This week’s roundup of data news highlights from July 18, 2026, to July 24, 2026, features an AI system that detects wildfires before they spread and snake-like robots that can squeeze through tight spaces to help search-and-rescue teams find survivors in the aftermath of natural disasters.
1. Tracking Songbird Evolution
Researchers at the University of Michigan have used an AI tool to study the evolution of birds, proving that birds in the group Passeriformes evolved in rapid bursts coinciding with climactic shifts throughout Earth’s history. These findings support the evolutionary theory of adaptive radiation, in which a single ancestral species rapidly diversifies into many new species due to an ecological catalyst.
2. Remotely Flying Fighter Jets
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force have used an AI program to successfully fly a modified F-16 fighter aircraft remotely. This is the first time the U.S. military has used a retrofitted older aircraft for AI-powered flight. The program flies the aircraft and monitors sensors and other mission systems, with a human pilot conducting takeoff and overseeing the test.
3. Improving Road Safety
A researcher at the University of Houston in Texas is using large language models to analyze roadway-condition data, including pavement structure, surface condition, roadway geometry, and crash records. The new research shows how pavement conditions influence crash occurrence and severity, identifying roadway segments in the greatest need of maintenance and safety improvements.
4. Detecting Wildfires Early
The North Summit Fire District in Utah is utilizing an AI-powered wildfire-detection camera system to help with early fire detection in remote areas. The system detects smoke, contacts a human to confirm its findings, and then sends an alert to local fire agencies. In one instance, the system detected a fire that had only spread to a single tree.
5. Improving Gene Editing
A team of researchers from multiple universities in China has modified an existing AI-powered protein-folding software program called AlphaFold to aid in gene editing. The researchers’ approach could reduce the rate of off-target effects, in which gene-editing systems edit the wrong gene sequences, causing unintended consequences such as disrupting cell functions, damaging chromosomes, or causing uncontrolled cell growth and cancer.
6. Coordinating Military Missions
The Singapore Armed Forces’ Digital and Intelligence Service and the Defense Science and Technology Agency have partnered with IBM to integrate quantum computing for complex mission planning, starting with logistics, such as military resupply missions. The goal is to determine whether quantum computing can eventually outperform conventional planning methods and prepare to harness quantum technologies for other uses as they mature.
7. Sustainably Managing Pests
Researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand are using AI-powered sensors to test how natural methods can support sustainable pest control. Solar-powered sensors listen for and record certain sounds, and AI algorithms analyze the recordings to determine which species of birds and bats are in the area. Farmers then receive recommendations to attract beneficial birds and bats so they can reduce pesticide use.
8. Training Industrial Robots
Switzerland-based AI company Mimic Robotics has announced its new AI-powered system that enables robots to learn complex, high-dexterity industrial tasks from video demonstrations. Mimic partnered with the frontier AI lab Black Forest Labs to develop the system, which requires a fraction of the data required for existing approaches to robot training, increasing efficiency in factory environments.
9. Aiding Search and Rescue
Rescue teams in Venezuela used robot snakes developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to search for survivors in the aftermath of two earthquakes. A human operator controls the 4-foot-long robots using a video game controller and a laptop, and algorithms allow the robots to autonomously coordinate their body segments when directed to travel from point A to point B.
10. Discovering Clean Energy Materials
Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan have developed a system that combines multiple AI technologies to identify promising clean energy materials faster and at a lower cost than conventional methods. The system continuously learns from the results of new experiments to improve its predictions and recommend the most promising candidates for further testing.
Image credit: Salam2009/Wikimedia
