The Download: HIV prevention shots, and fixing a broken sex doll

—An anonymous US agency worker says they’re not impressed by a chatbot DOGE created in an attempt to automate work previously done by federal employees, Wired reports.

The big story

Inside the quest to map the universe with mysterious bursts of radio energy

May 2024

When our universe was less than half as old as it is today, a burst of energy that could cook a sun’s worth of popcorn shot out from somewhere amid a compact group of galaxies. Some 8 billion years later, radio waves from that burst reached Earth and were captured by a sophisticated low-frequency radio telescope in the Australian outback.

The signal, which arrived in June 2022, and lasted for under half a millisecond, is one of a growing class of mysterious radio signals called fast radio bursts. In the last 10 years, astronomers have picked up nearly 5,000 of them. This one was particularly special: nearly double the age of anything previously observed, and three and a half times more energetic.

No one knows what causes fast radio bursts. They flash in a seemingly random and unpredictable pattern from all over the sky. But despite the mystery, these radio waves are starting to prove extraordinarily useful. Read the full story.

—Anna Kramer

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.)

+ Why is Hollywood so obsessed with twins right now?
+ This octopus contorting its body to fit into a tiny hole is mesmerizing 🐙
+ Did you catch this morning’s blood moon lunar eclipse? Don’t worry if you didn’t—these pictures are pretty amazing.
+ Happy Pi Day to all who celebrate!