Bold Names

What good is a future without ketchup or pasta sauce? These are just two potential casualties of a changing climate, as tomato growers face shrinking harvests due to hotter and drier weather. WSJ reporter Patrick Thomas takes us behind the scenes of how seed breeders are trying to make a tomato that can thrive with less water, and how that highlights the efforts going into protecting crops against the effects of climate change.

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Further reading:

The Race to Save Ketchup: Building a Tomato for a Hotter World 

How to Eat Your Way to a Greener Planet 

Sustainable Agriculture Gets a Push From Big Corporations 

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 How did a sandal that originally entered the U.S. market as a health product become a fashion staple and the crowning shoe of a multibillion dollar company? Margot Fraser originally brought Birkenstocks to the U.S. thinking that the comfort of the German sandal would appeal to women. But she couldn’t get shoe stores to sell them. They finally made it into the U.S. market through health food stores. Now, the seductively ugly shoe is a cultural icon and was valued at about $8.6 billion when the company went public last year. WSJ’s Ben Cohen explores the history of Birkenstock and how it paved the way for the future of women’s feet.

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Further reading: 

Why Americans Are Obsessed With These Ugly Sandals 

A Key to Birkenstock’s Billion Dollar Success? Its Frumpiest Shoe 

A Visual History of Birkenstock’s Rise, From Insoles to IPO 

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How does your doctor know that a drug or procedure will work to treat a condition before they try it? Often, they don’t. Researchers are looking to create “digital twins,” digital versions of individual organs, to see how a patient will respond. Eventually there could be digital twins of entire bodies that are updated in real time with patient data. WSJ’s Alex Ossola speaks with WSJ senior special writer Stephanie Armour about how that might change the way we treat diseases in the future. 

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Further reading: A ‘Digital Twin’ of Your Heart Lets Doctors Test Treatments Before Surgery  

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Ultrasound is known for its use in imaging during pregnancy. But new advancements in the technology suggest that in the future, ultrasound could be used to disrupt the blood-brain barrier. This would allow doctors to more easily diagnose and directly treat illnesses like brain cancer without major surgery. WSJ’s Danny Lewis and Charlotte Gartenberg examine the new ways that ultrasound could be used more specifically and subtly to deliver accurate diagnoses and precise treatments.

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Further reading:

New Ultrasound Therapy Could Help Treat Alzheimer’s, Cancer 

Treatment Breakthrough for an Intractable Brain Cancer 

The ‘Mini Brains’ solving medical mysteries and raising concerns

We Can Now See the Brain Like Never Before 

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A day when people can interact directly with computers using their thoughts could be on the horizon. Several companies, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink, have begun preliminary human trials of brain-computer interfaces - devices that decode the electrical signals in their brain and translate them into digital bits. Neurosurgeon Benjamin Rapoport is a co-founder and chief science officer of Precision Neuroscience, a company working on brain-computer interfaces. He spoke with WSJ’s Danny Lewis about how the technology works and how these implants could improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who could gain the ability to independently engage with the digital world.

Correction: Dr. Benjamin Rapoport is the co-founder of Precision Neuroscience. An earlier version misspelled his name Rapaport. (Corrected on May 3)

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Further reading:

Inside the Operating Room: Doctors Test a Revolutionary Brain-Computer Implant 

Elon Musk’s Neuralink Wants to Make ‘The Matrix’ a Reality. It Has a Lot to Prove First. 

She Didn’t Speak for 18 Years. A Computer Helped Find Her Voice. 

The Devices That Will Read Your Brain—and Enhance It 

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What does the brick and mortar bookstore of the future look like? For Barnes & Noble, it looks more like the indie bookstores they once threatened to put out of business 20 years ago. The company recently redesigned their national chain of over 500 bookstores, shedding the big box personality in favor of a look reminiscent of local bookshops. On this week’s Science of Success, WSJ columnist Ben Cohen speaks to Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt about the look, feel and idea behind Barnes & Noble’s new indie design.

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Further reading:

That Cool New Bookstore? It’s a Barnes & Noble.

New CEO Wants to Make Barnes & Noble Your Local Bookstore

Barnes & Noble’s New Boss Tries to Save the Chain—and Traditional Bookselling 

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Can technology help us design the perfect running shoe that’s stronger, faster and better for the environment? David Allemann, co-founder of On, thinks technology can get us part of the way there, but it’s not the whole story. The performance running shoe and sportswear company is experimenting with computer simulation and bio-based materials to design sneakers to advance both runners and sustainability goals. WSJ men’s fashion columnist Jacob Gallagher speaks with Allemann about the future of running shoe tech and how sneakers might redefine the design cannon. 

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Further reading: 

How On’s Running Sneakers Won Over Tech Bros and High Fashion Alike 

Where Did All the Crazy Sneakers Go? 

This Designer Knows What Sneakers You’ll Be Wearing Next Year 

These Grandpa Sneakers Are Made in America. They’re a Hit Overseas. 

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3D printing isn’t just for hobbyists – it could be central to the future of manufacturing. Companies are turning to this technology to make everything from car and airplane parts to houses faster and cheaper than with traditional techniques. Now, as 3D printing – also known as additive manufacturing – is getting quicker, researchers are testing its limits. WSJ’s Alex Ossola and Danny Lewis take a look at how this tech is building the factory of the future.

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Further reading:

This 3-D Printed Icelandic Fish-Gutting Machine Contains the Secret of a Future, Less-Globalized Economy 

Venture Investors Are Pumping Capital Into 3-D Printing Startups. Here’s Why. 

Energy Companies Turn to 3-D Printing to Bypass Snarled Supply Chains 

3-D Printed Houses Are Sprouting Near Austin as Demand for Homes Grows 

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When Tesla started developing the Cybertruck, CEO Elon Musk tasked the company's chief designer with creating a car that "feels like the future." But did it break the mold on what a pickup truck is? And how will it change truck design in the future? WSJ auto columnist Dan Neil test drove the Cybertruck. He spoke with WSJ’s Charlotte Gartenberg about his take on Tesla’s polarizing vehicle, and what it means for the future of EV design.

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Further reading: 

I Gave Tesla’s Cybertruck a 48-Hour Thrashing. It (Mostly) Survived. 

Tesla Hopes the Cybertruck Design Gives It an Edge 

Tesla Designer: Cybertruck’s Funky Design Gives It an Edge 

How Tesla’s Cybertruck Compares with Other Pickups 

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This year, several high profile incidents have kept flying in the limelight. Yet air travel is currently safer than ever. The biggest U.S. commercial airlines have now gone 15 years without a fatal crash. So, how did hurtling through the sky in a giant metal tube become this safe? WSJ columnist Ben Cohen speaks with former FAA and International Civil Aviation Organization executive William Voss about the voluntary self-reporting programs that made flying the safest form of travel and asks if the airline industry’s safety measures could provide a blueprint for regulation in other fields.

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Further reading: 

Flying in America Has Actually Never Been Safer 

Boeing Tells Airlines to Check 787 Cockpit Seats After Mishap on Latam Flight 

Behind the Alaska Blowout: a Manufacturing Habit Boeing Can’t Break 

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