This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.4 technologies that could power the future of energyWhere can you find lasers, electric guitars, and racks full of novel batteries, all in the same giant room? This week, the answer was the 2025 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit just outside Washington, DC.Energy innovation can take many forms, and the variety in energy research was on display at the summit. ARPA-E, part of the US Department of Energy, provides funding for high-risk, high-reward research projects. The summit gathers projects the agency has funded, along with investors, policymakers, and journalists.Hundreds of projects were exhibited in a massive hall during the conference, featuring demonstrations and research results. Here are four of the most interesting innovations MIT Technology Review spotted on site. Read the full story.Casey CrownhartIf youre interested in hearing more about what Casey learnt from the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, check out the latest edition of The Spark, our weekly climate and energy newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.Join us today to chat about chatbotsChatbots are changing how we connect to each other and ourselves. But are these changes for the better, and how should they be monitored and regulated?To learn more, join me for a live Roundtable session today at 12pm ET. Ill be chatting with MIT Technology Review editor Rachel Courtland and senior reporter Eileen Guo, and well be unpacking the landscape around chatbots. Register to ensure you dont miss out!The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 A French scientist was denied US entry over anti-Donald Trump messagesUS authorities claimed the exchanges criticising the Trump administrations research policy qualified as terrorism. (Le Monde)+ Frances research minister is a high-profile critic of Trump policy. (The Guardian)+ Customs and Border Protection is cracking down at airports across the US. (The Verge)2 RFK Jr wants to let bird flu spread through poultry farmsExperts warn that this approach isnt just dangerousit wont work. (Scientific American $)+ A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in Scotland. (BBC)+ How the US is preparing for a potential bird flu pandemic. (MIT Technology Review)3 Clearview AI tried to buy millions of mugshots for its databasesBut negotiations between the facial recognition company and an intelligence firm broke down. (404 Media)4 Top US graduates are desperate to work for Chinese AI startupsDeepSeeks success has sparked major interest in firms outside America. (Bloomberg $)+ Four Chinese AI startups to watch beyond DeepSeek. (MIT Technology Review)5 Reddit has become a lifeline for US federal workersUnpaid moderators are working around the clock to help answer urgent questions. (NYT $)+ The only two democrats on the board of the FTC have been fired. (Vox)+ Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Problem. (MIT Technology Review)6 The European Commission is targeting Apple and GoogleIts proceeding with regulatory action, despite the risk of retaliation from Trump. (FT $)+ It has accused Alphabet of favoring its own services in search results. (The Information $)+ Metas AI chatbot is finally launching in Europe after all. (The Verge)7 AI agents could spell bad news for shopping appsDoorDash and Uber could suffer if humans outsource their ordering to bots. (The Information $)+ Dunzo was a major delivery success story in India. So what happened? (Rest of World)+ Your most important customer may be AI. (MIT Technology Review)8 This startup is making concrete using CO2It combines the gas with a byproduct from coal power plants to make lower carbon concrete. (Fast Company $)+ How electricity could help tackle a surprising climate villain. (MIT Technology Review)9 This robot dog has a functional digital nervous systemAnd will be taught to walk by a real human dog trainer, not an algorithm. (Reuters)10 Dark matter could be getting weakerIf its true, it holds major implications for our understanding of the universe. (Quanta Magazine)+ Are we alone in the universe? (MIT Technology Review)Quote of the dayThe corrupting influence of billionaires in law enforcement is an issue that affects all of us.Alvaro Bedoya, a former commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, speaks out after being fired by Donald Trump, the Verge reports.The big storyThe arrhythmia of our current ageOctober 2025Arrhythmia means the heart beats, but not in proper timea critical rhythm of life suddenly going rogue and unpredictable. Its frightening to experience, but what if its also a good metaphor for our current times? That a pulse once seemingly so steady is now less sure.Perhaps this wobbliness might be extrapolated into a broader sense of life in the 2020s.Maybe you feel it, toothat the world seems to have skipped more than a beat or two as demagogues rant and democracy shudders, hurricanes rage, and glaciers dissolve. We cant stop watching tiny screens where influencers pitch products we dont need alongside news about senseless wars that destroy, murder, and maim tens-of-thousands.All the resulting anxiety has been hard on our heartsliterally and metaphorically. Read the full story.David Ewing DuncanWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet em at me.)+ Now that David Lynch is no longer with us, who is the flagbearer for transcendental meditation?+ Who doesnt love a little mindless comedyespecially when Leslie Nielsen is involved.+ Chinas pets are seriously pampered ($)+ The worlds oldest known cerapodan dinosaur, which were massive herbivores, has been discovered in Morocco.