TECH

A Virtual Keynote for the Virtual Age

Wondering why your engineering team stopped responding to you yesterday afternoon? Apple kicked off its annual WWDC conference for developers with a keynote address showing off its new software features. 

So...what's new?

Apple's preparing for post-pandemic life with...a lot of tools that would have been helpful during the pandemic. 

FaceTime updates: Video calls will get screen sharing capabilities, integrations with other apps like social media, and crisper audio. Users will also be able to schedule and send links to FaceTime calls (even to their Android friends). 

Focus tech: To help you stay on task from 9–5, Apple will let users batch notifications and order them by priority, add a Focus mode to limit interruptions from non-work-related apps and friends, and add work, sleep, or do not disturb statuses to their Messages app.

Privacy: To bolster its reputation as Silicon Valley's privacy leader, Apple is adding on-device speech processing for Siri, extra private browsing on Safari, and the ability to disable tracking pixels in email. 

• Tracking pixels? Apple users will be able to block tracking by email senders, a change that could mean big disruptions for businesses that depend on email marketing. If a user disables pixels, companies won't know if their email even gets opened.

Other highlights: New features for developers to build apps in the cloud. Uploading your ID to Apple Wallet to use for TSA screening. Unlocking your car or front door from an iPhone. Fancier maps. And trusted contacts to get you back into iCloud after you forget your new password.

Between the keynote lines 

This WWDC wasn't unique just because execs spoke before a crowd of Memojis. Yesterday, Apple defended itself and said the App Store has paid over $230 billion to developers since opening in 2008. 

The company wrapped up a trial last week with Fortnite maker Epic Games, which is accusing Apple of monopolistic practices for the 30% cut it takes on in-app purchases. If Apple loses, the company may have to rewrite the rules of its money-printing App Store. 

PHARMA

A New Hope for Alzheimer's Treatment

Yesterday, the FDA approved Biogen's aducanumab, the first drug to treat the underlying cause of Alzheimer's (sticky brain plaques) and potentially slow the disease's progression in early stage patients. Although far from a cure, aducanumab could mark a new era in treating the leading cause of dementia and the sixth leading cause of death in the US.

Not all doctors are ready to prescribe

Biogen had shelved the drug in early 2019, then surprised the medical community by breaking it back out that October. Last November, an expert panel advised the FDA not to approve aducanumab after a pair of studies showed conflicting results about its effectiveness. 

But the agency fast-tracked it, arguing that the benefits of slowing Alzheimer's outweigh the risks. Since aducanumab's clinical effectiveness isn't certain, Biogen still has to conduct post-approval trials, but some health experts worry the FDA made the wrong decision.

Big picture: It's easier to crack the TikTok algorithm than it is to treat Alzheimer's. A string of failures led many pharma companies to give up, though some analysts think Biogen's breakthrough could renew interest, Reuters reports. There's certainly money to be made: Biogen says the treatment, which will be sold under the name “Aduhelm,” will cost $56,000 a year.

ENVIRONMENT

Humans Set Climate Record From Before Humans Existed

Despite the influx of Office trivia night invites, nature is in fact not healing. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at its highest level in modern history and 50% higher than in preindustrial times, according to new findings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

• In fact, to find a time when Earth's atmosphere had this much CO2 in it, you'd have to go back at least 4.1 million years ago to the Pliocene Epoch, when sea levels were almost 80 feet higher than today.

But what about the pandemic? Global emissions fell 7% last year due to travel restrictions and the general slowdown in human activity. However, as the new data reveals, that didn't do much to change the long-term trajectory of carbon emissions.

That’s because every year, the world adds ~40 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution to the atmosphere. A brief commuting break can’t offset the CO2 that sticks around in the atmosphere for up to 1,000 years.

SPONSORED BY ATHLETIC GREENS

Nutrition for Your Summer Bag

Everyone’s gonna be in their bag this summer. Hittin’ the beach. Hikin’. Hangin’ with pals we’ve gotten used to seeing through screens.

To make sure you can keep up with the festivities and cover your nutrition while you’re at it, make sure to keep some Athletic Greens handy.

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This stuff is great for on-the-go sippin’ and is packed with multivitamins, Vitamin C, Adaptogens, Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Superfoods. All that adds up to a great summer, yes—but also great immune support, gut health, and healthy aging.

Get a free year supply of Liquid Vitamin D and five free travel packs when you buy an Athletic Greens subscription right now.

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Stat: NBCUniversal said it will broadcast more than 7,000 hours of Olympics content across NBC, USA, Peacock, and all of its other media properties this summer. For context, there are on average 730 hours in a month.

Quote: "Today we turned the tables on DarkSide."

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said that the US had recovered the majority of the $4.4 million in cryptocurrency that Colonial Pipeline paid to the criminal group DarkSide after it had been hacked. 

Read: Is our society turning into a zero-sum competition for survival? (Noahpinion)

SPACE

Bezos Proves Any(Billionaire)one Can Be an Astronaut

Jeff Bezos is launching himself into space. In an Instagram post yesterday, Bezos said that he and his brother would be onboard Blue Origin's first passenger-carrying mission, set for liftoff on July 20.

That leaves only one seat open. So if you've been looking to get some Bezos facetime to pitch your startup idea, you can bid for New Shepard's final seat through Saturday. 

• As of yesterday, the highest bid to sit sandwiched between the Bezos brothers for an 11-minute space flight reaching an altitude of 62 miles: $2.8 million.

Consider it the most thrilling retirement party ever. Bezos will officially be replaced as Amazon CEO by Andy Jassy on July 5. After announcing his plan to step down earlier this year, Bezos said Blue Origin, his space company, "is the most important work I'm doing."

Zoom out: Bezos isn't the only billionaire who wants to go suborbital. Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson plans to be on his company's first commercial space flight...whenever that launches. Meanwhile, no update yet on Elon Musk's Mars colony.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• France fined Google $268 million for abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising industry. 
• Katerra, a SoftBank-backed construction startup, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday.
• Dave, a banking app that counts Mark Cuban as an investor, is going public via SPAC at a valuation of more than $4 billion. Yes, it's ticker symbol will be DAVE.
• The airline industry is pleading with the US and the UK to lift Covid-era travel restrictions to spur more transatlantic passenger demand.

BREW'S BETS

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Here are the 12 best TikTok video editing apps.

Enter the pool: Check out this retro site (formerly Poolside FM) for the ultimate summer playlist.

Work reset: We could all use one as we adapt to a post-Covid world. Learn how to align your personal values with your professional ambitions in just six steps with the ZigZag podcast. Listen here.

FROM THE CREW

The Internet Is too Vast to Roam Solo

The great plains of the internet reach far and wide. Roaming them solo would be hard, but also just boring! Say hey to Sidekick, our spunky newsletter sliding into your inbox with the internet’s best recs for smarter living. Entertainment. Productivity hacks. Recipes. Sidekick will help up your quality of life, one rec at a time. Read it here.

GAMES

Guess That Blob

First, we have another Mini for you today, which you can play here.

Next, for today’s trivia question, this strange blob in the Washington, DC, area was picked up by radar yesterday. But it’s not a weather phenomenon. Do you know what it is?

National Weather Service

ANSWER

Cicadas