+ AI is being put to work dreaming up never-before-seen drugs. But do they work?
+ How K-pop fans’ online campaigning skills are changing the face of civil resistance and social change advocacy.
+ Prosthetics designers are shunning traditional hyperreal aesthetics to create fantastical alternatives that might wriggle like a tentacle, light up, or even shoot glitter.
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EV batteries are the next point of tension between China and the US
Over the past few decades, China has established itself as a world leader in the electric vehicle industry. Its control of refined materials for battery cells and advanced battery-making technologies is so all-encompassing that Western automakers who want to transition out of gas cars won’t be able to do it without turning to Chinese-made batteries.
As a result, battery technology is becoming increasingly politicized in both the United States and China. Ford’s recent announcement it was building a battery plant in Michigan with Chinese battery giant CATL wasn’t without controversy, and the deal could still be derailed—proving that China’s advantage in battery tech will only become more relevant in our daily lives going forward. Read the full story.