That is right this moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s occurring on the earth of know-how.
Contained in the fierce, messy battle over “wholesome” sugar tech
In a former insurance coverage workplace constructing on the outskirts of Charlottesville, Virginia, a brand new form of sugar manufacturing facility is taking form. The power is being developed by a startup referred to as Bonumose, funded partly by Hershey. It makes use of a processed corn product referred to as maltodextrin that’s discovered in lots of junk meals. Like its infamous counterpart high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin is calorically just like desk sugar (sucrose), is simply as unhealthy in your enamel, and truly causes worse blood sugar spikes.
However for Bonumose, maltodextrin isn’t an ingredient—it’s a uncooked materials. When it’s poured into the corporate’s gleaming bioreactors later this yr, what emerges will probably be a “uncommon sugar” referred to as tagatose. Discovered naturally in small concentrations in fruit, some grains, and milk, it’s almost as candy as sucrose however apparently with solely round half the energy, and wider well being advantages like stabilizing insulin ranges. Hershey says that Bonumose’s know-how, designed to affordably convert maltodextrin into tagatose at industrial scales, is vital to its effort to formulate “better-for-you” candies.
Bonumose’s course of originated in an organization spun out of the Virginia Tech lab of Yi-Heng “Percival” Zhang. However Zhang right this moment isn’t sitting proudly on the helm of Bonumose’s analysis division, or formulating wholesome chocolate. When MIT Know-how Evaluate spoke to him in January, he was sitting alone in an empty lab in Tianjin, China, after serving a two-year sentence of supervised launch in Virginia for conspiracy to defraud the US authorities, making false statements, and obstruction of justice. If sugar is the brand new oil, the worldwide battle to manage it has already begun. Learn the complete story.
—Mark Harris
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you right this moment’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 The US may be in the midst of a covid wave proper now
With out even realizing, on account of an absence of testing. (Bloomberg $)
+ Infections maintain rising and rising in Shanghai, regardless of an area lockdown. (SCMP)
+ Residents trapped indoors are begging for meals on WeChat teams. (Remainder of World)
+ Greater than 50 individuals have examined optimistic following an A-list political dinner final week. (NYT $)
+ However Dr Anthony Fauci is assured President Biden is protected in opposition to the virus. (The Guardian)
2 Elon Musk isn’t becoming a member of Twitter’s board in spite of everything
Which, to echo CEO Parag Agrawal, might be for the very best. (WP $)
+ His tweets in the previous couple of days have been erratic. (CNN)
three Putin superfans are praising him as a peace-loving hero in Fb teams
These pages rack up thousands and thousands of interactions a month. (BBC)
+ Smartphones and gymnasium mats helped Ukrainians to defend Kiev. (FT $)
+ What an American has learnt from preventing in Ukraine’s international legion. (The Economist $)
four The crypto trade is pushing for extra lenient laws
And it’s working. (NYT $)
+ Crypto is a taxation minefield. (Protocol)
+ The world’s first city-cryptostate for traders and lovers sounds exhausting. (FT $)
5 The outstanding mind of a carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages 
His mind makes use of oxygen rather more effectively than our non-polyglot grey matter. (WP $)
+ The primary reference charts for mind improvement have been accomplished. (The Economist $)
6 Why Amazon’s drone ambitions by no means actually bought off the bottom
Former workers declare its fast testing cuts corners with regards to security. (Bloomberg $)
+ Amazon has an enormous sustainability downside: its returns. (CNBC)
7 What occurs when people get blamed for selections made by defective software program?
Our blind religion in computer systems is resulting in miscarriages of justice. (FT $)
eight We’re inventing new phrases to get round social media moderation
Like most issues as of late, it’s spearheaded by making an attempt to appease TikTok’s omnipotent algorithm. (WSJ $)
9 Producing tiny microchips is larger enterprise than ever
We desperately want extra chips, and Intel desires to ship them. (NYT $)
+ BMW believes the chip scarcity exhibits no signal of slowing earlier than 2023. (Reuters)
10 South Asia’s brides-to-be are searching for wedding ceremony outfits by WhatsApp
Nevertheless it’s a dangerous endeavor—assessing material shade and high quality is tougher over video. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“This virus isn’t scary, the scary factor is being in an entire lockdown.”
—A girl from Shanghai who has examined optimistic for covid fears being taken away from her toddler son amid the town’s indefinite lockdown, based on Quartz.
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre occasions. (Bought any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ This inquisitive California newt desires to know why you’re in his creek.
+ In additional swamp-like information: does Al Pacino have a Shrek telephone case? It seems so!
+ The fabulous Little Combine are taking part in a load of songs for the primary time as their new farewell tour kicks off.
+ Don’t shoot the messenger, however the get together’s over for homeowners of “pumpkin spice canine.”
+ The Depths of Wikipedia Twitter account is all the time reliably deranged.
+ I may watch this video of the right way to make peanut butter all day.
+ Give this soulful kitty a report contract—stat!
