FT Rethink
The scorpion-milking robot: extracting the poison that cures
Since ancient Rome animal poisons have been used to heal rather than harm the human body. Scorpion venom can be used to help detect and cure diseases, but milking scorpions by hand is a time-consuming and dangerous process. Now scientists in Morocco are using robots to harvest the venom, which, at $8,000 per gram, is probably the most expensive liquid in the world.
Explore all content
More from the FT Rethink channel
Architects design community solutions for combatting climate disaster
Better social infrastructure can foster resilience in densely-populated urban environments
Why leather from fishskin and fungi fibres are becoming the height of fashion
Alternative fibres can help to reduce the clothing industry’s huge carbon footprint
Pink rice serves up alternative to carbon-intensive meat
Lab-grown proteins can reduce greenhouse gas emissions but are an expensively acquired taste
Architects take inspiration from nature to build sustainable future
Biomimicry can lessen a structure’s impact on the environment and reverse ecological damage
Is a sustainable electronics industry possible?
Over the past decade, tech has become an indispensable companion in our lives.
Farmbots bring precision to the business of food production
By nurturing crops on a plant by plant basis, new technology can cut chemical use and boost yields
How tech is being used to keep fisheries in line
Pick up an Austral Fisheries toothfish loin in the supermarket, scan the barcode on the back of the packet, and you’ll be able to follow every step in the fish’s journey from deep ocean to shop shelf.
Racing against the clock to decarbonise the planet
Two companies are on a mission in Iceland to find a technological solution to the elusive problem of capturing and storing carbon dioxide.
Can plastic-eating enzymes solve the recycling problem?
Less than 10 per cent of the man-made material is currently reused but a new technology is set to create a more circular economy
How to feed 10bn people in a sustainable way
How to feed 10bn people in a sustainable way
How ‘Fitbits for cows’ can tackle the antibiotic crisis
Monitoring the health of cattle lowers the use of drugs — and the risk of bacterial resistance to them
Saving nature: why 2022 is key for biodiversity
A global effort aims to conserve and harness biodiversity over the next decade
Ukraine crisis leaves Europe at an energy crossroads
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has focused attention on its role as a critical supplier of oil and gas. How will this affect the race to decarbonise?
Towards an end to deforestation
A new global agreement has pledged to end, indeed reverse deforestation by the end of this decade. We've been here before — so what’s different this time?
Ancient seeds are the future for Lebanon's crisis-hit farmers
A sustainable farm is helping to tackle a wheat shortage made worse by war in Ukraine
Decarbonising heavy industries will succeed little by little
Thanks to technological advances, the steel, cement and chemicals sectors are beginning to wean themselves off fossil fuels, but it’s a gradual, uphill process
Biodiversity loss and climate change are two sides of the same coin
As the world sizes up the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, new approaches are emerging to address both
Precision Agriculture - Farming for the future
Digital solutions could be the key to producing more food while protecting the environment
The Unexpected Portfolio – a holistic approach to investing for net zero
Many of today’s sustainability focused strategies exclude the companies that will ultimately contribute the most to future CO2 reductions
How rewilding the oceans can lead to a prosperous blue economy
Oceans are the source of at least 50 per cent of all oxygen produced on Earth. Yet industrial fishing, offshore oil exploration and using the ocean as the world’s dumping ground for plastics and harmful chemicals have placed this fragile ecosystem...
Discover more content on the topics that inspire, engage and inform the world we live in today at the FT Channels hub.
Discover moreFT Rethink
FT Channels, a partnership destination that combines impactful and enriching multimedia content to spark curiosity and encourage discovery. Each vertical brings expert insights from the Financial Times and our Partners into the most pressing issues of our time.
FT Rethink series focuses on the people, technology, strategies and systems moving us from an economy that is wasteful, idle, lopsided and dirty towards one that is circular, lean, inclusive and clean. The channel alternates between independent reporting from FT journalists and business perspectives from Lombard Odier