Environmental and human rights groups sent an open letter to Tesla and CEO Elon Musk urging them to avoid investing in Indonesia's nickel mining industry, citing environmental damage and harm to indigenous communities. The letter follows a May meeting between Musk and Indonesian President Joko Widodo where Tesla investment was reportedly discussed.
Biologist Dan Metcalfe built a 873-square-meter mesh curtain at Peru's Wayqecha Biological Station to block mist from a cloud forest patch, simulating the rising clouds that climate models predict. The experiment, the only one of its kind, aims to reveal how cloud forests respond to reduced moisture, with first data expected within months.
A free browser-based virtual laboratory at interactive.quantumnano.at lets students run quantum physics experiments that mirror real lab work. It offers guided programs on concepts such as delocalized complex molecules and the wave-particle dualism, removing the need for expensive equipment or institutional support.
Nuclear physicists are increasingly confident that practical fusion energy could arrive by the 2030s, according to a Medium feature by Brian Bergstein. General Fusion CEO Christofer Mowry said he is '100 percent confident' fusion will happen and hopes for a prototype by 2022, while MIT engineers pursue smaller, more practical reactor designs.
Ghost Robotics' Q-UGV robodog equipped with a SWORD International rifle has drawn criticism from AI experts Toby Walsh and Stuart Russell, who warn it crosses ethical and legal lines, while Michael Horowitz says it may not raise new issues beyond existing armed drones.
Researchers are testing carbon nanotube fibers as a soft, conductive alternative to metal wires in heart rhythm devices. The fibers, originally developed for airplanes, may reduce scar tissue and could begin human trials in the next few years.
Mars City Design, founded by Vera Mulyani, raised $30,382 on Kickstarter to build three 3D-printed to-scale habitat prototypes at the Reaction Research Society's Mojave Desert test area. A September workshop at USC will bring together engineers and architects, including NASA's Jim Erickson and Apollo 11 pilot Buzz Aldrin, to plan features of the first Martian city.
A three-year Georgia Tech study led by professor David Hu used student Chris Zuo as human bait to track mosquito flight paths, yielding data from 20 million individual flights. The research identified distinct mosquito behaviors—wandering, fly-bys, double-takes, and frenzied orbits—based on visual and carbon dioxide cues, and predicted which body areas are most prone to bites.
Prince William announced the Earthshot Prize, a multimillion-pound initiative to address climate, air pollution, and freshwater challenges. The program will award five prizes annually for 10 years, aiming for at least 50 solutions by 2030. David Attenborough called it 'the most prestigious environmental prize in history.'
Research published in Nature Geoscience found that 90 million years ago, a 100,000-year warming period caused global forest fires that destroyed 30 to 40 percent of forests, even in humid regions. The University of Colorado Boulder scientists warn that current climate change and nutrient runoff are recreating those conditions.
Researchers at Clarkson University have found that surplus milk, typically discarded by dairy farms, can be converted into activated carbons for carbon capture. The study, published in Advanced Sustainable Systems, suggests a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative to materials like coconut shells or coal.
University of Florida researchers used gold and light-driven crystal growth to produce high-yield gold nanoprisms, a first for plasmonic synthesis. The method replaces silver, which limits biomedical use, and relies on PVP and low-power visible light.
Israeli missile strikes destroyed four oil depots and a gasoline logistics site in Tehran, killing six and sending thick black smoke into the sky. The resulting acidic black rain, which the Red Crescent Society warned could cause chemical burns and lung damage, has compounded Tehran's existing environmental crises.
Denmark's wind turbines generated 116% of national electricity demand, rising to 140% by 3am Friday, according to grid operator Energinet. Surplus power was shared with Germany, Norway, and Sweden via interconnectors, with most stored in hydropower systems. An industry official says Denmark could reach 50% renewable electricity before its 2020 target.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved the first on-line refueling of a thorium-powered molten salt reactor in the Gobi Desert, following full-power operation last June. The two-megawatt research unit advances thorium's potential as a less weaponizable alternative to uranium, building on public U.S. research from the 1940s and 50s.
A University of Ottawa team led by Andrew Pelling found that Irish soda bread, after sterilization and chemical treatment, can support the growth of human muscle, skin, and bone cells. The preprint study suggests bread could replace costly collagen scaffolds, potentially lowering costs for medical treatments and lab-grown meat, though viability remains unproven.
A study in the Journal for Industrial Ecology found that Swedish men's consumer spending caused 16 percent more carbon emissions than women's, despite spending only 2 percent more money. The gap is driven largely by men's higher spending on cars, fuel, and meat. Researchers suggest policies targeting men's transportation and dietary habits could help reduce emissions.
A minutephysics video explains how quantum teleportation relies on entanglement to transmit a quantum state from one particle to another. Scientists have transported a single photon or electron about 100km, though the technique remains far from moving large objects. The explanation is linked to recent work on direct counterfactual quantum communication using the Zeno effect.
An international team reports in Nature that 'dark points' within light waves can move faster than light without violating relativity, confirming a 1978 prediction by Michael Berry. The finding, captured with a modified electron microscope, advances microscopy rather than enabling faster-than-light travel.
Newly released Pentagon hazard reports describe unidentified aerial phenomena encountered by US Navy pilots, including a 2014 object about the size of a suitcase and a 2013 object with an approximately 5-foot wingspan. The reports follow the Department of Defense's formal release of three unclassified UFO videos.