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In a rare move, NASA is cutting a mission aboard the International Space Station short after an astronaut had a medical issue.The space agency said Thursday the U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four will return to Earth in the coming days, earlier than planned.NASA canceled its first spacewalk of the year because of the health issue. The space agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical issue, citing patient privacy. The crew member is now stable.NASA officials stressed that it was not an onboard emergency, but are “erring on the side of caution for the crew member,” said Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer.Polk said this was the NASA’s first medical evacuation from the space station although astronauts have been treated aboard for things like toothaches and ear pain.The crew of four returning home arrived at the orbiting lab via SpaceX in August for a stay of at least six months. The crew included NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.Fincke and Cardman were supposed to carry out the spacewalk to make preparations for a future rollout of solar panels to provide additional power for the space station.It was Fincke’s fourth visit to the space station and Yui’s second time, according to NASA. This was the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov.“I’m proud of the swift effort across the agency thus far to ensure the safety of our astronauts,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said.Three other astronauts are currently living and working aboard the space station including NASA’s Chris Williams and Russia’s Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, who launched in November aboard a Soyuz rocket for an eight-month stay. They’re due to return home in the summer.NASA has tapped SpaceX to eventually bring the space station out of orbit by late 2030 or early 2031. Plans called for a safe reentry over ocean. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Adithi Ramakrishnan, AP Science Writer
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Walk through almost any manufacturing plant today, whether the frontline professionals crushing oilseeds, processing corn, or producing ingredients, and youll notice something subtle but important. The tools that help turn agricultural crops into products that feed and fuel the world are getting smarter, more precise, and more capable. Most conversations about the bioeconomy focus on what farmers grow or what consumers buy. But the real transformation is happening in the middle, in the molecular steps that quietly make modern, low-carbon manufacturing possible. Catalysts and enzymes, the biological and chemical tools that convert agricultural inputs into usable materials, are becoming one of the most powerful and least visible forces in this shift. Their applications are multiplying, and the science behind them is moving faster than many leaders recognize. Catalytic systems arent new. Whats changing is their sophistication and the range of industries they can now serve. Advances in enzyme engineering, cleaner processing, and biomanufacturing design are giving companies more precise and adaptable ways to convert plant-based feedstocks. Steps that once relied on heat, pressure, or petrochemical ingredients can now be carried out through approaches that are more targeted and far less energy intensive. For manufacturers working to lower their carbon footprints, these systems are starting to function as foundational infrastructure rather than optional enhancements. THE NEW POWER OF CATALYTIC SYSTEMS The clearest evidence of this shift is in how plant-based inputs move through processing today. Instead of relying on heavy mechanical treatments, more producers are using smarter ways to break down natural materials. Enzyme-assisted milling and gentler separation methods improve efficiency and help capture more value from every bushel. In biofuels, for example, advances in ethanol yeast are combining multiple steps that were once handled separately. More advanced yeast strains can both produce ethanol and generate the enzymes needed to break down sugars, significantly reducing the need for separate enzyme production. That integration lowers energy use, simplifies operations, and improves overall efficiency, while still relying on familiar agricultural inputs. Catalysis itself hasnt changed, but its effectiveness has. New enzyme blends are more consistent and adaptable, which means they keep working even when crop conditions fluctuate. Some research teams are developing combinations that adjust as they work, providing a real-time, responsive approach that brings biological tools and process engineering closer together. The result is a set of processes that can react to natural variability instead of being constrained by it. Increasingly, digital tools are accelerating this progress. Advances in artificial intelligence are helping teams model catalytic behavior, predict performance, and make better design decisions before systems ever reach a plant floor. AI-driven modeling supports faster discovery, more efficient catalyst design, and better operational control, allowing manufacturers to optimize processes in ways that were not possible even a few years ago. Chemical pathways are evolving as well. A familiar byproduct from biodiesel production, such as glycerin, can be converted into glycols used in cleaning and personal care products when processed through the right catalytic route. These improvements may seem modest, yet they open new uses for materials that once had limited outlets and show how far catalytic capabilities have come. APPLICATIONS ARE EXPANDING The impact is visible across a wide range of industries. In packaging, innovations in starch chemistry are enabling biodegradable materials that begin to match conventional plastics on performance. Starch nanofibers and nanocrystals, which offer strength and strong barrier properties, are being explored for packaging and early-stage 3D-printing applications. In home and personal care, catalytic processes support the production of plant-based surfactants, solvents, and functional ingredients. These pathways align with rising consumer expectations for renewable materials and reflect a shift already underway in categories like body wash, laundry care, and household cleaners, where plant-based glycols and citric formulations are gaining adoption. Industrial sectors are experimenting, too. Companies are evaluating agricultural inputs as alternatives for construction materials, drilling fluids, and hydraulic systems, areas that have historically relied on fossil-based components. Each example reflects the same dynamic: Catalytic systems are opening doors that were closed only a few years ago. These advances also have implications upstream. As catalytic systems unlock new uses for plant-based materials, they expand the range of agricultural inputs that can flow into manufacturing. Greater feedstock flexibility allows companies to use not only traditional crops but also fibers, residues, and byproducts that once struggled to find markets. Over time, that diversification strengthens the resilience of the agricultural supply base. WHAT INNOVATION LEADERS SHOULD TAKE FROM THIS MOMENT For corporate leaders in food, beverage, and agriculture, catalytic systems deserve closer attention. They are a meaningful lever for lowering emissions and expanding the role of plant-based materials in manufacturing. Three implications stand out: 1. Catalytic systems influence which materials companies can bring to market.Better catalysts open pathways to new categories of plant-based ingredients and polymers. 2. Scaling requires more than scientific breakthroughs.Success depends on integrating these systems into real operations, ensuring stable feedstocks and coordinating across technical disciplines. 3. The private sector sets the pace.Continued investment in catalytic innovation, both biological and chemical, including digital tools that accelerate discovery and improve performance, is essential to capturing the potential of low-carbon biomanufacturing. A new manufacturing model is taking shape. Catalytic systems are turning crops into cleaner fuels, fibers, ingredients, and chemicals, and doing it with far greater efficiency than the processes they are replacing. The work ahead is real, but so is the opportunity. Progress is coming from teams across science, engineering, and agriculture who are finding better ways to make use of what nature provides. Quiet tools, big impact. And if we keep investing in these molecular systems, they will help build the next generation of low-carbon production, harvest by harvest and molecule by molecule. Chris Cuddy is senior vice president and global president of the Carbohydrate Solutions unit at ADM.
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Facebook parent Meta has reached nuclear power deals with three companies as it continues to look for electricity sources for its artificial intelligence data centers.Meta struck agreements with TerraPower, Oklo and Vistra for nuclear power for its Prometheus AI data center that is being built in New Albany, Ohio. Meta announced Prometheus, which will be a 1-gigawatt cluster spanning across multiple data center buildings, in July. It’s anticipated to come online this year.Financial terms of the deals with TerraPower, Oklo and Vistra were not disclosed.The Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta said in a statement on Friday that the three deals will support up to 6.6 gigawatts of new and existing clean energy by 2035.“These projects add reliable and firm power to the grid, reinforce America’s nuclear supply chain, and support new and existing jobs to build and operate American power plants,” the company said.Meta said its agreement with TerraPower will provide funding that supports the development of two new Natrium units capable of generating up to 690 megawatts of firm power with delivery as early as 2032. The deal also provides Meta with rights for energy from up to six other Natrium units capable of producing 2.1 gigawatts and targeted for delivery by 2035.Meta will also buy more than 2.1 gigawatts of energy from two operating Vistra nuclear power plants in Ohio, in addition to the energy from expansions at the two Ohio plants and a third Vistra plant in Pennsylvania.The deal with Oklo, which counts OpenAI’s Sam Altman as one of its largest investors, will help to develop a 1.2 gigawatt power campus in Pike County, Ohio to support Meta’s data centers in the region.The nuclear power agreements come after Meta announced in June that it reached a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy. Michelle Chapman, AP Business Writer
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