All posts tagged: Accelerates

Germany Accelerates Kamikaze Drone Stockpiling With Rheinmetall Deal

Germany Accelerates Kamikaze Drone Stockpiling With Rheinmetall Deal

Published by Jenni Sidey

Germany’s parliament has approved a sizeable contract for defense giant Rheinmetall to supply loitering munitions, or kamikaze drones, to the Bundeswehr, underscoring just how quickly European militaries are internalizing drone warfare lessons from both the Russia-Ukraine war and, more recently, the U.S.-Iran conflict. Berlin’s latest procurement push makes it clear that one-way attack drones are becoming a serious threat, and the race to stockpile them has begun. Bloomberg reports that the budget committee of the Bundestag approved the Defense Ministry’s proposal for an initial tranche of Rheinmetall’s suicide drones worth $345 million. The deal is capped at around $1.2 billion for Rheinmetall loitering munitions and depends on the firm meeting development and delivery milestones. The drones are initially intended for Germany’s brigade in Lithuania, but there is a possibility that they will be deployed elsewhere. The approval follows Germany’s February decision to purchase $637 million worth of strike drones from startups Helsing and STARK. Rheinmetall missed out on those deals because it lacked a working prototype at the time. The Defense Ministry confirmed the latest …

Brief mindfulness practice accelerates visual processing speeds in adults

Brief mindfulness practice accelerates visual processing speeds in adults

Published by José Betancourt

Practicing mindfulness meditation using a mobile application for a month can help people process visual information and initiate localized eye movements faster. The visual attention benefits apply to young, middle-aged, and older adults alike, without distinct differences across age categories. These initial findings were published in the journal eNeuro and suggest that brief daily meditation can successfully alter basic cognitive functions. The human brain relies on a small region called the locus coeruleus to maintain mental focus and process incoming sensory information. This deep brain structure acts as the primary source of noradrenaline. Noradrenaline operates as a chemical messenger that helps regulate general attention, stress, and physical arousal states. Studies in animal models provide clues about how this part of the brain operates. When researchers artificially stimulate the locus coeruleus in monkeys, the animals show better visual attention. Blocking the release of noradrenaline has the opposite effect, leaving animals easily distracted. These findings confirm that this brain region directly dictates attention spans. As people age, the locus coeruleus often undergoes structural degradation and loses some …

£14M funding accelerates UK space technology commercialisation

£14M funding accelerates UK space technology commercialisation

Published by skeptic

UK businesses can now apply for a share of up to £14.7 million in funding from the UK Space Agency. This will unlock new opportunities to develop cutting-edge space technology and strengthen the UK’s industrial capability. The funding is available through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) General Support Technology Programme (GSTP), its flagship programme for maturing new space technologies from early-stage research to flight-ready demonstration. Lord David Willetts, Chair of the UK Space Agency, stated: “We are very pleased to be providing this further funding for new technologies across the space sector. “The evidence shows this programme provides a real boost to individual companies and the wider economy.” Funding brings significant economic and technological benefits This call follows strong industry demand and new evidence that UK participation in the General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) is delivering significant economic and technological benefits. The UK has been involved in the programme for more than 30 years and committed £46m at ESA’s 2025 Ministerial Council, helping organisations develop critical home-grown space technologies, compete internationally, and secure future work …

BYD Shares Soar Most In 13 Months As Chinese EV Push Into Americas Accelerates

BYD Shares Soar Most In 13 Months As Chinese EV Push Into Americas Accelerates

Published by Jenni Sidey

Shares of Chinese EV maker BYD surged the most in 13 months after a report that its factory in Bahia, Brazil, a former Ford Motor plant, secured export orders for about 100,000 vehicles from Argentina and Mexico. This development suggests BYD’s strategy to localize production in South America is still in its early stages and set to flood the continent with Chinese EVs.   Bloomberg quoted Macquarie Capital analyst Eugene Hsiao, who said the local Chinese media report about BYD’s Brazil factory receiving large orders from Argentina and Mexico suggests that “this is positive for the broader BYD thesis, which is that overseas sales will become the core growth and profit driver over time.” Brazil is BYD’s largest market outside China. The factory in Bahia is critical to the Chinese company’s overseas expansion plans in the Americas. The plant has a capacity to make 150,000 EVs per year. In BYD’s home market of China, overall sales for the first two months of the year slumped 36% to 400,241 units. Competition in China has intensified as …

High-precision neurofeedback accelerates the mental health benefits of meditation

High-precision neurofeedback accelerates the mental health benefits of meditation

Published by José Betancourt

A new study published in the journal Mindfulness has found that high-precision brain training can help novice meditators learn the practice more effectively. The findings indicate that neurofeedback can assist individuals in reducing self-critical or wandering thoughts. This training appears to lead to sustained improvements in mindful awareness and emotional well-being during subsequent daily life. Meditation is often promoted for its ability to reduce stress and improve mental health. The practice frequently involves focusing attention on a specific anchor, such as the sensation of breathing. The goal is to notice when the mind wanders and gently return focus to the breath. While the concept is simple, the execution is often difficult for beginners. Novices frequently struggle to recognize when their minds have drifted into daydreams or self-referential thinking. Because meditation is an internal mental process, it lacks the external feedback that accompanies learning physical skills. “A key problem that motivated this project, is ‘not being able to know whether what we are doing internally while meditating is what we were actually meant to be doing,’” …

EU accelerates quantum readiness with €50m photonic chips pilot

EU accelerates quantum readiness with €50m photonic chips pilot

Published by skeptic

Photonic chips are rapidly emerging as one of Europe’s most strategic technologies in the global race toward practical quantum systems. From 2026, a major new European pilot project – Photonics for Quantum (P4Q) – will unite expertise from across the continent to turn fragile laboratory breakthroughs into robust, manufacturable quantum-ready components. Spanning 12 European countries and backed by significant public investment, P4Q is designed to tackle one of the biggest bottlenecks in quantum innovation: reliably producing photonic chips that perform consistently at scale. From lab experiments to industrial-grade photonic chips Quantum technologies depend heavily on light. Photons are used to transmit information, enable ultra-precise measurements, and form the backbone of quantum communication networks. Yet many photonic chips still struggle to move beyond experimental environments. P4Q addresses this challenge head-on by focusing on repeatability, standardisation, and manufacturability. Rather than proving that a quantum photonic device can work once, the project aims to ensure it works every time – under real-world conditions and at industrial volumes. This shift marks a critical transition from academic research to deployable …

New Tennessee facility accelerates fusion materials development

New Tennessee facility accelerates fusion materials development

Published by skeptic

East Tennessee is emerging as a national epicentre for US fusion energy innovation, following the announcement of a powerful new research facility designed to push fusion materials closer to commercial reality. A partnership between the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Type One Energy, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) will establish a cutting-edge high-heat flux (HHF) facility that addresses one of fusion energy’s most critical challenges: how materials perform under extreme conditions. Located at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Bull Run Energy Complex in Clinton, the facility is expected to play a pivotal role in qualifying materials for future fusion power plants while reinforcing the region’s growing reputation as a fusion research and manufacturing hub. ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer  believes the facility will transform the US fusion landscape: “This unique collaboration of breakthrough science, industry innovation and academic leadership will result in the creation of a national facility critical to the success of realising commercial fusion.” Tackling the toughest conditions in fusion energy Fusion energy systems operate under some of …

Stocks Rise As Tech Meltup Accelerates

Stocks Rise As Tech Meltup Accelerates

Published by Jenni Sidey

Futures are higher, and trading near record territory, led by tech as this year’s great rotation shows no sign of slowing, broadening the base of names driving Wall Street’s push back towards all time highs. As of 8:00am, S&P 500 futures were 0.3% higher with Nasdaq 100 contracts up 0.4% as the latest wave of enthusiasm for technology stocks carried into Friday. Overnight headlines were mostly muted. Pre-market, Mag 7 are mostly higher led by NVDA +1.1%; AI names (AMD +3.2%, AVGO +1.3%, MU +2%) continued their rally yesterday. Bond yields are unchanged. Commodities are mixed: oil added 1.2%, while silver fell -2.0%; ags are mostly higher. US session features industrial production data and three scheduled Fed speakers. In premarket trading, Mag 7 stocks are mostly higher (Nvidia +0.8%, Tesla +0.6%, Meta +0.09%, Alphabet +0.5%, Microsoft +0.06%, Amazon +0.3%, Apple -0.2% JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) falls 4% after the trucking firm reported quarterly revenue that missed estimates, underscoring continued weakness in freight demand. Kraft Heinz (KHC) is down 1.1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the maker of Jell-O and …

UK accelerates clinical trials with new 2026 reforms

UK accelerates clinical trials with new 2026 reforms

Published by skeptic

The UK is stepping up its bid to become a global leader in clinical trials, with new figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealing a sharp increase in research activity during 2025. According to the MHRA, applications for clinical trials rose by 9% between January and November 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. The strongest growth was seen in early-phase and innovative trials, critical areas where speed and regulatory guidance influence investment decisions. Trials involving healthy volunteers, often the first step in testing a medicine’s safety, increased by 16%. Studies assessing treatments in patients for the first time rose by 5%, while trials launched in the UK for the first time climbed 7%, reflecting growing international confidence in the country as a hub for new research. MHRA Chief Executive Lawrence Tallon believes the latest reforms will further amplify the UK as a hotspot for clinical research: “Clinical trial sponsors are clear about what they need: speed, clarity and flexibility. We’ve made practical improvements that are helping trials move through the system more smoothly. …

Israeli government accelerates settlement expansion in occupied West Bank

Israeli government accelerates settlement expansion in occupied West Bank

Published by Sam Flores

Israeli bulldozers begin work on land owned by a Palestinian to make way for the construction of settlements in the Sarouj area, located between the towns of Silat Al-Harithiya and Yamoun, West of Jenin, in the West Bank, December 22, 2025. ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP It was a standard call for tenders, like thousands issued by administrations around the world every year: 3,401 apartments to be built in high-rise buildings. A 98-year lease, renewable once, as is often the case in Israel. The deadline: March 16, “at precisely noon,” for submitting proposals to the administration. The location: Maalé Adumim, one of the main Jewish settlements East of Jerusalem. Seemingly unremarkable, this document nevertheless marks a new milestone for the occupied West Bank, the viability of a Palestinian state and the rapid expansion of settlements under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The call for tenders, published in December 2025 and updated on Tuesday, January 6, points to further progress on a major project to expand a Jewish settlement on the outskirts of Jerusalem known as E1. The project …