DTN 145: Concrete Batteries
Plus: China to surpass US in biotech innovation, a private space telescope, TSMC starts 2nm chip fab, stem cell engineering for next-gen living drugs, and more.
Plus: China to surpass US in biotech innovation, a private space telescope, TSMC starts 2nm chip fab, stem cell engineering for next-gen living drugs, and more.
Building materials are getting closer to doubling as batteries
“Concrete already builds our world, and an MIT-invented variant known as electron-conducting carbon concrete (ec3 , pronounced “e c cubed”) holds out the possibility of helping power it, too. Now that vision is one step closer.
Made by combining cement, water, ultra-fine carbon black, and electrolytes, ec3 creates a conductive “nanonetwork” that could enable walls, sidewalks, and bridges to store and release electrical energy like giant batteries. To date, the technology has been limited by low voltage and scalability challenges. But the latest work by the MIT team that invented ec3 has increased the energy storage capacity by an order of magnitude. With the improved technology, about five cubic meters of concrete—the volume of a typical basement wall—could store enough energy to meet the daily needs of the average home.”
- Stem cell engineering breakthrough paves way for next-generation living drugs
- NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is dead
- In Unprecedented Move, NASA to Rush Astronauts Home after Medical Incident on ISS
- China expected to soon surpass U.S. in bio innovation
- Private group unveils plans for large space telescope
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems installs reactor magnet, lands deal with Nvidia
- Sector Snapshot: US Semiconductor Startup Funding Hits Record High
- Space Forge generates plasma for LEO semiconductor material production
- TSMC says started mass production of 'most advanced' 2nm chips
- Almost 80 European deep tech university spinouts reached $1B valuations or $100M in revenue in 2025
- Nvidia launches Alpamayo, open AI models that allow autonomous vehicles to ‘think like a human’
- Boston Dynamics’s next-gen humanoid robot will have Google DeepMind DNA
“Human-mirroring robots exchange punches in Las Vegas”
“Human-like combatants stumbled a bit as they swung and kicked at each other in the Ultimate Fighting Robot (UFB) match, curiosity mixing with cheers from spectators at the event on the edge of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The contenders were a departure from the usual lineup at the event, known for wheeled machines equipped with wrecking tools. UFB backers are betting humanoid robots will win fans by transforming bouts from demolition derbies to mixed martial arts matches. A human referee addressed the robotic rivals as though they were flesh-and-blood fighters.
"This is the sport of the future," said Vitaly Bulatov, who co-founded UFB with his wife, Xenia. The couple from Russia envisions fans being won over by the "human stories" of the real people piloting the robot combatants. As the robots exchanged blows, commands to kick and punch came from human pilots ringside using a combination of cameras and motion-sensing Nintendo video game controllers.” (via Tech Xplore)
- Solar hydrogen can now be produced efficiently, no platinum required
- Breathing Lung-on-a-Chip from One Human Donor Advances Personalized Medicine
- New ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors show promise for compact memory devices
- Bio-inspired copper composite achieves zero thermal expansion and high heat transfer
- Researchers develop efficient, reusable compound for capturing carbon dioxide from air
- New robotic skin lets humanoid robots sense pain and react instantly
- Sunlight-driven nanoparticles enable cleaner ammonia synthesis at room temperature
- Ultrathin polymer layer extends lifespan of anode-free lithium metal batteries
- Soley emerges with $200M Series C and broad pipeline for 'stress clock'
- Rakuten Medical raises $100M for photoimmunotherapy platform
- Poplar Therapeutics gets $50M Series A for immunology ambitions
- Diagonal Therapeutics secures $125M in Series B to take its rare diseases lead candidate to clinic
- Boltz raises $28M seed to build open AI models in biology
- Parabilis gets $305M to tackle ‘undruggable’ proteins
- Servier launches €200M VC unit focused on European biotech startups
- Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation
- xAI Raises $20B in Series E Funding to continue its infrastructure buildout
- Mediar Therapeutics Raises $76M in Series B Financing to accelerate its work halting fibrosis
- Asthma-focused Spiro Medical Raises $67M in Series A Funding
- AI-native due diligence specialist Prudentia Sciences Raises $20M in Series A Funding
- STRM.BIO Raises $8M in Series Seed 2 Financing to pioneer non-viral delivery technology for in vivo cell and gene therapy
- Lux Capital lands $1.5B for its largest fund ever
- MA-based biopharmaceutical company Nocion Therapeutics Extends Series B Financing to $93M
- Designer of light engines for AR glasses Vitrealab Raises €9.4M in Series A Funding
- Clinical-stage biotechnology company Alveus Therapeutics Raises $160M in Series A Financing
- High resolution microscopy firm Abbelight Raises Series B Funding
- Spatial multi-omics company Vizgen Raises $48M in Funding
- Enodia Therapeutics Raises €20.7M in Seed Funding to develop novel small-molecule therapies
- EpiBiologics Closes $107M Series B Funding to expand its tissue-selective extracellular protein degradation practice
- Connected edge semiconductor firm Qualinx Raises €20M in Funding
- Canadian distributed quantum computing company Photonic Raises $130M in Funding
- Comanche gets $40M more to test its preeclampsia siRNA
- Array Labs raises $20M to scale production of radar satellites for 3D Earth mapping
- Blood pressure monitoring startup Biobeat Raises $50M in Series B Funding
- Lucidean Raises $18M in Seed Financing for its work in advancing coherent data center optical links
- Cambium Raises $100M in Series B Funding to further its work on advanced materials for defense and aerospace
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