The ocean is Earth’s largest carbon sink, absorbing about 25% of the CO₂ released by human activities. However, this uptake contributes to ocean acidification and risks destabilizing marine ecosystems. Utilizing this carbon resource presents a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels to produce important chemicals and materials, such as plastics.

A system to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from seawater and convert it into biodegradable plastic precursors has been reported in Nature Catalysis. The findings suggest a potentially sustainable way to produce industrial chemicals.

Chuan Xia and colleagues engineered a two-part system that captures CO₂ from natural seawater with more than 70% efficiency and low energy consumption (around 3 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of CO₂), operating continuously for 536 hours. The carbon capture cost was found to be competitive against current technology, at US$229.9 per ton of CO₂.

First, the CO₂ was converted into pure formic acid using an electrocatalyst. This was then transformed by engineered bacteria, Vibrio natriegens, into succinic acid, which is the starting material needed to prepare poly(butylene succinate), a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer. The researchers achieved production levels of up to 1.37 grams per liter in scaled-up fermenters.

The system could also be used to produce numerous other chemicals from CO₂—for potential use in various products such as fuels, drugs and foods—by further engineering the catalysts used in each part (the electrode and the microorganism), the authors suggest. Although the system shows scalability and stability, further optimization is needed to improve yields and integration for industrial use.

Performance was consistently good throughout my home, with some of the fastest speeds I have recorded at close and medium range. My top pick, the Orbi 770 Series, outperformed the BE67 in some scenarios. By default, the 6-GHz band is a separate SSID, appended _6GHz, and MLO is switched off. I joined with my Pixel 10 Pro XL, and after multiple speed tests at close range (up to 8 feet away), I generally got download speeds around 100 Mbps faster than on the 5-GHz band, but this dropped sharply with distance. The range of 6 GHz is significantly shorter, and just one room over, the signal strength was visibly weaker than that of 5 GHz. If you want to take advantage of 6 GHz for wireless backhaul, you can’t have the routers too far apart or with too many obstacles, or you will have dead zones. I don’t think the coverage is as wide as TP-Link suggests, though much depends on your home; the Orbi 770 offered slightly better range for me.

Disappointingly, the free tier of HomeShield offers only limited security, and Security+ costs $5 a month or $36 a year for web and intrusion protection with notifications and reports, while Total Security costs $70 a year for the first year ($130 per year after) and adds antivirus for devices, VPN service, and a password manager. Advanced Parental Controls require a second subscription costing $3 a month or $18 a year for time limits, downtime scheduling, rewards, app time limits, safe search, insights, and reports. Quality of Service allows you to prioritize specific devices and set bandwidth allowances. There is also a mixed-mode security option for WPA2 and WPA3. You can also split the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands and create guest or IoT networks.

The Deco app and web interface are solid but fairly limited in terms of options. The app was able to identify many of the devices on my network, but this required me to share data with a third party. There is now an option to run a speed test on the router to see what your ISP delivers, which is handy. Ultimately, this three-pack gave me reliable and speedy internet throughout my home and garden.

Deco App via Simon Hill

Deco App via Simon Hill

Deco App via Simon Hill

TP-Link does have far too many similar mesh systems, though, and I run through some of the alternatives below. Performance and price-wise, the BE67 falls between the BE63 and the flagship BE85, and I think it’s the sweet spot in TP-Link’s line-up for most people. The Deco BE68 is the same system as the BE67, but exclusive to Best Buy.

Best Wi-Fi 6 Mesh

The combination of speedy performance, impressive range, and lots of extra features earns the Asus ZenWiFi XT8 the title of best Wi-Fi 6 mesh system. (Even if it’s a bit of a mouthful.) I tested the two-pack, and the straightforward setup through the mobile app took minutes, though you have to keep the node close by during setup and then move it. This is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 system with one 2.4-GHz band and two 5-GHz bands (one is reserved for wireless backhaul). Available in black or white, these units are fairly large, but they’re unobtrusive and look classy, with side vents to help dissipate heat. Each router offers three gigabit Ethernet ports, which is generous, as well as a 2.5 gigabit WAN port and a USB 3.1 port.

At short, medium, or long range, the XT8 was consistently one of the fastest systems I tested, and speeds never dropped. The inclusion of AiProtection Pro, which adds anti-malware and parental controls powered by Trend Micro, is very welcome, especially since it doesn’t require a subscription, unlike most competitors. Just remember that using AiProtection means sharing your data with Trend Micro, so you might want to read its privacy policy. I like the parental controls, too. You can set up and reuse profiles, schedule bedtimes, filter by age group, and review activity. The Quality of Service (QoS) option lets you prioritize activities like working from home, gaming, or streaming, and you can limit bandwidth for specific devices.

Semiconductor maker AMD will supply its chips to artificial intelligence company OpenAI as part of an agreement to team up on building artificial intelligence infrastructure, the companies said Monday.

OpenAI will also get the option to buy as much as a 10% stake in AMD, according to a joint statement announcing the deal. It’s the latest deal for the ChatGPT maker as it races to beef up its AI computing resources.

Under the terms of the deal, OpenAI will buy the latest version of the company’s high performance graphics chips, the Instinct MI450, which is expected to debut next year.

The agreement calls for supplying 6 gigawatts of computing power for OpenAI’s “next generation” AI infrastructure, with the first batch of chips worth 1 gigawatt to be deployed in the second half of 2026.

AMD also issued OpenAI with a warrant allowing the AI company to buy up to 160 million shares of AMD’s common stock. That amounts to about 10% of company based on AMD’s 1.6 billion outstanding shares. The warrant will vest based on two milestones tied to the amount of computing power deployed, as well as unspecified “share-price targets.”

Shares of AMD spiked 25% before the opening bell Monday. Shares of Nvidia, which have repeatedly set new record-highs this year, fell slightly.

“This partnership is a major step in building the compute capacity needed to realize AI’s full potential,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, said in a news release. “AMD’s leadership in high-performance chips will enable us to accelerate progress and bring the benefits of advanced AI to everyone faster.”

The deal is a boost for Santa Clara, Calif.-based AMD, which has been left behind by rival Nvidia. But it also hints at OpenAI’s desire to diversify its supply chain away from Nvidia’s dominance. The AI boom has fuelled demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing chips, sending its shares soaring and making it the world’s most valuable company.

Last month, OpenAI and Nvidia announced a $100 billion partnership that will add at least 10 gigawatts of data center computing power.

© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.