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Gates recently called for a ‘strategic pivot’ in climate strategy. That appears to have hit a nerve.

A California outfit has used artificial intelligence to design viral genomes before they were then built and tested in a laboratory. Following this, bacteria was then successfully infected with a number of these AI-created viruses, proving that generative models can create functional genetics. "The first generative design of complete genomes." That's what researchers at Stanford University and the Arc Institute in Palo Alto called the results of these experiments. A biologist at NYU Langone Health, Jef Boeke, celebrated the experiment as a substantial step towards AI-designed lifeforms, according to MIT Technology Review. "They saw viruses with new genes, with truncated genes, and even different gene orders and arrangements," Boeke said.

The author of Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination discusses the cost of Big Tech’s huge investment in technologies that may do more harm than good

The startup Gigablue announced with fanfare this year that it reached a historic milestone: selling 200,000 carbon credits to fund what it describes as a groundbreaking technology in the fight against climate change . But outside scientists frustrated by the lack of information released by the company say serious questions remain about whether Gigablue’s technology works as the company describes. Their questions showcase tensions in an industry built on little regulation and big promises — and a tantalizing chance to profit.

Alors que le gouvernement Trump enchaîne les fermetures de sites web fédéraux, de nombreuses organisations non partisanes s’efforcent d’archiver les données scientifiques, concernant notamment la santé et le climat, avant qu’elles ne disparaissent pour toujours. Une tâche ardue, constate “MIT Technology Review”.

Microplastics are ubiquitous environmental contaminants for which there are documented human exposures, but there is a paucity of research evaluating their impacts on human health. We conducted a rapid systematic review using the “Navigation Guide” systematic review method. We searched four databases in July 2022 and April 2024 with no restriction on the date.

An MIT Energy Initiative study finds many climate-stabilization plans are based on questionable assumptions about the future cost and deployment of “direct air capture” and therefore may not bring about promised reductions.

Yuval Noah Harari, renowned historian and author of “Nexus,” explores the indelible impact of AI on human society. We discuss his iconoclastic views on information networks, the inextricable link between technology and political systems, and actionable ways to navigate our rapidly changing world.

Some narratives in international development hold that ending poverty and achieving good lives for all will require every country to reach the levels of GDP per capita that currently characterise high-income countries. However, this would require increasing total global output and resource use several times over, dramatically exacerbating ecological breakdown. Furthermore, universal convergence along these lines is unlikely within the imperialist structure of the existing world economy. Here we demonstrate that this dilemma can be resolved with a different approach, rooted in recent needs-based analyses of poverty and development. Strategies for development should not pursue capitalist growth and increased aggregate production as such, but should rather increase the specific forms of production that are necessary to improve capabilities and meet human needs at a high standard, while ensuring universal access to key goods and services through public provisioning and decommodification. At the same time, in high

Firms are flocking to invest in geoengineering projects. Could such startups turn a profit by preventing climate peril? Luke Iseman is emboldened by all the criticism, personal attacks and negative press he has received. This article is guilty of feeding into that feedback loop — of lending some legitimacy to what he’s done. Many of the world’s atmospheric scientists will say this is dangerous, and they’re probably right.

Scientists may have to rethink the relationship between the ocean’s circulation and its long-term capacity to store carbon, new research from MIT suggests. As the ocean gets weaker, it could release more carbon from the deep ocean into the atmosphere — rather than less, as some have predicted.

Evidence shows a continuing increase in the frequency and severity of global heatwaves1,2, raising concerns about the future impacts of climate change and the associated socioeconomic costs3,4. Here we develop a disaster footprint analytical framework by integrating climate, epidemiological and hybrid input–output and computable general equilibrium global trade models to estimate the midcentury socioeconomic impacts of heat stress. We consider health costs related to heat exposure, the value of heat-induced labour productivity loss and indirect losses due to economic disruptions cascading through supply chains. Here we show that the global annual incremental gross domestic product loss increases exponentially from 0.03 ± 0.01 (SSP 245)–0.05 ± 0.03 (SSP 585) percentage points during 2030–2040 to 0.05 ± 0.01–0.15 ± 0.04 percentage points during 2050–2060. By 2060, the expected global economic losses reach a total of 0.6–4.6% with losses attributed to health loss (37–45%), labour productivity loss (18–37%) and i

Parce qu’elles cherchent à atteindre une frugalité efficace, ces initiatives intéressent un public grandissant à l’heure des dérèglements environnementaux et de la raréfaction des ressources.

Machine learning is producing impressive results, and, for better or worse, researchers are now using it to address the climate crisis, writes Frederick Hewett.

Wind, water and solar energy is cheap, effective and green. We don’t need experimental or risky energy sources to save our planet