Daily Digest Daily Digest — October 20, 2026 Jake Lawy swam the River Tone as a salmon and came out wanting the streetlights off. Brazil's Senate voted 75 to 1 to end the six-day week without cutting pay.
APOE4 The Barrier A rare fibronectin mutation may explain why some people who carry APOE4 stay sharp into their 80s.
Daily Digest Daily Digest — October 19, 2026 Fillongley knitted an RAF man to slow the cars. He was stolen before breakfast. Antarctic ice cliffs fell faster than the models, then stopped.
Science & Technology Faster, Then a Stop A Science paper on more than 15,000 Antarctic ice cliffs finds collapses were faster than models, and that the runaway did not follow. No sea-level centimetre is in the result.
Health & Medicine The Cell That Can See Through the Disguise WEHI researchers report that gamma delta T cells can recognise small cell lung cancer that hides from other immune cells. No new drug was approved.
Daily Digest Daily Digest — October 17, 2026 Brazil recorded 3,335 square kilometres of Amazon clearance, the lowest since 1988. Sixty-nine countries voted to end the leap second. Six patients still had a vision gain.
Science & Technology The Leap Second Lost the Vote Sixty-nine countries voted on 15 October to end leap seconds from 20 May 2027. UTC may drift up to an hour from astronomical time. A leap hour is centuries away.
Daily Digest Daily Digest — October 16, 2026 Congress sent 1,082.63 Elwha acres to the President's desk. Five bleached coral fragments recovered after contact with a clone. Australia logged 5,358 megawatts of wind and solar decisions.
coral bleaching A Bleached Coral Lived Because It Touched Its Clone Stanford researchers report in Science Advances that bleached coral fragments fully recovered within eight weeks after brief contact with a healthy clone. Separated controls died.
Daily Digest Daily Digest — October 15, 2026 Eight weeks of hepatitis C pills matched twelve. Mangroves gained 477 square kilometres. Three people are the first human test of partial reprogramming.
glaucoma Three People, One Injection, and a Safety Board That Said Continue Life Biosciences reported the first human data for ER-100, a partial reprogramming injection, in three people with glaucoma. No serious adverse events at day 56. Two showed visual-field gains. It is not a cure.
Daily Digest Daily Digest — October 13, 2026 Australia's top court blocks a 22-year coal extension, El Salvador eliminates trachoma, and the medicine Nobel honours a light switch for nerve cells.
solar A Perovskite Solar Submodule the Size of a Table Hits 23.5 Percent UNSW and UtmoLight set a certified 23.5 percent efficiency record on a 30-centimetre perovskite solar submodule, narrowing the gap with tiny lab cells.
Nobel Prize Nobel Prize Honours the Light Switch That Controls Single Nerve Cells The 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine honours optogenetics, a method that uses light to switch individual nerve cells on or off in a living brain.
hepatitis B Epigenetic Editing Shuts Down Hepatitis B Without Cutting DNA A CRISPR enzyme that tags viral genes instead of slicing them shows strong preclinical results — and has entered human trials.
Science & Technology Xanadu's Quantum Memory Breakthrough Cuts Costs in Half Xanadu announces algorithmic breakthrough that halves Quantum Read-Only Memory costs, potentially accelerating practical quantum computing applications.
Science & Technology The Solar Efficiency Race: Longi and Trina Push Silicon to its Limits A high-stakes competition between the world's leading solar manufacturers has pushed silicon solar cell efficiency to unprecedented heights.
Science & Technology Global EV Sales Hit 4 Million in Q1 2026 Electric vehicle sales hit 4 million globally in Q1 2026 as Norway, California, and other markets pass tipping points where EVs dominate new car sales.
Science & Technology Landmark Study Maps Sex Differences in Brain Gene Activity Landmark study maps sex differences in brain gene activity across 1 million cells, potentially explaining different risks for neurological conditions.
Science & Technology Round-the-Clock Solar Power Becomes Viable with Battery Advances Battery advances make 24-hour solar power viable, with solar plus storage able to meet 90% of India's electricity demand at competitive costs.
Health & Medicine AI Tool Could Spare Bowel Cancer Patients Unnecessary Treatment AI tool identifies bowel cancer patients unlikely to respond to bevacizumab, sparing them unnecessary treatment with serious side effects.
