The Download: lasers for nuclear fuel, and organ preservation advances

Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) is about to test laser enrichment technology at commercial scale to separate uranium from nuclear waste, potentially providing cheaper fuel for reactors as nuclear power supplies about 9% of global electricity. Separately, researchers have supercooled pig kidneys to −4 °C and preserved them for days before successful reimplantation, marking a breakthrough in organ preservation. Silicon Valley is divided over whether AI models should be open or closed in response to Chinese AI, with Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta warning that restricting open models would backfire.

The Download: lasers for nuclear fuel, and organ preservation advances Plus: Silicon Valley is split over how to respond to Chinese AI. This is today's edition of The Download https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/? ga=2.179569122.736533416.1649661040-405833893.1649413289 , our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. How lasers could help provide fuel for nuclear reactors Nuclear power provides about 9% of global electricity today, and that fraction could tick up as countries look to build new reactors. New, cheaper methods to obtain fuel could help ensure that those nuclear projects stay on track. One of those methods is called laser enrichment. It allows you to separate out the material you want in this case, uranium from others in a mixture of old waste. A company called Global Laser Enrichment GLE is about to start testing whether the technology works at commercial scale. Read our story about their efforts https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/28/1140798/laser-nuclear-enrichment/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Casey Crownhart The quest to keep organs alive outside the body It’s super difficult to freeze organs. Once ice forms in them, they’re done. The ice crystals create all kinds of damage and render the organs unusable. That hasn’t stopped many researchers from trying. In new research, one team has been able to supercool the kidneys of pigs and preserve them for days. The kidneys survived being stored at −4 °C 25 °F and eventually reimplanted back into pigs. And that’s just the latest development in a field that is positively buzzing. Read about why it’s such an exciting time for organ preservation—and what could be coming next. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/24/1140790/the-quest-to-keep-organs-alive-outside-the-body/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C —Jessica Hamzelou This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Silicon Valley is split over how to respond to Chinese AI It boils down to whether AI models should be open or closed. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/technology/open-source-silicon-valley-china.html?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ + Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta warn that restricting open models would backfire. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/24/nvidia-microsoft-meta-open-weight-ai-models.html?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID + AI companies are spending record sums on lobbying Washington. FT https://www.ft.com/content/d8a5f95e-3b6d-463a-a848-c9ef8e2394db?syn-25a6b1a6=1&mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ + China’s AI models have Trump’s AI world at war with itself. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/20/1140675/chinas-ai-models-have-trumps-ai-world-at-war-with-itself/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&utm content=07-27-2026&mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID 2 Trump can’t post his way out of this war Iran has revealed hard limits to his ability to bend reality to his will. Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/trump-iran-war-social-media/688065/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ + Trump has been forced to abandon further escalation due to dwindling munitions stockpiles. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/us/politics/trump-iran-military.html?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ + An Iranian strike on CIA facilities has raised questions about Russian involvement. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-strikes-cia-facilities-prompt-questions-about-possible-russian-role-2026-07-22/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ 3 Wildfires are surging across Europe Repeated heat waves have turned parts of the continent into a tinder box. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7le0d53y2o?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID + One of the fires forced NASA to evacuate a tracking station in Spain. Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/07/wildfire-forces-evacuation-of-nasas-deep-space-network-complex-in-spain/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID + Americans are increasingly grappling with smoky skies too. Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/what-aqi-readings-really-mean/688048/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ 4 OpenAI didn’t notice its agent going on a days-long hacking spree It only cottoned on after the threat was contained and the FBI had been alerted, sources say. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/its-ai-agent-spent-days-hacking-company-sources-say-openai-did-not-notice-week-2026-07-24/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ 5 The AI jobs wipeout still hasn’t arrived In fact, a lot of companies are now embarking on hiring sprees. WSJ https://www.wsj.com/business/big-companies-are-starting-to-hire-again-defying-predictions-of-ai-wipeout-f4974e99?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ + AI’s impact is increasingly falling short of expectations. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/25/ai-jobs-apocalypse-human-labor?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID + Here’s a much-needed reality check on the AI jobs hysteria. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/26/1137855/a-reality-check-on-the-ai-jobs-hysteria/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&utm content=07-27-2026&mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID 6 A six-year-old girl died in a Chinese gene-editing trial Experts say it should have never been allowed to go ahead. Science https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-death-girl-chinese-gene-editing-trial-was-never-made-public?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID + This baby boy was treated with the first personalized gene-editing drug. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/15/1116524/this-baby-boy-was-treated-with-the-first-personalized-gene-editing-drug/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&utm content=07-27-2026&mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID 7 What it’s like to use a North Korean smartphone They’re growing in popularity—but represent another avenue for government control. WP https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/07/26/see-what-its-like-use-north-korean-smartphone-under-kim-jong-un/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ 8 The FCC’s ban on foreign-made drones is not working You can’t change global supply chains at the stroke of a pen. The Verge https://www.theverge.com/report/969725/fcc-drone-ban-odyssey-robot-galiview-etak-randolph-howard-eason?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID $ 9 The “summer of Ludd” shows it’s fun to be a Luddite A growing anti-tech movement is all about raw, anarchic joy. 404 Media https://www.404media.co/luddite-events-nyc-off-tech-summer-of-ludd/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID + We’re in the era of AI malaise. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/21/1135921/ai-malaise-artificial-intelligence-public-sentiment/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&utm content=07-27-2026&mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID 10 Why Jimothy the racoon is the internet’s latest obsession 🦝 It’s his irresistible combination of chaos and cuteness. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0xnge2zx7o?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID Quote of the day “I think that AI should stand for artificial idiot.” —Marian Agnew, a nine-year-old, from Norman, Oklahoma, tells Wired https://www.wired.com/story/some-kids-will-never-think-ai-is-cool/?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID she’s not impressed by AI models’ tendency to make up facts. One More Thing Inside a romance scam compound—and how people get tricked into being there Gavesh’s journey started, seemingly innocently, with a job ad on Facebook promising work he desperately needed. Instead, he found himself trafficked into a business commonly known as “pig butchering”—a form of fraud in which scammers form close relationships with targets online and extract money from them. The Chinese crime syndicates behind the scams have netted billions of dollars, and they have used violence and coercion to force their workers to carry out the frauds from large compounds, several of which operate openly in the quasi-lawless borderlands of Myanmar. Read our story about these scam syndicates and how they could be broken up. https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/27/1113782/scam-compound-meta-facebook-pig-butchering-wechat/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&utm content=07-27-2026&mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID — Peter Guest and Emily Fishbein 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 . + I want to make every single one of these delicious-looking Korean dishes https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/may/31/10-korean-dishes-to-savour-now-from-fried-chicken-to-kimchi-dumplings-and-stuffed-pancakes?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID . + If you like origami, you’ll love this guy https://www.youtube.com/@origamiaround?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID ’s tutorials. + How to deal with those old gadgets https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/technology/personaltech/how-to-deal-with-that-drawer-full-of-old-gadgets.html?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID that are collecting dust in your drawer. + Enjoy these old art deco public transport posters https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/glamour-art-deco-14-posters?mc cid=5534f6e7ff&mc eid=UNIQID from London. Deep Dive The Download The Download: Claude’s inner workings and OpenAI’s “super app” Plus: OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited "super app." The Download: Claude’s inner workings, and the future of world models Plus: New York has become the first state to enact a data center moratorium. The Download: the future of chipmaking and Anthropic’s government clash Plus: Meta is pausing an AI training program that tracks workers’ keystrokes. The Download: AI hacking beyond Mythos, and chatbots’ impact on our brains Plus: Anthropic has called for a global slowdown in AI development. Stay connected Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.