Covid’s Summer Wave Is Rising—Again

PLUS: AI Is Building Highly Effective Antibodies That Humans Can't Even Imagine, and more.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter preferences 08.09.23 Your weekly roundup of the best stories on health care, the climate crisis, genetic engineering, robotics, space, and more. For all our science coverage, visit WIRED Science.   Covid's Summer Wave Is Rising—Again PUBLIC HEALTH | 4-MINUTE READ  Covid-19 cases are slowly increasing across the US for the fourth summer in a row. By Amanda Hoover   AI Is Building Highly Effective Antibodies That Humans Can't Even Imagine SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY | 4-MINUTE READ  Robots, computers, and algorithms are hunting for potential new therapies in ways humans can't—by processing huge volumes of data and building previously unimagined molecules. By Amit Katwala   The Rise and Fall of the Zero-Waste Trash Jar GARBAGE OUT | 9-MINUTE READ  Unrealistic expectations and real-world problems like unwanted gifts and the temptation of "wishcycling" turned the trash jar from zero-waste influencer emblem to "elitist" cliche. By Joseph Winters   Everyone Was Wrong About Antipsychotics DRUG BUST | 6-MINUTE READ  An unprecedented look at dopamine in the brain reveals that psychosis drugs get developed with the wrong neurons in mind. By Max G. Levy   The Mystery of Chernobyl's Post-Invasion Radiation Spikes DEFYING LOGIC | 17-MINUTE READ  Soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, sensors in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone reported radiation spikes. A researcher now believes he's found evidence the data was manipulated. By Kim Zetter   A New Blood Test May Predict Your Alzheimer's Risk. Should You Take It? BIOTECH | 5-MINUTE READ  The test, which consumers can order on their own, measures a protein linked to Alzheimer's called amyloid beta. But it can't diagnose cases, and the results may be needlessly stressful. By Emily Mullin ADVERTISEMENT More from WIRED Science The Mystery Genes That Are Keeping You Alive Nobody knows what around a fifth of your genes actually do. It's hoped they could hold the secret to fixing developmental disorders, cancer, neurodegeneration, and more. The Weird Way That Human Waste Is Killing Corals Wastewater fuels blooms of reef-smothering algae. Better engineering and an army of funny-looking fish can come to the rescue. A Crucial Early Warning System for Disease Outbreaks Is in Jeopardy The ProMED website and listserv, which broke the news of the arrival of Covid, SARS, and MERS, is now caught between financial shortfalls and staff turmoil. This Scorching Summer Is Taking a Toll on Your Favorite Foods A perfect storm of extreme weather and war have hit northern hemisphere crops like wheat, peaches, and olives. Welcome to the increasingly precarious future of food. Trending on WIRED POST-DOCS | 11-MINUTE READ The Cloud Is a Prison. Can the Local-First Software Movement Set Us Free? By Gregory Barber Tired of relying on Big Tech to enable collaboration, peer-to-peer enthusiasts are creating a new model that cuts out the middleman. (That's you, Google.) GET WIRED Get 1 year of WIRED for less than $1 per month. That includes Steven Levy's exclusive newsletter and a free tote! Subscribe now. ADVERTISEMENT Have questions or comments? Reply to this email.   This email was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our email address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or Manage your newsletter subscriptions   Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.