Futures Group (United States)

WILL THE HISTORY OF THOUGHT CONTINUE THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AFTER US?

Human beings have always sought ways to give thought a life beyond the body. Through writing, painting, music, sculpture, science, and the many other forms in which knowledge and imagination take shape, they have continually challenged the limits of biological existence. A though...

Enhancing resource efficiency and carbon mitigation in China's steel industry: An integrated decomposition, decoupling, and policy evaluation framework

As the world's largest steel producer, China's steel industry contributes about 15% of national carbon emissions (CEs). This study develops an integrated framework combining decomposition analysis, decoupling assessment, and quantitative policy evaluation to examine CEs pathways...

The Chornobyl Dogs: Why Scientific Evaluation Must Accompany Population Management

Nearly four decades after the 1986 reactor explosion, several hundred semi-feral dogs persist within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Genomic work has characterised their population structure and shown that radiation-induced mutation does not, on current evidence, drive the differen...

Microstructural and physicochemical characterization, mechanical and durability performance with statistical evaluation of montmorillonite-impregnated burnt red soil bricks incorporating pyrolyzed coffee and tobacco biochars

The growing demand for sustainable construction materials has increased interest in utilizing agricultural waste as functional additives in fired clay products. However, limited information is available regarding the influence of pyrolysis temperature on the engineering performan...

Identifying thermally tolerant bull kelp ( Nereocystis luetkeana ) source populations for restoration under climate change

Kelp forests are declining in many parts of the world due to climate change and other stressors. Restoration is one solution to return kelp forests to places where they have been lost, yet continually warming oceans may necessitate the identification of thermally tolerant strains...

Under‐Explored Species, Breeds and Cell Types With Potential for Cultivated Meat Production

ABSTRACT To achieve scale and cost parity, cultivated meat production must overcome critical bottlenecks such as the quality of starting cells. This review presents a systematic evaluation of unconventional and non‐traditional sources of cells as targeted strategies to address th...

Citizen finance for a just energy transition? Analysing UK experience, and exploring potential for smart local energy systems

The UK energy transition is projected to require billions of pounds of investment, not only in renewable supply, but also in demand-side technologies and system management. While this investment is expected to come from large scale commercial finance, both citizen finance and sma...

Development of a chemometric platform for mid-infrared fermentation monitoring

<title>Abstract</title> Industrial bioprocess development still depends heavily on off-line analytics such as HPLC, which, while accurate, are slow and limit real-time decision-making. Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) can overcome this barrier, with mid-infrared spectroscopy...

Bridging foresight and transition theory: policy mixes for transforming Europe’s food systems

Abstract European food systems are central drivers of environmental degradation and diet-related health issues, while remaining highly vulnerable to climate, geopolitical, and economic shocks. Against this backdrop of polycrisis and governance complexity, this article develops an...