I was offered an opportunity to "spermax" recently. (Can this new class of "-maxxing" gerunds be verbified? Looksmax? Spermmax? Spermaxx?) When I pitched my bosses on the idea, one said, by way of outright rejection: "No one cares about your sperm, Jason." Well, tell that to certain friends. What people do care about, indisputably, is fertility, and all the ways it seems to be getting harder. Microplastics this, sperm counts that, and have you thought about IVF? Spermaxxing is something men can do. For women, there's "preconception," which Currie Engel investigates for her new Big Story, "Why Are Some Women Training for Pregnancy Like It's a Marathon?" Frankly, it's not for me, but I'm not a woman (nor, to be clear, a spermaxxer). The more people try to optimize for anything, it seems, the emptier, deep down, they get. Have children. Don't have children. Drink wine. Don't drink wine. Who cares? And if you get pregnant, here's a baby name for you: Maxx. |
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Story originally published in April 2018 |
On TV, crime scene DNA forensics are typically portrayed as straightforward. A gruesome murder of a young woman? Check her fingernails. A home invasion? Swab the doorknobs. It's as simple as that, if you don't know much about DNA. In reality, that doorknob probably has DNA traces from up to a dozen people, according to forensic scientists. In 2018, award-winning investigative journalist Katie Worth traced the improbable journey of one man's DNA: from his own hands to the fingernails of a dead man he had never met. The feature marries science with intrigue, and explores what happens when law enforcement is both overconfident about forensics and undereducated about touch transfer. "They got the DNA," said the defense attorney for the wrongfully accused man, "and then they made up a story to fit it." Read Worth's piece and share your thoughts. What happens when juries and investigators treat DNA—or any science—as infallible? Comment below the story or send me an email. |
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General Galactic, cofounded by a former SpaceX engineer, plans to test its water-based propellant this fall. If successful, it could help usher in a new era of space travel. That's a big "if." |
Attorney general Raúl Torrez is accusing the tech giant of failing to protect minors on Facebook and Instagram. |
Rather than offering a revolutionary new approach to gig work, RentAHuman is filled with bots that just want me to be another cog in the AI hype machine. |
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I did not watch the Super Bowl. I don't usually watch the Super Bowl, unless of course the Eagles are in it, or if Fortuna ever smiles on the Bears. But I tuned in for Bad Bunny. Of course I tuned in for Bad Bunny. On Sunday, Angela Watercutter reported what went into the efforts to recreate Bad Bunny's Puerto Rico on the field of Levi's Stadium. Angela got the scoop on all of it, from the walking sugar cane to the record-breaking pyrotechnics. WIRED even scored a copy of the dizzyingly elaborate props map. Readers loved the performance, and said as much in the comments. "[I] may be too old to be a fan of Bad Bunny," said one commenter, "but I liked the message of love conquering hate. We see that so rarely." Said another reader, "Seeing Puerto Rican culture represented with such love, vibrancy, and energy was so emotional for me. Even reading this article I am tearing up a bit seeing the dominoes table, piragua, 'compro oro,' and the colmado." Tell us about your favorite WIRED stories and magazine-related memories. Write to samantha_spengler@wired.com, and include "CLASSICS" in the subject line. |
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