This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.These documents are influencing the DOGE-spheres agendaReports from the US Government Accountability Office on improper federal payments in recent years are circulating on X and elsewhere online, and they seem to be a big influence on Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its supporters as the group pursues cost-cutting measures across the federal government.The documents dont offer a crystal ball into Musks plans, but they suggest a blueprint, or at least an indicator, of where his newly formed and largely unaccountable task force is looking to make cuts. Heres what we know so far.James ODonnellInside the race to archive the US governments websitesOver the past three weeks, the new US presidential administration has taken down thousands of government web pages, as part of a push to remove information related to diversity and gender ideology, as well as scrutiny of various agencies practices.But as government web pages go dark, a collection of organizations are trying to archive as much data and information as possible before its gone for good. The hope is to keep a record of what has been lost for scientists and historians to be able to use in the future. Read our story about what theyre doing, and why theyre doing it.Scott J MulliganThe must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 The Trump administration is slashing billions in biomedical research fundingThe change, effective immediately, is sending shockwaves through academia. Expect lawsuits. (STAT$)+Scientists are also increasingly alarmed about the fact that federal health data is disappearing. (Undark)+A prominent US scientific society is facing a backlash from members after removing references to diversity on its website.(Nature)2 Computing experts are seriously alarmed by DOGEs behaviorThe systems theyre tinkering with are immense, they are complex, and they are critical. (The Atlantic$)+Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Problem.(MIT Technology Review)+A federal judge blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury records. (AP)+Secrecy is becoming one of DOGEs defining traits. (NBC)3 OpenAIs agent can spend your money without your consentAll the reviews of Operator seem to indicate its been launched way before its ready. (WP$)+ Anthropics chief scientist on 4 ways agents will be even better in 2025.(MIT Technology Review)4 Theres a growing measles outbreak in one of Texas least vaccinated countiesThe saddest thing about this is how totally avoidable it is. (Ars Technica)+To tackle vaccine hesitancy, first we should measure it.(MIT Technology Review)5 The US Transportation Department suspended its EV charger programTesla is one of its biggest beneficiaries, so Musk cant be too thrilled about this. (Insider$)6 DeepMinds AI can tackle math problems on a par with top human solversAlphaGeometry 2 can reportedly surpass the average gold medallist in the International Mathematical Olympiad. (Nature)+Its a major step forward from even just one year ago.(MIT Technology Review)7 What DeepSeeks success tells us about Chinas AI talentIts top researchers are just as educated as in the US. But they operate under huge constraints. (NYT$)+How China stands to benefit from the USs retreat from soft power.(New Yorker$)8 Location-sharing is increasingly a deal-breaker in relationshipsBut is it really reducing peoples anxiety? Or is it fuelling it? (WSJ$)9 Heres an idea for how to make the Vision Pro even less appealingAdd crocs! (The Verge)10 Inside the fraught US-Soviet hunt for extraterrestrial lifeNow thats a frontier of the Cold War you dont hear as much about. (New Yorker$)Quote of the dayRed states have universities too.An anonymous Trump official worries to theWashington Postabout blowback after the sudden withdrawal of National Institutes of Health research funding.The big storyWhy cant tech fix its gender problem?GETTY IMAGESAugust 2022The tech sector is mostly a straight, white mans world. But it wasnt always this way. Software programming once was an almost entirely female profession. As recently as 1980, women held 70% of the programming jobs in Silicon Valley, but the ratio has since flipped entirely.While many things contributed to the shift, from the educational pipeline to the tiresomely persistent fiction of tech as a gender-blind meritocracy, none explain it entirely.Heres what really lies at the core of techs gender problem.Margaret OMaraWe 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.)+ You should probably say no more.Heres how to do it nicely.+ Heres how to keep aspider plantalive and well.+ Thisknitted camouflage seriesfrom artist Joseph Ford is irresistibly fun.+ Whatbirdsongcan teach us about human language.