Warhound Raises $200 Million for Gene-Edited Military Dogs

Warhound, a startup founded by Palmer Luckey, has raised $200 million to genetically enhance dogs for military service. The company announced the funding round on October 23, 2026, with Sequoia Capital listed among the investors. Warhound stated that the engineered animals will detect explosives and protect troops in combat zones.

Colossal Biosciences is assisting with the project by handling the cloning and gene-editing processes. The collaboration aims to produce canines with specific biological traits tailored for military needs. The funding allows the company to move from development to the production of these bioengineered assets.

In other health news, Moderna and Merck reported that their mRNA cancer vaccine reduced deaths by 42%. The treatment also lowered the risk of melanoma recurrence in patients. Separately, researchers confirmed that prime editing, a technique that rewrites DNA in liver cells, has reached its first human patient.

Cybersecurity experts assessed a new set of flaws in PHP. Although the vulnerabilities caused some websites to go offline, no successful attacks have been recorded so far. Officials advised operators to apply patches immediately. Ian Landsman, a software developer, credited volunteer Ondřej Surý for his work on the fixes. Landsman wrote on X that Surý is an unsung hero of the internet. He noted that if anything happened to the volunteer, everyone is screwed.

President Donald Trump said Elon Musk restored Ukraine's access to Starlink. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, countered that Starlink speeds remain capped. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump asked Musk to lift those speed limits.

Google will pay customers to free up power for its data centers through a virtual power plant. The program rewards people for adjusting their energy use. In a separate report, the company was found to have illegally felled 250,000 trees in Finland for a data center project.