History Says the 1918 Flu Killed the Young and Healthy. These Bones Say Otherwise

PLUS: The Mystery of Cosmic Radio Bursts Gets Bright New Clues, and more.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter preferences 10.25.23 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.   History Says the 1918 Flu Killed the Young and Healthy. These Bones Say Otherwise SKELETON KEY | 5-MINUTE READ  A study of bones held in a Cleveland museum reveals a new side to the pandemic's story—and a new way to think about pandemics to come. By Maryn McKenna   The Mystery of Cosmic Radio Bursts Gets Bright New Clues FLASHLIGHT | 4-MINUTE READ  New research from two teams shows that these fleeting blips can be faster and brighter, and come from much further away, than previously thought. By Ramin Skibba   DeepMind Wants to Use AI to Solve the Climate Crisis WIRED IMPACT | 4-MINUTE READ  WIRED spoke with DeepMind's climate lead about techno-utopianism, ways AI can help fight climate change, and what's currently standing in the way. By Amit Katwala   This Vaccine Protects Against Cancer—but Not Enough Boys Are Getting It WIRED30 | 5-MINUTE READ  The HPV vaccine can effectively prevent a range of cancers if administered at the right age. But boys still can't access it in most countries. By Grace Browne   This Contest Put Theories of Consciousness to the Test. Here's What It Really Proved THOUGHT EXPERIMENT | 13-MINUTE READ  A five-year "adversarial collaboration" of scientists led to a stagy showdown in front of an audience. It crowned no winners—but it's still progress. By Elizabeth Finkel   Things Are Looking Up for Asteroid Mining ROCK ON | 6-MINUTE READ  Asteroids are rich with the metals used in clean energy technologies. As demand soars, advocates argue that mining them in space might be better than mining them on Earth. By Ramin Skibba Shopping season is just around the corner and WIRED is here to help. Sign up for our Deals newsletter to make sure you know about the best deals, sales, and WIRED-tested recommendations. SIGN ME UP ADVERTISEMENT More from WIRED Science Why Have Climate Catastrophes Toppled Some Civilizations but Not Others? Researchers are homing in on what helps societies survive climate shocks, like the volcanic eruptions that helped fell the Roman Empire or the drought that plagued the ancient Mayans. 'The Whole Health System Is Collapsing Around Us.' Doctors Say Gaza Is on the Brink Doctors say they are operating without anesthesia, hospitals have run out of space to put the wounded, and the dead are being buried in mass graves. New Trials Aim to Restore Hearing in Deaf Children—With Gene Therapy For the first time, researchers are testing an approach that involves replacing a mutated gene in the inner ears of children with severe hearing loss. The Surprising Way Clean Energy Will Help Save the Snowpack As if we needed another reason to quickly ditch fossil fuels: Cleaner snow melts much more slowly. Trending on WIRED BURIED TREASURE | 9-MINUTE READ They Cracked the Code to a Locked USB Drive Worth $235 Million in Bitcoin. Then It Got Weird By Andy Greenberg Stefan Thomas lost the password to an encrypted USB drive holding 7,002 bitcoins. One team of hackers believes they can unlock it—if they can get Thomas to let them. GET WIRED Our Fall Sale is Officially live! Subscribe to WIRED for only $29.99 $5. That includes subscriber-only content like Steven Levy's Plaintext column, plus FREE WIRED stickers as a special bonus! 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.