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Category: satellites

Chip-sized optical amplifier can intensify light 100-fold with minimal energy

Light does a lot of work in the modern world, enabling all types of information technology, from TVs to satellites to fiber-optic cables that carry the internet across oceans. Stanford physicists recently found a way to make that light work even harder with an optical amplifier that requires low amounts of energy without any loss of bandwidth, all on a device the size of a fingertip.

Similar to sound amplifiers, optical amplifiers take a light signal and intensify it. Current small-sized optical amplifiers need a lot of power to function. The new optical amplifier, detailed in the journal Nature, solves this problem by using a method that essentially recycles the energy used to power it.

“We’ve demonstrated, for the first time, a truly versatile, low-power optical amplifier, one that can operate across the optical spectrum and is efficient enough that it can be integrated on a chip,” said Amir Safavi-Naeini, the study’s senior author and associate professor of physics in Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. “That means we can now build much more complex optical systems than were possible before.”

Amazon Leo satellites exceed brightness limits, study finds

Seeing a satellite zip across the night sky can be a fascinating sight. However, what may be spectacular for people on the ground is becoming a major problem for astronomers. A new study published on the arXiv preprint server has found that satellites from Amazon’s mega Leo constellation (originally known as Project Kuiper) are bright enough to disrupt astronomical research.

Amazon launched the first satellites for its Project Kuiper in April 2025. Eventually, the constellation will comprise 3,232 satellites to provide high-speed internet across the globe. However, this connectivity can come at a cost.

Sam Altman Cornered by Discovery: Intent & Emails in Elon’s OpenAI Lawsuit

Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and his own ambitious plans for AI and tech innovations, including new devices and massive growth for his companies, are positioning him for a major impact on the tech industry, but also come with significant challenges and risks ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Legal Risk Management.

🔍 Q: How does the discovery process threaten OpenAI regardless of lawsuit outcome?

A: Discovery forces exposure of sensitive internal information including Greg Brockman’s 2017 diary entries revealing intent to become for-profit and violating prior agreements with Elon Musk, creating reputational damage and investor uncertainty even if OpenAI wins the case.

⏱️ Q: Why is lawsuit timing particularly damaging to OpenAI’s competitive position?

A: The lawsuit hits during OpenAI’s massive capital raise preparation, forcing delays in fundraising and implementation that allow competitors like Google and Anthropic to advance while OpenAI falls behind, similar to how Meta became less relevant in the AI race.

Continue reading “Sam Altman Cornered by Discovery: Intent & Emails in Elon’s OpenAI Lawsuit” | >

Agenus Closes Strategic Immunotherapeutic Collaboration with Zydus Lifesciences

As part of the collaboration, Agenus has granted Zydus exclusive rights to develop and commercialize BOT and BAL in India and Sri Lanka, with Agenus eligible to receive royalties on net sales in those territories.

“Closing this collaboration with Zydus strengthens our balance sheet and, critically, secures dedicated U.S. manufacturing capacity at a pivotal moment for Agenus,” continued Armen. “With these foundations in place, our focus in 2026 is disciplined execution—advancing our Phase III program, broadening paid patient access through authorized pathways, and progressing toward regulatory submission supported by one of the most substantial clinical datasets generated in [microsatellite stable] MSS colorectal cancer.”

Following the closing, the Emeryville and Berkeley, CA, biologics manufacturing facilities will be transferred to Zydus and housed under a newly formed subsidiary named Zylidac Bio. Agenus has secured committed manufacturing capacity at these U.S. sites to support BOT+BAL supply needs for its clinical trials, global access programs, and future commercialization.

EXLUMINA Founder: SpaceX Already Controls the Future of Space AI

SpaceX is well-positioned to dominate the future of space AI due to its innovative technologies, scalable satellite production, and strategic partnerships, which will enable it to efficiently deploy and operate a massive network of satellites with advanced computing capabilities ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Launch Economics & Infrastructure.

🚀 Q: Why is Starship essential for space AI data centers? A: Starship enables 100-1000x more satellites than Falcon 9, making orbital AI economically viable through massive scaling and lower launch costs, while Falcon 9 remains too expensive for commercial viability at scale.

🛰️ Q: What is SpaceX’s deployment plan for AI satellites? A: SpaceX plans Starlink version 3 satellites with 100 Nvidia chips each, deploying 5,000 satellites via 100 Starship launches at 50 satellites per flight to create a gigawatt-scale AI constellation by early 2030s.

📈 Q: What launch cadence gives SpaceX its advantage? A: SpaceX plans 10,000 annual launches and produces satellites at 10-100x the level of competitors, creating a monopoly on launch and manufacturing that positions them as the gatekeeper to space AI success.

Energy & Power Systems.

Continue reading “EXLUMINA Founder: SpaceX Already Controls the Future of Space AI” | >

Underwater robots inspired by nature are making progress, but hurdles remain

Underwater robots face many challenges before they can truly master the deep, such as stability in choppy currents. A new paper published in the journal npj Robotics provides a comprehensive update of where the technology stands today, including significant progress inspired by the movement of rays.

Underwater robots are not a gimmick. We need them to help us explore the roughly 74% of the ocean floor that still remains a mystery. While satellites, buoys and imaging technology can map the surface and the upper reaches of the ocean, we need underwater drones to explore and gather data from the hidden depths.

New tool lets anyone audit a country’s methane claims

For years, countries have told the United Nations how much methane they emit using a kind of bottom-up bookkeeping: Count the cows and oil barrels, estimate the volume of trash, and multiply by standard emission factors.

Those ledgers can miss the mark, suggest measurements from aircraft and satellites. But the tools to translate that data into national emissions estimates have largely remained the domain of specialists.

A team at Harvard is changing that. In a recent Nature Communications paper, the researchers describe Integrated Methane Inversion (IMI), an open-access system designed to let governments, researchers and civil society independently evaluate national methane claims against what satellites detect in the atmosphere, year after year.

Opposing functions of distinct regulatory T cell subsets in colorectal cancer

For this study, the researchers focused on a type of colorectal cancer that accounts for 80% to 85% of all colorectal cancers — microsatellite stable (MSS) with proficient mismatch repair (MMRp), meaning the tumors’ DNA is relatively stable. These cancers are largely resistant to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies.

Previous groundbreaking research found checkpoint inhibitors alone could successfully treat rectal cancer and several other cancers with the opposite tumor type — those with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd). This allows doctors to spare many patients from surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Here the team employed an mouse model that accurately recreates the common mutations, behaviors, and immune cell composition of human colorectal cancer. They found that the regulatory T cells associated with the cancer are split between two types: Cells that make a signaling molecule (cytokine) called interleukin‑10 (IL-10) and cells that don’t.

Through a series of sophisticated experiments that selectively eliminated each type of cell, the researchers discovered:

When IL-10-positive cells were removed, tumor growth accelerated.

In most solid tumors, high numbers of regulatory T (Treg) cells are associated with poorer outcomes because they dampen the immune system’s ability to fight against a tumor.

Continue reading “Opposing functions of distinct regulatory T cell subsets in colorectal cancer” | >

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