Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump heads to Las Vegas. After the deadliest shooting in US history, the president will pay his respects to the 59 people killed and more than 500 wounded. He is likely to avoid any discussion of gun control.
The winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry is announced. The contenders include researchers who developed lithium-ion batteries, who invented click chemistry, and those who kickstarted the field of biological chemistry.
Google hypes its latest smartphone. The Pixel 2 will be announced, along with smart speakers, a new laptop, a VR headset, and other gadgets.
Monsanto announces earnings. The agrochemical giant reports its fourth-quarter results as it awaits the completion of its $66 billion acquisition of Germany’s Bayer, which is under intense scrutiny by the European Union’s antitrust body. The deal is not expected to close until the beginning of 2018.
While you were sleeping
The Spanish king censured Catalonians. Two days after Catalonia held an independence referendum in favor of breaking away from Spain, King Felipe VI said in a rare televised speech that Catalan independence supporters were undermining Spain’s unity and democracy, as well as the region’s social and economic stability. Catalonia’s president said the region would declare independence in the next few days.
A Russia-linked election ad targeted Michigan and Wisconsin on Facebook. The ads, shown last year ahead of the presidential election, included anti-Muslim messages, CNN reported. Trump won by a margin of less than 1% in both states.
The Las Vegas shooter planned his attack meticulously. Police said that gunman Stephen Paddock set up cameras inside his hotel suite and in the hallway, and also had nearly 50 guns spread over three locations. Investigators also said that Paddock’s girlfriend, who just returned from the Philippines to the US, is a person of interest in the investigation; Paddock had wired $100,000 to the country shortly before the attack.
Uber approved SoftBank’s investment. After a board meeting, the company decided to go ahead with an investment of at least $1 billion from the Japanese tech giant. Uber also decided to increase the number of board seats to 17, including seats for SoftBank representatives, while a new voting policy will curtail founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick’s power.
Quartz obsession interlude
Benjamin Smarr on the Nobel prize winners who researched circadian rhythms. “This re-examination of other scientific fields through the lens of circadian rhythms has heralded the construction of ‘chronotherapy’ in the medicine industry. If a drug is most toxic at a certain time of day, but most effective at another time of day, then timing the dose means you can use a smaller amount of the drug, get more bang for your buck, and have fewer side effects. This has made a big impact in cancer treatment and sleep therapy, for example, but its full potential is still in its early days.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Tesla production / Misses the mark by a mile / Markets: Buy that stock!
Matters of debate
There are too many college majors. Specialized degrees seem like a good thing, but they’re highly restrictive in the labor market.
Google and Facebook need to stop hiding behind their algorithms. When fake news spreads during a crisis, their excuses get old.
Nobel prizes help us know what makes fruit flies tick. Celebrating basic scientific research is crucial, particularly in today’s political climate—groundbreaking discoveries often come from unexpected places.
Surprising discoveries
A Danish oil company is renaming itself after the father of electromagnetism. “Ørsted” is a nod to Dong Energy’s transformation into the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Nature sometimes creates perfectly spherical boulders. “Concretion” turns sediment into spheres over millions or billions of years.
Germany’s far-right party used an ad agency in Texas. Harris Media, a digital advertising firm based in Austin, also worked on campaigns for Ted Cruz and Trump.
Japanese alcohol companies want women to drink more. But efforts to sell pink-themed drinks to women haven’t had much success.
Eating peanuts while breastfeeding can prevent childhood allergies. Exposure can help young immune systems develop a tolerance for certain foods.
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