Welcome to the laser wars

PLUS: NASA’s Quest to Touch the Sun, and more. [View in browser]( | [Your newsletter preferences]( [WIRED Logo] 05.13.24   [Illo of sun rays hitting a face]( HOT STUFF | 6-MINUTE READ [NASA’s Quest to Touch the Sun]( BY THOMAS ZURBUCHEN [The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface. NASA sent a probe to find out why—by getting closer to the star than ever before.](   [Photo of An Ai Pin being worn by George Kedenburg III, a company employee, at the headquarters of Humane in San Francisco ]( FAILURE MODES | 6-MINUTE READ [Generative AI Doesn’t Make Hardware Less Hard]( BY LAUREN GOODE [Wearable AI gadgets from Rabbit and Humane were panned by reviewers, including at WIRED. Their face-plants show that it’s still tough to compete with big tech in the age of ChatGPT.](   [Collage of a gloved hand holding a bag of synthetic platelets, and a microscopic view of red blood cells and platelets]( BLOOD BANK | 4-MINUTE READ [These Artificial Blood Platelets Could One Day Save Lives]( BY EMILY MULLIN [Platelets help blood clot, but they have a short shelf life. With blood in short supply, synthetic platelets could help meet demand.](   [Laser and crosshair]( PEW PEW | 10-MINUTE READ [The US Has Unleashed the Age of the Laser Weapon]( BY JARED KELLER [Amid a rising tide of adversary drones and missile attacks, laser weapons are finally poised to enter the battlefield.](   SPONSORED CONTENT [Amor Towles Returns With Stylish, Short Fiction in the New York Times Bestseller Table for Two]( [“Towles’ best book yet. Each tale is as satisfying as a master chef’s main course, filled with drama, wit, erudition and ... heart.”—Los Angeles Times](   [Painting of people riding horseback after a herd of animals with Bitcoins for heads]( GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL | 6-MINUTE READ [Time Is Running Out in the Hunt for Rare Bitcoin]( BY JOEL KHALILI [A small band of collectors is finding and collecting rare fragments of bitcoin worth many times the face value. But their window of opportunity is closing.](   [Image may contain: Cinema, Indoors, Theater, Clothing, Hat, Electronics, Screen, Person, and Adult]( MACHINE READABLE | 4-MINUTE READ [Inside the Cult of the Haskell Programmer]( BY SHEON HAN [It's spooky. It's esoteric. It's also the key to understanding the rise and relevance of functional programming.](   [Image may contain: Machine, Spoke, Wheel, Alloy Wheel, Car, Car Wheel, Tire, Transportation, Vehicle, and Advertisement]( DISC DRIVE | 9-MINUTE READ [An Innovative EV Motor Used by Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari Is Being Mass-Produced by Mercedes]( BY BEN OLIVER [Compared to the usual EV power plants, axial-flux motors are smaller and lighter, and have more torque. But they're hard to make at scale. Now Mercedes is bringing them to the masses.](   [Left: Flexible rod with clamp holding a tablet above a bed. Center: Front view of a flexible rod with clamp holding a tablet. Right: Overhead view of a flexible rod with a clamp either end.]( RANTS AND RAVES | 5-MINUTE READ [Reading Has Hurt Me for Years. With a Tablet Holder, It Doesn't]( BY NENA FARRELL [Cysts in both wrists made reading a literal pain. But Lamicall’s Tablet Holder takes that pain away by holding up my Kindle for me.](   Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world on [jobs.wired.com]( [Site Reliability Engineer – Client Platform]( [Coinbase]( Location: Remote [APPLY NOW]( [Senior Software Engineer – Server SDKs]( [PayPal]( Location: Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas, USA [APPLY NOW](   [WIRED logo image]( Thanks for reading. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. Plus, [browse more newsletters]( from WIRED. [(image) WIRED on Facebook]( [(image) WIRED on Twitter]( [(image) WIRED on Instagram]( [(image) WIRED on LinkedIn]( [(image) WIRED on YouTube]( [Podcasts]( [TikTok](   You’re receiving this email because you signed up for the Daily newsletter from WIRED. [Manage your preferences]( | [View our Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( Have questions or comments? [Send us a message](mailto:hello@wired.com?subject=Daily newsletter feedback). Need help? [Contact us](. Copyright © Condé Nast 2024. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.