Moderna believes it could update its coronavirus vaccine without a big new trial

Genetically modified salmon will be on the menu soon

Sponsored by Siemens Digital Industries Software The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Vaccines should keep up with variants 01.14.21 Good morning! Today: vaccines should be able to keep up with covid-19 variants, and you could be eating genetically-modified salmon soon. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Moderna says it could update its covid-19 vaccine without a big new trial   A ray of hope: Covid vaccines reprogrammed to aim at emerging new strains of the virus could reach the market quickly, without going through large clinical trials, according to officials at Moderna Therapeutics and the US government. And Moderna says laboratory studies indicate that its current vaccine should protect against all the major variants now being tracked, like those identified in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Some background: There’s concern that mutated versions of the coronavirus could evade approved vaccines and new shots could be necessary. But they could come to market in just a few months. The reason: no need for big studies to prove they work. Why? Moderna’s vaccine, along with one from Pfizer and BioNTech, involves packaging genetic instructions for the “spike” protein of the coronavirus into minuscule fatty nanoparticles. Injected into a person’s arm, cells begin to read that information and make the spike molecule, setting off an immune response that, trials show, leads to protection against severe covid in the large majority of people. The technology’s flexibility is that the genetic information—messenger RNA—can easily be rewritten and revised, making it possible to target the latest mutant forms of the virus. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado What’s on the GMO menu: fast-growing salmon and slow-swimming tuna What’s happening: A genetically modified salmon will become the first GM food animal to go on sale in the US, according to its maker, AquaBounty, possibly launching an era of steaks and chops from creatures with modified DNA. A landmark: In the US, a number of genetically modified animals have been approved or cleared for sale.  But so far, only one genetically engineered animal has been approved in the US as food. That animal, an Atlantic salmon engineered to grow faster on fish farms, took 20 years to win a nod from regulators, and then got held up for four more years over a labeling dispute. AquaBounty says it is imminently ready to sell salmon to distributors in the US. Its launch could be a hugely significant signal to others working on genetically engineered animals. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado The story above comes from the latest issue of MIT Technology Review's print magazine, on the topic of food. Read it, and if you haven’t already, subscribe for just $50.  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.)   + Finally, we learn the secret to a woman's heart. You can keep "a piece" though, I'm holding out for a whole wheel.    + My friend just got a kitten she has dubbed "Smol Paul the wobbly cat" and oh I mean, just look at him. And while we're on the (always winning) topic of pets, look at this cheeky kitty.    + Sea Shanty TikTok is still going strong in case you were wondering. And if you just want to listen to a whole album of sea shanties, you can go straight to the source.   + This man in Japan seems to have found the dream job.   + SPACE WINE. It wouldn't have lasted a year around my place, so well done to the astronauts on the ISS.   + I want to visit this new resort on Hormuz Island. Sponsor Message With trust in AI, manufacturers can build better Some people might not associate the word “trust” with artificial intelligence (AI).   Stefan Jockusch, Vice President of Strategy at Siemens Digital Industries Software, is not one of them. AI can improve production speed, take away tedious tasks from creative engineers, and make products customers want, explains Jockusch. He gives the example of Apple’s iPhones and its facial recognition software—technology that has been tested “millions and millions of times” and produced just a few failures.    Listen to the podcast here. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Tech companies are abandoning the pretense of neutrality It's a shame this conversation wasn't started before all the many harmful outcomes, but better late than never. (OneZero $)   + AirBnb has canceled reservations in Washington, DC around the inauguration. (Axios)   + Facebook has been showing military gear ads next to insurrection posts. (Buzzfeed)   + Snapchat is going to join the legions of companies who have banned Trump. (Axios)   + Trump has become the first US president to be impeached twice. (The Hill)   + Telegram is finally facing up to its Nazi problem. (TechCrunch)   2 Americans are tuning out the pandemic as it hits its peak This is unfortunately a time for more vigilance, not less. (Axios)   + How many "microcovids" would you spend on a burrito? (Wired $)  3 China has reported its first covid-19 death since May  And a team from the WHO has just arrived in Wuhan to investigate the pandemic's origins. (The Guardian)   + China has put 22 million people back into lockdown. (NYT $)  4  The toxicity of fatphobia online We've all internalized it through society, and now it's being reinforced by algorithms. (Vox)   5 US work culture is so broken Given how much Americans are forced to give, they often don't get a whole lot back in return. (New Yorker $)   6 The huge Russia hack started even earlier than we'd thought The picture just keeps getting worse. WSJ $)   7 The bitcoin dream is dead It's easy to forget, but it was once pitched as a currency. Now it's a speculative asset. (Marker)   8 Relaxation is big business 💆🥫 But you can't bottle it and sell it as a drink. Oh, apparently you can?  (The Verge)   9 Behold the ludicrous power of Elon Musk He tweeted about Signal. It sent the share price of Signal Advance (a different company) soaring. (Quartz)   + WhatsApp has given a masterclass in how not to do comms during its recent data collection changes. (FT $)   10 How would round trips work if the world was a cube? If you're into geometry, you will dig this big time. (Quanta) AI implementation is hard. Be one of the few who get it right. Join us at EmTech Digital, our annual event entirely focused on artificial intelligence, to learn how to make AI work for your business. Learn more. Quote of the day "I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban Donald Trump." —Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey says (on Twitter, of course) that he is uncomfortable with the power his company has over the global public conversation. Top image credit: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Please send space wine to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? 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