WHAT’S INSIDE:

• Consumer tech: Nissan GT-R, Paper Pro, AI Garment, Chigee, Espresso Pro 15

• Feature: Denver's High-Rise Eco-Hotel

• Latest food and dining and food technology news

• Arts and culture news, intersection of tech and entertainment

• The latest sports news and sports tech

• Futurism, the latest in future concepts and cutting edge deep tech

• Latest news in wellness and wellbeing tech, biotech, medtech and more

TOP CONSUMER TECH NEWS

Nissan GT-R Hybrid Shift — The upcoming GT-R, expected by 2030, will feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain with 70 miles of electric range.

reMarkable Paper Pro — The reMarkable Paper Pro boasts a custom display, advanced markers, eye- friendly reading light, organizational tools, & cloud storage.

Precision Garment Design — IMAGGarment-1 enables detailed control over garment design, including silhouette and color, using the GarmentBench dataset with over 180K samples.

AI Motorbike Dash — The Chigee AIO-6 interface introduces 4G, enhanced security features, emergency SOS, real-time tracking, dashcam integration with a larger display. Pre-orders in Q1 2025.

Espresso Pro 15 — The Espresso Pro 15 is a 4K portable monitor perfect for productivity. With 1.07 billion colors, 550 nits brightness, and a durable design, it’s priced at $699 and includes a 30-day risk-free trial.

FEATURE ARTICLE

Denver's High-Rise Eco-Hotel

Near Denver’s Union Station sits Populus, a new 13-story tower clad in cream-colored concrete pocked with hundreds of oval windows that look uncannily like the “eyes” in an aspen’s bark. Colorado’s state tree inspired the building’s biomimetic façade and its sustainability mission. When the 265-room hotel opened last autumn, developer Urban Villages declared it the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel—designed to remove more greenhouse gases over its life-cycle than it emits.

How It Achieved Neutrality?

First, Populus slashed the “embodied carbon” baked into construction by using low-carbon concrete mixes and sourcing finishes within 500 miles. Second, it commits to aggressive sequestration: more than 70,000 Engelmann spruce saplings have already been planted in beetle-ravaged forests, and a new tree goes in the ground for every stay—a program run with the U.S. Forest Service that the hotel says will wipe out its cradle-to-grave footprint four to five times over. Architects and hoteliers also point to two converging forces: the steep drop in the cost of rooftop photovoltaics and the rise of eco-conscious luxury travelers.

On The Inside

Inside, Studio Gang’s architecture lets daylight do the heavy lifting: each “aspen eye” frames sky or mountain and funnels light deep into corridors, reducing the need for electric lamps. Rooftop solar panels, power elevators and induction stoves in the zero-gas kitchen; a massive Biogreen360 composter digests everything from avocado pits to staff uniforms woven from recycled polyester. There’s no on-site parking—guests are nudged toward rail, bike share or an electric-car drop-off zone instead.

A Growing Green Hotel Trend

Populus may be the boldest experiment yet, but it’s hardly alone. Across the United States, a handful of properties are pushing past the familiar LEED checklist toward net-zero—or, in Populus’s case, net-positive—operation. They also aim to prove that low-impact travel can still feel luxurious.

For guests, the experience feels like a design upgrade. At Populus, the eye shaped windows double as perches for a fleet of ceramic nuthatches by Denver artist Bentley Yale; in the lobby, espresso machines sit on slabs of beetle-kill pine salvaged from the same forests the hotel is helping to repopulate. A Reishi mushroom sculpture adorns the hotel bar, and cuisine is “nature-based” friendly and locally sourced.

Can Eco hospitality scale?

Economics suggest yes—within limits. Populus cost over $100 million, a premium its backers concede was “in the single digits” relative to a conventional build, offset partly by federal solar tax credits and Denver’s green-building incentives. It will also recoup a lot of its extra outlay through energy savings and brand lift. 

Consumer demand is high so far; Populus averages $350-$400 a night and hit 80% occupancy through its first ski season, outperforming the downtown market by 15%. Still, retrofitting a century-old resort or a Vegas mega-tower remains daunting. 

Yet momentum is on the side of the experimenters. California’s latest building code makes all-electric equipment the default for new hotels. The U.S. Green Building Council plans to debut a LEED “Positive” certification in 2027 that will reward projects like Populus for restorative strategies. Industry analysts predict 500 U.S. hotels will market themselves as net-zero or net-positive by 2030.

Back in Denver, twilight hits the aspen-eye windows, and the façade glows like a lantern in the thin mountain air. From the rooftop bar you can trace the Front Range south toward forests still scarred by beetles and fire—forests the hotel claims it will help heal, one check-in at a time. Whether Populus ultimately proves carbon-positive, it has already reframed what an eco-friendly stylish city stay can look (and feel) like.

Check Out Populus Hotel Here

FOOD + DRINK

RFK Jr. Targets Food Dyes — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to eliminate eight petroleum-based food dyes by 2026 due to health concerns for children.

Space Food Innovation — The European Space Agency has launched a bioreactor to create food in space, aiming to cut costs and develop sustainable off-world food.

Chobani — The yogurt company is opening a 1m-square-foot factory in Rome, New York, that will cost $1.2B+ and produce 1B pounds of dairy products annually.

Potato Breakthrough — Researchers have created a potato pangenome to enhance breeding and sequencing of new varieties, overcoming genetic challenges.

US Soy Surge — US soybean oil exports are set to reach 2,300M lbs, driven by strong demand, competitive pricing, a weaker USD, and domestic biofuel mandates.

China's Agricultural Boom — China's agriculture is set for a 7.8% grain yield boost by 2034 through modernization and AI.

2025 Best Whiskey — The International London Spirits Competition recognized Glen Moray 15 Year Old as the best single malt Scotch whisky in the world.

ARTS + CULTURE

Oscars Open to AI — The Academy announced that films using AI can win Oscars if human involvement is present in nominations, raising concerns among artists.

Netflix Booms — Netflix posted nearly $3B in profit, maintaining a strong operating margin and exploring video podcasts for future growth.

YouTube TV — Plans to launch a redesigned TV app this summer, which will include easier navigation, as well as playback and quality tweaks + Ask Music AI radio.

Picasso Exhibition — Paloma Picasso, daughter of Pablo is hosting a Gagosian exhibition featuring her father's unseen works and addressing his complex legacy.

Christie’s to Sell Nine Works — Christie's will auction nine works from the Bass Collection with total estimates over $60M, highlighting significant art pieces by Rothko and others.

The Great Gatsby Centennial — Princeton and the Minnesota Historical Society are hosting exhibitions to celebrate 100 years of "The Great Gatsby," highlighting Fitzgerald's life and art.

SPORTS DESK

Dodgers x Murakami — The Dodgers team up with legendary designer Takashi Murakami for new merchandise, debuting on Japanese Heritage Night.

Warriors' Golden Run — The Golden State Warriors have become the NBA's most valuable team, now worth $9.14B after a new arena, and lucrative sponsorships, boosting revenue and market appeal.

PGA's Speed Up Play — The PGA Tour tests rangefinders at select events to quicken pace, inspired by MLB's pitch clock.

X's NBA Portal Launch — X has introduced an NBA Portal to boost sports engagement, offering league news, real-time scores, and curated content.

Cryotherapy Insights — Research finds short-term cryotherapy boosts pull-up performance but doesn't impact other athletic metrics or sleep.

Cynosure Sports Fund — Cynosure and Checketts Sports Capital have launched a $1.2B PE fund targeting global sports investments in tech, innovation, facilities, and media rights.

FUTURISM

Biology Meets AI — C2S-Scale transforms single-cell RNA sequencing data into natural language, enabling conversational analysis and predictions, 100,000 times faster than current tech.

LLMs Lack True Reasoning — Recent studies reveal LLMs rely on statistical pattern matching, not true reasoning, leading to unreliable outputs.

3D-Printed Progress — In Arida, Japan, a 3D-printed train station shelter was built in just seven days cost-effectively with an earthquake-resistant design.

Mind Moves— A new wearable neural interface offers hands-free device control for up to 12 hours, using microneedles, supports AR integration.

Unjammable Quantum Sensors — Q-CTRL introduces quantum sensors utilizing Earth's magnetic anomalies for navigation, offering a passive, unjammable GPS alternative.

Crystal Clarity — Researchers at Kumamoto University have visualized nanoscale structures in piezoelectric crystals responding to electric fields in real-time.

WELLBEING TECH

HHS Overhaul — The Trump admin cuts 25% of HHS staff, eliminating key divisions.

Health Revolution — Superpower launched a super app providing biannual lab tests for over 100 biomarkers, AI-driven health insights, and healthcare access.

Gene-Edited Pig Liver Trial — The FDA approved a trial using gene-edited pig livers for patients with sudden liver failure, a potential lifeline for up to 20 patients.

Pioneering Beating Heart Transplant — A Taiwanese medical team completed the first beating heart transplant, keeping the donor heart functional during surgery.

Mitochondrial Breakthrough — Scientists discover the structure of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, crucial for energy production, paving the way for new treatments for cancer, diabetes, and hair loss.

Stem Cell Fertility — Spermatogonial stem cell transplantation shows potential in restoring sperm production for infertile men.

Foundation 29 — The Microsoft-supported non-profit unveiled DxGPT, a tool that assesses your symptoms to give a list of possible diagnoses including rare illnesses.