Boring stuff
Hello, and welcome to The Edge, the newsletter that brings you groundbreaking stories from the frontiers of technology and science.
We’ve got some great stories for you today, including getting ripped made easy, The Boring Company finishing its Las Vegas tunnels and Facebook buying Giphy. As always, we’ve added extra stories under each article should you find yourself in a curious state of mind.
Facebook ups its GIF game
Image credit: Giphy
Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram
$400 million - that’s how much Facebook is reportedly planning to buy the popular GIF platform Giphy for. Facebook’s plan is to integrate Giphy’s enormous library of GIFs into Instagram and other Facebook apps.
Giphy lets users create and share GIFs. For years, Facebook has relied on Giphy’s API (application programme interface) in its apps. This includes Instagram, the main Facebook app, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Buying Giphy will make it part of Instagram, making it easier to send GIFs and stickers in Instagram direct messages and stories. Vishal Shah, Instagram’s VP of product said that “People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to Giphy’s APIs; and Giphy’s creative community will still be able to create great content.”
The purchase could cause tension between Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest and Reddit, among other platforms, as they rely on Giphy’s API as well. Facebook’s announcement seems to indicate that this will continue to function normally, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Why do people love GIFs so much?
Getting shredded with gene therapy
Image credit: Humphrey Muleba/Unsplash
How Gene Therapy Let Mice Build Muscle and Cut Fat, Exercise-Free
The only way to really get shredded is to eat well and hit the gym. Or is it?
In a paper in Science Advances, a team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis’ medical school show how mice have been able to build muscle mass and reduce obesity after receiving a certain type of gene therapy. This is even more impressive when considering that these effects were possible even when some of the mice didn’t exercise and had a diet high in fat.
To achieve the muscle gain/fat loss in the mice, the researchers targeted the FST gene, which is responsible for making a protein called follistatin. In mammals, follistatin controls metabolism and helps grow muscle. The researchers injected the mice with a virus carrying a healthy FST gene and over a period of 18 weeks, observed that muscle mass and strength of the mice more than doubled. Other benefits were observed as well, including less inflammation in their joints and healthier hearts and blood vessels.
How gene therapy works
Its not boring, we promise
Image credit: Nick Fewings/Unsplash
The Boring Company completes Las Vegas tunnels ahead of 2021 openings
The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s answer to numerous transportation issues, has reportedly finished its Las Vegas tunnels.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has confirmed that both tunnels needed to finish the underground loop were completed on Thursday. In February, the first tunnel was finished, shortly after which work on the second began. The plan for the tunnels, when ready, is to transport visitors between different parts of the Las Vegas Convention Center to an expanded west hall. The campus is huge - 200 acres - so the authority spent over $50 million for Musk’s company to create the tunnels.
The Boring Company and how it began
The Artemis Accords
Image credit: NASA
NASA announces Artemis Accords for international cooperation in lunar exploration
NASA’s upcoming Artemis program is a monumental step in space exploration. To make sure things work smoothly, NASA have announced the Artemis Accords. The Accords are a series of principles that any country wishing to participate in the Artemis program must follow.
According to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, a framework for how we’re gonna cooperate on the moon is needed. The Artemis Accords aim to establish that framework. The Accords will consist of a series of bilateral agreements between the United States and other nations wishing to cooperate on the program. They will cover all sorts of lunar activities involved with lunar exploration, such as ensuring exploration for peaceful purposes and providing emergency assistance.