SUSTAINABILITY
CoreLogic’s 2024 Severe Convective Storm Report highlights the escalating risk of severe thunderstorms in the U.S. after 2023 marked 141 days of large hail, the highest in two decades, CoreLogic reports. DETAIL
Many proposed solutions to global warming, such as capturing carbon directly from the air and burying it deep in the earth, are complex, untested, and expensive. What if there were a low-tech solution to this problem that not only is effective and economical, but also has a successful funding model? An example of such an opportunity comes from a surprisingly simple and essentially “no-tech” strategy to capture more carbon from the atmosphere: increase global whale populations. Marine biologists have recently discovered that whales—especially the great whales—play a significant role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere (Roman and others 2014). And international organizations have implemented programs such as Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD) that fund the preservation of carbon-capturing ecosystems. Adapting these initiatives to support international efforts to restore whale populations could lead to a breakthrough in the fight against climate change. DETAIL
A notorious ocean pollution site off the coast of Los Angeles could be even more deadly than once believed, containing not just toxic chemicals but low-level radioactive waste, The LA Times reports. This "graveyard" of discarded barrels half-sucked into the seafloor has been the center of speculation for years. Scientists once suspected that the barrels contained a dangerous pesticide called DDT because large amounts of the substance were dumped in the area in the past and can still be detected in heavy concentrations today. DETAIL
The authorities in Kazakhstan have imposed a fine of $780,000 on an oil company responsible for one of the worst methane leaks ever recorded following a prolonged fire at one of its fields last year. Buzachi Neft, a private oil company, saw a months-long fire at its Karaturun field in southwestern Kazakhstan during drilling at an exploration well in 2023. DETAIL
A deadly bird flu strain reached mainland Antarctica for the first time, leading scientists to worry about the fate of its penguins and other species. DETAIL
HEALTH
Type 2 diabetes is manageable and potentially reversible through medications and lifestyle changes. A new study has found red light therapy reduced blood sugar levels in healthy participants. The study authors suggest red light therapy could help people with type 2 diabetes manage their condition. DETAIL
A cancer diagnosis often comes with a host of difficult decisions, including what to do about the impact of treatment on a person’s fertility. Many individuals grappling with this dual burden turn to in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a way to preserve their reproductive options. That’s why cancer patients and oncologists are expressing shock and anxiety about the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered children under the law. DETAIL
A drug long used to treat asthma can help protect people from dangerous – even fatal – food allergies, a study published Sunday in the respected New England Journal of Medicine found. DETAIL
Pfizer (PFE.N), opens new tab on Thursday said a single dose of its new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo maintained its ability to protect against the illness through a second year of respiratory disease season. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE /AI
In their research paper, UC Riverside Associate Professor Hung-Wei Tseng and Ph.D. candidate Kuan-Chieh Hsu find that current computers are "underutilizing" their potential processing power. They show how a new model, dubbed "Simultaneous and Heterogenous Multithreading" (SHMT), allows computers to engage in a new type of parallel processing where different hardware components can process the same data at the same time. DETAIL
Chinese technology company Honor on Sunday globally launched its new Magic 6 Pro smartphone and showcased an experimental eye-tracking AI function that enables users to remotely open and move their car just by looking at their phone screen. DETAIL
The first human being to receive a brain chip from Elon Musk's Neuralink can apparently control a computer mouse just by thinking, according to Musk. DETAIL
Pigs that have been given genetically engineered immunity to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a major and costly disease, could be on the market within two years. DETAIL
As Space.com reports, the uber-powerful James Webb Space Telescope and its predecessor, the Hubble, have observed a super-long gamma-ray burst (GRB) that occurred when two dense neutron stars collided millions of years ago — and the result, as the telescopes' instruments detected, was quite literally pure gold. DETAIL
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spotted a rare and "extremely red" supermassive black hole lurking in one of the most ancient corners of the universe. Astronomers suggest the vermilion black hole was the result of an expanding universe just 700 million years following the Big Bang, as detailed in a paper published this month in the journal Nature. Its colors are likely due to a thick layer of dust blocking much of its light, they posit. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Scientists in Berlin have investigated the extent to which sodium-ion batteries can be made more stable by doping their cathode material with foreign elements. Scandium and magnesium were used. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
Canadian federal police said on Friday their systems were targeted by an "alarming" cyberattack but there was no impact on operations and no known threat to the safety of Canadians. DETAIL
U.S.-based medical devices provider Rotech Healthcare (ROTK.O), opens new tab said on Friday it was reviewing a list of patients who may have been impacted due to a cybersecurity breach experienced by its partner Philips' (PHG.AS), opens new tab Respironics unit. Orlando-based Rotech said in a statement that Respironics, which sells breathing devices and ventilators to treat sleep apnea, was made aware on June 5 of a privacy incident where an unauthorized third-party exploited a software to access information stored on its server. DETAIL
En çok sayıda Bitcoin'e sahip halka açık şirket olarak bilinen MicroStrategy’nin X hesabı kötü niyetli kişiler tarafından ele geçirildi ve hacker’lar, X hesabı üzerinden sahte bir airdrop ilan ederek kısa sürede binlerce dolarlık kripto varlık çaldı. DETAIL
UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), opens new tab said on Thursday a cyberattack at its tech unit, Change Healthcare, was perpetrated by hackers who identified themselves as the "Blackcat" ransomware group. The statement confirms a Reuters report on Monday. UnitedHealth had initially blamed a "suspected nation-state associated cybersecurity threat actor" for the disruption. DETAIL
HUMAN
A juvenile Gila monster named Winston is a key suspect in the death of his owner, who is currently suspected of having had a sensitivity to the lizard's toxic saliva. The Colorado man passed away on 16 February just four days after being bitten by the reptile, potentially becoming just the second person in the past century to have died as a result of Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) venom. DETAIL