The weird materials behind sustainable furniture

The spice saffron fetches huge sums of money, but is hard to grow and Indian production is falling.

A U.S. congressional committee has asked the Commerce Department to look into whether a giant technology company controlled by the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates should be put under trade restrictions because of its ties to China. The company, G42, specializes in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, and is overseen by Sheikh…

Blythe’s comment sections, in comparison, are tame — although he does get some seriously horny private messages. “I get very strange emails, where it’s like, ‘Could you massage my socked feet?’ or something like that,’” Blythe recounted. “I don’t know if they thought the socked part made the outrageous request more normal, but something about…

Facing increased scrutiny over its social networks’ effects on teenage users, Meta announced Tuesday that teens on Facebook and Instagram will see less content related to self-harm and eating disorders. Meta already filters such content out of the feeds it recommends to users, such as Instagram’s Reels and Explore. But under a set of changes…

Long-awaited approval from US financial authorities means cryptocurrency fans have a new way to trade.

We still too often talk about video games as escapes — little playthings that are big business but often considered not as serious as their media peers. And yet in 2023 the most mature, poignant and thoughtful narratives I experienced were the interactive ones — whether they tackled major topics or were simply about the…