The future leaves
signals in time.

STAT+ rounds up five biotech updates to read after this weekend's ESMO meeting. Among them, Moderna and Merck are racing to submit their personalized cancer vaccine for FDA approval, which Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel says is expected in 2027.

Xpanner has launched a fully automated pile driver combining GNSS positioning with remote control operation, which the company says reduces pile driving cycle times by 45% on utility-scale solar and battery storage job sites.

Meta reported declining sales for its Quest headsets in its recent quarterly earnings. The company stated that future VR products must achieve "major breakthroughs" to be productized, while AI glasses growth is partially offsetting the revenue slump in Reality Labs.

Astranis announced it has upgraded its fourth launch to a dedicated mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch in 2028, covering the entire Block 4 production run of its satellites.

Tesla is working with car-sharing platform Turo to boost adoption of its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software. Eligible Turo hosts will also receive a one-month free trial of Tesla's FSD software.

Heron Power and NiSource have separately announced US data centre-focused deals involving battery energy storage systems (BESS) in recent days, with counterparties including Vantage and Microsoft. Further deal details were not provided in the available context.

Shakti Pumps presented its Shakti On Roof solar module range, which uses 16-busbar TOPCon technology and includes a 620 W module, alongside solar pumps, inverters and mounting structures, as reported by PV Magazine.

A Robotics & Automation News article argues that compressed air piping, though often overlooked in automated plants, carries the air that powers much of the motion on the shop floor and can influence how well an automated line runs.

Samsung SDI's Michigan-based subsidiary has signed a 1 GWh supply agreement to provide Alpha Omega Power with utility-scale battery storage. The agreement covers Samsung SDI's containerized nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) cell-based solution, the Samsung Battery Box 1.7.

OpenAI explored data from ChatGPT Signals, covering 165 work activities across nearly 100 countries. This data reveals how people utilize ChatGPT for work and how usage patterns evolve over time.

The Czech government has proposed changes to its new capacity mechanism, which is open to battery storage, including moving two supplementary auctions from 2026 to 2027 — a year later than prospective participants had planned for.

Indian manufacturer Waaree has unveiled a 520 W flexible, lightweight monocrystalline PERC solar module with 19.69% efficiency. It is reportedly about 70% lighter than conventional glass-based panels and is designed for curved rooftops and weight-constrained applications.

In an interview, an Arthur D. Little consultant says Europe is rapidly becoming one of the most closely watched regions in the global robotaxi race, as autonomous-driving companies from China and the West increasingly target the same cities for commercial expansion. Unlike the US and China, where regulatory, political and market barriers hinder meaningful competition by foreign autonomous-driving companies, Europe remains comparatively — the source text is cut off at this point.

According to ScienceDaily, an AI system called REDMOD identified hidden warning signs of pancreatic cancer an average of 475 days before diagnosis and was reported as nearly twice as sensitive as experienced radiologists. These findings come from the reported study; real-world clinical impact is not yet established.

The article argues that technology policy's focus on catastrophic AI safety scenarios ignores everyday harms. It cites protections such as chatbots not encouraging suicide and platforms making it harder for children to buy fentanyl as important but minimal bars that companies can clear while continuing to make products.

A Norwegian alliance of trade union, environmental, and business organizations has signed a joint letter demanding that the Norwegian government support five measures to aid the country's solar industry.

Researchers in Japan developed a modeling approach to optimize rice yields and electricity generation within agrivoltaic systems. Findings indicate that adjusting solar panel tilt angles can improve crop productivity and help meet regulatory yield requirements with limited economic losses.