September 2026

Alexander Du, a 17-year-old student from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, has been named a 2026 Presidential AI Challenge National Champion for inventing IRIS, an AI-powered wearable designed to help blind and visually impaired people navigate their surroundings. The teen built the $170 system after watching his grandmother struggle to navigate the world differently after losing her sight….

In 2024, California removed an 18-foot dam from Neefus Gulch and restored 1,600 feet of stream, reopening habitat that salmon had been unable to reach for more than seven decades. By January 2026, surveys recorded eight spawning nests, known as redds, in the newly accessible reaches above the former barrier, a sign that endangered Central…

Representative Image (AI-generated) A robot has assembled a working tabletop laser cavity in less than 30 minutes, handling the precise alignment usually done manually. Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) researchers have developed a reconfigurable robotic optics laboratory that can pick up and position mirrors, lenses and other components, fine-tune them with micron-scale precision and even…

Radhika Saran, Cleo Pontone and Sophia DeVito, three students at Harvard University, have built Rumble Rims, a low-cost infrared eye-tracking headset that helps schools screen for possible concussions on the sideline in about 60 seconds. The system is designed to give coaches more objective information during sideline checks. The project has already earned the team…

Representative Image of diverse plasticine models resembling prey, under scrutiny by researchers assessing animal interactions (AI Generated Image) For years, ecologists have used soft plasticine models shaped like caterpillars, fruit, bird eggs, snakes and frogs to study interactions between predators and their potential prey. The idea is simple: leave the models in a natural habitat,…

Image: ABC News/ Kent Hups A high school science teacher exploring a fossil-rich region of North Dakota made a discovery that could change what scientists know about how adult Tyrannosaurus rex moved. In 2025, Kent Hups spotted unusual impressions while volunteering on a fossil dig in the Hell Creek Formation. What initially appeared to be…

Greenland and Antarctica have lost 11,309 billion tonnes of ice since 1979. (Photo: SWNS) Greenland and Antarctica have lost a combined 11.3 billion tonnes of ice since the late 1970s, contributing more than 3 centimetres to global sea level rise, according to a new international assessment by polar scientists.As per SWNS, the comprehensive study, led…

Rowan Atkinson, Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons In 2006, Rowan Atkinson bought Handsmooth House, a 1930s property set on about 16 acres in Ipsden, Oxfordshire, for a reported £2.6 million. Rather than preserve the existing house, Atkinson wanted to replace it with a completely different kind of home. He eventually commissioned American architect Richard Meier, whose…

Melinda French Gates is committing $1 billion through 2026 to advance women’s power and influence, while her investment platform is backing women-led funds working on climate solutions. Through Pivotal Ventures, Gates has invested in Planeteer Capital, a climate-tech fund led by Sophie Purdom that backs early-stage companies developing solutions to climate change. The investment comes…

Did you know Singapore has a trash island made from ash? The country has managed to create a 350-hectare land area that has transformed into an ecological haven where migratory birds reside and corals thrive. The idea stems from a problem unique to the nation, it does not have much land to spare.A city-state located…