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Jess Hamzelou

@jesshamzelou.bsky.social
1K followers 264 following 32 posts

Senior reporter at MIT Technology Review. Previously at New Scientist. Knight Science Journalism fellow '24. Health, biomed and biotech. She/her. Signal: jess_hamzelou.01

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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This vital and devastating investigation by my brilliant colleagues @eileenguo.bsky.social and @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social is an absolute must-read. The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can't it catch people before they die? www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1...
technologyreview.com
The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?
Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.
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Eileen Guo @eileenguo.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
W/ith @giselilla.bsky.social + @cargocultscientist.bsky.social, I delved into the origins of the “censorship-industrial complex” idea, how it went from the fringes of the online right to a driver of Trump2 policy, + what it means for the Internet. www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...
technologyreview.com
How ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policy
Narratives about a “censorship-industrial complex” spread in right-wing circles for years; then they took hold of Washington. What—and who—is behind them?
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Niall Firth @niallfirth.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I had a pretty intense experience deep beneath the North Sea, which I wrote about here for @technologyreview.com's new Engineering issue. Involves explosions, Norwegians and darkness. www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/22/1...
technologyreview.com
Inside the world’s deepest and longest subsea road tunnel
Norway’s Rogfast is an exceptional engineering feat, opening a route for drivers deep below the North Sea. We went down to see it.
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Michelle Kim @michelletomkim.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
I'll be reporting on the Musk v. Altman trial at the Oakland courthouse for @technologyreview.com. I'm a lawyer who clerked for a federal judge in California, so follow me to unpack what's really happening in the courtroom! www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/27/1...
technologyreview.com
Elon Musk and Sam Altman are going to court over OpenAI’s future
Elon Musk says he’s suing to save the company’s mission. The case could have huge consequences for OpenAI and the AI race.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Scoop for the weekend: Scientists have managed to keep a human uterus alive outside of the body for a day - a first. They want to learn more about the very first stages of pregnancy... and potentially gestate a human. www.technologyreview.com/2026/03/28/1...
technologyreview.com
A woman’s uterus has been kept alive outside the body for the first time
The team behind the feat plan to study uterine disorders and the early stages of pregnancy—and potentially grow a human fetus.
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James O'Donnell @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
A scoop: DHS is using AI video generators from Google and Adobe to make content shared with the public. It comes as workers in tech have put pressure on their employers to denounce the agency's activities. www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/29/1...
technologyreview.com
DHS is using Google and Adobe AI to make videos
Immigration agencies have been flooding social media with bizarre, seemingly AI-generated content. We now know more about what might be making it.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
There's a group of people who believe death is humanity's core problem. Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who want to spark a longevity revolution. "Without a revolution, we're as good as dead," cofounder Adam Gries told me. www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/29/1...
technologyreview.com
Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who believe death is “wrong”
They argue we need a revolution—and more and more influential scientists, funders, and politicians are taking them seriously.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
The Washington Post reports that Jim O'Neill will replace Susan Monarez as head of the CDC. O'Neill is a longevity enthusiast who has supported deregulation of drugs and the idea of creating new jurisdictions at sea. Here's my recent profile: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/30/1...
technologyreview.com
Meet Jim O’Neill, the longevity enthusiast who is now RFK Jr.’s right-hand man
The newest addition to Trump’s health agency wants to create new cities in the sea, extend human lifespan, and Make America Healthy Again.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
The world's "oldest baby" has just been born: a big welcome to the world to baby Thaddeus, who developed from an embryo that was in storage for 30 and a half years www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/29/1...
technologyreview.com
Exclusive: A record-breaking baby has been born from an embryo that’s over 30 years old
The embryos were created in 1994, while the expectant father was still a toddler, and donated via a Christian “embryo adoption” agency.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
I'm thrilled to be a finalist for the NIHCM trade journalism award alongside so many amazing reporters whose work I really admire (hi @kakape.bsky.social and @jaredwhitlock.bsky.social !) Thank you NIHCM! nihcm.org/awards/trade...
nihcm.org
Trade Journalism Award Finalists
Recognizing excellence in writing for a specialized audience
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Montana just passed a bill that will allow clinics to sell experimental medical treatments www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/14/1...
technologyreview.com
The first US hub for experimental medical treatments is coming
Montana just passed a new bill backed by longevity enthusiasts that will enable access to drugs and therapies that are not approved by the FDA.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
I met with Bryan Johnson recently. He told me about his plans to start a new religion where "the body is God" (and how it stems from his fears of an AI "event horizon") www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/05/1...
technologyreview.com
Bryan Johnson wants to start a new religion in which “the body is God”
The multimillionaire longevity influencer thinks his new faith could save humanity from superintelligent AI.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
When Joyce Esser, who has motor neuron disease, used her AI voice clone to tell her husband to "get his arse in gear," she was temporarily banned from using it. Should tech companies be screening or limiting what people like Joyce can say? www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/14/1...
technologyreview.com
A woman made her AI voice clone say “arse.” Then she got banned.
People with motor neuron disease should be allowed to say whatever they want, including “arse” and “knickers.”
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Motor neuron diseases can rob people of their voices. But AI is bringing them back. AI voice clones are helping people with MND communicate, and hear their old voices again. www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/13/1...
technologyreview.com
Motor neuron diseases took their voices. AI is bringing them back.
AI-generated voice clones are bringing back the voices of people with MND, allowing some to communicate, connect, and even perform comedy routines.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Humanlike "teeth" have been grown in mini pigs Researchers mixed human and pig tooth cells and grew them in the lab, then implanted them into the jaws of living mini pigs. They formed little bioengineered teeth! Goal is to make replacement teeth for ppl www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/06/1...
technologyreview.com
Humanlike “teeth” have been grown in mini pigs
The toothlike structures represent a step toward bioengineered replacements for dental implants, say researchers behind the work.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Scientists! Health professionals! If you and/or important research/programs are being affected by executive orders, memos and directives being issued under the new administration, please get in touch. You can reach me securely via Signal at jess_hamzelou.01
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
We're creating more IVF embryos than ever, and millions of them are ending up frozen in suspended animation for years or decades. Some will be used to start pregnancies, or donated for research. But many of them will be stuck in limbo. Indefinitely. www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/13/1...
technologyreview.com
Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos
Frozen embryos are filling storage banks around the world. It's a struggle to know what to do with them.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Bird flu presents a "high threat with indeterminate risk," according to a public health specialist I spoke to this week. Flu viruses have a pretty horrific track record when it comes to pandemics. In the US, H5N1 is spreading through dairy cows, there have been 66 cases confirmed in people...
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ABSW @absw.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
#ABSWawards 🎯 News Item of the Year For a single news item published or broadcast in any medium. Examples include breaking news stories and first in-depth reports. Enter now! 🔗 zurl.co/mcWto @jesshamzelou.bsky.social
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Engineers can make computer models of your organs, and some doctors are already using them to decide which bits of people's hearts to burn off in surgery(!) Everything you wanted to know about digital twins (the health ones!) here: www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/19/1...
technologyreview.com
Digital twins of human organs are here. They’re set to transform medical treatment.
The models can be used to plan surgeries and in the future could be used to help trial new drugs.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Wow TIL this is what a mouse uterus looks like
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Allison Arieff @aarieff.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Nominate someone to our 2025 list of Innovators Under 35 Every year, MIT Technology Review recognizes 35 young innovators who are doing pioneering work across a range of technical fields including biotechnology, materials science, AI, computing+more. 35innovators.secure-platform.com/a
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Bird flu is still spreading in the US. The virus is in 675 cattle herds (that we know of), and is showing up in dairy produce. There are 55 reported cases in people so far. And we still don't even know how the virus is spreading. It's not looking great... www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/29/1...
technologyreview.com
The risk of a bird flu pandemic is rising
Human cases in the US are on the rise and the virus is turning up in cows and dairy products. Luckily, we have some vaccines ready to go if needed.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
It's ten years since the first birth following a uterus transplant. But since then, only around 135 transplants been performed. It's still a new procedure, and uteruses are a scarce resource. So who should get one? www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/22/1...
technologyreview.com
Who should get a uterus transplant? Experts aren’t sure.
Around 135 transplants have been performed, but it's probably too soon to offer the procedure to trans women.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Fascinating piece by the brilliant @eileenguo.bsky.social about Clear, a company that is helping people in the US skip airport queues but wants to expand into other areas of daily life... in exchange for your face www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/20/1...
technologyreview.com
Inside Clear’s ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport
The company that has helped millions of people cut security lines wants to give you a frictionless future—in exchange for your face.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
So I watched The Substance last week and feel pretty confident some of those images will be burned into my mind forever. It got me thinking about the impacts of problematic thinking about women. Especially the use of the term "women of childbearing age" www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/15/1... 🧪
technologyreview.com
Why the term “women of childbearing age” is problematic
New movie The Substance showcases how women are thought about in terms of youth and fertility. That idea makes for bad research and health guidance.
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