As cities worldwide embrace smart railway technology to combat traffic congestion and reduce environmental impact, a critical challenge emerges beneath the surface of these technological marvels. While smart trains promise efficiency and sustainability, they also open new doors for cyber threats that could derail not just schedules, but entire transportation networks. A comprehensive new study reveals the escalating cybersecurity landscape in smart railways and provides crucial insights for protecting these vital infrastructure systems.

 This study tackles rising energy consumption in 400km/h high-speed trains by addressing aerodynamic drag. Numerical simulations identified key contributors: head/tail cars (>33%), bogies (>10%), and pantographs (>5%). Optimized designs (15m-long streamlined heads, lowered body height 3.85m, shallow pantograph platforms, low-drag pantographs, uneven bogie fairings, fully enclosed bottom plates) reduced total aerodynamic drag by 22.11%, enhancing high-speed rail energy efficiency.

The maritime sector, a cornerstone of global trade, is facing increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint. With shipping contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, finding sustainable solutions is more critical than ever. A new study titled "Direct Air Capture-Assisted Sustainable Fuel Solution in the Maritime Sector: A Carbon Footprint Perspective" offers a promising pathway forward by exploring the potential of direct air capture (DAC) technology combined with electro-methanol production.

A new review published in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems（AIAS） highlights how artificial intelligence can tackle the pervasive problem of missing traffic data in intelligent transportation systems. The study categorizes and compares leading data imputation methods, offering a clear roadmap for researchers and city planners to improve traffic management and smart city operations.

New research warns of declining access to safe, reliable and affordable water in the U.S., urging for better water tracking tools and immediate policy reforms.

Using a cutting-edge adaptive optics system developed at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, a growing planet outside our solar system has been discovered to inhabit a gap in a disk of dust and gas. The images provide a glimpse of what our solar system likely looked like during its infancy.