• Neso launches independent probe into blackout cover-up allegations

    The National Energy System Operator (Neso) has appointed an independent law firm to investigate allegations that staff covered up system failures during a recent heatwave that could have led to blackouts. Claims were made last week by a whistleblower within Neso that its control room staff were warned by senior bosses against leaving a paper trail relating to efforts to stabilise the grid during a heatwave in late June. They alleged this was to explicitly bypass Freedom of Information (FOI) audit trails, leaving no trace of what decisions were made to stabilise the power system. The whistleblower made the claims to shadow energy minister, Claire Coutinho, who on 7 July wrote to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) calling for an investigation. In the letter she wrote that Neso…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Space medical firsts: In-orbit tissue bioprinting and portable X-ray machines

    In two firsts, kidney and liver tissues have been successfully printed on the ISS while portable x-rays were taken during a SpaceX flight. As spaceflight missions increase in duration and distance, so too does the risk to astronauts' health. With medical emergencies potentially requiring treatment in orbit, scientists are developing advanced in-space technologies to deal with such events. US-based biotech and medical device firm Auxilium Biotechnologies has developed a bioprinter capable of printing both living tissue cells and implantable medical products. During a recent mission, the platform was used to manufacture kidney, liver and cartilage tissues as well as 28 nerve repair implants aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The tissues and implants recently returned to Earth on…

  • Giant space mirror to beam sunlight onto solar panels at night

    An orbiting mirror designed to reflect sunlight onto solar farms after dark has received regulatory approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Developed by Californian start-up Reflect Orbital, the aim is to have a constellation of satellites in space that reflect sunlight onto existing solar farms on Earth after sunset. Solar panels only generate energy when the sun shines on them, but this technology allows that existing infrastructure to continue producing electricity during the night. The FCC has granted Reflect Orbital a license to launch and operate its first demonstration satellite, called Earendil-1. Once it’s reached low-Earth orbit (LEO), an 18 metres by 18 metres reflective surface will unfurl. The startup plans to launch Earendil-1 later this year. If successful…

  • 3D-printed contact lenses ready in 20 minutes at the optician

    Contact lenses can be 3D printed in just 20 minutes to perfectly fit a patient’s prescription using a new platform developed by University of Waterloo (UW) researchers. The system could pave the way for specialised lenses to be designed, manufactured and dispensed during a single visit to the optician. Most contact lenses are manufactured in a limited range of sizes and shapes rather than being custom-made for each person’s eye. While soft lenses are suitable for many wearers, patients with irregularly shaped corneas often require rigid lenses to achieve clear vision. Finding the right fit can require several appointments over weeks or months before patients receive lenses that fit properly and provide the function they need. Dr Shirley Tang, a UW professor, said the technology brings…

  • EU solar power hits all-time monthly high in June

    Solar power provided a quarter of the EU's electricity in June 2026, marking an all-time high. Analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that solar generated a record 52TWh of EU electricity in June 2026. At 25%, it was the bloc’s largest single source of power for the month, ahead of nuclear (21%), gas (15%), wind (14%), hydro (12%) and coal (8%). It’s the third time a monthly record has been broken. The first was June 2025 and then again in May 2026, where solar generated 47TWh (23%). “Solar’s rise has been truly stratospheric, beating prediction after prediction,” said senior analyst at Ember, Chris Rosslowe. “In just a few years solar has gone from a small player to an essential part of Europe’s power system, as governments and citizens look for low-cost, quick-to-install domestic…

  • Meta could be fined over $12bn by the EU over 'addictive' Facebook features

    Facebook and Instagram have been labelled as “addictive” by the EU’s law-making arm which has ordered Meta to make changes or face large fines. The European Commission said that Meta was deemed to be in breach of the Digital Services Act due to features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the platforms’ highly personalised recommender systems. The act, first introduced in 2023, applied to social media platforms in particular and included bans on targeted advertising aimed at children. It also forbids “dark patterns” – tactics that mislead people into giving personal data to companies online. In its recent findings, the Commission found that Meta had not “adequately assessed the risks” of its addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including…

  • Quantum dot breakthrough could transform TV and smartphone screens

    Digital displays including flat-screen TVs and smartphone screens could be more energy efficient while generating richer, brighter colours with a new technique from MIT researchers. Working with Samsung, the team studied microscopic changes that occur inside LEDs that utilise electrically excited quantum dots, which are precisely shaped nanoscale semiconductor particles that emit extremely pure coloured light. Conventional LED displays utilise thousands of tiny lightbulbs that generate the red, green and blue light needed to create the perception of any colour on the visible spectrum. More advanced OLED screens utilise electrically excited, glowing organic molecules instead of light bulbs. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team sought to replace the organic molecules with…

  • 256mph remote-controlled vehicle breaks world speed record

    A remote-controlled (RC) vehicle has officially set a new world record, reaching speeds faster than an F1 car. Built by Royal Enfield motorcycle engineer Stephen Wallis in his home garage, the custom-built, one-metre long ‘Mach Reaper’ tore down the runway at Llanbedr Airfield in North Wales, reaching a peak speed of 256.47mph (412.7 km/h). This broke the previous 234.71mph (377.73 km/h) Guinness World Record Wallis set earlier this year with the predecessor car, The Beast. Wallis’ childhood interest in RC vehicles was rekindled in 2024 when he set himself the goal of building an RC car capable of breaking 200mph (321.87 km/h). At that time, the outright Radio Operated Scale Speed Association (ROSSA) speed trap record stood at 218.47mph (351.6 km/h). Rather than taking cues from the vehicle…

  • NHS begins £10bn AI rollout for patients and clinicians

    The NHS is rolling out a range of AI tools that will help patients determine which service to use. The NHS App will soon direct patients to a specific department, whether it be a GP, pharmacy, local A&E, or self-care at home. The aim is to eliminate the 8am scramble for GP appointments, ensuring those that need a doctor are seen sooner. The AI triage tool has already been trialled at a GP practice in Sussex, where it led to a 29% reduction in the number of people queuing on the phone. The initial rollout will reach more than 200,000 patients within the next 12 months, and all NHS App users by April 2028. Patients will still have the option to contact their GP practice via phone call. AI will also be adopted during patient consultations to record conversations. The real-time transcriptions…

  • Microsoft’s AI expansion sees its emissions jump 25% in one year

    Microsoft’s emissions have increased by 25% in the last year alone, as the tech giant ramps up construction on the data centres needed to fulfil its AI ambitions. AI requires thousands of specialised, power-hungry chips (GPUs) running continuously in data centres that require huge amounts of energy to run, and thousands of litres of water to keep cool. Even during regular use, asking an AI chatbot a series of 10 to 50 questions can consume the equivalent of 500ml in data centre cooling. In its latest sustainability report, Microsoft admitted: “Our total emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) increased 25% year over year, driven primarily by the expansion of our data centre infrastructure and pausing our use of non-additional, unbundled renewable energy certificates as we prioritise investments…

  • Underground sensors could predict landslides days in advance

    Networks of sensors below ground could provide a reliable warning of impending, dangerous landslides days before they happen. Scientists at University of California San Diego (UCSD) have spent four years installing advanced in-ground monitoring technology including a range of sensors of varying costs and sensitivity. They also expanded coastal lidar surveys, using the advanced laser imaging technology to map the surface elevation to precisely track the state of cliffs and beaches before and after failures. Roughly 70% of the California coast is made up of eroding coastal cliffs. These cliffs are home to important infrastructure like highways, railways, coastal access points, energy facilities, and structures, and can be deadly to beachgoers when a cliff collapse occurs. The researchers…

  • World’s largest cargo aircraft targets 2029 flight

    The enormous WindRunner cargo aircraft is edging closer to take-off as its developer secures key engineering partners ahead of a 2029 test flight. Conceived by US-based startup Radia, WindRunner, which has roughly 12 times the cargo volume of a Boeing 747, has been designed to transport oversized payloads. After a decade in development, the firm has moved past the initial design phase and is now working to combine its various advanced technologies into a single, functioning system. For this phase, Radia is teaming up with French aerospace company Latécoère, to develop the aircraft’s electrical architecture, and UK-based aerospace engineering firm Stirling Dynamics, to oversee the integration of its flight control systems. "Building WindRunner requires more than designing a revolutionary…

  • Satellite sensor system could sniff out nuclear weapons in space

    Scientists have proposed a space-based sensor system that could be used to detect if satellites are carrying a nuclear weapon. In 2024, the US warned that Russia could be developing a new satellite designed to carry nuclear weapons into space following a suspicious launch into low-Earth orbit just prior to the attempted invasion of Ukraine. A nuclear detonation in low-Earth orbit, the region about 100 miles to 1,200 miles above Earth’s surface, would release trillions of highly energetic electrons that would destroy many of the satellites in space, disrupting telecommunications networks, GPS, space-based internet, and more. In a new paper published in Nature, MIT professor Areg Danagoulian proposes a satellite-based sensor system that could orbit close by a suspect satellite and detect…

  • Sizewell B nuclear plant given 20 year extension

    EDF and the government have signed an agreement to extend the lifespan of Sizewell B power station in Suffolk until 2055. Since early 2024, French energy giant EDF has been petitioning the UK government to allow it to continue operating the Sizewell B nuclear power plant for 20 years beyond its planned 2035 closure date. The fate of the power station has now been decided upon with the two parties having signed on a Contract for Difference (CfD) agreement to extend the lifetime out to 2055. CfD is a government scheme to incentivise investment in renewable energy projects by offering developers a 15-year contract that guarantees a fixed price (or strike price) for the electricity they generate, providing a more stable revenue stream. Under the agreement, a strike price of £70.50/MWh (2025…

  • Fiat’s tiny £8,995 EV makes UK debut

    The super compact, two-seater Fiat Topolino EV has landed in the UK and US, with prices starting at £8,995 in the UK. The Fiat Topolino is so small that it is not actually classified as a car, rather a quadricycle. Measuring just 1.4 metres wide and 2.5 metres long, the model is best placed for short, urban trips. It features a 6kW electric motor and 5.5kWh battery, with a top speed of 45km/h and range of up to 74km. A single-speed automatic transmission and three-position drive selector (drive, neutral, reverse) makes it easy to drive for first time EV users. The vehicle has space for only two passengers, but by offsetting the front seats, it can also carry 63-litres of storage, including a dashboard-mounted compartment. First launched in its home country of Italy in 2023, the Topolino…

  • World's first commercial nuclear satellite takes flight

    The world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite has been launched into orbit atop of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Space manufacturer City Labs said its Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability (BOHR) power system will act as a dedicated power source for its test CubeSat, providing continuous, long-duration electrical power independent of solar energy. City Labs’ nuclear technology is designed to allow space assets to continue operating when traditional power systems fall short. This includes in deep space, permanently shadowed lunar regions, and long-duration autonomous sensor networks. With the US Department of Defence seeking less vulnerable power systems for military satellites, the BOHR CubeSat could point towards a future where tritium is used as an energy source instead of solar for…

  • FBI seizes more than 600 drones to protect World Cup matches

    The FBI claims it has seized over 600 drones near World Cup venues across all 11 host cities in the US in a bid to stop disruption to the tournament. Posting on X, the agency said that “unprecedented law enforcement coordination” was required to ensure that matches did not face disruption. Since the start of the tournament, all World Cup stadiums and surrounding event spaces have been designated as strict “No Drone Zones.” The rules mean that taking off, landing, or flying a drone within these restricted areas is a violation of federal and local regulations that could see civil fines up to $75,000, or criminal fines up to $100,000. While a massive number of drone seizures have taken place, no actual World Cup matches have been delayed by drones so far. But there was minor disruption during…

  • Ethernet at 50: How a half-century-old technology keeps reinventing itself

    Many computing technologies have come and gone but Ethernet endures. Or at least something called Ethernet... When he took to the stage in Cupertino, California, at the influential Hot Interconnects conference last summer, Amin Vahdat, Google’s chief technologist for AI and infrastructure, said networks have to change to support the hunger for computing that his company’s applications need. “We have to unlearn a lot,” he claimed. Today, Ethernet serves a vast range of requirements. “The same host network stack was used to service [wide-area network] communication at very low data rates to AI communication at the highest levels of bandwidth, the lowest levels of latency, the lowest levels of jitter,” said Vahdat. Yet the new network envisaged by Vahdat and others working on large-scale…

  • Scotland mulls AI data centre ban as energy concerns grow

    The Scottish government is considering a temporary pause on new data centre applications following concerns about the sector's energy demand and environmental impact. Pressure has been mounting from Scottish campaigners against a raft of proposed hyperscale data centres across the country. There are currently 24 projects in the planning stages that if approved would put pressure on the grid and impact renewable energy supplies, water resources and climate targets. The Scottish National party (SNP) has debated the issue internally after public pressure and pushback from local councils including Edinburgh and East Ayrshire, as well as the Scottish Green Party. The SNP’s policy-making body, the National Council, then voted to officially back calls for a temporary moratorium on all new unapproved…

  • Microsoft insists AI isn't replacing workers as it cuts 2% of global workforce

    Microsoft is cutting around 4,800 roles, or about 2.1% of its global workforce, mostly from its Xbox gaming division. In a blog post, chief people officer Amy Coleman said that the roles eliminated “are not being replaced by AI” but did concede that the technology is “changing how work gets done”. This includes automation of some tasks and a need to continue “adapting as the work evolves”. Like its contemporaries, the firm is heavily invested in AI and plans to spend roughly $190bn (£142bn) on data centres, powerful hardware, and securing massive energy grids in 2026 alone. This represents a 61% increase from last year. The job cuts will lead to a number of closures, while four Xbox game development studios – Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Ninja Theory and Undead Lab – are…

  • Can harvesting water from the air solve the global water scarcity problem?

    Novel metal-organic frameworks could support commercially efficient water harvesting from air – even in low-humidity desert regions. Imagine if there was an off-grid system that could produce 300,000 to 500,000 litres of water per day, in the desert, sourcing it only from the air,” says Magnus Bach, VP of business development at technology company Atoco. “That would be pretty amazing.” Aptly, Bach is outlining Atoco’s vision from the company’s offices in Dubai, UAE – one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, which also has one of the highest rates of consumption per capita. The company, according to Bach, is closing in on making its dream a reality. This summer, it plans to deploy 3m prototypes of its atmospheric water-harvesting technology in south-western US and the Middle…

  • Octopus enters home battery market with own product range

    Octopus Energy has launched the 2kWh and 5kWh ‘Nook’ home battery range to “help people tap into the cheapest energy possible”. The announcement was made by the energy supplier’s founder and CEO Greg Jackson (above) at an event held as part of London Climate Action Week. Consisting of two different sizes depending on the size of property, the batteries will charge when electricity on the grid is cheapest and then discharge the power into the home when electricity is at its most expensive. “Home batteries are a brilliant piece of tech and one of the smartest ways to cut energy bills right now. Offering Octopus batteries to our customers is a big step in our mission to help people to tap into the cheapest energy possible,” said Jackson. The smaller of the two – Nook Cube – is a shoebox…

  • Plasma process turns spent coffee grounds into solid carbon fuel

    A “world-first” plasma technology rapidly transforms wet organic waste into a valuable energy resource without any need for pre-drying, according to a study. Researchers at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) in South Korea have developed a “world-first” flame plasma pyrolysis (FPP) technology to rapidly convert wet spent coffee grounds into usable biochar, a carbon-rich form of charcoal. Coffee is a popular drink worldwide and one that generates an enormous amount of waste. Once coffee is brewed, its spent wet grounds often end up thrown away and in landfill or incinerated, where it contributes to carbon emissions. For many years research has been undertaken as to how to convert this vast waste resource into fuel or carbon products. But to do so requires the…

  • Ukraine’s nuclear plants to receive UK-made uranium fuel supplies through loan

    The UK will provide a £210m loan to Ukraine to enable it to purchase enriched uranium for its fleet of nuclear power plants. The country has faced relentless attacks on its energy infrastructure since the start of the war with Russia in 2022. A report by Eurelectric in February estimated that approximately 50% of Ukraine’s total energy infrastructure and production capacity has been destroyed during the war, with over 67% of thermal generation capacity lost. The country has four long-standing nuclear power plants, although Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station has been under Russian control since 2022. The remaining three lie deep within Ukraine’s territory and are reliable energy generators for a country that faces challenges trying to meet the electricity demand of its people in the face…

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