When your prescription drug becomes the center of covid misinformation

Lithium-ion batteries just made a big leap in a tiny product

Sponsored by Morgan Stanley The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Ivermectin's sudden infamy 09.09.21 Good morning! Today: how people with ivermectin prescriptions are being affected by covid-related misinformation about the drug, a major leap for lithium-ion batteries has been embedded in a new fitness wearable, and how you can teach yourself to lucid dream. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. When your prescription drug becomes the center of covid misinformation   Ivermectin has become a flashpoint in the covid culture wars, fuelled by backers like Joe Rogan and pro-Trump doctors popular in anti-vaccine circles.  But it isn’t some new or experimental drug: in addition to its use as an anti-parasite treatment for livestock, it’s also used to treat a form of rosacea in humans, a common skin condition that is best known for causing redness on the face. For those who have been using it for years, all the sudden viral posts and memes were unexpected and unwelcome. Our editor Abby Ohlheiser is one of those people, and she’s found it weird and infuriating to see ivermectin become a keyword for anti-vaccine misinformation.  It’s a reminder that when drugs get caught up in viral health misinformation, it doesn’t affect just the people who ignore reliable experts and opt for ineffective, debunked, or dangerous treatments they read about online. Read the full story. —Abby Ohlheiser Lithium-ion batteries just made a big leap in a tiny product A major launch: Materials company Sila has spent the last decade working to boost the energy stored in lithium-ion batteries. It has developed silicon-based particles that can replace the graphite in anodes and hold more of the lithium ions that carry the current in a battery. Now the company is delivering its product to the market for the first time, providing a portion of the anode powder in the battery of the forthcoming Whoop 4.0, a fitness wearable. The specifics: The company increased the energy density in the fitness tracker’s battery by around 17%. That’s a significant gain in a field that generally inches forward by a few percentage points a year. Why it matters: It’s a small device but potentially a big step forward for the battery field. It could enable smaller gadgets and electric vehicles with far greater range. Read the full story. —James Temple I taught myself to lucid dream. You can too. Lucid dreaming isn’t easy to describe, and the way it works varies from one person to the next. But at its core, it means being conscious of the dream state—allowing you to play a more active role. Neel V. Patel has used lucid dreams to do everything from processing stressful situations like public speaking to exploring Mars (perhaps unsurprising—he is our space reporter, after all.) One analysis of 34 studies conducted over a half-century suggests that about 55% of all people report experiencing a lucid dream at least once in their life, and nearly a quarter have such dreams at least once a month. But it’s a surprisingly under-studied phenomenon. A small but growing number of scientists around the world hope to change that. They want to learn more about how lucid dreaming works, how it’s triggered, and whether the average person can be taught how to do it regularly. Read the full story—and check out Neel's advice on how to lucid dream yourself. This story comes from the latest print edition of MIT Technology Review, which is dedicated to exploring the mind. To read the full thing, you'll need to subscribe. Luckily, subscriptions start at a mere $50 a year. A bargain! 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.)   + Another one for the "Americans baffled by Brits" category. This time it's… walking? (Not just Brits, to be fair—New Yorkers experience the sharp end of this confusion too.)   + Train travel in the US is getting fancier.   + There comes a time in every man's life when he starts to look like his Dad.   + Ireland's commitment to fashion-based banter is truly something to behold.   + If you like schadenfreude, you'll enjoy this list of all the times notable people made wildly incorrect predictions. (WP $)   + Contrary to expectations, the pandemic was a record-breaking year for runners. (New Yorker $) Sponsor Message New Investor Opportunities Emerge in Cloud-Era Cybersecurity As companies accelerate the move into the cloud, cybersecurity challenges have intensified. Tools that were once effective at diagnosing and monitoring the performance of IT infrastructure are now falling short. To mitigate new threats, two previously distinct markets, Security Analytics and Observability, are poised to converge into a combined discipline, enabling more effective threat prevention, detection and response. Morgan Stanley takes a close look at the opportunities for investors. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 How we could stop all respiratory viruses Yup, it's ventilation. (The Atlantic $)   + Covax has had to cut its forecast for available covid vaccine doses for the developing world. (NYT $)   + Americans are unhappy with the CDC. (Gizmodo)  2 Why you should be more concerned about internet shutdowns They're growing exponentially, and they're becoming more and more subtle. (TR)   3 TikTok shows sex and drug videos to children It served one account registered as a 13-year-old at least 569 videos about drug use. (WSJ $)   4 Texas' abortion whistleblower site still can't find a hosting provider It's a rare example of a consensus about what constitutes acceptable behavior online. (Wired $)   + The Biden administration is preparing to sue Texas over the law. (WSJ $)  5 The SEC has said it will sue Coinbase if it launches its lending product The regulator says Lend is an “investment contract”, and that makes it a security under federal law. (WP $)   + What other countries can learn from El Salvador's bitcoin experiment. (CNN)   + An interview with Facebook's crypto chief, who says the company's digital currency will launch… soon… (Protocol)  6 Why America has nearly 11 million jobs open  Yet 8.4 million people are out of work. (Quartz)   + Many of them may be staying away due to fears of covid. (Axios)   + That incredible job offer? It might just be a scam. (WSJ $)   + Facebook has been accused of permitting sexist job advertising practices. (BBC)  7 How a 9/11 conspiracy video foreshadowed the world we live in today It's nonsense, but it seems almost sane compared to QAnon. (NYT $)   + What did structural engineers learn from 9/11? (Scientific American $)   + How Wikipedia grew up with the war on terror. (Slate)  8 Netflix’s SpaceX docuseries misses the mark on Inspiration4 🚀 It spends too much time as a free advertisement for SpaceX. (TR, review)   + The James Webb telescope has a launch date: December 18 2021. (Ars Technica)   9 This system can turn any surface into a touchscreen  Clever! Add in the gesture-controlled interface from Minority Report and I'm sold. (IEEE Spectrum)   10 Theranos' greatest invention? Elizabeth Holmes She managed to create a near-mythical aura around her image. (The Verge) Last chance! Get 2 months FREE.   Now through Friday, get 2 additional months FREE when you purchase a subscription to MIT Technology Review. With thought-provoking perspectives and insightful analysis, our journalism will help deepen your understanding of the world. Subscribe now and save. Quote of the day “I know their names and that’s about it.” —Kathryn Gregorio tells the New York Times that the fact she'd never met her colleagues made it easier to quit when a new job came along. Top image credit: MS TECH | UNSPLASH Please send fashion-based banter 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. For a limited time, get early bird savings when you register by July 8. Register now   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This message was sent to  Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally