Researchers might soon be allowed to study human embryos beyond 14 days

Why is it so hard to build government technology?

Sponsored by VMware The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Expanding experiments 03.17.21 Good morning! Today: researchers may soon be allowed to study embryos beyond 14 days, why it's so hard to build (workable) government technology, and we ask a panel of experts... what is progress? Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Researchers might soon be allowed to study human embryos beyond 14 days   Pushing the limits: For the last 40 years, scientists have agreed never to allow human embryos to develop beyond two weeks in their labs. Now a key scientific body is ready to do away with the 14-day limit. The International Society for Stem Cell Research has prepared draft recommendations to move such research out of a category of “prohibited” scientific activities and into a class of research that can be permitted after ethics review and depending on national regulations. Why? Scientists are motivated to grow embryos longer in order to study—and potentially manipulate—the development process. They believe discoveries could come from studying embryos longer, for example improvements to IVF or finding clues to the causes of birth defects. But such techniques raise the possibility of someday gestating animals outside the womb until birth, a concept called ectogenesis. And the long-term growth of embryos could create a platform to explore the genetic engineering of humans. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado Why is it so hard to build government technology?  It’s been a long, challenging year for government technologies. America’s $44 million vaccine data system failed massively. Developers had to build apps that could identify potential covid exposure without invading people’s privacy. Notoriously janky unemployment websites were crushed under the weight of massive job loss. What would it take to actually make government technology work well in the US? What are the basics of a healthy technological infrastructure that can work for the residents who need it?  We asked five experts to help us understand why it’s so hard to build good government technology, and for their advice on how to create a healthy technological infrastructure for the people who rely on the outcomes. Read the full story.  —Cat Ferguson What does progress mean to you? What do we mean when we talk about progress? In general terms, to make progress means to move toward something and away from something else. But where we’re headed and what we’re leaving behind are key questions that drive political movements, shape international treaties, and define our own sense of personal growth.  Our notions of individual or collective progress reflect our values and our hopes for the future. Knowing what we’re trying to achieve can also help us see what role technology could or should play. To help us explore those possibilities, eight experts responded to a deceptively simple prompt: What does progress mean to you? Read the full story. —Amy Nordrum This story is from the latest issue of MIT Technology Review, a comprehensive look at the topic of progress. Read the full magazine. And why not treat yourself to a subscription? It's just $50 a year. 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.)   + A real-time digital map of Tokyo's public train system. Mesmerizing.    + This video game is all about taking photos of dogs.   + This photographer takes stunning portraits.   + Have you been eating a lot of cheese this past year? You're not alone. But don't forget, cheese is good for you, according to SCIENCE.   + Uncertain about what comes next? Maybe you should make a bucket list.   + Caligula's mosaic is being returned to Italy… after being used as a coffee table in Manhattan for decades. (The Telegraph $)   + Snowflakes captured in exquisite detail. (NYT $) Sponsor Message Digital acceleration in the time of coronavirus: North America Before the pandemic, Mayo Clinic was planning its long-term digital transformation. “We envisioned the hospital of the future,” says engineering chair Mark Wehde, “moving away from large, complex care centers for routine care to community hospitals and even to people’s homes through the use of remote monitoring tools and AI.”   When the crisis hit, the organization needed the digital platforms it was planning for immediately. “Our 10-year plan was now a two-year plan,” says Wehde.   Learn how the pandemic sped up technology change. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Lessons for the next pandemic Let's be guided by public health experts. (NYT $)   + One of the biggest problems in fighting covid-19 was a lack of reliable data. (The Atlantic)   + Why the west fared so badly. (NY Mag)   + The WHO thinks the pandemic probably started in wildlife farms in Southern China. (WBUR)   + It's okay to grieve for the past year's small losses. (NYT $)  2 The US should have a National Vaccine Day 💉🎉 This could help to win over the skeptics. (Bloomberg $)   + Moderna has started testing its vaccine in children. (NYT $)   + VaccineFinder.gov is set to launch in the US on May 1. (NBC)   + The most ridiculous self-reported side effects to the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Quartz)   + The politics behind Europe's vaccine suspension. (NYT $)   + Facebook and Twitter are resisting calls to ban a prominent anti-vax campaigner. (FT $)   + The struggle to vaccinate prisoners. (Wired $)  3 Mars’s lost water may be buried beneath the planet’s crust We used to blame atmospheric loss for Mars becoming dry and cold. Turns out the water may have just gone underground.   + Distant jets are giving us clues to how supermassive black holes get so big. (TR)  4 How Washington failed to tame Google The FTC could have taken it to court over anti-competitive practices in 2013. It didn't. This is why. (Politico)   + Google is going to take a 15% cut from app developers instead of 30%. (TechCrunch)   + Wikipedia is going to ask tech companies to pay up. (Wired $)  5 Russia and Iran tried to meddle in the 2020 US election For opposite sides. China decided it wasn't worth the risk. (WSJ $)   6 Meet the woman trying to close the gender pay gap in tech A thankless, uphill struggle. (The Verge)    7 How Amazon defeats unions  It pulls tons of dirty tactics… and they often work. (NYT $)    + Uber now has to guarantee its 70,000 UK drivers a minimum wage, holiday pay, and pensions. (The Guardian)   + The split at the heart of tech's burgeoning labor movement. (Axios)  8 Bitcoin ATMs are popping up everywhere 💵 Despite no one really wanting or needing them. (Reuters)   9 A robot is serving up soba noodles at a train station in Japan 🤖🍜 It can do 150 servings per hour. (Mainichi Shimbun)   + How do you "futureproof" yourself against automation? (NPR)   10 This app lets you escape Zoom meetings by faking technical issues The nuclear option. (Vice) 5 days until our annual AI conference! Join us at EmTech Digital to get the engineering, organizational, and social know-how to successfully enable AI at your enterprise. Purchase your ticket now. EmTech Digital is happening soon! Register today. Quote of the day “We’re running out of people to vaccinate.” —Brian Hail, who helps oversee the Cherokee Nation's vaccination efforts, tells the New York Times that the biggest challenge now is how to encourage hesitant people to sign up.   Top image credit: Getty Please send mosaics 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? Sign up for free The age of implementation Join us virtually | March 23–25, 2021   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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