It’s Time to Talk About Covid-19 and Surfaces Again

PLUS: The best stories from WIRED this week. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 10.22.20   PUBLIC HEALTH It's Time to Talk About Covid-19 and Surfaces Again BY GREGORY BARBER In the early days, we furiously scrubbed, afraid we could get sick from the virus lingering on objects and surfaces. What do we know now?   ELECTION 2020 How to Watch the Final 2020 Presidential Debate BY CAITLIN KELLY Joe Biden and Donald Trump square off for the second and last time on a debate stage Thursday night in Nashville.   AMONG US Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Storms Twitch BY CECILIA D'ANASTASIO More than 400,000 people tuned into AOC's stream of a marathon Among Us session with representative Ilhan Omar and Twitch luminaries.   DO TREAD ON ME How the 'Diabolical' Beetle Survives Being Run Over by a Car BY MATT SIMON The puny insect can withstand forces 39,000 times its body weight. Scientists just discovered its super-strength secret—which could inspire new materials.   SUPPLEMENTS Americans Took Prevagen for Years—as the FDA Questioned Its Safety BY CHIARA EISNER From the memory supplement's launch in 2007 through 2016, agency officials repeatedly raised concerns as the number of consumer complaints grew.   TRANSLATE THIS The Left and the Right Speak Different Languages—Literally BY WILL KNIGHT A study analyzing patterns in online comments found that liberals and conservatives use different words to express similar ideas.   ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE A Deepfake Porn Bot Is Being Used to Abuse Thousands of Women BY MATT BURGESS, WIRED UK An AI tool that "removes" items of clothing from photos has targeted more than 100,000 women, some of whom appear to be under the age of 18.   MACHINE LOSING Companies Are Rushing to Use AI—but Few See a Payoff BY WILL KNIGHT A study finds that only 11 percent of firms that have deployed artificial intelligence are reaping a "sizable" return on their investments.   ELECTION 2020 The Horny Internet Wants You to Vote BY JASON PARHAM From X-rated Twitter feeds to ErectionSeason.com, sex workers are using their talents to get fans to the polls.     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