The Download: experimental embryos and the US monkeypox emergency

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.

This startup wants to copy you into an embryo for organ harvesting

In a search for novel forms of longevity medicine, a biotech company based in Israel says it intends to create embryo-stage versions of people in order to harvest tissues for use in transplant treatments.

The company, Renewal Bio, is pursuing recent advances in stem-cell technology and artificial wombs, demonstrated by Jacob Hanna, a biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Earlier this week, Hanna showed that starting with mouse stem cells, his lab could form highly realistic-looking mouse embryos and keep them growing in a mechanical womb for several days until they developed beating hearts, flowing blood, and cranial folds.

It's the first time such an advanced embryo has been mimicked without sperm, eggs, or even a uterus. Now Hanna has set his sights on extending the technology to humans-he's already experimenting with human cells and hopes to eventually produce artificial models of human embryos. We view the embryo as the best 3D bio printer," he says. Read the full story.

-Antonio Regalado

Automated techniques could make it easier to develop AI

Machine-learning researchers have to make many decisions when designing new models, meaning that complex models end up being designed by human intuition, rather than systematically. A growing field called automated machine learning, or autoML, aims to eliminate that guesswork, allowing algorithms to take over the decision making, which could both simplify the process and make machine learning more accessible.

Big Tech is paying attention. Companies like Amazon and Google already offer low-code machine-learning tools that take advantage of autoML techniques, and computer scientists are excited by the notion of being able to simply specify a problem, before tasking the computer with figuring it out. But researchers have a lot of work to do before autoML can be deployed more widely. Read the full story.

-Tammy Xu

The must-reads

I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 The US has declared monkeypox a public health emergency
It has surpassed 7,100 cases, more than any other country. (WSJ $)
+ Many queer men have been unable to get vaccinated. (Vox)
+ Some people will be at risk of contracting both monkeypox and covid. (The Atlantic $)
+ There's still no evidence to suggest that monkeypox has become more virulent. (Slate)
+ Everything you need to know about the monkeypox vaccines. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Alex Jones must pay $4 million to the parents of a Sandy Hook victim
The conspiracy theorist is finally facing consequences for calling the massacre a hoax. (BBC)
+ The jury could choose to award further damages, too. (Buzzfeed News)

3 Elon Musk has accused Twitter of fraud
He also claims he was hoodwinked" into signing the purchase agreement. (Bloomberg $)
+ A tool used to assess Twitter bots reportedly flagged Musk's own account as one. (FT $)
+ Twitter's lawyers aren't holding back. (The Verge)
+ Meanwhile, Musk predicts the US will weather a mild recession" for 18 months. (Insider)

4 The UK's cost of living crisis has birthed a wave of scams
Which feels particularly cruel, if sadly inevitable. (FT $)

5 Your brain appears to unlock new realities when you die
The new dimensions of reality some dying people experience are not the same as hallucinating. (Neo.Life)

6 We're buying fewer video games than we used to
With less disposable income, shoppers are cutting down on non-essentials. (WP $)

7 The animals we know least about are most at risk of extinction
Many are already believed to have died out before we could discover them. (Motherboard)
+ Machine learning could help identify the species most at risk. (The Verge)
+ Understanding how species mate is crucial to ensuring their future safety. (Knowable Magazine)

8 The internet is obsessed with tracking the celebrities' flights
Aviation enthusiasts are revealing the data that the rich and famous would rather keep secret. (The Guardian)

9 Hollywood is getting better at portraying young, online lives
Being Extremely Online is no longer the preserve of the loner. (The Atlantic $)
+ How the next generation is reshaping political discourse. (MIT Technology Review)

10 TikTok can't get enough of young farmers
Their rural lives are striking a chord. (FT $)
+ Elsewhere on TikTok, users are paying money to wake people up. (Wired $)

Quote of the day

We have 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's cases. That, to me, honestly, is a failure. We were caught sleeping at the wheel."

-Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease physician at Emory University in Atlanta, tells the New York Times about his frustration over the US' handling of the monkeypox outbreak.

The big story

Inside the strange new world of being a deepfake actor

October 2020

While deepfakes have now been around for a number of years, deepfake casting and acting are relatively new. Early technologies weren't very good, used primarily in dark corners of the internet to swap celebrities into porn videos without their consent.

But as deepfakes have grown increasingly realistic, more and more artists and filmmakers have begun using them in broadcast-quality productions and TV ads. This means hiring real actors for one aspect of the performance or another. Some jobs require an actor to provide base" footage; others need a voice. For actors, it opens up exciting creative and professional possibilities. But it also raises a host of ethical questions. Read the full story.

-Karen Hao

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)

+ The ultimate guide to looking your best on a Zoom call (lighting makes all the difference.)
+ Who wants to try the Impossible Quiz?
+ A long-lost temple has been discovered-hiding underneath another temple.
+ A documentary tracking the life and times of true tech maverick John McAfee is a guaranteed wild ride.
+ This website is a 90s fever dream (sound on!)