"We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity." — E. O. Wilson
SUSTAINABILITY
The “wealthiest 10%” of people on the planet are “responsible” for 65% of the 0.61C increase in global average temperatures over 1990-2020, according to new research. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, uses a field of climate science called “attribution” to determine the contribution of the world’s “wealthiest population groups” to climate change through the greenhouse gases they emit. DETAIL
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV – formerly known as cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – “seems to have similar views on the environment as his predecessor”, according to Fast Company. Like Pope Francis, who “made the climate crisis a central issue of his papacy”, Leo has been “outspoken about the need for urgent climate action”, the article explains. DETAIL
US Congress has voted to end a Biden-era rule requiring rubber tyre makers to emit fewer greenhouse gases, the Associated Press reports. DETAIL
Record fossil fuel production kept planet-heating methane emissions near historic highs last year, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday, warning of a surge in massive leaks from oil and gas facilities. DETAIL
For the Financial Times, science journalist Anjana Ahuja reports on rediscovered coffee varieties that could be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. She writes: “Heat, drought and erratic rainfall in key growing countries like Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia spell weak and unpredictable harvests and precarious incomes for smallholder farmers, who grow the bulk of the world’s supply. While one solution is to shift production geographically as the climate changes, [some scientists] think a more sustainable answer is to diversify into climate-resilient choices among the 131 coffee species identified so far.” DETAIL
North American bird populations are plummeting, especially in drylands, grasslands and the Arctic where they have historically been most abundant, new research has found. The analysis of almost 500 species of North American birds indicates that three out of four species are suffering declines across their ranges, with two in three shrinking significantly. DETAIL
Democratic attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit in Boston federal court to attempt to block President Donald Trump’s plan to suspend permitting and leasing of new wind energy projects. DETAIL
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced that it will no longer track the costs of weather disasters triggered by climate change — floods, heat waves, wildfires and more — in the latest example of federal funding and agency changes to address climate change under Donald Trump. DETAIL
Research in PLOS Climate found that just 4% of hyperlinks point to “scientific sources” in 1.3m posts and 20.3m comments related to climate change on Reddit from 2009-22. DETAIL
Climate change intensified deadly rainfall and made storms more likely to occur in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and other states across the US south and midwest in early April, a new World Weather Attribution analysis found. DETAIL
Science Advances published a study finding that an unprecedented surge in concurrent heatwave-drought events from Eastern Europe to East Asia has been “amplified” by climate change. DETAIL
HEALTH
A few years ago, a Belgian man in his 30s drove into a lamppost. Twice. Local authorities found that his blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit. Over the space of a few years, the man was apprehended for drunk driving three times. And on all three occasions, he insisted he hadn’t been drinking. He was telling the truth. A doctor later diagnosed auto-brewery syndrome—a rare condition in which the body makes its own alcohol. Microbes living inside the man’s body were fermenting the carbohydrates in his diet to create ethanol. Last year, he was acquitted of drunk driving. DETAIL
An artificial intelligence model trained on the medical data of 57 million people who have used the National Health Service in England could one day assist doctors in predicting disease or forecast hospitalisation rates, its creators have claimed. However, other researchers say there are still significant privacy and data protection concerns around such large-scale use of health data, while even the AI’s architects say they can’t guarantee that it won’t inadvertently reveal sensitive patient data. DETAIL
A study of nearly 1,000 post-COVID-19 syndrome patients found two-thirds experience significant symptoms, such as reduced exercise capacity and cognitive performance, two years post-infection. Persistent symptoms include fatigue and neurocognitive issues, with worse outcomes for those with obesity, lower education, or severe initial infections. DETAIL
New research shows that HIV drugs called NRTIs may significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Analyzing two large health databases, scientists found that patients on NRTIs had a 6% to 13% annual decrease in Alzheimer’s risk. DETAIL
Adults ages 50 and over can be vaccinated against shingles. Past studies show the shingles vaccine may provide additional health benefits. A new study found that people who receive the shingles vaccine have a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events, with this protective benefit lasting for up to eight years after vaccination. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Imagine going for dinner with a group of friends who switch in and out of different languages you don’t speak, but still being able to understand what they’re saying. This scenario is the inspiration for a new AI headphone system that translates the speech of multiple speakers simultaneously, in real time. The system tracks the direction and vocal characteristics of each speaker, helping the person wearing the headphones to identify who is saying what in a group setting. DETAIL
In a pivotal advance for modern science, researchers have created the most universal and effective snake antivenom to date, which in trials conducted on mice managed to neutralize the venom of some of the most lethal snakes in the world, including the black mamba, king cobra, and tiger snakes. DETAIL
Amazon previewed Vulcan during a keynote at Robotics Summit & Expo 2025. Amazon's Vulcan robot uses touch and AI to pick and stow 75% of warehouse items. The robot can feel what it touches.
April 2025 was full of big changes for the robotics industry, including shake-ups at large companies, new deployments, and the announcement of this year’s RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards. In addition, the month closed with the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston. Would you like to have a loot at the 10 most popular articles on The Robot Report in the past month. DETAIL
Mysterious microbes living in wetlands in China have helped to narrow down when the ancestor of all animals and plants lived – and the oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere may have played a key role in its emergence. The new data brings us a step closer to understanding “an event which happened billions of years ago”, says Burak Avcı (I love to see Turkish scientists in such news) at Aarhus University in Denmark. DETAIL
Amazon's cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) has allegedly developed an artificial intelligence-powered tool. According to Business Insider, the tool, codenamed "Kiro," will be able to generate code using text commands and existing data. AWS will offer the tool at the end of June. DETAIL
New research shows that switching between actions is not simply stopping and starting again, but a unique brain mechanism that suppresses the previous action to initiate a new one. Using computational models, behavioral tasks, and clinical data from Parkinson’s patients, researchers found that stopping and switching are distinct cognitive motor processes. DETAIL
Researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have developed a high-entropy alloy (HEA) that maintains both strength and flexibility across an exceptionally wide temperature range—from -196 °C to 600 °C. This breakthrough opens new possibilities for use in aerospace, automotive, and energy industries where materials are exposed to extreme or fluctuating temperatures. DETAIL
Samsung has added a new feature to its digital wallet application, Samsung Wallet, which allows users to transfer money by clapping their phones. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Glīd, a developer of autonomous railway vehicles, announced that it will launch its GliderM and AR2RV vehicles, which can travel both on land and on rail, later this year as part of a pilot project it has implemented with Mendocino Railway. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
Wrong number scams are on the rise again thanks to AI. Generative AI is making this long-con text message scam easier and trickier than ever. DETAIL
CURIOSITY
The Wall Street Journal has a new story out on SpaceX’s ongoing attempt to incorporate its own town in a region of the Texas Gulf Coast, where the company’s Starbase, which it uses to test and launch rockets, is located. Currently, over 3,400 SpaceX employees and contractors are active around the base, and the company has increasingly sought to build up infrastructure and amenities to provide for that growing workforce. DETAIL