This article first appeared in The Checkup,MIT Technology Reviewsweekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,sign up here.Theres a new film about IVF out on Netflix. And everyone in the field [of reproductive medicine] has watched it, according to one embryologist I spoke to recently. Joy is a lovely watch about the birth of the field, thanks to the persistent efforts of Robert Edwards, Jean Purdy, and Patrick Steptoe in the face of significant opposition.The team performed much of their key research during the 1960s and 70s. And Louise Brown, the first test tube baby (as she was called at the time), was born in 1978. Its remarkable to think that within 40 years of that milestone, another 8 million babies had been born through IVF. Today, it is estimated that over 12 million babies have resulted from IVF, and that the use of reproductive technology accounts for over 2% of births in the US.IVF is a success story for embryo research. But today, valuable embryos that could be used for research are being wasted, say researchers who gathered at a conference in central London earlier this week.The conference was organized by the Progress Educational Trust, a UK-based charity that aims to provide information to the public on genomics and infertility. The event marked 40 years since the publication of the Warnock Report, which followed a governmental inquiry into infertility treatment and embryological research. The report is considered to be the first to guide recognition of the embryos special status in law and helped establish regulation of the nascent technology in the UK.The report also endorsed the 14-day rule, which limits the growth of embryos in a lab to this two-week point. The rule, since adopted around the world, is designed to prevent scientists from growing embryos to the point where they develop a structure called the primitive streak. At this point, the development of tissues and organs begins, and the embryo is no longer able to split to form twins.The embryos studied in labs have usually been created for IVF but are no longer needed by the people whose cells created them. Those individuals might have completed their families, or they might not be able to use the embryos because their circumstances have changed. Sometimes the embryos have genetic abnormalities that make them unlikely to survive a pregnancy.These embryos can be used to learn more about how humans develop before birth, and to discover potential treatments for developmental disorders like spina bifida or heart defects, for example. Research on embryos can help reveal clues about our fundamental biology, and provide insight into pregnancy and miscarriage.A survey conducted by the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, which regulates reproductive technology in the UK, found that the majority of patients would rather donate their embryos to research than allow them to perish, Geraldine Hartshorne, director of the Coventry Centre for Reproductive Medicine, told the audience.Despite this, the number of embryos donated for research in the UK has dropped steeply over the last couple of decades, from 17,925 in 2004 to 675 in 2019a surprising decline considering that the number of IVF cycles performed increased steadily over the same period.There are a few reasons why embryos arent making it into research labs, says Hartshorne. Part of the problem is that most IVF cycles happen at clinics that dont have links with academic research centers.As things stand, embryos tend to be stored at the clinics where they were created. It can be difficult to get them to research centersclinic staff dont have the time, energy, or head space to manage the paperwork legally required to get embryos donated to specific research projects, said Hartshorne. It would make more sense to have some large, central embryo bank where people could send embryos to donate for research, she added.A particular problem is the paperwork. While the UK is rightly praised for its rigorous approach to regulation of reproductive technologies, which embryologists around the globe tend to describe as world-leading, there are onerous levels of bureaucracy to contend with, said Hartshorne. When patients contact me and say Id like to give my embryos or my eggs to your research project, I usually have to turn them away, because it would take me a year to get through the paperwork necessary, she said.Perhaps theres a balance to be struck. Research on embryos has the potential to be hugely valuable. As the film Joy reminds us, it can transform medical practice and change lives.Without research, there would be no progress, and there would be no change, Hartshorne said. That is definitely not something that I think we should aspire to for IVF and reproductive science.Now read the rest of The CheckupRead more from MIT Technology Reviews archiveScientists are working on ways to create embryos from stem cells, without the use of eggs or sperm. How far should we allow these embryo-like structures to develop?Researchers have implanted these synthetic embryos in monkeys. So far, theyve been able to generate a short-lived pregnancy-like response but no fetuses.Others are trying to get cows pregnant with synthetic embryos. Reproductive biologist Carl Jiangs first goal is to achieve a cow pregnancy that lasts 30 days.Several startups are using robots to fertilize eggs with sperm to create embryos. Two girls are the first people to be born after robot-assisted fertilization, says the team behind the work.From around the webMexicos Sinaloa cartel is recruiting young chemistry students from colleges to make fentanyl. Specifically, the students are being tasked with the often dangerous job of trying to synthesize precursor chemicals that must currently be imported. They also try to design stronger versions of the drug that are more likely to get users hooked. (New York Times)Billionaire Greg Lindberg is running his own baby project. Having duped, misled, and paid off a series of egg donors and surrogates, the disgraced insurance tycoon currently has 12 children, nine of whom were born in the last five years or so. He is the sole parent caring for eight of them, despite facing significant jail time since being convicted of bribery and pleading guilty to money laundering and fraud conspiracy charges for crimes unrelated to the baby project. The scale of his project is an indictment of the US fertility industry. (Bloomberg Businessweek)The UK government has agreed to a contract for more than 5 million doses of a vaccine designed to protect people from the H5 bird flu virus. The vaccine is being procured as part of pandemic preparedness plans and will be used only if the virus starts spreading among humans. (UK Health Security Agency)Last week, MPs voted in favor of a bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales. In the past few months, the debate over the bill has included horror stories of painful deaths. Most deaths are ordinary, but we all stand to benefit from talking about, and understanding, what death involves. (New Statesman)An unknown disease has killed 143 people in southwest Congo, according to local authorities. The number of infections continues to rise, and the situation is extremely worrying. (Reuters)Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of US health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot in New York city on Wednesday. The New York Times is reporting that bullet casings found at the scene appear to have been marked with the words delay and deny. The words may refer to strategies used by insurance companies to avoid covering healthcare costs. (New York Times)

MIT Technology Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand whats coming next. You can read more from the series here.This week, China banned exports of several critical minerals to the US, marking the latest move in an escalating series of tit-for-tat trade restrictions between the worlds two largest economies.In explicitly cutting off, rather than merely restricting, materials of strategic importance to the semiconductor, defense, and electric vehicle sectors, China has clearly crossed a new line in the long-simmering trade war.At the same time, it selected minerals that wont cripple any industrieswhich leaves China plenty of ammunition to inflict greater economic pain in response to any further trade restrictions that the incoming Trump administration may impose.The president-elect recently pledged to impose an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods, and he floated tariff rates as high as 60% to 100% during his campaign. But China, which dominates the supply chains for numerous critical minerals essential to high-tech sectors, seems to be telegraphing that its prepared to hit back hard.Its a sign of what China is capable of, says Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan research nonprofit in Washington, DC. Shots have been fired.What drove the decision?Chinas announcement directly followed the Biden administrations decision to further restrict exports of chips and other technologies that could help China develop advanced semiconductors used in cutting-edge weapon systems, artificial intelligence, and other applications.Throughout his presidency, Biden has enacted a series of increasingly aggressive export controls aimed at curbing Chinas military strength, technological development, and growing economic power. But the latest clampdown crossed a clear line in the sand for China, by threatening its ability to protect national security or shift toward production of more advanced technologies, says Cory Combs, associate director at Trivium China, a research firm.It is very much indicative of where Beijing feels its interests lie, he says.What exactly did China ban?In response to the USs new chip export restrictions, China immediately banned exports of gallium, germanium, antimony, and so called superhard materials used heavily in manufacturing, arguing that they have both military and civilian applications, according to the New York Times. China had already placed limits on the sale of most of these goods to the US.The nation said it may also further restrict sales of graphite, which makes up most of the material in the lithium-ion battery anodes used in electric vehicles, grid storage plants, and consumer electronics.What will the bans do?Experts say, for the most part, the bans wont have major economic impacts. This is in part because China already restricted exports of these minerals months ago, and also because they are mostly used for niche categories within the semiconductor industry. US imports of these materials from China have already fallen as US companies figured out new sources or substitutes for the materials.But a recent US Geological Survey study found that outright bans on gallium and germanium by China could cut US gross domestic product by $3.4 billion. In addition, these are materials that US politicians will certainly take note of, because they touch on many forms of security: economic, energy, and defense, Baskaran says.Antimony, for example, is used in armor-piercing ammunition, night-vision goggles, infrared sensors, bullets, and precision optics, Baskaran and a colleague noted in a recent essay.Companies rely on gallium to produce a variety of military and electronics components, including satellite systems, power converters, LEDs, and the high-powered chips used in electric vehicles. Germanium is used in fiber optics, infrared optics, and solar cells.Before it restricted the flow of these materials, China accounted for more than half of US imports of gallium and germanium, according to the US Geological Survey. Together, China and Russia control 50% of the worldwide reserves of antimony.How does it affect climate tech?Any tightened restrictions on graphite could have a pronounced economic impact on US battery and EV makers, in part because there are so few other sources for it. China controls about 80% of graphite output from mines and processes around 70% of the material, according to the International Energy Agency.It would be very significant for batteries, says Seaver Wang, co-director of the climate and energy team at the Breakthrough Institute, where his research is focused on minerals and manufacturing supply chains. By weight, you need way more graphite per terawatt hour than nickel, cobalt, or lithium. And the US has essentially no operating production.Anything that pushes up the costs of EVs threatens to slow the shift away from gas-guzzlers in the US, as their lofty price tags remain one of the biggest hurdles for many consumers.How does this impact Chinas economy?There are real economic risks in Chinas decision to cut off the sale of materials it dominates, as it creates incentives for US companies to seek out new sources around the world, switch to substitute materials, and work to develop more domestic supplies where geology allows.The challenge China faces is that most of its techniques to increase pain by disrupting supply chains would also impact China, which itself is connected to these supply chains, says Chris Miller, a professor at Tufts University and author of Chip War: The Fight for the Worlds Most Critical Technology.Notably, the latest announcement could compel US companies to develop their own sources of gallium and germanium, which can be extracted as by-products of zinc and aluminum mining. There are a number of zinc mines in Alaska and Tennessee, and limited extraction of bauxite, which produces aluminum, in Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia.Gallium can also be recycled from numerous electronics, providing another potential domestic path for US companies, Combs notes.The US has already taken steps to counter Chinas dominance over the raw ingredients of essential industries, including by issuing a $150 million loan to an Australian company, Syrah Resources, to accelerate the development of graphite mining in Mozambique.In addition, the mining company Perpetua Resources has proposed reopening a gold mine near Yellow Pine, Idaho, in part to extract antimony trisulfide for use in military applications. The US Department of Defense has provided tens of millions of dollars to help the company conduct environmental studies, though it will still take years for the mine to come online, noted Baskaran and her colleague.Wang says that Chinas ban might prove shortsighted, as any success in diversifying these global supply chains will weaken the nations grip in the areas it now dominates.What happens next?The US is also likely to pay very high economic costs in an escalating trade war with China.Should the nation decide to enact even stricter trade restrictions, Combs says China could opt to inflict greater economic pain on the US through a variety of means. These could include further restricting or fully banning graphite, as well other crucial battery materials like lithium; cutting off supplies of tungsten, which is used heavily in the aerospace, military, and nuclear power sectors; and halting the sale of copper, which is used in power transmission lines, solar panels, wind turbines, EVs, and many other products.China may also decide to take further steps to prevent US firms from selling their goods into the massive market of Chinese consumers and industries, Miller adds. Or it might respond to stricter export restrictions by turning to the USs economic rivals for advanced technologies.In the end, its not clear either nation wins in a protracted and increasingly combative trade war. But its also not apparent that mutually assured economic damage will prove to be an effective deterrent. Indeed, China may well feel the need to impose stricter measures in the coming months or years, as there are few signs that President-elect Trump intends to tone down his hawkish stance toward China.Its hard to see a Trump 2.0 de-escalating with China, Baskaran says. Were on a one-way trajectory toward continued escalation; the question is the pace and the form. Its not really an if question.

twomeows/Getty Images IN BRIEF In previous posts on transforming leadership development, we addressed the challenge of enabling leaders to grow beyond merely enhancing their skills. This post is the sixth in a series on our findings. Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw Over the past several months, we have been speaking with leaders at all levels of organizations about change and transformation. One challenge is common to all of them, regardless of their level, their organization, or even their industry: leading through an ongoing evolution. []The post Transforming Leadership Development: Building Leadership Capacity to Change Paradigms and Patterns appeared first on Harvard Business Publishing.

China-based Bytedance has one last avenue to avoid the sale of its TikTok social media service after losing a court appeal to invalidate a US law that requires the service be sold by January 19, 2025.TikTok's issues with the US government and courts continue.In its decision, the US Court of Appeals noted that the law requiring the sale of TikTok was a bipartisan effort in order to counter "a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC (People's Republic of China)." The US government believes that Bytedance's ownership of TikTok gives them and thus the Chinese government access to a vast trove of personal data collected from users.TikTok will likely appeal to the Supreme Court, which could result in an extra 90-day stay on enforcement of the law if the court agrees to hear the case and President Biden approves the stay. If it refuses the appeal, TikTok could be facing a ban or forced sale in the US in early January, despite the 170 million Americans using the social media service. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Best Buy's weekend flash sale delivers a $500 price cut on Apple's M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch, dropping the price to $1,499.Get Apple's M3 Pro MacBook Pro for just $1,499 - Image credit: AppleWrap up your holiday shopping with time to spare when you snap up this blowout $1,499 special at Best Buy. Save $500 off the original MSRP on the standard M3 Pro MacBook Pro spec in your choice of Space Black or Silver. This configuration sports the M3 Pro chip with an 11-core CPU and 14-core GPU. It also has 18GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, making it a well-rounded machine for a variety of users, from students to busines professionals.Get the deal at Best Buy Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Hengli Island Mixed-use Project Guangzhou design by Aedas Architects - green integrated complex forms a high-quality Chinese urban development benchmark:https://www.e-architect.com/guangzhou/hengli-island-mixed-use-project#HengliIsland #Guangzhou #China #architecture #AedasHengli Island Mixed-use Project Guangzhou design by Aedas Architects, China: green integrated complex, urban development benchmark

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In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Outdoors.Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles. Buji Playgrounds in Shenzhen, China by Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM) House in Longbranch, WA by mwworks architecture + design; Photo: Andrew Pogue SkyBase One in Carvoeiro, Portugal by Bespoke Architects; Landscape: Jardim Vista; Photo: Joo Morgado Uncloud Coffee in Bang Saen, Thailand by Unknown Surface Studio; Photo: Rungkit Charoenwat Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos in Baja California, Mexico by Guerin Glass Architects Mini Garden by Tue Taylan ATour Town Parent-Child Activity Center in Qingdao, China by GN Architects; Landscape: Aopa Landscape Design; Photo: Liangwenjun House in Kutn Hora, Czech...