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Zendaya goes full Greek goddess on 'The Odyssey' press tour: An otherworldly winged gown, a gilded Zuhair Murad look and more

Zendaya's recent dresses, with their ethereal silhouettes, shield-like details and nods to classic Greek sculpture, have been nothing short of divine.

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Jul 16 • 6:16 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Op-Ed: The Forgotten Key to Wildlife Management: Values

Science alone won’t get the politics out of wildlife management. We shouldn’t want it to.

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Jul 16 • 5:43 PM EDT • Science • mountainjournal.org
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FDA approves first cholesterol pill of its kind

Enlicitide, the new oral PCSK9 inhibitor from Merck, will be sold under the brand name Lipfendra. It is approved to reduce LDL-C in patients with hypercholesterolemia, including HeFH.

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Jul 16 • 11:45 AM EDT • Business • cardiovascularbusiness.com
Stewardship beyond politics

What does Public Lands Rule repeal mean for wildlife professionals and conservation?

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Jul 14 • 8:00 AM EDT • Politics • wildlife.org
Why Robert Irwin prefers deadly challenge over 'Dancing with the Stars'

NEW YORK – Robert Irwin is both a "Dancing with the Stars" champion and a wildlife conservationist. Faced with a "Would you rather?"

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Jul 13 • 5:17 PM EDT • Entertainment • centraloregondaily.com
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New Transfer Agreement Established for Fisheries Students

Under the agreement, Carteret Community College graduates will be eligible to transfer into NC State’s Bachelor of Science in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology program.

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Jul 13 • 10:26 AM EDT • Science • cnr.ncsu.edu
FOX Business anchors reveal wildly overpriced popular products

FOX Business anchors discuss products they believe are widely overpriced. Answers include bottled water, Dyson hair dryers, luxury handbags, and McDonald's value meals, sparking a lively debate about quality versus cost among the panel.

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Jul 13 • 8:32 AM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
When regulation is good for business

By now, I think I have established both my view that I am a fan of ESG investing and the benefits of regulating what is and isn’t a sustainable investment, and my view that in Europe, ESG regulation has gone too far and become too costly. It almost feels like the old Aristotelian maxim of doing things in moderation that leads to the best outcomes is valid in regulatory efforts as well. To give you an example, let’s look at a study by the National Bank of Belgium on the impact of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) on fund flows of conventional and ESG funds. The SFDR was announced on 27 November 2019 and came into effect on 10 March 2021. It was implemented in several stages and split funds marketed in the EU into three broad categories: (i) Art. 6 funds that are basically conventional funds without any specific ESG integration, (ii) Art. 8 funds that ‘promote environmental or social characteristics’, which must provide additional reporting how they do that, and (iii) Art. 9 funds that are impact funds. The gaps between the announcement and the phased implementation give us an idea of how fund flows were affected by the regulation. It is clearly visible in the figure below that once the new regulation was announced and when it was initially implemented, fund flows in Art. 8 and Art. 9 funds increased significantly. Conventional Art. 6 funds also saw more inflows, but the increase was not statistically significant. I should add that the data below is pure fund flow, cleaned of performance effects and of any reclassified funds that moved from one classification to another. Note also that once the initial rush in ESG funds was over, additional, stricter regulatory requirements didn’t create that many new flows. This implies that with additional regulation, the funds incurred higher costs to comply but didn’t benefit in terms of new inflows and higher assets under management. Fund flows as the SFDR regulation was implemented in the EU Source: Emiris et al. (2026) When examining the drivers of these flows, the authors of the study found that institutional investors were more likely to switch to ESG funds and particularly so in countries where concerns about sustainability are culturally more accepted. In a society where buy-in into environmental and social risks is higher, private investors were shifting more of their assets into ESG funds as the regulation made it clear which funds are really green and which ones are not. And institutional investors in these countries did so as well, given the societal pressures and reputational risks of sticking with conventional funds. Meanwhile, fund managers reacted to the changing regulatory environment as well. Many funds that were mildly green before the regulation was announced became greener and more sustainable as the regulation was introduced to attract new assets and new investors. Cleverly, and unsurprisingly, these ESG funds also charge on average higher fees, which means that not only did fund managers gather fresh assets, but their profitability increased as well.

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Jul 13 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • klementoninvesting.substack.com
MyFlyYatra is expanding its business class flight travel to Australia, Africa, Japan, Europe, Dubai by introducing enhanced coverage for global destinations as part of its ongoing growth strategy.

MyFlyYatra announces expanded business class flight booking options from the United States to Australia, Africa, Japan, Europe and Dubai.Germant...

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Jul 13 • 12:00 AM EDT • Business • markets.businessinsider.com
Two giant Asian praying mantis species are spreading across Europe, helped by climate change and urbanisation, and scientists warn they are threatening pollinators, frogs and lizards

Two giant Asian praying mantis species are rapidly spreading across Europe, leading scientists to officially classify them as invasive threats to native wildlife.

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Jul 12 • 1:13 PM EDT • Science • timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Potter Center announces 2026-27 entertainment lineup with country, rock and circus acts

Jackson College's Potter Center has unveiled its 2026-27 entertainment season, featuring 11 shows spanning country music, rock tributes, circus performances and wildlife education.

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Jul 12 • 6:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • mlive.com
New Details On What Was Cut From Ghost Recon Project OVR

Insider Gaming has learned new details about some of the features that were cut from Ghost Recon Project OVR at Ubisoft.

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Jul 11 • 11:53 AM EDT • Technology • insider-gaming.com
Scientists warn invasive Asian mantises are threatening Europe's wildlife

Two striking Asian praying mantis species that have rapidly spread across Europe have now been officially classified as invasive, raising new concerns about their impact on native wildlife. Boosted by climate change and urban environments, these fast-breeding predators are expanding northward, where they prey on native insects, pollinators, and even small vertebrates while also reducing native mantis populations through deadly mating interactions.

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Jul 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
DDA’s Poultry and Animal Health Section monitors impact of New World Screwworm within U.S.

New World Screwworm is a serious pest that affects livestock, pets, wildlife, and less commonly, people and birds.

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Jul 8 • 1:19 PM EDT • Health • news.delaware.gov
Chernobyl’s Wildlife Cameras Reveal How War Affects Wild Animals

A rare camera-trap study logged the effects of armed conflict on wild animals in real time.

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Jul 8 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • nytimes.com
How Spartans and citizen scientists team up to protect Michigan’s natural spaces

Through MSU Extension and community science initiatives, Michiganders across the state are stepping up to contribute directly to scientific research that helps protect Michigan’s lakes, waterways, forests, wildlife and biodiversity.

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Jul 8 • 3:02 AM EDT • Science • msutoday.msu.edu
Rabid bat found in Marion County prompts county health warning

Marion County officials warn after a bat in the Marion area tested positive for rabies. Residents should avoid bats and other wildlife, keep kids and pets away, and ensure dogs and cats are up to date on rabies shots.

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Jul 7 • 7:36 PM EDT • Health • katu.com
Broncos head coach Sean Payton reportedly considered pitching Bill Belichick a temporary takeover as head coach
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Jul 7 • 2:15 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks

This issue highlights recent FORT efforts to provide streamlined, robust science for natural resource management, including science in support of invasive species management, wildfire risk mitigation, and wildlife health. It also features ongoing research on state-of-the-art technology for wildlife monitoring, traffic estimation, and more.

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Jul 7 • 9:25 AM EDT • Science • usgs.gov
Rogers agrees to take 100% ownership of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Rogers Communications Inc. is moving to take full control of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment after reaching a $4.35 billion agreement to buy the remaining 25% stake held by Kilmer...

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Jul 6 • 4:47 PM EDT • Entertainment • fieldlevelmedia.com
Can citizen science save the world’s wildlife?

Can smartphones save the planet? Learn how citizen science and AI-powered apps are providing crucial data to protect global biodiversity.

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Jul 6 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • thinklandscape.globallandscapesforum.org
Millions may be getting the wrong cholesterol test

A new study suggests that apoB, a blood test that measures harmful cholesterol particles, is better than standard LDL cholesterol testing for deciding who needs more intensive treatment. Researchers found it could prevent more heart attacks and strokes while remaining cost-effective for the U.S. healthcare system.

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Jul 5 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
This toad exists only in Canada—and scientists have finally discovered why

Scientists have identified something that may be even more uniquely Canadian than the beaver or moose: a genetically distinct western toad population found only in Canada. The discovery, made by researchers from the University of Ottawa, points to a rare and previously unrecognized group of toads living in the Canadian Rockies and raises fresh questions about conservation, biodiversity, and how much wildlife still remains to be fully understood.

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Jul 4 • 5:48 AM EDT • Science • timesofindia.indiatimes.com
ESPN boldly predicts Dak Prescott to join exclusive NFL club

Do you think Dak Prescott can throw for 5K?

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Jul 2 • 7:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Caleb Williams is wildly respected by his peers

The Bears now have a quarterback who commands respect not only from all opponents, but from NFL greats such as Matthew Stafford

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Jul 1 • 1:45 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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A Wildlife Regulator’s Family Business Had a Permit to Renew. She Stepped In.

Jenifer Chatfield, a top official at the Interior Department, faces scrutiny from ethics experts for actions that could help her family’s business.

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Jul 1 • 1:09 PM EDT • Business • nytimes.com
How Wisconsin Used Foxes And Deer To Revamp Science Education

Public input identifying over 100 million trail cameras photos of Wisconsin’s animals has transformed science education and state wildlife management.

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Jun 30 • 11:10 PM EDT • Science • forbes.com
Cornell Yang Center for Wildlife Health awards seed funding to five conservation efforts around the globe

The CCF provides catalytic seed funding to spark pioneering applied research to advance wildlife conservation solutions. The fund prioritizes initiatives that improve the health of free-ranging wildlife and/or solve environmental problems via a One Health lens.

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Jun 29 • 1:01 PM EDT • Health • news.cornell.edu
Conservation efforts emphasize the lesser prairie chicken

Reid DeWalt, deputy director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, spoke to the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee about the Lesser Prairie Chicken and moving conservation forward. He said in 2026, CPW staff counted 77 males on 13 leks, a number that has dropped year over year since 2024. There are fewer than 1,000 chickens […]

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Jun 29 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com
16 gorgeous images from the 1839 Awards’ Color Photography Contest

All the beautiful shades of our planet and its creatures.

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Jun 28 • 1:15 PM EDT • Science • popsci.com
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Scratching that bug bite might feel good at first but science explains why it's a bad idea

Now researchers better understand why even a mildly annoying itch could put you on an itch-and-scratch cycle if you give in.

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Jun 27 • 10:51 AM EDT • Science • boston.com
CDFW News | Monterey Bay Northern Anchovy and Pacific Sardine Commercial Take Restrictions and Recreational Advisory in Place Due to Public Health Hazard

State health agencies determined that northern anchovy and Pacific sardine recently sampled from Monterey Bay contained elevated levels of domoic acid and recommended a commercial fishery restriction and recreational health advisory in the bay for the take of anchovy and sardine for human consumption in the area.

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Jun 26 • 4:18 PM EDT • Health • wildlife.ca.gov
Monkey Business: Wild rhesus macaque spotted at Mount Dora hotel

A wild rhesus macaque was spotted at the historic Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora, Florida, spending about 45 minutes roaming the property and attracting attention from guests and staff. The hotel and local businesses responded with humorous, monkey-themed social media content, engaging the community. Wildlife officials cautioned the public not to approach or feed wild monkeys due to potential health risks and encouraged reporting sightings to authorities. The monkey has not returned to the hotel but has been seen elsewhere in downtown Mount Dora.

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Jun 25 • 6:12 PM EDT • Business • clickorlando.com
This is the real reason your cat purrs—and it’s not what you think - Futura-Sciences

The Genetic Mystery Behind the Purr If you thought your cat’s purr was just an automatic sound of happiness—like you sighing with satisfaction after a good meal—science begs to differ. Researchers from Kyoto University’s Wildlife Research Center in Japan have identified, for the first time, genetic underpinnings to this ancient...

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Jun 24 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • futura-sciences.com
9 of the best technology conspiracy theories

From covert government surveillance to wireless signals transmitting viruses, tech-centric conspiracy theories have been propagating wildly in recent years. Most of them are completely unfounded — but not all.

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Jun 23 • 5:30 AM EDT • Science • livescience.com
Scientists open a million-year-old time capsule hidden beneath New Zealand

A cave in New Zealand has yielded fossils from a lost ecosystem that existed about 1 million years ago, including a possible flying ancestor of the kākāpō. The discovery reveals that volcanoes and climate upheaval were reshaping the country’s wildlife and driving extinctions long before humans arrived.

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Jun 22 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Citizen science in Japan’s Ogasawara Islands spotlights ties between ships and birds

A recent study has shed new light on seabirds’ tendencies to follow ships near the island chain and highlights the role wildlife enthusiasts can play in research.

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Jun 21 • 1:18 AM EDT • Science • japantimes.co.jp
Weekend PC Game Deals: Cyberpunk 2077, Split Fiction, Sonic Racing, and more

This weekend's PC game deals include two wildly different freebies to grab, a whole lot of demos to try out on Steam's latest festival, and much more.

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Jun 20 • 5:30 AM EDT • Technology • neowin.net
Einstein’s “biggest blunder” may finally have an explanation

Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between quantum gravity and an exotic quantum state of matter that could explain why the universe isn’t expanding wildly fast. The study suggests that the very shape of space-time may protect the cosmological constant from disruptive quantum effects.

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Jun 18 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Wildlife inside Chernobyl exclusion zone acted differently during Russia's invasion, camera traps reveal

Camera footage in Ukraine's Chernobyl exclusion zone revealed that mammals became less active — especially at night — during the Russian occupation, highlighting the war's immediate impact on wildlife.

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Jun 18 • 2:00 PM EDT • Science • livescience.com
Viewpoint: Our wild places aren't worth sacrificing to politics

Frank Vitale writes, These wildlands are the source of our clean water, clean air, abundant fish and wildlife. They’re a place where we can experience wild nature and they make us better people.

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Jun 18 • 10:20 AM EDT • Politics • missoulacurrent.com
How sports betting became Colorado’s ticket to funding $140 million in water conservation projects

Supporters say the gambling money is a godsend. Critics say legalized sports betting has come at a cost — fueling an addiction crisis that Colorado is unprepared for.

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Jun 18 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • denverpost.com
Raccoon in Anne Arundel County tests positive for rabies; health officials seek anyone exposed

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health is looking for anyone who may have come in contact with a raccoon on or near McGill Court and Milburn Circle in Pasadena after the animal tested positive for rabies.

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Jun 17 • 12:58 PM EDT • Health • fox5dc.com
With Trump, science and health in the US are in a horrifying place

'Albert Einstein said it best: "One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike — and yet it is the most precious thing we have,"' writes an L.A. Times reader.

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Jun 17 • 12:12 PM EDT • Health • latimes.com
With Trump, science and health in the US are in a horrifying place

'Albert Einstein said it best: "One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike — and yet it is the most precious thing we have,"' writes an L.A. Times reader.

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Jun 17 • 12:12 PM EDT • Science • latimes.com
JD Vance addresses controversial 'childless cat ladies' comment on 'The View'

JD Vance attempted to explain his controversial 'childless cat ladies' comment on 'The View,' after Joy Behar pressed him on the 'boneheaded' remark that even drew a response from Taylor Swift.

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Jun 16 • 1:42 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Takeaways From JD Vance’s New Book ‘Communion,’ on Faith and His Political Ambitions

In a new memoir, Mr. Vance recalls an “unsettling” meeting with Vatican officials on immigration policy and disavows his infamous disparagement of some Democrats as “childless cat ladies.”

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Jun 16 • 10:19 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Takeaways from JD Vance’s new book, ‘Communion’

Vance’s second book is focused on his faith and includes his cleanup from his infamous remarks about “childless cat ladies.”

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Jun 16 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Otherworldly music albums feature space weather data

A science-art team uses research data to make music featuring sounds of Antarctica and outer space

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Jun 15 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencenews.org
Is SMIC N+3’s Metal Pitch Smaller than Intel 18A’s?

Almost four years ago, we published that SMIC had started shipping 7 nm (N+1) chips. Now, SMIC is shipping its third-generation 7 nm (N+3) process in Huawei’s Kirin 9030, with a minimum metal pitch of 32.5 nm, about 10% tighter than the 36 nm minimum metal pitch shipping in Intel’s latest Panther Lake CPUs on 18A. The headline is true, but incomplete cherry picked metric. N+3 reaches the density of TSMC N6 through aggressive DUV multi-patterning and design-technology co-optimization (DTCO), but it pays for that in complexity, efficiency and process control. We found this and more in our reverse engineering and teardown where we cover SMIC’s N3 process technology, Huawei’s packaging, memory, architecture, and more. SemiAnalysis has been building a state-of-the-art teardown lab in Oregon capable of analyzing the world’s most advanced and important chips over the last year and half. We have already generated revenue on advanced datacenter chip teardowns including our recent reverse engineering of a major TSMC customer’s COUPE CPO optical engine + EIC 3D stack. This is the first public report from the SemiAnalysis Teardown Engineering & Evaluation Lab, or STEEL for short. The lab is aggressively scaling up and out and we’re excited to announce it publicly. This is a bit of inconvenient timing for TechInsights as they are private equity owned and currently being sold while having enjoyed virtually no credible competition for decades. This has led to TechInsights underinvesting in CAPEX. SemiAnalysis exceeds TechInsights in revenue despite no venture or private equity ownership and being founded only 6 years ago. Because we have no external investors and are founder led, we move faster, build faster, and we can release client chip teardowns for free regularly, while focusing on datacenter for our major clients. Here’s the first public image from our lab, the HiSilicon Kirin 9030 Pro SoC: This report will detail our teardown of the Kirin 9030 and our findings on SMIC’s N+3 process, the most advanced in China. For comparison, we’ll show our teardown of the MediaTek Helio G99, made on TSMC N6. Through this comparison, we can look at the effect of export controls – SMIC N+3 and TSMC N6 are comparable nodes, but one is heavily export-controlled, the other free to use the West’s most advanced equipment. Here we see both China’s progress and constraints. SMIC N+3 reaches TSMC N6-class logic density, but it requires far more aggressive DUV multi-patterning, so it does not match N6 on process maturity or cost. The Kirin 9030 Pro performs similarly to three-year-old Android flagships, and trails far behind the current flagship SoCs from Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung. The efficiency gap is even wider. Export controls have not stopped Huawei and SMIC from shipping advanced silicon, but they have forced a different path. Without EUV, SMIC is leaning harder on DUV multi-patterning, DTCO, and increasingly complex integration. The roadmap continues forward through tighter design rules and backside power, but each step adds cost and process risk. Huawei’s τ scaling and LogicFolding show another path: stacking active logic and recovering density through advanced packaging and system-technology co-optimization (STCO). To understand the Kirin 9030, we must first understand Huawei’s SoC history. HiSilicon is Huawei’s chip design arm, responsible for the Kirin smartphone SoCs, Kunpeng server CPUs, Ascend AI accelerators, and switch/router networking silicon. Before export controls, Huawei was TSMC’s largest customer – the only customer on TSMC’s first EUV node, N7+, and among the first on N5, alongside Apple. That ended in late 2020. Huawei switched to Qualcomm SoCs in its flagship smartphones, though export controls limited them to 4G-only variants. In late 2023, Huawei returned to in-house silicon with the Kirin 9000s, a successor to the Kirin 9000, fabricated on SMIC N+2 instead of TSMC N5. In the following years, they released the Kirin 9010 and 9020 on the same N+2 process. These chips used Huawei’s in-house TaiShan CPU cores and Maleoon GPU. We have not torn down a Kirin 9020 ourselves, so the predecessor die shot is from Kurnal. The die shots show how Huawei spent its silicon budget: which functional blocks are where, and how their areas compare to the predecessor. First, a quick guide to the major blocks on the die. The total die area is nearly identical, but the 9030 uses that area more aggressively. A denser process lets Huawei fit an extra middle CPU core, more GPU and NPU cores, and larger caches into the same footprint. In contrast, the Helio G99 is a much smaller, low-cost SoC, built for budget smartphones rather than a flagship device. While the Kirin 9030 is ~140 mm², the G99 is only ~29 mm², roughly one-fifth the area. The underlying TSMC process technology, however, is directly comparable as a baseline for analyzing SMIC’s. The Kirin 9030 is an evolutionary refresh, not a clean-sheet design. Its CPU, GPU and NPU cores carry over the 9020’s families, and the gains come from three levers: the SMIC N+2-to-N+3 process step, DTCO and floorplan work, and incremental microarchitecture. Area is where the first two show up, and the 9030 scales well here. Performance and efficiency are the harder test. Huawei’s design holds up better than its node would suggest, but the chip still trails, both because N+3 sits behind the leading-edge nodes and because its cores, while competent, remain a few generations behind the newest designs. The new prime core is an incremental update. The main changes are a 10% frequency increase from 2.5 GHz to 2.75 GHz and a doubling in the L2 cache from 1 MiB to 2 MiB. Despite the increased cache, the core size decreased by 7.6%. Excluding the private L2 cache, the core size decreased by 21%. This is a large reduction for an incremental node. Compared with the TaiShan New V120 core in the Kirin 9020, the Kirin 9030’s middle core is almost unchanged architecturally, yet each core shrinks by ~22%. Most of that comes from the move from N+2 to N+3, with layout likely accounting for the rest. Visually, the most noticeable change is the increase from 3 middle cores to 4. There is also a 20% increase in the shared L3 cache of the big cluster. This helps to improve multi-core performance without sacrificing much in terms of area. Even with each core shrinking, the big CPU cluster’s total area is essentially unchanged. The per-core savings went back into an additional middle core and larger caches. The tiny cores shrank less than the prime core (excluding its L2 cache) and less than the middle cores. This is likely because fixed overhead is a larger share on a small core. We cannot resolve any architectural changes from the die shot alone, but the per-clock and efficiency gains shown below point to more than pure process and layout scaling. The area reduction was offset by a doubling of the shared L2 cache from 2 MiB to 4 MiB, leaving the total tiny CPU cluster area slightly larger. Area is the easiest improvement to see from a die shot, but it is only one part of PPA (power, performance, area). For modern logic, power and performance matter just as much, and often more. Since Dennard scaling broke down in the mid-2000s, voltage and frequency have not scaled in step with transistor dimensions, so each node has had to fight harder for gains in performance and efficiency. The starkest comparison is not Kirin 9020 versus Kirin 9030 Pro. Apple’s efficiency cores run circles around Huawei’s prime core. Apple’s low-power core delivers 20% higher integer performance while drawing only 1 W, compared with 4.5 W for Huawei’s prime core. N+3 matches TSMC N6, but N6 is several generations old. Apple and Qualcomm build on N4 and N3P, which are denser and sit on a better voltage-frequency curve, giving them a larger transistor budget and more performance per watt. The 9030’s own cores did improve. The middle and tiny cores gained 17% and 14% in per-clock integer performance over the 9020, with floating-point flat on the middle core and up 11% on the tiny. The tiny core improves cleanly, with performance rising while power falls and efficiency increases by 45% in integer and 24% in floating point. The middle core is mixed: integer performance rises but power rises faster, cutting integer efficiency by 7%, while lower power lifts floating-point efficiency 16%. Per-clock gains at the same or lower frequency are microarchitectural, so the cores are tuned, not just shrunk. Both also failed to hold their rated maximum frequencies, pointing to thermal, power, or stability limits. Per clock, the middle core sits around Arm Cortex-A720 and the tiny core near the Cortex-A520; absolute performance trails because Huawei clocks them much lower. The prime core is roughly Cortex-X2 class per clock, a 2021 design. Apple’s 2020 M1 Firestorm core is still 35% higher per clock and 57% faster in absolute integer performance at a similar 4.5 W. The current leading edge is further ahead again: the Apple M5 P-core is 60% higher per clock and 2.7× faster, the Arm C1 Ultra 45% higher and 2× faster. Matching older high-end cores per clock is a genuine design achievement. What Huawei cannot match is the voltage-frequency curve and transistor budget of leading-edge nodes, which let Apple, Qualcomm and others spend more transistors in the same area on wider cores, larger caches and deeper buffers while running at lower voltage. Huawei’s LogicFolding roadmap is one answer, stacking active logic to recover density and shorten signal paths. We return to it later. The GPU compute units (CUs) changed more visibly than the CPU cores, moving to a more rectangular layout for both the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) clusters and the CU overall. Even with ray-tracing support added, a CU shrank ~28%. However, that shrink is offset by the increase from 4 to 6 CUs and the area outside the CUs grew 33%. Overall, the GPU cluster is larger by ~10%. The GPU is where Huawei makes its biggest gains. The Maleoon 935 is not competitive with current flagships, but it is a large step up from the 920 and reaches older-flagship territory. In 3DMark it is 70% faster in Wild Life Extreme (WLE) and 79% faster in Steel Nomad Light (SNL) than the 920; with 11% higher clocks and 50% more CUs, the ~67% theoretical uplift roughly matches WLE and is beaten by SNL. It edges ahead of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in WLE and SNL, and the Dimensity 9200 and Apple A16 in WLE, but stays far behind newer parts: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Dimensity 9500 are ~2.4–2.6× faster in WLE and ~3.2× faster in SNL. The Maleoon 935 is Huawei’s first GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; there it lands slightly ahead of the Exynos 2200, and on par with the Apple A16, with current flagships up to 3.7× faster. The Neural Processing Unit (NPU) saw the largest structural changes of any block, moving from a Lite and a Tiny core in the Kirin 9020 to a Lite and two Tiny cores in the Kirin 9030. Both core types also show significant layout changes. This is a reversal in Huawei’s NPU design. The Kirin 9000 5G, its last flagship chip on TSMC N5, used two Lite and one Tiny core. The series of SoCs on SMIC N+2 moved to one Lite and one Tiny core, likely for area savings. With the Kirin 9030, Huawei has shifted back toward a larger multi-core NPU cluster, but with the additional area going to a Tiny core rather than a Lite core. We’re diving deep into the most advanced datacenter and AI hardware hitting the market. To learn more about what’s in the pipeline or to commission a custom teardown, contact sales@semianalysis.com. Interested in joining us on this ride and think you can be a difference maker? Check out our Careers page. Before diving into the process stack, the package and memory are worth separating from the SoC itself. The Pro variant of the Kirin 9030 carries 12 GB of Samsung DRAM, with two stacks of four dies each. The dies were identified as the K4L2E165YD, a 12 Gb LPDDR5X-9600 device fabricated on Samsung’s 1a node, the fourth generation of its 10 nm-class DRAM after 1x, 1y and 1z. 1a has shipped in volume since 2022, so this is current memory rather than older-node inventory. The 16 GB Pro Max variants we obtained were found with both CXMT and Samsung packages. The CXMT package is marked CXDD7JEDM, with two stacks of four dies, packaged in week 45 of 2025. The inferred die dimensions from X-ray computed tomography (CT) are consistent with a known density of ~0.3 Gib/mm² for the CXMT G4 process, roughly equivalent to other manufacturers’ 1z processes. The Kirin 9030 uses a typical integrated package-on-package (iPoP) stack: multiple DRAM dies in a memory package sit above an organic redistribution layer (RDL) interposer, which sits above the SoC and package substrate. The full package is then mounted to the printed circuit board (PCB) through ball-grid array (BGA) solder bumps. The memory package substrate is a thin bismaleimide-triazine (BT) laminate carrying the LPDDR5X stack. The organic RDL interposer over the SoC routes the PoP signals around the die and carries possible dummy thermal copper pillars. The package substrate, a thicker Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF) build-up over a BT core, fans the flip-chip bumps out to BGA pitch and embeds the power planes. The whole stack is organic. The only silicon is the SoC and the LPDDR5X dies; there is no silicon interposer. Keeping it all-organic brings the package’s coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) close to the PCB’s, reducing board-level warpage, and avoids the cost of a silicon interposer the SoC’s bandwidth does not need. In an iPoP stack, the memory package connects to the organic RDL interposer through an array of solder bumps. Underfill fills the gap around those bumps, adding stiffness and protecting the joints from mechanical stress. The Pro and Pro Max variants differ here, which we cover behind the paywall. The die shot and architecture tell us how Huawei allocated its silicon budget. The process tells us what SMIC can manufacture. We use the Helio G99 as the process reference for TSMC N6. Both SMIC N+3 and TSMC N6 are evolutions of previous 7 nm-class nodes. We used targeted TEM cross-sections through logic and memory regions, imaged in both fin-cut and gate-cut directions. Each cross-section caption gives its horizontal field width (HFW), the real width of the imaged area. We start at the transistor fins, then move up through standard cells, local interconnect, and SRAM. SMIC has not overtaken Intel or TSMC. It uses aggressive DUV scaling and DTCO to reach N6-class density, but that density doesn’t translate into comparable performance and efficiency, for two reasons: the node gap to leading-edge nodes, and Huawei’s core designs. Fin Profile One of the most important knobs in a FinFET process is the fin profile: the shape of an individual fin and the channel where current passes from source to drain. The ideal fin is tall, narrow, and nearly vertical. A taller fin increases effective channel width, while a narrower fin improves electrostatic control by thinning the body the gate must control. Push either too far, and the process pays for it: weaker drive current, fragile fins, taper, footing and line-edge variation that hit yield and device variability. The Intel 22 nm, 14 nm, and 10 nm fin cross-sections show how FinFET nodes have improved over time. 22 nm fins were a first-generation structure, relatively short, wide and strongly tapered. The shape limits current density and reduces gate control uniformity across the height of the fin. At 14 nm and 10 nm, Intel pushed the fins taller and narrower while also making the sidewalls more vertical. Rather than shrinking the device, these changes increase the effective channel width per fin and improve electrostatic control. The trade-off is that taller fins at tighter pitches are much more difficult to manufacture. Now, let’s compare the Helio G99 on TSMC N6 with the Kirin 9030 on SMIC N+3. Both processes are in the same class, with fin pitch of 30-32 nm on N+3 and 34 nm in our N6 cross-section. The pitch for N6 is especially interesting as N7’s HD library is generally listed with a 33 nm fin pitch, and N6 did not shrink pitches directly. Its density gains came from DTCO instead of tighter pitches. The 34 nm pitch was stable across our sampled region and serves more as a comparison against the SMIC N+3 we have not investigated further. Pinning down N+3’s fin patterning scheme takes more than one core unit. The CPU cores show a dense ~32 nm pitch, with the pitch between N-P fin pairs alternating between 78 and 88 nm. Logic alone may be consistent with dual-pitch mandrels of 120 and 110 nm, but this is a complex and unusual approach. Combining the pitch from the the 8T SRAM, which has more complex repeat unit, with the CPU core sequence allows us to reverse engineer the patterning steps with more confidence. As both the logic and SRAM should share the same base grid, a single CD mandrel lithography pattern with 128 nm pitch undergoing SAQP produces a die-wide ~32 nm grid (128 nm/4), which supports the pitch sequencing seen in both logic and SRAM cells. In the sampled cross-sections, N+3 shows a taller, narrower, higher-aspect-ratio fin than N6. The measured fin aspect ratio is ~9.5:1 on N+3 versus 7.8:1 on N6. N+3 also shows less top rounding, with an estimated radius of ~2 nm, compared with 2.8 nm on N6. Even though the fin widths differ, the ratio of top rounding to fin width tells the same story, with N+3 at 0.37 and N6 at 0.44. In a geometric sense, lower is better; a perfectly rectangular fin would have no top-rounding penalty. These are single-digit-nanometer features measured from a handful of cuts, so treat the absolute numbers as approximate. The important result is the relative gap: N+3’s fins are consistently taller, narrower and less rounded than N6’s. We’re diving deep into the most advanced datacenter and AI hardware hitting the market. To learn more about what’s in the pipeline or to commission a custom teardown, contact sales@semianalysis.com. Interested in joining us on this ride and think you can be a difference maker? Check out our Careers page. Standard Cell A standard cell is the basic building block of chip layout: a fixed-height row pairing one NMOS and one PMOS transistor that share a gate, tiled in a grid to build logic blocks. The key dimensions are contacted gate pitch (CGP), cell height (CH), fin count, and the lower-metal routing grid. To measure density, we use the Bohr metric: a weighted average of NAND2 gate area (60%) and scan flip-flop area (40%). This represents a realistic mix of combinational and sequential logic. This metric has its limitations, especially for complex cell layouts like TSMC’s FinFLEX, which alternates cells with different fin counts. Even so, it is the best metric for a pure process-level comparison. Another important measurement is the fin pitch; it refers to the distance between two fins of the same transistor. In a FinFET process, multiple fins are used in each transistor to increase the drive current and thus performance. TSMC N6 ships both a high-density (HD) library with 2 PMOS and 2 NMOS fins per cell, and a high-performance (HP) library with 3 of each. More fins under the shared gate mean more effective channel width. HP cells switch harder at the cost of area. Designers mix the two on a die, primarily spending HP cells on timing-critical paths, and matching their PPA targets. In the Cortex-A55 core of the Helio G99, we found a cell height of 240 nm for the HD cell. MediaTek has used HD cells in the G99 to minimize die size and thus cost. As an SoC for budget smartphones at ~$100, this is essential. By contrast, we found only one library in the Kirin 9030, with 2 NMOS and 2 PMOS fins. This suggests a narrower library strategy than TSMC N6, where both HD and HP libraries are widely used. This likely reflects the smaller customer base and the more constrained domestic design and electronic design automation (EDA) ecosystem. In all three CPU cores of the Kirin 9030, we found cell heights of 228 nm, 5% smaller than on N6. This is also a reduction of 9.5% over SMIC N+2’s cell height of 252 nm. SMIC N+3 and TSMC N6’s HD library both feature a CGP of 57 nm. For SMIC, this is a 9.5% shrink over N+2. In the past, CGP and cell height alone may have been enough to compare transistor density. Now, however, we must consider scaling boosters and DTCO as well. SMIC’s density gain does not come from EUV. It comes from using every available DTCO booster aggressively. First is fin depopulation: reducing the number of NMOS and PMOS fins in each cell. The first FinFET nodes started with 3 or 4 fins for each transistor. SMIC N+3 and TSMC N6 HD both use only 2 fins per transistor, trading drive strength for density. Next is contact over active gate (COAG). By landing the gate contact directly over the active gate, instead of out over the isolation region, the cell height drops. N+3 integrates COAG while N6 does not. Our N+3 gate-cut cross-sections indicate COAG, with the gate contact sitting over the active region, while N6 shows an off-gate contact. Last is single diffusion break (SDB). Diffusion breaks are inserted between cells in the same row to provide electrical isolation, but they also introduce local layout effects (LLE), layout-dependent shifts in electrical characteristics. In the past, a double diffusion break was used, consuming the space of two CGPs. SMIC N+3 and TSMC N6 instead use SDB, saving area but increasing LLE sensitivity. This must be controlled at the process level and accurately modeled in the process design kit (PDK) so that EDA tools can account for it. Overall, SMIC N+3 has a transistor density of 113.4 MTr/mm², slightly above TSMC N6 at 107.7 MTr/mm². Even without EUV, SMIC has achieved density beyond TSMC’s mature N6 node which utilizes EUV. Metal Stack The smallest critical dimension in the teardown is M0; SMIC N+3 uses a 32.5 nm local metal pitch. That is smaller than the 36 nm M0 pitch on Intel 18A in Panther Lake. However, this does not mean that SMIC has a better process than Intel 18A or TSMC N3P. M0 is a local intra-cell routing layer. Its usefulness depends on the full interconnect stack: M1 and M2 pitch, track count, via and line resistance, design rules, mask count, overlay control, and routing flexibility. The 32.5 nm M0 is consistent with self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQP), whose four-population line-width loading we read coarsely as alternating widths of 21.5 to 24 nm; M1 and M2, at 38 and 40 nm, are consistent with self-aligned double patterning (SADP), a single A/B split. On TSMC N6, M0, M2, and M3 sit at a relaxed ~40 nm and are consistent with SADP-class double patterning, with no need for quadruple patterning. That said, we measure M2 for example at ~43 nm, likely inflated by sparse routing. We do not assign any specific layer to EUV from our cross-sections; the distinction we can draw is double versus quadruple patterning, not lithography wavelength. Transistor-level density in the front-end-of-line (FEOL) sets an upper bound, but the design is ultimately limited by what the interconnect stack can route. The lowest metals are the most important for standard-cell density, but the semi-global and global layers determine how usable that density is at the block and chip level. Two axes are commonly used for chip cross-sections: the fin-cut and the gate-cut. The micrograph above is a fin-cut and shows metals 0 through 3. This axis lets us see the even-numbered metals, with M0 right above the fins. There are two kinds of M0 lines. The first are the power rails; these are wide wires for the VDD and VSS running horizontally at the top and bottom edges of each standard cell. The wide wires measure 55 nm across, more than double the other M0 lines. Their width minimizes resistance and reduces IR drop. The second kind are intra-cell wires, short segments within the cell that connect terminals to M1. These have alternating widths between 21.5 and 24 nm. The M0 pitch is 32.5 nm, a 19% reduction versus N+2 and N6. At this pitch, DUV patterning requires more aggressive multi-patterning, increasing mask count, overlay sensitivity, process complexity and cost. M0 is below what a single DUV-defined spacer (SADP) can resolve, so SMIC cascades a second spacer step (SAQP). The cross-section reflects the cost: the M0 trenches are visibly more re-entrant (narrower at the bottom than the top) than M1 or M2 on the same chip and carry a bright barrier-rich foot where the trench meets the etch-stop layer. That shape is partly the intended damascene profile, as a slightly narrow bottom helps void-free copper fill, but its magnitude at M0 is driven by the tight pitch and the higher trench aspect ratio. Intel 18A supports an M0 pitch of 32 nm, although Panther Lake has only shipped with a looser 36 nm pitch. This is due to Intel’s heavy usage of HP libraries. Among leading-edge nodes, 18A has the loosest M0 pitches due to PowerVia. With power routing moving to the backside, congestion is reduced, and the entire front-side metal stack can be used for signal routing. M2 is the first true inter-cell routing layer. It runs horizontally like M0 but spans across multiple cells to carry block-level signals. The M2 pitch sets the cell’s track height – the number of M2 tracks that fit between the VDD and VSS rails, defining what the library calls a 6-track or 7.5-track cell. This layer is the most important, limiting the routing of entire blocks. SMIC N+3 features a 5.7-track cell. The M2 pitch is 40 nm, a 5% decrease over N+2 and the same as N6. This shrink keeps the pitch at the edge of what is possible with double patterning. Future nodes will need to increase the number of masks for M2 as reducing the number of tracks is much harder due to the limitations in routing. The micrograph above is in the perpendicular direction, the gate-cut, and shows metals 0 through 4. This allows us to see and measure the odd-numbered vertical metal layers. The M1 pitch is 38 nm, 9.5% less than N+2 and 33% less than N6. The M1-to-gate ratio matters because it sets local routing flexibility. N+2 and N+3 use a 3:2 ratio, while N6 uses a 1:1 ratio, explaining the huge differences in M1 pitch. The more M1 lines there are compared with the gates, the more flexibility there is for power and signal crossing within the cell. Routing flexibility enables more complex and better cells. Clean fractional ratios are also preferred as a grid is periodic and improves layouts. The 3:2 ratio gives SMIC more local routing flexibility than a strict 1:1 grid, but it also complicates layout and patterning. This is a DTCO choice, with SMIC increasing process complexity to recover density and routability without EUV. This 3:2 ratio is not very popular in the leading-edge nodes. TSMC has only used it on N7+, the N5 family, and the short-lived N3(B). They have switched back to a 1:1 ratio for N3E. Intel has only used it on the 10 nm/Intel 7 family, with Intel 4, 3 and 18A all using a 1:1 ratio. Samsung is the only one still using a 3:2 ratio at the leading edge, using it in the SF4 and SF3 families. It remains to be seen if SMIC will remain at a 3:2 ratio or move to a 1:1 ratio with its future nodes. The industry is still actively exploring these local-routing ratios. At VLSI 2026, imec will be presenting work on even higher ratios, including a 2:1 scheme that can reduce area by up to 14%. We will be covering the conference in a future newsletter article. Subscribe We’re diving deep into the most advanced datacenter and AI hardware hitting the market. To learn more about what’s in the pipeline or to commission a custom teardown, contact sales@semianalysis.com. Interested in joining us on this ride and think you can be a difference maker? Check out our Careers page. The final local interconnect layer for N+3 is M3, with a pitch of 44 nm. The M3 pitch is the same as on N+2 and 10% larger than on N6. The semi-global layers carry the majority of block-level signal routing. They have a coarser pitch than the lower local layers. On leading-edge nodes, they are designed to sit at the limit of DUV single patterning. M4 through M11 pitches were found divided between 80–82 nm (M4–M6), 128 nm (M7–M10), and 148 nm (M11). Given limited sampling, it is possible these are divided further in dense routing areas. At the top are two giant metal layers, M12 and M13. These have kept the same pitches as N+2 at 1920 nm and 4600 nm respectively. While the lower layers’ pitches are generally fixed by the process and library, the upper layers vary much more in pitch and count, depending on the design. Even two smartphone SoCs on the same process can have wildly different metal stacks. The Helio G99 carries fewer routing layers, reaching coarse metal pitches of 850 nm by M9, while the larger and higher-performance Kirin 9030 keeps fine pitches until M11. SRAM At the leading edge, SRAM is much more difficult to scale than logic. TSMC’s latest nodes have seen little to no bitcell scaling, while logic still has more DTCO levers to pull. While looking for other logic libraries in the GPU compute units, we stumbled upon the SRAM. The most common type of SRAM has 6 transistors (6T), but this cell had 8 transistors (8T) instead. 8T SRAM adds two transistors to form a dedicated read port. Unlike a 6T cell, where reading disturbs the storage, the decoupled read port removes read-disturb, improving read stability and letting the cell be pushed harder for performance. At first glance, the cut looked like an unusual logic library, with each cell row having 3 fins of one polarity and 5 fins of another. The rows also alternated in orientation. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) resolved our confusion. The cut had not landed on the GPU logic, but on the SRAM macro beside it. The unusual fin pattern was due to the SRAM library. We return to EDS in the process flow analysis behind the paywall. SRAM libraries are not like traditional logic libraries. Due to the unequal number of PMOS and NMOS transistors, they require specialized rules and layout libraries. They do not need the flexibility of logic libraries, so they are hyper-optimized for one purpose: dense, reliable memory. The SRAM cell we found is a 1:2:2-2:2 cell. This means there is 1 fin per pull-up (PU) PMOS transistor, and 2 fins per pull-down (PD) and pass-gate (PG) NMOS transistor. These 2 PU, 2 PD and 2 PG transistors would usually form a single 6T high-current cell (HCC). An 8T HCC adds a read-pull-down (RPD) and a read-pass-gate (RPG) NMOS transistor, each with two fins. We measured a cell height of 406 nm, which brings the bitcell size to 0.0463 µm². That is a theoretical peak density of 21.6 Mib/mm². We estimate that a 6T HCC would have a cell height of 292 nm and a size of 0.0337 µm². This is ~12% larger than a 6T HCC on Intel 3 and 4. We also estimate the 6T high-density cell (HDC) to have a cell height of 228 nm and a size of 0.0260 µm². This is coincidentally the same as the logic standard-cell height measured earlier. The estimate puts the cell near Samsung 7LPP/5LPP and slightly below TSMC N7/N6. That is a theoretical peak density of 38.5 Mib/mm². 6T HDC is arguably the most important cell as it is used for the largest caches in a chip, the L3 caches and system-level cache (SLC). Both the Kirin 9020 and 9030 have split the SLC into 4 banks to raise total SLC bandwidth. In the Kirin 9030, the SLC increased from 2 MiB to 3 MiB per bank. Correspondingly, the number of arrays within the bank also increased by 50%, from 16 to 24. Each array can store 128 KiB and forms an orderly pattern on the die shot. From the Kirin 9020 to the Kirin 9030, the area of a 128 KiB SLC array decreased from 0.0477 mm² to 0.0392 mm², an 18% shrink. The achieved density is 25.5 Mib/mm², 66% of the theoretical maximum. While the SLC was quite similar across both chips, the L3 has seen some major changes, particularly in terms of its layout. The total capacity also went up from 10 MiB to 12 MiB. Much like the SLC, the L3 is also split into 4 banks. In the Kirin 9020, an L3 bank consisted of 16× 128 KiB arrays and 16× 32 KiB arrays. However, an L3 bank in the Kirin 9030 instead consists of 48× 64 KiB arrays. In the Kirin 9020 L3, a 128 KiB array was 0.0513 mm² and a 32 KiB array was 0.0154 mm². The size of the 128 KiB array is different on the L3 and SLC as the assist circuitry for the two arrays differs depending on their purpose. In the Kirin 9030 L3, a 64 KiB array is 0.0210 mm². Although not a like-for-like comparison, normalized for capacity, it is 18% smaller than the 9020’s 128 KiB L3 array and 31% smaller than its 32 KiB L3 array. The achieved density is slightly lower than the SLC, at 23.8 Mib/mm², 62% of the theoretical maximum. Unlike the L3 and SLC, the prime cores’ private L2 cache uses a 2-bank design. As the prime cores’ L2 is latency-critical, it likely uses 6T HCC instead of 6T HDC. The 9020 has 16 arrays in each bank while the 9030 has 32. Each array has a capacity of 32 KiB. A 32 KiB array in the L2 shrank from 0.0171 mm² to 0.0142 mm², ~17% smaller. The density is 17.6 Mib/mm², ~59% of the theoretical maximum for 6T HCC. SRAM scaled well from N+2 to N+3, shrinking by ~19%, close to the theoretical logic shrink. The caveat is that N+2’s bitcells were unusually large, bigger than comparable 7 nm-class nodes, so part of the gain is catch-up rather than true scaling. With the insights from STEEL’s teardowns, we will be doing a deep dive into SRAM in a future newsletter article. Subscribe Everything above came out of a single STEEL teardown: die annotation, block-level area analysis and TEM cross-sections through logic and SRAM. We’re diving deep into the most advanced datacenter and AI hardware hitting the market. To learn more about what’s in the pipeline or to commission a custom teardown, contact sales@semianalysis.com. Future Roadmap The same cross-sections that pin down N+3 also show where SMIC can go next. Although N+3 is already close to the practical limits of DUV multi-patterning in several layers, SMIC still has a few scaling levers left. A theoretical N+4 would likely start with cell height. N+3 uses 5 M0 tracks between its power rails. Moving to 4 M0 tracks, as on SMIC N+2 and TSMC N6, could reduce cell height by roughly 15%. The routing grid is only one side of the shrink; the front end also must fit into the smaller cell. One possible FEOL lever is reducing the p-to-n isolation spacing from two diffusion grid units to one. Intel used this scaling booster on Intel 4, and TSMC did so on its N3 family. This path trades layout flexibility for density. Fewer M0 tracks reduce local routing resources, while tighter p-to-n spacing raises integration and design-rule difficulty. M2 is also constrained by the cell height shrink. For SMIC to maintain a ~5.7-track cell, M2 would need to move toward ~35 nm. That would move another layer into SAQP territory. SMIC could also reduce the CGP from 57 nm to 54 nm. Intel reached a similar CGP on Intel 10 nm/Intel 7 without EUV. The local interconnect is also tougher. If SMIC keeps the 3:2 M1-to-gate ratio, M1 would need to shrink to 36 nm and would likely require SAQP as well. If SMIC moves to a 1:1 ratio, M1 could relax to 54 nm, but it would give up routing flexibility. Under this theoretical path, we estimate that SMIC N+4 could reach a cell height of 198 nm and a CGP of 54 nm, implying a Bohr density of 137.8 MTr/mm², on par with TSMC N5 or Samsung SF4. However, the difficulty is cumulative. Each step is individually plausible, but together they make N+4 harder than the transition from N+2 to N+3. It will likely take longer, cost more, and carry less process margin. A theoretical N+5 would require a larger integration shift. One possible path is backside contacts (BSCon), moving power routing and source/drain contacts to the backside, which would reduce front-side routing pressure and enable another reduction in cell height. The front-side metal pitches could relax to reduce the process complexity. M0 would likely relax slightly to ~34 nm, and M2 and M4 pitches could relax further. CGP is unlikely to shrink much further. Even with EUV, 48 nm has been the practical limit for yield and process control. This approach would allow N+5’s cell height to fall to 170 nm and its CGP to 53 nm. This implies a Bohr density of 163.6 MTr/mm², on par with Intel 18A’s HP library. However, this would not make N+5 cost-competitive with the leading edge. It would reach a similar density through a much more expensive route. The integration difficulty rises sharply, with new process flows for backside alignment, wafer thinning, contact reveal, and backside metallization. Past this point, standard density and interconnect scaling become increasingly unattractive. That is where Huawei’s roadmap stops looking like a normal foundry roadmap and starts looking like a packaging roadmap. At ISCAS 2026, Huawei unveiled its tau (τ) scaling law, reframing process scaling in the time domain. τ is the time cost of data movement and processing: switching delays in transistors, RC signal propagation delays in circuits, compute, memory, and networking latency. Outside Huawei’s terminology, this is called system-technology co-optimization. This is Huawei’s answer to its lack of EUV lithography. Without EUV, planar density cannot keep pace with TSMC, Intel, or Samsung. If transistor density cannot shrink further, Huawei’s alternative is to shorten wires, reduce buffering, and stack logic vertically. “LogicFolding”, Huawei’s implementation of this new scaling idea, is, in practice, an aggressive 3D stacking approach. AMD V-Cache places SRAM above or below a CPU die. AMD’s MI350X places active interposer dies (AIDs) underneath accelerator and compute dies (XCDs), with the AIDs handling cache, IO interfaces, the network-on-chip (NoC) and embedded metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors. With LogicFolding, parts of the same logic block are split across multiple active dies bonded face-to-face at ultra-fine pitch. This allows Huawei to shorten some critical paths and reduce buffer overhead, not merely add cache capacity or offload the IO and interconnect. Shortening wires is where the higher clocks come from. A large share of a modern core’s delay and energy budget goes into driving long interconnects and the repeater buffers along them. LogicFolding distributes a block’s critical-path gates across multiple stacked tiers bonded at a very fine pitch, so the bond interface behaves like an additional metal layer and the longest paths get shorter. That is how Huawei expects to recover frequency and efficiency it cannot get from the process alone. Huawei’s roadmap shows its intent. Prime core frequency is targeted to rise from 2.75 GHz in the Kirin 9030 to roughly 5 GHz by 2031, far beyond what planar scaling alone could deliver. Prime cores with 3.1 and 3.39 GHz clocks are being tested in its labs, although their power consumption is unknown. Beyond that, chips are in the design, simulation or pathfinding phase, meaning the frequencies are targets. However, the direction matters more: LogicFolding also helps with performance, not just density. The catch is that Huawei’s density claim is not directly comparable to foundry densities. A stacked design can report more transistors per package footprint by adding active layers, even if each patterned die remains well behind TSMC or Intel in front-end density. This is how Huawei can claim to reach foundry 14A-equivalent density by 2031. This is not a like-for-like foundry comparison, with Huawei using stacked logic and measuring density per package footprint. On a normalized Bohr-density basis, SMIC N+3 is ~114 MTr/mm², 38% less than Intel 18A’s HD library. Huawei’s 3D roadmap closes the gap by stacking active logic, reaching 215 MTr/mm² by 2030. In 2031, the roadmap density jumps to 295 MTr/mm², implying either a third active layer, partial EUV insertion or aggressive planar DUV scaling. Huawei’s methodology makes other foundries look much denser as well. Applying it to AMD’s MI450X with an N2 top die on an N3P base die yields a theoretical density of 460.2 MTr/mm² in 2026, compared with Huawei’s 295 MTr/mm² in 2031. This Kirin 9030 does not use LogicFolding, remaining in a conventional mobile SoC package. Instead, it forms the baseline for how far Huawei and SMIC can push planar scaling. Future teardowns of Kirin and Ascend chips will show both planar logic density and Huawei’s hybrid bonding solutions. Export controls changed China’s optimization problem rather than ending it. EUV restrictions raised the cost and complexity of leading-edge manufacturing without freezing it. SMIC reaches N6-class logic density through DUV immersion, SAQP and DTCO, while Huawei shifts more of the burden onto architecture, packaging and system-level integration. Future nodes will be tougher. N+3 still had room to tighten local metals and reduce cell height and CGP. Further scaling without EUV leaves fewer levers. More aggressive multi-patterning adds masks and overlay error. SMIC can keep pushing DUV, but each step will get more expensive and less forgiving. The design side is just as critical. Huawei had domestic EDA tools and flows before the Kirin 9030, with the Kirin 9000s, 9010 and 9020 making that clear. Huawei was able to ship multiple consumer SoCs on SMIC N+2 and N+3 while cut off from the Western EDA stack. US export controls restricted EDA tools for advanced chips in 2022 but did not target tools for more mature chips. In 2025, the US government briefly placed much broader restrictions on EDA software from Synopsys, Cadence, and others, before lifting them less than two months later as part of a trade deal tied to rare earths. Huawei has been unable to access those tools because it remains on a US trade blacklist. That forced Huawei, SMIC and Chinese academic institutions to build their own tools and flows. Researchers at Peking University recently announced a prototype EDA tool for Huawei’s LogicFolding architecture, which requires a new flow to handle the multilayer layout and floorplan. This is not the same as replacing the full Synopsys or Cadence stack, but it shows where domestic EDA is headed: toward tighter co-optimization between architecture, process and packaging. These advances are also diffusing into the Chinese ecosystem. SMIC is licensing its N+2 and N+3 processes to HLMC/Hua Hong at the government’s direction rather than by choice. If the same process learning feeds into Ascend accelerators for AI training and inference, the choke point shifts from one named fab to an ecosystem. Alibaba’s T-Head silicon arm and Cambricon, a Chinese AI chip designer that is expected to supply ByteDance, could also be major beneficiaries. Sanctions aimed at SMIC alone become less effective once the manufacturing knowledge has spread to other fabs and design houses. China is not closing the gap with Intel, Samsung and TSMC. The teardown shows the opposite in several places: no EUV, no backside power, higher process complexity, and visible trade-offs. But China is still advancing. If domestic chips become good enough for phones, inference, networking and security-sensitive workloads, they can matter strategically without matching TSMC at the leading edge. Behind the paywall, we show what else STEEL can do, with material and process flow analysis of SMIC N+3, and analysis of the Kirin 9030 package. We’re diving deep into the most advanced datacenter and AI hardware hitting the market. To learn more about what’s in the pipeline, access the full Kirin 9030 and SMIC N+3 analysis or to commission a custom teardown, contact sales@semianalysis.com.

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Jun 14 • 3:14 PM EDT • Technology • newsletter.semianalysis.com
Novant Health Scotts Hill Medical Center hosts community day ahead of opening

Families and their pets attended the event outside the facility. Attendees met staff, learned about services and took guided tours inside.

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Jun 13 • 2:21 PM EDT • Health • wect.com
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Political blame game follows as screwworm parasite threatens cattle in Texas

Screwworms are on their way to becoming a billion-dollar international problem but can be contained if ranchers are vigilant, watch their herds and other wildlife, and quickly treat any infestations, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.

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Jun 12 • 5:38 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
This 57-Year-Old’s Cheesy, ‘Wildly Fun’ Business Averages $3,200 a Month and Is Headed for $100,000 a Year: ‘Revenue Right Away’

Kiersten Bartlett revamped a beloved childhood snack.

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Jun 11 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • entrepreneur.com
After political standoff, Wisconsin closed fish hatcheries. Anglers say it's a huge mistake.

A battle over funding for the state's fish and wildlife account and a lack spending authority forced the closure of Brule and Osceola fish hatcheries and deep cuts to fish stocking statewide.

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Jun 11 • 6:02 AM EDT • Politics • wpr.org
'The Last of Us' fans can breathe easy, the series isn't canceled

'The Last of Us' fans had a scare when online rumors spread that the wildly popular HBO post-apocalyptic drama had canceled filming.

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Jun 8 • 5:24 PM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com
All-new Lab in Kenya Fills Critical Gap in Wildlife Health

/PRNewswire/ -- Conservation stakeholders gathered to celebrate the official opening of the Laboratory in Northern Kenya (LiNK), an all-new veterinary...

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Jun 8 • 10:30 AM EDT • Health • prnewswire.com
Trump’s birthday spectacle contrasts wildly with Biden’s understated 80th

Their birthday plans reflect their personalities — and the shifting politics of the moment, as brash self-promotion has become a political asset.

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Jun 8 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Finding Nemo: Scientists Use AI To Catch Illegal Marine Wildlife Traffickers

Hidden inside luggage, children's toys and parcels, trafficked shark fins, seahorses and sea cucumbers often slip across borders unnoticed. Now researchers in Australia have trained an AI system to recognize these marine wildlife products in airport CT scans with 92% accuracy.

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Jun 7 • 9:40 PM EDT • Science • forbes.com
Wildlife ecologist says her favorite science talk this year was in her children's classroom

"The kids are alright, and they sure are ready to protect the natural world into the future."

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Jun 6 • 5:35 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com
Peptide Injections Touted as ‘Fountain of Youth.’ Spoiler Alert: They’re Not

Wellness peptides have become wildly popular despite lacking credible evidence for their safety and effectiveness. Here's why experts advise against using compounded peptides for health and fitness.

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Jun 6 • 3:00 AM EDT • Health • healthline.com
Scientists map more than 200 years of nature's progress

Armed with trail cameras, artificial intelligence, and a powerful national research network, scientists are revisiting Lewis and Clark's legendary journey to see how America's wildlife has changed over ...

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Jun 5 • 10:40 PM EDT • Science • phys.org
Senate blocks extending key surveillance program following backlash over Trump pick to lead intel

Some Republicans joined Democrats in the 47-52 vote against a procedural motion that would have set up a final vote on the extension next week, complicating efforts to extend the critical program before it expires on June 12.

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Jun 5 • 11:35 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
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Democrats’ midterm ‘blue wave’ dreams face an icy challenge

Negative partisanship rules as voters mildly like their own party but detest the opposition.

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Jun 5 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Senate Republicans reject first effort to fully kill 'anti-weaponization' fund

Senate Democrats wanted to attach a measure to fully kill what critics are calling a \

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Jun 4 • 3:59 PM EDT • Politics • usatoday.com
What a toy whale tells Pacific Northwest scientists about the potential for renewable tidal energy

Northwest researchers are working to understand the impact of underwater tidal energy turbines on wildlife.

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Jun 4 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • opb.org
Radio scans find no evidence of alien tech from interstellar comet 3I/Atlas

The SETI Institute said Wednesday that extensive radio scans by its telescope in Northern California found no signs of otherworldly technology from our solar system’s latest interstellar visitor.

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Jun 3 • 6:50 PM EDT • Science • pbs.org
Phone calls from a pharmacist could help people achieve healthy cholesterol, say researchers

Regular follow-up calls from a pharmacist can help people lower their "bad" (LDL) cholesterol by reminding them to take their medication, based on research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society ...

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Jun 2 • 7:00 PM EDT • Health • medicalxpress.com
Oregon’s Dante Moore among cover stars for EA Sports College Football 27

The wildly popular college football video game will prominently feature the Ducks quarterback on the cover.

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Jun 2 • 11:40 AM EDT • Sports • oregonlive.com
Earth’s orbital wobble triggered rapid climate chaos during the dinosaur age

New research suggests Earth’s climate can swing wildly on surprisingly short timescales — even during hot, ice-free greenhouse periods. By studying ancient sediments from the Late Cretaceous, scientists uncovered repeating climate shifts tied to tiny changes in Earth’s orbital wobble. These cycles may have repeatedly pushed the planet between humid and arid states every few thousand years.

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May 27 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Opinion: The science behind Alaska’s predator control programs

Responsible management can support both healthy wildlife populations and the consumptive and nonconsumptive uses Alaskans value.

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May 27 • 7:52 PM EDT • Science • adn.com
Go ahead and spoil it: The people who love having movies and TV ruined for them

Accidentally scrolling past a spoiler doesn't faze the people who beg their friends to ruin endings for them.

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May 27 • 7:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Gift expands undergrad research opportunities in wildlife and fisheries science

Paul and Jane Miller, through a six-figure pledge, have created the Paul and Jane Miller Undergraduate Research Fund in the College of Agricultural Sciences' Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. With the goal of seeing their philanthropy in action, the Millers have also committed to a five-year, $25,000 pledge to early activate their research endowment.

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May 26 • 9:37 AM EDT • Science • psu.edu
2023 NFL redraft: Top QBs swap places as Day 3 steals -- plus a UDFA -- crash a wildly different Round 1

Several NFL teams would make major changes three years later as late-round gems reshape the first round

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May 26 • 8:44 AM EDT • Sports • cbssports.com
One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible.

A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug seemed to reduce LDL long-term in a small trial. The results may point to something “curative,” one expert said.

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May 25 • 8:45 AM EDT • Science • nytimes.com
One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible.

A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug seemed to reduce LDL long-term in a small trial. The results may point to something “curative,” one expert said.

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May 25 • 8:45 AM EDT • Health • nytimes.com
Scientists discover hidden liver switch that cuts harmful cholesterol

Scientists at UT Southwestern have uncovered a surprising new “master switch” that helps control how much cholesterol the liver sends into the bloodstream. The newly identified protein, HELZ2, works by shutting down the genetic instructions needed to produce apoB — a key building block of the cholesterol-carrying particles linked to clogged arteries and heart disease.

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May 24 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Overnight Science Digest: Our ‘mere presence in a landscape’ affects wildlife behaviors

When Humans Went Away, the Wildlife Strayed – NY Times Massive butterfly swarm becomes the talk of Santa Cruz – SF Gate Scientists reversed memory loss by recharging the brain’s tiny engines – Science…

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May 23 • 11:56 PM EDT • Science • dailykos.com
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How science guides fishery management

Science is the eyes and ears of fishery managers. Without science, managers would be groping in the dark as they try to solve resource problems and enhance fisheries. Let’s define what I mean by “science”. Dr. Greg Corace nicely summarized what science means in forest and wildlife management in his January 31, 2026, column in […]

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May 22 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • thealpenanews.com
Offering up a toast to New England sports fans

We have the smartest, funniest, and most passionate sports fans/readers in the world.

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May 22 • 5:00 AM EDT • Sports • bostonglobe.com
As wildlife races poleward, scientists warn the old conservation playbook is breaking down

The changes are not happening in a simple, uniform pattern.

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May 21 • 6:20 PM EDT • Science • yahoo.com
When Humans Went Away, the Wildlife Strayed

When people disappeared from the landscape, as they did during the pandemic, wild animals changed how they used space and resources, scientists found.

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May 21 • 2:00 PM EDT • Science • nytimes.com
Who reports wildlife the most? 300,000 citizen science records uncover participation bias

In recent years, citizen science methodology has gained significant momentum and is becoming increasingly important in large-scale ecological and conservation research. By involving volunteers, it enables ...

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May 21 • 12:00 AM EDT • Science • phys.org
MoMI announces the 2026 season of 'Open Worlds: Science' Programs

With themes ranging from walking for brain health, infinity day, NYC wildlife, and more May–October 2026 Astoria, New York, May 18, 2026 — The wildlife of New York City, walking and brain health, the nature of infinity, and alien encounters are some of the subjects explored in the second season of Open Worlds: Science, science-focused programs presented as part of Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI)’s free Open Worlds initiative. Running through October, Open Worlds: Science features scientist-led talks, screenings, and hands-on activities that all relate to science and the moving image to help illuminate and excite visitors of all ages about the ways science affects daily life.

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May 18 • 1:00 PM EDT • Science • iloveny.com
New study debunks the biggest fear about yo-yo dieting

For years, “yo-yo dieting” has been blamed for wrecking metabolism and causing lasting damage, but a major new review says the fear may be wildly overblown. After analyzing decades of studies in humans and animals, researchers found little convincing evidence that losing weight and regaining it actually causes long-term harm. While regaining weight can erase some health improvements, it doesn’t appear to make people worse off than before.

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May 16 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Helio and You: Seasons on Earth, Mars, and Beyond

Earth has four seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter. Other planets can experience seasons, too, but they might be wildly different from the ones that we are used to. Find out about how seasons work and what role the Sun plays in causing them.

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May 15 • 4:30 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov
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Thurston County business pleads guilty to illegal sale of elephant ivory figurine

JOINT NEWS RELEASE Washington State Attorney General’s Office and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police OLYMPIA – A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Police investigation, prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), into the illegal sale of a figurine carved out of elephant ivory has resulted in a guilty plea, fine, and wildlife penalty for a Thurston County business.

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May 15 • 3:34 PM EDT • Business • atg.wa.gov
Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.

Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe

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May 15 • 3:04 AM EDT • Politics • adamtooze.substack.com
Moss Point holds community forum for sports complex project feedback

On Thursday, Moss Point community members and leaders attended a meeting at City Hall to discuss community concerns over the city’s plans for a sports complex.

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May 14 • 11:32 PM EDT • Sports • wlox.com
Motorola Razr Fold review: Fits neatly in your pocket but not your budget

The Razr Fold has a lot going for it, but like all foldables, it's wildly expensive.

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May 14 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • arstechnica.com
Paramount Sports Entertainment Makes Trio of Hires

"Their leadership will be instrumental in driving our production pipeline, expanding partnerships, and supporting our next phase of growth," says unit head Jesse Sisgold.

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May 14 • 4:07 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Stephen Colbert name-drops the 'Late Show' guest who distracted him with their beauty

Stephen Colbert is revealing the 'wildly attractive' 'Late Show' guest who was so beautiful that he didn't know where to look during the interview.

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May 13 • 11:56 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Scientists seek to understand effects of rain falling on snow in the Arctic

When rain falls on snow in the Arctic, ice layers can form on top of and within the snowpack. This increasingly common dynamic can influence the ability of animals, including caribou and muskoxen, to forage and move across the landscape. That, in turn, affects the people who rely on wildlife for subsistence, culture, wellbeing and income. Given the widespread impacts of rain-on-snow events, Colorado State University researchers are studying and modeling their effects in Arctic systems. The work is especially important considering the rapid rate of climate change across the region

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May 12 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org
In wild late-night posting spree, Trump attacks Obama with imaginary quote and false conspiracy theories

On Monday night, Pres. Donald Trump embarked on one of his periodic late-night social media posting sprees. As usual, his dozens of posts and re-posts were littered with debunked conspiracy theories and other wildly inaccurate claims

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May 12 • 3:23 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
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Looking to DNA for answers as climate change outpaces California wildlife's ability to evolve

Ecosystems are not being able to adapt as quickly as the climate is changing. Scientists are turning to genetic work to guide restoration

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May 12 • 6:00 AM EDT • Science • latimes.com
They were on the trip of a lifetime. Now they’re quarantined as health officials work to contain a hantavirus outbreak

They boarded a cruise ship in Argentina last month for a once-in-a-lifetime expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to see unique wildlife and remote islands. Six weeks later, most of the American passengers who were aboard the MV Hondius are now in a small and spartan room with a bed and an exercise bike at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, and face potential weeks of isolation.

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May 12 • 3:07 AM EDT • Health • cnn.com
MyFlyYatra Enhances Access to Business Class Flights for U.S. & Canada Travelers with Expanded Route Coverage

MyFlyYatra is expanding its international travel platform by introducing enhanced coverage for global destinations, including Middle East, New Z...

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May 11 • 8:21 AM EDT • Business • markets.businessinsider.com
Why investing in Illinois roads is critical for business competitiveness

A look at how deteriorating Illinois roads impact supply chains, business costs and economic growth across Chicago and downstate regions.

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May 11 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • chicagobusiness.com
RAMalytics: Same position, vastly different players

Rams spent their last two early picks on tight ends but Max Klare and Terrance Ferguson are wildly different players

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May 10 • 11:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Takashi Tezuka Reinvented Zelda Without Overthinking It

Originally an outsider to gaming, Tezuka's otherworldly influences extended far beyond what arcade halls alone could offer

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May 9 • 3:01 PM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com
Fact check: Trump posts wildly deceptive chart on oil prices

Oil prices are higher now than they were when President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. But Trump posted a wildly deceptive chart on Friday that wrongly suggests oil prices are lower than they were upon predecessor Joe Biden’s departure.

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May 8 • 2:49 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com