That is as we speak’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a day by day dose of what’s occurring on the planet of expertise.

Twitter might have misplaced greater than 1,000,000 customers since Elon Musk took over

The information: Within the days since Elon Musk confirmed his buy of Twitter on October 27, tweeting “the chook is freed,” many Twitter customers have threatened to depart. However whereas folks typically fail to comply with by way of on threats to give up Twitter, new information suggests {that a} important variety of customers actually are abandoning the platform.

How they did it: The agency Bot Sentinel, which tracks habits on Twitter, believes that round 877,000 accounts had been deactivated and an additional 497,000 had been suspended between October 27 and November 1. That’s greater than double the standard quantity.

Why it issues: Anecdotal proof from social media suggests that folks upset with Elon Musk buying Twitter are following by way of and deciding to deactivate their accounts in protest. In the event that they proceed to take action en masse, that might come to be a big drawback for the platform—and its new proprietor. Learn the complete story.

—Chris Stokel-Walker

Smartphone information from drivers might assist spot when bridges want pressing repairs

Smartphones could possibly be used to observe the security of bridges far more shortly and cheaply than presently doable, offering engineers with information they will use to repair the buildings earlier than they change into dangerously unstable.

Normally, bridges’ state of restore is monitored both by way of visible inspection for cracks and faults, or sensors amassing their vibration and motion information. However a brand new technique developed by researchers at West Level Army Academy and different universities sidesteps the necessity for both by amassing accelerometer information from smartphones in vehicles as they drive over bridges. Learn the complete story.

—Tammy Xu

Right here’s how customized mind stimulation might deal with despair

Sending a jolt of electrical energy by way of an individual’s mind can do outstanding issues. You solely have to observe the movies of individuals with Parkinson’s illness who’ve electrodes implanted of their brains. They’ll go from struggling to stroll to confidently striding throughout a room actually on the flick of a swap.

We would have the ability to use the same method to raise our moods—one thing that could possibly be life altering for folks with problems like despair. And we’re not simply speaking about common mind zaps—the objective is to create customized units that monitor your mind exercise and optimize it. Learn the complete story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our new weekly e-newsletter protecting the whole lot it’s good to know that’s occurring on the planet of healthcare and biotech. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.

EmTech 2022

This week, MIT Expertise Overview held our annual EmTech convention, our flagship occasion protecting rising expertise and international tendencies.

Day one centered on a few of the thrilling applied sciences promising to alter our lives, together with clear power and CRISPR, whereas the second day unpacked what the longer term holds for the web, augmented actuality, physique tech, and AI.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to search out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.

1 Shadowy algorithms are calling the photographs in Washington, DC 
And the overwhelming majority of residents don’t have a clue about them, or how they work. (Wired $)
+ How the pandemic bolstered China’s surveillance state. (Slate)
+ Marseille’s battle in opposition to being spied upon. (MIT Expertise Overview)

2 What Mark Zuckerberg has taught Elon Musk
The one fixed between the 2 corporations? Sad staff. (NYT $)
+ L’Oréal has paused its promoting spend on Twitter. (FT $)
+ Musk is making an attempt to spark a conflict between Twitter factions. (Motherboard)
+ Right here’s why Twitter customers ought to, sadly, put together for the worst. (The Atlantic $)

3 Republican midterm candidates are pushing Cease the Steal lies
Simply because the narrative isn’t true doesn’t cease it from resonating. (Bloomberg $)
+ Swing voters are extra highly effective than ever. (NY Magazine $)

4 What’s going to it take to manage area? 
One factor’s clear—it gained’t be straightforward. (Vox)

5 World leaders should settle for that they’ve did not curb local weather change
The 1.5°C Paris settlement is not sufficient—we want motion, and quick. (Economist $) 
+ Scientists are questioning the sector’s greatest oversight group. (FT $)
+ We should basically rethink “net-zero” local weather plans. (MIT Expertise Overview)

6 What it’s like inside a Chinese language covid detention heart 
All-night lights, strict routines, and infinite mud. (FT $)
+ Vietnam desires to steal China’s tech manufacturing crown. (Remainder of World)

7 Social media wasn’t prepared for photographs of early pregnancies
However them is crucial for trustworthy abortion conversations. (The Verge)
+ The cognitive dissonance of watching the top of Roe unfold on-line. (MIT Expertise Overview)

8 Loving the conspiracy theorist in your life could be robust
Treating them with compassion might help to bridge the divide. (The Atlantic $)
+ The best way to speak to conspiracy theorists—and nonetheless be sort. (MIT Expertise Overview)

9 The heartbreak of a really fashionable breakup
Agonizing over whether or not to dam your ex on Instagram simply prolongs the ache. (The Guardian)  

10 The best way to mannequin the opposite planets we might name residence
The simulations are a part of the search to search out alien life. (Quanta Journal)
+ A brand new supply of high-energy cosmic neutrinos has been found. (New Scientist $)

Quote of the day

“We’re all working for the Trump White Home.” 

—A disgruntled Twitter employee describes what it’s wish to work underneath the brand new Elon Musk regime to the Washington Put up.

The massive story

I requested my college students to show of their cell telephones and write about residing with out them

December 2019

Just a few years in the past, Ron Srigley, a author who teaches at Humber Faculty and Laurentian College, carried out an experiment in a philosophy class he was educating. His college students had failed a check quite badly, and he had a hunch that their pervasive use of cell telephones and laptops at school was partly accountable. 

He provided them additional credit score if they’d give him their telephones for 9 days and write about residing with out them. Twelve college students—a couple of third of the category—took up the supply. What they wrote was outstanding, and remarkably constant. Learn the complete story.

We are able to nonetheless have good issues

A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre instances. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ These lovely houses constructed into cliffs aren’t for the faint of coronary heart.
+ Weighing a child emperor penguin is more difficult than you’d anticipate.
+ I do know Halloween is over, however these spooky tales are too good not
+ Hear me out: eels are cool.
to share.
+ It’s not simply you—loads of folks really feel nostalgic for locations they’ve by no means been.