This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. The worlds first industrial-scale plant for green steel promises a cleaner future As of 2023, nearly 2 billion metric tons of steel were being produced annually, enough to cover Manhattan in a layer more than 13 feet thick. Making this metal produces a huge amount of carbon dioxide. Overall, steelmaking accounts for around 8% of the worlds carbon emissionsone of the largest industrial emitters and far more than such sources as aviation.Read the full story.Douglas Main Green steel is one of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2025, MIT Technology Reviews annual list of tech to watch. Check out the rest of the list, and cast your vote for the honorary 11th breakthrough. 2025 is a critical year for climate tech Casey Crownhart I love the fresh start that comes with a new year. And one thing adding a boost to my January is our newest list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. As I was looking over the finished list this week, I was struck by something: While there are some entries from other fields that are three or even five years away, all the climate items are either newly commercially available or just about to be. Its certainly apt, because this year in particular seems to be bringing a new urgency to the fight against climate change. Its time for these technologies to grow up and get out there. Read the full story.This story is from The Spark, our weekly climate and energy newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday. A New York legislator wants to pick up the pieces of the dead California AI bill The first Democrat in New York history with a computer science background wants to revive some of the ideas behind the failed California AI safety bill, SB 1047, with a new version in his state that would regulate the most advanced AI models. Assembly member Alex Bores hopes his bill, currently an unpublished draft that MIT Technology Review has seen, will address many of the concerns that blocked SB 1047 from passing into law last year. Read the full story. Scott J Mulligan MIT Technology Review Narrated: How covid conspiracy theories led to an alarming resurgence in AIDS denialism Podcaster Joe Rogan, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and football quarterback Aaron Rodgers are all helping revive AIDS denialisma false collection of theories arguing either that HIV doesnt cause AIDS or that theres no such thing as HIV at all. These ideas were initially promoted back in the 1980s and 90s but fell out of favor, as more and more evidence stacked up against them, and as more people with HIV and AIDS started living longer lives thanks to effective new treatments. But then coronavirus arrived. This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, whichwere publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as its released.Ask our journalists anything! Do you have questions about emerging technologies? Well, weve got answers. MIT Technology Reviews science and tech journalists are hosting an AMA on Reddit tomorrow at 12 pm ET. Submit your questions now! The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Wildfires are sweeping through Los Angeles Unusually strong winds and dry weather are accelerating multiple fires around the city. (Vox)+ While California is no stranger to wildfires, these are particularly awful. (The Atlantic $)+ Five people are known to have died, and thousands have lost their homes.(NY Mag $)+ The quest to build wildfire-resistant homes. (MIT Technology Review) 2 AI can now predict how the genes inside a cell will drive its behavior Scientists are hopeful it could usher in cell-specific therapies to fight genetic diseases. (WP $)+ How AI can help us understand how cells workand help cure diseases. (MIT Technology Review)3 The Biden administration is planning a further chips crackdown One of its final acts will be a push to prevent sales of chips to China and Russia. (Bloomberg $)+ A group of tech representatives is begging the US government to reconsider. (Reuters)4 Elon Musks DOGE division wants to slash $2 trillion in federal spending But even he admits its a ridiculously ambitious goal. (WSJ $)+ He reckons he might be able to cut half that amount. (NBC News)5 Meta exempted its top advertisers from content moderation processesIt agreed to suppress standard testing for high spenders. (FT $) + Mark Zuckerberg appears to be following Xs playbook. (Wired $)+ Maybe the two platforms arent so different after all. (The Atlantic $)6 How one teenager embarked on a nationwide swatting spreeAlan Filions false shooting calls sent police into hundreds of schools across the US. (Wired $) 7 Blue Origin is limbering up to launch its new Glenn rocketIn the companys very first flight. (New Scientist $) + If successful, the flight could prove Blue Origins worthiness as a SpaceX rival. (The Register)8 Grok could be getting an unhinged modeWhatever that means. (TechCrunch) + Xs chatbot was one of the biggest AI flops of 2024. (MIT Technology Review)9 The secret to scaling quantum computing? Fiber optic cables Mixing quantum data with regular ole internet gigabits is one solution. (IEEE Spectrum) 10 This robot vacuum has limbs All the better to clean your home with. (The Verge)+ A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook? (MIT Technology Review)Quote of the day I voted for TrumpI didnt vote for Elon. Preston Parra, chairman of the pro-Trump Conservative PAC, expresses his frustration with Elon Musks escalating involvement in US politics to the New York Times. The big story The weeds are winning October 2024 Since the 1980s, more and more plants have evolved to become immune to herbicides. This threatens to decrease yields, and in extreme cases can wipe out whole fields. At worst, it can even drive farmers out of business. Its the agricultural equivalent of antibiotic resistance, and it keeps getting worse. Agriculture needs to embrace a diversity of weed control practices. But thats much easier said than done. Read the full story. Douglas Main 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.) + Andrew McCarthy has taken more than 90,000 pictures of the sun, which is pretty amazing.+ Sciences most famous dogs? Yes please.+ What better time to reorganize your kitchen cupboards than at the start of the new year?+ The Robbie Williams biopic Better Man is completely bonkersand a whole lot of fun.