Thursday, October 1, 2026

NASA and SpaceX are set to launch the Crew-13 mission today, sending four astronauts to the International Space Station in what could be the fastest U.S. trip to the ISS ever at under eight hours.^[1]

The largest combined bat genome and fossil study ever conducted has found that bats most likely originated in Europe around 65 million years ago and that both powered flight and echolocation emerged near the very origin of the group.^[2]

Six major technology companies including OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia, and xAI signed a voluntary AI safety accord at the White House, committing to internal controls, independent audits, and board oversight for advanced artificial intelligence systems.^[3]

Scientists have discovered that gravitational torque between Earth's inner core and mantle may explain why the length of a day fluctuates by milliseconds over decades, revealing that Earth's deepest interior may change shape and respond to forces more dynamically than expected.^[4]

Researchers at King's College London found that urolithin A, a compound the body produces after consuming pomegranates, walnuts, and some berries, improved heart function by up to 80% in animal models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.^[5]

MIT scientists have developed a robotic, reconfigurable laser laboratory that can autonomously set up and run precision optics experiments, potentially allowing researchers to remotely submit experimental protocols that would be executed without human intervention.^[6]

The U.S. has completed the withdrawal of all remaining troops from Iraq, more than two decades after the invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein, with Iraq declaring September 30 as 'Sovereignty Day.'^[7]

Hong Kong police have arrested an independent journalist and an activist under sedition laws passed following the 2019 protests, drawing condemnation from rights groups concerned about press freedom in the territory.^[8]

Norway's first fully automated vertical farming facility is now growing and packaging lettuce year-round using robots, with no human contact from seed to store shelf, demonstrating the potential for automated food production in challenging climates.^[9]