All eyes were on Quaise Energy at the 2026 Geothermal Rising Conference, the flagship conference for the geothermal industry, in late September. The news related to Quaise included: the announcement of up to $25 million funding from the US Department of Energy, a talk on the company’s progress to date on what it believes will be the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, and major awards to two employees.

Eric and Wendy Schmidt announced today Schmidt Global Health, a nonprofit aimed at improving public health by strengthening the systems and advancing the technology used to monitor, identify and respond to emerging disease threats worldwide. 

Wendy Schmidt will address the World Health Summit in Berlin and a livestream audience online at 11 a.m. CEST on Tuesday, Oct. 13 to discuss the organization’s work.

Food presentation plays an important role in a diner’s perception. Researchers in Japan found that diners perceived a sturgeon-filet dish as significantly healthier when its sauces were placed separately rather than drizzled across the plate. After tasting, participants gave slightly higher ratings for overall liking and intention to eat more with the minimal presentation. Although these findings remain exploratory, they highlight how thoughtful plating choices could help restaurants communicate a healthier impression to diners.

A joint team from China has published a survey paper in National Science Review. The study reviews recent advances in EEG-based emotion recognition from an interdisciplinary neuroscience and information-science perspective and introduces EEGEmoLib, an open-source Python toolbox that integrates psychological and neuroscientific priors into algorithm design, offering a standardized platform with theoretical grounding and practical usability.

An ultrasound-responsive micronanorobot combines a collagenase-secreting bacterium, bismuth ferrite nanoparticles, the drug DM4 and a targeting ligand to treat nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer. After intravesical delivery, it degrades tumor matrix, enhances drug penetration, and ultrasound triggers reactive oxygen species, achieving 90.8% cell death in vitro and 82.4% tumor inhibition in mice. The system also promotes antitumor immunity, increasing CD8+ T-cell infiltration and shifting macrophages toward the M1 phenotype.