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GE HealthCare's Photonova Spectra Photon-Counting CT Receives CE Mark, to Be Commercialized in Countries Recognizing CE Marking

On August 31, GE HealthCare announced that its advanced photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) system, Photonova Spectra, has received CE marking. The system utilizes GE HealthCare's proprietary Deep Silicon™ detector technology. This certification will expand the system's availability in countries and regions that recognize the CE mark and pave the way for its clinical use. According to reports, Photonova Spectra is designed to address the growing patient volumes and increasing diagnostic complexity faced by healthcare institutions today, aiming to provide clinicians with clearer and more timely imaging information. Leveraging deep silicon detector technology, the system can acquire spectral and spatial imaging information in each scan...

2026-09-01

CERN Accelerator Complex Enters Full LS3 Shutdown for Upgrades, Paving the Way for the High-Luminosity LHC Era

On the morning of August 31 local time, the injector complex and the Antimatter Factory at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) ceased operation after completing their final beam deliveries, officially entering the third Long Shutdown (LS3) phase. Earlier, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) had been closed in June, marking the flagship accelerator as the first to kick off LS3 upgrade work at the center. Bettina Mikulec (left), head of the Operations Group at CERN, handed a symbolic baton—a miniature superconducting magnet from the LHC—to Jean-Philippe Tock (right), head of the LS3 Coordination Group, with CERN Director-General Mark Thomson (second from left) and Oliver Brüning (third from left), head of Accelerators and Technology, in attendance.

2026-09-01

Russian Research Team Proposes New Method for Measuring Proton and Deuteron Electric Dipole Moments in a Single Storage Ring

Physicists from several Russian research institutions have proposed a new method for searching for the electric dipole moments of protons and deuterons, potentially enabling the study of both particle types in a single storage ring. The participating institutions include the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, and the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The research was published in the journal *Nuclear Science and Technology* and was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. The electric dipole moment reflects whether there is a tiny asymmetry between the internal charge distribution of a particle and its spin direction. According to Standard Model predictions, the electric dipole moments of the proton and deuteron are nonzero but extremely small, on the order of 10...

2026-08-31

Japanese research team visualizes cellular metabolic changes during fracture healing using hyperpolarized MRI

August 21, 2026, Gifu Pharmaceutical University and Gifu University announced that a multi-institutional Japanese research team successfully visualized changes in the redox state of skeletal progenitor cells during fracture healing in living mice using hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging technology. The findings were published online on August 15, 2026, in the British academic journal *npj Imaging*. The study was led by Takuya Kubo, a graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology at Gifu Pharmaceutical University, Professor Eiichi Hinoi, and related research teams at Gifu University, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, Osaka University, the Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, and other institutions. After a fracture occurs, a tissue called a...

2026-08-31

South Korea's KNR Systems Completes Development of Robotic System for PHWR Decommissioning

KNR Systems announced on August 31 that it has completed the development of a platform system for remote cutting and dismantling of radioactive structures in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR), with final delivery scheduled to commence in September this year. The system originates from a government-commissioned PHWR decommissioning demonstration project. The project, valued at approximately 2.8 billion KRW, was awarded in January last year, with a development period of about seven months. Upon delivery, the equipment will be installed at the Heavy Water Reactor Decommissioning Technology Center of the Korea Research Institute of Decommissioning (KRID) in Gyeongju, for use in PHWR decommissioning demonstrations. Compared with light water reactors, PHWRs have more complex internal structures and typically higher levels of radioactive contamination, making dismantling operations more challenging.

2026-08-31

Unit 1 at South Africa's Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Automatically Shuts Down

South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom has stated that Unit 1 at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station automatically shut down after the reactor safety system was triggered. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation. According to Eskom, the unit's turbine has been taken offline, and there is no nuclear safety risk at the site. The company noted that prior to the earlier fish kill and their entry into the water intake area, the generating unit had been operating reliably. Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is located on South Africa's Atlantic coast, near Cape Town. Several days ago, large numbers of dead fish entered the station's water intake area, clogging the cooling pumps and triggering the safety system, after which the cooling pumps automatically shut down and Unit 1's power output was reduced. Unit 2 is currently in a planned maintenance outage.

2026-08-29

Steel Dome of Unit 1 at Liaoning Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant Hoisted into Place

On August 28, the steel dome of the nuclear island of Unit 1 at Liaoning Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant, invested and controlled by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)'s China National Nuclear Power, was hoisted into place, marking that the large steel structure module construction of the unit has entered its final stage and laying a solid foundation for achieving the milestone of structural completion of the nuclear island buildings. As the core load-bearing structure of the nuclear island, the steel dome sits atop the steel-plate concrete structure, bearing all loads from the passive containment cooling water storage tank and the structures above. It serves as a critical barrier safeguarding the structural integrity and sealing reliability of the reactor building. The dome is conical in shape, composed of radial main beams, ring beams, steel cladding panels, and a bottom steel platform, with a diameter of approximately 41 meters, a height of 11 meters, and a total hoisting weight of nearly 1,000 tons...

2026-08-28

Czech nuclear power plants largely unaffected by summer heat and drought

The Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB) stated on August 26 that this summer's heat waves and drought only caused a slight decline in electricity generation at the Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power plants, without leading to reactor power reduction or raising nuclear safety concerns. Currently, both plants meet the conditions for safe operation, including adequate cooling and water supply guarantees. SÚJB noted that some European nuclear power plants reduced output or temporarily shut down during high-temperature periods, mainly due to their cooling methods. Some plants use once-through cooling, making their operation directly affected by river water temperature and flow rate. When water temperatures rise and river flows are low, plants may reduce output due to environmental discharge limits...

2026-08-27

Hualong One Pressurizer Electric Heaters Achieve Coverage of Two Major Technical Routes

The pressurizer electric heater is an important safety-class component of the reactor coolant system (primary loop) in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants, directly affecting unit pressure regulation and safe, stable operation. The localized pressurizer electric heater developed by Chuanyi Instrument Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SINOMACH Instrumentation Group under SINOMACH Group, has been applied to China's self-developed Generation III nuclear power units such as "Hualong One." The photo shows the qualification prototype of the Hualong One pressurizer electric heater. With the batch construction of Hualong One units advancing, units adopting different technical routes have imposed new customized operating condition requirements on pressurizer electric heaters. In October 2019, Chuanyi Instrument, together with China General Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., initiated the development of the CGN-version Hualong One pressurizer electric heater...

2026-08-27

Westinghouse eVinci Microreactor Completes Zero-Power Criticality Testing

Westinghouse Electric Company announced on August 25 that its eVinci microreactor has completed zero-power criticality testing, validating relevant models and key assumptions in the core design. The test was completed at 10:39 a.m. Pacific Time on August 24, 2026, at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The center is operated under the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The test was conducted by Westinghouse Electric in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Zero-power criticality is typically used to verify that a reactor core can achieve a self-sustaining chain fission state at extremely low power levels, serving as a critical step in reactor physics testing and design validation...

2026-08-26

Molecular Partners Advances DLL3 Radiopharmaceutical MP0712 to Higher Dose Cohort

Swiss clinical-stage biotechnology company Molecular Partners AG recently announced its business progress and financial results for the first half of 2026. The company stated that its DLL3-targeting radioactive DARPin therapy MP0712 has advanced to the second therapeutic dose level in a U.S. multicenter Phase 1/2a clinical study, and patient enrollment for the new dose cohort is currently underway. MP0712 is a radiopharmaceutical targeting the tumor-associated antigen DLL3, carrying a therapeutic alpha-emitting radionuclide lead-212 (Pb-212) payload, co-developed by Molecular Partners and Orano Med, primarily for small cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumors. According to the company's disclosure, the first dose cohort of MP0712...

2026-08-26

South Korean team develops biodegradable microgel for localized radiation therapy

Pusan National University announced on August 25 that a research team led by Professor Yang Seung-yun from the Department of Biomaterials Science, in collaboration with Professor Kim Hoon-soo from the Department of Dermatology and Professor Kim Geun-young from the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Pusan National University Hospital, as well as SNBIA Co., Ltd., has developed a precision localized radiation therapy technology based on biodegradable radioactive isotope materials for the treatment of refractory keloids that tend to recur after surgery. Conceptual diagram of precision treatment technology for refractory keloids. Provided by Pusan National University. Keloids are caused by abnormal proliferation of fibroblasts and excessive accumulation of collagen after skin injury. Existing treatment methods include surgery, steroid injections, laser therapy, etc., but...

2026-08-25

Novartis Files Localized Production Application in China for Lutetium [177Lu] Vipivotide Tetraxetan

On August 24, information on the website of the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China's National Medical Products Administration showed that Novartis' nuclear medicine product Lutetium [177Lu] Vipivotide Tetraxetan had a localized production application submitted in China. On the same day, two indications for the drug were proposed for priority review, and the relevant review matters may correspond to this localized production application. Lutetium [177Lu] Vipivotide Tetraxetan, namely 177Lu-PSMA-617, is a radioligand therapy (RLT) drug acquired by Novartis following its acquisition of Endocyte. The drug consists of a small-molecule compound targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) conjugated to the therapeutic radionuclide Lutetium-177. Upon entering the bloodstream, the drug binds to prostate cancer cells expressing PSMA, and...

2026-08-25

France Authorizes CEA to Dismantle the Pégase Research Reactor Facility at Cadarache

The French Official Journal published a decree on August 23 authorizing the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) to carry out dismantling operations on the Pégase (Pégase) nuclear facility located at the Cadarache site in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, Bouches-du-Rhône department. The facility is classified as Basic Nuclear Installation No. 22 (INB 22). The decree specifies the implementation phases for the partial dismantling of the Pégase research reactor and authorizes the CEA to build the equipment required for the dismantling operations. Under the decree, the boundaries of the Pégase facility will be adjusted to provide the necessary space for the layout of dismantling equipment and the temporary storage of waste generated during the dismantling process. The dismantling scope covers the Pégase facility itself, including the main building housing the storage and treatment...

2026-08-25

Hainan Danzhou Plans to Integrate Nuclear Power into Yangpu 220kV Power Grid

On August 21, the "New Advantages of the Free Trade Port 'Showcase' — Danzhou New Energy System Industrial Chain Cooperation Matchmaking Conference" was held in Shanghai. Representatives from nearly a hundred enterprises, investment and financing institutions, industry associations, and professional service organizations attended the event to exchange views on topics such as new energy system development and green, low-carbon industrial transformation, and signed a batch of cooperation agreements on site. Regarding nuclear power-related planning, Hainan Power Grid Co., Ltd. stated that it is accelerating the construction of a new-type power system featuring zoned power supply and tiered operation in Danzhou. According to the plan, by 2030, a relatively independent new-type power grid will take shape across Danzhou, with nuclear power directly connected to the 220kV power grid in the Danzhou-Yangpu area. By then...

2026-08-24