April 7, 2022

To all those who observe, Happy National Burrito Day! Chipotle is hoping to entice more to observe with a metaverse special: It is offering free food to the first 100,000 people who successfully roll a burrito in the metaverse. The rest, meanwhile, get to feast on... delicious pixels? Are guac pixels extra?

A dog may be man's best friend, but cyborg-roaches could soon prove stiff competition. Read today's Wrap on the future cyborg-roach rescuers.

― Key Stories

Gene-Splicing Scientist Returns
Overview

• A Chinese biophysicist who created the world's first gene-edited babies has been released from prison
• In 2018, He Jiankui altered the genes of embryos and placed them into a woman, who then gave birth to twins. They were the world's first gene-edited babies
• He had modified the babies to be HIV-resistant. He thought he would win a Nobel prize; instead, he was widely condemned because of moral concerns and the procedure’s potential risks to the children
• In 2019, China sentenced He to prison, saying he “rashly applied gene editing technology to human assisted reproductive medicine”

Oklahoma's Abortion Law
Overview

• On Tuesday, Oklahoma's legislature passed one of the US’ strictest abortion laws
• The law makes performing an abortion a felony, unless the woman is in a life-threatening emergency. Punishments include up to a $100,000 fine and 10 years in jail
• If the governor signs the bill, which he has said he will do, it will become law in August
• It comes as the Supreme Court considers a case that could weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court case that declared a woman's right to abortion. The ruling is expected in June or July

Putin's Daughters Sanctioned
Overview

• The US placed new economic restrictions on Russia
• Those sanctioned include Russian President Vladimir Putin's two 30-something-year-old children, about whom few details are known
• “We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members, and that’s why we’re targeting them,” said a US official
• President Biden also said the US will ban all investments by Americans in Russia. He called the sanctions a response to Russian war crimes, particularly the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where mass graves were found

Uber Planes
Overview

• Uber plans to add long-distance travel booking to its app later this year
• Beginning in the UK, Uber will let people book train, plane, and bus tickets. It plans to introduce hotel bookings next year
• The company wants Uber to become a “super app," where users can receive a “seamless door-to-door [travel] experience.” Before the pandemic, 15% of all Uber trips were to airports
• Uber already offers public transport tickets in some places. In Egypt, people can buy minibus access; in London, they can buy ferry rides

See yesterday's results below the Wrap!

 Popcorn

Culture & Sports

• The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia are taking Kanye West's spot as headliners at 2022 Coachella after Ye pulled out
• Lowe and behold: Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe will co-star in a new Netflix comedy series, playing father and son
• Grandpa who? A new survey found that less than half of Americans know the names of all 4 of their grandparents

• Lifelong learner: A 100-year-old woman in the UK is taking computer classes at a local library to "catch up" on the technology of today
• Big Bezos: Amazon has reportedly discussed banning terms like "union," "slave labor," and "injustice" from its forthcoming internal social app
• A bombarded zoo in Ukraine said it will put down all tigers and lions who can't be transported elsewhere to prevent them from running loose
• Gotham needs a hero: Major crime in New York City is 36.5% higher than it was last March. Homicides, however, fell by 15.8%

― Roca Wrap

A Newsletter Exclusive

Rescue dogs: Out. Cyber roaches: In.
 
At least that’s the vision of a group of scientists who are trying to create cyborg-roaches. They hope the robotic bugs will soon be able to lead the “search” portion of search and rescue operations.
 
Turning insects into cyborgs, or animal-hybrid robots, isn’t a new idea. Scientists have been trying to roboticize insects for years, and some have succeeded by electrically stimulating insects’ muscles or by using remote controls.
 
The first robot insect dates to 1997, when a Japanese researcher sent electrical signals to a bug’s antennae to make it turn left or right. In 2021, scientists funded by DARPA, the US government’s defense technology investment arm, invented a tiny device that connects to an insect’s brain and hijacks control of its body.
 
While building robotic insects may appear a more obvious task than turning real insects into robots, researchers say insects beat robots in longevity and dexterity. They are amazing crawlers and flyers, plus they last longer than most batteries. Capitalizing on insects’ natural abilities is a short-cut.
 
Much of the hype has focused on cockroaches, which can survive for months with little or no food and withstand extreme temperature changes. They’re also skilled climbers with excellent sensory skills and the abilities to lift 900x their body weight, shrink to a quarter of their height, and live up to a week without a head. 

Those skills have helped roaches outlive dinosaurs. They’ve also made them the preferred cyborg-insect for researchers who are looking for new ways to find victims after accidents, such as natural disasters or building collapses.
 
To do so, they’ve invented something akin to a cockroach backpack, equipped with microchips and a small infrared camera. The backpack sends an electric pulse down the middle of a roach’s 3 pairs of legs. Because roaches’ 6 pairs of legs move in lock-step with one another, a pulse on the middle pair causes it to fall out of sync with the rest, pulling the roach toward whichever side the pulse is sent. 

Various teams are working on variations of the cockroach backpack. A team at Texas A&M University has said their roach could be equipped with cameras and microphones to collect information from places humans can’t or don’t want to go. Researchers at a university in Singapore say theirs will be equipped with an infrared-camera and gas detector, alerting humans of dangers. 

In the event of an accident, roaches could be released to explore rubble for bodies and broadcast coordinates back to a rescue team. If the technology keeps improving, it may soon keep humans – and rescue dogs – safely on the sidelines, while the hardy cockroach takes care of the most dangerous search jobs. 

 Games

1. Nevermind
2. Brothers in Arms
3. Hysteria
4. Saturday Night Fever

 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Yesterday's Question:

20 Questions: 16-20

― Final Thoughts