Good news on clean energy, human health

Among the free items in this edition of Fix the News is scientists’ discovery of how to turn the Earth’s most abundant mineral into zero-waste battery metals. Among the items requiring a subscription:

— Since 2010, nearly 1.5 billion people in Asia and Latin America have switched from open fires and basic stoves to modern, environmentally cleaner cooking fuels and appliances, cutting the global number lacking clean cooking by half in just 15 years, the International Energy Agency says.

— An artificial tongue using AI has achieved a near-human-like sense of taste, with the potential to eventually restore taste perception in humans who’ve lost it due to stroke, viral infection or other conditions, Phys.org says.

— Electric cars now are so fast that a Ferrari can’t catch a Kia, reports Inside EVs. “We haven’t featured one of these drag races in a while,” says Fix the News. “They’re fun reminders that mainstream EV drivetrains have smashed the performance ceiling once reserved for supercars. Electric torque, not cylinders, now rules acceleration bragging rights.”