🤐 After a hundred years: New zipper that is more flexible and reduces emissions
YKK has developed a zipper without the woven fabric that normally sits on the sides of the teeth. The new zipper weighs less, is more flexible and reduces both material use and emissions. The North Face and other clothing companies have started using the new technology in their products.
🧬 New gene therapy cures 95 percent of children with "bubble boy" disease
A single gene therapy using patients' own stem cells has cured 95 percent of treated children with a deadly immune disorder. The treatment uses the patient's own stem cells that are genetically modified to produce the missing enzyme.
🛰️ SpaceX plans data centers in space
SpaceX will build data centers in space using upgraded Starlink satellites. Starlink V3 satellites will have a capacity of 1 Tbps, ten times more than current satellites. SpaceX can launch approximately 60 V3 satellites per Starship rocket starting in the first half of 2026.
🚀 SpaceX breaks multiple records
SpaceX conducted its 135th Falcon 9 launch during 2025, which surpasses the company's total number for all of 2024. The company also set a new record for the fastest turnaround between launches from the same pad in California with two days and 10 hours.
🤒 Fewer people are ill with tropical diseases
122 million fewer people needed treatment for tropical diseases in 2023 compared to the previous year. A reduction of 32 percent since 2010. The number of people affected by these diseases decreased from 1.9 billion in 1990 to just over 1 billion in 2021.
🐖 Gene-edited pigs resistant to classical swine fever
Gene-edited pigs remained healthy when exposed to the deadly classical swine fever virus. The same gene editing may provide resistance to similar viruses that infect cattle and sheep.
🌲 Forest cover increases in several regions – FAO report shows reduced deforestation globally
Deforestation continues to decline, and net forest loss is less than half of what it was in the 1990s. Net loss of forest has decreased by 61 percent since the 1990s.
🖥️ Quantum computer demonstrates controlled advantage over supercomputer for the first time
The Willow chip calculates molecular structures 13,000 times faster than one of the world's fastest supercomputers. The technique can be used to measure distances in molecules and provide more information about chemical structure than today's methods.
🏭 Graphene moves from laboratory to factory after 20 years
British company plans pilot facility for production of graphene-based chips. Graphene was discovered at the University of Manchester in 2004 but has not been produced at large scale until now. The material is stronger than steel but lighter than paper.