Tech
Nature’s resilience inspires an improved power grid
Natural ecosystems made up of plants, animals and microorganisms face constant challenges from natural hazards, like extreme weather or invasive species.
Despite these challenges, ecosystems have thrived for millions of years, showcasing high levels of resilience against hazards and disturbances. What if the mechanisms and patterns responsible for this prosperous resilience could be applied to the power grid?
Texas A&M University researchers have tested bio-inspired cyber-physical systems to strengthen the power grid to mitigate different types of cyber-attacks and understand their impacts.
Possible cyber threats to resource networks like the power grid include presentations of false information to data systems and information theft attempts, which can affect a network’s performance abilities.
“Ecosystems experience many of the same unexpected disturbances as human-made systems, like droughts and floods,” said Dr. Astrid Layton, an associate professor in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering and head of the Bio-inspired SystemS Lab (BiSSL).
“While ecosystems may be damaged by these hazards, they have the unique ability to survive these disturbances without wasteful levels of redundancies, not only at the ecosystem level, but on a species level as well—which is why we’re interested in cyber-physical power systems from this ecological perspective.”
As their name suggests, cyber-physical power systems are made up of both cyber and physical elements, referred to as components. Cyber components—like firewalls and routers—deal with digital information flows, while physical components—like buses and generators—process tangible energy flows. Despite their prevalence, the system’s complexity causes incomplete knowledge of how disturbances move through and impact a cyber-physical power system.
“It’s crucial for a system to not only survive the hard times, but to thrive during good times,” said Layton. “Using ecological models and the insight they give allows us to assess the cyber-physical interface, clarifying how the system can run more efficiently when there are no immediate threats while still understanding and minimizing damages when they do happen.”
The main goal of this project was to better understand the relationship between the cyber components and physical components that make up cyber-physical power systems. A stronger understanding of the system’s interface allows researchers to predict potential impacts of cyber-attacks on the physical components and physical attacks on the cyber components, informing policymakers and grid operators on how best to prepare for and operate during these threats.
Layton, an expert in bio-inspired systems design and analysis techniques, collaborated with Dr. Katherine Davis, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, who brings extensive power system knowledge. Layton and Davis have worked as collaborators since a 2018 Texas A&M Energy Institute seed grant.
Their combined knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering makes them a great team for understanding and designing cyber-physical power systems for resilience.
Layton and Davis were also joined by their senior Ph.D. students Emily Payne and Shining Sun for the Sandia study. Payne, a mechanical engineering student, started working with Layton in the Bio-inspired SystemS Lab as an undergraduate architectural engineering student in 2022.
Sun, an electrical and computer engineering student, has worked with Davis since 2023. Both Payne and Sun have published several papers relating to this work and have presented their findings at conferences, each winning awards for their research.
“Part of the success of this project has been these engineering graduate students, Emily and Shining, who have excelled at the interdisciplinary aspects of the work in addition to the highly technical focus of the problem,” Layton said.
“My research in particular asks engineering students to read ecology papers, which are essentially a different language from engineering papers, and apply this to their research.”
The approach enables Layton to view engineering problems from an innovative perspective.
The Sandia National Laboratories project ended in September 2025, but the researchers are continuing to collaborate on their bio-inspired power systems.
Layton and Davis are set to participate in a collaborative study focusing on modeling the impacts of weather disturbances on the power grid.
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Nature’s resilience inspires an improved power grid (2025, November 6)
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Generally, reviews and analyses of the telecoms market have been very grounded and focused on gigabit fibre networks and 5G mobile. But any look at 2025 would not be complete if it didn’t show just how much service providers and the industry in general are now increasingly and literally reaching for the stars – to be more precise, the looking at the burgeoning satellite communications sector.
The upshot is that in 2025 non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and satellite connectivity moved very markedly from niche to mainstream, whether in rural broadband or direct-to-cell use cases. In terms of those driving the provider landscape, it was no surprise to see Starlink as having gained the highest orbit sealing with 44 partnerships, followed by AST SpaceMobile and Lynk.
Looking at use cases and geography, rural and enterprise broadband remained the dominant application, with the leading providers players enabling unmodified smartphones to connect in remote areas. Yet in-flight connectivity was perhaps one one of the most interesting applications.
In July 2025, Virgin Atlantic announced plans to introduce Starlink in-flight connectivity across its entire fleet by creating a digitally connected cabin. Months later, arch rival International Airlines Group (IAG) announced a partnership to implement Starlink connectivity for more than 500 aircraft across its fleet, which includes Aer Lingus, British Airways (BA), Iberia, Level and Vueling. Not to be outdone, Qatar and Emirates also inked deals with Starlink to equip widebody aircraft with connectivity.
After a previous year which marked its fifth birthday and the arrival of Advanced versions of the basic network, the 5G industry concentrated on deployment. And one of the most interesting developing market was in-stadium connectivity. Simply offering Wi-Fi in stadiums is not enough: providing an advanced connectivity experience is now what fans – both in music and sports – expect. Game-changing connectivity for stadiums includes integrating existing stadium infrastructure with 5G, cloud-based private telecom networks.
The year was rather quiet on the 6G front, but 2025 did end with research establishments in Europe, in particular Finland, setting out plans for what the next generation of mobile will look like.
For fixed broadband access in the UK, the year saw continued rapid pace of gigabit access. A report from regulator Ofcom in November revealed that 78% of UK homes (23.7 million) had full-fibre broadband access, up from 20.7 million (69%) a year ago. Yet Ofcom also noted that less than half of those with access sign up. Alternative providers were also facing increased business headwinds that are expected to continue into the new year.
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 telecoms stories of 2025.
GSA study shows Starlink leading the satellite landscape with 44 partnerships, followed by AST SpaceMobile and Lynk, while in spectrum Ka-band remains most widely used frequency range, supporting both feeder and service links.
The findings point to an evolving landscape where satellite services are moving from niche to mainstream, with strong growth expected in broadband and direct-to-cell offerings, and slower but steady expansion in IoT applications
Satellite communications firm launches its next-generation internet of things connectivity service, which it says is set to revolutionise global IoT capabilities with two-way messaging connectivity.
The IoT Nano service is designed to address a growing demand for cost-effective, low-data, low-power IOT services, enabling businesses across sectors such as agriculture, transport, utilities and mining to effectively monitor and control fixed and mobile assets with what is claimed as “ultra-reliable” satellite coverage.
As part of its mission to build the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones for commercial and government applications, AST SpaceMobile reveals plans to expand its satellite fleet by almost 10 times over the next 18 months.
Specifically, the space-based cellular broadband network provider as part of a programme to send 45 to 60 satellites into orbit by 2026 to support continuous service in the US, Europe, Japan and other strategic markets.
MENA airline accelerates programme to equip widebody aircraft with Starlink-based connectivity and now operates up to 200 daily such connected flights to key destinations.
Qatar Airways claims to be the operator of the largest number of Starlink-equipped widebody aircraft and the only carrier in the MENA region currently offering Starlink in-flight connectivity. It has described the expansion as “reaffirming its position as the world’s leading airline for innovation, reliability and unmatched passenger experience
Preliminary design review revealed for Astrum Mobile’s Neastar-1, said to be the first geostationary satellite-to-device mission in the region designed to change how mobile networks reach people across Asia Pacific.
Neastar-1 is being developed on Swissto12’s HummingSat new geostationary small satellites that are seen as offering new economics for the geostationary satellite market, being around five times smaller than traditional satellites and so unlocking faster builds, lower costs and ride-share launches. The range is also said to offer a telecoms-grade service backbone that plugs directly into the 3GPP non-terrestrial networks (NTN) standard, designed for mass-market adoption.
As the country’s mobile comms operators increase the reach and roll-out of 5G standalone networks, the UK has become a mobile data-hungry nation, with mobile users consuming nearly a fifth (18%) more mobile data than a year ago, according to research from communications regulator Ofcom.
The research found UK mobile data use climbs to over 1.2 billion gigabytes each month, as networks deliver 5G SA to 83% of the UK to meet rising demand.
The city of Oulu in Finland has received a further boost to its prestige in the field of mobile communications research, design and manufacturing, with Nokia’s opening of what it calls the new home of radio, in the form of a research and development hub for the entire lifecycle of 5G and 6G radio innovation that will design, test and deliver next-generation networks built for artificial intelligence (AI).
The new campus is claimed to contain some of the world’s most advanced radio network laboratory and manufacturing technology, and will provide both simulated and real-world field verification environments to accelerate network evolution, ensuring that secure 5G and 6G networks are designed, tested and built in Europe.
The UK’s broadband sector has quietly witnessed a tipping point as fibre-based connections direct to premises superseded kerb-side connectivity for the first time, according to analyst Point Topic, while two of the country’s leading independent broadband service providers (altnets) have geared up fibre offerings for businesses.
The Point Topic survey found that the UK broadband market overall regained momentum in the third quarter of 2025, adding 64,000 subscribers and returning to growth across a total base of 28.94 million lines. Most significantly, full-fibre (FTTP) adoption surged ahead at its fastest rate since nationwide roll-outs began, reaching 11.56 million connections and overtaking fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) for the first time, with the latter decreasing to 10.6 million.
Mobility Report shows 33 CSPs currently offer differentiated connectivity services based on network slicing, with a combined total of 65 offerings with around 1.4 billion people expected to be served by fixed wireless access.
Even though the footprint of the UK’s alternative broadband providers (altnets) has doubled in less than two years, the sector is now moving from expansion to survival, with several operators facing commercial pressure that could trigger an expected consolidation wave, a study from Intelligens Consulting has found.
The State of the UK fibre market 2025 report revealed that the UK broadband market is on the brink of its biggest shakeout yet, as the industry shifts from rapid expansion to targeted, commercially grounded fibre investment.
The US Food and Drug Administration today approved a pill version of the blockbuster anti-obesity drug Wegovy. Made by Novo Nordisk, the pill is taken once a day. The company’s original version of Wegovy is a weekly injection. Both drugs contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide.
“This allows patients with obesity who want to lose weight to have a choice between a once weekly injection or a daily tablet,” says Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer at Novo Nordisk.
With the soaring popularity of injectable GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies have been racing to make effective pill versions that could be preferable for some patients. These drugs mimic a naturally occurring hormone in the body that acts on the brain and gut to promote a feeling of fullness.
In clinical trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, participants who took the pill achieved an average weight loss of 13.6 percent by 64 weeks. Nearly 30 percent of people lost 20 percent or more of their weight. The study also showed improvements in cardiovascular disease risk and physical activity levels similar to the injectable version.
While pills can sometimes be a more convenient option, patients may not always take them as prescribed, making them less effective. The clinical trial investigators estimated that in an ideal scenario where participants take the pill every day as prescribed, weight loss would be 16.6 percent—which is similar to results seen with injectable Wegovy.
Novo Nordisk first won approval for an oral semaglutide, sold under the brand name Rybelsus, in 2019 to treat type 2 diabetes. That drug has never been approved for obesity and is not as effective for weight loss as newer GLP-1 medications. The Wegovy pill is essentially a higher-dose version of Rybselsus.
“The efficacy for the obesity pill at the end of the day is driven by dose. Higher doses are required to achieve full weight-loss potential for obesity,” Lange says. The Wegovy pill is 25 milligrams while Rybelsus is 14 milligrams.
The most common side effects of oral Wegovy include nausea and vomiting, which are also side effects of the injectable version.
Novo has not disclosed the exact timeline for the drug’s launch, but Lange says it will be available sometime in the first few months of 2026. Production of the medication is already underway at Novo Nordisk’s US manufacturing sites, and the company expects to have enough of the drug to meet US demand.
The first thing to think about is how you’re going to drain the water from the dehumidifier. In the basement, the best thing you can do is to use the dehumidifier’s continuous water drain tube to either the sump pump or a drain. If those options are not available, you might be emptying the tank multiple times a day. The first time I put a dehumidifier in the basement, the tank was filled in three hours’ time. It’s all about the drainage. Also, knowing how to read a label. If you have a 50-pint humdidifier that means the appliance can remove 50 pints of moisture from the air in a 24-hour period; it’s not the internal tank capacity. Also, look for the maximum area coverage. For example, the Honeywell Smart 50 pint can remove 50 pints of water from 4,000 sq ft—the size of a whole house—in 24 hours.
If you, like me, also need a dehumidifier in your city apartment, then consider buying one that’s easy to move around with wheels and a handle. Some of these machines are heavy. Also, a small dehumidifier in the bathroom is a good idea to keep the dampness at bay, especially if you have mold growing on your grout.
Lastly, do not drink the water collected in your dehumidifier tank. That water is not potable. Pour it down the drain. A dehumidifier is not creating distilled water; that’s a different process and appliance.
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