New & Noteworthy

Explore our latest news and insigts locllay and around the globe.

What We’re Reading

DNA Sleuths Read The Coronavirus Genome, Tracing Its Origins And Looking For Dangerous Mutations

Reading the genome (which is made of RNA, not DNA) also allows researchers to monitor how 2019-nCoV is changing and provides a roadmap for developing a diagnostic test and a vaccine.

Grocery Delivery Goes Small With Micro-Fulfillment Centers

Companies trying to get closer to customers and keep costs down turn to smaller sites heavy with automation.

Preparing for New Wave of Treatments, Fujifilm Drops $55 Million for Gene Therapy Center

The preparations to serve biopharma’s explosion of gene therapy pipeline candidates continues.

Muni-Bond Desks Stand to See Big Wins If Trump Loses

Elizabeth Warren wants to tax those she calls ultra-millionaires. Bernie Sanders has targeted the top 0.1%. And Joe Biden is seeking to reverse President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.

’Tis the Season for Surge Robots as Holiday Hiring Finds Automation

The holiday hiring frenzy is under way and robots are joining the rush to seasonal jobs.

Urban Alliance: Giving High School Students Experience in the Corporate World

Bethesda Magazine spotlights Najmah Abdur-Rahman's time in the Urban Alliance internship program with Chevy Chase Trust’s Amy Newman, Senior Trust Officer.

The Drones Are Coming! How Amazon, Alphabet and Uber Are Taking to the Skies

Companies are firing up fleets of unmanned aircraft in a race to deliver everything from electronics to food.

Waymo and Renault to Explore Autonomous Mobility Route in Paris Region

This route in particular is being explored as a lead-up project to potentially be ready in time for the Paris Olympic Games.

The Huge Waste in the U.S. Health System

A study finds evidence for how to reduce some of it, but also a large blind spot on how to remove the rest.

Cat-Litter Rivals Pounce on New Shipping Strategies

Clorox, Nestlé spend millions on factories to cut high costs for making and transporting heavy product.

Retail Bankruptcies Rise, Store Closures Skyrocket in First Half of 2019

Store closures in the first six months of the year have already exceeded the number of bricks-and-mortar stores closed in all of 2018.

Consumer Electronics Manufacturer ASUS’s CTO Says AI Will Unblock Industry 4.0 Adoption

The manufacturing industry is undergoing technological transformation, but progress has been slow. From robotics and automation to AI, technological advancements have arrived, yet roadblocks exist that prevent widespread adoption.

Scientists Attempt Controversial Experiment To Edit DNA In Human Sperm Using CRISPR

First it was human embryos. Now scientists are trying to develop another way to modify human DNA that can be passed on to future generations, NPR has learned.

Tax-Savvy Giving Strategies May Provide Some Relief for High-Income Earners, by Susan Freed, CFP®

What can an individual do to avoid higher taxes when faced with the loss of significant deductions?

A First Look at Amazon’s New Delivery Drone

For the first time, Amazon today showed off its newest fully electric delivery drone at its first re:Mars conference in Las Vegas.

Blackstone Bets $18.7 Billion on Amazon Effect in Warehouse Deal

The mall is now a warehouse, and Blackstone Group LP is betting $18.7 billion on the shift.

How Amazon Goes Small to Make It in New York

From The Wall Street Journal: Developers are building high-end homes in revitalized urban neighborhoods with waterfront views for residents drawn to quality of life and prime location.

The Latest Housing Hotspot: Downtown and by the River

From The Wall Street Journal: Developers are building high-end homes in revitalized urban neighborhoods with waterfront views for residents drawn to quality of life and prime location.

Nvidia’s researchers teach a robot to perform simple tasks by observing a human

From TechCrunch: Researchers are now thinking about how robots and humans can work in close proximity to humans and even learn from them.

Two-thirds of world population will live in cities by 2050: UN report

From CNN: The coming decades will see the growth of colossal megacities as the world's population increasingly moves into urban environments, a new United Nations report predicts.

Levi’s Project F.L.X. redefines the future of how jeans are designed, made and sold

Levi’s is now using an automated laser system to make distressed jeans which were previously made through a manual process.

Amazon Go, a high-tech version of a 7-Eleven with no checkout lines and no cashiers

From Recode: Amazon Go allows customers to grab items and just walk out without stopping to pay.

City-center robot distribution is speeding up one-hour delivery

From WIRED UK: Fulfillment centers are coming to underground parking garages, moving distribution from out-of-town warehouses to right next to where people live.

America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

From Bloomberg: The so-called retail apocalypse has become so ingrained in the U.S. that it now has the distinction of its own Wikipedia entry.

Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

From TechCrunch: Waymo, the former Google self-driving car company is launching public road tests of its autonomous minivans with no safety driver on board.

We Survived Spreadsheets, and We’ll Survive AI

From the Wall Street Journal: History shows technology fuels new kinds of jobs in addition to the ones it renders obsolete.

Nordstrom Tries On a New Look: Stores Without Merchandise

From the Wall Street Journal: Adapting to changing customer habits, another retailer tries inventory-free stores.

Automation Nation

From CBS News: With our economy becoming more and more dependent upon machines, what will that mean for the future of employment?

Do You Live On The Front Lines Of Automation?

From Fast Company: If you live in Las Vegas, El Paso, or Louisville, there’s a particularly good chance that your job could be taken by a robot in the next two decades.

Machines of Loving Grace

By John Markoff: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots A well-researched introduction to the history of robotics and artificial intelligence in the United States.

Chains are banking on this new strategy to combat the restaurant apocalypse

From Business Insider: Struggling restaurant chains are turning to a new strategy to try and appeal to customers: delivery.

The Parts of America Most Susceptible to Automation

From The Atlantic: Economists expect that millions of American jobs are going to be replaced by automation in the coming decades. But where will those job losses take place?

There’s one major thing everyone gets wrong about Amazon and the retail apocalypse

From Business Insider: Amazon and the rise of online shopping have been repeatedly blamed for the staggering rate of store closures and bankruptcies disrupting the retail industry in the US.

The industrial robotics market will nearly triple in less than 10 years

From re/code: Collaborative robots are expected to account for a third of that market.

Warehouse Startup ShipBob Raises $17.5 Million Amid Expansion Push

From the Wall Street Journal: Funding round to allow company to open e-commerce distribution centers in more cities.

Artificial Intelligence Looms Larger in the Corporate World

From The Wall Street Journal: Artificial intelligence, long a subject of fanciful forecasts, is starting to enter the corporate world in a much bigger way, as costs decline and the need increases to identify patterns within ever-growing troves of business data.

What We’re Reading

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