“It’s the first thing I read every morning.” -- Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner.
Posted and Upcoming Podcasts: Available now: ** Josh Tyrangiel on AI** and
1. These days, the people leading AI labs believe it could transform their industry, the global economy and perhaps the fate of humanity. OpenAI’s chief scientist has called it the only way to remain on the frontier. A co-founder of Anthropic says it “might be ** the most important technical trend in the world**.” And unless you work in AI, you’ve probably never heard of it.
2. T****he future coming at you: RSI in one chart.
3. An AI agent using Claude Sonnet 5 autonomously performed gene therapy brain surgery on a mouse, ** choosing the drug, the brain region, and the coordinates, then driving the stereotaxic arms itself**. Dr Gabriel Ocana-Santero (Oxford, co-founder and CEO of Y Combinator-backed Exin Therapeutics) gave the agent 19 gene therapy vectors in a spreadsheet, a motorized surgery rig (custom-built on Arduino) with cameras, and one goal: reduce seizures. The agent worked out what was causing the seizures, then chose a therapy that boosts the brain’s natural ‘calming’ signals, targeted only at the cells that produce them. It worked out exactly where to inject using three research papers, then injected a tiny dose while watching through the camera for bleeding, checking the camera 32 times during the operation. (
4. Scientists can now edit genes in precise locations deep in the brain and body without the use of invasive surgery or implants, thanks to new work from researchers at the ** Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute**. The team demonstrated their technique, which uses a combination of ultrasound, light-emitting nanoparticles, and photo-controllable gene-editing proteins, by
5. Meet Sabrina Pasterski, the theoretical physicist often dubbed the "Next Einstein" who famously
6. Iran’s Supreme Leader ordered his top military commanders to prepare for renewed confrontation with the US and Israel and expand Tehran’s options for retaliation, even as his top diplomat signaled progress in diplomatic talks. “** Every level and type of threat must be met with an immediate, effective response, without geographical limitations**,” Mojtaba Khamenei told the heads of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Army and the General Staff of the Armed Forces, according to a
7. The Wall Street Journal:
Three American service-members were killed in a July 17 Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in the Jordanian desert. Satellite imagery shows thedamaged at least 19 buildings where troops sleep.[nighttime attack]It was one of the deadliest nights of the war for U.S. forces. But it wasn’t the only attack targeting American troops where they live and sleep. That same week,
at other U.S. military installations across the region.[Iran][hit multiple housing units]The July strikes marked an alarming shift in Iran’s tactics and revealed an improvement in the regime’s ability to sequence attacks and hit targets with precision. Iran was taking more direct aim at the buildings that house American troops, according to a
Wall Street Journalanalysis of satellite data, Iranian military statements and interviews with U.S. officials.The Journal’s analysis offers
. ([the most comprehensive public accounting of the war’s damage to American facilities to date]Source: wsj.com)
8. Russia is testing exporting grain through the Arctic port of Murmansk, thousands of kilometers from the farms where it is grown, as Ukraine’s drone campaign has all but cut off its traditional route via the Black Sea. A bulk carrier in Murmansk started loading 29,500 tonnes of wheat on Wednesday for a trial shipment to buyers in north Africa, according to the port’s Telegram channel, adapting facilities normally used to handle fertiliser for grain. ** The extraordinary detour illustrates how the escalating battle for control of the Black Sea has upended trade** in Russia, the world’s biggest wheat exporter, and Ukraine, another major supplier, despite relatively strong harvests in both countries. The disruption has driven up costs for overseas buyers even as prices received by Russian and Ukrainian farmers have plunged. (
9. China’s economic activity slowed sharply in October, with gauges of manufacturing, services and construction ** all pointing to a loss of momentum**. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.3 in October, down from 50.1 in September, said the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. (
**10. Tens of thousands of demonstrators converged on India’s capital earlier today in a display of mass resistance to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and recent changes to the voter roll. The event, organized by India’s largest opposition political party, the Indian National Congress, is ** the latest in a string of large protests to ripple through New Delhi since this summer. The demonstrators have marched under different banners, with separate leaders and demands. But they have all expressed unhappiness with Mr. Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has led India since 2014, and its initiative to update India’s voter rolls. (
11. Hooded rioters looted stores in Frankfurt late on Saturday after ** tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Germany's biggest cities** to demand better education and lower living costs. The protests followed a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism
12. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance says it has replaced 90% of the amount stolen after a record $6.3 billion hack of its platform by a group the FBI identified as being backed by North Korea. The remaining 10% of tokens are less liquid, meaning they may take longer to buy, the company said in a post on X on Saturday. Co-CEO Richard Teng said separately that ** the company was “committed to covering the remaining 10%” and that “users will not bear the financial impact of this incident”**. (
13. Sabato’s Crystal Ball:
(Source: centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2026-senate)
14. Today’s New York City Marathon begins long before the race itself.
** News Items Science Editor Joanna Thompson** training:
(Sources: joannathompson.work, instagram.com)
**Quick Links: The Kremlin is ** refusing to compromise on its original maximalist demands from 2022. The US State Department
