Below, a quick roundup of a few of the things I learned over the past few months.
The official number of exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. There are more than 8,000 additional candidate planets awaiting confirmation. (NASA)
In the first six months of 2025, renewable energy outpaced the world’s growing appetite for electricity, leading to a small decline in coal and gas use. (Guardian)
Bariatric surgery for weight-loss offers more long-term benefits com…
Below, a quick roundup of a few of the things I learned over the past few months.
The official number of exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. There are more than 8,000 additional candidate planets awaiting confirmation. (NASA)
In the first six months of 2025, renewable energy outpaced the world’s growing appetite for electricity, leading to a small decline in coal and gas use. (Guardian)
Bariatric surgery for weight-loss offers more long-term benefits compared to GLP-1 medications. (Cleveland Clinic)
Astronauts who walked on the Moon said lunar dust smelled like spent gunpowder when they brought it into the lunar module. (Space.com)
Scientists at Okayama University of Science in Japan have developed a new wine grape called Muscat Shiragai, a hybrid of the local wild Shiraga grape and the Muscat of Alexandria. (Food & Wine)
Mosquitos have been found in Iceland for the first time: 3 specimens were discovered in what was previously one of the few places in the world without them. (Iceland Monitor)
Semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) not only aid weight loss but also protect against heart attacks and strokes in people with diabetes. (TUM)
The Maldives has become the first country in the world to impose a generational smoking ban, barring anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, from ever smoking, purchasing or using tobacco. (NBC)
Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication. City-dwelling raccoons seem to be evolving a shorter snout–a telltale feature of our pets and other domesticated animals. (Scientific American)
A 60-year-old in Germany is now the 7th person announced HIV-free after a stem-cell transplant. He’s been clear of the virus for almost six years. (Nature)
Almost 25% of 15–16-year-old students in the EU currently use e-cigarettes. Since 2019, rates of adolescent e-cigarette use have increased in 22 of the 25 EU countries reviewed, and in every member state, girls report higher use than boys. (WHO)
Chimpanzees naturally ingest surprising amounts of alcohol from ripe, fermenting fruit. Careful measurements show that their typical fruit diet can equal one to two human drinks each day. This supports the idea that alcohol exposure is not a modern human invention but an ancient primate habit. (UC Berkeley)
Colombia has announced at this year’s COP meeting that its entire Amazon region — covering 42% of the country — will become a renewable-resources reserve, blocking 43 pending oil blocks and 286 mining requests from moving ahead. (Mongabay)
Peter Gabriel’s first four solo albums were all called “Peter Gabriel.” He used the same typeface and name position (upper left corner) on all four records. (GoJeffGo)
New evidence suggests that Neanderthals were making fire in the UK 400,000 years ago. (Nature)
Humans and our livestock now make up 98% of the total biomass of land mammals, leaving wild mammals at just 2%. (Our World In Data)
Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft, who sang (uncredited) “You’re A Mean One, Mr Grinch” in the original animated TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” was also the voice of Tony the Tiger of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes mascot fame, for decades. (Wikipedia)