Lab-Made Viruses, Faster Flu Shot, and Victorian Junk Food

Good morning, it's Friday, Aug. 7. Scientists aren't just studying viruses anymore—they're designing them thanks to AI. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: the possible origins of our sweet tooth (Sci. & Tech.), a cereal brand is dropping artificial dyes (Bus. & Mkts.), a salmonella outbreak map (Pol. & World Affairs), a rare baby albino porcupine (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

AI-Designed Viruses

Scientists have used artificial intelligence to design new viruses that don't occur in nature and can infect bacteria, according to a study published yesterday. The breakthrough could accelerate efforts to fight antibiotic-resistant infections by creating customized viruses.

The researchers trained AI models on the genetic blueprints of roughly 2 million bacteriophage—viruses that infect bacteria, not humans—before building thousands of new viral designs. Lab testing showed 16 AI-made viruses killed E. coli, including strains resistant to naturally occurring phages. The work could help advance phage therapy, an experimental alternative to antibiotics, as drug-resistant infections are expected to kill roughly 40 million people worldwide by 2050. Researchers caution that increasingly powerful AI tools raise biosafety and biosecurity questions. 

Bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, including in the human body. More than 10 nonillion bacteriophages exist at any given time. 

Meet the deadliest viruses that hunt bacteria. (w/video)   

Faster Flu Shot

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first mRNA flu vaccine for adults age 50 to 64, expanding a Nobel Prize-winning technology first used to combat COVID-19. Unlike traditional vaccines, which take several months to develop, mRNA vaccines can be produced in about six weeks and modified to match emerging flu strains. 

Developed by Moderna, mFlusiva uses the mRNA plug-and-play model in which genetic sequences for any virus or pathogen can be swapped into the vaccine. Traditional vaccines require growing virus components, which limits the possibility of quick adaptation. The new vaccine coming this fall is 27% more effective than a standard flu shot, though clinical trial participants reported mild side effects like injection-site pain, fatigue, and headaches.

Influenza ranks as the 11th leading cause of death in the US, and it results in over 300,000 deaths worldwide annually. Flu season typically runs from October to May in the US. Explore a map tracking reported cases of influenza-like illness here.

Nuclear Water Crisis

Romania plans to sink four rock-filled barges into the Danube River today in a last-ditch effort to keep its only operating nuclear reactor running. Record-low water levels have already forced the shutdown of its other reactor. Together, both typically provide about one-fifth of the nation's electricity.

Droughts and heat waves have reduced Danube water levels from their average range of 13 to 26 feet to as low as 4 inches, disrupting shipping and energy generation across the region (see map). Romanian officials hope the sunken barges will redirect water toward its nuclear facility, which relies on the river to cool its reactors. Even if successful, the measure will likely extend operations by only nine to 10 days. Officials are urging residents to conserve electricity and exploring possible power imports, though options are limited as neighboring Hungary also risks shutting down its only nuclear plant. 

The receding water has exposed dozens of sunken Nazi warships and woolly mammoth fossils. See here.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> TikTok star Sydney Towle dies of rare bile duct cancer at age 26; she began documenting her cancer journey online after being diagnosed at age 23 (More) 

> Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese among players making their US women's national basketball team debuts in major international competition as team pursues fifth consecutive FIBA Women's World Cup title next month (More) 

> Footage of "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" to premiere on Netflix on Aug. 27 in a first-of-its-kind partnership between the game maker and streaming service (More) | The business strategy behind the "GTA VI" release (More)

Science & Technology

> Researchers assemble first nearly complete map of DNA inherited from both a person's mother and father, creating the clearest picture yet of an individual's genetic blueprint (More) 

> Natural sugars found in fruit and honey may have supplied the energy needed to support human brain growth before cooking made starch-rich foods easier to digest; finding may offer insight into why humans still crave sweet foods (More) 

> Scientists genetically engineer lettuce and tobacco plants to grow the animal protein myoglobin, a step toward making plant-based proteins that taste and contain nutrients more similar to meat (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.9%, Nasdaq -0.1%) | Meta ordered to pay total of $942M to address harm to kids from social media (More) 

> Kellogg to remove artificial colors from all cereals by year's end after identifying fruit- and vegetable-based juice alternatives ahead of 2027 deadline (More) | Do Froot Loops taste different without artificial dyes? (More, w/video)

> Apollo Global Management to buy UK budget airline EasyJet in roughly $7.7B deal after rival US private equity firm Castlelake withdraws its bid (More) | Burger King fuels Restaurant Brands International’s growth, offsetting declines at Popeyes (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Dr. Anthony Fauci held in contempt of Congress by Senate committee for refusing to answer questions about COVID-19 pandemic (More) | Sen. Mitch McConnell (R, KY) is discharged from rehab, will continue recovering at home after June fall (More)

> Salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeños is tracked back to a grower in Mexico; the peppers have been served at Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba (More) | See outbreak heat map (More)

> Trump administration moves to relax federal oversight of early education program Head Start (More) | President Donald Trump signs executive orders restricting birthright citizenship for kids of foreign lobbyists, "birth tourists," and more (More)

In-Depth

> Can You Trust Your Memories?

1440 Explores | Sony Kassam. Your most vivid memories may be the least credible. When the host and her mother compare memories of a childhood armed robbery, everything they thought they knew begins to unravel. (Listen) 

> Anatomy of a Crime

The Guardian | Alexis Okeowo. Lured from Nigeria to the UK with the promise of work, a young man finds himself at the center of an organ-harvesting scheme. (Read) 

How to make early 1800s junk food. 

Visualizing the price of happiness by country.  

How Americans view capitalism, socialism, and free enterprise. 

See an adorable, rare baby albino porcupine. 

A 97-year-old breaks her own record, standing atop a flying plane. (w/video) 

Meet Dax Flynn, the tiny robot fixing Texas' sidewalks. 

Scroll through photos of New York's iconic bodega cats.  

In partnership: Elon brought 400M phones online. This Chicago startup is cashing in.*

Clickbait: The hottest new gadget does ... absolutely nothing. 

Historybook: Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche born (1904); Operation Desert Shield preps the US to enter Gulf War (1990); US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed, killing 224 and wounding 4,500 (1998); Track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone born (1999); Journalist Peter Jennings dies (2005).

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