This is an edition of The Future of Everything newsletter, a look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play. If you're not subscribed, sign up here .

The next generation of plush paper towels, toilet paper and diapers could be made with a plant with long, pointy leaves that grows in arid climates.

After scouring the Earth for two decades, Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Scott, Cottonelle, Kleenex and Huggies brands, says hesperaloe could replace wood fiber in paper-based products, Natasha Khan reports. The long, slender fibers from the plant could be used to make products that are both stronger and softer than wood-based equivalents. It could also be cheaper and less environmentally damaging than cutting down trees.

A viable alternative to wood fiber would be a scientific breakthrough that could reshape the consumer-products landscape. Many American shoppers find current alternatives to traditional wood fiber in paper-based products -- mainly bamboo and recycled paper -- too rough.

Kimberly-Clark identified hesperaloe as a top contender among 70 candidates for potential new sources of fiber, including wheat straw, leftover corn, chicken feathers, seaweed and algae. The company, one of the biggest makers of paper-based products in the world, is hopeful that hesperaloe could help them reach their ambition to eventually stop using fibers from natural forests.

More on this topic:

   -- Fund-Raising for Forest Restoration Shows Climate Efforts Alive (Read) 
 
   -- America's Top Logger Bets It Can Make Money Off Small, Crooked Trees 
      (Read) 
 
   -- Kimberly-Clark to Invest $2 Billion in U.S. Manufacturing Sites (Read) 

🤔 Should paper products be made with materials other than wood fiber? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions at future@wsj.com. Include your full name and state, and we might publish your response in a coming edition. (If you're reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply.)

More of What's Next: A Treatment for Narcolepsy; A Breakthrough in Breeding New Avocados; Singles Swap Swiping for Matchmaking Bots

The race is on to come up with the next big sleep drug. The FDA approved the first medication to treat narcolepsy by targeting a brain chemical that regulates wakefulness.

A breakthrough on how avocado trees change sexes could cut years from the breeding cycle. A new study helps explain how the process works -- and could speed up breeders' ability to develop new varieties.

Love in the time of AI: Chatbots are taking over online dating. Some singles are turning to AI-trained matchmakers as they burn out on swiping.

Future Feedback

Last week, we reported on a radical new jet design. Readers shared their thoughts about what passenger jets should look like in the future.

   -- "New passenger jets? Whatever they look like, it needs to be supersonic. 
      And at least Mach 2. We're too damn slow -- let's get on with the high 
      tech that allows high-altitude supersonic speeds -- with current pricing. 
      More people would fly long distances if we greatly shortened travel 
      times." -- Ken Campbell, California 
 
   -- "Painted as birds. Each one different." -- Hal Gordon, Maryland 
 
   -- "I would like to see large passenger airplanes designed to accommodate 
      faster loading, unloading and turnarounds. One option might be to follow 
      the tractor-trailer model used for long-haul trucks. Passengers could 
      board through a double-wide opening at the front of the plane, made 
      possible by the fact that the cockpit is attached after loading. Another 
      option might be a shell-within-a-shell design for the passenger area. The 
      passengers could board inner shells from both ends, and then the shells 
      would be loaded into the plane from the rear, C-130-style." -- Will 
      Turner, California 
 
   -- "It doesn't matter what they look like. It's aerodynamic efficiency that 
      matters." -- John Powell, California 

(Responses have been condensed and edited.)

Elsewhere in the Future

   -- Three factors in midlife can delay the onset of dementia by 13 years. 
      (New Scientist) 
 
   -- The one town that wants a data center. (The Atlantic) 
 
   -- AI conquered coding. Fast food is next. (Wired) 

About Us

Thanks for reading The Future of Everything. We cover the innovation and tech transforming the way we live, work and play. Get in touch with us at future@wsj.com (if you're reading this in your inbox, just hit reply). Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.