The Download: cutting AC emissions, and nature’s drug designer

《下载》：减少空调排放，以及大自然的药物设计师

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. 这是今日份的《下载》，我们平日发行的时事通讯，为您提供每日科技世界的动态。

These new solid-state ACs promise a cool future. Scientists aren’t so sure. After three years of record-breaking heat and another scorcher underway, air-conditioning isn’t going anywhere. That’s good for our health, but bad for the planet: it already accounts for 7% of global electricity use and 3% of greenhouse-gas emissions. Feeling the heat, scientists and startups are hoping to amp up solid-state cooling. These systems move heat through conductive materials, which could cool spaces and surfaces with fewer messy side effects. The catch is whether it can match the efficiency of traditional AC. Find out how the unconventional coolers aim to dial down AC emissions. —Sara Kiley Watson 这些新型固态空调承诺了一个凉爽的未来，但科学家们对此并不确定。在经历了三年破纪录的高温，且又一个酷暑来临之际，空调的需求不会消失。这对我们的健康有益，但对地球却很糟糕：它已经占全球电力消耗的 7% 和温室气体排放的 3%。在高温压力下，科学家和初创公司希望加强固态制冷技术。这些系统通过导电材料移动热量，可以在减少副作用的情况下冷却空间和表面。关键在于它能否达到传统空调的效率。了解这些非传统的冷却器如何旨在降低空调排放。——Sara Kiley Watson

This story is from the next edition of our magazine, which is all about engineering. Subscribe now to get a copy when it lands! 本文节选自我们下一期的杂志，该期主题为工程学。立即订阅，即可在出版时收到副本！

Job titles of the future: nature’s drug designer 未来的职位：大自然的药物设计师

In 2018, after nearly two decades working in Big Pharma, chemist Tim Cernak was ready to put his skills to a new use. As a lifelong nature lover, he had become concerned that animals are often treated with human pharmaceuticals that can be harmful or even lethal. He decided to address this with a new approach: “conservation chemistry.” Using AI tools and robots, he’s now rapidly designing and testing drugs for animals. Here’s what it takes to treat nature’s patients. —Anna Gibbs 2018 年，在大型制药公司工作了近二十年后，化学家 Tim Cernak 准备将他的技能用于新的领域。作为一名终身的自然爱好者，他开始担心动物经常被使用可能有害甚至致命的人类药物进行治疗。他决定用一种新方法来解决这个问题：“保护化学”。利用人工智能工具和机器人，他现在正在为动物快速设计和测试药物。了解治疗大自然患者需要做些什么。——Anna Gibbs

The must-reads 必读内容

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 我梳理了互联网，为您找出了今天关于科技最有趣、最重要、最可怕和最引人入胜的故事。

Anthropic has shut down access to its top models after a US directive.
在美国发布指令后，Anthropic 关闭了对其顶级模型的访问权限。
The UK is banning social media for under-16s.
英国将禁止 16 岁以下人群使用社交媒体。
New space data suggests black holes formed before galaxies.
新的太空数据表明黑洞形成于星系之前。
Skepticism around AI layoffs is increasing.
对人工智能裁员的怀疑正在增加。
A coalition of states has opened an investigation into OpenAI.
一个州联盟已对 OpenAI 展开调查。
Tesla has been accused of misleading regulators over “full self-driving.”
特斯拉被指控在“完全自动驾驶”问题上误导监管机构。
NASA’s “quiet supersonic” plane has hit critical new milestones.
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的“安静超音速”飞机达到了关键的新里程碑。
Deepfakes are getting harder to spot—and weirder—in the midterms.
在中期选举中，深度伪造（Deepfakes）变得越来越难以辨别，也越来越离奇。
AI is revealing the secret lives of animals.
人工智能正在揭示动物的秘密生活。
Where did Earth get its oceans? Maybe it made them itself.
地球的海洋从何而来？也许是它自己制造的。

Quote of the day 今日名言

“This action has taken the best models away from defenders, created market uncertainty, and risked America’s AI leadership without any real risk to justify it.” —Cybersecurity leaders urge the Trump administration to reverse restrictions on Anthropic’s most advanced AI models in an open letter. “这一行动剥夺了防御者使用最佳模型的权利，造成了市场不确定性，并危及了美国的 AI 领导地位，而没有任何真正的风险来证明其合理性。”——网络安全领袖在公开信中敦促特朗普政府撤销对 Anthropic 最先进 AI 模型的限制。

One More Thing 更多内容

How scientists want to make you young again 科学家如何让你重返青春

A little over 15 years ago, scientists at Kyoto University made a remarkable discovery. When they added just four proteins to a skin cell and waited about two weeks, some of the cells underwent an unexpected and astounding transformation: they became young again. Now, after more than a decade of developing this cellular reprogramming, biotech companies and research labs have tantalising hints that the process could be the gateway to an unprecedented new technology for human age reversal. Read the full story on their efforts to “reprogram” aging bodies back to youth. —Antonio Regalado 15 年多前，京都大学的科学家们有了一个惊人的发现。当他们在皮肤细胞中加入四种蛋白质并等待约两周后，一些细胞发生了意想不到且令人震惊的转变：它们变年轻了。现在，经过十多年对这种细胞重编程技术的发展，生物技术公司和研究实验室已经看到了诱人的迹象，表明这一过程可能成为人类逆转衰老这一前所未有新技术的门户。阅读关于他们努力将衰老的身体“重编程”回年轻状态的完整报道。——Antonio Regalado

We can still have nice things 我们依然可以拥有美好事物

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. 一个为您带来舒适、乐趣和放松，点亮您一天的地方。

Evolutionary biologists may have figured out why the T-Rex had such tiny arms.
进化生物学家可能已经弄清楚了为什么霸王龙的手臂如此短小。
This beautifully sustainable bento box design is engineered to eliminate single-use takeout waste.
这种美观且可持续的便当盒设计旨在消除一次性外卖垃圾。
Search across 5.8 million museum artworks spanning from 3000 BC to today at The Last Museum.
在“最后的博物馆”（The Last Museum）搜索跨越公元前 3000 年至今的 580 万件博物馆艺术品。
Here’s a sharp cosmic snapshot of Thor’s Helmet, an interstellar gas bubble sitting 15,000 light-years away.
这是一张“雷神之盔”（Thor’s Helmet）的清晰宇宙快照，这是一个位于 15,000 光年之外的星际气泡。