Listen To This Story

Forests Are Sucking Up Much Less Carbon Today (Maria) 

The author writes, “The power of the world’s forests to check the growth of planet-warming emissions has weakened in recent years, new data and analysis find. In typical years, forests and other vegetation suck up roughly 30% of emissions from burning fossil fuels. But the past several years have been anything but typical, says the World Resources Institute, which produces closely watched forest data….The surge in wildfires in 2023 and 2024 released over 4 billion tons of greenhouse gases both years.”

The First 100% Effective HIV Prevention Drug Is Approved and Going Global (Dana)  

From New Atlas: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the novel lenacapavir — sold under the brand name Yeztugo — a class of drugs known as capsid inhibitors, which provide almost 100% protection against HIV infection, which currently affects 1.3 million people every year. In 2024, the journal Science named lenacapavir the Breakthrough Invention of the Year, and we’ve extensively covered it on its way to market. The pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provides HIV-negative individuals around 99% protection from contracting the devastating virus through sex.”

Twitter Appears To Be Shadow Banning Accounts That Criticize Elon Musk (Sean)  

The author writes, “Three users who squabbled with Musk in December — all prominent right-wing accounts — saw their engagement ‘practically vanish overnight,’ with their posts suddenly plunging far below the number of views they normally receive, in some cases never to recover. The suspiciously timed drop-offs appear to be examples of shadow banning, the practice of severely suppressing a user’s reach without informing them they’re being punished. In effect, it allows site admins to ban people without actually banning them, and is difficult to detect. That it’s allegedly being leveraged against Musk’s critics is striking, and serves as the latest evidence of the billionaire’s hypocritical devotion to free speech.”

Washington Sues Trump Administration Over Canceled Grant To Shelter Migrants (Reader Steve) 

From the Seattle Times: “Washington is suing the US Department of Homeland Security over the cancellation of congressionally approved funds to help shelter migrants with pending asylum or immigration cases. The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, seeks to reinstate more than $4 million in funds awarded to the state to cover emergency food and shelter to noncitizen migrants after they are released from DHS custody. The state is asking the court to declare the termination of the grant unlawful, and to order the federal agency to restore the state’s funding.”

The Creepy New Future of Price Gouging (Laryn) 

The author writes, “Companies are increasingly deploying AI-powered technology that is capable of identifying thousands of different real-time signals — everything from your location and loyalty status to your device and search history — to sell the same product to two different people for two different prices. This represents an advanced form of dynamic pricing, the age-old practice of adjusting prices based on market conditions. With the help of algorithms and reams of data, some businesses are taking a new, personalized approach: surveillance pricing. Dynamic pricing is perfectly legal, but surveillance pricing and the accompanying privacy concerns are new.”

Magic Mushrooms Rewind Aging in Mice — Could They Do the Same for Humans? (Mili) 

From ScienceDaily: “A newly published study in Nature Partner Journals’ Aging demonstrates that psilocin, a byproduct of consuming psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, extended the cellular lifespan of human skin and lung cells by more than 50%. In parallel, researchers also conducted the first long-term in vivo study evaluating the systemic effects of psilocybin in aged mice of 19 months, or the equivalent of 60-65 human years. Results indicated that the mice that received an initial low dose of psilocybin of 5 mg, followed by a monthly high dose of 15 mg for 10 months, had a 30% increase in survival compared to mice that did not receive any. These mice also displayed healthier physical features, such as improved fur quality, fewer white hairs and hair regrowth.”