User:The Transhumanist

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Introduction

Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf

Hi. My name is The Transhumanist.

As a transhumanist...

I love emerging and evolving technologies, and so...

I'm currently immersed in studying AI (particularly generative AI and reasoning engines), and big data.

I dabble in JavaScript, including writing user scripts from time to time.

My best user script so far, is SearchSuite...

SearchSuite provides further control over Wikipedia search results, such as on/off features to sort them, to present results one-per-line, and more. While it seems to work fairly well, there is definitely room for improvement. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

By the way, most of the scripts I've been working on are for building and augmenting outlines...

Wikipedia ads	file info – #184

As an encyclopedist...

I'm interested in all knowledge, especially how to organize it so you can find whatever is most relevant at any given moment.

I've been around Wikipedia since the Fall of 2005, and have been working mostly on Wikipedia's structure, and its knowledge navigation systems, throughout that time.

Selected articles that I've worked on

• 
  Knowledge extraction is the creation of knowledge from structured (relational databases, XML) and unstructured (text, documents, images) sources. The resulting knowledge needs to be in a machine-readable and machine-interpretable format and must represent knowledge in a manner that facilitates inferencing. Although it is methodically similar to information extraction (NLP) and ETL (data warehouse), the main criterion is that the extraction result goes beyond the creation of structured information or the transformation into a relational schema. It requires either the reuse of existing formal knowledge (reusing identifiers or ontologies) or the generation of a schema based on the source data.
  
  The RDB2RDF W3C group is currently standardizing a language for extraction of resource description frameworks (RDF) from relational databases. Another popular example for knowledge extraction is the transformation of Wikipedia into structured data and also the mapping to existing knowledge (see DBpedia and Freebase). (Full article...)
• 
  In futures studies and the history of technology, accelerating change is the observed exponential nature of the rate of technological change in recent history, which may suggest faster and more profound change in the future and may or may not be accompanied by equally profound social and cultural change. (Full article...)
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  Traditionally, meals have been prepared by women in a home kitchen (painting from the circle of Jean-Baptiste de Saive, 1563).

  
  A meal is an occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The English names used for specific meals vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. A meal is different from a snack in that meals are generally larger, more varied, and more filling.
  
  Though they can be eaten anywhere, meals usually take place in homes, restaurants, and cafeterias. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day. Special meals are normally held in conjunction with celebratory or momentous occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, and holidays.
  
  The type of food that is served or consumed at any given time depends on regional customs. Three main meals are typically eaten in the morning, early afternoon, and evening in most civilizations. Furthermore, the names of meals are often interchangeable by custom as well. Some serve dinner as the main meal at midday, with supper as the late afternoon/early evening meal, while others may call their midday meal lunch and their early evening meal supper or dinner. Except for breakfast, these names can vary from region to region or even from family to family. (Full article...)
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  James Burke in 2007

  
  James Burke (born 22 December 1936) is a broadcaster, science historian, author, and television producer. He was one of the main presenters of the BBC1 science series Tomorrow's World from 1965 to 1971 and created and presented the television series Connections (1978), and its more philosophical sequel The Day the Universe Changed (1985), about the history of science and technology. The Washington Post has called him "one of the most intriguing minds in the Western world". (Full article...)
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  This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' ordnance (weapons) and ammunition. The terms may have different meanings depending on their usage in another country's military. (Full article...)
• 
  Prehistoric technology is technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past using written records. Anything prior to the first written accounts of history is prehistoric, including earlier technologies. About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology began with the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they first used to hunt food, and later to cook.
  
  There are several factors that made the evolution of prehistoric technology possible or necessary. One of the key factors is behavioral modernity of the highly developed brain of Homo sapiens capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. The advent of agriculture resulted in lifestyle changes from nomadic lifestyles to ones lived in homes, with domesticated animals, and land farmed using more varied and sophisticated tools. Art, architecture, music and religion evolved over the course of the prehistoric periods. (Full article...)
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  In geography and particularly in geographic information science, a geographic feature or simply feature (also called an object or entity) is a representation of phenomenon that exists at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of Earth. It is an item of geographic information, and may be represented in maps, geographic information systems, remote sensing imagery, statistics, and other forms of geographic discourse. Such representations of phenomena consist of descriptions of their inherent nature, their spatial form and location, and their characteristics or properties. (Full article...)
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  Robots revolt in R.U.R., a 1920 Czech play translated as "Rossum's Universal Robots"

  
  An AI takeover is an imagined scenario in which artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as the dominant form of intelligence on Earth and computer programs or robots effectively take control of the planet away from the human species, which relies on human intelligence. Possible scenarios include replacement of the entire human workforce due to automation, takeover by an artificial superintelligence (ASI), and the notion of a robot uprising. Stories of AI takeovers have been popular throughout science fiction, but recent advancements have made the threat more real. Some public figures, such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, have advocated research into precautionary measures to ensure future superintelligent machines remain under human control. (Full article...)
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  Ontology learning (ontology extraction,ontology augmentation generation, ontology generation, or ontology acquisition) is the automatic or semi-automatic creation of ontologies, including extracting the corresponding domain's terms and the relationships between the concepts that these terms represent from a corpus of natural language text, and encoding them with an ontology language for easy retrieval. As building ontologies manually is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming, there is great motivation to automate the process.
  
  
  Typically, the process starts by extracting terms and concepts or noun phrases from plain text using linguistic processors such as part-of-speech tagging and phrase chunking. Then statistical
  or symbolic
  techniques are used to extract relation signatures, often based on pattern-based or definition-based hypernym extraction techniques. (Full article...)
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  An EXCOMM meeting during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a crisis between the United States and Soviet Union over ballistic missiles in Cuba

  
  A crisis (pl.: crises; ADJ: critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. More loosely, a crisis is a testing time for an emergency. (Full article...)
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  An abdominous obese male
  Weight: 182 kg/400 lbs
  Height: 185 cm/6 ft 1 in
  Body mass index: 53

  
  Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity and truncal obesity, is the human condition of an excessive concentration of visceral fat around the stomach and abdomen to such an extent that it is likely to harm its bearer's health. Abdominal obesity has been strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other metabolic and vascular diseases.
  
  Visceral fat, central abdominal fat, and waist circumference show a strong association with type 2 diabetes.
  
  Visceral fat, also known as organ fat or intra-abdominal fat, is located inside the peritoneal cavity, packed in between internal organs and torso, as opposed to subcutaneous fat, which is found underneath the skin, and intramuscular fat, which is found interspersed in skeletal muscle. Visceral fat is composed of several adipose depots including mesenteric, epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT), and perirenal fat. An excess of adipose visceral fat is known as central obesity, the "pot belly" or "beer belly" effect, in which the abdomen protrudes excessively. This body type is also known as "apple shaped", as opposed to "pear shaped" in which fat is deposited on the hips and buttocks.
  
  Researchers first started to focus on abdominal obesity in the 1980s when they realized it had an important connection to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Abdominal obesity was more closely related with metabolic dysfunctions connected with cardiovascular disease than was general obesity. In the late 1980s and early 1990s insightful and powerful imaging techniques were discovered that would further help advance the understanding of the health risks associated with body fat accumulation. Techniques such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging made it possible to categorize mass of adipose tissue located at the abdominal level into intra-abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat. (Full article...)
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  A superintelligence is a hypothetical agent that possesses intelligence surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. "Superintelligence" may also refer to a property of problem-solving systems (e.g., superintelligent language translators or engineering assistants) whether or not these high-level intellectual competencies are embodied in agents that act in the world. A superintelligence may or may not be created by an intelligence explosion and associated with a technological singularity.
  
  University of Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom defines superintelligence as "any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest". The program Fritz falls short of this conception of superintelligence—even though it is much better than humans at chess—because Fritz cannot outperform humans in other tasks.
  
  Technological researchers disagree about how likely present-day human intelligence is to be surpassed. Some argue that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will probably result in general reasoning systems that lack human cognitive limitations. Others believe that humans will evolve or directly modify their biology to achieve radically greater intelligence. Several future study scenarios combine elements from both of these possibilities, suggesting that humans are likely to interface with computers, or upload their minds to computers, in a way that enables substantial intelligence amplification.
  
  Some researchers believe that superintelligence will likely follow shortly after the development of artificial general intelligence. The first generally intelligent machines are likely to immediately hold an enormous advantage in at least some forms of mental capability, including the capacity of perfect recall, a vastly superior knowledge base, and the ability to multitask in ways not possible to biological entities. This may allow them to — either as a single being or as a new species — become much more powerful than humans, and displace them. (Full article...)
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  Roboticists with three Mars rover robots. Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover (MER) test vehicle that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed Curiosity on Mars in 2012.

  
  
  Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
  
  Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer science, robotics focuses on robotic automation algorithms. Other disciplines contributing to robotics include electrical, control, software, information, electronic, telecommunication, computer, mechatronic, and materials engineering.
  
  The goal of most robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Many robots are built to do jobs that are hazardous to people, such as finding survivors in unstable ruins, and exploring space, mines and shipwrecks. Others replace people in jobs that are boring, repetitive, or unpleasant, such as cleaning, monitoring, transporting, and assembling. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as technological advances continue; researching, designing, and building new robots serve various practical purposes. (Full article...)
• 
  Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies are often perceived as capable of changing the status quo.
  
  Emerging technologies are characterized by radical novelty (in application even if not in origins), relatively fast growth, coherence, prominent impact, and uncertainty and ambiguity. In other words, an emerging technology can be defined as "a radically novel and relatively fast growing technology characterised by a certain degree of coherence persisting over time and with the potential to exert a considerable impact on the socio-economic domain(s) which is observed in terms of the composition of actors, institutions and patterns of interactions among those, along with the associated knowledge production processes. Its most prominent impact, however, lies in the future and so in the emergence phase is still somewhat uncertain and ambiguous."
  
  Emerging technologies include a variety of technologies such as educational technology, information technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
  
  New technological fields may result from the technological convergence of different systems evolving towards similar goals. Convergence brings previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications) and video together so that they share resources and interact with each other, creating new efficiencies. (Full article...)
• 
  Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, pain (including mental pain), or injury.
  
  Health can be promoted by encouraging healthful activities, such as regular physical exercise and adequate sleep, and by reducing or avoiding unhealthful activities or situations, such as smoking or excessive stress. Some factors affecting health are due to individual choices, such as whether to engage in a high-risk behavior, while others are due to structural causes, such as whether the society is arranged in a way that makes it easier or harder for people to get necessary healthcare services. Still, other factors are beyond both individual and group choices, such as genetic disorders. (Full article...)
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  Blood flow diagram of the human heart. Blue components indicate de-oxygenated blood pathways and red components indicate oxygenated blood pathways.

  
  Cardiology (from Ancient Greek καρδίᾱ (kardiā) 'heart' and -λογία (-logia) 'study') is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists, a sub-specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons, a specialty of general surgery. (Full article...)
• 
  A userscript manager, also known as a userscript engine, is a type of browser extension and augmented browsing technology that provides a user interface to run and organize userscripts. The main purpose of a userscript manager is to execute scripts on predetermined webpages as they are loaded, for example, running a userscript to modify only youtube.com pages. But, userscript managers do a lot more than execute scripts, and screen for the pages they are intended to run on. The most common operations performed by a userscript manager include installing, organizing, creating, copying, saving, deleting, and editing (including modifying webpage permissions of) userscripts.
  
  Userscript managers use metadata that is embedded in a script's source code primarily to determine the websites it should execute on and the dependencies necessary for the script to run properly. Metadata can also include information that is useful to the user such as the script's name, author, description and version number.
  
  Popular userscript managers include Tampermonkey, Greasemonkey, and Violentmonkey. The Gear browser for IOS has a userscript manager built in. (Full article...)
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  Trichophyton rubrum

  
  Trichophyton is a genus of fungi, which includes the parasitic varieties that cause tinea, including athlete's foot, ringworm, jock itch, and similar infections of the nail, beard, skin and scalp. Trichophyton fungi are molds characterized by the development of both smooth-walled macro- and microconidia. Macroconidia are mostly borne laterally directly on the hyphae or on short pedicels, and are thin- or thick-walled, clavate to fusiform, and range from 4 to 8 by 8 to 50 μm in size. Macroconidia are few or absent in many species. Microconidia are spherical, pyriform to clavate or of irregular shape, and range from 2 to 3 by 2 to 4 μm in size. (Full article...)
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  A depiction of Idris visiting Heaven and Hell from an illuminated manuscript version of the Islamic text Stories of the Prophets (1577)

  
  The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity.
  
  In some views, this continued existence takes place in a spiritual realm, while in others, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again in a process referred to as reincarnation, likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism, and metaphysics.
  
  Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition, hold that the dead go to a specific place (e.g., paradise or hell) after death, as determined by their god, based on their actions and beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation, such as those of the Indian religions, the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life. (Full article...)
• 
  The branches of science, also referred to as sciences, scientific fields or scientific disciplines, are commonly divided into three major groups:

  • Formal sciences: the study of formal systems, such as those under the branches of logic and mathematics, which use an a priori, as opposed to empirical, methodology. They study abstract structures described by formal systems.
  • Natural sciences: the study of natural phenomena (including cosmological, geological, physical, chemical, and biological factors of the universe). Natural science can be divided into two main branches: physical science and life science (or biology).
  • Social sciences: the study of human behavior in its social and cultural aspects.

  
  
  Scientific knowledge must be grounded in observable phenomena and must be capable of being verified by other researchers working under the same conditions.
  
  Natural, social, and formal science make up the fundamental sciences, which form the basis of interdisciplinarity - and applied sciences such as engineering and medicine. Specialized scientific disciplines that exist in multiple categories may include parts of other scientific disciplines but often possess their own terminologies and expertises. (Full article...)
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  A revenue model is a framework for generating financial income. There can be a variety of ways for revenue generation such as the production model, manufacturing model, as well as the construction model. A revenue model identifies which revenue source to pursue, what value to offer, how to price the value, and who pays for the value. It is a key component of a company's business model. A revenue model primarily identifies what product or service will be created and sold in order to generate revenues.
  
  Without a clear and well-defined revenue model new businesses will be more likely to struggle. By having a clear revenue model, a business can focus on a target audience, fund development plans for a product or service, establish marketing plans, open a line of credit and raise capital. (Full article...)
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  Help may refer to: (Full article...)
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  Automatic taxonomy construction (ATC) is the use of software programs to generate taxonomical classifications from a body of texts called a corpus. ATC is a branch of natural language processing, which in turn is a branch of artificial intelligence.
  
  A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially, a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. Among other things, a taxonomy can be used to organize and index knowledge (stored as documents, articles, videos, etc.), such as in the form of a library classification system, or a search engine taxonomy, so that users can more easily find the information they are searching for. Many taxonomies are hierarchies (and thus, have an intrinsic tree structure), but not all are.
  
  Manually developing and maintaining a taxonomy is a labor-intensive task requiring significant time and resources, including familiarity of or expertise in the taxonomy's domain (scope, subject, or field), which drives the costs and limits the scope of such projects. Also, domain modelers have their own points of view which inevitably, even if unintentionally, work their way into the taxonomy. ATC uses artificial intelligence techniques to quickly automatically generate a taxonomy for a domain in order to avoid these problems and remove limitations. (Full article...)
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  Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled biological limit of around 125 years. Several researchers in the area, along with "life extensionists", "immortalists", or "longevists" (those who wish to achieve longer lives themselves), postulate that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation, stem cells, regenerative medicine, molecular repair, gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, and organ replacement (such as with artificial organs or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a healthy youthful condition (agerasia). The ethical ramifications, if life extension becomes a possibility, are debated by bioethicists.
  
  The sale of purported anti-aging products such as supplements and hormone replacement is a lucrative global industry. For example, the industry that promotes the use of hormones as a treatment for consumers to slow or reverse the aging process in the US market generated about $50 billion of revenue a year in 2009. The use of such hormone products has not been proven to be effective or safe. (Full article...)
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  Human overpopulation (or human population overshoot) is the idea that human populations may become too large to be sustained by their environment or resources in the long term. The topic is usually discussed in the context of world population, though it may concern individual nations, regions, and cities.
  
  Since 1804, the global living human population has increased from 1 billion to 8 billion due to medical advancements and improved agricultural productivity. Annual world population growth peaked at 2.1% in 1968 and has since dropped to 1.1%. According to the most recent United Nations' projections, the global human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and would peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s, before decreasing, noting that fertility rates are falling worldwide. Other models agree that the population will stabilize before or after 2100. Conversely, other researchers have found that national birth registries data from 2022 and 2023 that cover half the world's population indicate that the 2022 UN projections overestimated fertility rates by 10 to 20% and are already outdated, that the global fertility rate has possibly already fallen below the sub-replacement fertility level for the first time in human history, and that the global population will peak at approximately 9.5 billion by 2061. The 2024 UN projections report estimated that world population would peak at 10.29 billion in 2084 and decline to 10.18 billion by 2100, which was 6% lower than the UN had estimated in 2014.
  
  Early discussions of overpopulation in English were spurred by the work of Thomas Malthus. Discussions of overpopulation follow a similar line of inquiry as Malthusianism and its Malthusian catastrophe, a hypothetical event where population exceeds agricultural capacity, causing famine or war over resources, resulting in poverty and depopulation. More recent discussion of overpopulation was popularized by Paul Ehrlich in his 1968 book The Population Bomb and subsequent writings. Ehrlich described overpopulation as a function of overconsumption, arguing that overpopulation should be defined by a population being unable to sustain itself without depleting non-renewable resources.
  
  The belief that global population levels will become too large to sustain is a point of contentious debate. Those who believe global human overpopulation to be a valid concern, argue that increased levels of resource consumption and pollution exceed the environment's carrying capacity, leading to population overshoot. The population overshoot hypothesis is often discussed in relation to other population concerns such as population momentum, biodiversity loss, hunger and malnutrition, resource depletion, and the overall human impact on the environment. (Full article...)

Selected emerging technologies and related articles

• 
  Bigelow Aerospace was an American space design and manufacturing company which closed its doors in 2020. It was an aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactured and developed expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and was based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It was funded in large part by the profit Bigelow gained through his ownership of the hotel chain, Budget Suites of America.
  
  The company built two unmanned free-flying prototypes that flew in 2006 and 2007 and a module attached to the International Space Station. Bigelow Aerospace announced in 2010 that they intended to create a modular set of space habitats for creating or expanding space stations. By 2013, Bigelow had invested US$250 million in the company. Bigelow stated on a number of occasions that he was prepared to fund Bigelow Aerospace with about US$500 million through 2015 in order to achieve launch of full-scale hardware. (Full article...)
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  4-dimensional printing (4D printing; also known as 4D bioprinting, active origami, or shape-morphing systems) uses the same techniques of 3D printing through computer-programmed deposition of material in successive layers to create a three-dimensional object. However, in 4D printing, the resulting 3D shape is able to morph into different forms in response to environmental stimulus, with the 4th dimension being the time-dependent shape change after the printing. It is therefore a type of programmable matter, wherein after the fabrication process, the printed product reacts with parameters within the environment (humidity, temperature, voltage, etc.) and changes its form accordingly. (Full article...)
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  An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the electric power grid, gas grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases, public roads. The literature mostly refers to housing, or the autonomous house.
  
  Advocates of autonomous building describe advantages that include reduced environmental impacts, increased security, and lower costs of ownership. Some cited advantages satisfy tenets of green building, not independence per se (see below). Off-grid buildings often rely very little on civil services and are therefore safer and more comfortable during civil disaster or military attacks. For example, off-grid buildings would not lose power or water if public supplies were compromised. (Full article...)
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  St. Jude single-lead pacemaker with ruler in cm (released in 2005)

  
  A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to contract and pump blood, thus regulating the function of the electrical conduction system of the heart.
  
  The primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an even heart rate, either because the heart's natural cardiac pacemaker provides an inadequate or irregular heartbeat, or because there is a block in the heart's electrical conduction system. Modern pacemakers are externally programmable and allow a cardiologist to select the optimal pacing modes for individual patients. Most pacemakers are on demand, in which the stimulation of the heart is based on the dynamic demand of the circulatory system. Others send out a fixed rate of impulses. (Full article...)
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  Tail of a radio-controlled helicopter, made of CFRP

  
  
  Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon composite, or just carbon, are extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastics that contain carbon fibers. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications.
  
  The binding polymer is often a thermoset resin such as epoxy, but other thermoset or thermoplastic polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester, or nylon, are sometimes used. The properties of the final CFRP product can be affected by the type of additives introduced to the binding matrix (resin). The most common additive is silica, but other additives such as rubber and carbon nanotubes can be used. (Full article...)
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  Gastrobot, meaning literally 'stomach robot', was a term coined in 1998 by the University of South Florida professor, Dr. Stuart Wilkinson, who stated that a gastrobot is "...an intelligent machine (robot) that derives all its energy requirements from the digestion of real food." The gastrobot's energy intake may come in the form of carbohydrates, lipids etc., or may be a simpler source, such as alcohol.
  
  This type of robot ingests food and passes it into a microbial fuel cell (MFC), which converts the food into gases and other potential energy. The gases and liquids help fuel things such as a hydrogen fuel cell, which helps create more energy, and generates other gases that help power the gastrobot's mechanics. (Full article...)
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  Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy, environment, and society. The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known.
  
  Sustainable development overlaps with the idea of sustainability which is a normative concept. UNESCO formulated a distinction between the two concepts as follows: "Sustainability is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while sustainable development refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it." (Full article...)
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  In transportation, the Physical Internet refers to the combination of digital transportation networks that are deploying to replace actual road networks.
  The Physical Internet Initiative promoted research efforts around 2011.
  Since around 2018, the initiative site refers to a blog site promoting the marketing term big data. (Full article...)
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  8-cell embryo for transfer in in-vitro fertilization

  
  
  Embryo space colonization is a theoretical interstellar space colonization concept that involves sending a robotic mission to a habitable terrestrial planet, dwarf planet, minor planet or natural satellite transporting frozen early-stage human embryos or the technological or biological means to create human embryos. The proposal circumvents the most severe technological problems of other mainstream interstellar colonization concepts. In contrast to the sleeper ship proposal, it does not require the more technically challenging 'freezing' of fully developed humans (see cryonics). (Full article...)
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  Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying inventory number, back to the reader. This number can be used to track inventory goods.
  
  Passive tags are powered by energy from the RFID reader's interrogating radio waves. Active tags are powered by a battery and thus can be read at a greater range from the RFID reader, up to hundreds of meters. (Full article...)
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  An Ultra PRT vehicle on a test track at Heathrow Airport, London

  
  Personal rapid transit (PRT), also referred to as podcars or guided/railed taxis, is a public transport mode featuring a network of specially built guideways on which ride small automated vehicles that carry few (generally less than 6) passengers per vehicle. PRT is a type of automated guideway transit (AGT), a class of system which also includes larger vehicles all the way to small subway systems. In terms of routing, it tends towards personal public transport systems.
  
  PRT vehicles are sized for individual or small group travel, typically carrying no more than three to six passengers per vehicle. Guideways are arranged in a network topology, with all stations located on sidings, and with frequent merge/diverge points. This allows for nonstop, point-to-point travel, bypassing all intermediate stations. The point-to-point service has been compared to a taxi or a horizontal lift (elevator). (Full article...)
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  Mineral wool insulation, 1600 dpi scan

  
  
  Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer (i.e., the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature) between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with specially engineered methods or processes, as well as with suitable object shapes and materials.
  
  Heat flow is an inevitable consequence of contact between objects of different temperature. Thermal insulation provides a region of insulation in which thermal conduction is reduced, creating a thermal break or thermal barrier, or thermal radiation is reflected rather than absorbed by the lower-temperature body. (Full article...)
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  Inspecting an AN/ALQ-184 Electronic Attack Pod.

  
  
  An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy. The system may make many separate targets appear to the enemy, or make the real target appear to disappear or move about randomly. It is used effectively to protect aircraft from guided missiles. Most air forces use ECM to protect their aircraft from attack. It has also been deployed by military ships and recently on some advanced tanks to fool laser/IR guided missiles. It is frequently coupled with stealth advances so that the ECM systems have an easier job. Offensive ECM often takes the form of jamming. Self-protecting (defensive) ECM includes using blip enhancement and jamming of missile terminal homers. (Full article...)
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  Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus

  
  
  A mobile phone, or cell phone, is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones (landline phones). This radio frequency link connects to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, providing access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as 'cell phones' in North America.
  
  Beyond traditional voice communication, digital mobile phones have evolved to support a wide range of additional services. These include text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, and internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), as well as short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, and ultra-wideband (UWB). (Full article...)
• 
  An electrolaser is a type of electroshock weapon that is also a directed-energy weapon. It uses lasers to form an electrically conductive laser-induced plasma channel (LIPC). A fraction of a second later, a powerful electric current is sent down this plasma channel and delivered to the target, thus functioning overall as a large-scale, high energy, long-distance version of the Taser electroshock gun.
  
  Alternating current is sent through a series of step-up transformers, increasing the voltage and decreasing the current. The final voltage may be between 10⁸ and 10⁹ volts. This current is fed into the plasma channel created by the laser beam. (Full article...)
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  Concept art of hyperloop inner workings

  
  
  Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed transportation system for both passengers and freight. The concept behind the Hyperloop originated in the late 17th century with the invention of the world's first artificial vacuum, which led to designs for underground rapid transit systems powered by pneumatics in the decades that followed. In 1799, inventor George Medhurst proposed the idea to move goods through cast-iron pipes using air pressure and in 1844 built a railway station (for passenger carriages) in London that relied on pneumatics until 1847. In 2013, entrepreneur Elon Musk published a white paper, where the hyperloop was described as a transportation system using capsules supported by an air-bearing surface within a low-pressure tube. Hyperloop systems have three essential elements: tubes, pods, and terminals. The tube is a large, sealed low-pressure system (typically a long tunnel). The pod is a coach at atmospheric pressure that experiences low air resistance or friction inside the tube using magnetic propulsion (in the initial design, augmented by a ducted fan). The terminal handles pod arrivals and departures. The hyperloop, in the form proposed by Musk, differs from traditional vactrains by relying on residual air pressure inside the tube to provide lift from aerofoils and propulsion by fans; however, many subsequent variants using the name "hyperloop" have remained relatively close to the core principles of vactrains.
  
  Hyperloop was teased by Elon Musk at a 2012 speaking event, and described as a "fifth mode of transport". Musk released details of an alpha-version in a white paper on 22 August 2013, in which the hyperloop design incorporated reduced-pressure tubes with pressurized capsules riding on air bearings driven by linear induction motors and axial compressors. The white paper showed an example hyperloop route running from the Los Angeles region to the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly following the Interstate 5 corridor. Some transportation analysts challenged the cost estimates in the white paper, with some predicting that a hyperloop would run several billion dollars higher. (Full article...)
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  Pittsburgh Police using a bomb disposal robot to examine a potential bomb during the 2010 Pittsburgh Marathon

  
  Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the military fields of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD), and the public safety roles of public safety bomb disposal (PSBD) and the bomb squad. (Full article...)
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  Bloch sphere representation of a qubit. The state $|\psi \rangle =\alpha |0\rangle +\beta |1\rangle$ is a point on the surface of the sphere, partway between the poles, $|0\rangle$ and $|1\rangle$.

  
  
  A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing leverages this behavior using specialized hardware. Classical physics cannot explain the operation of these quantum devices, and a scalable quantum computer could perform some calculations exponentially faster than any modern "classical" computer. Theoretically a large-scale quantum computer could break some widely used encryption schemes and aid physicists in performing physical simulations; however, the current state of the art is largely experimental and impractical, with several obstacles to useful applications.
  
  
  The basic unit of information in quantum computing, the qubit (or "quantum bit"), serves the same function as the bit in classical computing. However, unlike a classical bit, which can be in one of two states (a binary), a qubit can exist in a superposition of its two "basis" states, a state that is in an abstract sense "between" the two basis states. When measuring a qubit, the result is a probabilistic output of a classical bit. If a quantum computer manipulates the qubit in a particular way, wave interference effects can amplify the desired measurement results. The design of quantum algorithms involves creating procedures that allow a quantum computer to perform calculations efficiently and quickly. (Full article...)
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  Rotimatic logo

  
  Rotimatic is an automated kitchen appliance that makes flatbread. It was invented by Indian-origin couple Pranoti Nagarkar and Rishi Israni in 2008.
  
  It was initially planned to be launched in 2012 but started taking USA pre-orders in 2014 with an initial deposit for $59 towards the initial price of $699. It was first shipped in 2016, and is currently available in twenty markets. As of May 2018 it had sold 10,000 units and as of October 2018 it has generated a revenue of US$40 million. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Bioenergy and geothermal power are also significant in some countries. Some also consider nuclear power a renewable power source, although this is controversial, as nuclear energy requires mining uranium, a nonrenewable resource.. Renewable energy installations can be large or small and are suited for both urban and rural areas. Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification. This has several benefits: electricity can move heat and vehicles efficiently and is clean at the point of consumption. Variable renewable energy sources are those that have a fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power. In contrast, controllable renewable energy sources include dammed hydroelectricity, bioenergy, or geothermal power.
  Renewable energy systems have rapidly become more efficient and cheaper over the past 30 years. A large majority of worldwide newly installed electricity capacity is now renewable. Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, have seen significant cost reductions over the past decade, making them more competitive with traditional fossil fuels. In most countries, photovoltaic solar or onshore wind are the cheapest new-build electricity. From 2011 to 2021, renewable energy grew from 20% to 28% of global electricity supply. Power from the sun and wind accounted for most of this increase, growing from a combined 2% to 10%. Use of fossil energy shrank from 68% to 62%. In 2022, renewables accounted for 30% of global electricity generation and are projected to reach over 42% by 2028. Many countries already have renewables contributing more than 20% of their total energy supply, with some generating over half or even all their electricity from renewable sources. (Full article...)
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  Quantum radar is a speculative remote-sensing technology based on quantum-mechanical effects, such as the uncertainty principle or quantum entanglement. Broadly speaking, a quantum radar can be seen as a device working in the microwave range, which exploits quantum features, from the point of view of the radiation source and/or the output detection, and is able to outperform a classical counterpart. One approach is based on the use of input quantum correlations (in particular, quantum entanglement) combined with a suitable interferometric quantum detection at the receiver (strongly related to the protocol of quantum illumination).
  
  Paving the way for a technologically viable prototype of a quantum radar involves the resolution of a number of experimental challenges as discussed in some review articles, the latter of which pointed out "inaccurate reporting" in the media. Current experimental designs seem to be limited to very short ranges, of the order of one meter, suggesting that potential applications might instead be for near-distance surveillance or biomedical scanning. (Full article...)
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  JX-594 is an oncolytic virus is designed to target and destroy cancer cells. It is also known as Pexa-Vec, INN pexastimogene devacirepvec) and was constructed in Dr. Edmund Lattime's lab at Thomas Jefferson University, tested in clinical trials on melanoma patients, and licensed and further developed by SillaJen.
  
  JX-594 is a modified Copenhagen strain (or Wyeth strain) vaccinia poxvirus engineered by addition of the GM-CSF gene and deletion of the thymidine kinase gene which limits viral replication to cells with high levels of thymidine kinase, typically seen in cancer cells with a mutated RAS or p53 gene. The virus also has the LacZ gene insertion under control of the p7.5 promoter. The virus kills the infected/cancer cells by lysis and also expresses GM-CSF which may help initiate an anti-tumour immune response. (Full article...)
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  Face disfigured by syphilis

  
  Disfigurement is the state of having one's appearance deeply and persistently harmed medically, such as from a disease, birth defect, or wound. General societal attitudes towards disfigurement have varied greatly across cultures and over time, with cultures possessing strong social stigma against it often causing psychological distress to disfigured individuals. Alternatively, many societies have regarded some forms of disfigurement in a medical, scientific context where someone having ill will against the disfigured is viewed as anathema. In various religious and spiritual contexts, disfigurement has been variously described as being a punishment from the divine for sin (such as Yahweh's defacement of Cain for Abel's murder in Judaism), as being (such as Paul of the New Testament's arguments about Christ's sufferings) caused by supernatural forces of hate and evil against the good and just, which will be later atoned for, or as being without explanation per se with people just having to endure.
  
  The topic has been frequently commented on and referred to in a great many forms of fictional media as well. Villainous examples include the iconic fiend The Joker from various DC Comics and the mysterious figure with a "red right hand" from the song of the same name by the band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Heroic examples include Daredevil, a crime-fighter who was rendered blind (from Marvel Comics), and the compassionate character Edward Scissorhands from the film of the same name. Antiheroic examples include Deadpool, a mercenary whose healing factor gives his skin a scarred appearance, and The Punisher, who has facial disfigurement, also from Marvel Comics. (Full article...)
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  The programmable metallization cell, or PMC, is a non-volatile computer memory developed at Arizona State University. PMC, a technology developed to replace the widely used flash memory, providing a combination of longer lifetimes, lower power, and better memory density. Infineon Technologies, who licensed the technology in 2004, refers to it as conductive-bridging RAM, or CBRAM. CBRAM became a registered trademark of Adesto Technologies in 2011. NEC has a variant called "Nanobridge" and Sony calls their version "electrolytic memory". (Full article...)
• 
  The Urban Aeronautics X-Hawk is a proposed flying car designed by Rafi Yoeli in Yavne, Israel, being built by Metro Skyways Ltd., a subsidiary of Yoeli's privately held company, Urban Aeronautics. The firm claims to have flown the car to a height of 90 cm (3 ft), and that greater heights are possible. The X-Hawk and its smaller unmanned version, the Tactical Robotics Cormorant, would be used in search and rescue operations where a helicopter would be useless, or at least very dangerous, such as evacuating people from the upper stories of burning buildings, or delivering and extracting police and soldiers while very close to structures, narrow streets, and confined spaces, with a projected size similar to that of a large van. (Full article...)

Selected global issues and related topics

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  Mushroom cloud from the 1954 explosion of Castle Bravo, the largest nuclear weapon detonated by the U.S.

  
  A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radioactive fallout, with global consequences. Such a scenario envisages large parts of the Earth becoming uninhabitable due to the effects of nuclear warfare, potentially causing the collapse of civilization, the extinction of humanity, or the termination of most biological life on Earth. Global fallout from widespread testing of nuclear weapons has caused until 2000 up to 2.4 million deaths, with some calling this testing genocide or ecocide.
  
  Besides the immediate destruction of cities by nuclear blasts, the potential aftermath of a nuclear war could involve firestorms, a nuclear winter, widespread radiation sickness from fallout, and/or the temporary (if not permanent) loss of much modern technology due to electromagnetic pulses. Some scientists, such as Alan Robock, have speculated that a thermonuclear war could result in the end of modern civilization on Earth, in part due to a long-lasting nuclear winter. In one model, the average temperature of Earth following a full thermonuclear war falls for several years by 7 – 8 °C (13 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit) on average.
  
  Early Cold War-era studies suggested that billions of humans would survive the immediate effects of nuclear blasts and radiation following a global thermonuclear war. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War believe that nuclear war could indirectly contribute to human extinction via secondary effects, including environmental consequences, societal breakdown, and economic collapse. (Full article...)
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  Existential risk from artificial intelligence refers to the idea that substantial progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) could lead to human extinction or an irreversible global catastrophe.
  
  One argument for the importance of this risk references how human beings dominate other species because the human brain possesses distinctive capabilities other animals lack. If AI were to surpass human intelligence and become superintelligent, it might become uncontrollable. Just as the fate of the mountain gorilla depends on human goodwill, the fate of humanity could depend on the actions of a future machine superintelligence.
  
  The plausibility of existential catastrophe due to AI is widely debated. It hinges in part on whether AGI or superintelligence are achievable, the speed at which dangerous capabilities and behaviors emerge, and whether practical scenarios for AI takeovers exist. Concerns about superintelligence have been voiced by computer scientists and tech CEOs such as Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Alan Turing, Elon Musk, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In 2022, a survey of AI researchers with a 17% response rate found that the majority believed there is a 10 percent or greater chance that human inability to control AI will cause an existential catastrophe. In 2023, hundreds of AI experts and other notable figures signed a statement declaring, "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war". Following increased concern over AI risks, government leaders such as United Kingdom prime minister Rishi Sunak and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an increased focus on global AI regulation. (Full article...)
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  Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.

  
  Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
  
  Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
  
  Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...)
• 
  Gray goo (also spelled as grey goo) is a hypothetical global catastrophic scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating machines consume all biomass (and perhaps also everything else) on Earth while building many more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy (literally: "consumption of the environment"). The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident.
  
  Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally described by mathematician John von Neumann, and are sometimes referred to as von Neumann machines or clanking replicators.
  The term gray goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. In 2004, he stated "I wish I had never used the term 'gray goo'." Engines of Creation mentions "gray goo" as a thought experiment in two paragraphs and a note, while the popularized idea of gray goo was first publicized in a mass-circulation magazine, Omni, in November 1986. (Full article...)
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  The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the interlinked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, internet telephony, and file sharing.
  
  The origins of the Internet date back to research that enabled the time-sharing of computer resources, the development of packet switching in the 1960s and the design of computer networks for data communication. The set of rules (communication protocols) to enable internetworking on the Internet arose from research and development commissioned in the 1970s by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense in collaboration with universities and researchers across the United States and in the United Kingdom and France. The ARPANET initially served as a backbone for the interconnection of regional academic and military networks in the United States to enable resource sharing. The funding of the National Science Foundation Network as a new backbone in the 1980s, as well as private funding for other commercial extensions, encouraged worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies and the merger of many networks using DARPA's Internet protocol suite. The linking of commercial networks and enterprises by the early 1990s, as well as the advent of the World Wide Web, marked the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet, and generated sustained exponential growth as generations of institutional, personal, and mobile computers were connected to the internetwork. Although the Internet was widely used by academia in the 1980s, the subsequent commercialization of the Internet in the 1990s and beyond incorporated its services and technologies into virtually every aspect of modern life.
  
  Most traditional communication media, including telephone, radio, television, paper mail, and newspapers, are reshaped, redefined, or even bypassed by the Internet, giving birth to new services such as email, Internet telephone, Internet radio, Internet television, online music, digital newspapers, and audio and video streaming websites. Newspapers, books, and other print publishing have adapted to website technology or have been reshaped into blogging, web feeds, and online news aggregators. The Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interaction through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking services. Online shopping has grown exponentially for major retailers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs, as it enables firms to extend their "brick and mortar" presence to serve a larger market or even sell goods and services entirely online. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries. (Full article...)
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  Raw sewage and industrial waste in the New River as it passes from Mexicali (Mexico) to Calexico, California

  
  Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.
  
  Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse. An example is agricultural runoff. Pollution is the result of the cumulative effect over time. Pollution may take many forms. One would is toxic substances such as oil, metals, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and industrial waste products. Another is stressful conditions such as changes of pH, hypoxia or anoxia, increased temperatures, excessive turbidity, or changes of salinity). The introduction of pathogenic organisms is another. Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.
  
  Control of water pollution requires appropriate infrastructure and management plans as well as legislation. Technology solutions can include improving sanitation, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, erosion control, sediment control and control of urban runoff (including stormwater management). (Full article...)
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  Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.

  
  Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming). Further problem areas are air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.
  
  Many scientists, along with the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a growing human population because this leads to human overpopulation and excessive consumption. Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries.
  
  Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity. For example, coral reefs—which are biodiversity hotspots—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate. Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss. Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems. (Full article...)
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  The dodo became extinct during the mid-to-late 17th century due to habitat destruction, overhunting, and predation by introduced mammals. It is an often-cited example of a human-driven extinction.

  
  
  The Holocene extinction, also referred to as the Anthropocene extinction, is an ongoing extinction event caused by human activities during the Holocene epoch. This extinction event spans numerous families of plants and animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, impacting both terrestrial and marine species. Widespread degradation of biodiversity hotspots such as coral reefs and rainforests has exacerbated the crisis. Many of these extinctions are undocumented, as the species are often undiscovered before their extinctions.
  
  Current extinction rates are estimated at 100 to 1,000 times higher than natural background extinction rates and are accelerating. Over the past 100–200 years, biodiversity loss has reached such alarming levels that some conservation biologists now believe human activities have triggered a mass extinction, or are on the cusp of doing so. As such, after the "Big Five" mass extinctions, the Holocene extinction event has been referred to as the sixth mass extinction. However, given the recent recognition of the Capitanian mass extinction, the term seventh mass extinction has also been proposed.
  
  The Holocene extinction was preceded by the extinction of most large (megafaunal) animals during the Late Pleistocene, a decline attributed in part to human hunting. The prevailing theory is that human overhunting, coinciding with existing stress conditions, likely contributed to this decline. Examples from regions such as New Zealand, Madagascar, and Hawaii have shown how human colonization and habitat destruction have led to significant biodiversity losses. While debates persist about the exact role of human predation and habitat alteration, certain extinctions have been directly linked to these activities. Additionally, climate shifts at the end of the Pleistocene likely compounded these effects. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.

  
  Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
  
  Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
  
  Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...)
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  Ocean acidification means that the average seawater pH value is dropping over time.

  
  
  Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ocean acidification, with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels exceeding 422 ppm (as of 2024). CO₂ from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. This chemical reaction produces carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion (HCO−3) and a hydrogen ion (H⁺). The presence of free hydrogen ions (H⁺) lowers the pH of the ocean, increasing acidity (this does not mean that seawater is acidic yet; it is still alkaline, with a pH higher than 8). Marine calcifying organisms, such as mollusks and corals, are especially vulnerable because they rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons.
  
  A change in pH by 0.1 represents a 26% increase in hydrogen ion concentration in the world's oceans (the pH scale is logarithmic, so a change of one in pH units is equivalent to a tenfold change in hydrogen ion concentration). Sea-surface pH and carbonate saturation states vary depending on ocean depth and location. Colder and higher latitude waters are capable of absorbing more CO₂. This can cause acidity to rise, lowering the pH and carbonate saturation levels in these areas. There are several other factors that influence the atmosphere-ocean CO₂ exchange, and thus local ocean acidification. These include ocean currents and upwelling zones, proximity to large continental rivers, sea ice coverage, and atmospheric exchange with nitrogen and sulfur from fossil fuel burning and agriculture.
  
  A lower ocean pH has a range of potentially harmful effects for marine organisms. Scientists have observed for example reduced calcification, lowered immune responses, and reduced energy for basic functions such as reproduction. Ocean acidification can impact marine ecosystems that provide food and livelihoods for many people. About one billion people are wholly or partially dependent on the fishing, tourism, and coastal management services provided by coral reefs. Ongoing acidification of the oceans may therefore threaten food chains linked with the oceans. (Full article...)
• 
  Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources to achieve later benefits". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broader viewpoint, an investment can be defined as "to tailor the pattern of expenditure and receipt of resources to optimise the desirable patterns of these flows". When expenditures and receipts are defined in terms of money, then the net monetary receipt in a time period is termed cash flow, while money received in a series of several time periods is termed cash flow stream.
  
  In finance, the purpose of investing is to generate a return on the invested asset. The return may consist of a capital gain (profit) or loss, realised if the investment is sold, unrealised capital appreciation (or depreciation) if yet unsold. It may also consist of periodic income such as dividends, interest, or rental income. The return may also include currency gains or losses due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
  
  Investors generally expect higher returns from riskier investments. When a low-risk investment is made, the return is also generally low. Similarly, high risk comes with a chance of high losses. Investors, particularly novices, are often advised to diversify their portfolio. Diversification has the statistical effect of reducing overall risk. (Full article...)
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  Two Indian stamps which combine to symbolize gender equality

  
  Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs equally, also regardless of gender. To avoid complication, other genders (besides women and men) will not be treated in this Gender equality article.
  
  UNICEF (an agency of the United Nations) defines gender equality as "women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike."
  As of 2017, gender equality is the fifth of seventeen sustainable development goals (SDG 5) of the United Nations; gender equality has not incorporated the proposition of genders besides women and men, or gender identities outside of the gender binary. Gender inequality is measured annually by the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Reports. (Full article...)
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  Global concentrations of health care resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. Data is sourced from a World Health Statistics 2010, a WHO report.

  
  Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. The term includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and public health.
  
  Access to health care may vary across countries, communities, and individuals, influenced by social and economic conditions and health policies. Providing health care services means "the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes". Factors to consider in terms of health care access include financial limitations (such as insurance coverage), geographical and logistical barriers (such as additional transportation costs and the ability to take paid time off work to use such services), sociocultural expectations, and personal limitations (lack of ability to communicate with health care providers, poor health literacy, low income). Limitations to health care services affect negatively the use of medical services, the efficacy of treatments, and overall outcome (well-being, mortality rates).
  
  Health systems are the organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care system requires a financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.

  
  Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming). Further problem areas are air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.
  
  Many scientists, along with the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a growing human population because this leads to human overpopulation and excessive consumption. Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries.
  
  Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity. For example, coral reefs—which are biodiversity hotspots—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate. Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss. Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's Maranhão state, 2016

  
  Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.
  
  
  The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, palm oil, rubber and various other popular products. Livestock grazing also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the wood industry (logging), urbanization and mining. The effects of climate change are another cause via the increased risk of wildfires (see deforestation and climate change).
  
  
  Deforestation results in habitat destruction which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. Deforestation also leads to extinction of animals and plants, changes to the local climate, and displacement of indigenous people who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as desertification and soil erosion. (Full article...)
• 
  Overconsumption describes a situation where consumers overuse their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this is the point where the marginal cost of a consumer is greater than their marginal utility. The term overconsumption is quite controversial and does not necessarily have a single unifying definition. When used to refer to natural resources to the point where the environment is negatively affected, it is synonymous with the term overexploitation. However, when used in the broader economic sense, overconsumption can refer to all types of goods and services, including artificial ones, e.g., "the overconsumption of alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning." Overconsumption is driven by several factors of the current global economy, including forces like consumerism, planned obsolescence, economic materialism, and other unsustainable business models, and can be contrasted with sustainable consumption.
  
  Defining the amount of a natural resource required to be consumed for it to count as "overconsumption" is challenging because defining a sustainable capacity of the system requires accounting for many variables. A system's total capacity occurs at regional and worldwide levels, which means that specific regions may have higher consumption levels of certain resources than others due to greater resources without overconsuming a resource. A long-term pattern of overconsumption in any region or ecological system can cause a reduction in natural resources, often resulting in environmental degradation. However, this is only when applying the word to environmental impacts. When used in an economic sense, this point is defined as when the marginal cost of a consumer is equal to their marginal utility. Gossen's law of diminishing utility states that at this point, the consumer realizes the cost of consuming/purchasing another item/good is not worth the amount of utility (also known as happiness or satisfaction from the good) they'd receive, and therefore is not conducive to the consumer's wellbeing.
  
  When used in the environmental sense, the discussion of overconsumption often parallels population size, growth, and human development: more people demanding a higher quality of living requires greater extraction of resources, which causes subsequent environmental degradation, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Currently, the inhabitants of high-wealth, "developed" nations consume resources at a rate almost 32 times greater than those of the developing world, making up most of the human population (7.9 billion people). However, the developing world is a growing consumer market. These nations are quickly gaining more purchasing power. The Global South, which includes cities in Asia, America, and Africa, is expected to account for 56% of consumption growth by 2030, meaning that if current trends continue, relative consumption rates will shift more into these developing countries, whereas developed countries would start to plateau. Sustainable Development Goal 12, "responsible consumption and production," is the main international policy tool with goals to abate the impact of overconsumption. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, convention centers (pictured here) were deemed to be ideal sites for temporary hospitals, due to their existing infrastructure (electrical, water, sewage). Hotels and dormitories were also considered appropriate because they can use negative pressure technology.

  
  
  A pandemic (/pænˈdɛmɪk/ pan-DEM-ik) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic diseases with a stable number of infected individuals such as recurrences of seasonal influenza are generally excluded as they occur simultaneously in large regions of the globe rather than being spread worldwide.
  
  Throughout human history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox. The Black Death, caused by the Plague, caused the deaths of up to half of the population of Europe in the 14th century. The term pandemic had not been used then, but was used for later epidemics, including the 1918 H1N1 influenza A pandemic—more commonly known as the Spanish flu—which is the deadliest pandemic in history. The most recent pandemics include the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the 2009 swine flu pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all these diseases still circulate among humans though their impact now is often far less.
  
  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 194 member states of the World Health Organization began negotiations on an International Treaty on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, with a requirement to submit a draft of this treaty to the 77th World Health Assembly during its 2024 convention. Further, on 6 May 2024, the White House released an official policy to more safely manage medical research projects involving potentially hazardous pathogens, including viruses and bacteria, that may pose a risk of a pandemic. (Full article...)
• 
  Inclusive growth is economic growth that raises standards of livings for broad swaths of a population. It is widely accepted that inclusive growth is challenging to be achieved in the real world. Both the intangibility and long term perspective make it less desirable than other more conspicuous economic targets for policymakers.
  
  There is a lack of a comprehensive and worldly recognised set of standards to systematically measure the inclusiveness of growth, which makes data collection and policy evaluation difficult. Proponents for inclusive growth warn that inequitable growth may have adverse political outcomes.
  
  The definition of inclusive growth implies direct links between the macroeconomic and microeconomic determinants of the economy and economic growth. The microeconomic dimension captures the importance of structural transformation for economic diversification and competition, while the macro dimension refers to changes in economic aggregates such as the country’s gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product (GDP), total factor productivity, and aggregate factor inputs. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Global distribution of dryland areas based on the aridity index computed over a 30-year average during 1981 to 2010. Typical deserts are indicated by the hyper-arid category (light yellow).

  
  Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.
  
  The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This is driven by a number of factors, alone or in combination, such as drought, climatic shifts, tillage for agriculture, overgrazing and deforestation for fuel or construction materials. Though vegetation plays a major role in determining the biological composition of the soil, studies have shown that, in many environments, the rate of erosion and runoff decreases exponentially with increased vegetation cover. Unprotected, dry soil surfaces blow away with the wind or are washed away by flash floods, leaving infertile lower soil layers that bake in the sun and become an unproductive hardpan. .
  
  At least 90% of the inhabitants of drylands live in developing countries, where they also suffer from poor economic and social conditions. This situation is exacerbated by land degradation because of the reduction in productivity, the precariousness of living conditions and the difficulty of access to resources and opportunities. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Unemployment rate, 2021

  
  
  Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the reference period.
  
  Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, which is the number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed added to those unemployed).
  
  Unemployment can have many sources, such as the following: (Full article...)
• 
  Biotechnology risk is a form of existential risk from biological sources, such as genetically engineered biological agents. The release of such high-consequence pathogens could be

  • deliberate (in the form of bioterrorism or biological weapons)
  • accidental, or
  • a naturally occurring event.

  
  
  A chapter on biotechnology and biosecurity was included in Nick Bostrom's 2008 anthology Global Catastrophic Risks, which covered risks including viral agents. Since then, new technologies like CRISPR and gene drives have been introduced.
  
  While the ability to deliberately engineer pathogens has been constrained to high-end labs run by top researchers, the technology to achieve this is rapidly becoming cheaper and more widespread. For example, the diminishing cost of sequencing the human genome (from $10 million to $1,000), the accumulation of large datasets of genetic information, the discovery of gene drives, and the discovery of CRISPR. Biotechnology risk is therefore a credible explanation for the Fermi paradox. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Destruction, from The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole (1836)

  
  Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an adaptive system, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible causes of a societal collapse include natural catastrophe, war, pestilence, famine, economic collapse, population decline or overshoot, mass migration, incompetent leaders, and sabotage by rival civilizations. A collapsed society may revert to a more primitive state, be absorbed into a stronger society, or completely disappear.
  
  Virtually all civilizations have suffered such a fate, regardless of their size or complexity. Most never recovered, such as the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the Maya civilization, and the Easter Island civilization. However, some of them later revived and transformed, such as China, Greece, and Egypt.
  
  Anthropologists, historians, and sociologists have proposed a variety of explanations for the collapse of civilizations involving causative factors such as environmental degradation, depletion of resources, costs of rising complexity, invasion, disease, decay of social cohesion, growing inequality, extractive institutions, long-term decline of cognitive abilities, loss of creativity, and misfortune. However, complete extinction of a culture is not inevitable, and in some cases, the new societies that arise from the ashes of the old one are evidently its offspring, despite a dramatic reduction in sophistication. Moreover, the influence of a collapsed society, such as the Western Roman Empire, may linger on long after its death. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Women selling produce at a market in Lilongwe, Malawi

  
  Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. The availability of food for people of any class and state, gender or religion is another element of food security. Similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Individuals who are food-secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Food security includes resilience to future disruptions of food supply. Such a disruption could occur due to various risk factors such as droughts and floods, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars. Food insecurity is the opposite of food security: a state where there is only limited or uncertain availability of suitable food.
  
  The concept of food security has evolved over time. The four pillars of food security include availability, access, utilization, and stability. In addition, there are two more dimensions that are important: agency and sustainability. These six dimensions of food security are reinforced in conceptual and legal understandings of the right to food. The World Food Summit in 1996 declared that "food should not be used as an instrument for political and economic pressure."
  
  There are many causes of food insecurity. The most important ones are high food prices and disruptions in global food supplies for example due to war. There is also climate change, water scarcity, land degradation, agricultural diseases, pandemics and disease outbreaks that can all lead to food insecurity. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Seabirds killed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The spill in March 1989 dumped approximately 10.8 million US gallons of crude oil into the environment, killing over 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and numerous other wildlife. The Alaskan fishing industry also suffered tremendously as a result of the spill.

  
  An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity. This point distinguishes environmental disasters from other disturbances such as natural disasters and intentional acts of war such as nuclear bombings.
  
  Environmental disasters show how the impact of humans' alteration of the land has led to widespread and/or long-lasting consequences. These disasters have included deaths of wildlife, humans and plants, or severe disruption of human life or health, possibly requiring migration. Some environmental disasters are the trigger source of more expansive environmental conflicts, where effected groups try to socially confront the actors responsible for the disaster. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Map of the world's biodiversity hot spots, all of which are heavily threatened by habitat loss and degradation

  
  
  Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide.
  
  Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species. (Full article...)

Did you know...

• ... that Premana Premadi is the first Indonesian female astronomer to have an asteroid named in her honor?
• ... that French astrochemist Christine Joblin co-created a webcomic to popularize her research on the origins of cosmic dust?
• ... that the Skyrocket Galaxy has been described by NASA as looking like a "July 4th skyrocket"?
• ... that the quasar 3C 345 has a jet that appears to move five to fifteen times faster than the speed of light?
• ... that the steps of Pohang Space Walk represent an ascent to an unreachable utopia?
• ... that after the original Stonewall Inn closed in 1969, its space was used by a bagel shop, a Chinese restaurant, and a clothing store?
• ... that the Cold Cathode Gauge Experiment could detect gases leaking from an astronaut's life support systems on the Moon's surface?
• ... that in his book The Creative Gene, Hideo Kojima revealed that he would sacrifice his position as a game designer to go to outer space?
• ... that despite having been enlarged for the 1939 New York World's Fair, the Willets Point Boulevard station served practically no resident population by 1949?
• ... that with a population of 1,500, Millstreet in County Cork, Ireland, became the smallest settlement to host the Eurovision Song Contest when it staged the 1993 event?
• ... that rubber barons like Carlos Scharff enslaved indigenous populations in the Upper Amazon region during the rubber boom as a workforce for latex collection?
• ... that the comet C/1963 A1 (Ikeya) was discovered by 19-year-old amateur astronomer Kaoru Ikeya using a self-made telescope?
• ... that the book A City on Mars covers sex in space, raising children in low gravity, space law, and space cannibalism?
• ... that 6 percent of the US population had symptoms of long COVID lasting three months or longer in the first half of 2023?

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Selected images that captured my attention

• 
  The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on July 25, 1946. Its purpose was to test the effect of nuclear weapons on naval ships. It was the second US nuclear bomb set off since the bombing of Nagasaki.
• 
  The Hubble Extreme Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax released by NASA on September 25, 2012. The successor to the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, this image was compiled from 10 years of previous images with a total exposure time of two million seconds, or approximately 23 days.
• 
  You are feeling very sleepy...
• 
  Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and currently the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). It was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development known as Downtown Dubai. Construction took over five years, and the skyscraper was officially opened in January 2010.
• 
  United States Navy personnel engage in Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) training between a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopter and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). SPIE involves either a person or goods being lowered from or raised to a helicopter via a cable above terrain on which landing would be difficult.
• 
  A man engaging in big wave surfing at Mavericks, located just north of Half Moon Bay, California. Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into or are towed onto waves which are at least 20 ft (6.1 m) high, and is a hazardous activity, as surfers can be pushed far beneath the surface of the water after a wipeout.
• 
  American astronaut Eugene Cernan (born March 14, 1934), shown here on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission, the last time any human has set foot on it. In that final lunar landing mission, launched December 7, 1972, Cernan became "the last man on the moon" since he was the last to re-enter the Apollo Lunar Module during its third and final extra-vehicular activity. Prior to this, Cernan had also gone into space twice on the Gemini 9A and Apollo 10 missions.
• 
  A lava lake at Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano found in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lava lakes, which can form in three different ways, are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. Persistent lava lakes such as the one at Nyiragongo, which is the largest to appear in recent times, are rare.
• 
  The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy located 21 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was first discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and communicated to Charles Messier, who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries. This image, released on February 28, 2006, is composed of 51 individual exposures, as well as some extra ground-based photos. At the time of its release, it was the largest and most detailed image of a galaxy by the Hubble Space Telescope.
• 
  Sand castle
• 
  aurora australis, as seen from the International Space Station. Aurorae are natural light displays in the sky caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude thermosphere. The particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere.
• 
  Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, on a concrete-floored dock at the port of Hvalba, which is in the Faroe Islands, north of the United Kingdom. Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practised since at least the 10th century. It is strongly regulated by Faroese authorities and is approved by the International Whaling Commission.
• 
  The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman aqueduct located in Segovia, Spain that transports water from the Rio Frio. It is thought to have been constructed during the 1st century CE. One of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula, the aqueduct is considered a symbol of Segovia and is present on the city's coat of arms.
• 
  NGC 1300 is a barred spiral galaxy located roughly 69 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Eridanus. In its core, the nucleus shows its own extraordinary and distinct "grand-design" spiral structure that is about 3,300 light-years long.
• 
  The mushroom cloud from the Ivy Mike nuclear test, one of two tests conducted as part of Operation Ivy at the Pacific Proving Grounds on Elugelab in the Marshall Islands. Mike was the first successful full-scale test of a multi-megaton thermonuclear weapon, and it left an underwater crater 6,240 ft (1,900 m) wide and 164 ft (50 m) deep where the island had been.
• 
  One of two monkey selfies taken by Celebes crested macaques using equipment belonging to the British nature photographer David Slater. In mid-2014, the images' hosting on Wikimedia Commons was at the centre of a dispute over whether copyright could be held on artworks made by non-human animals. Slater argued that, as he had "engineered" the shot, he held copyright, while Wikimedia considered the photographs public domain on the grounds that they were made by an animal rather than a person. In December 2014, the United States Copyright Office stated that works by a non-human are not subject to US copyright, a view reaffirmed by a US federal judge in 2016.
• 
  Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station, observing the Earth below during Expedition 24. Caldwell Dyson is an American chemist and astronaut. She was selected by NASA in 1998 and made her first spaceflight in August 2007 on the STS-118 mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.
• 
  View from Notre-Dame de Paris.
• 
  The I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Saint Anthony Falls of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once the third-busiest bridge in the state, it suddenly collapsed on August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring 145. Rescue of people stranded on the bridge was complete in three hours, while recovery of bodies—involving 75 local, state and federal agencies—took three weeks. An NTSB investigation cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that a too-thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets.
• 
  The sperm whale is the largest toothed animal on Earth. The species was hunted extensively by humans throughout history, until protected by a worldwide moratorium on whaling starting in 1985–86.
• 
  An overhead view of Skylab, the United States' first space station, in Earth orbit as photographed from the Skylab 4 Command and Service Modules. Skylab 4 was the last mission to Skylab and brought back its final crew; this photograph was the last one taken of the station before the mission re-entered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated in 1979.
• 
  A dust storm rushes towards a military camp as it rolls over Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, just before nightfall on April 27, 2005. A dust storm (or sandstorm) is a meteorological phenomenon common in dry, arid and semi-arid regions, usually the result of convection currents created by intense heating of the ground. These currents then carry clouds of sand over large distances.
• 
  Height comparison of notable statues: 1) Statue of Unity 240 m. 2) Spring Temple Buddha 153 m. 3) Statue of Liberty 93 m. 4) The Motherland Calls 91 m. 5) Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m. 6) Statue of David 5.17 m.
• 
  Crash landing of an F6F Hellcat into the port side 20mm gun gallery of the USS Enterprise, November 10, 1943. Lieutenant Walter L. Chewning, Jr., USNR, the Catapult Officer, is climbing up the plane's side to assist the pilot from the burning aircraft. The pilot, Ensign Byron M. Johnson, escaped without significant injury. Note the plane's ruptured belly fuel tank.
• 
  Devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana during 2005, shown here looking down on Interstate 10 at West End Boulevard towards Lake Pontchartrain. Over 1,800 people were confirmed dead with 705 still missing. It was the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history causing around $86 billion in damage. This photo shows flooded roadways as the United States Coast Guard conducted initial damage assessment overflights of New Orleans on Monday, August 29, 2005. The city flooded due primarily to the failure of the levee system. Many who remained in their homes had to swim for their lives, wade through deep water, or remain trapped in their attics or on their rooftops.
• 
  San Francisco Bay shrouded in fog, as seen from the Marin Headlands looking east. The fog of San Francisco is a kind of sea fog, created when warm, moist air blows from the central Pacific Ocean across the cold water of the California Current, which flows just off the coast. The water is cold enough to lower the temperature of the air to the dew point, causing fog generation. In this photo, the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen poking through the fog, and the Bay Bridge is visible in the distance.
• 
• 
• 
  A Marginated Tortoise hatchling.
• 
  Astronaut Buzz Aldrin saluting the flag of the United States, part of the Lunar Flag Assembly, during Apollo 11. The Lunar Flag Assembly was designed to survive a Moon landing and to appear to "wave" as it would in a breeze on Earth. This flag fell over when the Lunar Module Eagle took off.
• 
  The International Space Station (ISS) as seen from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Zarya, the first module of the ISS launched in 1998, is seen in the foreground. Since then, twenty-six Space Shuttle flights have docked with the ISS to assemble various other modules and components, which include four pairs of solar arrays seen on each side.
• 
  Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the August 28 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 people participated in the march, which featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was a major factor leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The march was also condemned by the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X, who termed it the "farce on Washington".
• 
  The American Bison, or Buffalo, is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and once inhabited the Great Plains in massive herds. They were central to the lives of Native American tribes. This pile of bison skulls from the 1870s illustrates the extent of their slaughter in the 19th century by settlers: from a population of about 60 million in 1800 to as few as 750 in 1890. They have since been reintroduced into the wild and are no longer considered a high risk endangered species.
• 
  A swan created using modular origami, a paperfolding technique which uses two or more sheets of paper to create a larger and more complex structure than possible with single-piece origami techniques. Each individual sheet of paper is folded into a module, or unit, and then modules are assembled into an integrated flat shape or three-dimensional structure by inserting flaps into pockets created by the folding process. These insertions create tension or friction that holds the model together.
• 
  The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the freestanding bell tower of the Cathedral of Pisa, Italy. The third oldest structure in the city's Square of Miracles, it is known worldwide for its unintended tilt. The tower's tilt began during construction in the 12th century, caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt gradually increased until the tower was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The tower, which measures 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
• 
  Sandboarding is a boardsport similar to snowboarding, but competitions take place on sand dunes rather than snow-covered mountains. Here, a member of the US Navy sandboards down a dune in Jebel Ali, Dubai.
• 
  The mushroom cloud caused by the detonation of the "Fat Man" bomb during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, rising approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) above the hypocenter.
• 
  The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze, Turkmenistan, which has been burning since 1971 when it was ignited by Soviet scientists who expected it to burn out within days. They were trying to prevent the release of poisonous gases. The name "Door to Hell" was given to the field by locals. The hot spots range over an area with a width of 60 metres (200 ft) and to a depth of about 20 metres (66 ft).
• 
  An animation of a cicada undergoing ecdysis, the molting of the exoskeleton in arthropods and related groups. Since the cuticula of these animals is inelastic, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The old, empty exoskeleton is called an exuvia. Within one or two hours, the cuticle hardens and darkens, during which time the animal grows, since growth is otherwise constrained by the rigidity of the exoskeleton. Each frame of this image was taken at one-minute intervals, with a 30-minute gap in middle while the cicada rested. The entire process took about 2 hours to complete.
• 
  Lucky Diamond Rich (b. 1971) is a New Zealand-born performance artist and street performer who holds the Guinness World Record for most tattooed man, taking the title from Tom Leppard in 2006. He is recognized by Guinness as being covered in tattoos over 100% of his body, including the inside of his eyelids, ears, and mouth.
• 
  A neutral density filter is a filter that reduces or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths or colors of light equally, giving no changes in hue of color rendition. The filter reduces the amount of light entering the lens, allowing the photographer to select combinations of aperture, exposure time and sensor sensitivity to avoid overexposed pictures. It would normally be attached to the lens, but is hand-held here to illustrate the effect.
• 
  The Thinker
• 
  The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a magnitude 9.15, undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26 2004. The earthquake generated a tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people around the Indian Ocean, making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. This photograph shows the tsunami as it reached Ao Nang, Thailand.
• 
  Imagine waking up to this. Which makes me wonder whatever happened to the guy who took this photo.
• 
  Glaucus atlanticus is a species of small, blue sea slug. This pelagic aeolid nudibranch floats upside down, using the surface tension of the water to stay up, and is carried along by the winds and ocean currents. The blue side of their body faces upwards, blending in with the blue of the water, while the grey side faces downwards, blending in with the silvery surface of the sea. G. atlanticus feeds on other pelagic creatures, including the Portuguese man o' war.

Trump news tracker

15 February 2025 – South Africa–United States relations

Hundreds of White South Africans hold a protest outside the U.S. embassy in Pretoria in support of U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that the South African government is discriminating against the country's white minority. (AP)

13 February 2025 – Second cabinet of Donald Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services by a Senate vote of 52–48. (NPR)

12 February 2025 – Russo-Ukrainian War

After holding a telephone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, U.S. president Donald Trump says negotiations to end the war will start immediately. (CNN) (Euronews)

12 February 2025 – Foreign relations of the United States

The Trump administration agree to send convicted money launderer Alexander Vinnik back to Russia in exchange for the release of American teacher Marc Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence for entering the country with 17 grams of medical cannabis. (Reuters) (NBC News)

11 February 2025 – Jordan–United States relations

King Abdullah II of Jordan meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. for talks focusing on the president's proposal for the removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and a subsequent United States takeover of the region, with President Trump threatening to withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they do not agree to the proposal. (ABC News)

11 February 2025 – Russia–United States relations

Russia releases U.S. citizen Marc Fogel, after talks with Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. (The New York Times)

10 February 2025 – Gaza War

In response to Hamas' announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump issues an ultimatum, saying that if all remaining hostages are not released by Saturday then "all hell will break loose" in the Middle East. (Sky News)

10 February 2025 – Second Trump tariffs

United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all aluminium and steel imports. (NBC News)

9 February 2025 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Egypt announces it will host an emergency summit of the Arab League on 27 February to address U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle all Palestinians from Gaza. (AP)

8 February 2025 – United States and the International Criminal Court, Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan becomes the first person to have economic and travel sanctions placed on him by the U.S. government following an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump intended to target the war crimes tribunal over investigations of U.S. citizens or allies. (The Times of Israel)

7 February 2025 – South Africa–United States relations, Racism in South Africa

U.S. President Donald Trump orders a freeze on all foreign aid to South Africa citing a South African law that allegedly allows land to be forcibly seized from white farmers. Trump also calls for the U.S. to accept Afrikaner refugees to protect them from "government-sponsored race-based discrimination". (NDTV)

7 February 2025 –

Seventy-nine countries jointly speak out in a statement against the sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on the International Criminal Court officials. (NOS)

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15 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign

2025 Bukavu offensive

Mass looting and sporadic gunfire is reported in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as M23 rebels advance into the city. A World Food Programme depot is among the facilities looted by mobs. (BBC News)

The Congolese military withdraws from Bukavu heading south towards Tanganyika Province. (AP)

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of the Ugandan defence forces, claiming to act with the authority of his father, President Yoweri Museveni, threatens to invade the Democratic Republic of the Congo and take control of Bunia, capital of Ituri Province, unless local forces surrender their weapons within 24 hours. Kainerugaba alleges that the Hema people are being killed. (Reuters)

15 February 2025 – Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in exchange for the Israeli government releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners, most without criminal charges or convictions, as part of the first stage of the 2025 ceasefire. (Al Jazeera) (AP)

15 February 2025 – 2025 Munich car attack

A 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old child die as the result of injuries sustained in a vehicle-ramming attack in Munich, Germany, two days ago. (Stern.de)

15 February 2025 – 2025 Villach stabbing attack

A 14-year-old is killed and four other wounded during a mass stabbing on a street in Villach, Austria. A 23-year-old Syrian national is arrested. (AP)

15 February 2025 –

A crowd crush leaves 15 people dead and ten others injured at New Delhi railway station in New Delhi, India. (BBC News)

15 February 2025 – South Africa–United States relations

Hundreds of White South Africans hold a protest outside the U.S. embassy in Pretoria in support of U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that the South African government is discriminating against the country's white minority. (AP)

15 February 2025 –

The Lebanese Armed Forces arrest over 25 people on suspicion of attacking a UNIFIL convoy and United Nations peacekeepers near Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)

15 February 2025 – 2025 African Union Commission Chairperson election

Government leaders of the member states of the African Union elect Djiboutian foreign affairs minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf as the organization's Chairperson, succeeding Chadian Moussa Faki. (AP) (Reuters)

14 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign, Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict

2025 Bukavu offensive

M23 rebels and Rwandan troops seize control of Kavumu Airport in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (DW)

M23 forces and Rwandan troops enter the city of Bukavu, according to local security and humanitarian officials. There are no reports of resistance as most Congolese troops withdraw. (Digital Journal)

Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi cancels his participation in an upcoming African Union summit to end the conflict due to the "situation on the ground". Tshisekedi accuses Rwanda of invading the country to seize its mineral-rich regions. (RFI)

14 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant drone strike

A drone strikes the New Safe Confinement structure housing the site of the Chernobyl disaster. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy states that a Russian combat drone caused significant damage to the structure, but did not produce an increase in external radiation levels. (CNN)

14 February 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan

Eleven coal miners are killed and five others are wounded when a bomb hits a truck in Harnai, Balochistan, Pakistan. (AP)

14 February 2025 –

At least six people are killed and seven injured in a fire at a construction site in Busan, South Korea. (Al Jazeera)

Ten people are killed and 19 others are injured in a collision between a car and a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims heading to Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. (DW)

13 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign

2025 Bukavu offensive

M23 rebels capture Kalehe Territory and Ihusi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, leading to several civilian casualties and the mass evacuation of residents. (BBC Gahuza)

13 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State

Islamic State insurgency in Puntland

Puntland counter-terrorism operations

More than thirty IS–Somalia fighters are killed in airstrikes on positions in the Sheebaab area of the Cal Miskaad mountains in northern Bari Region, Puntland, Somalia. (Hiiraan Online) (Anadolu Agency)

13 February 2025 – Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Gaza war hostage crisis

Hamas says it will resume the release of hostages according to the terms of the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel. (CBS News)

13 February 2025 – 2025 Munich car attack

At least 28 people are injured by a vehicle-ramming attack during a demonstration by the ver.di trade union in Munich, Germany. Police arrest the vehicle's driver, a 24-year-old man, at the scene on suspicion of Islamic terrorism. (Sky News) (New Arab) (PBS)

13 February 2025 – German economic crisis

German automotive manufacturer Porsche announces it will cut 2,000 jobs over the next five years, reducing its workforce by 15%, primarily affecting its assembly plants in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Weissach in Baden-Wurttemberg. (DW)

13 February 2025 – 2025 Taichung Shin Kong Mitsukoshi gas explosion

Four people are killed and thirty-two others are injured by a gas explosion at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in Taichung, Taiwan. (Central News Agency)

13 February 2025 –

At least 21 people are injured, including 10 seriously, in a fire inside of a costume factory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha)

Three people are dead and 114 fall ill, including two in critical conditions, after a gastroenteritis outbreak at four hospices in Florence, Italy. (Ansa)

At least one person is killed and three others are injured by an explosion at the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban government alleges that it was a suicide attack, while no party has claimed responsibility. (DW)

The US Navy Sixth Fleet announces that the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman was involved in collision at sea with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M on Feb 12th while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea.(U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs)

13 February 2025 – International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders

The United States Treasury Department sanctions Karim Ahmad Khan, the top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, over his decision to investigate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant regarding their conduct during the Gaza war. (U.S. Treasury Department)

13 February 2025 – Investigations into the Eric Adams administration

Acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and five other U.S. Justice Department officials resign after being ordered by the second Trump administration to drop a federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. (CNN)

13 February 2025 –

The Royal Thai Army announces that 260 foreigners have been rescued from online scam centers in Myanmar near the two countries' border, where they were trafficked to and forced to work in. (AP News)

13 February 2025 – Second cabinet of Donald Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services by a Senate vote of 52–48. (NPR)

12 February 2025 – Russo-Ukrainian War

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Kyiv strikes

Russian forces launch an overnight ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, killing one person and injuring four others. (Reuters)

United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

After holding a telephone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, U.S. president Donald Trump says negotiations to end the war will start immediately. (CNN) (Euronews)

12 February 2025 – Sudanese civil war

Darfur campaign

The Rapid Support Forces storm the Zamzam Refugee Camp in North Darfur, Sudan, the country's largest displacement camp. The situation inside the camp, which holds around 500,000 people, is described as "catastrophic", with an unknown number of casualties. (BBC News)

12 February 2025 – Students–People's uprising

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reports that over 1,400 people were killed last year during violent crackdowns on protests against the government of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by the military and police, with over 78% of the casualties having been shot. (DW)

12 February 2025 – 2025 Hamburg train accident

The casualty total from yesterday's collision between an Intercity Express train and a semi-trailer truck in Hamburg, Germany, increases to one person killed and 25 injured. (EuroWeekly)

12 February 2025 –

A fishing trawler capsizes off South Korea's Jeju Island, with five crew members reported missing. Five others are rescued by the Korea Coast Guard. (AP)

12 February 2025 – Russia–Sudan relations

Sudanese foreign minister Ali Yousif Sharif reports that an agreement has been reached for the creation of a Russian naval base in Sudan. (Al Arabiya)

12 February 2025 – Foreign relations of the United States

Belarus–United States relations

U.S. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announces that Belarus has released three detainees, including an American citizen. (Al Arabiya)

Russia–United States relations

The Trump administration agree to send convicted money launderer Alexander Vinnik back to Russia in exchange for the release of American teacher Marc Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence for entering the country with 17 grams of medical cannabis. (Reuters) (NBC News)

12 February 2025 – 2025 Grenoble attack

A man throws a grenade into a bar in Grenoble, France, injuring 15 people, some of whom in critical conditon.(Times Now)

12 February 2025 – 2025 Greek presidential election

Konstantinos Tasoulas is elected President of Greece by the Hellenic Parliament in the fourth and final round of the presidential election. (Ekathimerini)

12 February 2025 –

Senate's President Ilie Bolojan becomes acting President of Romania following Klaus Iohannis' resignation on 10 February. (Reuters)

12 February 2025 – Neutrino detection

Researchers at the KM3NeT collaboration, published their results on the highest energy neutrino ever detected. The infrastructure, located at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, recorded an event 30 times more energetic than the previous recordholder. (Nature), (AP)

11 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign

2025 Bukavu offensive

Rwandan-backed M23 rebel forces initiate advances towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following a two-day unilateral ceasefire. (Al Jazeera)

CODECO insurgents kill at least 52 people and injure eight others in attacks across Ituri Province, DRC. At least 30 civilian homes were burned down during the attacks, according to Radio Okapi. (Anadolu Ajansi)

11 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State

Islamic State insurgency in Puntland

Puntland counter-terrorism operations

At least 27 Puntland soldiers and more than 70 ISIL militants are killed or wounded in fighting around the Togga Jacel area of the Cal Miskaad mountains in Puntland’s Bari Region. This is the deadliest attack since Puntland launched an offensive in December 2024 against Islamic State in Somalia hiding in the Golis Mountains. (VOA) (Reuters) (Garowe Online)

11 February 2025 – Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Gaza war hostage crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that if Hamas does not release Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume offensive operations in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)

11 February 2025 – Islamic State–Taliban conflict

Five Taliban members are killed and seven others are injured during a suicide bombing outside New Kabul Bank in Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Arab News)

11 February 2025 –

The accession ceremony is held for Prince Rahim al-Hussaini as the 50th Imam of Nizari Isma'ilism, succeeding his late father Aga Khan IV. (Islamabad Post)

11 February 2025 – 2025 Hamburg train accident

Twelve people are injured, including two critically, when an Intercity Express train collides with a semi-trailer truck in Hamburg, Germany. (AP)

11 February 2025 – Foreign relations of South Korea, Foreign relations of Syria

The South Korean Foreign Ministry announces that the country will move to establish diplomatic relations with Syria. (Korea Herald)

11 February 2025 – Jordan–United States relations

King Abdullah II of Jordan meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. for talks focusing on the president's proposal for the removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and a subsequent United States takeover of the region, with President Trump threatening to withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they do not agree to the proposal. (ABC News)

11 February 2025 – Russia–United States relations

Russia releases U.S. citizen Marc Fogel, after talks with Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. (The New York Times)

11 February 2025 – Antisemitism in Australia, Clinical incidents in Australia

Two nurses in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia are stood down after claiming on video that they allegedly both refused to treat and intentionally mistreated Israeli patients. (The Guardian)

11 February 2025 – Belarus–European Union border crisis

The European Court of Human Rights says it will consider three cases involving irregular migrants allegedly having been pushed back across the border into Belarus from EU countries. (Forbes)

11 February 2025 –

Italian police arrest around 150 people across Sicily in the biggest anti-Mafia raid since 1984. (The Guardian)

11 February 2025 – Politics of Vanuatu, 2025 Vanuatuan general election

Jotham Napat is elected Prime Minister of Vanuatu by parliament. Napat, who received 50 votes, was elected unopposed. (RNZ Pacific)

11 February 2025 –

Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States announce sanctions on a Russian bulletproof hosting services provider that is allegedly ignoring law enforcement requests, along with two Russians who are operating the network. (AP)

The Government of Spain announces it will grant residency and work permits to up to 25,000 immigrants affected by the floods in the Valencian Community in 2024. (AP)

Google Calendar confirms it has removed Black History Month, Pride Month and other cultural events from its service, saying the holidays were "not sustainable" for Google's new business model which is rolling back an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). (The Guardian)

11 February 2025 – 2025 Asian Winter Games

South Korea at the 2025 Asian Winter Games

Biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova wins the first gold medal for South Korea in biathlon at the Asian Winter Games. (Korea JoongAng Daily)

10 February 2025 – Gaza War

Gaza war hostage crisis

2025 Gaza war ceasefire

Hamas delays the release of further hostages under the ceasefire agreement, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire. (BBC News)

United States support for Israel in the Gaza war

In response to Hamas' announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump issues an ultimatum, saying that if all remaining hostages are not released by Saturday then "all hell will break loose" in the Middle East. (Sky News)

10 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State

Islamic State insurgency in Puntland

Puntland counter-terrorism operations

Puntland forces announce that, over the past 24 hours, airstrikes targeting Islamic State hideouts have killed more than 13 foreign militants in the Dhasaq area of Bari Region, Puntland. (Anadolu Agency)

10 February 2025 – Second Trump tariffs

United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all aluminium and steel imports. (NBC News)

10 February 2025 – 2025 Guatemala City bus crash

A bus veers off a bridge and falls into a ravine in Guatemala City, Guatemala, killing 56 people and seriously wounding others. The government declares three days of national mourning. (CBS News) (Prensa Libre)

10 February 2025 –

One person is killed and four others are injured when a Learjet 35A aircraft veers off the runway and crashes into a Gulfstream G200 aircraft at Scottsdale Airport in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. (The Arizona Republic) (KNXV-TV)

10 February 2025 – North Korea–South Korea relations, Korean conflict

South Korea opposition leader Lee Jae-myung calls for renewed dialogue talks with North Korea and emphasizes the need to maintain strong military readiness amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (NK News)

10 February 2025 – 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement

Police in Bangladesh arrest over 1,300 people amid riots and pro-Sheikh Hasina protests. (DW)

10 February 2025 – 2025 Romanian presidential election

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announces his resignation. (DW)

10 February 2025 – Artificial Intelligence Cold War, 2025 in artificial intelligence

French President Emmanuel Macron tells major world leaders gathered at an AI summit in Paris that France is "back in the AI race". His remarks came following the announcement that the country would be receiving AI private investments worth a total of €109 billion (US$112 billion) over the coming years. (France 24) (The New York Times) (AP)

9 February 2025 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict

Israeli invasion of Lebanon

2024–25 Tyre airstrikes

Six people are killed and two others are wounded in Israeli airstrikes near Jannata, South Governorate, Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)

9 February 2025 – Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire

According to ceasefire terms, the Israel Defense Forces fully withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor as Palestinians return to northern Gaza. (DW)

Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Gaza war

Two women are killed by Israeli forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm Governorate, West Bank. (Al Jazeera)

9 February 2025 – Libyan crisis

Authorities uncover two mass graves containing nearly 50 bodies of refugees in Kufra, Libya. (Al Jazeera)

9 February 2025 – Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

Thirty-one Maoist militants and two security forces are killed during a shootout around Indravati River in Chhattisgarh, India. (Al Jazeera)

9 February 2025 – Mexican drug war

At least five bodies are abandoned under a bridge near Cárdenas, Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico. A banner allegedly signed by the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel was found at the crime scene. (Milenio Noticias)

9 February 2025 – 2025 Sri Lanka blackouts

A nationwide blackout occurs in Sri Lanka. Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody says a monkey triggered the mass power outage after "coming into contact" with a grid transformer at a substation near Colombo. (BBC News)

9 February 2025 –

One person is killed and at least 28 others are missing in a landslide in a village near Yibin, Sichuan, China. (Al Jazeera) (Miami Herald)

Five people are injured when a Green Line train collided with an out-of-service train in Somerville, Massachusetts, causing both trains to derail. (WWLP)

9 February 2025 – Baltic states synchronization with CESA

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania join the Continental Europe Synchronous Area, one day after disconnecting from the IPS/UPS. (BBC News)

9 February 2025 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Egypt announces it will host an emergency summit of the Arab League on 27 February to address U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle all Palestinians from Gaza. (AP)

9 February 2025 – 2025 Ecuadorian general election

Citizens of Ecuador vote to elect a president and the members of the National Assembly amidst the country's security crisis. With around 44% of the popular vote each in the presidential race, incumbent Daniel Noboa and challenger Luisa González will compete in a run-off vote on 13 April. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News)

9 February 2025 – 2025 Kosovan parliamentary election

Citizens of Kosovo vote to elect the members of the Kuvendi. (BBC News)

9 February 2025 – 2025 Liechtenstein general election

Citizens of Liechtenstein vote to elect the members of the Landtag, with the Patriotic Union winning the most votes and its leader Brigitte Haas expected to become the country's first female head of government. (SRF)

9 February 2025 – Super Bowl LIX

In American football, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 40–22, to win their second Super Bowl, thereby denying the Chiefs of a three-peat. (WCAU-TV)

8 February 2025 – Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Gaza war hostage crisis

Three more Israeli hostages are freed by Hamas as part of the January 19 ceasefire deal. (Saudi Gazette)

8 February 2025 – Syrian civil war

Hezbollah–Syria clashes

Four people are killed in border clashes between Syrian Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and Lebanese clans. (Al-Monitor)

8 February 2025 – Afghan conflict

Republican insurgency in Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Freedom Front claims responsibility for a attack on a Taliban convoy in the Afghanistan province of Takhar, killing three people and injuring two. (Afghanistan International)

8 February 2025 – 2025 Escárcega bus crash

At least 41 people are killed when a bus collides with a semi-trailer truck in Escárcega, Campeche, Mexico. (Noticieros Televisa) (Reuters)

8 February 2025 –

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Caribbean Sea southwest of the Cayman Islands. (CNN)

8 February 2025 – Baltic states synchronization with CESA

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania disconnect from the IPS/UPS synchronous transmission grid in order to synchronize with the Continental Europe grid. (BBC News)

8 February 2025 – Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict

A crisis summit is held involving the regional blocs SADC and the EAC, along with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The DR Congo is represented by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa, while President Félix Tshisekedi attends virtually. The blocs call for a ceasefire and negotiations involving the M23 movement, while the Congolese do not comment. (BBC News) (CNN)

8 February 2025 – United States and the International Criminal Court, Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan becomes the first person to have economic and travel sanctions placed on him by the U.S. government following an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump intended to target the war crimes tribunal over investigations of U.S. citizens or allies. (The Times of Israel)

8 February 2025 –

A new government is formed in Lebanon, with former International Court of Justice president Nawaf Salam as the new prime minister, following two years of the country under a caretaker government. (AP)

7 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign

2025 Goma offensive

The United Nations and the Democratic Republic of the Congo communications minister Patrick Muyaya recognize that most of the 165 female prisoners of the Goma prison in North Kivu who were raped by escaping male inmates a week ago died in the ensuing fire. (CNN) (The Guardian)

7 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Battle of Toretsk

Russia says its forces have taken full control of Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, after months of urban warfare. (Reuters)

7 February 2025 – Mali War

Twenty-five civilians are killed after an ambush by Islamic State gunmen against a convoy of buses in Gao, Mali. (AP)

7 February 2025 – Somali Civil War

The Somali National Army, supported by local Ma'awisley clan militias, kills dozens of al-Shabaab insurgents during heavy clashes which erupted after allied forces launch an offensive targeting al-Shabaab stronghold positions in the Jicibow area of Shebelle River, Hiiraan, Somalia. (Hiiraan Online)

7 February 2025 – Bering Air Flight 445

The wreckage of the Bering Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan that went missing while flying over the Norton Sound in Alaska, United States, yesterday is found crashed 34 miles (55 km) from Nome with no survivors. (VOA) (ABC News Australia)

7 February 2025 –

A Beechcraft King Air F90 crashes in Barra Funda, São Paulo, Brazil, killing the two people on board and wounding six on the ground. (CNN)

Two tourists die in Colombo, Sri Lanka, when their hostel room is fumigated with a pesticide for bedbugs. (CNN)

7 February 2025 – 2020–2025 H5N1 outbreak

Officials in New York City, United States, order the closure of all live poultry markets in the city as well as in the surrounding suburban counties of Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau due to an increase in cases of avian influenza. (DW)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that influenza in the United States is at its highest peak since the 2009 swine flu pandemic. (CBS News)

7 February 2025 – South Africa–United States relations, Racism in South Africa

U.S. President Donald Trump orders a freeze on all foreign aid to South Africa citing a South African law that allegedly allows land to be forcibly seized from white farmers. Trump also calls for the U.S. to accept Afrikaner refugees to protect them from "government-sponsored race-based discrimination". (NDTV)

7 February 2025 –

A person is killed as a fourth shooting takes place in Brussels, Belgium, within a few days. The murder is related to the other three non-fatal shootings. As a result, the six separate police zones in Brussels will start working under one command. (AP)

Seventy-nine countries jointly speak out in a statement against the sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on the International Criminal Court officials. (NOS)

German Federal Police detains 16 Indian nationals found in a van in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, including 15 passengers and the driver, as they attempt to enter the country without valid documents. (DW)

Three people, including the perpetrator, are killed and three others are injured in a mass shooting familicide when a military police officer opens fire at a house in Prey Ampok Commune, Cambodia. (Khmer Times)

7 February 2025 – Second presidency of Donald Trump

Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump

United States federal judge of the D.C. District Court Carl J. Nichols temporarily blocks President Donald Trump's executive order to place over 2,200 USAID employees on paid leave. (AP)

7 February 2025 – Restrictions on TikTok in the United States

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz are announced to be in charge of a potential TikTok sale. (The Hill)

6 February 2025 – Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Thomas Fletcher reports that over 10,000 aid trucks have arrived in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect on January 19. (Arab News)

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani announces that Italy will stop working with UNRWA after the mother of a freed hostage said that her daughter had been held at a UNRWA facility in Gaza. (The Times of Israel)

6 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera orders Malawian troops to withdraw from peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the crisis escalates. Three Malawian soldiers have been killed in recent fighting in North Kivu. (BBC News)

6 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Attacks on civilians during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Three people are killed in a Russian guided bomb attack that destroyed a residential building in Myropillia, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. (Reuters)

Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War

The Ukrainian Air Force receives the first shipment of Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France and more F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Netherlands. (DW)

6 February 2025 – Islamist insurgency in the Sahel

Ten Nigerien soldiers are killed in an ambush by Islamic State fighters near the border with Burkina Faso. (AP)

6 February 2025 – Bering Air Flight 445

A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan carrying ten people goes missing on a flight from Unalakleet, Alaska, United States, to Nome. A search and rescue operation is underway. (KTUU-TV)

6 February 2025 –

Four people are killed after a U.S. military-contracted Beechcraft Super King Air 300 surveillance aircraft crashes in a paddy field in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines. (AP) (ABC News Australia)

6 February 2025 – Moldova–European Union relations

2025 Moldovan energy crisis

Moldova Prime Minister Dorin Recean calls for the breakaway state of Transnistria to take steps to avoid a new gas crisis. (Reuters)

6 February 2025 – Azerbaijan–Russia relations

Azerbaijan authorities announce that they will close their local Rossotrudnichestvo (House of Russia) branch in Baku. (Trend)

6 February 2025 – United States and the International Criminal Court, Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court officials that assist investigations into U.S. citizens or those of its allies, namely Israel. (Reuters) (NBC News) (AP)

6 February 2025 – United States–Venezuela relations

In an operation led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the U.S. formally seizes a Venezuelan government airplane in the Dominican Republic. (CNN)

6 February 2025 – 2025 Greek presidential election

In the third round of voting, the Hellenic Parliament fails to elect the new President of Greece. A fourth and final round is called for February 12. (To Vima)

6 February 2025 –

NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies says that the probability of asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting Earth on 22 December 2032 has increased to 2.3%, or a (1-in-43) chance, following further observations of its trajectory. More observations are planned in the coming months to gather data on the asteroid before it moves too far away from Earth-based telescopes to be accurately observed. (The Guardian)

FIFA suspends the Republic of the Congo and Pakistan from official international competitions for violations of its statutes, citing third-party interference in the Congolese Football Federation and the Pakistan Football Federation's failure to implement constitutional reforms ensuring fair elections. (Reuters)

5 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State

Islamic State insurgency in Puntland

Puntland counter-terrorism operations

A deadly battle between the Puntland Security Force and Islamic State results in the killing of 57 foreign militants in Dharin area of Bari Region, Puntland. (Garowe Online)

Puntland Maritime Police Force seize a boat carrying illegal military supplies, uniforms and equipment. The vessel was taken captive off the coast of the Qaw district in the Bari Region, Somalia. (The East African)

5 February 2025 – Sudanese civil war

Battle of Khartoum

The UNICEF confirms that several children have been killed in Khartoum, Sudan, in the past few days. (UNICEF) (The Peninsula Qatar)

The Sudanese Armed Forces announce they have gained more territory around Khartoum as they try to enter the capital city. (APA)

5 February 2025 – Kivu conflict

M23 campaign

M23 rebels capture Nyabibwe, a town along the road to the South Kivu capital city of Bukavu. The Democratic Republic of the Congo government claims that the unilateral ceasefire declared by M23 earlier was false. (AP)

5 February 2025 – Somali Civil War

Jubaland crisis

Somali federal government-appointed commissioner of Bardhere District Mohamed Ilyas Caagane is killed after Somali National Army forces are defeated by Jubaland forces in Gedo, Somalia. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online)

5 February 2025 –

Rahim al-Hussaini is named as Aga Khan V and 50th Imam of Nizari Isma'ilism, succeeding his late father Prince Karim Aga Khan (Aga Khan IV). (BBC News)

5 February 2025 – Second Trump tariffs, China–United States trade war

The United States Postal Service says it is temporarily refusing inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong, but reverses this policy hours later. (The Guardian) (NBC News)

5 February 2025 – Grenfell Tower fire

United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announces that Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, London, will be demolished following a meeting with bereaved relatives and survivors of the 2017 fire. (BBC News)

5 February 2025 –

A fire at an Islamic school in Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State, Nigeria, kills at least 17 people. (BBC News)

5 February 2025 – Israel and the United Nations

Israel withdraws from the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing the UN body of "obsessively demonizing" and discriminating against the country. (Ynet News)

5 February 2025 –

Argentina announces that it will withdraw from the World Health Organization citing "deep differences" with the organization's leaders. (Reuters)

5 February 2025 – Mass deportation of illegal immigrants in the second presidency of Donald Trump

The first flight carrying "high-threat" deportees from the United States arrives at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The ten deportees are allegedly part of Tren de Aragua, a transnational organized crime group originating from Venezuela recently designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. (The Independent)

5 February 2025 – Second presidency of Donald Trump

Protests against Donald Trump

Protests against the second presidency of Donald Trump

Demonstrators gather in cities across the United States to protest against the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, his second administration, Elon Musk and Project 2025. (AP)

Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order that prevents transgender women from competing in women's sports. (BBC News)

5 February 2025 – Impeachment of Sara Duterte, Impeachment in the Philippines

The House of Representatives of the Philippines formally impeaches Vice President Sara Duterte. The Senate is now set to conduct a trial. (ABS-CBN News) (Bloomberg)

5 February 2025 – LGBTQ rights in Argentina

Argentinian presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni announces that the President Javier Milei has signed a decree modifying the 2012 Gender Identity Law that allows transgender people to be treated according to their gender identity and have their documents be registered with the corresponding name and gender to exclude people under the age of 18 to access gender-affirming care. (NBC News)

4 February 2025 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Gaza war

2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Israel–United States relations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump amidst a second phase of negotiations for the ceasefire on the Gaza Strip. (NPR)

U.S. President Donald Trump announces a plan where the U.S. would seek "long-term ownership" of Gaza, and that the U.S. military would be in charge of Gaza's redevelopment into “The Riviera of the Middle East” for "the world's people." Trump also says Palestinians will have no choice but to leave the territory. (Reuters) (The Guardian) (AP)

Me (incomplete), described in userboxes...

This user created the User page design guide. Outlines comprise bullets like these This user started WikiProject Outlines. This user started Wikipedia's Help Project (as User:Go for it!). This user started WikiProject Health and fitness (as User:Go for it!). This user started WikiProject Indexes This user started WikiProject Glossaries This user proudly participates in WikiProject Lists mesoThis editor is a mesopedian. This user is not a prose nazi and sees no problem with a list or a table being on an article. A, B, and CThis user prefers the serial comma. inclThis user is an inclusionist. incrThis editor is an incrementalist. evenThis editor is an eventualist. This user has been on Wikipedia for 19 years, 4 months and 4 days. This user is a Wikipedia tipster. This user uses AutoWikiBrowser to quickly make repetitive edits. This user has made over 300,000 edits to Wikipedia.  35,000+ This user has created 35,000+ active redirect pages on the English language Wikipedia. This user has created over 500 Outlines in Wikipedia. This user is interested in the digital revolution. {{Wiki}}This user is an advanced writer in the MediaWiki language. This user develops user scripts; Perl-2This user is an intermediate Perl programmer. js-2This user is an intermediate JavaScript programmer. re-3This user writes advanced regular expressions. This user thinks you can learn a lot by editing an Encyclopedia. This user is a transhumanist. This user advocates humanism. This user is a member of the Geography WikiProject. Globus This user does not believe in borders, and is a World citizen. This user is interested in the Planet Earth. This user is interested in history. This user is interested in Human Prehistory This user is interested in ancient civilizations. This user is interested in ancient Egypt. This user is interested in ancient Greece. This user is interested in ancient Rome.

History and contributions...

Awards and praise I've received over the years...

Tip of the day April 21, 2006: Thanks for helping a newbie!

Filmcom 14:36, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

I award this random acts of kindness Barnstar to Go for It! for being very helpful to a newcomer wikipedian, without being asked to.Filmcom 19:41, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

I just want to thank you for building on my tip and making it a true wikipedia tip of the day. I'm still learning a lot about how to do things around here, so your help was greatly appreciated! Keep up the great work, and keep on Going for it!

Smashing!

Smashing job on Tip of the day!

You've done a great job getting the Tip of the Day off the ground. As a result, I think you deserve this! smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 17:52, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Barnstar

This Working Man's Barnstar is awarded to Go for it! for your tireless and diligent work on the reference desk templates! -- Natalya 19:37, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Barnstar

For going above and beyond the call of duty at Esperanza/Admin coaching, I award you this Original Barnstar. Good work! --Fang Aili ^talk 18:34, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Award

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Your kindess was not random, because you were kind enough to listen to my requests to fix my userpage. Your major kindness will not be ignored, as this BarnStar is my token of appreciation! Kyo catmeow! 01:59, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

!!!

<O.o --The Prophet Wizard of the Crayon Cake 01:45, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

You're welcome. The Transhumanist 01:55, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The da Vinci Barnstar
		Awarded to User:The Transhumanist. Sometimes those who take on large areas of wikipedia organisation seem to be taken for granted, and this is just to show that your work is appreciated by the community. Khukri (talk . contribs) 09:56, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

!

Cool signature Kamope · talk · contributions 12:58, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks.   The Transhumanist 05:52, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much for the hints in your userpage tutorial. . I am a new user and familiar with HTML markup, but not so with Wikimark up. Your userpage tutorial really helped! Real96 06:14, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

You're welcome. I'm glad you found it useful. If you see any way to improve it, by all means, please feel free to do so.   The Transhumanist 06:36, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

WC

How can I sum the above up....? Oh yes:

		The Original Barnstar
		For your revamp of The Welcoming Committee, and of the Welcome Page, I award you the original barnstar. Well done! Anthonycfc [T • C] 18:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

WOW!!

as a near- noob, this is by far the most detailed and useful article on wikipedia for me! Excellent! I really wish I had a user page like this after two years...Snailey! 15:42, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		For all your work with admin coaching, barnstar awarding, Wikipedia-expanding, and various administrative duties (if you can call all that political stuff we Wikipedians must wade through such a name), I, Sharkface217, hereby award you this Tireless Contributor Barnstar. Good job. S h a r k f a c e 2 1 7 19:36, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Just a few words...

TT, my friend, my mop would never have been gained without your incredible expertise. My kindest regards to you, and drop by as often as possible! Now, a little token of my appreciation...

The Golden Wiki Award;
This, the Golden Wiki Award, the highest attainment level of awards and barnstars, goes to you - The Transhumanist - for being one of the most helpful, kind, resourceful and generous Wikipedians I've had to utmost fortune to meet. Your contributions around the Wiki - at the WikiClassroom, in Dispute Resolution, at the Welcoming Committee, but most of all being a genuinely fun guy, are an amazing feat, and if half the trolls I'll undoubtedly meet after gaining my mop (thanks to you) took a leaf from your book, Wikipedia would be a nicer place.

My kindest possible regards,
Anthony 21:38, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Barnstar

		What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar
		I award you this Brilliant Idea Barnstar for helping others to earn Barnstars and awards through your Award Center! • The Giant Puffin • 13:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Award

Hello The Transhumanist, (Hold on, can I say that or is it "Hello Transhumanist")
I was going to give you an award but there wasn't one good enough, so I made one better than any that has ever been seen before - This message. Yes, yes, I know, you don't think your worthy of it, but I assure you, you are the only one good enough for it - Pheonix 19:34, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

A Help:Contents Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		As the top contributor to Help:Contents, you deserve this barnstar. Thank you! Jreferee (Talk) 05:59, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Original Barnstar
		For taking up the challenge and improving my command page, I, Sharkface217, hereby award you this Original Barnstar. Another feather in the Transhumanist cap, eh? :-P --Sharkface217 21:37, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

:D

Hi there Trans Face! X××x××pink×jellocreature××x××X (talk) 01:36, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

You won an award!

X××x××pink×jellocreature××x××X (talk) awards you the unofficial funniness award!

Fractional-reserve banking

You deserve a barnstar for your efforts. I can't think of anyone who has contributed more to Wikipedia, except maybe Jimbo. I'm not sure where to put this on your frontpage, so here it is:

		What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar
		For boldly redirecting Debt-based monetary system to Criticisms of fractional-reserve banking, both saving it from deletion while defending Wikipedia from those who would violate WP:FRINGE, and being one of the most helpful editors on Wikipedia, in general. Zenwhat (talk) 03:41, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		I, Diligent Terrier, award you this "Tireless Contributor Barnstar" for your work in starting the List of basic American Civil War topics article from scratch. Great Job! DiligentTerrier • talk |sign here 22:17, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

My Userpage

Hi There First id like to thank you immensly for your pages about creating a decent userpage!! They are great and I would be lost without them!! Just one question, On my userpage i have a small welcome banner up the top. How do I make this text larger and change the font? Sorry if you have already covered this somewhere. Thanks in advanceCstubbies (talk) 12:40, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

A valuable service

I think you need recognition for doing the job of ten other editors, and doing it out of altruism and genuine belief in Wikipedia. Not many editors here have the same good attitude and provide the same service as you - I don't have any specific point to put across, but I thought you should just be prodded and reminded that you do a lot of good around here, in the hope you'll keep it up. Kudos! Seegoon (talk) 17:43, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

:)

		The Excellent Userpage Award
		Nice page. jaytur1 (talk · contribs) 12:13, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Welcoming committee

Just a note, I've made a minor update to your contributions. To reiterate my edit summary, you put in a tonne of effort there, and you deserve to be credited for it :) Feel free to revert, nonetheless. Regards, AGK (contact) 16:44, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

List of basic space exploration topics

Hi there TTH, Just wanted to thank you for your labors on this page, which is a great resource for us. Bill Wwheaton (talk) 17:48, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

You'd better hope there is a humour barnstar

... because you just gave me the biggest laugh in weeks. Good stuff giving that RfA spammer what-for here. αѕєηιηє ^t/_c 22:03, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

List of basic Canada topics

Nice work -- I will withdraw the AfD nom. – ukexpat (talk) 00:55, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Done

		The Barnstar of Recovery
		For saving List of basic Canada topics from being deleted, I - Milk's Favorite Cookie hereby award you this Barnstar! Congrats! - Milk's Favorite Cookie 01:16, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Fictional lists

The deletion review was approved for recreation: Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2008 March 10. Just letting you know, in case you weren't watchlisting it. I'm not sure what you have to do next to get the old version undeleted though (if that's what you wanted :) Nice catch on rescuing that grouping. -- Quiddity (talk) 00:21, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

'Tis for you

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		I've noticed the extra mile you've gone to help a new user, and I wanted you to know it hasn't gone unnoticed. Keep up the good work! Keeper | 76 | Disclaimer 16:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for being patient and taking four rounds of references from me, until they were all valid. LAAFan 01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for putting funny stuff on his discussion page which led me to copy them and put some of those funny stuff on my website. Thanks. Emir34 01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

List_of_basic_France_topics

Hi Transhumanist, I wanted to note that I saw all of your work on the List of Basic France topics, and I appreciate it! Lazulilasher (talk) 02:12, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

From Zach...

		The da Vinci Barnstar
		For helping me so many times. and for my wonderful userpage. Cheers, Zacharycrimsonwolf 04:08, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

(next page...)

Guidance Star

		The Guidance Barnstar
		For helping me to find resources on humanism, which I will hopefully be able to use to improve the articles on it here as well! Scapler (talk) 02:39, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Happy Transhumanist's Day!

The Transhumanist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, so I've officially declared today as Transhumanist's Day! For your incredible organization and leadership skills, enjoy being the star of the day, dear The Transhumanist! Signed, Dylan (chat, work, ping, sign)

→ Dylan620 (Toolbox Alpha, Beta) 00:26, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Happy The Transhumanist's Day!

The Transhumanist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, and therefore, I've officially declared today as The Transhumanist's day! For your history of dedicated work to the project, enjoy being the Star of the day, The Transhumanist! Cheers, bibliomaniac15 22:08, 4 June 2009 (UTC) If you'd like to show off your awesomeness, you can use this userbox.

Congrats. :) –Juliancolton | ^Talk 23:44, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I think...

...you need a barnstar for all of the hard work you have put into the WP:WPOOK!

		The Barnstar Barnstar
		You deserve two! at-210 discovered elements ∞ what am I? 20:21, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Barnstar

Transhumanist my friend,

It's about time you deserve a barnstar for all your contributions to outlines on Wikipedia, and also for being the promoter that you are for outlines. If it wasn't for you we might not have outlines as they are, so it is my honor to present to you the Special Barnstar because no other barnstar could merit what you do for outlines on Wikipedia.  :-) Burningview (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

		The Special Barnstar
		This barnstar is presented to Transhumanist for all the hard work, contributions, coordination, and promotion he does in advancing the idea, coverage, content, and quality of Outlines on Wikipedia. For this he deserves a Special Barnstar Burningview (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

Well done

		The Special Barnstar
		This award is in appreciation of the excellent work you have done supporting the development of Outlines on Wikipedia Thruxton (talk) 18:59, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Made me laugh

You once said in a AFD: "If you are building a robot, you can start with just the left pinky." I love that. Happy New Year! Jerry delusional ¤ kangaroo 20:34, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

another thanks

I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of a formatted signature. For some reason I couldn't find any reference to how it is done in the years I have been here. Cheers. ◦◦derekbd◦◦my talk◦◦ 12:16, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

Impressed

I just wanted to tell you (probably not the 1st ^^ ) that your are an incredible wikipedia member, your userpage is simply amazing and your contribution is...gigantic? huge? Incredible? not for the number edits (still high) but rather over the appropriateness of the things that you have created, especially the outline project. I wont give you another award, you already have billions, but simply a modest "Bravo!". -- Offiikart (Talk) 05:23, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Thanks

Hi, thanks a lot for the barnstar, you are truly a user with whom it is pleasant to interact. I greatly appreciate your help, your tips and you recognition on the work done, even if only very minimal compared to the work you have done.

I think you, more than everyone else, deserve a special recognition. Here is the first Barnstar I ever awarded :

		The WikiProject Barnstar
		To The Transhumanist who created the outline project and tirelessly continues to improve it. A special thanks for your help and your recognition. OffiikartTalk 13:54, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

ps. I did put the page alert on my watchlist

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Your fine contributions are not overlooked. You are a quality editor, and we are so glad you are here. Thanks to the user:Transhumanist! Pinkstrawberry02™ talk 01:49, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Note to user getting this message: Please respond on Pinkstrawberry02's talk page. If for some reason you cannot, please send them a {{talkback}} and reply on your own talk page. Thanks for your understanding in this manner. See ya around the wiki!

barnstar

		The Chess Barnstar
		Awarded for many contributions to chess articles, especially the Outline of chess. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 16:34, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Thanks so much for your work on the Outline of domestic violence, it is so much better that it's astounding how far it's come along. Thanks for making my first outline "sing"! CaroleHenson (talk) 11:11, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

You're first one? Wonderful! I can't wait to see what you come up with next. And I also look forward to seeing what you have in store for this outline. Thank you for the barnstar. It's very nice to feel appreciated. The Transhumanist 22:10, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Wow! Thanks for your help on the Future studies project. I can't believe all the pages you've contributed to, but glad you found ours!... RealFuturist (talk) 17:09, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Copyeditor's Barnstar
	Thanks for the ndashes on the Apple outline article. Zach Vega (talk) 00:58, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

A cookie for you!

Many years ago, back before I had created my current account, I created a humble little userspace navigation menu based off of two of your menus from the User Page Design Center (initially 15, but ultimately 6). Over the years it has grown, but I don't know if I ever would have started it without seeing your menus first. I just want to thank you for putting the effort into creating those menus and then sharing them at the Design Center where they have been helpful for people like me. I hope you don't mind me borrowing from your hard work! Thanks again and take care! Michael Barera (talk) 03:30, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Thank you

		The Instructor's Barnstar
		This Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have performed stellar work in the area of instruction & help for other editors. Just wanted to stop by and say this edit was something I wanted to do but simply did not have the "kahunas" to do so. Thank you for the bold edit :-) Moxy (talk) 07:25, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Barnstar of Diligence
	For your efforts on updating, improving and organising Outline of human anatomy LT910001 (talk) 06:39, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
	For your work on "Outline of space science" Tetra quark (don't be shy) 05:55, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. The Transhumanist 07:45, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

A cup of coffee for you!

A cup of coffee for you! masum (talk) 06:10, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. The Transhumanist 06:56, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

At Tip-Of-The-Day: Thank you for your updates & guidance!

Do have an e-cookie and enjoy!

Greetings The Transhumanist,

Want to let you know the value of your insights & feedback!
Regards, JoeHebda (talk) 21:53, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. Keep up the good work. The Transhumanist 16:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Pony!

Pony!
Congratulations! For all your hard work on redirect repair at Glossary of North American horse racing and general wikignoming along the way of articles such as Easy Goer, you have received a pony! Ponies are cute, intelligent, cuddly, friendly (most of the time, though with notable exceptions), promote good will, encourage patience, and enjoy carrots. Treat your pony with respect and he will be your faithful friend! We need more wikipedia editors like you! Montanabw^(talk) 02:22, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

To send a pony or a treat to other wonderful and responsible editors, click here.

Thank you for being one of Wikipedia's top medical contributors!

please help translate this message into the local language

The Cure Award

In 2015 you were one of the top 300 medical editors across any language of Wikipedia. Thank you from Wiki Project Med Foundation for helping bring free, complete, accurate, up-to-date health information to the public. We really appreciate you and the vital work you do! Wiki Project Med Foundation is a user group whose mission is to improve our health content. Consider joining here, there are no associated costs, and we would love to collaborate further.

Thanks again :) -- Doc James along with the rest of the team at Wiki Project Med Foundation 03:59, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
	Great work with the Outlines :) Pratyush (talk) 21:07, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

Thank you. The Transhumanist 15:31, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

Love the outlines

Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I think your planet outlines are really cool. I have long thought it was a shame that only Wikipedians seem to know about Books or Portals, because they are really great tools for structuring knowledge (while everyone loves diving down the Wikipedia rabbit hole, we could really do with some better content organization). The outlines strike me as a great way to bring that sort content organization to mainspace, where it will actually reach a large number of readers. I notice that I am the first one to edit them besides yourself, and I hope you know that I do so with love.

		What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar
		Great idea with the outline articles - a great solution to a need for better mainspace-based content structuring! I see from WP:Outlines that you actually came up with this concept some years ago, but this is the first I've noticed it. A2soup (talk) 02:46, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you!

		The Portal Barnstar
		The Portal Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have made significant contributions to topic portals. Awarded to Transhumanist for his overly enthusiastic efforts regarding the portal system and WikiProject Portals. – Lionel(talk) 11:02, 30 April 2018 (UTC)

Transhumanist, thank you for your extraordinary efforts on behalf of portals. It reminds me of the time when a series of attacks on scientific bibliographies led to the formation of WikiProject Bibliographies. I don't understand why your detractors are so passionate about deleting portals, but your actions have been a model for how to deal with an attack constructively. RockMagnetist(talk) 16:10, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you!

		The Article Rescue Barnstar
		May all who see this barnstar know that The Transhumanist made a valiant and commendable effort for defending the portal namespace from deletion. It preserved countless hours of work initially invested into creating the content. Moreoever, The Transhumanist, is doing a yeoman's job in attempting to improve the content within with portal namespace. RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 00:24, 26 May 2018 (UTC)

@RightCowLeftCoast: Thank you. I feel honored. Please keep in mind that I have not been working alone. Credit goes to the nearly 400 editors who came forward to speak up for the keeping of portals. And although the RfC to delete all portals is over, the job of defending portals from deletion is not. For the portal namespace to be retained in the long term, the portals in it will need to be improved to a worthy quality level, otherwise we may see more deletion attempts. This task is far more than a single editor can handle. Fortunately, many editors have come forward to meet the challenge. Working to develop portals and the entire portal system, is a team of 80 editors who are diligently redesigning, upgrading, updating, and maintaining portals. They are the members of the Portals WikiProject, and without them there might be no portals. They are doing a wonderful job, and I am very proud of them. Thank you.    — The Transhumanist   17:22, 26 May 2018 (UTC)

Precious

thinking-related topics

Thank you for organising a list of thinking-related topics, for Shift work sleep disorder and the index of oral health and dental articles, for your thoughts and efforts regarding portals, and beginnings such as Portal:Thinking/Selected picture, - you are an awesome Wikipedian!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:53, 29 May 2018 (UTC)

Precious

portals

Thank you for your thoughts and efforts regarding portals, for the concept of outlines, for sectional redirects, for articles such as Life Extension Foundation, for service from 2006, including portal philosophy and user page design center, - repeating (1 & 4 June 2009): you are an awesome Wikipedian!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:54, 31 May 2018 (UTC)

Thank you. I looked, but couldn't figure out what 1 & 4 June 2009 were referring to. Just curious.    — The Transhumanist   19:26, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Follow the link "awesome W." and look for your name: 2 others said it before me! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:48, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

Executive director of portals

		The Portal Barnstar
		Not sure if a simple barnstar can express the communities gratitude to the portal work that you're doing. Your an indispensable member of our community. Moxy (talk) 18:08, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Moxy, thank you. I'm honored, and I receive this praise for the team, without whom there would be very little progress on portals. They are literally transforming them into something new. I'm glad to be a part of that.    — The Transhumanist   18:20, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you

		The Portal Barnstar
		The Portal Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have made significant contributions to topic portals. Thanks for the great work you have been doing in the WikiProject. Dreamy Jazz talk | contribs 22:15, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

You are welcome, formerly Wpgbrown. Nice new name. ;)    — The Transhumanist   10:26, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Technical Barnstar
	Good to see others of the view we have as to the need to know more. Im a research person here just of this week and your views relate to my work here. take care. Tleesd (talk) 17:56, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thank's for updating the Portal:Seventh-day Adventist Church. You deserve this star for your good work. Catfurball (talk) 15:28, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
	For your excellent work on Portals. Everyday the portal project improves. Your dedication and willingness to get people involved really pays off. Cannot wait to continue working with you and the Portal team. Thank you for your work. AmericanAir88(talk) 00:30, 30 October 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Thank you for helping me in my first attempt in creating a portal page ‑‑V.S.(C)(T) 10:51, 23 December 2018 (UTC)

Some barnstars for you!

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Hummingbirds when I asked for it. Keep doing a good job! Catfurball (talk) 00:01, 4 January 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for making Portal:Capsicum. Catfurball (talk) 19:38, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for making Portal:Peaches. Catfurball (talk) 21:11, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Woodpeckers for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:15, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Tyrant flycatchers for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:16, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Plums, you do a great job creating portals. Catfurball (talk) 18:45, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Cotingas for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:07, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Portal Barnstar
		For your tireless dedication to creating, maintaining, and improving portals, as well as your active involvement in making improvements to the system of portals itself. I'm sorry to hear that you're temporarily unable to create them, but your work is greatly appreciated 🙂 Brendon the Wizard ✉️ ✨ 14:17, 23 March 2019 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you

		The Original Barnstar
		message Ambuj Shukla 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

You have made immense contributions to outlines over the years, and have encouraged many more Wikipedians to follow your lead. The impact of your contributions are great. Keep doing the good work! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ambujshukla2004 (talk • contribs) 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

Thank you.    — The Transhumanist   00:06, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Outline Barnstar
		Hello The Transhumanist, you are receiving this award for the creation and continued dedication to WikiProject Outlines. You deserve this barnstar more than anyone. Jerium (talk) 19:18, 12 November 2023 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Barnstar of Good Humor
	I appreciate you reviving the User page design center! I used this when I was new. Also, everyone has a phases where they religiously obsess over their user page (especially userboxes), and this tool is a good way to show them how to have fun with it. Panini! • 🥪 23:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

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