The Download for today is here , Our weekly newsletter provides you with a daily update on the latest in technology.
A pandemic of bird flu is a growing threat
What should we do about the bird flu outbreak? In the past few months, there have been some worrying developments in the US. These include the spread of bird flu amongst dairy cows, detection of virus in both cow and pig milk, as well as the growing number of infections in humans.
Although we don’t have evidence of the virus spreading, the threat of a pandemic is increasing. MIT Technology Review This topic was last discussed a few months back.
We are much more prepared to deal with any future outbreaks of flu, now that we have the vaccines. Overall, the situation is not good. The full story is available.
–Jessica Hamzelou
The Checkup is our weekly newsletter that gives you all the latest news on health and biotech. Sign up Receive it every Thursday in your email.
This waterless concrete is a great way to start the day.
NASA could build its astronauts homes out of 3D printable, waterless cement if it establishes permanent space on the Moon. One day, your home could be made of the same material. This sulfur-based compound, which accelerates the curing for faster construction, could be used on both our own terrain and on moon soil.
The traditional concrete is made with large quantities of water. This will not be available on the Moon, so sending 1 kg of this to the moon would cost approximately $1.2 million.
NASA instead hopes to develop new materials using lunar soil, and adapt these techniques in the future for construction on Mars. It’s not easy to create the perfect “lunarcrete”, a water-free material. Continue reading to learn more.
–Jenna Ahart
Must-read articles
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
Australia bans social media for under-16s
The law can be easily circumvented and may cause more harm than good. (WP $)
+ The tech giants have a very different view of the current ruling. (Fortune)
+ The reactions of Australians to news stories are mixed. (BBC)
US retailers urge shoppers to purchase before tariffs are implemented
This is just another way to increase sales at the peak shopping season. (WSJ $)
+ Do you belong to the Black Friday rejects of 2018? (FT $)
+ The impact of Trump’s tariffs on the price of batteries and EVs. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Canada sues Google for creating a monopoly
This suit follows in the footsteps set by the US Government. (NYT $)
+ The company is joining the calls to have two marketing pieces sold by this giant. (WSJ $)
+ Google’s gut-punch against antitrust and Trump’s wild card (MIT Technology Review)
The rise of China as the world’s largest car exporter
The EU and US are frightened. (NYT $)
+ Subsidies from the government were also important. (MIT Technology Review)
Five UK politicians say businesses should prefer robots to migrants
He claims that automating fruit-picking would lower the UK’s net migration numbers. (The Guardian)
+ Japan’s experiment with automating elderly care. (MIT Technology Review)
Six North Korean hackers stole billions of dollars in cryptocurrency
It is believed that the illicit currency used to fund its nuclear program. (TechCrunch)
America will not give up on its exoskeleton soldiers dream
The suits have been tested for years. Why aren’t the suits popular? (Wired $)
+ The robotic exoskeleton helps runners to sprint more quickly. (MIT Technology Review)
Can you really get paid for doing virtually nothing?
Stanford University thinks that one engineer in ten is actually doing this. (404 Media)
+ Big Tech is preoccupied by identifying freeloaders and firing them. (Insider $)
You can learn to make bread using GitHub
There are flowcharts and tables galore. (Ars Technica)
How to grow a diamond in a laboratory
Are you able to tell them apart from the real thing? (WP $)
Today’s Quote
It is almost impossible for a teenager to exist in the majority of parts of the globe without accessing social media.
Stephen Scheeler tells Bloomberg that he doubts if Australia can enforce its new social media ban for teens.
This is a big story
Please move on to the next slide: A short history of corporate presentations
August 2023
PowerPoint is used everywhere. PowerPoint is used at weddings, funerals, and school for book reports. Microsoft reported in 2010 that PowerPoint had been installed on over a billion computer worldwide.
Before PowerPoint came along, the 35-millimeter slides were the king. The only way to make high impact presentations was with 35-millimeter film slides.
