SCIENCE + NATURE + PROGRESS — Page 3

A rare-disease drug reported zero new bone lesions through 84 weeks.

In the OPTIMA extension, adults who stayed on Pasatru had no new lesions detected between weeks 56 and 84; the placebo group had nine.

SOURCERegeneron / The Lancet

—

PROGRESS

Old buildings made room for 21,934 homes.

Nine hundred thirty-nine completed rehabilitations turned underused historic buildings back into homes, businesses, workplaces and community spaces while supporting an estimated 163,000 jobs.

SOURCENational Park Service

—

SCIENCE

Taiwan reached a 92.7% Hepatitis C treatment rate.

More than 7.86 million people have been screened. Diagnosis reached 92.4%, treatment 92.7%, and treatment in key high-risk groups 95%.

SOURCECommercial Times (Taiwan)

—

PROGRESS

Australian homes installed 276,011 batteries in six months.

Battery installations jumped 52% from the previous half-year while households added a record 1,894 MW of rooftop solar.

SOURCERenewEconomy / Clean Energy Council

—

NATURE

Togo’s cotton yields rose from 570 kg to over a tonne per hectare.

The national average rose above one tonne per hectare in 2025–26; some farmer-field-school groups reached 1.4 to 2 tonnes while cutting pest treatments.

SOURCEBird Story Agency via AllAfrica

—

PROGRESS

Texas’ grid had a boring summer.

Demand broke records. The emergency alerts did not arrive. Since 2023, Texas added 19.5 GW of solar and 16 GW of battery storage.

SOURCEU.S. Energy Information Administration / ERCOT

—

SCIENCE

An mRNA vaccine formulation kept working after two months at body-heat temperatures.

A preclinical formulation held onto its biological activity for more than two months at 37°C—and matched fresh material in mouse immune-response tests.

SOURCENature Biotechnology

—

SCIENCE

A phase 3 lung-fibrosis drug preserved breathing better than placebo.

The lower dose met the trial’s main goal over 52 weeks. The higher dose did not, and the detailed results are not yet published.

SOURCEReuters / Bristol Myers Squibb

—

PROGRESS

Hot rock is now feeding a commercial power grid.

The first 33-megawatt block is earning revenue under a power-purchase agreement. Two more blocks are due to complete the 100-megawatt first phase.

SOURCEFervo Energy

—

PROGRESS

10 NYC food carts just went quiet.

A six-month pilot will replace gasoline generators with batteries, cutting fumes and noise while gathering real-world data for thousands of street vendors.

SOURCENYC Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice

—

SCIENCE

Latvia’s new alcohol rules were followed by a 27% drop in alcohol-specific deaths.

WHO/Europe calls the result an early signal: the evaluation covers five months and independent peer review is pending.

SOURCEWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

—

NATURE

$18 million will help ranchers keep great plains grassland intact.

The fund starts with $9 million from Walmart Foundation and $9 million in aligned investment from McDonald’s USA and suppliers.

SOURCENational Fish and Wildlife Foundation

—

PROGRESS

California legalized plug-in balcony solar.

SB 868 treats certified portable solar more like a household appliance: utilities may require a simple online registration, but not prior approval.

SOURCECalifornia Legislative Information — SB 868

—

NATURE

Of 285 large UK rewilding projects, one was hit by fire this year.

The advocacy-group analysis also found burned areas from 2016–2026 were concentrated in acid grassland, heather, bog and other simplified landscapes rather than restored habitat.

SOURCERewilding Britain

—

PROGRESS

Australia’s high court made coal planners account for overseas emissions.

The 3–2 ruling invalidated an expansion approval after the planning commission focused on only 2% of projected emissions and did not consider conditions for the other 98%.

SOURCEHigh Court of Australia

—

SCIENCE

Six people with advanced retinal disease became measurably more sensitive to light.

In a 10-person safety trial, an experimental optogenetic treatment produced clinically meaningful light-sensitivity gains in six participants. It did not restore normal sight.

SOURCENew England Journal of Medicine

—