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ISS repair spacewalk highlights concerns about station health

NASA astronauts on the space station are preparing for a spacewalk to repair a robotic arm as safety advisers raise concerns about its long-term health.

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Jun 26 • 7:57 AM EDT • Health • spacenews.com
How should European scientists respond to the US AI kill switch?

Earlier in June, Europe’s worst fears of technological dependence were confirmed when the White House ordered the AI firm Anthropic to stop non-US citizens using its leading models. This kill-switch moment crystalised anxieties in Brussels that the continent, lagging the US on the creation of leading-edge AI models, is now a technological of vassal of Washington. The shock has specific implications for European scientists and universities. Some governments are now worried that with AI being integrated into labs, Donald Trump now has his finger hovering over an off switch for European science. “Having restrictions on this tool, it can have an impact on our own research,” said France’s research minister, Philippe Baptiste, at the VivaTech conference in Paris on June 18.Baptiste, himself a former academic, said that colleagues in mathematics had recently warned him they were now cut off from leading-edge US models, risking their work. “This model is not available anymore now because of the US restriction, and for the first time this had an impact on mathematics,” a field where large language models (LLMs) are making a significant contribution, said Baptiste. So, should European scientists avoid relying on US models in the future? Or would this be a self-harming overreaction? And how is AI being used in science, anyway? What happened?On June 12, it emerged that Washington, citing cybersecurity concerns, had ordered Anthropic to stop non-US citizens using two models: Claude Mythos 5, and Claude Fable 5, a version of Mythos but with guardrails to prevent abuse. Anthropic said Washington’s concerns were overblown. But forced to follow the order, yet with no way to check who was using the models, the company suddenly shut down access for everyone, US citizens included. There’s still no agreement on how to restore broad access. But last week, Bloomberg reported that select US companies, and the US government, still had access to Mythos despite the ban, but the EU’s cybersecurity agency Enisa had been shut out. Class division of researchersIn the longer term, access outside the US should be restored, said Marcel Salathé, co-director of the AI centre at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL), because a permanent restriction would be financially ruinous to US AI firms. “Even Trump will eventually budge to economic pressure,” he said.However, US AI firms might end up operating rather like banks, doing due diligence on users of their leading-edge AI models, he went on.European scientists are unlikely to fall foul of such checks, he said. But having a Chinese postgraduate in their lab, or doing a type of research the US disapproved of, could potentially result in access being denied. “It will create a sort of class division of researchers,” he said. More than frontier modelsHowever, successfully deploying AI in science is about far more than just having access to leading LLMs such as Mythos.Instead, many science-specific tools, most famously Alphafold, which predicts protein folding structures, require “far less” computing power to train than frontier models, well within the capabilities of European supercomputers, according to a recent analysis by the Arq Foundation, a Brussel-based AI think tank. Instead, tools such as Alphafold are possible because certain fields, like protein folding, weather prediction or astronomy, have large, clean, standardised datasets that can be used to train predictive models. Rather than compute, “data is the central constraint for AI for science,” the report says. For example, a less powerful physics model trained on CERN’s data “will be more valuable than the best model without certain data,” said Bengüsu Özcan, author of the report. European advantage?Europe could therefore steal a march by using its scientific data and infrastructure to create models US digital giants cannot. “They might actually match or go even beyond what these big [US] companies are doing,” said Özcan.Indeed, some European start-ups hope to create automated testing labs to create the kind of standardised data that could speed up the discovery of new materials. Materials scientists say there’s currently too little data to train models. AI scientistsHowever, even if the bottleneck for AI in science is often data, rather than compute, being at the mercy of the US for LLM access could still become a problem for European scientists. A new class of “AI scientists” based on leading LLMs is also emerging, Özcan’s report says.Unlike domain-specific tools like Alphafold, these try to automate day-to-day scientific work, by providing an overarching tool that coordinates specific models to synthesise existing literature, generate hypotheses or run analysis of data. The problem for Europe, however, is that these tools are sometimes based on US leading models. Google Deepmind’s AI Co-Scientist, for example, is built on Google’s Gemini LLM. Systematic failureThese scientific automation tools are still in their early stages, and still exhibit “systematic failures on scientific tasks,” Özcan’s report says. One of the problems is that the messy, day-to-day process of scientific discovery is largely not documented, meaning LLMs don’t have a good source of data to learn how scientists actually work. Meanwhile, some tasks, such as literature synthesis, don’t typically require access to leading edge models.However, the performance of AI scientific assistants could improve as companies such as Google pour resources into developing them. Rely on US“Unfortunately, for scientific assistants, there is not much we can do right now except rely on US frontier AI,” said Antoine Bosselut, a natural language processing expert based at EPFL. Chinese-built open models, which can run on local computers, lessening the risk of a shutdown, are touted as one alternative to US dependence. There’s also Mistral, once seen as Europe’s main AI hope, but the Paris-based company has seen its recent models fall behind in performance. But the Chinese alternatives are generally not as capable as US frontier AI models, said Bosselut, unless paired with fiddly, custom tools that allows them to act as independent agents. “Most scientists do not have the time,” he said. Don’t jump ship yetAlthough the kill switch moment is seen a warning shot for European scientists, it doesn’t mean labs should abandon US AI tools immediately. “I do not think the right response is simply to abandon US-based models and systems under the banner of sovereignty or independence,” said Mattias Björnmalm, secretary general of the Cesaer university association. “That would be an overreaction.”Related articlesEuropean sovereignty in AI requires ‘ugly trade-offs,’ say experts Robotic lab start-up makes case for €500M EU-funded materials testing facilityAI in science: is it useful? Instead, European researchers need to ask themselves whether they’re becoming dependent on technology that could be turned off in Washington, said Özcan. “They might not see this today, but they should really start asking this question,” she said. European researchers need a plan B, said Salathé. “I would recommend to every researcher, very proactively explore alternatives.”Own toolsIn addition, Björnmalm and others want European research institutions to develop their own scientific AI tools.Instead of signing AI deals with US digital giants, European universities should be using this money to create their own models, which may end up being superior for research, said Sabine Leonelli, an expert on the use of AI in science at the Technical University of Munich. “Universities in Europe seem to be happy to sign commercial contracts with US companies on the assumption [their AI tools] are better,” she said. But US frontier LLMs are typically opaque, and have been developed without independent scientific input, she said. “This is not good enough for science.”Last year, Swiss researchers released Apertus, an LLM designed to be completely transparent, from its development methods to its training data. The idea is that this makes scientific tools built on top of the model far more reproducible than with closed, commercial alternatives.“Europe needs more of this: serious capacity-building that gives researchers, universities and companies credible options,” said Björnmalm.

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Jun 25 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net
In 3-game healthcare series, underdog large-language models sweep specialized AI powerhouses

Pitting three multipurpose LLMs against two healthcare-specific AI tools, researchers have discovered the consumer-level AI can beat its purpose-built counterparts in healthcare scenarios—and soundly, at that.

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Jun 24 • 8:07 PM EDT • Health • healthexec.com
Sister’s Gift Represents Transplant First at Sutter Health

Photo caption: Dr. Eric Miller adjusts the image focus on the da Vinci 5 robot as he performs Sutter’s first fully robotic living-donor kidney transplant. | June 2, 2026 Sutter’s California Pacific Medical Center (Sutter’s CPMC) in San Francisco has performed its first fully robotic living-donor kidney transplant, marking a significant milestone for the system’s […]

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Jun 24 • 7:52 PM EDT • Health • vitals.sutterhealth.org
Opinion: Chicago is where automation moves from idea to industry

With Chicago hosting North America’s largest robotics and automation event this week, it showcases being a practical hub for the next era of industrial automation.

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Jun 22 • 4:06 PM EDT • Business • chicagobusiness.com
Ukraine turning robots into mobile weapons to hunt Russian targets

Ukraine's Frontline Robotics makes a remote weapons station that used to be stationary but can now be put on a robot to make a "small tank."

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Jun 19 • 11:02 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Advanced Tech on Station Informing Space-Designed Health Treatments

The Expedition 74 crew explored how weightlessness affects cartilage growth and the digestive system on Thursday to protect crew health and improve patient care on Earth. The orbital residents are also gearing up for a robotics maintenance spacewalk at the end of the month on the International Space Station.

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Jun 18 • 1:46 PM EDT • Health • nasa.gov
Advanced Tech on Station Informing Space-Designed Health Treatments

The Expedition 74 crew explored how weightlessness affects cartilage growth and the digestive system on Thursday to protect crew health and improve patient care on Earth. The orbital residents are also gearing up for a robotics maintenance spacewalk at the end of the month on the International Space Station.

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Jun 18 • 1:46 PM EDT • Health • nasa.gov
This strange material can become strong or fall apart in seconds

Scientists have found that staple-shaped particles can tangle together to create a material that is both strong and flexible. Unlike conventional materials, these particles can be locked into a sturdy structure or rapidly unraveled using vibrations. The unusual behavior could open the door to recyclable buildings, reconfigurable structures, and even futuristic robotic technologies.

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Jun 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
North Canyon Medical Center and All Access Hosted by Andy Garcia Highlight Rural Healthcare Infrastructure and Advanced Robotics

As rural medical facilities face increasing operational challenges, North Canyon Medical Center joins the award-winning series, "All Access Hosted by Andy Garcia," to explore how technical innovation and organizational agility stabilize local economies and healthcare access.

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Jun 15 • 3:00 AM EDT • Health • finance.yahoo.com
CSUF computer science grad finds community and a career path

Mason Jennings has developed an AI-powered robotic dog to inspect short-term rental properties.

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Jun 9 • 10:45 AM EDT • Science • ocregister.com
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Makerspaces for Science: AI and Robotics at Argonne

Do robots have temper tantrums? When will I get a robot to do my laundry? What should the next generation do to become experts in AI and robotics?

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Jun 9 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • anl.gov
Robotic Spacecraft for Swift Boost Mission Arrives at NASA Wallops

The LINK spacecraft designed to capture and boost NASA’s Swift observatory arrived at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Friday, June 5.

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Jun 5 • 3:01 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov
Scientists are teaching AI-powered robots to run lab experiments

Scientists are building autonomous robotic labs powered by artificial intelligence. The goal, they say, is for these robots to take over human researchers' most laborious, time-consuming tasks.

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Jun 5 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • npr.org
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Silicon Valley's new slogan: Let's get physical

Silicon Valley's AI boom is moving into robotics as OpenAI, Meta, Tesla, and startups race to give AI a body.

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Jun 1 • 8:19 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Mint and Rice Robotics Launch Joint Venture to Expand AI Companion Robot Business with HK$15M in funding

Hong Kong, May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mint Incorporation Limited (“Mint” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”,...

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May 28 • 10:48 AM EDT • Business • markets.businessinsider.com
Robotics, Science Underway as Cosmonauts Prep for Wednesday Spacewalk

Robotics controllers wrapped up a weekend of swapping scientific hardware packed inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft’s trunk for installation on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 74 crew is continuing its biotechnology and botany research while getting ready for a spacewalk scheduled for Wednesday, May 27.

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May 26 • 2:04 PM EDT • Science • nasa.gov
Bernie Sanders warns of 'the most transformative economic revolution in the history of this country'

Sen. Bernie Sanders warned that AI and robotics controlled by billionaires could replace American workers and harm children's social development.

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May 24 • 8:54 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
JPL's management contract is suddenly up for grabs for the first time since the 1930s, and NASA's own language shows why this is more than a routine procurement fight

For the first time since the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s origins in the 1930s, Caltech’s hold on one of the most important institutions in American robotic space exploration is no longer automatic. NASA has announced that it will compete the next contract for managing and operating JPL, the federally funded research and development center in Southern […]

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May 23 • 3:46 AM EDT • Technology • spacedaily.com
A Colorado startup just raised $30 million on a quiet bet that astronauts won't actually be the ones building the moon's first permanent base — robots will get there first

The first permanent structures on the moon will almost certainly be built by robots, not astronauts. That is the bet Lunar Outpost, a Colorado-based robotics company, just convinced investors to back with a $30 million Series B — funding aimed at delivering a new lunar rover called Pegasus by the end of 2027, with a […]

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May 22 • 9:20 PM EDT • Technology • spacedaily.com
Crew Conducting Advanced Health Research and More Spacewalk Preps

Four Expedition 74 astronauts had a light duty day with an array of advanced research still scheduled for Thursday. The three cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station focused on ongoing spacewalk preparations and robotics training.

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May 21 • 2:04 PM EDT • Health • nasa.gov
NYC Health + Hospitals Marks 10 Years of Robotic Surgery, Completing Over 20,000 Procedures - NYC Health + Hospitals

New York, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals today announced it had completed over 20,000 robotic surgeries since 2016, marking a decade of expanding access to

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May 21 • 1:30 PM EDT • Health • nychealthandhospitals.org
China unveils a giant rideable robot straight out of sci-fi movie

A Chinese robotics company has started selling a giant pilotable robot. It costs €500,000, walks on two legs, and can also smash through walls. Welcome to the future?

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May 17 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • euronews.com
Engineering a Legacy: Meet the Boca High Science Olympiad Star Senior

Senior Spotlight: Ryan, Boca High. 5x Science Olympiad champ & robotics star. Off to Georgia Tech for Engineering!

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May 14 • 9:43 AM EDT • Science • palmbeachschools.org
Robot seal to help mental health patients in Kent and Medway

The robotic seal Sammy will be present at mental health patient appointments to reduce anxiety.

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May 14 • 1:06 AM EDT • Health • bbc.com
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Teen builds ‘Bionic Underwater Robotic Turtle’ to detect ecological threats

High schooler Evan Budz's award-winning invention can identify coral bleaching, invasive species, and microplastics without disturbing marine ecosystems.

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May 12 • 9:01 AM EDT • Science • popsci.com
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Unitree Robotics unveils GD01, world’s first production-ready manned mecha

Unitree Robotics unveiled the GD01 on Tuesday, a manned transformable mecha priced from 3.9 million yuan ($650,000), quickly sparking heated discussion on Chinese social media, with many netizens describing it as highly futuristic and saying it felt like “science fiction becoming reality.”

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May 12 • 7:18 AM EDT • Science • globaltimes.cn
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes review - an iffy take on the sci-fi series that had me contending with Cylons, sabotage, and STDs

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is an engaging roguelike that quickly shows itself to be a bit robotic

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May 11 • 12:49 PM EDT • Technology • rockpapershotgun.com
The next Stellar Blade probably won't be PS5 exclusive, as developer Shift Up reveals intention to self-publish and reach a broader audience

Korean publisher and developer Shift Up has revealed that it wants to publish the Stellar Blade sequel itself, leaving PlayStation exclusivity in question.

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May 11 • 11:13 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Golf simulator helps Henrico students learn math, science, and coding

Fairfield Middle School uses a golf simulator to teach math, science, coding, and robotics through hands-on STEAM lessons.

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May 8 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • wtvr.com
WellSpan Health Unveils First-of-Its-Kind Full-Service Robotic Kitchen

WellSpan Health York Hospital has introduced Fresh Take Eatery, an AI‑powered robotic kitchen that provides 24/7 access to hot, healthy meals.

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May 7 • 4:13 PM EDT • Health • aha.org
Upfront costs of robotic heart surgery are high—but it may be a smart investment

Makoto Hashimoto, MD, PhD, said robotic procedures are associated with a faster recovery time and many other potential benefits.

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May 7 • 3:29 PM EDT • Business • cardiovascularbusiness.com
PHOTO GALLERY: Cardiac surgery technologies at the AATS 106th Annual Meeting

A wide variety of technologies, including robotic systems, heart valves, stent grafts, retractors and annuloplasty rings, were on display in Chicago.

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May 7 • 2:50 PM EDT • Business • cardiovascularbusiness.com
U.S. Embassy Supports Tunisian Business Delegation at 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit - U.S. Embassy in Tunisia

U.S. EMBASSY SUPPORTS TUNISIAN BUSINESS DELEGATION AT 2026 SELECTUSA INVESTMENT SUMMIT The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the premier U.S. investment event, connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations, and industry experts to make deals happen. Media Note TUNIS, May 5, 2026 – U.S. Embassy Tunis is pleased to support a delegation of 11 Tunisian companies traveling to the United States to participate in the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit at National Harbor, Maryland, May 3-6, 2026. The Summit is an opportunity for these dynamic entrepreneurs to establish new connections and explore business and investment opportunities in the United States. This year, three Tunisian women entrepreneurs and members of the delegation representing Spiraw and Sotetel were accepted into the Select Global Women in Tech year-long mentoring program which will kick off at the summit. Since 2022, more than 50 Tunisian entrepreneurs in fields ranging from e-gaming, robotics, software engineering, coding, online fashion, and green tech have participated in SelectUSA Investment Summits, where they have taken their businesses to the next level. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the SelectUSA Investment Summit is a one-stop shop for companies considering expanding to the United States and provides economic development organizations (EDOs) with the opportunity to meet directly with international companies to facilitate investment deals. Since inception, the SelectUSA Investment Summit has attracted tens of thousands of companies and economic development representatives, generating over $250 billion in new investment projects that support more than 125,000 jobs across the United States and its territories. The previous SelectUSA Investment Summit saw record-breaking numbers with more than 5,500 participants, including EDOs from 54 U.S. states and territories and over 2,700 business investors from 100+ countries, including Tunisia. The following Tunisian businesses will take part in this year’s SelectUSA delegation: AquaDeep – Revolutionizes aquaculture with AI-powered monitoring solutions, including a real-time larva counting system and a SaaS platform for environmental monitoring. The company is expanding operations across Tunisia, Europe, Africa, and the United States. Bouraoui Group – Specializes in event venues, hospitality experiences, innovative real estate development, and technology driven customer solutions. The business develops experience- focused and tech enabled lifestyle destinations that combine entertainment, culture, retail, and smart services, and is seeking international partners to co-develop hospitality, PropTech, smart retail, and experiential digital projects. Digital Cook – Builds HR and recruitment software solutions, including HRMS, ATS, and custom tools that streamline hiring, employee management, and talent development. It provides custom software, system integration, and scalable HR platforms for SMEs, large enterprises, and recruitment agencies seeking efficient, user-friendly ways to manage their workforce and improve recruitment. El Kanaouet – Provides high-quality and low-cost hydraulic infrastructure for the supply and distribution of drinking water. The company manufactures prestressed concrete structures based on current technological developments in the field and trends in integrated and digitalized management. El Kanaouet aims to enter the U.S. market with its production of centrifugal prestressed concrete pipes and other technical products and services. Fluoink Nanotechnologies – A deep‑tech startup developing next‑generation antimicrobial additives for paints, coatings, and industrial materials, enabling everyday surfaces to act as long‑lasting barriers against harmful bacteria and pathogens without changing their appearance or performance. Mare Custos – A subsea robotics company specializing in ROV-based underwater inspection services for offshore energy, ports, and marine infrastructure, using high-precision imaging, PAUT, and NDT to inspect structures in challenging conditions. SmartMed SA – A fast-growing digital health company operating in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, offering an integrated ecosystem that helps patients book appointments (MedPro), enables clinics to digitize workflows and EMRs (MedLink), and supports targeted digital marketing for healthcare and pharma (MedAds). With millions of appointments and users, SmartMed has become a leading e-health platform in North Africa. Sototel – Builds telecommunications networks and services, including fixed, radio, and mobile networks. Sototel focuses on technological innovation and continuous improvement, providing high-value-added digital solutions. SOTUPRIN HGE – Specializes in manufacturing household electrical appliances under the brand HGE and OEM. Expanded from the local market to North Africa, Central Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Spiraw by Food4Future – Designs and manufactures smart, AI-powered cultivation systems allowing individuals and businesses to grow fresh, highly nutritious food – starting with spirulina – directly at the point of consumption. Combining patented hardware, controlled-environment agriculture, and a connected app with an AI assistant, Spiraw aims to decentralize food production and create a new category at the intersection of agri-tech, consumer health, and smart home ecosystems. WaterSec (Istidama) – A climate-tech startup that uses IoT, AI, and smart sensors to help high consumption facilities (such as industries, hotels, and commercial buildings) monitor water use in real time, detect leaks, and optimize consumption. The company’s digital platform turns raw water data into alerts and actionable insights, making water management more transparent, proactive, and sustainable. Learn more about the SelectUSA Investment Summit at https://www.selectusasummit.us/. Follow live developments from the summit on X at https://x.com/SelectUSA.

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May 5 • 4:55 AM EDT • Business • tn.usembassy.gov
At ORNL, Science Never Sleeps

At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scientists are building the next generation of research: self-driving labs powered by AI, robotics and high-performance computing. Autonomous systems run continuous “design, build, test, learn” cycles to analyze data in real time and guide experiments.

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May 4 • 8:40 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com
Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)

The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.

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May 4 • 3:59 AM EDT • Health • impactfunding.substack.com
Las Vegas science and technology expo wraps 15th year

Thousands explore robotics and VR at World Market Center expo

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May 4 • 1:37 AM EDT • Science • fox5vegas.com
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Entrepreneurs Say It's Easier To Do Business In Wyoming

The business community is bullish on Wyoming as the state is seeing more start-ups and venture capital deals — even without data centers. “Things are…

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May 3 • 5:35 PM EDT • Business • cowboystatedaily.com
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Meta accelerates push into robotics intelligence with new acquisition

Meta is making another push toward robotics with its acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence, a small San Diego-based startup.

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May 1 • 7:50 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
NASA to increase value of CLPS contract to support surge of lunar lander missions

NASA is planning to increase the total value of a contract for robotic lunar lander missions to support a proposed surge in flights for a moon base.

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May 1 • 6:43 PM EDT • Technology • spacenews.com
ECU Health has performed a North Carolina first: a new type of colorectal robotic surgery

A da Vinci SP system was used for two successful surgeries at ECU Health. The technology is less invasive and used one single incision instead of multiple.

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May 1 • 9:32 AM EDT • Health • wunc.org
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Writing science fiction with Daniel H. Wilson

On May 29 we'll discuss Wilson's book, "Hole in the Sky" and his life as an author, robotics engineer, and Cherokee citizen.

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Apr 30 • 10:48 AM EDT • Science • sciencefriday.com
Bonham students notch another win before National Science Bowl

Bonham MS students have had a big year, with a regional science bowl win in January and a robotics title in April. Now, they're heading to nationals.

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Apr 30 • 5:47 AM EDT • Science • amarillo.com
Bonham Robotics team wins state, students advance to National Science Bowl

Students at Bonham Middle School are celebrating a major moment after earning a first-ever state championship in robotics and preparing to compete on a national stage.

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Apr 29 • 11:55 PM EDT • Science • kptv.com
FDA approves next-gen mitral valve from Medtronic

The Mosaic Neo mitral bioprosthesis can be implanted through sternotomy, minimally invasive cardiac surgery or robotic access.

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Apr 29 • 5:03 PM EDT • Business • cardiovascularbusiness.com
NASA fires up powerful lithium-fed thruster for trips to Mars

A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. On Feb. ...

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Apr 28 • 4:00 PM EDT • Technology • phys.org
Astrobotic Tests Next-Gen Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine With 300-Second Burn

A new rocket engine concept reaches a milestone that could reshape propulsion for lunar and deep-space missions.

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Apr 28 • 11:45 AM EDT • Technology • dailygalaxy.com
300-degree hot springs hiding under the frozen Antarctic sea

A robotic sub explored a hidden world 1,300 meters under Antarctica.

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Apr 27 • 10:15 AM EDT • Science • popsci.com
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Google Gemini is planning a welcome visual upgrade for your chats

An animated background is in the works

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Apr 27 • 9:12 AM EDT • Technology • androidpolice.com
Astrobotic fires next-generation 'rotating detonation rocket engine' in record-breaking test (video)

"Chakram more than exceeded our expectations."

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Apr 27 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • space.com
UC San Diego Health Performs First West Coast AI Robotic Spine Surgery

First West Coast AI-driven robotic spine surgery performed at UC San Diego Health, improving precision and recovery for patients.

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Apr 27 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • health.ucsd.edu
Free science and robotics event draws families at Southern Hills Hospital

Kids and families got a close-up look at robotics and emergency response technology Sunday during a free science and robotics event at Southern Hills Hospital a

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Apr 26 • 7:14 PM EDT • Science • news3lv.com
How I went from BCG consultant to AI startup founder by age 25

Oscar Brisset, 25, used most of his vacation days to learn to code. He left BCG to launch a YC-backed AI robotics company.

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Apr 25 • 3:17 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
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Astrobotic's Detonation Engine Fires 4,000 Pounds of Thrust in Wild Test

The cutting-edge propulsion system could be used to power rockets to the Moon and beyond.

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Apr 24 • 4:25 PM EDT • Technology • gizmodo.com
The Ultimate Draft Pick: CMU Showcases the Winning Power of Sports Innovation

"Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Week Showcase," was a sports-themed day of engaging discussions, live robotics demonstrations and industry innovations on AI’s extraordinary potential to transform the future of sports.

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Apr 22 • 9:40 PM EDT • Sports • cmu.edu
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Former Steeler Jerome Bettis, NFL Commissioner view CMU’s inventions to power sports

The intersection of sports, physical fitness and technology can be found in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Green. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and local officials toured Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Innovation Center for the university’s “Powering the Future of Sport” showcase. More than 16 CMU-related startups —

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Apr 22 • 1:54 PM EDT • Sports • triblive.com
AI-powered robot beats elite table tennis players

In feat hailed as milestone in robotics, Sony AI’s Ace wins three out of five matches played under official rules

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Apr 22 • 11:00 AM EDT • Science • theguardian.com
Crew Studies Biotech on Tuesday to Advance Health and Space Economy

Biotechnology research seeking to advance human health and the space economy packed the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 74 crew members also explored space physics, updated robotics software, and conducted an emergency drill.

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Apr 21 • 4:18 PM EDT • Health • nasa.gov
Chery to Present AI Technologies and Robotics Developments at 2026 International Business Summit

The 2026 Chery International Business Summit, held from April 24 to 28, will serve as a definitive report on two decades of innovation. Chery wi...

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Apr 21 • 1:55 AM EDT • Business • markets.businessinsider.com
Testing Begins for Katalyst-NASA Swift Boost Mission

On April 14, engineers from Katalyst Space Technologies arrived at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to begin environmental tests of the company’s LINK robotic servicing spacecraft.

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Apr 17 • 3:23 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov
ECU Health performs North Carolina’s first single port colorectal robotic surgeries using the da Vinci SP system

Dr. Warqaa Akram, colorectal surgeon with ECU Health Cancer Care, performs colorectal procedures using the da Vinci Single Port robotic platform.

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Apr 17 • 12:59 PM EDT • Health • ecuhealth.org
UC Health reaches milestone with 10,000 robotic surgeries: ‘Incredibly proud’

UC Health has achieved a major milestone, completing 10,000 robotic surgeries that are transforming operating rooms with advanced technology.

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Apr 15 • 7:10 PM EDT • Health • wlwt.com
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Skild AI Acquires Zebra Technologies' Robotics Automation Business

Skild AI today announced the acquisition of Zebra Technologies' Robotics Automation business, including its Symmetry Fulfillment orchestration platform. This...

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Apr 15 • 5:32 PM EDT • Business • businesswire.com
Skild AI Acquires Zebra Technologies’ Robotics Automation Business

Skild AI, a fast-rising startup that makes software to help robots learn to complete tasks, has bought the robotics automation division of Zebra Technologies Corp., marking its latest effort to broaden its reach in a hot segment.

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Apr 15 • 2:55 PM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com
Expedition 74 Opens Cygnus XL and Unpacks Advanced Science Gear

The hatches are open between Northrop Grumman’s second Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft and the International Space Station following its robotic capture and installation on Monday. The Expedition 74 crew is now beginning to unload some of the new science and crew supplies delivered on Monday.

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Apr 14 • 1:04 PM EDT • Science • nasa.gov
Q&A with chemist Max Delferro: Unlocking breakthroughs in catalytic science

In this Q&A, chemist Max Delferro explains how his team is combining catalysis, artificial intelligence and robotics to speed chemical discovery — cutting catalyst development from decades to years while advancing more efficient industrial processes.

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Apr 14 • 10:25 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com
Q&A with chemist Max Delferro: Unlocking breakthroughs in catalytic science

In this Q&A, chemist Max Delferro explains how his team is combining catalysis, artificial intelligence and robotics to speed chemical discovery — cutting catalyst development from decades to years while advancing more efficient industrial processes.

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Apr 14 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • anl.gov
In praise of popular science

As a kid, I was enthusiastically and unreservedly in favor of a manned space program. Our destiny lay in the stars, I figured. Get people out there. We need Star Trek here and now. As I got older, I became rather disenchanted with the idea. Humans are expensive, fragile, and inefficient as space cargo. We could flood the solar system with 100 robotic probes for the price of any single manned mission and get back just as useful data. Besides, it turns out space travel is dangerous. Tusk is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe When it came to the recent Artemis II mission, my cynical side didn’t really see the point. Flying around the Moon and back is literally something we did before I was born, and I once owned a Members Only jacket. Apollo 8 circled the Moon ten times and returned to Earth safely the same month that “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was released. What was the point of repeating a feat that far braver people once did with tin foil and slide rules? Yet I’ve surprised myself with how moving I’ve found the Artemis II mission to be. The photos have been stunning. The crew has been professional and engaging. There have been modest but important milestones — the farthest humans have travelled from Earth; the first woman, person of color, and non-American to leave low-Earth orbit; innovations in communication, and more. One thing that really stood out is that this is really NASA at its finest. Not that this is the most important mission they ever pulled off, but they did this in a competent way that celebrated the achievements and kept the crew and the science at the forefront of the project. This wasn’t some billionaire throwing celebrities or cars into orbit as a vanity project — this was a collective effort to send experts in to do a job and come home safely. We don’t see that sort of thing much these days. I’m guessing few people would describe many government agencies as inspiring, but this one counts for me. We’re living through a profoundly anti-science era, in which pathbreaking, lifesaving discoveries like mRNA vaccines are routinely downplayed or even vilified. As I’ve noted previously, this era is something like that of the Red Scare in the 1940s and 50s, in which “egghead” professors were portrayed as out of touch or even hostile to regular Americans. One of the things that helped break that spell was Sputnik — the Soviet communications satellite that demonstrated that the United States was falling behind in crucial scientific research and applications. Its launch triggered a new appreciation for American science and goaded the federal government into supporting research universities and labs. I’m not saying that Artemis is the equivalent of Sputnik, but it potentially reminds people that there’s some value to scientific endeavors and the human faces attached to them. Despite my love for the show “For All Mankind,” I’m far from convinced that there’s any real value to putting colonies on the Moon or Mars that would justify the capital investment and the massive health risks to the astronauts. But sending scientific good will ambassadors on a trip into space once in a while? Bring it. Share

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Apr 10 • 9:54 PM EDT • Science • smotus.substack.com
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Tesla's Big Pivot: Robotics, AI, and Energy Growth vs. a Slowing Car Business
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Apr 10 • 12:09 PM EDT • Business • fool.com
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Science fiction becomes reality at USF's Engineering Expo

At the University of South Florida’s Engineering Expo, visitors can control a robotic catapult using nothing but their thoughts. It's one of dozens of hands-on exhibits drawing thousands of students and families to campus.

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Apr 10 • 6:31 AM EDT • Science • fox13news.com
Europe is winning the AI and drone science race. It's losing the deployment war

Europe's scientists are ahead. Europe's armies are not. The continent produces world-class research on AI, drones, robotics, quantum and cybersecurity, but watches the US race past it to deployment.Vi...

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Apr 9 • 3:44 AM EDT • Science • ca.news.yahoo.com
Europe is winning the AI and drone science race. It's losing the deployment war

Europe's scientists are ahead. Europe's armies are not. The continent produces world-class research on AI, drones, robotics, quantum and cybersecurity, but watches the US race past it to deployment.Vi...

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Apr 9 • 3:44 AM EDT • Science • ca.news.yahoo.com
Sparks and barks: College of Engineering and Science unveils robot dog

The Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science (COES) has officially introduced its newest and most innovative ambassador: CHIP, a robotic dog enhanced and programmed by COES student

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Apr 8 • 3:25 PM EDT • Science • latech.edu
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A top US shipbuilder is exploring physical AI in shipbuilding

HII and GrayMatter Robotics announced plans to integrate physical AI into shipbuilding processes.

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Apr 6 • 7:02 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
New study reveals hidden ocean chemistry

Scientists have found a new way to detect subtle chemical signatures in seawater—revealing previously invisible details about the ocean’s chemistry from data continuously collected by thousands of autonomous robotic floats drifting across the seas.

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Apr 5 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org
Gemma 4 and what makes an open model succeed

Having written a lot of model release blog posts, there’s something much harder about reviewing open models when they drop relative to closed models, especially in 2026. In recent years, there were so few open models, so when Llama 3 was released most people were still doing research on Llama 2 and super happy to get an update. When Qwen 3 was released, the Llama 4 fiasco had just gone down, and a whole research community was emerging to study RL on Qwen 2.5 — it was a no brainer to upgrade. Today, when an open model releases, it’s competing with Qwen 3.5, Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax M2.5, GPT-OSS, Arcee Large, Nemotron 3, Olmo 3, and others. The space is populated, but still feels full of hidden opportunity. The potential of open models feels like a dark matter, a potential we know is huge, but few clear recipes and examples for how to unlock it are out there. Agentic AI, OpenClaw, and everything brewing in that space is going to spur mass experimentation in open models to complement the likes of Claude and Codex, not replace them. Especially with open models, the benchmarks at release are an extremely incomplete story. In some ways this is exciting, as new open models have a much higher variance and ability to surprise, but it also points at some structural reasons that make building businesses and great AI experiences around open models harder than the closed alternatives. When a new Claude Opus or GPT drops, spending a few hours with them in my agentic workflows is genuinely a good vibe test. For open models, putting them through this test is a category error. Something else to be said about open models in the era of agents is that they get out of the debate of integration, harnesses, and tools and let us see close to the ground on what exactly is the ability of just a model. Of course, we can’t test some things like search abilities without some tool, but being able to measure exactly the pace of progress of the model alone is a welcome simplification to a systematically opaque AI space. Share The list of factors I’d use to assess a new open-weight model I’m considering investing in includes: Model performance (and size) — how this model performs on benchmarks I care about and how it compares to other models of a similar size. Country of origin — some businesses care deeply about provenance, and if a model was built in China or not. Model license — if a model needs legal approval for use, uptake will be slower at mid-sized and large companies. Tooling at release — many models release with half-broken, or at least substantially slower, implementations in popular software like vLLM, Transformers, SGLANG, etc due to pushing the envelope of architectures or tools. Model fine-tunability — how easy or hard it is to modify the given model to your use-case when you actually try and use it. The core problem is that some of these are immediately available at release, e.g. general performance, license, origin, etc. but others such as tooling take day(s) to week(s) to stabilize, and others are open research questions — with no group systematically monitoring fine-tunability. In the early era of open models, the days of Llama 2 or 3 and Qwen pre v3.5, the architectures were fairly simple and the models tended to work out of the box. Some of this was due to the extremely hard work of the Llama, Qwen, Mistral, etc. developer teams. Some is due to the new models being genuinely harder to work with. When it comes to something like Qwen 3.5 or Nemotron 3, with hybrid models (either gated delta net or mamba layers), the tooling is very rough at release. Things you would expect to “just work” often don’t. I’ve been following this area closely since we released Olmo Hybrid with a similar architecture, and Qwen 3.5 is just starting to work well in the various open-source tools that need to all play nice together for RL research. That’s 1.5 months after the release date! This is just to start really investing more into understanding the behavior of the models. Of course, others started working on these models sooner by investing more engineering resources or relying on partially closed software. The fully open and distributed ecosystem takes a long time to get going on some new models. All of this is lead-in for the most important question for open models — how easy is it to adapt to specific use-cases? This is a different problem for different model sizes. Large MoE open-weight models may be used by entities like Cursor who need complex capabilities in their domain, e.g. Composer 2 trained on Kimi K2.5. Other applications can be built on much smaller models, such as Chroma’s Context-1 model for agentic search, built on GPT-OSS 20B. The question of “which models are fine-tunable” is largely background knowledge known by engineers across the industry. There should be a thriving research area here to support the open ecosystem model. The first step is to understand characteristics of different base and post-trained models to understand what they look like. The second step is to tune pretraining recipes for open models so they’re more flexible. Interconnects AI is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe For The ATOM Project and other Interconnects endeavors, we’ve put in substantial effort to measuring adoption trends in the open ecosystem. Everything takes a long time to unfold after a model is first publicly available — and adaptability is why. What we know for sure now, when Qwen has been going from strength to strength with its releases, is that technical staff across the industry has gotten comfortable working with Qwen models. Countless research methods and datasets were made to work with Qwen. It’ll take patience for any other model family to get to this point — a patience I’m not sure many open model builders have. This takes us to Gemma 4, Google’s latest open models. Gemma 3 was released more than a year ago, in March of 2025, and is a bit underrated. Gemma 4 comes in 4 sizes for now, with a bigger, MoE model of over 100B total parameters rumored but not released yet. The models we have today come in sizes of ~5B dense, 8B dense, 26B total 4B active MoE, and 31B dense. I’m most excited that they’re finally adopting a standard Apache 2.0 open source license. This’ll massively boost adoption. The standard of better licenses for strong open-weight LLMs was set by mostly Chinese open model labs in the last 1-2 years, and now U.S. companies are following suit. I will personally be so happy if the horrible Llama licenses and Gemma terms of service were an ~18-month transient dynamic of the industry being nervous about releasing strong open models. The Gemma 4 scores look very solid, the small models have incredible benchmark scores (especially in general domains like LMArena) and the 31B model rivals the recent Qwen 3.5 27B, which is the leading member of that class. The ~30B size range is an important one, as it’s accessible both to researchers and to enterprises looking to deploy the model in real use-cases. Where the 7B model scale is the default for tinkering and research, a 30B model is the default for seeing if an open model can unlock substantial value in your specific workflow — a good mix of intelligence, low price, tractability for downstream training, etc. This takes us back to the above adoption criteria I mentioned for open models and the bigger question — do I think Gemma 4 will be an overwhelming success? Previous Gemma models have been plagued by tooling issues and poorer performance when being finetuned. Gemma 4’s success is going to be entirely determined by ease of use, to a point where a 5-10% swing on benchmarks wouldn’t matter at all. It’s strong enough, small enough, with the right license, and from the U.S., so many companies are going to slot it in. I’m cautiously optimistic that Gemma 4 is going to work better here. Winds are shifting for open models built in America. We saw GPT-OSS go through a bumpy launch to become an overwhelming success. There’s a collective energy around the likes of Reflection, Arcee, Nemotron, Gemma, Olmo, and peers that show substantial demand for building new stacks around open models. There’s capital to be spent on AI stacks across the economy by those who want more ownership of everything, including the model. After launching The ATOM Project 240 days ago, the conversation is shifting into the next stage. Summer of 2025 was a crisis moment where the U.S. AI scene realized it can’t wait and figure out open models after building AGI. The two markets will capture different areas and proceed in parallel. Now that more companies in the U.S. are releasing strong models, we need to improve the ecosystem so that these models are easy to use, understand, and build value around. It’s the hard work to build another inflection point in these adoption plots I’ve been updating consistently, but that’s the work to be done. Join me in it. More data coming soon! Here’s a sneak peek:

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Apr 3 • 12:57 PM EDT • Technology • interconnects.ai
Chinese satellite with robotic 'octopus arm' passes key refueling test in orbit — making longer-lived space assets more likely

The experimental Hukeda-2 satellite and its highly flexible robotic arm have passed a major refuelling test in low Earth orbit. The demonstration is the latest step toward China significantly expanding the longevity of its spacecraft.

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Apr 2 • 11:33 AM EDT • Science • livescience.com
Robotics competition program encourages enrollment as science comprehension drops

As enrollment drops amid sinking science comprehension, FIRST adds that it still aims to inspire students by showcasing future opportunities that science can provide.

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Mar 28 • 8:50 PM EDT • Science • wmur.com
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan: Startup investment is critical for business

Developments in AI, quantum computing and robotics are moving so fast that corporations must stay close to startups to avoid falling behind.

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Mar 26 • 5:05 AM EDT • Business • globalventuring.com
Melania Trump’s very robotic White House guest

The storied White House East Room has welcomed politicians, foreign dignitaries, war heroes, celebrities and elite athletes, but on Wednesday, it was the setting for an extremely robotic speech introducing first lady Melania Trump.

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Mar 25 • 1:38 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
OpenAI discontinues its Sora app amid robotics shift, compute limits

A spokesperson for OpenAI said the discontinuation of Sora comes as the company plans to focus on robotics rather than generative imagery.

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Mar 24 • 5:05 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Revolutionary Submarine Mysteriously Disappears Without a Trace – Scientists Are Now Preparing for a Bold Return

A pioneering robotic submarine that explored beneath Antarctica’s glaciers has been lost, but its discoveries are reshaping our understanding of ice melt as a more advanced successor is prepared to continue the mission.

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Mar 23 • 10:04 AM EDT • Science • scitechdaily.com
The final four of Business Insider's business-focused bracket

The business-focused March Madness bracket narrows to four trends: SaaSpocalypse, tariffs, longevity, and robotics.

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Mar 23 • 7:59 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Federal investment fuels new labs for coastal science and restoration

The two are part of the Institute of Environment’s efforts to expand research on the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and other South Florida’s coastal ecosystems. The project received $11.5 million in funds.

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Mar 18 • 12:19 PM EDT • Science • news.fiu.edu
We Met Frozen's Olaf at Walt Disney Imagineering and Caught a Glimpse of the Future of Immersive Entertainment at Disney Parks

Disney invited us to its Imagineering offices to meet the incredibly impressive next-generation robotic figure of Olaf that will soon be walking, talking, and interacting with guests at World of Frozen in Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, and it truly felt as if we were getting a glimpse of the future of immersive entertainment at Disney Parks.

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Mar 16 • 4:30 PM EDT • Entertainment • ign.com
Robotics firm Intuitive Surgical says cyberattack compromised business, customer data

The company said an intruder accessed employee information, customer contact details and other records.

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Mar 16 • 6:17 AM EDT • Business • cybersecuritydive.com
Vote in BI Today's trend-focused March Madness bracket

Business Insider kicks off its March Madness bracket, featuring eight top business trends, including SaaS, private credit, and robotics.

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Mar 16 • 5:35 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Robot dogs are protecting data centers. Operators are seeing payoffs.

Boston Dynamics and Ghost Robotics are selling robot dogs to data center operators, providing perimeter security and inspection capabilities.

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Mar 16 • 4:11 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
New Business: Robotics and AI rule at Hudson coffee drive-thru; new T-Bones open in Hudson

The best thing about the new coffee drive-thru in Hudson might be the fact there’s no need to scan QR codes or tip. That’s because behind the scenes robots are

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Mar 13 • 8:00 PM EDT • Business • unionleader.com
Dean Kamen leaves FIRST, continues work at ARMI, Sequel after reviews

New Hampshire inventor Dean Kamen will officially step down as a board member of FIRST, the youth robotics nonprofit he founded in 1989, but will continue his work at the

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Mar 12 • 11:55 AM EDT • Business • unionleader.com
UI Health Care performs its first robotic living donor nephrectomy

University of Iowa Health announced in early February 2026 that it had successfully completed its first robotic living donor nephrectomy

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Mar 11 • 9:05 AM EDT • Health • aha.org
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High schoolers are using AI to tackle cancer and build robotic surgeons

Finalists in the Society for Science and Regeneron $1.8 million science competition are increasingly turning to machine learning, and organizers are balancing innovation with misuse.

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Mar 11 • 6:30 AM EDT • Science • technical.ly
A particle accelerator helped scientists create stunning 3D ants

Researchers have developed a high-tech system that rapidly scans ants and converts them into detailed 3D models. Using a synchrotron accelerator, X-ray imaging, robotics, and AI, the team scanned 2,000 specimens in just a week and produced models of 800 species. The images reveal microscopic anatomy that was previously difficult to study. The growing Antscan database could become a powerful digital library of biodiversity.

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Mar 10 • 1:22 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Myomo and Elevance Health Agree to Contract for Multi-State Network Participation

BURLINGTON, Mass., March 09, 2026--Myomo, Inc. (NYSE American: MYO) ("Myomo" or the "Company"), a wearable medical robotics company that offers increased functionality for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper-limb paralysis, announced today it has entered into its first among a series of expected network participation agreements with Elevance Health. The contracts, which include the Anthem-affiliated Commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid plans are expected to become effec

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Mar 9 • 4:05 PM EDT • Health • finance.yahoo.com
OpenAI robotics head Caitlin Kalinowski quits after Pentagon deal

Caitlin Kalinowski says she is quitting OpenAI over concerns that the technology could be used for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.

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Mar 7 • 12:43 PM EST • Business • businessinsider.com
Q&A with chemist Lily Robertson: Pioneering autonomous discovery to accelerate science at Argonne

Argonne assistant chemist Lily Robertson explains how her team is using robotics and machine learning in the Robotic Autonomous Platforms for Innovative Discovery-200 lab to accelerate materials discovery.

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Mar 5 • 7:00 AM EST • Science • anl.gov
Amazon layoffs continue as robotics division cuts staff

Amazon's e-commerce operations rely on thousands of robots to automate warehouse operations. Still, this division hasn't avoided job cuts.

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Mar 4 • 2:25 PM EST • Business • businessinsider.com
STEM meets sports tourism as Robotics Championship plans return to Clarksville

The Vex Robotics competition will take place at F&M Bank Arena, hosting 42 schools fielding 96 teams representing more than 500 middle and high school students.

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Mar 3 • 9:00 AM EST • Sports • clarksvillenow.com
CSU's Little Shop of Physics brings science to life for 8,000+

Over 8,000 people explored hands-on science experiments, from robotic arms to liquid nitrogen ice cream, at CSU's Little Shop of Physics open house.

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Mar 3 • 7:03 AM EST • Science • coloradoan.com
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CSU's Little Shop of Physics brings science to life for 8,000+

Over 8,000 people explored hands-on science experiments, from robotic arms to liquid nitrogen ice cream, at CSU's Little Shop of Physics open house.

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Mar 3 • 7:03 AM EST • Science • yahoo.com