Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems. Ocean acidification is approaching a critical threshold, particularly in higher-latitude regions, says the latest report on planetary Read more…
An international team of scientists published a peer-reviewed paper Thursday saying genetic evidence indicates the coronavirus pandemic most likely originated with a natural spillover from an animal or animals sold in a market in Wuhan, China, where many of the first human cases of covid-19 were identified. The paper, which Read more…
Scientists in Brazil found microplastics in the brain tissue of cadavers, according to a new study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open. Mounting research over the last few years has found microplastics in nearly every organ in the body, as well as in the bloodstream and in plaque Read more…
Google’s philanthropic arm is partially funding a new initiative that aims to deploy more than 50 small satellites in low-Earth orbit to pinpoint flare-ups as small as a classroom anywhere in the world. The FireSat constellation, managed by a nonprofit called Earth Fire Alliance (EFA), will be the first satellite Read more…
Two astronauts, billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, completed the world’s first private spacewalk outside a SpaceX capsule, testing new spacesuits and procedures in a risky mission that pushes the boundaries of commercial spaceflight. The astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission went one at a time, each spending Read more…
With electricity demand from AI becoming so “crazy,” Oracle’s Larry Ellison announced the company is designing a data center that will be powered by three small nuclear reactors capable of providing more than a gigawatt of electricity. “The location and the power place we’ve located, they’ve already got building permits Read more…
Google has signed a $10 million deal to pull 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide out of the air. The company will buy direct air capture (DAC) credits from startup Holocene, to be delivered in the early 2030s. The deal is the lowest price on record for DAC, at $100 per Read more…