DiscoveryBit

China’s $2.2B Animated Blockbuster Ne Zha 2 Is Now The Highest-Grossing Animated Film Ever, Surpassing 2024’s Inside Out 2 ($1.7B). Released 1/29/25 In China, Its English Dub Hits U.S. Theaters 8/22/25 Via A24 In IMAX/3D, With Michelle Yeoh Voicing Lady Yin, Ne Zha’s Mum. Critics Praise Its Visuals & Mythic Storytelling (94% On Rotten Tomatoes).

Swiss Scientists Made The World’s First Photosynthetic “Living” Material (LM) By Embedding Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria) In A Porous, 3D-Printable Hydrogel. The (LM) Converts CO₂ Into Oxygen, Sugars, And Solid Minerals (CaCO₃), Hardening Over 400 Days Into A Strong, Carbon-Storing Structure Ideal For Coating And Strengthening Buildings.

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Henry, A Nile Crocodile Born Around 1900 In Botswana, Is The World’s Oldest Known Croc At 124. Captured In 1903, He Lives At Crocworld, South Africa. He’s 16.4 ft Long, Weighs 700 kg, And Has Fathered 10,000+ Offspring. Henry’s Longevity Is Tied To Negligible Aging, Gut Microbiome, And Safe Captivity. His Birthday Is Celebrated December 16.

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NIST’s Aluminum Ion Clock Set A World Record In Accuracy, Measuring Second To The 19th Decimal. A 2-Mile Laser, Magnesium Ion, & Titanium Chamber Make It 41% More Precise, & 2.6× More Stable Than The Previous Best, Strontium 1. It Beats Cesium Clocks, The Gold Standard For Second, Advancing Quantum Physics & Redefining Time By The Second.

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The Original Birkin Bag, Made In 1985 For Jane Birkin After Her In-Flight Mishap, Sold On 7/10/25 For €8.6M At Sotheby ’s Paris, Breaking Record For The World’s Most Expensive Handbag. Owned For 25 Yrs By Catherine Benier After A 1994 Charity Auction, It Dwarfs The Previous Record Holder: A $513K White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Kelly.

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In A World First, Scientists Have Made Soft, Transparent Contact Lenses With Upconversion Nanoparticles That Convert Non-Visible Near-Infrared Light Into Visible Colors. Unlike Night Vision Goggles, They Need No Power. Though Not Full Thermal Vision Like Snakes Have, The Tech May Aid Color Blindness, Secret Messages, And Extend Human Sight.

The “Dragon Man” Skull From China Is Now Confirmed As Denisovan (D) Via Ancient Protein Analysis Of The Cranium & mtDNA From Dental Plaque. This Links Ds To Siberia & NE China In The Late Middle Pleistocene. The Harbin Skull Gives The Most Complete View Of Ds’ Anatomy & Ancestry Since Their Initial Identification Via Ancient DNA In 2010.

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Wildtype’s Salmon (WS) Is The First Lab-Grown Seafood & 4th Cultivated Meat That’s FDA-Approved, Confirming Its Safety. Unlike Other Lab Meats, Requiring USDA Approval, WS Is FDA-Regulated Only. Made From A Single Coho Salmon Cell To Fight Overfishing, It’s Served At Kann In Portland, OR. WS Is Ethical, But Faces Envr. & Consumer Concerns.

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Canada-Based Xanadu Has Built The World’s First On-Chip Error-Resistant Photonic Qubit (GKP States)— Key For Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing. Xanadu System, Aurora, With 35 Chips And 13 Km Of Fiber Optics Runs At Room Temp And Scales To Millions Of Qubits. Reducing Optical Loss Is Now Key, As Photon Loss Prevents Reliable Error Correction.

Swiss Scientists Created The World’s First Living, Edible, Biodegradable Plastic-Like Material From Split-Gill Mushrooms. Called Living Fiber Dispersions (LFD), It Retains Biological Functions, Improves Material Stability Over Time, And Can Be Used In, E.G., Compostable Bags, Batteries, & Food—An Eco-Friendly, Nature-Inspired Breakthrough.

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