Telescope #112

Weekly horizon scan…

SUSTAINABILITY

• Jobs in the clean energy industry are taking off, with jobs in this field growing at twice the rate as the overall job growth rate in all industries in the U.S., according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DETAIL

• Business sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis announced today the acquisition of human rights technology and analytics company Ulula, with the transaction aimed at increasing its capabilities to help organizations improve human rights impact across supply chains and comply with new regulatory requirements. DETAIL

• BMW Group announced today that it plans to launch its first-ever series production hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in 2028 in partnership with Toyota. DETAIL

• TPG Rise Climate, the climate investing strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform, TPG Rise, announced today the acquisition of industrial aftermarket emissions reduction solutions provider Miratech, citing opportunities to address the emissions challenge created by growing power demand from increasing data center usage. DETAIL

• Sustainability-focused investor interest appears to have undergone a significant shift towards investments in companies enabling a ‘brown to green’ transition, as opposed to focusing primarily on already-green investments, with net inflows into transition focused funds in the EU nearly doubling those into environmental funds over the past 2 years, according to a new report by EU markets regulator the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). DETAIL

• Microsoft is doubling down on its commitment to sustainability with the formation of a new supplier decarbonization team.  This initiative aims to tackle the rising carbon footprint associated with the company's cloud and AI operations, which have significantly expanded in recent years. DETAIL

• China suspended approvals for new steel capacity in a notice issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), pausing a long-standing capacity “swap” policy for the sector. DETAIL

• Papa Francis ve Güneydoğu Asya'nın en büyük camisinin baş imamı, Perşembe günü din kaynaklı şiddetle mücadele etme ve çevreyi koruma sözü vererek, Francis'in Endonezya ziyaretinin merkezinde dinler arası dostluk ve ortak dava çağrısı yaptı. DETAIL

HEALTH

• A new study finds that postmenopausal women who received hormone therapy during perimenopause age more slowly than women who did not. According to the study, the positive effects of hormone therapy largely erase the negative impact on aging of low socioeconomic status for postmenopausal women. DETAIL

• Numerous studies have examined the potential link between exposure to nighttime light and diabetes risk. In a study recently published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – EuropeTrusted Source, scientists report that avoiding bright light at night may be a cheap and easy way to possibly delay or prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. DETAIL

• U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly has signed a research deal with privately held AI-focused firm Genetic Leap to develop genetic medicines. DETAIL

• Does the structure of your brain affect your risk of depression? A network of neurons in the brain seems to be larger in people with depression, which could change how we think about the condition's causes. DETAIL

DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• An AI-generated recreation of the classic computer game Doom can be played normally despite having no computer code or graphics. Dani Valevski at Google Research and his colleagues, who created the model, claim the AI can be played for up to 20 seconds while retaining all the features of the original, such as scores, ammunition levels and map layouts. After this period, the model begins to run out of memory and the illusion falls apart. The researchers say similar AI models could be used to create games from scratch in the future, just as they create text and images today. DETAIL

• Japan-based startup Helical Fusion plans to launch the world’s first nuclear fusion regime, where fusion reactions can be sustained and sustained, in 2034 and begin commercial operations in the 2040s. With this project, Japan could significantly increase its energy consumption, as it relies on energy imports to store energy, the company’s CEO Takaya Taguchi told Reuters. DETAIL

• Scientists have discovered a ring-like structure in the outer core by probing the Earth’s core using seismic waves. The research, detailed in an article in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Science Advances, states that the mysterious structure is located within the molten metal pool that makes up the outer core. The structure, which runs parallel to the equator, has been likened to doughnuts and bagels. DETAIL

• A team of scientists led by NASA has officially discovered the weak electric field surrounding the Earth, the existence of which was theorized decades ago. According to a new article published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature, the discovery was made possible thanks to data from NASA's Endurance rocket. The suborbital vehicle, launched in May 2022, reached an altitude of about 770 kilometers and measured the changes in the electric charge in the region. The researchers define this phenomenon, the existence of which they confirmed, as the "ambipolar electric field." Moreover, this phenomenon is thought to play an important role in the evolution of the Earth and the Solar System. DETAIL

• Inonu University Faculty of Arts and Sciences academics have further increased the power of supercapacitors that can provide fast charging thanks to activated carbon obtained from sulfurous apricot kernel shells. DETAIL

• Bluetooth has come up with a new technology named ‘Bluetooth 6.0’. According to 9to5Mac the Bluetooth SIG (also known as  Bluetooth Special Interest Group) explained that this update aims to enhance Apple’s devices tracking feature. Bluetooth 6.0 aims to provide ‘true distance awareness’, for Apple’s Find My network. Notably, the Find My network is a feature that can help you to find your lost devices. DETAIL

• Researchers have created an innovative aerogel that provides real-time measurements with high sensitivity to specific radioactive gases. The aerogel produced by a group led by a French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) team could become crucial for monitoring the operation of nuclear power reactors. DETAIL

• We’re not very close to any specifics on how, exactly, AI regulations will be implemented and ensured, but today a swathe of countries including the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union signed up to a treaty on AI safety laid out by the Council of Europe (COE), an international standards and human rights organization. DETAIL

• Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has succeeded in domestically developing "CNC driving system" technology, a core component of machine tools—often referred to as "Mother Machines," the machines that make other machines. DETAIL

ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION

• The VoloCity electric air cab from the German electric aviation start-up Volocopter has cleared an important hurdle on the way to certification: The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has successfully carried out static vibration tests on the model. DETAIL

• Hyundai Mobis has developed a new material that reduces the use of expensive nickel metal in inductors, a key component in energy conversion for EVs. Hyundai succeeded in reducing the nickel content from 50% to 30%. DETAIL

CYBERSECURITY

• A Planned Parenthood office suffered a cyberattack last week that may have led a ransomware group to steal data from the reproductive health provider. News of the attack came from a ransomware group called RansomHub, which claims to have stolen 93GB of data from Planned Parenthood. It's threatening to leak the stolen data in a week. DETAIL

• Hackers in North Korea are conducting social engineering attacks on cryptocurrency companies, primarily targeting existing employees, the FBI warns. DETAIL

• Feds accuse Russia of hiring US influencers to spread disinformation. The scheme allegedly involved the Russian news outlet RT spending nearly $10 million to pay US right-wing pundits to spread propaganda through YouTube videos. DETAIL

• Data from Walt Disney that was leaked online this summer included financial and strategy information, as well as personally identifiable information of some staff and customers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. DETAIL

CURIOSITY

• Six Israeli hostages were found dead in a tunnel under the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said yesterday, an announcement that brought months of simmering public anger to a furious and grief-stricken boil. Thes spurs protests and division in Israel. DETAIL

• Chocolate makers' traditional relationship with the cocoa fruit is to use the seed and throw away the rest. However, scientists working in the food sector in Switzerland have found a way to produce chocolate using the entire cocoa fruit. And without using sugar... DETAIL

• Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasa Mahkemesi, sokakta yaşayan hayvanlarla ilgili yeni yasal düzenlemenin iptal isteminin esastan görüşülmesine karar verdi. DETAIL