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July 1^st 2025

⚡️ Energy

🇺🇸 US engineers test ground-level wind turbine promising one-third the energy cost of traditional designs

Wyoming-based Airloom Energy has begun building the first utility-scale prototype of its unconventional wind turbine, which operates at ground level using vertical wings attached to a suspended cable track. Unlike towering conventional turbines, Airloom’s compact design claims to cut costs by up to 90% for equipment and up to 75% for entire wind farms, potentially lowering overall energy costs by two-thirds. Backed by investors like Bill Gates, the project could reshape wind power if its performance matches these bold claims when commercial demonstrations begin by 2027.

🚘 Transport

🇺🇸 🇦🇪 US-developed eVTOL begins piloted test flights in UAE, advancing air taxi launch for 2026

Joby Aviation has started piloted eVTOL flights in Dubai, marking a major milestone toward launching air taxi services in the United Arab Emirates by early 2026. The California-based company's aircraft, which carries four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph, completed successful vertical takeoff and landing tests, supported by Dubai’s transport authorities. These flights are part of Joby’s global push for quiet, clean urban air travel, with Dubai routes expected to slash travel times from 45 to 12 minutes.

🌎 Sustainability

🇦🇺 Australian scientists create coffee-based bricks cutting energy use and emissions by 80%

Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology have developed durable, low-emission bricks made from used coffee grounds, offering a major sustainability boost for construction. The bricks require 80% less energy to produce than traditional ones, thanks to a unique clay and coffee waste blend baked at lower temperatures. The project, now licensed to Green Brick, not only diverts organic waste from landfills but also doubles the strength of conventional bricks, significantly reducing both methane and CO₂ emissions.

💉 Biotechnology

🇬🇧 UK scientists launch first synthetic human DNA project to revolutionize medicine and disease research

Researchers in the UK, led by the Generative Biology Institute at the Ellison Institute of Technology, have begun work on the world’s first Synthetic Human Genome Project (SynHG), aiming to build human DNA from scratch. Backed by £10 million from the Wellcome Trust, the project plans to synthesize a complete human chromosome within the next decade, advancing disease research, potential treatments, and synthetic organ development. Though promising for medical breakthroughs, the initiative, faces ethical concerns over potential misuse for biological weapons or genetic enhancement.

💊 Healthcare

🇭🇰 Hong Kong scientists develop micro-robots to destroy sinus infections without harming healthy tissue

Researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong have created microscopic robots capable of breaking apart bacterial biofilms responsible for persistent sinus infections. The dust-sized particles, made of copper-doped bismuth oxyiodide, are guided into the sinuses using magnetic fields and activated with light to heat mucus and release bacteria-killing chemicals. Tested successfully in rabbits with minimal damage to healthy cells, this innovation, published in Science Robotics, could offer a targeted, minimally invasive alternative to antibiotics for sinus and other deep-seated infections.

🇺🇸 US researchers develop AI that tracks moving lung tumors to boost cancer treatment precision

Northwestern University scientists have created iSeg, a deep-learning AI system that maps lung tumors in real time as they move with each breath, significantly improving accuracy in radiation therapy. Trained on CT scans from nine hospitals, iSeg matches expert tumor outlines, detects high-risk areas doctors sometimes miss, and promises faster, more consistent treatment planning. Published in npj Precision Oncology, this technology could reduce deadly oversights and improve outcomes, with clinical deployment expected within a few years.

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Max

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