Magnitude and Direction — Issue #149
Welcome to the latest installment of my bi-weekly newsletter, covering some of my favorite new developments in the fields of biotech, data science, engineering, and more. If this is your first issue, it's great to have you! For everyone else, thanks for coming back!
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Notes
This edition’s font is called Exo 2.
Jobs
No new job postings in this edition. Check out previous editions for earlier listing.
Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication
🔋 A lot of what we think we know about our smartphone batteries is actually not true.
☕ Some high-resolution CT scanning shows they don't make Moka pots like they used to.
🔊🥜 This might be one of the most portable Bluetooth speakers ever.
Software and Programming
✈🌐 It looks like there might be enough things you can do while connected to a flight's wifi - but not the internet - to keep you entertained for the whole flight.
💻🏭 The internet may feel like an exclusively virtual world, but it has some very tangible environmental impacts in ours.
🐦 Flappy Bird is back... in the MacOS Finder.
Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine
🧠💭 In what I'm sure is great news for many people, a recent study on jellyfish has shown it's possible to learn without a brain.
⌚ We all probably take it for granted, but the process by which our computers tell the time is a tremendous technological and infrastructural endeavor.
🎹 AI may be coming for my job in Mouthy Baby...
Mapping, History, and Data Science
💵 How wealthy are you compared to your peers?
⏳ What’s your place in the world population?
🏙 Perhaps counterintuitively, the tall buildings of Manhattan and the population density of Manhattan are pretty inversely correlated.
Events and Opportunities
Tuesday, 11/14 Advanced Materials in West Harlem’s Innovation Triangle. Join Builds Bio+ and the Janus Property Company for a lively evening featuring leaders in the research and commercialization of advanced materials, focusing specifically on activities in West Harlem’s Innovation Triangle connecting The City College of New York/CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, Columbia University and the Manhattanville Factory District. Enjoy after-work hors d’oeuvres and beverages from local favorites, e.terra Kitchen and Harlem Hops, plus fireside conversations, panel discussions and networking.
Thursday 11/16 (+ Weekly on Thursday) Starta Fall 2023 Pitch Contests. Join Starta Accelerator for their weekly Fall 2023 Pitch Contests, where founders hone their startups' pitch in front of a panel of judges consisting of VCs, angels ,and industry experts. After the presentations, there will be time for Q&A followed by networking with other frontrunners, entrepreneurs and investors of the NYC startup scene.
Thursday, 11/16 Unleashing the Power of AI in Biotech. The digital transformation of the field of biotech R&D is accelerating, driven by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). These technologies are reshaping the way biotech companies approach, analyze, and interpret vast amounts of data, paving the way for more informed decision-making and innovative breakthroughs. However, as AI innovation has been happening so fast, what actions can companies take to keep on top of it all? Join the CEOs of Ganymede, Snthesis, and SciNote for a conversation with experts in the space as they discuss the current landscape of AI use in biotech, best practices and platforms that your team can leverage right now to ready your lab and data for AI/ML, and their predictions of how AI/ML will develop in the biotech industry in the future.
Thursday, 11/16 Navigating Entrepreneurship in Neurotech. In the rapidly evolving landscape of neurotechnology, there is much to explore not only in its astounding developments but also the pivotal steps required to de-risk innovations in this dynamic field. From combatting mental health challenges, to preventing aging and neurodegeneration in patients, what does it take to build a neurotech startup and guarantee success in this field? Learn from rising entrepreneurs in this space about funding and regulatory strategies they've pursued, as well as how they've surpassed challenges in de-risking and obtaining data for their neurotech in a relatively new and evolving environment ripe with ethical considerations.
Other events coming up you think I should know about? Let me know here!
Map of the Month
🏙️🌆🚇 This live 3D map of Tokyo is so thorough, you might almost feel like you're there.
Odds & Ends
🕳 This game is kind of like Pac-Man, but with black holes.