Beautiful Science

"What Makes an Experiment Beautiful?"

Hit AI Song

"That New Hit Song on Spotify? It Was Made by A.I."

This month, an A.I. country song called “Walk My Walk” (with percussive claps and forgettable lyrics such as “Kick rocks if you don’t like how I talk”) hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart, and passed three million streams on Spotify; the performer behind it is a square-jawed digital avatar named Breaking Rust. 

In September, Xania Monet, an A.I. R. & B. singer created by a young poet in Mississippi, landed a multimillion-dollar record deal after several Billboard-charting singles. 

And earlier in the year a mysterious psychedelic band called the Velvet Sundown passed a million plays on Spotify before its creators admitted that the group was “synthetic.”

Raccoon Resistance

Selecting for smarter raccoons.

The Last Penny

"US Mint presses final pennies as production ends after more than 230 years"

"God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million," Treasurer Brandon Beach said at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia before hitting a button to strike the final penny. The coins were then carefully placed on a tray for journalists to see. The last few pennies were to be auctioned off.

Noperthedron Discovered

"First Shape Found That Can't Pass Through Itself"

Remote Work-From-Home Surgery

"Dundee and US surgeons achieve world-first stroke surgery using robot"

Prof Grunwald said the experiment demonstrated a robot could be connected to the same catheters and wires a surgeon would normally use, and a medic who is with the patient could simply attach the wires. 

The surgeon, in another location, could then hold and move their own wires, and the robot then carries out exactly the same movements in real time on the patient to carry out the thrombectomy. 

The patient would be in a hospital operating room, while the doctor could carry out the procedure using the Sentante machine from anywhere - even their own home.

Cryptocurrency Quantum Readiness

"Crypto's Quantum Computing Threat"

Interview With Palantir CEO

Wired: "Alex Karp Goes to War"

New Tooth Enamal

"Dentists Could Soon 'Regrow' Your Tooth Enamel With a Simple Gel". (Via H.R.)

Optimism And Longevity

"Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women". (Via Marginal Revolution.)

Quantum Computing Update

"A new ion-based quantum computer makes error correction simpler"

Phone As Scanner

"Who Needs a Printer or Scanner? Just Use Your Mobile Device."

Samsung Tri-fold

"Samsung’s Galaxy Z Tri-fold finally shows up in person and it's absolutely bonkers"

AI Hurricane Prediction

"Google's new hurricane model was breathtakingly good this season". (Via H.R.)

Dino Trackway

"How a huge dinosaur trackway was uncovered in the UK"

Organoid Chipa

"Chips With Neural Tissue Aim to Make AI More Energy Efficient"

Parallel Parking Championship

"Yes, There's a Parallel Parking Championship, and I Was a Contender"

Mushrooms And Cancer

"Can psilocybin help patients with advanced cancer?"

Prediction Market Hack

"Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pulled up a prediction market at the end of their earnings call today and he rattled off all the words people were betting he would say."

Credit Card Skimmer Quiz

"Can You Spot A Credit Card Skimmer?"