“Neuralink has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ‘breakthrough’ tag for its device to restore communication for individuals with severe speech impairment, Elon Musk’s brain implant company said on Thursday in a post on X.
The device would help those affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological conditions, the company said.”
From Reuters.
“In a long-awaited step, the European Parliament yesterday passed a law that allows the expedited approval of many gene-edited crops without the rigorous review required for traditional transgenic varieties…
Scientists and seed companies hope the law will lead to faster adoption of crops with improved disease resistance, heat tolerance, and nutrition…
Under the rules, as finalized this week, approval will be faster for crops whose gene edit seems modest enough that it could have been made through conventional breeding—a simple base change in an existing gene, for example, rather than the addition a nonplant gene. Stricter oversight will remain for transgenic engineering or more substantial gene editing.”
From Science.
“The next apartment complex, shopping center or mixed-use development built in North Carolina may look a little different.
A new bill signed by Gov. Josh Stein eliminates mandatory parking minimums for most new developments, giving builders more flexibility in deciding how many parking spaces to provide.
For decades, local governments could require developers to build a minimum number of parking spaces based on the size and type of a project. Beginning Jan. 1, that decision will largely be left to developers and market demand.
When new apartment communities, shopping centers and mixed-use developments are built, developers — rather than local zoning regulations — will determine how much parking is needed.”
From Yahoo News.
Breastcancer.org | Noncommunicable Disease
“On May 1, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vepdegestrant (brand name: Veppanu) to treat estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced stage or metastatic breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation that grew after being treated with hormonal therapy.
The approval was based on results from the VERITAC-2 trial, which compared vepdegestrant to Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant). The results showed that vepdegestrant was more effective for people with metastatic estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation that grew while being treated with hormonal therapy and a CDK4/6 inhibitor. The people in the study who took vepdegestrant lived three months longer without the cancer growing than those who received Faslodex. And more of the cancers responded to vepdegestrant than Faslodex — 19% vs. 4%.
Vepdegestrant is a new type of oral selective estrogen receptor downregulator or degrader (SERD) called a PROTAC (proteolosys-targeting chimera). Like other SERDs, vepdegestrant works by blocking estrogen from attaching to cancer cells in the breast. It also destroys the estrogen receptors on the cancer cells and changes the shape of the receptors so they don’t work as well. Because it is a PROTAC, it breaks down the estrogen receptors in a different way than other SERDs.”
From Breastcancer.org.
“U.S. grid operator PJM Interconnection said on Wednesday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved its proposed expedited interconnection track, a temporary process to advance projects of significant size to address the urgent need for more capacity resources.
According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. power consumption, which hit its second straight annual record high in 2025, will rise further in 2026 and 2027, driven by AI-hungry data centers and electrification.
The approval comes as PJM and states across its footprint seek to bring new power generation online more quickly to meet rising electricity demand and maintain grid reliability.
PJM said it would consider 10 interconnection requests per calendar year under the EIT plan for large new or uprated capacity resources that, among other criteria, have a commitment from a relevant state authority to help expedite siting.”
From Reuters.
