The Download: robot-packed meals, and the looming fertility crisis

What’s happening: Advances in artificial intelligence are coming to your freezer, in the form of robot-assembled prepared meals. Chef Robotics, a San Francisco-based startup, has launched a system of AI-powered robotic arms that can be quickly programmed with a recipe to dole out accurate portions of everything from tikka masala to pesto tortellini. 

Why it matters: You might think the meals that end up in the grocery store’s frozen aisle or on airplanes are robot-packed already, but that’s rarely the case. The vast majority of meals from recognizable brands are still typically hand-packed, because workers are often much more flexible than robots and can handle production lines that frequently rotate recipes. However, advancements from AI have changed the calculus, making robots more useful on production lines. Read the full story.

—James O’Donnell

IVF alone can’t save us from a looming fertility crisis

There are over 8 billion of us on the planet, and there’ll probably be 8.5 billion of us by 2030. We’re continually warned about the perils of overpopulation and the impact we humans are having on our planet. So it seems a bit counterintuitive to worry that, actually, we’re not reproducing enough.

But plenty of scientists are incredibly worried about just that. Improvements in health care and sanitation are helping us all lead longer lives. But we’re not having enough children to support us as we age. Fertility rates are falling in almost every country.

But wait! We have technologies to solve this problem! IVF is helping to bring more children into the world than ever, and it can help compensate for the fertility problems faced by older parents! Unfortunately, things aren’t quite so simple. Read the full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou