Benchling, a startup that created a cloud-based technology platform for life sciences researchers, raised $200 million in a funding round that gave it a $4 billion valuation. The company is preparing for an initial public offering.

The poor condition of Louisiana's roads costs drivers $7.6 billion annually in additional congestion, vehicle operating costs and crashes, according to The Road Information Program. Ken Naquin, CEO of the Louisiana Association of General Contractors, urges state lawmakers to take action.

There are at least four breaches to a levee system that could result in floods in Hidalgo County, Texas, during hurricane season, said county Judge Richard Cortez. The breaches formed during construction of a wall on the border with Mexico and were never repaired when construction stopped, Cortez said.

The combination of fiber-optic sensors in a fiber-reinforced polymer bridge deck in north central Tennessee could provide a sustainable solution that can be applied to many other deficient bridges in rural areas. The FRP deck is said to be highly corrosion-resistant.

SmartTake: One of the biggest barriers to greater adoption of FRP in bridges has been a dearth of durability data, says Dr. Dayakar Penumadu. This project is helping take down those barriers.

Infrastructure can complement and increase biodiversity and natural capital while creating carbon sinks, writes Robert Spencer, director of sustainable development at AECOM. Nature-based solutions' higher costs, as compared to traditional infrastructure solutions, are justified based on the cost to the planet of doing nothing, as AECOM's Natural Capital Laboratory in Scotland demonstrates.

Associate professor Amanda Bao applies extensive bridge building experience and a focus on engagement to her civil engineering technology classes at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Bao says her goal with students is "to teach them how to think, how to solve a problem."

A system that incorporates four lasers and a depth camera may help detect impending problems in aging infrastructure when human monitoring is scarce. A South Korean study finds promise in the monitoring solution, which produces image homography to reveal surface damage on concrete structures.

A floating-target live-fire exercise last week brought together the littoral combat ship USS Wichita and the Jamaican offshore patrol vessel HMJS Cornwall. Both ships fired hundreds of rounds at a target called the "killer tomato."

The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston launched a Rolling Airframe Missile as part of a test involving all the ship's weaponry. The SeaRAM ship defense system is modeled after the Phalanx weapon system and can fire up to 11 missiles.

Debris found in a main reduction gear lubrication oil strainer marks another setback for the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf, which had previously suffered an oil leak. The ship is back in port, and engineers have offered no estimate of when the problem will be resolved.