The Obtain: hydrogen-powered planes, and abortion capsules

That is at the moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a each day dose of what’s occurring on this planet of expertise.

Hydrogen-powered planes take off with startup’s check flight

The information: In a document journey for low-carbon aviation, a startup has accomplished a check flight of a 19-seat plane powered partly by hydrogen gasoline cells. ZeroAvia, a pacesetter in growing hydrogen-electric methods for planes, flew its largest airplane so far for round 10 minutes after taking off from Cotswold Airport within the UK.

How they did it: Throughout the flight, the airplane’s left engines have been powered by a mixture of hydrogen gasoline cells and batteries, whereas the precise facet relied on the fossil gasoline kerosene.

Why it issues: It’s a major step for zero-emissions flight. Aviation accounts for about 3% of worldwide greenhouse gasoline emissions, and the trade is rising. Hydrogen gasoline cells signify one potential route that may scale back emissions from the aviation trade—and ZeroAvia is assured it’s on monitor for a industrial launch in 2025. Learn the total story.

—Casey Crownhart

TR10: Abortion capsules through telemedicine

Entry to abortion care has narrowed dramatically within the US post-Roe. However there’s been one massive shift within the different path: the flexibility to entry care with out leaving dwelling.

In 2021, in the course of the pandemic, the US Meals and Drug Administration briefly allowed healthcare suppliers to mail sufferers two capsules—mifepristone and misoprostol—that, when taken collectively, can induce an abortion.

A yr later, the US Supreme Courtroom dominated that abortion shouldn’t be a constitutional proper, and nonprofits and startups stepped as much as meet the surging demand for the capsules. Entry to remedy abortion shouldn’t be a solved downside. Nevertheless, the foresight of those organizations introduced care to many at a important time. Learn concerning the shifting stakes of acquiring abortion capsules over telemedicine.

Abortion capsules through telemedicine is considered one of MIT Know-how Overview’s 10 Breakthrough Applied sciences of 2023. Learn over the remainder of the record, and vote in our ballot to resolve what our last 11th expertise ought to be.

How CRISPR is making farmed animals larger, stronger, and more healthy

The CRISPR gene-editing device has been making headlines for the final 10 years, since scientists confirmed it could possibly be used to simply alter the genome of a residing organism.

However whereas the expertise might finally revolutionize healthcare for people, it might additionally rework farming, together with aquaculture. Researchers have inserted an alligator gene into catfish—to not make these fish extra alligator-like, however to make them extra immune to illness. 

This isn’t the primary time scientists have tried to tweak the genomes of farmed animals. However though gene-editing instruments like CRISPR ought to permit them to fast-forward the method, don’t look forward to finding CRISPR-engineered animals on grocery store cabinets simply but. Learn the total story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

Jessica’s story is from The Checkup, MIT Know-how Overview’s weekly e-newsletter providing you with the within monitor on all issues biotech. Signal as much as obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to search out you at the moment’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.

1 Covid is being left off demise certificates in China
Medical professionals are being pressured to quote different causes of demise. (FT $)
+ China’s cracking down on covid-related “gloomy sentiments.” (The Guardian)
+ There’s been an enormous soar in covid hospitalizations. (Reuters)
+ The right combination of medicine might assist to deal with lengthy covid. (The Atlantic $) 

2 The US Supreme Courtroom is weighing up the way forward for the web
It’s poised to rethink if internet platforms are legally answerable for content material. (NYT $)
+ Companies’ current authorized protections are unpopular amongst tech critics in each main US political events. (FT $)

Three Google is chopping 12,000 jobs
The CEO says it needs to sharpen its give attention to AI. (The Verge)
+ ChatGPT is making it nervous sufficient to name within the massive weapons. (NYT $)
+ The correct—and really flawed—methods to make use of ChatGPT. (WP $)

four A complicated advert rip-off attacked 11 million telephones
It’s one of many largest, most complex schemes ever uncovered. (Wired $)

5 Twitter is being sued by the consultants it employed to pressure Elon Musk to purchase it
The consulting agency needs Twitter to cough up $2 million. (Bloomberg $)
+ Elon Musk might seem in courtroom at the moment in a separate authorized problem. (The Guardian) 

6 Climate forecasting has a hype downside
Climate prediction startups are likely to overpromise and underdeliver. (WP $)

7 Ought to we predict twice about learning historic DNA?
Extracting DNA from the long-dead is an moral quagmire. (Knowable Journal)
+ DNA that was frozen for two million years has been sequenced. (MIT Know-how Overview)

eight It’s robust to understand simply how large the universe actually is
However Henrietta Leavitt’s work gave us a yardstick to measure it with. (Vox)
+ NASA’s return to the moon is off to a rocky begin. (MIT Know-how Overview)

9 Make method for the podcast-hosting little one prodigies
One host began his personal present at simply seven years outdated. (The Guardian)

10 Don’t let that cute canine photograph idiot you 🐶
Poisonous concepts will be simply masked on-line behind animal imagery. (Slate $)

Quote of the day

“It’s the identical criminals, they’re simply repainting their get-away vehicles.”

—Invoice Siegel, chief govt officer and co-founder of cyber extortion response firm Coveware, displays on how a core group of hackers is behind the overwhelming majority of ransomware assaults, Bloomberg reviews.

The large story

Contained in the race to make human intercourse cells within the lab

August 2022

The best way we make infants could possibly be about to vary. Possibly.

An embryo types when sperm meets egg. However what if we might begin with different cells—if a blood pattern or pores and skin biopsy could possibly be reworked into “synthetic” sperm and eggs? What if these have been all you wanted to make a child?

That’s the promise of a radical method to copy. Scientists have already created synthetic eggs and sperm from mouse cells and used them to create mouse pups. Synthetic human intercourse cells are subsequent.

The issue is definitely getting there and—possibly even tougher—untangling the knot of moral points that can come up alongside the way in which. Learn the total story.

—Jess Hamzelou

We are able to nonetheless have good issues

A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre instances. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ We love you, F. Murray Abraham!
+ Is it a hen? Is it a airplane? No, it’s Toadzilla!
+ This made me chuckle: Prince Harry’s memoir is a sobering reminder why British folks can’t open up.
+ Yikes, take into account this a warning concerning the risks of pace consuming (thanks Will!)
+ Find out how to be the most effective individual you probably will be—in line with the individuals who know finest.

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