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Only humans can be awarded patents, but AIs can do a lot of the work to earn them. lineartestpilot/iStock via Getty Images

When humans use AI to earn patents, who is doing the inventing?

US patent law says inventors must be human, but they can use AI. This changes the nature of invention and raises the question: Is this what the founders had in mind when they set up the patent system?
Pennsylvania’s mushroom farmers have been struggling for decades to recruit and retain workers. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

Pennsylvania’s mushroom industry faces urgent labor shortage − and latest immigration policies will likely make it worse

Kennett Square, Pa., is considered the mushroom capital of the world. The industry depends heavily on immigrants, who work physically demanding jobs in tough conditions.
A dragline excavator mines rare earth materials in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine on Feb. 25, 2025. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

US, Ukraine sign ‘economic partnership’ centered on Ukraine’s wealth of critical minerals – but extracting them isn’t so simple

Critical minerals are in demand around the world for military, technology and other uses. A geoscientist shares what’s known about Ukraine’s reserves, which could help the country recover from war.
Mike Bloomberg speaks at the Global Renewables Summit in September 2024. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Bloomberg Philanthropies

Gifts from top 50 US philanthropists rebounded to $16B in 2024 − Mike Bloomberg; Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin; and Michael and Susan Dell lead the list of biggest givers

Three philanthropy scholars size up the latest data on gifts from the country’s biggest philanthropists.
Michel Lescanne, founder and president of the French company Nutriset, holds Plumpy'nut packets in 2005. Robert Francois/AFP via Getty Images

How Nutriset, a French company, has helped alleviate hunger and create jobs in some of the world’s poorest places

The key to the for-profit company’s successful partnership with governments, international agencies and humanitarian, nongovernmental organizations is how it handled its patent.