Material innovation takes two forms. You can develop alt materials that have less impact on the planet, or you can take existing fossil fuel-based materials and develop circular recycling systems to keep them out of landfills and use them again. Both innovations are exciting and both are hard.
The good news is that VC funding in the green space has bounced back, albeit with a more selective approach that shifts the investing vibe from “gold rush” to “growth state.” In fact, biomaterials startups pulled in $392 million during the first quarter of 2025 alone, per Net Zero Insights—underscoring that next-gen investors are coming back after a few quiet years. Also back is the Material Innovation Initiative—the next-gen material innovation think tank that shuttered operations in September but quickly re-opened after a cash infusion.
In this podcast episode of Sourcing Journal Radio, Alex Harrell, Sourcing Journal’s sustainability and innovation reporter, chats with Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio, about what’s new and what’s next in material innovation, and why “innovation tourism” is slowing progress.
“The idea of innovation tourism is what happens when fashion brands want the experience of engaging with next-gen material innovations, but not the responsibility of partnership,” explained Harrell. “To extend the metaphor, they’ll book the resort’s day-long excursion, pause for the photo op at the mycelium step and repeat, maybe take a boat tour on seaweed sourcing and attend a panel on algae-based textiles. But when it comes time to sit down for dinner with the locals, aka co-invest in scaling, commit to offtake agreements and pay for prototyping iterations, they’re already back on the hotel’s shuttle bus.”
To listen to the podcast, click here.
To download the Material Innovations Report, click here.
Lewis Capaldi dropped in to Good Morning America on Monday morning (July 7) for his first TV performance in more than two years as part of the show’s Summer Concert Series. In addition to performing a pair of songs with a full band during the visit — including an emotional run through his new single, “Survive,” as well as his breakthrough 2019 smash “Someone You Loved,” the most-streamed song of all time in the U.K. — Capaldi broke some news during the chat.
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“I don’t know about an album, but hopefully it will be… I’m doing an EP at some point this year,” he said, joking that he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to share the news, but was going to do it anyway. “And then an album will follow maybe next year.” Capaldi did not provide the name of the EP or a targeted release date, but he also teased that there will be a another new song later this summer and then, “another song after that and another song after that until the day I die.”
Capaldi gingerly stepped back into the spotlight at the Glastonbury Festival on June 27 with a brief set two years after the 28-year-old’s last full show, which was also at the famed festival in 2023. During the previous gig, he’d struggled with a strained vocal cord and his Tourette’s syndrome diagnosis, which manifested in a series of tics during his performance. That same day Capaldi announced that he was taking a break from touring to focus on his health.
“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future,” he wrote to fans in June 2023. “I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order so that I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.” Prior to his 2023 Glastonbury set, Capaldi had canceled a series of planned, sold out shows in Glasgow, Dublin, Norway and London.
The singer discussed the intensive therapy he’s been undergoing over the past two years on GMA, saying that his time out of the spotlight has involved, “lots and lots of therapy. It’s been nice, talking a lot about myself. Crying quite a lot over the last two years… I’ve just been locking in and putting it all together and here we are.”
It was a measure of how highly Nico Hulkenberg is rated among his rivals that they so warmly received his first-ever podium after 15 years of trying with a superb drive at Silverstone. But as the German deftly handled the tricky conditions, others were left floundering. Lawrence Barretto selects his winners and losers from the British Grand Prix.
Winner: Nico Hulkenberg
At the 239th time of asking, Nico Hulkenberg secured a podium his talent has long deserved.
It was all the more remarkable given he started 19th, following his eighth Q1 elimination of the season, as his experience shone through in wet-dry conditions.
And thanks to artificial intelligence, the trend of developing blockbuster companies at home is sure to continue. Mark Cuban, the billionaire former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Shark Tank star, recently said AI could help make the world’s first trillionaire.
“We haven’t seen the best or the craziest of what [AI is] going to be able to do,” Cuban told the High Performance podcast in an episode published June 29. “And not only do I think it’ll create a trillionaire, but it could be just one dude in the basement. That’s how crazy it could be.”
Take OpenAI, for example, which was formed in cofounder and President Greg Brockman’s living room in 2015. OpenAI is currently valued at $300 billion thanks to a $40 billion fund-raising deal in March. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is worth at least $2 billion.
While that’s a far cry from AI creating the world’s first trillionaire, a September 2024 report by wealth-tracking service Informa Connect said Tesla CEO Elon Musk is on pace to become a trillionaire by 2027. Musk also has his own AI startup xAI, which has an estimated $80 billion valuation.
“There’s always something bigger and better that’s created by an innovative entrepreneur,” Cuban said. “But AI just dwarfs all that.”
How Mark Cuban uses AI
Cuban appears to firmly believe in the power of AI, and said we’re only in the “preseason” of what the technology can really do.
“As it becomes more advanced—and I’m not saying we’re going to get the Terminator— I’m not saying all of a sudden there’s going to be robots that are smarter than people, like the movie,” he told High Performance. “But we’ll find ways to make our lives better, more interesting, to work better, more effectively.”
Cuban also said he uses AI for nearly everything. He gave an example of how he uses it to track health metrics since he suffers from atrial fibrillation (A-Fib).
He had to track when he was taking medications and working out and used ChatGPT to help him record it. He also asked ChatGPT to let him know if there’s something he writes down that doesn’t seem right or that he should be concerned about.
“And damn if it doesn’t do it,” Cuban said. “Now you’ve got to be careful. It’s like talking to a friend who you think knows a lot about something. You’ve still got to be careful and talk to an expert, but being able to do the process and just having things identified that I might not have known to look for was insane—just insane.”
Cuban touches on one of the larger concerns when it comes to relying on AI for making important health- or life-related decisions. While ChatGPT has served as an accessible means for getting advice, and even therapy, experts have warned the technology still has limitations and makes mistakes.
To combat this, Cuban said he challenges the AI tools he’s using with more questions and does his own research.
“There’s times when I don’t think the answer is what it should be, or I think it’s wrong. And I’ll say, ‘I don’t think you’re right. I need you to show me the evidence of how you got to this decision,’” he explained. “And it’s no different than talking to a friend or a work colleague and just calling bullsh-t.”
And on the hot topic of whether AI will take everyone’s jobs, Cuban said no.
“I can just go on all the sh-t I’m trying with AI, and I’m not here to tell you that it’s going to replace everybody’s job. It won’t,” he predicted. “But the things that you like to do, if you’re creative, innovative, whatever it may be—or you’re just bored—it might end up being the best alternative to boredom.”
Dell is hosting a Black Friday in July sales event, during which many laptops, desktops, monitors, and other computing devices and accessories are available at significant discounts. One in particular caught my eye. For a limited time, the Dell 16 Plus is on sale for $900, a sizable $400 price drop. This version of the 16 Plus comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB of memory, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch 2.5K display.
Also: Best Prime Day laptop deals 2025
If you’re looking for an even less expensive device, there’s another configuration retailing for $750. It houses an Intel Core Ultra 7 2586, 16GB of memory, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch 2.5K display. Other customization options are available, such as a 2TB SSD and a Full HD touchscreen. However, be aware that not all of the builds are discounted. Some are only available for purchase at full price.
The Dell 16 Plus is essentially a bigger version of the Dell 14 Plus, a laptop I reviewed back in May and that also won a ZDNET Editors’ Choice award. So, although I’ve never used this device, my experience with the smaller model tells me that it is a great machine.
Its hardware should deliver an impeccable performance, capable of handling heavy workloads and surfing the internet without slowdown. Those chiclet-shaped keys ensure a comfortable typing experience. Similar to its compact sibling, the Dell 16 Plus is made primarily of aluminum, allowing it to survive the rigors of the road.
Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.
How I rated this deal
As per ZDNET’s rating system, I give this deal a score of 4/5. You’re looking at a roughly 31% discount, so nearly a third off its original price. I suggest you jump at this opportunity before the sale ends. This is a great work laptop that will feel right at home in an office setting. It’s reliable, long-lasting, and performs well.
Deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We’re sorry if you’ve missed out on this deal, but don’t fret — we’re constantly finding new chances to score savings and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.
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United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal with Washington.
Trump had said on the weekend that starting from today, he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies that he had postponed in April.
In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariffs would apply from August 1 because their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from reciprocal”.
Trump warned the countries, both key US allies in East Asia, of an escalation if they responded to the new US tariffs.
But he also said he was ready to modify levies “downwards” if Japan and South Korea changed their trade policies.
Later, Trump also announced the US will impose 25pc tariffs on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, 30pc on South Africa and 40pc on Laos and Myanmar in letters posted on Truth Social.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.
Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies on what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, claiming the United States was being “ripped off”. Amid market turmoil, Trump then suspended the initial tariffs for 90 days, a deadline that expires on Wednesday.
But the Trump administration has said that the duties will not “boomerang” back until August 1, apparently extending the deadline despite denials from officials.
While the Trump administration has signalled hopes of striking dozens of deals by early July — at one point boasting of “90 deals in 90 days” — there have been limited results so far.
Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the US and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three digits.
Later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that 12 other countries will also receive letters about the new tariffs.
“President Trump will also sign an executive order today delaying the July 9 deadline to August 1, so that the reciprocal tariff rates or these new rates … will be going out the door within the next month and those countries continue to negotiate with the US,” she said during a press briefing.
She added that “in the effort of transparency”, the letter will continue to be posted to Truth Social.
When asked about which other countries would receive letters, Leavitt told reporters to “keep your eyes on Truth Social”.
‘Change their tune’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there would be a number of deals coming up.
“We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours,” Bessent told CNBC in an interview today. “We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals.”
There was no immediate response from the White House on whether Trump would formally extend the Wednesday deadline for the tariffs to snap back.
Asked about Trump’s letters, Bessent said these would inform partners of the tariff rate their products face when trading with the US unless they want to “come back and try to negotiate”.
Bessent told CNBC that he would “be meeting with my Chinese counterpart sometime in the next couple of weeks”. The two sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London. But Washington and Beijing’s pause on tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.
On whether he was disappointed in the number of trade deals achieved so far, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro maintained that he is “happy with the progress we’ve had”.
“Every country that we run a major deficit with is fully engaged,” he told CNBC.
Trump has also threatened another 10pc tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “Anti-American policies” after they slammed his duties at a summit.
For now, partners are still rushing to avert Trump’s tariffs altogether.
The European Commission said that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Trump on trade when the pair spoke on Sunday.
Mosquitoes that carry pathogens often develop resistance to insecticides.
Biopesticides offer an ecologically friendly way to control the pests and mitigate resistance, but options are limited.
Researchers recently identified bacteria in Crete that produce metabolites that quickly kill mosquito larvae in lab tests.
The compounds might be useful for the development of new biopesticides, though developing the right formulations and delivery method remains a challenge.
Washington, D.C.-Mosquito-borne diseases kill more than 700,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization, and the mosquitos that spread the disease are difficult to control. Most species have developed resistance to all major classes of synthetic insecticides, many of which pose both environmental and health risks.
Biopesticides, derived from living organisms, may mitigate chemical insecticide resistance and offer an environmentally friendly way forward. This week in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers report that bacterial isolates collected from the Mediterranean island of Crete act as insecticides against Culex pipiens molestus mosquitoes, which can transmit human pathogens such as West Nile virus and Rift Valley fever virus. In lab tests, extracts containing metabolites produced by 3 of the isolates killed 100% of mosquito larvae within 24 hours of exposure.
Those metabolites might guide the development of biopesticides with minimal ecological side effects, the researchers noted. “They degrade more quickly in the environment and therefore don’t accumulate, and they often don’t kill such a wide range of different insect species as chemical insecticides,” said George Dimopoulos, Ph.D., a molecular entomologist and microbiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) in Crete. He co-led the new study, conducted in Crete, together with molecular biologist John Vontas, Ph.D., at the IMBB.
Dimopoulos’ research focuses on mosquitoes that transmit human pathogens, and over the past 15 years his group has found microbes that produce metabolites that interfere with the pathogens that cause malaria and dengue, and some bacteria that can kill mosquitoes. More recently, they have been investigating mosquito-killing bacteria in the Mediterranean region as part of the MicroBioPest project, funded by the European Union.
For the new work, they collected 186 samples from 65 locations across Crete. The samples included topsoil, soil from around plant roots, plant tissues, water samples and dead insects. They then exposed C. pipiens molestus larvae to water solutions containing some of the most promising isolates found in the samples. More than 100 of the isolates killed all the mosquito larvae within 7 days, and 37 of those killed the larvae within 3 days. Those 37 isolates represented 20 genera, many of which have not previously been identified as potential biopesticides, said Dimopoulos.
Further analyses showed that the rapid-acting bacteria killed the larvae not through infection but through the production of compounds like proteins and metabolites. This is promising, Dimopoulos noted, because it suggests that an insecticide based on these bacteria would not depend on the microbes staying alive. The findings have implications not only for controlling mosquitoes, but also as safe biopesticides to use for controlling agricultural pests.
The researchers have now begun studying the chemical nature of those insecticidal molecules more closely and identifying whether they are proteins or metabolites. They’re also mapping out the spectrum of pesticidal activity demonstrated by the bacteria, including screening the isolates against other strains of pathogen-bearing mosquitoes and agricultural pest insects.
Biopesticides often degrade quickly and require multiple applications, Dimopoulos said, and finding the right way to formulate and deliver the compounds will be a challenge in the future. The new study represents the discovery phase.
“It’s now entering the basic science phase to understand the molecules’ chemical structures and modes of action, and then we’ll shift to a more applied path, really aiming at prototype product development,” he said. “There is a major push toward developing ecologically friendly insecticides.”
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In case anyone was wondering if the headline-grabbing Irish hip-hop insurgents Kneecap were backing down in light of blowback for their pro-Palestine beliefs, the band’s new video makes that answer clear: No.
Two weeks ago, the band officially released “The Recap,” a collaboration with British drum-and-bass producer Mozey that was first heard as a “bootleg” on Soundcloud in May. The group has now followed it with a video, which further addresses the blowback the group has faced during some of its recent live shows at the Coachella and Glastonbury festivals. (At the former, a sign reading “Fuck Israel. Free Palestine” appeared behind them.)
Over frenetic beats, the “Recap” single addressed criticism from the British government and Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch: “It’s Kneecap the Recap/West Belfast/Na na na/Disappear forever you Tories.” Referencing much-despised former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, they went on, “The writings on the walls/You like to think that you’re fooling everybody/But you’re not/Just like the iron lady/Your career is gonna rot/You’re just shit/Not in control.” The song ends with: “Onwards and upwards/Free Palestine.”
The video, directed by Finn Keenan, takes those lyrics to the next level. After opening with a barrage of newspaper headlines (“Rapper in court over use of flag”), the clip includes surveillance-camera footage, clips of Buckingham Palace and the Royal guards, an altered sign for a statue of Queen Victoria (“A million Irish dead under her reign”), and a cartoon of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said the thought of the group playing Glastonbury was not “appropriate.” The clip ends with a crowd chant of “Free Palestine” at one of their festival gigs.
The Belfast band, who rap in Gaelic as a political statement of its own, has been in the crosshairs this year more than ever. At Coachella in April, they started one of their sets with a screen message that read, “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” followed by, “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.” At Glastonbury last month, the band led the crowd in a chant of “Fuck Keir Starmer.”
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The description of Israel’s reprisals in Gaza after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as genocide has been highly contentious. Humanitarian groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have used that term, as have many others; former president Joseph R. Biden and the American Jewish Committee, among other groups that support Israel, have strongly objected to this framing.
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Following the group’s set at Glastonbury, Kneecap (along with fellow festival act Bob Vylan) are reportedly being investigated by police, who will “consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes.” Earlier, band member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offense after he allegedly held aloft a Hezbollah flag onstage last year, and the video for “The Recap” includes footage of him exclaiming, ““Glastonbury I’m a free man!”
Two nights ago, Kneecap opened for fellow Irishmen Fontaines D.C. in London, again accompanied by screen signage that read, “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.” They once more led the crowd in an anti-Starmer sing-along, but the performance has been described as less incendiary than those in the past.
The revered Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård will sit down with yours truly to record a special episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in front of an audience at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Friday, July 11. The taping will take place at 11 a.m. local time, at Karlovy Vary’s historic Congress Hall. No ticket or pass is required for entry — admission is free — but seating is limited to the first 250 people to arrive.
The 74-year-old is at the fest to receive KVIFF’s Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, previous recipients of which include Robert De Niro, Judi Dench, Michael Caine, Isabelle Huppert, Richard Gere, Helen Mirren, John Travolta, Willem Dafoe, Julianne Moore, Mel Gibson, John Malkovich, Susan Sarandon, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Russell Crowe.
He is being celebrated for a film career that has included standout performances in numerous Lars von Trier projects (1996’s Breaking the Waves, 2000’s Dancer in the Dark, 2003’s Dogville, 2011’s Melancholia and 2013’s Nymphomaniac), as well as 1988’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1990’s The Hunt for Red October, 1997’s Good Will Hunting and 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; the Dune, Pirates of the Caribbean and Mamma Mia! franchises; and several Marvel films. His TV credits include the 2019 limited series Chernobyl, for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy, and the drama series Andor, which ran from 2022 through 2025.
The honor comes at the outset of an awards season that could bring Skarsgård his first Oscar nomination. Indeed, he has received some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of a famous filmmaker who has a complicated relationship with his daughters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), but has charmed the star of his latest film (Elle Fanning), in Joachim Trier’s dramedy Sentimental Value. It premiered — and was awarded the Grand Prize — at May’s Cannes Film Festival, and will be released by Neon in the U.S. on Nov. 7.
Feinberg’s Awards Chatter podcast is nearing its 10th anniversary and 600th episode. Past guests have included Martin Scorsese, Sean Penn, Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Seinfeld, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lawrence, Bruce Springsteen, Snoop Dogg, Julia Roberts, Norman Lear, Sophia Loren, George Clooney, Will Smith, Carol Burnett, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Kevin Hart, Lorne Michaels, Kate Winslet, David Letterman, Lady Gaga, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Natalie Portman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bono, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dolly Parton, Spike Lee, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Denzel Washington, Ariana Grande, Kevin Costner, Jane Fonda, Robert Downey Jr., Olivia Rodrigo, Quincy Jones, Billie Eilish, Michael B. Jordan, Selena Gomez, Timothée Chalamet, Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, Ken Burns, Malala Yousafzai, Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Kobe Bryant, Gloria Steinem and Buzz Aldrin.
Three previous episodes of the podcast were recorded at KVIFF: Clive Owen (2024), Robin Wright (2023) and Liev Schreiber (2022).
