🐤 Real-life Benjamin Button

🏦 Markets: It’s been a tough go for a U.S. computer chip maker that once seemed unstoppable. Intel suffered its latest major selloff on Friday when it lost a staggering $8 billion of its value and its stocks closed 6.4% down as of the closing bell. It’s a sign of industry-wide sluggish sales in the personal computer market, but Intel is bearing the brunt of the losses as international competitors make gains in speed, cost, and reliability.

Despite the bad news for Intel shareholders, all three major stock indexes finished the day on a positive note.

🤕 Insult to injury: Just as former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno was moving forward after being sidelined by a serious burn a couple of months ago, he’s laid up again due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. The freak accident happened as he was riding a vintage 1940 motorcycle on Jan. 17. He explained: “I turned down a side street and cut through a parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, some guy had a wire strung across the parking lot but with no flag hanging from it.” He was knocked from the bike, breaking his collarbone, multiple ribs, and both kneecaps in the process. As with his previous injury, he seemed to remain upbeat and even made some jokes about the whole ordeal. “I’m OK,” he told fans. “I’m working this weekend.”

🚀 Blasting off: The past few years have been packed with space exploration news and incredible developments from the public and private sectors. Now, NASA is touting its latest breakthrough, which involves testing what it calls a rotating detonation rocket engine. What makes it so remarkable is the fact that it could make it much easier to build and detonate rockets. Furthermore, the engine is expected to use significantly less fuel than current options. It all adds up to a new chapter in deep space missions that will help facilitate future visits to the moon, Mars, or beyond.

💀 Mummy dearest: As society changes, so does its language — and a pair of museums in the United Kingdom are doing their part to reflect current cultural norms. According to officials with the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh and the Great North Museum Hancock in Newcastle, the term “mummy” is now off-limits when referring to dead bodies wrapped up prior to burial. Instead of using the word, which has been dubbed “dehumanizing,” the institutions now prefer terms like “mummified remains” or “mummified persons.” As the Great North Museum’s Jo Anderson explained back in 2021: “The word ‘mummy’ now often evokes the image of a supernatural creature or monster,” whereas museums should strive to communicate that these ancient remains represent “real humans who were once alive and had very specific beliefs about how their bodies should be treated after death.”

🚗 Total recall: Nearly half a million SUVs are being recalled by the manufacturer due to an issue with 360-degree rearview cameras that has been linked to 17 collisions. Ford Explorers, Lincoln Corsairs, and Lincoln Aviators sold as 2020 to 2023 models are included in the recall. This announcement supersedes a prior recall from 2021 that affected about 228,000 vehicles. The issue can cause the camera display to show only a blue screen and dealers are reportedly able to replace software that can fix the bug.

Throughout human history, we’ve been obsessed with slowing the aging process or even reversing the impact of time on our bodies and minds. Despite the promising claims of countless treatments, few pursuits have delivered any meaningful results.

One tech CEO thinks he’s found the exception to the rule.

A $2 million-per-year regimen

According to 45-year-old Bryan Johnson, the team at Project Blueprint has uncovered some secrets about how the body ages. As a result, he says he’s shaved more than five years off of his biological age.

The biotech entrepreneur touted recent testing that reveals his heart health is on par with that of a 37-year-old person and the lung capacity of someone even younger.

As his ongoing treatments continue, Johnson believes he can reach his goal of achieving the health of an 18-year-old man.

Of course, turning back the hands of time doesn’t come cheap. He’s expected to spend as much as $2 million this year alone on related research and therapeutics.

Following doctor’s orders

At the center of this novel branch of healthcare is a 29-year-old physician known as “the rejuvenation doctor.”

Dr. Oliver Zolman’s 30-person team is still working on the ideal course of treatments to help Johnson and others reach their goals, but so far it includes a strict lifestyle plan that covers exercise, nutrition, supplements, and regular testing.

In Johnson’s case, his daily routine includes getting started at 5 a.m. with roughly two dozen dietary supplements. Throughout the day, he eats a highly regimented vegan diet with a cap of 1,977 calories.

Along with daily exercise (including three vigorous workouts each week), he receives blood tests, a colonoscopy, and other exams every month.

He admits it sounds “extreme,” but says he is “trying to prove that self-harm and decay are not inevitable.”

Over the past several months, we’ve all learned that even the most senior figures within the federal government seem to have a serious problem with their handling of top-secret information.

Classified documents were found in the private residences of former President Donald Trump, current President Joe Biden, and former Vice President Mike Pence — and the National Archives have reached out to the last six administrations in hopes that other officials will check their documents for possible security breaches.

So who’s supposed to have access?

As you might imagine, there are some strict limits on who is able to view classified documents, and there are different levels of clearance that dictate exactly what each individual is allowed to see.

But the sheer number of people who have some level of access might surprise you. As of 2019, about 4.2 million people were eligible to access classified documents, including roughly 1.3 million who had “top secret” security clearance.

Where do all these people work?

As explained above, not all security clearances are created equally. The limits of approved access for an individual typically depend on which agency he or she works for.

This means that someone who has a top-secret clearance for information in one branch of the government doesn’t necessarily have access to classified documents in another.

Of course, the president has the most latitude when it comes to viewing classified information or declassifying certain documents. Lawmakers who serve on certain committees also have a high level of access.

Any federal agency, as well as certain state-level and local law enforcement departments, employ individuals who have access to classified material, generally on a need-to-know basis.

The trouble comes in ensuring that these individuals treat the access with the care and consideration it deserves.

We’ve been hearing about it for a while now, but meat that is created in a laboratory is nearing the end of its development phase and will likely be available to the general public sometime this year.

Chefs are getting on board

While there are some clear environmental benefits to this type of protein and it addresses concerns about animal cruelty, the main factor for most meat eaters will be its taste. So far, a number of top chefs are optimistic that it will hit high marks for even the pickiest carnivores.

Some top culinary names from around the world — including Jose Andres and Francis Mallmann — have already signaled their interest in offering lab-grown meats in their recipes.

Addressing the obstacles

It appears that many of the pieces are falling into place for these companies to begin showcasing products like cultivated beef steaks and chicken breasts within the next several months, but there are a few major hurdles to clear before it is a common sight at the local grocery store.

• Individual companies need a source of funding to ramp up research and production.
• Various regulatory bodies, including the FDA, need to sign off on the processes.
• It might take a while to convince skeptical consumers that they should try these meats.

How is it made?

You might suspect that there are a lot of very involved steps that go into creating meat in a laboratory — and you’d be right. But in the broadest sense, the process is fairly straightforward.

First, experts collect cells from animals and begin adding in necessary nutrients. The samples are then grown in large steel containers known as bioreactors until they are ready to be processed into familiar shapes meant to not only resemble meat but more importantly taste like it.