Warhound Raises $200 Million to Gene-Edit Military Dogs

Warhound, a startup founded by Palmer Luckey, has raised $200 million to genetically enhance dogs for military applications. The company stated that the engineered animals will be trained to detect explosives and assist in protecting troops. The funding round included investment from Sequoia Capital. Colossal Biosciences is also involved in the project, specifically providing support for the cloning and gene-editing processes.

The launch of Warhound follows Luckey's previous work in consumer electronics. The new venture aims to apply biotechnology to defense contracts, marking a shift from hardware to biological engineering. The company plans to use genetic modifications to improve the physical capabilities of the canines for specific combat and reconnaissance roles.

In related health developments, Moderna and Merck announced results from their mRNA cancer vaccine. The data showed a 42% reduction in deaths among patients with melanoma. The vaccine also lowered the risk of disease recurrence for those treated. Separately, researchers reported that a new gene-editing tool known as prime editing reached its first human patient. This technique rewrites DNA in liver cells, offering a new method for treating genetic disorders.

Cybersecurity experts assessed recently disclosed flaws in PHP software. Although the vulnerabilities knocked sites offline globally, no successful attacks have been reported yet. Analysts noted that the bugs are harder to exploit than initially feared. Developers urged website operators to apply patches. Software developer Ian Landsman praised volunteer Ondřej Surý for his work on the patches. Landsman wrote on X that Surý is an unsung hero of the internet, adding that if anything happened to him, everyone is screwed.

Political tensions surrounding technology infrastructure continued to surface. Donald Trump stated that Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's access to Starlink. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed the full scope of the fix, saying Starlink speeds remained capped. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump asked Musk to lift these speed limits. In the energy sector, Google announced a virtual power plant program that pays customers to free up power for data centers. A separate report alleged the company illegally felled 250,000 trees in Finland for a facility.

Climate scientists suggested that fossil fuels may have averted the next ice age. The findings indicated that modern warming reversed 2,000 years of ice growth. Researchers also reported recreating solar flares in a laboratory to explain the high temperatures of the Sun's corona. In a Vanity Fair report, Dutch spies were said to have hacked Jared Kushner's iPhone, revealing alleged financial links to foreign officials.

MIT Technology Review published its Impossible issue, which assesses progress on six technologies long described as just around the corner. The publication examined decoding pets' vocalizations, removing forever chemicals from the environment, faster travel to Mars, exercise in a pill, and nuclear-powered spaceships. Journalists noted that the project aims to determine what is holding each technology back and how far it has advanced.