The Download: Anthropic launches Claude Science, and California’s carbon manure math

Claude Science, and California’s carbon manure math">

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.

At an event for pharmaceutical executives, biotech founders, and researchers yesterday, Anthropic announced Claude Science, a major new product intended to support scientific research like Claude Code supports software engineering. Like Claude Code, Claude Science can autonomously carry out meaningful work from concise, high-level instructions, with tools for computational biology and drug development. The launch signals that Anthropic is doubling down on AI for science, and the company will also use the product in its own research into drugs for rare, neglected diseases. Discover why Anthropic is betting big on AI for scientific research .

Something stinks in California’s climate policies.

Years ago, the state set up a system that pays cattle farmers to turn the methane emitted from cattle manure into natural gas. It’s become wildly popular because the subsidies are extremely lucrative. But research suggests the program exposes the shortcomings of carbon offsetting and trading schemes.

Instead of forcing industries to directly cut their pollution or pay for it as a cost of doing business, legislators have opted for incentives that swap climate responsibilities between parties and regions. The system could ultimately lock in more warming.

Read the full story on California’s dubious carbon calculations .

This story is from The Spark, our weekly climate tech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.

Billions of dollars are pouring into efforts to reverse aging as scientists investigate ways to return cells to a younger state. But how close are these experimental treatments? And are they likely to work?

At a recent virtual Roundtables event, MIT Technology Review explored the answers with science editor Mary Beth Griggs and senior biotechnology reporter Jessica Hamzelou. Subscribers can now watch the full recording of the fascinating discussion .

For decades, physicists have hunted for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a leading candidate for dark matter. But their search has run into a new problem: neutrinos.

These tiny particles from the sun and other stars can create a “neutrino fog” that drowns out any signal of dark matter. Hitting the neutrino fog does not, however, mean an end to the search. Researchers just have to shift the focus of their hunt.