Social Addiction Trial, Dark Matter, and a Kangaroo Collision

 Need To Know 

Social Media Addiction

Jury selection begins today in a high-profile case against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. A 19-year-old identified as KGM and her mom are suing the companies, alleging they designed their platforms to be addictive, fueling KGM's mental health crisis.

KGM says she began using social media at age 10, alleging “addictive design,” including frequent notifications, fostered her dependency on the platforms and contributed to her anxiety and depression. She also alleges that recommendation features suggested harmful body image content and led her to connect with predatory adults. Top executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to appear before the court to rebut the claims. The companies are expected to, in part, rely on Section 230, a federal law protecting platforms from liability over content posted by their users.

The outcome of the case could influence more than 1,000 similar personal injury lawsuits. While Snap was originally one of the defendants, it settled last week for an undisclosed amount. 

Dark Matter Map

Scientists have used data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to build one of the clearest maps of dark matter yet, offering insights into how this invisible material helped form galaxies, stars, and planets like Earth.

Webb spent 255 hours scanning a region of the constellation Sextans, identifying roughly 800,000 galaxies whose visible components are made of ordinary matter. Scientists then analyzed the images for warped shapes, clues to invisible dark matter whose gravity bends nearby light despite not emitting, absorbing, or reflecting it. The analysis revealed clusters of thousands of galaxies next to equally massive amounts of dark matter. The finding suggests dark matter pulled regular matter toward it, creating regions with enough ordinary matter for early galaxies to form. Helium and hydrogen from star formations then gave rise to planets.

NASA plans to investigate the fundamental properties and evolution of dark matter with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch by May 2027.

Dive deeper into the dark universe with 1440 Topics here. 

Last Hostage Recovered

Israel announced yesterday it has recovered the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack, a development seen as key to advancing the ceasefire process.

The remains of a 24-year-old special forces officer killed during the initial assault were identified after a military operation in a northern Gaza cemetery that involved exhuming and testing more than 250 bodies. The recovery completes Israel's effort to account for roughly 250 hostages abducted by Hamas, allowing focus to shift to the next phase of the US-brokered ceasefire plan, which took effect Oct. 10. That phase is expected to include reopening the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, installing a new governance structure, and disarming Hamas, which has ruled the territory for nearly 20 years. 

See the over two-year-long war in maps and satellite images here. 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> US committee announces full 232-athlete roster for Milan Cortina Winter Olympics; events begin Feb. 4, with opening ceremony set for Feb. 6 (More) 

> Tony Awards set June 7 ceremony at Radio City Music Hall; nominations to be announced May 5 (More) | Olivia Wilde's indie film "The Invite" reportedly sparks first major bidding war at Sundance among A24, Netflix, Universal, and others (More)

> Sly Dunbar, Grammy-winning reggae drummer and member of Sly and Robbie, dies at age 73 (More) | Ye, formerly Kanye West, apologizes for antisemitic comments in full-page Wall Street Journal ad, citing brain injury and mental health issues (More) 

Science & Technology

> Nvidia launches open-source AI climate modeling software to help governments and businesses build custom weather forecasts (More) | Microsoft unveils in-house chip designed to run AI models, competing with Nvidia (More)

> Caring for grandchildren may protect against cognitive decline, according to a six-year study of 2,887 grandparents; grandparents who provided child care scored higher on memory and verbal fluency tests (More) 

> Scientists find oldest-known wooden tools at lakeshore archaeological site in Greece, dating back roughly 430,000 years; one tool may have been used to dig in mud, another to shape stone tools (More) 

🚀 What we learned about the 1986 Challenger disaster: Today's Science & Technology newsletter explores the tragic launch, in which seven US astronauts lost their lives. We'll also explore how quantum computing works, the history of Google, and much more. Email comes out at 8:30 am ET—sign up here for free!

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.5%, Dow +0.6%, Nasdaq +0.4%) (More) | Gold rallies above $5,000 per ounce for first time (More) 

> Treasury cancels $21M in Booz Allen Hamilton contracts following prior data leak of around 406,000 taxpayers, including President Donald Trump (More) | USA Rare Earth shares rise as Commerce Department takes equity stake in $1.6B deal (More)

> Bob's Discount Furniture eyes up to roughly $2.5B valuation in initial public offering (More) | Organic kids snacks maker Once Upon a Farm, cofounded by Jennifer Garner, targets up to roughly $764M valuation in IPO (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> President Donald Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signal possible pullback of federal immigration enforcement presence in the state following death of protester Alex Pretti; federal judge hears arguments over ICE presence (More) | Gregory Bovino reportedly removed as Border Patrol chief, expected to retire (More) 

> Former Canadian Olympian turned alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding makes first court appearance in California following capture in Mexico City (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Lightning strike injures 89 people at a rally supporting former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's capital Sunday (More) 

In-Depth

> Microbial Olympics

Knowable Magazine | Amber Dance. The human Olympics have nothing on the world of bacteria, where one microbe can travel 200 body lengths per second and another can expand to six times its starting size in a matter of minutes. (Read) 

> How to Have a ‘Don’t-Know Mind’

The Atlantic | Michael Pollan. An interview with Zen priest and anthropologist Joan Halifax involves a dayslong stay at a "five-star" cave in Santa Fe, New Mexico (Read) 

Young people vote "peace" as Oxford Children's Word of 2025. 

Zurich tops list of cities with the highest cost of living. 

Ecologists say we should be eating invasive species. 

... and how stealing sea turtle eggs could prevent extinction. (w/video)

Famous songs with mistakes you may not be able to unhear.

WD-40, a $2.9B company, relies on a handwritten secret.

Ferrari opens an iconic racecourse to half-marathon runners.

Horse and bald eagle form unlikely friendship in Budweiser Super Bowl ad. (w/video)

In partnership: This isn’t ordinary dog food; it’s vet-founded & made with clean, human-grade ingredients.*

Clickbait: Cyclist wins race, despite kangaroo collision.

Historybook: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born (1756); British author Lewis Carroll born (1832); Auschwitz concentration camp liberated (1945); Paris Peace Accords bring end to Vietnam War (1973); American author JD Salinger dies (2010).

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