The Download: a new hunt for dark matter and Kenya’s case for going solar

《下载》：寻找暗物质的新探索与肯尼亚的太阳能之路

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，为您提供每日科技界动态。

The search for dark matter has been blown wide open. For decades, physicists have hunted for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a leading candidate for dark matter. But their search has run into a new problem: neutrinos. These tiny particles from the sun and other stars can create a “neutrino fog” that drowns out any signal of dark matter. Hitting the neutrino fog does not, however, mean an end to the search. Researchers just have to shift the focus of their hunt. They’re now casting a much wider net. New proposals include quantum sensors, liquid-helium detectors, and even searches in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Find out how the search for dark matter has entered entirely new territory. —Dan Garisto 寻找暗物质的研究领域已被彻底打开。几十年来，物理学家一直在搜寻弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMPs），这是暗物质的主要候选者。但他们的研究遇到了一个新问题：中微子。这些来自太阳和其他恒星的微小粒子会产生一种“中微子雾”，掩盖掉任何暗物质信号。然而，遇到“中微子雾”并不意味着研究的终结。研究人员只需调整搜寻重点。他们现在正撒下更大的网，新方案包括量子传感器、液氦探测器，甚至在木星大气层中进行搜寻。了解暗物质的搜寻工作如何进入了全新的领域。——Dan Garisto

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！

Entrepreneurs in Nairobi are making the case for going solar. Shops with diesel-powered grain mills are common in Nairobi. Milcah Wanjiru’s is different: it runs on either solar energy or the grid. About a quarter of Kenya’s population still lacks centralized electricity, and off-grid solar is being promoted as a route to universal access by 2030. In Wanjiru’s case, it cuts operating costs and can improve profits once the upfront investment is recovered. Read the full story on the rise of solar milling systems across Kenya and beyond. —Geoffrey Kamadi 内罗毕的创业者们正在力推太阳能。在内罗毕，使用柴油驱动的磨坊很常见。但 Milcah Wanjiru 的磨坊与众不同：它既可以使用太阳能，也可以接入电网。肯尼亚约四分之一的人口仍缺乏集中供电，离网太阳能正被推广为 2030 年实现全民用电的途径。对 Wanjiru 而言，这不仅降低了运营成本，在收回前期投资后还能提高利润。阅读关于肯尼亚及其他地区太阳能磨坊系统兴起的完整报道。——Geoffrey Kamadi

Geoengineering still faces major practical challenges —Casey Crownhart 地球工程仍面临重大的现实挑战 ——Casey Crownhart

Solar geoengineering is often portrayed as a sort of emergency brake. Something along the lines of “Pull in case of climate emergency to scatter light-reflecting particles to bounce sunlight out of the atmosphere and cool the planet.” But it might be less like a simple brake the more like a complicated, entirely unsolved puzzle. My colleague James Temple dug into these engineering challenges in his latest feature story. My biggest takeaway? This all looks a lot harder than I thought. Read the full piece to find out why. 太阳能地球工程常被描述为一种“紧急制动器”。大意是：“在气候紧急情况下拉动它，散布反射光的粒子，将阳光反射出大气层以冷却地球。”但它可能不像一个简单的刹车，而更像是一个复杂且完全未解的谜题。我的同事 James Temple 在他最新的专题报道中深入探讨了这些工程挑战。我最大的感触是？这一切看起来比我想象的要困难得多。阅读全文了解原因。

This article is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday. 本文来自《火花》（The Spark），这是我们每周发行的时事通讯，为您提供气候领域的一切内幕。每周三订阅即可在收件箱中接收。

The must-reads: I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 必读内容：我已梳理了互联网，为您找出今天关于科技最有趣、最重要、最可怕和最引人入胜的故事。

The Pentagon says it used Grok in strikes on Iran. Its AI chief said it helped fire over 2,000 munitions. (Le Monde)
五角大楼称在对伊朗的打击中使用了 Grok。其人工智能负责人表示，它协助发射了超过 2,000 枚弹药。（《世界报》）
Apple will raise prices due to the memory chip shortage. Tim Cook said price increases are “unavoidable.” (WSJ)
由于存储芯片短缺，苹果将提高价格。蒂姆·库克表示涨价是“不可避免的”。（《华尔街日报》）
Strikes beyond battlefields are pumping demand for counter-drone tech. The market for airport and infrastructure defenses is booming. (Reuters)
战场之外的袭击推高了对反无人机技术的需求。机场和基础设施防御市场正在蓬勃发展。（路透社）
Anthropic and DeepMind’s CEOs have called for a US-led AI coalition. They want the alliance to shape AI rules and standards. (CNBC)
Anthropic 和 DeepMind 的首席执行官呼吁建立一个由美国领导的人工智能联盟。他们希望该联盟能制定人工智能的规则和标准。（CNBC）
American developers are turning to cheaper Chinese AI. They say DeepSeek is good enough for a fraction of the cost. (Rest of World)
美国开发者正转向更便宜的中国人工智能。他们表示 DeepSeek 的性能足够好，且成本仅为一小部分。（Rest of World）
Two-thirds of Americans think AI is advancing too quickly. Pew Research found increasing use but negative views. (The Verge)
三分之二的美国人认为人工智能发展太快。皮尤研究中心发现，尽管使用率在增加，但人们的看法却很负面。（The Verge）
Elon Musk’s next move may be a megamerger of SpaceX and Tesla. Shareholders might object, but there’s little they could do. (NYT)
埃隆·马斯克的下一步动作可能是 SpaceX 和特斯拉的超级合并。股东们可能会反对，但他们能做的很少。（《纽约时报》）
White House aims for Anthropic to block jailbreaks may be impossible. Security experts say it simply isn’t technically feasible. (Wired)
白宫要求 Anthropic 阻止“越狱”可能是不可能的。安全专家表示，这在技术上根本不可行。（《连线》）
Ancient DNA is rewriting the history of plague. Genomic data suggests it emerged thousands of years earlier. (Economist)
古代 DNA 正在改写瘟疫的历史。基因组数据表明它比预期早出现了数千年。（《经济学人》）
AI image generator Midjourney is shifting to full-body ultrasound scans. It also plans to build a spa in San Francisco. (The Verge)
人工智能图像生成器 Midjourney 正在转向全身超声波扫描。它还计划在旧金山建立一家水疗中心。（The Verge）

Quote of the day: “We had a great meeting with AI.” —President Trump says negotiations with Anthropic over restoring access to the company’s latest AI models are going well, the Wall Street Journal reports. 今日名言：“我们与人工智能进行了一次很棒的会面。”——据《华尔街日报》报道，特朗普总统表示，关于恢复使用 Anthropic 公司最新人工智能模型的谈判进展顺利。

One More Thing: Why can’t tech fix its gender problem? Women remain grossly underrepresented in the technology industry. At the core of the problem is money: tech has generated enormous personal fortunes, and most of that wealth has gone to men. White and Asian men manage 93% of venture dollars. In 2021, only 2% of venture capital funding went to startups founded solely by women. The lack of investor and founder diversity doesn’t only determine who gets rich. It also shapes the kinds of problems technology companies set out to solve. Discover why tech’s gender problem has proved so hard to fix—and why a new generation of activists believes change is finally possible. —Margaret O’Mara 额外一件事：为什么科技界无法解决性别问题？女性在科技行业中的代表性仍然严重不足。问题的核心在于金钱：科技创造了巨大的个人财富，而这些财富大部分流向了男性。白人和亚裔男性管理着 93% 的风险投资资金。2021 年，只有 2% 的风险投资流向了完全由女性创立的初创公司。投资者和创始人的多样性缺失，不仅决定了谁能致富，还决定了科技公司着手解决的问题类型。探索为什么科技界的性别问题如此难以解决，以及为什么新一代活动家认为变革终于成为可能。——Margaret O’Mara

We can still have nice things: A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. 我们依然可以拥有美好事物：一个为您带来舒适、乐趣和消遣，点亮您一天的地方。

Meet one of the world’s most wonderfully weird animals: the aardwolf.
认识世界上最奇妙的动物之一：土狼（Aardwolf）。
Escape into this dreamy, minimalist photo collection about the Pacific surf.
沉浸在这组关于太平洋海浪的梦幻、极简主义摄影集中。
Admire the casual football skills of this Venetian gondolier executing a stylish backheel while on the job.
欣赏这位威尼斯贡多拉船夫在工作中展示的随性而优雅的脚后跟传球技巧。
Explore an interactive prehistoric globe simulation and browse an endless timeline at The Dinosaur Database.
在“恐龙数据库”（The Dinosaur Database）中探索交互式史前地球模拟，并浏览无尽的时间轴。