ETH Zurich planetary scientists Paolo Sossi and Dan Bauer compared meteorite isotopic data with Earth's composition and concluded that all of Earth's material came from the inner Solar System, with less than 2% or zero contribution from outer material. The study is published in Nature Astronomy.
Medtronic announced on September 16, 2026, that the FDA cleared the LigaSure RAS Maryland instrument for the Hugo robotic surgical system. The device seals and cuts vessels and tissue up to 7 mm in diameter in about 2 seconds, limiting thermal spread.
Two UCLA studies published in Cell and Science show that radial glia in the developing human brain responds to metabolism and physical signals from the thalamus. The pentose phosphate pathway and contact with thalamic fibers determine which neurons form in the cortex.
McDonald's and Meituan launched a dedicated drone corridor in Shanghai, delivering orders from a kitchen in Xuhui district to kiosks on the West Bund. The drone carries up to 5.29 pounds (about 2.4 kg) and completes the 1.93-mile route in 10 minutes, operating in rain and snow with winds up to 31 mph.
Scientists have built the world's smallest CT scanner, weighing 13.2 pounds (about 6 kg) and consuming only 200 watts. The device is designed for use in environments with limited power and space.
UK-based Skyrora completed hot-fire tests of a 3.5 kN engine for low Earth orbit with a titanium component printed on the hybrid DED Skyprint 2 printer under the MADE-3D program. Replacing nickel alloy with titanium reduced part mass by about 44%; X-rays before and after six firings showed no damage.
Scientists combined 42 independent satellite observation estimates and found that Greenland and Antarctic glaciers lost 11.3 trillion tons of ice from 1979 to 2023. This raised sea level by about 3 cm; 84% of the loss came from accelerated glacier flow into the ocean rather than surface melting.
Astronomers confirmed that one of the fastest-changing observed stars has entered a new stage of evolution. This is a rare opportunity to watch a star's life in real time, on human timescales.
Astrophysicist Stephen Kane of UC Riverside modeled the fate of a hypothetical Venus moon: due to the planet's slow rotation (243 Earth days per turn), the satellite almost always fell onto Venus, within 30 million to 1.7 billion years. The work was published in The Astrophysical Journal.
SpaceX announced plans to send its flagship Starship rocket to orbit. This is a key step in the program to reach the Moon and Mars.
The US has for the first time officially confirmed that it has deployed weapons in space. The statement came after previous Washington warnings about possible militarization of space by Russia, although international treaties stipulate that space should be used only for peaceful purposes.
The world's largest compressed air energy storage (CAES) system has been built in Huai'an, Jiangsu, with 71% efficiency by reusing compression heat. Storage cost is about $20/kWh versus $300/kWh for lithium-ion batteries, but capacity is limited to four hours.
BYD has cut the price of the base Atto 1 Essential electric vehicle in Australia from AU$23,990 to AU$19,990 including all fees. This makes it the cheapest new car in the country, cheaper than the petrol Kia Picanto Sport (from AU$19,190 before on-road costs). The promotion runs from September 15 to December 15.
South Korean container ship Panstar Akro completed the Arctic route from Busan to Rotterdam in 22 days for the first time, cutting the journey by about 10 days and 35% of the distance versus the Suez route. Korea plans to commercialize the route by 2030, but icebreaker and insurance costs, cargo volumes and sanctions against Russia stand in the way.
Researchers from Scripps Research, UC San Diego and Lowy Medical Research Institute identified erucamide, a molecule that activates the retina's own protective response. In a study published in Nature Neuroscience on June 19, 2026, restoring erucamide levels slowed photoreceptor degeneration in animal models.
Roscosmos will launch the Progress MS-35 cargo ship on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Baikonur on September 16 at 13:33 UTC. The ship will deliver 2,600 kg of cargo to the ISS and dock with the Poisk module on September 18. The launch was postponed from September 9 due to a third-stage malfunction.
On September 15–16, Chinese private companies LandSpace and Orienspace conducted two launches within a day, deploying 18 satellites for the Qianfan internet constellation. Zhuque-2E launched from Dongfeng with 10 satellites to ~900 km orbit; Gravity-1 Y3 launched from a sea platform in the East China Sea with 8 satellites and a test communications payload.
Wyoming-based startup Airloom Energy developed a wind energy system with vertical wings on an oval cable track instead of conventional turbines. The company claims 50% lower operating cost per square meter, 42% fewer parts, and 40% lower mass. Commercial demonstration is expected in 2027, backed by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy.
University of Sydney scientists found that people aged 65–75 who reduced fat or animal protein intake showed a decrease in biological age across 20 biomarkers after four weeks. Results published in Aging Cell and are preliminary.
NASA published one of the James Webb's largest mosaics — the IC 348 star-forming region 1,000 light-years from Earth, spanning 16×20 arcminutes. It revealed record-light brown dwarfs of about two Jupiter masses (0.19% of the Sun's mass), one of them surrounded by a disk.
Scientists from USTC, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and MIT placed NbSe2 superconductor in a terahertz dark cavity and showed for the first time that enhanced vacuum fluctuations raise the critical temperature of superconductivity. Results published in Nature.
Tesla unveiled its first pre-assembled Supercharger Accordion, a telescopic structure for installing chargers between parking spaces. Installation is 20% cheaper, one shipment includes 16 stalls, and the station launches immediately after placement.
A study by FRIB and LLNL published in Nature found that an anomalously large number of low-energy gamma rays from nuclear decay is caused by magnetic transitions, not electric ones. An experiment on copper decaying into zinc confirmed this.
Chinergy, a subsidiary of CNNC, and the IAEA signed a cooperation agreement in Vienna on high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR). It covers research, design, construction, commissioning, and exchange of supply chain and training data.
An international team led by PSI measured the optical Magnus effect for the first time, observing a lateral shift of a laser's interaction point with a single trapped calcium ion. The shift of several hundred nanometers depends only on wavelength and is key for qubit control.
Westinghouse conducted a high-temperature test of its eVinci microreactor, achieving criticality at 663°C and measuring subcritical reactivity at a peak core temperature of 1016°C. The test took place September 3 at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center in Nevada with Los Alamos and NNSA support.
On October 7, the Nuri rocket will make its fifth launch, with Hanwha Aerospace fully operating the state rocket for the first time and 15 satellites attempting to form South Korea's first constellation. The mission was delayed three times due to a shortage of satellite engines.
SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 with the USSF-259 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg on September 23 at 02:18 UTC. The classified payload will be placed in low orbit at about 80 degrees inclination; first stage B1097 will make its 13th flight and land on the Of Course I Still Love You platform.
Jo Cameron, 66, from the UK, has insensitivity to pain and anxiety due to mutations in FAAH and FAAH-OUT genes that raise anandamide levels. UCL scientists used CRISPRi to reduce FAAH expression by 50% in cell lines and are preparing clinical trials for chronic pain gene therapy.
James Webb telescope observations show that the rings of the 400-km-wide centaur Chariklo have changed over a decade: the inner ring became denser, the outer ring less dense. The study was published in Science Advances.
