The Download: Potential new covid treatments, and the crypto crash

Covid-19 is far more likely to kill you if you’re old. The reason is that older people’s immune systems are less able to deal with infections and recover from them. Why not try drugs that can make our bodies look young again? Scientists are currently testing drugs that reverse the effects of ageing on the body, boost the immune system, and remove old, damaged cells in an effort to treat the disease.

Although the term “anti-aging,” is often avoided by scientists due to its connotations as a snake oil term, these drugs target the biology of aging. It makes sense to use them to aid older people in fighting off any infection. Covid is the most urgent because it continues to kill and hospitalize people, even in countries with high immunity.

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Crypto’s meltdown has sent regulators into overdrive
But it might be too little and too late at this stage. (WSJ $)
MiamiCoin crypto lost 95% of its value after the state’s mayor endorsed it. (Quartz)
Crypto scammers are tricking even practiced crypto holders. (NBC)

2 China is facing another deadly flood season
Climate change is causing heavy rains, leaving cities with little time to prepare. (Bloomberg $)
Sponge cities work with water, rather than trying to control it. (TR)

3 Elon Musk says the Twitter deal has reached an impasse
He says he won’t buy the company unless it can prove that bots account for less than 5% of its accounts. (FT $)
Musk hasn’t offered any insight into how he’d moderate the Buffalo shooting video. (The Verge)

4 The golden age of startups is over
Investors are becoming much pickier, which could lead to many companies going bust. (WSJ $)
And it looks like things are only going to get worse. (FT $)
Zoom is worth less now than it was pre-pandemic. (Quartz)
Co-working spaces are doing well though. (NYT $)

5 Covid is getting really good at re-infecting us
People who caught the original omicron variant are reporting second infections with newer versions. (NYT $)
North Korea saysmore than a million people are ill with “fever.” (BBC)

6 Abortion pills will play a major role in a post-Roe world
It’s unclear how pills shipped across state lines would be policed. (Wired $)
Activists are helping Texans get access to abortion pills online. (TR)

7 Virtual reality poker rooms are drawing in kids
Experts are concerned the immersive gameplay could make it even more addictive. (Bloomberg $)

8 It’s getting harder to protect CEOs from online harassment
Security specialists with political expertise are advising them on how to minimize threats. (FT $)
Geofencing tech knows where we’ve been, but using it in police investigations isn’t simple. (Slate $)

9 Lots of TikTok users are claiming they have synesthesia
But many synesthetes found it hard to convince others they had it in the first place. (Wired $)