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China achieves important breakthrough in creating ‘shield’ for fusion reactor

Prototype component of the divertor of China’s Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) Photo: Xinhua.

China has achieved an important breakthrough in the development of its next-generation “artificial sun” with the prototype component of the divertor of China’s Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT), passing expert evaluation and acceptance procedures on Monday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The CRAFT is a platform on which engineers develop and test key components of fusion energy reactors.

Stoke Space raises a whopping $510M to accelerate work on its fully reusable Nova launch system

Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space Technologies today revealed that it has raised $510 million in fresh funding to accelerate development of its fully reusable medium-lift Nova rocket.

The Series D funding round, let by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund, comes in conjunction with a $100 million debt facility led by Silicon Valley Bank. Stoke said the new financing has more than doubled its total capital raised, bringing the figure to $990 million.

“This funding gives us the runway to complete development and demonstrate Nova through its first flights,” Stoke co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa said in a news release. If all goes according to plan, the first Nova rocket is expected to lift off next year from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Blood cancer: Scientists reprogram cancer cell death to trigger immune system

The aim of immunotherapy strategies is to leverage cells in the patient’s own immune system to destroy tumor cells. Using a preclinical model, scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm successfully stimulated an effective anti-tumor immune response by reprogramming the death of malignant B cells. They demonstrated an effective triple-therapy approach for treating forms of blood cancer such as certain lymphomas and leukemias which affect B cells. The study was published on August 15 in the journal Science Advances.

Immunotherapy strategies represent a major breakthrough in . They aim to harness the patient’s so that their own cells can recognize and specifically eliminate . Immune cells can act like sentinels, scanning the body and identifying all residual tumor cells to reduce the risk of relapse. Various novel immunotherapy strategies are emerging, one of which makes use of a cell death mechanism known as necroptosis. Unlike apoptosis, which results in silent cell death, necroptosis releases warning signals that attract and stimulate immune cells so that they can kill any remaining tumor cells.

Scientists from the Dynamics of Immune Responses Unit (a joint Inserm/Institut Pasteur unit) set out to explore the effectiveness of this necroptosis-based immunotherapy strategy on hematological malignancies. They began by observing that necroptosis cannot be easily induced in malignant B cells because of the absence of the MLKL protein.

Scientists Accidentally Create a “Rainbow Laser” on a Tiny Chip

While developing LiDAR technology, scientists unexpectedly discovered how to generate multiple laser colors from a single chip.

Their innovation could transform data centers and communications by delivering faster, cleaner, and more efficient light sources.

Accidental Discovery in the Lab.

Sam Altman on Zero-Person AI Companies, Sora, AGI Breakthroughs, and more

OpenAI just unveiled HUGE developer updates at DevDay 2025 — Apps in ChatGPT, Agent Builder, Sora API, and Codex updates that can handle day-long tasks.

I sat down with Sam Altman for an exclusive interview about going viral on Sora, zero-person companies, and why he believes early AGI-like breakthroughs are starting to happen NOW.

In this conversation, we unpack:

Sam’s Sora AI deepfakes going viral.
Zero-person billion dollar companies run by agents.
AI starting to make scientific discoveries on Twitter.
ChatGPT’s 800M users and the new distribution platform.

Get 5-minute daily updates on the latest AI news: https://www.therundown.ai/subscribe.

Chapters:

First device based on ‘optical thermodynamics’ can route light without switches

A team of researchers at the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has created a new breakthrough in photonics: the design of the first optical device that follows the emerging framework of optical thermodynamics.

The work, reported in Nature Photonics, introduces a fundamentally new way of routing light in nonlinear systems—meaning systems that do not require switches, external control, or digital addressing. Instead, light naturally finds its way through the device, guided by simple thermodynamic principles.

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