The Download: AI headphone translation, and the link between microbes and our behavior

What’s new: Imagine going for dinner with a group of friends who switch in and out of different languages you don’t speak, but still being able to understand what they’re saying. This scenario is the inspiration for a new AI headphone system that translates the speech of multiple speakers simultaneously, in real time. How it works: The system tracks the direction and vocal characteristics of each speaker, helping the person wearing the headphones to identify who is saying what in a group setting. Read the full story. —Rhiannon Williams Your gut microbes might encourage criminal behavior A few years ago, a Belgian man in his 30s drove into a lamppost. Twice. Local authorities found that his blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit. Over the space of a few years, the man was apprehended for drunk driving three times. And on all three occasions, he insisted he hadn’t been drinking. He was telling the truth. A doctor later diagnosed auto-brewery syndrome—a rare condition in ... Read full article.