• One in seven turning to AI chatbots for health advice instead of GP

    More than 15% of the UK public have used AI chatbots for health advice instead of seeing their GP or another NHS service, according to a study by King’s College London. In the study over 2,000 people were interviewed about their attitudes towards AI in healthcare – both its personal use and its role in clinical settings. While 15% said they had used AI chatbots for health advice, one in 10 (10%) said they had used them for mental health support instead of seeing a trained professional. The most common reasons people give for turning to AI chatbots is convenience (46%), curiosity (45%) and uncertainty about whether their concern was serious enough to contact a GP (39%). A quarter (25%) said they did so because they were waiting too long for NHS services. Among those who have used AI…

  • UK and US data centres now consume around 6% of national electricity

    Data centres in both the UK and US now consume roughly 6% of each country’s electricity supply, according to a report by think tank the International Data Centre Authority (IDCA). The rapid growth in the number of data centres in countries across the world, driven by the AI boom, has seen electricity demands grow. This is adding pressure to local grids and, in some instances, has seen household electricity prices rise. The 2026 Global Data Centre Report, published by the IDCA, aims to provide a comprehensive view of the global data centre landscape, covering energy consumption, connectivity, security and the rise of AI-driven infrastructure. Data centres are energy guzzlers, requiring a significant amount of electricity for computation. According to figures from the report, their total…

  • JCB targets new land speed record with hydrogen-powered car

    UK engineering firm JCB aims to break the land speed record with a hydrogen-powered vehicle, 20 years after setting the diesel land speed record. In 2006, the JCB Dieselmax, driven by RAF Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, broke the diesel engine land speed record with a speed of 350mph (560km/h), a record that still stands. The firm will now return to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah but this time with the JCB Hydromax and, once again, Green will be behind the wheel. Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, said: “Britain has a proud heritage of setting speed records and, as a British company, I’m excited to challenge for a new one using hydrogen.” In July 2020, JCB announced its first ever digger powered by hydrogen instead of diesel. Bamford has spearheaded this hydrogen programme, which is…

  • King’s Speech 2026: Key measures for engineering and technology

    The government used the annual King’s Speech to outline a series of proposed engineering- and technology-related bills for the next parliamentary session. Yesterday King Charles III delivered the ‘King’s Speech’ at the State Opening of Parliament, a ceremonial event marking the start of a new parliamentary year. Although delivered by the monarch in his role as the UK head of state, the speech itself is written by the government, laying out its policies and proposed laws for the year ahead. King Charles set the tone for the government’s agenda at the start of his speech by warning that “an increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom, with the conflict in the Middle East only the most recent example”. He said the government would “respond to this world” by making…

  • Starlink-style satellite constellations could drive 42% of space pollution by 2030

    ‘Megaconstellation’ satellite systems, such as SpaceX’s Starlink and China’s Qianfan project, will be responsible for nearly half of all air pollution from the space sector by 2030, University College London (UCL) researchers have said. As of early May 2026, there are over 10,000 active Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit, easily the largest system of its type so far. While China’s Qianfan has only launched 504 so far, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper only 300, they are aiming for around 15,000 and 3,236 orbiting satellites respectively to complete the constellations. But a combination of rocket launches, and pollution caused by dead satellites falling back to Earth, is quickly racking up to be the space sectors’ largest individual source of air pollution. The UCL team said the black carbon…

  • Reactor system turns carbon dioxide into storable methane using renewable electricity

    A scalable reactor system uses renewable electricity and microbes to turn carbon dioxide into methane efficiently and cost-effectively, according to a study. In the study, led by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University, a process known as microbial electrosynthesis is used to convert renewable electricity into methane that can be stored over long periods. This bio-electrochemical technology uses microorganisms as biocatalysts to convert carbon dioxide and electricity into useful chemicals and fuels. Using electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind, the process offers a sustainable, low-energy way to produce fuel. In their microbial electrosynthesis system, the researchers used renewable electricity to split water and generate hydrogen. Microorganisms then rapidly…

  • One arrest every 35 minutes during six-month facial recognition trial in London

    A live facial recognition (LFR) technology trial on a busy south London street led to 170 arrests over six months, according to the Metropolitan Police. The pilot took place in Croydon town centre between October 2025 and March 2026. Over this period, the Met said LFR technology led to a 10.5% reduction in crime compared with the same period the previous year. Violence against women and girls offences saw the biggest reduction, falling by 21%. Arrests included a 36-year-old woman wanted for more than 20 years for failing to appear at court for an assault and a 41-year-old man wanted for rape relating to an incident in November. The pilot marked the first time that the Met in London has operated LFR deployments without the need for a police van. Previously, the cameras were mounted on…

  • EV charging method boosts battery life by 23% without slowing charging times

    A new AI-based charging method can adapt fast charging to a lithium-ion battery, extending its battery life without increasing charging times. A key barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption is access to fast charging to enable commuting and driving over longer distances. However, fast charging can be stressful for batteries, limiting their lifespan. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an AI-based charging strategy for EVs that adapts the current during each fast charge to the battery’s chemistry and ‘state of health’. As a result, battery life is extended by around 23% compared to standard methods, while charging time remains largely unaffected. “We show that it is possible to charge more or less as fast as today, but with significantly less long…

  • Keir Starmer announces plan to nationalise British Steel

    Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to nationalise British Steel in order to address concerns around security and to bolster domestic industries. New legislation will give the government the ability to safeguard UK steelmaking capacity and avoid a sudden halt of production at Scunthorpe while it considers British Steel’s future. The bill will be formally introduced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday and will see British Steel re-enter government hands for the first time since being sold off in 1988. The firm has been in limbo for over a year – while it is still technically owned by Jingye Group, the Scunthorpe plant itself has been effectively nationalised and taken out of Chinese control. Last year, parliament passed emergency legislation to give the government sweeping powers to control…

  • Long-lasting solar-powered system pulls drinking water from desert air

    A hydrogel-based system could offer a long-term solution for harvesting potable water from ambient air, according to a study. Hydrogels have been researched for many years as a means to produce water at low cost almost anywhere. The materials, which are made of salt and polymers, soak up large amounts of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. The water is then condensed back into liquid water and collected for drinking. The challenge is that these solar-powered harvesting systems only last for around eight months or 30 cycles of filling up and releasing water before they degrade. A team at Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability explored why this happened and what they could do to create a longer-lasting system that could be scaled. The hydrogel system they designed uses…

  • Fuel cell harvests energy from microscopic organisms to power ocean sensors

    An underwater fuel cell that recharges itself by consuming microscopic marine life could keep ocean sensors in the water powered for longer. Replacing batteries for underwater sensors can be a tricky endeavour, especially if they are located far out in difficult-to-access locations. Michigan Technological University researchers have developed a system that converts dissolved organic matter and microscopic forms of marine biomass into electrical power. “There are increasing deployments of all kinds of sensors in the marine environment for observing ecological conditions, organism migrations and acoustics relevant to naval defence,” said researcher Amy Marcarelli. “Almost all run on batteries, which have to be replaced.” Some sensing units can run on wave energy, but those devices have…

  • AI bots account for more than half of all web traffic, with 40% classified as malicious

    AI-driven automation now outpaces human activity on the internet, with 40% found to be malicious, according to a report by Thales. Global tech firm Thales has published its 2026 bad bot report: bad bots in the agentic age, which highlights the extent to which internet traffic is now generated by AI-driven bots. These bots fall into two categories: ‘good bots’ responsible for legitimate or useful automated tasks and ‘bad bots’ responsible for malicious, abusive or deceptive tasks. In 2025, automated bots made up more than 53% of all web traffic. Of that, 40% was generated by bad bots, up from 37% the year before. Human traffic, accounting for 47% of traffic, now represents a shrinking share of overall activity. According to Thales, the figures reflect not only the surge in AI-driven bot…

  • Lithium-ion battery fires occur every five hours across the UK

    UK fire brigades are tackling a lithium-ion battery fire every five hours, according to new research. Figures from global business insurer QBE reveal that the UK’s fire brigades were called to 1,760 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in 2025, equivalent to 4.8 fires a day. This is a 147% rise in the amount of lithium-ion fires over the past three years. By comparison, in 2022, the amount of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries were 713, equivalent to two fires a day. Lithium-ion batteries feature in many rechargeable devices, from smartphones and laptops to power tools, solar panels and electric vehicles, with a typical household containing between 15 to 25 of these devices. They pose a fire risk due to what is known as thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that causes the temperature…

  • Britain’s worst performing rail operators are all privately-owned, official data shows

    The UK’s worst train operators have been revealed, with CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway topping the table for most cancellations in 2026, according to official data. Local Insider used the industry-standard ‘period cancellation score’ based on statistics released by the Office of Rail and Road covering the first three months of this year. It found that 6.8% of all CrossCountry services were either fully or partially cancelled during that time period – the highest proportion of any of the 23 operators analysed. Avanti West Coast follows close behind with a 6.4% cancellation rate, then East Midlands with 4.8% and Govia Thameslink on 4.4%. The other end of the table outlines the best performing operators, with Hull Trains ranking as the most reliable with a cancellation…

  • AI breaks down defensive football tactics to boost scoring potential

    A new study uses AI to simulate ‘what if’ scenarios in football, revealing how coordinated team behaviour can improve the chances of scoring goals. Football is a team sport built around coordinated play to score goals – but improving goal-scoring potential lies not just in how how players pass the ball, but also in how they move and coordinate without it. It is this aspect of the game that a research team led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing wanted to analyse. In particular, they were keen to better understand a common defensive tactic called a low block, which is especially challenging to break down. It involves a team defending in a tight, narrow shape very deep in their own half of the pitch, just outside of their penalty area. When the opposition meets this low block, the…

  • Inkjet printing could cut OLED display costs by up to 35%

    Making OLED displays using age-old inkjet printing (IJP) technology could reduce the cost of manufacturing by up to 35%, new research suggests. Unlike more common backlit LCDs, OLED displays produce light from the pixels themselves and can produce images with greater dynamic range due to the elimination of “light bleed”. OLEDs have most commonly been made by heating organic molecules in a vacuum chamber until they evaporate and condense onto a substrate through a fine metal mask (FMM), which ensures that the red, green and blue materials land exactly where they belong. IJP technology has long been touted as a more efficient way of making the displays, but has languished in small-scale projects and laboratory prototypes until recently, hampered by its somewhat inconsistent output compared…

  • Centrica buys Severn gas plant amid data centre boom in South Wales

    Energy firm Centrica has confirmed that it has purchased an 850MW gas plant in South Wales near an area tipped to become a data centre hotspot in the coming years. The 16-year-old Severn Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) was purchased by the firm from Calon Energy Group for approximately £370m and represents a major acquisition in Centrica’s generating portfolio in the UK. South Wales is poised to become a major hotspot for European data centre development, as it has spare grid capacity and the energy infrastructure needed to support the electricity-hungry facilities. The area is currently securing roughly 20% of the entire UK’s upcoming data centre pipeline. Population hotspots such as London are currently grid-locked, with high local energy demands leaving very little slack for extra…

  • Brain implant delivers artificial sight to people with complete blindness

    A new wireless brain implant designed to provide artificial vision has been successfully implanted in a third participant. Developed over many years by a team led by the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP) system aims to create artificial vision for people who are completely blind. Most conventional approaches to restoring sight target the retina or optic nerve; however, many people affected by total blindness have damage to these areas, so this approach does not work for them. The ICVP system bypasses the eyes and optic nerve completely, instead targeting the visual cortex – the area of the brain responsible for processing sight. The intracortical implant features 34 wireless stimulators and 544 electrodes that deliver electrical signals directly…

  • Autonomous sailing drones to patrol vast waterways along US-Canada border

    The US Coast Guard has announced plans to deploy autonomous Saildrone vessels across the Great Lakes to boost maritime surveillance and security across borders. The Great Lakes, one of the largest freshwater systems in the world, straddles the border between the US and Canada. Covering around 244,000 km2, the waterway acts as a major hub for shipping and trade between the two countries. The vessels will be used to gather critical weather data for emergency response planning, track illicit activity and assist with maritime border security operations. US firm Saildrone develops uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) capable of performing long-range, long-endurance missions in the open ocean to obtain real-time data. Under this new contract with the US Coast Guard, its Explorer vessels will be…

  • Wind turbines beside railway tracks capture power from passing trains

    Three wind turbines have been installed alongside the East Coast Main Line to capture energy from passing trains. As the front of a train hits stationary air, it creates a high-pressure zone leading to significant turbulence that can be used to spin wind turbines. Train operator LNER installed the turbines at Hitachi Rail’s Craigentinny depot. Standing at around six feet tall and manufactured using upcycled materials, the turbines require no grid connection and are designed to be easily deployed on unused land alongside railway tracks. The clean energy generated will be harnessed, measured and used to power a range of devices as a precursor to potentially a broader roll-out across the UK rail network. LNER said that a single turbine can generate enough energy to power a third of a small…

  • Amazon begins its first UK drone deliveries from Darlington fulfilment centre

    Amazon has become the UK’s first retailer to make deliveries via drone following a series of customer trials. The firm first sought permission to launch drones from its Darlington fulfilment centre in early 2025 after using them for deliveries at various locations across the US for several years. Its service in Arizona does not give customers access to everything the site sells, and is limited to around “50,000 everyday essentials”. The available products included household and beauty items, as well as office and tech supplies. Customers who lived near the warehouse could purchase any eligible item weighing 2.2kg or less for delivery in under an hour. The same weight restrictions will apply for the UK launch, and are limited to customers living within a 12km radius of Amazon’s fulfilment…

  • UK-US consortium unveils plan for UK’s first commercial fusion power plant

    A UK-US industry consortium has been launched to develop Britain’s first private-sector-led fusion power plant. The UK Infinity Fusion Consortium consists of US-based fusion energy firm Type One Energy, UK-based fusion firm Tokamak Energy and global infrastructure and engineering firm AECOM. These three firms are already collaborating on Type One Energy’s 400 MWe Infinity Two stellarator-type fusion pilot plant in the US, which is targeted for commercial operation in 2034. The aim of the UK-based project – UK Infinity Two – is to use Type One Energy’s stellarator fusion machines, which, unlike tokamaks, use powerful superconducting magnets to efficiently control the superheated plasma, producing vast amounts of energy cleanly and safely. Tokamak Energy will supply the high-temperature…

  • Norway trials electric ferry that glides above water and will slash emissions

    An electric ferry that uses hydrofoil technology to glide on top of the water offers a low emission alternative to diesel ferries, according to researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Norway’s lengthy Trondheim Fjord is surrounded by many small towns and villages, and two ferry services and two express boat services operate daily to transport passengers across the fjord. A new electric boat dubbed ‘Frosta’ is being trialled to replace current diesel-powered services. Using ‘wing-like’ hydrofoil technology that lifts the boat’s hull out of the water, the vessel can reduce 80% of the water resistance on the hull, making it very energy-efficient. The boat’s electrically-powered engine, capable of cruising speeds of around 25 knots, only emits about 112g…

  • Battery first, people second: The accessibility cost of EV design

    The switch to electric vehicles comes with many challenges: one yet to be properly met is accessibility. So is there a design solution for wheelchair users? Imagine buying a new car and being told that you must travel in the luggage area. Not because the technology doesn’t exist to have you up-front, but because the vehicle has been engineered in a way that makes your comfort and inclusion inconvenient. No view of the road ahead, no conversation with the driver. Just straps, restraints and a position at the back, physically and socially removed from everyone else. Most people would find this unacceptable. Yet for many wheelchair users, this is precisely what the electric vehicle (EV) transition is delivering. For decades, wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) with petrol or diesel engines…

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