The Push for Artificial Inheritance
A Berkeley Genomics gathering of roughly 100 scientists, investors and futurists highlighted a growing commercial push to edit human embryos using CRISPR technology. Startups such as Bootstrap Bio, Manhattan Genomics and Preventive are courting parents and investors despite U.S. bans on germline editing. Technical challenges—off‑target cuts, mosaicism and limited pre‑implantation screening—remain unresolved, while newer base and prime editors promise higher precision. The debate intensifies as the market eyes rare‑disease couples, raising ethical, regulatory and socioeconomic stakes for the biotech industry.
How RML Machinery’s Automation Solutions Deliver ROI for FMCG Manufacturers
Australian fast‑moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturers are turning to automation as margins tighten and customer expectations rise. RML Machinery offers end‑to‑end production automation—from cartoning and palletising to robotic assembly and modular conveyors—designed to boost throughput, cut waste and improve safety....
AI K-Pop Startup Galaxy Aims for IPO in Seoul and New York
Seoul‑based AI startup Galaxy, founded in 2019, is preparing a dual listing in New York and Seoul for 2027 after raising roughly $150 million. The company blends AI‑generated music, virtual avatars and life‑size robot idols, leveraging star power from G‑Dragon and a...
European VC Jeito Gets $1.2B to Help Private Biotechs Control Their 'Destiny'
Jeito Capital, a Paris‑based venture firm, closed its second fund at $1.2 billion (over €1 billion, roughly $1.08 billion). The capital will be deployed to a dozen or so European drug‑development startups seeking to advance pre‑clinical and early‑stage clinical programs. By providing sizable,...
Incident Role Restrictions
The platform now lets administrators lock down incident roles and severity settings by incident type, ensuring only qualified users can act as leads or adjust criticality. New permissions allow organizations to restrict who can be assigned a role, what actions...
Puget Systems Expands Server Portfolio
Puget Systems has partnered with MSI Enterprise Platform Solutions to launch eleven new 1U and 2U servers aimed at dense CPU compute, GPU rendering, and AI workloads. The portfolio includes models with single or dual AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon...
Blog Review: Apr. 8
The April 8 blog roundup from Semiconductor Engineering spotlights a wave of technical breakthroughs across the semiconductor ecosystem. Cadence unveils LPDDR6 with built‑in metadata, row‑hammer mitigation and three‑rail DVFS, while Synopsys and Siemens champion multiphysics and simulation‑driven digital twins for automotive...
Solar Keeps Slimming Down While Power Rises
An international study shows commercial silicon solar modules have tripled their specific power, rising from about 8.5 W/kg in the early 2000s to 23.6 W/kg today. The gain stems from advances in module architecture, bifacial designs, and improved temperature management, while glass...
China’s Shenzhen Activates Huawei-Powered AI Cluster
Shenzhen has activated a new supercomputing cluster built with 10,000 Huawei Ascend 910C AI accelerator cards, delivering 11,000 petaflops of performance. Combined with a 3,000‑petaflop system launched in 2025, the facility now offers 14,000 petaflops, and 92 % of its capacity...
Almost 50% of US Consumers Would Use Palm Biometrics Payments, Research Finds
A Handwave survey of 2,001 Americans finds that almost half of U.S. consumers would adopt palm‑based payments if they trusted the security of their biometric data. Acceptance is strongest among younger shoppers, with 46% of 25‑34‑year‑olds comfortable using palm verification,...
FBI Takes Down APT28 Network Behind Global DNS Hijacking Attacks
The FBI, in coordination with the Department of Justice, launched Operation Masquerade to dismantle a global network of compromised SOHO routers used by the Russian-linked threat group APT28 for DNS hijacking. The operation reset DNS configurations on thousands of TP‑Link...
Planet Labs Tests AI-Powered Object Detection On Satellite
Planet Labs successfully demonstrated artificial intelligence running directly on a satellite in orbit, using an NVIDIA Jetson Orin module to detect airplanes in an image of an airport captured at 500 km altitude. The onboard model processed the photo moments after...
BenQ GW2490C Monitor Review: A Budget 24-Inch Monitor That's a USB-C Bargain
BenQ’s GW2490C is a 24‑inch IPS monitor priced around £100 (≈$125) that packs a 144 Hz refresh rate, 5 ms response time and 98 % sRGB coverage. It adds a USB‑C video input but only supplies 7.5 W, so it can’t charge a laptop...
Men Are Buying Hacking Tools to Use Against Their Wives and Friends
AI Forensics examined 2.8 million messages from 16 Italian and Spanish Telegram groups, uncovering a thriving market where men purchase hacking and surveillance tools to target wives, girlfriends, and acquaintances. The study recorded over 24 000 participants sharing 82 723 abusive images, videos and...
Skills Erosion | Is AI Really Making Employees More Stupid? And What Can HR Do?
A new University of Bath paper warns that widespread AI, especially large language models, may be eroding core workplace skills such as creativity and critical thinking. The study describes a phenomenon dubbed “great deskilling,” where employees rely on AI for...
Egypt to Regulate Social Media for Minors with Special SIM
Egypt’s telecom regulator will roll out special SIM cards for minors within 60 days, embedding app and content restrictions at the network level. In Nigeria, the South East Development Commission aims to build a $200 billion economy by 2035, launching a...
In Safety Infrastructure, the Shift From Steel to GRP
Traditional steel guardrails are increasingly being replaced by glass‑reinforced plastic (GRP) systems due to corrosion concerns, especially in coastal and humid environments. Engineered Composites’ Engrail 51 mm box‑section modular guardrail offers a lightweight, pultruded GRP solution with a load‑bearing capacity of...
As CGT Manufacturing Scales Up, Automation and Collaboration Become Essential
Cell and gene therapy manufacturing faces a scalability crunch as single batches cost over $500,000 and skilled labor shortages drive high turnover. Companies are turning to robotics, AI, and digital dashboards to automate processes, cut contamination risk, and harness real‑time...
ASUS Skips New Boards for Arrow Lake Refresh, Focuses on Next-Gen
ASUS confirmed it will not release new motherboards for Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 200S Plus refresh, opting to rely on the existing Intel 800 series boards built on the FCLGA1851 socket. The refresh offers only incremental performance gains, so manufacturers see little incentive...
Got a Text About Expiring Reward Points? Look Closer
Consumers are receiving text messages warning that their loyalty‑program points are about to expire, but the Federal Trade Commission reports many of these alerts are fraudulent. Scammers embed links that, when clicked, harvest personal data or install malware on the...
Colorful Revives DDR3 H81 Motherboards Amid Rising Memory Costs
Colorful announced it will restart production of DDR3‑based motherboards built on Intel’s H81 chipset as DDR4 and DDR5 memory prices remain elevated. The H81 platform, tied to 4th‑generation Haswell CPUs and limited to 16 GB DDR3, will see limited volumes from...
Tennibot Launches AI-Powered Tennis-Playing Machine with Adaptive Training Features
Tennibot, an Alabama‑based sports tech firm, unveiled the Partner V2, an AI‑driven tennis ball machine priced at $2,245 (regular $3,500). The device is 13.6% lighter and 14.4% smaller than its predecessor while offering a 37% wider vertical feed range and...
Intel Serpent Lake Processors to Integrate NVIDIA RTX GPUs in 2028
Intel is planning a new processor family codenamed Serpent Lake, slated for a 2028 launch, that will integrate NVIDIA RTX graphics directly into the CPU package. The chips will combine Copper Shark performance cores with Golden Eagle efficiency cores, continuing...
Logic Introduces ‘Octopus’ Overhead Multi-Arm Robot to Boost Warehouse Throughput
Logic unveiled the Octopus, an overhead multi‑arm picking robot that mounts to ceiling structures and frees valuable aisle space. The system can simultaneously operate multiple arms equipped with interchangeable end effectors, eliminating mechanical changeovers and handling mixed SKUs in parallel....
Inverter-Based Resource Performance History Leads to US Regulatory Change
North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) has issued three new standards—PRC-028-1, PRC-029-1 and PRC-030-1—to tighten inverter‑based resource (IBR) performance after a series of disturbances, notably the 2022 Odessa event that shed 2,555 MW of solar and synchronous generation. PRC-028-1 mandates high‑fidelity disturbance...
Wonder Cement Works with Sunsure Energy for Solar Power Expansion
Wonder Cement has signed three long‑term power purchase agreements with Sunsure Energy to source solar electricity for its Dhule and Aligarh plants. The deals cover 30 MWp of solar capacity, delivering 67% of Dhule’s and 52% of Aligarh’s power needs. The...
The Fat-Tailed Economics Of AI
Anthropic announced a run‑rate revenue exceeding $30 billion, effectively adding its entire 2025 revenue each month. The figure dwarfs typical software ARR benchmarks and signals unprecedented scaling speed. The company attributes this growth to AI models whose cost curves are highly...
AngloGold Ashanti Begins Operating Normet SmartDrive Battery Electric Concrete Mixer at Cuiabá Gold Mine
AngloGold Ashanti has started using the Normet SmartDrive battery‑electric Utimec LF 600 Transmixer SD, the first electric concrete mixer operating underground in Brazil. The 5.6 m³ mixer runs on Li‑ion batteries, offers fast CCS charging and energy‑recuperation, and eliminates diesel exhaust in...
Robotronic and Mitsubishi Electric Launch High-Speed Pharma Palletising System
Robotronic and Mitsubishi Electric have unveiled what they claim is the smallest high‑speed palletising cell for pharmaceutical vials and pre‑filled syringes. The low‑footprint system uses two Mitsubishi FR series robots with SoftTouch technology to handle pallets as small as 120 cm × 80 cm....
“Invisible Banking” Is Pointless
The author dismisses the buzzword “invisible banking,” arguing that finance should be transparent, not hidden. He frames the third fintech wave as an “intelligence revolution” powered by AI, which must surface full transaction details rather than cryptic codes. Current embedded‑finance...
CleanStart Takes Aim at BusyBox to Harden Container Security
CleanStart has introduced a BusyBox‑free container architecture that replaces the traditional monolithic utility binary with statically compiled, purpose‑specific tools. By validating the filesystem during image construction, the platform removes unused components and blocks BusyBox from final images, delivering deterministic containers....
Where Are They Now: Samphire Neuroscience
Samphire Neuroscience’s wearable Nettle, a headband delivering electrical pulses to the pre‑frontal and motor cortex to alleviate menstrual pain, launched in June 2024. The device sold out within a day to a wait‑list of over 15,000, each unit priced at...
Levi’s Accelerates Growth as ‘DTC-First’ Strategy Pays Off
Levi Strauss & Co. posted first‑quarter net revenue of $1.7 billion, a 14% year‑on‑year increase, driven by a 16% rise in direct‑to‑consumer sales that now represent 52% of total revenue. The company lifted its full‑year 2026 outlook, forecasting 6% revenue growth...
Wise: Growth And Innovation From The Inside Out Should Fuel Upside
Wise plc posted a 21.4% year‑over‑year increase in underlying income for Q3 2026, underscoring its expanding global footprint and niche diversification. The company’s ultra‑low‑cost model and proprietary technology stack are preserving margins and outpacing rivals such as PayPal. Valuation remains...
400kW EV Charger Supports Denser Charging Sites
SK Signet has launched a 400 kW all‑in‑one ultra‑fast DC charger that integrates silicon‑carbide power modules and dispenser hardware in a single unit. The design achieves 96.5% power conversion efficiency while shrinking the installation footprint by 54% compared with its previous...
Orica Launches Next-Gen Groundprobe Geohazard Monitoring Platform
Orica has unveiled the next‑generation Groundprobe SSR‑XT, a geotechnical monitoring platform rebuilt from the ground up. The redesign focuses on operational continuity, with an updated engine‑mounting system that isolates vibrations and cuts noise. Enhanced sensor suites deliver real‑time geohazard data,...
What It Takes to Run AI in the Real World: Lessons From Akamai Digital Leadership Summit
At the Akamai Digital Leadership Summit in Bengaluru, 125 senior technology leaders examined how Indian enterprises can run AI at Bharat‑scale while keeping costs near zero. Speakers highlighted the shift from building ever‑larger foundation models to engineering production‑ready pipelines that...
Customer Interaction Platform Angoor AI Raises Pre-Seed Round Led by Venturizer
Angoor AI, an AI‑native customer interaction platform founded in 2023, closed a pre‑seed round of roughly $240,000 (Rs 2 crore) led by Venturizer, with several angel investors joining. The funding will fuel the build‑out of its enterprise sales team, expand product and...
PhD Talk Asks How to Avoid Colonialist Structures in Digital Public Infrastructure
A recent UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose talk featured PhD candidate Nai Lee Kalema, who critiques the World Bank’s Global Digital Transformation initiative and proposes a decolonizing framework for digital public infrastructure (DPI) in Kenya and Uganda. Kalema...
Building AI Initiatives with Bottom-Up Champions
University of Central Florida’s Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning and Division of Digital Learning forged a bottom‑up AI initiative that built policies, training, and a national conference to guide ethical generative AI use in education. Faculty champions created an...
EMT Madrid Orders 120 More E-Buses, Vehicles Awarded to Irizar, Daimler and Solaris
EMT Madrid announced a contract for 120 new battery‑electric buses, including the first 18‑metre articulated models in its fleet. The order splits into 90 standard 12‑metre buses – 50 Irizar ie bus units for €30.75 million (≈$33.5 M) and 40 Mercedes eCitaro...
Researchers Find a Zero-Day Attack Targeting Adobe Reader Users
Researchers have uncovered a zero‑day vulnerability in Adobe Reader that allows remote code execution through crafted PDF files. The exploit chain leverages a memory‑corruption flaw, runs entirely in memory, and requires no user interaction beyond opening the document. Its multi‑layer...
Orica Digital Solutions Launches Next-Generation GroundProbe Solution for Safer, Faster Geotech Monitoring
Orica Digital Solutions has unveiled a next‑generation GroundProbe geotechnical monitoring suite aimed at improving safety and decision speed in mining operations. The offering combines three hardware models—SSR‑XT, SSR‑FX and SSR‑Omni—with the new MonitorIQ® Next software platform for streamlined, low‑touch deployment....
Iran-Linked Hackers Breach U.S. Industrial Systems, Trigger Disruptions
The FBI, CISA, and NSA issued a joint advisory on April 7, 2026 warning that Iranian‑affiliated APT groups are actively exploiting internet‑exposed programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure. The campaign targets water, wastewater, energy, and government services,...
Slopaganda: US, Iran Deploy AI Slop as Weapons of War
The article introduces “slopaganda,” AI‑generated content used as propaganda by the United States and Iran during recent geopolitical tensions. It cites viral videos that mix real war footage with movie, game and Lego‑style clips, including AI‑crafted portrayals of Donald Trump...
Era Of AI Superapps: So Close, Yet So Far
OpenAI announced a $122 billion fundraising round to build an AI superapp that unifies ChatGPT, Codex, browsing, and emerging agentic capabilities into a single, intent‑driven experience. The company is shifting from a chat‑first interface to an agent‑first model that can act...
FAB Partners with Presight and Microsoft to Accelerate Enterprise AI Innovation
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) hosted a virtual AI Agentathon in partnership with Presight and Microsoft to fast‑track enterprise AI solutions. Four cross‑functional teams combined bank staff with Microsoft and Presight experts to design concepts that address decision‑making, operational efficiency...
New Digital Funding for Transport Improvement Projects
The UK Department for Transport has allocated roughly $51 million (£40 million) to help local authorities trial digital solutions that streamline travel, cut congestion and reduce disruption. A $7.6 million (£6 million) pilot in the Peak District will synchronize rural bus services with train...
Highway Licence Application Forms Digitised at TfL
Transport for London (TfL) has digitised all highway licence application forms, moving from paper and Word‑based processes to an online system built on the FixMyStreet Forms platform. The new workflow guides applicants, validates data, and redirects fee payers to Paybylink,...
Councils Flex Their Muscle on Renewables, Laying Down the Local Law on Roads, Farmland and Housing
Leeton Shire Council in New South Wales voted to block large‑scale solar farms on any irrigated or irrigable farmland, citing the need to protect high‑value agricultural land. The motion, led by Mayor George Weston, calls for the highest level of...