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By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageSeptember 8, 2026 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. Introducing our 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2026 What will the next generation of science and technology look like? Our latest Innovators Under 35 list offers a glimpse. Every year, we recognize 35 people from around the world who are doing groundbreaking scientific work and building clever technical fixes for sticky problems. By finding the top young innovators globally and learning what they’re focused on, we aim to give readers a sense of the advances to expect in the years to come. This year’s honorees were selected from 550 nominations, with 44 expert judges helping our editors evaluate the finalists. Each works in one of four categories: biotechnology, AI, computing and robotics, and climate and energy—and has already made clear progress toward their goals.
Meet our 35 Innovators Under 35 shaping the future of science and technology. Welcome to the spiderverse, a world measured through webs Counting the creatures around us is critical for conservation, but it’s often a laborious, costly process that still leaves gaps. Environmental DNA, or eDNA, offers a promising alternative by analyzing genetic material shed by living things. 
Recently, spiderwebs have emerged as an eDNA goldmine, as they trap material from their arachnid creators, their prey, and bio-detritus like saliva and pollen from nearby plants and animals. Studies found no passive tool matched spiderwebs’ ability to ID vertebrates.  Find out how spiderwebs are unlocking better ways to measure nature. —Stephen Ornes This story is from our latest print magazine, which is all about kids. Subscribe now to receive every issue as soon as it lands. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 How a blacklisted Chinese company kept buying Nvidia’s best AI chipsIts US subsidiary shipped them to firms serving China from elsewhere. (NYT $)+ Belgium has arrested a man accused of stealing chip tech for China. (WSJ $)+ IBM’s new chip tech could extend Moore’s Law. (MIT Technology Review) 2 Mistral has raised a European record of $3.5 billion It’s the biggest equity round for a private European tech firm. (CNBC)+ Mistral is betting on open models while US rivals keep theirs closed. (Reuters $)+ It’s also shifting strategy to focus more on AI infrastructure. (NYT $)+ But its pivot to data centers and services has drawn criticism. (Le Monde)

3 Anthropic formalized proof of Fermat’s last theorem in just 11 daysClaude produced a computer-verified 13-million-line proof. (Nature)+ AI is starting to discover new mathematics. (MIT Technology Review) 4 Europe's biggest carriers are in talks to build a Starlink rivalThe consortium would create a satellite-to-mobile venture. (Bloomberg $)+ It includes Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, and Telefonica. (Reuters $) 5 Tech companies are exploring Patagonia for giant AI data centersDue to its cool temperatures, abundant energy, and new reforms. (Reuters $)+ AI data centers are learning to flex their power use. (MIT Technology Review) 6 Australia plans to let users switch off social media algorithmsA proposed law would impose penalties on platforms that refuse. (BBC)+ Social media is distorting AI progress. (MIT Technology Review) 7 A laser experiment could finally reveal the quantum vacuumIt aims to expose the hidden structure of a vacuum. (New Scientist $) 8 Spacecraft are getting a new type of armorNew lightweight materials could protect satellites from debris. (Economist $) 9 NASA's "quiet supersonic" jet is set for acoustic testing this yearThe tests will determine whether it produces a sonic thump, not boom. (Gizmodo) 10 The largest-ever map of space has arrived—and you can play with itThe 5.6-trillion-pixel map covers about three-quarters of the sky. (Wired $)
Quote of the day “The people who have developed AI are very, very smart, but they’re high IQ, stupid people. They’re terrible marketers.”  —Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) tells NBC’s “Meet the Press" that the AI industry has work to do to rebuild momentum among voters.
One more thing We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard. AI’s integration into our lives is the most significant shift in online life in more than a decade. Hundreds of millions of people now regularly turn to chatbots for help with homework, research, coding, or to create images and videos. But what’s powering all of that? To find out, we spoke to two dozen experts, evaluated different AI systems and prompts, pored over hundreds of pages of projections and reports, and questioned top model makers about their plans. The result is an unprecedented comprehensive look at how much energy the AI industry uses. Our analysis reveals what AI’s carbon footprint looks like now and where it’s headed as adoption skyrockets. It also shows that the common understanding of AI’s energy consumption is full of holes. Here’s what we discovered about AI’s energy demands—and what’s coming next. —James O'Donnell and Casey Crownhart We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)+ A long-lost coral reef that “defeated time” has been rediscovered off Benin's coast.+ Cookware captains Le Creuset have launched a stellar limited-edition Star Trek collection.+ An 11–year-old boy has won a Guinness World Record for being the youngest museum curator.+ The trailer for Nathan Fielder’s secrecy-shrouded Elizabeth Holmes documentary just dropped, and I still can't quite believe it’s not a parody. by Thomas MacaulayShareShare story on linkedinShare story on facebookShare story on emailPopularA fundamental flaw leaves LLMs strikingly vulnerable to attackWill Douglas HeavenAnthropic found a hidden space where Claude puzzles over conceptsWill Douglas HeavenSperm donors need limits, says a European fertility groupJessica HamzelouAI is more likely than humans to form biases when hiringMichelle KimDeep DiveThe DownloadThe Download: Claude’s inner workings and OpenAI’s “super app”Plus: OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited "super app."
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageThe Download: Claude’s inner workings, and the future of world modelsPlus: New York has become the first state to enact a data center moratorium.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageThe Download: AI’s self-improvement problem, and what’s driving the heatPlus: OpenAI has paused some model work over safety concerns.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageThe Download: Google’s AI shake-up and Meta’s rogue modelPlus: Meta has become the latest firm to say its AI hacked another company.
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The latest edition of The Download introduced a list of 35 Innovators Under 35 globally, recognizing individuals making groundbreaking scientific work and developing clever technical solutions for complex problems across fields including biotechnology, artificial intelligence, computing and robotics, and climate and energy. This selection was based on 550 nominations and evaluations by 44 expert judges, aiming to provide insight into future technological advances.

The newsletter also highlighted several pressing developments in the technology landscape. In environmental science, environmental DNA (eDNA) is presented as a promising alternative for conservation efforts, utilizing genetic material shed by living things to measure ecosystems, with spiderwebs emerging as an eDNA goldmine for identifying vertebrates.

In the realm of artificial intelligence and advanced mathematics, significant progress is noted, such as Anthropic formalizing a proof of Fermat's Last Theorem in an accelerated timeframe, suggesting that artificial intelligence is beginning to discover new mathematical concepts. Furthermore, discussions touched upon the inherent risks and structure within large language models, including findings regarding how these models are vulnerable to attacks and the tendency for biases to emerge during hiring related to AI systems.

The financial and geopolitical aspects of technology were also covered, including the challenge posed by blacklisted Chinese companies acquiring Nvidia's advanced AI chips and subsequent actions taken by nations attempting to secure critical technology, such as Belgium’s arrest regarding chip tech theft. Meanwhile, major private tech firms are engaged in significant strategic shifts; for instance, Mistral achieved a record equity round of $3.5 billion while pivoting toward open models and focusing more on AI infrastructure, despite facing criticism for this shift.

Infrastructure and space exploration saw parallel developments, including consortiums formed by Europe's largest carriers to develop a rival to Starlink, the exploration of Patagonia for constructing large-scale AI data centers leveraging favorable environmental conditions, and ongoing research into fundamental physics, such as laser experiments aimed at revealing the quantum vacuum structure. Additionally, advancements in materials science were noted through the development of new lightweight armor for spacecraft to mitigate debris damage.

The environmental impact of the burgeoning AI industry was analyzed extensively, with experts examining the full scope of energy consumption by AI systems to understand current carbon footprints and future projections as adoption scales. This analysis revealed that existing understandings of AI energy demands were incomplete, providing a comprehensive look at power usage patterns. The newsletter also touched upon broader industry developments, such as OpenAI's unveiling of a "super app" and ongoing internal conflicts within major entities regarding AI safety, including pausing model work due to safety concerns, and competitive dynamics between companies like Google and Meta in the pursuit of advanced models.