Lead Story
Global solar power crosses 3-terawatt milestone, doubling in under two years
The world's installed solar capacity passed 3 terawatts in mid-August 2026, according to pv magazine and analysis from BloombergNEF, a milestone reached less than two years after the world installed its second terawatt in 2024 — itself a dramatic acceleration from the nearly seven decades it took to reach the first terawatt after the silicon solar cell's invention in 1954. China has driven most of the recent growth, and BloombergNEF projects the world will reach 9 terawatts by 2036, with poorer countries eventually overtaking wealthy nations in cumulative installed capacity.
Read more →Lead Story
Global solar power crosses 3-terawatt milestone, doubling in under two years
The world's installed solar capacity passed 3 terawatts in mid-August 2026, according to pv magazine and analysis from BloombergNEF, a milestone reached less than two years after the world installed its second terawatt in 2024 — itself a dramatic acceleration from the nearly seven decades it took to reach the first terawatt after the silicon solar cell's invention in 1954. China has driven most of the recent growth, and BloombergNEF projects the world will reach 9 terawatts by 2036, with poorer countries eventually overtaking wealthy nations in cumulative installed capacity.
Canada unveils C$70 billion clean energy plan, the largest in North American history
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on August 17, 2026 a C$70 billion (US$50 billion) partnership with Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador to expand hydropower and wind generation in eastern Canada, including upgrading the Churchill Falls Generating Station, developing the new Gull Island hydroelectric project, building new transmission lines, and adding 2,000 megawatts of onshore wind in Labrador in partnership with the Innu of Labrador. The federal government will contribute $10 billion in financing toward a buildout expected to generate 14,000 megawatts of power, support 23,000 jobs, add $31 billion to Canada's GDP through the early 2040s, and export electricity to Massachusetts and New York.
Read more →Canada unveils C$70 billion clean energy plan, the largest in North American history
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on August 17, 2026 a C$70 billion (US$50 billion) partnership with Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador to expand hydropower and wind generation in eastern Canada, including upgrading the Churchill Falls Generating Station, developing the new Gull Island hydroelectric project, building new transmission lines, and adding 2,000 megawatts of onshore wind in Labrador in partnership with the Innu of Labrador. The federal government will contribute $10 billion in financing toward a buildout expected to generate 14,000 megawatts of power, support 23,000 jobs, add $31 billion to Canada's GDP through the early 2040s, and export electricity to Massachusetts and New York.
Silver nanoparticles let scientists cut and join DNA up to five times more efficiently
Researchers at Nagoya University reported in mid-August 2026 a technique using silver nanoparticles to cleave DNA at targeted sites and generate longer 'sticky ends' than conventional restriction enzymes allow, dramatically improving assembly efficiency for genetic engineering. Using an 18-base overhang, the team achieved a DNA-joining efficiency of 44%, compared with just 8% for a conventional 4-base overhang — roughly a fivefold improvement — while also reaching DNA recovery rates of 98% and cleaving efficiency above 91%. To demonstrate the method, the researchers assembled a gene encoding green fluorescent protein and successfully expressed it in human cells, pointing to a simpler, cheaper route for building custom genetic constructs.
Read more →Silver nanoparticles let scientists cut and join DNA up to five times more efficiently
Researchers at Nagoya University reported in mid-August 2026 a technique using silver nanoparticles to cleave DNA at targeted sites and generate longer 'sticky ends' than conventional restriction enzymes allow, dramatically improving assembly efficiency for genetic engineering. Using an 18-base overhang, the team achieved a DNA-joining efficiency of 44%, compared with just 8% for a conventional 4-base overhang — roughly a fivefold improvement — while also reaching DNA recovery rates of 98% and cleaving efficiency above 91%. To demonstrate the method, the researchers assembled a gene encoding green fluorescent protein and successfully expressed it in human cells, pointing to a simpler, cheaper route for building custom genetic constructs.
Engineered gut bacteria turned into 'tiny drug factories' shrink pancreatic tumors in animal studies
University of Chicago researchers, publishing in Science Advances with wider coverage in mid-August 2026, showed that an engineered probiotic strain called BifidoSumIL-2 — based on the gut bacterium Bifidobacterium longum — can infiltrate pancreatic tumors and deliver an immune-stimulating therapy directly inside them. In animal models, the bacteria selectively accumulated in tumors and boosted the activity of cancer-fighting CD8+ T cells, suppressing tumor growth, with effects further enhanced when combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy. Because pancreatic tumors typically create a 'cold,' immune-resistant environment, the 'bugs as drugs' approach offers a potential new way to deliver immune therapies directly into hard-to-treat cancers while limiting side effects elsewhere in the body.
Read more →Engineered gut bacteria turned into 'tiny drug factories' shrink pancreatic tumors in animal studies
University of Chicago researchers, publishing in Science Advances with wider coverage in mid-August 2026, showed that an engineered probiotic strain called BifidoSumIL-2 — based on the gut bacterium Bifidobacterium longum — can infiltrate pancreatic tumors and deliver an immune-stimulating therapy directly inside them. In animal models, the bacteria selectively accumulated in tumors and boosted the activity of cancer-fighting CD8+ T cells, suppressing tumor growth, with effects further enhanced when combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy. Because pancreatic tumors typically create a 'cold,' immune-resistant environment, the 'bugs as drugs' approach offers a potential new way to deliver immune therapies directly into hard-to-treat cancers while limiting side effects elsewhere in the body.
Staying active and managing blood sugar in midlife tied to slower cognitive decline decades later
A study from UT Health San Antonio, published July 23, 2026 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging and reported more widely in mid-August, followed 402 San Antonio-area participants (52% Hispanic, mean age 57.9) and found that any level of physical activity in midlife was associated with significantly slower cognitive decline years later, with the strongest benefit seen among Hispanic participants. Among non-Hispanic white participants, keeping fasting blood glucose at or below 126 milligrams per deciliter was linked to slower cognitive decline, suggesting that everyday, modifiable habits in midlife — staying active and controlling blood sugar — could help protect brain health well into old age, and that the most effective interventions may differ by population.
Read more →Staying active and managing blood sugar in midlife tied to slower cognitive decline decades later
A study from UT Health San Antonio, published July 23, 2026 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging and reported more widely in mid-August, followed 402 San Antonio-area participants (52% Hispanic, mean age 57.9) and found that any level of physical activity in midlife was associated with significantly slower cognitive decline years later, with the strongest benefit seen among Hispanic participants. Among non-Hispanic white participants, keeping fasting blood glucose at or below 126 milligrams per deciliter was linked to slower cognitive decline, suggesting that everyday, modifiable habits in midlife — staying active and controlling blood sugar — could help protect brain health well into old age, and that the most effective interventions may differ by population.