Engineering News Today — September 19, 2026

As engineers and scientists continue to push the boundaries of knowledge, their work often intersects with unexpected areas of study. For instance, researchers are refining urban flood forecasting by developing real-time hazardous rainfall detection systems, which can help mitigate the impact of severe weather events on communities. Meanwhile, a different kind of seismic activity has been linked to North Korea's nuclear testing, which may have triggered hundreds of earthquakes over several years, highlighting the unintended consequences of human actions on the environment.

In other news, engineers and scientists are also shedding light on the past, whether it's analyzing medieval skeletons to gain insight into historical practices or uncovering hidden structures like a 'lost' medieval castle found inside a university building in Dublin. Even the properties of everyday materials are being reexamined, as researchers have discovered that graphene oxide membranes can be used to remove half the caffeine from coffee while preserving its key compounds. However, the impact of human activity on the environment is also being felt in other ways, such as the formation of 'plasticorals,' a new form of plastic pollution that fuses coral rubble with plastic debris, underscoring the need for innovative solutions to address these challenges.

Today's signal:
• Improving urban flood forecasting with real-time hazardous rainfall detection (phys.org)
• North Korea's nuclear testing may have triggered hundreds of earthquakes over several years (phys.org)
• Medieval Chinese skeleton may reveal first evidence of a brutal punishment (phys.org)
• Coffee on the nanoscale: Graphene oxide membrane removes half the caffeine while retaining key compounds (phys.org)
• 'Plasticorals,' coral rubble fused with plastic, represent a new form of plastic pollution (phys.org)
• 'Lost' medieval castle found hiding inside university building in Dublin (phys.org)