Just days after the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the Port of Corpus Christi announced a partnership to explore the development of small modular reactors in the U.S. seaport, multiple other maritime nuclear announcements were unveiled to the public, including another MARAD partnership.

Last week, the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute jointly hosted the second annual Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo in Dallas, Texas. NECX serves as both a combination and evolution of ANS’s Utility Working Conference and NEI’s Nuclear Energy Assembly.

For the second year in a row, NECX brought together utilities, advanced reactor developers, suppliers, regulators, policymakers, investors, engineers, and innovators for a wide range of discussions pertaining to the present and future of the industry.

This week, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced a new coordinated research project (CRP) to improve understanding of the safety of edible insects and other novel foods and to use nuclear and related technologies to assess risks.

Philippe (left) and Manzuk quantified the amount of uranium that has been exported from the DRC in cobalt shipments or left behind in the environment. (Photo: Joel Hallberg/UW–Madison)

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Princeton University have published a study in Nature Communications that calls attention to a blind spot in nuclear nonproliferation: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exported thousands of metric tons of uranium, and there is no accounting for where it has gone.

In partnership with Lighthouse Reports and the Financial Times, UW–Madison nuclear engineering professor and nuclear security expert Sébastien Philippe and Ryan Manzuk, a geologist and research fellow in Philippe’s group and at Princeton, conducted the study using countrywide mineralization and geochemical data.

The trout population in the western hemisphere is getting stronger through the application of nuclear science.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, as part of a technical cooperation project, is equipping laboratories and training specialists in nine countries to better deal with the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in rainbow trout.

Serbia reached a significant milestone in 2024 when its National Assembly overturned a moratorium on nuclear power plants that had been in place for 35 years, a ban imposed when the country was part of the former Yugoslavia.

Fast forward to 2026 and the European country’s nuclear energy ambitions have become clearer. On July 13, Serbia’s Ministry of Mining and Energy held a four-day workshop outlining the country’s plans to kickstart a nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Bank Group (WBG) recently provided an update on their partnership’s progress at the one-year mark. That partnership, entered into only weeks after the World Bank reversed its long-standing ban on nuclear power investment, aims to facilitate new financing and construction of advanced nuclear projects in developing countries.

International cooperation in the monitoring of radiation levels in seawater near the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues. Scientists from China, South Korea, and Switzerland were recently joined by International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi as they collected seawater samples under the “additional measures” framework, which was adapted in 2024 to increase the participation of other countries and enhance the transparency of the IAEA-led analyses.

“But what about the waste?” Whether pronuclear, on the fence, or opposed, this common refrain still applies: Spent nuclear fuel is a challenge that needs action on clear solutions. Now, the International Atomic Energy Agency has a new tool to help people visualize the issue.

With its new online “Spent Fuel Management: The Inventory Status” tool, the IAEA has provided an important resource for investigating the amount of SNF produced by reactors around the world and how it is currently stored.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced the launch of a coordinated research project focused on a nuclear technique that can tackle the reemergence of New World screwworm (NWS) in Central America, Mexico, and the United States.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is seeking research proposals for a new initiative launched by its Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications called Smart Biomaterials for Next Generation Health Care Products. The agency said the program will help IAEA member states design “multifunctional, smart, high-performance biomaterials, including novel medical devices and responsive material systems.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency intends to launch a new initiative at the IAEA ministerial in Washington, D.C. on August 26–27. The objective of the initiative, called Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS), is to provide support for “the maritime industry’s exploration of small modular reactors (SMRs) to power civilian ships and to provide offshore energy.” The IAEA hopes that this initiative will help advance the maritime deployment of such reactors.

Today, there are 34 countries with operational nuclear power plants—but there are dozens more working on building a nuclear plant of their own. While progress on these projects inevitably ebbs and flows, broadly, momentum seems to be building on the international stage.

That growing momentum manifested last week in Kazakhstan’s announcement that it has officially partnered with Russia on a new nuclear power plant project. Prior to these new agreements, Russia, which borders Kazakhstan to the north, was already engaged in extensive preliminary work on the project.

Of the many and varied uses of nuclear science and technology, few may be aware of its applications in the detection of food adulteration. Also known as food fraud, food adulteration is the intentional altering of food products through dilution, substitution, mislabeling, or other fraudulent actions for financial gain.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a five-year coordinated research project (CRP) to strengthen plant health preparedness using nuclear and related technologies.

Wheat blast, potato late blight, potato bacterial wilt, and cassava witches broom disease can spread quickly across large areas of land, leading to severe yield losses in key crops for food security. Global trade and climate change have increased the likelihood of rapid, transboundary spread.

Kenya and Rwanda are continuing to make progress toward deployment of their first nuclear reactors sometime in the near future, according to recent developments coming out of the African continent. Here are updates on the two countries’ nuclear ambitions.

Today, the American Nuclear Society issued a press release joining the International Atomic Energy Agency’s calls for maximum military restraint around nuclear power plants and civilian research reactors.

This press release comes as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East primarily involving Iran, Israel, and the United States continues to rapidly evolve and intensify. As is the case with many armed conflicts, the confirmation of each reported update from multiple—and often contradictory—sources comes with significant difficulties. However, IAEA reporting sheds significant light on the current state of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Washington, D.C. — The American Nuclear Society (ANS) issued the following statement:

“The American Nuclear Society supports the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) calls for maximum military restraint around nuclear power plants and civilian research reactors, and for full adherence by all combatants to the IAEA's seven pillars for nuclear safety and security during armed conflict.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a new coordinated research project (CRP) aimed at creating a database of polymer-radiation interactions in the next five years with the long-term goal of using the database to enable machine learning–based predictive models.

Radiation-induced modifications are widely applicable across a range of fields including healthcare, agriculture, and environmental applications, and exposure to radiation is a major factor when considering materials used at nuclear power plants.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that more than half of all thefts of nuclear and other radioactive material reported to the agency’s Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB) since 1993 occurred during authorized transport, with the share rising to nearly 70 percent in the past decade. The ITDB covers incidents involving nuclear material, radioisotopes, and radioactively contaminated material.