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- DTN 147: America's Coming War on AI Regulation
DTN 147: America's Coming War on AI Regulation
Plus: Private space station assembles for orbit, liquid-metal motors, synthetic human chromosomes, AI models tested on Dungeons & Dragons, space junk sonic booms, China's defense innovation cities, and more.

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“The system runs below audible, so you can’t hear anything. But there’s basically a force field around the building. The embers get deflected away. What gets through ends up burning through its energy quickly because it gets agitated by the vibrating air.”

“With Americans increasingly anxious about how AI could harm mental health, jobs, and the environment, public demand for regulation is growing. If Congress stays paralyzed, states will be the only ones acting to keep the AI industry in check. In 2025, state legislators introduced more than 1,000 AI bills, and nearly 40 states enacted over 100 laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.”

Meet the aviation startup taking the bumps out of your next flight
Blue Origin's satellite internet network TeraWave will move data at 6Tbps
Writing the code of life: synthetic human chromosomes on the horizon
House passes $839B defense spending bill, teeing up Senate action
Elon Musk says Tesla’s restarted Dojo3 will be for ‘space-based AI compute’

“Last Saturday (January 10) we reached the key milestone of fully completing the primary structure, and some of the secondary structure; all of the acceptance testing occurred in November as well. Now we are starting clean room integration, which starts with TCS (thermal control system), propulsion, interior shells, and then moving on to avionics. And then final close out, which we expect will be done by the fall, and then we have on the books with NASA a full test campaign at the end of the year at Plum Brook. Then the launch in Q1 next year.” (via Ars Technica)

Scientists uncover new quantum state that could power future technologies
Low-platinum catalyst could make hydrogen production cheaper
Engineers invent wireless transceiver that rivals fiber-optic speed
UC San Diego launches ARPA-H project to 3D bioprint patient-specific Human Livers
Tiny nanocourier that delivers molecular packages to cell surface unveiled
Engineered proteins use quantum spin resonance for biological sensing in bacteria

Operator-led VC firm Plural targeting up to €1bn for new fund
Mendra raises $82M in Series A Funding to acquire and develop rare disease therapies
Exciva raises $59M Series B to fund phase 2 test of Alzheimer’s agitation drug
D-Orbit raises $53M Series D to scale in-space computing and orbital services
Humans& raises $480M seed to build human-centric frontier AI models
Cancilico raises €2.5M seed to develop AI diagnostics for blood cancers
Nexxa.ai raises $9M seed to build AI agents for heavy industries
Shield Space raises £2M to build autonomous AI systems to protect satellites
Neurophos raises $110M Series A to develop photonic AI chips
Fusion energy company General Fusion to raise $300M+ and go public via $1B merger
VentureMed Group raises $28M Series C to advance vascular medical devices
Gilmour Space raises $146M to scale rocket and satellite production in Australia
Canada Rocket Company raises $4.5M seed to develop sovereign light- and medium-lift launch vehicles
Samara Aerospace raises $10M seed to build ultra-stable satellite buses
D-Orbit raises $128M Series D to expand satellite logistics and in-space services
Fleetzero raises $43M Series A to develop advanced marine technology solutions
Cytotheryx raises $60M Series A to advance preclinical liver disease cell therapies
Noveon Magnetics raises $215M Series C to expand rare earth magnet production
Dominion Dynamics raises $15.2M Seed to advance Canadian defence tech
Neuropacs raises $1M+ Seed to advance AI neurological diagnostics
Ethernovia raises $90M+ Series B to advance Ethernet packet-processor networking
Raana Semiconductors raises $3M Seed to advance crystal growth systems
Infinitopes raises $15.4M Seed extension to advance clinical-stage cancer vaccines
ErVimmune raises €17M Series A to advance therapeutic cancer vaccines
Sage Geosystems raises $97M Series B to advance pressure geothermal technology
Zipline raises $600M to expand U.S. autonomous drone delivery
Upscale AI raises $200M Series A to expand AI networking infrastructure
RadixArk raises $400M to commercialize SGLang AI inference platform

Prediction markets are ushering in a world in which news becomes about gambling / California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years / This Austrian cow has learned to use tools / The sky is full of secrets: Glaring vulnerabilities discovered in satellite communications / AI models tested on Dungeons & Dragons to assess long-term decision-making / NASA is making last-ditch attempt to contact tumbling Mars orbiter / AI is already writing almost one-third of new software code / World models could unlock the next revolution in artificial intelligence / The search for alien artifacts Is coming into focus / He went to prison for gene-editing babies. Now he’s planning to do it again / Life’s evil twins—mirror cells—could doom Earth if scientists don’t stop them / Everyone wants AI sovereignty. No one can truly have it. / Yann LeCun’s new venture is a contrarian bet against large language models / What happens when a Chinese battery factory comes to town / Cybertruck-driving SpaceX fans seek name change for favorite beach / Congress green-lighted billions for EV chargers. Four years later, only 2% is spent. / Anthropic has to keep revising its technical interview test so you can’t cheat on it with Claude / ‘Physical AI’ enters the hype machine / OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google all have new AI healthcare tools - here's how they work
