Those Viral Bodega Peptides Aren’t Actually Peptides
WIRED tested samples of four types of peptides. The results show how lightly regulated the industry is, even as popularity surges.
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The Census Bureau Is Overrun With Staffers From a MAGA Think Tank
The US Census is home to vast troves of sensitive data on nearly every person living in the country, which is used for apportioning and drawing congressional districts as well as allocating federal funding based on population sizes.
If the US Collapses Soon, Don’t Blame Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel, Station Eleven, turned her into something of a pandemic prophet. Her new novel, Exit Party, imagines two possible American futures—totalitarian state and post-civil-war chaos.
Lawmakers Want States to Crack Down on Flock Cameras—or Pay the Price
A new bipartisan effort in Congress to rein in automated license plate readers takes a page from the national drinking age: Comply, or risk losing federal highway funding.
A New Headset to Help With Depression Is Now Available in the US
The device made by Flow Neuroscience is approved by the FDA and could help people get off antidepressants—but it costs $2,200.
The Download: AI doomers, whistleblowing agents, and de-aged livers
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The AI industry has taken a doomer turn. What now? AI chiefs Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis are suddenly all in agreement: the latest generation of LLMs…
AI models need more data about biology, and OpenAI is paying to create it
Last year Ruxandra Teslo, a policy analyst who focuses on clinical trials, posted an idea for supercharging medical AI systems: Use data from failed biotech companies. By bidding at their bankruptcy proceedings, she proposed, it might be possible to obtain detailed regulatory filings, manufacturing strategies, and safety data—types of information usually considered trade secrets. She…
What’s at stake in AI’s trillion-dollar gamble
When Jessica Wachter, a finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, wanted to assess AI’s impact on the economy over the next few years, she faced a long list of business and technical uncertainties. So she started with what she calls a “remarkable fact” that is not in question: A handful of so-called…
Former TikTok execs built an app that uses AI to teach you how to pose for a photo
Essentially a camera app, Superpose analyzes selfies or photos and generates four potential poses using AI.
Discover how to take your startup from prototype to production at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
Learn how to scale your startup breakthrough from prototype to production at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 with scaling leaders, Adrian Macneil (Foxglove), John Mackey (MBRYONICS), and Boris Sofman (Bedrock Robotics. Register before September 25 to save up to $200 on your pass.