Upper-intermediate

Floating solar farms, also known as "floatovoltaics," are an efficient way to collect solar energy. They have a number of advantages over land-based systems:

1. They don't occupy land that could be used for other things, like crop farming.
2. They're up to 16% more efficient because the water keeps them cool.
3. They reduce evaporation on hydroelectric dams, saving more water for hydropower.

But they also come with an environmental cost: the panels sit on plastic floats. So far, floatovoltaic developers have relied on virgin (new) plastic to keep the panels afloat. As we know, plastic is one of the biggest contributors to pollution, uses fossil fuels to manufacture, and is deadly for sea creatures. But a new floatovoltaic farm in Alqueva, Portugal, is under development by the EDP corporation, an energy company committed to sustainability. 

European football (soccer) has a history of racism. Recently, there has been a rise in racist comments from fans against players of color. Many football clubs are taking action against it. There are even projects involving computer- and A.I.-assisted technology to pinpoint racist fans.

But fans aren't just shouting abuse at matches; they're using social media as well. A 2021 study of online messages against the U.K's Premier League players found more than 3,000 abusive messages, 56% of which were racist.

So, how are social media platforms responding? Are they doing enough? The graph below shows what fans across Europe think.

The war in Ukraine has had a vast impact on the whole world. In addition to the humanitarian catastrophe, it has also caused increased rates of inflation all over the globe. 

This rise is mostly linked to increases in food, energy prices and disrupted supply chains. The impact is affecting the poorest countries the most. 

Look at the graph below describing the projected inflation rates for several countries, and discuss it with your teacher.

Watch this video clip of fantasy writer Ursula LeGuin's acceptance speech of the 2014 U.S. National Book Award. Be prepared to summarize and discuss the points she makes about writers and the contemporary world.

Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, says it will provide outside researchers more information on how political and social ads are targeted on its platform, providing insight into the ways that politicians, campaign operatives and political strategists buy and use ads during election periods. Starting from May 2022, academics and researchers registered with Facebook Open Research and Transparency will be allowed to see more detailed targeting data, including which interest categories—such as “people who like dogs” or “people who enjoy the outdoors”—have been chosen to aim ads at specific people.

Meta also plans to include summaries of targeting information for some of its ads in its publicly viewable Ad Library. Created in 2019, the Ad Library allows the public to obtain information about political ads, thus helping to safeguard elections against the misuse of digital advertising.

New research from the Babraham Institute has potentially made a revolutionary breakthrough in regenerative medicine. The scientists developed a method to rejuvenate skin cells by 30 years. 

Our cells have several functions, such as providing structure and support, transporting molecules, producing energy, helping with growth, creating metabolic reactions and helping in reproduction. However, with age, cells lose these functions and accumulate age marks. 

New research reprogrammed cells by restoring their functions and changing the molecular measures of biological age. Rejuvenated skin cells produced more collagen that helped heal wounds and provide structure to our skin, the same as natural young skin cells do. 

This research is based on the Nobel Prize method developed by Shinya Yamanaka in 2007 of creating stem cells—cells that have the ability to turn into any cell type with any function. 

People generally think of trees as disconnected loners, competing for water, nutrients, and sunlight, with winners shading out losers and sucking them dry. But evidence to the contrary is coming to light. Forest trees are, in fact, cooperative and live in interdependent relationships maintained by communication and collective intelligence similar to an insect colony.

Unlike other organisms, most of the communication between trees happens underground, through a system known as the “Wood Wide Web”. “[Trees] in every forest that is not too damaged”, explains Peter Wohlleben, a German forester and author, “are connected to each other through underground fungal networks. Trees share water and nutrients through the networks, and also use them to communicate. They send distress signals about drought and disease, for example, or insect attacks, and other trees alter their behaviour when they receive these messages.”

Rare and neglected diseases remain a serious problem in our modern world, despite advances in science and technology. Big pharmaceutical companies don't fund research and development into treatments for these diseases because they aren't profitable. The drugs end up costing much more to make than they'll earn back, so they remain un- or underfunded.

Each rare disease affects relatively few people, so the market is too small to make a profit on treatments. Neglected diseases affect about 1 billion people, but most are in underdeveloped, tropical countries. So, although the market is big, treatments are a poor return on investment because the countries can't afford to pay for them.

These days, video conferencing is part of the everyday lives of most business people. If you have ever worked online, you have probably encountered a myriad of problems. Sometimes, your connection cuts out; at other times, there is too much glare on your face.

Watch this short video and learn about some examples of the issues that occur during video calls. While watching, think about how the participants could avoid these issues.