Tech
Inside Iceland’s futuristic farm growing algae for food
In the shadow of Iceland’s largest geothermal power station, a large warehouse houses a hi-tech indoor farm of sorts that’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.
Under a strange pink-purple glow, illuminated panels buzz and cylindrical columns of water bubble away as a futuristic crop of microalgae grows.
It’s here that Iceland’s Vaxa Technologies has developed a system that harnesses energy and other resources from the nearby power plant to cultivate these tiny aquatic organisms.
“It’s a new way of thinking about food production,” says general manager Kristinn Haflidason as he gives me a tour of the space-age facility.
For much of our history, humans have consumed seaweed, also known as macroalgae.
But its tiny relative, microalgae has been a less common food source, although it was eaten for centuries in ancient Central America and Africa.
Now scientists and entrepreneurs are increasingly exploring its potential as a nutrition-rich, sustainable food.
About 35 minutes from the capital Reykjavik, the Vaxa site produces the microalgae Nannochloropsis, both as food for people, and for feed in fish and shrimp farming.
It also grows a type of bacteria called Arthospira, also known as blue-green algae, as it shares similar properties with microalgae.
When dried out it is known as spirulina and is used as a dietary supplement, a food ingredient, and as a bright-blue food colouring.
These tiny organisms photosynthesise, capturing energy from light to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
“The algae is eating CO2, or turning the CO2 into biomass,” explains Mr Haflidason. “It’s carbon negative.”
TikTok is still three days away from a likely ban in the United States, but many users are already bidding the app farewell and seeking out alternatives.
Influencer Jasmine Chiswell posted a video Tuesday, showing her frowning over text that reads: “Me saying goodbye to 18 million best friends because TikTok is getting banned,” with sad face and broken heart emojis.
The fear of a ban amped up following a report late Tuesday from The Information that TikTok will shut itself down entirely for US users come Sunday, if it doesn’t win its challenge to the Supreme Court or find an American owner by then. Before the report, many people had expected US app stores to remove TikTok but that existing users could continue accessing the app on their phones, at least for a while.
Gaming giant Nintendo revealed its newest console Thursday in a highly anticipated announcement gamers had been waiting for since rumors of its release first spread years ago.
The Nintendo Switch 2, the successor to the Nintendo Switch system, will be released in 2025, the company said.
In a new promotional video, Nintendo showcases a larger version of the Switch that looks similar to its predecessor. The video also shows the system’s controllers, or Joy-Cons, now attach to the side of the main unit rather than slide in.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will play Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Some Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2, the company said.
The announcement did not provide many details on the console or a specific release date. The company claims more information about the system will be available during the company’s April Nintendo Direct event. The Kyoto-based game developer said it will also host “Nintendo Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where players can get a hands-on experience with the new system.
Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning in April. Ticket registration for those events begins Friday, Nintendo said.
Instagram has rolled out a number of updates in recent days that appear to be aimed at attracting TikTok users while the short-video app’s future remains in limbo. And on Sunday, Instagram parent company Meta went one step further and announced the launch of a new video creation app on Sunday called Edits, which bears an uncanny resemblance to CapCut, the app owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance that many creators use to make TikTok videos.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said on Friday that Instagram’s profile photo grids will now display images as rectangles, rather than the app’s signature squares — a layout that’s notably similar to how profile pages look on TikTok.
On Saturday, Mosseri said Instagram will increase the maximum length for Reels videos from 90 seconds to three minutes — following the lead of TikTok, which began pushing users to post longer videos in 2023.
“We’ve historically only allowed reels up to 90 seconds given our focus on short-form video, but we’ve heard the feedback that this is just too short for those who want to share longer stories,” Mosseri said Saturday in an Instagram post.
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