Data Centers, Biological Cells, and MRI Machines

Plus, a deep-sea mining operation

In partnership with

Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 10, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends.

In keeping up with technology news, it's become increasingly difficult not to hear about AI and data centers almost every day. While we covered the software side with our write-up on large language models last year, this week we're exploring data centers, the hardware supporting the growth of AI, and much of the modern digital landscape. Then, we'll grab our microscopes to investigate biological cells before sharing our findings on social media as we look at the impact of Meta.

Let us know what you think! Whether it's feedback on our email format, a comment on this week's topics, suggestions for future coverage, or something else, we're happy to hear from readers. You can get in touch by simply replying to this email.

—Marco Daniel Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor

Editor's Note: We wanted to remind our readers that

Where The Cloud Lives

Data centers, 101

Data centers are locations that house computing infrastructure, including hardware for data storage and processing and network equipment that connects these components. Serving as the physical backbone of the digital age, data centers provide round-the-clock support for cloud-based applications (e.g., Google Docs), online financial services, streaming platforms, and generative AI systems. As of February 2026, about 37% of the world's 10,974 data centers have been built in the US (view map), with construction largely accelerated by growing AI demands.

The first data centers were room-sized punch-card computers weighing dozens of tons (listen to explainer). The development of microchips fueled miniaturization, shrinking these structures to fit in closet-sized server racks for businesses requiring in-house data processing capabilities. The widespread adoption of the internet, mobile devices, and nonlocalized cloud computing created a need for scalable, high-availability solutions to handle skyrocketing data volume. This led to the creation of hyperscale data centers—facilities managed by cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services—offering upgradeable computing resources to industries (view facility layout).

Modern data centers rely on power management, backup structures, climate control, and specialized software to ensure uninterrupted service amid changing user activity. These systems require substantial water, electricity, and critical minerals, which have driven up consumer utility bills and electronics costs and raised environmental concerns.

Learn even more by exploring all our findings on data centers here.

Here's a sample of what we found ...

> Why Loudoun County, Virginia, is known as "Data Center Alley." (Watch)

> A typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 households. (Read)

> See a time-lapse of the construction of a data center. (Watch)

> Learn why building data centers in space to keep them cool is not a practical solution. (Watch)

In partnership with Miso Robotics

Sam Altman’s Robot Prediction … is Here

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just predicted that soon we’ll see “the arrival of robots that can do tasks in the real world.” Turns out, he’s correct…it’s already happening.

Miso Robotics’ AI-powered Flippy Fry Station robot is already doing real-world cooking in restaurants across America. Flippy just surpassed 5M baskets fried for brands like White Castle. The reason is simple. The $1 trillion fast food industry is facing a worker shortage, and the fry station is the toughest, most dangerous task in the kitchen. Flippy can not only execute flawlessly, but it can now boost restaurant profits by up to 3X.

Today, Miso is scaling commercially, targeting 100,000 potential frying-heavy fast-food locations in the US. That’s a $4B/year opportunity. And with the announcement of its newest product that’s already serving major restaurant brands, you have the opportunity to be part of this future as a Miso investor today. Hurry to unlock bonus stock.*

Please support our sponsors!

Life's Smallest Factories

Cells, explained

Cells are the basic units of all living things. In both unicellular (single-celled) and multicellular organisms, cells contain specialized sub-units called organelles that perform a variety of essential functions, including producing energy from nutrients, storing genetic material, and eliminating waste (explore visualization). Cells also provide structure, such as assembling into tissues that make up organs in complex organisms.

Robert Hooke discovered cells in 1665, naming the microscopic compartments in a slice of cork after cells in a monastery (watch explainer). Research in the centuries that followed revealed that all new cells arise from the division of preexisting cells, with evidence suggesting the first cell emerged about 4 billion years ago (learn more).

Scientists classify cells as prokaryotic or eukaryotic based on whether they lack or have a nucleus, which carries DNA. Eukaryotic cells are further divided into animal, plant, fungal, and protist cells based on differences in the organelles they contain (e.g., plant cells have chloroplasts for photosynthesis).

While all cells contain ribosomes—organelles that make proteins—and a membrane that protects organelles suspended in a jelly-like cytoplasm from the environment, they can become specialized through cellular differentiation (view diagram). In humans, this process can turn stem cells into over 200 distinct cell types (e.g., neurons, white blood cells), each performing specific, critical tasks.

Learn even more by exploring all our findings on biological cells here.

Here's a sample of what we found ...

> The largest human cell has an area about twice the size of a king-size bedsheet and was grown outside your body. (Watch)

> Do we really replace all of our cells every seven years? (Watch)

> Explore a gallery of images and videos of over 200 types of cells. (View)

> Take a 360-degree look at biochemical activity from within a human cell. (Watch)

All About The Metaverse

What is Meta?

Meta Platforms Inc. is a $1.7T conglomerate operating a suite of apps and digital services used by billions, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook's standalone Messenger app. Founded and majority-controlled by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, Meta has pioneered and shaped the popular uses of social media and its monetization for about two decades, ranking among the world's highest-valued companies.

In 2004, Facebook launched as a platform to connect student profiles at Harvard University. Innovations like the News Feed—one of the earliest algorithm-based curation approaches—boosted the app's growth exponentially (learn how it works), while the ability to allow advertisers to buy targeted ads based on user location and preferences ballooned revenue. After going public in 2012, Facebook surpassed 1 billion users, or about 14% of the world's population.

Facebook acquired Instagram, WhatsApp, and VR headset manufacturer Oculus before rebranding as Meta in 2021. Although successful in leading the mobile photo-sharing market and owning a dominant messaging app, Meta has faced backlash for its limited moderation of hate speech and misinformation.

Learn even more by exploring all our findings on Meta here.

Here's a sample of what we found ...

> Meta has reported that WhatsApp has over 3 billion monthly users. (Listen)

> Facebook was almost sold to Yahoo for $1B, but Zuckerberg refused. (Listen)

> How Meta is embracing AI for the future. (Watch)

> Are Meta's products fueling violence in the real world? (Watch)

Science Spotlight

Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.

> About 800,000 astronomical events of interest were detected in one night

Vera C. Rubin Observatory | Josie Fenske & Aaron Groff. The first alerts included changes in the night sky related to supernovae, variable stars, and asteroids. The real-time monitoring system is expected to ramp up to producing up to 7 million alerts per night, with all data publicly available for access and exploration. (Read)

> Center of the Milky Way observed in unprecedented detail

ALMA Observatory | Staff. The image revealed a new view of the Central Molecular Zone, which is home to some of the galaxy's most massive stars. Astronomers hope to test existing models of star formation against data from the extreme environment, which harbors dense gas clouds surrounding a supermassive black hole. (Read)

> Accelerating decline in US bird populations linked to increased agriculture

Ohio State News | Emily Caldwell. A study of avian population declines from 1987 to 2021 found that locations with the largest rates of decline most closely overlapped with those with higher fertilizer and pesticide use. Overall, researchers estimate a 15% total loss in bird abundance across North America over 35 years. (Read)

> New biomaterial becomes stronger when in contact with water

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia | Staff. Produced by incorporating nickel into the chitosan structure—a polymer derived from discarded shrimp shells and the second most abundant organic molecule on Earth—the substance is completely waterproof and provides an ecologically sustainable alternative to plastics. (Read)

> Data Centers: What would it take to break into a Google data center? (Watch)

In partnership with Miso Robotics

'There Will Be More Robots Than People'

That’s Elon’s stunning new prediction. With robots able to do many tasks, “an explosion” in economic growth is expected. And early investors can benefit.

Take the $1T fast-food industry. Miso Robotics’ AI-powered Flippy Fry Station robot just fried its 5 millionth food basket for brands like White Castle, boosting restaurant profits up to 3X. Now, aided by industry powerhouses NVIDIA as a collaborator and Ecolab as an investor, plus new customers, Miso’s targeting a $4B/yr opportunity in US fast-food. Get ahead of this shift as a Miso investor today and earn bonus shares.*

Please support our sponsors!

Best of the Week

We curate hundreds of resources into 1440 Topics each week. Here are some of our favorites from the world of science and technology.

Read:

> The ecosystems and organisms scientists identified in a deep-sea mining operation.

> Why even supercomputers struggle to simulate clouds in climate models.
> How brain implants have enabled people to play video games while paralyzed.
> Utilizing the mouth of an insect as a 3D printer nozzle.

> Boost your critical thinking skills and resist misinformation with deep reading.

Listen:

> From windmills to offshore turbines, the history of wind power.

Watch:

> Astronomers cannot agree on how fast the universe is expanding.

> Are the people working next to her belongings in Marie Curie's museum at risk of radiation poisoning?

> Why being wrong in science can be a good thing.

> How do MRI machines work?

Thank you to Alex P. for inspiring us with their questions! Curious about something in science and technology? Tell us here.

Subscribe to the 1440 Daily Digest

Data Centers, Biological Cells, and MRI Machines