Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending August 15, 2015)

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.

August 14, 2015

Surgeons Smash Records with Pig-to-Primate Organ Transplants
A biotech company is genetically engineering pigs so that their organs might work in people.
Google Bids to Make Its Sideshows into Main Attractions
Google’s rebirth as Alphabet is an attempt to prove that the company’s “moonshots” can be as successful as its Internet business.
Tech’s Enduring Great-Man Myth
The idea that particular individuals drive history has long been discredited. Yet it persists in the tech industry, obscuring some of the fundamental factors in innovation.
Bitcoin’s Dark Side Could Get Darker
Investors see riches in a cryptography-enabled technology called smart contracts–but it could also offer much to criminals.
Why IBM Just Bought Billions of Medical Images for Watson to Look At
IBM seeks to transform image-based diagnostics by combining its cognitive computing technology with a massive collection of medical images.
Playing Games Might Help AI Advance
A new company wants to build artificial intelligence through game play.
A Deeper Look at the New Google
Google’s new structure has few historical precedents, in tech or outside it.