SUSTAINABILITY
Four global industry leaders—Honeywell, Johnson Matthey, GIDARA Energy, and SAMSUNG E&A—have formed a strategic technology alliance to deliver a comprehensive, modular solution for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biomass and municipal solid waste. DETAIL
Verde Resources Inc., through its subsidiary Verde Renewables Inc., has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc., advancing the commercialization of a low-carbon, biochar-infused asphalt solution in the U.S. market. DETAIL
Most companies in Europe are not in favor of the European Commission’s “Omnibus” initiative to reduce the sustainability reporting requirements and the scope of companies covered under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with a majority reporting being satisfied with the CSRD in its current form, although supportive of some improvements, according to a new survey released by professional network #WeAreEurope. DETAIL
EU Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho announced that she has opened an inquiry into the process behind the European Commission’s Omnibus proposal to simplify and reduce corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, following complaints alleging that the Commission failed to meet procedural requirements in preparing the proposals. DETAIL
Climate solutions provider Watershed announced the launch of an open and free version of its global emissions database, in a move aimed at enabling organizations and companies to make more accurate decarbonization decisions. DETAIL
The EU's climate science adviser – the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) – has warned the bloc against watering down climate targets, Reuters reports. The newswire says: “The European Commission plans to propose in July a legally binding target to cut EU countries' emissions by 90% by 2040, from 1990 levels. But faced with pushback from governments, Brussels is assessing options including setting a lower target for domestic industries, and using international carbon credits to make up the gap to 90%. DETAIL
The Trump administration has announced plans to eliminate federal protections across millions of acres of “Alaskan wilderness”, the New York Times reports. According to the newspaper, the move will “allow drilling and mining in some of the last remaining pristine wilderness in the country”. DETAIL
“At least 32 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced across northeastern India after relentless monsoon rains caused flash floods and landslides, overwhelming infrastructure and cutting off communities in five states,” the Independent reports. DETAIL
The Spanish government is preparing to ban commonly used plastics as part of its efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. The bill would ban flushing wet wipes down the toilet and releasing balloons into the air, two of the 10 most common single-use items on European coasts and rivers. DETAIL
Turkmenistan said on Thursday that it had significantly reduced a gas fire that has been burning for half a century at a site known as the 'Gateway to Hell.' The fire has been raging in the Karakum Desert since 1971, when Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground gas pocket and decided to ignite it. It had been emitting a large amount of methane. DETAIL
European Investment Bank pledged to invest 15 billion euros ($17 billion) in projects that help reduce water pollution, prevent water wastage, and support innovative businesses in the water sector over the next three years. The commitment by the European Union's lending arm is part of the bloc's strategy to tackle water shortages and droughts made worse by climate change, and address the intense pressure on water supplies from farming, pollution and sprawling urbanisation. DETAIL
Scientists have discovered that the tiny green organisms often referred to as “pond scum” offer a low-tech, low-cost method of cleaning domestic sewage in place of expensive wastewater treatment facilities. DETAIL
HEALTH
A new study presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) reports that adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy after surgery for stage 3 colon cancer may help cut a person's rate of recurrence and death in half. DETAIL
Is ADHD in children on the rise? An assessment of thousands of studies released since 2020 suggests, surprisingly, that the answer is no – but the researchers behind the work have expressed their frustration at the poor quality of data available, meaning that that the true picture remains murky. DETAIL
Researchers have a new hypothesis for how brain cells called astrocytes might contribute to memory storage in the brain. Their model, known as dense associative memory, would help explain the brain's massive storage capacity. DETAIL
MIT research finds that an easily measurable brain wave change may be a universal sign of loss of consciousness under anesthesia. DETAIL
An elusive fungus capable of generating quantities of a compound used to synthesize the hallucinogen LSD has finally been discovered on the morning glory vine after decades of searching. DETAIL
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently declared that he will greatly expand people’s access to experimental and alternative medical treatments, even while acknowledging that a “lot of charlatans” are likely to take advantage of suffering people as a result. DETAIL
A new type of mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1, according to a new study. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A never-before-seen type of giant space explosion – the biggest bangs since the Big Bang – has been accidentally captured by the Gaia space telescope. From the hearts of distant galaxies, the mapping telescope recorded sudden, extreme increases in brightness – colossal flares of light that lingered far longer than any such flares had been known to previously. DETAIL
Scientists developed a kind of 'living concrete' that heals its own cracks. DETAIL
The artificial intelligence platforms that are being produced are not only producing content, but are also reshaping the digital world in terms of user interaction. ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and similar tools have transformed into an area where users are making an effort like a digital partner that is emerging from a place where they only ask questions and include their answers. The fact that the average working time on these platforms exceeds 6 minutes has made a significant difference compared to the few seconds of interaction on traditional search engines. DETAIL
The latest generation of artificial intelligence models seem to have a human-level understanding of the world, but it turns out that their lack of sensory information – and a body – places limits on how well they can comprehend concepts like a flower or humour. Researchers asked humans and large language models about their understanding of almost 4500 words – everything from “flower” and “hoof” to “humorous” and “swing”. It turns out that people and AI have a similar conceptual map of words that don’t relate to interactions with the outside world, but differ greatly when words are linked to senses and physical actions. For instance, the AI models tended to believe that one could experience flowers via the torso – something that most humans would find odd, preferring to appreciate them visually or with a sniff. DETAIL
Founded in 2016, Builder.ai attracted attention with its artificial intelligence solution Natasha, which it claimed to automate long-standing application development processes. The company became one of the leading startups in the sector in 2023 with the 455 million investment it received from Microsoft. However, findings that emerged in May 2025 showed that the system was largely based on human labor and that the artificial intelligence claims were true. Following the scandal, the company went bankrupt. DETAIL
Japanese scientists at Nara Medical University have developed an artificial blood that works for all blood types and can be stored for up to two years at room temperature, potentially solving critical challenges in emergency medicine and blood supply management worldwide. DETAIL
A trial of an interactive game that trains people to alter their brain waves has shown promise as a treatment for nerve pain -- offering hope for a new generation of drug-free treatments. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Continental developed a new sensor technology that measures the temperature inside permanently excited synchronous motors directly on the rotor. This will reduce rare material components. DETAIL
Factorial Energy, the US specialist in solid-state batteries backed by Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai-Kia, has delivered its first cells for use in drones. This is expected to increase both range and payload capacity. DETAIL
The new German government is apparently rushing to launch the first subsidy measures for electric vehicles. As part of a larger package, electric cars are to be made more attractive for companies with special depreciation allowances to be available from July. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
The US has taken down an antivirus-scanning service that cybercriminals used to improve their malware and beat detection on PCs. The site, AvCheck.net, had been around for years, offering registered users access to a wide range of antivirus-scanning engines. But the domain has since been replaced with a seizure notice from the US Justice Department, FBI, and Dutch National Police. DETAIL
Social media platform TikTok has launched its AI-powered "Smart Keyword Filters" feature to increase users' control over the content they encounter in their For You feeds. DETAIL
CURIOSITY
An elephant, estimated to be 30 years old, entered a grocery store in Thailand and ate nine packs of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and several packs of dried bananas, security cameras captured.