Great to see our report on LLM-enabled biorisk covered in the latest issue of The Economist: www.economist.com/briefing/202...
Matt Reynolds
@mattreynolds.bsky.social
Director of Communications at Forecasting Research Institute // matt@forecastingresearch.org // Previously @wired.com @newscientist.com
An attempt to subjugate nature to the desire of one man (41-year-old but ageless Argentinian polo player) is threatened by the secret business ambitions of another (third-generation oil-and-gas Texan) @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite by @mattreynolds.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/clonin...
Cloning Came to Polo. Then Things Got Truly Uncivilized
A polo legend and a businessman joined forces to copy the player’s greatest horse. But with a single clone worth $800,000, some technologies are a breeding ground for betrayal.
wired.com
As always, Matt made this pice 10x better – digging up new info and making everything watertight. Gonna miss working with him!
MMatt Giles@hudsongiles.bsky.social · last yr.
One of my favorite pieces to fact check at @wired.com, involving polo, billionaires, scouring YouTube for old matches at the Campo Argentino del Polo & thousands of pages of court documents and trial transcripts. Plus, being able to work with @mattreynolds.bsky.social.
Make some time for this incredible @mattreynolds.bsky.social story—featuring a polo star, a Texas oilman, a Russian billionaire and a stunning betrayal. Oh, and clones! www.wired.com/story/clonin...
Cloning Came to Polo. Then Things Got Truly Uncivilized
A polo legend and a businessman joined forces to copy the player’s greatest horse. But with a single clone worth $800,000, some technologies are a breeding ground for betrayal.
wired.com
My final piece for @wired.com A story of biotech and betrayal, based on thousands of court documents, depositions, testimony and interviews. Featuring an Argentine polo star, a Texas oilman and an exiled Russian billionaire. Oh, and lots and lots of cloned horses. www.wired.com/story/clonin...
Cloning Came to Polo. Then Things Got Truly Uncivilized
A polo legend and a businessman joined forces to copy the player’s greatest horse. But with a single clone worth $800,000, some technologies are a breeding ground for betrayal.
wired.com
Some *personal news* I'm the new Director of Communications at @Research_FRI I'll be getting the word out on how the science of forecasting can help decision-makers approach high-stake issues, such as AI, nuclear and bio risks.
I have two gift subscriptions to the London Review of Books to give away! Shout if you want one (I have run out of friends to foist them on) Am assuming you have to be UK-based
I went to a blood-cleaning clinic to find out how many microplastics are lurking in my blood www.wired.com/story/this-s...
This Startup Says It Can Clean Your Blood of Microplastics
The elective medical industry is cashing in on plastic pollution fears, but the evidence of harm from microplastics is still deeply uncertain.
wired.com
New: Mississippi's bill banning cultivated meat has now passed in law, without the governor's signature. Will come into effect on July 1 I wrote about the bill when it passed both houses two weeks ago www.wired.com/story/missis...
Mississippi Passes Bill Banning Lab-Grown Meat
Three states have now passed legislation making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or distribute cultivated meat.
wired.com
The de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences has used gene editing to make a "woolly mouse," which it says is a step toward bringing back the woolly mammoth. Story by my colleague @mattreynolds.bsky.social: www.wired.com/story/scient...
Scientists Just Created a ‘Woolly Mouse’ With Mammoth-Like Fur
The de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences wants to bring back the woolly mammoth—starting with a very furry mouse.
wired.com
NEW: DOGE workers now have access to the NIH department known as the "wallet" of the entire organization. From @mattreynolds.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/doge-i...
DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System
At least three people linked to Elon Musk’s DOGE task force have access to NIH systems that control budgets, procurement, and more, according to records and internal documents viewed by WIRED.
wired.com
New: DOGE representatives have access to the National Institute of Health's finance system www.wired.com/story/doge-i...
DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System
At least three people linked to Elon Musk’s DOGE task force have access to NIH systems that control budgets, procurement, and more, according to records and internal documents viewed by WIRED.
wired.com
Layoffs at the US Dept of Agriculture have thrown projects into chaos, including important IRA-linked work, and many projects designed to benefit farmers www.wired.com/story/usda-l...
USDA Layoffs Derail Projects Benefiting American Farmers
The blanket firing of Department of Agriculture scientists has thrown a host of climate science and crop projects into chaos.
wired.com
@lindseyburbank.bsky.social Hi Lindsay – I'm a reporter at WIRED magazine. Could you follow back so we can dm?
WARNING: Yesterday, my X account (@JKFruit) was compromised and used to promote an inauthentic WIRED-branded crypto coin. Please disregard any further posts made to that account.
New from me and @emilymullin.bsky.social: NIH funding cut announcement draws on Heritage Foundation report attacking DEI and "the agenda of the political left" www.wired.com/story/nih-in...
NIH Funding Cuts Appear to Draw on Heritage Foundation Report That Blasts ‘DEI Staff’
In its notice outlining the large cut in university funding, the US National Institutes of Health seems to draw on a report from a conservative think tank that denounces the “political left.”
wired.com
@alondra.bsky.social Hi Alondra – I'm a reporter at WIRED magazine. Would love to talk to you about the NIH indirect cost change – can you follow me so we can dm?
Really enjoyed Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, which is really fucking weird, but in the best way possible www.wired.com/story/this-w...
This Weird, Fleshy Novel Is Exactly What You Need Right Now
‘Dengue Boy,’ a book about a humanoid mosquito taking his revenge in the dying years of planet Earth, is unsettling and essential.
wired.com
"Very conservative" legislators are now much more interested in organic farming than before, one lobbyist told me www.wired.com/story/rfk-jr...
RFK Jr.’s Organic Crusade Has Sparked a Weird Political Realignment
Eating organic is normally associated with tote-wielding liberals, but RFK Jr. is shifting the politics of food in unusual ways.
wired.com
I've seen lots of photos of houses that survived the LA fires while others burned—but rebuilding should be about making whole communities more defensible against wildfire. And that means having some tough conversations about where to build, and whether to build at all www.wired.com/story/how-to...
Los Angles Needs to Fireproof Communities, Not Just Houses
After the devastation of the Los Angeles fires, officials are ready to rebuild. But defending against future fires requires thinking about more than buildings.
wired.com
Interviewed Biden's top climate advisor, Ali Zaidi, about this admin's legacy as it prepares to hand over to Trump www.wired.com/story/even-t...
Even Trump Can’t Stop America’s Green Transition, Says Biden’s Top Climate Adviser
As he prepares to leave the White House, Ali Zaidi is sober about what’s coming—but says too much has already been built and invested for Donald Trump to undo it.
wired.com
This was a fun interview and shoot. Thanks for writing this up, @mattreynolds.bsky.social!
Matt Reynolds@mattreynolds.bsky.social · 2y agoA little profile of @atinygreencell.bsky.social's work creating plants you've never seen or smelled before (and also trying to democratise science along the way) www.wired.com/story/meet-t...
A little profile of @atinygreencell.bsky.social's work creating plants you've never seen or smelled before (and also trying to democratise science along the way) www.wired.com/story/meet-t...
Meet the Plant Hacker Creating Flowers Never Seen (or Smelled) Before
Biotechnologist Sebastian Cocioba started hacking plants to put himself through college. Now, from his home lab on Long Island, he wants to bring the tools of genetic engineering to the masses.
wired.com
Stem cell treatments favoured by anti-ageing evangelist Bryan Johnson start at $16,500, but the donors who provide the key ingredient are paid just $200 Each donor provides enough cells to be used in millions of dollars worth of treatments. www.wired.com/story/stem-c...
These Stem Cell Treatments Cost the Rich Thousands. Donors Get Paid $200
A Swedish startup wants to democratize stem cell treatments, but the finances of the unproven therapies raise ethical questions.
wired.com
We are advertising for a really exciting new role - come and be the first ever Specials Editor at New Scientist www.newscientist.com/nsj/job/1402...
Specials Editor - London (Greater) job with New Scientist Limited | 1402060490
New Scientist seeks a Specials Editor to plan, commission, and curate special issue feature packages for both print and digital platforms.
newscientist.com
Lab-grown foie gras just launched in Singapore, but for an industry many hope will replace factory farming, going all-in on luxury is a bit controversial www.wired.com/story/you-ca...
You Can Now Buy Lab-Grown Foie Gras
A lab-grown alternative to fattened duck liver offers an controversial future for the cultivated meat industry: as a luxury product for the few.
wired.com