SUSTAINABILITY
China will need to install around 10,000 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, according to new Chinese government-endorsed research. DETAIL
Building and construction consumes 32 percent of the world’s energy while contributing 34 percent of its carbon emissions. The sector depends on materials like steel and cement that are major contributors to construction waste and are also responsible for 18 percent of emissions worldwide. While more countries are working toward decarbonizing their buildings, slow financing and progress is putting climate goals at risk, according to a new report published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). DETAIL
California now has more EV charging stations than gas pumps, a significant milestone on its road to stopping the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. DETAIL
HEALTH
In a new research paper, scientists say they’ve discovered a naturally occurring hormone that might help people lose weight while avoiding the side effects commonly associated with semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) and similar drugs. DETAIL
Carnosic acid is found in rosemary and sage and is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; however, it is unstable in its pure form. Now researchers in California have synthesized a stable derivative of the compound, which showed promising results in mouse models of Alzheimer's. Mice that were given the stable derivative had boosts in memory, more neuron synapses, reduced inflammation, and more removal of toxic proteins that are linked to Alzheimer's. DETAIL
Monkeys infected with Ebola can be cured with a pill, according to a new study out Friday that could pave the way for more practical, affordable treatments in humans. First identified in 1976 and thought to have crossed over from bats, Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, causing severe bleeding and organ failure. DETAIL
A recent study tests a new drug, gantenerumab on people with a genetically inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease. For people with this condition, dementia is almost inevitable. Gantenerumab helps eliminate one of the neurological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s, called amyloid plaques. For some participants, gantenerumab reduced their risk of developing the disease by more than 50%. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Mercedes announced that it has started humanoid robot trials at its Berlin factory. Artificial intelligence robots are trained and assist people in the production process.
Cursor AI, a special AI editor that was supposed to help write code, surprised everyone by telling its user to "do your own work". DETAIL
Baleen whales undertake some of the longest yearly migrations, with humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) travelling up to 8,300 km (about 5,150 miles) from Antarctica to warmer wintering grounds. With them, the whales shuttle resources from nutrient-rich polar regions to the less resourced warmer regions of the oceans. Amazingly enough, a huge amount of this nutrient distribution comes from whale urine, which disperses nitrogen and other elements through the ocean when nature inevitably calls. DETAIL
Last year, a controversial paper claimed that metallic nodules on the seafloor produce enough oxygen to shape local ecosystems and might have even played a role in the evolution of life. Now, the same team has shown that a newly-discovered mechanism carried out by two strains of deep-sea bacteria could explain the oxygen production – and might even be happening on other planets, too. “Microbial dark oxygen could be a significant oxygen source in nitrate-rich ocean worlds, even in the absence of light,” the team’s paper states. DETAIL
Weather forecasting has, since the 1950s, relied on physics-based models making extremely intensive calculations that use vast, expensive and energy-hungry supercomputers. Now, an AI weather program running for a single second on a desktop can match the accuracy of traditional forecasts that take hours or days on powerful supercomputers, according to its creators. DETAIL
A new species of dinosaur found at a Mongolian building site has the largest fully preserved claw ever found. The bipedal, herbivorous animal had only two fingers on each hand, which it may have used to grasp branches and pull them towards its mouth. DETAIL
On the brink of a revolution: 'Most secure VPN ever' launched. 'Internet surveillance can now be used to target and harm people, so we take that very seriously,' Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym, told Euronews. DETAIL
Apple has been hit with a lawsuit for delaying, and thereby falsely advertising, Apple Intelligence features, Axios reports. According to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in San Jose on Wednesday, Apple advertised Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone 16 lineup despite knowing “it could not actually provide the capabilities that it was advertising.” DETAIL
Scientists added a human-specific “language gene” to mice and the results weird! DETAIL
A team led by Chinese scientists has broken a record by achieving quantum communication over a distance of 12,900 meters. The experiment is seen as groundbreaking as it demonstrates the potential for secure quantum communication on a global scale. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Stellantis is set to grow its quadricycle business through a strategic partnership with Swedish firm Luvly, which claims it can lower the cost of shipping with 'IKEA-style' flat pack components. Stellantis says it will begin by assessing the viability of Luvly's production methods. DETAIL
According to 24M, the Eternalyte electrolyte is designed to significantly improve the charging speed and performance of today’s batteries in cold temperatures. It was first unveiled in February 2024 and initially developed for lithium-metal batteries. Now, the range has been extended to include silicon- and graphite-based batteries used in applications that require high power and low-temperature performance “with outstanding rapid charging rates and longevity,” says 24M. DETAIL
A UK-based manufacturer of magnet-free electric motors, Advanced Electric Machines (AEM) has today revealed its second generation HDRM300C motor. It uses compressed coil technology and promises increased power density and efficiency over conventional wire layouts. DETAIL
Thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks have been recalled in the US due to concerns about part of the electric car's trim falling off in the model's eighth and largest ever recall. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
A former college football coach at the University of Michigan has been charged for hacking into student athlete databases at over 100 colleges and universities. On Thursday, the Justice Department charged 42-year-old Matthew Weiss, a former co-offensive coordinator, for computer-hacking related crimes that involved downloading data about more than 150,000 student athletes. DETAIL
CURIOSITY
The San Francisco Standard reports that Lurie’s (mayor of the city)administration has quietly launched two different (and ostensibly separate) initiatives designed to allow private, well-heeled members of the city’s upper crust to have a larger influence over the city’s political system. The first of those initiatives is a new mayoral council, dubbed the Partnership for San Francisco, that includes a host of powerful and influential Silicon Valley executives. The council will apparently include the likes of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and others, and will be headed by three women: Katherine August-deWilde, a former president of First Republic Bank, Steve Jobs’s widow and owner of The Atlantic, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Ruth Porat, the president and chief investment officer of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. DETAIL
an order blocking Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing systems at the Social Security Administration (SSA) that store the personal information of millions of Americans.In the Thursday ruling, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland accused DOGE of being “essentially engaged in a fishing expedition” in search of fraud based on “little more than suspicion.” Hollander said DOGE “never identified or articulated” a reason why it needs access to the “personal and private data of millions of Americans.” DETAIL
Members of Germany's upper house have approved a landmark bill that plans to use hundreds of billions of euros for defence and infrastructure projects. DETAIL