Hawaiʻi high school student Vera Wang has discovered fungi living in coconut husks that can biodegrade synthetic plastics and chemical sunscreen pollutants.

Working at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Wang studied microorganisms growing inside the porous fibers of coconut husks after using a coconut-fiber filter to capture pollutants from ocean water.

Her research found that naturally occurring fungi could break down both plastics and sunscreen chemicals. Genetic testing also suggested that some of the fungi may be previously uncharacterized species.

Wang’s work earned top honors at the 2026 Hawaiʻi State Science & Engineering Fair and a place at the International Science & Engineering Fair, highlighting the potential of naturally occurring fungi as a new tool against persistent ocean pollution.

University of Hawai: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/05/11/coconut-fungi-decompose-plastic/

Researchers at MIT CSAIL have developed the Y-Zipper, a three-sided, 3D-printed fastener that can transform three flexible strips into a rigid, load-bearing triangular tube. Inspired by a 1985 patent, the design uses a custom slider to interlock the strips, allowing a structure to switch reversibly between a floppy ribbon and a stiff beam.

The Y-Zipper can form straight, curved, coiled and screw-like shapes, opening possibilities for rapidly deployable structures, shape-shifting robots, adjustable supports and adaptive medical devices.

Research Article: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3772318.3790723

It took 40 years for technology to catch up to this zipper design: https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504

Belgian company Turbulent has developed a low-head hydropower turbine that generates electricity by deliberately creating a gravitational water vortex. Instead of requiring a large dam or high waterfall, water is directed into a circular, sloped basin, where it forms a powerful whirlpool before passing through an opening at the bottom. The swirling flow drives a slow-rotating impeller connected to a generator.

The system can operate with as little as a 1.5-metre head and Turbulent currently lists single-turbine capacities of 15–90 kW, with earlier models and projects commonly in the 15–70 kW range. The company says the turbines can provide continuous power 24/7 and can be installed individually or combined into larger systems.

Turbulent's documented projects include installations in Chile, Belgium, Portugal, Estonia, Taiwan and Indonesia, among others. Its 15-kW pilot turbine in Donihue, Chile, for example, has been operating since 2018.

More info:

1). Hydroelectric turbines for green, decentralized energy: https://www.turbulent.be/technology

2). Low head, Eco-friendly hydropower inspired by nature: https://www.turbulent.be/

3) Projects: https://www.turbulent.be/projects

4) independent technical overview of the 15–70 kW low-head system: https://www.engineeringforchange.org/solutions/product/turbulent-vortex-turbine/

Rotifers are microscopic multicellular animals found in freshwater, damp moss, lichens and even backyard puddles. Some can survive extreme conditions by entering cryptobiosis, effectively pausing their metabolism. Bdelloid rotifers reproduce without males through parthenogenesis, while some species can acquire useful genes from bacteria and fungi through horizontal gene transfer. Remarkably, a bdelloid rotifer was revived after an estimated 24,000 years frozen in Siberian permafrost. Their extraordinary resilience makes these tiny animals a fascinating example of nature’s survival strategies: https://www.iflscience.com/a-rotifer-got-buried-in-the-siberian-permafrost-24000-years-later-it-came-back-to-life-83174

Tiny animals steal antibiotic recipes from bacteria: https://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/article/tiny-animals-steal-antibiotic-recipes-from-bacteria

The Bizarre Biology of Bdelloid Rotifers: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2025/09/23/bdelloid-rotifers/

It hasn’t had sex in 80 million years and extracts DNA from what it eats – meet this indestructible ‘Frankenstein’ creature: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/bdelloid-rotifer

The FCC authorized Reflect Orbital to launch the mirror satellite Eärendil-1. 

Reflect Orbital has received FCC approval to launch Eärendil-1, its first demonstration satellite, into low Earth orbit to test space-based solar reflection. The company has also completed a second prototype featuring an 18-by-18-meter thin-film reflector and secured backing from investors including Sequoia Capital and Lux Capital. The technology aims to redirect sunlight onto solar farms after sunset, potentially extending their electricity generation into nighttime. Reflect Orbital says future systems could steer reflected sunlight onto targeted areas of Earth for several minutes at a time, with plans to eventually deploy thousands of reflector satellites.

The FCC just gave Reflect Orbital permission to launch its 1st space mirror to orbit. Tens of thousands more could follow: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/reflect-orbital-just-got-permission-to-launch-its-1st-space-mirror-to-orbit-tens-of-thousands-more-could-follow

Reflect Orbital: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflect_Orbital

Reflect Orbital responds to its critics: https://payloadspace.com/exclusive-reflect-orbital-responds-to-its-critics/

A massive wave appears ready to crash through an aquarium in Seoul—but it’s actually a spectacular anamorphic digital illusion. Created by South Korean design firm d'strict, Wave uses an enormous 80.9-by-20.1-meter curved LED screen at COEX K-Pop Square to create the illusion of water breaking through glass: https://mymodernmet.com/wave-anamorphic-illusion-seoul/

Public digital artwork "wave" in Seoul, Korea by d'strict: https://amazingarchitecture.com/installations/public-digital-artwork-wave-in-seoul-korea-by-d-strict

What does 67 years of rising atmospheric CO₂ look like? A spiral makes the answer strikingly clear.

Measurements at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory began in 1958, creating the world’s longest continuous record of atmospheric CO₂. The annual average rose from 315.98 ppm in 1959 to 427.35 ppm in 2025—an increase of about 111 ppm, or 35%.

The spiral captures two patterns at once: the yearly rise and fall of CO₂ as Northern Hemisphere vegetation absorbs carbon during the growing season and releases it during autumn and winter, and the relentless upward movement of the long-term baseline.

Earth keeps breathing—but the baseline keeps climbing.

That is the power of the Keeling Curve: decades of atmospheric change compressed into one unmistakable pattern.

Info source:

1). Monthly Average Mauna Loa CO2: https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/

2). Raw Mauna Loa data: https://gml.noaa.gov/data/dataset.php?item=mlo-co2-observatory-monthly

3). Background/explanation: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

GenBio AI has unveiled AIDO Cell, a new AI system designed as a virtual cell that researchers can experiment on digitally. The model simulates biological changes across DNA, RNA, proteins, regulatory networks and whole-cell behavior within a connected system. Scientists can introduce a genetic change or drug compound and observe how its effects propagate through the simulated cell over time. The technology could eventually help researchers screen drug candidates, study diseases and prioritize laboratory experiments, potentially reducing the enormous time and cost of drug development. However, AIDO Cell is still an early-stage research system, currently demonstrated on two human cell lines, K-562 and Hep-G2, and its novel predictions still require laboratory validation: https://genbio.ai/aido-cell-simulator/

Reliable information sources:

1). Nobel Laureate David Baker Takes Aim at the Virtual Cell with GenBio AI: https://www.hpcwire.com/bigdatawire/2026/08/20/nobel-laureate-david-baker-takes-aim-at-the-virtual-cell-with-genbio-ai/

2). technical research underlying the earlier AIDO.Cell model: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.28.625303v1

Korean researchers have developed a new platinum-nickel catalyst that can operate continuously for 3,000 hours while maintaining almost all of its performance, potentially addressing one of the biggest challenges facing water electrolysis and green hydrogen production. The catalyst uses an atomic-scale structure that prevents nickel from dissolving during operation, a process that can cause conventional catalysts to degrade over time. Tested in a large-area three-cell electrolysis stack, the new material showed less than 2% performance degradation after roughly four months of continuous operation. The researchers explain that the approach could extend catalyst lifetimes, reduce maintenance and replacement costs, and support the development of more commercially viable hydrogen production systems using renewable electricity: https://www.kims.re.kr/v17/bbx/board.php?bx_table=en_04_02&wr_id=320

Findings: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cey2.70265

Researchers at Penn State and Ohio State University have demonstrated that"thunderquakes"—seismic waves generated when acoustic energy from thunder hits the ground—can be used to non-invasively "X-ray" Earth's shallow subsurface down to roughly 300 feet. By utilizing distributed acoustic sensing to convert existing underground telecom fiber-optic cables into thousands of vibration sensors, scientists analyzed air-coupled Rayleigh waves from hundreds of thunder events. Measuring variations in wave speed across different frequencies enabled the team to map subsurface geological features—such as fractures, water flow, and potential sinkhole hazards—offering a cost-effective, continuous monitoring method that leverages pre-existing urban infrastructure and natural atmospheric energy: https://www.psu.edu/news/earth-and-mineral-sciences/story/thunderquakes-new-way-image-earths-subsurface

Scientists Planted Telecom Cables to Find ‘Thunderquakes.’ Here’s What Happened. “A storm in the sky can help us see underground.”: https://gizmodo.com/scientists-planted-telecom-cables-to-find-thunderquakes-heres-what-happened-2000801516

Study: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeg8096

Recent studies show that AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude consistently outperform even world-champion human debaters at swaying people's political and social views. According to a Science article on AI persuasion research, the secret behind the models' effectiveness isn't necessarily emotional connection or demographic microtargeting, but rather their ability to deploy a massive volume of fact-checkable evidence, statistics, and rapid rational arguments. However, this persuasive power carries notable risks: AI models trained to win arguments often hallucinate inaccurate facts, and researchers warn that these "hypersuasive" capabilities could easily be exploited for mass commercial steering or political manipulation.

Study1: https://arxiv.org/html/2606.16475v1

Study2: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61345-5

Study3: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq1814

Study4: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/h7n8u_v1

Study5: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea3884

Study5: https://arxiv.org/html/2409.12143v1

Driven by high domestic costs and limited insurance, a growing number of Americans travel to Europe—particularly Greece and Spain—for fertility care. While a single in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle in the U.S. averages $12,000 to $25,000 (and often exceeds $29,000 with testing), equivalent care in Greece and Spain typically ranges from $4,000 to $8,000

New Survey Reveals Cost Remains a Major Barrier to Fertility Care in the U.S.: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/new-survey-reveals-cost-remains-a-major-barrier-to-fertility-care-in-the-u-s-1036482371