Technology

The Download: the problem of plastic, and how AI could boost batteries

October 12, 2023
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Think that your plastic is being recycled? Think again. The problem of plastic waste hides in plain sight, a ubiquitous part of our lives we rarely question. But a closer examination of the…

The quest for equitable climate solutions

October 12, 2023
Sweeping legislation in the US, including the Inflation Reduction Act, is infusing hundreds of billions of dollars into new climate and energy technologies, funding research, development, and implementation. But as the money begins to flow, there are open questions regarding who will benefit most, and who might bear the brunt of unexpected consequences.  Shalanda Baker,…

How AI could supercharge battery research

October 12, 2023
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. During one of the final sessions at our ClimateTech event last week, I got to hear about how AI could help develop battery materials for future electric sports cars.   This came during…

Think that your plastic is being recycled? Think again.

October 12, 2023
On a Saturday last summer, I kayaked up a Connecticut river from the coast, buoyed by the rising tide, to pick up trash with a group of locals. Blue herons and white egrets hunted in the shallows. Ospreys soared overhead hauling freshly caught fish. The wind combed the water into fields of ripples, refracting the…

Sony Ventures earmarks $10M to invest in African entertainment startups

October 11, 2023
Sony Group announced today that it has established Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF: AF), a program that will support the growth of entertainment businesses in Africa. The Tokyo multinational conglomerate has earmarked $10 million for early-stage gaming, music, film and content distribution companies. Sony Ventures Corporation’s (SVC) latest endeavor to support technology businesses across markets […]

The Download: gene-edited chickens, and China’s green companies

October 11, 2023
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How gene editing could help curb the spread of bird flu  The news: Gene editing could help prevent chickens from catching and spreading bird flu, new research suggests.  How they did it: Researchers…

State-backed hackers are exploiting new ‘critical’ Atlassian zero-day bug

October 11, 2023
Microsoft says Chinese state-backed hackers are exploiting a “critical”-rated zero-day vulnerability in Atlassian software to break into customer systems. The technology giant’s threat intelligence team said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it has observed a nation-state threat actor it calls Storm-0062 exploiting a recently disclosed critical flaw in Atlassian Confluence Data Center […]

These Chinese companies prove green tech can be profitable

October 11, 2023
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. Living through the epic rainfall that flooded New York City a few weeks ago was nothing if not a reminder of just how urgently we need to tackle the climate crisis. Fortunately,…

SumUp’s valuation falls as low as $4.1B, as Groupon and others sell off their stakes

October 10, 2023
Adyen lost $13 billion in market cap last month when investors scrambled to sell shares after the payments company missed quarterly revenue targets. But it’s not the only one facing the music in fintech. Shares in SumUp, a privately-held European payment technology business that focuses on point-of-sale transactions, are currently are being sold in inside […]

How gene editing could help curb the spread of bird flu 

October 10, 2023
Gene editing could help prevent chickens from catching and spreading bird flu, according to a proof-of-concept study.   Researchers used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to alter the DNA of 10 chickens to resist the bird flu virus and then exposed all of them to a low dose of it. Only one of the 10 chickens caught…