Recordbreaking

Berlin-based World Fund has filled its coffers with €300M, in what it claims to be the largest first-time fund raised by any climate tech VC in European history.  Founded in 2021, World Fund invests in startups building tech to decarbonise industries from energy and buildings to transport and agriculture. It has already backed 15 early-stage companies, including SpaceForge, which manufactures materials in orbit, and Slovenian startup Juicy Marbles, which makes fake meat whole cuts.  “We look…

A superfluid vortex controlled in a lab is helping physicists learn more about the behavior of black holes.A whirlpool generated in helium cooled to just a fraction above absolute zero mimics the gravitational environment of these objects to such high precision that it's giving unprecedented insight into how they drag and warp the space-time around them. "Using superfluid helium has allowed us to study tiny surface waves in greater detail and accuracy than with our previous experiments in water," explains physicist…

If Raye was lost for words when she won her first Brit award of the evening, song of the year, then – other than begging the music industry to award songwriters points on master recordings – she had certainly almost run out of them by the time she tearfully collected her sixth award of the night for album of the year, which saw her “ugly crying on national television”. The British pop star had already broken the record for the most nominations in a single year with seven nods – two of them in the category for best song,…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Several areas of the globe—including the Bay of Bengal, the Philippines, and the Caribbean Sea—are likely to experience record-breaking average surface air temperatures in the year period up to June 2024 as a result of the ongoing El Niño phenomenon. The modeling results, published in Scientific Reports, also suggest that there is an estimated 90% chance of record-breaking global mean surface…

It’s 9pm on an otherwise unremarkable Tuesday, and the foyer of the Sydney Opera House is a crush of slightly smug excitement. Friends run to each other and whoop, then fall into selfie formation. Outside under the famous sails, groups vape in anticipation while cradling three cans apiece. Inside the moodily smoke-filled Concert Hall, a simple test of a lighting cue is met by a headliner-worthy cheer. On the same day that Taylor Swift left town, UK producer and DJ Fred Again has arrived to keep the hype alive.All this…

A fan-led project has carefully recreated the record-breaking first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 in Minecraft – check it out below. The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 was released December 2023, giving fans their first taste of the Vice City-inspired world. Now, Boranium Art have created a shot-for-shot remake of the trailer within Minecraft. The 105-second clip features in-jokes, a number of herobrines and a whole lot of neon ambience – check it out below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aDUbVL6E9Q Speaking…

Rainfall from a relentless atmospheric river storm has already smashed records in Southern California, but the torrential weather has not let up, with even more mud and debris flows inundating roads and forcing evacuations. On the fourth day of the punishing storm, Hacienda Heights and La Habra Heights in eastern Los Angeles County became the latest hilly communities to see devastating damage from the historic rainfall.Firefighters on Tuesday morning evacuated three homes on Gotera Drive in Hacienda Heights after a…

A remarkable generation of hyper-astute young female musicians, spanning pop to R&B, indie-rock and beyond, are set to be celebrated at Sunday night’s Grammy awards – though the biggest prizes could end up being swept by just one of them, Taylor Swift.The top categories are unprecedentedly dominated by women, with only one male artist, Jon Batiste, up for record, album or song of the year. In a week where major research studies in both the US and UK acknowledged progress around representation in a historically…

2023 was a great year for Apple with not only launches of existing products such as the iPhone 15 and Mac but also the introduction of new ones as well like the Vision Pro. The company ended the year on a high, and became the top smartphone maker in the world, dethroning Samsung. During the year, India became one of the key markets for the tech giant as it opened two official flagship stores in the country - Apple Saket in Delhi and Apple BKC in Mumbai. Apple's Q1 quarter earnings call also revealed that it broke the…

The Amazon rainforest is one of our planet’s most vital defenses against global warming. However, that defense is now being ravaged by the very thing scientists hope it will help stop. According to a new study led by the World Weather Attribution group, climate change is the main driver behind the Amazon’s record-breaking drought, and deforestation likely isn’t helping, either.The Amazon is a very rich source of biodiversity, and it contains around 10 percent of the world’s species. However, researchers note that…