Is the UK’s pingdemic good or bad? Yes.

DeepMind says it will release the structure of every protein known to science

Sponsored by Lumen Technologies The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology A deluge of pings 07.23.21 Happy Friday! Today we're looking at contact tracing app-related chaos in the UK, and an announcement from DeepMind that it's going to release the structure of every protein known to science. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. I hope you have a good weekend! Is the UK’s pingdemic good or bad? Yes. Oscar Maung-Haley, 24, was working in a bar in Manchester, England, when his phone pinged. It was the UK’s NHS Test and Trace app letting him know he’d potentially been exposed to covid-19 and needed to self-isolate. The news immediately caused problems. “It was a mad dash around the venue to show my manager and say I had to go,” he says. The alert he got was one of hundreds of thousands being sent out every week as the UK battles its latest wave of covid, which means more and more people face the same challenges. The phenomenon is being dubbed a “pingdemic” on social media, blamed for everything from gas shortages to bare store shelves. The ping deluge reflects the collision of several developments: sharply rising cases due to the delta variant, record numbers of app downloads, and far more contact than before as the UK has dropped many of its lockdown restrictions. More infections, more users, more contact: more pings.  That’s exactly how the app is supposed to work, yet it’s causing a significant breakdown in the social contract, as a lack of clear, fair rules is leading to widespread frustration. Read the full story. —Chris Stokel-Walker and Lindsay Muscato DeepMind says it will release the structure of every protein known to science The news: DeepMind has announced that it has used its AI to predict the shapes of nearly every protein in the human body, as well as the shapes of hundreds of thousands of other proteins found in 20 of the most widely studied organisms, including yeast, fruit flies, and mice. The details: So far the trove consists of 350,000 newly predicted protein structures. DeepMind says it will predict and release the structures for more than 100 million more in the next few months—more or less all proteins known to science.  Why it matters: The breakthrough could allow biologists from around the world to understand diseases better and develop new drugs. Read the full story. —Will Douglas Heaven 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.)      + It's Friday. It's summer. It's time to talk about frozen cocktails.    + On the impact of Is This It by The Strokes, released 20 years ago this month. (New Statesman $)   + This cat-meets-racoons video had me crying with laughter.   + A huge number of fossils from the Jurassic period have been unearthed in the UK.    + The best movies on the theme of time travel. (Wired $)   + If you're able to access BBC iPlayer, it's worth noting there are some cracking movies on there right now.   + Which of these three women are you today? My vote is for the one with the pizza.   + I think I need slab pie in my life, despite the faintly off-putting name. Sponsor Message Computing at the cutting edge Placing computation and analysis close to where data is generated offers high speed and performance for a new class of applications. Learn more. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The Olympics could help to carry covid-19 variants all over the world Or it might not! We just don't know. But we'll find out soon. (Wired $)   + A new threat looms: gene doping. (NEO.LIFE)   + The first US athlete set to compete has tested positive for covid. (Slate)   + Along with all the other chaos, attendees are grappling with app issues. (Axios)   + It's never been clearer what the Olympics is really about: money. (New Statesman $)   + Russia's banned. But will its hackers show up? (NBC)  2 What happens when we hit 3°C? 🌡️ That is where we're heading. And if we reach it, nowhere is going to be safe. (The Economist $)   + A startup is claiming a breakthrough in long-duration batteries. (WSJ $)  3 The US now has a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" More than 97% of hospitalizations from covid right now are of unvaccinated people, according to the CDC. (CNET)   + Why (some) Republicans are suddenly going all-in on the vaccine. (New Yorker $)   + Anti-vaccine misinformation is still rife on social media. (WP $)   + UK scientists are backing third shots. (The Guardian)   + Here's who can ask for your vaccination status. (Gizmodo)  4 Mark Zuckerberg is going all-in on the "metaverse" The tech sector has been excited about blending physical and digital worlds for some time, yet it still feels a long way off. (The Verge)   + Zuckerberg cost Facebook $23 million in personal security bills in 2020 alone. (Protocol)   + Big Tech has had an incredibly profitable pandemic. (NYT $)   + Google cofounder Larry Page has been hiding during the pandemic on a Fijan island. (Insider $)  5 The CIA seems to be serious about solving the Havana Syndrome mystery  The officer who helped to hunt down Osama Bin Laden has been given the job to get to the bottom of it. (WSJ $)   6 We're all burned out  Now, let's use it as an opportunity to rethink our relationship with work. (Wired UK)   7 Twitter's testing a downvote button 👎 Just when you think it can't possibly come up with another way to make the experience worse, it somehow does. (BBC)   + CEO Jack Dorsey is still obsessed with bitcoin. (TechCrunch)   8 Donald Trump Jr is a very aggrieved Instagram influencer I'm exhausted just reading about him. Imagine actually being him. (The Atlantic $)   9 The Kayesa ransomware nightmare is nearly over A decryption tool has emerged, though the company is tight-lipped about how it got hold of it.  (Wired $)   10 This drone can beat professional racing pilots Another win for the bots. (Gizmodo) Join us at EmTech MIT to get critical, ahead-of-the-curve knowledge  and actionable insights on the breakthrough technologies fundementally changing how business is done. Purchase your ticket today. Quote of the day "The government needs to wake up. This is not a problem about excessive pinging of the NHS app, but is a direct result of lack of effective measures by government that is allowing the virus to let rip throughout the nation." —Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the UK's British Medical Association council, is calling for an “an urgent rethink” of the government’s covid strategy.  Top image credit: YUI MOK | PRESS ASSOCIATION VIA AP IMAGES Please send Julian Casablancas 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 today Leading with Innovation. Join us virtually September 28-30. Register now Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142   *Manage Your Email Preferences or *Unsubscribe  Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog  *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally