📌 Oil Price Watch, Israel Regroups, More

Oil watchers see a threat to crude supplies after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel, escalating the Middle East conflict.

“The Middle East conflict may finally impact oil supply,” said Saul Kavonic, senior energy analyst at MST Marquee. “The scope for a material disruption to oil supply is now imminent.”

Up to 4% of global oil supply is at risk as the conflict now directly envelopes Iran, and an attack or tighter sanctions could send prices to $100 per barrel again, Kavonic added.

Oil prices gained over 5% following the missile strike before tapering to a 2% climb. Global benchmark Brent is trading 1.44% higher at $74.62 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 1.62% to $70.95 per barrel.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration, Iran is the third largest oil producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, producing almost four million barrels of oil per day.

The Israeli military said today that regular infantry and armored units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon.

The move against Iran-backed Hezbollah was made as Israel prepares to retaliate against Iranian missile strikes, raising fears the oil-producing Middle East could be engulfed in the conflict.

The military said the ground operation aims to destroy tunnels and other infrastructure on the border and an operation targeting Beirut or major cities in southern Lebanon was not planned.

Iran said its assault was a response to Israeli killings of militant leaders and aggression in Lebanon against Hezbollah and in Gaza. Iran said its missile attack, its biggest on Israel, was over, barring further provocation.

Despite a continual decline in deaths from US breast cancer, it has risen in younger ages, and significant racial disparities remain.

The overall breast cancer death rate from 1989–2022 dropped by about 44%, almost 518,000 fewer breast cancer deaths due to advances in cancer treatments and early detection through screening. However, a study reports the incidence of the disease climbed 1% each year from 2012–2021.

The breast cancer diagnosis for women under 50 was “slightly higher.” Another study found breast cancer incidence rates among women aged 20–49 rose over the past 20 years.

The trend follows a pattern seen with other cancers, such as colorectal, in that more people are being diagnosed at younger ages. The data shows black women continue to be more likely to die from the disease, with a 38% higher death rate than white women despite being 5% less likely to have it.

The report notes that Asian American and Pacific Islander women had the fastest increase in breast cancer incidence each year among those younger than 50, at 2.7% per year, and in women 50 and older, at 2.5% per year.

Experts say the risk of breast cancer can be reduced with a healthy weight, physical activity, drinking alcohol in moderation or not at all, and breastfeeding after pregnancy if possible.

Brineworks, an Amsterdam-based startup, is developing a way to remove carbon from seawater using electrolysis technology.

Brineworks' direct ocean capture (DOC) is expected to cost under $100 per ton of CO2, much cheaper than the $230–$630 per ton of direct air capture (DAC) — cost-effective for reducing carbon in the atmosphere and helping to control climate change.

Brineworks’ seawater electrolyzer extracts CO2 from seawater and produces green hydrogen, creating a revenue stream. It can run on solar or wind, and the hydrogen is stored in tanks, so the process can be conducted off-grid.

As oceans are far denser than the atmosphere — the concentration of marine CO2 is about 150 times higher than that in the air — the energy required to capture carbon dioxide is proportionally far less than using DAC.

Brineworks is starting its first pilot on the Canary Islands and hopes to capture a metric ton of carbon per week.

Gun control and abortion were among numerous issues debated by JD Vance and Tim Walz in their vice presidential contest.

Walz, the governor of Minnesota, questioned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s fitness for leading the country and objected to his 2018 decision to withdraw the US from the international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program.

Vance, a US senator from Ohio, countered that Trump, during his time in the White House, created “effective deterrence” and made countries afraid to step “out of line.”

The debate was the only one in the campaign between Walz and Vance, and it could be the final direct matchup between their respective tickets. No further debates are scheduled between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Around 40 circular depressions, presumed to be sinkholes, lie at the bottom of Lake Michigan, 14 miles southeast of Sheboygan.

The depressions are 300–600 feet across and likely formed through geological processes. Types of rock below the surface can be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them.

Similar sinkholes have been found in Lake Huron, where the oxygen-poor and sulfur-rich groundwater sustains microbial communities resembling life as it would have been around 2.5 billion years ago on Earth.

More studies are needed at Lake Michigan to see what kind of life the sinkholes could harbor. Scientists suspect they could help us learn more about the conditions on early Earth.

A Montana man who bred and sold gigantic “Frankensheep” clones was given six months in prison and over $24,000 in fines.

Prosecutors said Arthur “Jack” Schubarth not only committed two felonies in violation of the Lacey Act, designed to combat animal trafficking, but also violated international treaties meant to prevent invasive species from harming domestic wildlife.

Schubarth, 81, bought parts of dead male Marco Polo argali sheep, the world’s largest, from sellers in Kyrgyzstan and sent genetic material to a lab to create cloned embryos. They were artificially inseminated into ewes of various species.

One ewe bore a sheep Schubarth named “Montana Mountain King.” King was bred to create sheep even larger than the average Marco Polo argali male, which weighs over 300 lbs, stands 49 inches at the shoulder, and sports horns spanning over five feet.

King’s semen was sold to breeders in other states. Sheep containing just 25% Marco Polo argali DNA fetched $15,000 per head, while animals produced by King’s son, Montana Black Magic, sold for $10,000 each.

An official said such violations “can be devastating for our domestic populations of wild animals.” Montana Mountain King is in “custody” of the US Fish and Wildlife Services.