TBT: "Forever chemicals" are in your popcorn—and your blood

PLUS: The best WIRED stories from this month a year ago. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 10.08.20 Ever wondered why when you pick up a box of your favorite pizza and toss it in your front seat, the grease doesn't saturate through the cardboard onto your upholstery? It's because of something called PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). They keep your burger from sticking to its fast-food wrapper and your salad from turning its fiber-based bowl into a soggy mess. So that's the good. The bad news: Virtually all Americans have these "forever chemicals" in their blood. Read all about the dangers of forever chemicals, plus the best WIRED stories from this month a year ago below.   'Forever Chemicals' Are in Your Popcorn—and Your Blood Food packaging can contain a group of chemicals called PFAS, which have been linked to immune, thyroid, kidney, and reproductive health problems. The Best Stories From This Month, Last Year An AI Pioneer Wants His Algorithms to Understand the 'Why' Deep learning is good at finding patterns in reams of data, but can't explain how they're connected. Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio wants to change that. Stunning Mars Photos Show a Salty Landscape The Mars Curiosity Rover finds evidence of the red planet's wet past. Could an Astronaut Lost in Space Use Gravity to Get Around? With some basic physics, there are several ways to figure it out in real time. Which is good, because you're going to run out of air. All Hail the Blob, the Smart Slime Mold Confounding Science A Parisian zoo has opened an unusual new exhibit: a blob of slime mold with almost 720 sexes. The Tech Helping Dogs Learn to 'Talk' With Humans Using nose-activated vests and touchscreens, our canine pals are being trained to summon help for their handlers—and much more. Welcome to the Age of 'Airbnb for Everything' In the sublet economy, you can turn anything into extra cash: your house, your car, your boat, or your backyard.     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions