The Download: a history of brainwashing, and America’s chipmaking ambitions

Zooming in additional, there’s one explicit kind of insulating materials positioned between the chip and the construction beneath it; this materials, referred to as dielectric movie, is produced in sheets as skinny as white blood cells.

For 30 years, a single Japanese firm referred to as Ajinomoto has made billions producing this explicit movie. Rivals have struggled to outdo them, and right this moment Ajinomoto’s merchandise are utilized in every part from laptops to information facilities. 

Now, a startup based mostly in Berkeley, California, is embarking on a herculean effort to dethrone Ajinomoto and produce this small slice of the chipmaking provide chain again to the US. However success is way from assured. Learn the complete story.

—James O’Donnell

The hassle to make a breakthrough most cancers remedy cheaper

CAR-T therapies, created by engineering a affected person’s personal cells to struggle most cancers, are sometimes reserved for individuals who have exhausted different therapy choices. However final week, the FDA permitted Carvykti, a CAR-T product for a number of myeloma, as a second-line remedy. Which means individuals are eligible to obtain Carvykti after their first relapse.

Whereas this implies some a number of myeloma sufferers within the US will now get earlier entry to CAR-T, the overwhelming majority of sufferers across the globe nonetheless gained’t get CAR-T in any respect. These therapies are costly—half 1,000,000 {dollars} in some circumstances. However have they got to be? Learn the complete story.