SAN ANTONIO — October 1, 2025 — Surface features on asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson, as identified by the Southwest Research Institute-led Lucy Mission, have been given official names by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The surface features of the carbonaceous asteroid will be named for significant paleoanthropological sites and discoveries. The NASA Lucy spacecraft flew past the asteroid on April 20, 2025.

Proper maintenance of underground infrastructure is crucial for a city’s sustainable development. However, with its high-density underground utilities, such maintenance work is particularly challenging in Hong Kong. A research team from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has leveraged advanced underground exploration technologies to develop underground utilities inspection systems that support early detection of urban infrastructure anomalies, including voids and pipe leakages, for enhanced urban management.

Using an advanced method, researchers at TU Graz and the Centre for Electron Microscopy have detected plastic in the roots of wheat plants. Whether the particles reach the ears of grain will be shown by further tests.

How important is mobility to our health and wellbeing in later life? How safe are older people on the road? Should drivers have a driving or medical test when they reach a certain age? If older people give up driving, how do they get around?

The sensors onboard the Sir Walter Scott steamship, on Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, form part of the Forth Environmental Resilience Array (Forth-ERA) - a first of its kind digital observatory of the Firth of Forth's entire water catchment - allowing researchers to collect real-time data on water quality.