NASA activated the 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launched August 30. The camera is not yet focused, so stars appear as green rings in the first test image. Full science images are expected in early 2027, and the mission could last 22 years instead of 10.
UCLA geochemists measured the body temperature of T. rex using clumped isotope thermometry on enamel from three teeth from the Hell Creek Formation. The average result was 36.3 ± 2.5 °C, close to modern elephants and higher than coexisting crocodiles (30.9 °C).
A study in Science showed how microscopic cilia on coral surfaces create water vortices that deliver oxygen to tissues. As water warms, oxygen decreases, cilia beat faster and end up consuming more oxygen than the coral can absorb.
BYD vice president Stella Li said the company's first model with a solid-state battery will launch in 2027. FinDreams is developing a sulfide electrolyte with 20 Ah and 60 Ah prototypes and a target density of about 400 Wh/kg, but the model, range and mass-production date were not disclosed.
Clinicians are concerned about medical AI adoption beyond diagnostics and imaging, citing limited clinical and performance data on broader effectiveness. They say technological progress has not yet led to noticeable improvement in real patient care.
In the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region, astronomers found exoplanet Elias 2 24 b, less than a million years old, the youngest known. It is 450 light-years from Earth, orbits an orange dwarf, and is comparable in mass to Jupiter.
Oxford physicists and the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider have for the first time shown entanglement between pairs of Z bosons produced in Higgs boson decays. The result, published in Physical Review Letters, is one of the highest-energy confirmations of quantum entanglement.
China's National Energy Administration reported that electricity consumption in August exceeded 1 trillion kWh, with peak load reaching a record high. Energy demand remains high.
An international team of scientists using data from the Large Binocular Telescope measured the primordial helium content of the universe with 0.5% precision, improving the previous result threefold. Observations of 15 chemically unevolved galaxies took 130 hours, with results presented in five papers in The Astrophysical Journal.
Astronomers using the VLT telescope and GRAVITY instrument discovered star S301 orbiting the black hole Sagittarius A* at speeds up to 25,000 km/s — 8% the speed of light. A full orbit takes 8.7 years, and its closest approach will be 12 Earth-Sun distances. It is the first star that will allow direct measurement of the black hole's spin.
MIT graduate student Lani McKinney and the Aerospace Plasma Group are building the NRP-DBD reactor, which uses cold plasma to convert carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere into oxygen and carbon monoxide for life support and fuel depots. An oxygen-selective membrane prevents CO and O from recombining.
Analysis of nickel isotopes in clay at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary shows the Chicxulub impactor was a CO chondrite, a rare type of carbonaceous chondrite. The impact of a 10-15 km body at about 64,000 km/h 66 million years ago wiped out 75% of species, including non-avian dinosaurs.
An international team led by Alessandro Trinca of the University of Edinburgh modeled conditions for direct-collapse supermassive black hole seeds. Published in MNRAS, the results suggest massive seeds could form 500 million years after the Big Bang, with metal enrichment halting the process about 13.5 billion years ago.
Scientists from the University of Regina used neutron tomography at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to find a network of mineralized blood vessels in a broken rib of the T. rex Scotty, evidence of healing from an injury 66 million years ago. This is the first such observation in fossils.
A team from TU Dortmund, Paderborn, Duisburg-Essen, and Oxford developed a method to modify the chemistry of metal-organic framework (MOF) glasses directly in the melt. The molecule 1,10-phenanthroline lowers the melting point and rearranges bonds around metal atoms, allowing tuning of magnetic and optical properties. Results published in Nature Materials.
In August, sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in China reached a record 65% of the market, while the overall market fell 24% year-on-year to about 1.5 million vehicles. BEV sales grew 1%, while PHEVs fell 30% and EREVs fell 22%. Exports totaled 888,000 vehicles (+78% year-on-year), with EVs accounting for 58% of that.
Kia announced the electric PV7 minivan on its PBV platform, two feet longer than the PV5 and seating up to nine passengers. It offers 71.5 or 96.2 kWh batteries, up to 289 miles WLTP range, and 10–80% charging in 20 minutes with an 800-volt architecture. Sales in Europe and Korea start in the second half of 2027, with no US plans.
Tesla has reopened reservations for the new Roadster ahead of its presentation on October 1 in Waco, Texas. The deposit is $50,000: $5,000 immediately and $45,000 by wire within 10 days, fully refundable. Prices and specs will be revealed at the premiere.
SpaceX plans to launch Starship on September 28 for its 14th flight, the first to reach orbit and deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The window opens at 8:15 ET and lasts 75 minutes; the launch awaits regulatory approval.
Scientists showed that intense two-color laser light temporarily alters graphene's band structure, creating a topological state and directing electron motion. The work opens a path to optical control of electronics.
Scientists at Texas A&M University found that excess RNA directly disrupts mitochondria and reduces cellular energy production. The effect is independent of immune response: damage occurred even in isolated mitochondria when RNA was added. The results were published in PNAS and matter for infections, cancer and RNA vaccines.
Canada's Nova Scotia province unveiled the Wind West project, the country's first offshore wind farm. The first phase plans 5 GW of capacity generating 24 TWh per year, twice the province's current peak demand. The region's offshore wind potential is estimated at 60+ GW.
USA Rare Earth, along with France's Pasqal and Riven Systems, launched a project to separate rare earth elements using quantum machine learning and an autonomous laboratory. Riven will conduct thousands of automated experiments, and Pasqal will compare quantum models with classical ones. The goal is to reduce costs and energy consumption in processing, where China currently leads.
Researchers at UC San Diego found that E. coli bacterial RNA polymerase can accurately transcribe DNA with two synthetic base pairs, expanding the alphabet from four letters to eight. The process structure was captured using cryo-electron microscopy at sub-atomic resolution.
CleanTechnica analysts argue that China's advantage in electric aviation lies not in individual aircraft but in the combination of high-speed rail, battery industry, and government programs. China produced over 80% of the world's battery cells in 2025, and the high-speed rail network reached 50,400 km and will grow to 60,000 km by 2030.
BHP has operated two Wabtec FLXDrive battery locomotives, each rated 4,400 hp with 7 MWh batteries, for nearly a year on the Jimblebar–Port Hedland line in Australia's Pilbara. BHP ordered two more Progress Rail locomotives for comparative trials in fiscal 2027.
Natura Resources received a batch of FLiBE salt coolant from the US Department of Energy on September 18 for its MSR-1 molten salt demonstration reactor under construction at Abilene Christian University in Texas. The salt, with 99.99% lithium-7 enrichment, was used in the MSRE experiment from 1965 to 1969.
Lockheed Martin presented Germany's first F-35A Lightning II at a ceremony in Fort Worth on September 18. Berlin will buy 35 fighters under a 2022 deal worth $8.8 billion to replace Tornado in the nuclear mission. First deliveries to Germany are due in late 2027, with full operational capability in 2029.
The LANSCE accelerator modernization project (LAMP) at Los Alamos National Laboratory received CD-1 approval from NNSA and enters the design phase. The upgrade will replace outdated systems, including the drift-tube linac, and extend the facility's operation to 2050. Cost estimate is $687 million to $1 billion.
Congress has directed the US Air Force to analyze options by March 1, 2027: restart C-17 Globemaster III production, extend the life of 220 existing aircraft, or create a new NGAL transport. C-17 production ended in 2015, and restarting the factory is estimated to cost billions of dollars.
