The race to put silk in nearly everything

PLUS: How Underground Fiber Optics Spy on Humans Moving Above, and more

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 06.28.21   LIGHT OF MY LIFE | 4-MINUTE READ How Underground Fiber Optics Spy on Humans Moving Above BY MATT SIMON Vibrations from cars and pedestrians create unique signals in cables. Now scientists have used the trick to show how Covid-19 brought life to a halt.   NOSTALGIA TRIP | 4-MINUTE READ The Wild Spread of Drug Wars, From Your Calculator to Your Phone BY ZACK HUFFMAN Originally a DOS game, it found a secret life on Texas Instruments calculators everywhere in the '90s. Now the game is available for a whole new generation.   NOBELIUM | 2-MINUTE READ SolarWinds Hackers Continue Assault With a New Microsoft Breach BY DAN GOODIN, ARS TECHNICA The company says the Nobelium hacking group compromised a support agent's computer and levied brute-force attacks against some of its customers.   SMOOTH OPERATOR | 11-MINUTE READ The Race to Put Silk in Nearly Everything BY MAX G. LEVY The fiber has been considered a "miracle material" for anything from body parts to food. Has the revolution finally arrived? GET WIRED Fourth of July Sale! Ending Soon: Get WIRED for $10 $5. You can't see into the future, but you can subscribe to WIRED. Subscribe now.   IDEAS | 7-MINUTE READ The Science and Spirituality of Looking for Life on Mars BY NOAM COHEN Pamela Conrad is a NASA scientist working on the Perseverance mission—and a priest. She spoke to WIRED about how her two worlds help her make sense of the universe.   PROMISES | 4-MINUTE READ America's 'Smart City' Didn't Get Much Smarter BY AARIAN MARSHALL Columbus, Ohio, won a $50 million grant five years ago to use tech to solve old problems. But technical hurdles, bureaucracy, and the pandemic dashed many plans.   BOOKS WIRED's Picks for the 9 Books You Need to Read This Summer BY WIRED STAFF From sci-fi to queer magic, these tomes have what you need when you're headed to the beach—or anywhere else.   WATCH YOUR STEP | 1-MINUTE READ The Best Fitness Trackers and Watches for Everyone BY ADRIENNE SO Whether you're backcountry skiing or running around the backyard, we have an activity tracker for you.   HACKER LEXICON | 4-MINUTE READ What Is a Supply Chain Attack? BY ANDY GREENBERG From NotPetya to SolarWinds, it's a problem that's not going away any time soon.     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or Manage your newsletter subscriptions   Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.