The Chinese Meteorological Administration deployed a swarm of drones in a beehive formation to conduct the first comprehensive three-dimensional observation of a typhoon as it made landfall. A coordinated system of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was deployed to collect data on temperature, humidity, wind, and turbulence.
China set a world record in meteorological observations by conducting a full-cycle monitoring of Typhoon Hongsia using a drone swarm. The experiment was carried out at the Low-Altitude Economic UAV Weather Support Test Base on the Dapeng Peninsula, Shenzhen. Numerous drones equipped with meteorological sensors formed a coordinated observation network that simultaneously collected data on the vertical profile of temperature, humidity, wind field, and turbulence at different altitudes throughout the typhoon's landfall process. This marked the first instance of applying drone swarm technology to observe the entire lifecycle of a typhoon.
Unlike traditional operations using a single drone, the swarm approach utilizes multiple UAVs as a collaborative observation system. Coordinated formation allows for multi-point, multi-level atmospheric sounding in one airspace, ensuring dense sampling of the three-dimensional space at low altitudes through mutual coordination between drones. This compensates for the limitations of single-point detection, which cannot capture the spatial structure of typhoon dynamics. The swarm also simultaneously recorded drone flight parameters, including trajectory, deviation, and energy consumption, systematically investigating the limits of meteorological constraints for safe drone operation in extreme weather conditions.
The operational task presented a serious challenge, as typhoons generate strong wind shear, heavy precipitation, and severe turbulence that could destroy conventional drones not designed for such conditions. The swarm drones required enhanced structural integrity, waterproofing, and reliable control systems to maintain stable flight and data collection throughout the typhoon's passage. The successful operation demonstrates that drone technology has moved beyond use in favorable weather and is now applicable in the most complex atmospheric conditions, providing critical data for forecasting typhoon intensity and trajectory, which historically lacked ground observations over coastal waters.
This experiment advances China's growing capabilities in operating drones in extreme weather conditions, including the Haiyang Project in 2022 on the Tibetan Plateau and the investigation of Typhoon Wing Lun in 2025. The swarm method shifts the focus from single, expensive platforms to coordinated, inexpensive swarms, significantly increasing data density while reducing risks. This capability is not only relevant to meteorology. The same swarm coordination technology, communication protocols, and drone design principles for extreme environments can be applied to disaster response, maritime surveillance, and infrastructure inspection in challenging weather. The successful operation of the drone swarm during the typhoon confirms that coordinated autonomous systems can operate effectively in the most demanding natural environments, laying the foundation for regular all-weather drone operations. The data collected during the observation of Typhoon Hongsia will serve as a basis for developing improved typhoon forecasting models, potentially reducing economic losses and enhancing emergency preparedness for coastal communities facing annual typhoon threats in East and Southeast Asia.
The international volunteer group ASEZ WAO organized a tree planting campaign called Mother’s Forest in the city of Tshwane over the weekend. This initiative aims to combat climate change and create a greener future for local communities.
As part of its project, ASEZ WAO, a youth volunteer group of the Church of the Missionary God, held an event in the city of Tshwane. A representative of the group explained that the project is a climate change response activity that protects the Earth, the basis of life, by planting carbon-absorbing trees in various parts of the world and removing invasive plants.
On Sunday, about 70 people, including members of ASEZ WAO and local residents, planted 50 trees in five schools, including Kgomotso High School in Sochanguve. Among the planted species is mango, which is expected in the future to contribute to providing food for students and local residents.
The Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment welcomed the efforts of the young people and provided seedlings. Tshwane City Councillor Gilbert Monanyana visited the venue and noted that such actions create a healthier and safer environment by eliminating toxic fumes from illegal dumpsites. He emphasized that organizations like ASEZ WAO should lead the fight against climate change and demonstrate planetary salvation.
Councillor Tabiso Mohlamma expressed gratitude to the volunteers for 'saving the future.'
On the same day, in another part of the country, about 100 volunteers planted 300 trees at False Bay College in the Western Cape province.
When people imagine prehistoric life, they often think of giant dinosaurs or fossils. However, some of Earth's most ancient evolutionary lines never disappeared but simply continued to exist. Throughout southern Africa, travelers can encounter plants and animals whose ancestors lived on the planet with dinosaurs or even existed long before them, dating back hundreds of millions of years.
These amazing species, often called 'living fossils,' serve as a window into Earth's distant past. Although evolution has never completely stopped, these organisms have retained many traits very similar to those of their ancient ancestors. Observing them is akin to visiting a natural history museum where the exhibits are alive.
Scientists believed this deep-sea fish had gone extinct with the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. However, in December 1938, museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered an unusual catch brought in near East London and realized she had made a remarkable discovery. This fish turned out to be a living coelacanth, one of the greatest zoological discoveries of the twentieth century.
Today, coelacanths are extremely rare and inhabit deep-sea caves along certain parts of the East African coast, including waters near Sodwana Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Divers cannot simply see them because they live at depths exceeding recreational diving limits. Nevertheless, the history of this animal can be studied through exhibitions at the South African Institute of Marine Biodiversity in Makhanda and by visiting East London, where the initial discovery took place.
Among the most unusual plants of South Africa are cycads. These ancient seed plants first appeared over 280 million years ago, long before flowering plants evolved and even before the landscape was dominated by dinosaurs. Today, there are dozens of cycad species in South Africa, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
Their thick trunks and impressive crowns of stiff leaves give them a nearly prehistoric appearance, and this impression is justified. Travelers can see cycads in their natural habitat in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal regions. Excellent collections are also displayed at the National Botanical Garden in Pretoria, where visitors can appreciate their diversity without traveling to remote habitats.
Unfortunately, cycads are also among the world's most vulnerable plants. Illegal collection for private gardens has pushed several species toward extinction, making conservation efforts more important than ever. It is best to admire these ancient survivors in botanical gardens or protected natural areas that are their natural environment.
Growing on the gravel plains of the Namib Desert in Namibia, this bizarre vegetation produces only two leaves in its entire life. These leaves never stop growing; instead, they decompose and branch over centuries, forming a tangled mass spread across the desert floor.
Individual specimens can live for over 1000 years, and some estimates suggest that exceptional specimens may be significantly older. Welwitschia has no close living relatives, making it one of the most unique and ancient plants in the world. Its ability to survive in one of the harshest climates on Earth only adds to its legendary status.
Acting as silent guardians in arid landscapes, ferns have adapted to life where few other trees can survive. These striking aloes thrive in the Northern Cape of South Africa and neighboring Namibia, storing water in their thick stems and reflecting heat with their pale covering.
Although not as ancient in origin as cycads, they represent a long evolutionary history of adaptation to the changing climate of Southern Africa. Some of the best places to observe them are in the areas around Keimoes and Kenhardt, and the famous Fern Forest near Keitumshupa in Namibia offers one of the continent's most picturesque desert landscapes. At sunset, their sculptural forms create unforgettable silhouettes against one of Africa's clearest night skies.
Not every living fossil is easy to spot. Velvet worms inhabit moist local forests in various parts of South Africa, especially in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Knysna forests. These soft-bodied and secretive invertebrates have changed very little over hundreds of millions of years. Their unusual hunting method involves spraying sticky mucus to catch prey—a technique that has fascinated evolutionary biologists for decades. Discovering such an animal requires patience, careful observation, and luck, making any sighting particularly valuable.
Some of the world's most famous living fossils are located elsewhere, but they help place the ancient species of South Africa into a global context.
Ginkgo biloba, often planted in botanical gardens worldwide, including in South Africa, is the last surviving representative of a lineage that once covered much of the Northern Hemisphere.
The chambered nautilus continues to drift in the Indo-Pacific waters, using a shell design that has changed little over millions of years. Meanwhile, African lungfish offer another glimpse into evolutionary history. Their ability to breathe air provides scientists with valuable insights into how ancient fish eventually transitioned to land, paving the way for amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and ultimately, humans.
Even horseshoe crabs, although absent from the shores of South Africa, deserve mention. They are closer to spiders than to true crabs and have survived for over 400 million years, illustrating how some marine lineages have weathered dramatic changes in Earth's oceans. Comparing them to South Africa's own ancient marine arthropods underscores the depth of the continent's evolutionary roots.
The book 'Mycology for Architecture' explores how mycelium—the root network of fungi—transforms architecture as a living material, making it not just sustainable, but regenerative, adaptive, and closely linked to ecological systems. The collection brings together leading researchers, professionals, and educators, highlighting how living matter is changing approaches to design, manufacturing, and habitation in man-made environments.
The book is divided into three main parts. The first part presents mycelium as an alternative to traditional building materials, demonstrating its application in bricks, cladding materials, adaptive structures, and even extraterrestrial habitats. The second part examines methods of working with living fungi, including laboratory protocols, masterclass formats, and experimental pedagogical approaches that challenge standard design education.
The final section is dedicated to advanced production strategies that expand the boundaries of mycelium-based composites toward a scalable and sustainable future. By combining theory, production, and pedagogy, the book asserts biodesign as a critical methodology, not merely speculative novelty. It calls on architects, designers, and scientists to rethink material assembly and implement non-linear, adaptive processes to create a more equitable and climate-responsive future.
The climate crisis, resource scarcity, and urgent need for eco-friendly materials make a revision of design and construction methods vitally necessary. Mycelium offers a renewable, biodegradable, and low-carbon alternative to plastics and foams. It is important to note that mycelium is already used in packaging, product design, and prototyping, and its expansion into architecture opens possibilities for insulation, acoustics, lightweight structures, and negative carbon footprint systems.
Despite growing interest in biodesign, there has been a lack of specialized architectural literature fully dedicated to mycelium, and this book fills that gap. It shows how this living system can be cultivated, shaped, and integrated into construction practices, covering advanced methods of digital fabrication, biotechnology, and research for space exploration. The book is unique in its interdisciplinarity: the authors are not mycologists by training, but they have successfully integrated fungi into their fields through material innovation, structural experiments, pedagogy, or digital fabrication.
The book provides both practical techniques and new conceptual frameworks for integrating mycelium into architecture. It traces the history of fungi through the lens of mycelium as a biomaterial, analyzes modern methods of using mycelium in bricks and cladding, assessing their mechanical properties, scalability, and environmental impact. Furthermore, it proposes promising directions for a sustainable future, including the study of under-researched fungal species and their application in extraterrestrial environments. The book also suggests structures for creating 'myco-labs,' linking education, research, and industry, and introduces new pedagogical models for working with living systems, viewing fungi as a project partner.
The book presents advanced production strategies, ranging from CNC machining and robotics to additive manufacturing with living mycelium, as well as hybrid approaches combining fungi with recycled clay. Large-scale digital workflows are documented, offering methods that go beyond small prototypes. The publication is addressed to architects, designers, engineers, material scientists, and educators seeking rigorous, applicable knowledge about working with mycelium. It will serve as a reference for academic circles studying biomaterials, as well as for practitioners seeking sustainable alternatives, and for entrepreneurs looking to scale mycelium-based innovations.
