by Paul Spence – Founder Genius ReFi It has been interesting following the unfolding political and economic events that matter to Europeans of late as the global geopolitical landscape has become disrupted in 2025. Meanwhile as American civil society continues to unravel, science funding is being slashed and top universities find themselves under siege. We…
Darwin, a biodiversity startup, has recently secured funding to further develop its nature-based solutions platform. The platform leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, to address complexity around biodiversity analysis and footprint assessment for consultancies. The company’s core mission is to assist the private sector to be agents of change in the protection of global…
Surfactants have a wide range of applications within households, such as soap, dishwashing liquid and cosmetics. But the current production process is carbon-intensive and waste water flows containing surfactant can be harmful to the environment. But recently a student team from France has been developing a greener alternative that could replace current surfactant chemicals. Made…
Increasing electricity prices and fluctuations in the availability of renewable energy inspired some creative thinking around alternative ways to generate power. Now a pioneering company in sustainable energy solutions, is finding its feet with a growing fanbase and a bunch of new installations at universities and innovation centres globally. Can footstep generated energy light up…
The 2016 Paris Agreement set the amibitious goal of achieving global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and limiting temperature rise to 1.5 deg C. With the temperature increase limit almost breached this year, analysts and commentators have already set to work digesting the outcomes of the latest climate COP. Some progress is better than none…
Development of fusion energy has been frustratingly just over the horizon for decades. But a New Zealand physics engineering research company delivered on its promise this week by creating first plasma with an edgy reactor design. Now the challenge is to scale the technology. OpenStar Technologies joins the ranks of stellar ventures mythically founded in…
With an estimated 1 million plant and animal species currently facing extinction, member countries of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) devised a framework with 23 targets aimed at stemming the loss of nature by 2030. That was two years ago. This week representatives from 196 nations will reconvene in Cali, Colombia at…
A complex plant alkaloid extracted from the humble daffodil has been demonstrating some extraordinary curative properties in humans. Now with the help of a $4 million investment and a collaborative research project with Lincoln University in New Zealand, the same compound is being investigated as a feed additive to reduce methane emissions from livestock. The…
Human impacts such as over-fishing, climate change and pollution are causing sea urchins to thrive, leading to the destruction of kelp and desertification of the sea floor in places. The dramatic worldwide loss of kelp forests means fewer safe birthing grounds for many species of fish. But marine eco-farmers Urchinomics are working to turn around…
Metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOS-FETs) form the basis of modern integrated circuits due to their versatility and high density. The foundational technology dates back a century, but it was not until the early 1960s when breakthroughs in semiconductor chemistry allowed the development of the first working transistors, which subsequently evolved into the silicon micro-circuitry that we…
