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DTN 175: Scientists create 16 new viruses with AI

Plus: First flight of world's largest electric aircraft, US allows firms to carry out cyberattacks, a broken land speed record, DOE launches open models initiative, SpaceX increases footprint in missile defense, and more.

14 Aug 2026 — 7 min read

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“The rise in AI is straining the value chain for critical minerals. Think about all these data centers being built. They need copper wiring, rare earth elements, specific magnets, all kinds of minerals. Then there's the climate transition from fossil fuels to renewables. To facilitate that transition, we'll need a lot more minerals: copper, rare earth elements, even high-purity quartz is in short supply.

There are huge bottlenecks in the value chain that will be very challenging to alleviate. We need to unlock resources we can't find or develop right now. The easy deposits have been found. Future discoveries are hidden underground and much harder to find. By aggregating all this data in the right framework, we can query it in natural language ways to understand the geological evolution that leads to big deposits of critical minerals."

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Scientists Used AI to Create 16 New Viruses

“For the first time, an artificial intelligence system has created a series of previously unknown viruses capable of infecting and eliminating certain types of bacteria. This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for combating bacterial resistance. However, it also raises concerns about the potential misuse of this technology to design biological weapons.

For several years now, scientists have been able to synthesize viruses from scratch; these are typically used to develop and evaluate antiviral drugs and vaccines, as well as to expand our understanding of how these microorganisms behave. However, the production of these viral genomes has primarily relied on replicating previously known pathogens or variants.

In contrast, a new study conducted by scientists at Stanford University and the Arc Institute succeeded in having an AI design simple, functional, and previously unseen viruses based on information contained in the genetic sequences of millions of animals, plants, microbes, bacteria, and viruses found in nature.” (via WIRED)

The JCB Hydromax team and the family of JCB chairman Anthony Bamford celebrate the achievement of the 406.320-mile-per-hour world record for land speed with a hydrogen-powered car. Photo: JCB

"Andy Green is the only person to ever break the sound barrier on land. And on Tuesday he shattered several more speed records, driving faster than anyone ever had officially achieved in a hydrogen-powered or clean-power car.

Driving a highly engineered specialty race car called the Hydromax, which was designed by the construction equipment firm JCB, the retired 64-year-old British fighter pilot made two attempts. In the first, he recorded an average speed of 400.623 miles per hour. And in the second, he hit 412.135 mph. Between the two, his average top seed was 406.320 mph." (via Scientific American)