That is at present’s version of The Download, our weekday publication that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on this planet of expertise.
Twitter could have misplaced greater than one million customers since Elon Musk took over
The information: Within the days since Elon Musk confirmed his buy of Twitter on October 27, tweeting “the fowl is freed,” many Twitter customers have threatened to go away. However whereas folks typically fail to comply with by way of on threats to give up Twitter, new information suggests {that a} vital variety of customers actually are abandoning the platform.
How they did it: The agency Bot Sentinel, which tracks conduct on Twitter, believes that round 877,000 accounts have been deactivated and an additional 497,000 have been suspended between October 27 and November 1. That’s greater than double the standard quantity.
Why it issues: Anecdotal proof from social media suggests that individuals upset with Elon Musk buying Twitter are following by way of and deciding to deactivate their accounts in protest. In the event that they proceed to take action en masse, that would come to be a major drawback for the platform—and its new proprietor. Read the full story.
—Chris Stokel-Walker
Smartphone information from drivers may assist spot when bridges want pressing repairs
Smartphones may very well be used to watch the protection of bridges rather more rapidly and cheaply than at the moment attainable, offering engineers with information they’ll use to repair the constructions earlier than they change into dangerously unstable.
Normally, bridges’ state of restore is monitored both by way of visible inspection for cracks and faults, or sensors accumulating their vibration and motion information. However a brand new methodology developed by researchers at West Level Army Academy and different universities sidesteps the necessity for both by accumulating accelerometer information from smartphones in automobiles as they drive over bridges. Read the full story.
—Tammy Xu
Right here’s how personalised mind stimulation may deal with melancholy
Sending a jolt of electrical energy by way of an individual’s mind can do outstanding issues. You solely have to look at the movies of individuals with Parkinson’s illness who’ve electrodes implanted of their brains. They’ll go from struggling to stroll to confidently striding throughout a room actually on the flick of a swap.
We would be capable of use the same strategy to raise our moods—one thing that may very well be life altering for folks with problems like melancholy. And we’re not simply speaking about common mind zaps—the objective is to create personalised gadgets that monitor your mind exercise and optimize it. Read the full story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our new weekly publication overlaying every little thing you have to know that’s occurring on this planet of healthcare and biotech. Sign up to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.
EmTech 2022
This week, MIT Expertise Evaluation held our annual EmTech convention, our flagship occasion overlaying rising expertise and international tendencies.
Try our liveblogs overlaying the 2 days of fascinating discussions with international changemakers, innovators, and trade veterans, as we attempt to unpick what’s possible, believable, and attainable with tomorrow’s breakthrough applied sciences.
Day one centered on a few of the thrilling applied sciences promising to alter our lives, together with clear power and CRISPR, whereas the second day unpacked what the longer term holds for the web, augmented actuality, physique tech, and AI.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at present’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Shadowy algorithms are calling the pictures in Washington, DC
And the overwhelming majority of residents don’t have a clue about them, or how they work. (Wired $)
+ How the pandemic bolstered China’s surveillance state. (Slate)
+ Marseille’s battle in opposition to being spied upon. (MIT Technology Review)
2 What Mark Zuckerberg has taught Elon Musk
The one fixed between the 2 firms? Sad employees. (NYT $)
+ L’Oréal has paused its promoting spend on Twitter. (FT $)
+ Musk is trying to spark a battle between Twitter factions. (Motherboard)
+ Right here’s why Twitter customers ought to, sadly, put together for the worst. (The Atlantic $)
3 Republican midterm candidates are pushing Cease the Steal lies
Simply because the narrative isn’t true doesn’t cease it from resonating. (Bloomberg $)
+ Swing voters are extra highly effective than ever. (NY Mag $)
4 What’s going to it take to control area? 
One factor’s clear—it gained’t be straightforward. (Vox)
5 World leaders should settle for that they’ve did not curb local weather change
The 1.5°C Paris settlement is not sufficient—we’d like motion, and quick. (Economist $)
+ Scientists are questioning the sector’s largest oversight group. (FT $)
+ We should basically rethink “net-zero” local weather plans. (MIT Technology Review)
6 What it’s like inside a Chinese language covid detention middle
All-night lights, strict routines, and countless mud. (FT $)
+ Vietnam needs to steal China’s tech manufacturing crown. (Rest of World)
7 Social media wasn’t prepared for photographs of early pregnancies
However them is important for sincere abortion conversations. (The Verge)
+ The cognitive dissonance of watching the tip of Roe unfold on-line. (MIT Technology Review)
8 Loving the conspiracy theorist in your life may be powerful
Treating them with compassion might help to bridge the divide. (The Atlantic $)
+ Easy methods to discuss to conspiracy theorists—and nonetheless be form. (MIT Technology Review)
9 The heartbreak of a really trendy breakup
Agonizing over whether or not to dam your ex on Instagram simply prolongs the ache. (The Guardian)
10 Easy methods to mannequin the opposite planets we may name house 
The simulations are a part of the search to seek out alien life. (Quanta Magazine)
+ A brand new supply of high-energy cosmic neutrinos has been found. (New Scientist $)
Quote of the day
“We’re all working for the Trump White Home.”
—A disgruntled Twitter employee describes what it’s prefer to work below the brand new Elon Musk regime to the Washington Post.
The large story
I requested my college students to show of their cell telephones and write about dwelling with out them
December 2019
Just a few years in the past, Ron Srigley, a author who teaches at Humber Faculty and Laurentian College, carried out an experiment in a philosophy class he was educating. His college students had failed a check moderately badly, and he had a hunch that their pervasive use of cell telephones and laptops in school was partly accountable.
He provided them further credit score if they might give him their telephones for 9 days and write about dwelling with out them. Twelve college students—a couple of third of the category—took up the supply. What they wrote was outstanding, and remarkably constant. Read the full story.
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre instances. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ These stunning homes built into cliffs aren’t for the faint of coronary heart.
+ Weighing a baby emperor penguin is more difficult than you’d anticipate.
+ I do know Halloween is over, however these spooky stories are too good not
+ Hear me out: eels are cool.
to share.
+ It’s not simply you—loads of folks really feel nostalgic for locations they’ve by no means been.
