fun facts
The history of Nokia’s iconic ringtone.
Here’s a neat story about some famous (old) musicians and copyrights. You can also hear the original inspiration(s) for the ringtone. | learn more
oh, chicago
Food truck owner goes to IL Supreme Court.
Chicago’s restrictions on food trucks make the city rather inhospitable for them. The court could hear an argument to change the laws. | learn more
fun facts
Diamonds and gold rain over Russia.
A Russian plane’s door broke, littering the runway and surrounding areas with diamonds and gold. People were told to stay out of the area. Instead, they went treasure hunting! | learn more
big ideas
Slow down biological time to save lives on the battlefield.
This one is pretty far out. “DARPA is kicking off a new research program aiming to explore how molecular biology could be used to slow the speed of living systems, thereby extending the window for treatment after a traumatic injury […]
big ideas
MIT’s device generates electricity from air’s daily temperature cycle.
Almost as if by magic, MIT uses a thermal resonator to pull energy out of thin air. More accurately, out of the changes in air temperature throughout the day. This technology has room for improvement, and can ultimately be used […]
under the microscope
Functional human kidney tissue created from stem cells.
This is a first, and another milestone along the way to improved human longevity and healthspan. Yay! | learn more
under the microscope
How bacteria ‘talk’.
“Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria “talk” to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks.“ This is a TED talk with a transcript available for my fellow readers. | learn more
better doing
Adoption takes time.
A friendly reminder that even the best ideas take time to gain acceptance in the market. For example: doctors washing their hands before surgery. D. Casey Flaherty writes a hilarious and informative post about reminding us all of this fact […]
tech, startups, internet
Your guide to AI in Q4 2017.
This is the most recent issue of the most in-depth newsletter about AI that I’ve ever seen. The author Nathan Benaich deserves a standing ovation. | learn more
tech, startups, internet
The autonomy economy.
Last year, a16z partner Benedict Evans published Cars and second order consequences, which digs into the idea of what happens after all cars are autonomous and electric. This series of videos by fellow a16z partner Frank Chen digs into each theme in turn: […]