December 19, 2024

The Download: digital twins, and where AI data really comes from

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. Digital twins of human organs are here. They’re set to transform medical treatment. Steven Niederer, a biomedical engineer at the Alan Turing Institute and Imperial College London, has a cardboard box filled with…

Why China’s dominance in commercial drones has become a global security matter

June 26, 2024
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. Whether you’ve flown a drone before or not, you’ve probably heard of DJI, or at least seen its logo. With more than a 90% share of the global consumer market, this Shenzhen-based…

Job title of the future: Space debris engineer

June 26, 2024
Stijn Lemmens has a cleanup job like few others. A senior space debris mitigation analyst at the European Space Agency (ESA), Lemmens works on counteracting space pollution by collaborating with spacecraft designers and the wider industry to create missions less likely to clutter the orbital environment.  Although significant attention has been devoted to launching spacecraft…

Inside the US government’s brilliantly boring websites

June 26, 2024
The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface. This public design system aims to make government websites not only good-looking but accessible and functional for all. Before the internet, Americans may have interacted with the federal government by stepping into grand buildings adorned with impressive stone columns and gleaming marble…

Learning from catastrophe

June 26, 2024
The philosopher Karl Popper once argued that there are two kinds of problems in the world: clock problems and cloud problems. As the metaphor suggests, clock problems obey a certain logic. They are orderly and can be broken down and analyzed piece by piece. When a clock stops working, you’re able to take it apart,…

Toys can change your life

June 26, 2024
In a November 1984 story for Technology Review, Carolyn Sumners, curator of astronomy at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, described how toys, games, and even amusement park rides could change how young minds view science and math. “The Slinky,” Sumners noted, “has long served teachers as a medium for demonstrating longitudinal (soundlike) waves and…

Do you want to play a game?

June 26, 2024
For children, play comes so naturally. They don’t have to be encouraged to play. They don’t need equipment, or the latest graphics processors, or the perfect conditions—they just do it. What’s more, study after study has found that play has a crucial role in childhood growth and development. If you want to witness the absolute…

Opera’s browser adds AI-powered image generation and better multimedia controls

June 26, 2024

Opera said today it is releasing Opera One’s second version in developer beta with features including new multimedia controls, split tabs, and new AI capabilities. The company is introducing new themes and design elements to give Opera One R2 a fresh look. The company has traditionally placed the multimedia controls on the sidebar. But with […]

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Climate X founders, who mortgaged their houses to stay afloat, now raise a $18 million Series A

June 26, 2024

To date, most of the hottest software platforms in the ClimateTech space have been about carbon accounting, offsets, removals, and regulatory disclosure. For instance, New York’s Persefoni (accounting) raised $164.2 million to date, Plan A (accounting/monitoring) in Berlin raised $43 million and at the lower end, Supercritical (removals) raised $15.8 million while CUR8 (removals) raised […]

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