Biohazard Threats to Martian Airspace: Top 10 Stories of Innovation, Risk, and Responsibility
🔶 US Airline's Unsecured Server Exposes "No Fly List" to Hacker
🔶 Lawmakers warn of DNA and food-targeting biological weapons threat
🔶 CRISPR: Gene editing for the masses?
🔶 Quantum Entanglement Breaks Lab Boundaries in Network Breakthrough
🔶 Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Soars to New Heights in Exploration
🔶 Who Decides AI Behavior? OpenAI Strives for Transparency and Accountability
🔶 U.S. Department of Energy Investigates COVID-19 Lab Leak in China
🔶 Senate grills Live Nation, Ticketmaster for ticketing monopolies and failures
🔶 Universal Music CEO pushes for streaming compensation model to 'evolve'
🔶 Israel's Chief Rabbi Approves Kosher Cultivated Meat
CRISPR: Gene editing for the masses?
Gene editing technology is evolving at a rapid pace, making it increasingly viable for use in humans. CRISPR gene editing has progressed from simply making cuts in DNA to being tested as a way to change existing genetic code by inserting new chunks of DNA or entire genes into someone’s genome. Recently, Verve Therapeutics launched a trial of a CRISPR-based therapy that alters genetic code to permanently lower cholesterol levels. The treatment works by permanently switching off a gene that codes for a protein called PCSK9. The newer forms of CRISPR, such as base editing, and prime editing, could dramatically broaden the scope of gene-editing treatments, making them potentially available to many more people, and for a much broader range of disorders.
Quantum Entanglement Breaks Lab Boundaries in Network Breakthrough
In a groundbreaking achievement, a team of physicists at the University of Innsbruck has successfully entangled two trapped ions over a distance of 230 meters, marking a major milestone in the development of quantum networks that could eventually span cities and continents. Until now, trapped ions could only be entangled within the same laboratory, using shared control systems and unsuitable photons. However, by trapping atoms in optical cavities and efficiently transferring quantum information to light particles, the researchers were able to entangle two ions across campus, demonstrating the promise of trapped ions as a platform for distributed networks of quantum computers, quantum sensors, and atomic clocks. This research is part of the Quantum Internet Alliance, an international project under the European Union's Quantum Flagship, and has been published in Physical Review Letters.
Senate grills Live Nation, Ticketmaster for ticketing monopolies and failures
Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the world's largest ticketing and event promotion companies, were called out as monopolies by four of the five witnesses at a US Senate hearing on ticketing. The fifth witness, Clyde Lawrence of band Lawrence, was uncertain. Joe Berchtold, the CFO and president of Live Nation, claimed the ticketing business had never been more competitive, but senators and witnesses disagreed. Live Nation and Ticketmaster were also accused of having a lower market share than publicly reported, and of venues fearing retaliation from Live Nation promoters for not using Ticketmaster. The hearing comes after multiple ticketing failures for tours by Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.
Who Decides AI Behavior? OpenAI Strives for Transparency and Accountability
OpenAI has provided a summary of how its artificial intelligence (AI) system, ChatGPT, works, how it is fine-tuned, and how the company aims to improve it. OpenAI's mission is to ensure that AI systems benefit humanity, and as such, the company is focused on aligning the behavior of its AI systems with human values. Unlike ordinary software, OpenAI's models are massive neural networks that learn from a broad range of data and are fine-tuned through a process that involves collaboration with human reviewers. OpenAI has committed to robustly addressing biases and being transparent about both its intentions and progress in this area. The company is researching how to make the fine-tuning process more understandable and controllable and is building on external advances such as rule-based rewards and Constitutional AI.
US Airline's Unsecured Server Exposes "No Fly List" to Hacker
An unsecured server belonging to U.S. national airline CommuteAir was found to contain the Terrorist Screening Database and "No Fly List," which are considered among the most sensitive U.S. government documents. The list contains over 1.5 million entries, with names, birth dates, and multiple aliases for each individual. The list is disproportionately made up of individuals with Arabic or Middle Eastern names, but also includes Hispanic and Anglican-sounding names. The CommuteAir server also contained private information on nearly 1,000 employees, user credentials to over 40 Amazon S3 buckets and servers, and other company data. CommuteAir confirmed the legitimacy of the data and has submitted a notification to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency while the TSA is investigating.
Israel's Chief Rabbi Approves Kosher Cultivated Meat
In a world where concerns over animal welfare and the environmental toll of meat production are mounting, cultivated meat has emerged as a promising solution. However, questions over religious restrictions, such as kashrut in Judaism or halal in Islam, have hindered its adoption. That is until now. Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau has given his kosher stamp of approval to Aleph Farms, a company looking to sell steak grown from cow cells. By mimicking conditions in the animal's body, Aleph Farms collects sample cells from a living animal and then grows more in a cultivator. Lau's ruling, while specific to Aleph Farms' process, sets a foundation for others, paving the way for potential certification in the halal market and even approval for Hindus who do not eat beef. With its approval, cultivated meat takes a giant step forward, offering hope for a more sustainable and ethical future.
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Soars to New Heights in Exploration
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is set to embark on its 41st flight, marking yet another milestone in its unprecedented exploration of the red planet. With a nominal horizontal flight distance of 587 feet and a maximum divert, the helicopter will soar at an altitude of 33 feet for 103.57 seconds, scouting the terrain with its navigation camera. As Ingenuity heads out to the North West and returns, it will reach a speed of 6.7 mph, capturing images that will provide valuable insights into the Martian landscape. This latest mission reaffirms NASA's commitment to pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery, illuminating the mysteries of the universe one flight at a time.
Universal Music CEO pushes for streaming compensation model to 'evolve'
Universal Music Group (UMG) CEO, Lucian Grainge, has stated that the economic model for music streaming must evolve, calling for a new "artist-centric" model that values all subscribers and rewards the music they love. The call came in a lengthy message circulated to staff at the start of 2023, in which Grainge also took aim at "bad actors" in the music industry and referred to the "vast and unnavigable number of tracks flooding the [streaming] platforms". The letter argued that a new model was necessary to address the current imbalance, which undervalues the contributions of too many artists and the engagement of too many fans.
Lawmakers warn of DNA and food-targeting biological weapons threat
In a panel discussion at the Aspen Security Forum, lawmakers and a military leader warned of the threat posed by biological and chemical weapons, including their potential to target DNA and the food supply. Rep. Jason Crow cautioned that there are weapons in development that can be used to target specific people by taking their DNA and using it to create a biological weapon. Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst noted that biological weapons targeting food systems could have equally devastating consequences. Army Gen. Richard Clarke warned that state actors such as Russia could also pose a threat with such weapons. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the dangers of such pathogens if deliberately engineered and released. The discussion urged the need for preparedness and regulatory regimes to combat this threat.
U.S. Department of Energy Investigates COVID-19 Lab Leak in China
In a story shrouded in secrecy, the U.S. Department of Energy has released a report indicating that COVID-19 may have been leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. However, the report is not conclusive, and its findings are based on "low confidence." China's lack of transparency and cooperation has made it nearly impossible to investigate the origins of the virus, leaving the U.S. intelligence community to decipher a mystery without the cooperation of the nation where the virus emerged. With different agencies coming to different conclusions, the investigation has become a whole-of-community effort, and while the alternative theory of the virus leaping from an animal has yet to find conclusive evidence, the nature of research in Wuhan is pointing towards the possibility of a lab leak. The implications of this report could have far-reaching consequences on U.S.-China relations and global health policies, making it a story of immense importance that requires continued investigation and transparency.