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Diriyah Season: Entertainment with a Historic Touch

The Diriyah boxing ring that will host the fight between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua on December 7. (SPA)
The Diriyah boxing ring that will host the fight between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua on December 7. (SPA)
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Diriyah Season: Entertainment with a Historic Touch

The Diriyah boxing ring that will host the fight between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua on December 7. (SPA)
The Diriyah boxing ring that will host the fight between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua on December 7. (SPA)

After the Riyadh Season festival, Diriyah Season kicked off to highlight Saudi heritage and history with numerous modern recreational activities.

Diriyah Season has opened the doors of Diriyah Oasis to announce the debut of one of the biggest entertainment events in the region. The event gathers art and entertainment in four different zones, each with its unique shows and games.

With its wide recreational zones, the Diriyah Oasis offers diverse experiences for all visitors. It includes the butterfly oasis, boasting some 3,000 different types of butterflies, along with many musical and artistic shows.

The oasis emphasizes the historical value of the Diriyah Governorate. It reflects the majestic Saudi heritage, highlights the beauty of its unique architecture and provides a glance at the country's rich resources.

This entertainment destination is composed of four main zones: nature, imagination, reflection and excitement and extends over 130,000 square meters.

The nature zone features many activities in green spaces, such as farmers markets, forests and the butterfly oasis, along with some courts dedicated for children games. For adventure lovers, the imagination zone introduces many shows and games, with some children activities at the Steam Lab, an interactive exhibition offering activities and attractive sites. It also comprises illusion rooms, art and craft workshops, a confetti dome and an urban maze.

Near to Diriyah's giant wheel, visitors will be able to sit and relax around ponds in the soothing environment of the reflection zone, which also includes an outdoor ice rink and kart racing on water.

The excitement zone features a drone arena, four unique escape rooms, a laser tag area, a virtual-reality sports world and bumper cars.

At Diriyah Season, you can also enjoy other regions like the ancient Tarif neighborhood, and Al-Bujairi area with its luxury restaurants. Both are separated by Wadi Hanifa, the Formula-E zone, a field that will host the historic Diriyah fight between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua on December 7, and another field for a scheduled tennis tournament.

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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and down to the stomach of Thing 1, a two-month-old calf that is part of a research project aiming to prevent cows from burping methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Paulo de Meo Filho, a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Davis, is part of an ambitious experiment aiming to develop a pill to transform cow gut bacteria so it emits less or no methane.

While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources emit methane, cattle farming has become a major climate concern due to the sheer volume of the cows' emissions.

"Almost half of the increase in (global) temperature that we've had so far, it's been because of methane," said Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis.

Methane, the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent.

"Methane lives in the atmosphere for about 12 years" unlike carbon dioxide which persists for centuries, Kebreab said.

"If you start reducing methane now, we can actually see the effect on the temperature very quickly."

Filho uses the tube to extract liquid from Thing 1's rumen -- the first stomach compartment containing partially digested food.

Using the rumen liquid samples, the scientists are studying the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane, which is not digested by the cow but instead burped out.

A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of the gas annually.

- 'Social critters' -

Thing 1 and other calves receive a seaweed-supplemented diet to reduce methane production.

Scientists hope to achieve similar results by introducing genetically modified microbes that soak up hydrogen, starving methane-producing bacteria at the source.

However, the team proceeds cautiously.

"We can't just simply cut down methane production by removing" methane-making bacteria, as hydrogen could accumulate to the point of harming the animal, warned Matthias Hess, who runs the UC Davis lab.

"Microbes are kind of social critters. They really like to live together," he said.

"The way they interact and affect each other impacts the overall function of the ecosystem."

Hess's students test different formulas in bioreactors, vessels that reproduce microorganisms' living conditions in a stomach from movements to temperature.

- More productive cows -

The project is being carried out at UC Davis as well as UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).

IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe -- the one they hope to genetically alter to supplant methane-producing microbes.

The modified microorganisms will then be tested at UC Davis in the lab and in the animals.

"Not only are we trying to reduce methane emissions, but you also increase the feed efficiency," said Kebreab.

"Hydrogen and methane, they are both energy, and so if you reduce that energy and redirect it to something else... we have a better productivity and lower emissions at the same time."

The ultimate goal is a single-dose treatment administered early in life, since most cattle graze freely and can't receive daily supplements.

The three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough.

Kebreab has long studied sustainable livestock practices and pushes back against calls to reduce meat consumption to save the planet.

While acknowledging this might work for healthy adults in developed nations, he pointed to countries like Indonesia, where the government is seeking to increase meat and dairy production because 20 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth.

"We can't tell them to not eat meat," he said.