NewzIntel.com

Category: MIL-Submissions

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Five ways professional athletes are redefining the limits of age in sport

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Hough, Lecturer Sport & Exercise Physiology , University of Westminster

    Maciej Rogowski Photo/Shutterstock

    In elite sport, the phrase “past your prime” is rapidly being redefined.

    At 38, Jess Fishlock just became the oldest goalscorer in UEFA Women’s Euro history. At Euro 2024, Portuguese defender Pepe made headlines not for a red card or faking injury — but for simply stepping onto the pitch at age 41, becoming the oldest player to feature in a European Championship. Fellow veterans Cristiano Ronaldo (39), Luka Modrić (38), and Keylor Navas (38) also made appearances.

    And it’s not just football. Serena Williams won the Australian Open at 35 (while pregnant). Roger Federer won a Grand Slam at 36. Rafael Nadal became the oldest French Open champion at 36. Novak Djokovic, now 38, won Olympic gold in 2024 and reached the semi-finals of all three Grand Slams this 2025.

    In American sports, Tom Brady retired at 45 after 23 physically punishing NFL seasons. LeBron James, at 39, is still dominating in the NBA, having won the inaugural NBA Cup with the LA Lakers in 2023.

    These aren’t just feel-good stories; they reflect a growing trend. Athletes are staying competitive for longer and pushing the boundaries of peak performance. But how?

    Research backs the shift. A study on Olympic athletes found that between 1992 and 2021, the average age of male Olympians rose from 25 to 27, and female athletes from 24 to 26. In football, a study of UEFA Champions League players found the average player age rose by nearly two years between 1992 and 2018.

    So how are older athletes continuing to thrive in elite sport? Here are some of the key factors.

    1. Smarter training

    Modern athletes benefit from personalised training programmes informed by cutting-edge sports science. Tools like GPS tracking, heart rate variability (HRV), and biomarker analysis help coaches monitor performance, recovery and injury risk.

    Metrics such as HRV, for example, can indicate when an athlete might need more rest, which is crucial for older athletes who take longer to recover after intense competition.

    Athletes are no longer reliant on a single coach. Today, they work with integrated teams – sports scientists, strength and conditioning coaches, and performance analysts – all dedicated to improving their fitness and performance.

    2. Better injury prevention and medical support

    Athletes now undergo regular fitness testing and musculoskeletal screening to identify potential weaknesses before they lead to injury. And when injuries do occur, recovery methods have vastly improved.

    Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries were once considered career-ending for older athletes. But thanks to advanced surgical techniques and biological therapies, recovery is now faster, and athletes return to play much sooner.

    Zlatan Ibrahimović, at age 35, returned to top-level football just seven months after an ACL tear – a feat nearly unthinkable a decade earlier.

    3. Optimised recovery and nutrition

    Ageing athletes have different recovery needs — and sports science has stepped up. Cryotherapy, compression therapy, and advanced sleep protocols all help reduce muscle soreness and accelerate repair.

    Nutrition plays a key role too. Ageing bodies experience more inflammation and slower repair, so diets rich in polyphenols (found in berries, leafy greens, and dark chocolate) are used to support vascular health and recovery. Athletes may also take approved supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin to support joint health and slow degeneration.

    The result? Older athletes can train more consistently and recover faster between games.

    4. Experience and tactical intelligence

    Speed and strength decline with age, but tactical intelligence often improves. Older athletes can compensate for age-related declines in physical capacity with their advanced game-reading skills and spatial awareness. For instance, footballers like Paul Scholes and Andrés Iniesta adapted their playing styles with age, relying more on positioning and passing intelligence than physical capacity.

    5. Financial and legacy incentives

    Today’s stars aren’t just competing for medals – they’re building brands. With massive financial rewards on offer, there’s a clear incentive to prolong careers.

    Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, recently signed a two-year contract extension with Al-Nassr that will see him play until age 42 — reportedly earning an estimated £492 million. For many athletes, the chance to leave a lasting legacy and secure generational wealth keeps them in the game.

    While we can’t stop the biological effects of ageing, today’s athletes are proving we can delay their impact – and even thrive later in life.

    With smarter training, better recovery strategies and cutting-edge medicine, the upper age limit for peak performance continues to stretch. These advances may allow more veteran athletes to defy expectations and continue competing at the highest level.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Paul Hough does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Five ways professional athletes are redefining the limits of age in sport – https://theconversation.com/five-ways-professional-athletes-are-redefining-the-limits-of-age-in-sport-261028

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump’s budget cuts could shut down local news outlets and reduce reporting on emergencies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Colleen Murrell, Chair of the Editorial Board, and Full Professor in Journalism, Dublin City University

    Donald Trump’s campaign against the “fake news” media continues largely unchecked, with a decision that is expected to reduce reporting and close down some local news stations around the US.

    This follows a House of Representatives decision on July 18 to agree with the Senate and slash US$1.1 billion (£813 million) funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which manages the money for National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and their member stations. These cuts will affect the next two years of their operations.

    There are fears that some local and rural stations will be forced to lay off staff and may even have to close, if they haven’t amassed significant cash reserves or receive other funding. Don Dunlap, the president of KEDT-TV/FM in Texas, said in an interview: “There are ten public TV stations in Texas, and we’re thinking probably six of them will close down within a year.”

    Experts are warning that in national emergencies such as wild fires and floods, local news media are “absolutely essential services” – and that they may not be able to help keep citizens well informed in future. “Nearly three-in-four Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety,” NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher said .

    Trump has had these media outlets in his sights for a while, claiming they are a waste of taxpayers’ money and are ideologically biased against Republicans – a claim denied by NPR and PBS.



    Read more:
    PBS and NPR are generally unbiased, independent of government propaganda and provide key benefits to US democracy

    Public broadcasting regularly sends out alerts related to extreme weather and emergency news. This appears particularly pertinent after the recent Texas floods which killed 135 people. Kate Riley, CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said local news outlets provide “essential lifesaving public safety services, proven educational services and community connections to their communities every day for free”.

    Republican senator from Alaska Lisa Murkowski said she recently received a tsunami warning from her local radio station after an earthquake. Murkowski has tried to introduce an amendment to reduce the cuts to local stations.

    The more-than-1,000 NPR stations around the US are vulnerable precisely because significant funding comes from federal sources. According to figures from news organisation Politico: “Approximately 19% of NPR member stations count on CPB funding for at least 30% of their revenue.”

    Ed Ulman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media, told Politico that over a third of public media stations in his state will shut down “within three-to-six months”. He has begun a renewed public funding campaign on social media.

    Small rural US radio stations are facing tough budget cuts.

    Even at well-funded TV stations such as Arizona PBS, owned by Arizona State University and run by its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, some curtailing of plans is afoot. The station provides daily programming to the region, and has trained generations of journalism students to enter careers in TV and radio. Following the announcement of these federal cuts, I spoke to Scott Woelfel, the station’s general manager, who said:

    Arizona PBS will lose about US$2.3 million per year over the next two years. That represents around 13% of our total budget. While that is a significant percentage, its loss will not prevent us from operating. In fact, we prepared a reduced budget in the likely event that the rescission would occur, and have been operating under it since July 1 … It contains cuts across the board in an equal amount to the lost revenue.

    Following these federal cuts, 60% of the station’s funding will derive from charitable giving, 16% from corporate support and a further 24% from state grants for education services. Woelfel doesn’t plan on making any staff cuts, but said some unstaffed positions will remain open indefinitely – and that the station will be “delaying major new initiatives until new funding is found”.

    What happens next?

    Overall, these cuts are likely to create additional “news deserts” – regions of the US which don’t have access to important local news and information.

    After President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 into law to give funds to public broadcasting, he said: “While we work every day to produce new goods and to create new wealth, we want most of all to enrich man’s spirit. That is the purpose of this act.” But such touching sentiments now seem old-school in this era of Trump’s loud media wars.

    In the past week, the US president has also announced he would sue “the ass off” Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corp, and the Wall Street Journal, which News Corp owns. This follows the WSJ’s publication of a story concerning a 2003 birthday letter framed around the outline of a naked woman that Trump allegedly sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump said the letter was fake. His US$10 billion lawsuit also takes in the WSJ’s owner, Dow Jones, and two of its reporters.

    As Trump pushes forward with significant changes to the media landscape, he is no doubt hoping that friendly television stations such as Fox News – also a part of Murdoch’s empire – as well as his influencer following will stay loyal to his brand.

    His Maga followers will undoubtedly be supportive of budget cuts and his anti-PBS and NPR statements. But when it comes to reporting from a flood or fire, influencers tend not to be on the ground supplying local residents with up-to-date information. Voters may find those important, and sometimes life-saving, services hard to replace.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Colleen Murrell received funding from Irish regulator Coimisiún na Meán (2021-4) for research for the annual Reuters Digital News Report Ireland.

    – ref. Trump’s budget cuts could shut down local news outlets and reduce reporting on emergencies – https://theconversation.com/trumps-budget-cuts-could-shut-down-local-news-outlets-and-reduce-reporting-on-emergencies-261493

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How the UK’s immigration system splits families apart – by design

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nando Sigona, Professor of International Migration and Forced Displacement and Director of the Institute for Research into International Migration and Superdiversity, University of Birmingham

    arda savasciogullari/Shutterstock

    The letter that arrived for eleven-year-old Guilherme in June 2025 was addressed personally to him. The UK Home Office was informing him that he and his eight-year-old brother Luca must return to Brazil. Their parents, an academic and a senior NHS nurse, both long-term UK residents with valid visas were not included in the order.

    “Whilst this may involve a degree of disruption in family life,” the letter stated, “this is considered to be proportionate to the legitimate aim of maintaining effective immigration control.”

    The family’s difficulties with the Home Office began after the parents divorced a few years after arriving in the UK. Mother and children arrived in the UK as dependants on the father’s visa. After the divorce, the mother secured her own skilled worker visa, while the father was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2024.

    Under current rules, skilled workers must wait five years before applying for settlement. For the children to qualify for settlement, both parents must be settled or one must have sole responsibility – neither condition applies here. Only after media attention did the Home Office reconsider the decision.

    This case is just the latest example of how barriers to migrants’ family life are embedded in the UK’s immigration system – something I have been studying for years. The Labour government’s recently announced immigration plans extend and bolster these barriers.

    Current rules require migrants to earn at least £29,000 to sponsor a spouse or child – a figure set to rise to £38,700 in early 2026 after changes introduced by the last government. The newest immigration plans propose doubling the path to settlement from five to ten years. And they restrict the rights to family reunion to only “nuclear” families: divorced parents, adult children and extended kin are left out.

    These changes are aimed at reducing migration and restoring “public trust”. But in practice, they make family unity a luxury — harder to achieve for low-paid migrant workers and even for working-class British citizens with foreign partners.



    Read more:
    ‘Just the rich can do it’: our research shows how immigration income requirements devastate families

    The price of family life

    Recent research my colleagues and I conducted — based on over 50 interviews with migrant domestic and food delivery workers and other experts — shows how the immigration system fractures families and puts children at risk.

    Faith, a Zimbabwean domestic worker, explained how she was unable to bring her eldest daughter to the UK due to age restrictions on dependant visas. Her daughter was later trafficked into the UK and, though she eventually rejoined her mother, hasn’t recovered from the trauma of separation: “She’s struggling to sleep, can’t eat … always emotional, saying she feels dizzy, scared to be around people.”

    Faith had been trapped in an abusive relationship for a long time because her visa was tied to her partner. When she eventually left her partner, her visa was withdrawn – leaving her in breach of immigration rules. Her younger child was placed in care while Faith was detained for breaching the terms of her visa.

    Jamal, a food delivery rider from Eritrea, had a similar experience of legal dependency. He came to the UK on a dependant visa linked to his British wife. After their relationship deteriorated, his ability to remain in the country was threatened: “If we have problems, she can cancel my visa. This was her weapon.”

    Susan, a Zimbabwean woman working in the care and cleaning sector, moved to the UK to look after her adult daughter who had cancer. When her six month visitor visa expired, she applied for asylum, but her application was refused and eventually she was detained for almost a month.

    She faced deportation but was released after a legal aid lawyer helped her submit strong evidence of her daughter’s condition. Reflecting on her experience, she explained: “When it benefits them, they say I’ve had no contact [with my family in the UK]. When they want to deport me, they say I have family to return to [in Zimbabwe].”

    Immigration status doesn’t just define one’s own legal position, it can determine who gets the right to have a family in the UK and who does not. While some of our interviewees secured status through a partner’s EU citizenship and reunited with family members already in the UK, others who rely on temporary visas are excluded.

    Changes to the immigration in recent years have placed a higher value on how migrants can contribute or provide “value” – seeing them as workers (or students) first, not members of families. Many are allowed in the UK for a limited time and without the right to bring with them even the closest family members. The effect is particularly harsh on women in domestic work, whose visas are short-term and not renewable.

    Many interviewees reported that immigration barriers delayed or obstructed their children’s education or healthcare. Samantha’s daughter waited over two months for a school placement because their legal status was still pending. Adriana was charged £8,000 for NHS maternity services because of her undocumented status, which restricts access to free healthcare to GP and emergency care.

    Even in less extreme cases, legal insecurity takes a toll. Children grow up hearing their parents talk about “papers”, “Home Office letters” or the risk of being “sent back”.

    That the Home Office sent a removal letter to an eleven-year-old is not a clerical error. It is the system working as designed. And even when public outrage forces a reversal — as in Guilherme’s case — the wider machinery of enforcement continues.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Nando Sigona is Scientific Coordinator of “Improving the Living and Working Conditions of Irregularised Migrant Households in Europe” (www.i-claim.eu), a three-year six-country research project, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe and UKRI.

    – ref. How the UK’s immigration system splits families apart – by design – https://theconversation.com/how-the-uks-immigration-system-splits-families-apart-by-design-261134

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump takes lead role in Cold War Steve’s reimagining of Hogarth’s 18th-century satire, The Rake’s Progess

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Anne Barr, Associate Professor in English Literature, University of Cambridge

    A reimagining of the sixth cartoon in William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress depicting Trump pleading for divine assistance at a gambling den. Cold War Steve

    British satirist Cold War Steve has published a series of images based on the British painter William Hogarth’s The Rake’s Progress (1733-35). Hogarth’s 18th-century original charts the catastrophic decline of an affluent young man, Tom Rakewell. Cold War Steve’s 2025 reimagining substitutes the foolish rake with the US president, Donald Trump.

    Hogarth’s eight densely packed images are a forerunner of the modern comic script, a kind of condensed graphic novel. The works swarm with life and hidden meanings for viewers to decode.

    Tom starts out in high life, flashing his cash and enjoying himself. But he is rapidly drawn into a vortex of late-night drinking, gambling and prostitution. Desperate to save himself from extreme poverty, he sells himself in marriage to an older woman (no cougar, alas, but a rather decrepit heiress).

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    But he still cannot control his behaviour. Tom is eventually imprisoned for debt, loses his mind – either to syphilis or sorrow – and dies in Bedlam, the notorious 18th-century madhouse.

    Hugely popular and culturally influential, A Rake’s Progress is a modern morality tale. It’s a warning against the perils of self-indulgence, and a devastating critique of those too wealthy and foolish to care about the damage they do.

    The Gaming House, the sixth engraving in The Rake’s Progress, depicts the protagonist back to his profligate ways after marrying an older wealthy woman.
    Wikimedia

    Political satire as tragicomedy

    Keeping close to the original narrative, Cold War Steve uses the 18th-century paintings as backdrops, while altering the object of the satire by making Trump the main target. Renamed Trump’s Progress, this is a pointed political satire, directed at those in power.

    Steve’s is a 21st-century reimagining, not a pious homage. Instead, Trump’s Progress has an irreverent punk aesthetic: a horde of Trump-supporting celebrities (such as Don King, Hulk Hogan and Liberace) are photoshopped into his digital canvases, cavorting crazily alongside Trump as he moves from his immense wealth to political pre-eminence.

    Cold War Steve’s reimagining of A Rake’s Progress with Trump as its protagonist.
    Cold War Steve

    Both funny and dark, this is political satire as tragicomedy. The contemporary satirist takes Hogarth as precedent, suggesting a bad end lies in store for the president.

    Just as the 18th-century rake ends up in the madhouse, Cold War Steve ends his sequence with an aged Trump lying in a prison cell. Trump is tended to by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his daughter Ivanka, while his other erstwhile friends look less than pleased to be incarcerated along with him.

    Hogarth was a key figure in 18th-century culture. His images of late-night drunkenness , sleazy politicians, and the cheek-by-jowl of luxury living and extreme poverty encapsulated the irrepressible messiness of modern life.

    Hogarth reflected Britain’s aspirations to liberty and progress, but also its ongoing struggles with consumerism, luxury, corruption, and greed. These are issues that dominate our present day too, and give Hogarth’s satires an urgent and unsettling relevance.

    This is not the first time Cold War Steve has used historical images from the 18th century to indict the present. In a recent article, I explored how Hogarth became a powerful visual source for the satirist during the COVID-19 crisis.

    Hogarth’s Beer Street and Gin Lane.
    Wikimedia

    In May 2020, Steve published an update of Hogarth’s famous print, Gin Lane. The original shows London as a drunken dystopia, as the poor turned to cheap imported gin to ease their daily grind.

    But Cold War Steve’s version dramatically altered the image’s moral message. By populating the city street with members of the Tory party and Britain’s business elite, he accused the government of gross moral negligence in treating the pandemic as an opportunity to make money.

    The choice of Hogarth is not accidental. Not merely familiar to students of art history, Hogarth has a cultural legibility that makes his work an influential satirical template for artists who want to comment on the social malaise of their times.

    Being in conversation with Hogarth gives contemporary works added gravitas. The veteran cartoonist Steve Bell created numerous parodies of Hogarth throughout his time at the Guardian and other publications.

    The penultimate scene in A Rake’s Progress, The Prison Scene, shows the vices of the protagonist having caught up with him.
    Wikimedia

    In 2016, English artist Thomas Moore created a version in which the 18th-century gin craze has been replaced by the obesity epidemic. Hogarth’s impoverished city street is now full of fast food shops, pubs and pawnbrokers. The manic energy and cultural anxiety of Hogarth’s satires resonates with our own accelerated culture and widespread sense of moral and social decline.

    In his study of the cultural afterlives of the 18th century, scholar James Ward has shown that postmodern popular culture often invokes Hogarth to question the assumption that our distance from the past is the same as progress.

    By splicing together images of the past with the present, Cold War Steve’s visual satires make the serious political point that society has failed to progress since the enlightenment. In his eyes, the vices that Hogarth showed ravaging his society are still part of a culture of political shamelessness, personified by Trump.

    Steve’s energetically subversive reworking of 18th-century material shows how Hogarth’s satires continue to be understood and appreciated by diverse audiences.

    Former prime minister Boris Johnson portrayed Hogarth as a patriotic British product. But by successfully translating Hogarth’s satires for a transatlantic audience, Cold War Steve shows that his appeal transcends both national and political divides. Current politics might be almost beyond parody on both sides of the pond, but Steve’s bleak humour shows us that satire is thriving.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Rebecca Anne Barr does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump takes lead role in Cold War Steve’s reimagining of Hogarth’s 18th-century satire, The Rake’s Progess – https://theconversation.com/trump-takes-lead-role-in-cold-war-steves-reimagining-of-hogarths-18th-century-satire-the-rakes-progess-261701

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Mysterious fossil may rewrite story of skin and feather evolution in reptiles

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Valentina Rossi, Postdoctoral researcher, Palaeontology, University College Cork

    A delicate, innocuous little fossil reptile known as Mirasaura grauvogeli – “Grauvogel’s wonder reptile” – is forcing a rethink about the evolution of skin and its appendages such as feathers and hair.

    These newly discovered fossils, from the Middle Triassic (247 million years old)
    Grès à Voltzia site in northeast France, preserve evidence of some of the most astonishing soft-tissue features described to date in ancient reptiles. We are two of the authors of a new paper on these finds, published in Nature.

    These fossils show that the tree dwelling Mirasaura had a large and startling crest along its back. The crest is formed by elongated appendages that are neither scales, feathers nor hair.

    Until now, complex skin outgrowths such as feathers were thought to have evolved only much later – in birds, dinosaurs and pterosaurs. This probably occurred through a single origin in the common ancestor of these animals. In all other types of reptile, the only skin outgrowths present are scales.

    Mirasaura has overthrown this paradigm in sensational fashion. Compared with the size of its body, the long blades of its tall dorsal crest are enormous. Closer inspection reveals this crest comprised individual, overlapping appendages, each with a narrow central ridge and a lobed outline, similar to the shaft and form of feathers.

    However, the fossil structures seem to lack the fine branching architecture that characterises most feathers in modern birds. What’s more, Mirasaura is not related to birds, dinosaurs or pterosaurs, but instead belongs to a very ancient group of reptiles, the drepanosauromorphs, that are known only from the Triassic.

    The holotype of Mirasaura (State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany) showing its bird-like skull and crest along its back.
    Copyright: Stephan Spiekman, CC BY-NC-ND

    The soft tissues of Mirasaura are preserved as a thin brown film, rich in fossil melanosomes – cell structures that contain the pigment melanin during life. Research by our team at University College Cork and others has revealed widespread preservation of fossilised melanosomes in ancient vertebrates. These pigment granules can actually be used to reconstruct melanin-based colour patterns in extinct animals.

    Our team’s research has shown that fossil melanosomes can also help reconstruct the soft tissue anatomy of fossil animals, because melanosomes from different body tissues have different shapes and sizes. Our comprehensive examination of the fossilised soft tissues in Mirasaura, coupled with rigorous statistical analysis of the preserved melanosomes, reveals that their geometry is consistent with melanosomes in feathers, but not with melanosomes found in hair and in reptilian skin. This strongly suggests the Mirasaura skin appendages share common developmental features with feathers.

    Were the Mirasaura structures feathers, then? The solid, continuous blade of soft tissues either side of the central shaft shows no evidence for branching, which is a defining characteristic of most feathers in birds, dinosaurs and pterosaurs. The water is muddied, however, by the simple unbranched structure of some peculiar feathers in birds – such as the bristles of the turkey’s “beard”. Similar unbranched filaments are known in many dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and are widely considered to represent simple feathers.

    Certain dinosaur fossils even have flattened, strip-like feathers that lack branching but possess a central shaft, considered by some experts to be an unusual – extinct – feather type. Whether the resemblance between these fossil structures and the Mirasaura skin outgrowths is superficial or belies closer evolutionary ties remains to be seen.

    Fossil specimen of a large crest of Mirasaura, hosted by the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart.
    Copyright: Stephan Spiekman, CC BY-NC-ND

    Intriguingly, research on the developing chick embryo shows that feathers can lose their branched structure when certain genes are manipulated. We are currently examining in greater detail the morphology and composition of the Mirasaura structures to help us interpret their anatomy more definitively.

    Irrespective of what type of skin outgrowth they represent, our analyses of the anatomy of Mirasaura consistently position it, as well as other drepanosauromorph reptiles, at the base of the reptile tree. This supports data from developmental biology indicating that the genetic basis for the growth of complex skin appendages probably originated in the Carboniferous period, over 300 million years ago.

    Mirasaura therefore provides the first direct evidence that complex skin appendages did appear early during reptile evolution, and are not unique to pterosaurs, birds and other dinosaurs.

    We owe these new insights to painstaking conservation efforts, which serve as a reminder of the critical importance of natural history collections in conserving our natural heritage.

    The earliest discoveries of Mirasaura remains were unearthed in the 1930s by fossil collector Louis Grauvogel. After decades in the Grauvogel family, these specimens were donated to the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in 2019, where careful preparation revealed their true significance.

    Now, the Mirasaura specimens force us to accept that even before the age of dinosaurs, reptiles were evolving striking anatomical traits normally associated with much younger fossils. This adds an intriguing dimension to future research into the origins of feathers, prompting palaeontologists to consider fossils from more diverse reptile groups – and from time periods before the appearance of dinosaurs and their direct ancestors.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Valentina Rossi research is funded by the European Research Council. She is affiliated with University College Cork (UCC)

    Maria McNamara receives funding from the European Research Council and Research Ireland.

    – ref. Mysterious fossil may rewrite story of skin and feather evolution in reptiles – https://theconversation.com/mysterious-fossil-may-rewrite-story-of-skin-and-feather-evolution-in-reptiles-261695

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Orlando Bloom tried to ‘clean’ his blood to get rid of microplastics – here’s what the science says

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rosa Busquets, Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University

    Tinseltown/Shutterstock

    When actor Orlando Bloom revealed recently that he’d undergone a procedure to have his blood “cleaned”, many people raised eyebrows. The Pirates of the Caribbean star had turned to a treatment known as apheresis – a medical process in which blood is removed from the body, centrifuged or filtered to extract certain components, then returned in an attempt to flush out microplastics and other toxins.

    Apheresis is typically used to treat conditions such as autoimmune diseases or abnormally high levels of blood cells or proteins. Its use as a detox for microplastics, however, is scientifically unproven.

    Still, Bloom said he suspected his body had absorbed plastic through daily exposure, and wanted it out of his system.

    He’s probably right about the exposure. Scientists have found microplastics – tiny plastic fragments less than 5mm in size – in our air, water, soil, food and even inside human tissue. But when it comes to removing them from the bloodstream, that’s where the science gets murky.

    As researchers studying microplastic contamination, we’ve examined this issue in the context of dialysis – a life-saving treatment for patients with kidney failure. Dialysis filters waste products like urea and creatinine from the blood, regulates electrolytes, removes excess fluid and helps maintain blood pressure.

    But our study found that while dialysis is a medical marvel, it can also have an ironic downside: it could be introducing microplastics into the bloodstream. In some cases, we found that patients undergoing dialysis were being exposed to microplastics during treatment due to the breakdown of plastic components in the equipment – a troubling contradiction for a procedure designed to cleanse the blood.

    Apheresis is closely related to dialysis: both involve drawing blood from the body, circulating it through plastic tubing and filters, then returning it – so both procedures carry a similar risk of introducing microplastics from the equipment into the bloodstream.

    What are microplastics?

    Microplastics are plastic particles that range in size from about 5mm (roughly the length of a grain of rice) down to 0.1 microns – smaller than a red blood cell.

    Some microplastics are manufactured deliberately, like the plastic microbeads once common in facial scrubs. Others form when larger plastic objects degrade over time due to sunlight, friction, or physical stress.

    They’re everywhere: in the food we eat, air we breathe and water we drink. Plastic packaging, synthetic clothing such as polyester, and even artificial lawns contribute to the spread. Car tyres shed plastic particles as they wear down, and food heated or stored in plastic containers may leach microplastics.

    One estimate suggests the average adult may ingest around 883 microplastic particles – over half a microgramme – per day.

    So far, large-scale epidemiological studies have not established an association between microplastic exposure and specific diseases. Such studies are needed, but yet to be completed.

    However, early research suggests that microplastics may be associated with inflammation, cardiovascular conditions, and DNA damage – a potential pathway to cancer.

    What remains unclear is how microplastics behave inside the body: whether they accumulate, how they interact with tissues, and how (or if) the body clears them.

    The irony of filtration

    It’s tempting to believe, as Bloom seems to, that we can simply “clean” the blood, like draining pasta or purifying drinking water. Just as a sieve filters water from pasta, dialysis machines do filter blood – but using far more complex and delicate systems.

    These machines rely on plastic components, including tubes, membranes and filters, which are exposed to sustained pressure and repeated use. Unlike stainless steel, these materials can degrade over time, potentially shedding microplastics directly into the bloodstream.

    Currently, there is no published scientific evidence that microplastics can be effectively filtered from human blood. So, claims that dialysis or other treatments can remove them should be viewed with scepticism, especially when the filtration systems themselves are made of plastic.

    While it’s tempting to chase quick fixes or celebrity-endorsed cleanses, we are still in the early stages of understanding what microplastics are doing to our bodies – and how to get rid of them. Rather than focusing solely on ways to flush plastics from the bloodstream, the more effective long-term strategy may be reducing our exposure in the first place.

    Bloom’s story taps into a growing public unease: we all know we’re carrying the burden of plastic. But addressing it requires more than wellness trends: it calls for rigorous science, tougher regulation, and a shift away from our reliance on plastic in daily life.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Rosa Busquets receives funding from UKRI, in a UKRI/ Horizons Staff exchanges Clean Water project (101131182). She is honorary Associate Professor at UCL and Honorary Professor at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. She is panel member of the UNEP EEAP, where is work group lead in a field that includes microplastics. She is also funded by DASA.

    Luiza C Campos is a Professor of Environmental Engineering at University College London.

    – ref. Orlando Bloom tried to ‘clean’ his blood to get rid of microplastics – here’s what the science says – https://theconversation.com/orlando-bloom-tried-to-clean-his-blood-to-get-rid-of-microplastics-heres-what-the-science-says-261203

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Maria Strack, Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo

    The Grande Plée Bleue bog, near Québec City in June 2023. This peatland with pools is one of the largest wetlands in eastern Québec. (Maria Strack)

    Though Canada is often known as a land of lakes, it is also a country of wetlands. Stretching like a necklace of emeralds, sapphires and rubies across the Canadian landscape, wetlands cover 14 per cent of the Canadian land mass, accounting for almost twice as much area as lakes.

    Canada is home to a quarter of the world’s remaining wetlands, yet they remain like hidden treasures that most Canadians rarely pay a second thought.

    The importance of wetlands to a sustainable future has been recognized internationally. Signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, the Convention on Wetlands — often called the Ramsar Convention — supports international collaboration and national action for the conservation of wetlands.

    This week, delegations from contracting parties to the convention, including Canada, have come together in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, for the 15th Conference of the Parties.

    Despite decades of efforts, wetlands continue to be under threat around the world. Delegates will work this week to chart a path forward that further elevates wetlands in the global consciousness, highlighting the need to protect these ecosystems and meet international goals to safeguard biodiversity and slow climate warming.

    Canada currently has 37 Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, covering more than 13 million hectares. Yet many of Canada’s wetlands remain unprotected.

    Canada’s wetlands

    The term “wetland” usually conjures an image of a shallow pond bordered by cattails. In fact, Canadian wetlands come in a range of shapes and sizes, all of which provide valuable services. Those reedy marshes provide critically important habitat and water storage, particularly in the Prairies, southern Ontario and Québec.

    The vast majority of Canada’s wetlands are made up of swamps, fens and bogs, most of which also hold deep deposits of organic soils called peat. Bogs and fens can resemble vast mossy carpets. But they can also look a lot like forests, hiding their soggy soils beneath a canopy of trees.

    This wetland diversity contributes to their value. At the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, wetlands are often biodiversity hotspots.

    They are home to weird and wonderful species, including carnivorous plants like sundews, pitcher plants and bladderworts. And if you’re hungry, peatlands are a great place for berry picking.

    Interwoven in our boreal landscape, wetlands also support iconic Canadian species like beavers, moose and woodland caribou and are key habitats for waterfowl and other migratory birds.

    Preserving wetlands is also a key flood mitigation strategy. Storm water can fill up pore spaces in mossy peat soils, or spread out across the flat expanse of swamps and marshes, reducing peak flows and helping to protect downstream infrastructure. As the water slows, water quality can also be improved. Sediments have time to settle, while plants and microbes can remove excess nutrients.

    Carbon storage

    In recent decades, wetlands have gained international attention for their role in carbon storage. Waterlogged sediment and soil lead to slow rates of decomposition. When plant litter falls in a wetland, it builds up over time, creating a bank of carbon that can be stored for millennia.

    Peatlands are particularly good at accumulating carbon, as they are home to plants that inherently decompose slowly. Because of this, peatlands store twice the carbon of the world’s forests. Keeping this carbon stored in wetland soils, and out of the atmosphere, is important to climate change mitigation.

    Yet, the buildup of carbon in wetlands is slow. Many of these ecosystems have been adding to this carbon bank since the last ice age; digging through metres of peat is like travelling back through time, with the deposits at the bottom often thousands of years old.

    This means that the carbon stored in wetlands is irrecoverable within human lifetimes. Once lost, it will be many generations before the full value of this treasure can be returned.

    The economic value of the water-filtering and carbon storage that Canadian wetlands provide has been estimated at $225 billion per year. It’s clear: healthy wetlands contribute to our society’s well-being.

    But just as important, they are an integral component of the Canadian landscape. Wetlands are interwoven with our forests, fields, lakes and now even our cities. They link us to the land and water. They are places of wonder and spiritual connection.

    Impact of climate change

    Despite their value, wetlands in Canada face many threats. In southern regions of Canada, most wetlands have already been lost to drainage for agriculture and urban development. Further north, up to 98 per cent of Canadian peatlands remain intact.

    However, climate change and resource development are already exacerbating wetland disturbance and loss. Warming temperatures have contributed to larger and more severe wildfire that also impact peatlands and lead to large carbon emissions.

    Thawing permafrost is further changing wetland landscapes and how they function. Warming also allows for northward expansion of agriculture with the potential for loss of even more wetland area to drainage.

    Natural resource extraction further contributes to wetland disturbance, often with unexpected consequences. Geologic exploration used to map oil and gas reserves has left a network of over one million kilometres of linear forest clearing across the boreal forest, much of which crosses peatlands.



    Read more:
    How climate change is impacting the Hudson Bay Lowlands — Canada’s largest wetland

    This has contributed to declines in woodland caribou populations and led to increases in methane emissions from these ecosystems.

    Mining often involves regional drainage or excavation of peatlands, resulting in the loss of their services. The recent push to fast-track production of critical minerals in Canada is putting vast areas of our wetlands at risk.

    Wetland restoration research is ongoing, with some promising results. However, given the long time-scale of wetland development, avoiding disturbances in the first place is the best way to safeguard wetlands.

    As stewards of a quarter of world’s wetland treasures, policymakers and everyday Canadians need to ensure wetlands are safeguarded and preserved for a prosperous future.

    Maria Strack receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Imperial Oil Ltd., Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, ConocoPhillips Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute.

    – ref. Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection – https://theconversation.com/canadian-wetlands-are-treasures-that-deserve-protection-261433

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Understanding the violence against Alawites and Druze in Syria after Assad

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Güneş Murat Tezcür, Professor and Director of the School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

    Bedouin fighters at Mazraa village on the outskirts of Sweida city, during clashes in southern Syria on July 18, 2025. AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed

    In July 2025, clashes between the Druze religious minority and Sunni Arabs backed by government-affiliated forces led to hundreds of deaths in Sweida province in southern Syria. Israel later launched dozens of airstrikes in support of the Druze.

    This eruption of violence was an eerie reminder of what had unfolded in March 2025 when supporters of the fallen regime led by Bashar Assad, an Alawite, targeted security units. In retaliation, militias affiliated with the newly formed government in Damascus carried out indiscriminate killings of Alawites.

    While exact figures remain difficult to verify, more than 1,300 individuals, most of them Alawites, lost their lives. In some cases, entire families were summarily executed.

    Although the Syrian government promised an investigation into the atrocities, home invasions, kidnappings of Alawite women and extrajudicial executions of Alawite men continue.

    The violence in Sweida also bore a sectarian dimension, pitting members of a religious minority against armed groups aligned with the country’s Sunni majority.

    A key difference, however, involved the active Israeli support for the Druze and the U.S. efforts to broker a ceasefire.

    Post-Assad Syria has seen promising developments, including the lifting of international sanctions, a resurgence of civil society and the end of diplomatic isolation. There was even a limited rapprochement with the main Kurdish political party controlling northeastern Syria.

    The persistent violence targeting the Alawites and, to a more limited extent, the Druze, starkly contrasts with these trends. As a scholar of religious minorities and the Middle East, I argue that the current political situation reflects their historical persecution and marginalization.

    History of the Alawites

    The Alawites emerged as a distinct religious community in the 10th century in the region of the Latakia coastal mountains, which today make up northwestern Syria.

    Although their beliefs have some commonalities with Shiite Islam, the Alawites maintain their own unique religious leadership and rituals. Under the Ottoman regime in the late 19th century, they benefited from reforms such as the expansion of educational opportunities and economic modernization, while gaining geographical and social mobility.

    After Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar, came to power in a coup in 1970, he drew upon his Alawite base to reinforce his regime. Consequently, Alawites became disproportionately represented in the officer corps and intelligence services.

    Prior to the civil war, which began in 2011, their population was estimated at around 2 million, constituting roughly 10% of Syria’s population. During the civil war, Alawite young men fighting for the regime suffered heavy casualties. However, most Alawites remained in Syria, while Sunni Arabs and Kurds were disproportionately displaced or became refugees.

    Members of the Alawite minority gather outside the Russian air base in Hmeimim, near Latakia in Syria’s coastal region, on March 11, 2025, as they seek refuge there after violence and retaliatory killings in the area.
    AP Photo/Omar Albam

    Among Syria’s minorities, two key factors make the Alawites most vulnerable to mass violence in post-Assad Syria. The first factor is that, like the Druze, Alawites have their own distinct beliefs that deviate from Sunni Islam. Their religious practices and teachings are often described as “esoteric” and remain mostly inaccessible to outsiders.

    In my 2024 book “Liminal Minorities: Religious Difference and Mass Violence in Muslim Societies,” I categorize the Alawites and Druze in Syria alongside Yezidis in Iraq, Alevis in Turkey and Baha’is in Iran as “liminal minorities” – religious groups subject to deep-seated stigmas transmitted across generations.

    These groups are often treated as heretics who split from Islam and whose beliefs and rituals are deemed beyond the pale of acceptance. For instance, according to Alawite beliefs, Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, is a divine manifestation of God, which challenges the idea of strict monotheism central to Sunni Islam.

    From the perspective of Sunni orthodoxy, these groups’ beliefs have been a source of suspicion and disdain. A series of fatwas by prominent Sunni clerics from the 14th to the 19th century declared Alawites heretics.

    Resentment against the Alawites

    The second factor contributing to the Alawites’ vulnerability is the widespread perception that they were the main beneficiaries of the Assad regime, which engaged in mass murder against its own citizens. Although power remained narrowly concentrated under Assad, many Alawites occupied key positions in the security apparatus as well as the government.

    In today’s political landscape where the central government remains weak and its control over various armed groups is limited, religious stigmatization and political resentment create fertile ground for mass violence targeting the Alawites.

    The massacres of March 2025 were accompanied by sectarian hate speech, including open calls for the extermination of the Alawites, both in the streets and on social media.

    While many Sunni Muslims in Syria also perceive the Druze as heretics, they maintained a greater degree of distance from the Assad regime and were less integrated into its security apparatus.

    Nonetheless, in recent months the situation deteriorated rapidly in the Druze heartland. The Druze militias and local Bedouin tribes engaged in heavy fighting in July 2025. Unlike the Alawites, the Druze received direct military assistance from Israel, which has its small but influential Druze population. This further complicates peaceful coexistence among religious groups in post-Assad Syria.

    A sober future

    Sunni Arab identity is central to the newly formed government in Damascus, which can come at the expense of religious and ethnic pluralism. However, it has incentives to rein in arbitrary violence against the Alawites and Druze. Projecting itself as a source of order and national unity helps the government internationally, both diplomatically and economically.

    Internally, however, the new government remains fractured and lacks effective control over vast swaths of territory. While it pays lip service to transitional justice, it is also cautious about being perceived as overly lenient toward individuals associated with the Assad regime and its crimes. Meanwhile, Alawite and Druze demands for regional autonomy continue to stoke popular Sunni resentments and risk triggering further cycles of instability and violence.

    I believe that in a post-Assad Syria defined by fractured governance and episodic retribution, the Alawites as well as Druze are likely to face deepening marginalization.

    Güneş Murat Tezcür does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Understanding the violence against Alawites and Druze in Syria after Assad – https://theconversation.com/understanding-the-violence-against-alawites-and-druze-in-syria-after-assad-255292

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Binary star systems are complex astronomical objects − a new AI approach could pin down their properties quickly

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andrej Prša, Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Villanova University

    In a binary star system, two stars orbit around each other. ESO/L. Calçada, CC BY

    Stars are the fundamental building blocks of our universe. Most stars host planets, like our Sun hosts our solar system, and if you look more broadly, groups of stars make up huge structures such as clusters and galaxies. So before astrophysicists can attempt to understand these large-scale structures, we first need to understand basic properties of stars, such as their mass, radius and temperature.

    But measuring these basic properties has proved exceedingly difficult. This is because stars are quite literally at astronomical distances. If our Sun were a basketball on the East Coast of the U.S., then the closest star, Proxima, would be an orange in Hawaii. Even the world’s largest telescopes cannot resolve an orange in Hawaii. Measuring radii and masses of stars appears to be out of scientists’ reach.

    Enter binary stars. Binaries are systems of two stars revolving around a mutual center of mass. Their motion is governed by Kepler’s harmonic law, which connects three important quantities: the sizes of each orbit, the time it takes for them to orbit, called the orbital period, and the total mass of the system.

    I’m an astronomer, and my research team has been working on advancing our theoretical understanding and modeling approaches to binary stars and multiple stellar systems. For the past two decades we’ve also been pioneering the use of artificial intelligence in interpreting observations of these cornerstone celestial objects.

    Measuring stellar masses

    Astronomers can measure orbital size and period of a binary system easily enough from observations, so with those two pieces they can calculate the total mass of the system. Kepler’s harmonic law acts as a scale to weigh celestial bodies.

    Binary stars orbit around each other, and in eclipsing binary stars, one passes in front of the other, relative to the telescope lens.
    Merikanto/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Think of a playground seesaw. If the two kids weigh about the same, they’ll have to sit at about the same distance from the midpoint. If, however, one child is bigger, he or she will have to sit closer, and the smaller kid farther from the midpoint.

    It’s the same with stars: The more massive the star in a binary pair, the closer to the center it is and the slower it revolves about the center. When astronomers measure the speeds at which the stars move, they can also tell how large the stars’ orbits are, and as a result, what they must weigh.

    Measuring stellar radii

    Kepler’s harmonic law, unfortunately, tells astronomers nothing about the radii of stars. For those, astronomers rely on another serendipitous feature of Mother Nature.

    Binary star orbits are oriented randomly. Sometimes, it happens that a telescope’s line of sight aligns with the plane a binary star system orbits on. This fortuitous alignment means the stars eclipse one another as they revolve about the center. The shapes of these eclipses allow astronomers to find out the stars’ radii using straightforward geometry. These systems are called eclipsing binary stars.

    By taking measurements from an eclipsing binary star system, astronomers can measure the radii of the stars.

    More than half of all Sun-like stars are found in binaries, and eclipsing binaries account for about 1% to 2% of all stars. That may sound low, but the universe is vast, so there are lots and lots of eclipsing systems out there – hundreds of millions in our galaxy alone.

    By observing eclipsing binaries, astronomers can measure not only the masses and radii of stars but also how hot and how bright they are.

    Complex problems require complex computing

    Even with eclipsing binaries, measuring the properties of stars is no easy task. Stars are deformed as they rotate and pull on each other in a binary system. They interact, they irradiate one another, they can have spots and magnetic fields, and they can be tilted this way or that.

    To study them, astronomers use complex models that have many knobs and switches. As an input, the models take parameters – for example, a star’s shape and size, its orbital properties, or how much light it emits – to predict how an observer would see such an eclipsing binary system.

    Computer models take time. Computing model predictions typically takes a few minutes. To be sure that we can trust them, we need to try lots of parameter combinations – typically tens of millions.

    This many combinations requires hundreds of millions of minutes of compute time, just to determine basic properties of stars. That amounts to over 200 years of computer time.

    Computers linked in a cluster can compute faster, but even using a computer cluster, it takes three or more weeks to “solve,” or determine all the parameters for, a single binary. This challenge explains why there are only about 300 stars for which astronomers have accurate measurements of their fundamental parameters.

    The models used to solve these systems have already been heavily optimized and can’t go much faster than they already do. So, researchers need an entirely new approach to reducing computing time.

    Using deep learning

    One solution my research team has explored involves deep-learning neural networks. The basic idea is simple: We wanted to replace a computationally expensive physical model with a much faster AI-based model.

    First, we computed a huge database of predictions about a hypothetical binary star – using the features that astronomers can readily observe – where we varied the hypothetical binary star’s properties. We are talking hundreds of millions of parameter combinations. Then, we compared these results to the actual observations to see which ones best match up. AI and neural networks are ideally suited for this task.

    In a nutshell, neural networks are mappings. They map a certain known input to a given output. In our case, they map the properties of eclipsing binaries to the expected predictions. Neural networks emulate the model of a binary but without having to account for all the complexity of the physical model.

    Neural networks detect patterns and use their training to predict an output, based on an input.

    We train the neural network by showing it each prediction from our database, along with the set of properties used to generate it. Once fully trained, the neural network will be able to accurately predict what astronomers should observe from the given properties of a binary system.

    Compared to a few minutes of runtime for the physical model, a neural network uses artificial intelligence to get the same result within a tiny fraction of a second.

    Reaping the benefits

    A tiny fraction of a second works out to about a millionfold runtime reduction. This brings the time down from weeks on a supercomputer to mere minutes on a single laptop. It also means that we can analyze hundreds of thousands of binary systems in a couple of weeks on a computer cluster.

    This reduction means we can obtain fundamental properties – stellar masses, radii, temperatures and luminosities – for every eclipsing binary star ever observed within a month or two. The big challenge remaining is to show that AI results really give the same results as the physical model.

    This task is the crux of my team’s new paper. In it we’ve shown that, indeed, the AI-driven model yields the same results as the physical model across over 99% of parameter combinations. This result means the AI’s performance is robust. Our next step? Deploy the AI on all observed eclipsing binaries.

    Best of all? While we applied this methodology to binaries, the basic principle applies to any complex physical model out there. Similar AI models are already speeding up many real-world applications, from weather forecasting to stock market analysis.

    Andrej Prša receives funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

    – ref. Binary star systems are complex astronomical objects − a new AI approach could pin down their properties quickly – https://theconversation.com/binary-star-systems-are-complex-astronomical-objects-a-new-ai-approach-could-pin-down-their-properties-quickly-253387

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How germy is the public pool? An infectious disease expert weighs in on poop, pee and perspiration – and the deceptive smell of chlorine

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Lisa Cuchara, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University

    A 2023 CDC report tracked more than 200 pool-associated outbreaks over a four-year period. But a few basic precautions can ward off these dangers. Maria Korneeva/Moment via Getty Images

    On hot summer days, few things are more refreshing than a dip in the pool. But have you ever wondered if the pool is as clean as that crystal blue water appears?

    As an immunologist and infectious disease specialist, I study how germs spread in public spaces and how to prevent the spread. I even teach a course called “The Infections of Leisure” where we explore the risks tied to recreational activities and discuss precautions, while also taking care not to turn students into germophobes.

    Swimming, especially in public pools and water parks, comes with its own unique set of risks — from minor skin irritations to gastrointestinal infections. But swimming also has a plethora of physical, social and mental health benefits. With some knowledge and a little vigilance, you can enjoy the water without worrying about what might be lurking beneath the surface.

    The reality of pool germs

    Summer news headlines and social media posts often spotlight the “ick-factor” of communal swimming spaces. These concerns do have some merit.

    The good news is that chlorine, which is widely used in pools, is effective at killing many pathogens. The not-so-good news is that chlorine does not work instantly – and it doesn’t kill everything.

    Every summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues alerts about swimming-related outbreaks of illness caused by exposure to germs in public pools and water parks. A 2023 CDC report tracked over 200 pool-associated outbreaks from 2015 to 2019 across the U.S., affecting more than 3,600 people. These outbreaks included skin infections, respiratory issues, ear infections and gastrointestinal distress. Many of the outcomes from such infections are mild, but some can be serious.

    Germs and disinfectants

    Even in a pool that’s properly treated with chlorine, some pathogens can linger for minutes to days. One of the most common culprits is Cryptosporidium, a microscopic germ that causes watery diarrhea. This single-celled parasite has a tough outer shell that allows it to survive in chlorine-treated water for up to 10 days. It spreads when fecal matter — often from someone with diarrhea — enters the water and is swallowed by another swimmer. Even a tiny amount, invisible to the eye, can infect dozens of people.

    Showering before and after swimming in a public pool helps avoid both bringing in and taking out pathogens and body substances.
    Hafid Firman Syarif/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Another common germ is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that causes hot tub rash and swimmer’s ear. Viruses like norovirus and adenovirus can also linger in pool water and cause illness.

    Swimmers introduce a range of bodily residues to the water, including sweat, urine, oils and skin cells. These substances, especially sweat and urine, interact with chlorine to form chemical byproducts called chloramines that may pose health risks.

    These byproducts are responsible for that strong chlorine smell. A clean pool should actually lack a strong chlorine odor, as well as any other smells, of course. It is a common myth that a strong chlorine smell is a good sign of a clean pool. In fact, it may actually be a red flag that means the opposite – that the water is contaminated and should perhaps be avoided.

    How to play it safe at a public pool

    Most pool-related risks can be reduced with simple precautions by both the pool staff and swimmers. And while most pool-related illnesses won’t kill you, no one wants to spend their vacation or a week of beautiful summer days in the bathroom.

    These 10 tips can help you avoid germs at the pool:

    • Shower before swimming. Rinsing off for at least one minute removes most dirt and oils on the body that reduce chlorine’s effectiveness.

    • Avoid the pool if you’re sick, especially if you have diarrhea or an open wound. Germs can spread quickly in water.

    • Try to keep water out of your mouth to minimize the risk of ingesting germs.

    • Don’t swim if you have diarrhea to help prevent the spread of germs.

    • If diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis, often called “crypto,” wait two weeks after diarrhea stops before returning to the pool.

    • Take frequent bathroom breaks. For children and adults alike, regular bathroom breaks help prevent accidents in the pool.

    • Check diapers hourly and change them away from the pool to prevent fecal contamination.

    • Dry your ears thoroughly after swimming to help prevent swimmer’s ear.

    • Don’t swim with an open wound – or at least make sure it’s completely covered with a waterproof bandage to protect both you and others.

    • Shower after swimming to remove germs from your skin.

    Lisa Cuchara is affiliated with American Society for Microbiology

    – ref. How germy is the public pool? An infectious disease expert weighs in on poop, pee and perspiration – and the deceptive smell of chlorine – https://theconversation.com/how-germy-is-the-public-pool-an-infectious-disease-expert-weighs-in-on-poop-pee-and-perspiration-and-the-deceptive-smell-of-chlorine-260996

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: I teach college and report on Colorado media — there should be more professors doing the same in other states

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Corey Hutchins, Manager, Colorado College Journalism Institute, Colorado College

    Newsletters that cover a state’s media landscape are few and far between, according to a new report. iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Over the years, the crisis facing local news has meant the disappearance of reporting on the arts, politics, sports and local government.

    Newspapers have disappeared from many local communities, and the ranks of individual local journalists have plummeted over the past two decades.

    The retrenchment has also led to a loss of something else: reporters and columnists at local news organizations who decades ago regularly focused on their local media as a beat.

    There are very few of them left.

    I’m an instructor at Colorado College, where I manage the Journalism Institute. I also compulsively keep track of our state’s shifting media landscape.

    Recently, I produced a nationwide study called “Local News as a Public Good: Increasing Visibility Through University-Led Statewide Newsletters.”

    The Center for Community News at the University of Vermont solicited and published the report. The goal was to find out who is doing similar work and where.

    The Center for Community News is interested in fostering partnerships between academic programs and local newsrooms. The center is also seeking to find other ways higher-ed institutions are supporting their state’s media ecosystem — so they were especially interested in media newsletters being produced at a college or university.

    Few state-based newsletters

    The problem is, there weren’t many to track. I found just six, including my own, while researching for the report.

    Very few states, it turns out, “have a dedicated publication, site, or newsletter that regularly and independently reports on and analyzes ongoing developments in the local media scene,” the report found.

    ‘Inside the News in Colorado’ is the author’s newsletter, in which he obsessively tracks the media landscape in Colorado.
    Corey Hutchins via Substack

    My own weekly Substack newsletter is called “Inside the News in Colorado.” Each week, I report on, comment on and analyze the goings on in Colorado’s media scene. I connect local developments to what’s happening nationally, and I explore what makes the state’s local news ecosystem unique.

    My newsletter also pokes and prods, critiques and uplifts, and seeks to spark debate and a better understanding about the practice of local journalism. And it maintains a weekly running tab on the health of the state’s media landscape.

    Other newsletters across the country include NC Local, authored by Catherine Komp. The Newsroom Digest, out of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University in New Jersey, is another. Gateway Journalism Review from Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Journalism, in the College of Arts and Media made the list. And Media Nation by Northeastern University professor Dan Kennedy in Massachusetts is another.

    Kennedy has been producing Media Nation for more than 20 years and writes more about national media issues. But he mixes it with plenty of local and regional happenings.

    If someone were to, say, leak an internal email from The Boston Globe, it is likely they would do so with Media Nation.

    The NC Local newsletter’s format is a mix of digestible roundups and some original reporting.

    A recurring item titled “Well Done” offers “noteworthy work from the NC news & information ecosystem.” The most-clicked links each week tend to come from a bulletin board section where Komp rounds up job postings and opportunities.

    The chunky Newsroom Digest newsletter highlights notable local journalism in New Jersey. It comes with a “Media Moves” section that introduces its audience to new local journalists and tracks newsroom personnel changes.

    While they differ in style and delivery, each is filling a gap in coverage in their state or region by reporting on an important industry: their own.

    “When I was at the (Boston) Phoenix, I think all of us at the alternative press thought big local media were a powerful local institution that ought to be held to account just like big business and everything else,” Media Nation’s Kennedy said for the report.

    Where to house the news about the news?

    I believe colleges and universities make good places to produce these kinds of state-based media newsletters.

    Journalism departments in particular are likely equipped to run them, especially if they have practitioners on the faculty. They are outside of a state’s established media organizations but also adjacent to them.

    Richard Watts, the director of the Center for Community News, commissioned the “Local News as a Public Good” study. He says there are important reasons for more newsletters consistently reporting on local media in individual states.

    “They draw attention to the key role local news plays by writing about the stories and the impact of those stories,” he said. “They help amplify and they showcase the importance of the media ecosystem for a vibrant democracy.”

    Furthermore, such newsletters can serve as the “canary in the coal mine to draw attention to media platforms in trouble, or actions by unscrupulous owners,” Watts added. “And they can share ideas and best practices across the system to help strengthen individual media platforms. And, lastly, they help create a community of stakeholders committed to the importance of a free press.”

    To that end, the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont is looking to help anyone in a higher-ed program who might be interested in launching a state-based media newsletter.

    “I think a really good person to do something like this is, first, someone who is doing more than just reporting on the industry or ecosystem,” said Komp of NC Local in the Center for Community News study.

    “It does need to be somebody who is engaging with journalists, with publishers, with journalism educators, with students, with funders, in ways that are not just reporting on what’s happening but in ways that are looking to always find solutions and address challenges.”

    Read more of our stories about Colorado.

    Corey Hutchins consults for the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont where he is working on a project to help colleges and universities create state-based media newsletters.

    – ref. I teach college and report on Colorado media — there should be more professors doing the same in other states – https://theconversation.com/i-teach-college-and-report-on-colorado-media-there-should-be-more-professors-doing-the-same-in-other-states-260891

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Caution in the C-suite: How business leaders are navigating Trump 2.0

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Erran Carmel, Professor of Business, American University Kogod School of Business

    In the first months of Donald Trump’s second term as president, his policies – from sweeping tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement to attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion – have thrown U.S. businesses into turmoil, leading to a 26-point decline in CEO confidence.

    Yet despite this volatility, many American corporations have remained notably restrained in their public responses.

    This might come as a surprise. After all, in recent decades, CEOs have become increasingly willing to speak out about social and political issues. But while some universities and law firms have publicly pushed back against the Trump administration, business leaders are seemingly opting for caution.

    What would it take for these titans of corporate America to speak out against Trump’s policies? We are a professor and a graduate student who study business, and back in 2018, one of us – Dr. Carmel – conducted an analysis asking this very question. More recently, we gathered new data looking at how business leaders are responding to Trump’s second term.

    The 2018 analysis, involving data from about 200 leading U.S. CEOs, found that most business leaders remained publicly neutral on Trump, and only a handful expressed strong opposition. Silence was often a strategic choice, with many leaders staying mum due to fear of retaliation. The evidence also suggested that Trump could one day cross a line that would prompt a broader CEO backlash.

    Seven years later, that line hasn’t yet appeared, even as Trump’s footprint on corporate America is now far more direct and substantial.

    Most notable are Trump’s tariffs, first announced in April 2025, which have roiled global markets and unnerved CEOs. And there are many other ripples: Some companies, such as CBS’ parent company, Paramount – which is seeking the Trump administration’s approval for a merger – have decided to self-censor. Others, including Disney and Meta, gave in to Trump’s lawsuits and paid multimillion-dollar settlements, against the counsel of many outside experts. CEOs also have to deal with the threat of backlash from both the right and left.

    Against this backdrop, we collected new public data to see how corporate leaders are responding to the second Trump administration. Just as in 2018, we examined the 232 companies that make up the Business Roundtable – a club of the most powerful American businesses.

    We assessed the actions that these companies took regarding DEI and whether they experienced any backlash. We focused on these criteria as a way to assess whether CEOs are seeking either to support or placate Trump, or to stand on other principles. We also collected other data, including public statements from CEOs and campaign donations.

    DEI as a bellwether

    Corporate DEI actions were an early, useful way to gauge a business’s stances, since, from the outset, the Trump administration identified DEI as a “scourge” to be eliminated. Although the White House’s anti-DEI directives have applied to the executive branch and federal contractors, some private businesses rushed to make changes as well.

    By May, just a bit over 100 days into Trump’s second term, a significant number of companies had decided to go along with Trump’s preferences. Sixty-nine of the 232 companies in the Business Roundtable rolled back their DEI initiatives in some way, while just 20 companies announced that they kept their DEI programs in place. There’s no information either way on the remaining 61% – likely because they decided it’s better to stay out of the news.

    DEI-related actions have tapered off since May, but there’s still an impact. For example, the Federal Communications Commission pressured T-Mobile to eliminate DEI. Only then was its merger approved.

    Companies that scaled back their DEI initiatives sometimes pointed to the political environment as a factor. Meta, for example, said in an internal memo that it was ending its DEI efforts due to a “shifting legal and policy landscape.” Other companies, including Verizon and Comcast, reportedly rolled back DEI programs because they feared legal action by the federal government.

    Some corporations announced changes through internal announcements, legal filings or quiet updates to their websites, suggesting they want to stay out of the media spotlight.

    A small number of Business Roundtable companies stood firm on their DEI policies – to mixed results. When Marriott’s CEO voiced support for DEI at a corporate leadership event, he reportedly received 40,000 appreciative emails from employees. On the other hand, after Coca-Cola reiterated its “commitment to sponsoring an inclusive workplace,” the right-wing activist Robby Starbuck — who The New York Times has described as “the anti-DEI agitator that companies fear most” – said Coca-Cola “should be very nervous about continuing with its woke policies.”

    Bracing for backlash

    Overall, 22% of Business Roundtable companies saw some sort of backlash to their actions. Most came from the political right: 36 companies were called out by conservatives, another eight by progressives, and eight more faced bipartisan backlash.

    With more than three years left in Trump’s second term, it’s worth asking what lies ahead. We think the most likely scenario is that companies will continue to try to stay off the president’s radar and placate him when they must. After all, following the split with Elon Musk, Trump quite explicitly threatened to use presidential powers to hurt Musk’s businesses. Any CEO gets the implications.

    While our analysis primarily focused on social issues, policies at the business core may push U.S. companies to confront Trump. Tariff policy is a prime example. Back in April, major retailers like Walmart quietly warned Trump that tariffs could lead to empty shelves and higher prices. More recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs publicly warned that tariffs “have raised the level of uncertainty to a degree I do not think is healthy for investment and growth.”

    These are voices of criticism – but worded quite softly.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Caution in the C-suite: How business leaders are navigating Trump 2.0 – https://theconversation.com/caution-in-the-c-suite-how-business-leaders-are-navigating-trump-2-0-260557

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: 2 ways cities can beat the heat: Which is best, urban trees or cool roofs?

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Ian Smith, Research Scientist in Earth & Environment, Boston University

    Trees like these in Boston can help keep neighborhoods cooler on hot days. Yassine Khalfalli/Unsplash, CC BY

    When summer turns up the heat, cities can start to feel like an oven, as buildings and pavement trap the sun’s warmth and vehicles and air conditioners release more heat into the air.

    The temperature in an urban neighborhood with few trees can be more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) higher than in nearby suburbs. That means air conditioning works harder, straining the electrical grid and leaving communities vulnerable to power outages.

    There are some proven steps that cities can take to help cool the air – planting trees that provide shade and moisture, for example, or creating cool roofs that reflect solar energy away from the neighborhood rather than absorbing it.

    But do these steps pay off everywhere?

    We study heat risk in cities as urban ecologists and have been exploring the impact of tree-planting and reflective roofs in different cities and different neighborhoods across cities. What we’re learning can help cities and homeowners be more targeted in their efforts to beat the heat.

    The wonder of trees

    Urban trees offer a natural defense against rising temperatures. They cast shade and release water vapor through their leaves, a process akin to human sweating. That cools the surrounding air and reduces afternoon heat.

    Adding trees to city streets, parks and residential yards can make a meaningful difference in how hot a neighborhood feels, with blocks that have tree canopies nearly 3 F (1.7 C) cooler than blocks without trees.

    Comparing maps of New York’s vegetation and temperature shows the cooling effect of parks and neighborhoods with more trees. In the map on the left, lighter colors are areas with fewer trees. Light areas in the map on the right are hotter.
    NASA/USGS Landsat

    But planting trees isn’t always simple.

    In hot, dry cities, trees often require irrigation to survive, which can strain already limited water resources. Trees must survive for decades to grow large enough to provide shade and release enough water vapor to reduce air temperatures.

    Annual maintenance costs – about US$900 per tree per year in Boston – can surpass the initial planting investment.

    Most challenging of all, dense urban neighborhoods where heat is most intense are often too packed with buildings and roads to grow more trees.

    How cool roofs can help on hot days

    Another option is “cool roofs.” Coating rooftops with reflective paint or using light-colored materials allows buildings to reflect more sunlight back into the atmosphere rather than absorbing it as heat.

    These roofs can lower the temperature inside an apartment building without air conditioning by about 2 to 6 F (1 to 3.3 C), and can cut peak cooling demand by as much as 27% in air-conditioned buildings, one study found. They can also provide immediate relief by reducing outdoor temperatures in densely populated areas. The maintenance costs are also lower than expanding urban forests.

    Two workers apply a white coating to the roof of a row home in Philadelphia.
    AP Photo/Matt Rourke

    However, like trees, cool roofs come with limits. Cool roofs work better on flat roofs than sloped roofs with shingles, as flat roofs are often covered by heat-trapping rubber and are exposed to more direct sunlight over the course of an afternoon.

    Cities also have a finite number of rooftops that can be retrofitted. And in cities that already have many light-colored roofs, a few more might help lower cooling costs in those buildings, but they won’t do much more for the neighborhood.

    By weighing the trade-offs of both strategies, cities can design location-specific plans to beat the heat.

    Choosing the right mix of cooling solutions

    Many cities around the world have taken steps to adapt to extreme heat, with tree planting and cool roof programs that implement reflectivity requirements or incentivize cool roof adoption.

    In Detroit, nonprofit organizations have planted more than 166,000 trees since 1989. In Los Angeles, building codes now require new residential roofs to meet specific reflectivity standards.

    In a recent study, we analyzed Boston’s potential to lower heat in vulnerable neighborhoods across the city. The results demonstrate how a balanced, budget-conscious strategy could deliver significant cooling benefits.

    For example, we found that planting trees can cool the air 35% more than installing cool roofs in places where trees can actually be planted.

    However, many of the best places for new trees in Boston aren’t in the neighborhoods that need help. In these neighborhoods, we found that reflective roofs were the better choice.

    By investing less than 1% of the city’s annual operating budget, about US$34 million, in 2,500 new trees and 3,000 cool roofs targeting the most at-risk areas, we found that Boston could reduce heat exposure for nearly 80,000 residents. The results would reduce summertime afternoon air temperatures by over 1 F (0.6 C) in those neighborhoods.

    While that reduction might seem modest, reductions of this magnitude have been found to dramatically reduce heat-related illness and death, increase labor productivity and reduce energy costs associated with building cooling.

    Not every city will benefit from the same mix. Boston’s urban landscape includes many flat, black rooftops that reflect only about 12% of sunlight, making cool roofs that reflect over 65% of sunlight an especially effective intervention. Boston also has a relatively moist growing season that supports a thriving urban tree canopy, making both solutions viable.

    Phoenix, left, already has a lot of light-colored roots, compared with Boston, right, where roofs are mostly dark.
    Imagery © Google 2025.

    In places with fewer flat, dark rooftops suitable for cool roof conversion, tree planting may offer more value. Conversely, in cities with little room left for new trees or where extreme heat and drought limit tree survival, cool roofs may be the better bet.

    Phoenix, for example, already has many light-colored roofs. Trees might be an option there, but they will require irrigation.

    Getting the solutions where people need them

    Adding shade along sidewalks can do double-duty by giving pedestrians a place to get out of the sun and cooling buildings. In New York City, for example, street trees account for an estimated 25% of the entire urban forest.

    Cool roofs can be more difficult for a government to implement because they require working with building owners. That often means cities need to provide incentives. Louisville, Kentucky, for example, offers rebates of up to $2,000 for homeowners who install reflective roofing materials, and up to $5,000 for commercial businesses with flat roofs that use reflective coatings.

    In Boston, planting trees, left, and increasing roof reflectivity, right, were both found to be effective ways to cool urban areas.
    Ian Smith et al. 2025

    Efforts like these can help spread cool roof benefits across densely populated neighborhoods that need cooling help most.

    As climate change drives more frequent and intense urban heat, cities have powerful tools for lowering the temperature. With some attention to what already exists and what’s feasible, they can find the right budget-conscious strategy that will deliver cooling benefits for everyone.

    Lucy Hutyra has received funding from the U.S. federal government and foundations including the World Resources Institute and Burroughs Wellcome Fund for her scholarship on urban climate and mitigation strategies. She was a recipient of a 2023 MacArthur Fellowship for her work in this area.

    Ian Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. 2 ways cities can beat the heat: Which is best, urban trees or cool roofs? – https://theconversation.com/2-ways-cities-can-beat-the-heat-which-is-best-urban-trees-or-cool-roofs-260188

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How the nature of environmental law is changing in defense of the planet and the climate

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Dana Zartner, Professor of International Studies, University of San Francisco

    A 2017 New Zealand law recognizes inherent rights of the Whanganui River. Jason Pratt, CC BY-SA

    While the dangerous effects of climate change continue to worsen, legal efforts to address a range of environmental issues are also on the rise.

    Headlines across the globe tout many of these legal actions: South Korea’s Climate Law Violates Rights of Future Generations; Ukraine is Ground Zero in Battle for Ecocide Law; Paris Wants to Grant the River Seine Legal Personhood; and Montana Court Rules Children Have the Right to a Healthy Environment, to name a few recent examples.

    As an environmental lawyer, I see that most of these suits use one of five legal strategies that have been developed over the past couple of decades. These approaches vary in terms of who is filing the lawsuit, against whom, and whether the underlying legal perspective is based on protecting human rights or the rights of the environment itself. But they all share an innovative approach to protect all life on this planet.

    1. Right to a healthy environment

    In 2022, the United Nations declared that humans have “the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment … essential to protecting human life, well-being and dignity.” More than 150 countries have similar declarations in their constitutions or laws, often alongside protections for other human rights, such as those to education and medical care.

    These rights are held by humans, so people can sue for alleged violations. Typically they sue one or more government agencies, whose responsibility it is to protect human rights.

    One recent case using this approach was Held v. Montana, in which a group of young people in 2024 won a lawsuit against the state of Montana for violating the state constitution’s right to a “clean and healthful environment.” The state Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiffs and struck down a law barring the consideration of climate effects when evaluating proposals for fossil fuel extraction. Similar cases have been heard in the U.S. and other countries around the world.

    Rikki Held, the lead plaintiff in the Montana case, center seated, confers with the Our Children’s Trust legal team before the start of the trial on June 12, 2023.
    William Campbell/Getty Images

    2. The rights of future generations

    A legal concept called “intergenerational equity” is the idea that present generations must “responsibly use and conserve natural resources for the benefit of future generations.” First codified in international law in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration, the principle has been gaining popularity in recent decades. International organizations and national governments have enshrined this principle in law.

    Focused on humans’ rights, these laws allow people and groups to bring claims, usually against governments, for allowing activities that are altering the environment in ways that will harm future generations. One well-known case that relied on this legal principle is Future Generations v. Ministry of the Environment and Others, in which a Colombian court in 2018 agreed with young people who had sued, finding that the Colombian government’s allowance of “rampant deforestation in the Amazon” violated the pact of intergenerational equity.

    3. Government responsibility

    Another human-centered approach is the public trust doctrine, which establishes “that certain natural and cultural resources are preserved for public use” and that governments have a responsibility to protect them for everyone’s benefit.

    While the concept of “public trust” has long existed in the law, recently it has been used to bring suit against governments for their failure to address climate change and other environmental degradation. In Urgenda Foundation v. the State of the Netherlands, a Dutch court held in 2019 that the government has a responsibility to mitigate the effects of climate change due to the “severity of the consequences of climate change and the great risk of climate change occurring.” Since the decision, the Dutch government has sought to reduce emissions by phasing out the use of coal, increasing reliance on renewable energy and aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

    Government responsibility for the public trust was also a basis of the Juliana v. U.S. case, where a group of young people sued the U.S. government for breaching the public trust by not doing enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately declined to hear an appeal of a lower court’s ruling, but the lack of a specific ruling by the nation’s highest court has given continued hope to new cases, which continue to be filed based on the same principle.

    A documentary examining the movement to protect the rights of nature.

    4. Rights of nature

    The rights of nature is one of the fastest-growing environmental legal strategies of the past decade. Since Ecuador recognized the rights of Pachamama, the Quechua name for Mother Earth, in its Constitution in 2008, more than 500 laws on the rights of nature have been enacted around the world.

    The principle recognizes the legal rights of natural entities, such as rivers, mountains, ecosystems or even something as specific as wild rice. The laws that grant these rights don’t focus on humans but rather nature itself, often including language that the natural entity has the right to “exist and persist.”

    The laws then provide a mechanism for the natural entity – whether through a specific group assigned legal guardianship or other community efforts – to protect itself by filing lawsuits in court. In the 2018 Colombian case, the court found that the Amazon ecosystem has rights, which must be respected and protected.

    Similarly, in Bangladesh in 2019 the courts recognized the rights of all the country’s rivers, requiring, among other things, a halt on damaging development along the rivers that block their natural flow. The court also created a commission to serve as legal guardians of the country’s rivers.

    The destruction of a dam in Ukraine, which emptied this former reservoir, is being investigated as a possible crime of ecocide.
    Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

    5. Defining a new crime: Ecocide

    In 2024, the governments of Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa formally proposed that the international community recognize a new crime under international law. Called “ecocide,” the principle takes a nature-focused approach and includes any unlawful act committed with “the knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment.”

    Put another way, what genocide is to humans, ecocide is to nature. It is being proposed as an addition to the 2002 Rome Statute, which created the International Criminal Court to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

    While the idea is relatively new, in addition to the international efforts, several countries have incorporated ecocide into their laws – including Vietnam, France, Chile and Ukraine. A Ukrainian prosecutor is currently investigating the June 2023 destruction of a dam in a Russian-occupied area of the country as a potential crime of ecocide, because of the widespread flooding and habitat destruction that resulted.

    The European Union has also incorporated ecocide into its Environmental Crime Directive, which applies to all EU member countries, providing them with a mechanism to hear ecocide claims in their national courts.

    Using these ideas

    Each of these legal concepts has the potential to increase protection for the environment – and the people who live in it. But determining which strategy has the greatest chance of success depends on the details of the existing law and legal system in each community.

    All of these legal strategies have a role in the fight to protect and preserve the environment as an integral, interdependent living thing that is vitally important to us as humans but also in its own right.

    Dana Zartner is a volunteer with the Earth Law Center assisting with the editing of toolkits and guides, but has not worked on any of its lawsuits.

    – ref. How the nature of environmental law is changing in defense of the planet and the climate – https://theconversation.com/how-the-nature-of-environmental-law-is-changing-in-defense-of-the-planet-and-the-climate-258982

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump has fired the head of the Library of Congress, but the 225-year-old institution remains a ‘library for all’ – so far

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alex H. Poole, Associate Professor of Information Science, Drexel University

    The main reading room is seen at the Library of Congress on June 13, 2025, in Washington. Kevin Carter/Getty Images

    Carla Hayden, the 14th librarian of Congress, who has held the position since 2016, received an unexpected email on May 8, 2025.

    “Carla, on behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” wrote Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel at the White House.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later explained that Hayden, who was the first woman, Black person and professionally trained librarian to oversee the Library of Congress, had done “quite concerning things,” on the job, including “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”

    Democratic politicians sharply criticized Hayden’s termination, saying the firing was unjust. It was actually about Trump punishing civil servants “who don’t bend to his every will,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said.

    An information science scholar, I have written extensively about the history of libraries and archives, including the Library of Congress. To fully understand the role Hayden played for the past nine years, I think it is important to understand what the Library of Congress does, and the overlooked and underappreciated role it has played in American life.

    Carla Hayden, the recently fired librarian of Congress, attends an event in March 2025 in Washington.
    Shannon Finney/Getty Images

    The Library of Congress’ work

    The Library of Congress is an agency that was first established, by an act of Congress, in 1800. The act provided for “the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.” Its chief librarian is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

    The library has six buildings in Washington that hold a print and online collection of nearly 26 million books, as well as more than 136 million other items, including manuscripts, maps, sheet music and prints and photographs.

    It also houses historic documents, like Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and James Madison’s notes on the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

    The library is the property of the American people. Anyone over the age of 16 with a government-issued photo identification can enter its buildings and read or view its materials on-site. The Library of Congress was partially designed as a research institution to suit the needs of members of Congress, and only Congress members can borrow items from the library and take them home.

    The Library of Congress has an annual budget of about US$900 million, with a staff of 3,263. In 2024, the library’s staff helped acquire 1,437,832 million new items, issue nearly 69,000 library cards and answer more than 764,000 reference requests, among other tasks.

    The library’s deep roots

    The library has evolved alongside the U.S. itself. Five years before the Constitutional Convention of 1787, future president James Madison called for a library to provide materials to help inform Congress and its members. In 1800, President John Adams signed a bill that established the institution, which began with a $5,000 government appropriation, equivalent to more than $127,000 today.

    The library’s first collection included 152 works in 740 volumes imported from England. It occupied a space in a Washington Senate office that measured just 22 feet by 34 feet.

    The British army torched the infant library and its collection that had grown to 3,000 books in 1814, during the War of 1812. In response, former president Thomas Jefferson sold his personal collection of 6,479 books to the library, which he called “unquestionably the choicest collection of books in the U.S.”

    Tragedy struck again in 1851, with a fire that incinerated two-thirds of the library’s 55,000 volumes, including most of Jefferson’s personal collection.

    The organization rebounded in the next few years, as it purchased the 40,000-volume Smithsonian library in 1866, among other new acquisitions.

    Ainsworth Spofford, the sixth librarian of Congress, boosted the library’s national image in the late 1800s when he tried to centralize the country’s patchwork copyright system.

    Spofford also successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Copyright Act of 1870, which stipulated that any party registering a work for copyright needed to deposit two copies of that work with the library.

    A growing place in American life

    As its collections burgeoned in both scale and scope in the latter part of the 19th century, the library assumed an increasingly visible role and became known by some as “the nation’s library.” By 1900, it had nearly 1 million printed books and other materials.

    The opening of a new library building in 1897, offering services to blind people with a designated reading room containing 500 raised character – or braille – books and music items, epitomized the library’s new status.

    President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1901 that the library was “the one national library of the United States” and that was “a unique opportunity to render to the libraries of this country – to American scholarship – service of the highest importance.”

    The library’s work, and global approach, continued to grow during the 20th century.

    By the late 1900s, the library held materials in more than 450 languages.

    It continued to add remarkable items to its collection, including a Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed in Europe from movable metal type, a kind of printing technology, in 1455.

    Documenting the evolution of democracy, the library also assumed stewardship of 23 presidents’ official papers, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, during this time frame.

    A public service

    While primarily designated a research institution for Congress, the library has also catered to a diverse range of patrons, including by mail and telephone.

    As one Science Digest writer noted in 1960, reference staff members fielded questions ranging from “What was the color of a mastodon’s eye?” to “How many words are there in the English language?” and “Could you suggest a name for twins?”

    The library’s register of copyrights received similarly diverse and even humorous inquiries. One older woman seeking to publish her poetry wrote in 1954 to request “a poetic license” to ensure her work conformed to the law.

    In the late 20th century, the library focused on a new democratic national and international mission, as it embraced a new role. Daniel Boorstin, the librarian from 1975 to 1987, termed that role a “multimedia encyclopedia.”

    A congressional resolution marking the Library of Congress’s bicentennial in 2000 noted that it was “the largest and most inclusive library in human history,” as it digitized its collections to extend its reach still further with the growth of the internet.

    As the library marks its 225th year, it continues to represent, as David Mearns, chief of the library’s manuscript division, said in 1947, “the American story.”

    The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress is seen on June 11, 2025, in Washington.
    Kevin Carter/Getty Images

    A library for all

    Following Hayden’s dismissal, Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, as acting librarian of Congress.

    Hayden has contended that her dismissal, which occurred alongside other firings of top civil servants, including the national archivist, represents a broad threat to people’s right to easily access free information.

    “Democracies are not to be taken for granted,” Hayden said in June. She explained in an interview with CBS that she never had a problem with a presidential administration and is not sure why she was dismissed.

    “And the institutions that support democracy should not be taken for granted,” Hayden added.

    In her final annual report as librarian, Hayden characterized the institution as “truly, a library for all.” So far, even without her leadership, it remains just that.

    Alex H. Poole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump has fired the head of the Library of Congress, but the 225-year-old institution remains a ‘library for all’ – so far – https://theconversation.com/trump-has-fired-the-head-of-the-library-of-congress-but-the-225-year-old-institution-remains-a-library-for-all-so-far-257508

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Ozzy Osbourne’s spirit of defiance changed music forever

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Douglas Schulz, Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology, University of Bradford

    Ozzy Osbourne’s death is not just the passing of another rock star. It marks the end of an era – the fading of a figure who helped shape an entire music genre and subculture.

    Both as a member of Black Sabbath and as a solo artist, Osbourne’s legacy lies not only in music history but how we understand performance, rebellion, and the expressive power of sound itself.

    Despite a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and several health setbacks over the years, the news of his death was a shock to the whole metal community. Just weeks before his death on July 22, Osbourne delivered his final performance with Black Sabbath in the place it all began – Villa Park in Birmingham.

    In the hours following the announcement of his death, countless bands and musicians flooded their social media channels to pay their respects.

    Osbourne’s life was a testament to reinvention, grit, and the power of artistic authenticity – going from a working-class kid in Aston to the biggest name in heavy metal, writing the soundtrack to so many people’s lives. His distinctive voice, theatrical presence, and sheer will and determination shaped heavy metal music – inspiring generations of musicians and fans.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    When Black Sabbath emerged in the early 1970s, they played a role in making rock music more menacing, grittier and heavier. The Birmingham band didn’t just turn up the amplifiers and played louder guitars – they introduced a new aesthetic. They were known for their doomy riffs and lyrics about war, madness and the occult. Osbourne, with his uncanny voice and stage presence, was at the front and centre.

    This sound was destined to become the blueprint for heavy metal. But Osbourne’s contribution went beyond his voice. He gave the genre its face, theatricality – and above all, its spirit of defiance.

    Whether he was biting off the head of a bat on stage, stumbling through reality television with absurd but relatable quotes, or delivering genre-defining performances, Osbourne embodied contradictions. He was a mix of menace and mischief, tragedy and comedy, myth and man.

    Heavy metal music has existed in tension with mainstream culture ever since its emergence in the UK in the late 1960s. It has been regarded as too aggressive, too loud, too weird. But Osbourne’s presence forced metal into the public discourse – whether through moral panics in the 1970s and ’80s, or through his television appearances in the 2000s. The Osbournes, a reality show following the family which aired on MTV, was a huge hit in the US and around the world, making Ozzy famous to a whole new audience.

    Throughout his long career, Osbourne helped shift heavy metal from the margins into the mainstream, without ever diluting its transgressive edge.

    A symbol of inspiration

    Osbourne’s stage persona carved out space for other artists to follow. His willingness to be ridiculous, to speak openly about his addictions, health struggles and family dysfunction made him oddly relatable. It is that relatability that allowed Osbourne to be metal’s court jester and elder statesman in one.

    Over time, bands like Slipknot, Ghost, Sleep Token, as well as more introspective bands like Deftones or Gojira, owe much to the groundwork Osbourne and Black Sabbath laid: a template for authenticity, theatricality, and emotional openness wrapped in spectacle and distortion. They helped define the core rhythms, riffs, themes and aesthetics that generations of metal bands followed.

    But Osbourne’s cultural influence cannot be measured only in record sales (although those were plenty), Grammy wins, or his induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His influence lies in how his image, sound and attitude reshaped music scenes across continents.

    In countries where metal is censored or underground, Osbourne was a symbol of resistance. In places where metal was accepted, he was the genre’s most unpredictable ambassador.

    The Prince of Darkness, as he was known, may have left the stage but his legacy will live on. His music is still looped on Tiktok videos, and memes still make rounds on social media.

    Young metal-heads will continue to emulate his style and irreverence. As long as people pick up guitars and look for a way to scream back at the world, Ozzy will be there – in spirit, in sound, and in spectacle.

    Douglas Schulz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Ozzy Osbourne’s spirit of defiance changed music forever – https://theconversation.com/ozzy-osbournes-spirit-of-defiance-changed-music-forever-261775

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Energy Sector – Equinor to commence third tranche of the 2025 share buy-back programme

    Source: Equinor

    23 JULY 2025 – Equinor will on 24 July 2025 commence the third tranche of up to USD 1,265 million of the share buy-back programme for 2025, as announced in relation with the second quarter results 23 July 2025.

    In this third tranche of the share buy-back programme for 2025, shares for up to USD 417.5 million will be purchased in the market, implying a total third tranche of up to USD 1,265 million including shares to be redeemed from the Norwegian State. The tranche will end no later than 27 October 2025.

    Equinor announced at the Capital Market Update in February 2025 a share buy-back programme of up to USD 5 billion for 2025, including shares to be redeemed from the Norwegian State, in order to conclude the two-year programme for 2024 – 2025, announced in February 2024. The share buy-back programme will be subject to market outlook and balance sheet strength and be structured into tranches where Equinor will buy back shares for a certain value in USD over a defined period. For the third tranche in 2025, Equinor will be entering into a non-discretionary agreement with a third party who will execute repurchases of shares and make its trading decisions independently of the company.

    Commencement of new share buy-back tranches after the third tranche in 2025 will be decided by the board of directors on a quarterly basis in line with the company’s dividend policy and will be subject to board authorisation for share buy-back from the company’s annual general meeting and agreement with the Norwegian State regarding share buy-back (as further described below).

    The purpose of the share buy-back programme is to reduce the issued share capital of the company. All shares purchased as part of the third tranche for 2025 will thus be cancelled through a capital reduction at the annual general meeting of the company in May 2026.

    Further information about the share buy-back programme and the third tranche:

    The third tranche of the share buy-back programme for 2025 is based on an authorisation granted to the board of directors at the annual general meeting of the company held on 14 May 2025. According to the authorisation, the maximum number of shares which can be purchased in the market is 84 million, of which 67,622,812 remain available per commencement of the third tranche in 2025 (buy-backs made under previous tranches in the authorisation period taken into account). The minimum price that can be paid per share is NOK 50, and the maximum price is NOK 1,000. The authorisation is valid until the annual general meeting of the company in May 2026, but no later than 30 June 2026.

    An agreement between Equinor and the Norwegian State regulates the State’s participation in the share buy-back: at the annual general meeting of the company in May 2026, the State will, as per proposal by the board of directors, vote for the cancellation of shares purchased in the market pursuant to the board authorisation, and the redemption and cancellation of a proportionate number of its shares in order to maintain its ownership share in the company at 67%. The price to be paid to the State for redemption of the State’s shares shall be the volume-weighted average of the price paid by Equinor for shares purchased in the market plus an interest rate compensation, adjusted for any divid

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Energy Sector – Equinor second quarter 2025 results

    Source: Equinor

    23 JULY 2025 – Equinor delivered an adjusted operating income* of USD 6.53 billion and USD 1.74 billion after tax* in the second quarter of 2025. Equinor reported a net operating income of USD 5.72 billion and a net income of USD 1.32 billion. Adjusted net income* was USD 1.67 billion, leading to adjusted earnings per share* of USD 0.64.

    Solid financial results

    • Strong operational performance and production growth
    • Higher US onshore gas production capturing higher prices
    • Stable cost and capex in line with guidance
    • Balance sheet remains robust through lower price environment

    Strategic progress

    • Announced divestment of the Peregrino field in Brazil for USD 3.5 billion
    • Financial close of Bałtyk 2 & 3 offshore wind projects in Poland
    • Empire Wind 1 project development back in execution. Impairments driven by regulatory changes for future offshore wind projects leading to a loss of future synergies on South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and increased exposure to tariffs

    Capital distribution

    • Ordinary cash dividend of USD 0.37 per share, third tranche of share buy-back of up to USD 1.265 billion
    • Expected total capital distribution of USD 9 billion in 2025

    Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor ASA:
    “We are on track to deliver production growth in 2025 in line with our guidance. Strong operational performance and Johan Castberg reaching plateau are key contributors this quarter. In today’s volatile markets we stay committed to being a long-term energy provider to Europe.”

    “Last year, we strengthened our onshore gas portfolio in the US and this has created substantial value this quarter, with a fifty percent increase in gas production at prices almost eighty percent higher than the same time last year.“

    “We continue to progress our portfolio in renewables, and the Empire Wind 1 project development is back in execution. We have reached financial close for the Bałtyk 2 & 3 offshore wind projects in Poland at favourable terms, contributing to strong returns.”

    Solid production

    Equinor delivered a total equity production of 2,096 mboe per day in the second quarter, up 2% from 2,048 mboe in the same quarter last year.

    On the Norwegian continental shelf the operational performance was strong. New production from the Johan Castberg field reaching plateau and Halten East contributed. Together, this offset natural decline, impact from the turnaround at Hammerfest LNG and maintenance at the Kollsnes processing plant.

    The acquisition of additional interests in US onshore assets in 2024, and higher production from these assets, contributed to a 28% increase in oil and gas production from US in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year.

    The production from the international upstream segment, excluding US, is down compared to the same quarter last year, due to exits from Nigeria and Azerbaijan in 2024. Higher production in Brazil, and new wells in Argentina and Angola, contributed positively.

    The total power generation from the renewable portfolio was 0.83 TWh. The increase compared to second quarter last year is due to ramp up of power production from Dogger Bank A and new production from the onshore wind farm Lyngsåsa in Sweden which was acquired in first quarter 2025.

    In the quarter, Equinor completed 5 offshore exploration wells on the NCS with 2 commercial discoveries.

    Strong financial results

    Equinor delivered an adjusted operating income* of USD 6.53 billion and USD 1.74 billion after tax* in the second quarter of 2025. The results are affected by lower liquids prices, which were partially offset by higher gas prices and higher production.

    The reported net operating income of USD 5.72 billion is down from USD 7.66 billion in the same quarter last year. This is impacted by an impairment of USD 955 million due to regulatory changes causing loss of synergies from future offshore wind projects and increased exposure to tariffs. Of this, USD 763 million is related to Empire Wind 1/South Brooklyn Marine Terminal project and the remainder is related to the Empire Wind 2 lease.

    Equinor realised a European gas price of USD 12.0 per mmbtu and realised liquids prices were USD 63.0 per bbl in the second quarter.

    Adjusted operating and administrative expenses* are stable from the same quarter last year.

    Strong operational performance generated cash flows provided by operating activities, before taxes paid and working capital items, of USD 9.17 billion for the second quarter.

    Equinor paid two NCS tax instalments totalling USD 6.85 billion in the quarter. From August, the payments of tax on the NCS will be changed to ten installments annually, and for third quarter Equinor expects to pay two installments of NOK 19.7 billion each.

    Cash flow from operations after taxes paid* ended at USD 1.94 billion.

    Organic capital expenditure* was USD 3.40 billion for the quarter, and total capital expenditures were USD 3.58 billion.

    The net debt to capital employed adjusted ratio* was 15.2% at the end of the second quarter, compared to 6.9% at the end of the first quarter of 2025. The calculation of net debt ratio includes the effect of the Norwegian state’s share of the share buy-back, at USD 4.26 billion paid in July.

    Strategic progress

    Since the end of the last quarter, Equinor progressed projects to facilitate long-term production and value creation on the Norwegian continental shelf. The plan for development and operation on Fram South was submitted and final investment decision was made on Johan Sverdrup phase 3 in the North Sea which are expected to increase the recoverable volumes from the field by 40-50 million boe.

    After less than three months in production, the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea reached plateau on 17 June. The same month, an oil discovery estimated at approximately 9-15 million barrels was made in the area and can contribute with additional reserves for the field.

    Equinor and Centrica signed a long-term gas sales agreement of 55 TWh of natural gas per year for a period of 10 years, demonstrating the importance of long-term gas supplies from the NCS to support the UK’s energy security.

    Equinor continues to high-grade its international portfolio. In the quarter, the sale of the Peregrino field in Brazil for USD 3.5 billion was announced. Equinor will focus on the start-up of the Bacalhau field expected on stream later in 2025 and progressing the Raia gas project. New exploration acreage in the Santos basin was awarded.

    Financial close was announced on the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind projects with financing packages totalling EUR 6 billion. The wind projects are located offshore Poland with an expected total capacity of 1.4 GW.

    Competitive capital distribution

    The board of directors has decided a cash dividend of USD 0.37 per share for the second quarter of 2025, in line with communication at the Capital Markets Update in February.

    Expected total capital distribution for 2025 is USD 9 billion, including a share buy-back programme of up to USD 5 billion. The board has decided to initiate a third tranche of the share buy-back programme of up to USD 1.265 billion. The tranche will commence on 24 July and end no later than 27 October 2025.

    The second tranche of the share buy-back programme for 2025 was completed on 17 July 2025 with a total value of USD 1.265 billion.

    All share buy-back amounts include shares to be redeemed by the Norwegian state.

    *For items marked with an asterisk throughout this report, see Use and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures in the Supplementary disclosures.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Pacific – New world-class health services will transform Nauru – Govt of Nauru

    Source: Government of Nauru

     

    A month after the Government of Nauru announced a ground breaking strategic partnership with UAE company Global Mission Support Services (GMSS) to take over the management and delivery of the country’s health services, the results have already been transformational. 

     

    Minister for Public Health Maverick Eoe said while the first 30 days were earmarked for assessment and planning, the new medical team had already made major progress including reactivating the eye clinic and performing high-impact surgeries that previously could not be performed domestically.

     

    “The government decided that in order to make a real difference in the health care of all Nauruans we had to be innovative, and we are absolutely confident that this solution will dramatically improve, and restore trust in, our health system,” he said. 

     

    The health team has also responded to a dengue fever outbreak which is now under control following consultation with the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, while the company’s engineering team fixed the flooding at the hospital’s entrance which has been an issue for decades.  

     

    The partnership, at no extra cost to the Government, was announced in Parliament last month by President David Adeang, who said, “The government…. had concluded that engaging an experienced and capable private sector partner is a necessary step to ensure our people continue to receive quality and timely medical care, both locally and abroad.”

     

    He also said the new arrangement will reduce the financial burden on the OMR but assured the nation that “this arrangement will (still) ensure that our most vulnerable citizens—those who require overseas medical treatment—are cared for with dignity, efficiency, and compassion.”

     

    The GMSS medical team on Nauru are leading experts from across the world and include a US chief medical officer, a Ukrainian brigadier general who was a special forces physician, an Israeli ophthalmic surgeon, an Australian professor of public policy, a former British Royal Air Force doctor, and a US Navy admiral. 

     

    GMSS manager Roy Shaposhnik said, “Our mission has been receiving outstanding support and goodwill from government, the private sector, and most importantly, the people of Nauru.

     

    “Their support and cooperation remain our greatest motivators and enablers.”

     

    The initial team included civil engineers, logistics specialists, and operations personnel, followed by additional subject-matter experts who conducted in-depth assessments of the Nauru hospital and public health facilities.

     

    GMSS medical adviser Dr Dezheen Zebari said thinking of just how much change they can make in Nauru is “very exciting”.

     

    “This will be a transformative change and build a resilient health care system,” she said.

     

    Dr Zebari credited President Adeang along with ministers Eoe and Charmaine Scotty for “their vision.”

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Doctors shouldn’t be allowed to object to medical care if it harms their patients

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Julian Savulescu, Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, The University of Melbourne

    HRAUN/Getty

    A young woman needs an abortion and the reasons, while urgent, are not medical. A United States Navy nurse at Guantánamo Bay is ordered to force-feed a defiant detainee on hunger strike.

    These very different real-life cases have one connecting thread: the question of whether a health professional can conscientiously object to carrying out a patient’s request.

    Freedom of conscience is often held up as a purely noble principle. But when it’s used to deny health care, it means a single person’s beliefs are dictating what is best for another person’s physical and mental health – which can have devastating, even fatal, results.

    In our recent book, Rethinking Conscientious Objection in Healthcare, colleagues and I conclude doctors should not be free to make medical decisions based on their personal beliefs.

    It’s not noble to refuse care

    Freedom of conscience is strongly – but not absolutely – protected under international human rights law. It is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    This principle has often been used for moral purposes: for example, to resist orders to torture or kill.

    But after researching use of conscientious objection by health professionals, I have concluded it is seriously flawed when used to deny patients health services. This is especially so when particular doctors have a monopoly on service provision, as is the case with abortion and assisted dying in many rural and regional areas of Australia.

    In Australia, doctors are allowed to conscientiously object to abortion, although nearly all states require referral to other service providers or information about how to access the relevant service.

    In practice, these laws are not enforced and sometimes disregarded.

    A doctor’s refusal can mean patients can be denied the standard of care they need, or indeed, any care at all.

    Health-care professionals are not like pacifists refusing conscription into the military, opposing something forced upon them. They freely choose health-care careers that come with obligations and with ethical stances already established by professional codes of conduct.

    People are free to hold whatever beliefs they choose, but those beliefs will inevitably close off some options for them. For example, a vegetarian will not be able to work in an abattoir. That is true for every one of us. But what shouldn’t happen is a doctor’s personal beliefs closing off legitimate options for their patient.

    4 guiding questions

    Instead of personal values, there are four key secular principles we propose that doctors should rely on when deciding how to advise patients about sensitive procedures:

    • is it legal?

    • is it a just and fair use of any resources that might be limited?

    • is it in the interests of the patient’s wellbeing?

    • is it what the patient has themselves decided they want?

    Of course, there will be times when some of these principles are in conflict – that is when it is important to apply the most crucial ones, the wellbeing of the patient and the patient’s own wishes.

    In Ireland in 2012, a young woman named Savita Halappanavar went to an Irish hospital for treatment for her miscarriage. Doctors knew there was no hope of the pregnancy surviving but refused to evacuate her uterus while there was still a fetal heartbeat, for fear of breaching Ireland’s anti-abortion laws. The result: Savita died of septicaemia at 31.

    If doctors had put the patient’s wellbeing first, they would have given her that termination, despite the law, and it would have saved her life.

    These are the principles that should have been applied to the examples above: the woman seeking an abortion for career reasons or the nurse refusing to force-feed prisoners.

    The doctor (or nurse) should ask: Is it what the patient has autonomously decided they want? Will it lead to the best outcome for both their physical and their mental health?

    If abortion will promote a woman’s wellbeing, it is in her interests. Hunger strikers should not be force-fed because it violates their autonomy.

    An unfair burden

    While doctors’ personal values are important, they should not dictate care at the bedside. Not only can this disadvantage the patient, but it places an unfair burden on colleagues who do accept such work, and must carry a disproportionate load of procedures they might find unpleasant and financially unrewarding.

    It also creates injustice. Patients who are educated, wealthy and well-connected already find it easier to access health care. Conscientious objection intensifies that unfairness in large swathes of the country because it further limits options.

    Two countries with excellent health-care systems, Sweden and Finland, do not permit conscientious objection by medical professionals.

    In Australia, it is time we do the same and strongly limit conscientious objection as a legal right for health professionals. We should also ensure those entering the discipline are prepared to take on all procedures relevant to their specialty.

    And lastly, but most importantly, we should educate them that the patient’s interests and values must always come first. An individual doctor’s sense of moral authority should not be permitted to morph into medical and moral authoritarianism.

    Julian Savulescu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Doctors shouldn’t be allowed to object to medical care if it harms their patients – https://theconversation.com/doctors-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-object-to-medical-care-if-it-harms-their-patients-260003

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Doctors shouldn’t be allowed to object to medical care if it harms their patients

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Julian Savulescu, Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, The University of Melbourne

    HRAUN/Getty

    A young woman needs an abortion and the reasons, while urgent, are not medical. A United States Navy nurse at Guantánamo Bay is ordered to force-feed a defiant detainee on hunger strike.

    These very different real-life cases have one connecting thread: the question of whether a health professional can conscientiously object to carrying out a patient’s request.

    Freedom of conscience is often held up as a purely noble principle. But when it’s used to deny health care, it means a single person’s beliefs are dictating what is best for another person’s physical and mental health – which can have devastating, even fatal, results.

    In our recent book, Rethinking Conscientious Objection in Healthcare, colleagues and I conclude doctors should not be free to make medical decisions based on their personal beliefs.

    It’s not noble to refuse care

    Freedom of conscience is strongly – but not absolutely – protected under international human rights law. It is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    This principle has often been used for moral purposes: for example, to resist orders to torture or kill.

    But after researching use of conscientious objection by health professionals, I have concluded it is seriously flawed when used to deny patients health services. This is especially so when particular doctors have a monopoly on service provision, as is the case with abortion and assisted dying in many rural and regional areas of Australia.

    In Australia, doctors are allowed to conscientiously object to abortion, although nearly all states require referral to other service providers or information about how to access the relevant service.

    In practice, these laws are not enforced and sometimes disregarded.

    A doctor’s refusal can mean patients can be denied the standard of care they need, or indeed, any care at all.

    Health-care professionals are not like pacifists refusing conscription into the military, opposing something forced upon them. They freely choose health-care careers that come with obligations and with ethical stances already established by professional codes of conduct.

    People are free to hold whatever beliefs they choose, but those beliefs will inevitably close off some options for them. For example, a vegetarian will not be able to work in an abattoir. That is true for every one of us. But what shouldn’t happen is a doctor’s personal beliefs closing off legitimate options for their patient.

    4 guiding questions

    Instead of personal values, there are four key secular principles we propose that doctors should rely on when deciding how to advise patients about sensitive procedures:

    • is it legal?

    • is it a just and fair use of any resources that might be limited?

    • is it in the interests of the patient’s wellbeing?

    • is it what the patient has themselves decided they want?

    Of course, there will be times when some of these principles are in conflict – that is when it is important to apply the most crucial ones, the wellbeing of the patient and the patient’s own wishes.

    In Ireland in 2012, a young woman named Savita Halappanavar went to an Irish hospital for treatment for her miscarriage. Doctors knew there was no hope of the pregnancy surviving but refused to evacuate her uterus while there was still a fetal heartbeat, for fear of breaching Ireland’s anti-abortion laws. The result: Savita died of septicaemia at 31.

    If doctors had put the patient’s wellbeing first, they would have given her that termination, despite the law, and it would have saved her life.

    These are the principles that should have been applied to the examples above: the woman seeking an abortion for career reasons or the nurse refusing to force-feed prisoners.

    The doctor (or nurse) should ask: Is it what the patient has autonomously decided they want? Will it lead to the best outcome for both their physical and their mental health?

    If abortion will promote a woman’s wellbeing, it is in her interests. Hunger strikers should not be force-fed because it violates their autonomy.

    An unfair burden

    While doctors’ personal values are important, they should not dictate care at the bedside. Not only can this disadvantage the patient, but it places an unfair burden on colleagues who do accept such work, and must carry a disproportionate load of procedures they might find unpleasant and financially unrewarding.

    It also creates injustice. Patients who are educated, wealthy and well-connected already find it easier to access health care. Conscientious objection intensifies that unfairness in large swathes of the country because it further limits options.

    Two countries with excellent health-care systems, Sweden and Finland, do not permit conscientious objection by medical professionals.

    In Australia, it is time we do the same and strongly limit conscientious objection as a legal right for health professionals. We should also ensure those entering the discipline are prepared to take on all procedures relevant to their specialty.

    And lastly, but most importantly, we should educate them that the patient’s interests and values must always come first. An individual doctor’s sense of moral authority should not be permitted to morph into medical and moral authoritarianism.

    Julian Savulescu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Doctors shouldn’t be allowed to object to medical care if it harms their patients – https://theconversation.com/doctors-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-object-to-medical-care-if-it-harms-their-patients-260003

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Could the latest ‘interstellar comet’ be an alien probe? Why spotting cosmic visitors is harder than you think

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology

    Comet 3I/ATLAS International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech/Jen Miller/Mahdi Zamani, CC BY

    On July 1, astronomers spotted an unusual high-speed object zooming towards the Sun. Dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the surprising space traveller had one very special quality: its orbit showed it had come from outside our Solar System.

    For only the third time ever, we had discovered a true interstellar visitor. And it was weird.

    3I/ATLAS breaking records

    3I/ATLAS appeared to be travelling at 245,000 kilometres per hour, making it the fastest object ever detected in our Solar System.

    It was also huge. Early estimates suggest the object could be up to 20km in size. Finally, scientists believe it may even be older than our Sun.

    Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer at NASA’s JPL, explains the discovery of 3I/ATLAS.

    Could it be alien?

    Our first assumption when we see something in space is that it’s a lump of rock or ice. But the strange properties of 3I/ATLAS have suggested to some that it may be something else entirely.

    Harvard astrophysics professor Avi Loeb and colleagues last week uploaded a paper titled Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology? to the arXiv preprint server. (The paper has not yet been peer reviewed.)

    Loeb is a controversial figure among astronomers and astrophysicists. He has previously suggested that the first known interstellar object, 1I/ʻOumuamua, discovered in 2017, may also have been an alien craft.

    Among other oddities Loeb suggests may be signs of deliberate alien origin, he notes the orbit of 3I/ATLAS takes it improbably close to Venus, Mars and Jupiter.

    The trajectory of comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the Solar System, with its closest approach to the Sun in October.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech

    We’ve sent out our own alien probes

    The idea of alien probes wandering the cosmos may sound strange, but humans sent out a few ourselves in the 1970s. Both Voyager 1 and 2 have officially left our Solar System, and Pioneer 10 and 11 are not far behind.

    So it’s not a stretch to think that alien civilisations – if they exist – would have launched their own galactic explorers.

    However, this brings us to a crucial question: short of little green men popping out to say hello, how would we actually know if 3I/ATLAS, or any other interstellar object, was an alien probe?

    Detecting alien probes 101

    The first step to determining whether something is a natural object or an alien probe is of course to spot it.

    Most things we see in our Solar System don’t emit light of their own. Instead, we only see them by the light they reflect from the Sun.

    Larger objects generally reflect more sunlight, so they are easier for us to see. So what we see tends to be larger comets and asteroid, especially farther from Earth.

    It can be very difficult to spot smaller objects. At present, we can track objects down to a size of ten or 20 metres out as far from the Sun as Jupiter.

    Our own Voyager probes are about ten metres in size (if we include their radio antennas). If an alien probe was similar, we probably wouldn’t spot it until it was somewhere in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.

    If we did spot something suspicious, to figure out if it really were a probe or not we would look for a few telltales.

    Viewing 3I/ATLAS through coloured filters reveals the colours that make up its tail.
    International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech (IfA/U. Hawaii) / Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani (NSF NOIRLab), CC BY

    First off, because a natural origin is most likely, we would look for evidence that no aliens were involved. One clue in this direction might be if the object were emitting a “tail” of gas in the way that comets do.

    However, we might also want to look for hints of alien origin. One very strong piece of evidence would be any kind of radio waves coming from the probe as a form of communication. This is assuming the probe was still in working order, and not completely defunct.

    We might also look for signs of electrostatic discharge caused by sunlight hitting the probe.

    Another dead giveaway would be signs of manoeuvring or propulsion. An active probe might try to correct its course or reposition its antennas to send and receive signals to and from its origin.

    And a genuine smoking gun would be an approach to Earth in a stable orbit. Not to brag, but Earth is genuinely the most interesting place in the Solar System – we have water, a healthy atmosphere, a strong magnetic field and life. A probe with any decision-making capacity would likely want to investigate and collect data about our interesting little planet.

    We may never know

    Without clear signs one way or the other, however, it may be impossible to know if some interstellar objects are natural or alien-made.

    Objects like 3I/ATLAS remind us that space is vast, strange, and full of surprises. Most of them have natural explanations. But the strangest objects are worth a second look.

    For now, 3I/ATLAS is likely just an unusually fast, old and icy visitor from a distant system. But it also serves as a test case: a chance to refine the way we search, observe and ask questions about the universe.

    Sara Webb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Could the latest ‘interstellar comet’ be an alien probe? Why spotting cosmic visitors is harder than you think – https://theconversation.com/could-the-latest-interstellar-comet-be-an-alien-probe-why-spotting-cosmic-visitors-is-harder-than-you-think-261656

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Do countries have a duty to prevent climate harm? The world’s highest court is about to answer this crucial question

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Nathan Cooper, Associate Professor of Law, University of Waikato

    Getty Images

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will issue a highly anticipated advisory opinion overnight to clarify state obligations related to climate change.

    It will answer two urgent questions: what are the obligations of states under international law to protect the climate and environment from greenhouse gas emissions, and what are the legal consequences for states that have caused significant harm to Earth’s atmosphere and environment?

    ICJ advisory opinions are not legally binding. But coming from the world’s highest court, they provide an authoritative opinion on serious issues that can be highly persuasive.

    This advisory opinion marks the culmination of a campaign that began in 2019 when students and youth organisations in Vanuatu – one of the most vulnerable nations to climate-related impacts – persuaded their government to seek clarification on what states should be doing to protect them.

    Led by Vanuatu and co-sponsored by 132 member states, including New Zealand and Australia, the United Nations General Assembly formally requested the advisory opinion in March 2023.

    More than two years of public consultation and deliberation ensued, leading to this week’s announcement.

    What to expect

    Looking at the specific questions to be addressed, at least three aspects stand out.

    First, the sources and areas of international law under scrutiny are not confined to the UN’s climate change framework. This invites the ICJ to consider a broad range of law – including trans-boundary environmental law, human rights law, international investment law, humanitarian law, trade law and beyond – and to draw on both treaty-related obligations and customary international law.

    Such an encyclopaedic examination could produce a complex and integrated opinion on states’ obligations to protect the environment and climate system.

    Second, the opinion will address what obligations exist, not just to those present today, but to future generations. This follows acknowledgement of the so-called “intertemporal characteristics” of climate change in recent climate-related court decisions and the need to respond effectively to both the current climate crisis and its likely ongoing consequences.

    Third, the opinion won’t just address what obligations states have, but also what the consequences should be for nations:

    where they, by their acts and omissions have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment.

    Addressing consequences as well as obligations should cause states to pay closer attention and make the ICJ’s advisory more relevant to domestic climate litigation and policy discussions.

    Representatives from Pacific island nations gathered outside the International Court of Justice during the hearings.
    Michel Porro/Getty Images

    Global judicial direction

    Two recent court findings may offer clues as to the potential scope of the ICJ’s findings.

    Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights published its own advisory opinion on state obligations in response to climate change.

    Explicitly connecting fundamental human rights with a healthy ecosystem, this opinion affirmed states have an imperative duty to prevent irreversible harm to the climate system. Moreover, the duty to safeguard the common ecosystem must be understood as a fundamental principle of international law to which states must adhere.

    Meanwhile last week, an Australian federal court dismissed a landmark climate case, determining that the Australian government does not owe a duty of care to Torres Strait Islanders to protect them from the consequences of climate change.

    The court accepted the claimants face significant loss and damage from climate impacts and that previous Australian government policies on greenhouse gas emissions were not aligned with the best science to limit climate change. But it nevertheless determined that “matters of high or core government policy” are not subject to common law duties of care.

    Whether the ICJ will complement the Inter-American court’s bold approach or opt for a more constrained and conservative response is not certain. But now is the time for clear and ambitious judicial direction with global scope.

    Implications for New Zealand

    Aotearoa New Zealand aspires to climate leadership through its Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019. This set 2050 targets of reducing emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) to net zero, and biogenic methane by 25-47%.

    However, actions to date are likely insufficient to meet this target. Transport emissions continue to rise and agriculture – responsible for nearly half of the country’s emissions – is lightly regulated.

    Although the government plans to double renewable energy by 2050, it is also in the process of lifting a 2018 ban on offshore gas exploration and has pledged $200 million to co-invest in the development of new fields.

    Critics also point out the government has made little progress towards its promise to install 10,000 EV charging stations by 2030 while axing a clean-investment fund.

    Although a final decision is yet to be made, the government is also considering to lower the target for cuts to methane emissions from livestock, against advice from the Climate Change Commission.

    With the next global climate summit coming up in November, the ICJ opinion may offer timely encouragement for states to reconsider their emissions targets and the ambition of climate policies.

    Most countries have yet to submit their latest emissions reduction pledges (known as nationally determined contributions) under the Paris Agreement. New Zealand has made its pledge, but it has been described as “underwhelming”. This may present a chance to adjust ambition upwards.

    If the ICJ affirms that states have binding obligations to prevent climate harm, including trans-boundary impacts, New Zealand’s climate change policies and progress to date could face increased legal scrutiny.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Do countries have a duty to prevent climate harm? The world’s highest court is about to answer this crucial question – https://theconversation.com/do-countries-have-a-duty-to-prevent-climate-harm-the-worlds-highest-court-is-about-to-answer-this-crucial-question-261396

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Here’s why 3-person embryos are a breakthrough for science – but not LGBTQ+ families

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Jennifer Power, Principal Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University

    Last week, scientists announced the birth of eight healthy babies in the United Kingdom conceived with DNA from three people. Some headlines have called it “three-person IVF”.

    The embryo uses the DNA from the egg and sperm of the intended father and mother, as well as cells from the egg of a second woman (the donor).

    This process – known as mitochondrial replacement therapy – allows women with certain genetic disorders to conceive a child without passing on their condition.

    While it’s raised broader questions about “three-parent” babies, it’s not so simple. Here’s why it’s unlikely this development will transform the diverse ways LGBTQ+ people are already making families.

    What this technology is – and isn’t

    The UK became the first country in the world to allow mitochondrial donation for three-person embryos ten years ago, in 2015.

    In other countries, such donations are banned or strictly controlled. In Australia, a staged approach to allow mitochondrial donation was introduced in 2022. Stage one will involve clinical trials to determine safety and effectiveness, and establish clear ethical guidelines for donations.

    These restrictions are based on political and ethical concerns about the use of human embryos for research, the unknown health impact on children, and the broader implications of allowing genetic modification of human embryos.

    There are also concerns about the ethical or legal implications of creating babies with “three parents”.

    Carefully and slowly considering these ethical issues is clearly important. But it’s inaccurate to suggest this process creates three parents.

    First, the amount of DNA the donor provides is tiny, only 0.1% of the baby’s DNA. The baby will not share any physical characteristics with the donor.

    While it is significant that two women’s DNA has been used in creating an embryo, it doesn’t mean lesbian couples will be rushing to access this particular in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology.

    This technique is only used for people affected by mitochondrial disease and is closely regulated. It is not available more widely and in Australia, is not yet available even for this use.

    Second, while biological lineage is an important part of many people’s identity and sense of self, DNA alone does not make a parent.

    As many adoptive, foster and LGBTQ+ parents will attest, parenting is about love, connection and everyday acts of care for a child.

    How do rainbow families use IVF?

    Existing IVF is already expensive and medically invasive. Many fertility services offer a range of additional treatments purported to aid fertility, but extra interventions add more costs and are not universally recommended by doctors.

    While many lesbian couples and single women use fertility services to access donor sperm, not everyone will need to use IVF.

    Less invasive fertilisation techniques, such as intrauterine insemination, may be available for women without fertility problems. This means inserting sperm directly into the uterus, rather than fertilising an egg in a clinic and then implanting that embryo.

    Same-sex couples who have the option to create a baby with a sperm donor they know – rather than from a register – may also choose home-based insemination, the proverbial turkey baster. This is a cheaper and more intimate way to conceive and many women prefer a donor who will have some involvement in their child’s life.

    In recent years, “reciprocal” IVF has also grown in popularity among lesbian couples. This means an embryo is created using one partner’s egg, and the other partner carries it.

    Reciprocal IVF’s popularity suggests biology does play a role for LGBTQ+ women in conceiving a baby. When both mothers share a biological connection to the child, it may help overcome stigmatisation of “non-birth” mothers as less legitimate.

    But biology is by no means the defining feature of rainbow families.

    LGBTQ+ people are already parents

    The 2021 census showed 17% of same-sex couples had children living with them; among female same-sex couples it was 28%. This is likely an underestimate, as the census only collects data on couples that live together.

    Same-sex couples often conceive children using donor sperm or eggs, and this may involve surrogacy. But across the LGBTQ+ community, there are diverse ways people become parents.

    Same-sex couples are one part of the LGBTQ+ community. Growing numbers of trans and non-binary people are choosing to carry a baby (as gestational parents), as well as single parents who use donors or fertility services. Many others conceive children through sex, including bi+ people or others who conceive within a relationship.

    While LGBTQ+ people can legally adopt children in Australia, adoption is not common. However, many foster parents are LGBTQ+.

    When they donate eggs or sperm to others, some LGBTQ+ people may stay involved in the child’s life as a close family friend or co-parent.

    Connection and care, not DNA

    While mitochondrial replacement therapy is a remarkable advance in gene technology, it is unlikely to open new pathways to parenthood for LGBTQ+ people in Australia.

    Asserting the importance of families based on choice – not biology or what technology is available – has been crucial to the LGBTQ+ community’s story and to rainbow families’ fight to be recognised.

    Decades of research now shows children raised by same-sex couples do just as well as any other child. What matters is parents’ consistency, love and quality of care.

    Jennifer Power receives funding from the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Aged Care and the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Here’s why 3-person embryos are a breakthrough for science – but not LGBTQ+ families – https://theconversation.com/heres-why-3-person-embryos-are-a-breakthrough-for-science-but-not-lgbtq-families-261462

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: UK Economy – UK borrowing blow makes tax hikes ‘inevitable’ – deVere Group

    Source: deVere Group

    July 22 2025 – UK government borrowing came in higher than forecast in June, a setback for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves that has markets jittery and households bracing for tax hikes.

    “Gilt yields climbed on the news—and so should awareness among individuals with UK assets. The time to protect your wealth is now,” says Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group.

    In a sharp warning, he responds to today’s ONS data showing public sector borrowing reached £20.7bn last month—£3.5bn more than expected and the highest June figure outside of the pandemic era.

    “This borrowing shock is the flashing red light on the dashboard. The UK is headed toward a fiscal squeeze, and the Chancellor has limited room to manoeuvre. That makes tax rises not just likely—but, in our view, inevitable.”

    The increase in borrowing was driven by higher interest payments on inflation-linked debt and ballooning public spending, which has outpaced gains in tax revenues.

    The data raises questions about how the government can stick to its fiscal rules without turning to new or increased taxes.

    “Markets are already reacting. Gilts dropped and yields jumped, which is a clear signal that investors expect tougher measures ahead. And that usually means taxes—stealth or otherwise—will be deployed to stabilise the books.”

    With debt interest payments nearly doubling year-on-year in June and pressure mounting from backbench MPs for wealth and tourist taxes, Nigel Green says the direction of travel is now unambiguous.

    “The political noise is getting louder. Whether it’s capital gains, pension reliefs, property, or new forms of wealth taxation, something has to give.

    “The Chancellor has ruled out reopening departmental budgets, which narrows the options dramatically.”

    He warned that investors, business owners, and anyone with UK assets should not wait to react after the Autumn Budget.

    “By the time tax policy changes are announced, it’s often too late to respond effectively. The smart move is to plan proactively—now. When fiscal gaps this size appear, governments act fast, and retrospectively.”

    With borrowing at £57.8bn already this financial year and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasting a potential £30bn hole in public finances by year-end, the deVere CEO says the government’s fiscal hand is being forced.

    “There’s no free money left. We’re past the era of cheap borrowing and blank-cheque economics. Markets want discipline. Voters want services. That tension will be resolved through taxation.”

    “Those with investment portfolios, property, pensions or inheritances tied to the UK need to assess their exposure and consider future-proofing strategies. This is smart wealth management.”

    Despite the political pledge to avoid day-to-day borrowing, the numbers tell a different story. The Treasury is borrowing more, not less, and paying more for it, not less.

    “Inflation-linked bonds and rising rates have made it brutally expensive to finance the national debt. That’s going to reshape the economic agenda—and likely your personal finances with it.”

    The chief executive called on clients and individuals to get ahead of potential tax changes now, while options remain open and planning is still effective.

    “Tax hikes can be disguised, delayed, or dressed up as reform—but they’re still tax hikes. We expect movement on capital gains, inheritance tax, and pension rules in particular, and we believe it would be reckless to assume otherwise.”

    He concludes: “We’re urging those with UK ties—whether you live in Britain, invest here, or hold assets here—to speak to advisors urgently.

    “Mitigating tax exposure takes time, insight, and action. This isn’t about headlines, it’s about protecting what you’ve built.”

    About deVere Group:
    deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients.  It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Eat the rich’ — Why horror films are taking aim at the ultra-wealthy

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Heather Roberts, PhD Candidate in Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario

    Samara Weaving in the horror film ‘Ready or Not.’ Weaving plays Grace, a bride who must survive until dawn on her wedding day as her in-laws hunt her down. (Searchlight Pictures)

    This story contains spoilers about ‘Ready or Not’ and ‘The Menu.’

    When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez held their lavish three-day wedding celebration in Venice recently, it wasn’t just a party — it was a spectacle of wealth, reportedly costing between US$47 million and US$56 million.

    Critics highlighted the environmental toll of such an event on the fragile, flood-prone city, while protesters took to the streets to condemn the wedding as a tone-deaf symbol of oligarchical wealth at a time when many can’t afford to pay rent, let alone rent an island.

    The excessive show of opulence felt like the opening of a horror film, and lately, that’s exactly what horror has been giving us. In films like Ready or Not (2019) and The Menu (2022), the rich aren’t simply out of touch; they’re portrayed as predators, criminals or even monsters.



    Read more:
    Horror comedy ‘The Menu’ delves into foodie snobbery when you’re dying for a cheeseburger

    These “eat-the-rich” films channel widespread anxieties about the current socioeconomic climate and increasing disillusionment with capitalist systems.

    In a world where the wealthy and powerful often seem to act with impunity, these films expose upper-class immorality and entitlement, and offer revenge fantasies where those normally crushed by the system fight back or burn it all down.

    Horror takes aim at the wealthy

    Originally a quote from social theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution, “eat the rich” has re-emerged in recent years in public protests and on social media in response to increasing socioeconomic inequality.

    In cinema, eat-the-rich films often use grotesque hyperbole or satire to reveal and critique capitalist systems and the behaviours of the wealthy elite.

    Film scholar Robin Wood argues that horror films enact a return of what is repressed by dominant bourgeois — that is, capitalist — ideology, typically embodied by the figure of the monster.

    He cites The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), a classic example of anti-capitalist sentiment in horror that depicts Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his working-class family as monstrous victims of the 1970s industrial collapse. Rather than accept repression, they return as cannibalistic monsters, making visible the brutality of capitalist systems that exploit and degrade people like obsolete commodities.

    But in eat-the-rich horror, it is the wealthy themselves who become the monsters. The locus of repression becomes their privilege, which is often built on exploitation, inequality and invisible or normalized forms of harm.

    These films render these abstract systems tangible by making the elite’s monstrosity visible, literal and grotesque.

    Revenge horror for the 99 per cent

    Recent horror films are increasingly using genre conventions to critique wealth, privilege and the systems that sustain them.

    Ready or Not turns the rich into bloodthirsty monsters who maintain their fortune through satanic rituals and human sacrifice. Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into the Le Domas family, board game magnates who initiate new family members with a deadly game of hide-and-seek. She must survive until dawn while her new in-laws hunt her down to fulfil a demonic pact.

    The film critiques the idea of inherited wealth as something earned or honourable, combining humour and horror to reflect anxieties about class entrenchment and the moral decay of the elite.

    Trailer for the 2019 horror film ‘Ready or Not.’

    The Le Domases are monstrous not only for their violence, but for how casually they justify it. When several maids are accidentally killed in the chaos, they react with self-pity, indifferent to who must be sacrificed to maintain their wealth.

    In The Menu, the rich are portrayed as monstrous not through physical violence, but through their moral failings — like financial crimes and infidelity — and their hollow consumption of culture.

    Celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) lures wealthy foodies to his exclusive island restaurant, using food as a weaponized form of art to expose guests’ hypocrisy and misdeeds. In one scene, guests are served tortillas laser-printed with incriminating images, such as banking records and evidence of fraudulent activity.

    The tortilla scene from the 2022 horror film ‘The Menu.’

    The film criticizes consumption in an industry where food is no longer a source of enjoyment or sustenance, but a status symbol for the elite to display their wealth and taste.

    Why these films are striking a nerve now

    It’s no surprise that audiences are turning to horror to make sense of systems that feel increasingly bleak and inescapable. In Canada, the cost of living continues to outpace wages, housing affordability remains an issue for many, while grocery prices are a source of horror in their own right.

    A university degree, once considered a reliable path to stability, no longer guarantees the financial security of a salaried job. Many Canadians now rely on gig economy jobs as supplementary income.

    Meanwhile, the wealth gap is increasing and obscene displays of wealth — like a multi-million-dollar wedding — can feel disconnected, even offensive, to people experiencing financial precarity.

    Eat-the-rich films tap into this collective sense of injustice, transforming economic and social anxieties into a cathartic spectacle where ultra-wealthy villains are held accountable for their actions.

    Margot, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and executive chef Julian Slowik, played by Ralph Fiennes, in ‘The Menu.’
    (Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures)

    At the end of Ready or Not, the members of the Le Domas family explode one by one and their mansion burns down. In The Menu, the guests are dressed up like s’mores and immolated. In both films, fire serves as a symbolic cleansing of the wealthy, their power and the systems that protect them.

    More than that, these films provide someone to root for: working-class protagonists who are targeted by the elite but ultimately survive. Former foster child Grace fights her way through a pack of murderous millionaires, while escort Margot/Erin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is spared when she rejects the pretentiousness of fine dining and orders a humble cheeseburger instead.

    In this way, horror becomes a form of narrative resistance, illustrating class rage through characters who refuse to be consumed by the systems trying to oppress them. While inequality and exploitation persist in reality, eat-the-rich films offer escape, and even justice, on screen.

    Heather Roberts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘Eat the rich’ — Why horror films are taking aim at the ultra-wealthy – https://theconversation.com/eat-the-rich-why-horror-films-are-taking-aim-at-the-ultra-wealthy-260550

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Yellowknife’s Giant Mine: Canada downplayed arsenic exposure as an Indigenous community was poisoned

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Arn Keeling, Professor, Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland

    Giant Mine, just north of Yellowknife, N.W.T., in September 2011. The gold mine officially opened in 1948 and was operational for over 50 years before it was closed in 2004. (John Sandlos)

    Decades of gold mining at Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has left a toxic legacy: 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust stored in underground chambers.

    As a multi-billion government remediation effort to clean up the mine site and secure the underground arsenic ramps up, the Canadian government is promising to deal with the mine’s disastrous consequences for local Indigenous communities.

    In March, the minister for Crown-Indigenous relations appointed a ministerial special representative, Murray Rankin, to investigate how historic mining affected the treaty rights of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

    We document this history in our forthcoming book, The Price of Gold: Mining, Pollution, and Resistance in Yellowknife, exposing how colonialism, corporate greed and lax regulation led to widespread air and water pollution, particularly affecting Tatsǫ́t’ıné (Yellowknives Dene) communities.

    We also highlight the struggle for pollution controls and public health led by Tatsǫ́t’ıné and their allies, including mine workers.

    Sickness from Giant Mine

    The story begins when prospectors discovered a rich gold ore body at Giant Mine in the 1930s. While mining started at the nearby Con Mine in the late 1930s, Giant’s development was interrupted by the Second World War. Only with new investment and the lifting of wartime labour restrictions in 1948 did Giant Mine start production.

    Mining at Giant was a challenge. Much of the gold was locked within arsenopyrite formations, and to get at it, workers needed to crush, then roast the gold ore at very high temperatures.

    This burned off the arsenic in the ore before using cyanide treatment to extract gold. One byproduct of this process was thousands of tonnes per day of arsenic trioxide, sent up a smokestack into the local environment.

    In addition to being acutely toxic, arsenic trioxide is also linked to lung and skin cancers, though scientific understanding of environmental exposures was inconclusive at the time.

    Archival records show that federal public health officials recommended the roaster be shut down until arsenic emissions could be controlled. But the company and federal mining regulators dragged their feet, fearing the economic impact.

    The result, in 1951, was the poisoning death of at least one Dene child on Latham Island (now Ndilǫ), near the mine; his family was compensated a paltry $750. Many Dene in Ndilǫ relied on snow melt for drinking water, and there were reports of widespread sickness in the community. Local animals, including dairy cattle and sled dogs, also became sick and died.

    Only after this tragedy did the federal government force the company to implement pollution controls. The control system was not terribly effective at first, though as it improved, arsenic emissions dropped dramatically from nearly 12,000 pounds per day to around 115 pounds per day in 1959. Thousands of tonnes of arsenic captured through this process was collected and stored in mined-out chambers underground.

    Fighting back against pollution

    Throughout the 1960s, public health officials continually downplayed concerns about arsenic exposure in Yellowknife, whether via drinking water or on local vegetables.

    By the 1970s, however, latent public health concerns over arsenic exposure in Yellowknife became a major national media story. It began with a CBC Radio As it Happens episode in 1975 that unearthed an unreleased government report documenting widespread, chronic arsenic exposure in the city. Facing accusations of a cover-up, the federal government dismissed health concerns even as it set up a local study group to investigate them.

    Suspicious of government studies and disregard for local health risks, Indigenous communities and workers took matters into their own hands. A remarkable alliance emerged between the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories and the United Steelworkers of America (the union representing Giant Mine workers) to undertake their own investigations.

    They conducted hair samplings of Dene children and mine workers — the population most exposed to arsenic in the community — and submitted them for laboratory analysis.

    The resulting report accused the federal government of suppressing health information and suggested children and workers were being poisoned. The controversy made national headlines yet again, prompting an independent inquiry by the Canadian Public Health Association.

    The association’s 1978 report somewhat quelled public concern. But environmental and public health advocates in Yellowknife continued their fight for pollution reduction through the 1980s.

    Giant’s toxic afterlife

    As Giant Mine entered the turbulent final decade of its life, including a violent lockout in 1992, public concern mounted over the growing environmental liabilities. Most urgently, people living in and near Yellowknife began to realize that enough arsenic trioxide had been stored underground over the years to poison every human on the planet four times over.

    Without constant pumping of groundwater out of the mine, the highly soluble arsenic could seep into local waterways, including Yellowknife Bay. When the company that owned the mine, Royal Oak Mines, went bankrupt in 1999, it left no clear plan for the remediation of this toxic material, and very little money to deal with it.

    The federal government assumed primary responsibility for the abandoned mine and, in the quarter century since, developed plans to clean up the site and stabilize the arsenic underground by freezing it — an approach that will cost more than $4 billion.

    Public concern and activism by Yellowknives Dene First Nation and other Yellowknifers prompted a highly contested environmental assessment and the creation of an independent oversight body, the Giant Mine Oversight Board in 2015. Under the current remediation strategy, the toxic waste at Giant Mine will require perpetual care, imposing a financial and environmental burden on future generations.

    The long history of historical injustice resulting from mineral development and pollution around Yellowknife remains unaddressed. In support of calls for an apology and compensation, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation recently published reports that include oral testimony and other evidence of impacts on their health and land in their traditional territory.

    Hopefully, the Canadian government’s appointment of the special representative means the colonial legacy of the mine will finally be addressed. Giant Mine serves as a warning about the current push from governments and industry to ram through development projects without environmental assessments or Indigenous consultations.

    Extractive projects may generate short-term wealth, but they also compromise the national interest if they saddle the public with enormous costs and long-term consequences.

    Arn Keeling receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

    John Sandlos receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Yellowknife’s Giant Mine: Canada downplayed arsenic exposure as an Indigenous community was poisoned – https://theconversation.com/yellowknifes-giant-mine-canada-downplayed-arsenic-exposure-as-an-indigenous-community-was-poisoned-261002

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: People with MS and other fluctuating health conditions are often forced to quit their jobs when they want to work

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alice Martin, Head of Research, Work Foundation, Lancaster University

    Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock

    Plans to cut health-related benefits in the UK continue to give the government political grief – as well as being a huge worry for claimants. Underpinning the controversy are government plans to move more people into work with a long-term ambition of 80% employment.

    But cutting welfare costs is a blunt and unhelpful way to face the challenge of increasing employment among people with long-term health conditions.

    For people with fluctuating and often invisible conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), welfare and work are not opposed. They are usually part of the same life journey – one that is rarely linear and requires systems and supports that are flexible, not punitive.

    This was the focus of a recent study led by my research colleague Aman Navani and the MS Society. It is a major UK survey of people with MS with more than 1,100 respondents, and highlights systemic failures in workplace support and welfare systems.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Because of its fluctuating nature, MS can act as an important case study to understand how work should accommodate people’s evolving health needs. It also offers lessons that are relevant to a wide array of other conditions.

    Cases of MS are rising globally. Around 150,000 people in the UK live with the condition, which affects the central nervous system and causes pain, mobility problems, cognitive issues and fatigue.

    Women are more likely to have MS, which is usually diagnosed in people in their 30s or 40s. These, of course, are peak working years.

    The vast majority of people with MS (96%) who participated in our study reported that their condition has affected their ability to work. This is because MS can make commuting and navigating workplace environments challenging, and physical and mental health impacts often overlap.

    Managing symptoms such as cognitive changes, pain and restricted mobility can contribute to anxiety and depression. All of these things put additional strain on the working lives of those affected.

    For a quarter of respondents (24%), MS had such a severe effect that they felt unable to work at all. Worryingly, one in two people said they have compromised their health by staying in a job.

    For many, leaving work is the only solution they can see. More than one-quarter (26%) cited unmanageable workloads, 19% could not afford to stay in work due to low pay, 20% lacked flexible hours, and for 22% the flexibility they were offered did not meet their needs.

    Just 8% said their employer helped them adapt their job to suit their health, and only 2% had progression opportunities tailored to their condition. But nearly half (45%) of those who left work said they could have stayed if their employer had understood their condition better.

    Almost half (46%) of respondents who were in work had used the personal independence payment (Pip) as a lifeline. This is an allowance that helps people with the extra living costs associated with having a disability. Under the government’s plans, conditions will be tightened for new claimants.

    Designing better jobs

    Living with a fluctuating condition requires constant adaptation, from coping with exhaustion to managing the extra time and cost of daily activities. As such, the way jobs are designed matters.

    A government report has said that one-quarter of those who are out of work and claiming health and disability benefits might be able to work if they could do so from home.

    The rise of remote and hybrid work has indeed been a lifeline for some disabled workers. A recent major study of people who are classified as disabled highlights just how vital this change has been for them: 85% said remote or hybrid work was essential or very important when job hunting, and 79% wouldn’t apply for roles without it.

    Among those working fully remotely, 64% said their physical health improved. Homeworking was valued by those with fluctuating conditions such as MS, and for disabled women and carers in particular, full-time homeworking was their preference.

    But these gains are precarious. Growth in hybrid roles has stalled and some employers are grabbing headlines with “return-to-office” mandates even at the risk of losing key members of their workforce.

    Return-to-office mandates can force some workers to navigate a challenging commute.
    AlvaroRT/Shutterstock

    Nearly one in four working-age people in the UK are disabled. Work and welfare must be designed from the perspective of this growing and diverse cohort – ensuring financial security for people with health conditions, both in work and out of work.

    Expanding and protecting access to secure and flexible jobs is key, including remote and hybrid roles, baking these models into more sectors of the economy. The government could lead by example with public sector workers, and protect jobs from knee-jerk employer mandates.

    In January this year, only 3.8% of vacancies on the Department for Work and Pensions jobs portal included an option for hybrid or remote work.

    Finally, it’s vital to improve job design and in-work support, with effective occupational health systems, consultation with workforces, normalising shorter working weeks and time off.

    This would enable people with fluctuating conditions to attend appointments, recuperate and even take career breaks without harming their careers. For this, the UK needs a benefits system that supports movement in and out of work, avoiding financial cliff edges.

    Too many people with MS and similar conditions who can and want to work are forced to leave jobs early due to inadequate support. They face a trade-off between progressing their working life and managing their health. The challenge for government and employers now is to remove this tension.

    Alice Martin works for the Work Foundation think tank at Lancaster University, which received funding from MS Society to conduct the research.

    – ref. People with MS and other fluctuating health conditions are often forced to quit their jobs when they want to work – https://theconversation.com/people-with-ms-and-other-fluctuating-health-conditions-are-often-forced-to-quit-their-jobs-when-they-want-to-work-259083

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Dog thefts: what really happened during the COVID pandemic

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Allen, Animal Geographer, Keele University

    smrm1977/Shutterstock

    Dog theft can be a devastating crime. During the COVID pandemic, newspapers suggested there was an epidemic of “dognapping” in the UK. If you have a dog, the reports may have alarmed you at a time when there were already many reasons to feel afraid.

    There are mixed views on whether or not lockdown triggered an increase in dog ownership. Animal welfare charity Battersea attributed a 53% increase in dog adoption to lockdown, and online pet adoption service Pets4Homes said in their 2022 report that demand for puppies rose 104% at the peak of lockdown in May 2020.

    But animal charity PDSA said its survey data pointed to a gradual increase in dog ownership since 2011 rather than a dramatic surge during lockdown. However, we do know lockdown saw inflated prices for dogs, with some fashionable breeds going for £9,000.

    In terms of criminal activity, social distancing restrictions seemed to lead to a decline in some forms of crime, including shoplifting and burglary. But many media outlets reported the number of dog thefts had increased up to 250% during the pandemic.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    We wanted to explore if the data supported claims of a dognapping epidemic and whether patterns in dog theft could suggest ways to help reduce it. Our recent study found new insights into dog theft patterns and showed the situation was more complicated than it seemed at first glance.

    Under the Theft Act 1968, dog theft is not a specific offence. It comes under other theft offences, such as burglary or theft from a person.

    This means police records on dog theft were not included in crime statistics. The only way to access such information is through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to individual police forces. There are 45 territorial and three special police forces in the UK, and each has its own reporting and recording practices.

    Although police FOI data for dog theft must be approached with caution, it is useful. Previous studies exploring police FOI data found an upward trend in recorded dog thefts in England and Wales: rising nearly 20% from 2015 (1,545) to 2018 (1,849) for 41 police forces combined; and up 3.5% year on year from 2019 (1,452) to 2020 (1,504) for 33 police forces.

    DogLost, a UK online community for reuniting lost and stolen dogs with their owners, reported a 170% increase in stolen dogs (with Crime Reference Numbers) registered on their website in 2020 (465), compared to 2019 (172). This figure was widely quoted as a national increase “since lockdown started” by the media.

    The 250% increase figure first quoted in December 2020 was actually a comparison of two seven-month periods (January-July 2019 and 2020) for only one police force.

    Patterns and trends

    Our study found the data for the period covering the COVID pandemic is also incomplete. Data was provided by 32 forces (71%) for 2020, by 27 forces (60%) for 2021, and 23 forces (51%) for 2022.

    Patterns and trends do, however, emerge. Between 2020 and 2022, the available data shows a 3.7% rise in dog thefts in the UK, from 1,573 to 1,631. When making adjustments for the number of police forces providing data (which decreased over the period), the estimated national figures suggest there may have been more significant rise of up to 44.2%.

    While we cannot assume that the forces who supplied data are representative of all 45 regional forces, if this were the case, it would equate to 2,212 recorded dog thefts in 2020, 2,645 in 2021, and 3,191 in 2022.

    There was a lot of variation between different areas. For example, Cambridgeshire, Gwent and Northumbria police forces experienced increases of 36%, 49% and 80% respectively in the number of recorded dog thefts between 2020 and 2021.

    Monthly analysis of data from regional police forces and DogLost, show that the number of reports of stolen dogs started to go up when the UK entered its first national lockdown and again during part of the third lockdown. But the average number of police-recorded dog thefts was actually slightly higher outside of lockdown periods than during them between 2020 and 2022.

    However, in contrast with police trends, DogLost data shows a 65.2% drop in dogs reported stolen on DogLost’s website in 2022 compared to 2020. Lower DogLost numbers may reflect limited visibility or presence of their networks, the use of alternative lost and stolen dog services, or reluctance to share personal details online due to scams targeting dog theft victims.

    Dogs are often stolen from inside their own homes.
    GoodFocused/Shutterstock

    Our study found that, overall, there probably was an increase in dog theft from
    2020 to 2022, following already identified increases in the preceding years. This rise was probably driven by a combination of opportunity (more dogs, higher value) and situational factors (accessibility, dogs unattended in gardens while owners were inside).

    Our evidence does not support the notion of a widespread epidemic as portrayed by the media. However, increased media interest probably amplified awareness of the issue, and influenced the creation of the Pet Theft Taskforce, a UK government initiative set up in May 2021 to investigate and tackle dog thefts.

    New research appears to confirm the idea that dog abduction has significant welfare effects on both dogs and their owners. We also know that few dog thefts are successfully resolved, with under a quarter of stolen dogs likely to be returned and around 1%-5% of reported dog thefts result in someone being charged.

    However, there is potential good news. Our ongoing research suggests the number of police-recorded dog thefts decreased slightly in 2023, and again in 2024. This is supported by research from pet insurer Direct Line, which has estimated a 21% decrease in the number of stolen dogs from 2,290 in 2023 to 1,808 in 2024 in the UK.

    Daniel Allen is founder of Pet Theft Reform and patron of the Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance (Sampa).

    Melanie Flynn is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Vegan Society (UK).

    John Walliss does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Dog thefts: what really happened during the COVID pandemic – https://theconversation.com/dog-thefts-what-really-happened-during-the-covid-pandemic-252061

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: What are education and health care plans and why are parents worried about them being scrapped?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Glazzard, Rosalind Hollis Professor of Education for Social Justice, University of Hull

    Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock

    For children in England with special educational needs and disabilities, an education and health care plan (EHCP) is a central pillar of support. The government is due to set out its educational strategy for children with special educational needs and disabilities in the autumn, though, and has not ruled out scrapping ECHPs. Their removal would signal radical change in how the system works in England.

    ECHPs are individualised plans that set out the needs of a particular child and the support they should receive – from education, health services and social care – in order have the best opportunity to thrive. But demand for ECHPs is soaring and providing support is proving financially catastrophic for local authorities.

    One of the criticisms of EHCPs is that they prioritise providing children with individual models of support, rather than developing inclusive cultures within schools and within the broader education system. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has outlined a vision of building a system where more children with special educational needs and disabilities can attend mainstream schools.

    But removing ECHPs leads to the possibility of children who need more specialist support missing out.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    To secure an ECHP, local authorities carry out a statutory assessment to determine whether a child’s needs warrant additional support. An assessment does not always lead to an EHCP, but if one is issued, it must outline how the child’s needs will be met and the additional resources needed to do so.

    These resources might include funding to provide a child with a teaching assistant, funding for equipment and transport to school, or funding to go to a specialist school. This system of support helps school leaders ensure that children and young people have the right support, at the right time.

    According to a report published earlier this year, the demand for EHCPs has risen by 140% since 2015. Recent data shows that there are 482,640 children and young people in England with an EHCP.

    Many more children have special educational needs, but do not have an ECHP. These pupils are classed as receiving special educational needs support. The percentage of pupils with an EHCP has increased to 5.3%, from 4.8% in 2024. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs support has increased to 14.2%, from 13.6% in 2024.

    Despite government investment of £10.7 billion to local authorities in 2024-25, a House of Commons committee report outlines that long waiting times for assessments, as well as to access support such as speech and language therapy, has led to parents losing confidence in the system.

    Support may include equipment or additional sessions.
    ABO PHOTOGRAPHY/Shutterstock

    Funding is allocated to each local authority from central government to fund provision in their areas. It is for local authorities, in consultation with their schools, to determine the individual allocation to schools. However, local authorities are struggling to meet the increased demand for EHCPs. Even when funding is allocated through EHCPs, it is not always sufficient to address the needs of those with complex needs.

    And funding is not sufficient to meet demand. Local authorities have accumulated huge deficits due to spending exceeding funding, placing some at risk of going bankrupt.

    Future plans

    Bridget Phillipson has refused to be drawn on whether EHCPs will be axed. “What I can say very clearly,” she has said, “is that we will strengthen and put in place better support for children.”

    Building more inclusive schools is obviously one way of achieving this vision. If scrapping EHCPs means less funding for children for special educational needs and disabilities, though, this cannot be the answer. Children need more support, not less, to enable them to thrive.

    The solution is for the government to work out what models of inclusion work well in mainstream schools and to decide how these can be resourced and evaluated. Clarity is also needed on inclusion in mainstream schools can be measured in order to assess whether it is working.

    Making more support in mainstream schools work also requires an adequate supply of knowledgeable, well-trained teachers. The government is prioritising this through revision to initial teacher education courses, with an emphasis on all teachers being teachers of special educational needs.

    If the government doesn’t get this right, the result may be poorer educational and long-term outcomes for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. It may also lead to issues with teacher recruitment and retention in mainstream schools, particularly if teachers feel that they do not have the level of support in place that they need to meet the needs of their pupils.

    Jonathan Glazzard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What are education and health care plans and why are parents worried about them being scrapped? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-education-and-health-care-plans-and-why-are-parents-worried-about-them-being-scrapped-260622

    MIL OSI –