Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending September 13, 2013)
A roundup of the most interesting stories from other sites, collected by the staff at MIT Technology Review.
- At Sina Weibo’s Censorship Hub, China’s Little Brothers Cleanse Online Chatter
A revealing piece on the day-to-day work experiences of censors working for Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging service.
—Mike Orcutt, research editor - Geeks on the Front Line
Rolling Stone explores competitive computer hacking culture in this nicely presented feature article.
—Will Knight, online editor - Gene Tied to Down Syndrome May Suggest Way to New Therapy
New research expands our understanding of the role that stem cells play in aging and Down syndrome.
—Brian Bergstein, deputy editor - Americans Use the Internet to Abandon Children Adopted from Overseas
The Reuters Child Exchange report takes a detailed look at how adoptive parents use social media to skirt the law.
—Aviva Hope Rutkin, editorial intern - They’re Taking Over!
A review describes the surprising number of ways jellyfish have taken down major technology like power plants and aircraft carriers.
—Aviva Hope Rutkin - How the ‘Failure’ Culture of Startups Is Killing Innovation
Makes the argument that starting a company knowing it could fail fast is not the same as doing real research. A great quote: “Focus groups are not research; they’re research theater.”
—Brent Turner, chief digital officer - How Facebook Makes Us Unhappy
They say Facebook makes us miserable. But Facebook, it turns out, is just a symptom of a much larger problem.
—Tim Maher, managing editor - Why Are You Not Dead Yet?
Why people live so much longer than they used to.
—Antonio Regalado, senior business editor - Dogs Are Perfectly Happy to Socialize with Robots
Took our jobs, now our dogs.
—Antonio Regalado - In a Breathtaking First, NASA’s Voyager 1 Exits the Solar System
It is pretty amazing that Voyager 1, launched in 1977 and now leaving the solar system, is still collecting data and shipping it back to Earth.
—David Talbot, chief correspondent - Vaccine Seems to Clear Monkeys of HIV-like Infection; Humans Next?
A vaccine made from a herpes virus enabled 50 percent of test monkeys to clear an AIDS-causing virus from their bodies.
—Susan Young, biomedicine editor - Scientists Develop 200 GM Crops, Await Govt Nod for Trials
An encouraging report from India on the country’s innovations in developing transgenic crops
—David Rotman, editor - How Zynga Went from Social Gaming Powerhouse to Has-Been
Zynga seemed to have struck gold with a mix of technology and savvy psychology. Ars Technica explains why the company and its approach unraveled.
—Tom Simonite, senior IT editor - Video: Technology Sheds Light on 6 Great Art Mysteries
How scientists are using advanced technologies to gain deeper insights into ancient art and culture.
—Kyanna Sutton, senior Web producer - J.K. Rowling to Write Screenplay for ‘Harry Potter’ Spinoff
For all our readership that are Harry Potter fans (like myself).
—Emily Dunkle, user interface/digital designer <