Researchers at Duke University have grown human skeletal muscle from induced pluripotent stem cells that closely mimics real muscle tissue in both structure and function. The muscle bundles contract in response to electrical stimulation, repair themselves after damage, and respond to drugs in ways that match known clinical effects, including caffeine causing stronger contractions and a muscular dystrophy drug reducing contraction in dystrophin-deficient tissue. Previous lab-grown muscle either lacked the maturity to be clinically relevant or required donor muscle cells that are difficult to obtain. The Duke team overcame this by precisely controlling the order and timing of molecular signals during differentiation, and by embedding the stem cells in a fibrin gel that provides mechanical tension during growth. The resulting tissue maintains gene expression and structural characteristics more similar to adult human muscle than any previously reported iPSC-derived model. The platform is designed as a drug testing tool, allowing researchers to screen compounds on human muscle without relying on animal models that often fail to predict human responses. The research is published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

The Pentagon backs Supra to recover scandium as the U.S. works to strengthen domestic critical mineral supplies. bit.ly/4zyZnSr

Oracle plans to absorb about $300 million in nuclear energy costs so Wisconsin utility customers do not pay for them.

Ajax is designed to handle tasks such as web searches, email and calendars on local hardware. bit.ly/4y0XQmU

PewDiePie unveiled Ajax, a small AI model that runs on your own hardware, after saying OpenAI suspended his account twice.

Figure AI has decommissioned its F.02 humanoid fleet by training the robots to leap autonomously into molten steel at a foundry in Imatra, Finland, a send-off Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested on X. The company says it had to destroy the robots to protect its IP after foundries in the US and Mexico refused to take machines with lithium-ion batteries, and it is turning the recovered metal into commemorative artifacts.

The Netherlands is betting on lasers, not missiles, to take down drone swarms.

Nucleus says its humanoid now works 4-6 hour shifts but 40% is teleoperated. bit.ly/4zdjh4T

Hinkley Point C’s new tunnel and acoustic deterrents work together to protect fish. bit.ly/4ATKifF

The regulatory framework takes shape for twin power-generating units. bit.ly/4zbIaOs

The Viceroy prototype has already completed a flight in Narragansett Bay. bit.ly/4zaaNeO

Researchers at Aarhus University have developed a soft, lentil-sized sensor that mimics the mechanism human sensory cells use to convert touch into nerve signals. Inside the sensor, tiny chambers connected by a microscopic channel are filled with saltwater. When pressure is applied, charged particles move through the channel, shifting the electrical balance and generating a weak signal in the same way skin sensory cells do. Existing touch sensors in prosthetics generate signals through fundamentally different mechanisms, which is believed to be why wearers cannot feel what their prosthetic hands touch. By mimicking the body's own signal-generation process, this sensor could eventually be connected directly to the nervous system. The prototype can already detect a light touch and a pulse from a blood vessel. The signal currently needs to exceed 20 millivolts to trigger a nerve cell response, requiring further development before human trials. The research is published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Adaptable drone defenses bring threat classification to the US Task Force 401 program bit.ly/4hnwtyg

Stringman, from engineer Nathaniel Nifong's Neufangled Robotics, hangs a two-fingered gripper from four lines strung to the corners of a room's ceiling. Two motorised anchors reel those lines to steer it, while cameras and AI models find clutter and carry it to tagged bins.

Taiwan’s first two new F-16Vs finally arrive, leaving 64 fighters still outstanding from a $7.76B US order. bit.ly/4rNgxsG

Reusable orbital factories aim to bring drug research home. bit.ly/3Vn50UU

MIT engineers have developed a swimming robot thinner than a stick of gum, powered by a single layer of living muscle cells grown on a flexible gel film. The cells are genetically engineered to contract in response to light, causing the robot's fins to flap and propel it through water. By flashing light on one fin or the other, researchers can steer the robot and control its speed. In tests, the robot successfully navigated a watery maze, swimming at roughly four body lengths per minute — comparable to a cow shark. The design is the first two-dimensional, muscle-powered robot capable of locomotion. Unlike previous biohybrid robots built from bulky 3D muscle chunks requiring millions of cells, this approach uses far fewer cells and could be cheaper to build. Potential applications include environmental monitoring in fragile aquatic environments where conventional hardware would cause damage.

China Zorrilla, Incat's Hull 096, has reached Uruguay on the back of a heavy-lift ship, because the world's largest battery-electric ferry is built to run for only about 90 minutes on a charge. We break down how a 130-metre, 2,100-passenger catamaran ordered to burn LNG ended up running on more than 40 MWh of batteries, from its four battery rooms to its eight waterjets and the chargers waiting at both ends of the Río de la Plata.

The building offers smart climate controls and app-based entry. bit.ly/3VloIjT

China’s PLA launches new institutions to build a modernized, disciplined fighting force. bit.ly/3VqSP9A