Daniel Kim — Technology Editor 
Researchers at MIT and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a bird-scale robot capable of flying, diving into water, and swimming before launching back into the air. This flapping-wing vehicle, which costs approximately $300 in materials, offers a low-cost method for monitoring marine environments and studying avian biomechanics. Engineering the Air-to-Water … Read more
China is developing an ambitious planetary defense mission that aims to strike a near-Earth asteroid at speeds exceeding Mach 26, according to a research paper currently under peer review by the South China Morning Post. Led by Li Mingtao, chief scientist for planetary defense at the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the project is designed … Read more
On July 9, the Federal Communications Commission approved Reflect Orbital’s application to launch Earendil-1, an experimental satellite featuring a 59-by-59-foot reflective mirror. The startup aims to test beaming sunlight to specific ground locations at night, a decision that has triggered intense opposition from astronomers citing risks to research, safety, and the environment. FCC Regulatory Jurisdiction … Read more
Jared Palmer, who served as Vice President of Engineering at Xbox, has resigned from his position at Microsoft to join the AI company Cognition, where he will lead engineering. Palmer announced his departure via social media on July 21, 2026, marking the end of a brief tenure at the gaming division. Jared Palmer Departs Xbox … Read more
Major U.S. banks posted a 39 percent quarterly profit surge, yet investors are now pivoting focus to the artificial intelligence sector. As tech companies prepare to report second-quarter results, markets remain on edge, weighing the potential for a reversal in the long-running AI-driven rally against recent macroeconomic improvements. Bank Earnings Defy Expectations The financial sector … Read more
Proton Shuttle-Assisted Triplet Energy Transfer (PS-TET) A research team led by Professor Kaifeng Wu at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics has discovered a mechanism that could fundamentally change how we manage energy in molecular technologies. Known as proton shuttle-assisted triplet energy transfer (PS-TET), this process uses the movement of protons to catalyze the transfer … Read more
University of Surrey researchers have launched the Heat-Cool program, equipping over 500 children with thermal cameras to identify school hotspots and design cooling solutions. This initiative, detailed in Environmental Research Communications on July 22, 2026, empowers students to combat rising U.K. temperatures through evidence-based, nature-focused playground redesigns. As U.K. schools grapple with increasingly frequent heatwaves, … Read more
Researchers at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have produced the first spatially resolved spectral index map of the M87 black hole, marking a transition from static imaging to dynamic physical diagnosis of black hole environments. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 20, 2026, analyzes the … Read more
Chinese researchers at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory have produced the first spatially resolved spectral-index map of the M87 black hole. Published July 20, 2026, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study uses dual-frequency data to reveal how plasma properties vary near the event horizon, offering new insights into jet formation. In a milestone for high-resolution … Read more
Researchers at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) have produced the first spatially resolved spectral-index map of the M87 black hole. Published July 20 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study uses dual-frequency data to reveal how plasma properties shift near the event horizon, offering new insights into jet formation. The 2019 image of the M87 … Read more