The Download: a new home under the sea, and cloning pets

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. The first new subsea habitat in 40 years is about to launch Vanguard feels and smells like a new RV. It has long, gray banquettes that convert into bunks, a microwave cleverly hidden…

7 November 2025

Cloning isn’t just for celebrity pets like Tom Brady’s dog

This week, we heard that Tom Brady had his dog cloned. The former quarterback revealed that his Junie is actually a clone of Lua, a pit bull mix that died in 2023. Brady’s announcement follows those of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Barbra Streisand, who also famously cloned their pet dogs. But some believe there…

7 November 2025

The first new subsea habitat in 40 years is about to launch

Vanguard feels and smells like a new RV. It has long, gray banquettes that convert into bunks, a microwave cleverly hidden under a counter, a functional steel sink with a French press and crockery above. A weird little toilet hides behind a curtain. But some clues hint that you can’t just fire up Vanguard’s engine…

7 November 2025

The Download: how doctors fight conspiracy theories, and your AI footprint

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. How conspiracy theories infiltrated the doctor’s office As anyone who has googled their symptoms and convinced themselves that they’ve got a brain tumor will attest, the internet makes it very easy to self-(mis)diagnose…

6 November 2025

Stop worrying about your AI footprint. Look at the big picture instead.

Picture it: I’m minding my business at a party, parked by the snack table (of course). A friend of a friend wanders up, and we strike up a conversation. It quickly turns to work, and upon learning that I’m a climate technology reporter, my new acquaintance says something like: “Should I be using AI? I’ve…

6 November 2025

A new ion-based quantum computer makes error correction simpler

The US- and UK-based company Quantinuum today unveiled Helios, its third-generation quantum computer, which includes expanded computing power and error correction capability.  Like all other existing quantum computers, Helios is not powerful enough to execute the industry’s dream money-making algorithms, such as those that would be useful for materials discovery or financial modeling. But Quantinuum’s…

5 November 2025

The Download: the solar geoengineering race, and future gazing with the The Simpsons

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. Why the for-profit race into solar geoengineering is bad for science and public trust —David Keith is the professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago and Daniele Visioni is an assistant…

5 November 2025

From vibe coding to context engineering: 2025 in software development

This year, we’ve seen a real-time experiment playing out across the technology industry, one in which AI’s software engineering capabilities have been put to the test against human technologists. And although 2025 may have started with AI looking strong, the transition from vibe coding to what’s being termed context engineering shows that while the work…

5 November 2025

Why the for-profit race into solar geoengineering is bad for science and public trust

Last week, an American-Israeli company that claims it’s developed proprietary technology to cool the planet announced it had raised $60 million, by far the largest known venture capital round to date for a solar geoengineering startup. The company, Stardust, says the funding will enable it to develop a system that could be deployed by the…

4 November 2025

The Download: the AGI myth, and US/China AI competition

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. How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time —Will Douglas Heaven, senior AI editor  Are you feeling it? I hear it’s close: two years, five years—maybe next year! And I…

4 November 2025