The Download: faking blood and the future of batteries

本文为原文前 6,000 字符的节选翻译，完整内容请查看原文。

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》（The Download），我们平日发行的时事通讯，为您提供每日科技界动态。

The US military’s race to make fake blood. In February 2007, a US military helicopter carrying blood to a field hospital was shot down in Iraq, killing all seven crew members. The mission was a reminder of the risks of transporting blood, which has a limited shelf life and is often in short supply. Now, a $73 million DARPA effort aims to create shelf-stable versions of plasma, platelets, and red blood cells. The idea is to develop dried blood products that can be stored for long periods and deployed quickly on the battlefield. The project aims to have bags of dried blood products deployed in the field by 2029. But getting it all done will be tough, and researchers still have major questions about the safety and effectiveness of synthetic alternatives. Discover how the military hopes to make blood last longer. —Andrew Rosenblum

美国军方竞相制造人造血。2007年2月，一架向野战医院运送血液的美国军用直升机在伊拉克被击落，机上七名机组人员全部遇难。这次任务提醒人们运输血液的风险，因为血液保质期有限且经常供应不足。目前，美国国防高级研究计划局（DARPA）投入7300万美元，旨在研发血浆、血小板和红细胞的常温保存版本。其构想是开发出可长期储存并能迅速部署到战场的干燥血液制品。该项目目标是在2029年前将袋装干燥血液制品投入实地使用。但实现这一目标困难重重，研究人员对合成替代品的安全性和有效性仍存重大疑问。了解军方如何希望延长血液的保存时间。——安德鲁·罗森布鲁姆（Andrew Rosenblum）

This story is from the next issue of our print magazine. Subscribe now to get your hands on a copy as soon as it lands on Wednesday, October 21!

这篇报道来自我们下一期的印刷版杂志。立即订阅，即可在10月21日（周三）杂志出版时第一时间拿到手！

10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch: WeLion New Energy and its semi-solid-state batteries. WeLion New Energy is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch 2026, available exclusively to subscribers. WeLion New Energy is on a quest to make safer, better batteries. The Chinese company’s liquid-solid hybrid cells aim to pack more power into electric cars, boats and drones, potentially improving safety and offering greater energy density than lithium-ion batteries. In 2023, WeLion released a battery pack with EV-maker Nio that offered a range of over 1,000 kilometers. Now, the company is developing batteries with even higher energy density. But scaling up production and competing on cost remain major challenges. Explore WeLion’s push to make safer, higher-capacity batteries. —You Xiaoying

值得关注的10家气候科技公司：卫蓝新能源及其半固态电池。卫蓝新能源入选了《麻省理工科技评论》“2026年值得关注的10家气候科技公司”榜单，该榜单仅供订阅用户查看。卫蓝新能源致力于制造更安全、更优质的电池。这家中国公司的液固混合电池旨在为电动汽车、船只和无人机提供更强动力，在提高安全性的同时，提供比锂离子电池更高的能量密度。2023年，卫蓝与电动汽车制造商蔚来汽车合作发布了一款续航里程超过1000公里的电池包。目前，该公司正在开发能量密度更高的电池。但扩大生产规模和成本竞争仍是主要挑战。探索卫蓝在制造更安全、更高容量电池方面的努力。——游晓颖（You Xiaoying）

Subscribers can now access the full 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch, spanning everything from geothermal power plants to carbon dioxide batteries. MIT Technology Review Narrated: Weight-loss drugs show signs of slowing biological aging, say drugmakers. Popular weight-loss drugs may do more than help people shed pounds. They might also slow the aging process. Drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk say patients taking their GLP-1 drugs age less quickly, according to molecular “aging clocks” that track changes in DNA or levels of key proteins. The findings add to speculation that GLP-1 drugs could be acting on basic causes of aging and might be true longevity treatments. But how much can we read into these results? This is our latest story to become an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

订阅用户现在可以访问完整的“值得关注的10家气候科技公司”榜单，涵盖从地热发电厂到二氧化碳电池等各个领域。《麻省理工科技评论》播客：制药商称减肥药显示出减缓生物衰老的迹象。流行的减肥药可能不仅仅能帮助人们减重，它们或许还能减缓衰老过程。礼来公司（Eli Lilly）和诺和诺德（Novo Nordisk）表示，根据追踪DNA变化或关键蛋白质水平的分子“衰老时钟”，服用其GLP-1药物的患者衰老速度较慢。这些发现引发了人们的猜测，即GLP-1药物可能作用于衰老的基本成因，并可能成为真正的长寿疗法。但我们该如何解读这些结果呢？这是我们最新一期《麻省理工科技评论》播客的故事，我们每周在Spotify和Apple Podcasts上发布。只需在任一平台搜索“MIT Technology Review Narrated”并关注我们，即可在第一时间获取我们的最新内容。

The must-reads: I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1. The FBI has arrested an OpenAI engineer accused of snooping. A Saudi national is accused of planting a covert recording device. 2. Ukrainian drones have hit Russia’s largest data centre. But Sberbank claims its systems and services were not disrupted. 3. Weight-loss drugs are being tweaked to treat brain disorders. New GLP-1 trials are targeting addiction and depression. 4. Tesla robotaxis have been accused of speeding in school zones. US regulators are reviewing the claims. 5. US defense startups are turning to Taiwan to build China-free drones. At least 13 joint agreements have been signed since 2025. 6. A war game exposed the risks of a solar geoengineering arms race. Participants feuded over rules for dimming the sun. 7. AI company Character.ai has filed for bankruptcy. It’s been accused of stealing content and harming kids. 8. Apple has a new smart-home lineup built around a revamped Siri. HomeView pairs a 7-inch screen with face recognition. 9. Scientists have identified a new dinosaur in a century-old fossil. Invictibellatrix amberina may be Europe’s first megaraptoran. 10. SpaceX’s latest launch lit up the skies with a “space jellyfish.” Rocket exhaust expanded into tentacles high in the atmosphere.

必读内容：我已梳理互联网，为您找出今天关于科技最有趣/重要/可怕/迷人的故事。1. FBI逮捕了一名被控窥探的OpenAI工程师。一名沙特公民被控安装了隐蔽录音设备。2. 乌克兰无人机袭击了俄罗斯最大的数据中心。但俄罗斯联邦储蓄银行（Sberbank）声称其系统和服务未受干扰。3. 减肥药正被改良用于治疗脑部疾病。新的GLP-1试验正针对成瘾和抑郁症。4. 特斯拉自动驾驶出租车被指在学校区域超速。美国监管机构正在审查这些指控。5. 美国国防初创公司转向台湾以制造“去中国化”无人机。自2025年以来，双方已签署至少13项联合协议。6. 一场兵棋推演暴露了太阳地球工程军备竞赛的风险。参与者就遮蔽太阳的规则发生了争执。7. AI公司Character.ai已申请破产。该公司被指控窃取内容并伤害儿童。8. 苹果推出了一系列围绕升级版Siri构建的新型智能家居产品。HomeView将7英寸屏幕与人脸识别相结合。9. 科学家在一块百年化石中鉴定出一种新恐龙。Invictibellatrix amberina可能是欧洲首个大盗龙类恐龙。10. SpaceX的最新发射以“太空水母”照亮了天空。火箭尾气在高层大气中扩散成触手状。

Quote of the day: “It is like a thumb on the scale that we haven’t really ever seen.” —Danielle Citron, a University of Virginia law professor, tells The Washington Post that Elon Musk’s ability to amplify conspiracy theories on X could give misinformation an unprecedented influence in the midterms.

今日名言：“这就像是我们从未见过的天平上的砝码。”——弗吉尼亚大学法学教授丹妮尔·西特伦（Danielle Citron）告诉《华盛顿邮报》，埃隆·马斯克在X平台上放大阴谋论的能力，可能会使虚假信息在中期选举中产生前所未有的影响。

One more thing: Is the Pentagon allowed to surveil Americans with AI? The ongoing public feud between the Department of Defense and the AI company Anthropic has raised a deep and still unanswered question: Does the law actually allow the US government to conduct mass surveillance on?

最后一件事：五角大楼被允许使用人工智能监视美国人吗？美国国防部与人工智能公司Anthropic之间持续的公开争执提出了一个深刻且尚未解决的问题：法律是否真的允许美国政府进行大规模监视？