Tech

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter provided by MIT Technology Review daily about what’s happening in the tech world.


—James Ball

How do hallucinogens affect our brains? AI can help us find out

Big picture: Hallucinogens have long been considered a possible treatment for mental health disorders such as depression and PTSD. But very little is really known about what these substances actually do to our brains. Understanding how they work can help unlock their potential.

A new methodology: A few scientists are using AI to figure it out. A research team at McGill University in Montreal used natural language processing to study written “trip reports” about users’ experiences with a variety of drugs. The team then integrated this data with a profile of the neurotransmitter receptors in the brain that each drug is known to interact with. Together, these steps allowed the team to identify which receptors were involved in a particular drug experience.

What is next: The work may shed light on how hallucinogens trigger specific mental states, whether it’s excitement, anxiety or a sense of belonging to the world. It could also help design new drugs for mental health disorders – something some companies have been trying to do. Read full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

Things to read

I’ve scoured the internet to find you today’s most interesting/important/scary/fascinating stories about tech.

1 Russia stepped up its bombing campaign against civilians in Ukraine
It just blew up a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering. (AP)
US intelligence estimates that Russia has lost more than 7,000 troops. (NYT $)
+ Zelensky calls for many American companies to withdraw from Russia. (Quartz)
Biden pledges an additional $800 million in funding for Ukraine’s war effort, including drones and air defense systems. (Reuters $)
The plow has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance. (Evil behavior)
+ Influential people in Ukraine are documenting what is happening. (The Verge)
+ What is the risk of nuclear war? It is not zero. (NYT $)

2 Facebook and YouTube erase the deep relationship about the President of Ukraine
It was meant to show him surrendering to Russia – but it was quickly debunked. (CNN)
+ However, before causing a fair bit of chaos yesterday. (Evil behavior)
+ The biggest threat of deepfakes is not the deepfakes themselves. (CHILDREN)

3 Is there a link between covid-19 deaths and internet access
However, it is not clear exactly why. (Vox)
Infections are on the rise again around the world. (Ars Technica)
+ Citizen science is making a comeback. (Wired $)

4 NASA released the first image from the James Webb Telescope
And it was a shock. (Ars Technica)
+ NASA’s early warning system to detect asteroids has its first test. (CNN)

5 areas of Kenya are sliding underwater
And as a result, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. (Guardians)
How rising groundwater due to climate change could devastate coastal communities. (CHILDREN)
+ The promise of solar channel panels. (Next Web)

6 How Chinese professors got caught up in the spy crisis in the US
And, in some cases, their livelihoods are torn apart as a result. (New Yorkers $)
The US government is terminating the China Initiative. So what now? (CHILDREN)

7 Conversations inside a group of ransomware gangs
The Conti gang extorted companies $180 million last year. Now it wants to diversify into crypto projects. (Wired $)

8 Netflix thinks paying for the passwords you share can make you feel guilty
As soon as it rose in price significantly. Good luck with that. (Gizmodo)

How does Instagram avoid storing stolen NFTs?
It sounds like a small consideration but it really isn’t, as the world of NFTs is awash with them. (Next Web)
+ Spotify is planning to join the crypto craze. (FT $)

10 Elon Musk is having sex with the brutal dictator of Chechnya on Twitter
Warning: detected extremely high levels of toxic masculinity. (Evil behavior)

“I think he’s a war criminal.”

— President Joe Biden provided harshest rebuke not yet by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

We can still have good things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction during these strange times. (Any comments? Drop me a line or tweet ’em with me.)

+ Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate it! And before you decide whether to celebrate it or not, you might want to this puzzle.
+ These social media account will definitely cheer you on.
+ An unexpected touching interview with the living legend that is Denzel Washington.
+ GUIDELINES to find out what the world’s largest ‘potato’ is in fact not a potato.
+ Where you will find some of the best sunset and sunrise in the world.
+ My inner child was agitated by this complete nonsense but totally hilarious, weapon.
+ One type bat not seen in 40 years was found in Rwanda.



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