Good morning. I hope this message finds you well and that you’re enjoying a nice bowl of America’s favorite breakfast food (it is National Cereal Day, after all). It feels great to be back delivering the week’s news. I hope you have a fantastic day and get something out of today’s edition.

Technology

The world’s largest chip manufacturer is expanding its US operations

Soon, a semiconductor will be in every BigMac. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will invest $100 billion into US chip manufacturing after a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

TSMC supplies a vast majority of the world’s most powerful semiconductors, which power our most advanced devices, and is a key innovator in the tech space. Since the company resides in Taiwan, a key US ally (see overview), the deal represents a strategic geopolitical step for both countries.

Major agreement

Over the next four years, the chip giant will expand its operations in the US, bolstering its investment by $100 billion and building five new “cutting edge” fabrication plants in Phoenix, Arizona.

• According to TSMC CEO CC Wei, the deal brings the company’s total investment in the US to $165 billion.

• The company agreed to use its most advanced “A16” chip manufacturing tech at the Arizona location.

The high-performance semiconductors are vital for the tech, automotive, and AI industries (see here), and the agreement should fortify the American supply chain. Production using the most advanced “A16” tech is set to start next year, and the third plant should begin making two-nanometer chips in 2028.

Calming fears

As a result of the agreement, Taiwan’s worries about tariffs on its extremely profitable semiconductors and the US’ long-held concerns about lagging behind in domestic chip production should subside.

• According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the US is now projected to triple its semiconductor manufacturing by 2032, which would be the fastest rate of growth in the world.

It’s good for everyone: In addition to helping large US tech giants like Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD that depend on TSMC's cutting-edge semiconductors, the agreement is expected to generate over 20,000 construction jobs and an estimated 6,000 high-tech jobs.

Space

NASA starts SPHEREx mission to map the universe

The space age Magellan has arrived. Tonight, a new NASA space observatory is scheduled to launch on a years-long mission to map over 450 million galaxies. Scientists think it can uncover the mystery behind the start of the universe.

Miraculous mission

The SPHEREx telescope (short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer), which has been in development for a decade, will orbit around 400 miles above the Earth's surface for two years and complete an  "all-sky" survey that will map the entire celestial sky not once, but four times.

• The mission is set to launch shortly after 10 pm ET tonight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

How will it achieve its mission? The telescope will map the celestial sky in 102 infrared colors, more than any mission before it, to see light coming from as early as 10 billion years ago.

• SPHEREx is equipped to pierce cosmic dust and gas to see some of the universe’s oldest stars and galaxies, which we would otherwise not be able to see.

  • This will allow researchers to examine the creation and evolution of galaxies and open a window into the origins of the universe.

Using a process known as spectroscopy (see overview), SPHEREx can divide infrared light from stars and galaxies into various colors, revealing a variety of important characteristics, including the composition, temperature, density, and motion of objects.

• Using its advanced technology, the telescope will then survey the sky in three separate dimensions to measure those characteristics in hundreds of millions of galaxies.

On top of that: The observatory will support and supplement NASA’s other advanced tools, like the James Webb Telescope, which can capture unparalleled graphic quality of certain objects, by telling them what to focus on.

International

Suspect behind deadly Kabul airport bombing caught

Authorities confirmed the suspect was one of the participants in the tragedy. A day after President Donald Trump announced the news in his speech to Congress, Pakistani intelligence officials reported Wednesday that a suspected key planner of the 2021 Kabul airport attack had been arrested.

Scheme of terror

Following a joint operation with US intelligence, the suspect, Muhammad Sharifullah, was apprehended in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Sharifullah, who was extradited to the United States, was charged with giving material support to a foreign terrorist group.

• Sharifullah, who appeared in court Wednesday, faces a possible sentence of life in prison if found guilty.

  • The suspect, according to officials, is an ISIS-K member who confessed to orchestrating the devastating suicide bombing.

What happened at Kabul Airport? During the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, thousands of residents fleeing from the Taliban takeover of the country were crowding around Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate on August 26th, 2021.

• Amid those waiting to be evacuated, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt, killing at least 182 people, including 13 US service members and around 170 Afghan civilians.

• The tragedy damaged public trust in former President Joe Biden's administration and was a part of the disorganized withdrawal that signified the end of America's longest war.

  • See the public’s criticisms of the withdrawal here and ex-US generals’ recounts of the attack here.

Intelligence coordination: A US official, who spoke anonymously, said Sharifullah's arrest followed increased intelligence sharing, better coordination within the US intelligence community, and pressure on regional partners to hold those responsible for the attack accountable since Trump's inauguration in January.

Grab Bag

Scientists created genetically engineered “woolly mice”

Can they create one for purely pet purposes? Asking for a friend. As part of a mission to revive the woolly mammoth, de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences genetically engineered mice with fat deposits and thick, brown fur that resembles the extinct ancient beast.

Geriatric genes

During the study, scientists simultaneously edited seven genes to produce a single expressed trait (this one being cold tolerance), which ideally will lead to the capacity to bring back the woolly mammoth and later the dodo bird, according to Colossal Biosciences.

• The effectiveness of the gene editing in colder climates, however, still needs further testing.

  • It is also worth noting that the experiment has not yet been peer-reviewed.

How did they do it? Researchers concentrated on mouse genes linked to the woolly mammoth's DNA that play a role in hair development. Although the combinations of edits varied from mouse to mouse, some mice had up to eight genes changed using three different methods.

• For example, the hair-regulating gene FGF-5 (fibroblast growth factor 5) was altered to prevent its normal expression, enabling the mice's fur to grow long.

Colossal will use this experiment as a baseline to determine whether the method is effective enough to proceed, where the next step would be to test on Asian elephant embryos, which are the closest living relatives of woolly mammoths.

It could be a long process: Since Asian elephants are an endangered species, there will be a lot of “red tape” to cross before moving forward, according to Colossal Bioscience’s CEO Ben Lamm.

New developments arise in lethal mystery illness spreading across Congo

There always has to be some new pathogen doesn’t there? Last week, a mysterious illness was seen rapidly spreading across the northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization reported, with at least 60 people dead and another 1,300 infected.

New developments have arisen from CDC and WHO cooperation that may have pinpointed the unknown ailment and shed light on its origins as more continue to get infected and die.

Strange circumstances

The epidemic started after three young children died within two days of consuming a dead bat in the village of Boloko, and four more perished within days in January. Two weeks later, a second outbreak arose that killed 45 people and infected over 400 others in Bomate, an area over 100 miles away.

• So far, no connection between the two villages has been found.

• Initially, patients were reportedly being tested for typhoid and food poisoning, among other possible ailments by the WHO.

Those infected have reported symptoms of uncontrollable bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are similar to those of the highly lethal Ebola and Marburg viruses, though lab tests have ruled them out.

What progress has been made? Since the outbreak was reported last week, the CDC has started investigations while the WHO has continued working to find what exactly the lethal illness is.

• As of writing, the WHO suspects poisoning or meningitis to be the root cause of the unknown contagion.

  • Bacterial meningitis is a brain-eating infection that destroys the protective membranes along the spinal cord.

  • The WHO hypothesized that “accidental or deliberate” chemical poisoning could also be at play.

• The WHO also suggested that malaria could be partly to blame for the cases.

Looking forward: While theories are being thrown around, there has been no “definitive cause of illness” yet found, according to a WHO report. The good news is there seems to be a downward trend in deaths since the first fatalities were reported on February 9th, suggesting the illness has stopped spreading from the initial infection site.

Fast Facts

Drone Docking: Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD introduced a drone launchpad that fits on the roof of all models which is capable of following the vehicle at up to 33 mph and charges itself when docked.

Turing Test: This year's Turing Award, also known as the "Nobel Prize of computer science," was given to Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto for creating reinforcement learning, which teaches artificial intelligence to make judgments through trial and error.

Fruit Fighting: The molecules that give fruits, vegetables, and flowers their vibrant colors are likely to fight off some of the harmful effects that microplastics have on reproductive systems, according to new peer-reviewed research. 

Film Finance: A movie theater in India was ordered to pay $320 to a moviegoer after he sued it, saying too many ads were played before the film started.

Naming Nuisance: After the placeholder name "Unakite Thirteen Hotel" was issued on his daughter's birth certificate, a Nebraska father is still struggling to change it after a years-long battle with government agencies.