What Lee Zeldin’s Nomination Means for the EPA

What to expect: deregulation justified as boosts for the economy, and platitudes about the importance of clean air and water.

https://www.wired.com/story/what-lee-zeldins-nomination-means-for-the-epa/ 

 Researchers Give Animal Cells the Ability to Photosynthesize for the First Time

A Japanese team has developed a technique to insert chloroplasts isolated from algae into animal cells, a feat that could revolutionize sustainable energy and how artificial meat and organs are created.

https://www.wired.com/story/researchers-give-animal-cells-the-ability-to-photosynthesize-for-the-first-time/ 

 The Incredible Power of Quantum Memory

Researchers are exploring new ways that quantum computers will be able to reveal the secrets of complex quantum systems.

https://www.wired.com/story/quantum-memory-proves-exponentially-powerful/ 

 How a PhD Student Discovered a Lost Mayan City From Hundreds of Miles Away

WIRED spoke with the researchers responsible for the discovery of Valeriana, a lost Maya city in the middle of the jungle of Campeche.

https://www.wired.com/story/lost-maya-city-valeriana-interview/ 

 Hurricane Milton Shows How a Storm’s Category Doesn’t Tell the Full Story

Milton’s reclassification to a Category 3 storm suggests it is weakening, but the scale accounts only for wind speed and not hurricane size, storm surge heights, or rainfall—which are all catastrophically large.

https://www.wired.com/story/hurricane-milton-storm-category-doesnt-tell-full-story/ 

 ‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work

What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question.

https://www.wired.com/story/groups-underpin-modern-math-heres-how-they-work/ 

 Taiwan Makes the Majority of the World’s Computer Chips. Now It’s Running Out of Electricity

Highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, soon to shutter its last nuclear plant, and slow to build out renewables, the world’s largest producer of advanced computer chips is heading toward an energy crunch.

https://www.wired.com/story/taiwan-makes-the-majority-of-the-worlds-computer-chips-now-its-running-out-of-electricity/ 

 Wastewater Offers an Early Alarm System for Another Deadly Virus

A surveillance system proven during Covid-19 is now being used to track outbreaks of RSV.

https://www.wired.com/story/wastewater-offers-an-early-alarm-system-for-a-deadly-virus/ 

 Making an RSV Vaccine Was Hard. Getting People to Take It Is Even Harder

New vaccines could help stem the spread of respiratory syncytial virus, but there are already huge inequities in access and uptake.

https://www.wired.com/story/making-an-rsv-vaccine-was-a-challenge-getting-people-to-take-it-is-the-next/ 

 Formula E’s Race to Get the Whole World Electrified

Since launching in 2014, the world’s premier EV racing series has made huge technological leaps and gained hundreds of millions of fans. But CEO Jeff Dodds won’t rest until every new car is electric.

https://www.wired.com/story/wired-energy-tech-summit-jeff-dodds-formula-e/ 

 23andMe Is Sinking Fast. Can the Company Survive?

The home DNA testing boom is over, and 23andMe is running out of options.

https://www.wired.com/story/is-23andme-dead-at-home-genetic-testing-anne-wojcicki/ 

 These Record-Breaking New Solar Panels Produce 60 Percent More Electricity

Experimental cells that combine silicon with a material called perovskite have broken the efficiency record for converting solar energy—and could eventually supercharge how we get electricity.

https://www.wired.com/story/tandem-solar-panel-cells-efficiency-energy/ 

 In Praise of Climate Virtue Signaling

Politicians and other leaders don’t like to brag about their green credentials. But what if a little virtue is exactly what we’re missing?

https://www.wired.com/story/in-praise-of-climate-virtue-signaling/ 

 The Outrageous Scheme to Capture and Sell Greenland’s Meltwater

A startup says shipping meltwater from Greenland’s glaciers internationally will boost the local economy and could help ease water pressures in arid regions—but what does that actually mean for the world?

https://www.wired.com/story/the-outrageous-scheme-to-capture-and-sell-greenlands-meltwater/ 

 Alien Spaceships Could Be Detected Using Gravitational Waves

The concept of space-time makes Star Trek-style warp drives theoretically possible, and researchers have proposed a way of detecting their use.

https://www.wired.com/story/alien-spaceships-could-be-detected-using-gravitational-waves/ 

 Boeing Starliner Returns Home to an Uncertain Future

NASA has three more operational Starliner missions on the books. It hasn't yet decided if it will commit to any more than that.

https://www.wired.com/story/boeing-starliner-return-nasa-contract/ 

 Students Find New Evidence of the Impossibility of Complete Disorder

A new mathematic proof marks the first progress in decades on a problem about how order emerges.

https://www.wired.com/story/students-find-new-evidence-of-the-impossibility-of-complete-disorder/ 

 Scientists Plan ‘Doomsday’ Vault on Moon

Climate change is threatening Earth’s biodiversity. Could frozen regions of the moon be the best place to “back up” life-forms?

https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-want-to-build-a-doomsday-vault-on-the-moon/ 

 The Boeing Starliner Astronauts Will Come Home on a SpaceX Dragon

The decision will leave the crew on the ISS until February. The mission was initially supposed to last about a week.

https://www.wired.com/story/starliner-return-nasa-spacex-boeing-iss/ 

 Will the ‘Car-Free’ Los Angeles Olympics Work?

Organizers of the 2028 Summer Games will attempt to re-create the city’s public transport heyday of the early 20th century, but ousting the car—even for just a few weeks—will be costly.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-the-car-free-los-angeles-olympics-will-work/ 

 FDA Approves New Covid Vaccines Amid Summer Surge

The updated vaccines target the currently circulating KP.2 variant.

https://www.wired.com/story/new-updated-covid-vaccines-announcement-2024/ 

 Noah Lyles’ Olympic Run Is the New Normal for Living With Covid

Dozens of Olympic athletes competed with Covid as society increasingly treats it like the flu or the common cold. Public health experts warn that it's anything but.

https://www.wired.com/story/noah-lyles-covid-olympics-new-normal/ 

 The Benefits of Ozempic Are Multiplying

There’s mounting evidence that GLP-1 drugs have health benefits beyond diabetes and weight loss, for conditions ranging from addiction to Parkinson’s—and scientists are evolving theories of why.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-benefits-of-ozempic-are-multiplying/ 

 Public Health Experts Want the Olympics to Drop Its Oldest Sponsor

Scientists, activists, and ordinary petitioners want the Olympics to break with Coca-Cola, comparing it to the tobacco companies that long sponsored the Games. They aren’t holding their breath.

https://www.wired.com/story/public-health-experts-want-the-olympics-to-drop-its-oldest-sponsor/ 

 The Uncomfortable Truth About the UK’s Climate Policies

Britain’s former climate adviser says the country’s future plans are weak, climate protests are no longer helpful, and working closely with Big Oil is a jarring necessity.

https://www.wired.com/story/uk-climate-policies-chris-stark-protests-just-stop-oil/ 

 1 in 3 Americans Live in Areas With Dangerous Air Pollution

Climate change is increasing the number of days people are exposed to hazardous pollution, affecting already disadvantaged communities the most.

https://www.wired.com/story/one-in-three-americans-live-in-areas-with-dangerous-air-pollution/ 

 How NASA Repaired Voyager 1 From 15 Billion Miles Away

The far-traveled space probe is once again transmitting usable data, after a glitch caused months of gibberish.

https://www.wired.com/story/nasa-repair-voyager-1-spacecraft-data/ 

 Plant-Based Meat Boomed. Here Comes the Bust

Sales of vegan meat are trending downwards in the US, with companies scrambling to win back customers.

https://www.wired.com/story/plant-based-meat-sales-2023/ 

 Green Roofs Are Great. Blue-Green Roofs Are Even Better

Amsterdam is experimenting with roofs that not only grow plants but capture water for a building’s residents. Welcome to the squeezable sponge city of tomorrow.

https://www.wired.com/story/blue-green-roofs-amsterdam-resilio-climate-adaptation-sponge-cities/ 

 Unruly Gut Fungi Can Make Your Covid Worse

An infection can upset your microbiome, and if certain gut fungi run riot, this can kick the immune system into overdrive.

https://www.wired.com/story/unruly-gut-fungi-can-make-your-covid-worse-infection-coronavirus-candida-albicans/ 

 NASA Confirms Where the Space Junk That Hit a Florida House Came From

Space law just got a little more complicated.

https://www.wired.com/story/space-junk-international-space-station-florida-house-confirmred/ 

 We Finally Know Where Neuralink’s Brain Implant Trial Is Happening

After months of secrecy, Neuralink revealed that the partner site for its brain implant study is the Barrow Neurological Institute.

https://www.wired.com/story/neuralink-brain-implant-study-site/ 

 The Rise of the Carbon Farmer

Farmers around the world are reigniting the less intensive agricultural practices of yesteryear—to improve soil health, raise yields, and trap carbon in the atmosphere back down in the soil.

https://www.wired.com/story/carbon-farming-regenerative-agriculture/ 

 US Infrastructure Is Broken. Here’s an $830 Million Plan to Fix It

WIRED spoke with US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg about recent grants to fix ancient roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure before it’s too late.

https://www.wired.com/story/us-infrastructure-investment-pete-buttigieg-interview/ 

 The Paradox That's Supercharging Climate Change

Humanity needs to burn less fossil fuels. But that means fewer aerosols to help cool the planet—and a potential acceleration of global warming.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-paradox-thats-supercharging-climate-change/ 

 The Quest to Map the Inside of the Proton

Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of energies, forces, and pressures inside a subatomic particle for the first time.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-quest-to-map-the-inside-of-the-proton/ 

 Toronto Wants to Manage Storms and Floods—With a Rain Tax

Outcry reached such a crescendo last week that the city canceled public hearings on the tax, which is intended to help offset the hundreds of millions spent managing stormwater and basement flooding.

https://www.wired.com/story/rain-tax-toronto-canada-climate-change-weather/ 

 Can You Really Run on Top of a Train, Like in the Movies?

To pull off this classic Hollywood stunt, you gotta know your physics!

https://www.wired.com/story/can-you-really-run-on-top-of-a-train/ 

 Elon Musk’s Latest Mars Pitch Has Potential

SpaceX has made significant progress toward what once seemed an unattainable goal.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-mars-spacex-update/ 

 Europe Rules That Insufficient Climate Change Action Is a Human Rights Violation

In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Human Rights found that Switzerland had not done enough to protect its citizens from climate change—blowing open the door for further cases against governments.

https://www.wired.com/story/climate-change-action-human-rights-violation-europe/ 

 The Best Total Solar Eclipse Photos (2024)

Whether you're in the path of the totality or keeping track from afar, these are the best total solar eclipse photos we've found.

https://www.wired.com/story/total-solar-eclipse-best-photos/ 

 How Will the Solar Eclipse Affect Animals? NASA Needs Your Help to Find Out

NASA’s Eclipse Soundscapes project will collect observations and soundscapes recorded by the public during the April 8 total solar eclipse.

https://www.wired.com/story/solar-eclipse-nasa-soundscapes-citizen-science/ 

 He Got a Pig Kidney Transplant. Now Doctors Need to Keep It Working

Researchers think a combination of genetic edits and an experimental immunosuppressive drug could make the first pig kidney transplant a long-term success.

https://www.wired.com/story/pig-kidney-transplant-discharge-ongoing-care/ 

 Why the East Coast Earthquake Covered So Much Ground

Friday morning's earthquake was felt from New York City all the way to Washington, DC. Blame ancient fault lines and bedrock for the jolt.

https://www.wired.com/story/why-the-east-coast-earthquake-covered-so-much-ground/ 

 Spain's Tragic Tower Block Fire Exposes the World's Failing Fire Regulations

A deadly tower block blaze in Spain has focused attention on notorious flammable building materials—but around the world, there's little momentum to stop using them.

https://www.wired.com/story/valencia-tower-fire-grenfell-cladding-siding/ 

 Farming Prioritizes Cows and Cars—Not People

Farmers and scientists are getting better at growing more crops on less land, but they’re not focusing on plants that people eat.

https://www.wired.com/story/crop-yield-gap-maize-wheat/ 

 Wild Animals Should Be Paid for the Benefits They Provide Humanity

Healthy ecosystems in developing countries sequester carbon, regulate the weather, and help plants grow thousands of miles away. Wealthier countries benefit from these services—and so should pay for them to be maintained.

https://www.wired.com/story/wild-animals-paid-ecosystem-benefits-ecoflix-ian-redmond/ 

 Climate Finance Is Targeting the Wrong Industries

Roughly half of the world’s emissions currently can’t be reduced, yet green investment continues to avoid the sectors that need the most help—manufacturing, agriculture, and the built environment.

https://www.wired.com/story/climate-finance-wrong-targets-investment-green-daria-saharova/ 

 A Celebrated Cryptography-Breaking Algorithm Just Got an Upgrade

Two researchers have improved a well-known technique for lattice basis reduction, opening up new avenues for practical experiments in cryptography and mathematics.

https://www.wired.com/story/cryptography-algorithm-upgrade-security/ 

 Countries Are Building Giant ‘Sand Motors’ to Protect Their Coasts From Erosion

As sea levels rise, engineers are using massive Dutch-inspired sand sculptures to protect shorefront settlements.

https://www.wired.com/story/giant-sand-motors-coastal-erosion-netherlands-africa-uk-boskalis/ 

 These States Are Basically Begging You to Get a Heat Pump

You need a heat pump, ASAP. Now nine states are teaming up to accelerate the adoption of this climate superhero.

https://www.wired.com/story/these-states-are-basically-begging-you-to-get-a-heat-pump/ 

 A Study at the Center of the Abortion Pill Battle Was Just Retracted

A scientific publisher found serious flaws in a paper that links the medication mifepristone to more emergency room visits.

https://www.wired.com/story/abortion-pill-study-retracted/ 

 The US Has Big Plans for Wind Energy—but an Obscure 1920s Law Is Getting in the Way

The Biden administration aims to deploy offshore wind turbines capable of generating 30 gigawatts of power by 2030. With less than a decade to go, the country remains woefully behind target.

https://www.wired.com/story/us-energy-offshore-wind-jones-act-biden-law/ 

 You Can’t Buy Lab-Grown Meat Even If You Wanted To

The only two restaurants in the US to sell cultivated meat have paused sales for now, leaving the industry in a strange limbo.

https://www.wired.com/story/upside-foods-good-meat-cultivated-lab-grown-sale-stopped-singapore-california-crenn/ 

 Inside the Beef Industry’s Campaign to Influence Schoolchildren

Big Beef is wooing science teachers with webinars and lesson plans in an attempt to change students’ perceptions of the industry.

https://www.wired.com/story/beef-industry-school-education/ 

 Elon Musk Says a Human Patient Has Received Neuralink’s Brain Implant

Details are scarce, but Elon Musk says initial results are “promising.”

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-neuralink-human-patient-brain-implant/ 

 Texas Is Already Running Out of Water

Parts of the state are starting the year with low reserves. With light winter rains failing to replenish supply, and a scorching summer predicted, key areas may be pushed to the brink.

https://www.wired.com/story/texas-water-drought-winter-weather-shortage/ 

 How to Convince Your Flat-Earth Friends the Earth Is Round

Two experiments you can do yourself to finally, definitively put this question to rest.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-prove-the-earth-is-round/ 

 The Extreme Sport of Ice Climbing Is at Risk of Extinction

The winter sport is becoming more treacherous as the world warms and icefalls become less and less stable.

https://www.wired.com/story/ice-climbing-global-warming-switzerland-anna-torretta-dani-arnold-netflix/ 

 6 Deaf Children Can Now Hear After a Single Injection

Several gene therapies aim to restore a protein necessary for transmitting sound signals from the ear to the brain.

https://www.wired.com/story/deaf-children-hear-gene-therapy/ 

 The World's First Malaria Vaccine Program for Children Starts Now

On Monday, Cameroon became the first nation to establish routine childhood malaria immunizations. The race is on to give protection to as many people as possible.

https://www.wired.com/story/malaria-vaccine-routine-childhood-camaroon/ 

 A Gene-Edited Pig Liver Was Attached to a Person—and Worked for 3 Days

Researchers want to use genetically engineered pig organs to help support people with liver failure.

https://www.wired.com/story/gene-edited-liver-attached-to-person/ 

 The Murky Campaign to Discredit Lab-Grown Meat

A new ad campaign is targeting the cultivated meat industry on TV and online. Industry supporters criticize it as unscientific.

https://www.wired.com/story/cultivated-meat-pr-cew-center-environment-welfare-berman/ 

 Trawling Boats Are Hauling Up Ancient Carbon From the Ocean Depths

The world’s trawlers are stirring carbon dioxide into the water—and into the atmosphere.

https://www.wired.com/story/trawlers-release-co2-into-ocean-atmosphere/ 

 Scabies Is Making a Comeback

Cases of scabies, a highly contagious parasitic skin disease, are on the rise across Europe. The UK in particular is struggling with a shortage of treatments.

https://www.wired.com/story/scabies-outbreak-uk-europe-treatment-shortages-drug-resistance-permethrin-ivermectin/