Representation of Kepler-1625b, an exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-1625 in the Cygnus constellation. (Image source: AFP – RON MILLER / LEEMAGE)
An exoplanet has been discovered by amateur astronomers around the world. And this could help scientists better understand this type of planet.
The universe is full of mysteries, and scientists have made many discoveries, as was the case with Pluto. But recently, it was amateur astronomers who managed to find a new gas giant planet.
Named TOI-4465 b, this exoplanet is located more than 400 light-years from Earth and has a mass six times greater than that of Jupiter. But that’s not all, because it also takes 102 days to orbit its star and follows an elliptical orbit while maintaining its orbital distance.
Taking these two factors into account, it manages to maintain its temperature within a range of 93°C to 204°C. This makes it an important choice for astronomers and scientists for various studies.
The discovery of this gas giant was made with the help of the TESS telescope, which is designed to detect dips in brightness when a planet passes in front of its star. But to confirm its existence, massive participation was necessary.
An illustration of the new giant gas exoplanet TOI-4465 b. (Image source: Robert Lea – Canva)
In this way, thousands of astronomers around the world have used their personal instruments to make observations. And while this may seem surprising, it is important to understand that their telescopes are often located in places that are inaccessible to professional equipment, such as gardens or rural areas. By remaining stationary for a long period of time, they are able to detect variations in light associated with a star, indicating that a celestial body is passing in front of it. If this occurs regularly, it is then possible to confirm the presence of a planet in orbit.
However, exoplanets such as TOI-4465 b are still little known to scientists. In fact, only a few have been discovered in the past. Such discoveries could help astronomers to study this type of celestial body more effectively with the aid of several devices, such as the famous James Webb Telescope, which has successfully observed its first exoplanet.
Alexis Stegmann – Tech Writer – 64 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.
Representation of Kepler-1625b, an exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-1625 in the Cygnus constellation. (Image source: AFP – RON MILLER / LEEMAGE)
An exoplanet has been discovered by amateur astronomers around the world. And this could help scientists better understand this type of planet.
The universe is full of mysteries, and scientists have made many discoveries, as was the case with Pluto. But recently, it was amateur astronomers who managed to find a new gas giant planet.
Named TOI-4465 b, this exoplanet is located more than 400 light-years from Earth and has a mass six times greater than that of Jupiter. But that’s not all, because it also takes 102 days to orbit its star and follows an elliptical orbit while maintaining its orbital distance.
Taking these two factors into account, it manages to maintain its temperature within a range of 93°C to 204°C. This makes it an important choice for astronomers and scientists for various studies.
The discovery of this gas giant was made with the help of the TESS telescope, which is designed to detect dips in brightness when a planet passes in front of its star. But to confirm its existence, massive participation was necessary.
An illustration of the new giant gas exoplanet TOI-4465 b. (Image source: Robert Lea – Canva)
In this way, thousands of astronomers around the world have used their personal instruments to make observations. And while this may seem surprising, it is important to understand that their telescopes are often located in places that are inaccessible to professional equipment, such as gardens or rural areas. By remaining stationary for a long period of time, they are able to detect variations in light associated with a star, indicating that a celestial body is passing in front of it. If this occurs regularly, it is then possible to confirm the presence of a planet in orbit.
However, exoplanets such as TOI-4465 b are still little known to scientists. In fact, only a few have been discovered in the past. Such discoveries could help astronomers to study this type of celestial body more effectively with the aid of several devices, such as the famous James Webb Telescope, which has successfully observed its first exoplanet.
Alexis Stegmann – Tech Writer – 64 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.
A woman in her 30s who experienced recurrent, nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms was diagnosed with angioedema of the small intestine — also known as intestinal angioedema, or sometimes angioedema of the bowel — related to the use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor to treat high blood pressure, according to a case report.
The woman’s symptoms eased after stopping treatment with the medication, lisinopril, with no recurrence of angioedema attacks, or sudden swelling in the skin, after three months, the researchers noted.
“The information provided is intended to assist health care professionals in recognizing clues associated with angioedema of the small intestine, allowing timely diagnosis and effective treatment for patients with [intestinal] angioedema,” the researchers wrote.
The case report, “Recognizing Clues Associated With Angioedema of the Small Intestine: A Case Report,” was published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing by two nursing professors at The University of Tampa.
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Angioedema is a condition marked by swelling in the deeper layers of the skin or mucus membranes. Drug-induced nonallergic angioedema is an adverse effect of certain medications — most commonly, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These drugs are often used to treat people with high blood pressure, or hypertension, and other cardiovascular conditions.
ACE inhibitors usually cause angioedema in the face, lips, tongue, or throat, leading to swelling and sometimes blocked airways. But it’s less well known that they can also cause swelling in the small intestine.
Diagnostic journey detailed for woman with intestinal angioedema
Here, a research team in Florida described the diagnostic journey of a 39-year-old woman who sought emergency department treatment for mild to severe abdominal pain that had started two days earlier. She had a history of several months of intermittent nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain, loss of appetite, bloating, nausea, vomiting, frequent burping, and diarrhea.
She also had hypertension, for which she was treated, for five years, with hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, and lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor. The woman also reported having experienced one episode of mild lip and facial swelling two months earlier, which was effectively treated with antihistamines and corticosteroids.
Following that episode, she was referred to an allergist, who found that her C1 esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) activity was normal. This ruled out hereditary angioedema, which is typically caused by low levels or impaired function of C1-INH. In such cases, excess bradykinin accumulates, leading to blood vessel dilation, fluid leakage, and swelling
Besides abdominal symptoms, a physical examination indicated the abdomen was slightly distended, with generalized tympany — a percussion sound when tapping due to the accumulation of air and gas throughout the abdomen, which may indicate a bowel condition — and discomfort/pain when light pressure was applied.
A CT scan also revealed swelling in a region of the small bowel with inflammation signs. This was suggestive of a bowel condition, such as an inflammatory disease or infection, or a mechanical obstruction. Ischemia, or a lack of blood flow to a part of the bowel, can also cause these symptoms.
Laboratory analysis indicated a moderate increase in the levels of leucocytes, or white blood cells, which could indicate an inflammatory or infectious process.
Clinicians started the woman on treatment with intravenous, or into-the-vein, morphine, which effectively controlled her abdominal pain, and intravenous haloperidol for nausea and vomiting. Her condition improved, and she was discharged with no adjustments to her medication or additional recommendations.
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Woman’s abdominal symptoms resolved after stopping ACE inhibitor
Two weeks later, however, she returned to the emergency department with the same symptoms, as well as bowel inflammation signs in the CT scan. She was referred to a specialist in gastrointestinal conditions, who suspected ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema and immediately discontinued lisinopril.
The woman’s abdominal symptoms completely resolved after three days, according to the report.
“Even though the exact pathogenetic [disease-causing] mechanism of ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema is not fully understood, current research posits that the inhibitory actions of these medications prevent the breakdown of bradykinin,” the researchers wrote.
[This] case report underscores the challenges health care providers face in diagnosing [intestinal] angioedema and the crucial role of emergency nurses in recognizing key warning signs such as nonspecific abdominal complaints in patients on angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitor therapy.
The team reported that several medications the woman subsequently used to control blood pressure triggered similar symptoms. After further adjustments, the patient’s blood pressure was well controlled with triamterene/hydrochlorothiazide, nebivolol, and amlodipine. The woman remained free from previous abdominal symptoms for at least three months, per the report.
According to the researchers, “[this] case underscores the challenges health care providers face in diagnosing [intestinal] angioedema and the crucial role of emergency nurses in recognizing key warning signs such as nonspecific abdominal complaints in patients on angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitor therapy.”
“Early identification of this condition can prevent unnecessary procedures, prevent prolonged symptoms, and improve patient outcomes,” the team added.
Researchers have demonstrated that a genetic switch for organ regeneration exists, after restoring damaged outer ears in mice.
This has ignited hope that similar switches might exist for other organs, even in humans.
The study conducted by the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, zeroes in on a crucial molecule: retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A.
Wang Wei and Deng Ziqing, the co-corresponding authors, determined that a shortage of this retinoic acid prevented mice from regenerating their ear pinna (the outer ear).
Retinoic acid plays an important role in cell development and tissue repair.
As a result, they successfully restarted regeneration, leading to the complete restoration of damaged ear tissues, even cartilage.
“They found that insufficient production of retinoic acid caused the failure of mouse and rat ear pinna regeneration. Exogenous supplementation of retinoic acid or activation of a rate-limiting enzyme in retinoic acid synthesis was sufficient to activate regeneration,” the researchers wrote in the study paper.
Complete restoration
Despite its benefits, the ability to regenerate has been lost in many animal species over time, though some still retain it.
Some, like rabbits, goats, and African spiny mice, can regenerate complex tissues such as the ear pinna, while common rodents like mice and rats cannot due to the course of evolution and speciation.
According to the researchers, insight into how animals gained or lost the ability to regenerate over evolution could provide fresh knowledge for advancing regenerative medicine.
Reportedly, scientists describe their achievement as activating an “evolutionarily disabled genetic switch.”
The researchers opted for the ear pinna as their initial focus. It proved ideal because while it contains diverse tissues—skin, cartilage, muscles, and fat—it’s simpler than internal organs and easy to observe and work with.
The scientists achieved “complete restoration” of all lost tissues, including cartilage, in holes punched through the mice’s outer ears.
Genetic switch
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported this research was also significantly boosted by Stereo-seq technology, a “camera of life” developed by BGI-Research.
The technology allowed them to map cell changes and gene expression during healing, understanding the regeneration mechanisms at a never-before-seen level.
The three-year experimental journey was filled with both anxiety and surprise.
Initially, numerous genes were tested individually with no success, with some even worsening the damage.
Surprisingly, after many trials and errors, the solution emerged as a single gene that encodes an enzyme for retinoic acid synthesis.
The team discovered that they could reactivate ear tissue regeneration in transgenic mice by either externally providing retinoic acid or by activating the Aldh1a2 gene.
They are now focused on understanding why mice lost this regenerative ability over the course of evolution.
“Our findings may help in increasing understanding of the evolution of regeneration and provide a potential framework for dissecting mechanisms underpinning the failure of regeneration in different organs and species,” the study noted.
Moreover, the researchers are working to pinpoint the specific genes that can turn on the regeneration switch in various organs, understanding that each organ might possess a unique genetic trigger.
The results serve as “proof of principle,” demonstrating the existence of a genetic switch for organ regeneration.
The researchers cautioned that achieving human organ regeneration is a long and challenging process. Key hurdles include the vast differences in size and complexity between mouse and human organs.
The findings were published in the journal Science.
British steelmakers face a nervous wait to discover if they will be hit by US tariffs, after the UK government said it was trying to complete a deal to protect the industry from Donald Trump’s trade war.
The US has set a 50% tariff on foreign steel and aluminium imports. While the UK has brokered a reduced rate of 25% and is trying to bring it down to zero, a deal has not yet been completed.
On Monday, Downing Street refused to confirm it was confident it could eliminate US tariffs on UK steel before Trump’s deadline on 9 July.
A spokesperson for No 10 said: “Our work with the US continues to get this deal implemented as soon as possible.
“That will remove the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, making us the only country in the world to have tariffs removed on these products.
“The US agreed to remove tariffs on these products as part of our agreement on 8 May. It reiterated that again at the G7 last month. The discussions continue, and will continue to do so.”
The Trump administration has said it will send letters to trading partners without a deal by 9 July. On Monday, Trump caused some confusion over whether tariffs would be implemented by the 9 July deadline, before his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said tariff rates would take effect on 1 August.
When asked again whether ministers were confident British producers will not be hit by the original 50% tariff, the Downing Street spokesperson said that “discussions continue”.
“We have very close engagement with the US, and the US has been clear that it wants to keep talking to us to get the best deal for businesses and consumers on both sides,” they said.
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Starmer and Trump signed off a UK-US trade deal at the G7 summit in Canada last month. Under the agreement, the UK aerospace sector will face no tariffs at all from the US, while the car industry will have 10% tariffs, down from 25%.
The US executive order implementing the deal highlighted the British steel industry, noting the UK “has committed to working to meet American requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminium products … and on the nature of ownership of relevant production facilities”.
It likely reflects worries in the US about Jingye Group, which owns British Steel despite the fact that the British government took control of the company in April to stop the closure of its Scunthorpe plant. The Trump administration has sought assurances that China’s Jingye does not use British Steel as a route to circumvent US tariffs.
The Xiaomi Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Super Energy Saving Vertical 2HP has arrived in China. (Image source: Xiaomi
Xiaomi has launched the new Xiaomi Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Super Energy Saving Vertical 2HP Super Class 1 Energy Efficiency in China. This powerful smart air conditioner is said to have enhanced efficiency thanks to AI. It also has a wider air outlet, a large air circulation volume and support for HyperOS Connect.
The new Xiaomi Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Super Energy Saving Vertical 2HP Super Class 1 Energy Efficiency has been launched in China. This is one of two new smart air conditioners from the brand, which are said to offer enhanced energy efficiency.
The Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Super Energy Saving shares many features with the recently released standard model. These include a wider 181 mm (~7.1 inches) air outlet, an up to 115° air supply angle and up to 13 m (~43 ft) range. However, it has a larger air circulation volume of 1,560 m³/h (~55,090 ft³/h) and a wider temperature range of -35 to 65°C (~-31 ti 149°F). Xiaomi also states that AI is used to provide an energy saving rate of 40%, and the Pro’s APF index is higher at 5.2.
Another feature exclusive to the Pro model is an integrated ‘breathing’ light sitting under the air outlet. Like the standard model, it has a self-cleaning mode, and a built-in display shows the current settings. Remote controls are available via the Mijia app, with support for HyperOS Connect and future over-the-air (OTA) updates. The internal unit measures the same at 346 x 1,868 x 434 mm (~13.6 x 73.5 x 1.7) inches.
Xiaomi’s new Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Super Energy Saving Vertical 2HP Super Class 1 Energy Efficiency is available to pre-order in China for CNY 4,599 (~$642), though it will retail for CNY 5,499 (~$767). It seems unlikely that this device will reach markets like Europe, where it sells products like the Smart Standing Fan 2 Pro (curr. €129 at Amazon.de).
The Xiaomi Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Super Energy Saving Vertical 2HP Super Class 1 Energy Efficiency. (Image source: Xiaomi
Polly Allcock – Senior Tech Writer – 4140 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021
I’ve been interested in technology for as long as I can remember. From a young age, I have loved gadgets and understanding how things work. Since graduating, I have worked for several technology companies across FinTech, AdTech and Robotics.
Soaring copper demand is driving tech innovation, but can Australia capitalise on the opportuity? Credit: evan_huang / Shutterstock.
As demand for clean energy tech rises, the global copper market is facing a supply-demand gap that analysts warn could be near impossible to close if production remains at its current levels.
Adding to the market volatility are US president Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs, and his executive order to fast-track US exploration and mining of critical minerals, including copper, in international waters.
In the face of supply chain uncertainty, countries are prioritising sovereign access to copper. This means targeting new or previously inaccessible deposits, often deeper and more remote than previously seen, while innovators rush to develop technology that could make lower-grade ore economically viable.
While Australia is by no means the biggest copper producer (ranking eighth globally in 2024), it is home to the world’s second largest copper reserves, making it a key player in any long-term production strategy.
With questions over how nations will meet copper demand without triggering further instability, we look at the projects working to keep Australia’s supply afloat in an uncertain time.
Copper: rising demand, lagging supply
Currently, copper demand sits at around 25 million tonnes (mt) per year. However, estimates suggest that the market trajectory is pushing towards a demand of 50mt by 2050.
Ollie Brown, an economist at GlobalData, told Mining Technology that this demand, similar to other critical minerals, is primarily driven by electric vehicles, grid renovations and renewable energy initiatives.
Amid growing demand, he says the global copper market is defined by “lagging supply”, while Trump’s threatened tariffs from the beginning of this year are “rattling global prices.”
While Trump has not set a levy against copper specifically, he has made it clear that he wants to cut back on imports and increase domestic production.
In February 2025, he commissioned the US Department of Commerce to investigate potential national security risks of copper imports ─ the first step towards potentially curbing these goods.
While the tariffs and their impacts remain conjecture at this stage, Nicolas Psaroudis, APAC economist at GlobalData, told Mining Technology the threat of restrictions contribute to uncertainty and price volatility.
“Internationally, export restrictions could disrupt global copper supply chains,” he explains. “A sudden drop in supply could tighten global scrap availability, drive up international prices, and strain smelters already facing concentrate shortages.”
If nothing else, the situation has proven an unwelcome reminder of the fact that global mineral supply chains remain vulnerable to the whims of trade tensions and has added to calls to bolster domestic production.
Lawrence M. Cathles, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell University, says Western nations need to be more willing to expand operations to avoid market dependence.
“It’s not enough to say copper is important while refusing to do the work,” says Cathles. “We don’t want anybody to control any major commodity, but just not wanting that isn’t enough. You’ve got to have policies and plans in place to avoid undesirable situations – and part of that is mining in our own territory.”
Yet while Australia has no shortage of copper ore, the issue lies in accessing it.
Unlocking Australia’s copper
According to Dan Wood, exploration geologist and University of Queensland (UQ) adjunct professor, one of the main challenges is finding copper ore that’s viable for development.
“Almost all of the large deposits theoretically available to replace one of the top-ten producing mines that will close in the early-2050s have all failed at least one mining feasibility study,” he says.
These failures are mainly due to low ore grades and remoteness, as well as low copper prices. Even if prices rise enough to make low-grade copper development viable, Wood cautions that oversupply could trigger a feedback loop: more copper brings prices down, undoing the gains.
To make the most of Australia’s deposits, Wood says more should be done to access deeper ore bodies. One potential method is caving, when the rock is ‘undercut’ or drilled beneath the surface and recovered as it falls.
While the practice is not uncommon – for instance, it is used in Sweden for iron ore – little is known about how to safely mine beyond a certain depth, and education and training around the method remains low.
“Caving isn’t uncommon, but the scary thing is there are so few people left in the world who really understand it,” Wood states. “If you go deeper than around 1.4 kilometers, there isn’t much data on the rock stressors. Take Rio Tinto’s Resolution deposit in Arizona. You have to go down nearly two kilometers before you reach the top of the ore, and the rocks that deep are nearly 100 degrees centigrade.”
Initiatives to train the next generation of caving miners do exist – for instance UQ has partnered with Rio Tinto and the University of Mongolia to scale up caving expertise at Rio’s Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. However, Wood warns the process is a long one.
“We’re looking at a 20-year journey to end up with a cohort of properly trained and, most importantly, experienced caving engineers,” he says. “This skills gap is serious and unless addressed will be a major drag on future copper supply towards 2050.”
Aside from education, technology may provide another route to increasing supply, with innovators looking to make low-grade ores viable development options.
A holy grail for copper?
One project, a collaboration between UQ and start-up Banksia Minerals Processing (BMP), is developing a more environmentally friendly means of extracting copper from low-grade resources.
The process relies on hydrometallurgy rather than pyrometallurgy (water rather than heat) to extract copper from the ore; dissolving, purifying and then recovering metals from liquid using electricity.
While the process itself isn’t new, having been practiced in the late 1970s in the US, the team had a breakthrough in the purity of the copper produced, making it more viable for commercial deployment.
The method also addresses another issue plaguing copper miners – that of impurities.
Conichalcite is a mineral typical of copper-bearing areas rich in arsenic and other metals, being a secondary copper ore that is not usually exploited. Credit: Primi2 / Shutterstock.
Currently, smelters have strict regulations on how many impurities can be processed alongside the copper ore (with arsenic a particularly problematic contaminant).
James Vaughan, head of the university’s Hydrometallurgy Research Group, explains the limits are getting increasingly difficult to meet.
“Miners are having to cherry pick ore bodies, and it’s a significant limitation on the amount of material that can actually be pulled out of those mines,” he said. “That’s a problem when we need more and more copper.”
While the typical smelting method sees arsenic exiting as a gas that can be harmful to both workers and the environment, using a water-based method stores the arsenic in a stable, and disposable, form.
By addressing this challenge, Leigh Staines, managing director of BMP, says the new technology could unlock copper resources previously deemed unfeasible.
“Our hypothesis is that more than half of known copper resources out there are restricted from development due to those smelter intake limitations,” she says. “By enabling a feasible pathway for processing of those resources, we’re then able to unlock the commercial viability of bringing that supply to market.”
The tech can be integrated into modular plants that are anticipated to be far cheaper to construct than traditional smelters ─in the order of hundreds of millions rather than billions ─ and running on an estimated 50% less energy.
As a result, the team say the project could pave the way for an economically viable onshore processing option, and bolster Australia’s supply chain independence.
“We see a real opportunity from a sovereign supply perspective – gaining access to not only copper itself but the by-products from copper concentrate,” Staines says. “In the longer term, if this takes off, I really do think it will become the new norm.”
Yet while innovations such as these show Australia is already on its way to unlocking copper’s potential, another persistent concern is that without sufficient funding, even the best tech won’t close the gap.
Sustainable future
On the global stage, Arthur F. Thurnau, professor of mineral resources at the University of Michigan warns the West is underfunding its mining workforce.
“Governments in Australia, Canada, the EU and the US do not seem to fully appreciate the magnitude of the difference in education and training between these regions and China,” he says. “Specifically, in the fields of geology and mining, China has more faculty and graduate students within a single university (such as the China University of Geosciences Beijing), than the sum of Australia, Canada, the EU and the US”
Without closing the gap, Thurnau warns that Western nations will be forever trying to catch up to China. “
For Cathles, government attitude is also an issue, though he points more towards a lack of realism in the demand for copper in the path to net zero.
“If the goal is to electrify everything and thereby dramatically increase copper demand – double or even triple it – you can’t just suddenly mine more because the mining infrastructure cannot be expanded quickly,” he says.
Instead, he calls for long-term planning: building a skilled workforce and pursuing a more pragmatic clean energy transition that reduces pressure on supply chains.
There may be promising alternatives, he adds, such as battery chemistries that use less copper, pairing renewables with backup systems like gas-powered plants, or a focus on rolling out hybrid rather than fully electric vehicles. While these options may mean it takes longer to reach net zero, Cathles said they lessen the strain on copper production.
“Let’s be sensible,” he says. “We need grounded policies. We shouldn’t place sudden, unrealistic demands on sectors that we know can’t respond quickly.”
Whether through education, innovation, or a more measured path to net zero, one thing is clear: the world must confront the widening gap between copper demand and supply.
As Cathles and Thurnau both emphasise, the solution won’t come from mining alone. It will require strategic investment in human capital, realistic energy policies, and a willingness to adapt. Without these, Western nations, including Australia, risk falling behind – not only in production capacity, but in their ability to lead a sustainable energy transition.
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It was eerily still in Paris on Sunday, as the streets came to a standstill for “Paris Respire”, a car-free scheme where certain districts in the city are closed to motorized traffic for the day. Yet, the Tuileries Gardens was buzzing with a stylish crowd, many of whom wore the same white scarf tied around their neck, wrist, or bag.
Far from it being a coincidence, the scarf was part of the invitation that luxury label Celine had sent to guests invited to see its Spring 2026 collection. Staged at the brand’s Right Bank headquarters, a day before Paris Haute Couture Week, the show was notable: Not only was it Celine’s first in years (the last physical show took place in December 2022, under its former designer Hedi Slimane, who preferred to his present his collections via short films), it also offered a first look at the highly anticipated debut designs under new artistic director Michael Rider.
Since being appointed at Celine in October last year, taking up the role in early 2025 after six years at Polo Ralph Lauren, Rider has laid low. While French luxury house Dior sought to drum up interest for its new designer Jonathan Anderson by teasing elements of the new collection on social media, Celine has kept everything under wraps, with the silk scarf invite — which also features in the brand’s advertisements plastered across Paris — being the only indicator for what to expect.
A bevy of high-profile stars sat under a giant carré de soie (silk pocket square) stretched like a canopy in the courtyard. These included Naomi Watts, Kristen Wiig, and Kim Taehyung, better known as V, from K-pop band BTS, who arrived on a bicycle. Singer Alanis Morisette told CNN ahead of the show that she had “so much anticipation to see what Michael Rider has done.” Other fashion designers including Jonathan Anderson and Raf Simons, formerly of Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein, also turned out to show their support.
The show, which took place in the rain (attendees were given Celine-branded umbrellas), comprised both men and womenswear. There were nods to the brand’s past, whether it was the references to the 1970s archives, the clean lines reminiscent of former designer Phoebe Philo (who amassed a cult following known as “Philophiles” during her tenure), or the lean silhouettes favored by Slimane. Also present were culottes paired with flat Mary Janes and a full flash of the Eighties: balloon-leg washed denim trousers, high-waisted pants tucked into boxing boots, and a tweed jacket with wide shoulders. Horsebit detailing adorned slim ankle boots.
But Rider also wove in references to his own past — an argyle jumper could have come straight out of a Ralph Lauren collection, while flounced hems on a knit cardigan recalled Balenciaga’s cocoon shapes during Rider’s time working under designer Nicolas Ghesquière in the early noughties. There were personal playful touches, too: see the opulent stacked jewelry, rings on every finger.
In all, there was a preppy American feel intertwined with French sophistication in the looks. Law Roach, stylist to the stars including Zendaya, seemed to have an inkling for what was coming. “I want to see this American flair in this Parisian house… I’m so excited to see the newness,”he told CNN ahead of the show, nodding to the long history of American designers in Paris, including Michael Kors who designed Celine from 1997 to 2004.
Rider is stepping into big shoes: His predecessor turned Celine into a commercial heavyweight, bringing in an estimated €2.5 billion ($2.76 billion) annually, with the expansion of menswear, leather goods, and fragrance — areas that Rider will continue to oversee. But with his deep familiarity with the Celine maison, he seems intent on ushering in a chapter that is less about spectacle and more about nuance — an approach that tends to age well in fashion.
Takao Doi’s dream is to go to the Moon and plant a tree. The former astronaut is inspired by ancient wooden shrines and temples in Kyoto, Japan, that have lasted more than a thousand years.
“If we can use wood in space, we might be able to have sustainable space development forever,” said Doi, a professor at Ryukoku University.
The idea of a wooden space age gained traction last year with the launch of LignoSat, the world’s first wooden satellite to reach orbit. LignoSat, developed by Doi, a group of Kyoto University scientists, and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, is a CubeSat—a type of minisatellite that is relatively inexpensive and easy to construct. LignoSat’s structure is meant to reduce its environmental impact because wood is a renewable material and creates less pollution when it burns up on reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
“We think wooden satellites orbiting around the Earth are the future.”
LignoSat was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) last year by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and stayed in space for 116 days.
Doi and his colleagues are using what they learned to develop LignoSat-2, which they expect to launch in 2028. And they’re not alone—at least one other group is also developing a wooden satellite.
“We think wooden satellites orbiting around the Earth are the future,” Doi said.
Raphaela Günther, an aerospace engineering Ph.D. student at Technische Universität Dresden in Germany who is not involved in the LignoSat project, said she considers the work from the Kyoto University team to be a “small breakthrough” in renewable space materials research.
Lessons Learned
The first LignoSat was a 10-centimeter cube made of magnolia wood panels assembled with traditional wooden joinery. An aluminum frame reinforced the structure.
LignoSat used a traditional joinery method called the blind miter dovetail joint. Credit: Kyoto University
The LignoSat mission had five goals: to measure strain on the wooden structure, to measure temperature inside the satellite, to demonstrate how permeable wood is to magnetic fields in space, to analyze the effects of space radiation on wood, and to establish two-way communication with scientists on the ground.
After the satellite was deployed from the ISS on 9 December 2024, though, scientists in Kyoto weren’t able to communicate with it.
Orbital data from the U.S. Department of Defense show the satellite stayed in one piece during its time in space, proving wooden satellites can work, Doi said. But without the ability to communicate with the satellite, the other four missions weren’t able to be completed, either.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any of the information we wanted to know about,” Doi said.
An analysis indicated that the loss of communication could have been caused by two failures: First, any or all of the three switches needed to activate the satellite system and deploy its antenna may not have turned on, and second, the computer program used in the system may not have started up as expected, Doi said. “We are still analyzing what happened, but we now have two reasons to further investigate.”
Despite the lack of communication, Doi recognized two achievements in the LignoSat mission. First, it demonstrated that a wooden satellite can exist in orbit without falling apart. Second, it streamlined the review process for wooden spacecraft. NASA must complete a safety review of all satellites that head to the ISS, he explained, and now that such a review was completed for LignoSat, reviews for subsequent wooden satellites will be simpler.
LignoSat-2 will have both an external antenna and an internal antenna and will be twice the size of the first LignoSat. Credit: Kyoto University
The Kyoto University team plans to build LignoSat-2 to be twice the size of LignoSat, with two communication systems (one inside the structure and another attached to its surface). Installing the antenna inside the satellite body reduces the drag of the structure as it orbits Earth, Doi said.
“Even if the antenna is not deployed, which might have been the cause of LignoSat 1’s communication problems, we may be able to use this second communication system to communicate with [LignoSat-2],” Doi said.
Finnish space technology company Arctic Astronautics is also thinking about wood in space. In 2021, they and Finnish company UPM Plywood developed the WISA Woodsat, a 10-centimeter birch plywood CubeSat. The satellite contains a suite of sensors meant to gather information about how outer space affects wooden spacecraft. It has a deployable camera, a “selfie stick” meant to take photos of itself in space and allow the team on the ground to monitor it visually.
The WISA Woodsat contains a suite of sensors meant to measure how outer space will affect its materials. It also has a selfie stick. Credit: Arctic Astronautics/Flickr, CC BY 2.0
“There is a niche for these kinds of satellites, and the basic research is extremely interesting,” said Jari Mäkinen, cofounder of Arctic Astronautics and initiator of the WISA Woodsat project. “It’s totally possible that when we see these satellites flying, we realize important information [about how plywood acts in space].”
The WISA Woodsat itself is nearly ready for launch, Mäkinen said, but Arctic Astronautics still needs permitting from Finnish space authorities to proceed. He’s hopeful the launch will take place next year. “We will fly as soon as possible,” he said.
A Sustainable Space Industry
For Doi, the wooden CubeSats are just the beginning. “Let’s create a space timber industry” reads the translation of the bio of the research team’s X (formerly Twitter) account. Doi said he imagines a future where wood overtakes aluminum as the primary material for satellites.
Wood is cheaper, easier to use, and lighter than conventional spacecraft materials. Its use as a potential material could both push the space industry toward using more wood and make space development more accessible to countries with fewer resources, Günther said.
A wooden space age could shrink the environmental footprint of the space industry, too. When aluminum satellites fall back into Earth’s atmosphere, they burn, creating aluminum oxide particles. These particles, sometimes smaller than 1 micrometer, may destroy ozone, disrupt atmospheric processes, and even alter Earth’s magnetic field, some scientists suggest. When wood burns, it generates only carbon dioxide, biodegradable ash, and water vapor.
And though scientists don’t fully understand all the possible ways that particles from decomposing metal or wooden spacecraft interact with the upper atmosphere, the decomposition products of wood are easier to assess because they are already major drivers of atmospheric processes, Günther said.
“It’s not a question if we do or if we don’t” begin to use more sustainable spacecraft materials, she said. “I think we have to.”
With a few hundred tracked objects returning to Earth each year, reentering metal spacecraft are not currently a major environmental problem. But as the space industry quickly grows, it’s crucial to look for more ecofriendly materials, Doi said. Replacing even a small portion of parts on future satellites with wood could significantly reduce pollution, Mäkinen said.
Wood poses challenges for spacecraft engineers, too. Because it’s grown naturally, it has defects and doesn’t behave homogeneously, meaning “the behavior of the material in three different directions is not the same,” Günther said. Her own research is working to create spacecraft materials made of wood fibers and binding material that behave more consistently.
“It’s not a question if we do or if we don’t” begin to use more sustainable spacecraft materials, she said. “I think we have to.”
Mäkinen agreed that wood provides many environmental and technical advantages but said large space companies have likely invested enough in their current manufacturing processes that a large-scale shift to wood as a satellite material is unlikely without pressure from space authorities. “I hope that I’m wrong,” he said.
—Grace van Deelen (@gvd.bsky.social), Staff Writer
Citation: van Deelen, G. (2025), A new satellite material comes out of the woodwork, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250241. Published on 7 July 2025.
