Alex Knapp
@thealexknapp.bsky.social
Senior Editor covering science and healthcare at Forbes. (he/him)
Got a tip? Hit me up on Signal: thealexknapp.79
"Eppur si muove"
Got a tip? Hit me up on Signal: thealexknapp.79
"Eppur si muove"
Pinned
Alex Knapp
@thealexknapp.bsky.social
· Jul 31
How AI And Mini-Organs Could Replace Testing Drugs On Animals
Congress and the FDA are pushing pharmaceutical companies to replace animals with technology for drug research. That’s a long way off, but startups and industry stalwarts are working to make it happen...
www.forbes.com
My latest - there's been a big push from regulators and legislators to eliminate animal testing during the drug development process. The industry wants this, too. But it's easier said than done.
I took a look at a few of the companies developing technologies that might make it possible one day.
I took a look at a few of the companies developing technologies that might make it possible one day.
Reposted by Alex Knapp
New: A site licensing Trump's name is selling merch with the presidential seal — including a $20 beer-pong set with “Presidential themed balls.”
Federal law says you can’t manufacture or sell likenesses of the seal without authorization.
me, for @forbes.com
1/
Federal law says you can’t manufacture or sell likenesses of the seal without authorization.
me, for @forbes.com
1/
Trump-Licensed Presidential Seal Beer Pong Set Could Violate Federal Law
A site affiliated with Lee Greenwood sells merchandise with the seal—such as a $20 beer pong set with “Presidential themed balls”—and pays licensing fees to a Trump LLC.
www.forbes.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:05 PM
New: A site licensing Trump's name is selling merch with the presidential seal — including a $20 beer-pong set with “Presidential themed balls.”
Federal law says you can’t manufacture or sell likenesses of the seal without authorization.
me, for @forbes.com
1/
Federal law says you can’t manufacture or sell likenesses of the seal without authorization.
me, for @forbes.com
1/
Reposted by Alex Knapp
The Athletic polled hundreds of players from across the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL about their opinions surrounding how sports betting impacts players — the responses were haunting.
November 15, 2025 at 2:12 AM
The Athletic polled hundreds of players from across the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL about their opinions surrounding how sports betting impacts players — the responses were haunting.
Without question:
November 15, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Without question:
As an enthusiastic em-dasher, I really resent that this has come to be a sign of AI-generated copy.
OpenAI says ChatGPT will now ditch em dashes if users tell it to; em dashes have become telltale signs that supposedly signals text written by AI (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 14, 2025 at 10:09 PM
As an enthusiastic em-dasher, I really resent that this has come to be a sign of AI-generated copy.
Newest edition of my emerging tech newsletter, the Prototype, is here. Inside:
🚀 Blue Origin successfully launched a Mars mission for NASA
🤖 A startup that's using AI to teach people new languages
🗳️ Why science says voting is good for you
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...
🚀 Blue Origin successfully launched a Mars mission for NASA
🤖 A startup that's using AI to teach people new languages
🗳️ Why science says voting is good for you
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Launched A NASA Mars Mission
In this week’s edition of The Prototype, we look at Blue Origin’s successful Mars mission, learning new languages from AI, why voting is good for you, and more.
www.forbes.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Newest edition of my emerging tech newsletter, the Prototype, is here. Inside:
🚀 Blue Origin successfully launched a Mars mission for NASA
🤖 A startup that's using AI to teach people new languages
🗳️ Why science says voting is good for you
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...
🚀 Blue Origin successfully launched a Mars mission for NASA
🤖 A startup that's using AI to teach people new languages
🗳️ Why science says voting is good for you
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
More US adults identify with no religion (29%) than with the Catholic Church (19%) or evangelical Protestant denominations (23%).
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
November 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
More US adults identify with no religion (29%) than with the Catholic Church (19%) or evangelical Protestant denominations (23%).
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
Multiple Houston suburbs are sinking fast as a rapidly growing population is creating rising demands for groundwater. Here are the billion-dollar solutions Texas officials are working on to mitigate this mostly irreversible phenomenon.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
November 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Multiple Houston suburbs are sinking fast as a rapidly growing population is creating rising demands for groundwater. Here are the billion-dollar solutions Texas officials are working on to mitigate this mostly irreversible phenomenon.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
First new malaria drug in decades may be approved soon: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
First new type of malaria treatment in decades shows promise against drug resistance
If approved, GanLum could be available within a year and a half, according to maker.
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
First new malaria drug in decades may be approved soon: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Lots of ways to "trick" LLMs into bypassing their safety guardrails: cybernews.com/security/we-...
We tested ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude with adversarial prompts: here are our findings and risks
A Cybernews comparative study probes ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Anthropic Claude using adversarial prompts. Results reveal varied safety gaps, common bypass techniques, and action points for develope...
cybernews.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Lots of ways to "trick" LLMs into bypassing their safety guardrails: cybernews.com/security/we-...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
How you can still make money investing in green(ish) stocks. www.forbes.com/sites/baldwi...
How To Love The Planet And Make Money
The anti-carbon movement is losing steam. That hasn’t stopped Pictet, a large Swiss money manger, from finding clean-energy stocks that pack some power.
www.forbes.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
How you can still make money investing in green(ish) stocks. www.forbes.com/sites/baldwi...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
NewsGuard has identified three instances of X’s AI chatbot Grok confidently — and falsely — stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
Read the full report in Reality Check: www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/xs-grok-cl...
Read the full report in Reality Check: www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/xs-grok-cl...
X’s Grok Claims Trump Won the 2020 Election
NewsGuard identified three instances of Grok confidently — and falsely — stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 election
www.newsguardrealitycheck.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:53 PM
NewsGuard has identified three instances of X’s AI chatbot Grok confidently — and falsely — stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
Read the full report in Reality Check: www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/xs-grok-cl...
Read the full report in Reality Check: www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/xs-grok-cl...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
Foolish curs, that run winking into the mouth of a Russian bear and have their heads crush’d like rotten apples!
November 12, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Foolish curs, that run winking into the mouth of a Russian bear and have their heads crush’d like rotten apples!
Reposted by Alex Knapp
NEW: Trump says America needs more foreign workers.
His company requested a record 184 of them for 2025.
me, for @Forbes
1/
His company requested a record 184 of them for 2025.
me, for @Forbes
1/
Trump Organization Sought Record Number Of Foreign Workers In 2025
Labor Department data show President Donald Trump’s businesses applied to hire at least 184 foreign workers for seasonal jobs at golf courses, a winery and Mar–a-Lago.
www.forbes.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:29 PM
NEW: Trump says America needs more foreign workers.
His company requested a record 184 of them for 2025.
me, for @Forbes
1/
His company requested a record 184 of them for 2025.
me, for @Forbes
1/
Reposted by Alex Knapp
The World’s Youngest Self Made Billionaires Just Slashed These Workers Wages By A Third
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages
Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.
www.forbes.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:19 PM
The World’s Youngest Self Made Billionaires Just Slashed These Workers Wages By A Third
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
AI language learning app Speak has crossed $100 million in annualized revenue. Founded by former Thiel fellows Connor Zwick and Andrew Hsu in 2016, the company is up against better-known rival Duolingo as it enters the U.S. market.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
How AI Language Learning App Speak Is Taking On Duolingo
Founded by former Thiel fellows, AI language tutoring app Speak started its journey in Seoul, South Korea. But as it enters the U.S. market, it’ll have to compete with popular apps like Duolingo.
www.forbes.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:25 PM
AI language learning app Speak has crossed $100 million in annualized revenue. Founded by former Thiel fellows Connor Zwick and Andrew Hsu in 2016, the company is up against better-known rival Duolingo as it enters the U.S. market.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
In this week's edition of InnovationRx, @amyfeldman7.bsky.social and I look at:
💵 The Senate punting on Obamacare subsidies
🧪 Diagnostics company BillionToOne's IPO
🧬 Lilly's deal with MeiraGTx for a gene therapy to treat a form of blindness
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/innova...
💵 The Senate punting on Obamacare subsidies
🧪 Diagnostics company BillionToOne's IPO
🧬 Lilly's deal with MeiraGTx for a gene therapy to treat a form of blindness
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/innova...
Senate Punts On Obamacare Subsidies To End Shutdown
In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at BillionToOne’s IPO, China’s biotech power couple and Lilly’s eye drug deal.
www.forbes.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
In this week's edition of InnovationRx, @amyfeldman7.bsky.social and I look at:
💵 The Senate punting on Obamacare subsidies
🧪 Diagnostics company BillionToOne's IPO
🧬 Lilly's deal with MeiraGTx for a gene therapy to treat a form of blindness
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/innova...
💵 The Senate punting on Obamacare subsidies
🧪 Diagnostics company BillionToOne's IPO
🧬 Lilly's deal with MeiraGTx for a gene therapy to treat a form of blindness
And more!
www.forbes.com/sites/innova...
The aurorae are beautiful.
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 AM
The aurorae are beautiful.
Reposted by Alex Knapp
AI agents are ready to hack your apps now... this time for good.
Agents, built on frontier AI models from the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI, have been fine tuned by this startup to exploit customer applications with “elite, nation-grade offensive capabilities."
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Agents, built on frontier AI models from the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI, have been fine tuned by this startup to exploit customer applications with “elite, nation-grade offensive capabilities."
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
AI Hacking Agent Startup Tenzai Raises $80 Million
Tenzai offers AI agents, built on frontier models from the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, to hack apps and find their weaknesses.
www.forbes.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
AI agents are ready to hack your apps now... this time for good.
Agents, built on frontier AI models from the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI, have been fine tuned by this startup to exploit customer applications with “elite, nation-grade offensive capabilities."
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Agents, built on frontier AI models from the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI, have been fine tuned by this startup to exploit customer applications with “elite, nation-grade offensive capabilities."
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
I am catching up on some
Discourse and would like to firmly state that it is okay to say that Tue Phantom Menace is a bad movie. This should be one of the most uncontroversial takes on Earth.
Discourse and would like to firmly state that it is okay to say that Tue Phantom Menace is a bad movie. This should be one of the most uncontroversial takes on Earth.
November 11, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I am catching up on some
Discourse and would like to firmly state that it is okay to say that Tue Phantom Menace is a bad movie. This should be one of the most uncontroversial takes on Earth.
Discourse and would like to firmly state that it is okay to say that Tue Phantom Menace is a bad movie. This should be one of the most uncontroversial takes on Earth.
Reposted by Alex Knapp
My latest for @hyperallergic.com looks at a late Roman shipwreck (ca. 320 CE) found off the coast of Mallorca with over 300 amphorae. A ton of implications for understanding early Christian trade and of course … garum 🐠 Thanks to @hakimbishara.bsky.social for edits! hyperallergic.com/1056159/near...
Nearly Intact Roman Shipwreck Rests Just Six Feet Beneath Mallorca’s Waters
Discovered in 2019, the 1,700-year-old merchant ship reveals details about early Christian trade.
hyperallergic.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:59 PM
My latest for @hyperallergic.com looks at a late Roman shipwreck (ca. 320 CE) found off the coast of Mallorca with over 300 amphorae. A ton of implications for understanding early Christian trade and of course … garum 🐠 Thanks to @hakimbishara.bsky.social for edits! hyperallergic.com/1056159/near...
An underrated useful thing that AI can do is take text you give it and split it up into defined columns in a spreadsheet in very little time.
This is a thing I do for a wide variety of projects and not having to tediously type and/or paste info line by line is a genuine timesaver.
This is a thing I do for a wide variety of projects and not having to tediously type and/or paste info line by line is a genuine timesaver.
November 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
An underrated useful thing that AI can do is take text you give it and split it up into defined columns in a spreadsheet in very little time.
This is a thing I do for a wide variety of projects and not having to tediously type and/or paste info line by line is a genuine timesaver.
This is a thing I do for a wide variety of projects and not having to tediously type and/or paste info line by line is a genuine timesaver.
Reposted by Alex Knapp
i’m excited to announce that i am hiring (again)!
i am looking for a postdoc in computational astrophysics that’s excited about models of stellar transients and multi-messenger astronomy to join my group (star stuff @ steward) at @uarizona.bsky.social!
apply here ✨💥: aas.org/jobregister/...
i am looking for a postdoc in computational astrophysics that’s excited about models of stellar transients and multi-messenger astronomy to join my group (star stuff @ steward) at @uarizona.bsky.social!
apply here ✨💥: aas.org/jobregister/...
Postdoctoral Research Associate I Computational Stellar Astrophysics (Steward Observatory) | American Astronomical Society
The University of Arizona (U of A) Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory (SO) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate. The successful candidate will work with Professor Ca...
aas.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
i’m excited to announce that i am hiring (again)!
i am looking for a postdoc in computational astrophysics that’s excited about models of stellar transients and multi-messenger astronomy to join my group (star stuff @ steward) at @uarizona.bsky.social!
apply here ✨💥: aas.org/jobregister/...
i am looking for a postdoc in computational astrophysics that’s excited about models of stellar transients and multi-messenger astronomy to join my group (star stuff @ steward) at @uarizona.bsky.social!
apply here ✨💥: aas.org/jobregister/...
Reposted by Alex Knapp
NEW: There's been an exodus of key Tesla engineers this year, including departures of those running its Model Y, 3 & Cybertruck programs. The changes coincide with Elon Musk's pivot to AI-oriented businesses hashtag#tesla hashtag#electricvehicles www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
Tesla’s Engineering Exodus Comes Amid Shift From Core EV Mission
The latest departures, days after shareholders backed Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, follow the loss of top sales, battery, robotics and chip executives this year.
www.forbes.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:27 PM
NEW: There's been an exodus of key Tesla engineers this year, including departures of those running its Model Y, 3 & Cybertruck programs. The changes coincide with Elon Musk's pivot to AI-oriented businesses hashtag#tesla hashtag#electricvehicles www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...