Major French dictionary adds non-binary pronouns for the first time
An entry for iel and iels was added to the dictionary Le Robert that says: “Third person subject personal pronoun – singular and plural – used to refer to a person of any gender.”
Business
Pfizer to allow developing nations to make its treatment pill
U.S. drug company Pfizer will allow its experimental Covid-19 treatment pill to be made and sold in 95 developing nations. The deal could make the treatment available to 53% of the world’s population.
Brian Michael Smith becomes the first trans man to be named one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive
In 2019, he became the first out Black transgender man cast in a regular role on a network series with 911: Lone Star.
Largest-ever psilocybin trial finds the psychedelic is effective in treating serious depression
Overall, 29.1% of patients in the highest-dose group were in remission three weeks after treatment, compared to 7.6% of those in the control group.
Facebook to stop targeting ads based on race, sexual orientation, and politics
Facebook said it decided to make these changes to “address feedback from civil rights experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders on the importance of preventing advertisers from abusing the targeting options we make available.”
Alaska Airlines eliminates plastic water cups and bottles on board
Alaska is the first major airline to eliminate plastic cups and estimates that the measure will save 1.8 million pounds of single use plastic waste per year.
World’s first wind turbine designed to harness typhoon energy erected in The Philippines
The Japan-based Challenergy’s “Magnus Wind Turbine” features vertical blades spinning around a horizontal axis rather than the long blades spinning from a vertical axis in normal wind turbines.
The number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. rose 21% between 2014 and 2019
Businesses owned by Black women represent the highest rate of growth in the number of total women-owned businesses.
33 countries and 11 automakers pledge no new fossil fuel powered cars by 2040
In the latest announcement from COP26, nations, automakers, and local governments have pledged to ensure that all new cars are zero emission by 2040, and no later than 2035 in “leading markets.”
New facility in California to create 400,000 pounds of lab-grown meat a year
UPSIDE Foods just opened a major facility in Emeryville, California to scale production of the more environmentally-friendly and humane alternative to traditional meats.