Lead Story
High Seas Treaty passes 100 ratifications, cementing global ocean protection pact
The High Seas Treaty reached 100 parties on September 23 after Germany, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe deposited their ratifications during UN General Assembly week, almost exactly a year after the treaty crossed the 60-ratification threshold needed for it to take effect. The agreement, which entered into force in January, is the world's first comprehensive legal framework to protect marine life across the high seas, an area covering nearly half the planet, and now moves into an implementation phase ahead of its first Conference of the Parties in January 2027.
Read more →Lead Story
High Seas Treaty passes 100 ratifications, cementing global ocean protection pact
The High Seas Treaty reached 100 parties on September 23 after Germany, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe deposited their ratifications during UN General Assembly week, almost exactly a year after the treaty crossed the 60-ratification threshold needed for it to take effect. The agreement, which entered into force in January, is the world's first comprehensive legal framework to protect marine life across the high seas, an area covering nearly half the planet, and now moves into an implementation phase ahead of its first Conference of the Parties in January 2027.
Germany publishes roadmap to quit coal, oil and gas by 2045
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government unveiled Germany's first detailed national roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels on September 23, timed to UN Climate Week, committing for the first time to an explicit "transitioning away" from coal, oil and gas by 2045. The plan leans on expanding renewable power, greater electric-vehicle adoption and the EU's carbon-trading scheme to push industrial polluters off fossil fuels, making Germany the third major country after France and the Netherlands to publish such a detailed phase-out strategy.
Read more →Germany publishes roadmap to quit coal, oil and gas by 2045
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government unveiled Germany's first detailed national roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels on September 23, timed to UN Climate Week, committing for the first time to an explicit "transitioning away" from coal, oil and gas by 2045. The plan leans on expanding renewable power, greater electric-vehicle adoption and the EU's carbon-trading scheme to push industrial polluters off fossil fuels, making Germany the third major country after France and the Netherlands to publish such a detailed phase-out strategy.
Popular weight-loss drug found to switch on calorie-burning fat, not just curb appetite
Researchers reported September 25 that tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, activated calorie-burning brown fat in obese mice independent of its effect on appetite, isolating the drug's direct metabolic action by comparing treated mice to others eating identical reduced amounts of food. The finding points to a second mechanism behind the drug's benefits beyond hunger suppression, and researchers say confirming the effect in humans could help design more comprehensive obesity and diabetes treatments.
Read more →Popular weight-loss drug found to switch on calorie-burning fat, not just curb appetite
Researchers reported September 25 that tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, activated calorie-burning brown fat in obese mice independent of its effect on appetite, isolating the drug's direct metabolic action by comparing treated mice to others eating identical reduced amounts of food. The finding points to a second mechanism behind the drug's benefits beyond hunger suppression, and researchers say confirming the effect in humans could help design more comprehensive obesity and diabetes treatments.
England expands free school meals to 500,000 more children this term
From this September, every child in England whose family receives Universal Credit is entitled to a free school meal regardless of household income, after the government scrapped the previous £7,400 earnings threshold. The expansion extends free lunches to more than 500,000 additional pupils this school year, saving qualifying families up to £495 per child annually and marking one of the largest expansions of the program in years.
Read more →England expands free school meals to 500,000 more children this term
From this September, every child in England whose family receives Universal Credit is entitled to a free school meal regardless of household income, after the government scrapped the previous £7,400 earnings threshold. The expansion extends free lunches to more than 500,000 additional pupils this school year, saving qualifying families up to £495 per child annually and marking one of the largest expansions of the program in years.
Scientists name first new living cat species in over a century
Researchers described the tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo), a small spotted wild cat found in Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests, in Current Biology on September 17, making it the first entirely new living cat species named by science since 1923. Weighing just three to four pounds with irregular light-brown rosettes, the cat was first identified by biologist and National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz and named after the local term for it, adding a previously unrecognized branch to the cat family tree.
Read more →Scientists name first new living cat species in over a century
Researchers described the tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo), a small spotted wild cat found in Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests, in Current Biology on September 17, making it the first entirely new living cat species named by science since 1923. Weighing just three to four pounds with irregular light-brown rosettes, the cat was first identified by biologist and National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz and named after the local term for it, adding a previously unrecognized branch to the cat family tree.