Technology, Policy & regulation, Science, Climate & environment, AI
497 storiesTrump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
Nobel medicine prize awarded to three scientists for optogenetics
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries concerning light-sensitive ion channels and optogenetics, the Nobel Committee announced in Stockholm. The three sh…
Supreme Court hears Boulder climate suit as justices question both sides
The Supreme Court heard nearly two hours of arguments Monday on whether the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, can sue Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy in state court to recover costs tied to climate change. Conservative justices questioned…
AMD's Lisa Su visits Korea, agrees AI chip cooperation with local firms
AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su visited Korea on Oct. 7, about seven months after her March trip, meeting Second Vice Minister Ryu Je-myeong of the Science and ICT Ministry and a roundtable of Korean AI semiconductor and infrastructure companies.…
Nobel Chemistry Prize goes to France's Henri Kagan and Japan's Soai Kenzo
Sweden's Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Oct 7 that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Henri Kagan of France and Soai Kenzo of Japan for discovering non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric org…
Nuri rocket completes fifth launch, placing satellites in orbit
South Korea’s Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. local time on Oct 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, carrying 15 satellites, the most in its history, and placed the five main ultra-small cluster satellites in their target orbit. Ne…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry, announced Wednesday at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, for work on molecules that exist as mirror images of each other. Kagan showed in the 1980s that …
Abu Dhabi's AI Everything opens with 400 exhibitors alongside Global Food Week
AI Everything 2026 opened on 6 October at the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi and runs to 7 October, with WAM reporting 400 exhibitors and 180 speakers, and Economy Middle East reporting more than 400 companies, 200-plus investors managing about $10…
ASUS unveils Zenbook 14 UX3480 line with Intel, AMD or Qualcomm chips
ASUS announced the Zenbook 14 UX3480 series, a 14-inch laptop line that lets buyers choose between Intel Core Ultra series 3, AMD Ryzen AI 300 and Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors. PC Watch reported the models go on sale in Japan from Octob…
SpaceX seeks $40 billion in borrowing to buy Nvidia chips, FT reports
SpaceX is in talks to borrow $40 billion to fund a purchase of Nvidia chips, according to a Financial Times report cited by Reuters and MarketWatch. Bloomberg said it understands the financing would be among the biggest-ever debt financings…
Kazakhstan considers blocking social media accounts of children under 16
Kazakhstan's government has prepared amendments restricting online platforms for users under 16, and Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said in a reply to a parliamentary inquiry that temporarily blocking social media accounts of children under…
South Korea forecasts a cold, windy Oct. 6 with a 15C day-night temperature gap
South Korea's weather agency forecast a chilly, clear Oct. 6 with morning lows of about 3-14°C and a day-night temperature gap of roughly 15°C in most regions. Gangwon's inland and mountain areas were expected near or below 5°C, with winds …
Apple and LG Electronics jointly develop smart home devices under LG brand
Apple and LG Electronics are jointly developing smart home devices — a camera-equipped video doorbell, a smart door lock, a security camera and a smart temperature sensor and thermostat — to be sold under the LG brand, according to Bloomber…
South Korea unveils 1,000 trillion won green transition plan to 2035
South Korea announced a “Korean-style Green Transition” (K-GX) strategy on Oct 7, pledging about 1,000 trillion won over ten years to 2035 — 200 trillion won in fiscal support and more than 790 trillion won in climate finance through five p…
Nuri declared a success on fifth flight; five cluster satellites make contact
South Korea's Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. from the Naro Space Center in Goheung and the Korea Aerospace Administration declared the fifth flight a success, saying all 15 satellites were placed in orbit. Officials said 14 of the 15 …
Moscow court fines Zoom 65.9 million rubles for repeat violation of Russian law
A Moscow court fined Zoom about 65.9 million rubles (65,936,494 rubles) for a repeat violation of Russian legislation on foreign internet companies, Interfax, Vedomosti and Kommersant reported. The case was heard under part 3 of article 13.…
Japan PM Takaichi calls Nobel chemistry laureate Soai to offer congratulations
Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae telephoned Soai Kenzo, an emeritus professor at Tokyo University of Science, on the evening of Oct 7 to congratulate him on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, telling him she was “very proud as a Japanese.” …
2026 Nobel Chemistry Prize awarded to Kagan and Soai for chiral synthesis work
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for discovering nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, according to Chinese reports. Their work explains how reactions can favor on…
Nobel chemistry prize goes to Japan's Soai Kenso and France's Henri Kagan
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on 7 October that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Soai Kenso, 76, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Science, and Henri Kagan of France, for work on nonlinear effects and autocatal…