Amazon canopy bridges enable 15,000 wildlife crossings without a single roadkill
Rope bridges constructed above roads in the Amazon allow wildlife to cross without descending to ground level, resulting in 15,000 documented crossings with no recorded roadkill incidents. Eight bridges were installed to help primates and other canopy-dwelling animals navigate across roads that fragment their forest habitat.
The Download: NASA’s new telescope and Chinese tech import curbs
NASA will launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in late August, which can detect dark energy and identify potentially dangerous asteroids. The telescope combines capabilities for studying cosmic expansion with planetary defense monitoring.
Scientists discover the brain cells that keep you motivated
Orexin neurons help maintain motivation when rewards become harder to obtain. Blocking these brain cells in rats reduced their motivation to continue working toward goals.
Game, set, Chat: how tennis players use AI to scout opponents and run their lives
Emma Raducanu uses ChatGPT extensively for various daily tasks and asked it to generate a "Chat Wrapped" summary of her personality based on her usage patterns. The AI tool provided an accurate personality assessment that Raducanu found notably concise and insightful about her character traits.
80-million-year-old snake brain reveals a surprising evolutionary secret
An 80-million-year-old Brazilian snake fossil shows that early snakes occupied diverse habitats including burrowing, above-ground, and marine environments. Brain reconstructions of Tametara mirim revealed adaptations for burrowing while other contemporary fossils displayed sensory systems suited to different ecological niches.
Mastercard’s Marc Pettican on the road to a $17.4 trillion virtual card market
Virtual cards address accounts payable and receivable friction by reducing invoice chasing and late payments that occur more than 30% of the time. The virtual card market is projected to reach $17.4 trillion, with potential to reduce credit control teams that currently span 20 to 50 people at mid-sized corporations.
Single Fossil Shows a Pterosaur Eaten by an Ichthyosaur Eaten by a Pliosaur: ‘A 3-Way Chompfest’
A single fossil preserves three consecutive predator-prey events: a pterosaur consumed by an ichthyosaur, which was then eaten by a pliosaur. Scientists completed their seven-year study of this rare Cretaceous-era assemblage showing the marine food chain's apex predators.
YouTube star Simone Giertz has some life and science lessons to share with you
Simone Giertz, a Swedish engineer influencer, has accumulated over 2.5 million YouTube followers during more than a decade on the platform. Her content focuses on pursuing a non-traditional path within science and engineering.
Malaysia implements total e-waste import ban to curb toxic trade
Malaysia enacted a total ban on electronic waste imports in April 2026 to stop illegal smuggling of hazardous electrical scrap. The regulation targets black market recycling operations that use falsified paperwork to bring toxic materials into the country.
A colossal magma system has been hiding beneath Tuscany
A magma reservoir covering approximately 6,000 cubic kilometers has been detected beneath Tuscany using seismic sensors that recorded natural ground vibrations. The discovery demonstrates that massive volcanic systems can exist without surface indicators and may help locate geothermal energy sources and critical minerals.
How the ABA changed basketball forever: Dr J, George Gervin and the league that dared to be different
The American Basketball Association introduced innovations and a distinctive playing style that influenced professional basketball before merging with the NBA fifty years ago. George Gervin learned from Julius Erving through intense one-on-one sessions after official practice as a Virginia Squires rookie.
NASA’s new dark-energy space telescope can also detect killer asteroids
NASA will launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in August to study dark matter and dark energy in the universe. The telescope can additionally detect potentially hazardous asteroids during its observations from Kennedy Space Center.
What We’re Reading: Building a Massive Wildlife Corridor From Fragmented Lands
A massive wildlife corridor is being built to connect fragmented habitats separated by highways and infrastructure. The project addresses both habitat loss and fragmentation by linking previously isolated lands for wildlife movement.
How schools are winning children over to healthier lunches
The government is updating school food standards in England for the first time in over 10 years. Schools are successfully encouraging students to choose healthier lunch options through these revised nutritional requirements.
AI is exposing the limits of traditional network architecture
Continuous inference and agent-to-agent communication are generating unpredictable always-on traffic that legacy network architectures cannot efficiently support. A Bloomberg study found that 65% of enterprises operate on transitional or legacy infrastructure while treating AI as a board-level priority.
Europe’s wildfires became so intense they created their own storm
Historic wildfires in Spain and France burned massive areas, with one Spanish fire consuming an area roughly the size of New York City. A French blaze generated a rare towering fire cloud, fueled by lush winter growth, severe heat, drought, and strong winds.
Nepal’s newest national parks drive tiger recovery, but new concerns arise
Nepal's wild tiger population has grown to 429 individuals, up from 355 four years ago. This represents nearly fourfold growth over sixteen years, though the recovery remains uneven across the country.
Metal-free process makes plant dyes more durable for textiles
A metal-free dye-fixing process makes natural plant dyes more durable on textiles without requiring metal additives. The method is described in the International Journal of Materials and Product Technology as a way to address durability challenges that have limited wider adoption of plant dyes in sustainable clothing production.
LoanDepot Q2 Revenue Jumps 18% on Home Equity Expansion
Home equity lending drove unit volume growth of 25% and revenue growth of 18% in the second quarter. LoanDepot expanded its home equity lending business as a central strategy during this period.
Institutions Now Drive 72% of Crypto’s OTC Flow, Wintermute Data Shows
Institutions accounted for 72% of over-the-counter spot trading flow in the first half of 2026, according to Wintermute data. This represents a record share and indicates a significant shift in cryptocurrency market structure toward institutional participation.
Appeals Court Overturns Ban on Perplexity AI Shopping Agents on Amazon
A U.S. appeals court reversed a March ban preventing Perplexity's AI shopping agents from accessing Amazon's platform. Amazon had claimed the agents violated federal hacking law, while Perplexity argued it did not breach the statute prohibiting unauthorized computer access.
Social influence can help tackle climate change
Social influence from various groups including celebrities, athletes, healthcare workers, religious leaders, and everyday contacts like family and neighbors can accelerate climate action, according to a study by the Center for Climate Change and Social Transformations. The research identified multiple influence sources spanning from public figures to hairdressers and small business owners as capable of shifting climate-related attitudes and behaviors.
Bahrain based Fintech Infinios Activates Live Stablecoin Settlement with Mastercard
Infinios activated live stablecoin settlement services using regulated stable digital currencies through a Mastercard partnership. The Bahrain-based fintech became the first issuer in the Kingdom to offer this settlement capability.
Google Pay Introduces Gemini enabled AI Tool for Users in India
Google Pay added a Gemini-powered conversational AI tool to its digital payments platform in India. The feature enables users to interact with artificial intelligence directly within the Google Pay application for transaction assistance.
TIER IV and Astemo Plan Development Platform for End-to-End Self-Driving AI
TIER IV and Astemo signed a memorandum to jointly develop a platform for end-to-end autonomous driving AI targeting commercialization around 2030. Astemo plans to integrate end-to-end AI models into passenger vehicles in the early 2030s using the new development platform.
New biosynthetic pathway could expand production of high-value bio-based oils
A new biosynthetic pathway enables production of high-value bio-based oils with unusual fatty acids containing novel chain lengths or functional groups. These oils serve as feedstocks for biofuels and bioproducts because they provide energy-dense hydrocarbon molecules.
Pinterest’s AI Push Pays Off in Record Users and Revenue
Pinterest achieved over $1 billion in quarterly revenue and set a record for monthly active users through its AI-driven shopping strategy. The platform maintained double-digit user growth for eleven consecutive quarters while deploying an AI conversational assistant.
llinois Requires Retailers to Accept Cash by 2028
Illinois enacted a law requiring retailers to accept cash payments starting January 1, 2028. The Retail Cash Payment Act (HB 4592) prohibits retailers from refusing cash as payment.
AI Can Plan the Trip but Booking Holdings Wants the Transaction
Generative AI can recommend hotels and assemble itineraries but cannot independently guarantee inventory, calculate cancellation terms, or authenticate customers. Booking Holdings executives told investors they are focusing on the commercial infrastructure side of travel transactions, including managing currency conversion and settling funds with multiple suppliers.
Payment Fraud Is Moving Upstream, and Visa Just Bought the Data to Follow It
Visa agreed to acquire behavioral-intelligence provider BioCatch for 2.4 billion dollars in cash. The acquisition gives Visa capabilities to detect fraud earlier in the payment process by analyzing customer behavior patterns before transactions occur.