Weekly Progress Roundup

Egypt certified as malaria-free, lithium reservoir discovered in Arkansas, implant restores sight.

Egypt certified as malaria-free

Last week, the World Health Organization certified Egypt as malaria-free, confirming that no known person has contracted malaria from within Egypt's borders during the last three years. This makes Egypt the 44th country to eliminate malaria, a disease that has plagued humanity for millennia. Egypt has a particularly long history with the parasite. Archeological evidence suggests Egyptians have suffered from malaria since at least 3200 BC, and a recent meta-analysis of Egyptian mummies found that up to 22 percent tested positive for Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest species of malaria parasite.

Giant lithium reservoir discovered in Arkansas

The United States Geological Survey has located a massive quantity of lithium in a subterranean Arkansas brine reservoir. The researchers estimate it may contain between five million and nineteen million tons of the metal. For context, the International Energy Agency projects global lithium demand will reach 500 thousand tons in 2030. While it is not yet clear how much of the lithium can be extracted, the find should help put claims of an inevitable lithium shortage to bed.

Science Corporation restores sight with an eye implant

Science Corporation, a company developing a brain-computer interface akin to Neuralink, recently announced the results of a clinical trial testing their implant's ability to restore vision to the blind. According to reporting from Wired, the trial participants started with an average visual acuity of 20/450, far below the legal blindness threshold of 20/200, and ended with an average of 20/160. In practical terms, the implant allowed a group of previously blind people to read, recognize faces, play cards, and solve crossword puzzles.

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Energy & Environment:

• BLM Approves Geothermal Project, Moves to Ease Permitting

• Tiger Population Census in Bangladesh Shows Upward Trend

Food & Hunger:

• Biotech Wants Vegetarians to Eat Its Peas Spliced with Beef DNA

• Changing the DNA of Living Things to Fight Climate Change

• AI Decodes Oinks and Grunts to Keep Pigs Happy

• Will US Convenience Stores Find the Secret to Selling Better Food?

Health & Demographics:

• Vietnam Eliminates Trachoma as a Public Health Problem

• Teen Tobacco Use Falls to 25-Year Low

• Doctors Can Create a “Digital Twin” of Your Heart and Other Organs

• US Startup Charging Couples to “Screen Embryos for IQ”

Science & Technology:

• SpaceX Capsule Returns Stranded Astronauts to Earth

• Anthropic Releases AI Tool That Can Take over the User’s Cursor

• Feds OK Rules for US To Begin Electric Air Taxi Service

• Carbon Bond That Uses Only One Electron Seen for First Time

• NASA and Partners Scaling up Air Traffic Management

• Can AI Help Africa Close the Development Gap?

Tweets:

• AI reveals hidden Nazca lines—and their purpose

• The Great Monotony

• The internet has reduced ad spending as a proportion of the economy