Sinds 2022 heeft Nederland een vestiging van de European Sperm Bank, een Deens bedrijf. Onlangs lanceerde het een campagne met billboards. Gezien de affaires rond artsen die eigen sperma gebruikten, staat volgens ESB transparantie voorop. „We zouden heel graag een Europees register hebben, zodat we zeker weten dat een donor maar bij één spermabank heeft gedoneerd.”

Zonder enorme headliners, maar met een breed en eigenzinnig programma, beweegt Down The Rabbit Hole soepel tussen nostalgie en experiment. Het programma zit soms zó vol dat acts elkaar in de weg staan, maar de muziek, de ruimte en de opvallend vrolijke sfeer doen de elfde editie glansrijk slagen.

247,000 miles on an EV battery? So says the owner of a U.K.-based used-car sales company that specializes in Evs, who tells the Wall Street Journal EV batteries keep performing well even after several hundred thousand miles. "They are proving themselves to be exceptionally reliable."

After five years on the road, the average EV will still be able to drive up to 95% of its original range, according to Recurrent, a data-science company that provides a battery-monitoring tool for EVs — better than many in the auto industry expected...

Potential new car buyers' fear of having to pay for a battery replacement is the number one reason they choose to steer clear of EVs, according to a 2025 survey from industry research firm AutoPacific. When early EVs hit the market, buyers' concerns were well-founded. Roughly one in 12 EVs built from 2011 to 2016 have had to have battery replacements. But new data shows that more modern EVs are doing better so far. Among EVs built from 2022 on, 0.3% have had battery replacements, according to a 2025 study from Recurrent. As battery technology has advanced, EVs have avoided problems like the ones that plagued the original Nissan Leaf when it hit the market in 2010, for example. Those cars lacked the battery-cooling technology that is in newer EVs, and they made headlines for wearing down quickly. Buyer perception hasn't quite caught up, according to Scott Case, co-founder and chief executive of Recurrent...

The newest battery-powered EVs have lifespans comparable to internal-combustion-engine vehicles, even when driven more miles, according to Viet Nguyen-Tien, a research officer at the London School of Economics who focuses on Evs. Improvements in car batteries' chemical contents, battery-management systems and thermal regulation have been the difference in making batteries last longer and cost less, Nguyen-Tien said. Battery prices have fallen more than 90% since 2010, according to a BloombergNEF report from late last year. Industry analysts say battery-replacement costs are also improving as more EVs are designed for repairability in the long-haul. An out-of-warranty battery replacement can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $16,000, depending on the manufacturer, according to Recurrent. But many EV manufacturers have shifted to allow smaller components of their battery packs to be repaired, which can allow owners to avoid the full costs of a battery replacement, Case said.

EV batteries aren't without their challenges, though. A battery that is frequently fast-charged with high power loses its range, on average, at twice the rate of a battery charged at a lower power, according to telematics company Geotab. Frequently charging a battery to 100%, or letting it rest at 0% for extended periods, can also reduce range long-term. And EVs regularly deliver less range in extreme cold or heat.
The article also includes two new projections on EV adoption:

"The share of new EVs sold is expected to nearly double to 11% of new-car sales in the U.S. by 2030, according to industry consulting firm AlixPartners."
"Globally, EVs already make up 15% of new-car sales and are expected to form nearly a quarter of the global market by 2030, according to AlixPartners."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Schrijfster en columniste Marjan Berk is zondag in Amsterdam overleden. Dat heeft haar familie bekendgemaakt. Berk, die op 11 juli 94 jaar zou zijn geworden, schreef tientallen boeken en was jarenlang columnist. In 1994 won zij een Gouden Televizier-Ring voor de televisieserie Vrouwenvleugel.

GSTAAD (ANP) - Beachvolleyballers Stefan Boermans en Alexander Brouwer hebben het prestigieuze Elite16-toernooi in Gstaad gewonnen. In de finale in Zwitserland versloeg het Nederlandse koppel de Amerikanen Trevor Crabb en Chase Budinger in drie sets: 26-28 21-17 15-11.

Katja Stam en Raïsa Schoon veroverden brons in Gstaad. Het duo verloor de halve finale van Megan Kraft en Kelly Cheng uit de Verenigde Staten. Daarna was er een zege in de strijd om de derde plek tegen het Amerikaanse koppel Julia Donlin/Lexy Denaburg: 21-19 21-11.

Na het zilver in Ostrava is het de tweede medaille op rij voor Stam en Schoon.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Rundle Street, Kent Town, South Australia

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Rundle Street, Kent Town, South Australia

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Rundle Street, Kent Town, South Australia

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide, September 1982

Thomas Hawk posted a photo: