The Download: HIV prevention shots, and fixing a broken sex doll

Plus: another wave of US federal worker firings is coming

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.

This annual shot might protect against HIV infections

Every year, my colleagues and I put together a list of what we think are the top 10 breakthrough technologies of that year. When it came to innovations in biotech, there was a clear winner: lenacapavir, a drug that was found to prevent HIV infections in 100% of the women and girls who received it in a clinical trial.

You never hear “100%” in medicine. The trial was the most successful we’ve ever seen for HIV prevention. The drug was safe, too (it’s already approved to treat HIV infections). And it only needed to be injected twice a year to offer full protection.

This week, the results of a small phase I trial for once-yearly lenacapavir injections were announced at a conference in San Francisco. These early “first in human” trials are designed to test the safety of a drug in healthy volunteers. Still, the results are incredibly promising. Read our story to find out why.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.

My sex doll is mad at me: A short story

In the not-too-distant future, we might form intimate relationships with robots. In this short fiction story from the latest edition of our print magazine, writer and artist Leo Herrera imagines what might happen when those robots break. Read the full story and if you aren’t already a subscriber, sign up now to get the next edition of the print magazine. Subscriptions are 25% off today!

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 A second wave of mass US government firings is coming 
More than 100,000 jobs have been cut to date—a figure that’s likely to keep rising. (Reuters)
+ But a judge has demanded the rehiring of thousands of recently fired workers. (NYT $)
+ Meet the archivists resisting DOGE’s data purge. (New Yorker $)
+ Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? It’s complex. (MIT Technology Review)

2 OpenAI has accused DeepSeek of being state-controlled
And it’s recommended the US bans the Chinese company’s models, just in case. (TechCrunch)
+ OpenAI wants to preserve US AI models’ ability to learn from copyrighted material. (CNBC)
+ DeepSeek is uninterested in entering the AI rat race for profits. (FT $)
+ How a top Chinese AI model overcame US sanctions. (MIT Technology Review)

3 NASA and SpaceX will attempt to rescue the astronauts stuck in space tonight
After a mission to send their replacements into space was called off on Wednesday. (WP $)

4 Tech’s biggest companies aren’t fans of Donald Trump’s tariffs
Chinese manufacturer Foxconn, which supplies Apple and Amazon, has been hard hit. (FT $)
+ Meanwhile, Trump has taken aim at the foundation of US climate rules. (Vox)

5 China will start to label AI-generated content online
Following in the footsteps of the EU. (Bloomberg $)
+ The race to find a better way to label AI. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Big Pharma is cautiously investing in mental health again
The industry had previously turned its back on the field, but new treatments are piquing its interest. (WSJ $)

7 Africa is pinning its hopes of reliable electricity on solar grids
Africa is the world’s sunniest continent. Why not harness that energy? (Knowable Magazine)
+ Yes, we have enough materials to power the world with renewable energy. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Meet the Christians of Silicon Valley
When their work leaves them feeling disillusioned, they find hope in their faith. (Wired $)
+ The rise of the tech ethics congregation. (MIT Technology Review)

9 How generative AI’s creations complement the MAGA aesthetic
The pro-Trump internet isn’t especially stylish. (NYT $)

10 How to lose $148 billion in under two months
Just ask Elon Musk. (The Atlantic $)

Quote of the day

“It’s about as good as an intern. Generic and guessable answers.”

—An anonymous US agency worker says they’re not impressed by a chatbot DOGE created in an attempt to automate work previously done by federal employees, Wired reports.

The big story

Inside the quest to map the universe with mysterious bursts of radio energy

May 2024When our universe was less than half as old as it is today, a burst of energy that could cook a sun’s worth of popcorn shot out from somewhere amid a compact group of galaxies. Some 8 billion years later, radio waves from that burst reached Earth and were captured by a sophisticated low-frequency radio telescope in the Australian outback.

The signal, which arrived in June 2022, and lasted for under half a millisecond, is one of a growing class of mysterious radio signals called fast radio bursts. In the last 10 years, astronomers have picked up nearly 5,000 of them. This one was particularly special: nearly double the age of anything previously observed, and three and a half times more energetic.

No one knows what causes fast radio bursts. They flash in a seemingly random and unpredictable pattern from all over the sky. But despite the mystery, these radio waves are starting to prove extraordinarily useful. Read the full story.

—Anna Kramer

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 or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Why is Hollywood so obsessed with twins right now?
+ This octopus contorting its body to fit into a tiny hole is mesmerizing 🐙
+ Did you catch this morning’s blood moon lunar eclipse? Don’t worry if you didn’t—these pictures are pretty amazing.
+ Happy Pi Day to all who celebrate!