Radically different
Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 27 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02308-x
Astrocytes modulate complex brain functions. These ubiquitous glial cells constitute a multilayered system of functional units that operate across multiple spatial scales, thereby increasing the degrees of freedom in brain information processing.
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.
Here at MIT Technology Review, we understand exactly how relentless the pace of news from the world of artificial intelligence feels. New models and capabilities crop up as fast as we can cover them, and the ripple effects they send through tech and wider society are never far behind.
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That’s why we created our list of 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, unveiled at our flagship AI event EmTech AI a few weeks back (check the list out if you haven’t already!) And it’s why we publish so many stories dedicated to explaining how AI works, and what’s coming next. We also regularly run live subscriber-only Roundtables events—you can still catch up on last week’s session, where we explored how AI might enter the physical realm via world models.
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IVF has brought millions of babies into the world over the last four decades. But the process can still be slow, painful, and expensive—and far from guaranteed to work. Now, a wave of new technologies aims to change that.
Researchers are using AI to identify promising sperm and embryos, developing robotic systems that could automate parts of the IVF process, and even exploring controversial genetic editing techniques designed to prevent inherited disease.
The technologies could make IVF more effective and accessible. But they’re also raising difficult ethical questions about how far reproductive medicine should go.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year
They’re part of preparations for a crewed landing in 2028. (The Verge)
+ And steps to build the first lunar base at the Moon’s south pole. (NBC News)
+ Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin will lead the first uncrewed mission. (WP $)
+ NASA is building the first nuclear reactor-powered spacecraft. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Samsung’s largest unions have approved a landmark bonus scheme
The deal averts a massive strike at the world’s largest memory-chip maker. (WSJ $)
+ Chip workers will get an average bonus of about $340,000. (Bloomberg $)
+ The dispute centered on who profits from the AI boom. (BI)
+ Resistance to AI is growing. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Elon Musk accused the Pentagon of misusing Starlink for drones
He says military use of the system violates SpaceX rules. (Ars Technica)
+ The DoD is disputing a Starlink price hike during the Iran war. (Reuters $)
+ Stratospheric internet could take off this year. (MIT Technology Review)
4 China has overhauled the world’s biggest surveillance network with AI
Beijing is pushing law enforcement towards predictive policing. (FT $)
+ Police use of smart glasses is also booming in China. (Gizmodo)
+ LLMs could supercharge mass surveillance. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Space Force is awarding SpaceX $2 billion for a military data network
It will connect military sensors and weapons platforms worldwide. (Reuters $)
+ The contract comes amid concerns about SpaceX’s AI business. (WSJ $)
+ Speculation is growing around a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger. (CNBC)
6 Taiwan suspects Nvidia chips were smuggled to China via Japan
To circumvent US restrictions. (Bloomberg $)
+ Is China about to win the AI race? (MIT Technology Review)
7 Booming AI chip demand has created two new $1 trillion companies
South Korea’s SK Hynix and the US’ Micron have hit the landmark. (BBC)
8 AI has sparked a surge in demand for cybersecurity experts
Thanks to a glut of new code and alarm over powerful models. (NYT $)
+ AI is making online swindles easier. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Internet is coming back in Iran after a three-month blackout
Although it isn’t clear if the reconnection is permanent. (Wired $)
10 Physicists are rethinking the role of gravity in quantum mechanics
There’s a new theory for how our everyday world emerges. (New Scientist $)
Quote of the day
—Jeremy Nixon, the cofounder of AGI House and a former Google Brain researcher, tells the New York Times how Silicon Valley’s innovations could affect the pope.
One More Thing
In the mid-2000s, toads were meeting a gruesome end near Ede, a leafy old town in the Netherlands. Residents responded by building wildlife tunnels beneath the road to help them reach their breeding ponds safely.
The crossings became popular. But a few years later, researchers found the local toad population had crashed from more than 10,000 to fewer than 1,000.
The case reflects a wider global push to build wildlife crossings and other forms of “animal infrastructure.” But do they actually help animal populations recover? Read the full story to find out.
—Matthew Ponsford
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
+ The votes for “International Mollusc of the Year” are finally in.
+ Track aircraft in real time across a gorgeous 3D digital globe using live flight data.
+ NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has delivered breathtaking new close-up images of Mars.
+ This deep dive into instant coffee reveals the extraordinary engineering effort behind making it vaguely drinkable.
CDMO WuXi Vaccines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WuXi Biologics, reports that its drug substance facility (MFG23) located in Suzhou, China, has received GMP certification from Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA). The facility provides integrated manufacturing services for Instituto Butantan’s dengue vaccine (Butantan-DV) production project.
“The GMP certification of our DS facility, our second certification from ANVISA, represents a pivotal step in advancing our dengue vaccine project with Instituto Butantan and establishing a solid foundation to deliver on our shared commitment to expand access to high-quality dengue vaccines,” said Jian Dong, CEO of WuXi Vaccines. “Adhered to premier quality standards and powered by our integrated solutions and technologies, we remain committed to driving greater access to safe, effective, and affordable vaccines worldwide.”
Based on the commercial manufacturing agreement with Instituto Butantan and Fundação Butantan, WuXi Vaccines will provide end-to-end services, including drug substance and drug product manufacturing and quality control for the 5-dose dengue vaccine, according to Dong. The partnership plans to rapidly scale up vaccine capacity, aiming to deliver millions of doses to shield Brazil’s population from dengue. In November 2025, the single-dose Butantan-DV received ANVISA approval for use with individuals aged 12 to 59.
The post WuXi’s Facility in China Receives Brazilian GMP Certification for Dengue Vaccine Manufacturing appeared first on GEN – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
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Good morning. You know that one Emily Dickinson poem? “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me – / The Carriage held but just Ourselves – / And Immortality.” I’d love to hear a longevity enthusiast’s close reading. In the meantime, scroll down for a great story from Sarah Todd on the movement’s latest death-defying initiatives.
BERKELEY, Calif. — On a sunny Thursday morning, around 100 people sat on folding chairs beneath a lawn tent preparing to do a mass blood draw. Standing onstage with a tangle of morning glories as his backdrop, Robby Wade, CEO of at-home testing company Rythm Health, warned that the process might be a little chaotic given the size of the crowd.
Wade explained how to activate the heating pads by popping a small silver coin, prompting a chorus of admiring oohs from the audience as rays of warming crystallized gel spread like the sun. Within a few minutes, everyone, me included, had matching stick-on Tasso devices trickling blood from our upper arms into test tubes that promised to give insights into the health of our hormones, metabolisms, various organs, and biological age.
“It’s like Theranos, but it works,” said the gentleman sitting in front of me, who had recently given a talk on bodyoids — creating headless sacs of organs to replace aging people’s failing hearts and kidneys.
It was the first day of Vitalist Bay, a longevity conference-slash-festival launched last year that brings together founders, investors, biohackers, researchers, and the generally death-averse to discuss how to forestall, or even beat, our demise. Held at an event space (and rationalist AI doomer hub) called Lighthaven, the grounds were dotted with well-padded wicker patio furniture and taffy-pink rose bushes. Along with hearing talks on topics like cryopreservation and delaying menopause, attendees might opt to attend a workshop on longevity therapeutics led by a co-founder of BioAge Labs, drop by a Krav Maga lesson, or take a sound bath. The mood was buoyant, the Oura rings ubiquitous, the stakes existential.
“Are we just going to give up and die like every other generation?” Adam Gries, co-founder of the conference and larger Vitalist movement, asked in his opening remarks.
Giving up and dying had been basically my plan, though hopefully not for a long time. Perhaps that was because I hadn’t given enough thought, as the people at Vitalist Bay had, to considering the alternatives. As the field works to make the showdown against death and aging mainstream, the longevity community is now in the midst of shifting from “a movement to really more of an industry,” said Christine Peterson, co-founder of the Foresight Institute, which focuses on research on longevity and nanotechnology.
At Stanford University, it’s easy to get carried away with technology. The computer mouse was invented there. So was Google. And now, it’s pumping out a myriad of tools for artificial intelligence in health care.
But for the last year and a half, Stanford’s hospital has been asking patients about new AI tools before they roll them out.
Eric Gries is one of those people, handpicked by Stanford as part of a “patient panel.” Gries was the caregiver for his wife while she was first on a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), then had a heart transplant. He later became the temporary caregiver for his brother-in-law when he also had a heart transplant.
If you’ve ever donated blood, you know about the screening process: Have you traveled to certain countries? Engaged in risky sexual activities?
One question that they don’t ask is: Have you been vaccinated against Covid-19?
When I was 14 years old, I lost my father to lung cancer. He was 53 and smoked two packs of Camels a day. I have made it a priority during my time in Congress to champion policies that help spare others from this tragedy.
Smoking rates have hit record lows. In 1988, I passed legislation that banned smoking on domestic flights, marking the start of cigarettes disappearing from public spaces.