Science & Technology — August 22, 2026

Apple reportedly cuts over 200 Siri and Vision Pro jobs. The company is trimming roles across both teams as it shifts focus toward smart glasses and next-generation AI.

TechCrunch · Read more →

U.S. targets 1,000 rocket launches per year. President Trump signed a national space transportation policy aiming to expand U.S. launch capacity past 1,000 annual launches by 2030, including a new heavy-launch spaceport.

Space.com · Read more →

China's Chang'e-7 heads for lunar south pole. The mission, launching this weekend, aims to be the first to land directly at the moon's south pole and search for water ice.

Scientific American frames the mission as a milestone in a renewed space race between China and the United States, with both nations pursuing the lunar south pole. A direct landing there would be a first for any country, and confirmation of accessible water ice could shape plans for a sustained human presence on the moon.

Scientific American · Read more →

Personalized cancer vaccine posts positive melanoma results. Moderna and Merck reported Phase 3 results this week for an mRNA vaccine tailored to individual tumors, which they say could keep skin cancer from returning.

According to Smithsonian, the results could open the way for a broader generation of cancer treatments customized to a patient's own tumor, using the same mRNA technology behind recent vaccines. Analysis of the Phase 3 data announced earlier this week is continuing, and the companies have not released materially new figures since the initial announcement.

Smithsonian · Read more →