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About one-third of the food produced around the world—more than one billion tons—is lost or wasted every year. When the food ends up in landfills, it produces methane, a harmful gas that contributes to climate change. But South Korea is no longer part of the problem. Instead of throwing uneaten food in the regular garbage, South Korean residents recycle it.

Food recycling has been required by law in South Korea since 2013. No one is allowed to dump food waste into landfills. Instead, residents can compost their own food or place it in a certain type of bag and put it in a bin for curbside pickup. Every day except Saturday, trucks retrieve the bags and take them to processing plants. The food scraps are removed from the bags and turned into fertilizer, animal feed, and an environmentally friendly energy source called biogas.

Two vending machines in Japan are designed to automatically unlock and allow people to access food and drinks for free in the event of a powerful earthquake.

The machines were installed recently in Ako, a city that experts say is vulnerable to a strong earthquake in the near future. Each contains about 300 soft drinks and 150 food items and nutritional supplements. The machines also have lockers containing emergency supplies such as portable toilets.

Most of the time, the machines sell their products like any other vending machines. They will unlock if an evacuation order is issued in response to an earthquake or another disaster.

The machines were installed by a company called Earth Corp. through an agreement with the Ako city government. They are the first of their kind—but possibly not the last. Located in a region called the Ring of Fire, Japan is prone to earthquakes and has taken many precautions to shore up public safety.

“We’d like to spread [the machines] throughout the country,” a representative of Earth Corp. told Japanese news outlet The Mainichi.

A city official told The Mainichi, “We expect that the stockpile will lead to the safety and security of our citizens.”

A new type of airplane seat could make it a lot easier for wheelchair users to travel by allowing them to remain in their wheelchairs for an entire flight.

The airline seat was developed by Delta Flight Products (DFP), a company that’s owned by Delta Airlines. It can function as a traditional airplane seat. The seat can also fold up so that a wheelchair can be backed into the spot. In this configuration (or form), the headrest, center console, and tray table can still be used.

Rick Salanitri, president of DFP, says it will make travel easier for people who use wheelchairs.

“This patented design offers new possibilities for customers with disabilities to enjoy a travel experience they truly deserve,” Salanitri said. 

Many disability advocates have cheered the invention. Cory Lee is an avid traveler who has been to 43 countries so far. But he says air travel can be difficult because of the need to move from his wheelchair to an airline seat. Lee told CNN that he’s “unbelievably excited” about the new seat. 

Currently the seat is only a prototype—a test model. It will need to be tested and certified according to U.S. and European safety standards. If all goes well, the seat could become available for airlines to install on planes by late 2024.

Maayan Ziv, founder of AccessNow, a mobile app that helps people with disabilities find helpful resources, is excited that Delta Airlines is involved with this innovation. Ziv, who uses a wheelchair, points out that it could win Delta some new customers.

“The disability community spends over $58 billion on travel annually,” she told CBS News. “I know what airline I’ll be flying with when these prototypes hit production.”

The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been the most famous competition of its kind in the United States since its debut in 1925. But America’s first national spelling champion, a Black teenager named Marie C. Bolden, was crowned long before the Scripps event existed.

Bolden was a 13-year-old 8th grader in 1908, when her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, hosted the competition and invited teens from cities around the U.S. to participate. At a time when many schools, especially in the South, were racially segregated, all the students in the spelling bee were white except for Bolden. Not everyone was pleased that a Black student was included. In fact, some competitors threatened to drop out of the event in protest. 

This made Bolden more determined to do well.

“I just kind of gritted my teeth and made up my mind that I wouldn’t miss a word,” she told a reporter after the spelling bee. In fact, Bolden spelled 500 words correctly—100 on a written test and 400 on stage.

Bolden never talked about her victory in what’s now recognized as the first national spelling bee ever held in the U.S. In fact, her family didn’t learn about the spelling bee until after her death in 1981, when they unearthed a newspaper article about it. Today, Bolden’s grandson Mark Brown says he and his two daughters are extremely proud of what Bolden accomplished despite the racism she faced.

“I think there’s a great sense of pride in the fact that our family history is based on sacrifice and people being adventurous, and taking on a new life, and not letting things hold them back,” Brown told National Public Radio.

An invasive species called the spotted lanternfly is back in parts of the United States, putting certain crops and plants at risk. Experts say the public needs to help keep the insects under control. 

Experts believe that spotted lanternflies were first brought into the U.S. on a shipping crate from China, their native country. First seen in Pennsylvania in 2014, they have since spread to 13 other states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia. Humans are accidentally helping spotted lanternflies by giving them rides to new locations.

“I hate to say it, but it is human-assisted,” invasive species expert Brian Eshenaur told CBS News. “So they are traveling on our vehicles and in trains, apparently, and on the outside.”

The spotted lanternfly is harmless to humans, but it feeds on more than 70 types of plants, including grape vines and many fruit trees. This can damage crop production.

Before Beyoncé, Janelle Monáe, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna, there was Tina Turner. Turner’s raw, husky voice and energetic dancing made her a worldwide superstar and inspired countless other performers. Turner died on May 24, 2023, at age 83. 

Turner’s talent was clear from the time she was a teenager. In the 1950s, she got up on stage during a performance by musician Ike Turner, who she had never met, and began to sing. Her bold moves and powerful stage presence earned her a spot in the band. Ike and Tina eventually got married, and the couple formed a group called the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. In 1971, with Tina as the lead singer, the group scored a Grammy Award for a song called “Proud Mary.” 

But Tina’s fame wouldn’t reach its true peak until much later. In 1976, Tina struck out on her own after years of abuse from Ike. At first, she struggled to launch a solo career—but her gifts were undeniable. Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the rock band the Rolling Stones, called her “an enormously talented performer and singer.” Another well-known singer, David Bowie, told friends that Turner was his favorite singer. In 1984, Turner released her first solo album, Private Dancer. The album won four Grammy Awards, and its most popular song, “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” made Turner a superstar. She would go on to release more hits, including “I Don’t Wanna Fight No More,” “The Best,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” Her first greatest hits album was titled Simply the Best.

Over the years, Turner became a pop icon. Her life inspired a movie called What’s Love Got to Do with It after her biggest hit, and her music inspired a Broadway musical called Tina. 

After Turner’s death, Lizzo paid tribute by performing “Proud Mary” at her concert. “As a Black girl in a rock band, I would not exist if it was not for the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll,” Lizzo told the audience, according to CNN.

Actor Angela Bassett, who played Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It, posted a tribute on Instagram. “While we mourn the loss of this iconic voice and presence, she gave us more than we could have ever asked,” Bassett wrote. “She gave us her whole self. And Tina Turner is a gift that will always be ‘simply the best.’”

You can read more about Tina Turner at Britannica School.

Porcupines and warthogs are known to be prey for the spotted hyena. So scientists were surprised when they realized that hyenas, porcupines, and warthogs were peacefully sharing dens in a wildlife preserve in Kenya.

Scientists made the discovery when they were reviewing footage from cameras that had been set up outside two dens. At one point, one of the dens was home to two porcupines, three warthogs, and seven hyenas. The other housed two porcupines, six warthogs, and 11 hyenas. All the animals used the same entrances to the dens. Sometimes all three species entered the dens within minutes of each other. There’s no evidence that there were any fights—or worse—in the three years the scientists observed the dens.

Since the three species aren’t usually peaceful with each other in the wild, scientists aren’t sure how the living arrangements worked. They believe there may have been separate chambers inside the underground dens, so the inhabitants didn’t get in each other’s way. 

Marc Dupuis-Désormeaux, the lead author of a study on the living arrangement, says it’s likely the animals decided to share existing dens rather than dig new ones during the dry season, when the ground is hard. In fact, when the rainy season arrived, the animals seemed to stop sharing the dens.

Also, the porcupines and warthogs would have been safe inside the dens. Hyenas use stealth to hunt—but they can’t sneak up on their prey in a small space.

“They’re just faced with a faceful of really nasty warthog tusks or porcupine spines,” Dupuis-Désormeaux told Radio France Internationale.

A mountain climber from Spain spent 500 days alone in a cave to help researchers study the effects of isolation on the human brain. Beatriz Flamini entered the cave in November 2021 and did not see another human being until she emerged in April 2023.

The cave was located 230 feet (70 meters) underground near Granada, Spain. Flamini spent the time weaving, drawing, cooking meals, and exercising. She also read 60 books. Throughout her time in the cave, Flamini made and transmitted videos, which a support crew watched in order to monitor her mental and physical health. The crew was also responsible for leaving food at a drop-off point. Flamini left the cave only once—around day 300—when there was a technical problem. She spent about eight days alone in a tent until she could return to the cave.

Flamini had no idea what was happening in the outside world. She asked the crew not to tell her about any news events or even anything having to do with her family. After about two months, she stopped keeping track of time. She later said she didn’t mind the isolation at all, possibly because she’s an extreme athlete who regularly undertakes sports challenges.

“You have to be focused,” she told The Guardian. “If I get distracted, I’ll twist my ankle. I’ll get hurt. It’ll be over and they’ll have to get me out. And I don’t want that.”

On the 500th day, crew members entered the cave to get her, as planned. Flamini said the time had passed so quickly that she couldn’t believe it was time to leave. Researchers in Spain are now studying how both the lack of human contact and the constant darkness affected Flamini. For now, though, Flamini says she remained content throughout the experiment.

“I was sleeping—or at least dozing—when they came down to get me,” Flamini told The Guardian. “I thought something had happened. I said, ‘Already? No way.’ I hadn’t finished my book.”

Should social media access be restricted for users under age 18? Many parents and lawmakers think so. In the United States, state governments, as well as the federal government, are making moves to limit access to sites like Instagram and TikTok.

Four U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would make it illegal for children under age 13 to use social media and would require children aged 13 to 17 to get permission from a guardian to create an account. Senators Katie Britt of Alabama, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Brian Schatz of Hawaii say they’re responding to parents who worry that social media use is affecting their children’s mental health. Other concerns about social media include the fact that technology companies can collect users’ personal data and target advertising to children and teens.

This is not the first time leaders have proposed a law restricting social media use by minors. In the past, laws were proposed in the U.S. Congress but did not pass because lawmakers didn’t agree on the details. But a few new laws have been proposed in Congress, and some states have passed laws that would apply to children who live there. 

Not everyone supports such laws. Some people, including those who run social media companies, point out that social media can have a positive effect on children’s lives because it can help them feel more connected. Others say the government shouldn’t restrict social media and recommend leaving the decision up to parents.

 The legislation that has been introduced in the U.S. is bipartisan. That means it’s been introduced by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Some of those lawmakers have said this is a sign that many Americans would welcome these types of laws.

“We simply say kids 12 and under shouldn’t be on a social media platform at all,” Senator Schatz told the Associated Press. “And I think most people agree with us.”

When you can’t be with someone in person, a video call may be the next best thing. That’s true not just for people. A recent study found that pet parrots may benefit from having video calls with other pet parrots.

In the study, researchers and parrot owners taught 18 pet parrots how to touch a photo of another parrot on a tablet screen to start a call with that parrot. Over the course of three months, the parrots made 147 deliberate video calls to each other. During the calls, the parrots behaved the way they would if they were with other parrots in real life, according to study co-author Dr. Jennifer Cunha of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

“[The parrots displayed] mirroring behaviors where they might move in the same kind of way, dancing, singing together,” Cunha told National Public Radio. “They really seem to, as one owner said, come alive during the calls.”

“I was quite surprised at the range of different behaviors,” Dr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, another co-author, told the Guardian. “Some would sing, some would play around and go upside down, others would want to show another bird their toys.”

Parrots are very intelligent, social animals. In the wild, they often live in large flocks, but as pets, they are often alone or in a small group. Pet parrots run the risk of getting bored or lonely. Some even develop psychological problems with symptoms like pacing back and forth or plucking out their feathers.

Researchers say the calls with other parrots could benefit the birds by mimicking the experience of living in a flock. In fact, Cunha said the study resulted in lasting friendships.

“Some of the birds continue to call each other,” Cunha said. “So I think that there’s a lot of long-term potential for these kinds of relationships.” 

Check out the video for some highlights from the study.