies might help Uber weather a labor shortage—and take a bite out of the competition.
Steven Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital acquires a majority stake in enterprise security company Zimperium for $525M; SoftBank will retain a minority stake (Krystal Hu/Reuters)
Krystal Hu / Reuters: Steven Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital acquires a majority stake in enterprise security company Zimperium for $525M; SoftBank will retain a minority stake — Liberty Strategic Capital, a Washington D.C.-based private equity fund founded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …
Spotify is testing a vertically scrolling feed for podcasts in its main app, featuring an automatically selected 60-second audio preview (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: Spotify is testing a vertically scrolling feed for podcasts in its main app, featuring an automatically selected 60-second audio preview — Spotify acquired podcast discovery platform Podz last summer for roughly $49.4 million, per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing …
Enterprise software company Celonis acquires German startup Process Analytics Factory, which makes tools for Microsoft apps, for $100M in cash and stock (Ivan Levingston/Bloomberg)
Ivan Levingston / Bloomberg: Enterprise software company Celonis acquires German startup Process Analytics Factory, which makes tools for Microsoft apps, for $100M in cash and stock — Software startup Celonis, currently valued at $11 billion, has purchased Process Analytics Factory GmbH in order to expand its offering across Microsoft Corp. products.
MIT graduate engineering, business, science programs ranked highly by U.S. News for 2023
MIT’s graduate program in engineering has again topped the list of U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings, released today. The program has held the No. 1 spot since 1990, when the magazine first published these rankings. The MIT Sloan School of Management also placed highly, landing in the No. 5 spot for the best […]
Reversing hearing loss with regenerative therapy
Most of us know someone affected by hearing loss, but we may not fully appreciate the hardships that lack of hearing can bring. Hearing loss can lead to isolation, frustration, and a debilitating ringing in the ears known as tinnitus. It is also closely correlated with dementia. The biotechnology company Frequency Therapeutics is seeking to […]
New Lapsus$ Hack Documents Make Okta’s Response Look More Bizarre
Documents shed some light on how Okta and its subprocessor Sitel reacted to a breach, but they don’t explain the apparent lack of urgency.
The Future of Digital Cash Is Not on the Blockchain
If you want the privacy of paper money, you need something that leaves no paper trail.
The Best Podcasts for Your Smart, Bored Kid
These child-friendly stories will keep your little ones entertained and ease the stress of being stuck indoors.
Leaked documents show Okta’s contractor Sitel first sent a Lapsus$ breach notification to Okta on January 25, and a detailed “Intrusion Timeline” on March 17 (Lily Hay Newman/Wired)
Lily Hay Newman / Wired: Leaked documents show Okta’s contractor Sitel first sent a Lapsus$ breach notification to Okta on January 25, and a detailed “Intrusion Timeline” on March 17 — Documents shed some light on how Okta and its subprocessor Sitel reacted to a breach, but they don’t explain the apparent lack of urgency.
Spotify rolls out an advisory for content that mentions COVID-19, two months after promising the feature amid controversy over Joe Rogan’s podcast (Jessica Bursztynsky/CNBC)
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC: Spotify rolls out an advisory for content that mentions COVID-19, two months after promising the feature amid controversy over Joe Rogan’s podcast — – Spotify is rolling out a Covid content advisory tab on podcasts and other content that mentions the coronavirus.
HR and payroll platform Papaya Global is acquiring Azimo, a London-based money transfer service; source: the deal is worth between $150M and $200M (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: HR and payroll platform Papaya Global is acquiring Azimo, a London-based money transfer service; source: the deal is worth between $150M and $200M — Six months after raising $250 million, Papaya Global is making a key acquisition to expand its cloud-based HR and payroll platform globally on the heels of major […]
A computer made from DNA-coated beads could detect viruses in saliva
A device made from glass microbeads could offer 100 times more processing power than other DNA computers
Packaging inspired by squid skin could keep your takeaway coffee warm
Squids’ stretchy skin changes colour in response to varying light levels, inspiring scientists to create a plastic that changes its heat absorption when stretched