New Zealand’s seas warming faster than global average: report


By AFP
October 8, 2025


Scientists have found the oceans around New Zealand are warming, rising, and turning more acidic - Copyright AFP William WEST

The seas around New Zealand are warming much faster than global averages, scientists said Wednesday in a new study warning how climate change could batter the island nation.

The government study found New Zealand’s oceans are growing hotter, turning more acidic and already threatening thousands of coastal homes as sea levels rise.

The waters lapping New Zealand are now warming 34 percent faster than global averages, according to the Our Marine Environment report.

“Climate change is driving significant changes in our oceans,” the report said.

“Ocean temperatures are increasing, and marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense and longer-lasting.

“Sea-level rise is accelerating at many locations.”

Researchers have linked global warming to disruptions in the vast oceanic currents that swirl between New Zealand and Antarctica.

New Zealand’s proximity to these currents — as well as other changes in atmospheric circulation — helped to explain why these seas were warming so quickly.

Department of Conservation marine advisor Shane Geange said the report showed how “climate change is making existing problems in our oceans even worse”.

“For example, global warming has made New Zealand’s sea temperatures rise much faster than the worldwide average.

“This means we’re seeing more frequent and severe marine heatwaves. Sea levels (are) rising more quickly, and our oceans are becoming more acidic and losing oxygen.”

Sea-surface temperatures at four sites around New Zealand rose, on average, between 0.16C and 0.26C per decade between 1982 and 2023.

Many native species were struggling to adapt to life in warmer and more acidic oceans, the study found, and risked being overrun by invasive pests.

Warmer-than-normal sea temperatures have previously been linked to deaths of New Zealand’s native yellow-eyed penguins.

“Because of these findings, how we manage New Zealand’s marine environment needs to change,” said Geange.

“We now have enough evidence to take action, and delaying risks further harms to our marine ecosystems.”

Steadily rising sea levels were already being felt in many of New Zealand’s low-lying coastal hamlets, the report found.

More than 200,000 homes worth US$100 billion (NZ$180 billion) were found in areas at risk of coastal inundation and inland flooding.
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Extreme rains hit India’s premier Darjeeling tea estates


By AFP
October 7, 2025


Indian tea pickers: the country is the world's second-largest producer, and third-largest black tea exporter - Copyright AFP Arun SANKAR

Sailendra SIL

Torrential rains that triggered deadly landslides and floods in India’s Darjeeling region also destroyed swathes of premier tea estates, officials said Tuesday.

The deluge wiped out around five percent of Darjeeling’s renowned tea gardens, delivering a heavy blow in a district that has become synonymous with the leaf itself.

“The flood has dealt a massive blow to the tea gardens,” Rajkumar Mondal, chairman of the Indian Tea Association’s Dooars Chapter, told AFP.

More than 950 hectares of tea plantations in Darjeeling’s hills, known for producing high-quality brews with a protected Geographical Indication, “suffered drastic losses due to flooding”, he said.

Darjeeling produces around 10,000 tonnes of tea each year across 17,500 hectares, according to the Tea Board of India.

The damage is another indication of how the intensity and unpredictability of rainfall in recent years reflect the worsening impact of climate change on Himalayan tea-growing regions.

Mondal said Darjeeling received over 261 mm (10 inches) of rain on Saturday.

“It’s unprecedented — I have never experienced such a disaster in my life”, he said, adding rains struck just ahead of a “new flush”, the harvest of the finest young leaf tips.

“As the flood water receded, we have seen silt soil on the tea plants… it’s a costly affair to remove.”

Monsoon downpours, which began on October 3, have eased.



– Trail of devastation –



But they left a trail of devastation, washing away roads and triggering landslides across West Bengal state.

Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) scientist Sourish Bandopadhyay said the sudden rains were caused by “an unexpected change in the trajectory of a low-pressure system”, bringing the intense rains.

“It’s a sign of climate change in the region,” he said.

Praween Prakash, superintendent of police for Darjeeling, said at least 36 people have died, up from an earlier toll of 28.

Landslides destroyed more than 500 houses, forcing hundreds into temporary shelters, while tourists trapped by floodwaters were rescued by earthmovers, officials said.

India’s tea industry is feeling the growing impact of climate change, with rising temperatures and unpredictable weather hurting both yields and quality, according to the Tea Board.

Intense downpours cause waterlogging and soil erosion, while longer dry spells have forced tea estates to rely on irrigation to sustain crops, it says.

Growers are also reporting new pests and diseases, with estates forced to use more fertilisers and pesticides to protect plants and maintain soil fertility.

India’s tea industry employs more than one million workers directly, with another million in supporting jobs.

The country is the world’s second-largest producer, and third-largest black tea exporter.

It shipped nearly 255,000 metric tonnes abroad in 2024, earning about 71 billion rupees ($850 million), according to official data.

Indians lead drop in US university visas


By AFP
October 7, 2025


Harvard students listen to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speak at the university's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs on September 25, 2025 - Copyright AFP JOHN WESSELS

The United States issued nearly one-fifth fewer student visas in August following a crackdown by President Donald Trump, led by a steep drop for India which was overtaken by China as top country of origin, data showed Monday.

The United States issued 313,138 student visas in August, the most common start month for US universities, a drop of 19.1 percent from the same month in 2024, according to the International Trade Commission.

India, which last year was the top source of foreign students to the United States, saw the most dramatic drop with 44.5 percent fewer student visas issued than a year earlier.

Visa issuance also dropped for Chinese students but not nearly at the same rate. The United States issued 86,647 visas to students from mainland China in August, more than double the number issued to Indians.

The statistics do not reflect overall numbers of US-based students, many of whom remain on previously issued visas.

Trump has put a top priority since returning to the White House both on curbing immigration and on weakening universities, which his administration sees as a key power base of the left.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefly suspended processing of student visas in June, a peak month, as he issued orders that US embassies vet applicants’ social media.

Rubio has revoked thousands of student visas, often due to criticism of Israel, on the grounds that he can refuse entry to people who go against US foreign policy interests.

In rules that affect Indians in particular, the Trump administration has made it more difficult for applicants to apply for visas outside jurisdictions of the US consulates in their home countries, even if there are backlogs.

Trump has taken a series of actions at odds with India, which for decades had been courted by US policymakers of both parties which saw the billion-plus nation as a natural counterweight to China.

Trump has also imposed a hefty new fee on H-1B visas, which are used largely by Indian technology workers.

Trump, however, has voiced hope for ramping up the number of Chinese students to boost relations between the two powers, a sharp contrast to earlier messaging from Rubio who had vowed to “aggressively” revoke visas from Chinese students he accuses of exploiting US technical knowhow.

The latest figures also show a sharp drop in student visas from many Muslim-majority countries, with admissions from Iran dropping by 86 percent.

Organised digital-led scientific fraud is expanding rapidly


By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR AT LARGE

DIGITAL JOURNAL

October 6, 2025


Science is advancing our understanding of the human body (photo taken at the Wellcome Centre, London) —Image by © Tim Sandle

A new study uncovers coordinated efforts of paper mills, brokers and infiltrated journals, each a victim of scientific fraud. Researchers have identified how the publication of fraudulent science is beginning to outpace the growth rate of legitimate science.

This can happen as some researchers pay for papers, authorships and citations in order to build up their reputations. This comes from a Northwestern University study.

By combining large-scale data analysis of scientific literature with case studies, the researchers led a deep investigation into scientific fraud. Although concerns around scientific misconduct typically focus on lone individuals, the n study has uncovered sophisticated global networks of individuals and entities, which systematically work together to undermine the integrity of academic publishing.

The problem is so widespread that the publication of fraudulent science is outpacing the growth rate of legitimate scientific publications. The authors argue these findings should serve as a wake-up call to the scientific community, which needs to act before the public loses confidence in the scientific process.

When people think about scientific fraud, they might remember news reports of retracted papers, falsified data or plagiarism. These reports typically centre around the isolated actions of one individual, who takes shortcuts to get ahead in an increasingly competitive industry.

To add to these practices, the researchers have uncovered a widespread underground network operating within the shadows and outside of the public’s awareness. To conduct the study, the researchers analysed extensive datasets of retracted publications, editorial records and instances of image duplication.

Most of the data came from major aggregators of scientific literature, including Web of Science (WoS), Elsevier’s Scopus, National Library of Medicine’s PubMed/MEDLINE and OpenAlex, which includes data from Microsoft Academic Graph, Crossref, ORCID, Unpaywall and other institutional repositories.

The researchers also collected lists of de-indexed journals, which are scholarly journals that have been removed from databases for failing to meet certain quality or ethical standards. The researchers also included data on retracted articles from Retraction Watch, article comments from PubPeer and metadata — such as editor names, submission dates and acceptance dates — from articles published in specific journals.

After analysing the data, the team uncovered coordinated efforts involving “paper mills,” brokers and infiltrated journals. Functioning much like factories, paper mills churn out large numbers of manuscripts, which they then sell to academics who want to quickly publish new work. These manuscripts are mostly low quality — featuring fabricated data, manipulated or even stolen images, plagiarized content and sometimes nonsensical or physically impossible claims.

To identify more articles originating from paper mills, the Amaral group launched a parallel project that automatically scans published materials science and engineering papers. The team specifically looked for authors who misidentified instruments they used in their research. A paper with those results was accepted by the journal PLOS ONE.

Fraudulent networks were found to use several key strategies:Groups of researchers collude to publish papers across multiple journals. When their activities are discovered, the papers are subsequently retracted.
Brokers serve as intermediaries to enable mass publication of fraudulent papers in compromised journals.
Fraudulent activities are concentrated in specific, vulnerable subfields.
Organized entities evade quality-control measures, such as journal de-indexing.

Sometimes such organizations go around established journals altogether, searching instead for defunct journals to hijack. When a legitimate journal stops publishing, for example, bad actors can take over its name or website. These actors surreptitiously assume the journal’s identity, lending credibility to its fraudulent publications, despite the actual publication being defunct.

To combat this growing threat to legitimate scientific publishing, the researcher recommend enhanced scrutiny of editorial processes, improved methods for detecting fabricated research, a greater understanding of the networks facilitating this misconduct and a radical restructuring of the system of incentives in science.

The research appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It is titled “The entities enabling scientific fraud at scale are large, resilient and growing rapidly”.

Cash-strapped UNHCR shed 5,000 jobs this year


By AFP
October 6, 2025


The UN refugee agency has shed nearly 5,000 jobs this year - Copyright AFP/File Sanaullah SEIAM

Nina LARSON

The United Nations refugee agency has shed nearly 5,000 jobs this year following swingeing cuts in international aid, its chief said Monday, decrying the “disastrous” political choices behind the crisis.

The UNHCR is grappling with surging global displacement, while under President Donald Trump the United States — traditionally the world’s top donor — has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc across the globe.

The agency’s chief Filippo Grandi said the cuts constituted more than a quarter of the agency’s workforce, with more to come — and no country or sector left unscathed.

“Critical programmes and lifesaving activities have to be stopped, gender-based violence prevention work, psychosocial support to survivors of torture, stopped,” Grandi said.

“Schools were closed, food assistance decreased, cash grants cut, resettlement ground to a halt. This is what happens when you slash funding by over $1 billion in a matter of weeks.”

The UN refugee chief said the humanitarian system was facing “political choices with disastrous financial implications”.

Washington previously accounted for more than 40 percent of the UNHCR’s budget, and its pull-back, along with belt-tightening by other major donor countries, has left the agency facing “bleak” numbers, Grandi said.

UNHCR had an approved budget for 2025 of $10.6 billion, Grandi said, stressing though that the agency in recent years had only received “approximately half of our budget requirements” — or around $5 billion.

“As things stand, we projected we will end 2025 with $3.9 billion in funds available — a decrease of $1.3 billion compared to 2024,” he said.

An agency spokesman told AFP that both full-time staff and people on temporary or consultancy contracts had lost their jobs.

The United States has been paying a “disproportionate” share of UNHCR’s costs, Washington’s UN representative told the annual meeting of the agency’s executive committee on Monday.

Calling for reform, Tressa Rae Finerty also blamed economic migration for the strain on asylum systems around the world.

“Abuse of the asylum system by economic migrants seeking to undermine immigration law has reached epidemic proportions and now threatens support for the asylum principle itself,” she warned.

A cornerstone of the right to seek asylum is the principle of non-refoulement, which guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Grandi warned that putting that principle on the table “would be a catastrophic error”.

Dismantling the system put in place after World War II would not rein in mass migration, but would instead make it more difficult to address, Grandi said.

“By putting pressure on refugees, on refugee hosting countries and on the humanitarian system all at once, you risk creating a domino effect of instability, (worsening) the very displacement we are all working to resolve,” he said.

E-commerce Shein’s Paris store kicks up a storm in France


By AFP

October 9, 2025


Shein will open its first permanent physical store at the historic BHV Marais department store in front of the Paris city hall - Copyright AFP/File JOEL SAGET

Aurélie CARABIN

Asian e-commerce giant Shein’s decision to set up shop in a historic Parisian department store has ruffled feathers in the fashion capital.

Anger has been boiling since Shein announced last week that it would open its first permanent physical store in November at BHV Marais, an iconic building that has stood across from Paris City Hall since 1856.

The move prompted some French brands to announce they would leave BHV Marais, but the department store had already been losing tenants over late payments.

Aime cosmetics line co-founder Mathilde Lacombe, whose brand was among those that decided to leave following Shein’s announcement, said she was “deeply shocked” by the deal.

Critics fear that Shein — whose meteoric rise has been a bane for traditional retail fashion companies — will further hurt stores in France that have had to lay off staff or close.

Founded in China and now based in Singapore, the fast-fashion giant sells a wide variety of products at ultra-competitive prices.

But it has also been under global scrutiny over its business model’s impact on the environment and labour conditions at its textile factories.

“Opposite the Paris Mayor’s office, they will create a new Shein Megastore that — after having destroyed dozens of French brands — could flood our market even more massively with disposable products,” said the trade association for French ready-to-wear women’s clothing companies, the FFPAPF.

The European Commission is investigating Shein over risks linked to illegal products, while EU lawmakers last month approved legislation aimed at curbing fast fashion’s environmental impact.

“Shein’s arrival goes against our convictions,” former French environmental transition minister Christophe Bechu told AFP.

– ‘Honouring’ the fashion capital –

Shein has spun its entry into physical retail in France as a homage to the country and its central place in fashion.

“By choosing France as the place to trial physical retail, we are honouring its position as a key fashion capital and embracing its spirit of creativity and excellence,” said Donald Tang, Shein’s executive chairman.

“It is fitting that this journey starts in Paris, at BHV — the birthplace of modern retail,” he added.

The company also plans to open shops at Galeries Lafayette department stores in the cities of Dijon, Reims, Grenoble, Angers and Limoges.

BHV Marais and the five Galeries Lafayette locations are operated by retail property group Societe des Grands Magasins (SGM).

SGM is seeking to buy the BHV Marais building from Galeries Lafayette, but the state-owned bank it hoped would help finance the purchase decided to pull out over the Shein partnership.

“The Bank of Territories learned about this partnership through the press, without any prior notification, resulting in a breakdown of trust between the two parties,” it said in a statement.

SGM denounced “political pressure” behind the move but insisted it could still carry out its purchase of the building.

Galeries Lafayette also voiced its opposition to Shein boutiques opening in the five locations bearing its name, although it no longer operates those locations.

“Galeries Lafayette expresses its profound disagreement with this decision in light of the positioning and practices of this ultra-fast-fashion brand that are in contradiction to its own offering and values,” it said in a statement following the announcement.

– Exodus –

SGM already had a number of luxury brands quit BHV Marais over payment delays prior to Shein’s arrival.

SGM said the multi-million-euro payment delays are temporary, blaming the rollout of a new automated accounting system, and denied any cash flow problems, noting BHV returned to profitability in 2024.

Still, the effects are visible in empty shelves and sparse aisles at BHV, which directly employs 750 people, particularly in DIY and stationery departments.

French underwear firm Slip Francais said it had to launch legal proceedings against SGM over the delays in transferring revenues from sales made at BHV.

“It’s a partner in which we no longer have confidence,” Slip Francais founder Guillaume Gibault told AFP.

The Shein deal “only confirmed that we had taken the right decision” to leave BHV Marais, he added.

Hungary’s Krasznahorkai, ‘master of the apocalypse’ wins literature Nobel


By AFP
October 9, 2025


Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai, the winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, has a 'compelling and visionary oeuvre', the Swedish Academy said - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARIN

Pia OHLIN

The Nobel Prize in Literature was on Thursday awarded to Laszlo Krasznahorkai, considered by many as Hungary’s most important living author, whose works explore themes of postmodern dystopia and melancholy.

The Swedish Academy honoured him “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”

“I’m very happy, I’m calm and very nervous altogether,” the author told Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio from Frankfurt.

“It is my first day as a Nobel prize winner,” he said.

The Academy highlighted Krasznahorkai’s first novel published in 1985, “Satantango”, which brought him to prominence in Hungary and remains his best-known work.

The Academy called it “a literary sensation”.

Krasznahorkai is “a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess,” the Academy said.

“But there are more strings to his bow, and he also looks to the East in adopting a more contemplative, finely calibrated tone.”

“The result is a string of works inspired by the deep-seated impressions left by his journeys to China and Japan,” it said.

Krasznahorkai was among those mentioned as a possible winner in the run-up to the announcement.

The Academy noted the author’s flowing syntax with long, winding sentences devoid of full stops that has become his signature.

“While it is Krasznahorkai’s weighty, rolling syntax that has perhaps become his signature as an author, his style also allows for a lightness of touch and a great lyrical beauty,” Academy member Steve Sem-Sandberg said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed the prize to Krasznahorkai.

“The pride of Hungary, the first Nobel Prize winner from Gyula, Laszlo Krasznahorkai. Congratulations!” Orban posted on Facebook, referring to the town in southeastern Hungary where Krasznahorkai was born.

Krasznahorkai, 71, grew up in a middle-class Jewish family.

He has drawn inspiration from his experiences under communism, and the extensive travels he undertook after first moving abroad in 1987 to West Berlin for a fellowship.

His novels, short stories and essays are best known in Germany — where he lived for long periods — and his native Hungary.

Critically difficult and demanding, his style was described once by Krasznahorkai himself as “reality examined to the point of madness”.



– ‘Literary sensation’ –



“It is Laszlo Krasznahorkai’s artistic gaze, which is entirely free of illusion and which sees through the fragility of the social order, combined with his unwavering belief in the power of art that has motivated the Academy to award him this prize,” Sem-Sandberg said.

American critic Susan Sontag crowned Krasznahorkai the “master of the apocalypse” after having read his second book “The Melancholy of Resistance” in 1989, the Academy said.

His “War and War” novel (1999) was described by the New Yorker magazine critic James Wood as “one of the most profoundly unsettling experiences I have ever had as a reader”.

He is the second Hungarian to win the prize, after the late Imre Kertesz won it in 2002.

Last year, the award went to South Korean author Han Kang, the first Asian woman to win the Nobel.

The Academy has long been criticised for the overrepresentation of Western white men among its picks.

Just 18 of the 122 laureates since the prize was first awarded in 1901 have been women.

The Swedish Academy has undergone major reforms since a devastating #MeToo scandal in 2018, vowing a more global and gender-equal literature prize.

The Nobel Prize comes with a diploma, a gold medal and a $1.2 million prize sum.

Krasznahorkai will receive the award from King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist and prize creator Alfred Nobel.

Op-Ed: 3D printing saving coral reefs — Baby coral survival is the name of the game


By Paul Wallis

EDITOR AT LARGE

DIGITAL JOURNAL
October 4, 2025


Corals turn white under heat stress, which causes them to expel the algae which give them bright colours and nutrients - Copyright POOL/AFP/File Curtis Means

The world’s coral reefs are having a very tough time. Climate and human activities are doing most of the damage. The reefs underpin a huge amount of the world’s food supply. The ocean food chain is even more of a mess than the food chain on land.

Coral reefs are primary drivers of the ocean food chain. They’re fish breeding grounds and provide much of the food for the fish. Coastal environs often create a mix of reefs and mangroves, producing a huge variety of sea life.

The wheels fall off when these environments are overstressed at fundamental levels. That’s why coral reefs need protection. Baby coral survival really dictates the future of the oceanic food chains in many ways.

Coral reefs and surrounding areas are the equivalents of fertile forests and grasslands. The oceans have huge “deserts” where nothing much grows. It follows that supporting the corals supports the big picture of ocean life. The usual problems with coral restoration are complexity and cost.

This is where the new 3D printing ideas come into play. University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) has invented new ceramic helix shelters for baby corals to help them get established and rebuild damaged reefs.

The 3D shelters are cheap, zero-maintenance, and can be slotted into any engineering works like seawalls, artificial reefs, and reef restoration.

It’s a pretty elegant idea. Baby corals are free swimmers. To produce coral they need a safe sheltered space. The 3D prints deliver effective, low-cost solutions with excellent survivability.

It’s been a stunning success. Thousands of baby corals have moved into the new helix shelters.

This raises the question of global adoption and adaptation of the 3D solutions. Coral reefs ore too important to let them degrade. Rebuilding is essential. The ocean ecologies are in dire need of any help they can get.

There are no credible reasons why coastal management authorities would object to a cost-efficient, proven solution to a major problem. The corals win this one.

_________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

Global business leader: Infrastructure will define the future – not AI


By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL
October 3, 2025


The Olmeca oil refinery is one of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's infrastructure mega-projects - Copyright Getty Images North America/AFP DAVID MCNEW

Safwan Sobhan, Founder and Chairman of Safwan Bashundhara Global (SBG), has told Digital Journal about the importance of infrastructure in supporting future economies. Sobhan fears that the world risks falling behind as a $15 trillion infrastructure gap threatens to weaken future growth.

Sobhan’s remediation ideas are that without investment in energy, transport, and resilient cities, AI and new technologies cannot reach their full potential. He is also of the view that nations that fail to modernize infrastructure now risk losing talent, capital, and global competitiveness for decades.

Sobhan sees infrastructure as the backbone of every economy, and he knows we may be heading towards a huge shortfall. By 2040, the global gap in infrastructure investment is expected to hit $15 trillion. As the demand for new technologies, climate change and growing populations increases, the world may be set to struggle under the demands of a new economic environment.

By developing the world’s infrastructure, Sobhan places importance on everything from renewable energy hubs to smart cities, countries that prioritize modernisation will attract capital, talent, and technology – while those that fail to invest, risk being left behind.

As he explains: “Technology alone is not enough to secure long-term economic growth. The nations that invest in modern energy centres, sustainable housing, and resilient urban systems will attract skilled workers, generate jobs, and create the conditions for inclusive, sustainable development. It is becoming increasingly apparent that business leaders are not setting out to meet these needs.”

Advanced economies should be looking at low income countries for inspiration, notes Sobhan: “Emerging economies, particularly across Asia and Africa, are navigating infrastructure challenges. It is estimated that by 2050, more than 73 million kilometres of power lines must be added, and electricity infrastructure spending must more than double by 2035. Meanwhile, infrastructure leaders like the UAE are stepping up, having invested approximately $72 billion into renewable energy projects across Africa since 2015.”

Energy poverty and global warming

Infrastructure projects are also necessary address an array of global issues. Sobhan highlights: “As of June 2025, more than a billion people around the world live in energy poverty, meaning they don’t have adequate, reliable, and affordable energy for lighting, cooking, heating, and other daily activities. This leads to the population being less able to cope with climate change, natural disasters, and extreme weather events.”

Another area that requires focus is environmental protection: “The critical role of eco-friendly infrastructure in powering demanding technologies will help combat the climate crisis and give clean power to demanding tech like AI. Renewable energy centres, smart grids, and sustainable transport networks not only combat climate change but also provide the reliable resources tech companies need to thrive. Investing in infrastructure today is an investment in tomorrow’s economy.”

Sobhan sees modernisation as the goal: “Countries that are failing to modernize their infrastructure will be left behind, even if they lead in technology innovation. Strategic investment, forward-looking urban planning, and sustainable energy development are essential for nations seeking to secure their economies for the future.”

Artificial intelligence

There are also opportunities to be garnered from technologies like AI: “Additionally, building and upgrading infrastructure creates opportunities in industries like steel, cement, and construction, driving employment and provides massive opportunities for inclusivity and sustainable growth. Countries that fail to modernize their infrastructure risk missing out on the massive investment opportunities presented by the AI revolution.”

First ‘perovskite camera’ sees inside the human body


By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL
October 10, 2025


Patient being positioned for MR study of the head and abdomen. — Image by Ptrump16. CC BY-SA 4.0

A newly developed detector promises to lower the cost and increase the quality of nuclear medicine. This offers many advantages, not least with current tools for nuclear medicine imaging being expensive and difficult to manufacture. The new tool captures sharp, high-resolution signals of fine features at a fraction of the cost.

Scientists led by Northwestern University and Soochow University in China have built the first perovskite-based detector that can capture individual gamma rays for SPECT imaging with record-breaking precision. The new tool could make common types of nuclear medicine imaging sharper, faster, cheaper and safer.

According to lead researcher Mercouri Kanatzidis: “Perovskites are a family of crystals best known for transforming the field of solar energy. Now, they are poised to do the same for nuclear medicine. This is the first clear proof that perovskite detectors can produce the kind of sharp, reliable images that doctors need to provide the best care for their patients.”

Kanatzidis adds: “Our approach not only improves the performance of detectors but also could lower costs,” said co-corresponding author Yihui He, a professor at Soochow University. “That means more hospitals and clinics eventually could have access to the best imaging technologies.”

Specifying SPECT

Nuclear medicine, like SPECT (single-photon emission computing tomography) imaging, works like an invisible camera. Physicians implant a tiny, safe, short-lived radiotracer in a specific part of a patient’s body. The tracer emits gamma rays, which pass outward through tissues and eventually hit a detector outside of the body. Each gamma ray is like a pixel of light. After collecting millions of these pixels, computers can construct a 3D image of working organs.

Current detectors, which are either made from cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) or sodium iodide (NaI), have several disadvantages. CZT detectors are incredibly expensive, sometimes reaching into the price range of hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for a whole camera. Because CZT crystals are brittle and prone to cracking, these detectors also are difficult to manufacture.

While cheaper than CZT detectors, NaI detectors are bulky and produce blurrier images — like taking a photo through a foggy window.

New development

To overcome these issues, the scientists turned to perovskite crystals, a material that Kanatzidis has studied for more than a decade. In 2012, his group built the first solid-film solar cells made from perovskites. Then, in 2013, Kanatzidis discovered that single perovskite crystals were highly promising for detecting X-rays and gamma rays.

This breakthrough, enabled by his group’s growth of high-quality single crystals, sparked a worldwide surge of research and effectively launched a new field in hard radiation detection materials.

Building on this foundation, Kanatzidis led the crystal growth, surface engineering and device design for the new study. By carefully growing and shaping these crystals, the researchers created a pixelated sensor — just like the pixels in a smartphone camera — that delivers record-breaking clarity and stability.

The researchers developed the camera’s pixelated architecture, optimized the multi-channel readout electronics and carried out the high-resolution imaging experiments that validated the device’s capabilities.

In experiments, the detector was able to differentiate among gamma rays of different energies with the best resolution reported thus far. It also sensed extremely faint signals from a medical radiotracer (technetium-99m) commonly used in clinical practice and distinguished incredibly fine features, producing crisp images that could separate tiny radioactive sources spaced just a few millimeters apart.

The detector also remained highly stable, collecting nearly all the tracer’s signal without loss or distortion. Because these new detectors are more sensitive, patients potentially could require shorter scan times or smaller doses of radiation.

The research has been published in the journal Nature Communications, titled “Single photon γ-ray imaging with high energy and spatial resolution perovskite semiconductor for nuclear medicine”.