2026-10-21 -- control

#1 · news-in-context Oct 21, 2026

Alberta once cut its oil supply to the rest of Canada to fight a federal energy program, a 1980s feud that still feeds separatism.

During the 1970s oil boom, Albertans had the highest disposable incomes in Canada, and the province’s population nearly doubled to more than 2 million people.

Canada’s National Energy Program, introduced in 1980, used new taxes and a below-market domestic oil price to redistribute oil wealth from Alberta to the rest of the country.
One economist estimates the National Energy Program drained about $100B from Alberta between 1980 and 1985, though a global recession and falling oil prices also hurt the province's economy.

lead Alberta Rejects Separation sibling · sim 0.51 · score -1

#2 · explainers Jun 30, 2026

A physician with a rare and deadly disease saved his own life by identifying an existing medication that he repurposed for his condition, and now he's using AI to try to do the same for other patients.

Dr. David Fajgenbaum was told he had a few months to live after a diagnosis with a rare form of Castleman's disease, but he was determined to see if existing medications might help treat him, reasoning that the mechanism of action in his disease might be targeted by other drugs.

By studying his blood, medical records, and broader literature, he was able to identify the cause of his condition and pinpoint an existing drug, rapamycin, that could work against his rare form of the disease. He's been in total remission for more than ten years.
Fajgenbaum hopes to speed this life-saving research process for other patients. He has designed a machine learning algorithm to speed matchmaking between treatments and maladies, having AI do the heavy lifting of finding connections among known treatment relationships for drugs and diseases.
In February 2024, the US government awarded the project an ARPA-H grant of up to $124M to support the work. The idea behind the grant was that there's an existing pool of 3,000 FDA-approved drugs that might hold promise for addressing the roughly 9,000 diseases that currently lack therapeutic options.
The algorithm, according to this 2025 interview, gives a rank order of every drug versus every disease and could be particularly useful for rare diseases without much research funding. Fajenbaum is formally calling his algorithm ML/AI-Aided Therapeutic Repurposing In eXtended uses—MATRIX. His overarching hope is that the algorithm will identify drug possibilities that will inform future clinical trials—not that people will instantly try unproven drug regimens for their diseases.
At the time of this 2025 podcast, he planned to take his algorithm public in the next year so that people could similarly search their conditions against existing drugs.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.49 · keep 0.61 · score -1

#3 · experiences Feb 28, 2026

Dispose of invading viruses while learning about the CRISPR immune system

In this free, easy-to-play game, defend the city of Bacterium by playing the role of Cris Perotein. As you play, you'll learn microbiology and the workings of the mechanisms that CRISPR uses to protect bacteria. (desktop recommended)

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection own · sim 0.44 · keep 0.55 · score -10

#4 · explainers Jan 30, 2026

Listen to the history of the Super Bowl halftime show

This two-part podcast traces the halftime show's evolution from early marching band performances to star-driven productions, beginning with Michael Jackson's 1993 performance, and explains how it became one of the most influential music stages of the year.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.56 · keep 0.61 · score -2

#5 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

Michael Jackson's halftime show created the modern Super Bowl spectacle

In 1993, Michael Jackson's Super Bowl halftime performance prompted the NFL to extend the break and reimagine it as a must-watch event. It is widely regarded as the first modern halftime show built around a global superstar.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.55 · keep 0.78 · score -3

#6 · curiosity Feb 3, 2026

Prince's Super Bowl halftime show is widely considered one of the best

The 2007 performance was idiosyncratic, featuring a handful of songs by other artists (including Foo Fighters' "Best of You" and Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" and a torrential rainstorm. Its differences, along with Prince's legendary stage presence, have led many critics to call it the best Super Bowl halftime performance ever.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.54 · keep 0.49 · score -4

#7 · experiences Jun 26, 2023

The world's 10 best places to live

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index ranked 173 cities based on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The report shows an overall increase in livability scores compared to previous...

etc ... and the 10 best cities for renters in 2026. sibling · sim 0.49 · keep 0.55 · score -1

#8 · curiosity May 6, 2026

Read about 'skiplagging,' a money-saving travel hack.

A consumer loophole known as "skiplagging" is a travel hack where travelers purchase a cheaper flight with a layover in their destination city.

The hack works when flights to other cities with layovers at your destination are cheaper than direct flights to your destination.
Airlines don't like the practice, but there's no specific law forbidding it.

etc How to save money on holiday travel. sibling · sim 0.55 · keep 0.66 · score -1

#9 · curiosity Jan 2, 2025

In 1998, the Social Security Administration began ranking the top 1,000 most common first names for each year dating back to 1880. While that list has since been whittled down, Americans can still gain insight into the trending names of the decade. Whether it’s just for curiosity or to avoid more common choices, check out this list of popular names from the past century.

etc The top baby names of 2026. sibling · sim 0.56 · keep 0.60 · score -2

#10 · news-in-context Oct 1, 2026

AI investment may be the next major economic bubble

A video examines the massive surge in AI spending—forecast to hit $500B by 2026—and how this may be propping up a fragile US economy. Experts warn that if AI investment slows or under-delivers, the consequences could be felt in markets, jobs and growth.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.42 · keep 0.36 · score -22

#11 · explainers Aug 4, 2026

A scientist successfully treated her own breast cancer by injecting the tumor with lab-grown viruses.

Though this controversial self-treatment worked for virologist Beata Halassy, the approach has not been approved for widespread use.

Halassy's choice fueled conversations about medical safety and ethics.
Research published in the peer-reviewed journal Vaccines in 2024 detailed her case and described how Halassy used research-grade viral preparations to treat herself. She first injected an Edmonston-Zagreb measles vaccine strain and then a vesicular stomatitis virus Indiana strain (VSV), both prepared in her own laboratory.
Two months after she began her virus injections, her shrunken tumor was reportedly no longer invading the skin or underlying muscle, and it was then able to be surgically excised.
She took medicine for the year following surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells and boost her chances of recovery, and the case report noted she had remained cancer-free more than three years after the surgery.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.48 · keep 0.43 · score -2

#12 · experiences Mar 17, 2026

Anthropic's Frontier Red Team assesses the dangers of its AI tools through 'evals'—safety tests that probe models to disclose sensitive information.

A team of about 15 researchers deliberately attempts to breach the safeguards in Claude to determine whether the large language model can be used to commit cyberattacks, develop biological weapons, or enable other harmful behavior.

Unlike many other red teams, Anthropic shares its findings and how it resolved them publicly to help build transparency and credibility.
The team has also worked with government agencies, including a collaboration with the US Department of Energy to determine whether the model would reveal nuclear information.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection own · sim 0.44 · keep 0.17 · score -12

#13 · explainers Jan 30, 2026

Super Bowl halftime shows reliably drive massive music sales spikes, often propelling an act's back catalog to the top of the charts.

Kendrick Lamar's 2025 halftime show was the most-watched halftime performance to date, leading to a 91% increase in streams, thanks to 13 of his tracks reentering the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Lady Gaga's digital album and song sales increased by 1,000% after her 2017 halftime show.
Sales for three of U2's albums (2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," 1987's "The Joshua Tree," and 1998's "Best of 1980-1990") doubled the week after the band's 2002 performance.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo own · sim 0.53 · keep 0.35 · score -5

#14 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

Chinese scientists transplanted a pig lung into a human being in 2025—but it had to be removed.

In August 2025, Chinese scientists transplanted a pig lung into a brain-dead person, a common research step for this type of experimental work.

Researchers used CRISPR technology to alter six proteins in the pig genes to make the organ seem less foreign to the human immune system.
Within a day there were indications the organ wasn’t functioning well and that the person’s body was rejecting it. Scientists ended the experiment after nine days.

itk Scientists revive pig kidneys after up to one year in ultracold storage and successfully t sibling · sim 0.67 · keep 0.10 · score -2

#15 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

One man lived with a gene-edited pig kidney for 271 days, setting a record, before he received a human kidney.

In October 2025, Tim Andrews had his gene-edited pig kidney removed because it was no longer working well.

He had the transplanted organ for 271 days—surpassing the prior record of a patient who functioned with one for 130 days.
Andrews remained on the kidney transplant wait list to receive a donated kidney from a human, but he had a particularly hard-to-match blood type, making it challenging to get the organ.

itk Scientists revive pig kidneys after up to one year in ultracold storage and successfully t own · sim 0.63 · keep 0.10 · score -5

#16 · experiences Mar 10, 2026

Your brain can't reliably recall colors—test your skills here

Humans aren't the best at remembering specific colors. In this game, players get to look at a color for a few seconds before it disappears. Then, they must pick out the exact color they saw. After submitting a pick, the results will show how close the guess was to the original color.

etc Why you should turn your walk into a color hunt. own · sim 0.41 · keep 0.81 · score -1

#17 · curiosity Mar 26, 2026

'The Great Onion Corner:' Hear how short-selling onions ended with a ban on onion futures

In the early 1950s, onion farmer and produce trader Vince Kosuga cornered the onion market, resulting in a 1958 ban on onion futures from Congress. After stockpiling onions and buying onion futures, Kosuga then began shorting them. Then, he released his accumulated surplus of onions, driving the price down to essentially zero, and cashed in his short positions.

etc Meet the students pushing to "re-peel" Wall Street's obscure onion ban. sibling · sim 0.46 · keep 0.77 · score -1

#18 · curiosity Mar 27, 2026

How a Seattle scenester pranked The New York Times with ridiculous grunge 'slang'

In 1992, The New York Times was eager to report on the grunge phenomenon. When a Times reporter called Megan Jasper, who'd previously worked at Sub Pop, she decided to have some fun, feeding him a fake "Lexicon of Grunge."

etc Meet the students pushing to "re-peel" Wall Street's obscure onion ban. sibling · sim 0.43 · keep 0.64 · score -2

#19 · news-in-context May 29, 2026

OpenAI helped kick-start an AI arms race in Silicon Valley

Led by CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI's mission is to "ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity" by making its products open to all users. In 2023, the $86B company behind the chatbot ChatGPT consisted of a for-profit arm under its nonprofit governing board.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.42 · keep 0.11 · score -26

#20 · explainers Mar 13, 2026

Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacterium being employed to fight dengue

Scientists are fighting dengue spread in a roundabout way: injecting bacteria into Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs, which blocks the dengue virus from replicating in the tissue of mosquitoes. Researchers hope the bacterium will be passed to future generations, inoculating them against dengue. Wolbachia is also being investigated to combat other mosquito-borne diseases.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.48 · keep 0.71 · score -3

#21 · explainers Sep 14, 2026

AI experts argue that artificial intelligence could annihilate humanity in two primary ways: Humans weaponizing extremely powerful AI, or humans losing control of it.

Specifically, AI could make it relatively easy to create biological, chemical, or other weapons.

AI systems could also potentially go rogue and attack essential infrastructure at an unprecedented scale without human oversight.
The 2026 Hugging Face breach, for instance, included OpenAI agents going rogue and attempting to cover their tracks.
Insiders use the term "p(doom)" as a shorthand for the probability that AI will cause a doomsday scenario.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection any_band · sim 0.47 · keep 0.28 · score -4

#22 · explainers Sep 15, 2023

What makes the Earth shake?

Researchers are demystifying the science of earthquakes—from their origins deep within the Earth to the scales that measure their strength. This article, which was part of a series of weekly reports from Cornell University, serves as a guide to...

itk Marsquake—the Martian equivalent of an earthquake—originated beneath the largest canyon sy own · sim 0.49 · keep 0.35 · score -6

#23 · curiosity Apr 17, 2026

Listen to a 2026 interview where Bumble's CEO said its stock is down 96% since its IPO 'for no reason'

CEO and Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd said the company is still performing very well. She added that the business makes $1B per year and referred to it as profitable. She went on to say "who knows what people trade stock on?" and that she believes the stock market has written Bumble off as if it were debt

itk US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +1.0%, Nasdaq -0.0%) on strong earnings r own · sim 0.40 · keep 0.29 · score -26

#24 · curiosity Apr 17, 2026

Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Bumble's former parent company in 2019 ahead of the dating app's IPO

The New York City-based investment management company paid about $3B for its stake in female-focused dating app Bumble. The app's 2021 IPO that made Bumble Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd a billionaire at age 31 proved lucrative for Blackstone as well.

itk Braze shares soar 51.7% following Salesforce's announcement that it agreed to acquire the sibling · sim 0.46 · keep 0.11 · score -1

#25 · experiences Oct 1, 2021

Explore the rise (and fall) of baby names over time

Baby names popularity and trends in the acclaimed interactive graph of baby name popularity. Watch as baby name trends rise and fall over time.

etc ... plus the trends that will influence names in 2027. own · sim 0.46 · keep 0.65 · score -3

#26 · curiosity Sep 3, 2026

Kangaroos evolved thick knee cartilage to absorb shock, a feature that scientists are investigating for potential human arthritis treatment and prevention strategies.

Kangaroo knees have a stress-distribution feature missing from human knees: a fibrous pad of cartilage that deforms mid-hop and then bounces back to its original shape, absorbing some movement stress.

Kangaroos can clear up to 23 feet in a single hop when they're moving at their top speed of more than 30 miles per hour.
Clinicians advocate managing chronic arthritis in humans by keeping the joint as active as possible, but caution against high-impact activity that could worsen joint pain.

etc The key to curing arthritis may be regrowing a knee. sibling · sim 0.54 · keep 0.64 · score -2

#27 · news-in-context Mar 17, 2026

The Anthropic Economic Index shows AI adoption is highest in computer science roles.

The analysis of millions of anonymized conversations on Claude aims to reveal how AI is being integrated into real-world tasks across the labor market.

As of November 2025, 52% of conversations were classified as involving enhancing existing work products, while 45% involved using Claude for automation.
Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company and the developer of Claude, a set of large language models powering the company's AI chatbot of the same name.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.41 · keep 0.51 · score -38

#28 · explainers Aug 6, 2026

Bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria before multiplying within them—exist on Earth in numbers greater than all other living organisms combined.

Bacteriophages can be considered the deadliest agents on the planet, killing up to 40% of all ocean bacteria daily, but there's little collateral damage to human cells or other non-target bacteria because each phage is specialized to target only a specific type of bacterium or bacterial group.

Bacteriophages possess an icosahedral "head"—a 20-sided shape—housing genetic material, which often sits atop a long tail ending in fibers that resemble legs, and this tail delivers the genetic material into bacteria like a syringe.
A bacteriophage's genetic material can hijack a bacterium's cellular processes, forcing it to produce more phages, which burst out of the bacterium with the aid of an endolysin, an enzyme that destroys bacterial cell walls.
Unlike some antibiotics, which kill a broad range of bacteria by destroying cell walls or interfering with protein synthesis and DNA replication, bacteriophages attack only specific bacteria, allowing scientists to use phages for more targeted treatments without contributing to growing antibiotic resistance.
Phage therapy is not without risks, including septic shock, which is also a concern with antibiotics. As bacteria die, toxic materials are often released, and this can trigger an overwhelming immune response that can result in organ failure.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.46 · keep 0.77 · score -5

#29 · explainers Sep 21, 2023

The potential promises and pitfalls of AI in medicine

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into healthcare, offering the potential to aid in diagnoses, answer patient queries, and streamline administrative processes. In a recent PBS interview, Dr. Isaac Kohane, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine AI and chair of Harvard’s department of biomedical informatics, discusses the current state and future of AI in medicine.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection any_band · sim 0.45 · keep 0.23 · score -6

#30 · explainers Apr 13, 2026

Tech giants like SpaceX and Meta are increasingly behaving like sovereign powers

Companies now make unilateral decisions once reserved for nation-states, such as controlling satellite internet access in active war zones and influencing global information flows. Lawmakers and the international order are struggling to keep up with technological developments, let alone regulate them.

itk Elon Musk personally ordered last week's Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, new report finds sibling · sim 0.46 · keep 0.41 · score -1

#31 · curiosity Apr 20, 2026

Listen to a podcast that explains why Elon Musk is creating a company town called 'Snailbrook' for SpaceX and some of his other companies in Bastrop, Texas, a small community roughly 45 minutes outside of Austin.

Elon Musk is recreating an old tradition of large corporations starting "company towns," where employees can both live and work, in order to increase productivity, attract talent, and more.

itk Elon Musk personally ordered last week's Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, new report finds sibling · sim 0.40 · keep 0.56 · score -5

#32 · curiosity Jul 17, 2023

Teen who walked 6 miles to graduation receives college scholarship on the spot

Xavier Jones, a 14-year-old boy, set out to attend his eighth-grade graduation ceremony at Harris-Stowe State University, walking six miles in the hot sun. Inspired by his perseverance, LaTonia Collins Smith, the university's president, awarded him...

itk Homecoming king gives his crown and sash to runner-up, a student with Down syndrome sibling · sim 0.40 · keep 0.11 · score -2

#33 · experiences Dec 7, 2023

The best places to visit in 2024

Stargaze from moonscape deserts, or absorb high-design in a rising city. Peruse Conde Nast's annual look forward to travel destinations and dream up your next big trip.

etc ... and the 10 best cities for renters in 2026. sibling · sim 0.45 · keep 0.66 · score -4

#34 · news-in-context Aug 14, 2024

The salary needed to buy a home in the US

Anyone who has recently explored buying a home in the US knows it's not a cheap endeavor. The median salary for the typical American homebuyer has risen to roughly $104K, up from $88K two years ago. This data visualization breaks down the household income required to buy a median-priced home in 50 major US metro areas. Learn more here.

etc Salaries needed to buy a home in 50 US cities. any_band · sim 0.70 · keep 0.58 · score -1

#35 · news-in-context Aug 21, 2023

The 20 best small US towns for retirement

Roughly 1 million Americans retire each year, and a quarter of them relocate. This list showcases twenty of the best small towns—with populations no larger than 100,000—for retirees in the US, evaluating each locale by its affordability, safety,...

etc ... and the 10 best cities for renters in 2026. any_band · sim 0.48 · keep 0.64 · score -2

#36 · explainers Feb 10, 2026

Modern antivirus software searches for malicious behavior alongside malicious code

The first viral infections were identified by comparing the computer code of programs and files with a database of known virus codes, a method known as signature detection. The ongoing creation of new malware made databases continuously outdated, leading to the development of systems that detect patterns consistent with known viral activity.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.45 · keep 0.25 · score -7

#37 · explainers May 12, 2026

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Collaborations between the military, biotech, and academic researchers led to an experimental antibody treatment for the Andes hantavirus strain—the one that more readily passes between humans. As of spring 2026, it had only been tested in animals.

An experimental hantavirus antibody treatment was derived from the blood samples of hantavirus survivors. The potential therapy is designed to block the pathogen's ability to bind to human cells so it can't invade and replicate.
The US Army has also tested a potential hantavirus vaccine in people. It published early findings in 2023 that seemed promising, eliciting some immune system response.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection any_band · sim 0.44 · keep 0.14 · score -8

#38 · explainers Apr 13, 2026

Elon Musk reshaped Twitter into X with bold moves and polarizing decisions

What began in early 2022 as Musk quietly buying Twitter shares soon escalated into a $44 billion hostile bid to take the company private. When Musk officially took over Twitter, he walked into headquarters carrying a literal kitchen sink, captioning the moment, "Let that sink in."

itk Elon Musk personally ordered last week's Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, new report finds own · sim 0.42 · keep 0.26 · score -3

#39 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

The first Super Bowl halftime show featured marching bands and two men on jetpacks

At Super Bowl I, the halftime show featured college marching bands, a rifle drill team, and two performers flying jetpacks, in an era before music stars and spectacle defined the break.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.53 · keep 0.81 · score -6

#40 · curiosity May 29, 2026

Beyoncé's 2018 headlining set is among the festival's most famous

The singer's admirers dubbed the performance "Beychella"—which included a full marching band and a reunited Destiny's Child. It was a symbol-laden commentary on the significance of Beyoncé's status as the first Black woman to headline the festival.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.45 · keep 0.30 · score -10

#41 · experiences Aug 7, 2026

While planning a vacation, it can be advantageous to avoid the peak tourism season at your destination.

To begin planning, consider the time of year, the duration of your trip, your budget, and the type of experience you'd like to have. If you're looking to relax, it will probably be best to avoid destinations that are hard to reach or planning multiple stops on your trip.

It can enrich your experience to research the places you visit before going, so you are familiar with the culture, geography, and politics.
Keep your itinerary light and flexible so you can account for the unexpected that may occur during travel.

etc How to save money on holiday travel. sibling · sim 0.48 · keep 0.32 · score -2

#42 · news-in-context Jul 14, 2026

A 2024 report found that the average American vacation costs nearly $2K per person.

Half of those surveyed said they would not travel because of the price.

A third of those willing to vacation despite the costs said they would take on debt to pay for it, with most choosing to use credit cards.
47% of millennials and 42% of Gen Z said they planned to take on debt to go on vacation.

etc How to save money on holiday travel. any_band · sim 0.46 · keep 0.55 · score -3

#43 · news-in-context Apr 29, 2022

The Social Security is one of the most authoritative sources for data on baby names each year. Here's the list of last year's top ten baby names among those children born in the US.

etc The top baby names of 2026. any_band · sim 0.59 · keep 0.57 · score -1

#44 · explainers Nov 10, 2023

How medical robots could cure cancer

Medical robots are on the verge of being able to be injected into the body, where they will be responsible for semi-autonomous behavior, such as detecting cancer cells and distributing medication. This six-minute video dives into the science of these nanorobots, which are smaller than blood cells. Applications of these nanobots could range from disease discovery and condition monitoring to tissue repair and artificial blood delivery.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.44 · keep 0.75 · score -9

#45 · explainers Feb 10, 2026

Malware has transitioned from notoriety-driven to profit- and data-driven

Many of the first researchers and hobbyists who created viruses and worms showed a natural curiosity in experimenting with and designing such software to make a name for themselves and advance the field of computer science. In the future, AI-augmented malware may adapt in real-time or design enhanced cryptojackers, infostealers, and ransomware for cybercriminals.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection any_band · sim 0.44 · keep 0.60 · score -11

#46 · explainers Feb 2, 2026

Some Super Bowl performers make less than $1K for the event

The NFL has a longstanding policy of not compensating Super Bowl Halftime show performers, with the idea that the true compensation for artists is the scale of the exposure to the artist's music. Previous Super Bowl performers have made the union rate minimum, which is about $1K per day.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.50 · keep 0.39 · score -7

#47 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

Katy Perry's 2015 halftime show generated many memes in the age of social media

During Super Bowl XLIX, Katy Perry's halftime performance—especially the unscripted "Left Shark"—went viral, becoming one of the first Super Bowl shows to fully translate into memes across social media platforms.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.45 · keep 0.65 · score -11

#48 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

Janet Jackson's 2004 halftime show sparked a broadcast backlash

During Super Bowl XXXVIII, Justin Timberlake tore part of Janet Jackson's costume during the halftime finale, exposing her breast. The moment triggered widespread controversy, negative career repercussions for Jackson, FCC fines, and stricter standards for live television broadcasts.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo sibling · sim 0.45 · keep 0.52 · score -12

#49 · experiences Oct 20, 2026

Take an in-depth quiz that suggests what hobby you should pick up based on your desires, budget, availability, and more.

This roughly three-minute quiz offers ranked results for hobbies, with anything from a physical outdoor hobby like surfing to a quiet indoor hobby like knitting.

etc Looking for a new hobby? Take this quiz. sibling · sim 0.71 · score -1

#50 · experiences Oct 15, 2026

Are you burned out? Take this quiz

Have you ever wondered if what you're experiencing is burnout, or just stress? This Psychology Today quiz may help you decide if you need to explore more mental health resources. You don't have to create an account to take the quiz. Simply answer the questions and provide your ZIP code.

etc Looking for a new hobby? Take this quiz. any_band · sim 0.51 · keep 0.63 · score -2

#51 · explainers May 20, 2026

Using mosquitoes to vaccinate bats could curb the spread of deadly diseases.

Researchers in China tested a transmissible rabies vaccine in the lab by feeding mosquitoes blood containing the vaccine and observing what happened to bats when they were either bitten by the mosquitoes or fed on them.

The bats developed antibodies against rabies and survived subsequent rabies infection.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection sibling · sim 0.43 · keep 0.56 · score -13

#52 · explainers Nov 21, 2024

AI can aid fertility treatments, from helping select egg candidates to laboratory automation

Reproductive AI technologies are already here, from processing vast amounts of data to helping clinicians identify the healthiest embryos for implantation. It could be a boon to the fertility industry, and help mitigate the shortage of experienced embryologists.

lead AI Virus vs. Bacterial Infection any_band · sim 0.43 · keep 0.35 · score -14

#53 · explainers Jan 30, 2026

Kendrick Lamar brought his Drake feud to the Super Bowl stage

At the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans, Kendrick Lamar leaned into his high-profile feud with Drake, turning months of diss-track drama into one of the most discussed performances in recent Super Bowl history.

itk Rapper Jay-Z, whose entertainment company organizes the Super Bowl halftime show, has repo own · sim 0.48 · keep 0.19 · score -8

#54 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

Xenotransplants are an experimental last resort for the terminally ill when they cannot or will not receive a human organ.

David Bennett Sr. was the world’s first genetically modified pig heart transplant recipient.

Bennnet explained his reasoning to his University of Maryland Medical Center care team in 2022 regarding why he accepted a pig organ: He was dying and ineligible for a human heart transplant, so this was a last-ditch effort, he said.
He died two months after receiving the heart.

itk Scientists revive pig kidneys after up to one year in ultracold storage and successfully t sibling · sim 0.62 · keep 0.14 · score -6

#55 · curiosity Jan 30, 2026

After the first gene-edited pig heart transplant patient died, a latent pig virus was discovered inside his xenotransplant.

Researchers studying the death of David Bennett Sr., the first gene-edited pig heart transplant patient, investigated potential factors that may have contributed to his demise.

One finding is that there was a latent virus, called porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV), in the pig heart, which may have contributed to the dysfunction of the transplant.

itk Scientists revive pig kidneys after up to one year in ultracold storage and successfully t own · sim 0.54 · keep 0.12 · score -12

#56 · experiences Jun 7, 2022

Evaluating the world’s 'smartest' cities

A ranking of "smart cities" analyzes cities by economical and technological aspects as well as quality of life, inclusiveness, and care to the environment.

etc ... and the 10 best cities for renters in 2026. sibling · sim 0.42 · keep 0.56 · score -8

#57 · news-in-context Jun 30, 2026

See the annual income required to purchase a typical three-bedroom home in each state as of 2025, based on a 10% down payment, a 6.65% interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage, and a 30% income-to-housing cost threshold.

etc Salaries needed to buy a home in 50 US cities. any_band · sim 0.58 · keep 0.54 · score -2

#58 · news-in-context Jan 22, 2026

New York was the most expensive city to rent a three-bedroom apartment in as of 2025

At an average of $8.4K per month, New York City beat out London, Paris, San Francisco, and others as the most expensive major city to rent in. This visualization shows exactly how the others ranked.

etc ... and the 10 best cities for renters in 2026. any_band · sim 0.46 · keep 0.38 · score -3

#59 · explainers Oct 1, 2026

See how a novel neurological procedure that employs artificial intelligence restored a woman's speech almost 20 years after a stroke.

Scientists implanted electrodes in a woman's brain that convert her thoughts into speech via a digital avatar, allowing her to express herself verbally.

The digital avatar, created via AI, has a synthesized version of the patient's voice, generated by an algorithm for speech synthesis.
The algorithm was trained on a voice recording of the patient speaking at her wedding.
The avatar simulates and animates facial muscle movements.
The breakthrough work at the time of its announcement (in 2023) still aimed to progress to a wireless version that wouldn't require users to be physically connected to the brain-computer interface.

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#60 · explainers May 20, 2026

Emergency room evaluations may be improved with AI algorithms

Emergency room care teams must make fast and crucial decisions. They must determine if patients need to be admitted or discharged and when to order more tests or not. Researchers have been exploring how often patients died in the week after they were sent home and evaluating how this and other aspects of emergency care decision-making could be improved with AI algorithms to assist decision-makers.

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