Gene therapy restores hearing

July 4, 2025

👂🏻 Gene therapy restores hearing: I love this. Scientists helped people with lifelong deafness hear for the first time using an experimental treatment. They injected the OTOF gene (needed to send sound signals to the brain) into patients born with a mutation. The outcome? After six months, everyone tested gained some level of hearing. Amazing.

Tags: hearing, love, scientists, sound, treatment

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Charlie Chaplin’s in theaters after 100 years

Charlie Chaplin famously rereleased his 1925 silent classic The Gold Rush in 1942 with new narration and edits, believing it would connect better with modern audiences. Now, thanks to film archivists and AI, the silent masterpiece has been painstakingly restored. The 4K version just premiered at Cannes and hit 250 theaters worldwide.

Organization nation

🇺🇲 Land of the free (from clutter).

🧺 Level up laundry day: These drawstring bags (10% off, two-pack) hold up to three loads. 4.6 stars and 19,000+ reviews.

Need more space? Go vertical. Floating shelves (9% off) show off your things. No more desk clutter.

🛏️ Moving made easy: Zip up your mattress in a bag with handles (14% off). Perfect for college move-ins and outs.

No more hidden messes: You’ll say, “Wow, I didn’t know I had that much room” with these under-sink organizers (33% off).

📁 File under “smart”: A rolling cabinet (15% off) that moonlights as a printer stand? Yes, please.

Sneakerheads, rejoice: Tidy up your kicks with clear organizer boxes (25% off). They’re stackable for tight spaces.

👉 Don’t miss out: If you’re 18-24, Prime for Young Adults gets you all the perks with a $0 trial for six months, then it’s 50% off after that.

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9,000

That’s how many employees Microsoft just let go, to kick off the new fiscal year with vibes. Less than 4% of its workforce but still a pretty loud “happy Q3” to thousands from one of the S&P’s most profitable companies. Microsoft’s cuts span roles, regions and seniority as execs trim middle management and chase “agility.”

📺 Fix your YouTube feed: Seeing stuff you don’t care about on your home page? Tap the three-dot menu next to the video and hit Not interested. Do it regularly, and YouTube will get better at showing you what you actually like.

$737 million

That’s how much Amazon stock Jeff Bezos just cashed out. Fresh off a $50 million Venetian wedding, Bezos is back on the trading floor (well, metaphorically). It’s part of a plan to offload up to 25 million shares by 2026, because what’s a power couple without a little portfolio pruning?

$314 million

That’s what Google now owes Californians for quietly siphoning data from idle Android phones. A jury didn’t buy the “you consented in the fine print” defense. Instead, it ruled that Google ran up users’ cell bills.

126%

That’s how much your Parkinson’s risk jumps if you live within a mile of a golf course. Pesticides might be the culprit. It’s not just the back nine, it’s what’s soaking into the soil. Fore! But actually … run.

$1 billion

How much it can cost to develop a single drug. The MIT-founded startup ASG has a new biosensor that detects proteins in 15 minutes and could replace slow, pricey ELISA tests used in drug development. Faster tests mean cheaper bioprocessing, more efficient manufacturing and a chance for rare disease drugs that usually get shelved for being “not profitable enough.”

$500

That’s the fine for firing up your gas blower in D.C. That means if you leaf-blow your yard and your neighbor’s patience, you’re also blowing $500 per offense. Gas blowers roared onto the scene in the 1970s, and now they’re getting banned (like in California) for being noisy, dirty and possibly harmful. Need an upgrade? This electric blower ($49.49) has great reviews.

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$40 million

That’s how much brands shelled out to plaster their logos on a fictional Formula 1 team in F1: The Movie. Brad Pitt’s race suit is just fire-resistant, fully monetized and stitched up with sponsors like Mercedes, IWC and Expensify. Basically NASCAR meets Paris Fashion Week, and every logo is paying rent.