⚡ 310 million people have gained access to electricity since 2015 – totally 92% of the world's population
310 million people have gained access to electricity since 2015, meaning that 92 percent of the world's population now has basic access to electricity. The greatest growth in access between 2020 and 2023 occurred in Central and South Asia.
📲 Mobile payments increase dramatically in Africa and contribute to economic empowerment
Mobile payments have grown from 13 million accounts in 2010 to over 640 million accounts in 2023. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the share of people with mobile money accounts has increased from 12 percent in 2014 to 33 percent in 2021.
🐅 Thailand's tiger population has increased fivefold in 15 years
The tiger population in Thailand's Western Forest Complex has increased from approximately 40 individuals in 2007 to between 179 and 223 last year. WWF calls the increase extraordinary. Major tiger population recoveries have also been noted in India and Nepal.
👩🏫 AI tools give teachers six weeks of extra time per year
Teachers who use AI weekly save 5.9 hours per week, equivalent to six weeks per school year. Most teachers who use AI tools say the tools improve the quality of their classroom work.
💊 Scientists use bacteria to turn plastic waste into paracetamol
Researchers have discovered that bacteria can convert plastic waste into paracetamol using genetically modified E. coli. The process works with material from plastic bottles and can produce paracetamol with up to 92 percent yield in under 24 hours.
🚭 Drug deaths plummet among young Americans
Fatal overdoses among 20- to 29-year-olds decreased by 47 percent. The number of fatal overdoses among people under 35 years fell from over 31,000 in 2021 to approximately 16,690 in 2024.
🏭 Ireland shuts down its last coal power plant – becomes the 15th coal-free country in Europe
Ireland became the 15th coal-free country in Europe when the Moneypoint power plant was shut down on June 20. The country now generates 37 percent of its electricity from wind power according to energy think tank Ember.
☀️ Now over one million balcony solar installations in Germany
Germany now has over one million balcony solar installations in operation producing environmentally friendly energy. The installations together deliver almost 1 gigawatt of power, equivalent to 956 megawatts.
🧬 DeepMind's new AI identifies the gene variants most likely to cause disease
AlphaGenome can predict how individual DNA changes affect gene expression and protein production across the entire human genome. The tool outperformed 22 of 24 other computer models in identifying specific features in DNA sequences.