“That nearly half of young people would prefer to grow up without the internet should be a wake-up call for all of us.” — Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smart Phone Free Childhood
“If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.” — David Suzuki
SUSTAINABILITY
Japan is moving forward with a large-scale offshore research program to explore “blue carbon” solutions—harnessing marine vegetation like seaweed and mangroves to absorb and store carbon dioxide in deep-sea environments. This strategy, backed by Japan’s Environment Ministry, is designed to complement existing decarbonisation efforts and help the country meet its 2050 net-zero emissions target. A senior ministry official noted. DETAIL
The world could see its first year of warming above 2°C by the end of the decade, leading climate scientists have warned for the first time. Each year, researchers at the Met Office – the UK’s national weather service – use observational climate data and modelling from institutions around the world to predict the global climate for the coming five years. DETAIL
In a new study, scientists have found that soil used for growing crops can contain up to 23 times more microplastics than the concentration found in oceans. DETAIL
President Donald Trump on Friday signed four executive orders intended to stimulate a “nuclear energy renaissance” by building new reactors to meet the electricity demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and other emerging industries. The executive orders clear a path for construction on America’s federal lands, allow for design testing of nuclear reactors at United States Department of Energy labs and “remove regulatory barriers by requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue timely licensing decisions,” a press release from the White House said. DETAIL
The European Union is closing in on its 2030 climate and energy targets, according to the European Commission’s latest assessment of Member States’ National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). Improved national commitments put the bloc within striking distance of its 55% net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goal—currently projected at 54% if all measures are fully implemented. DETAIL
A huge portion of a glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off from the mountainside, sending rock, mud and ice crashing onto the village of Blatten. Authorities had been warning of a potential collapse of the Birch glacier for weeks as cracks appeared in the ice. Webcam and drone images from 28 May show enormous plumes of dust billowing into the Alpine valley as the glacier finally collapsed, with a huge wave of mud and boulders covering the hillsides and most of the village. DETAIL
HEALTH
A nasty bacterial superbug that kills hundreds of thousands of people per year is spreading through hospitals — and it feeds on something surprising, scientists have now found. Researchers from the Brunel University of London have found, per a new study in the journal Cell, that the bacterial Pseudomonas aeruginosa appears to "digest" medical plastic. DETAIL
A new drug targeting inflammation in the brain has been shown to bolster the blood-brain barrier in mice, pioneering a potential shift in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. DETAIL
As we enter the colder months in Australia, covid is making headlines again, this time due to the emergence of a new variant: NB.1.8.1. Last week, the World Health Organization designated NB.1.8.1 as a “variant under monitoring”, owing to its growing global spread and some notable characteristics which could set it apart from earlier variants. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A robot called AI Strategist won the first kickboxing competition between humanoid robots in history, held in Hangzhou, eastern China.
The famous double-slit experiment suggests that when a particle of light, or photon, is fired at two thin slits, it could travel through both of them at once. This has led some physicists to argue for a “many worlds” interpretation, where a superposition of possible universes exist on top of each other, each of which contains photons moving through different paths. But now, researchers in Japan have created a more complex version of the double-slit experiment and claim to have direct evidence of a photon travelling through both slits at once – which could put a nail in the coffin of the multiverse. DETAIL
Last year, researchers showed that human brains are preserved surprisingly often in the archaeological record, in waterlogged graves, for example. Now, the same team has developed a technique for extracting and analysing the proteins in preserved brains, some up to 300 years old. The new method could reveal details of human history and prehistory, and of evolutionary history, that were previously impossible to know. That includes what animals ate, the microbes they had in their guts and even how human brain cells changed over evolutionary time. DETAIL
Weather forecasts based on AI are faster and sometimes more accurate than traditional ones, but they may miss rare and unprecedented weather events – which are becoming more common as the climate changes. DETAIL
Life is thought to have begun when RNA began replicating itself, and researchers have got close to achieving this in the lab. DETAIL
According to a recently-released working paper by a pair of economists at the University of Chicago and the University of Copenhagen that was spotted by Fortune, users of AI only saved on average three percent of time in their business lives. And only a meager three to seven percent of those productivity gains translated into bigger paychecks, they found. DETAIL
German Bionic has introduced its Exia AI-powered industrial exoskeleton. German Bionic says Exia learns from user movements and improves its assistance over time, making it useful for many industries. DETAIL
China has launched an ambitious mission to study two intriguing objects in our solar system, the likes of which have never been visited by a spacecraft before. The Tianwen-2 mission launched aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province at 1:31 p.m. ET on Wednesday (1:31 a.m. Thursday local time in China), according to the China National Space Administration. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that his Austin, Texas-based company is testing its robotaxi service without a safety operator in the driver's seat. DETAIL
Toyota Motor Corporation has acquired a 15.3% stake in Joby Aviation through a $250 million equity investment, further solidifying its role in shaping the electric air taxi firm's manufacturing and future operations. The funding, which forms the first half of a previously announced $500 million commitment, underscores the deepening partnership between the Japanese automotive giant and the California-based eVTOL developer. According to Joby, proceeds will support its push toward aircraft certification and commercial-scale production. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
Hundreds of thousands of customer files have been discovered leaking from an unprotected instance. Researchers believe the data exposed mostly American customers of Etsy, Poshmark, and TikTok shops. DETAIL
Move over United States and Europe, the Middle East region of the world is experiencing an uptick in ransomware attacks, including the latest breach of Coca-Cola by the Everest gang just this past week. DETAIL
Russia is modernizing its nuclear weapon sites, including underground missile silos and support infrastructure. Data, including building plans, diagrams, equipment, and other schematics, is accessible to anyone in the public procurement database. DETAIL
CURIOSITY
Tchibo Turkey General Manager Burak Deniz shared up-to-date information about the coffee market, which has been growing by double digits every year, and said, “Coffee consumption equaled tea for the first time last year. This was achieved with a total volume of 27 billion TL sold in the market. We expect coffee to surpass tea for the first time in 2025.” DETAIL
What would you think if it was said that Influencers, who seem to live a glittering life and make easy money, may experience burnout syndrome, and some of them even consider returning to the "white collar" positions they escaped without looking back? We think you will find this article interesting. DETAIL