BTN Newsbreak 14/08/2025
A new report from the Australian Institute of Criminology has found that nearly half of Australians experienced cybercrime last year. Yeah, the digital world provides a lot of opportunities for crafty criminals, and a lot of Aussies are getting caught out. See, the Australian Institute of Criminology or the AIC has just released its latest cybercrime report and found that around 47% of us have been the victim of a cybercrime in the last 12 months, with identity theft, malware, and scams being some of the most common crimes. While some people said they were pretty tech savvy, the AIC reckons this confidence could be why some people are letting their guard down. So as cybercrime becomes more sophisticated, the AIC is calling for Aussies to stay safe online by remembering to always install the latest software updates, use unique passwords, and enable multifactor authentication wherever you can.
EUROPE WILDFIRES
Countries in southern Europe have been battling extreme wildfires. Thousands of people have been evacuated as firefighters and volunteers battle the intense blazes in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Türkiye and the Balkans, which are being fanned by a record-breaking heatwave and strong winds. At least 3 people have died, and authorities say the extreme heat will likely continue over the coming days, prompting some countries to call for urgent aid from the European Union.
HAIR TOOTHPASTE
We all know it's important to brush our teeth, and scientists in London reckon they've now come up with the ultimate tooth protecting toothpaste which is made from hair! According to Scientists from King's College in London, hair could be the key to good oral health! Sort of. See, our teeth are coated in a natural protective layer called Enamel, but when Enamel gets damaged from things like acidic food and drink, poor oral hygiene and ageing, it doesn't repair itself and can lead to tooth decay, pain, and eventually losing teeth completely! But hair contains a protein called Keratin, and the King's College scientists found that when Keratin comes into contact with minerals in saliva, it forms a crystal-like protective coating similar to enamel. But it's a little more complicated than just putting hair in your mouth. The Keratin is actually extracted, and can then be used as a gel, or toothpaste. Keratin doesn't just come from human hair either, but also skin and animal wool. While the scientists reckon hair toothpaste will transform dentistry, it won't be available for another two or three years, so, in the meantime hair styles and good smiles won't have any crossover.
DUST SLIPPER
First up, to slippers made out of an unusual material: dust. Yeah, I'm talking vacuumed fresh off the floor, household dust. Rahat is a design graduate from Ravensbourne uni in London, and says he takes out bits of hair, sticks and other debris before flattening it out and heating his dust fabric to kill bacteria.
BAKED BEAN RECORD
And finally to the moment these four gentlemen broke the world record for eating the most baked beans with a toothpick in 3 minutes. That's David Rush, who's a bit of a world record legend, he currently holds more than 300 titles! Including this one, now.
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