The Obtain: NASA’s tiny spacecraft, and the RSV vaccine scarcity

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That is in the present day’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on this planet of know-how.

Inside NASA’s bid to make spacecraft as small as potential

For the reason that Seventies, we’ve despatched plenty of large issues to Mars. However when NASA efficiently despatched twin Mars Dice One spacecraft, the dimensions of cereal packing containers, to the crimson planet in November 2018, it was the primary time we’d ever despatched one thing so small.

Simply making it this far heralded a brand new age in area exploration. NASA and the neighborhood of planetary science researchers caught a glimpse of a future lengthy sought: a pathway to way more reasonably priced area exploration utilizing smaller, cheaper spacecraft. 

There was a catch, although—one which NASA quickly needed to grapple with. Miniaturization can solely go to this point earlier than it involves a crashing halt in opposition to some very basic legal guidelines of physics. Learn the total story.

—David W. Brown

This story is from our most up-to-date print subject of MIT Know-how Assessment, which is all about society’s hardest issues, and the way we should always deal with them. For those who don’t subscribe already, join now to get future points once they land.

RSV is on the rise however preventative medicine are in brief provide

This 12 months we have been speculated to have extra instruments than ever earlier than to guard youngsters from RSV (brief for respiratory syncytial virus), together with a brand new shot that’s given preventively to infants and susceptible toddlers to guard them from the worst results of the virus.However now—simply as charges of illness are rising—this medication is in brief provide. The CDC issued an alert final week advising pediatricians to ration doses, reserving them for infants youthful than six months and people with underlying situations that place them at highest threat for extreme RSV. 

The state of affairs is irritating to folks and pediatricians alike. However shouldn’t forecasting demand for this sort of preventative be comparatively simple? And why was there such a mismatch between provide and demand within the first place? Learn the total story.

—Cassandra Willyard

This story first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Know-how Assessment’s weekly biotech e-newsletter. Signal as much as obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to seek out you in the present day’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.

1 Sam Bankman-Fried has been discovered responsible on all seven fraud fees However he’ll have to attend till March subsequent 12 months to seek out out his sentence. (Economist $)+ The tech trade has already moved on, although. (NYT $)+ It’s unlikely that SBF would be the final of his form. (The Atlantic $)

2 Meta’s open-source AI comes at a priceJust as a result of Llama 2 is publicly out there doesn’t imply it’s low cost. (The Info $)+ AI corporations actually don’t wish to pay for coaching information. (Insider $)

3 We shouldn’t get complacent about covid this winterThe truth vaccines are a lot more durable to get as of late isn’t serving to. (The Atlantic $)+ Who advantages most from the brand new covid vaccines? (MIT Know-how Assessment)

4 The AI growth is lining Huge Tech’s pocketsThe wealthy have gotten even richer because of their cloud investments. (WSJ $)

5 Surveillance tech is coming to a metropolis close to you Metropolis councils are investing in Fusus AI programs, however not all residents are joyful. (404 Media)+ Marseille’s battle in opposition to the surveillance state. (MIT Know-how Assessment)

6 Zoonotic ailments are a rising threatAnimal-to-human ailments are forecast to kill many extra folks in future a long time. (FT $)+ Meet the scientist on the middle of the covid lab leak controversy. (MIT Know-how Assessment)

7 Neglect the leap second—it’s time for the leap minuteTechnically, it may bridge the 2 methods we inform the time. However is the world prepared? (NYT $)

8 How on-line playing ensnared a complete era of AfricansIts governments are ill-equipped to guard residents who’re changing into more and more addicted. (Bloomberg $)+ How cell cash supercharged Kenya’s sports activities betting habit. (MIT Know-how Assessment)

9 Airbnb isn’t what it used to beIts value is on the rise—and so are complaints. (Vox)+ New York’s conflict in opposition to Airbnb has made it much more costly to go to. (The Atlantic $)

10 Everyone knows weight-reduction plan soda is dangerous for us Possibly candy protein substitutes may supply a more healthy different. (Proto.Life)

Quote of the day

“The crypto trade is likely to be new, the gamers like Sam Bankman-Fried could also be new, however this sort of fraud is as previous as time and we’ve got no endurance for it.”

— Damian Williams, the US lawyer who led the prosecution of disgraced crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has a solemn message for reporters exterior the Manhattan courtroom, Reuters reviews.

The massive story

Contained in the app Minnesota police used to gather information on journalists at protests

March 2022

Photojournalist J.D. Duggan was masking a protest in Minnesota in April 2021 when law enforcement officials surrounded him and others, and instructed them to get on the bottom.

Officers sorted the press from the protesters, walked them to a parking zone, and started photographing them, one after the other. They instructed Duggan the images could be saved in an app. 

An investigation by MIT Know-how Assessment discovered the info was collected utilizing a device referred to as Intrepid Response, a simple solution to nearly immediately de-anonymize protest attendees and preserve tabs on their actions. For some, the device’s use is a harmful step within the path of authoritarianism. Learn the total story.

—Sam Richards & Tate Ryan-Mosley

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.)

+ Because of the wonders of AI, we’ve been blessed with one final Beatles track.+ 65 years in the past in the present day, Laika the canine turned the primary canine in orbit! + Working as a Disney animation mannequin seems to be completely exhausting.+ The world’s most distant lighthouses is a good topic for a e-book.+ Historic England is on the hunt for ghost indicators—these superbly light painted indicators promoting companies and merchandise of the previous.

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