Scientists found traces of betel nut chewing on teeth of two ancient hunter-gatherers from Sulawesi island, dating back 16,000 to 25,000 years. This is the oldest known evidence of psychoactive substance use: arecoline from the nut relieved tooth pain, leading to addiction over time.
The next Starship test flight will launch the first Starlink V3 satellites into orbit. Mission details and launch date have not been disclosed.
Lucid and Bolt have agreed to partner to launch over 25,000 electric autonomous crossovers in Europe. The vehicles will be midsize Lucid crossovers with Nvidia Hyperion platform and SAE Level 4 autonomy. Bolt aims to reach 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2035.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics ran detailed simulations of the early universe on the ATERUI III supercomputer. The model showed that JWST's mysterious 'little red dots' may be black holes growing tens of times faster than possible today.
MIT researchers created a robotic laboratory that independently assembles and conducts laser experiments, automating the cycle from setup to execution and reducing human involvement.
In Brisbane, the first sodium-sulfur battery with 250 kW capacity and 1.45 MWh energy storage has been connected to Australia's National Electricity Market. The NGK Insulators system provides up to 6 hours of discharge and powers critical mineral processing at the Lava Blue site alongside a 200 kW solar plant.
A team led by Ning Liu of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology published in Chem Circularity a study on a biocomposite building material for Mars: Martian sand, gelatin and genetically modified baker's yeast. The material hardens in Martian vacuum, has compressive strength of 12 MPa and flexural strength of 6 MPa, and requires almost 100 times less energy than regolith sintering.
The European Space Agency selected a consortium led by Finnish satellite maker Iceye to study the creation of a sovereign Earth observation service for Europe.
Windrose founder Wen Han published free CAD models of all 1,023 parts of the base X9D01 model of the E700 Class 8 electric tractor. Owners and independent shops can make their own parts, reducing dependence on the manufacturer.
Stanford neuroscientists grew von Economo neurons in a living organism for the first time, in mice with implanted human brain organoids. These rare cells are considered an early target of frontotemporal dementia, opening a path to personalized drug tests.
Toyota will launch the Hilux FCEV hydrogen pickup in 2028, the first series-production hydrogen midsize pickup in Europe. It offers 400 km of range, refueling in about 5 minutes, and towing up to 2.5 tonnes.
Scientists at Arizona State University analyzed 8,687 blood samples before and after COVID-19 vaccination from 4,089 participants and measured antibodies to 185 antigens. Using deep learning, they identified 'sentinel' antibodies that can predict a weak or strong response to vaccination before the shot.
Scientists discovered a ferroelectric material that retains spontaneous polarization at a thickness of a few atomic layers. This opens a path to denser and more energy-efficient memory and miniature electronic components.
Researchers at Maynooth University developed a first-of-its-kind DNA computer capable of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The system of DNA strands in water operates without constant electricity and executed 10 programs, including 100-bit calculations.
Factorial Energy has integrated its Solstice platform with Mitsui Kinzoku's A-SOLiD sulfide solid electrolyte. Mitsui Kinzoku will mass-produce the electrolyte at a plant in Saitama. Solstice offers up to 450 Wh/kg and is stable when heated to 90 °C.
At World Space Business Week in Paris, SpaceX competitors said the subsidized price-per-kilogram model has run its course and a market reset is coming. Firefly Aerospace expects a reset within 6–24 months, Blue Origin targets over 100 launches per year, and Arianespace aims for 9–10 launches from 2027.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine using cryo-electron microscopy found that axons of mouse neurons have repeating nanoscale swellings called 'unlinked varicosities.' This challenges the classic view of axons as smooth tubes and points to a role for membrane forces in signal transmission.
South Africa's energy ministry published an offshore wind strategy identifying about 95 GW of technical potential, including 6.4 GW of floating turbines near Cape Town. The ministry sees this as a way to power growing AI data centres, but seabed allocation laws are not yet passed and the first project is expected no earlier than 2035.
Scientists at Georgia State University tested the oral drug GHP-88310 in ferrets with canine distemper virus, which causes a measles-like disease. The drug completely prevented virus transmission through direct contact and airborne routes, and reduced symptoms and infectious period in infected animals. The study was published in Nature Microbiology, and clinical trials are being prepared.
Geologists in Xinjiang discovered two large groundwater sources beneath the Taklamakan Desert, near Andir in Minfeng County and south of the Mazar Tagh mountains. Volume, recharge rate and water suitability are not yet established; a station has opened to test brackish water for irrigation.
At World Space Business Week in Paris, representatives of Eutelsat, Esri, EarthTraq, Space42 and Edge Group said AI in the space sector is shifting from an analytical tool to autonomous decisions: agents manage satellites while humans become supervisors. They noted growth in onboard data processing, faster disaster analysis and new data sovereignty questions.
The UK's ARIA will fund 18 projects under the Enduring Atmospheric Platforms program: high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) with 300 W payloads must stay airborne for a week and provide internet where there is no ground network. $94 million has been allocated over three and a half years.
Tesla will install over 100 Megacharger charging posts at 21 stations in Germany, France, the UK, Sweden, and Benelux countries to launch the electric Semi truck in Europe. Megacharger delivers up to 1.2 MW and charges the Semi battery to 60% in about 30 minutes; a set of power cabinet and two posts costs €163,000, with deliveries in Europe starting mid-next year.
Taiwan's ProLogium on September 2 began mass production of 3.5-generation lithium-ceramic batteries (LCB) at its Taoyuan plant. A 185.4 Ah cell achieved 381 Wh/kg and 903 Wh/l (verified by TÜV Rheinland), but the plant's initial capacity is only 0.5 GWh.
Astronomers confirmed the discovery of Jupiter-sized planet Elias 2-24 b 450 light-years from Earth; it is less than 1 million years old, five times younger than previous record holders. The finding came from reanalysis of 2018 and 2020 Keck Observatory archives and challenges planet formation theories.
Finnish Kuva Space completed a pilot with a European customer: Hyperfield-1 hyperspectral images and AI classification identified poppy fields in Afghanistan's Helmand. The system annotated 248,889 plots and marked 8,835 as probable poppy, with accuracy rising to 75% versus 71% for Sentinel-2.
Vantor selected Bulgaria's EnduroSat for platforms and CACI for optical payloads on 24 Pulse small satellites. The 40 cm resolution craft with 15-minute revisit will deploy in 2027-2029, with assembly and testing in the US.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered the McGethin crater, 728 feet (222 m) wide, formed by a rare impact on the Moon in 2024. The event is called 'once-in-a-century'.
China says very low Earth orbit (VLEO) is moving from concept to practical deployment and warns of a critical 2026–2030 window to occupy this orbital niche.
Observations show Pluto's atmospheric pressure has dropped by about 16% as the dwarf planet moves farther from the Sun, indicating the start of an atmospheric collapse.
