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August 8^th 2025

⚡️ Energy

🇦🇺 Australian engineers launch world's most powerful battery to support clean grid transition

Australia has activated the Waratah Super Battery, set to become the world’s most powerful battery by output once fully commissioned later this year. Developed by Akaysha Energy and backed by BlackRock, the 850 MW/1,680 MWh system will help stabilize the electricity grid and support nearly one million homes for an hour. Built on a former coal power site, it plays a critical role in Australia’s shift to renewables by reducing blackout risks and enabling greater solar energy integration.

🚘 Transport

🇮🇹 🇨🇭 Italian and Swiss engineers unveil electric water taxi to cut emissions in Venice's canals

A partnership between Italian design studio Nauta Design, shipbuilder Cantiere Serenella, and Swiss energy company Repower has produced Lucietta, the first fully electric Venetian water taxi. Designed to meet strict size constraints of Venice’s canals, Lucietta can carry 14 passengers and operate all day on a single charge while emitting no pollution. The vessel, revealed at the Salone Nautico di Venezia and built with sustainable materials, aims to modernize marine transport without compromising Venetian tradition.

🚀 Space

🇮🇳 Indian startup develops world’s largest single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine, eliminating weak points

India’s Agnikul Cosmos has unveiled the world’s largest fully 3D-printed, single-piece rocket engine, built from high-performance Inconel alloy without welds or fasteners. This patented design enhances structural integrity and simplifies production, marking a major leap in additive manufacturing for aerospace. The breakthrough highlights India's expanding role in global space tech and paves the way for cheaper, more reliable rockets.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence

🇬🇧 Google Deepmind unveils AI that creates interactive worlds from text in real time

Google DeepMind has launched Genie 3, an AI model capable of generating interactive, game-like environments from simple text prompts with real-time movement at 720p and 24 fps. Unlike previous models, Genie 3 simulates physical interactions, remembers locations for consistency, and allows users to modify worlds on the fly with typed commands. This leap in dynamic simulation marks a major advance toward autonomous AI agents and is considered a foundational step toward artificial general intelligence.

💉 Biotechnology

🇺🇸 US scientists create evolution engine to design super-proteins 100,000x faster than nature

Researchers at Scripps Research have developed T7-ORACLE, a rapid protein evolution system that mutates genes 100,000 times faster than natural evolution by using engineered E. coli and a modified viral replication mechanism. Described in Science, the system can generate and optimize therapeutic proteins in days, enabling fast development of enzymes, antibodies, and cancer-targeting molecules. Its ease of use and adaptability make it a powerful platform for breakthroughs in drug discovery, diagnostics, and synthetic biology.

🇬🇧 UK scientists redesign E. coli with compressed genetic code to resist viruses and build novel materials

Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have engineered Syn57, a synthetic E. coli strain that operates with just 57 codons instead of the usual 64 - representing the most compressed genetic code ever created. Published in Science, the breakthrough frees up DNA capacity to introduce non-natural amino acids, enabling custom materials and potentially virus-resistant biofactories. This radical genome rewrite paves the way for safer, programmable organisms in medicine and manufacturing.

💊 Healthcare

🇺🇸 US researchers develop FDA-approved eye drops restoring near vision for 10 hours without glasses

The FDA has approved VIZZ, the first aceclidine-based eye drops designed to treat presbyopia, a condition affecting over 100 million Americans. Developed by LENZ Therapeutics, the once-daily drops create a “pinhole effect” by gently shrinking the pupil, improving near vision for up to 10 hours without blurring distance vision or causing major side effects. This first-in-class treatment offers a safer, more comfortable alternative to older options and could quickly become the new standard for age-related near-vision loss.

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Max

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