General Dynamics Electric Boat showed the first completed Virginia Payload Module (VPM) for the submarine USS Arizona (SSGN-803). The 184-foot section was delivered from Quonset Point to Groton; once installed, the boat will reach about 460 feet and carry more weapons for long-range strikes.
NASA reported the discovery of the 222-meter-wide, 43-meter-deep McGetchin crater, formed by an impact from an object the size of a small house between April 11 and May 22, 2024. A cold anomaly about 7 km in radius was recorded around the crater, with nighttime temperatures 8–9 °C below the surrounding surface.
In four US states, more than 30 people were poisoned by bacterial endotoxins after receiving intravenous glutathione drips at wellness clinics. The cause was compounding pharmacies using oral-grade glutathione instead of sterile injectable-grade. Three pharmacies in Texas recalled products, and three affected people were hospitalized.
The Basel Action Network report 'The Coming AI Waste Wave' estimates annual e-waste from AI infrastructure at 8.6–13.1 million metric tons by 2030. Only about one-fifth of such waste is currently recycled, and US data center pollution causes about 1,300 premature deaths and $11.7–20.9 billion in healthcare costs annually.
Cities are equipping intersections with AI cameras and V2X modules to prioritize connected and autonomous cars. Yunex Traffic's awareAI platform builds a digital copy of an intersection, RSU2X sends data to vehicles, and Automotus systems automatically issue curb parking bills and fines.
Aurora Innovation has begun testing autonomous trucks on California highways with safety operators. The company needs to drive 500,000 miles before fully driverless operations, but a Teamsters lawsuit in Alameda County could void permits, and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has promised to repeal DMV rules if he wins in November.
Fusion startups raised $3.8 billion in the first eight months of the year, exceeding $3.3 billion for all of last year. Commercial power plants remain impossible: NIF's 2022 experiment produced 3.15 MJ from 422 MJ, and ITER expects pulses of only up to 20 seconds.
Researchers at the University of Stuttgart developed an MRI method that eliminates 'dead time,' a key limiting factor in measurements. It captures signals lost in standard methods and opens new possibilities for diagnostics and non-destructive materials testing. The work was published in Science Advances.
South Korea's Satrec Initiative, together with parent company Hanwha Systems, will build four satellites for Earth observation with 10 cm resolution. They will complement Hanwha's SAR constellation of 64 spacecraft, which by 2031 will provide a 30-minute revisit time.
Genetic analysis identified a new species of tiger cat, Leopardus tilcayo, from the cloud forests of Bolivia. It diverged from other Leopardus species 1.4 million years ago; this is the first new cat species since 1923. A subspecies, L. tigrinus antisuyo, was also described from Peru.
According to Bloomberg, by 2035 US data centers could consume up to 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, nearly double the forecast from nine months ago. Between 2.9 and 3.4 billion cubic feet per day will come from on-site autonomous generation.
Tesla will operate public Megacharger stations at three new Forum Mobility truck depots in California that it does not own. Forum is adding 30 MW of charging capacity and has reservations for more than 330 Tesla Semi trucks.
Scientists at the World Institute of Kimchi found that the lactic acid bacterium strain Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656 binds nanoplastics in the gut. In a simulated intestinal environment, adsorption was 57% versus 3% for a reference strain, and in mice fecal nanoplastic excretion more than doubled.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore created a device that uses sunlight to produce clean hydrogen from seawater while decomposing hydrazine, a toxic industrial pollutant.
NASA intends to order two additional crewed Starliner flights from Boeing, pay part of the costs to fix thruster issues, and support certification of the spacecraft on a new rocket. The reason is SpaceX's plans to retire Crew Dragon by 2030, leaving NASA without an alternative for low Earth orbit flights.
Stellantis Pro One and UQI Robotics unveiled the BOW (Box-on-Wheels) concept at IAA Transportation 2026, an autonomous electric truck with no cabin or driver's seat. It targets last-mile delivery and closed sites such as factories, hospitals and airports; battery, range and payload specs were not disclosed, and no production timeline was given.
GM equipped 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups with a 34-gallon fuel tank for the 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel producing 305 hp and 495 lb-ft. Range exceeds 900 miles, nearly double that of the Silverado EV with the maximum battery (up to 493 miles).
Scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands demonstrated how to extract additional energy from hot electrons, potentially bypassing the 33% theoretical efficiency limit of solar panels. The experimental and simulation results were published in ACS Energy Letters.
The US Department of Energy announced the Quantum Genesis Q competition with a $215 million prize pool to create fault-tolerant quantum computers for scientific calculations. The goal is machines with at least 100 logical qubits capable of hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations; first awards are expected in November–December.
BYD recalled 32,009 Shark 6 pickups in Australia due to the risk of the spare wheel detaching while driving. The issue affects Premium models (August 2024 – June 2026) and Performance models (January – June 2026); BYD South Africa also urged owners to contact dealers for inspection.
Anduril published photos of the FQ-44A Fury during weapons compatibility checks: guided bombs, 70mm rocket pods, air-to-air missiles and cruise missiles. The drone was selected by the US Air Force for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, and in June 2026 the company received a production contract.
The University of California, using Tanager-1 satellite data, identified the 15 largest methane sources in the Permian, Appalachia and Haynesville basins. The leader is an Energy Transfer site in Shreveport, Louisiana, leaking 1.72 tonnes of methane per hour, 15 times the EPA super-emitter threshold.
Idaho State University (ISU) will host the first US university-based advanced microreactor, the Advanced Research and Test Reactor, on its campus with NuCube Energy. The unit operates above 900 °C and uses heat pipes instead of pumps for cooling.
Royal Enfield has started taking orders for the Flying Flea C6 electric motorcycle in Europe at €5990 and in the UK at £5300, with deliveries starting in October. The model has a 3.91 kWh battery, a peak motor power of 15.4 kW (20.6 hp), and a range of 104 km on the WMTC cycle.
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.
