• Health groups call for EU fossil fuel phase-out over air pollution

    The European Union Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC), along with over 30 health organisations, has launched an appeal calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels. The joint statement calls on EU policymakers to immediately transition away from fossil fuels. “Climate change and air pollution are the greatest environmental threats to health in Europe, and burning fossil fuels is a major driver of both,” it reads. The EUHAC argues that Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, with air pollution resulting in “hundreds of thousands of premature deaths annually.” Poor air quality affects the lungs and other organs, it has also been shown to have an impact on mental and neurological health. The statement cites a recent European Commission report which found that health damages from air…

  • ‘Lose weight or lose your job’: North Sea workers face helicopter limit

    Hundreds of North Sea offshore workers who exceed new helicopter safety limits are being offered weight-loss jabs to save their jobs, according to a report by The Telegraph. From 1 November 2026, any worker arriving at a heliport who weighs more than 124kg in their clothing and shoes will be barred from flying out to sea. The Safe Weight Limit Policy was introduced by trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) a year ago, with the mandatory compliance coming into force in less than two months. It was introduced because search and rescue helicopters in the UK, Norway and the Netherlands use winches with a strict maximum lift capacity of 249kg. If a worker has to be evacuated, when accounting for the weight of a rescue winchman, a stretcher, and emergency gear, their weight cannot exceed 124kg…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • US to build $100m rare earth magnet recycling plant amid China export restrictions

    US Strategic Metals (USSM) will build a $100m recycling plant for rare earth magnets in the US state of Missouri, as China continues to restrict their export. Built in collaboration with Ionic Rare Earths USA, the plant will recycle Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) and Samarium-Cobalt (SmCo) – the two main types of rare-earth permanent magnets. As the materials have different magnetic strengths and temperature limits, they are typically used in slightly different products. Among other things, NdFeB is used in traction motors for electric vehicles (EV) – components that are in increasingly large demand as sales of EVs grow year-on-year. Rare earth magnets are also critical minerals in the development of wind turbines, as well as medical equipment, pumps, robotics and electronics. China has…

  • VW confirms 100,000 job cuts across its global operation by 2030

    Volkswagen (VW) will cut an additional 50,000 jobs across its global automotive group, bringing the total cuts to 100,000 by 2030, the carmaker has announced. As part of its Future Plan 2030, sweeping cost cutting measures will be implemented across the group, as well as model reductions. While rumours about the 100,000 job cut, which amount to roughly 15% of the group’s global staff, had been circulating earlier this year in the German press, the plans have now been formally approved by VW’s supervisory board. In total, the plan includes 12 “initiatives” designed to make the group and its brands “more resilient and competitive under demanding market conditions”. As well as the additional 50,000 job cuts, the other headline initiative of the restructure includes a staggered phase-out…

  • Onshore wind to save UK billpayers £3bn annually by 2030

    If government targets to reach 29GW of onshore wind by 2030 are met, households could save around £3bn a year, according to research from RenewableUK. As part of net zero goals, the government wants to ensure that clean energy sources will produce at least 95% of Great Britain’s electricity generation by 2030. Since the lifting of the de facto onshore wind ban in July 2024, the UK has seen a dramatic surge in planning applications and project pipelines, though this has not yet translated into a massive increase in physically built, operational turbines due to development timelines. The UK currently has 16.4GW of onshore wind fully operational, generating 12% of domestic electricity needs. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), the wholesale price of energy would have…

  • Melting permafrost to cause $261bn in infrastructure damage

    Arctic communities are facing a $261bn (£193bn) bill from infrastructure damage caused by melting permafrost. Permafrost is ground that permanently remains below freezing for at least two consecutive years. It covers about 24% of the Northern Hemisphere including large areas of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. But in recent years, climate change has caused a significant reduction in permafrost, a pattern that is expected to increase in the coming decades as global temperatures rise. Researchers from the University of Connecticut believe that the damage caused from the melting events has been significantly underestimated, with previous studies only considering a building’s two dimensional structure. This is especially relevant for Siberian communities, with many residents living in multi-story…

  • Apple faces £2bn UK lawsuit over ‘unfair’ app privacy rules

    Apple is facing a £2bn legal action on behalf of thousands of UK app developers who allege its privacy framework hit their ad revenue while favouring its own services. In 2021, the tech giant introduced its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) Framework, a feature that requires apps to obtain user consent through a pop-up window before tracking their activity across other apps and websites. If users opt out, the app is blocked from tracking data used to deliver targeted ads. The claimants, represented by law firm Hausfeld, allege that the ATT framework was designed and implemented unfairly and without proper consultation. They also claim that these strict requirements don’t apply to Apple’s own offerings, with the tech firm using an internal pop-up to request user consent to personalised advertising…

  • London Underground 5G now rivals coverage above ground

    5G availability and signal strength on parts of London’s Underground are now comparable to those above ground, according to UK market analysis firm Ookla. While many other major capital cities around the world have introduced mobile coverage into their underground transport networks, London’s Tube has for many years been known as a mobile not-spot, much to the frustration of commuters. In 2021, Transport for London (TfL) committed to having full 4G or 5G coverage across the Tube’s 121 subterranean stations and tunnel system by the end of 2024. This deadline has been pushed to the end of this year, with more than 60% of the Tube’s network currently having coverage. To evaluate the signal quality in these areas, Ookla analysed over 50 million background signal scans collected across the…

  • Heathrow runway plans incompatible with UK climate targets, study finds

    There is no “credible scenario” where an expansion to Heathrow Airport can go ahead without making it extremely difficult for the UK to meet its legally binding climate targets, researchers have said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the initial go-ahead on the controversial third runway at Britain’s largest airport soon after Labour entered office in the summer of 2024. But last year, MPs on the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee warned that the project, alongside other airport expansions, were inconsistent with the UK’s climate change goals and put the delivery of net zero carbon goals in “serious jeopardy”. Now, new modelling by a team at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at The University of Manchester has concluded that the two technologies relied upon to enable passenger…

  • Nasa awards Blue Origin $700m contract for Mars communications network

    Nasa has awarded Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin with a $700m contract to develop the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN). The mission is intended to provide better communication for Mars landers, rovers and other spacecraft on the surface of the planet. The firm’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) will be designed to function essentially as an “Interplanetary Internet” router, relaying data between Mars rovers and Earth at much higher data rates than currently possible. Built on high-performance Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) and advanced RF technology, the system will manage continuous, high-speed transmissions back to Earth while utilising deployable UHF relay satellites to communicate with surface rovers. MTO is built upon Blue Ring, Blue Origin’s spacecraft which is designed to tow…

  • Uber robotaxi service makes London debut

    From today, Londoners hailing an Uber may be matched with an autonomous robotaxi. The US-based ride-hailing firm has teamed up with AI start-up Wayve to bring a self-driving vehicle service to London’s streets. To abide by Transport for London (TfL) regulations, the initial rollout will feature a TfL-licensed private hire driver onboard to oversee each trip and take over driving if necessary. The service will launch with a small fleet of 15 all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles. Each vehicle is equipped with surround sensors and Wayve’s ‘AI Driver’ system. This embodied AI system, called AV2.0, enables vehicles to learn from experience to anticipate what will happen next and respond immediately to changing conditions, just like a human driver would. Wayve has been trialling the technology…

  • Breaching 1.5C global warming threshold now inevitable, warns UN report

    The world is expected to exceed the 1.5C climate target, with global temperatures projected to peak at around 1.8C even under the best-case scenario, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its ‘Limiting Overshoot’ report warns that due to insufficient global action to cut emissions, global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5C within the next few years, “pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights.” Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, 189 nations pledged to reduce their carbon emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change and ensure the 1.5C warming threshold is not crossed. The UNEP report stresses that there are “no good outcomes if we remain above 1.5C,” but states that there is still time to bring temperatures back down to that…

  • Nuclear-powered commercial ships take step towards deployment

    Nuclear-powered commercial ships are moving closer to deployment after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched a global initiative to tackle the regulatory barriers facing the technology. Global shipping is already responsible for around 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but with global trade predicted to quadruple by 2050, these emissions will increase rapidly without urgent action. The shipping sector is considered hard to decarbonise, as electrifying ships is considerably more challenging than electrifying cars or other vehicles from both a technical and a market perspective. Significant resource and investment is currently being channelled into the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), mini versions of power stations made in factories and capable of…

  • Smartwatches significantly overestimate calories burned during exercise

    Smartwatches have been found to “significantly overestimate” how many calories people burn during exercise and estimates become even less accurate as body fat increases. Researchers at Florida International University (FIU) tested four popular fitness trackers – the Apple Watch Series 8, Fitbit Sense 2, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Garmin Forerunner 955 – against clinical-grade laboratory equipment that measured participants’ true energy use. They found typical errors in smartwatch calorie estimates of about 15% to 25%, with averages for the worst-performing watches climbing much higher. Apple’s devices proved to be the most accurate, while Garmin and Samsung were prone to overestimating. The discrepancy means if a smartwatch claims that 500 calories were burned during a workout, the real…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Range Rover unveils its first all-electric SUV

    British luxury SUV brand Range Rover has unveiled its first electric model, a £154k EV offering up to 600 km of range and a 10-to-80% charge time of 22 minutes. Parent company Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has been teasing details of the new Range Rover Electric for some time, but it has now fully revealed the vehicle and is allowing customers to place orders. More than five years in the making, the Range Rover Electric joins the ranks of other premium SUV brands making their foray into all-electric variants. However, rather than starting with a completely blank canvas, the design team was keen to ensure it remained recognisably a Range Rover. In fact, they deliberately chose not to make it look different from its combustion-engine counterparts. Rachel Hogg, Range Rover's global production…

  • Ultrasound speaker beams audio directly to individual listeners

    A new speaker system based on ultrasound is able to direct sound in a narrow beam to an individual, allowing them to hear audio without disturbing those around them. Researchers at South Korea’s Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) developed the speaker, called MiPAL, that is able to deliver sound within a targeted area. One of the bugbears of public transport is the noise of other passengers, including music from commuters or frequent announcements. While conventional speakers emit audible sound that naturally spreads in all directions, a newer technology called parametric array loudspeakers (PAL) instead emits high-frequency ultrasonic waves that travel in a highly focused, laser-like beam. However, the system requires the precise arrangement of tens or hundreds of individual…

  • Dyson toothbrush uses AI camera to target missed plaque

    Dyson has unveiled an electric toothbrush with a camera embedded in the head that can identify the parts of a user's mouth that need the most cleaning. The tech-focused Dyson CameraJet is able to analyse 28 live images per second to find gaps in real time which triggers a precision burst of mouthwash or water when needed. The firm, which is known for its innovative vacuum cleaner designs, said it spent six years researching and developing the toothbrush that it claims should reduce the need for traditional flossing. According to the World Health Organisation’s 2025 Global Oral Health Status Report, nearly 3.7bn people are estimated to be affected by oral diseases globally, although at $499 (£369), the CameraJet will likely be targeted primarily at wealthier customers. The 100k pixel…

  • Global commercial aircraft order backlog reaches 17,000 for first time

    A record backlog of more than 17,000 commercial aircraft demonstrates “resilience” but would take more than 12 years to clear, according to trade association ADS. The latest figures from ADS for July 2026 reveal that a post-pandemic surge in air travel has pushed the global aircraft order backlog to a record 17,037 planes. Commenting on the figures, ADS chief executive Kevin Craven stated that these results reflect “remarkable resilience and long-term strength” of the market, and a “significant opportunity for the UK’s world-leading aerospace sector.” Its data shows that airlines placed 242 orders in July 2026 alone, more than five times the 38 orders recorded in July 2025. This equates to 187 single-aisle aircraft, a 467% increase on July 2025, and 55 widebody aircraft, up 1,000% compared…

  • Microplastics in soil put UK food security at risk, MPs warn

    The UK’s food security is at risk from increasing pollution of agricultural soil by microplastics, a report from MPs has found. According to the all-party parliamentary group (APPG), microplastics are interacting with food systems by degrading soil quality, reducing crop productivity and introducing contaminants into agricultural land through pathways such as sewage sludge application. Despite the warnings, the UK currently lacks a “coherent” policy response for microplastics, the group said. There are no legally defined reduction targets so far and no regulatory limits imposed on areas such as wastewater, air or soils. Microplastics, which are smaller than 5 millimetres in size, disrupt soil structure, alter microbial communities, and directly impede plant development from seed to harvest…

  • Robot swarms to construct timber buildings from the top down

    A building construction technique using swarms of robotic assemblers and lifting units is being developed by architecture firm Foster and Partners (F&P). The swarms of robots will be designed to build modular timber structures that can be adapted over time and disassembled on demand. By focusing on timber as a structural material, SWIFT-BUILD (Swarm-based Inverted Fabrication for Timber Buildings) is designed to demonstrate that its automated construction methods are sustainable and low-cost. Unlike traditional construction techniques, the robotic construction system builds timber structures from the top down by assembling each floor at ground level, then lifting it upward to make room for the next. A team of coordinated robots handles the work, with ground-based machines assembling and…

  • AI helps neurosurgeon remove brain tumour in world first

    AI has been used to assist in the removal of a brain tumour by a neurosurgeon for the first time. 48-year-old Rhys Hibbert is the first patient to have had surgery using the technique, and doctors believe that without the operation, his tumour would have continued to threaten his sight and could ultimately have led to blindness. The operation successfully removed the tumour and protected his vision. During the procedure at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, UK, AI analysed the live surgical video feed in real time, rather than using pre-surgery scans, to help the surgical team make more precise decisions by highlighting critical structures at the base of the brain. In this part of the brain, the pituitary gland, blood vessels and nerves controlling vision…

  • SpaceX plans $100bn Starbase launch complex in Louisiana

    SpaceX has unveiled plans to build a $100bn (£73bn) rocket launch complex in southern Louisiana that will be its largest facility yet. Dubbed Starbase, the launchpad will be built to support thousands of Starship flights a year and will include a propellant production facility, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities and an airport. It will become the company’s fourth launch site. At full buildout, Starbase will include five launch complexes, each with two launch pads. While it has only just been announced, SpaceX said construction would start in 2027, with the first launches of its massive Starship rocket taking place in 2029. In June, SpaceX launched its highly-anticipated IPO that valued the company at $1.77tn, despite the fact that it only…

  • Industry insight: Why AI benchmarks don’t prove real-world reliability

    This article has been provided by Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts. Engineering teams are being asked to make consequential decisions from a deceptively simple object: a benchmark score. A model appears more accurate, capable or efficient than its competitors, and the number begins to stand in for a much harder question—whether the system will behave dependably in the environment where it will actually be used. The distinction matters because benchmark performance is not operational fitness. NIST’s recent work on AI evaluation separates benchmark accuracy from generalised accuracy. The first describes performance on a fixed set of test items. The second tries to estimate performance across a broader population of similar tasks. Those measures can differ, and both depend…

  • China data centres to use nearly three times UK total electricity by 2030

    China’s rapid build-out of data centres will see the sector using nearly three times as much energy as the entirety of the UK by 2030, analysis from Wood Mackenzie shows. Like many countries around the world, China has wholeheartedly embraced AI technologies in the last few years, which has necessitated the need for massive data centre construction. The report suggests that by 2030, electricity requirements from the sector will triple, equating to around 6% of the country’s entire electricity consumption, or around 774TWh. To put that in perspective, the UK’s total national power grid currently sees generation of around 275-320TWh. The report – Rewiring China’s grid for the AI era – predicted that by 2060, data centres could account for 17% of China’s total electricity consumption. “Data…

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