Lead Story
FDA approves first antisense therapy to deliver a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B
The FDA approved bepirovirsen (Hibsago, from GSK) on October 20, the first antisense oligonucleotide therapy for chronic hepatitis B, for use alongside existing antivirals in adults without cirrhosis who have been on antiviral treatment for at least six months, have suppressed HBV levels, and have hepatitis B surface antigen at or below 3,000 IU/mL. In the pivotal Phase 3 B-Well 1 and B-Well 2 trials, a pooled roughly 19% of patients achieved a sustained "functional cure" — loss of detectable surface antigen 24 weeks after stopping treatment — versus none of the patients on placebo in either trial. The FDA simultaneously authorized a companion diagnostic test from Roche to help identify eligible patients.
Read more →Lead Story
FDA approves first antisense therapy to deliver a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B
The FDA approved bepirovirsen (Hibsago, from GSK) on October 20, the first antisense oligonucleotide therapy for chronic hepatitis B, for use alongside existing antivirals in adults without cirrhosis who have been on antiviral treatment for at least six months, have suppressed HBV levels, and have hepatitis B surface antigen at or below 3,000 IU/mL. In the pivotal Phase 3 B-Well 1 and B-Well 2 trials, a pooled roughly 19% of patients achieved a sustained "functional cure" — loss of detectable surface antigen 24 weeks after stopping treatment — versus none of the patients on placebo in either trial. The FDA simultaneously authorized a companion diagnostic test from Roche to help identify eligible patients.
Greece switches on its largest battery storage plant, pairing 330MW with new solar
Energy group Metlen and Karatzis Group inaugurated a 330MW/790MWh standalone battery energy storage system on October 15 at Larissa in Thessaly, one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe, built in just six months through a joint venture (Metlen 49%, Karatzis 51%) representing roughly €170 million of investment, with battery hardware supplied by Jinko ESS. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the inauguration and said storage needs to accompany the country's renewables buildout; the project is paired with 165MW of co-located solar power and has room to expand toward 925MWh.
Read more →Greece switches on its largest battery storage plant, pairing 330MW with new solar
Energy group Metlen and Karatzis Group inaugurated a 330MW/790MWh standalone battery energy storage system on October 15 at Larissa in Thessaly, one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe, built in just six months through a joint venture (Metlen 49%, Karatzis 51%) representing roughly €170 million of investment, with battery hardware supplied by Jinko ESS. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the inauguration and said storage needs to accompany the country's renewables buildout; the project is paired with 165MW of co-located solar power and has room to expand toward 925MWh.
Rewilding tropical atolls could help them outpace rising seas, study finds
A study in Science Advances led by Lancaster University's Nick Graham, drawing on ecological data from 28 Pacific and Indian Ocean atolls across the Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago and Tetiaroa in French Polynesia, found that removing invasive rats and restoring native vegetation lets seabird colonies recover and fertilize surrounding reefs with their droppings. Reef accretion potential was roughly twice as high around rat-free, seabird-rich islands as around rat-infested ones, and native trees and plants had far denser root systems than the non-native coconut plantations that dominate about 60% of Pacific atoll forests, helping bind soil and sediment. The authors caution rewilding is not a substitute for cutting emissions, but say it could buy low-lying atoll communities meaningful time against sea-level rise.
Read more →Rewilding tropical atolls could help them outpace rising seas, study finds
A study in Science Advances led by Lancaster University's Nick Graham, drawing on ecological data from 28 Pacific and Indian Ocean atolls across the Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago and Tetiaroa in French Polynesia, found that removing invasive rats and restoring native vegetation lets seabird colonies recover and fertilize surrounding reefs with their droppings. Reef accretion potential was roughly twice as high around rat-free, seabird-rich islands as around rat-infested ones, and native trees and plants had far denser root systems than the non-native coconut plantations that dominate about 60% of Pacific atoll forests, helping bind soil and sediment. The authors caution rewilding is not a substitute for cutting emissions, but say it could buy low-lying atoll communities meaningful time against sea-level rise.
World's first utility-scale enhanced geothermal plant starts feeding power to the grid
Fervo Energy's Cape Station project in Beaver County, Utah began selling electricity on September 30, with the first 33-megawatt "GeoBlock" of a planned 100-megawatt Phase I synchronizing to the grid roughly 23 months after construction began. Enhanced geothermal works by fracturing hot rock deep underground to create a reservoir where none exists naturally, unlocking clean, round-the-clock power far beyond traditional volcanic geothermal hotspots. Google, Southern California Edison and other buyers have signed power-purchase agreements for the site, which developers plan to eventually expand toward 500 megawatts.
Read more →World's first utility-scale enhanced geothermal plant starts feeding power to the grid
Fervo Energy's Cape Station project in Beaver County, Utah began selling electricity on September 30, with the first 33-megawatt "GeoBlock" of a planned 100-megawatt Phase I synchronizing to the grid roughly 23 months after construction began. Enhanced geothermal works by fracturing hot rock deep underground to create a reservoir where none exists naturally, unlocking clean, round-the-clock power far beyond traditional volcanic geothermal hotspots. Google, Southern California Edison and other buyers have signed power-purchase agreements for the site, which developers plan to eventually expand toward 500 megawatts.
Burkina Faso's malaria vaccine rollout keeps paying off, with cases and deaths plunging
Government data presented at a February 19 cabinet meeting showed Burkina Faso's malaria cases fell 32% in a single year, from about 10.8 million in 2024 to roughly 7.3 million in 2025, after the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine was introduced in February 2024 and scaled up to cover the whole country by August 2025 alongside bed nets, seasonal chemoprevention and community mobilization. Estimates of the drop in deaths vary by source but point to a roughly 44-48% decline, with under-5 deaths reportedly down closer to 60%. Health officials and Gavi credit the combination of interventions rather than the vaccine alone, and similar early signs of fewer severe cases and hospital admissions have been reported in Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and Cameroon.
Read more →Burkina Faso's malaria vaccine rollout keeps paying off, with cases and deaths plunging
Government data presented at a February 19 cabinet meeting showed Burkina Faso's malaria cases fell 32% in a single year, from about 10.8 million in 2024 to roughly 7.3 million in 2025, after the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine was introduced in February 2024 and scaled up to cover the whole country by August 2025 alongside bed nets, seasonal chemoprevention and community mobilization. Estimates of the drop in deaths vary by source but point to a roughly 44-48% decline, with under-5 deaths reportedly down closer to 60%. Health officials and Gavi credit the combination of interventions rather than the vaccine alone, and similar early signs of fewer severe cases and hospital admissions have been reported in Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and Cameroon.