The Download
What's up in emerging technology
A freshly-funded battery startup aims to ease the cobalt crunch
The US Federal Trade Commission wants your ideas for how to better police Big Tech
Tesla files a lawsuit against a former employee for allegedly leaking confidential IP
Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile will stop selling your location information to data brokers
The US Supreme Court is taking a hard look at Apple’s app store monopoly
Sept. 11-14, 2018
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Connectivity
Five ways you can already become a cyborg, one body part at a time
Want to use your hand to prove your identity? Become a better skier without any work? Try this.
Intelligent Machines
This AI program could beat you in an argument—but it doesn’t know what it’s saying
The latest human-versus-machine matchup involves an argumentative AI system.
Connectivity
Keeping America first in quantum computing means avoiding these five big mistakes
Potential pitfalls include putting the military in charge and spraying too much money around.
Sustainable Energy
China is creating a huge carbon market—but not a particularly aggressive one
The biggest test of cap-and-trade to date may be too timid to make much of a difference for the world’s largest carbon polluter.
Intelligent Machines
This company tames killer robots
Artificial intelligence can turn the most dangerous industrial robots into helpful coworkers, and that could transform manufacturing.
Connectivity
EOS’s $4 billion crypto-democracy has just launched—and it’s probably going to be ruled by fat cats
A new blockchain aims to vastly speed up transactions, but it was incredibly slow in getting off the ground.
Watch Video
More videos
CRISPR Decoded 02:22
Access to broadband is as important as access to water and electricity 01:15
We shouldn't preserve "willy nilly" the cost of production 01:00
Coffee-fetching robots 02:08
Automating things on wheels 00:50
Humans versus machines: Chopin edition 02:06
Teaching systems to dance 01:44
3-D printed potato chips 01:15
Robots as nurses' assistants 00:36
Communicating with robots 01:35
Rewriting Life
CRISPR Decoded 02:22
Your two-minute guide to understanding how the revolutionary gene-editing technology works.
From Our Current Issue
Rewriting Life
Reprogramming our bodies to make us healthier.
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US military wants to know what synthetic-biology weapons could look like
Re-created viruses, toxic bacteria top new ranking of risks.
by Antonio Regalado
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Gene therapy is saving children’s lives—but screening to discover who needs it is lagging behind
States in the US have been slow to test newborns for genetic conditions.
by Emily Mullin
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It’s fiction, but America just got wiped out by a man-made terror germ
At “germ games” held in Washington, DC, pandemic planners get a look at the threat posed by synthetic biology.
by Antonio Regalado
Briefing Paper
How to Unlock the Power of IoT with Real-Time Monitoring
Executive Briefing
Cloud Development: The Key to Rapid Innovation
Features
Sustainable Energy
The scientist still fighting for the clean fuel the world forgot
A decade of investment in advanced biofuels led nowhere, but Jay Keasling remains undaunted.
Sustainable Energy
Can we sustainably provide food, water, and energy to a growing population during a climate crisis?
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China is creating a huge carbon market—but not a particularly aggressive one
The biggest test of cap-and-trade to date may be too timid to make much of a difference for the world’s largest carbon polluter.
by James Temple
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China’s ambition to power the world’s electric cars took a huge leap forward this week
CATL’s stock has shot up since it raised nearly $1 billion in an IPO to build more lithium-ion battery plants.
by James Temple
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Maybe we can afford to suck CO2 out of the sky after all
A new analysis shows that air capture could cost less than $100 a ton.
by James Temple