Highlights

Cities with empty commercial space and housing shortages are converting office buildings into apartments – here’s what they’re learning

Turning excess office space into apartments isn’t a panacea for the housing shortage, but it’s producing thousands of new units yearly and is more sustainable and economical than new construction.

13/06/2024 The Conversation

Rapid UTI test that cuts detection time to 45 minutes awarded Longitude prize

An £8m prize for a breakthrough in the fight against superbugs has been awarded, after a decade-long search for a winner, to a test that can identify how to treat a urinary tract infection in 45 minutes.

12/06/2024 The Guardian

The last ozone-layer damaging chemicals to be phased out are finally falling in the atmosphere

Since the 1985 discovery of a hole in the ozone layer countries have agreed and amended treaties to aid its recovery. The most notable of these is the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, which is widely regarded as the most…

11/06/2024 The Conversation

How an American Dream of Housing Became a Reality in Sweden

The U.S. once looked to modular construction as an efficient way to build lots of housing at scale, but Sweden picked up the idea and put it into practice

10/06/2024 New York Times

Cutting off the advertising revenue of websites that spread hoaxes is the best way to end misinformation

The scientific journal ‘Nature’ has published three studies that offer a variety of recommendations to curb misinformation, such as warning advertisers so that they don’t inadvertently finance lies. Researchers have also demystified the real effects…

08/06/2024 El País

Bowel disease breakthrough as researchers make ‘holy grail’ discovery

Researchers have discovered a major driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and several other immune disorders that affect the spine, liver and arteries, raising hopes for millions of people worldwide who experience these conditions.

05/06/2024 The Guardian

The woman who led the transformation of New York into a pedestrian-friendly city

Between 2007 and 2013, Janette Sadik-Khan was the city’s transportation commissioner, creating a bike rental system and closing Times Square to traffic. A decade later, she has published a book and remains committed to making cities more livable…

04/06/2024 El País

World’s biggest solar farm goes online, big enough to power a country

The world’s biggest solar plant has come online in China, capable of powering a small country with its annual capacity of more than 6 billion kilowatt hours. The facility in a desert region of the north-west province of Xinjiang covers 200,000 acres…

04/06/2024 The Independent

Making an exhibition of yourself: the gallery where anyone can add to the walls

Edinburgh Printmakers are urging anyone to add or move artworks around in a continuously evolving exhibition

04/06/2024 Positive News

Climate solution: Massachusetts town experiments with community heating and cooling

A community in Massachusetts is about to become one of the first in the U.S. to be heated with geothermal, or ground source heat pumps, that are connected to each other

03/06/2024 The Independent