The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. — Lady Bird Johnson
SUSTAINABILITY
The European Commission announced today the publication of a new set of set of frequently asked questions (FAQs), aimed at supporting companies and other stakeholders such as auditors in implementing sustainability reporting requirements of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with the first reports set to begin next year, based on the 2024 financial year. DETAIL
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) data on "unregistered work"—which refers to employment lacking a formal contract, legal protections, or social security—women in Turkey are more likely to be employed in unregistered work compared to men. Specifically, 34.4 percent of women are engaged in unregistered work, while the rate for men is 23.8 percent. DETAIL
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — the world’s largest coral reef system — has been under critical pressure in recent years, with warming sea surface temperatures leading to mass coral bleaching that threatens its unique biodiversity, ecology and stunning beauty. Temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef have reached the hottest in more than 400 years, new research has found, presenting an “existential threat” to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. DETAIL
Less than half of injured or stunned birds survive collisions with windows, new research has found, which means as many as one billion birds may be killed each year from flying into buildings in the United States. DETAIL
An editorial in Nature says that, in the next few months, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s principal legal body in The Hague, the Netherlands, will begin hearing evidence on two questions: “First, what are countries’ obligations in international law to protect the climate system from anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions, and second, what should the legal consequences be for states when their actions – or failure to act – cause harm?”. DETAIL
Landfills in the United States — one of the country’s biggest sources of pollution — have been found to contain large amounts of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals.” DETAIL
Ofgem, the United Kingdom’s energy regulator, has approved a multi-billion-dollar low-carbon “electricity superhighway” to carry green power 300 miles from wind farms in northeast Scotland to northern England. DETAIL
HEALTH
Researchers led by Tel Aviv University in Israel hacked the gene of Toxoplasma gondii, a brain parasite that can spread in cat litter, to turn it into a carrier for therapeutic proteins. To achieve this, they took Toxoplasma and bioengineered parts of it so that the parasite could carry large packages of useful proteins. The blood-brain barrier, located inside our brain, allows only certain molecules to enter and exit, while preventing harmful substances such as microbes from entering. However, the same obstacle also poses some difficulties for doctors who want to administer drugs, and this problem may be solved with this method. DETAIL
Alarmed by the surge in mpox cases, the Africa Centres for Disease Control has taken the unprecedented step of declaring the outbreak sweeping through African countries a continental public health emergency. DETAIL
Health officials have issued a warning to travellers after 19 cases of the insect-borne illness Oropouche virus were confirmed for the first time ever in Europe. Those who had tested positive for the virus had recently returned from holiday in Cuba and Brazil. DETAIL
We are in the middle of a global crisis - our ageing population means more cases of prostate cancer. Lifestyle factors hardly influence your risk of getting the disease, so the only way to prevent more deaths is to catch it early. PSA tests used to diagnose prostate cancer have been controversial - often leading to overdiagnosis and overtreatment, with its associated side effects. Now, a bunch of new tests are providing a more accurate way to diagnose the most life-threatening cancers, helping to prevent unnecessary treatment and worry. DETAIL
Sugar substitutes have been around since 1879. One of the latest types of sugar substitutes are sugar alcohols, such as erythritol. Previous research has linked erythritol to cardiovascular issues such as heart attack and stroke. Researchers have now found that using erythritol may increase a person’s risk of blood clots. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Circle to Search, the Google feature that allows you to search by circling an item you are curious about on your phone screen, seems to be coming soon with the ability to search by voice. As the name suggests, this function allows users to identify and search for audio clips from multiple sources. DETAIL
We could make fuel and fertiliser by recycling wastewater. Wastewater, which is full of pollutants that contain nitrogen, can be directly fed into a new chemical reactor that converts it into ammonia, with purified water and oxygen as by-products. DETAIL
Apple is developing a new device that integrates an iPad-style screen with a robotic arm. This device is capable of movement in vertical, horizontal, and rotational directions through the use of actuators. DETAIL
Sunflowers move in a way that helps their neighbours. The seemingly random motion of the plants’ roots and shoots actually minimises shade cover in crowded environments, ensuring that all of them get enough light to grow. DETAIL
An altar stone that lies within the heart of Stonehenge in Southern England has turned out to be from the faraway hinterlands of Scotland, a surprising find that suggests it's far older than any other rock at the prehistoric complex. That also means the architects behind Stonehenge somehow transported this gigantic six-ton stone at a distance of more than 400 miles, an astonishing feat, according to researchers who published their findings in the journal Nature. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Global sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles increased by 21 percent year-on-year in July, despite a drop in demand in Europe. DETAIL
At the IAA Transportation 2024 in Hanover, the Stuttgart-based automotive supplier Mahle will be presenting a world first: a bionic high-performance fan designed to make electric commercial vehicles and passenger cars significantly quieter. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
Some customers of ADT security equipment may have had personal information leaked onto the internet. The home security giant acknowledged as much this week in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), per BleepingComputer. Hackers apparently got into ADT's systems and stole limited customer information to post on a hacking forum. DETAIL
The social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, has been reported in nine EU countries for allegedly violating the European Union's data privacy regulations by processing personal data from the artificial intelligence company xAI without users' consent. DETAIL
HUMAN / CURIOSITY
Engaging in arts and crafts boosts your mental well-being and improves the sense that life is worthwhile. These activities have a positive effect that is as strong or stronger than the mental health improvements that come with being employed. DETAIL