Track 17. Teen Brains Post COVID, Synthetic Butter, Apple's Lags

Bullet Train is your express route to the stories, products & concepts shaping our future. No short-term headlines, no fluff—just the innovations transforming the world and our place in it, curated by the team behind the Meco App.

Hi BT readers,

So, I’m getting married next week (super fun, but also kinda busy). I’ll be taking a break for the next two weeks and you may or may not see the team try some different things here on Bullet Train while I’m away (also super fun!). But for now, we’re keeping it to the regularly scheduled programming.

It’s September 10^th , today’s stops include:

• How the COVID pandemic aged kids’ brains 👧 

• Could synthetic butter reduce climate change? 🧈 

• Apple’s latest innovations aren’t what you think 📱 

And don’t miss our #offtherails segment — not so future-focused, just a bit of fun

Weekly coverage of stories shaping the future — brought to you in streamlined bullet points:

How the COVID pandemic aged kids’ brains

• What to know: a study just found that due to social isolation in the pandemic, teen girls experienced accelerated brain aging (cortical thinning) at a much faster rate than teen boys — girls’ brains were 4.2 years older than expected, while boys’ brains were 1.4 years older

• What is cortical thinning: a natural part of maturation where synpases are trimmed and the brain becomes more efficient, and while not necessarily a bad thing it can be associated with brain damage

• Gender differences: beyond the stark difference in “brain age”, girls had thinning in areas of social, emotional, and language processing, while boys only had thinning in visual processing areas

• Broader impacts: some experts are optimistic that this brain aging could have helped younger girls build greater mental resilience, but longterm effects remain uncertain… further indicating that youth and young adult mental health will be a big talking point for a long time

Dive deeper on this story here and read more on the unsettling impacts of COVID on brain health for all ages

Could synthetic butter reduce climate change?

• What to know: Savor, a startup backed by Bill Gates, has developed a dairy-free butter made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen

• Why that matters: butter is typically made from cow’s milk and cows require farmland, livestock feed, and lots of water — so by eliminating the need for cows, this synthetic butter could significantly reduce associated greenhouse gas emissions

• Smooth like butter: the company is still in regulatory approvals but early testers claim it tastes just like the real thing, and it could come to grocery shelves as early as 2025

• Consumer appetite: while dairy-free cheese and meat-free burgers seem like a harder sell for non-vegans, maybe synthetic butter is something we could all adjust to for the sake of climate benefits?

We feel like that last bullet point could be a surprisingly polarizing comment, so give us your take:

A story that drummed up big emotions and bigger opinions

Apple’s latest innovations aren’t what you think

• What to know: following the iPhone 16 event this week the feedback on Apple Intelligence definitely wasn’t ✨glowing✨ and it’s clear Apple is still lagging when it comes to AI

• Siri, are you there: interestingly, there was no mention of Siri-powered functionality that would compete with Gemini Live (Google’s impressive AI assistant you can talk to in real time), signaling the company is still struggling to get it right

• Health innovations: but make no mistake, Apple did unveil some updates that will have major health impacts — as AirPods will now work as medical-grade hearing aids and over-the-counter hearing tests, and the Apple Watch will be able to detect sleep apnea

• Where our minds are going: Apple may be doubling down on health to stay ahead of the competition in one regard, but it’s odd to see them have to partner with Google to deliver on AI — either way, we can’t help but bet they will eventually catch up one way or another…

A bit of fun to round out your ride

• There are 13 million extra single people in the US and it’s been labeled a ‘dating recession’, which is having surprising impacts on the economy

• Remember the hype of the Hyperloop? Well the European Hyperloop Center completed its first successful test this week, sending a capsule through a tube at a blistering 18mph… baby steps!

• AI generated images of Donald Trump are almost too accurate — but why does AI fail so hard at generating images of Kamala Harris?

• Apparently, Elon Musk is projected to become the world’s first trillionaire in less than 3 years — and no, that’s not a prediction from Musk himself, it comes from an external report by Informa Connect

• And lastly, here’s another article we saved to read later this week: He Got Famous at 3. How Does a YouTube Star Grow Up?

Here’s what Bullet Train readers had to say about last week’s poll:

Would you spend more money on tech products if they were guaranteed to last a lifetime? 

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No, it would become obsolete anyway (87.5%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, worth it for sustainability (12.5%)

Please mind the gap as you get off the train ✌️