With European demand for critical raw materials growing alongside geopolitical tensions and supply risks, a major analysis offers vital new data on the rapidly expanding size and value of Europe’s “urban mine” of electronic waste. Europe’s discarded electronics now contain about 1 million tonnes of critical raw materials every year -- metals vital for renewable energy, digital networks, and defense. The EU-backed analysis shows only half of Europe’s e-waste is properly recycled, underlining huge potential to recover copper, aluminium, and rare elements. By implementing circular design, collection, and recycling, CRM recovery in the EU27+4 could reach 1.5 million tonnes annually by 2050. The report coincides with International e-Waste Day, Monday 14 Oct.

Allowing dairy cows to graze on fresh grass in open pastures for a significant proportion of the year seems more natural and sustainable. And there are proven advantages for the environment: stable grasslands promote biodiversity, protect the soil, and support carbon storage. However, farms face challenges as they are heavily dependent on the weather and the time of the year. Farming is more productive when the pastures have a wide variety of different grasses, herbs and legumes, such as clover and chicory. A research team at the University of Göttingen has analysed this strategy using a meta-analysis of a number of studies. The analysis showed that the diversity of pastureland has no effect on milk production or on emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, which cows emit mainly when they burp. However, a higher proportion of legumes can promote milk production. The results were published in the journal Food and Energy Security.

A new study by ESMT Berlin and Yale School of Management finds that patents in fuzzy, overlapping categories are significantly more likely to trigger breakthrough innovations and create lasting economic value than those in sharply defined categories.

Cervical cancer will be the first human cancer eliminated through coordinated global action.