UK Passports Are About To Change In Major Way – Here’s What You Should Know
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Major Mayan city discovered by scrolling past page 1 in Google search
Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. Except for things at the extreme ends of observation, everything of consequence has already been discovered. At least, that’s how it seems sometimes. But even without a particle collider or a next-generation telescope, exciting discoveries can still be made. Discoveries like a decent-sized Mayan city, and sometimes, all it takes is a simple Google search. The city, which at its peak around 800 AD had up to 50,000 inhabitants, covered an area of about 6.4 square miles (16.6 km2) and featured pyramids, amphitheaters, sports fields, and causeways connecting its various districts. Yet despite being a mere 15-minute hike from a busy road near Xpujil, a bustling town in the southeast of the Mexican state of Campeche, the ruins of this unnamed Mayan metropolis had remained hidden for centuries beneath the dense canopy of the Yucatan jungle. Maya temple ruins, perhaps like this one at Cahal Pech in nearby Belize, are …
Major study reveals plants now absorbing 30% more CO2 worldwide
Terrestrial ecosystems play a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate by removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This process, known as gross primary production (GPP), represents the largest carbon flux on Earth, driving the terrestrial carbon cycle. However, for decades, scientists have struggled to accurately quantify GPP due to uncertainties in its global magnitude, spatial distribution, and temporal variability. Traditional estimates pegged global GPP at around 120 petagrams of carbon (PgC) per year since the 1980s. This figure, derived from remote sensing and other indirect methods, has been widely used to model Earth’s carbon cycle. However, recent research challenges this estimate, suggesting that plants globally absorb as much as 157 PgC annually—a 31% increase over previous calculations. This finding, published in Nature, has significant implications for predicting future climate scenarios and understanding the role of terrestrial ecosystems in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. A team led by Cornell University, with support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), introduced a novel approach to estimating GPP using carbonyl sulfide (OCS), a trace gas closely linked …
IVF miracle powered by AI tech in major breakthrough hailed ‘game-changing’ | Science | News
Artificial intelligence has been used to help women get pregnant through IVF by matching the strongest sperm with the best quality eggs. By maximising the chances of success, the pioneering treatment is poised to spare countless women from years of heartache trying to conceive, while reducing an often heavy financial burden. The first woman in the UK to conceive using AI throughout the fertilisation process – after years of agonising failed attempts – has called the new technology “like a miracle”. The idea of using AI to select the best sperm to impregnate the healthiest egg would until recently have been seen as science fiction. But it will now provide hope for many couples and individuals facing fertility challenges but who are desperate to have a baby. Leading consultant Mr Ali Al Chami said: “This is a game-changer for fertility care.” One in six couples experience infertility and more than 50,000 patients undergo IVF in the UK every year, with the number rising annually. Despite improvements to techniques since the first IVF baby was born …
Kate Middleton to make major royal first this year – report
The Princess of Wales is set to make a major royal first this year. Kate, 43, will be the first Princess of Wales since 1910 to grant royal warrants, according to The Times. The future Queen will “recognise British skills and industry,” honouring her favourite companies, the publication reported. WATCH: Princess Kate reveals sporting regret King Charles began issuing warrants as the Prince of Wales in 1980, but this was not extended to Princess Diana after their wedding the following year. What is a royal warrant? A royal warrant appointment is granted as a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to the royal household. It is for the monarch to decide who gets to grant royal warrants, and they are known as “grantors.” Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh were also grantors of warrants. LISTEN: A Right Royal Podcast According to the official website for the royal family, there are currently over 800 Royal Warrant holders. The website also states: …
Millions of people’s ‘intimate’ location data stolen in major hack | Science, Climate & Tech News
Millions of people using some of the world’s most popular apps may have had their locations leaked in a major hack. Tinder, Spotify, Citymapper, Mumsnet and Sky News were among hundreds of companies named in a sample list of apps linked to the breach. Hackers appear to have targeted a US location tracking firm Gravy Analytics. It collects information through smartphones, including peoples’ precise movements, and then provides it to other companies or governments. More than 10 terabytes of data is thought to have been stolen, with Russian-speaking hackers sharing a sample of the stolen information on a well-known hacking forum. Baptiste Robert, founder of Predicta Lab, a company that provides tools for online privacy and security, analysed the sample and was able to easily identify individuals around military bases and government offices, as well as details about people’s homes and family lives. X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons …
U.S. Treasury says its computers were hacked by a Chinese ‘threat actor’ in a ‘major incident’
The exterior of the U.S. Department of Treasury building is seen as they joined other government financial institutions to bail out Silicon Valley Bank’s account holders after it collapsed on March 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images The U.S. Treasury Department said a state-sponsored Chinese hacking operation was able to access third-party software to tap into desktop computers of Treasury employees in what the department is calling “a major incident.” In a letter seen by NBC News, Aditi Hardikar, assistant secretary for management of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, wrote that the office was notified on Dec. 8 of the breach. The letter is addressed to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The information accessed by the “threat actor” included unclassified documents, according to the letter. China denied the U.S. allegations. “China consistently opposes all forms of hacking and is firmly against the spread of false information targeting China for political purposes,” …
Call the Midwife boss reveals major change for Trixie in series 14
Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas has teased what’s in store for fan-favourite nurse, Trixie Aylward, in the upcoming 14th season of the hit BBC show. Ahead of the Christmas special, Heidi revealed that Trixie undertakes a new role in Poplar as she continues to divide her time between Nonnatus House and her new life in New York with her husband Matthew. Trixie, who is played by Helen George, revealed her plans to join her husband in the Big Apple at the end of series 13 after Matthew was offered the opportunity to build a business empire amid his money troubles. WATCH: Meet the cast of Call The Midwife Speaking to HELLO! and other press at the series 14 launch in November, Heidi teased: “Trixie continues to divide her time between her exciting new life in New York and life at Nonnatus House and she becomes instrumental in a new management plan which results in the sustainment of life at Nonnatus House that gives her new management type of responsibilities.” © BBC / Neal Street …
Survey reveals major public support for UK renewable energy
A new survey highlights a growing appetite among the British public for the UK to emerge as a global leader in renewable energy and green technology innovation. Conducted by Opinium for the Manchester Prize, the findings show a strong majority of people backing UK renewable energy initiatives to position the nation as a “clean energy superpower.” Professor Paul Monks, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Manchester Prize judge, explained: “Earlier this month, the government published its groundbreaking Clean Power Action Plan, embarking on a new era of clean electricity. “A vital part of this is ensuring we have an energy system capable of meeting the country’s needs. “Artificial intelligence (AI) can help us develop and engineer more effective energy systems. Manchester Prize funding is a chance for our country’s innovators to help make Britain more energy secure, protect households, bring skilled jobs and tackle the climate crisis.” Public wants the UK to lead in renewable energy The survey revealed that 64% of respondents want the UK to become …
There’s a Major Problem With the Nuclear War Bunkers The Rich Are Buying
“Bunkers are, in fact, not a tool to survive a nuclear war.” Truth Bomb As more and more rich people rush to buy and build bomb shelters, experts suggest they’re little more than a psychological defense mechanism for wealthy people who want to feel a shred of control in an unpredictable world. As the Associated Press reports, the bunker business was worth $137 million last year and is slated to grow to $175 million by the end of the decade, per analysis from BlueWeave Consulting. According to experts who spoke to the outlet, however, these shelters do more to address atomic anxieties than nuclear realities. After all, you’re eventually going to need to crawl out of your bunker and face the horrific situation back on the surface. “Bunkers are, in fact, not a tool to survive a nuclear war, but a tool to allow a population to psychologically endure the possibility of a nuclear war,” explained Alicia Sanders-Zakre of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Radiation after a nuclear bomb detonation, as Sanders Zakre described it, is …