{"id":873930,"date":"2025-09-18T21:11:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T02:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/18\/the-download-ai-designed-viruses-and-bad-news-for-the-hydrogen-industry\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T21:11:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T02:11:48","slug":"the-download-ai-designed-viruses-and-bad-news-for-the-hydrogen-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/18\/the-download-ai-designed-viruses-and-bad-news-for-the-hydrogen-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: AI-designed viruses, and bad news for the hydrogen industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: Meta has unveiled its latest smart specs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. Now the same technology can compose a working genome.<\/p>\n

A research team in California says it used AI to propose new genetic codes for viruses\u2014and managed to get several of them to replicate and kill bacteria.<\/p>\n

The work, described in a preprint paper, has the potential to create new treatments and accelerate research into artificially engineered cells. But experts believe it is also an \u201cimpressive first step\u201d toward AI-designed life forms. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Antonio Regalado<\/em><\/p>\n

Clean hydrogen is facing a big reality check<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hydrogen is sometimes held up as a master key for the energy transition. It can be made using several low-emissions methods and could play a role in cleaning up industries ranging from agriculture to aviation to shipping.<\/p>\n

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This moment is a complicated one for the green fuel, though, as a new report from the International Energy Agency lays out. A number of major projects face cancellations and delays. The US in particular is seeing a slowdown after changes to key tax credits and cuts in support for renewable energy.<\/p>\n

Still, there are bright spots for the industry, including in China, and new markets could soon become crucial for growth. Here are three things to know about the state of hydrogen in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review\u2019s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, <\/strong>sign up here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 Meta\u2019s new smart glasses have a tiny screen<\/strong>
Welcome back, Google Glass. (NYT<\/a> $)
+ Mark Zuckerberg says the devices are our best bet at unlocking \u201csuperintelligence.\u201d <\/em>(FT<\/a> $)
+ He\u2019s also refusing to let his metaverse dream die. <\/em>(WP<\/a> $)
+ What\u2019s next for smart glasses. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

2 DeepSeek writes flawed code for groups China disfavors<\/strong>
Researchers found that it produced code with major security weaknesses when told it was for the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong. (WP<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

3 The CDC is a mess
<\/strong>Its advice can no longer be trusted. Here\u2019s where to turn instead. (The Atlantic<\/a> $)
+ Its ousted director claims RFK Jr pressured her to approve vaccine changes. <\/em>(Wired<\/a> $)
+ Why childhood vaccines are a public health success story. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 Google\u2019s gen-AI image model Nano Banana is a global smash hit<\/strong>
Particularly in India. (TechCrunch<\/a>)
+ Nvidia\u2019s Jensen Huang really loves it, too. <\/em>(Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

5 OpenAI has found a way to reduce its models\u2019 scheming<\/strong>
But they weren\u2019t able to eradicate it completely. (ZDNET<\/a>)
+ AI systems are getting better at tricking us. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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6 Inside Texas\u2019 efforts to keep vector-borne diseases at bay
<\/strong>The Arbovirus-Entomology Laboratory analyzes mosquitos, but resources are drying up. (Vox<\/a>)
+ Brazil is fighting dengue with bacteria-infected mosquitos. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 Financial AI advisors are coming
<\/strong>But companies are still cautious about rolling them out at scale. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Warning: ChatGPT\u2019s advice may not necessarily be financially sound. <\/em>(NYT<\/a> $)
+ Your most important customer may be AI. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 China\u2019s flying car market is raring to take off
<\/strong>Hovering taxis above the city of Guangzhou could soon become commonplace. (FT<\/a> $)
+ Eek\u2014a pair of flying cars collided during an airshow earlier this week. <\/em>(CNN<\/a>)
+ These aircraft could change how we fly. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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9 Samsung\u2019s US fridges will soon display ads<\/strong>
Wow, that\u2019s not depressing at all. (The Verge<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10 Online dating is getting even worse ????<\/strong>
And AI is to blame. (NY Mag<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do educators have any real choice here about intentional use of AI when it is just being injected into educational environments without warning, without testing and without consultation?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Eamon Costello, an associate professor at Dublin City University, tells the Washington Post<\/a> why he\u2019s against Google adding a \u2018homework help\u2019 button to its Chrome browser.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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One more thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n
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Your boss is watching<\/strong>Working today\u2014whether in an office, a warehouse, or your car\u2014can mean constant electronic surveillance with little transparency, and potentially with livelihood-\u00adending consequences if your productivity flags.<\/p>\n

But what matters even more than the effects of this ubiquitous monitoring on privacy may be how all that data is shifting the relationships between workers and managers, companies and their workforce. It\u2019s a huge power shift that may require new policies and protections. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Rebecca Ackermann<\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>skeet ’em at me<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em>+ Find yourself feeling sleepy every afternoon? Here\u2019s<\/a> how to fight the post-lunch slump.
+ Life lessons from a London graffiti artist<\/a>.
+ If you\u2019re in need of a laugh, a good comedy<\/a> is a great place to start.
+ Yellowstone\u2019s famous hot springs are under attack\u2014from tourists\u2019 hats<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Rhiannon Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: Meta has unveiled its latest smart specs This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download ,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. Now the same technology can compose a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":873931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[146390,24097,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-873930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai-designed","8":"category-download","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}