The Download: biotech’s future and cheaper, cleaner steel

下载：生物技术的未来与更廉价、更清洁的钢铁

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. 这是我们工作日时事通讯《下载》（The Download）的今日版，为您提供每日科技界动态。

Meet the under-35s shaping the future of biotech

认识那些塑造生物技术未来的 35 岁以下青年才俊

Every year, MIT Technology Review puts together our 35 Innovators Under 35, a list of some of the brightest and best young minds working across science and technology. This year’s honorees include nine people transforming biotech, whose work spans everything from lifesaving innovations to groundbreaking longevity tech. Their innovations include a “reprogramming” therapy that reverses vision loss, tiny brain electrodes inspired by Japanese art, and a personalized gene-editing treatment for a baby with a rare genetic disorder. There are even efforts to design new viruses with generative AI, which (hopefully) will produce new drugs or soak up pollution. Get to know the biotech innovators behind these breakthroughs. —Jessica Hamzelou 每年，《麻省理工科技评论》都会评选出“35 岁以下科技创新 35 人”（35 Innovators Under 35），这份榜单汇集了科学与技术领域最聪明、最优秀的年轻头脑。今年的获奖者中包括九位正在改变生物技术领域的人士，他们的工作涵盖了从拯救生命的创新到突破性的长寿技术。他们的创新成果包括一种能逆转视力丧失的“重编程”疗法、受日本艺术启发的小型脑电极，以及为患有罕见遗传病的婴儿提供的个性化基因编辑治疗。甚至还有人尝试利用生成式 AI 设计新型病毒，希望以此生产新药或吸收污染。来认识一下这些突破背后的生物技术创新者吧。——Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday. Biotechnology is one of four categories in our 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2026, featuring young people worldwide doing groundbreaking work in science and technology. Meet the rest of them here, or explore the full list across the AI, computing and robotics, biotechnology, and climate and energy categories. 本文摘自我们的每周生物技术时事通讯《The Checkup》。订阅即可在每周四收到邮件。生物技术是我们 2026 年“35 岁以下科技创新 35 人”榜单的四个类别之一，展示了全球各地在科学和技术领域从事开创性工作的年轻人。点击此处认识其他获奖者，或探索涵盖人工智能、计算与机器人、生物技术以及气候与能源类别的完整榜单。

This founder is making cheaper, cleaner steel

这位创始人正在制造更廉价、更清洁的钢铁

The steel industry isn’t exactly known for innovation. Very little has changed about purifying iron ore since the process was invented and commercialized in the 1850s. But Laureen Meroueh, founder of Hertha Metals, has an idea that could change that. Meroueh may have found a way to clean up steelmaking without driving up the price. Her new furnace turns iron ore into refined liquid steel in a single step and swaps coal for natural gas. Together, those changes slash emissions by at least half, she says, and cut costs by 25% compared with steelmaking as usual. Here’s how she plans to make steel cleaner without making it more expensive. —Bridget Reed Morawski 钢铁行业向来不以创新著称。自 19 世纪 50 年代铁矿石提炼工艺发明并商业化以来，该过程几乎没有什么变化。但 Hertha Metals 的创始人 Laureen Meroueh 有一个想法，可能会改变这一现状。Meroueh 可能找到了一种在不推高价格的情况下实现钢铁生产清洁化的方法。她的新型熔炉只需一步即可将铁矿石转化为精炼液态钢，并用天然气取代了煤炭。她表示，这些改变加在一起，可以将排放量至少减少一半，并比传统炼钢成本降低 25%。以下是她计划如何在不增加成本的前提下实现钢铁清洁生产的方法。——Bridget Reed Morawski

Laureen Meroueh is one of the climate change and energy honorees on our 35 Innovators Under 35 list. Laureen Meroueh 是我们“35 岁以下科技创新 35 人”榜单中气候变化与能源类别的获奖者之一。

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，为您找出了今天最有趣、最重要、最令人恐惧或最引人入胜的科技故事。

Anthropic says it has blocked potential plots to build biological weapons. The company identified five such cases. (NYT $)+ And six cases of using AI to build software for conventional weapons (BBC)+ Governments are also using Claude for surveillance.(Axios)+ While Russia-linked hackers used it to automate attacks on Ukraine. (Quartz)+ The threats were revealed in a new Anthropic report. (Guardian)+ Bill Gates says AI needs new guardrails. (MIT Technology Review)
Anthropic 表示已阻止潜在的生物武器制造阴谋。 该公司识别出了五起此类案例。（《纽约时报》$）+ 以及六起利用 AI 构建常规武器软件的案例（BBC）+ 各国政府也在使用 Claude 进行监控（Axios）+ 而与俄罗斯有关的黑客利用它对乌克兰进行自动化攻击（Quartz）+ 这些威胁在 Anthropic 的一份新报告中被披露（《卫报》）+ 比尔·盖茨表示 AI 需要新的护栏（《麻省理工科技评论》）
California has banned addictive social media features for under-16s. The law prohibits infinite scroll and autoplay. (Guardian)+ It also introduces new rules for AI and companion chatbots. (Reuters $)+ It’s the first law of its kind in the US. (NYT $)+ Social media encourages the worst AI boosterism. (MIT Technology Review)
加州禁止针对 16 岁以下青少年的成瘾性社交媒体功能。 该法律禁止了无限滚动和自动播放功能。（《卫报》）+ 它还为 AI 和陪伴型聊天机器人引入了新规则（路透社 $）+ 这是美国首部此类法律（《纽约时报》$）+ 社交媒体助长了最糟糕的 AI 吹捧（《麻省理工科技评论》）
Two AI researchers have left Anthropic and Google over safety risks. They left a day after Jacob Coxon’s viral departure from Anthropic. (NBC News)+ Elon Musk called their concerns a “setup” and a “psyop.” (Guardian)+ AI fears are pushing Congress toward tougher regulation. (WSJ $)
两名 AI 研究人员因安全风险离开 Anthropic 和 Google。 他们在 Jacob Coxon 从 Anthropic 离职并引发热议的一天后离开。（NBC 新闻）+ 埃隆·马斯克称他们的担忧是“设局”和“心理战”（《卫报》）+ 对 AI 的恐惧正推动国会采取更严格的监管（《华尔街日报》$）
Sam Altman is pitching OpenAI’s cyber defenses to power companies. The meetings followed reports of AI attacks on critical systems. (Politico $)+ Altman also told staff that OpenAI is open to slowing down AI. (Bloomberg $)
萨姆·奥特曼正向电力公司推销 OpenAI 的网络防御系统。 此前有报道称关键系统遭到 AI 攻击。（Politico $）+ 奥特曼还告诉员工，OpenAI 对放慢 AI 开发速度持开放态度（彭博社 $）
After years of fighting AI, music labels are starting to embrace it. Universal is partnering with ElevenLabs on an AI remix platform. (Gizmodo)+ AI is complicating definitions of creativity. (MIT Technology Review)
在抵制 AI 多年后，唱片公司开始拥抱它。 环球音乐正与 ElevenLabs 合作开发 AI 混音平台。（Gizmodo）+ AI 正在使创造力的定义变得复杂（《麻省理工科技评论》）
Chinese drugmakers are challenging US dominance in weight-loss drugs. They’re developing hundreds of GLP-1 treatments for global markets. (WSJ $)
中国药企正在挑战美国在减肥药领域的统治地位。 他们正在为全球市场开发数百种 GLP-1 疗法。（《华尔街日报》$）
Electric air taxis have begun official test flights in Texas. They’re the first flights under the White House’s new pilot program. (Verge)
电动空中出租车已在德克萨斯州开始正式试飞。 这是白宫新试点计划下的首次飞行。（Verge）
Chinese drones are helping to rescue survivors of Nepal’s floods. They’re delivering food and airlifting bodies from flood-hit areas. (Ars Technica)
中国无人机正在协助救援尼泊尔洪水幸存者。 它们正在运送食物并从受灾地区空运遗体。（Ars Technica）
NASA and IBM have built an AI model to map the moon. It could help locate ice and identify safer landing sites. (Register)
NASA 和 IBM 构建了一个 AI 模型来绘制月球地图。 它有助于定位冰层并识别更安全的着陆点。（Register）
One man is on a quest to digitally preserve America’s public restrooms. His Restroom Archive is a museum-style repository of 3D scans. (404 Media)
一名男子致力于以数字方式保存美国的公共厕所。 他的“厕所档案馆”（Restroom Archive）是一个博物馆式的 3D 扫描存储库。（404 Media）

Quote of the day

今日名言

“I didn’t ask Facebook to build a profile of my family—I posted a video of me singing in the car with my kids.” “我并没有要求 Facebook 为我的家庭建立档案——我只是发布了一段我和孩子们在车里唱歌的视频。”

—Kalie Roberts, a travel content creator, says in an Instagram reel that Meta AI used years of Facebook posts to piece together her children’s identities and pinpoint where her family lives. ——旅游内容创作者 Kalie Roberts 在一段 Instagram 短视频中表示，Meta AI 利用她多年来在 Facebook 上发布的帖子，拼凑出了她孩子们的身份，并精确定位了她家人的居住地。

One more thing

还有一件事

Chinese tech workers are starting to train their AI doubles—and pushing back. 中国科技工作者开始训练自己的 AI 替身——并进行反击。

In April, a GitHub project called Colleague Skill struck a nerve by claiming to “distill” a worker’s skills and personality—and replicate them with an AI agent. Though the project was a spoof, it prompted a wave of soul-searching among otherwise enthusiastic early adopters. A number of tech workers told MIT Technology Review that their bosses are already encouraging them to document their workflows for automation via tools like OpenClaw. Many now fear that they are being flattened into code and losing their professional identity. In response, some are fighting back with tools designed to sabotage the automation process. Read the full story on their battle with clone workers. —Caiwei Chen 今年 4 月，一个名为“Colleague Skill”的 GitHub 项目触动了人们的神经，它声称可以“提炼”员工的技能和个性，并用 AI 代理进行复制。尽管该项目是一个恶搞，但它在原本热衷于早期采用技术的群体中引发了一波自我反思。一些科技工作者告诉《麻省理工科技评论》，他们的老板已经鼓励他们通过 OpenClaw 等工具记录工作流程以实现自动化。许多人现在担心自己正被扁平化为代码，并失去职业身份。作为回应，一些人正利用旨在破坏自动化过程的工具进行反击。阅读关于他们与克隆员工斗争的完整报道。——Caiwei Chen

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. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.) 一个提供舒适、乐趣和消遣的地方，让您的一天变得明亮。（有什么想法吗？给我写信。）

Worried about Flock cameras? These guys designed a car to fool them.
担心 Flock 摄像头？这些人设计了一辆车来愚弄它们。
Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera has captured a galactic merger’s dazzling final phase.
韦伯望远镜的近红外相机捕捉到了星系合并令人眼花缭乱的最后阶段。
An exquisitely preserved 66-million-year-old bird feather was found in a fossilised dinosaur dropp
在一块恐龙粪便化石中发现了一根保存完好的 6600 万年前的鸟类羽毛。