Category Archives: Sci-Tech

Transportation

Clutch in or Out? What’s Best for Your Car at a Stoplight

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Some Things You Know May Be Wrong- An excellent point made by our friends at Hagerty

Everyone has an opinion on automotive topics, even if we are just learning. Some folks are right, some are way wrong. The internet confuses things greatly because more know-it-alls can throw their opinion in the ring and amplify old myths (e.g., the “100 mpg” /”2.35214583L/100KM” carburetor). Renowned engineer Keith Duckworth, co-founder of Cosworth, had many noble sayings, one of which was “I’d rather be uninformed than misinformed.”

This topic comes up whenever manual transmission owners start talking: Do you put the car in neutral at a stoplight and let the clutch out, or do you press the clutch down and keep it down until the light turns green? This has been debated on and off for decades, but I have some clarifying points for you to consider.

2025 Woodward Dream Cruise Vega rear three quarter
Eddy Eckart

Clutch Pedal In or Out?

The “Depress the Clutch Pedal” crowd wants to save the transmission’s input shaft bearing from spinning and spinning, especially since no oil is splashing up onto the bearing while you’re sitting still. The “Put it in neutral” crowd wants to give their left leg a rest, as well as the clutch pressure plate and throw-out bearing. Folks differ as to which is correct. In the motorcycle world, a fellow Ducati rider friend always keeps his bike in first gear, clutch lever in, and blips his throttle just in case some murderous driver makes a run for him—not a bad policy for bikers. One should always be ready for emergency action (which is why we don’t fly in flip-flops). All of that aside, let’s dig into how best to behave with your stick-shift car.

Plate clutch car
Getty Images

ICYMI- The Clutch Is Consumable And Will Wear Out Sooner Or Later

Your clutch disc itself is a consumable item, being made of friction material stuck (typically riveted) onto a flat metal disc with a steel hub. The hub of this disc is at all times connected to the input shaft of the transmission. Nearby, the flywheel at the end of the crankshaft has a pressure plate bolted to it that always spins at the speed of the engine. The pressure plate assembly is sort of like a helmet covering the clutch disc, with a movable face that can trap the disc against the flywheel. This makes a “clutch disc sandwich” between the pressure plate and the flywheel.

Strong springs in the pressure plate’s assembly clamp the clutch disc hard against the flywheel, so the power goes from flywheel-to-clutch disc-to-transmission input shaft. The pressure plate can relax its massive clamping force through clever springs and levers (depending on the design) when you push on the pressure plate assembly at the right spot with the right force. Slight force equals a slight relaxing of the clamping action and the clutch slips. This gives you control of the torque delivery to launch a vehicle from rest. Release the clutch pedal and the pressure plate clamps tight, able to transmit hundreds of pound-feet of torque.

Norman H. Garrett

Where do you, the driver, come into this?

When you depress the clutch pedal (“declutch” in British terms), in most modern cars the pedal presses a plunger inside the clutch system’s master cylinder (not unlike a brake master cylinder) which creates a modicum of hydraulic pressure at its outlet. This pressure is routed, typically through both metal and rubber lines, to a slave cylinder. Since hydraulic oil is incompressible, the force from your foot on the clutch pedal is fluidically transferred to the moving piston/plunger in the slave cylinder (or multiplied, depending on the ratio of the piston’s face area at each working end). The resulting movement and force of the slave cylinder’s piston typically act upon a lever that may also multiply the force (note that all of this was done with rods or cables in yesteryear). This pushing motion presses on the center of a pressure plate in such a way that the plate is pulled away from the flywheel and the “sandwich” is relaxed.

This pulling away removes the clamping force on the clutch disc, and the disc can no longer transfer any useful torque (refer to this Bigger Brakes article for a discussion about “normal” forces and how friction works).  When the clutch pedal is depressed, the clutch disc theoretically spins down to zero RPM (barring slight contact with the spinning bits and/or internal air currents). However, the flywheel/pressure plate assembly continues to spin at engine speed. Even if you rev the engine up with the clutch pedal down, the clutch disc stays quiet—this is the definition of its purpose in life, so we can actually modulate torque to the rear wheels and operate our cars in traffic.

The Ol’ Throw Out Bearing Routine

It takes around 250 pounds of force to push the pressure plate’s “levers” to relax the friction-sandwich’s clamping force. Because the pressure plate is always spinning at engine speed, and our lever is attached to a fixed point on the transmission (and not spinning), we need a bearing to isolate the spinning pressure plate from the lever we are using to push it into the “relaxed” position. This work is done by the throw-out bearing, which can be a wonderfully designed ball bearing device, or simply a puck of carbon material that is very sacrificial each time you push down the clutch pedal (as found in early MGs and other ancient high-maintenance vehicles). When I hold the clutch pedal down on my MG TD, I know that I am machining away carbon on the throw-out “puck”, turning it into dust and eating away a mission-critical part. Even ball bearing-equipped throw-out bearings can wear out, and replacement is non-trivial.

US Patent 4655335 Toyota
USPTO

So, back to the question: At a stoplight, do you keep the clutch pedal pressed down or put the tranny into neutral and give everything (including you) a rest?

Sticky Firm Lubricating Oil?

Some think that the “neutral” gear option will wear out the bearing that supports the input shaft in the front of the transmission case. This bearing typically sees a storm of lubricant when you are going down the road, thanks to all the splashing of various gears, shafts, and whatnot half-submerged in a bath of oil. These folks are correct—when the transmission is quiet, there is very little 85W-90 gear oil getting to the bearing. Consider, however, the sticky film of oil from the last run through the gears—the bearing certainly is not dry at this point. Consider also the load on the bearing. At idle with the transmission in neutral, there is no practical work going through the transmission. This means that there is negligible load on the bearing (or the gears, layshafts, etc.), so everything is in a pretty happy state. Engines themselves will even idle for a long time with just an oil film protecting them and no oil pressure with no load—this enables a common parlor trick for oil additive companies. Watch the following video for a better explanation.

Norman H. Garrett

Conversely, when you press down the clutch pedal and invoke your 250+ pound throw-out bearing force to the pressure plate, you are not acting in isolation. What resists your 250-pound push? The crankshaft, which is, at this moment, being pushed toward your front bumper (or right front fender in most FWD cars) with 250 pounds of gusto. The crankshaft is made to withstand literally tons of piston force up and down (or side to side, you Porsche and Subie owners), but has little need to resist axial forces along its length—other than the G forces of acceleration and braking. Appreciate for the moment that our crankshafts are floating in a film of oil and that no metal-to-metal contact actually happens. This is all by design—the journal bearings of your rotating assembly float on a 0.005 inch or so thin oil film. To say “float” may sound like hyperbole since the crank is held in place by journals and structures, but it floats in oil nonetheless. When you slam on the brakes, the (very) heavy crank is free to move forward, and it is thrown backwards during acceleration due to all sorts of (1/2)mv2 reasons.

Moss-Motors-Thrust-Washers-V2
Moss Motors

The Ol’ Thrust Washer Routine

Thrust washers are included in every engine to keep the crank running between the main bearing caps as it should. These flat “bushing-washer” type elements are pressure lubricated (by the oil leaking out of the main journals) and keep the crankshaft in place. When you hold the clutch pedal down, you are making these thrust washers do extra duty as they resist your pushing the crank out of the front of the engine. Oh, they will take the load, just as they do during braking and acceleration, but you are engaging a system that has a time clock on it. You are also adding this axial load when your oil pressure is at its lowest—at idle. In all cases, these thrust washers will eventually wear away. Sloppy thrust washers can lead to low oil pressure as the main bearings now have too much side clearance. Why add to their demise?

So you can decide: Tax your crankshaft’s thrust washers into taking on a wear condition greater than they normally see, or trust your transmission’s front bearing to be happily spinning with no load. The choice is yours… As for me and mine, I relax both my throw-out bearing and my left leg at every light with the transmission in neutral (except when I’m on a Ducati…). For the Silo, Norman Garrett.


Norman Garrett was the Concept Engineer for the original Miata back in his days at Mazda’s Southern California Design Studio. When he’s not curating his small collection of dysfunctional automobiles and motorcycles, he teaches automotive engineering classes at UNC Charlotte’s Motorsports Engineering Department, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Transportation

The Ultimate Apocalypse Survival Vehicle Doesn’t Exi….

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From the Driven Eclectic Collection- 1977 Land Rover 101 Forward Control “Survival Truck”

If you have ever imagined yourself (and your +1’s) safely managing a Zombie apocalypse and driving from a danger to a safe zone- this is the vehicle you want to be in.
  • Offered for sale in the Las Vegas auction via Broad Arrow Auctions from The Driven Eclectic Collection
  • An ex-U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) surplus truck converted into an all-terrain adventure camper
  • Exceptionally equipped with solar power, an AluCab 270-degree awning, and full living quarters with a kitchenette
  • Supplied with a Ministry of Defence Certificate of Origin and period MOD inspection reports
  • Powered by a replacement 3.5-liter Rover V8 coupled with an LT95 four-speed manual transmission complete with a dual-range transfer case and vacuum-locking center differential
  • Presented in Davos White with Bahama Gold Raptor bedliner over brown leather upholstery
  • Left-hand-drive example with prior ownership in Poland and the U.K.; imported to the U.S. in 2023

Chassis No. 96400307

The Land Rover 101 Forward Control was a rugged but lightweight forward utility vehicle in use by the British Armed Forces in the 1970s.

Although primarily created as a compact artillery gun tractor, the dynamic design of the Land Rover 101 expanded its use across a wide variety of roles such as radio command center, electronic warfare vehicle, ambulance, and even as a surface-to-air missile platform. Though retired from service by the late 1990s, the surplus stock of some 2,700 Land Rover 101s have since become a popular platform for enthusiasts to create their dream offroad vehicle.

Built in October 1976, this left-hand-drive 1977 Land Rover 101 Forward Control was originally dispatched to the Central Army Vehicle Depot in Ashchurch, England according to its British Heritage Trust Certificate. Its accompanying Certificate of Origin from the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) reveals that the truck officially entered service on 1 January 1977, and remained active until 27 November 1992 when it was purchased from MOD through the Disposal Sales Depot. First officially road registered in the U.K. in October 1997, prior research indicates that the Land Rover may have spent several years in a Polish collection before returning to the U.K. in July 2018.

The ex-military Land Rover has since been painstakingly transformed into an overland-style camper prepared for any terrain.

It is armed with an arsenal of camping gear, headlined by an Alu-Cab 270-degree awning and Pop-Top sleeping system with Sauleda acrylic canvas tent, hinged raising bed platform, and memory foam mattress. Its exhaustive list of adventuring upgrades is further underscored by LED exterior lighting, generous exterior storage, a portable shower, and a detailed auxiliary power system that includes a Cotek 3.5 kW inverter and two roof-mounted 100W solar panels with Victron Energy super cycle 125ah batteries.

The original military-issue Bronze Green paint was replaced with Davos White and Bahamas Gold Raptor bedliner. Inside, the Land Rover features detailed living quarters complete with a rear kitchenette with propane stove, sink, and SnoMaster refrigerator. The cabin floors and ample storage compartments are made from teak, while the seats are trimmed in BOXMARK XTREME water-resistant brown leather and the headliner is made from British Millerain weather-resistant canvas. The interior is also furnished with Monitor Audio Climate 50 speakers married to dual Mission Cyrus 2 amplifiers with Bluetooth capability, a television mount, and even a backup camera. All-weather essentials include a Webasto gas heater, 60-liter stainless water tanks with electric pump, and Lifeline water filtration.

The Land Rover is reportedly powered by a replacement 3.5-liter Rover V8 featuring rebuilt dual Stromberg carburetors and a host of supporting modifications including an aluminum radiator and stainless steel exhaust. This is managed by a rebuilt LT95 four-speed manual transmission with dual-range transfer case and vacuum locking center differential. Additional equipment includes adjustable air ride suspension complete with Bilstein shocks, 16-inch steel wheels shod in Michelin XZL all-terrain tires, and Able Engineering disc brakes on all four corners.

Prior research indicates that much of the camper conversion was performed by Latitude Overland in Bristol, U.K., while the Land Rover’s electrical overhaul was completed by R&L Auto Electrics in Plymouth. Acquired by the consignor in August 2022, the Land Rover was subsequently imported to the U.S. at the beginning of 2023 and shipped to Austin, Texas; entering a remarkable collection of rare automobiles.

This 1977 Land Rover 101 Forward Control is offered today with an extensive history file that includes its Certificate of Origin from the Ministry of Defence, multiple military inspection reports during its service period, and prior U.K. registration.

Outfitted with an extensive array of thoughtful upgrades inside and out, this example is equipped to venture far beyond the beaten path. Whether embarking on a challenging overlanding expedition or enjoying a memorable off-grid escape at a favorite campsite, it offers a unique but well-equipped platform for the adventures its next caretaker dreams to set out on.

For the Silo, Ramsay Potts/Broad Arrow Auctions.

Supplemental

Thirty-one 101s were converted by Land Rover with styled bodyshells for the 1995 Sylvester Stallone film Judge Dredd. Land Rover is supposedly the world’s only surviving ground vehicle manufacturer in 2139 when the film is set, and the green oval logo can be seen on the side of the vehicles, known as “City CABs” talkingpix.com

A 101 C re-styled for the movie Judge Dredd.

Sci-Tech

ICYMI China Orbiting Space Station Is Growing Vegetables

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Farming is in the Chinese DNA — now it has reached orbit.

During the Tiangong Class for Hong Kong & Macau students, astronauts live‑streamed their working space vegetable garden, growing fresh leafy greens inside China’s space station.

Many nations have tried planting plants in space, yet China’s full seed‑to‑seed crop experiments push orbital agriculture to a new level.
No matter on the ground or hundreds of kilometres out in space, the instinct to grow vegetables never switches off. @Bodenviews

Tiangong Space Station

Most North Americans are aware of the ISS International Space Station but perhaps due to lack of mainstream media coverage (not us though) – much less know about the Chinese Space Station or China’s successful landing on the Moon. The Tiangong is the Space Station that China launched in 2019, with a new Crew and Modules going up every 6 months..

It is now 25% bigger than the ISS, and the plans are to equip it with Fuel Tanks several hundred meters away, to facilitate China’s Moonbase construction by 2030 and in case you missed it, there is a new space race brewing- the return to the Moon for the establishment of a permanent Moonbase.

NASA Project Artemis Timeline towards a Moon base

These are the 1st successful attempts at serious “Gardening” in space, with ‘0’ gravity.

The Tiangong provides regular, daily reports to China, and the World’s Media, but as mentioned above, Western media rarely shows any of the advances that would harm the soon to be decommissioned ISS’s reputation but regularly report on any failings. This sort of “soft censorship” has a common occurrence by all space faring nations- such as the fate of the Soviet Soyuz 11 crew who died upon reentry or the failed launch of the Russian N1 Moon Rocket which exploded in all launches (earthquake tremor machines recorded the explosion and the West deduced what had happened).

Tiangong Facts

The Crew always includes one woman, and the current one- Lai Ka-ying hails from Hong Kong, and speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin.. She is a high school teacher, as have been several Taikonauts before her.

For the Silo, Bill Stewart/Jarrod Barker.

Sci-Tech

Don’t Trust Your Biz Metrics. There’s Widening Disconnect Between Marketing Activity & Business Performance

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Your company’s marketing reports may say everything is working, but your revenue may tell a very different story. As businesses pour more money into SEO, paid media, social, PR, technology and AI, marketing and growth strategist Deborah Dodson warns that overlapping vendors, questionable ROI and feel-good metrics can allow underperforming investments to quietly drain substantial budgets. The article below identifies seven common marketing money traps and how businesses can separate activity from actual results to determine what’s truly generating customers and revenue.

The Marketing Accountability Gap Widens with More Spending Producing Less Clarity


Businesses have never had more ways to spend a marketing dollar, or more data supposedly proving those dollars are working. SEO agencies report rankings. Digital firms report clicks and conversions. Social teams measure engagement.

PR tracks visibility. Paid media produces attribution dashboards. Now companies are adding another layer as they race to optimize for AI-powered discovery.

Yet beneath all those metrics sits a surprisingly basic question: Which investments are actually generating qualified opportunities, customers and revenue? For many businesses, the answer is far less clear than the dashboards suggest.

Marketing and business growth strategist Deborah Dodson, founder and managing director of Strategic Alliance Marketing Group, sees a widening disconnect between marketing activity and business performance. With more than 20 years of experience spanning marketing, business development and growth strategy, Dodson works with organizations to scrutinize vendor performance, challenge recommendations and determine whether individual investments actually function as part of a coherent growth strategy.

“We’ve created an environment where nearly every marketing channel can produce numbers showing that it is working,” Dodson says. “The harder question is whether those numbers demonstrate that the business itself is benefiting.”

When Everything Is Working, What Is Actually Working?


The problem often develops gradually. A company hires an SEO agency. Later it adds paid advertising. Someone else takes over social media. PR operates independently. A new website launches. The company pays for directories, sponsorships, memberships and marketing technology. Eventually, what began as individual solutions becomes a sprawling marketing ecosystem in which multiple vendors have different objectives, reporting systems and definitions of success.

Dodson describes this as a kind of marketing stack creep. Businesses accumulate agencies, platforms, subscriptions and campaigns until it becomes difficult to see where responsibilities overlap, where money is being duplicated and whether all those activities still serve the company’s objectives.

“One agency reports that rankings are improving. Another points to clicks. Social media shows engagement. PR demonstrates visibility,” Dodson says. “Those can all be legitimate measures, but if nobody is looking across the entire operation and connecting those activities to business outcomes, you can end up with a lot of apparent success without knowing what is actually producing growth.”

That distinction is becoming increasingly important because activity is relatively easy to measure. Business impact is not. A campaign can increase traffic without improving the quality of prospects. Search rankings can rise without materially affecting revenue. Content production can increase without generating meaningful engagement. Multiple vendors can potentially claim influence over the same conversion. An impressive dashboard, in other words, does not necessarily mean an impressive return.


AI Is Making Attribution Even Messier

Artificial intelligence is adding urgency to the issue because it is changing where and how customers discover businesses. The customer journey was already fragmented. Now a prospect might encounter a company through Google, an AI-generated answer, LinkedIn, a map listing, online reviews, an industry directory, media coverage or another third-party source before ever visiting the company’s website.

According to Dodson, that does not mean traditional SEO is dead. It means businesses need a broader understanding of visibility. “SEO still matters, but discovery is no longer confined to a conventional search-results page,” she says. “Businesses need to think about the authority and credibility they are establishing across their entire digital footprint. The question isn’t simply, ‘Where do we rank?’ It’s increasingly, ‘Where are we being found, what does a prospective customer find when they encounter us, and does that visibility ultimately contribute to the business?'”

That encompasses websites and search performance, but also reviews, credible backlinks, media mentions, social presence, business profiles, directories and other signals that help establish authority across the web.

AI therefore presents businesses with a potential trap. In the rush to embrace the newest form of optimization, companies can simply add another vendor, platform or tactic to an already fragmented marketing operation.

Dodson believes the more useful question is not merely how much to spend on AI search optimization. It is whether the entire marketing budget needs to be reconsidered for an era in which discovery happens across so many different environments.


Seven Marketing Mistakes That Can Quietly Drain the Budget

According to Dodson, seven recurring mistakes deserve particular scrutiny because they can allow marketing spending to grow without a corresponding increase in meaningful business results.

1. Treating marketing as a collection of unrelated projects. Companies approve websites, advertising campaigns, SEO programs, social media initiatives and PR efforts independently, without a unified strategy connecting each investment to specific business objectives.

2. Paying multiple vendors for overlapping services. Agencies and consultants may duplicate work, pursue conflicting strategies or operate without understanding what other marketing partners are doing.

3. Mistaking activity for results. Rankings, impressions, clicks, followers and content volume can look impressive in a report while saying relatively little about qualified leads, sales opportunities or revenue.

4. Following an outdated SEO playbook. Search fundamentals remain important, but customers increasingly discover and evaluate businesses through AI search, maps, reviews, social platforms and third-party sources. Search strategy needs to reflect that broader reality.

5. Ignoring the broader digital footprint. A polished website cannot fully compensate for inconsistent business information, weak reviews, limited executive visibility or outdated profiles elsewhere online.

6. Buying visibility without questioning its value. Awards, directories, sponsorships, memberships and other paid opportunities can strengthen credibility when they reach the right audience. Others can become recurring expenses that survive year after year without anyone asking what they actually contribute.

7. Allowing vendors to grade their own work. When the company selling a marketing service also determines which metrics constitute success, Dodson cautions that an underperforming program can continue much longer than it otherwise might.

That final point exposes a larger accountability issue. “There is nothing inherently wrong with a vendor reporting its own performance. They should,” Dodson says. “But businesses also need an objective way to determine whether the metrics being reported are the metrics that matter to them. The measurement should follow the business objective, not the other way around.”


What If Every Marketing Expense Had to Earn Its Place Again?

One way to expose weak spots is to borrow a concept from zero-based budgeting and apply it to marketing. Instead of beginning with last year’s agencies, platforms, subscriptions, sponsorships and campaigns and deciding what to add, Dodson suggests periodically examining recurring expenditures as though they had to be approved again today.

Would the company still hire this vendor? Would it still purchase that directory listing? Does that platform serve a distinct purpose? Are two agencies performing overlapping functions? Is the organization measuring a channel because the metric matters, or simply because the platform makes it easy to report?

The exercise is not necessarily about cutting the marketing budget. “Sometimes the right answer is to spend less, but sometimes it is to spend more,” Dodson says. “And sometimes you don’t need to change the total budget at all. You need to move the money from something that isn’t contributing enough to something that has greater potential.”

That distinction is important. Dodson’s argument is not that SEO, advertising, PR, social media, directories or emerging AI strategies are inherently poor investments. Rather, marketing channels should not become permanent budget line items simply because they have always been there or because each can produce a favorable-looking performance report.


From More Marketing to Better Marketing

For marketers and business owners, the proliferation of channels creates an understandable temptation to be everywhere. Every new platform can look like an opportunity, and every emerging technology can create anxiety about being left behind.

But adding more activity to an already fragmented system can compound the very problem businesses are trying to solve. Dodson’s approach is to return to a simpler discipline: What is the business trying to accomplish? Who is it trying to reach? What role is each marketing investment supposed to play? How does it interact with everything else? And what evidence would demonstrate that it is succeeding?

Her underlying premise is that marketing does not necessarily need to do more. It needs to become more intentional, integrated and accountable. The goal is not a cleaner dashboard or another impressive metric. It is to make sure that the growing machinery surrounding modern marketing remains connected to the reason businesses invest in it in the first place: to produce meaningful business growth.

As marketing becomes more sophisticated, accountability has to become more sophisticated with it. The businesses that navigate this next era most effectively may not be those that adopt every new platform, metric or AI capability first, but those disciplined enough to continually question what each investment is accomplishing and whether it still deserves a place in the strategy. In a marketplace overflowing with ways to spend, knowing what not to fund may become just as valuable as knowing where to invest next.

For the Silo, Merilee Kern, MBA.

Sci-Tech

USB Juice Jacking Is New Way Hackers Attack Travelers

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How to avoid being hacked during this Fall’s travel season. 

According to a recent study by our friends at the cybersecurity firm NordVPN, one in four travelers has been hacked when using public Wi-Fi while traveling abroad. However, unsecured Wi-Fi is not the only factor travelers should be worried about. 

Last year, the FBI published a tweet (see below) warning users against smartphone charging stations in public places (airports, hotels, and shopping malls). Hackers may have modified the charging cables with the aim of installing malware on phones to perform an attack called juice jacking. 

“Digital information, although it exists virtually, can also be stolen using physical devices. So it is important to take a 360-degree approach and secure your device from both online and offline threats,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity advisor.

What is juice jacking?

Juice jacking is a cyberattack where a public USB charging port is used to steal data or install malware on a device. Juice jacking attacks allow hackers to steal users’ passwords, credit card information, addresses, names, and other data. Attackers can also install malware to track keystrokes, show ads, or add devices to a botnet.

Image

Is juice jacking detectable?

Juice jacking attacks can be difficult to detect. If your device has already been compromised, you may notice some suspicious activity – but that won’t always be the case.

For example, you may notice something you don’t recognize on your phone — like purchases you didn’t make or calls that look suspicious.

Your phone may also start working unusually slowly or feel hotter than usual. Chances are you may have picked up malware. For a full list of signs to watch out for read on and find out how to know if your phone is hacked.

How to protect yourself

Since no sign of juice jacking is 100% reliable, it is best to avoid falling victim to this attack by using the following the advice:

  • Get a power bank. Power banks are a safe and convenient way to charge your device on the go. Getting a portable power bank means that you’ll never have to use public charging stations where juice jacking attacks occur. Always ensure your power bank is fully charged so you can use it on the go.
     
  • Use a USB data blocker. A USB data blocker is a device that protects your phone from juice jacking when you’re using a public charging station. It plugs into the charging port on your phone and acts as a shield between the public charging station’s cord and your device.
     
  • Use a power socket instead. Juice jacking attacks only happen when you’re connected to a USB charger. If you absolutely need to charge your phone in public, avoid the risk of infected cables and USB ports and use a power outlet. This is typically a safe way to charge your mobile device and other devices in public.

For the Silo, Darija Grobova.

Transportation

The Safest Used Cars Under 20K For Teens

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Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have released their newly updated 2026 rankings of the safest used vehicles for teen drivers, identifying dozens of models under $10,000 and $20,000 that deliver significantly better crash protection and safety technology without breaking the family budget. The report also reinforces a sobering reality: teen drivers have crash rates nearly four times higher than drivers age 20 and older, making vehicle choice one of the most important safety decisions parents will make.

Automotive retail analysts and car consumer advocates Ray and Zach Shefska help consumers go beyond the rankings, explaining which of Consumer Reports’ recommendations truly represent the best values in today’s used-car market, where buyers should negotiate aggressively, which popular models parents should avoid despite attractive prices, and how to determine whether spending a few thousand dollars more for advanced safety technologies like automatic emergency braking is actually worth it. They recommend that buyers always perform due deligence and research today’s used-car pricing, financing costs, depreciation trends, and try to understand how dealer tactics are affecting families shopping for a safe first vehicle.

Key Considerations For Parents Considering Buying are:

  • The safest used cars parents can buy for under $20,000 usd/ $27,740 cad (exchange rate at time of posting)
  • Why the cheapest used car often becomes the most expensive mistake
  • Hidden dealer markups and fees first-time buyers should avoid
  • Which safety features are non-negotiable for teen drivers
  • The best negotiation strategies in today’s used-car market
  • Whether buying new is beginning to make more financial sense than buying used
  • How to tell whether a used car is actually priced fairly before you buy
  • The online tools and data every used-car shopper should use before stepping into a dealership
  • The pricing data, VIN history, and market trends smart buyers use to avoid overpaying
  • Look online for a number of free resources that can help families compare used cars, spot bad deals, and negotiate with confidence

Top used cars for teens combine safety, affordability, and reliability, with models like the Mazda 3, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla leading the list.

Key Considerations for Teen Drivers

When choosing a used car for a teen, prioritize:

  • Safety: Look for vehicles with strong crash-test ratings and features like automatic emergency braking (AEB) and stability control caroutlay.comcaroutlay.com.
  • Affordability: Cars under $20,000 are ideal, with some safe options available for under $8,000 CarGurusCarGurus+1.
  • Reliability: Low maintenance costs and proven durability help reduce long-term expenses.
  • Insurance Costs: Avoid high-horsepower or luxury models to keep premiums manageable caroutlay.comcaroutlay.com.

Top Recommended Used Cars

  1. Mazda 3 (2014–2019)
    • Available in sedan and hatchback styles
    • Fun to drive with predictable handling
    • Top Safety Pick+ ratings from IIHS
    • Optional all-wheel drive for colder climates EdmundsEdmunds+2
  2. Honda Civic (2016–2021)
    • Sedan, hatchback, and coupe options
    • Reliable, fuel-efficient, and safe
    • Affordable with strong aftermarket support for customization
    • Excellent IIHS and Consumer Reports ratings MotorTrendMotorTrend
  3. Toyota Corolla (2014–2019)
    • Known for reliability and low maintenance costs
    • Good crash-test scores and standard safety features
    • Practical for daily commuting and long-term ownership EdmundsEdmunds
  4. Subaru Impreza (2015–2019)
    • Standard all-wheel drive
    • Strong safety ratings and solid reliability
    • Available in sedan and hatchback versions, suitable for snowy regions EdmundsEdmunds
  5. Mini Countryman (2014–2017)
    • Compact SUV with good crash ratings
    • Affordable used options starting around $4,600
    • Offers a fun driving experience while remaining practical caroutlay.comcaroutlay.com

Budget-Friendly Options Under $8,000

For families on a tighter budget, consider:

  • Older Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic models
  • Mazda 3 from earlier model years
  • Minivans like the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna, which are surprisingly safe and practical for teens CarGurusCarGurus

Final Tips

  • Check vehicle history reports and maintenance records before purchase.
  • Prioritize moderate engine power to reduce accident risk and insurance costs.
  • Consider sedans or hatchbacks over coupes or sports cars for better safety and practicality.
  • Use online tools to estimate five-year ownership costs, including insurance, fuel, and maintenance caroutlay.comcaroutlay.com.
    By focusing on safety, reliability, and affordability, these used cars provide a balanced choice for teen drivers while keeping long-term costs manageable.

With decades of combined experience analyzing vehicle pricing, dealership practices, and consumer buying behavior, Ray and Zach Shefska translate complex automotive data into practical advice that helps families purchase safer vehicles while avoiding costly mistakes. Their insights complement Consumer Reports’ safety testing with real-world market expertise, giving buyers the information they need to make smarter, more confident purchasing decisions.

For the Silo, Marsha Zorn and Stephanie Fisher.

Who Are CarEdge?


CarEdge is a leading car consumer advocacy platform dedicated to empowering car shoppers to make confident, informed and financially savvy decisions. With trusted resources that includes AI agent shoppers, a Car Dealer Transparency Index, and hundreds of guides and videos on YouTube, CarEdge is redefining transparency, fairness and value in the automotive industry.

Source: Consumer Reports

Sci-Tech

President Trump Launches US Space Force Academy

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President Trump, who founded the U.S. Space Force in 2019, has announced plans for a U.S. Space Academy to train future leaders of America’s pioneering space missions.

Trump signed an executive order establishing the Space Academy last month during an August 28 ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Given the rapid growth of the U.S. Space Force and commercial space industry, and the expansion of our ambitions to the moon and far beyond … it’s clear we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, and civil operators,” the president said.

Space Is Critical To US

The order describes space as critical “for U.S. national security, economic growth, scientific discovery and technological innovation.”

During the August 28 ceremony, Trump also awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of the Artemis II mission — NASA’s Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen. Their April flight around the moon set a record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth.

President Trump holding executive order (NASA/John Kraus)
President Trump presents an executive order establishing the U.S. Space Academy August 28 at Johnson Space Center in Houston. (NASA/John Kraus)

The only nation to land a man on the moon, the United States remains at the forefront of human space exploration. Through the Artemis program, established in Trump’s first term, NASA will return astronauts to the moon and pave the way for a moon base that will serve as a jumping-off point for future human spaceflight to Mars.

The president has prioritized America’s leading role in space exploration. He launched the Artemis Accords, a nonbinding set of principles to guide civil space exploration. Over 70 nations have signed onto the accords.

In August, Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in space transportation , calling on federal agencies to promote space transportation capabilities and facilitate commercial transportation to the moon and Mars.

U.S. Space Force brigadier general swearing 5 officers into Space Force (U.S. Air Force/Technical Sergeant Michael Campbell)
U.S. Space Force Brigadier General Matthew Holston swears new officers into the U.S. Space Force at the Pentagon. (U.S. Air Force/Technical Sergeant Michael Campbell)

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will lead a commission that will advise the president on creating the Space Academy, including degree programs, experiential training and service obligations for graduates. The academy will combine “rigorous technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a durable commitment to public service,” the order says.

A Transitional Step

Isaacman called plans for the Space Academy “a transformational step” for future NASA missions to return astronauts to the lunar surface, build a moon base and advance science and discovery. “I have no doubt that so much of the future talent that will graduate and contribute to these exciting endeavors will be educated at the United States Space Academy,” he said.

Where To Sign Up

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New Moon Vehicle Will Safely Return Sick Astronauts To Artemis Base

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ALTA LUNA  © Venturi Space Paris, France September 2026 – Venturi Space unveils ALTA LUNA, a compact and manoeuvrable rover designed for local operations around future lunar bases. Designed to assist astronauts, it will also be able to carry out missions involving the handling and transport of payloads. At the International Space Summit, held in Paris on 9 and 10 September 2026, the team led by Gildo Pastor, President of Venturi Space, is presenting ALTA LUNA. This single-person lunar mobility vehicle has been conceived as a local utility vehicle capable of operating close to habitats.

With a target mass of 300 kg, ALTA LUNA’s compact size gives it a high degree of manoeuvrability. The vehicle is also designed to offer particularly high obstacle-crossing capability.

ALTA LUNA is designed to operate in two modes: with an astronaut on board or autonomously. In autonomous mode, navigation will rely on a combination of LiDAR, stereo cameras and artificial intelligence. AI will also be able to assist the astronaut in driving the vehicle.

In autonomous mode, ALTA LUNA will be able to carry out operations including excavation, grading and terrain preparation, as well as site development and the creation of routes and basic infrastructure. It will also be able to transport payloads. Each vehicle will be able to operate alone or in coordination with other ALTA LUNA vehicles. For certain operations, several vehicles will therefore be able to work together on the same task, pooling their efforts.

ALTA LUNA, VENTURI SPACE’S NEW LUNAR
UTILITY VEHICLEALTA LUNA · Payloads transport © Venturi SpaceThe onboard electronic system is designed to connect to the astronaut’s spacesuit and collect health data. If the astronaut becomes unwell, ALTA LUNA will be able to return the astronaut autonomously to base. The interface will also provide the pilot with essential information for driving and mission safety, including alerts relating to the space environment, such as an approaching solar storm.

With ALTA LUNA, Venturi Space is exploring a tracked mobility architecture for the first time as part of its lunar programmes. This choice has one specific objective: to allow the vehicle to climb steeper slopes than would be possible with a wheeled architecture.

ALTA LUNA will use the battery and battery management system (BMS) developed by Venturi Space. These two technologies are integrated into Venturi Astrolab’s CLV-1, which has been selected by NASA for the Artemis campaign.

Fifteen months after unveiling the MONA LUNA rover, and as the launch of FLIP to the lunar South Pole approaches (*), Venturi Space continues to strengthen its position in the space industry, just five years after its creation.

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Gildo Pastor, President of Venturi Space:
“I enjoy designing vehicles for extreme environments, but above all I like to see them prove their value in real-world conditions. I will therefore devote all the necessary energy to ensuring that ALTA LUNA supports the first inhabitants of the Moon in their daily lives”

Dr. Antonio Delfino, Director of Venturi Space:
“On the Moon, we will need to build, develop sites, transport, maintain and connect. We will face challenges similar to those of industrialisation on Earth: transport routes, habitats, infrastructure and logistics. This will require a range of specialised mobility solutions capable of operating as a fleet and carrying out a wide variety of missions. This is the new phase of lunar activity that we are preparing for”(*) Developed by the US company Venturi Astrolab, the FLIP rover is equipped with hyper-deformable wheels and high-performance batteries designed and manufactured by Venturi Space. Its launch aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lander is scheduled by the end of 2026, with the lunar South Pole as its destination. Venturi Space, a European company, is Venturi Astrolab’s strategic partner.

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

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Canadian Detects And Tracks Over 4,000 Orbiting Objects

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When Port Dover astronomer Michael Earl thought about how to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sputnik, he did not know what he was in for. He decided that year- back in 2007, he would detect and track 1,957 individual satellites. He managed to detect 2,053 of them; nearly 100 over his initial goal.

The project did not stop there. Mr. Earl decided to continue to determine how many of our orbiting satellites could be detected using retail telescopes and research-grade digital cameras.

Michael Earl stands near his CASTOR facility in Port Dover. This equipment was used to detect and track over 4,000 of our orbiting satellites. Image by Michael A. Earl and Jane E. Yaeger.

Mr. Earl has seen some of our most prestigious satellites, including the International Space Station, the Space Shuttles, all of the GPS satellites, Telstar, NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and Canadian satellites Alouette, ISIS, Anik A1, CTS and Radarsat. He has spotted all of the satellites that all North American satellite TV subscribers point their dishes toward.

A decade ago, he spotted the famous Hubble Space Telescope only ten degrees above Port Dover’s southern horizon.

(see image) The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was seen to travel across CASTOR’s field of view at 4:16 a.m. on July 5, 2011. The HST is traveling right to left in this image, which is actually comprised of five 5-second images. The HST’s reflected sunlight is seen as streaks as the satellite orbits the Earth during the exposures. The small dots are stars in the constellation of Grus (the crane). The large clumps at the bottom are foreground trees. Image by Michael A. Earl / CASTOR.

The furthest man-made object he has seen is an old Soviet-era x-ray observatory called Astron. It was 196,000km away at the time, or half way to the Moon.

At the present time, there are a total of 16,000 catalogued satellites that are tracked regularly by the United States military. Mr. Earl has detected over 4,000 (one quarter) of these to date. This includes two thirds of all payloads and three quarters of all rockets orbiting us right now.

He has compiled his findings into a unique satellite catalogue.

This is the first such catalogue to be compiled within Canada. He is also the first in the world to detect over 4,000 individual satellites single-handedly.

Mr. Earl hopes that his satellite catalogue will be used by amateur and professional astronomers to determine which satellites can be detected using their own unique equipment. The catalogue could be used as an initial point of reference for optical satellite tracking research initiatives all over the world.

The Iridium 67 communications satellite is seen to flare as it reflects sunlight back to the CASTOR camera. For much of its orbit, Iridium 67 is invisible to the naked eye however once in awhile its high gain antenna reflects most of the sunlight that hits it. We see this as an easily visible flare from Earth. CASTOR has detected all 98 Iridium satellites. The arrow denotes the satellite’s direction of travel. The small dots are stars. The number next to the satellite denotes the NORAD satellite catalogue number. The compass at the upper left corner denotes the orientation of the image. The numbers at the bottom denote the time, date and exposure time of the image. Image by Michael A. Earl / CASTOR.

Today, astronomy can be used for much more than observing stars, nebulae and galaxies.

The science can also be used to observe and track our most important assets in space and motivate others to develop new satellite tracking initiatives.

The CASTOR Satellite Catalogue can be viewed in its entirety at Michael’s CASTOR Catalogue

Michael Earl’s CASTOR satellite tracking web site is still active and can be viewed via Michael’s Satellite Website.

Sci-Tech

Canada’s Fragmented Systems Fighting Against AI Adoption For Healthcare

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Scaling Up: Commercializing Health AI in Canada

The following excerpts from the Fourth meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Health Sector Economic Growth and Resilience Working Group

Meeting Overview

The C.D. Howe Institute’s Health Sector Economic Growth and Resilience Working Group met for its fourth session on June 23, 2026, to examine the adoption, oversight, and commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI) in Canada’s healthcare system. The meeting featured presentations from Shelley Spence, Auditor General of Ontario; Krista Balenko, Canada Health Infoway; and Gavin Tong, Accenture, followed by an open discussion among the group.

The panel examined a specific and rapidly scaling use case – AI-generated clinical documentation, or “AI scribes” – alongside the broader international policy environment that will determine whether this early point solution matures into a durable Canadian AI commercialization pathway. The meeting took place on the same day as a federal-provincial announcement extending investment in shared clinical data infrastructure to additional provinces,1 which several participants cited as further evidence of growing momentum for AI in Canadian healthcare. They also acknowledged that public trust has not kept pace with adoption.

Participants broadly agreed that AI scribes have moved from pilot to meaningful scale faster, and with a more positive clinician reception than most had expected. At the same time, an independent audit presented at the meeting identified accuracy and governance gaps in the initial procurement of these tools, highlighting that oversight has not always kept pace with adoption. The discussion that followed centred on how Canada can safely accelerate the broader commercialization of healthcare AI, given a policy and procurement environment that most participants agreed remains fragmented relative to international peers.

Auditing Ontario’s First Wave of AI Adoption

Shelley Spence, Auditor General of Ontario

Shelley Spence presented findings from a recent audit of AI use across the Ontario Public Service (OPS), undertaken following the Ontario government’s 2024 AI strategy. The audit covered AI governance and oversight, the responsible and secure use of AI tools, and the procurement and evaluation of vendor-of-record AI systems. It included a specific deep dive into AI scribe systems used in healthcare and a separate facial-recognition-based document verification service.

At an OPS-wide level, the audit found that staff could access unsanctioned and unsecured AI tools from government-issued devices: approved AI tools were used at a rate of roughly 6 percent, against a 94 percent usage rate for non-approved generative AI websites, and only about 3 percent of staff had completed AI training as of August 2025.2

In the case of AI scribes, Supply Ontario procured the tools through a vendor-of-record model and made them available to physicians, nurse practitioners, therapists, and other clinicians.3 The audit found that security, accuracy, and bias-related criteria carried limited weight in vendor evaluation and that the process relied heavily on vendors’ own claims rather than independent verification, with no requirement for live product demonstrations.

Subsequent testing by clinical and technical staff from Ontario Health and the provincial Ministry of Health found that all 20 evaluated vendors exhibited at least one identified issue. More than half included incorrect medical information (including misidentified medications), 45 percent exhibited instances of “hallucinations” (fabricated content), and 30 percent had incomplete documentation or omissions. While these results are potentially concerning, participants noted that AI tools and their underlying algorithms are evolving rapidly and that the findings apply to tools available and in use through summer 2025. This rapid evolution also means that data security, output accuracy, and potential biases can change over time, requiring regular evaluation to ensure appropriate public sector use.4

The Auditor’s report recommendations focus on strengthening procurement discipline and improving policies and protocols for AI use within the public service, rather than curbing adoption. They include giving greater weight to security, privacy, and bias criteria in vendor scoring; requiring independent assessment of vendor security documentation rather than relying on vendor attestations; mandating live product demonstrations; requiring formal bias testing; and requiring clinicians to confirm they have reviewed AI-generated notes before those notes are finalized in the patient record. The Auditor General’s office follows up on recommendations after two and five years to track progress, and the government stated that they had already acted on some recommendations from this audit.

Scaling AI Scribes Nationally

Krista Balenko, Canada Health Infoway

Krista Balenko described a national initiative intended to provide up to 10,000 primary care clinicians with a 12-month funded AI scribe licence drawn from a list of pre-qualified vendors, targeting reach to roughly 20 percent of the primary care market. The program was built collaboratively at a national level, drawing on Ontario’s early vendor-of-record work as well as parallel efforts already underway in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. A national external advisory group set core clinical, business, privacy, and security requirements and participated in vendor testing and live demonstrations, an approach designed to avoid duplicating the same procurement and evaluation work in every jurisdiction. Registration was straightforward, directing all clinicians to a common landing page where they could select their region. From there, most jurisdictions opened access to any pre-qualified vendor, while Nova Scotia opted to deploy a single vendor province-wide. All regions were supported by common adoption resources such as readiness checklists, privacy guidance, and templates.

Demand exceeded expectations. More than 6,000 providers registered within two days of launch and more than 10,000 within two weeks, prompting several jurisdictions to close registration once notional allocations were reached. Balenko reported that the program has since supported more than 11.5 million patient encounters, at an average of roughly 1.2 million encounters per month – a volume that a large comparable US health system reportedly took some 15 months to reach with a similar enrolled user base.

An independent evaluation found strongly positive results across most direct measures: roughly 90 percent of clinicians rated the tool as valuable to their practice, about 80 percent reported a significant reduction in cognitive load, close to 70 percent reported reduced administrative burden, and about 80 percent reported feeling more engaged with patients (Centre for Digital Health Evaluation 2026). Roughly three-quarters of clinicians reported time savings. Of that group, about half redirected the time to completing other administrative or clinical tasks and roughly a fifth used it to see and/or take on more patients. Balenko cautioned that benefits are not uniform: the specific value delivered depends on the clinician, the appointment type, and the patient context.

Looking ahead, Balenko noted that clinicians increasingly view AI scribes as an entry point into a broader ecosystem of AI-enabled tools, including pre- and post-visit summaries, automated form completion and billing support, and clinical co-pilot functionality, several of which vendors are already layering onto existing products. In her assessment, the main policy question is how quickly AI scribes can be scaled responsibly – and under what governance and data-access arrangements.

Canada’s Commercialization Gap: An International Comparison

Gavin Tong, Accenture

Gavin Tong focused on the international economic policy environment shaping AI use cases in healthcare, particularly “front office” applications such as those involving personal health information and directly touching patient care, as distinct from valuable but less contentious “back office” applications. He described a broadly common two-part policy challenge facing every jurisdiction. The first is regulatory friction, including medical device certification, AI-specific regulatory regimes, and data privacy requirements. The second is creating commercialization pathways that convert regulatory approval into a viable, reimbursable route to market – historically a long and uncertain process for novel health technologies.

Tong described three distinct approaches that have been deployed across different jurisdictions. England has established a regulatory sandbox called the “AI Airlock,” allowing regulators and companies to jointly iterate on safe deployment controls for continuously learning AI medical-device products. Qualifying products move into a provisional clinical use and real-world monitoring phase before entering a national AI procurement framework, with current use cases concentrated in areas such as imaging triage, cardiac diagnostics, and dermatology (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency 2026). Germany and France, by contrast, have focused on giving developers a clear route from regulatory approval to a “digital therapeutic” pathway that can be prescribed, with automatic access to national insurance coverage, applied particularly to mental health applications and combined patient-facing device and app products. Singapore offers a highly integrated model. It has placed AI at the centre of national economic policy since 2023, using a live national clinical dataset and sustained biotech investment to position itself as a launch pad from which private companies can scale innovations across the wider Asia-Pacific market.

Against this backdrop, Tong argued that Canada holds many of the underlying ingredients for success: strong AI research, rich longitudinal health data, a receptive and well-educated workforce, and an early proof point in AI scribes. Canada’s challenge is that it lacks the commercialization architecture to leverage these foundational assets into rapid commercialization, adoption, and scale. Even if Canada achieves a more unified national approach to regulation, he suggested, commercialization is likely to remain fragmented across 13 separate provincial and territorial procurement processes. Healthcare also has historically had a risk-averse purchasing culture and a reluctance to be a first customer for novel technology, meaning many companies launch their products and capture value abroad before entering the Canadian market.

The presentation also raised concerns about AI-driven workforce displacement across both blue- and white-collar occupations and the well-documented health consequences of concentrated unemployment, particularly among younger workers, as a longer-term risk that merits attention alongside the immediate commercialization of AI tools. Future adoption patterns and applications of new AI tools remain uncertain. Given workforce and access challenges in healthcare, improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery will become increasingly important, alongside monitoring AI’s broader and evolving economic and health impacts.

Policy Discussion

Opening the discussion, the moderator summarized the tension raised across the three presentations: a point solution – AI scribes – that has already achieved wide and enthusiastic clinician uptake despite documented imperfections in how it was first procured, set against a more uncertain outlook on Canada’s broader capacity to commercialize healthcare AI. The group was asked how to create room to accelerate commercialization while maintaining accuracy, security, and bias safeguards, and whether Canada’s best path is to learn from international leaders, even at the cost of being a “second or third mover,” or to pursue a made-in-Canada sandbox and national procurement model.

Several participants argued that Canada should embed AI directly in its own regulatory processes, rather than only regulating AI as a product, pointing to international examples where AI-assisted application review has replaced slower, correspondence-based bureaucratic processes to shorten approval timelines without weakening oversight. This was linked to a recurring and largely undisputed observation: participants repeatedly identified the fragmentation of healthcare procurement and regulatory authority across 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions as the primary structural obstacle to scaling AI commercialization in Canada, in contrast to the single national markets of peer jurisdictions such as Germany and France. While this structure is constitutional, provinces can still cooperate to make the Canadian market more attractive by harmonizing regulatory and procurement policies and processes.

One participant drew a direct comparison to Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy, in which a single centralized federal buyer aligns procurement with domestic economic development goals, and asked how a similar alignment mechanism might be built across health technology purchasing – including a “buy Canada” dimension – given the absence of an equivalent central decision-maker in healthcare. Another participant cautioned against treating this purely as a procurement design problem, noting that jurisdictional fragmentation reflects broader structural features of Canadian health federalism that a procurement fix alone would not resolve. The group did not fully reconcile these two framings.

A further international example was offered as a model for policy learning rather than pure imitation: Germany and France’s collegial “leapfrogging” on digital therapeutics reimbursement frameworks. Germany’s early rollout identified a gap in clinician and patient training that France subsequently addressed in its own framework, with the two countries openly exchanging implementation lessons.

On the regulatory classification of clinical AI tools, one participant noted that AI scribes generally sit outside Health Canada’s medical device framework, unlike more clinically substantive diagnostic or decision-support AI applications, though guidance specific to generative and higher-risk AI tools continues to develop. The central challenge, in this view, is calibrating oversight to a tool’s genuine clinical risk and value so that governance does not simply add to clinician burden. The participant also suggested exploring national procurement principles that could sit alongside continued provincial responsibility for funding and administration, rather than requiring a full redesign of health system financing.

Echoing this, another participant – drawing on work developing a “patient charter” through a co-design process – suggested that Canada’s governance toolkit of legislation, policy, and programmatic guidance is not yet clearly organized to distinguish between areas where absolute certainty is required and those where flexibility should be preserved while the technology and public confidence in it continue to evolve.

The discussion closed with a participant cautioning that while AI tools, including scribes, offer clear benefits, public and clinician trust remains uneven. The participant cited an example in which a physician declined to see a patient who had asked that an AI scribe not be used, illustrating a live tension around patient choice and informed consent that adoption figures alone do not capture. These tensions must be balanced with reported clinician-side gains, including several hours of weekly time savings and more face-to-face time with patients. Participants broadly agreed that healthcare AI remains a moving target for regulatory policy and procurement-stage product validation and, at least for now, requires human validation and verification.

Policy Conclusions

There was clear consensus that AI scribes have demonstrated clinician demand and delivered measurable value in clinical practice. Participants generally viewed the risk of under-investing in healthcare AI, given capacity and access challenges, as greater than the risks of broader adoption, provided accuracy, bias, and security safeguards keep pace with deployment. Participants likewise agreed that human review remains a necessary safeguard against the documented error rates in current AI scribe products, and that Canada’s fragmented procurement and regulatory landscape across 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions is the principal structural barrier standing between early wins in AI adoption and a durable Canadian AI commercialization advantage. Canada Health Infoway’s recent AI Scribe Program demonstrated that a successful and scalable national procurement and coordinated deployment process is possible, offering a potential model for other products.

Genuine uncertainty remains in several areas. Participants could not say with confidence how much AI use is already occurring outside sanctioned or governed channels, noting that this kind of activity is inherently difficult to observe or quantify. There was similar uncertainty about whether Canada can build a coordinated national approach to regulation and procurement quickly enough to keep pace with faster-moving peer jurisdictions, or whether a province-by-province default will persist. Multiple participants noted that the pace, scale, and distributional impact of AI-driven workforce displacement will need to be monitored, along with associated effects on population welfare and healthcare needs.

There was some debate about Canada’s ideal adoption and regulatory strategy. Some participants favoured a deliberate “fast follower” posture, learning from international leaders such as England, Germany, France, and Singapore. Others argued that this posture risks entrenching the very lag participants identified as Canada’s central weakness and favoured a more assertive domestic approach combining a Canadian regulatory sandbox with coordinated national procurement. Participants also differed on whether persistent 13-jurisdiction fragmentation could be addressed through a centralized buying model akin to national defence procurement, or as a symptom of deeper structural features of Canadian health federalism that procurement reform alone cannot resolve. Overall, participants agreed that regulatory modernization is a necessary companion to continued AI scribe scale-up, and a precondition for translating Canada’s research and data advantages into a genuine commercialization pathway.

Participants of the C.D. Howe Institute Health Sector Economic Growth and Resilience Working Group

Individuals participate in their personal capacities, and the views collectively expressed do not represent those of any individual, institution, or client.

Co-Chairs:

Helen Angus, CEO, AMS Healthcare

Tony DiEmanuele, President and CEO, Mohawk Medbuy Corp. (session chaired by Peter Longo, COO, Mohawk Medbuy Corp., in Mr. DiEmanuele’s absence).

Presenters:

Shelley Spence, Auditor General, Office of the Auditor General of Ontario

Krista Balenko, Vice President, Enablement and Operations, Canada Health Infoway

Gavin Tong, Canadian Health Industry Data and AI Lead, Accenture

Participants:

  • Neala Barton, VP, Communications and Client Experience, Canadian Institute for Health Information
  • Brigid Buckingham, Director of Government Affairs and Policy, GE Healthcare
  • Barbara Carnegie, Vice President, Healthcare and Group Benefits, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association
  • Nathan Clark, Director, Government Relations, Manulife
  • Donna Duncan, CEO, Ontario Long Term Care Association
  • Jonathan Feairs, Head, Government Affairs and Enterprise Policy, AstraZeneca Canada
  • Cathy Hecimovich, CEO, Ontario Retirement Communities Association
  • Jim Keon, President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
  • Geneviève Lavertu, Government Affairs and Policy, Johnson & Johnson Canada
  • Richard Lech, Senior Manager, Market Access, Edwards Lifesciences
  • Leslie Madden, Head of Government Affairs and Policy, Moderna
  • Chad Mitchell, Senior Association, Global Public Affairs
  • Janice Mundell, Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Business Intelligence and PMO, Mohawk Medbuy Corporation
  • Christian Ouellet, VP Corporate Affairs, Sandoz Canada
  • Paul Petrelli, Vice President and General Manager, Gilead Sciences Canada
  • Joanne Pitkin, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, GreenShield Canada
  • Ramesh Ranjan, Lead, Official Engagement, Canadian Blood Services
  • Nissa Shariff, Partner, Health, Government and Public Sector, PricewaterCoopers LLP
  • Lori Shortill, Sales Excellence Leader, Philips
  • Dan Singh, Director, Strategy and Innovation, Canada’s Drug Agency (on behalf of Suzanne McGurn, CEO)
  • Michelle Theroux, Partner, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Deloitte

References

Auditor General of Ontario. 2026. Performance Audit: Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Ontario Government. https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/en26/2026_AI_EN.pdf.

Centre for Digital Health Evaluation, Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. 2026. “Evaluating Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes to Reduce Administrative Burden and Enhance Data Interoperability in Canadian Primary Care.” https://insights.infoway-inforoute.ca/docs/component/edocman/497-results-report-evaluating-artificial-intelligence-ai-scribes-to-reduce-administrative-burden-and-enhance-data-interoperability-in-canadian-primary-care?Itemid=0.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. 2026. “AI Airlock: The Regulatory Sandbox for AIaMD.” https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ai-airlock-the-regulatory-sandbox-for-aiamd.

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Surgery Is Now Improving With AI And Robotics

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An informative 6 MINUTE READ via our friends at Share America.

August, 2026- Today, undergoing surgery is less risky than it was a generation ago. U.S. advances in medical robotics are dramatically improving surgical precision, enabling minimally invasive procedures that reduce complication rates and patient recovery times.

What Is Precision Medicine?

Combining artificial intelligence with medical robotics is further aiding the shift toward precision medicine. With AI-enhanced robotics tools, doctors are diagnosing diseases earlier and tailoring treatments to their patients’ genetics. These medical advances require a secure flow of critical minerals to make the semiconductors and microchips that power new tools.

Through the Pax Silica initiative, the U.S. State Department works with international partners to secure supply chains and enable continued technological progress and mutual prosperity amid the AI revolution. Pax Silica priorities include working with partners to prevent advanced technologies designed for healthcare from being misused. The State Department is also piloting a “concierge” service to streamline partners’ access to American-made AI products.

Here are several surgical robotics tools developed in the U.S. that are benefiting patients around the world.

Worker using machine in operating room (© Intuitive)
The da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system’s artificial intelligence tools provide real-time data in the operating room. (© Intuitive)

Smaller incisions, less trauma

California-based Intuitive Surgical Incorporated’s da Vinci robotic surgical system has been used in 20 million procedures  since its launch in 2000. Updated models bring surgeons greater control, enabling operations through smaller incisions. The da Vinci 5’s AI tools help surgeons feel resistance and tension, so they can moderate force, reducing trauma. Plus, the system provides real-time data analysis during surgery.

The da Vinci 5 “has changed how I take care of patients,” says Dr. Marc Bailey , a cardiothoracic surgeon at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital in Savannah, Georgia. “Robotic surgery has always allowed for smaller incisions and less blood loss, and we can get you walking around faster, with less pain.”

The Miniaturized In Vivo Robotic Assistant MIRA™ Surgical System is designed to expand access to robotic surgery, according to the Virtual Incision Corporation based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Used in intestinal and other surgeries, MIRA is lightweight (2 pounds, less than 1 kilogram), allowing hospitals to move the device between operating rooms, reducing lengthy setup times.

Virtual Incision says future uses of MIRA will incorporate AI to inform decision-making and enable remote surgeries. In 2024, Virtual Incision and NASA tested the device’s remote-surgery capabilities  at the International Space Station using data sent by satellite.

Astronaut holding equipment while floating inside space station (NASA)
NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara displays Virtual Incision’s robotic-assisted surgery system aboard the International Space Station in February 2024. (NASA)

Early detection, better outcomes

Intuitive’s Ion robotic bronchoscopy system assists with minimally invasive lung biopsies that can detect early-stage cancers, improving patient outcomes. The robotic-assisted tool, initially released in 2019, added AI-powered navigation  and rerouting capability in 2025 that can anticipate how a lung nodule may shift over time.

Ion’s AI-powered detection tools compare live images against the surgical plan, acting like a GPS navigation system that allows doctors to alter the course of surgery as needed. As of June 2025, there were 900 Ion systems at hospitals across 10 countries.

Real-time data, safer procedures

The Mako robotic arm, designed by the Michigan-based Stryker corporation, uses AI technology to assist doctors  performing knee and hip replacement surgeries. Mako’s patient-specific, preoperative planning and feedback help surgeons adhere to preoperation plans, while other data analysis protects healthy bone.

The device also enables precise alignment of artificial knees and hips to improve joint stability and extend the lifespan of implants.

For the Silo, Lauren Monsen.

Sci-Tech

How To Stop DNA Size Plastics From Entering Your Body

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Plastics that break down into particles as tiny as our DNA—small enough to be absorbed through our skin—are released into our environment at a rate of 82 million metric tons a year. These plastics, and the mix of chemicals they are made with, are now major contributors to disease, affecting the risk of afflictions ranging from cancer to hormonal issues.

Plastic pollution threatens everything from sea animals to human beings, a problem scientists, activists, business groups, and politicians are debating as they draft a global treaty to end plastic pollution. These negotiations have only highlighted the complexity of a threat that seems to pit economic growth and jobs against catastrophic damage to people and the planet.

Rapid growth in plastics didn’t begin until the 1950s, and since then, annual production has increased nearly 230-fold, according to two data sets processed by Our World in Data. More than 20 percent of plastic waste is mismanaged—ending up in our air, water, and soil.

Inescapable Problem

While plastic doesn’t biodegrade—at least not in a reasonable time frame—it does break down into ever smaller particles. We may no longer see it, but plastic constantly accumulates in our environment. These microscopic bits, known as microplastics and nanoplastics, can enter our bodies through what we eat, drink, and breathe.

Microplastics measure five millimeters or less. Nanoplastics are an invisible fraction of that size, down to one billionth of a meter or around the size of DNA.

image-5655365

While microplastics can be as small as a hair, they remain visible. Nanoplastics, however, are impossible to see without a microscope. (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

Plastic pollution is a chemical remnant of petroleum with other chemicals added in to change the durability, elasticity, and color. PlastChem Project has cataloged more than 16,000 chemicals—4,200 considered highly hazardous, according to the initiative’s report issued in March.

The astounding level and types of plastics, many with unknown health effects, should be a wakeup call for everyone, says Erin Smith, vice president and head of plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

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Micro- and Nanoplastics Linked to Parkinson’s and Dementia

Micro- and Nanoplastics Linked to Parkinson’s and Dementia

“Plastic pollution is absolutely everywhere,” she said. “What’s hard right now is the body of science, trying to understand what the presence of plastic inside us means from a human health perspective, is still new.”

Ms. Smith said we may be waiting for the science to reveal the full scope of plastic’s biological effects, but one thing is certain: “We know it’s not good.”

Reproductive and Neurological Issues

Newer human health studies have shown plastic has far-reaching effects.

“The research is clear: Plastics cause disease, disability, and death. They cause premature birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth as well as leukemia, lymphoma, brain cancer, liver cancer, heart disease and stroke. Infants, children, pregnant women, and plastics workers are the people at greatest risk of these harms. These diseases result in annual economic costs of $1.2 trillion,” said Dr. Phil Landrigan, pediatrician and environmental health expert, in a Beyond Plastics news release in March.

Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group for policy change, warns that new research indicates plastic could be leading to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and death.

Successive studies have found microscopic plastic particles affect every system of our bodies and at every age.

Nearly 3,600 studies indexed by the Minderoo Foundation have detailed the effects of polymers and additives like plasticizers, flame retardants, bisphenols, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The vast majority of studies indicate plastics affect endocrine and metabolic function, the reproductive system, and contribute to mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopment issues.

One study published in Environmental Science & Technology looked at plastic food packaging from five countries and found hormone-disrupting chemicals were common.

“The prevalence of estrogenic compounds in plastics raises health concerns due to their potential to disrupt the endocrine system, which can, among others, result in developmental and reproductive issues, and an elevated risk of hormone-related cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer,” the authors noted.

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Data mapped by Our World in Data shows national rates of per capita plastic pollution to the oceans. North American individuals add about .01 kilograms (10 grams) of plastic waste to the world’s oceans each year. At 336,500,000 people today, that amounts to 3,311 tons or 7,418,555 pounds. (The Epoch Times)

The full scope of these chemical consequences is far from known. According to Minderoo, less than 30 percent of more than 1,500 plastics chemicals have been investigated for human health impacts. That includes the “substitution” chemicals used to replace additives that were restricted after being found problematic.

“All new plastic chemicals should be tested for safety before being introduced in consumer products, with ongoing post-introduction monitoring of their levels in human biospecimens and evaluation of health effects throughout the lives of individuals and across generations,” said professor Sarah Dunlop, Minderoo Foundation’s head of plastics and human health.

Absorbed Into Arteries and Skin

The relatively recent discovery that plastic particles can make their way into the human body through multiple methods has come with other unsetting insights. Microplastics and nanoplastics in human artery wall plaque were recently linked to a 350 percent increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and death.

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Plastic pollution comes in all forms, from packaging and waste that clogs the Buckingham Canal in Chennai, India to plastic pellets from petrochemical companies that litter the ground in Ecaussinnes, Belgium. (R. SATISH BABU, Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP via Getty Images)

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a study followed 257 patients over 34 months. Among those involved in the study, 58.4 percent had polyethylene in carotid artery plaque and 12.1 percent had polyvinyl chloride.

Polyethylene is the most common plastic found in bottles and bags, including cereal box liners. Polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC, is another common plastic, often used in medical and construction materials.

Besides finding entry through ingestion, polymers can also make their way into the bloodstream through our skin, according to another study published in Environment International. The findings, based on a human skin equivalent model, add to evidence that suggests that as plastics break down, it may be impossible for us to avoid absorbing them. Microscopic plastic has been found in our soil, water supply, air, and arctic ice.

Sweaty skin was found to be especially prone to absorbing the particles.

Once inside the body, plastic can mimic hormones, collect in arteries, and contribute to one of the most common disease pathologies today—an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants known as oxidative stress.

Dr. Bradley Bale, a heart attack and stroke prevention specialist and co-author of “Beat The Heart Attack Gene,” says there’s plenty of evidence that plastic is causing oxidative stress.

“Plastics are ubiquitous on planet Earth,” Dr. Bale said. “You’re crazy to think you can eliminate your exposure to that. It would be next to impossible. But we can look at other issues that cause oxidative stress.”

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Data processed by our Our World in Data shows the increase in plastic production in metric tonnes. (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

Those other issues, including poor diet and other toxic exposures, may be resolved through lifestyle approaches, supplements, or avoidance.

Dr. Bale suspects future nanoplastics research will reveal a relationship between plastics exposure and early death, dementia, cancer, diabetes, and any disease impacted by oxidative stress.

How to Stop the Plastic Onslaught

Since cleaning up plastic is nearly impossible once it breaks down, advocacy groups are pushing for legislation that would reduce single-use products such as food wrappers, bottles, takeout containers, and bags—some of the most prolific and problematic plastics.

The United Nations Environment Programme, a global environmental decision-making body with representatives from all UN member states, decided in March 2022 that the plastics issue needed a coordinated response. It committed to fast-tracking a treaty meant to address the world’s growing plastic problem.

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(Left) The secretariat of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to Develop an International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution consults on the dais during the closing plenary in Ottawa on April 30, 2024; (Center) Members of Greenpeace holds up placards during the discussions in Ottawa, Canada, on April 23, 2024.; (Right) Pro-plastic messaging was seen at hotels in Ottawa during the UN INC meetings. (IISD-ENB/Kiara Worth, DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are on a third attempt to gain Congressional consideration of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. First introduced in 2020, it remains still unpassed in 2026. Among the act’s proposals are reducing and banning some single-use plastics, creating grants for reusable and refillable products, requiring corporations to take responsibility for plastic pollution, and temporarily banning new plastic facilities until protections are established.

The Economics of Plastics

Plastics are important for many businesses and the plastics industry itself is significant and influential. However, plastics aren’t as profitable as one may expect. New plastic facilities often get subsidies and tax breaks that make plastics artificially cheap to produce. These financial supports have increased substantially in the past three years.

In addition to direct fossil fuel subsidies, the plastics and petrochemical industries benefit from grants, tax breaks, and incentives. Because of a lack of transparency, exact figures on subsidies are hard to come by, according to the Center for International Environmental Law. The group is urging the UN to ban certain subsidies, including any that would reduce the price of raw goods used to make plastic.

Some organizations question whether these incentives are beneficial to local economies and taxpayers as a whole.

The Environmental Integrity Project issued a report that found 64 percent of 50 plastic plants built or expanded in the United States since 2012 received nearly $9 billion in state and local subsidies. Unexpected events were common, including violations of air pollution permits among 42 plants and more than 1,200 accidents like fires and explosions. State-modified permits at 15 plants allowed for additional emissions that were often detected beyond the property line of the plants.

A case study report published June 2023 by the Ohio River Valley Institute examined the $6 billion Shell facility built in Beaver County, Pennsylvania to produce plastic pellets.

“Since the project’s inception, industry executives and government officials alike have argued that it would spur local economic growth and renewed business investment. Yet prosperity still has not arrived. Beaver County has seen a declining population, zero growth in GDP, zero growth in jobs, lackluster progress in reducing poverty, and zero growth in businesses—even when factoring in all the temporary construction workers at the site,” the report says.

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The Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex makes plastic from “cracking” natural gas in Beaver County, near Pittsburgh, PA. (Mark Dixon/Flickr)

Conflicted Solutions for a Plastic World

The Plastics Industry Association argues that plastic “makes the world a better place”—language it wants in the plastics treaty.

The association represents more than one million workers throughout the entire supply chain. A $468 billion industry, plastics are the sixth largest U.S. manufacturer, according to the association, which did not respond to media requests for an interview.

David Zaruk, a communications professor in Belgium with a doctorate in philosophy, said opposition to plastic is largely an attack on the fossil fuel industry—part of a larger “anti-capitalist political agenda.” The value of plastic on society, he said, is frequently understated.

He pointed to a 2024 study published in Environmental Science and Technology that concludes plastic is far more “sustainable” with lower greenhouse gas emissions than alternatives like paper, glass, and aluminum—many of which it was designed to replace. Arguments often overlook the environmental impact of alternatives, the study notes, and in some cases, there are no substitutions for plastic.

“This isn’t a recent revelation either. Academic scientists have said for years that plastic serves essential functions. Speaking specifically of short-lived plastic uses, a pair of supply chain experts argued in 2019 that ’some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste and protect the environment.’ By the way, food waste produces roughly double the greenhouse emissions of plastic production,” Mr. Zaruk wrote recently on the Substack blog, Firebreak.

The Plastics Industry Association heavily promotes recycling and biodegradable plastics but critics say there are inherent problems with both.

Only 4 percent of plastic is recycled in the United States and about 16% in Canada, while an equal amount ends up in rivers, oceans, and soil—breaking down into microplastics and nanoplastics that experts believe will persist for centuries.

The U.S. Plastics Pact—a collaboration of more than 100 businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions initiated by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund—identified 11 problematic plastics that its members aimed to voluntarily eliminate by 2025. Members include major plastics users and the products are all finished items or components of plastics that either aren’t recycled or cause problems in the recycling system and could be eliminated or replaced.

While some major companies support the pact, the  Plastics Industry Association has taken a dim view of the pact, describing it as an attempt to “tell others how to run their businesses by restricting their choices.”

The association says the best way to increase recycling is through education and innovation.

Recycled Mystery Chemicals

Unfortunately, recycling isn’t a perfect solution to the plastic problem. Recycled plastics present additional hazards because they are made from a blend of products and a more uncertain chemical makeup, according to Therese Karlsson, science advisor for the International Pollutants Elimination Network, a global consortium of public interest groups.

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“We’ve looked a lot at recycled plastics. There you have a lot of different plastic materials that you don’t know what they contain and you combine that into a new plastic material that you have even less information about what it contains,” Ms. Karlsson. “As a consumer, you can’t look at a piece of plastic to figure out if it’s safe or not. We just don’t know, but we know a lot of the chemicals used in plastic are toxic.”

An IPEN investigation found plastic pellets recovered from recycling facilities in 24 countries had hundreds of toxic chemicals—including pesticides, industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and fragrances.

“For our recycling technology, it just doesn’t work, and a lot of that ends up in landfills anyway,” said Ms. Smith from the WWF. “It shouldn’t require a decoder ring to decide what goes in that blue bin because everything should be designed for that system.” For the Silo, Amy Denny.

Little Changes Make a Big Difference

In the absence of government intervention, Ms. Smith said there are some easy tips consumers can take to limit their own plastic exposure:

  • Shop with reusable shopping bags.
  • Don’t use plastic in the microwave or dishwasher because heat can release additional polymers.
  • Buy metal or glass snack containers to replace sealable plastic bags.
  • Use beeswax cloth in place of plastic wrap.
  • Replace dryer sheets with wool balls.
  • Carry a refillable cup for water and coffee.
  • Consider reusable trash bags.
  • Use and carry metal straws, stir sticks, and/or reusable cutlery.
  • Don’t litter, and pick up trash you find outdoors.
Transportation

Are Extended Car Warranties A Rip Off?

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Buying a car is a process that’s full of decisions, many of which can drastically alter your out-the-door price. Deciding whether to purchase add-ons simply adds to the stress of it all. Most car buyers are offered an “extended warranty,” but it’s a term that is too often used in a misleading way. What are extended car warranties, and when do you need one? 

What Is an Extended Warranty?

An extended warranty is a service contract that covers certain repairs or services after the original manufacturer’s warranty expires. However, the term is frequently used incorrectly to refer to vehicle service contracts (VSCs) sold by third parties. A true extended warranty can only be provided by the vehicle’s manufacturer or dealer. Vehicle service contracts, on the other hand, are often sold by third-party companies and cover repairs in addition to the original warranty.  Both extended warranties and vehicle service contracts protect you from unforeseen repair expenses; the key difference is who sells you the plan – the car’s manufacturer or a third party.

Whether you need an extended warranty depends on your personal risk tolerance and the reliability of the vehicle you are purchasing. Here are some factors to consider:

  • New Cars: New vehicles come with a manufacturer’s warranty that typically lasts for 3 to 5 years, with mileage limitations as well. Here’s an example from Toyota.  It’s important to check the warranty term for the vehicle you’re considering buying. If you plan to keep the car beyond this period and want extra peace of mind, an extended warranty or VSC might be a good option.
  • Used Cars: For used cars, especially those without any remaining manufacturer’s warranty, an extended warranty can provide valuable protection against unexpected repair costs. However, it’s important to consider the vehicle’s reliability and your willingness to pay for potential repairs out of pocket. For used cars, you can often get a much lower rate for a vehicle service contract from a third party.

What Coverage Should an Extended Warranty provide?

When evaluating an extended car warranty, consider the following coverage details. The same rings true for vehicle service contracts:

  • Duration and Mileage: Ensure the warranty covers an adequate period and mileage that suits your needs and driving habits.
  • Covered Components: Look for comprehensive coverage that includes major systems like the engine, transmission, electrical systems, and more. 
  • Exclusions: Understand what is not covered, such as wear-and-tear items and regular maintenance.
  • Deductibles: Check the deductible amount and whether it applies per visit or per repair. A high deductible may change your mind about the value of the coverage.
  • Additional Benefits: Some warranties include extras like roadside assistance and rental car reimbursement.

It’s always a good idea to view a sample contract before signing on the dotted line.

Should I Buy an Extended Warranty at the Car Dealership, or Somewhere Else?

While car dealerships often offer extended warranties, they typically come with significant markups. Here are your options:

  • Dealership: Convenient but usually more expensive. Be sure to ask if the warranty is from the manufacturer or a third party, and get other quotes to compare rates and terms, no matter what!
  • Manufacturer: You can often buy an extended car warranty directly from the manufacturer, sometimes even after the original purchase. But is it a better deal? Compare terms, coverage, and exclusions, along with the price. 
  • Third-Party providers: Many third-party companies sell vehicle service contracts. While these can be cheaper, it’s crucial to research the provider’s reputation and read the contract carefully to understand what is covered and what is not. These extended warranty and VSC providers are A+ rated from the BBB.

The Takeaway: Consider Coverage Details and Risk tolerance

If a Traffic Stop Leads to Charges

A warranty dispute is one kind of paperwork headache, but a DUI charge after a night out is another, and it moves faster. A first offense can put your license on hold within days and carry fines, court dates and mandatory classes long before any trial. Most people in that position start by consulting a DUI attorney to understand whether the stop and breath test were handled correctly, since a flawed procedure can change the outcome. The review usually covers the arrest report, any field sobriety results, and the testing device’s calibration records. Knowing those details early gives you a clearer sense of what you’re facing and what realistic options you have.

Understanding what an extended warranty is and whether you need one can help you make an informed decision when purchasing a vehicle. Remember to consider your risk tolerance, the reliability of the car, and the coverage details of the warranty (or vehicle service contract). By doing your due diligence, you can find the best option that provides peace of mind.

The Takeaway: Consider Coverage Details and Risk tolerance

Understanding what an extended warranty is and whether you need one can help you make an informed decision when purchasing a vehicle. Remember to consider your risk tolerance, the reliability of the car, and the coverage details of the warranty (or vehicle service contract). By doing your due diligence, you can find the best option that provides peace of mind.

For the Silo, Karen Hayhurst.



CarEdge is a leading car consumer advocacy platform dedicated to empowering car shoppers to make confident, informed and financially savvy decisions. With trusted resources that includes AI agent shoppers, a Car Dealer Transparency Index, and hundreds of guides and videos on YouTube, CarEdge is redefining transparency, fairness and value in the automotive industry.

Sci-Tech

How Fake Google Play Ads on Facebook Funnel People Into Unlicensed Casinos

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Our friends at NordVPN’s Threat Intelligence team has just uncovered a criminal network running paid Facebook and Instagram ads that impersonate over 400 trusted brands — from Google Authenticator and Kalshi to national lotteries — to trick people into fake app installs that redirect them to unlicensed online casinos. 

The operation is not the work of a lone scammer.

It is a rented criminal platform, actively running today, used by roughly a thousand affiliates across more than 250 teams. This large-scale criminal operation hijacks the logos and names of over 400 trusted brands to redirect unsuspecting people toward unregulated online gambling. The network — which NordVPN tracks as pwa_betterlinks — runs paid adverts on Facebook and Instagram impersonating household names including Google Authenticator, Kalshi, Disney+, Duolingo, Delta Air Lines, and national lotteries. 

Victims who tap the ad are shown a fake Google Play Store page that is nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing. One tap of “Install” later, they land on an unlicensed casino asking for a deposit. ImageWhat a real, targeted person sees: The full fake Google Play page — here spoofing Crown Melbourne

“What we’re looking at is essentially trust laundering. Criminals take the credibility that legitimate companies have spent years building and redirect it toward their own ends. By the time a victim realizes something is wrong, they’ve already deposited money into a casino they’ve never heard of.” Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN.

The fake app store hiding inside a social media ad 

Every victim’s journey starts with a paid ad on Facebook or Instagram. A real, purchased placement that carries the implicit legitimacy of a platform people use every day. Clicking it takes users to what appears to be a genuine Google Play Store listing, complete with the brand’s logo, a forged developer name, a 4.9-star rating, and thousands of fabricated reviews. The only visible tell is the web address in the browser bar — a random throwaway domain rather than play.google.com. ImageGoogle Authenticator spoofed on playrosario[.]site (Google LLC · Tools)

The impersonated brands span casinos and national lotteries (Crown Melbourne, Holland Casino, EuroMillions), mainstream apps (Google Translate, Google Authenticator, YouTube Kids, Adobe Acrobat, Shazam), financial services (Capital One, Credit Karma, Kalshi), streaming (HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock), and travel (Delta, United, Airbnb). 

The Install button that installs nothing

Tapping Install triggers a convincing fake progress bar. No app is downloaded. What actually happens is a shortcut — a Progressive Web App, or PWA — is silently added to the home screen under the impersonated brand’s name and icon. A PWA is not a real app. It is a website that looks like one, sitting on a phone’s home screen with zero app store vetting required. The criminal can spin up a new fake page as fast as they can register a domain. ImageOn the left PWA “Installation” on Android, on the right Official app installation. The process also silently signs the device up for push notifications, which fire gambling reminders directly to the lock screen and are deliberately difficult to disable. Even the back button is rigged. Instead of returning users to the previous page, it reroutes them to the casino offer. 

A commercial product designed to evade detection

Before any real page is shown, every click passes through a cloaking layer that checks whether the visitor is a human or an automated scanner — including Facebook’s own ad review bots. Checkers are served a blank decoy page. Real users are served the fake casino funnel. Across NordVPN’s captured dataset, the casino page was served 7,261 times; the decoy was served to checkers 3,153 times. The people doing the checking never see what the actual targets see. The network is structured as a commercial product, not a one-off scam. At the top sits betterlinks[.]pro, a platform that markets itself openly as a “PWA constructor for affiliates” with built-in cloaking and Facebook optimization. ImageUnlicensed casino registration with an offering of 150% up to €3,000/ $4,830 CAD + 150 FS dazard[.]com

 In the middle sit roughly a thousand affiliate accounts across more than 250 teams who rent the kit and buy social media traffic to run campaigns. At the bottom are the unlicensed casinos and CPA networks that pay the affiliates a commission for every user who registers or deposits — with captured records linking the operation to the Makeberry Affiliates network and casinos. 

How to stay safe?

 Marijus Briedis advises anyone using social media to keep three things in mind: A real app install always opens the official store. If tapping “Install” in an ad opens a web page rather than the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, stop immediately. Check the address bar. A genuine Google Play listing lives at play.google.com. Any other web address showing a store-style page — no matter how accurate the branding — is a fake. Review your push notification permissions. Go to your phone’s settings and check which websites have permission to send you alerts. Revoke anything you don’t recognize.

Methodology

The investigation began by identifying a shared template fingerprint across a cluster of fake app-store pages, which NordVPN used to recover live instances of the operation at scale. From there, analysts mapped the full funnel logic through network traffic analysis and JavaScript deobfuscation, revealing the infrastructure connecting individual affiliate accounts to their campaigns, destination casinos, and real Facebook Business ad pixels. Domain registration records, hosting provider data, and code-level signals — including language markers in the push notification code — were used to support operator attribution. All indicators of compromise are analyzed in machine-readable format (STIX 2.1, 880 indicators). Conclusions are based on verified data, with the perimeter of the identified systems delimited with the maximum possible accuracy.

For the Silo, Vilius Kardelis.

Sci-Tech

Lyme Disease In Canada And USA Has Epidemic Potential- New Microbes Discovered

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Spring means fresh flowers and sunny days, but it also brings seasonal health issues as the weather gets warmer: from Rosacea to Lyme disease.

Most likely, you or someone you know has been affected by Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in North America with more than 300,000 cases diagnosed each year. In a timely new book, Conquering Lyme Disease(Columbia University Press), Columbia University Medical Center physicians Brian A. Fallon and Jennifer Sotsky reveal that despite the challenges to find a cure for this complex, debilitating disease, precision medicine and biotechnology are accelerating the discovery of new tools with which doctors will be able to diagnose it and treat patients.

“Through rapid genetic sequencing, scientists can identify many different strains of Borrelia burgdorferi as well as new tick-borne microbial infections, such as Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia mayonii, and the Heartland virus.”  — Brian Fallon 

Could groundbreaking technologies that rapidly increase our understanding and open up new pathways mean a cure for Lyme disease one day soon? The Global Search for Education is pleased to welcome Dr. Brian Fallon to find out how tech is tackling the ticks.

“Modern technology using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) allows one to discover with great rapidity all microbes that may be present within a sample of fluid.” — Brian Fallon

Brian, how has technology improved the research process for tick borne diseases?

Consider the difference in price of genome sequencing between 20 years ago and today. In 2003, it had taken the Human Genome Project about 4 years and costs estimated between $500 million to 1 billion…by 2006 the cost for sequencing a single human genome had dropped to 14 million……today a whole human genome can be sequenced within days for less than $1,000.   This is a tremendous advance.

Why is genome sequencing so important?  Let’s look at human tick-borne diseases.  When two different people are infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (the microbe that causes Lyme disease), one will resolve the disease quickly after a course of antibiotics while the other may develop a chronic relapsing remitting illness.  Why?  Because one person might have gotten a more persistent strain, while the other received  a less invasive strain that stays localized to the skin.  Additionally, the genetic differences in the human determines how the immune system responds to the invading microbe. Understanding the genetics of the infection and of the human host allows scientists to unravel the mysteries of tick-borne illnesses.

Through rapid genetic sequencing, scientists can identify many different strains of Borrelia burgdorferi as well as new tick-borne microbial infections, such as Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia mayonii, and the Heartland virus.  When the genome of a microbe is sequenced, it provides a starting point for the study of pathogenesis, vaccine development, and treatment.  Discovery of these new microbes inside ticks has been enormously helpful.  A patient who has had typical symptoms of Lyme disease after a tick bite but has tested negative on the blood tests for Lyme disease might puzzle clinicians. They may criticize the insensitivity of the Lyme disease tests.  However, when this same patient is tested for the newly discovered tick-borne infection, Borrelia miyamotoi, the diagnosis is then clear. Yes, the patient had a Lyme-like illness, but it wasn’t Lyme disease: it was Borrelia Miyamotoi disease.

Modern technology using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) allows one to discover with great rapidity all microbes that may be present within a sample of fluid.   This  “discovery based” approach using “unbiased next generation sequencing” enabled a 14 year old boy to be rescued from a fatal infection within 48 hours (Wilson et al, NEJM, 2014). This boy had endured 3 hospitalizations over 4 months, had over 100 diagnostic tests, spent 44 days in an ICU for encephalitis of unknown etiology, had a brain biopsy, and had to be put into a medically induced coma to prevent damage from his ongoing seizures.

Eventually Dr. Charles Chiu at U.C.S.F. employed NGS analysis of more than 8 million sequences with a bioinformatics pipeline (SURPI) for the detection of all known pathogens. The cause of the boy’s meningoencephalitis was revealed as Leptospira santarosai. He had likely acquired it in Puerto Rico, as it is not present in the continental United States.  He received the appropriate antibiotics and was discharged 2 weeks later to rehab.  This same approach is especially useful for uncommon infections as they might not be suspected; for example, rare tick-borne viruses such as Powassan Virus or Heartland Virus can be rapidly  detected using this discovery approach.

DNA Double Helix
DNA Double Helix

How has big data impacted the way advocacy groups support research?

A patient-generated source of Big Data is LymeDisease.org.  This California based organization developed a survey called “My Lyme Data” that patients could fill out on the web about their clinical history and lab tests and treatments.  In a short period of time, they had data on 10,000 patients whom they track over time.  With this information, they provide a more comprehensive clinical view of the bulk of patients who are diagnosed with persistent symptoms despite treatment for Lyme Disease (aka Chronic Lyme Disease).

“In geographic areas where medical professionals are scarce, AI technologies will play an increasing role in improving patient care by allowing differential diagnoses to be generated and treatment options suggested through AI-based systems accessed through the internet.”  — Brian Fallon

Jobs in all professions are being automated. Do you believe AI technologies will only assist doctors or will they replace physicians in some tasks? What does this mean for doctors, nurses, and the future of medicine?

Borrelia transmission via Tick
Borrelia

While AI technologies will go a long way to assist health care providers to provide better care, its application to medical care is still just beginning.   One can anticipate, however,  that in geographic areas where medical professionals are scarce, AI technologies will play an increasing role in improving patient care by allowing differential diagnoses to be generated and treatment options suggested through AI-based systems accessed through the internet.

The general public has more access to information than ever before about Lyme disease from websites, medical organizations, articles and social media. Everyone can be their own “expert” or even their own “doctor.”  Can you speak about the pros and cons of online health data in the era of fake news?

This obviously is a huge area of concern. Individuals used to turn to their physician or to the medical information books, such as the Merck Manual. Now, they turn to the web.

In a recent survey of patients who used the web to obtain health information (Doherty-Torstrick 2016), we learned that more than half of the 730 patients reported they experienced increased distress as a result of checking the web.  We also learned from this survey that individuals who did not have a health education were more likely to spend more time on the web and were thus prone to develop more anxiety than those who were better educated from a health perspective.   While some of the information they find may be accurate, other information may be well-intentioned but ill-informed, misleading, and even harmful.

“Researchers can rapidly screen thousands of drugs to determine which agents have the strongest ability to kill Borrelia spirochetes.  This is possible because of the development of high throughput assays, which have proven more effective than the standard agents in eradicating both the stationary phase Borrelia and its more drug-tolerant persister-forms.” — Brian Fallon

Tick distribution Canada

Look into the future.  What are the technologies you are most excited about in terms of helping to find cures for Lyme disease and improve patients quality of life?

Researchers can rapidly screen thousands of drugs to determine which agents have the strongest ability to kill Borrelia spirochetes (Feng 2014).  This is possible because of the development of high throughput assays, which have identified new antibiotics that have proven more effective than the standard agents (doxycycline, amoxicillin) in eradicating both the stationary phase Borrelia and its more drug-tolerant persister-forms.  While it cannot be assumed that what is true in the lab setting will translate to efficacy in humans, biotechnology advances have enabled the identification of new therapeutic agents, offering  much hope for a wider array of treatment options for patients in the future.

Another major advance is “big data” conducted by biomedical information engineers trained in biostatistics and computer science.  Internet search engine queries are being monitored to predict outbreaks of infectious disease.  Unanticipated side effects of drugs and their interactions can be detected through analyzing millions of digital medical records from patients who have taken a particular drug.  One can examine whether patients given an antibiotic did better when treated for longer or shorter periods, or whether patients with a pre-existing autoimmune disease are more likely to develop complications from a new onset Tick-borne infection than those without a history of autoimmune problems.

Tick
2005 James Gathany; William Nicholson
The blacklegged ticks, I. pacificus, (depicted here), and I. scapularis, are known vectors for the zoonotic spirochetal bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the pathogenic bacteria responsible for causing Lyme disease. The ticks, inoculated with the bacterium when they bite infected mice, squirrels and other small animals, subsequently pass the pathogens to their human victims when they obtain a blood meal.B. burgdorferi bacteria can infect several parts of the body, producing different symptoms at different times. Not all patients with Lyme disease will have all symptoms, and many of the symptoms can occur with other diseases as well. If you believe you may have Lyme disease, it is important that you consult your health care provider for proper diagnosis.
The first sign of infection is usually a circular rash called “erythema migrans”, or EM. This rash occurs in approximately 70-80% of infected persons and begins at the site of a tick bite after a delay of 3-30 days. A distinctive feature of the rash is that it gradually expands over a period of several days, reaching up to 12 inches (30 cm) across. The center of the rash may clear as it enlarges, resulting in a bull’s-eye appearance. It may be warm but is not usually painful. Some patients develop additional EM lesions in other areas of the body after several days. Patients also experience symptoms of fatigue, chills, fever, headache, and muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. In some cases, these may be the only symptoms of infection.

Our Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases Research Center, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) in New York City, is right next door to an international data resource.  CUIMC is the coordinating center of a public health information initiative which includes medical records from approximately 400 million people drawn from eighty health-care organizations from around the world.  This represents a unique opportunity  to ask questions, generate hypotheses and get answers about Tick-borne diseases.  When discovery is optimized, medical care is enhanced.

For the Silo, David Wine/CM RubinWorld. 

Brian Fallon, MD, MPH is the Director of the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the author with Jennifer Sotsky of Conquering Lyme Disease: Science Bridges the Great Divide, published in 2018 by Columbia University Press.

Transportation

Canada’s Largest Port Ranks 375 Out Of 400 In The World

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Trade Diversification Ambitions Face a Container Port Reality 

Alberta recently submitted its West Coast pipeline proposal to Ottawa’s Major Projects Office, a major plank in the federal government’s goal to double exports to non-US markets by 2035. 

For that to succeed, more of Canada’s exports will need to move by water, already the largest mode for non-U.S. trade by value. And container shipping is part of that. 

So how do Canada’s container ports stack up?

 The short answer: Not well. Rectifying that would help Canada meet its trade-diversification goals. 

Roads were Canada’s dominant export mode over the 12 months ending in May, carrying 37 percent of export value. But those roads cross just one border. Strip out the United States and the picture flips entirely. Water carries 54 percent; air carries 41 percent. Road  falls to 3 percent. Put differently, the infrastructure we’ll need to reach the 2035 target looks almost nothing like today’s. 

What is the Container Port Performance Index?

The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), produced by the World Bank, is a global scorecard for container shipping efficiency. Canada’s performance should raise alarm bells.   

The Index tracks total time a container ship spends under a port’s control, from the moment it arrives in the harbour to the moment it leaves the berth. Rather than grading ports on a traditional scale of zero to 100, the index uses a statistical baseline centred on the global average and adjusts for the size of a vessel and its cargo volume. A negative score means a port is operating below that benchmark. It simply means that for the same job, a ship sits idle longer than at an average gateway anywhere else. 

The Port of Vancouver, which handles fully 42 percent of Canada’s container shipments, ranks 375th out of 400 ports worldwide in the newly released 2025 ranking, with a score of minus 92. That’s actually an improvement on minus 159 in 2024: a dismal 389th. Vancouver was among the 20 most-improved ports in the world year over year. But even after climbing 67 points, a hole this deep still leaves you in the hole.  

Vancouver’s CPPI score has been negative in five of the last six years, including a catastrophic collapse to minus 394 and 395 scores in 2021 and 2022, which also coincided with a historic BC flood that severed rail lines into the port for more than a week, layered on top of a pandemic-era demand surge hitting ports worldwide. Even so, strip those two years out and Vancouver’s score still never turns positive again. 

Vancouver is part of a broader Canadian pattern. Prince Rupert ranks 322nd, despite handling a meaningful share of Canada’s transpacific container trade, and its year-to-year swings are significant: from minus 10 in 2020 to minus 248 in 2022 to minus 54 in 2024. Montreal sits at 338th. Saint John is slightly better at 268th. 

The one major exception is Halifax, which has become a genuine success story: 29th in the world in the latest data, up from a middling performance just a few years ago, and 55th last year. Three of Canada’s busiest ports still rank in the bottom fifth of the world. Halifax proved it doesn’t have to be that way. 

The World Bank isn’t the only one flagging this.

A recent Bank of Canada analysis of satellite vessel-tracking data found that Canada’s rank for total ship capacity moving through its ports fell from sixth in the world in 2016 to 23rd by 2023, a steeper drop than almost any other major trading nation. Part of the reason: the newest ultra-large container ships carry more than 20,000 containers while the largest vessels Canadian ports can handle top out around 15,000. As a result, some cargo bound for Canada comes through a US port. 

Infrastructure isn’t the whole story. Labour issues also lengthen the time ships spend in Canadian ports, and addressing them matters just as much as modernizing the infrastructure itself. 

After Nutrien decided to build its new billion-dollar potash export terminal in the United States rather than in Canada, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, made an unusually blunt admission for a sitting minister about his own file: Canada’s transportation policy and supply chain management need to be the best in the world given the country’s geography, and right now they aren’t.  

Nutrien’s decision came even after the 2025 federal budget had already been tabled. That budget dedicated $5 billion, or 4 percent, of its $115-billion  infrastructure plan to bolster Canada’s trade and transport infrastructure. Whether allocating more to such infrastructure would generate a bigger bang for the buck is a fair question. 

Carney’s Ambitions

The PM’s ambitions depend on a clear-eyed read of where Canada’s port performance actually stands. The pattern holds across almost every major Canadian port, year after year, even as Ottawa doubles down on trade diversification. Halifax shows that the climb from a lower tier is possible. Until the rest of Canada’s ports make it too, the 2035 target will likely stay out of reach. 

For the Silo, Charles Lammam -senior adviser at the C.D. Howe Institute. 

Sci-Tech

Fifty Years Ago Viking 1 Placed Humanity’s First Eyes On Mars

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July, 2026- 5 MINUTE READ

Orange, rocky landscape (NASA/JPL)
The Viking 1 lander’s photographs gave the world its first look at the surface of Mars, including this image taken before sunset August 21, 1976. (NASA/JPL)

On July 20, 1976, seven years after NASA landed a man on the moon, the U.S. space agency safely landed the first spacecraft on Mars.

Viking 1 operated for six years, far exceeding its planned 90-day mission. The lander tested soil and sent home the world’s first images of the Martian surface. While Viking 1 — consisting of an orbiter and a lander — did not find signs of life, its successful landing led to future exploration of Mars, including by the Perseverance rover launched in July 2020.

As the 50th anniversary of Viking 1 approaches, the United States is again reaching for Mars with missions that serve as a stepping stone toward sending astronauts to the red planet. NASA’s Artemis program aims to create a permanent moon base by 2032 to test human habitation on other planets and inform missions to Mars.

“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” President Trump said in his January 2025 inaugural address.

Mars missions continue

Digital rendering of NASA's Space Reactor 1 Freedom (NASA)
This digital rendering provides a conceptual image of the Space Reactor 1 Freedom that NASA will use to study Mars. (NASA)

Other NASA missions are carrying on Viking 1’s legacy , furthering scientific knowledge of the fourth planet from the sun. Launched in November, NASA’s Escapade and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers mission will reach Mars in 2027. The twin spacecraft will orbit Mars, collecting data on space-weather conditions to inform future robot and human missions.

In 2028, NASA will launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom to Mars, an uncrewed mission designed to demonstrate whether nuclear electric propulsion can work in deep space, an essential element for human flight to Mars.

A pioneering legacy

Viking 2 image of surface of Mars (NASA)
A Viking 2 image of Mars’ Utopia Plain (NASA)

Successfully landing Viking 1 on Mars was an extraordinary achievement. While other nations had tried, communications were lost on touchdown. Yet NASA repeated the feat two months later with the safe landing of Viking 2 on September 3, 1976.

Project managers weren’t certain what to expect from either mission. The Viking 1 landing, originally scheduled for America’s bicentennial on July 4, 1976, was delayed when the planned landing site appeared too rocky. Yet the Viking missions’ legacy endures. Viking orbiters mapped 97% of Mars’ surface and sent home 52,663 images. The landers returned 4,500 photos before Viking 1 finally stopped operating in November 1982.

While neither mission discovered signs of life, the search continues as scientists revisit findings from Viking and later missions. In September, NASA announced  that a soil sample Perseverance collected may contain evidence of ancient microbial life, calling it “the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars.”

For the Silo, Charles Hoskinson/ Share America.

Transportation

How Japan’s Government Created the World’s Most Sinister Cars

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You know the look: A long, low-slung sedan finished in shiny black paint with equally bright chrome rolls through town. Beige, burgundy, and blue cars move out of the way, magnetically repelled by the menacing four-door. 

This threatening style has been idolized by Hollywood since the 1960s, perhaps most famously in the unfortunately short-lived ABC television program The Green Hornet, in which actor Van Williams drove a Chrysler Imperial modified by Dean Jeffries. It was painted black, of course, and the chrome slats that ran horizontally across its huge grille clearly meant business—even on the 19-inch TV screens that took up considerable living room real estate in a 1960s home. 

Black paint, while popular today, was a daring, high-style choice in the 1960s that was not-so-subtly influenced by the largely chauffeur-driven cars that carried around heads of state and other major politicians. For instance, the Soviet Union’s KGB notoriously drove around in black-painted GAZ Chaika sedans that had a distinctly Detroit-inspired appearance. (The irony of which seems to have been lost.) 

An outsider might not expect Japan, where the pavement has been specifically engineered to be quiet, to have a small but mighty homegrown industry producing the world’s most ominous cars.

Nissan

The Japanese Royal Family Needed a Ride of Their Own

Dating back more than 1400 years, Japan’s Imperial Household Agency does just what its name suggests: it manages the royal family’s affairs. This is no easy task for a country so steeped in tradition. In fact, the Imperial Household Agency has more than 1000 civil servants, which stands in marked contrast to the self-funded, non-governmental managers of, say, the British and Swedish royal families. 

The Imperial Household Agency’s wide-ranging list of tasks includes everything from ensuring that the Emperor’s family is comfortable and healthy to organizing and overseeing ceremonies. In the early 1960s, the Imperial Household Agency called automakers together and told them to submit designs for an official state vehicle. The car needed to have four doors, be reasonably spacious, and have a prestigious but not overly ostentatious appearance. 

Nissan

Prior to World War II, the Emperor’s vehicle fleet consisted of large, imported cars from brands like Rolls-Royce and Daimler. The company’s nascent automotive industry focused on small, mostly work-oriented vehicles. By the early 1960s, Japan’s recovery from the war’s devastating effects was well underway, fueled heavily by Western investment. While Japan didn’t give up on its traditions, the bright lights of Tokyo had a strong American influence. So too did the country’s cars, like the Toyota Crown that looked like last season’s Chevy. So when the Imperial Household Agency came calling, it should come as no surprise that the results looked rather Detroit-ish.

The winner was a brand you might not have heard of: Prince Motor Company. Founded in 1947, Prince was Japan’s short-lived flagship automaker in the early 1960s, though it was in the midst of being folded into Nissan.

The Prince Royal that got the royal nod, so to speak, was based on the Prince Gloria, a vehicle already used by the Japanese government in an official capacity. The Prince Royal was extended to provide those in back with stretch-out legroom, and the rear doors were modified to open coach-style for easier and more elegant access. While not a particularly showy car, the Prince Royal has an understated elegance. Its stacked headlights recall the Ford Galaxie and the big W108-generation Mercedes-Benz models. The tall greenhouse, on the other hand, is a nod to practicality rather than style. Inside, in the Japanese luxury tradition, the wool seats make nary a peep as passengers slide across. Leather would be rather squeakier.

Prince Royal gained the Imperial Household car
The Prince Royal gained the Imperial Household Agency’s nod as transport for the Emperor of Japan. These cars served until 2006, when they were replaced by a special version of the Toyota Century.Nissan

Underhood, the Prince Royal utilized a 6.4-liter V-8—not Japan’s first, but only a couple of years after the so-called “Toyota Hemi.” An eight-cylinder design was, admittedly, an odd choice; while inherently fairly smooth, the engine was undoubtedly a costly thing to develop. Fewer than 10 were ever built, one of which lives at the unusual and yet highly appealing Nissan Engine Museum and Guest Hall next to the company’s powertrain factory in Yokohama, Japan.

Just five Prince Royals were built, and they stayed in service for a staggering 40 years, when they were replaced by a limousine version of the Toyota Century. But the Century doesn’t really owe its status to the Prince Royal. It should thank the Nissan President, a model that was developed back when Nissan and Prince were quasi-competitors.

1982 President Type-C
Into the 1980s, the Nissan President retained a classic, but hardly ostentatious, look as seen on this 1982 President Type-CNissan

The President, as its name suggests, was intended from the start as a government vehicle. Unlike Toyota’s Crown, the first Japanese car to use a V-8, the President was developed in direct response to the Imperial Household Agency’s request. At nearly 200 inches long, the President was a very large sedan by Japanese standards. Its styling is contemporary if a bit bland, even in comparison to the Prince Royal. Horizontal headlights embedded in a broad, generic grille give way to fenders that had an almost Ford Falcon modesty to them. There’s a bit more drama at the rear with big NISSAN badging. Copious chrome lines the rocker panels.

While the Prince Royal ended up being chosen to transport the Emperor, Nissan’s President didn’t go home empty-handed. Instead, it was used by the country’s Prime Minister. Government versions were only minimally modified compared to the President models sold through Nissan’s dealership network in Japan, though official-use models were invariably painted black. Those available to consumers came in a slightly wider range of colors. The President was a sign that its owner—and, most likely, the person riding in the back—had arrived. It was the Lincoln Continental of its era. Today, when government spending is closely watched by a hawkish public, there is no U.S.-market comparison.

Nissan wool upholstery
In Japan, fabric upholstery like the wool seen in the 1973 Nissan President remains an indicator of a high-end vehicle because it makes no sound as a human slides across it.Nissan

Nissan didn’t dominate government contracts, but it was a commanding presence into the late 1980s. Then, almost inexplicably, the brand gave up. Its chrome-laden second-generation President, which was based on an early 1970s design, was replaced with a comparatively plebian design that would be sold in the U.S. as the Infiniti Q45. That’s not to say that the Q45 was a dud, but its big plastic bumpers and, in Japanese-market spec, Jaguar-ish grille were not in keeping with tradition. The Imperial Household Agency famously rejected a stretched version of the 1990 President in favor of the Toyota Century.

Toyota’s Century Begins

The original Toyota Century was overshadowed, at least to a degree, by the Nissan President that beat it to the market in Japan and initially secured more government contracts.Toyota

Thanks in part to the floodgates of 25-year-old vehicles from Japan, the Toyota Century has something of a cult status among enthusiasts in the U.S. today. It was not always this way; while the Century was undoubtedly a high-tech vehicle at its 1967 debut, the Imperial Household Agency initially passed it up in favor of the Nissan President. However, the Century’s rise coincided with Toyota’s phenomenal growth in the 1970s and 1980s, when it began to overtake Nissan as the premier Japanese automaker.

The original Century ran for three decades, always with V-8 power. Despite the fact that its specs and power could have appealed to buyers in Europe and, especially, the U.S., it was rarely sold in left-hand-drive markets. (Toyota flirted with the idea in the early 2000s before concluding that the conservative Century would be no match for the comparatively flamboyant Mercedes-Benz S-Class.)

Toyota

Yet it’s the Century that endures in Japan, an icon in its own time. The Emperor of Japan rides around in a stretched one, approved by the Imperial Household Agency, of course. The redesigned model that arrived in 2018 carries on the 1960s original style in marked contrast to the edgy, modern look found in any Toyota or Lexus model. There’s even an SUV version now, though its front-wheel-drive architecture and hybrid V-6 powertrain mean it’s more like a snazzy Toyota Highlander than a bespoke Emperor-hauler.

Toyota

Clearly, the Century has won out, so much so that Toyota recently announced it will position the Century as its own brand as a more conservative sibling to Lexus. It did face some limited competition from Mitsubishi with its mid-1960s Debonair. While the Mitsubishi, with its slab sides and fenders that leap forward past its grille, is basically a rolling villain, the four- or six-cylinder sedan lacked the interior volume and the power to compete with the Century or the President. Its angular 1986 replacement, which looked sort of like a K-Car with fender mirrors, was anything but debonair.

Mitsubishi Debonair front three quarter
Though its effort was comparatively short-lived, the Mitsubishi Debonair boasted a fantastic name and slab-sided Lincoln Continental-inspired looks, if not Conti-style proportions.Mitsubishi

The Yakuza Turns State Cars Into Mafia Cars

Nobody does organized crime like the Japanese—and that is not meant as a compliment. The Yakuza, as the Japanese crime syndicates are broadly known, hit its peak right around the time when the decidedly more upstanding Imperial Household Agency was asking automakers to design a state vehicle.

Those vehicles were soon appropriated by the Yakuza. In retrospect, they have a sinister, angry look. If the bad guy in a period flick drives a car in Tokyo, it’ll be a President, a Century, or perhaps an early Debonair. Set in 1999, HBO’s Tokyo Vice puts the Q45-adjacent Nissan President front and center. While it may not have been the vehicle of choice for the Emperor, that era’s President was the car to have for the heads of organized crime. Perhaps that’s why Nissan steered away from tradition with its final redesign, a swoopy model unsuccessfully sold here as the Infiniti Q70.

1990 Nissan President
The 1990 Nissan President abandoned the 1960s-style chrome bumpers of its predecessors.Nissan

These big, black sedans have an authoritarian presence. Their drivers may think they have impunity. Not only are their cars imposing, but they look official—even if those inside are doing anything but official business. Yakuza members often mounted curtains inside their Presidents and Centurys, a style known as VIP that persists today—albeit in a much broader and harder-to-define look. 

We have no direct equivalent in Canada or the US., at least in terms of how the criminal underground appropriated cars meant for high-ranking government officials. The Crown Victorias once favored by Canadian and American cops lack the luxury and exclusivity of a Century or President. A Chevy Tahoe can’t be all that menacing if you can find dozens of them in the carpool line at your local elementary school. And while our head of state has long had a highly modified Cadillac-ish limousine, which has been described as a tank with a limousine body, it lacks a showroom counterpart. That said, the crested wreath brand made a strong appearance in the late-1990s/early-2000s setting of HBO’s The Sopranos.

It’s a different story in Japan, though. There, a government official arrives in black-and-chrome style—as dictated, if indirectly—by the edicts set forth by the Imperial Household Agency. The automotive equivalent of a tuxedo is, after all, always in style. For the Silo, Andrew Ganz/Hagerty.

Sci-Tech

USA Sanctioning Ransomware Enablers in Coordinated International Action

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The United States recently sanctioned one entity and two individuals — First VPN Service (1VPNS), its administrator Dmytro Rashevskyi, and Yegeniy Vladimirovich Silayev — for providing critical support to ransomware groups that have targeted North American hospitals, schools, businesses, and local governments.

These actors supplied ransomware groups with tools to hide their identities, disguise malicious software, and evade detection — enabling attacks that have caused billions of dollars in losses to U.S. critical infrastructure providers.

This action reflects the United States’ commitment to working with allies and partners to disrupt the global cybercrime ecosystem. Today’s designations are coordinated with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and follow a May 2026 European law enforcement takedown of 1VPNS’s infrastructure, supported by the FBI.

By targeting not just ransomware operators but the service providers and tool suppliers who make their attacks possible, the United States and its partners are dismantling the broader networks that sustain cybercriminal activity worldwide.

The United States will continue to use every diplomatic and economic tool available to disrupt foreign cybercriminals and their enablers and hold them accountable. Ransomware is not only a law enforcement challenge — it is a foreign policy threat that undermines the security and economic stability of the United States and its allies.

This action is being taken pursuant to the authorities under Executive Order (E.O.) 13694, as further amended by E.O. 13694, as amended by E.O. 13757, E.O. 14144, and E.O. 14306 (E.O. 13694, as amended).

Click here to report cyber-enabled crime to the FBI.

1VPNS: VPN SERVICE ENABLING RANSOMWARE OPERATIONS

1VPNS is a VPN provider whose principal clients include ransomware actors and other cybercriminals.  VPNs, which allow users to encrypt their internet traffic and hide their computers’ true location, have legitimate uses for privacy and security, but can support malicious activity if misused.  Numerous ransomware groups have purchased infrastructure from 1VPNS, which they have leveraged in attacks on U.S. companies and institutions—including to hide the origins of their attacks, deploy malware, and manage exfiltrated data. Victims of ransomware attacks that involved the use of 1VPNS infrastructure have included U.S. businesses, financial services companies, hospitals, and municipal governments.

1VPNS and its administrator, Rashevskyi, have provided this technological support to illicit actors. Since 2014, 1VPNS has advertised its services on multiple online cybercriminal forums, stating that it does not keep logs of users’ identities or activities, and that it refuses to cooperate with law enforcement investigations into illegal activity originating from the servers it rents to customers.  Rashevskyi has used false identities, including “Maksim Sorin” and “Roman Chabanenko,” to buy infrastructure from companies that might otherwise refuse to do business with him because of complaints of abuse from internet service providers about illegal activity originating from 1VPNS servers.

OFAC is designating 1VPNS and Rashevskyi pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or substantial part, outside the United States that are reasonably likely to result in, or have materially contributed to, a threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States, and that have the purpose of or involve engaging in a ransomware attack, such as extortion through malicious use of code, encryption, or other activity to affect the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data or a computer or network of computers, against a United States person, the United States, a United States ally or partner, or a citizen, national, or entity organized under the laws thereof.

OTHER ENABLERS OF THE CYBERCRIME ECOSYSTEM

In addition to 1VPNS and Rashevskyi, OFAC is designating Silayev, a Belarusian national and a cryptor provider who has supplied encryption and obfuscation services to ransomware operators targeting U.S. and allied entities.  Unlike legitimate encryption tools, which are designed to protect data and the privacy of the people that own it, cryptors are built specifically to make malware stealthier and more effective by disguising it as harmless files. 

OFAC is designating Silayev pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or substantial part, outside the United States that are reasonably likely to result in, or have materially contributed to, a threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States, and that have the purpose of or involve engaging in a ransomware attack, such as extortion through malicious use of code, encryption, or other activity to affect the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data or a computer or network of computers, against a United States person, the United States, a United States ally or partner, or a citizen, national, or entity organized under the laws thereof.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of this action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.  In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.  Unless authorized by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons. 

Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons.  OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis.  OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions.  In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or otherwise blocked persons.  The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.  Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions.  Individuals located in the United States or abroad who provide information about sanctions violations to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000 usd.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law.  The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior.

Sci-Tech

A Quest To Build My First Synthesizer

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I started out creating sound experiments while in high school, circa 1980 with circuit bent hardware and a cheap Casio keyboard.

I then entered the working world and forgot all about making music. Fast forward 30+ years, and the itch to make experimental music overtook me again, but now technology had changed drastically. I no longer needed hardware. I discovered apps on my iPhone, and music platforms like SoundCloud and Bandcamp were all that I needed. I was immediately obsessed.

Within a couple years, I had filled over seven free SoundCloud accounts, and two Bandcamp albums  as well as an artist page  with experimental music, and having a great time doing it. But, I started to grow tired of using the same software.

stylophone synth

I yearned to use hardware/instruments again, but not being able to play an instrument is a definite hindrance 🙂 I searched for cheap keyboards on the net. I soon discovered the “Stylophone” and ordered one ‘sight unseen’. It was unique, inexpensive and fun, but quite limited in sound variety. I started mixing the Stylophone with app produced sounds/music, as well as other “found sounds”. (I really appreciate the functionality of software based mixing apps, which are almost essential to my creations these days). I then stumbled upon a couple of user videos of the Hyve synthesizer, and knew I had to have it. It was clearly non-musician friendly (and looked so different, cool and fun).

Then came the disappointment …

You can’t buy one! (BUT I HAD TO HAVE ONE!!!) Turns out, the engineer/designer guru behind this awesome device (Skot Wiedmann), had (Hard to believe but it’s been almost a decade since I made this trip!) work shops in the Chicago area, and you can go build your own, ( very inexpensively ). I knew what I had to do. I looked at a map, saw that Chicago was about 8 hours away from me here in Ontario, Canada and realized that I had to go build it. I started to plan the trip. I knew that a fellow SoundCloud musician and Facebook friend (Leslie Rollins) lived in Berrien Springs, Michigan, about 2 hours outside of Chicago.

This presented a twofold opportunity. I could hopefully, meet Leslie face to face, and hopefully have a place to spend the night. I contacted Les and everything was A-OK! I purchased a ticket to build my Hyve, and started to plan my road trip. The workshop was going to be from Noon to 3pm, on a Saturday in late September in a cool space called Lost Arts in Chicago.

I had the whole week off from work, because I was overseeing a contractor doing extensive yard work at my house all week, and I was hoping to leave Friday so as to arrive at Leslie’s place in the late afternoon or early evening, spend the night, and leave for the workshop Saturday morning. Alas, plans rarely work as hoped.

The contractor wasn’t finished until Friday afternoon, and Les wasn’t getting home from a business trip until late Friday night.
New plan! Early to bed Friday. Early to rise Saturday (2:30 am), and depart for Leslie’s place in Michigan. It was an easy drive, and I got to Berrien Springs (a beautiful sleepy little university village) around 8:30 am. Met Leslie, and got to trade stories over a great breakfast in a local cafe. Then, I quickly admired Leslie’s impressive modular synth racks at his home studio “Convolution Atelier” and then left for “Lost Arts” in Chicago.

Lost Arts is located in a cool old industrial complex.

The workshop provided everyone with a surface mount board with the touchpad on one side, and components layout on the back. A sheet listing components and placement was also handed out, along with tiny plastic tweezers. Everyone then had their component side “pasted” with a solder paste applied through a pierced template, in a process similar to silk screening. Everyone then started to receive their very tiny components from the parts list. Following the placement locations, the components (chips, capacitors, resistors, etc) were set into their pasted areas with the tweezers (magnification and extra lighting was a must). Once all the components were placed, they were carefully “soldered” into place by simply holding a heat gun over each component until the solder on the board had adhered it. Once this was done, everyone had their 9v battery and line-out jacks hand soldered into place by Skot , and then … the moment of truth, Skot tested each one for proper operation.

It was a fascinating process and great experience.

I met a lot of cool people at the workshop, both builders and staff/helpers! I can’t say enough what a fantastic experience this was, and what an awesome, diverse and versatile device the Hyve is. I doubted my sanity when planning this trip, but it turned out to be very rewarding!

Leslie and I then went back to Michigan, stopped at a local brewery in Berrien Springs (Cultivate) and sampled a few of their excellent brews, and then proceeded to Convolution Atelier to play with Leslie’s modular system. (I’m a newbie to all things modular, and I received a great crash course from Leslie on his very cool array!) Then it was out to dinner with Leslie and his wonderful wife Lisa, and finally back to their house where I stayed for the night, and finally hit the road towards home the next morning. It truly was a great adventure! For the Silo, Mike Fuchs.

Sci-Tech

Next Wave of Emerging Technologies Could Bring Energy, Healthcare & Infrastructure Development Closer to People

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  • The World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2026 identifies breakthrough innovations in energy, medicine and infrastructure.
  • The report highlights 10 emerging technologies expected to achieve real-world impact within the next three to five years.
  • These technologies could help broaden access to energy, healthcare and critical resources, making access to them less dependent on geography or existing resource availability.
  • Learn more about the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 here. Follow on social media using #amnc26, #2026夏季达沃斯# and #InnovateScaleImpact. Read the report here.

Dalian, People’s Republic of China, 23 June 2026 – Our friends at The World Economic Forum released its annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2026 today, identifying breakthroughs poised to reshape economies and societies within the next three to five years.

Produced in collaboration with Frontiers, a leading scientific publisher, the report examines technologies approaching a critical inflection point where advances in research are beginning to translate into large-scale, real-world applications.

The report identifies 10 emerging technologies approaching commercial and societal scale:

1. Everything-to-grid energy: Buildings, vehicles, factories and data centres can increasingly act as both energy consumers and suppliers, sending stored electricity back to electricity grids when needed. This could improve energy resilience while making better use of local renewable power.

2. Direct lithium extraction: Removes lithium from brine in hours rather than months, while using less land and water than conventional methods. It could unlock new sources of a critical battery material and strengthen supply chains.

3. Passive radiative cooling materials: These materials cool buildings and equipment without electricity by reflecting sunlight and releasing heat into the atmosphere. They could reduce energy demand and improve resilience in hotter climates.

4. PFAS destruction: New technologies can break down per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals”, that have long resisted conventional treatment. This could help remove persistent pollutants from water supplies and the environment.

5. Precision fermentation: Uses microorganisms to produce specific ingredients and materials more efficiently. It could enable new ways to manufacture food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals with fewer resources.

6. Exosome drug delivery: Exosomes are natural particles produced by cells that can be engineered to deliver therapies precisely within the body. They may enable treatments to reach previously inaccessible targets, including the brain.

7. Personalized mRNA cancer vaccines: Trains a patient’s immune system to recognize the unique mutations in their tumour. They could improve the ability to prevent cancer recurrence following treatment.

8. Quantum simulation for drug discovery: Models molecular interactions with unprecedented accuracy, helping researchers identify promising drug candidates faster and more efficiently.

9. World models: Enable AI systems to build a shared understanding of physical environments using multiple forms of data. They could improve how machines predict, plan and interact with the real world.

10. Lattice-based cryptography: Designed to protect data from decryption by both today’s computers and future quantum machines. It could help secure digital infrastructure as quantum computing advances.

Many of the technologies highlighted in the report point towards systems that may become more distributed, personalized and resource-efficient over time.

“While each of these technologies has the potential to make a meaningful impact on its own, together they tell a broader story about where innovation is heading,” said Stephan Mergenthaler, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “They reveal new patterns across energy, medicine and manufacturing that could challenge long-held assumptions about how we use technology to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as food insecurity, climate change and untreatable diseases.”

Technologies such as everything-to-grid energy systems, direct lithium extraction and precision fermentation suggest how production systems could become less dependent on centralized infrastructure and traditional geographic constraints. Passive radiative cooling materials similarly point to new ways of managing energy demand and environmental pressures in regions where cooling has traditionally relied on energy-intensive systems.

Several of the technologies also suggest that value creation could increasingly depend on the ability to produce, adapt or optimize systems closer to the point of use. Personalized mRNA cancer vaccines, exosome drug delivery and quantum simulation for drug discovery all point to more individualized approaches to treatment and molecular design, enabled by advances in computation, modelling and targeted delivery systems.

Infrastructure, technical capability and deployment capacity could become increasingly important alongside traditional resource endowments, particularly in sectors where production, energy systems and advanced manufacturing are becoming more distributed and adaptive.

The report also highlights how technologies such as PFAS destruction, passive radiative cooling materials and lattice-based cryptography could reshape how industries and governments address long-standing environmental, infrastructure and security challenges. Several of these technologies raise the possibility of overcoming constraints previously viewed as difficult, persistent, or economically impractical to solve. Whether these patterns translate into real-world success, however, will depend on factors such as infrastructure readiness, regulatory adaptation, manufacturing capacity, public trust and long-term investment.

“Understanding which technologies are approaching a true inflection point requires access to the best available evidence and expertise,” said Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor, Frontiers. “Open science enables researchers around the world to build on one another’s work, accelerating discovery while improving transparency and trust. That shared foundation is critical for identifying and developing innovations that can deliver lasting societal benefit.”

Developed with the Dubai Future Foundation, the report also explores the conditions that will shape how these technologies evolve and scale through 2031, including infrastructure readiness, governance, investment and public adoption. Together, these factors will play a critical role in determining whether today’s emerging technologies deliver broad societal impact tomorrow.

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

About the Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report
Now in its 14th edition, the Top 10 Emerging Technologies report provides trusted foresight to help leaders navigate scientific and technological change. Drawing on the expertise of scientists, researchers and futurists, the report identifies ten innovations expected to scale within five years and deliver wide societal benefits. Technologies are selected through a rigorous process combining AI-enabled analysis of scientific literature, investment and ecosystem trends, and expert evaluation.

About the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026
The 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions will take place from 23 to 25 June 2026 in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, under the theme “Innovating at Scale”. The meeting will bring together over 1,700 participants cross-sector leaders to explore how innovation and emerging technologies can unlock new growth models and drive positive economic momentum in a fast-shifting global landscape.

Sci-Tech

What Lies Ahead for Artemis and Moon Missions?

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Surface of moon with Earth in background (NASA)
NASA’s Artemis II mission brought back stunning images from space, including one of Earth setting beyond the moon’s surface. (NASA)

NASA’s Artemis program sent the Orion spacecraft around the moon, carrying astronauts farther from Earth than ever before, as millions back home watched. Now the space agency is planning missions that will land astronauts on the moon and build a permanent base on the lunar surface to serve as a jumping-off point for human space flight to Mars.

“The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says of the base , planned to open by 2032. “Every mission, crewed and uncrewed, will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”

Artemis missions blend public and private-sector technology and enlist international partners. On crewed missions, the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket propels astronauts from Earth. The Orion spacecraft and a human landing system will work together to deliver the first humans to the moon’s surface since NASA’s last Apollo mission in 1972.

Graphic with timeline for first four Artemis missions and images of spacecraft and spacesuit (State Dept.)
(State Dept.)

During Artemis II’s lunar flyby in April, astronauts (including Canadian Jeremy Hansen) aboard the Orion spacecraft they nicknamed “Integrity” sent back pictures of the far side of the moon and a solar eclipse, an image seldom seen from space.

Over the next several years, the Artemis program will launch dozens of uncrewed missions that will use robotic spacecraft to survey sites for the moon base and deposit supplies for astronauts’ future use, says Carlos García-Galán, NASA’s Moon Base program manager.

The agency next sends astronauts into space on Artemis III, set to launch in 2027. The crew  of NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, along with the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano, will test Orion’s interoperability with lunar landers in Earth orbit in preparation for a moon landing mission the following year.

Artemis IV, planned for 2028, will land two astronauts on the moon for a weeklong stay near the lunar South Pole. NASA expects to return to the moon with Artemis V later that year to begin building the moon base. Future crewed missions will continue at a pace of at least once per year, NASA says.

Orion spacecraft in foreground with moon and Earth in distance (NASA)
The Orion spacecraft seen alongside the moon, with Earth in the distance. (NASA)

Artemis missions are guided by the Artemis Accords , a set of nonbinding principles and norms for civil space exploration. Started in 2020, the accords now have the support of 67 signatory nations.

“We are reaching for the stars once again with the same ingenuity, courage, and indomitable spirit that have defined our national story for 250 years,” President Trump said in May, calling for “a new Golden Age of space exploration.”

Artemis II crew group photo in Orion spacecraft (NASA)
The Artemis II crew of NASA’s Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen (second from left), seen on their journey home. (NASA)

For The Silo, Charles Hoskinson/ShareAmerica.

Sci-Tech

24 Billion Credentials Leaked In Database- Are Yours Included?

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24 billion records, including usernames and passwords were just exposed in colossal data leak.

24 billion records data leak
Image by Cybernews.

Cybernews researchers discovered an exposed database containing 24 billion records, including usernames, email addresses, plaintext passwords, and login URLs. The data appears to come from infostealer malware logs, records stolen from infected devices and collected from Telegram channels, breach compilations, and other sources.

Key takeaways:

  • Cybernews researchers found an exposed Elasticsearch cluster containing 24 billion records and more than 8.3TB of data.
  • Most records appear to be infostealer logs, including usernames, emails, passwords, and login URLs.
  • The data came from 36 sources, including Telegram channels, breach compilations, and large “collections.”
  • Researchers cannot yet confirm how many records are duplicates or how many unique people were affected.
  • The database is no longer publicly exposed, but reused passwords may still put accounts at risk.

While data leaks spilling millions of records have become the norm, one involving 24 billion records, including usernames and passwords, is something else. That’s why the Cybernews research team had to triple-check their findings after uncovering over 8 terabytes of data exposed online.

Our team discovered what is likely to be one of the largest databases ever exposed on June 12th. The vast majority of the 24 billion exposed records, our researchers believe, were infostealer logs. In other words, stolen usernames, passwords, and services that these credentials were supposed to grant access to.

“The credential data leak is dangerous simply because of its enormous size. Since the data leaked online, billions of affected accounts are at serious risk of takeovers, especially if they are not protected with multi-factor authentication,” the team explained.

infostealer data sample
Infostealer log document example. Image by Cybernews.

What did the 24 billion record data leak reveal?

The records our team uncovered were stored on a publicly available Elasticsearch cluster, a group of interconnected search servers. The total volume of information in the cluster exceeded 8.3 terabytes.

Nearly all exposed records were infostealer logs, data collected by malicious software that steals sensitive information. According to the team, the logs revealed login credentials in raw format, with each login detail saved separately, including email addresses, usernames, and passwords in plaintext.

infostealer data sample2
Document counts from different sources. Image by Cybernews.

Additionally, researchers identified URLs that the leaked credentials are supposed to grant access to, as well as the source of the logs.

The exposed credentials came from 36 distinct sources, varying from Telegram channels to combined data collections of previous data breaches and datasets exported directly from live target servers.

Which Telegram channels are involved in the data leak?

For example, over 1.7 billion records supposedly came from various Telegram channels. All channels appear to be involved in cybercrime, with a focus on stolen credentials and data breaches.

Most of the 36 data sources, over 30, are Telegram channels with a number of records ranging from hundreds of millions of exposed records to a few thousand. While most of the channels were in English, some were in Russian.

To avoid advertising Telegram channels that contain stolen credentials, we will not mention their names. However, most of the Telegram-based records were supposedly taken from hacking-related channels.

infostealer logs sources

Another category of Telegram channels includes access to stolen credit card data, with one channel apparently dedicated to sharing this information.

Interestingly, nearly 260 million records came from Telegram channels with “Darkside” in the title. Several years ago, Darkside was among the most prolific ransomware groups. The gang infamously attacked the Colonial Pipeline, causing fuel supply disruption on the US East Coast.

Billions of records in unknown “collections”

A staggering 22.6 billion records supposedly came from what the data owner named “collections.” These records could come from various infostealer collections previously leaked online, or they may indicate that the records are grouped by the services they are supposed to provide unauthorized access to.

Since the data was taken out of public view soon after the discovery, researchers could not further investigate the origin of the information within the so-called “collection” source.

The same reason prevented the team from deducing exactly which service providers were exposed. However, given the colossal number of records involved, it’s highly likely that they reveal access to services with very large user bases.

The team also noticed a source with 150 million records named “local database dumps.” Records from this source likely indicate they were exported directly from live target servers. Local database dumps typically involve downloading the contents of a certain database on a user device.

Check if your data has been leaked

Find out if your email, phone number or related personal information might have fallen into the wrong hands Check now by clicking the red box:

Check if your data has been leaked

In this particular case, “local data dumps” could mean the person running the server uploaded records to the collection themselves, or that they got the data from other sources.

“Additionally, records contained file names from where they were imported. In total, there were at least 195 distinct file names. Some of them indicated that the credentials in question came from the AntiPublic collection and what kind of accounts they include,” our researchers said.

AntiPublic collection is a stealer log combo list that first appeared in 2016 and contained around 600 million records. The AntiPublic-related information in the leak categorized credentials in the AntiPublic collection. For example, some files contained logins to only adult content services or only to streaming platforms.

Another 146 million records came from a source named “breach compilation combo” and most likely contain information from past data breaches that exposed user credentials. Attackers favor exploiting information from past breaches, since users often reuse credentials and rarely change passwords.

The source with the smallest number of records was named “Redline stealer” and only contained 27 records. RedLine stealer is a common infostealer that operates as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS), allowing low-skilled attackers to participate in cybercrime.

Owner interested in news articles and social media posts

Interestingly, our researchers found a small subset of data, around 17,000 records, containing information that’s rarely seen in data leaks. For example, over 9,500 documents contained CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) IDs and descriptions, along with corresponding GitHub repository URLs.

One of the vulnerabilities identified in the exposed cluster involved a Valhall GPU Kernel Driver issue.

Moreover, over 5,200 documents contained logs of news articles related to recently occurred data breaches with article URLs, their contents, and short descriptions. One of the news articles was published as recently as February 2026 and covered a supply chain attack targeting the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository.

Another 2,900 documents were logs of social media posts related to cybersecurity incidents. One of the posts our team saw discussed operational details of the Babuk ransomware from 2021.

All of this points to the data owner actively monitoring the cybersecurity landscape, with a likely intent to update their vast collection of credentials with records from the latest data breaches and data leaks.

The known unknowns

While we are confident the data leak our team has uncovered indeed contains a whopping 24 billion records, there are limitations to what we know about the data inside the now-closed Elasticsearch cluster.

For one, the team had limited time to investigate the data leak, which prevented us from delving deeper into the types of information that may have been included in the “Collections” source.

Moreover, we cannot confidently estimate how many duplicates were included in the leak, leaving the potential number of exposed individuals a guessing game. However, it would hardly be a surprise that a data leak involving 24 billion records would affect more than a few online accounts.

At this point, we’re also unable to accurately say how old or new the leaked data is. Based on the February, 2026 news article contained in the data leak, it appears the data’s owner regularly updates the cluster with new information.

We also do not know who the data owner is, or why anyone would hoard so much data. Our team believes that “both a company and an individual threat actor could be collecting such information for various purposes.”

“Companies could collect this data for a monitoring service or a security check service, and threat actors could be collecting this data to aid in discovering fresh exploits to help them with data breaches,” our researchers said.

Meanwhile, our team believes that when it comes to historic data leaks, hoarding everything is the way to go.

“Why wouldn’t they hoard so much data? When it comes to historical leaked data and information on exploits and attacks, the more information you have, the better, as it allows for better insights, and helps detect more relevant compromised accounts, and ways that a given target could be breached,” the team explained.

What should you do now to protect your data?

To keep yourself safe, it’s important to be proactive and take some simple but crucial precautions. Users should change reused passwords as soon as possible, starting with key accounts like emails social media cloud storage, and banking.

Enabling multi-factor authentication where possible and using password manager to create strong and unique passwords is also a good idea. Users should also be weary of phishing messages that, in some cases, may advertise assistance to check whether user data was exposed.

Meanwhile, a few smart habits and tools can go a long way in protecting your personal data agains infostealers and making it much harder for threat actors to get a hold of it.

  • Use a VPN when you’re on public Wi-Fi. It will help keep your connection secure and private.
  • Be careful about clicking on links or downloading attachments from emails or messages you weren’t expecting or don’t trust.
  • Keep your apps and operating systems updated on all devices since updates often include important security fixes.
  • Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever it’s available for an extra layer of authentication.
  • Only download apps and software from official stores or trusted websites to avoid fake or infected versions.

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Leaking billions of records is becoming the norm

Unfortunately, datasets with billions of records are more often left publicly accessible. Earlier this year, our team discovered another exposed Elasticsearch cluster that contained over 160 indices, holding 8.7 billion of primarily Chinese records, ranging from national citizen ID numbers to various business records.

Meanwhile, last December, our team found a database with 4.3 billion records, some of which included LinkedIn-derived personal information. The 16TB-strong instance contained emails, photos, employment histories, and other personal data. A single collection alone contained 732 million records, including photographs.

In July 2025, Cybernews researchers uncovered one of the largest data leaks in history after discovering several collections of login credentials, containing a total of 16 billion records. The team found 30 exposed datasets, each containing tens of millions to more than 3.5 billion records.

However, the only data leak comparable to the recent discovery is the one our team found back in 2024. The supermassive leak contained data from numerous previous breaches, comprising an astounding 12 terabytes of information spanning over 26 billion records.

For the Silo, Vilius PetkauskasVilius Petkauskas/cybernews.com

Featured image- cartoonistgroup.com/ Creators Syndicate Mike Luckovich

Sci-Tech

New Technology Pioneers Are Building Infrastructure For Next Era of AI Including Canada

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  • 100 start-ups from 23 countries selected to join the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers community.
  • This year’s cohort stands out for building the software and physical infrastructure needed to power autonomous AI systems at scale.
  • Companies are advancing breakthrough technologies in AI, energy, quantum computing, biotechnology, climate innovation, space and advanced manufacturing.
  • Learn more about the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 here. Follow on social media using #amnc26, #2026夏季达沃斯# and #InnovateScaleImpact.

Frontier Innovation

Geneva, Switzerland, June 2026 – The World Economic Forum has announced its 2026 Technology Pioneers cohort, recognizing 100 early-stage companies from 23 countries that are developing breakthrough technologies with the potential to transform industries and societies. The cohort reflects the growing geographic diversity of frontier innovation, with nine companies from India and record representation from the Republic of Korea.

What sets this year’s cohort apart is its focus on enabling the next era of artificial intelligence (AI). While recent advances have centered on models and consumer applications, many of the Tech Pioneers are building the software and physical infrastructure needed to AI at scale.

Two groups stand out: companies developing the foundations for autonomous AI agents, including identity verification, payments, security and enterprise integration; and those addressing AI growing energy, computing and storage demands.

Frontier Innovation

The cohort also reflects the expanding geographies of frontier innovation. India contributes nine companies, many focused on deep-tech and space innovation, while the Republic of Korea records its strongest representation to date across AI, robotics and quantum technologies. Companies from the Middle East, Latin America and South-East Asia are also strengthening their presence in emerging technology ecosystems.

“For 26 years, the Technology Pioneers community has been an early indicator of where technology is going,” said Verena Kuhn, Head of Innovator Communities, World Economic Forum. “What’s new is that early-stage companies are now tackling challenges that until recently required enormous budgets, infrastructure and large teams. AI is not just what these companies are building; it is also what is making it possible.”

Beyond AI infrastructure, the cohort highlights the breadth of early-stage innovation. Companies are developing cleaner energy sources, improving cancer detection, increasing industrial efficiency, protecting data from future quantum-computing threats, enabling in-orbit satellite servicing and creating lower-impact materials. Many of these ambitions once required the resources of large corporations or government programmes. Advances in AI, simulation and automation are allowing smaller teams to tackle complex scientific and industrial challenges, accelerating innovation across sectors.

The pioneers will contribute expertise to Forum initiatives through a two-year engagement programme and be invited to participate in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026, taking place on 23-25 June in Dalian, People’s Republic of China.

More information about the Technology Pioneers community and past cohorts is available here.

The 2026 Technology Pioneers are:

Australia

  • Uluu – Developing seaweed-based biodegradable biomaterials as sustainable alternatives to traditional plastics.

Brazil

  • Comp – Providing compensation management, salary benchmarking and merit cycle tools for technology companies.

Canada

  • Intuitive AI – Delivering AI-powered food waste monitoring and recycling analytics for commercial kitchens.

China

  • Deep Wisdom – Developing an automated machine learning platform for e-commerce and manufacturing.
  • DeepCtrls Technologies – Building physics-informed AI for energy-efficient control of industrial systems.
  • Landing Med – Using AI-powered digital pathology for early cancer detection.
  • Ninetech – Enabling enterprise digital transformation through large language models and robotic process automation.
  • OneAIX Technology – Providing AI solutions for trade and intelligent systems.
  • PhaBuilder – Engineering halophilic microorganisms to produce biodegradable materials and chemicals.
  • Pheno Innovations – Advancing breakthroughs in critical materials across industries through AI-powered technologies.
  • Tripo AI – Generating AI-powered 3D models for gaming and mixed reality applications.
  • Xense Robotics – Developing multi-modal tactile sensing technology to enhance robotic dexterity.
  • Zephyr Intelligent Systems – Building closed-loop thermal safety systems for lithium-ion batteries.

Colombia

  • Quipu – Providing AI-driven credit solutions for informal workers without traditional credit histories.

Denmark

  • Sparrow Quantum – Developing deterministic single-photon sources for scalable optical quantum technologies.

France

  • Robeaute – Building modular microrobots for minimally invasive neurosurgical interventions.

Germany

  • Dunia – Combining AI and robotics to accelerate the discovery of electroactive materials.
  • SPARK Microgravity – Enabling microgravity research collaboration through integrated hardware and software platforms.

India

  • Airbound – Operating drone networks to deliver blood and critical medical supplies to rural healthcare systems.
  • Bellatrix Aerospace – Developing and manufacturing propulsion technologies for in-space mobility.
  • BorderPlus – Supporting healthcare professionals to access high-growth international opportunities.
  • Dhruva – Building small satellite platforms to advance India’s growing space ecosystem.
  • Ethereal Exploration Guild – Developing reusable medium-lift launch vehicles for cost-efficient orbital access.
  • Fermbox Bio – Producing alternative lipids, proteins and green chemicals through fermentation-based biomanufacturing.
  • OrbitAID – Developing technologies for on-orbit satellite servicing, including refuelling, repair and de-orbiting.
  • Sarla Aviation – Building electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility.
  • Varaha – Leveraging remote sensing and blockchain technologies for agriculture-based climate solutions in developing markets.

Israel

  • NeoLogic – Developing quasi-CMOS microprocessor technology to reduce chip power consumption and size.
  • Ray Security – Delivering AI-driven proactive cybersecurity to limit data access and prevent ransomware attacks.

Japan

  • 3DC – Developing graphene meso-sponge materials to address electrode expansion challenges in batteries.
  • Fermelanta – Producing rare plant-based ingredients for medicine and cosmetics through microbial fermentation.
  • Godot – Combining behavioural science and AI to advance human augmentation technologies.
  • NanoQT – Building quantum interconnects compatible with optical fibre for long-distance quantum communication.
  • OptQC – Developing photonic quantum computers that leverage light for practical applications.

Kenya

  • Pezesha – Connecting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to credit and supply chain finance through embedded finance infrastructure.

Mexico

  • OTIF – Operating an online booking platform connecting shipping companies, logistics providers and customers.

Saudi Arabia

  • intella – Providing Arabic-first speech-to-text and analytics solutions for call centres and media.
  • Nommas Technologies – Developing AI-powered visual inspection systems for manufacturing quality control.

Singapore

  • Gero – Integrating physics and AI to accelerate drug development for age-related diseases.
  • Sentient Labs – Empowering the development of open-source AGI.
  • SixSense – Providing a no-code deep learning platform for computer vision applications in manufacturing.

Slovenia

  • Sunrise Robotics – Developing autonomous robotic cells with AI-powered perception for manufacturing.

Republic of Korea

  • A-Robot – Building humanoid and service robots designed for human-robot coexistence.
  • bitsensing – Developing radar solutions for vehicle safety, urban traffic management and healthcare monitoring.
  • RLWRLD – Building foundation models that enable robots to perceive and manipulate physical environments.
  • SDT – Providing edge computing and internet-of-things hardware for enterprise digital transformation.

Switzerland

  • Atinary Technologies – Offering a no-code AI platform for self-driving laboratories to accelerate molecule and materials research and development.
  • Metafuels – Converting green methanol into sustainable aviation fuel.

United Arab Emirates

  • Fasset – Delivering stablecoin-powered banking, international payments and investment access.

United Kingdom

  • Caristo Diagnostics – Building AI-driven imaging to detect and predict cardiovascular disease.
  • Epoch BioDesign – Engineering AI-designed enzymes for low-temperature biorecycling of nylon polymers.
  • IONATE – Developing hybrid intelligent transformers for smart grid power flow control.
  • MatNex – Accelerating materials discovery through AI-driven quantum calculations.
  • Opna – Building the coordination, verification and financing layer for critical power equipment.
  • Paid – Building business infrastructure for AI agents, including pricing, billing and renewals.
  • Sitehop – Delivering 200Gbps full duplex encryption for enterprise network infrastructure.
  • Uplift360 – Advancing chemical recycling technologies for carbon fibre and advanced composites.

United States

  • Adaption Labs – Developing adaptive AI systems that continuously learn and evolve across industries.
  • Albert – Providing an AI platform for materials science research and laboratory data management.
  • Alta Resource Technologies – Deploying novel refining technologies to produce high-purity minerals more efficiently and sustainably.
  • AOA Dx – Combining AI and biomarkers for early-stage cancer detection through liquid biopsy.
  • Autonomize – Using AI to contextualize unstructured clinical data and improve patient outcomes.
  • DeepLook Medical – Developing medical imaging AI for cancer visualization across ultrasound, CT and MRI.
  • Emerald AI – Enabling data centres to dynamically adjust power usage and stabilize electricity grids through AI.
  • Endolith – Using AI-guided microbes to recover copper from low-grade ore with lower energy consumption.
  • GridCARE – Forecasting electricity grid capacity with generative AI to support data centre development.
  • Hello Robot – Building open-source mobile manipulators for embodied AI research and education.
  • Helios – Predicting agricultural commodity prices and supply chains through AI-powered analytics.
  • Hertility – Offering at-home diagnostic testing and personalized care plans for hormonal health, fertility and menopause.
  • Inception Labs – Developing diffusion large language models that power applications such as coding assistance, voice interaction and search optimization.
  • Interlune – Building machinery to extract helium-3 from the lunar surface.
  • Istari Digital – Delivering digital twin and simulation technologies for aerospace and defence.
  • Kredete – Providing mobile banking and credit-building services for African immigrants in North America.
  • Laminar – Combining AI-driven precision automation with spectral sensors for industrial manufacturing.
  • Lunar Outpost – Developing space robotics and lunar surface mobility systems.
  • Mantel – Advancing molten-salt carbon capture for high-temperature industrial processes.
  • Mazama Energy – Harnessing superhot rock geothermal energy for renewable power generation.
  • Northwood – Building ground networks powered by phased array technology to support space operations.
  • Odyssey – Developing general-purpose world models capable of predicting and interacting with real-world environments over extended periods.
  • Overview Energy – Advancing manufacturing technologies for aerospace energy systems.
  • Parallel Bio – Combining human immune organoids and AI to improve drug safety prediction and discovery.
  • Pow.Bio – Building continuous fermentation platforms that reduce production costs by separating growth and production phases.
  • Power to Hydrogen – Producing hydrogen from renewable electricity using anion exchange membrane electrolyzers.
  • Pure Lithium – Developing lithium metal vanadium batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage.
  • QuSecure – Delivering post-quantum cryptography solutions to protect against future cybersecurity threats.
  • Rainmaker – Enhancing precipitation through cloud seeding, drones and weather modelling for agriculture.
  • Realta Fusion – Building compact modular fusion systems for zero-carbon industrial heat.
  • Reditus Space – Enabling microgravity manufacturing and hypersonic re-entry as a service.
  • Samaya AI – Developing AI agents for financial research, analysis and decision-making in asset management.
  • Savor – Producing real fats directly from carbon without relying on animals or farmland.
  • Skyfire – Enabling AI agents to conduct commerce through identity verification and payment infrastructure.
  • Stepful – Empowering communities with accessible pathways to healthcare careers through training and certification programmes.
  • Tern – Developing satellite-free navigation systems for vehicles and defence using real-time mapping data.
  • Tradeverifyd – Helping enterprises monitor and address supply chain risks in line with regulatory and financial requirements.
  • Vaulted Deep – Permanently removing carbon through geological sequestration of carbon-rich biomass waste.
  • Venus Aerospace – Developing reusable hypersonic flight systems powered by detonation ramjet engines.
  • VESSL AI – Providing an MLOps platform for training and deploying AI models at scale.
  • Voltai – Building AI models for next-generation semiconductor technologies.
  • WindBorne – Delivering AI weather forecasting through a global network of long-duration smart balloons.
  • Zartico – Using AI to deliver the clearest view of visitor behaviour for the tourism industry.

About the Technology Pioneers

Launched in 2000, the Technology Pioneers is a leading community for early-stage companies from around the world that are shaping the future through breakthrough technologies and innovations. These companies are selected for their potential to have a significant impact on business and society and are invited to engage with public and private sector leaders through the World Economic Forum’s global platform.

The Technology Pioneers community is part of the Innovator Communities at the World Economic Forum, which convene the world’s leading global start-ups across different growth stages from early-stage Technology Pioneers to growth-stage Global Innovators and unicorn companies valued at more than $1 billion.

About the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026

The 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions will take place from 23 to 25 June 2026 in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, under the theme “Innovating at Scale”. The meeting will bring together 1,500 cross-sector leaders to explore how innovation and emerging technologies can unlock new growth models and drive positive economic momentum in a fast-shifting global landscape.

Transportation

How The Fuel Price At Canada’s Gas Pumps Got So High

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To: Canadian gasoline buyers  

From: G. Kent Fellows 

Canadian retail gasoline prices have soared since the start of the Iran war – even though Canada ranks fourth globally in annual crude oil production, behind only the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia. 

If we have so much oil, why are our gas prices high? 

Start with retail markets. In most of Canada, gasoline retailers are free to set prices. In doing so, they think of their costs, their competitors’ prices and how consumers will react. They’re less concerned about what they paid for the fuel they’re selling than what it will cost to replace it next time they order a gasoline shipment. So, when the wholesale price rises, they adjust their own prices quite quickly. 

Rockets and Feathers

Conversely, when prices fall, they end up in a game of chicken with their competitors. The station that cuts prices first does sell more fuel but it makes less profit on each litre. Retailers balance the profit they make from more volume against their reduced margin. This leads to a phenomenon some economists call “rockets and feathers.” Prices rise fast and fall slowly. 

As consumers it’s tempting to think we’re getting ripped off. But, over time, gas stations really aren’t big profit engines. They make a bit of money when wholesale prices fall, less when wholesale prices rise. Overall, they make enough to pay for their staff and inputs while getting a fair return on their investment. 

Working backwards through the story, gas stations buy gas from a wholesaler. Sometimes they buy from the same brand (i.e., a Shell station buys its fuel from a Shell wholesaler) but often there’s no connection: Retailers buy the cheapest gas available. There are fewer wholesalers than retailers but the wholesale market is competitive, too. Gasoline is pretty much the same no matter who you buy it from so it’s hard for any single wholesaler to charge a higher price than its competitors. Wholesalers, like retailers, set prices based on their competition and the replacement cost of their inventory. More rockets and feathers. 

To summarize: Retail prices spike with wholesale prices, and wholesale prices spike with crude oil prices. 

And why are Canadian crude oil prices rising when we are half a world away from Iran? Because global oil markets are linked and Canadian producers prefer more profit to less. When a Canadian producer markets its crude, it looks for the highest bidder. If it can sell to an export partner for a higher price, it will. Canadian refineries therefore need to match that price to buy oil for domestic use. 

This is a feature, not a bug. 

Canada and the United States are the only two major oil-producing nations with competitive crude oil markets. All other producing nations co-ordinate production through state-owned enterprises. Canadian oil companies, though large in absolute terms, are small relative to their international rivals. This makes them price-takers. 

A Canadian firm can’t simply decide to charge more, the way OPEC producers can. They’re too small to influence global markets. They’re also prohibited by law from colluding with each other to drive up prices. As a result, though Canadian producers may well benefit from rising global crude oil prices, they can’t cause them. 

Canadian producers could offer lower prices to domestic refineries, but that’s against their own interests and would reduce their profits. Preferencing the domestic market with lower crude oil prices would also risk damaging our trade relationships. 

A fundamental rule of economics is that prices and quantities are linked. As the quantity of globally available crude oil falls, prices rise for crude and gasoline alike. As gas prices go up, we consume less gasoline and by extension less crude oil. That’s how global market systems balance supply and demand. 

If we artificially suppress prices for Canadian consumers (and only Canadian consumers) we end up consuming more gasoline domestically and exporting less oil. Drivers would benefit but the reduction in exports would lower our incomes, damage our terms of trade and hurt our reputation as a reliable trade partner. 

Yes, when world oil prices rise Canadian oil producers make higher profits. But they aren’t “gouging” consumers and this isn’t a federal or provincial policy failure. It’s the global market doing what it’s supposed to do.  [A point to consider: last year the highest octane fuel available, 94 was selling for on average $2.00/L in Southern Ontario. Today that fuel sells for on average $2.12/L meaning an increase of 6% in cost. Yet the most common octane fuel: 87 has seen an increase of (avg. of $1.40/L vs today’s rate of $1.83/L) of 25%. Shouldn’t the % increases in fuel be the same? CP]

For the Silo, Kent Fellows.

Kent Fellows is assistant professor (Economics) and Associate Program Director of the Canadian Northern Corridor research program at The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary and fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute. 

Sci-Tech

World Economic Forum Report- AI Gives Cybersecurity Competitive Advantage

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94% of cyber leaders identify AI as the defining force in cybersecurity, with 77% of organizations using it in cyber operations.AI is accelerating cyber threats and defences alike, forcing organizations into a high-speed race against cyber criminals.AI adoption in cybersecurity is moving from pilots to real-world deployment, with clear gains in vulnerability identification and threat detection.

Geneva, Switzerland, May 2026 – Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping cybersecurity and is the biggest driver of change in the field, according to a new World Economic Forum report. Some 94% of cyber leaders identify AI as a defining force and 77% of organizations already use it in their cyber operations.

The AI and Cyber: Empowering Defenders report, developed in collaboration with KPMG, highlights measurable gains in cost reduction, response speed and resilience. While threat actors increasingly weaponize AI to automate deception, generate malware and scale attacks at machine speed, the report indicates that organizations deploying AI strategically are achieving significant advantages. Organizations that extensively leverage AI in security reduce average breach costs by up to $1.9 million and shorten breach lifecycles by approximately 80 days.
 
“AI has the potential to shift the balance towards defenders,” said Akshay Joshi, Head of the Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum. “Organizations that treat it as a strategic capability, rather than a standalone tool, will be better placed to turn growing cyber risk into resilience and competitive advantage.”
 
Building on the Forum’s 2025 publication, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity: Balancing Risks and Rewards, the 2026 edition focuses on how organizations are deploying AI for defence in practice. As enterprise attack surfaces expand to include hundreds of thousands of internet-facing assets, the scale and complexity of cyber risk are increasing significantly. Among the examples featured, KPMG reports a 25% increase in operational efficiency in threat intelligence, Accenture cut security analysis time in more than 100,000 internet-facing sites from 15 minutes to under one minute, and IBM’s ATOM platform helps scale global 24×7 threat detection and response, automating more than 850 analyst hours a month and cutting end-to-end investigation time by 37%.

“Attackers are moving faster and at greater scale than ever before. This report is a call to action for organizations to match that pace, with AI as a force multiplier for cyber defence,” said Laurent Gobbi, Partner, Global Head of Cyber & Tech Risk, KPMG.

The report emphasizes that AI’s value in cybersecurity lies in augmenting human expertise, accelerating decisions and strengthening resilience, rather than automation alone. The report highlights that its impact depends on clear AI deployment strategy, rigorously tested use cases before scaling, and strong governance and human oversight from the outset.

The report draws on 20 real-world case studies and insights from one-on-one interviews and workshops conducted under the World Economic Forum’s Cyber Frontiers: AI & Cyber initiative, convening 105 representatives from 84 organizations across 15 industries.
 
As cyber risks become more complex, the report calls on business and government leaders to treat AI as a foundational security capability, investing not only in technology but also in the skills, processes and governance required to defend at machine speed.
 
About Cyber Frontiers: AI & Cyber
The Cyber Frontiers: AI & Cyber initiative, launched in 2024, brings together a global multi-stakeholder community to explore how AI is reshaping cybersecurity through a knowledge-sharing platform. The initiative equips organizations with insights to harness AI technologies to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities along with guidance for building strong guardrails. The initiative aims to develop approaches to enable secure and scalable adoption of agentic AI to ensure a secure agentic economy. 

Download the full report here.

https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Empowering_Defenders_AI_for_Cybersecurity_2026.pdf

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Sci-Tech

World Economic Forum Report- Technology Convergence Is Redefining Competitive Advantage

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  • A World Economic Forum report finds competitive advantage is shifting from owning key technologies to combining them across data, people and ecosystems.  
  • The biggest barriers to scaling innovative solutions are no longer individual breakthroughs but connecting a combination of AI and digital tools with real-world operations.
  • The research shows how technology convergence is already reshaping value chains in healthcare, manufacturing, energy, life sciences, wearable electronics and more.
  • Read the full report here.

Geneva, Switzerland, April 2026 – The next wave of competitive advantage will come not from individual breakthrough technologies but from the ability to combine and scale multiple technologies across entire operating systems, according to a World Economic Forum report released today. As artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced materials, spatial computing and next-generation energy systems mature simultaneously, the organizations and countries moving fastest to apply these technologies together in intelligent systems are already pulling ahead.

The report, Technology Convergence: The New Logic for Competitive Advantage, produced in collaboration with Capgemini, draws on cross-industry research and real-world case studies in 12 sectors, identifying recurring patterns, including the blending of mature and experimental technologies and the blurring of industry boundaries, that determine whether convergence scales or stalls.

“Breakthrough technologies are advancing rapidly, and value is created when they are applied together,” said Cathy Li, Head of the Centre for AI Excellence and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum. “The real differentiator is not who owns the most advanced tools, but who can combine them across systems and applications at scale.”

As advanced technologies scale, the main bottlenecks to competitive advantage are no longer time or materials but how well organizations connect digital tools with physical operations. This is already playing out across sectors and geographies. From operating rooms to factory floors, power grids to research labs, converging technologies are reshaping how systems perform worldwide.

In the United Kingdom, novel surgical robots are extending clinician capacity (this article’s feature image shows robots with surgeons at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust first used in 2022) while preserving workflow continuity across care teams. In China, automated labs are linking robotics, AI and data platforms to accelerate discovery while coordinating workflows across research networks.

“Technology convergence has evolved from a technical discussion into a strategic leadership mandate with direct operational impact,” said Aiman Ezzat, CEO of Capgemini Group. “Competitive advantage increasingly depends on an organization’s ability to integrate technologies, teams, partners and operating processes into coherent systems that deliver value at scale. Leaders who master orchestration, not just adoption, are the ones translating convergence into sustained performance and growth.”

“This shift has implications not only for companies but also for national growth strategies and industrial policy,” said Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “Economies that align talent, infrastructure, data and policy will be better positioned to capture the benefits of converging technologies amid a fast-shifting global landscape.”

The report is part of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Convergence Initiative, launched in 2024, and builds on the first edition published in 2025. It draws on two years of cross-industry research, including expert interviews, workshops and case studies in healthcare, manufacturing, energy, life sciences and emerging fields such as brain-computer interfaces. The analysis examines how eight advanced technology domains interact, using the Forum’s 3C framework (combination, convergence and compounding) and the Technology Maturity Index to track how technologies move from experimentation to real-world impact.