Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending May 17, 2014)

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

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May 16, 2014

A Smart Watch Controlled by Twists, Tilts, and Clicks
A movable smart-watch screen makes it easier to read a map or play a game.
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2014
Technology news is full of incremental developments. These are the breakthroughs that matter.
Intergalactic Entrepreneurs Prepare for Blast-Off
A unique gathering of 13 companies showcases a coming year of launches.
Alibaba’s Big Rivals May Have a Mobile Edge
Other big Chinese e-commerce companies, including JD.com, merge social networking, payments, and mobile.
Nerve-Stimulating Implant Could Lower Blood Pressure
Academics and pharmaceutical companies alike are looking to electrical implants as an alternative to drugs for treating disease.
FDA Approval for Robotic Arm Controlled by Muscle Activity
An electromechanical limb developed by Segway maker DEKA now needs a manufacturer to mass-produce it.
The Emerging Science of Superspreaders (And How to Tell If You’re One Of Them)
Nobody has figured out how to spot the most influential spreaders of information in a real-world network. Now that looks set to change with important implications, not least for the superspreaders themselves.

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Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.