Scientists are sending cannabis seeds to space
“On Monday, June 23, shortly after 9 pm UTC, hundreds of seeds, fungi, algae, and human DNA samples, many of which have never been exposed to space before, will make their maiden voyage aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the mission is hoping to be the first to send plant tissues and seeds into a polar low Earth orbit and back, to allow scientists to study how biological systems are affected by the harsh levels of radiation found high above Earth’s poles. The information they glean, researchers hope, could one day help spacefarers grow crops on other planets.”
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- A European startup’s spacecraft made it to orbit. Now it’s lost at sea
- Superconducting motor could propel electric aircraft
- How Chris Wright is remaking the national labs
- US Navy starts building 400kW laser to fry drones and hypersonic threats
- Google wants to get better at spotting wildfires from space
- Cancer-targeting nanoparticles are moving closer to human trials
- Bill Gates-backed Airloom begins building its first power plant
- House Republican to float tax incentives for rare earths
- New York governor says state will build new nuclear power plant
- Longshot is gunning for kinetic space launch
- DARPA to demo revolutionary VTOL drone capabilities this month
China has unveiled a mosquito-sized reconnaissance drone developed by the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), designed for stealth military operations. Mimicking real insect flight, the drone features ultra-small cameras and microphones, enabling covert surveillance and signal interception. Despite its tiny size and limited payload, the team has made progress in micro-mechanics and AI integration. This innovation follows similar trends in miniature drone development worldwide, including the U.S. military’s use of the larger Black Hornet microdrone. (via NextGenDefense)
- Quantum precision reached in modeling molten salt behavior
- Boson sampling finds first practical applications in quantum AI
- Single-molecule magnet could lead to stamp-sized hard drives capable of storing 100 times more data
- Semiconductor nanolasers enable ultra-efficient optical technologies
- Scientists build first self-illuminating biosensor
- Space-grown muscle tissues reveal rapid aging-like decline in microgravity
- Researchers develop a battery cathode material that does it all
- Advanced algorithm to study catalysts on material surfaces could lead to better batteries
- Indian drone startup Raphe mPhibr raises $100M as military UAV demand soars
- Robotics company Tacta Systems raises $75M in funding
- Launch vehicle startup Isar Aerospace raises €150M euros
- Advanced chemical recycling company Novoloop raises $21M in Series B funding
- Effect Photonics raises additional $24M in Series D to bring optical solutions for data center and edge networks
- Holographic display company Swave Photonics raises additional €6M in Series A funding
- Physical AI company PhysicsX raises $135M in Series B funding
- Elemental Advanced Materials closes $20M funding which specializes in low-emission carbon nanomaterials and hydrogen production
- Biotechnology company Neuron23 raises $96.5M in Series D financing
- New space startup Lux Aeterna wants to make satellites reusable and has secured $4M in pre-seed funding from investors
- Qunnect raises $10M in Series A extension to provide quantum entanglement-based protocols over commercial fiber
- AllSpice.io, a San Francisco-based platform for electronics team collaboration, raises $15M in Series A funding
- Nascent Materials emerges from stealth with $2.3M to make LFP batteries better and cheaper
- SWARM Biotactics, a Germany-based developer of bio-robotic systems using controllable living insects, raises €10M in seed funding
- Industrial biotechnology startup Cellugy raises €8.1M in funding
- Ophthalmic robotic surgery company ForSight Robotics raises $125M in Series B funding
- AI-native engineering company Blank Metal raises $3M in funding
- Snowcap Compute raises $23M in funding to build a commercially viable superconducting compute platform
- Mira Murati’s stealth AI startup Thinking Machines Lab closes on $2B at $10B valuation
- Xona raises $92M for unhackable PNT constellation
- Aerospace company Sceye receives investment from SoftBank Corp
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