Tiny genome elements tune carrot genes

Nanjing Agricultural University The Academy of Science

Bluesky
Email

 

image: 

Expression and characteristics of the carrot LHY/RVE family. 

view more 

Credit: Horticulture Research

Mobile DNA, once treated largely as genomic clutter, may help plants build new ways to respond to environmental stress. A new carrot genome study shows that miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) can carry binding sites for LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL/REVEILLE (LHY/RVE) transcription factors (TFs), key regulators linked to the plant circadian clock and stress responses. One carrot MITE family, DcTourist_15, appears especially important in moving these regulatory sites across the genome. By inserting near genes, these elements may alter gene activity under normal and heat-stress conditions, offering a new view of how crop genomes generate regulatory diversity without changing protein-coding sequences.

Plant genomes are dynamic landscapes shaped by transposable elements (TEs), mobile DNA sequences that can move or multiply within chromosomes. MITEs are particularly intriguing because they are small, abundant, and often located close to genes, where they can influence expression. Previous studies have suggested that MITEs may contribute cis-regulatory elements, but how this process works and whether it affects stress-related regulation remain insufficiently understood. Carrot provides a useful system because its genome contains many diverse and polymorphic MITEs. Due to these challenges, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on how MITEs redistribute transcription factor binding sites and reshape gene-expression networks in plants.

Researchers from the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Poland, and the Department of Biological, Ecological, and Earth Sciences, University of South Carolina Aiken, United States, reported (DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhaf360) these findings in Horticulture Research on January 2, 2026. The open-access article examines how carrot miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) influence genes controlled by LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL/REVEILLE (LHY/RVE) transcription factors and identifies DcTourist_15 as a likely driver of MITE-mediated regulatory rewiring in the carrot genome.

The study combined genome-wide computational screening, DNA affinity purification sequencing (DAP-seq), stress-response transcriptome analysis, comparative analysis with rice, and yeast one-hybrid validation. The researchers first searched the carrot genome for short DNA motifs enriched within MITEs and found many sequences resembling LHY/RVE binding sites. DAP-seq then identified 11,779 DcLHY binding sites, including 2,346 located in promoters of protein-coding genes. Among these sites, 1,429 overlapped with carrot MITEs, a much higher frequency than expected from random MITE-like genomic segments. The strongest signal came from DcTourist_15: 592 copies overlapped with DcLHY DAP-seq peaks, compared with only five copies from the related DcTourist_13.2 family. Yeast one-hybrid assays further supported the ability of DcLHY to bind the DcTourist_15 sequence. The team also found that carrot LHY/RVE genes responded mainly to cold and heat stress, and that DcTourist_15 insertion polymorphisms were associated with altered expression of nearby genes under both control and heat-stress conditions.

The authors said the findings show how mobile DNA can act as a source of regulatory innovation rather than simply as repetitive sequence. They said DcTourist_15 appears to carry regulatory signals into new genomic neighborhoods, sometimes placing nearby genes under the influence of circadian-clock and stress-response factors. Not every insertion is expected to be useful, they said, and many may be neutral or removed by selection. Still, the work illustrates how genome mobility can create expression differences that plants may later retain, refine, or discard as they adapt.

The findings may help researchers better understand how crops generate natural variation in stress responses. Because DcTourist_15 insertions can correspond with changes in nearby gene expression, such elements could become useful markers for studying carrot adaptation, heat response, and metabolic regulation. The study also found enrichment of LHY binding sites in rice MITEs, suggesting that MITE-driven regulatory rewiring may extend beyond carrot. Future research could test whether specific MITE–gene associations improve plant performance under field stresses such as heat, cold, or drought. More broadly, the work highlights noncoding mobile DNA as a potentially important resource for crop genetics and breeding.

###

References

DOI

10.1093/hr/uhaf360

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhaf360

Funding information

The research was primarily financed by Polish National Science Center (NCN) project Opus17 no. 2019/33/B/NZ9/00757. The research performed at the University of South Carolina Aiken was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM103499.

About Horticulture Research

Horticulture Research is an open access journal of Nanjing Agricultural University and ranked number one in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Reports ™ from Clarivate, 2023. The journal is committed to publishing original research articles, reviews, perspectives, comments, correspondence articles and letters to the editor related to all major horticultural plants and disciplines, including biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology, and the origination and domestication of crops.

---

Journal

Horticulture Research

DOI

10.1093/hr/uhaf360 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Cis-regulatory effects of carrot miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements on the expression of genes controlled by LHY/RVE transcription factors

Article Publication Date

2-Jan-2026

Opinion

As Stephen Colbert signs off, America loses a prophet

(RNS) — Comedians are doing some of the most serious moral work in America right now.

Host Stephen Colbert on the set of “The Late Show” at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS Broadcasting Inc.)
Liz Bucar
May 21, 2026 

RNS

(RNS) — I’ve never been a regular viewer of “The Late Show” because I’m usually in bed by 9 o’clock. But I’ve been feeling a growing sense of loss that Stephen Colbert’s last episode airs Thursday (May 21), not for late night television, but for something more serious: We are losing a great American prophet.

I mean that in a technical sense. The prophet figure appears across religious traditions, and not as someone who primarily predicts the future. The prophet Amos wasn’t predicting anything when he said, “Let justice roll down like waters.” He was looking at what was actually happening — the exploitation of the poor, the corruption of the courts, the performative piety of the powerful — and refusing to look away.

Prophets are intermediaries who stand between us and a truth we cannot yet see. They name what is real when institutions that are supposed to protect people are instead protecting power. In this time of political, environmental and tech-driven crisis, we need all the prophets we can find.

Prophets aren’t usually rewarded for what they do. They speak out anyway because the truth had to be said and no one else was saying it. Colbert knows this all too well. When CBS canceled “The Late Show” last summer — just days after Colbert called Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump a “big fat bribe” on air — he looked straight into the camera and said, “They made one mistake: They left me alive. And now the gloves are off.” Colbert used his remaining months to speak, in his own words, “unvarnished truth to power.”

But now that time is up, and we are losing a prophet.

You might be thinking, isn’t this a bit much? Colbert’s a talk show host, not Jeremiah. But after 25 years studying religious ethics, I think comedians are doing some of the most serious moral work in America right now.

Stephen Colbert on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS Broadcasting Inc.)

There are a couple of reasons why this works. We experience comedians as outside the institutions that have failed us. They aren’t politicians or even clergy. And their platforms mean they can reach millions of people who would never sit through a sermon or watch a Senate hearing on C-SPAN.

But humor also does something other forms of truth-telling can’t. It gets us to see what’s been right in front of our face. Our laughter is the moment of our moral clarity.

Religious thinkers have understood this for a long time. The religious ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr wrote in “Discerning the Signs of the Times” that “humor is a prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer” because it can hold the irrational, complex messiness of life. Sociologist Peter Berger argued in “Redeeming Laughter” that comedy is a signal of transcendence insofar as it is a crack through which something larger can be seen. And the theologian Harvey Cox, in “The Feast of Fools,” suggested that the capacity for irreverence is an essential part of a serious moral life. The religious studies scholars all understood that the joke is not the opposite of the truth. Sometimes, it is the only way to get others to see it.

Colbert, who has spoken often about being Catholic, is not alone in this prophetic comedic work. Jon Stewart, whom one critic described as “a TV preacher, and shame is his drama,” called Immigration and Customs Enforcement a “well-funded paramilitary group” when politicians wouldn’t. Trevor Noah, a South African who see America’s contradictions with the clarity of an outsider, stood on the Grammy stage and said, “I’m going to enjoy tonight because this may be the last time I get to host anything in this country,” a joke highlighting our harsh immigration policy. And comedian Pete Holmes, who calls himself a “Christ-leaning spiritual seeker,” hosts the podcast, “You Made it Weird,” built around the question: 

What is the meaning of life?

When Colbert goes off air Thursday, we won’t just lose a late-night host. We’ll lose access to a public figure grounded in a serious moral tradition and willing to tell the truth at real cost to himself. There’s a word for that; we just stopped using it.

So, what does Colbert leave us with? When Dua Lipa asked him on air whether his faith and comedy ever overlap, he said comedy is “funny and sad and funny about being sad,” which is rooted for him in the Catholic conviction that death is not defeat. Fear, he said, is what drives people toward darkness. And so, “No matter what happens, you are never defeated. You must find some way to love and laugh with each other.”

(Liz Bucar is a religious ethicist and professor at Northeastern University and the author of “Beyond Wellness.” She writes the Substack Religion, Reimagined. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

DRONES

Catching the unknown: The drone designed to hunt other drones

Copyright Johanna Urbancik/ Euronews

By Johanna Urbancik

Published on 01/06/2026 - EURONEWS

After repeated drone sightings at airports and critical infrastructure sites, a German company believes it has found a way to identify who is behind them.

A suspected drone sighting brought disruption to Munich airport on Saturday morning, with around 26 flights reportedly diverted and further delays affecting departures. It's the latest in a growing number of drone incidents at German airports.

Figures from Germany's air navigation service, Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), show that 37 drone sightings were recorded in the first three months of this year alone. Yet one question often goes unanswered: who was flying them?

In most cases, investigators are unable to determine whether a drone was being operated by a hobbyist, an irresponsible pilot or someone with more hostile intentions.

Without recovering the aircraft or identifying its operator, establishing where it came from is often impossible.

The answer? A drone 'hunter'

One German company believes it has found a way to solve the problem. Working alongside US radar manufacturer Echodyne, Argus Interception has developed a system designed to hunt down rogue drones and catch them in mid-air.

Rather than shooting a target down, the company's A1-Falke interceptor fires a net intended to bring the aircraft safely to the ground. The idea is not only to avoid debris falling onto people or property below, but also to recover the drone intact so it can later be examined by investigators.

The drone capture, 28/05/2026 Johanna Urbancik/ Euronews

To improve the chances of a successful interception, the drone carries two net payloads, allowing operators a second attempt if the first misses.

At an exclusive demonstration attended by Euronews and a small group of journalists near Hamburg, the companies put the system to the test. A target drone was launched across a training ground before the A1-Falke was sent in pursuit. Moments later came a loud bang. Seconds after that, the target was caught in the interceptor's net.

Sven Steingräber, co-founder of Argus Interception, says the system was designed for situations where shooting a drone down is not an option, such as near airports, critical infrastructure or in densely populated urban areas.

"We set out to address a capability gap," he said. The aim, he argues, is to respond to drone incursions proportionately while avoiding collateral damage. "Our net system allows us to capture the drone, transport it away and place it exactly where we want it," Steingräber added. "That way, we can avoid harm to bystanders as well as damage to property."

In built-up, urban areas, he argued, that distinction matters.

Steingräber and Frankenberg at the Argus Interception factory Johanna Urbancik/ Euronews

How does the system work?

In simple terms, Echodyne provides the eyes, while Argus provides the interceptor.

The two companies play different roles within the same system. While Echodyne's radars monitor the airspace and detect suspicious aircraft, Argus' A1-Falke is responsible for the interception itself.

"You saw a couple of different radar systems on the ground," Echodyne chief executive Eben Frankenberg told Euronews. The larger system, known as EchoShield, is responsible for "detecting an initial drone flying into the area" before "tracking it with very high fidelity and sending that data to the command and control centre."

A smaller radar, EchoGuard, performs the same role, but at shorter ranges. Once a target has been identified, its position is passed to the interceptor. The A1-Falke then takes over. Mounted on the drone itself is a radar called EchoFlight, which performs what Frankenberg describes as "air-to-air tracking."

Echodyne CEO Eben Frankenberg next to a radar system. Johanna Urbancik/ Euronews

"So once the interceptor drone is in the air, then it's going to go find the intruder drone and then start tracking it," he said. "And so the interceptor drone can then follow it," Frankenberg said.

The A1-Falke is then sent in pursuit. Designed to catch rather than destroy its target, the drone fires a net intended to entangle the aircraft and bring it safely to the ground.

To increase the chances of a successful interception, it carries two net payloads, allowing operators a second attempt if the first misses. The drone itself is piloted from the ground. While artificial intelligence assists with the operation, the final decisions remain in human hands.

A growing security concern

Steingräber argued that many people still underestimate the potential threat posed by drones flying over sensitive sites. "Modern wars often don't begin with the first shot being fired, but with the gathering of information," he told Euronews. Many people, he said, are unaware that intelligence collected by a drone today could have significant consequences at a later stage.

"Such drone flights over critical infrastructure can have major consequences," Steingräber said. "Operational procedures are filmed, supply routes are mapped and critical points are assessed for an adversary, allowing them to strike more effectively because they already have the information."

Reports of drones flying over critical infrastructure, airports and military sites in Germany have become more frequent since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Until recently, responsibility for dealing with such incidents rested largely with the police. The German army was generally limited to responding to drone activity over its own facilities.

Radar and drone, near Hamburg, 28/05/2026 Johanna Urbancik/ Euronews

That changed last year when Germany amended its Aviation Security Act. While primary responsibility still lies with the police, the armed forces can now provide support if requested by state authorities and if the available civilian resources are deemed insufficient.

Some in the industry argue that the current framework leaves operators of critical infrastructure with few tools to respond to suspicious drone activity. They are calling for facilities such as airports, energy sites and other sensitive locations to be given greater scope to use counter-drone systems themselves.

One example is the net-based interceptor demonstrated to Euronews near Hamburg, which is designed to capture a drone rather than destroy it. As it carries no live ammunition and is not classified as a weapon, operators could deploy the drone themselves, bring an intruding aircraft down and have it examined afterwards.

‘Much better defence’ required to avert Russian drones, former Romanian NATO official tells Euronews

Euronews

By Méabh Mc Mahon & Angela Skujins

Published on 01/06/2026 - 

Exclusive: Former NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoană has warned that the military alliance needed stronger low-altitude military capabilities to shoot down drones, as seen with the incursion late last week in Romania that has left the country in "shock".

Former North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană, said that much better defences were required by Europe to ward off drones – and the Romanian city of Galați still lives in a state of "shock" following an incursion by a Russian drone carrying explosives on Friday.

Late last week an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into a residential building in the Romanian south-eastern port city near the border of Ukraine, sparking a fire and injuring two people.

The Romanian government blamed Moscow for the incident and declared the Russian consul in Constanța a persona non grata while closing the consulate.

In recent weeks, several drones have entered European airspace, causing concern across the Baltics. However, this is the first incident in which Romanians have been injured.

“The shock of the Russian incursion and explosion on a block of apartments in Galați is still here with us,” Geoană said in comments to Euronews’ Europe Today programme on Monday.

“Galați is a big city, an industrial city on the Danube. On the other side of the river, there is Ukraine, and Russia is constantly attacking infrastructure on the Ukrainian side,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected blame for the drone crash, while the country's deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev inferred more drones would continue to stray into European skies. "The peaceful sleep is over," he said.

“Concern” within Bucharest had cumulated over more than four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine due to the country’s proximity to the battlefield, said Geoană, who served within NATO's upper echelons between 2019 and 2024. He also served as Romanian Foreign Minister from 2000 to 2004.

A Romanian fighter jet of NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission successfully shot down a stray drone that entered Estonia’s airspace on 19 May. Asked why this did not occur in Romania on Friday, Geoană said the military did not “have enough time or space to shoot”.

Romania’s Ministry of Defence did scramble two F-16 fighter jets to respond to the aircraft, however Romania’s General Gheorghe Maxim said the forces had insufficient time – only four minutes – to shoot it down.

The incident has further underlined the need for NATO to better equip itself against the form of modern warfare that occurs in low-altitude, Geoană said.

“We have to do a much better effort to try to find the right kind of air and missile defence for NATO in general,” he explained.

“For mid-altitude and high altitude, let's say there are some things in place: Patriot missiles, F-16 things, F-35 NATO operations."

“For this basically low altitude things… you can acquire them, the only thing is that you have to put your right priorities in the right place.”

Russia fired record 8,150 drones at Ukraine

in May: AFP analysis

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Russia fired a record number of long-range drones at Ukraine in May, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data showed Monday, as Kyiv appealled to allies for air defence support.


Issued on: 01/06/2026 - RFI

A Russian drone flies above Kyiv during an attack on May 24 © Genya SAVILOV / AFP


Russia launched 8,150 long-range drones in May, according to a compilation of daily air force reports, up to 24 percent on the number fired in April.

Kyiv has developed a robust network of air defence systems across the country that is capable of downing most drones, but it still relies on Western allies to down Russian missiles.

The new record barrage comes after a three-day truce last month raised hopes for broader peace efforts but Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of violations and stepped up their long-range attacks.

Russia also fired 211 missiles in May, among the highest monthly figures, at a time when Kyiv called on the United States for urgent help with supplies of ammunition for its Patriot anti-missile systems.

Russia lauched one of its worst attacks on the capital in months in May, when a missile slammed into a residential building, as part of a barrage that killed two dozen people.

Moscow last month also deployed its nuclear-capable ballistic missile -- dubbed Oreshnik -- for only the third time of the invasion.

Kyiv intercepted about 91 percent of all incoming drones and missiles in May, according to air force data.

One Russian drone attack in May partially destroyed this Kyiv apartment block © Roman PILIPEY / AFP


That points to how Ukraine has pioneered systems to intercept long-range drones but remains heavily reliant on Western allies to counter missiles.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that stocks of anti-missile systems and ammunition are running low.

President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed directly to US President Donald Trump last month for help downing Russian missiles.

The deficits have been exacerbated by the war in the Middle East, which saw US allies expend huge quantities of air defence ammunition protecting sites in the Gulf.

Trump re-entered the White House last year vowing to quickly end the Ukraine war, but talks stalled as the Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over Russia's territorial demands.

Diplomatic efforts further derailed after Washington's attention turned to the US-Israeli war on Iran that erupted on February 28.

© 2026 AFP

Ukraine: How a kamikaze drone partially operated by AI is attacking Russian convoys

Drones piloted by artificial intelligence are now being deployed on the Ukrainian front lines, and while there has been much talk about them, there is still much that remains unknown. The US-made Hornet Drone, which is partially guided by AI, is at the centre of a new Ukrainian strategy to target Russian logistics.


Issued on: 01/06/2026 
By:The FRANCE 24 Observers/Guillaume MAURICE

This video, shared online by the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine on April 16, 2026, shows a Russian truck being hit by a Ukrainian Hornet drone that’s piloted by AI. A red square marks the drone’s potential target. © X / azov_media

For the past few months, a drone has been prowling Russian logistics routes. The Hornet, which the Russians call the "Martian-2", is a mid-range kamikaze drone partially piloted by artificial intelligence.

The drone – which is built of polystyrene, has a 2-metre wingspan and a range of more than 100 km – costs $6,000 USD. It can hit a target at a speed of 200 km/h and can carry a 4.5kg payload. After the drone is launched using a catapult, it flies using an electric propeller motor, which means that it is nearly silent, according to Russian sources. It is piloted using two cameras.

The US-designed Hornet was developed by the American company Perennial Autonomy, which was founded and financed by former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt. This drone is frequently used in US Army training exercises. However, in July 2025, Perennial Autonomy – then called Swift Beat – made a deal to supply Ukraine with drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on May 5 that Ukraine had quadrupled its number of mid-range strikes, meaning those beyond 20 kilometres, between February and April 2026.

This shows a Hornet drone on its launcher. © US Army


Once the drone is in Russian-occupied territory, it can apparently pilot itself using artificial intelligence, a system that makes it less vulnerable to Russian signal jamming.


The drone is said to be able to automatically identify its targets before striking. It is, however, very difficult to know the precise role played by artificial intelligence in the decision taken to strike. Our team contacted Perennial Autonomy, who did not want to comment on the drone’s piloting system. The Ukrainian Army did not respond to our questions.

Elite Ukrainian units like the Azov and Khartia Brigades have been posting images of Hornet drones striking Russian supply convoys. On his Telegram channel, Russian military blogger Alexander Kharchenko admitted that Russian “logistics is seriously disrupted”. He said that the Hornet is allowing Ukrainians to strike at an unprecedented distance: “Until recently, the guys were easily carrying out patrols 50 kilometres from the frontlines. But now, this area is under fire by the Hornets.”
‘The drone approaches its target silently, we don’t have time to react’

In video after video, the same scene repeats over and over. The drone flies over the area, spots a Russian truck or another piece of equipment and marks its target with a red square. Then, it hurtles toward its target to detonate.

This video shows a Russian truck being targeted by a Hornet flown by the Azov brigade. © X / azov_media


On Telegram, another Russian military blogger described how Hornet drones work: “In most cases, the drone flies at a low altitude (around 200 m) all along our roads. It identifies its target and attacks. The drone approaches its target silently, most of the time, we don’t have time to react.”

This video, posted on April 16, 2026 by the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine shows eight successive strikes on Russian equipment. X / azov_media
A drone striking behind the lines

On May 8, the Azov Brigade deployed a Hornet drone in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is occupied by the Russians. They flew over the edges of the city, which is more than 100 kilometres from any Ukrainian positions.

This video, published by the Azov Brigade on May 9, 2026, shows a Hornet drone flying over the occupied city of Mariupol, which is more than 100 km from Ukrainian positions. X / azov_media

This shows a Hornet drone deployed by the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine flying over the gates of the city of Mariupol, which is occupied by Russian troops. Location: 47°13'21.08"N 47°13'21.08"N © X / azov_media


It’s not the first time that a Hornet has flown so far: according to an analysis by the FRANCE 24 Observers, out of 13 videos of drone strikes posted online by different Ukrainian units, nine of them took place more than 80 kilometres from the front line.

George Barros, director of innovation at the Institute for the Study of War, says that the Hornet is partially guided using artificial intelligence:


"Once the Hornet enters Russian territory, its partial AI guidance allows it to independently select its target. Even without a connection to the pilot, the drone can recognise a Russian truck or armoured vehicle. This makes it resistant to jamming, since it no longer depends entirely on the signal used by the pilot to guide it.

The Hornet is also capable of flying autonomously during the final meters of the attack thanks to artificial intelligence. This is particularly useful because some Russian vehicles are equipped with jammers. However, the precise role of AI in the drone’s operation remains unclear.“

According to the researcher, this system enables the drone to strike far behind Russian lines, most notably in the Mariupol region:


“Mariupol is a major logistical hub, with numerous highways connecting southern Ukraine to the Donetsk region. Large numbers of troops and significant quantities of ammunition transit through this area.

Using small FPV-type kamikaze drones, the Ukrainians were already able to strike Russian positions located up to 30 kilometres from the front line. With missiles and long-range drones, they can hit Russian refineries hundreds — even thousands — of kilometres away.

But there is an operational gap between 30 km and 120 km that allows the Russians to deploy their logistics and prepare their assaults. It is within this space, referred to as the ‘intermediate depth,’ that the Ukrainians are trying to operate.”
When a Russian organisation is able to study the drone

Russian Telegram channel Ghost_Malleus_Maleficarum, which specialises in the technical analysis of Ukrainian drones, reported that the Hornet has a “success rate above 80%”. Meaning that volunteers from the Coordination Centre for Assistance to Novorossiya (KCPN), an organisation that trains Russian soldiers in operating drones, were thrilled to get their hands on a downed drone that they could study. Volunteers from this organisation wrote a 100-page report on the components of a Hornet drone.
In their report, KCPN analyses the components that make up Hornet drones in great detail. 

© kcpn.info


The document describes the drone’s ability to use artificial intelligence and mentions that they contain Qualcomm processors, a unit capable of processing data from several cameras present on the engine using artificial intelligence.

Russian military blogger UAVDEV reported that the signal enabling a pilot to remotely control the drone is hidden amongst civilian wifi traffic, which enables it to circumnavigate Russian electronic war systems that don’t jam non-military wifi.

These photos, taken by Russians, show the antennas in the drone’s wings. 

© kcpn.info


Russian military bloggers admit that the drone detectors currently used by the Russian army have blind spots that include the radio frequencies used by the Hornet. KCPN reported that the Ukrainians obtained and analysed Russian detectors, enabling them to adapt this new wave of Ukrainian drones. The report castigates the designers of the Russian jammers, who aren’t admitting their failures to stop Ukrainian drones.

But Barros says that electronic warfare alone is not sufficient to counter the threat of drones.

“Jammers cannot be 100% effective against drones. They can only operate on limited frequencies — it is impossible to jam every frequency at once. A jammer can only disrupt signals within a limited geographical area determined by its range, so choices have to be made. These systems also cannot operate continuously around the clock because they need to be recharged.

There is no miracle solution. The Russians will have to adapt the entirety of their logistics and supply train if they want to protect the rear."

This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.

 Why does Trump want to transfer Cold War-era plutonium to nuclear start-ups?

The Trump administration has announced that it has selected several nuclear start-ups to participate in a project that would allow them to use plutonium stockpiles inherited from the Cold War. This plan has alarmed nuclear non-proliferation specialists.


Issued on: 30/05/2026 
FRANCE24
By: Sébastian SEIBT

File photo of a billboard of the Los Alamos Study Group taking aim at the US government's plans to ramp up production of plutonium cores taken near Bernalillo, New Mexico on February 17, 2021. © Susan Montoya Bryan, AP

Cold War-era nuclear technology is making a major comeback in the US. The Trump administration has selected several nuclear start-ups that could be granted the right to tap into stocks of military-grade plutonium that were produced until the early 1990s for use in nuclear weapons. This plutonium will then be repurposed as fuel to power small modular reactors.

Five companies, including the Franco-Italian small nuclear reactor specialist Newcleo, will enter into “advanced negotiations” with US authorities to use a portion of the 99 tons of plutonium that the US stores at several highly secure sites.

The selected start-ups will have to prove that they can safely handle and transport the highly unstable radioactive material, which could be used to develop dozens of new nuclear weapons.

Bulky plutonium stockpiles

In May 2025, President Donald Trump put the plutonium issue back on the table – much to the dismay of nuclear non-proliferation experts.

The US has struggled to find a solution for disposing of these stockpiles for decades. “Storing them costs money. We have to ensure they are kept secure and that the plutonium containers do not corrode. These are expenses for stockpiles that the United States doesn’t want anyway, since it no longer needs them for its nuclear arsenal,” explained Noah Mayhew, a non-proliferation and nuclear governance specialist at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP).

At the end of the Cold War, the US and Russia tried to find a way to make use of this plutonium by turning it into a source of energy. It did not work, and the plan was abandoned during Barack Obama’s second term. When Joe Biden came to the White House, he wanted to safely bury the stockpiles in New Mexico. The project, however, stalled because it was too expensive and complicated to implement during his term.

Trump’s return to the White House marked a 180-degree turn on the issue: Why not involve the private sector to find a solution for the plutonium that the government has been desperately trying to get rid of?

The start-up route seemed particularly promising to the new administration since Trump has an ambitious plan for nuclear renewal in the US.
American plutonium rather than Russian uranium?

Among the factors driving the move is AI’s voracious appetite for energy, according to some experts. “One of the main reasons for Donald Trump’s support of nuclear power is the US need to generate ever more electricity to meet the immense demands of the AI industry and its data centres,” explained Mayhew.

The nuclear start-ups selected by the White House all claim they have an urgent need for access to new fuel sources, particularly since the 2022 start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “There is a geopolitical element to this story: indeed, the main supplier of enriched uranium, used as an energy source for these reactors, was Russia,” noted Chris Spedding from the University of Leicester’s Leverhulme Centre for Humanity in Space.

“The United States now wants to produce more electricity [through nuclear power] without having to buy enriched uranium from Russia. But at what cost?” asked Moritz Kütt, a physicist at the University of Hamburg and founder of the Hamburg Nuclear Disarmament Laboratory.

For Donald Trump, it’s time to “Make Plutonium Great Again". Except that “plutonium is one of the most toxic substances ever created, far more so than uranium. Inhaling even a tiny amount is enough to put you at risk of developing lung cancer,” noted Mycle Schneider, coordinator, editor and publisher of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR).

Experts are sceptical of the idea of letting start-ups handle such substances. “It’s extremely difficult to handle, and very strict protocols will be needed to oversee this project,” said Spedding.

Another major proliferation risk, Kütt warns, is that obtaining separated plutonium for weapons is a much easier process than having to enrich uranium. It also doesn’t take much to create a bomb. “While the exact amount of plutonium needed to make a nuclear explosive is classified information, we can say that a mass the size of a melon is sufficient,” explained Schneider.
Proliferation risk

The plutonium stocks right now remain stationary and are stored in highly secure facilities, “but if we allow private companies access to it, we will automatically increase the number of transport routes and the number of people handling it, which will heighten the risk of it being lost or stolen,” warned Spedding.

International organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) might be able to help make the process more secure. But beyond security concerns, “the signal sent by the United States is really not a good one,” warned Mayhew. When it comes to nuclear disarmament, “selling plutonium that can be used to make weapons to private companies does not send the best message", he noted.

Spedding concurs. “Other countries might think that if the United States is using plutonium, why shouldn’t they do the same?” he explained.

The argument from start-ups seeking quick access to plutonium as an alternative to enriched uranium from Russia also fails to convince several non-proliferation experts. “It’s not like at gas stations, where you can freely choose the type of fuel for reactors,” noted Kütt. Converting plutonium into an energy source is also very costly and time-consuming. “Producing the very first kilowatt-hour from plutonium would take years, if not decades,” he asserted.

The Trump-style plan to “unlock plutonium” for nuclear start-ups appears poorly conceived and hastily put together, many experts warn.

Then there’s also the issue of a potential conflict of interest. In September 2025, Democratic Senator Edward Markey sent a letter to the US president saying he was concerned that US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is working in the interest of nuclear power company Oklo, of which he used to be a board member before resigning to join the Trump administration.

“I am concerned that your Administration is moving forward with plans to transfer plutonium to Oklo and allow it to build a reprocessing plant not because these proposals make sense for the United States, but because Oklo stands to benefit financially and Secretary Wright is acting in his former company’s interest,” wrote Markey.

This raises the question of whether the entire plan is primarily a major PR stunt for these start-ups, which will then be able to raise funds more easily from investors impressed by the White House’s official backing.

This article has been translated from the original in French.

Spent Nuclear Fuel Could Be America's Answer to Russia's Uranium Grip

By Haley Zaremba - May 31, 2026

• BLSK Energy has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Argonne National Laboratory to commercialize pyroprocessing, a high-temperature method capable of extracting reusable fuel from nuclear waste.
• The U.S. holds approximately 95,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel -- a costly liability that pyroprocessing could turn into a low-cost, carbon-free energy source for advanced fast reactors.
• BLSK aims to bring a pilot plant online by 2034 as the Trump administration pushes to reduce American dependence on Russian-controlled uranium supply chains.

Nuclear fuel is becoming a geopolitical battleground as the world increasingly turns to nuclear energy to contend with skyrocketing energy demand projections. The combination of an oil-based energy crisis emanating out of the Strait of Hormuz, the enormous and ballooning energy needs of artificial intelligence, and the urgent imperative of decarbonization is garnering a renewed interest in nuclear energy as a carbon-free, efficient, and round-the-clock power source.

Moreover, nuclear energy can be produced pretty much anywhere, making it a strategic option for energy independence and autonomy. But the production of nuclear fuel is tied up in a small number of supply chains, many of which are controlled by Russia. And global prices for uranium are rising quickly thanks to increased international demand. The World Nuclear Association projects that global uranium demand will increase 28 percent by 2030 and nearly double by 2040, causing increased competition for nuclear fuel in coming years. Homeshoring and nearshoring nuclear fuel supply chains has therefore become a paramount energy security interest for many nuclear-capable countries.

As the West regains an interest in nuclear energy, however, it may be too late for Europe and the United States to get a foothold in key uranium markets. "Russian and Chinese players have been very keen to secure access to resources in central Asia and Africa, creating a very aggressive competitive environment," Benjamin Godwin at Prism Strategic Intelligence told the Financial Times last year.

The United States is taking several simultaneous approaches to solving this issue, as the Trump administration aims to reestablish the U.S. as the global leader in nuclear energy. The country sits atop massive natural uranium deposits, and could one day become a major producer of nuclear fuel. However, building up those supply chains will take a lot of time, and increased nuclear fuel demand won’t wait. In the interim, there is another major source of uranium supplies that is already in the country’s possession: spent nuclear fuel.

The current administration has invested aggressively into research for recovering usable uranium from discarded nuclear fuel, kept in temporary storage facilities across the nation while they await the development of permanent nuclear waste sites. “Used nuclear fuel is an incredible untapped resource in the United States,” Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish was recently quoted by World Nuclear News. “The Trump Administration is taking a common-sense approach to making sure we’re using our resources in the most efficient ways possible to secure American energy independence and fuel our economic growth.”

It seems that that investment is already paying off. This month, New York-based nuclear startup BLSK Energy announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Illinois to commercialize a cutting-edge nuclear fuel recovery method based on pyroprocessing technology.

“Pyroprocessing (or pyrochemical processing) is a high-temperature metallurgical process that could enable the reuse of nuclear fuel,” explained Interesting Engineering in a recent report. “When used with fast reactors, it could extract up to 100 times more energy from uranium.”

BLSK Energy aims to bring a pilot plant online by 2034 that would be capable of extracting nuclear material suitable for advanced fast reactors from nuclear waste. “The path ahead is ambitious but achievable,” said BLSK Energy managing director and co-founder Bruce Landrey.

If successful, the technology has enormous potential to turn a major liability into an incredible asset. The United States has accumulated approximately 95,000 tonnes (104,000 tons) of spent nuclear fuel. That fuel is radioactive and poses a major challenge for storage and safe disposal, all of which comes at a serious cost to taxpayers. Recycling that fuel for an inexpensive and climate-friendly energy source is therefore a major win-win.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

Britain’s Nuclear Renaissance Faces Mounting Cost Pressures

By Felicity Bradstock - May 31, 2026

• Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C are expected to play a major role in expanding Britain’s nuclear generation capacity and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
• 
  
• Both projects have faced concerns over delays and rising costs, with Hinkley Point C’s estimated price nearly doubling from its original forecast.
• 
  
• The U.K. aims to increase nuclear capacity to 24 GW by 2050, supported by large-scale reactors and emerging small modular reactor technologies.

The United Kingdom is focused on diversifying its energy mix away from fossil fuels to boost energy security and support decarbonisation aims. This includes expanding its nuclear power capacity with the development of two large-scale nuclear plants - Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C, as well as developing small modular reactors (SMR). However, its nuclear ambitions have not quite gone to plan, following years of delays and rising construction costs.

Sizewell C in Suffolk, eastern England, received its planning approval in 2022, was greenlit in 2025, and is expected to be operational by around the late 2030s. Investment for the development comes from the government, EDF Energy, Centrica, La Caisse, and Amber Infrastructure Limited. The project is expected to create 17,000 jobs during peak construction, including 7,900 in Suffolk. Once operational, the nuclear plant will produce up to 3.2 GW of clean electricity to power up to 6 million homes.

The government expects the plant to cost around £38 million to develop and says it could provide around £2 billion a year in savings from the electricity system, compared to using other low-carbon technologies. However, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the public accounts committee, which oversees the work of the National Audit Office (NAO), warned that “Sizewell C is a project of exceptional scale, complexity and significance for taxpayers… Experience from comparable nuclear projects in the UK and overseas highlights their vulnerability to delays and cost overruns.”

To date, the French nuclear firm EDF has invested £1.1 billion for a 12.5 percent stake in the project, while the U.K. government has invested £14.2 billion as the majority stakeholder. The NAO fears that if not properly managed, construction could run significantly over budget, as seen with other nuclear developments in recent years. This would make the break-even time much longer for consumers footing the construction costs through their taxes. 

The NAO has, therefore, urged the government to mitigate the risk by using “close monitoring, greater transparency to parliament, and by securing value for money from the significant public and private investment”.

Lessons for building Sizewell C come from the construction of EDF’s Hinkley Point C plant, the first nuclear plant to be developed in the U.K. in over a decade. Hinkley Point C was approved by the U.K. government in 2013 and was greenlit in 2016. It is expected to begin operations in 2030, a year later than originally planned.

The project has faced several delays and price increases, the most recent of which was announced by EDF in February, adding a projected £2.16 billion. The plant is now expected to cost around £35 billion in total, almost double the original £18 billion 2016 estimate. EDF’s CEO, Bernard Fontana, said the new forecasts were “more realistic” and said that the 2030 launch of operations was “within a range that has not changed” since 2024, when it said operations would start between 2029 and 2031.

Once operational, Hinkley Point C is expected to provide around 7 percent of Britain’s electricity demand. While EDF’s two U.K. nuclear projects could help diversify the country’s energy mix and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, critics worry that the development of the two plants will face further delays and come in significantly over budget. EDF’s only other nuclear project using the same reactor type, at Flamanville in France, became fully operational in December after a delay of over 12 years; meanwhile, costs soared from an initial estimate of £2.85 billion to over £11.4 billion.

In 2025, the U.K. was deemed the “most expensive place in the world” to build nuclear power plants in a government review. This was largely owing to “overly complex” bureaucracy around the sector. Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce said that “radical reset” of the rules around nuclear power could save Britain “tens of billions” in costs and reverse the industry’s “decline” in recent years. This suggests that the government must work to streamline bureaucratic processes without compromising safety and consider other cost-cutting options to avoid cost increases in nuclear development.

At the time, the Taskforce chair, John Fingleton, stated, “Our solutions are radical, but necessary. By simplifying regulation, we can maintain or enhance safety standards while finally delivering nuclear capacity safely, quickly, and affordably.”

In 2024, the U.K. government announced a target to increase the country’s nuclear power capacity fourfold, to 24 GW by 2050. This will be achieved through the development of Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C, as well as through the deployment of innovative small-scale nuclear technologies. This is an ambitious target, but through the development of a wide range of nuclear technologies, it could be achievable.

The U.K. government has already published an Advanced Nuclear Framework for the deployment of innovative nuclear projects. Now, it must ensure that its regulatory frameworks and energy policies align with its nuclear power targets and help facilitate nuclear energy development. 

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com