Asia
The Download: OpenAI is building a fully automated researcher, and a psychedelic trial blind spot
Plus: OpenAI is also creating a super app. OpenAI has a new grand challenge: building an AI researcher--a fully automated agent-based system capable of tackling large, complex problems by itself. The San Francisco firm said the new goal will be its "north star" for the next few years. By September, the company plans to build "an autonomous AI research intern" that can take on a small number of specific research problems. The intern will be the precursor to the fully automated multi-agent system, which is slated to debut in 2028. In an exclusive interview this week, OpenAI's chief scientist, Jakub Pachocki, talked me through the plans.
New stamp honors Yellowstone's iconic bison
Photographer Tom Murphy has documented the park's wildlife for decades. Now, one of his photos will be on a Forever Stamp. The new stamp features one of Yellowstone's signature bison and will be out later in 2026. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It's a warm July day in Yellowstone National Park's grassy Hayden Valley and wildlife photographer Tom Murphy is tracking herds of chocolate-colored bison gathered for the annual breeding season.
China Approves the First Brain Chips for Sale--and Has a Plan to Dominate the Industry
While the United States and Europe are moving cautiously forward with clinical trials, China is racing toward the commercialization of brain implants. China has made history by becoming the first nation to approve a commercially available brain chip to treat a disability. NEO, the implant developed by Neuracle Medical Technology, translates the thoughts of a person with paralysis into movements of an assistive robotic hand. After 18 months of testing that proved its safety, China's National Medical Products Administration authorized the implant for people aged 19 to 60 with paralysis caused by neck or spinal cord injuries that prevent them from moving their limbs. According Nature, the implant embedded in the skull is about the size of a coin.
Firewire Surfboard Review (2026): Neutrino, Revo Max, Machadocado
Firewire makes the most innovative surfboards in the industry. This winter, I tried the Neutrino, Machado, and Revo Max to see if they're worth the hype. For decades, the process of making a surfboard has more or less been the same: Cut a piece of foam. Put a wooden stringer down the middle to provide structure and strength. Shape it, then wrap it in fiberglass, sand it, and leave holes for the leash and fins. That was until Firewire Surfboards came along.
A Clarinetist, a High School Student, and Some Climate Deniers Write a Science Paper
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Machine learning framework to predict global imperilment status of freshwater fish
Researchers spent five years developing an AI-based model to protect freshwater fish worldwide from extinction, with a particular focus on identifying threats to fish before they become endangered. "People sometimes go in to protect species when it's already too late," said Ivan Arismendi, an associate professor in Oregon State University's Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences. "With our model, decision makers can deploy resources in advance before a species becomes imperiled." The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications. Nearly one-third of freshwater fish species face possible extinction, threatening food supplies, ecosystems and outdoor recreation.