We are what we eat. And in the ocean, most life-forms source their food from phytoplankton. These microscopic, plant-like algae are the primary food source for krill, sea snails, some small fish, and jellyfish, which in turn feed larger marine animals that are prey for the ocean's top predators, including humans. In an open-access study appearing today in the journal Nature Climate Change, the team reports that as sea surface temperatures rise over the next century, phytoplankton in polar regions will adapt to be less rich in proteins, heavier in carbohydrates, and lower in nutrients overall. The conclusions are based on results from the team's new model, which simulates the composition of phytoplankton in response to changes in ocean temperature, circulation, and sea ice coverage. In a scenario in which humans continue to emit greenhouse gases through the year 2100, the team found that changing ocean conditions, particularly in the polar regions, will shift phytoplankton's balance of proteins to carbohydrates and lipids by approximately 20 percent. The researchers analyzed observations from the past several decades, and already have found a signature of this change in the real world....

Swish, a Bengaluru-based food delivery startup, has raised $38 million in a new funding round, as the 18-month-old company continues to draw investor interest for its 10-minute fresh food delivery service. The Series B round, led by Hara Global and Bain Capital Ventures, also saw participation from Accel, Stride Ventures, and Alteria Capital. It values Swish at $139 million post-money, more than double its valuation a year ago, and brings total funding to $54 million. The funding comes as ultra-fast food delivery remains a challenging business to sustain in India. Larger platforms such as Swiggy, Zepto, and Zomato have in recent months scaled back or shut down their rapid-delivery experiments, citing operational complexity and cost pressures. Founded in 2024, Swish operates a full-stack business model, owning its kitchens, supply chain, and delivery network, and focusing on dense, hyperlocal clusters with delivery radii of around 1 kilometer. This gives Swish better economics, it says, compared to marketplace platforms that must rely on third-party restaurant commissions....

Rulers of the nations along the Arabian Peninsula bet decades ago that they could use oil sales to build thriving modern societies. They aimed to lure expats from around the world in search of work, security, and warm weather. Anyone who has visited Dubai or Doha knows how successfully that worked out'the region's population has more than doubled in the past 30 years, to about 60 million, and huge increases are predicted. Now the Iran war has put that ambition's greatest vulnerability front and center. The scorching, oil-rich desert sands have precluded the development of much, if any, agriculture, forcing governments to rely almost entirely on imported food. Most of those imports arrive through the Strait of Hormuz, the slender waterway that is now effectively closed to commercial shipping because of the threat of mines and drone attacks from Iranian forces and their proxies. 'Of course we're worried,' one official from a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, told me. Like others I spoke with, he was reluctant to go further precisely because he didn't want to call attention to such an existential issue. Another said only that he hoped the war would end soon....

If nutrition is a sport, it has no casual fans. Supporters of Team Protein, the 2025 champions, are numerous and passionate, backed up by a sprawling industry of protein-supplemented products such as popcorn, soda, and cereal. Also popular is Team MAHA, captained by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which endorses 'real foods,' especially red meat and dairy. The Dietitians are veteran players with an old-school strategy: going heavy on plants and light on saturated fats. Alongside underdogs like Team Keto and the Vegans, there are the Fiber-Maxxers, upstarts whose popularity has soared alongside sales of fiber-filled cookies, powders, and drinks. As in any fandom, choosing one team can mean demonizing the others' stars: MAHA partisans despise the Dietitians' low-fat milk, and the Fiber-Maxxers sneer at Team Protein's constipating supplements. Yet there is one player that any team would gladly welcome. It's packed with fiber and protein. Kennedy would call it a 'real food.' It's plant-based, widely available, and incredibly affordable. It is the homeliest and humblest of foods: the bean....