NewzIntel.com

Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Democratizing space’ is more than just adding new players – it comes with questions around sustainability and sovereignty

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Timiebi Aganaba, Assistant Professor of Space and Society, Arizona State University

    A group of people gaze up at the Moon in Germany. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

    “India is on the Moon,” S. Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, announced in August 2023. The announcement meant India had joined the short list of countries to have visited the Moon, and the applause and shouts of joy that followed signified that this achievement wasn’t just a scientific one, but a cultural one.

    India’s successful lunar landing prompted celebrations across the country, like this one in Mumbai.
    AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade

    Over the past decade, many countries have established new space programs, including multiple African nations. India and Israel – nations that were not technical contributors to the space race in the 1960s and ‘70s – have attempted landings on the lunar surface.

    With more countries joining the evolving space economy, many of our colleagues in space strategy, policy ethics and law have celebrated the democratization of space: the hope that space is now more accessible for diverse participants.

    We are a team of researchers based across four countries with expertise in space policy and law, ethics, geography and anthropology who have written about the difficulties and importance of inclusion in space.

    Major players like the U.S., the European Union and China may once have dominated space and seen it as a place to try out new commercial and military ventures. Emerging new players in space, like other countries, commercial interests and nongovernmental organizations, may have other goals and rationales. Unexpected new initiatives from these newcomers could shift perceptions of space from something to dominate and possess to something more inclusive, equitable and democratic.

    We address these emerging and historical tensions in a paper published in May 2025 in the journal Nature, in which we describe the difficulties and importance of including nontraditional actors and Indigenous peoples in the space industry.

    Continuing inequalities among space players

    Not all countries’ space agencies are equal. Newer agencies often don’t have the same resources behind them that large, established players do.

    The U.S. and Chinese programs receive much more funding than those of any other country. Because they are most frequently sending up satellites and proposing new ideas puts them in the position to establish conventions for satellite systems, landing sites and resource extraction that everyone else may have to follow.

    Sometimes, countries may have operated on the assumption that owning a satellite would give them the appearance of soft or hard geopolitical power as a space nation – and ultimately gain relevance.

    Small satellites, called CubeSats, are becoming relatively affordable and easy to develop, allowing more players, from countries and companies to universities and student groups, to have a satellite in space.
    NASA/Butch Wilmore, CC BY-NC

    In reality, student groups of today can develop small satellites, called CubeSats, autonomously, and recent scholarship has concluded that even successful space missions may negatively affect the international relationships between some countries and their partners. The respect a country expects to receive may not materialize, and the costs to keep up can outstrip gains in potential prestige.

    Environmental protection and Indigenous perspectives

    Usually, building the infrastructure necessary to test and launch rockets requires a remote area with established roads. In many cases, companies and space agencies have placed these facilities on lands where Indigenous peoples have strong claims, which can lead to land disputes, like in western Australia.

    Many of these sites have already been subject to human-made changes, through mining and resource extraction in the past. Many sites have been ground zero for tensions with Indigenous peoples over land use. Within these contested spaces, disputes are rife.

    Because of these tensions around land use, it is important to include Indigenous claims and perspectives. Doing so can help make sure that the goal of protecting the environments of outer space and Earth are not cast aside while building space infrastructure here on Earth.

    Some efforts are driving this more inclusive approach to engagement in space, including initiatives like “Dark and Quiet Skies”, a movement that works to ensure that people can stargaze and engage with the stars without noise or sound pollution. This movement and other inclusive approaches operate on the principle of reciprocity: that more players getting involved with space can benefit all.

    Researchers have recognized similar dynamics within the larger space industry. Some scholars have come to the conclusion that even though the space industry is “pay to play,” commitments to reciprocity can help ensure that players in space exploration who may not have the financial or infrastructural means to support individual efforts can still access broader structures of support.

    The downside of more players entering space is that this expansion can make protecting the environment – both on Earth and beyond – even harder.

    The more players there are, at both private and international levels, the more difficult sustainable space exploration could become. Even with good will and the best of intentions, it would be difficult to enforce uniform standards for the exploration and use of space resources that would protect the lunar surface, Mars and beyond.

    It may also grow harder to police the launch of satellites and dedicated constellations. Limiting the number of satellites could prevent space junk, protect the satellites already in orbit and allow everyone to have a clear view of the night sky. However, this would have to compete with efforts to expand internet access to all.

    The amount of space junk in orbit has increased dramatically since the 1960s.

    What is space exploration for?

    Before tackling these issues, we find it useful to think about the larger goal of space exploration, and what the different approaches are. One approach would be the fast and inclusive democratization of space – making it easier for more players to join in. Another would be a more conservative and slower “big player” approach, which would restrict who can go to space.

    The conservative approach is liable to leave developing nations and Indigenous peoples firmly on the outside of a key process shaping humanity’s shared future.

    But a faster and more inclusive approach to space would not be easy to run. More serious players means it would be harder to come to an agreement about regulations, as well as the larger goals for human expansion into space.

    Narratives around emerging technologies, such as those required for space exploration, can change over time, as people begin to see them in action.

    Technology that we take for granted today was once viewed as futuristic or fantastical, and sometimes with suspicion. For example, at the end of the 1940s, George Orwell imagined a world in which totalitarian systems used tele-screens and videoconferencing to control the masses.

    Earlier in the same decade, Thomas J. Watson, then president of IBM, notoriously predicted that there would be a global market for about five computers. We as humans often fear or mistrust future technologies.

    However, not all technological shifts are detrimental, and some technological changes can have clear benefits. In the future, robots may perform tasks too dangerous, too difficult or too dull and repetitive for humans. Biotechnology may make life healthier. Artificial intelligence can sift through vast amounts of data and turn it into reliable guesswork. Researchers can also see genuine downsides to each of these technologies.

    Space exploration is harder to squeeze into one streamlined narrative about the anticipated benefits. The process is just too big and too transformative.

    To return to the question if we should go to space, our team argues that it is not a question of whether or not we should go, but rather a question of why we do it, who benefits from space exploration and how we can democratize access to broader segments of society. Including a diversity of opinions and viewpoints can help find productive ways forward.

    Ultimately, it is not necessary for everyone to land on one single narrative about the value of space exploration. Even our team of four researchers doesn’t share a single set of beliefs about its value. But bringing more nations, tribes and companies into discussions around its potential value can help create collaborative and worthwhile goals at an international scale.

    Tony Milligan receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 856543).

    Adam Fish, Deondre Smiles, and Timiebi Aganaba 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. ‘Democratizing space’ is more than just adding new players – it comes with questions around sustainability and sovereignty – https://theconversation.com/democratizing-space-is-more-than-just-adding-new-players-it-comes-with-questions-around-sustainability-and-sovereignty-257306

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Democratizing space’ is more than just adding new players – it comes with questions around sustainability and sovereignty

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Timiebi Aganaba, Assistant Professor of Space and Society, Arizona State University

    A group of people gaze up at the Moon in Germany. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

    “India is on the Moon,” S. Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, announced in August 2023. The announcement meant India had joined the short list of countries to have visited the Moon, and the applause and shouts of joy that followed signified that this achievement wasn’t just a scientific one, but a cultural one.

    India’s successful lunar landing prompted celebrations across the country, like this one in Mumbai.
    AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade

    Over the past decade, many countries have established new space programs, including multiple African nations. India and Israel – nations that were not technical contributors to the space race in the 1960s and ‘70s – have attempted landings on the lunar surface.

    With more countries joining the evolving space economy, many of our colleagues in space strategy, policy ethics and law have celebrated the democratization of space: the hope that space is now more accessible for diverse participants.

    We are a team of researchers based across four countries with expertise in space policy and law, ethics, geography and anthropology who have written about the difficulties and importance of inclusion in space.

    Major players like the U.S., the European Union and China may once have dominated space and seen it as a place to try out new commercial and military ventures. Emerging new players in space, like other countries, commercial interests and nongovernmental organizations, may have other goals and rationales. Unexpected new initiatives from these newcomers could shift perceptions of space from something to dominate and possess to something more inclusive, equitable and democratic.

    We address these emerging and historical tensions in a paper published in May 2025 in the journal Nature, in which we describe the difficulties and importance of including nontraditional actors and Indigenous peoples in the space industry.

    Continuing inequalities among space players

    Not all countries’ space agencies are equal. Newer agencies often don’t have the same resources behind them that large, established players do.

    The U.S. and Chinese programs receive much more funding than those of any other country. Because they are most frequently sending up satellites and proposing new ideas puts them in the position to establish conventions for satellite systems, landing sites and resource extraction that everyone else may have to follow.

    Sometimes, countries may have operated on the assumption that owning a satellite would give them the appearance of soft or hard geopolitical power as a space nation – and ultimately gain relevance.

    Small satellites, called CubeSats, are becoming relatively affordable and easy to develop, allowing more players, from countries and companies to universities and student groups, to have a satellite in space.
    NASA/Butch Wilmore, CC BY-NC

    In reality, student groups of today can develop small satellites, called CubeSats, autonomously, and recent scholarship has concluded that even successful space missions may negatively affect the international relationships between some countries and their partners. The respect a country expects to receive may not materialize, and the costs to keep up can outstrip gains in potential prestige.

    Environmental protection and Indigenous perspectives

    Usually, building the infrastructure necessary to test and launch rockets requires a remote area with established roads. In many cases, companies and space agencies have placed these facilities on lands where Indigenous peoples have strong claims, which can lead to land disputes, like in western Australia.

    Many of these sites have already been subject to human-made changes, through mining and resource extraction in the past. Many sites have been ground zero for tensions with Indigenous peoples over land use. Within these contested spaces, disputes are rife.

    Because of these tensions around land use, it is important to include Indigenous claims and perspectives. Doing so can help make sure that the goal of protecting the environments of outer space and Earth are not cast aside while building space infrastructure here on Earth.

    Some efforts are driving this more inclusive approach to engagement in space, including initiatives like “Dark and Quiet Skies”, a movement that works to ensure that people can stargaze and engage with the stars without noise or sound pollution. This movement and other inclusive approaches operate on the principle of reciprocity: that more players getting involved with space can benefit all.

    Researchers have recognized similar dynamics within the larger space industry. Some scholars have come to the conclusion that even though the space industry is “pay to play,” commitments to reciprocity can help ensure that players in space exploration who may not have the financial or infrastructural means to support individual efforts can still access broader structures of support.

    The downside of more players entering space is that this expansion can make protecting the environment – both on Earth and beyond – even harder.

    The more players there are, at both private and international levels, the more difficult sustainable space exploration could become. Even with good will and the best of intentions, it would be difficult to enforce uniform standards for the exploration and use of space resources that would protect the lunar surface, Mars and beyond.

    It may also grow harder to police the launch of satellites and dedicated constellations. Limiting the number of satellites could prevent space junk, protect the satellites already in orbit and allow everyone to have a clear view of the night sky. However, this would have to compete with efforts to expand internet access to all.

    The amount of space junk in orbit has increased dramatically since the 1960s.

    What is space exploration for?

    Before tackling these issues, we find it useful to think about the larger goal of space exploration, and what the different approaches are. One approach would be the fast and inclusive democratization of space – making it easier for more players to join in. Another would be a more conservative and slower “big player” approach, which would restrict who can go to space.

    The conservative approach is liable to leave developing nations and Indigenous peoples firmly on the outside of a key process shaping humanity’s shared future.

    But a faster and more inclusive approach to space would not be easy to run. More serious players means it would be harder to come to an agreement about regulations, as well as the larger goals for human expansion into space.

    Narratives around emerging technologies, such as those required for space exploration, can change over time, as people begin to see them in action.

    Technology that we take for granted today was once viewed as futuristic or fantastical, and sometimes with suspicion. For example, at the end of the 1940s, George Orwell imagined a world in which totalitarian systems used tele-screens and videoconferencing to control the masses.

    Earlier in the same decade, Thomas J. Watson, then president of IBM, notoriously predicted that there would be a global market for about five computers. We as humans often fear or mistrust future technologies.

    However, not all technological shifts are detrimental, and some technological changes can have clear benefits. In the future, robots may perform tasks too dangerous, too difficult or too dull and repetitive for humans. Biotechnology may make life healthier. Artificial intelligence can sift through vast amounts of data and turn it into reliable guesswork. Researchers can also see genuine downsides to each of these technologies.

    Space exploration is harder to squeeze into one streamlined narrative about the anticipated benefits. The process is just too big and too transformative.

    To return to the question if we should go to space, our team argues that it is not a question of whether or not we should go, but rather a question of why we do it, who benefits from space exploration and how we can democratize access to broader segments of society. Including a diversity of opinions and viewpoints can help find productive ways forward.

    Ultimately, it is not necessary for everyone to land on one single narrative about the value of space exploration. Even our team of four researchers doesn’t share a single set of beliefs about its value. But bringing more nations, tribes and companies into discussions around its potential value can help create collaborative and worthwhile goals at an international scale.

    Tony Milligan receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 856543).

    Adam Fish, Deondre Smiles, and Timiebi Aganaba 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. ‘Democratizing space’ is more than just adding new players – it comes with questions around sustainability and sovereignty – https://theconversation.com/democratizing-space-is-more-than-just-adding-new-players-it-comes-with-questions-around-sustainability-and-sovereignty-257306

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Why is heart cancer so rare? A biologist explains

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Julie Phillippi, Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh

    When heart cancer does happen, it can be particularly serious. Olga Pankova/Moment via Getty Images

    Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

    Why is heart cancer so rare? – Jackson, age 12, Davis, California

    You probably know someone who is affected by cancer. This disease results when cells divide uncontrollably and can make a person sick, sometimes very seriously.

    Cancer can occur anywhere in the body because every tissue and organ is made up of billions or even trillions of cells. But there are some parts of the body where cancer doesn’t happen as often, such as the heart. Studies show 3 in 10,000 people develop heart cancer. In comparison, 1 in 20 women are expected to develop breast cancer. Why is that?

    I’m a biologist who specializes in the blood vessels of the cardiovascular system. A big part of my work focuses on how cells interact with their environment to regulate the function of tissues and organs. Disease can develop when things go wrong.

    Turns out, heart cells have unique features that make them super resistant to cancer.

    How cancer starts

    Cells produce more cells to grow, replace older or worn-out cells or to repair damaged tissues. This process is called cell division. Each type of cell in the body divides at different rates based on multiple factors, including what their function is and a person’s age.

    For example, the cells of a growing human embryo divide extremely fast, undergoing four divisions in three days. The cells that make up the skin, nails and hair regularly replenish across your lifespan. Bone cells divide at a rate that will give you an entirely new skeleton approximately every 10 years.

    Whether and how often a cell divides is tightly regulated by a series of molecular checkpoints. During cell division, genes within DNA are duplicated and evenly distributed into two daughter cells. Damage to these genes caused by exposure to harmful chemicals, ultraviolet light or radiation can result in mutations that cause disease. Mutations can just happen randomly, too. When there are mutations on the genes regulating cell division, cancer can develop.

    Cells move through a series of checkpoints before division.
    OpenStax, CC BY-SA

    What protects heart cells from cancer?

    Even though the heart is the first organ to form and start working during early development, cells in the adult heart divide very few times after birth, with division dramatically declining after age 20. In fact, less than 50% of heart cells are replaced over the course of an average human life. That means half of the heart cells you’re born with will be helping pump blood for your entire life.

    This low rate of cell division in the adult heart likely serves as its primary defense against cancer. The less often a cell divides, the fewer opportunities there are for mistakes during DNA replication.

    The heart’s location in the body gives it more protection from certain cancer-causing factors.
    OpenStax, CC BY-SA

    The heart is also less directly exposed to cancer-causing factors, such as UV light on the skin or inhaled substances in the lung, due to its protected location in the chest.

    Unfortunately, the heart’s low rate of cell division has some downsides, such as a reduced ability to repair and replace cells damaged by disease, injury or aging.

    Why heart cancer still happens

    Even with the heart’s resistance to cancer, tumors may still form.

    When cancer is found in the heart, it’s often the result of cancer cells migrating from another part of the body to the heart. This process is called metastasis. Certain types of skin cancers or cancers in the chest are more likely to spread to the heart, though this is still rare.

    When they do happen, heart tumors can be quite serious and more aggressive than other cancers. A study analyzing more than 100,000 heart cancer cases in the United States found that patients who underwent surgery and chemotherapy to treat their heart cancer survived longer than those who did not.

    Successful cancer care spans multiple areas of medicine. These include palliative care, which focuses on relieving pain and addressing symptoms, and integrative medicine, which considers the mind-body-spirit connection.

    Heart cancer holds clues to heart regeneration

    Understanding how heart cells divide and what causes that process to change offers clues about disease and shapes ideas for new treatments.

    For example, research into how heart cells divide helps scientists better understand why the heart doesn’t heal well after a heart attack. Researchers found that although failing hearts have more dividing cells than healthy hearts, they need help to recover fully.

    New technologies, such as the ability to reprogram blood cells into heart cells, have allowed researchers to develop new heart disease models to study and one day achieve heart regeneration. This opens doors for new treatments for heart diseases, including cancer.

    Understanding why cancer doesn’t happen is just as important for developing new and better treatments as knowing why it does. The answers to both questions lie truly at the heart.

    Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

    And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

    Julie Phillippi receives funding from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

    – ref. Why is heart cancer so rare? A biologist explains – https://theconversation.com/why-is-heart-cancer-so-rare-a-biologist-explains-256055

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s State Council appoints officials

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, July 21 — China’s State Council announced the appointment of several new officials on Monday.

    Xie Yuansheng was appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Ling Zhifeng was named vice minister of the Ministry of Public Security.

    Liu Jianqiao was appointed deputy head of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. Zhao Jianheng was named vice president of the China Academy of Engineering Physics.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI: Check Point Appoints Jonathan Zanger as Chief Technology Officer to Strengthen Cyber Security Capabilities through AI Innovation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a pioneer and global leader of cyber security solutions, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Zanger as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Zanger will lead Check Point’s global cyber security and AI strategy and AI centers. He will also shape the company’s AI innovation efforts.

    Jonathan Zanger brings more than 15 years of experience building and scaling cyber security and AI-driven platforms. Prior to joining Check Point, he served as CTO at Trigo, where he led the development of advanced AI and computer vision systems for autonomous retail. He holds advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

    “AI is fundamentally reshaping both how cyber threats emerge and how we defend against them,” said Nadav Zafrir, CEO at Check Point Software Technologies. “Jonathan’s deep technical expertise and leadership in cyber security and applied AI, will accelerate our mission to deliver prevention-first security for a hyperconnected world. His appointment reinforces our commitment to shaping the future of cyber defense through bold innovation.”

    As CTO, Zanger will steer the evolution of Check Point’s AI strategy, embedding advanced automation and machine learning across its Infinity Platform to support a prevention-first approach. These efforts build on a series of recent milestones, including Check Point’s recognition as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Zero Trust Platform, Q3 2025, which praised its “plan to deliver AI-driven capabilities to automate network security functions.” Zanger’s appointment also aligns with Miercom’s validation of Check Point as one of the industry’s top-performing AI-powered security platforms. Together, these distinctions reinforce the company’s leadership in delivering intelligent, unified cyber security for hybrid IT environments.

    “I’m thrilled to join Check Point at such a pivotal moment,” said Jonathan Zanger, Chief Technology Officer at Check Point. “Cyber security must evolve faster than the threats it’s designed to stop. By embedding AI across every layer of our architecture, from gateways to the cloud, we’re not just keeping pace, we’re setting the pace.”

    Zanger’s appointment comes as Check Point expands its AI investments and talent base, reinforcing its leadership in intelligent, unified cyber defense. Backed by a prevention-first approach and its open garden ecosystem, the company is uniquely positioned to help enterprises navigate digital transformation with confidence and resilience.

    Follow Check Point via:
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies
    X: https://www.twitter.com/checkpointsw
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/checkpointsoftware
    Blog: https://blog.checkpoint.com
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CPGlobal

    About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. 

    Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (checkpoint.com) is a leading protector of digital trust, utilizing AI-powered cyber security solutions to safeguard over 100,000 organizations globally. Through its Infinity Platform and an open garden ecosystem, Check Point’s prevention-first approach delivers industry-leading security efficacy while reducing risk. Employing a hybrid mesh network architecture with SASE at its core, the Infinity Platform unifies the management of on-premises, cloud, and workspace environments to offer flexibility, simplicity and scale for enterprises and service providers.

    Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements  
    This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding future growth, the expansion of Check Point’s industry leadership, the enhancement of shareholder value and the delivery of an industry-leading cyber security platform to customers worldwide. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results or events in the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Check Point as of the date hereof, and Check Point disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Check Point Appoints Jonathan Zanger as Chief Technology Officer to Strengthen Cyber Security Capabilities through AI Innovation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a pioneer and global leader of cyber security solutions, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Zanger as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Zanger will lead Check Point’s global cyber security and AI strategy and AI centers. He will also shape the company’s AI innovation efforts.

    Jonathan Zanger brings more than 15 years of experience building and scaling cyber security and AI-driven platforms. Prior to joining Check Point, he served as CTO at Trigo, where he led the development of advanced AI and computer vision systems for autonomous retail. He holds advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

    “AI is fundamentally reshaping both how cyber threats emerge and how we defend against them,” said Nadav Zafrir, CEO at Check Point Software Technologies. “Jonathan’s deep technical expertise and leadership in cyber security and applied AI, will accelerate our mission to deliver prevention-first security for a hyperconnected world. His appointment reinforces our commitment to shaping the future of cyber defense through bold innovation.”

    As CTO, Zanger will steer the evolution of Check Point’s AI strategy, embedding advanced automation and machine learning across its Infinity Platform to support a prevention-first approach. These efforts build on a series of recent milestones, including Check Point’s recognition as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Zero Trust Platform, Q3 2025, which praised its “plan to deliver AI-driven capabilities to automate network security functions.” Zanger’s appointment also aligns with Miercom’s validation of Check Point as one of the industry’s top-performing AI-powered security platforms. Together, these distinctions reinforce the company’s leadership in delivering intelligent, unified cyber security for hybrid IT environments.

    “I’m thrilled to join Check Point at such a pivotal moment,” said Jonathan Zanger, Chief Technology Officer at Check Point. “Cyber security must evolve faster than the threats it’s designed to stop. By embedding AI across every layer of our architecture, from gateways to the cloud, we’re not just keeping pace, we’re setting the pace.”

    Zanger’s appointment comes as Check Point expands its AI investments and talent base, reinforcing its leadership in intelligent, unified cyber defense. Backed by a prevention-first approach and its open garden ecosystem, the company is uniquely positioned to help enterprises navigate digital transformation with confidence and resilience.

    Follow Check Point via:
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies
    X: https://www.twitter.com/checkpointsw
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/checkpointsoftware
    Blog: https://blog.checkpoint.com
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CPGlobal

    About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. 

    Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (checkpoint.com) is a leading protector of digital trust, utilizing AI-powered cyber security solutions to safeguard over 100,000 organizations globally. Through its Infinity Platform and an open garden ecosystem, Check Point’s prevention-first approach delivers industry-leading security efficacy while reducing risk. Employing a hybrid mesh network architecture with SASE at its core, the Infinity Platform unifies the management of on-premises, cloud, and workspace environments to offer flexibility, simplicity and scale for enterprises and service providers.

    Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements  
    This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding future growth, the expansion of Check Point’s industry leadership, the enhancement of shareholder value and the delivery of an industry-leading cyber security platform to customers worldwide. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results or events in the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Check Point as of the date hereof, and Check Point disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Comparing ICE to the Gestapo reveals people’s fears for the US – a Holocaust scholar explains why Nazi analogies remain common, yet risky

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Daniel H. Magilow, Professor of German, University of Tennessee

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation on Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. Associated Press

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently sparked controversy by comparing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Nazi Germany’s notorious secret police, the Gestapo.

    “Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets,” Walz said during a May 2025 speech at the University of Minnesota Law School’s commencement ceremony.

    “They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons, no chance to mount a defense, not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye, just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared,” Walz added.

    ICE, tasked with enforcing immigration policies, has dramatically increased the number of nationwide arrests of immigrants since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. ICE’s arrests of immigrants have more than doubled in 38 states since then.

    In recent months, other Democratic politicians, including U.S Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, have also compared ICE to the Gestapo, or Adolf Hitler’s “secret police,” as Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts said in April.

    But do ICE’s tactics actually resemble those of the Gestapo?

    Because I am a scholar of modern Germany and the Holocaust, people regularly ask me if this analogy is accurate. The answer is complicated.

    The Gestapo arrests a group of Jewish men hiding in a cellar in Poland in 1939, in what was possibly a staged German propaganda photo.
    Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    Understanding the Gestapo

    The Nazi regime established the Gestapo, short for the German phrase Geheime Staatspolizei, meaning secret state police, soon after Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Among other responsibilities, the Gestapo was tasked with investigating political crimes and monitoring opposition activity. It later enforced racial laws in Germany and across occupied Europe.

    As part of its daily work, the Gestapo identified and monitored the regime’s political enemies. It arrested, interrogated, detained and tortured suspects and sent others to concentration camps. To identify suspects, it often relied on anonymous denunciations that came not only from zealous Nazis, but also from disgruntled neighbors or business competitors who tipped off the Gestapo to Jews and other people.

    While the Gestapo was relatively small in terms of personnel, it projected an image of being, as one scholar wrote, “omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.”

    It enforced the regime’s will and suppressed dissent not through sheer manpower but by creating a pervasive sense of fear. This aura of menace and terror has long outlived the Nazi regime itself.

    ICE’s operations

    ICE, with around 21,000 officers and staff operating in a country of more than 340 million, is smaller both in absolute terms and on a per capita basis. At its height between 1943 and 1945, the Gestapo had between 40,000 and 50,000 personnel in a country of 79 million.

    ICE is set to expand its work in the next few years with an additional US$75 billion in funding that Congress appropriated in July as part of Trump’s tax and spending bill.

    And while ICE focuses on immigration, the Gestapo had a more expansive role. It was responsible for suppressing all forms of political dissent, not just violations of immigration law.

    ICE operates with vastly more advanced technologies that did not exist in the 1940s, including facial recognition and social media monitoring.

    There is technically more transparency around ICE’s work than the Gestapo’s, since ICE is a federal agency that is subject to its work and information being reviewed by politicians and the public alike. But in June 2020, the first Trump administration reclassified ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, as a “security/sensitive agency.” This designation makes it harder for people to request and receive information about ICE’s work through Freedom of Information Act records requests.

    Like the Gestapo, ICE can seem performative in its work, like when it carried out a dramatic July raid of a cannabis farm in California in which balaclava-wearing officers used tear gas against protesters.

    The Gestapo in today’s world

    Since World War II and the fall of the Nazi regime, the term Gestapo has become shorthand in the United States to describe police repression.

    Using the word Gestapo to describe the worst possible authoritarian oppression has been popularized in popular movies in everything from the 1943 film “Casablanca” and “The Black Gestapo” in 1975 to “Inglourious Basterds” in 2009 and “Jojo Rabbit” in 2019.

    Walz’s remarks in May, though provocative, were also far from isolated in politics. Politicians from both sides of the aisle, as well as political observers, regularly use Gestapo and Nazi metaphors to attack their opponents.

    In 2022, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia famously confused the term Gestapo with gazpacho soup in a gaffe that went viral. “Now we have Nancy Pelosi’s gazpacho police spying on members of Congress,” she said.

    In 2024, Trump accused President Joe Biden of running a “Gestapo administration” as the Justice Department prosecuted Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

    Overall, mentions of the word Gestapo in social media increased by 184% between 2017 and 2024, according to the nonprofit group Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

    The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is among the organizations that have condemned making comparisons to the Holocaust and the Nazis for many reasons, including their historical inaccuracy and because they are insulting to people whose families remain scarred by the Holocaust.

    A Paraguayan woman whose relative was detained by ICE agents scuffles with officers in the halls of an immigration court in New York City on July 16, 2025.
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    What historical comparisons really say

    Analogies can be useful for clarifying complex ideas. But especially when they stretch across decades and vastly different political contexts, they risk oversimplifying and trivializing history.

    I believe that comparing ICE to the Gestapo is less a historical judgment than a reflection of modern anxiety – a fear that the U.S. is veering toward authoritarianism reminiscent of 1930s Germany.

    If politicians and other public figures are looking for historical comparisons to modern law enforcement agencies that use severe tactics, there is, unfortunately, no shortage of options: the Soviet Union’s secret police agencies NKVD and KGB, Iran’s former secret police and intelligence agency SAVAK or East Germany’s Stasi, to name just a few.
    All of those organizations denied suspects due process and grossly violated human rights in order to protect political regimes – but they don’t necessarily easily compare to ICE, either.

    Still, politicians and political observers alike most often turn to the Gestapo and other Nazi references instead.

    Ultimately, the Gestapo, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust serve as a powerful, shared cultural reference point. The catastrophes of World War II epitomize the worst possible outcomes of evil left unchecked.

    They have become the master moral paradigm and an ethical compass for the world today. In an age of polarization, World War II and the Holocaust remain the mirror in which Americans examine their present.

    Daniel H. Magilow received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (although DOGE cancelled the grant in April 2025).

    He serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the journal of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

    – ref. Comparing ICE to the Gestapo reveals people’s fears for the US – a Holocaust scholar explains why Nazi analogies remain common, yet risky – https://theconversation.com/comparing-ice-to-the-gestapo-reveals-peoples-fears-for-the-us-a-holocaust-scholar-explains-why-nazi-analogies-remain-common-yet-risky-260767

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: BBC Verify largely factchecks international stories – what about UK politics?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Cushion, Professor, Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University

    In a world of fake news and disinformation, factchecking claims and the veracity of images has become an important part of impartial journalism. People invest their trust in information sources they believe are accurate.

    With this in mind, the BBC launched its Verify service in May 2023. Its more than 60 journalists routinely factcheck, verify videos, counter disinformation, analyse data and explain complex stories.

    Then in June 2025, the BBC launched Verify Live, a blog that tells audiences in real time what claims they are investigating and how they are being checked.

    At the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University we have been monitoring BBC Verify since its launch. And we have systematically tracked the first month of BBC Verify Live from June 3-27 this year, examining all 244 blog posts as well as the hundreds of claims and sources that featured.

    We’ve found that the service places a heavy emphasis on foreign affairs. We argue that it could (and should) be used more to factcheck UK politics, enhancing the quality of the BBC’s impartiality journalism and serving the public service broadcaster’s domestic audiences.

    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.

    Our analysis found international stories made up 71% of all BBC Verify Live coverage. The coverage largely focused on verifying international conflicts and humanitarian crises, from the Middle East and Ukraine to the recent plane crash in India.

    This might reflect the large number of major international stories that occurred over the first month of BBC Verify Live’s launch. But the emphasis on foreign news was also evident in our analysis of the main BBC Verify service over the last 18 months. We monitored how much the factchecking service appeared on the BBC’s News at Ten, and found it was used more often in coverage of foreign affairs.

    One exception was during the 2024 general election campaign, when BBC Verify was used to challenge politicians’ claims, and scrutinise policies around migration and the economy. BBC Verify has also covered recent major political developments, like the budget and announcements of flagship government policy.

    The emphasis on covering international conflicts is consistent with its editorial mission to “analyse satellite imagery, investigate AI-generated content, factcheck claims and verify videos when news breaks”. BBC Verify regularly uses satellite mapping and geolocation data, which most newsrooms do not have at their disposal, to factcheck images and social media posts.

    However, the resources and expertise Verify has could also be used to more regularly factcheck false or misleading claims in domestic political issues. This could be important to building audience trust at a time when the BBC’s impartiality is regularly questioned, while helping people better understand political debates in the UK.

    Our past research with media users suggests they want journalists to be bolder and more transparent when assessing the credibility of politicians’ competing claims. BBC Verify is a logical tool to do this.

    Two years after it launched, Verify is considered one of the most trusted factchecking sources in the UK by the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and the most used by media regulator Ofcom.

    BBC Verify has proved it can effectively use its resources and expertise to unpack and challenge domestic political claims – covering the spending review and party manifestos ahead of the 2024 general election. We have previously analysed how BBC Verify robustly challenged a misleading Conservative party claim about a future Labour government raising taxes during the election campaign.

    Interrogating real-time claims

    BBC Verify Live takes a variety of approaches to its analysis of real-time claims. We assessed all claims appearing in blogs throughout most of June 2025 and discovered that 22% were challenged to some extent (found to be inaccurate), while 23% were upheld (considered accurate) and 13% partially upheld.

    Meanwhile, 10% were still being verified at the time the blog was posted (but may have been upheld or challenged in subsequent coverage), and 12% had additional context added to them. One fifth of all claims were not subject to any clear judgement about their accuracy.

    BBC Verify Live most often used the UK or official foreign governments, and their militaries or agencies, as the main corroborating sources to factcheck claims, or the focus of the claim being investigated in some stories. These made up well over three quarters of sources in factchecking coverage. There was, comparatively, limited use of think tanks, policy institutes, nongovernmental organisations, experts, academics or eyewitnesses.

    Just over one in ten claims had additional context added to them (as opposed to verifying or challenging a claim). This was most often the case in blogs about domestic affairs and rival political claims.

    Given the recent cuts to the BBC’s World Service, Verify’s international news agenda will bolster the public service broadcaster’s worldwide profile and credibility. Yet, for BBC Verify to enhance impartiality and trust with domestic audiences, we would argue it should play a more prominent role in routine political reporting, not just during elections or high-profile stories.

    Stephen Cushion has received funding from the BBC Trust, Ofcom, AHRC, BA and ESRC.

    Nathan Ritchie 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. BBC Verify largely factchecks international stories – what about UK politics? – https://theconversation.com/bbc-verify-largely-factchecks-international-stories-what-about-uk-politics-260615

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: The hidden history behind every rose blooming this summer

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alexander Bowles, Glasstone Research Fellow, Plant Science, University of Oxford

    ilovephoto_KA/Shutterstock

    As roses fill gardens and hedgerows this season, there is a story, millions of years in the making, unfolding beneath their petals.

    Analysis of rose genomes and floral structure is revealing how the stunning diversity we admire is rooted in the genes of these plants, offering new insight into how the beauty in our world is built at the molecular level.

    Modern roses are a riot of colour. Some roses are showy and fragrant while others are modest and understated. Jude the Obscure is coloured in peach, Kew Gardens a soft white and Catherine’s Rose a coral pink.

    Many people think of plants as nice-looking greens. Essential for clean air, yes, but simple organisms. A step change in research is shaking up the way scientists think about plants: they are far more complex and more like us than you might imagine. This blossoming field of science is too delightful to do it justice in one or two stories.

    This story is part of a series, Plant Curious, exploring scientific studies that challenge the way you view plantlife.

    All modern roses, in one way or another, stem from a pool of ancient ancestors. The genus Rosa first appeared over 30 million years ago, while the more recent ancestral species that gave rise to today’s roses emerged around 6 million years ago. Diversifying over this time, all modern roses have come into being from these plants.

    An April 2025 study by Chinese researchers suggests that the first Rosa flowers 30 million years ago were probably yellow. The researchers studied key traits of modern roses, like petal colour and the number of petals, and mapped them onto an evolutionary tree of roses. Tracing these traits through time allowed them to see how roses have changed over millions of years. For example, the next colours to appear in rose petals were pinks and reds. They also found the ancestor of modern roses alive 6 million years ago was probably pink.

    The 2025 study’s evolutionary reconstruction of key rose traits suggests the first roses were simple in form, bearing a single layer of petals. Jude the Obscure and Catherine’s Rose are both double-flowered roses, meaning their blooms have extra petals. These extra petals originated through natural mutations, which were later selected for during rose breeding.

    Scent is one of the main appeals of roses in our gardens. Jude the Obscure has a strong fruity fragrance, while Catherine’s Rose is said to have a subtle hint of mango. Yet, some roses are completely scentless.

    Floral fragrances come from plant compounds. For instance, roses that emit a lemony aroma owe it to the compound citronellol. Scientists aren’t sure why some Rosa species produce these compounds, but they probably help attract specific pollinators or serve as part of the plant’s defence system.

    A 2024 study found that fragrant roses have more genes involved in the production of scent compounds compared to their less fragrant cousins. These fragrant plants produce compounds in high abundance, their complex aromas attracting pollinators and our senses alike. This suggests that, over time, scent production became an advantageous strategy for some roses, because it costs energy to produce these genes.

    After their origin over 30 million years ago, roses gradually evolved a remarkable range of forms, colours and fragrances. Today, there are more than 300 accepted species in the genus Rosa. Fossil evidence and genetic studies suggest that the ancestors of roses first evolved in central Asia, probably in modern-day China and the Himalayan foothills. Their natural diversity helped roses adapt to temperate climates, spreading throughout Asia. From there, they gradually expanded westward, reaching Europe around 15 to 25 million years ago.

    In only the last couple of centuries, roses have undergone a second wave of diversification, this time driven by human hands. Modern rose breeders selected between eight and 20 wild rose species — particularly from Asia, such as Rosa chinensis and Rosa multiflora, as well as European species Rosa gallica and Rosa canina — to create all modern cultivated varieties. This process enhanced traits that appeal to our senses and produced flowers with more petals, deeper and more vibrant colours and stronger, more complex scents.

    The origin of rose breeding: Rosa multiflora, Rosa canina and Rosa gallica
    Wikimedia

    For example, genes involved in petal development have been selected to produce fuller, double-flowered blooms. Other genes associated with pigment production have been targeted to enhance deeper and more vibrant colours. Likewise, genes involved in the synthesis of scent compounds, such as one known as NUDX1, have been favoured to intensify rose fragrance.

    Other characteristics flower breeders targeted include recurrent flowering, disease resistance and reduced prickle formation. Many wild rose species originally had far more prickles than modern garden varieties. Outside of our gardens, this may leave them more vulnerable to grazing animals.

    This botanical experiment, guided by human hands, has shaped the stunning diversity we cherish today. This cultivation is what sets roses apart from their close relatives. Rubus, a closely related genus including blackberries and raspberries, has more than 800 species. There are over 300 Rosa species but it is estimated there are over 35,000 varieties of modern rose.

    Rose breeding is still evolving, with future varieties promising new petal shapes, enhanced pest resistance and greater resilience to climate extremes.

    Beauties such as Jude the Obscure, Kew Gardens and Catherine’s Rose are the result of centuries of careful cultivation and scientific understanding. So, the next time you walk through a rose garden, take a moment to appreciate the deep history behind each bloom.

    Alexander Bowles receives funding as a Glasstone Fellow at the University of Oxford.

    – ref. The hidden history behind every rose blooming this summer – https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-history-behind-every-rose-blooming-this-summer-259719

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Havovi Chichger, Professor, Biomedical Science, Anglia Ruskin University

    Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers – with potentially serious consequences for heart health and stroke risk.

    A new study from the University of Colorado suggests erythritol may damage cells in the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s security system that keeps out harmful substances while letting in nutrients. The findings add troubling new detail to previous observational studies that have linked erythritol consumption to increased rates of heart attack and stroke.

    In the new study, researchers exposed blood-brain barrier cells to levels of erythritol typically found after drinking a soft drink sweetened with the compound. They saw a chain reaction of cell damage that could make the brain more vulnerable to blood clots – a leading cause of stroke.

    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.

    Erythritol triggered what scientists call oxidative stress, flooding cells with harmful, highly reactive molecules known as free radicals, while simultaneously reducing the body’s natural antioxidant defences. This double assault damaged the cells’ ability to function properly, and in some cases killed them outright.

    But perhaps more concerning was erythritol’s effect on the blood vessels’ ability to regulate blood flow. Healthy blood vessels act like traffic controllers, widening when organs need more blood – during exercise, for instance – and tightening when less is required. They achieve this delicate balance through two key molecules: nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, and endothelin-1, which constricts them.

    The study found that erythritol disrupted this critical system, reducing nitric oxide production while ramping up endothelin-1. The result would be blood vessels that remain dangerously constricted, potentially starving the brain of oxygen and nutrients. This imbalance is a known warning sign of ischaemic stroke – the type caused by blood clots blocking vessels in the brain.

    Even more alarming, erythritol appeared to sabotage the body’s natural defence against blood clots. Normally, when clots form in blood vessels, cells release a “clot buster” called tissue plasminogen activator that dissolves the blockage before it can cause a stroke. But the sweetener blocked this protective mechanism, potentially leaving clots free to wreak havoc.

    The laboratory findings align with troubling evidence from human studies. Several large-scale observational studies have found that people who regularly consume erythritol face significantly higher risks of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. One major study tracking thousands of participants found that those with the highest blood levels of erythritol were roughly twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event.

    However, the research does have limitations. The experiments were conducted on isolated cells in laboratory dishes rather than complete blood vessels, which means the cells may not behave exactly as they would in the human body. Scientists acknowledge that more sophisticated testing – using advanced “blood vessel on a chip” systems that better mimic real physiology – will be needed to confirm these effects.

    The findings are particularly significant because erythritol occupies a unique position in the sweetener landscape. Unlike artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose, erythritol is technically a sugar alcohol – a naturally occurring compound that the body produces in small amounts. This classification helped it avoid inclusion in recent World Health Organization guidelines that discouraged the use of artificial sweeteners for weight control.

    Erythritol has also gained popularity among food manufacturers because it behaves more like sugar than other alternatives. While sucralose is 320 times sweeter than sugar, erythritol provides only about 80% of sugar’s sweetness, making it easier to use in recipes without creating an overpowering taste. It’s now found in thousands of products, especially in many “sugar-free” and “keto-friendly” foods.

    Erythritol can be found in many keto-friendly products, such a protein bars.
    Stockah/Shutterstock.com

    Trade-off

    Regulatory agencies, including the European Food Standards Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration, have approved erythritol as safe for consumption. But the new research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that even “natural” sugar alternatives may carry unexpected health risks.

    For consumers, the findings raise difficult questions about the trade-offs involved in sugar substitution. Sweeteners like erythritol can be valuable tools for weight management and diabetes prevention, helping people reduce calories and control blood sugar spikes. But if regular consumption potentially weakens the brain’s protective barriers and increases cardiovascular risk, the benefits may come at a significant cost.

    The research underscores a broader challenge in nutritional science: understanding the long-term effects of relatively new food additives that have become ubiquitous in the modern diet. While erythritol may help people avoid the immediate harms of excess sugar consumption, its effect on the blood-brain barrier suggests that frequent use could be quietly compromising brain protection over time.

    As scientists continue to investigate these concerning links, consumers may want to reconsider their relationship with this seemingly innocent sweetener – and perhaps question whether any sugar substitute additive is truly without risk.

    Havovi Chichger 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. How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences – new study – https://theconversation.com/how-a-popular-sweetener-could-be-damaging-your-brains-defences-new-study-261500

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Three types of drought – and why there’s no such thing as a global water crisis

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Filippo Menga, Visiting Research Fellow, Professor of Geography, University of Reading

    Lithium fields in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Freedom_wanted/Shutterstock

    Hosepipe bans have been announced in parts of England this summer. Following the driest spring in over a century, the Environment Agency has issued a medium drought risk warning, and Yorkshire Water will introduce restrictions starting Friday, 11 July. It’s a familiar story: reduced rainfall, shrinking reservoirs and renewed calls for restraint: take shorter showers, avoid watering the lawn, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.

    These appeals to personal responsibility reflect a broader way of thinking about water: that everyone, everywhere, is facing the same crisis, and that small individual actions are a meaningful response. But what if this narrative, familiar as it is, obscures more than it reveals?

    In my new book, Thirst: The global quest to solve the water crisis, I argue that the phrase “global water crisis” may do more harm than good. It simplifies a complex global reality, collapsing vastly different situations into one seemingly shared emergency. While it evokes urgency, it conceals the very things that matter: the causes, politics and power dynamics that determine who gets water and who doesn’t.

    What we call a single crisis is, in fact, many distinct ones. To see this clearly, we must move beyond the rhetoric of global scarcity and look closely at how drought plays out in different places. Consider the UK, the Horn of Africa, and Chile: three regions facing water stress in radically different ways.

    UK: a crisis of infrastructure

    Drought in the UK is rarely the result of absolute water scarcity. The country receives relatively consistent rainfall throughout the year. Even when droughts occur, the underlying issue is how water is managed, distributed and maintained.

    Roughly a fifth of treated water is lost through leaking pipes, some of them over a century old. At the same time, privatised water companies have come under growing scrutiny for failing to invest in infrastructure while paying billions in dividends to shareholders. So calls for households to use less water often strike a dissonant note.

    The UK’s droughts are not just the product of climate variability. They are also shaped by policy decisions, regulatory failures and eroding public trust. Temporary scarcity becomes a recurring crisis due to the structures meant to manage it.

    Horn of Africa: survival and structural vulnerability

    In the Horn of Africa, drought is catastrophic. Since 2020, the region has endured five consecutive failed rainy seasons – the worst in four decades. More than 30 million people across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya face food insecurity. Livelihoods have collapsed and millions of people have been displaced.

    Climate change is a driver, but so is politics. Armed conflict, weak governance and decades of underinvestment have left communities dangerously exposed. These vulnerabilities are rooted in longer histories of colonial exploitation and, more recently, the privatisation of essential services.

    Adaptation refers to how communities try to cope with changing climate conditions using the resources they have. Local efforts to adapt to drought (such as digging new wells, planting drought-resistant crop or rationing limited supplies) are often informal or underfunded.

    When prolonged droughts strike in places already facing poverty, conflict or weak governance, these coping strategies are rarely enough. Framing climate-induced drought as just another chapter in a global water crisis erases the specific conditions that make it so deadly.

    Drought in Africa can be catastrophic.
    Dieter Telemans/Panos Pictures, CC BY-NC-ND

    Chile: extraction and exclusion

    Chile’s water crisis is often linked to drought. But the underlying issue is extraction. The country holds over half of the world’s lithium reserves, a metal critical to electric vehicles and energy storage.

    Lithium is mined through an intensely water-consuming process in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, often on Indigenous land. Communities have seen water tables drop and wetlands disappear while receiving little benefit.

    Chile’s water laws, introduced under the Pinochet regime, allow private companies to hold long-term rights regardless of environmental or social cost. Here, water scarcity is driven less by rainfall and more by law, ownership and global demand for renewable technologies. Framing Chile’s situation as just another example of a global water crisis overlooks the deeper political and economic forces that shape how water is managed – and who gets to benefit from it.

    No single crisis, no single solution

    While drought is intensifying, its causes and consequences vary. In the UK, it’s about infrastructure and governance. In the Horn of Africa, it’s about historical injustice and systemic neglect. In Chile, it’s about legal frameworks and resource extraction.

    Labelling this simply as a global water crisis oversimplifies the issue and steers attention away from the root causes. It promotes technical solutions while ignoring the political questions of who has access to water and who controls it.

    This approach often favours private companies and international organisations, sidelining local communities and institutions. Instead of holding power to account, it risks shifting responsibility without making meaningful changes to how power and resources are shared.

    In Thirst, I argue that the crisis of water is a cultural and political one. Who controls water, who profits from it, who bears the cost of its depletion: these are the defining questions of our time. And they cannot be answered with generalities. We don’t need one big solution. We need many small, just ones.

    This article features a reference to a book that has been included for editorial reasons. If you click on one of the links to bookshop.org and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Filippo Menga 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. Three types of drought – and why there’s no such thing as a global water crisis – https://theconversation.com/three-types-of-drought-and-why-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-global-water-crisis-260723

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: A potted history of fermented foods – from pickles to kimchi

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Serin Quinn, PhD Candidate, Department of History, University of Warwick

    Are you a pro at pickling? How about baking sourdough bread or brewing your own kombucha? If the answer is yes, you’ve probably picked up on one of the recent trends promoting fermented foods, which promise to boost your gut health and save both you and the planet from the scourge of food waste.

    For the uninitiated, fermented foods include anything that uses bacteria to break down organic matter into a new product. Look around an ordinary kitchen and you’ll almost certainly find something fermented: yoghurt (milk), beer and wine (grain/fruit) or vinegar (alcohol). Not all of these will give you the promised health boost, however, which comes from “live” ferments containing probiotic microbes, usually lactic acid bacteria. In alcohol and vinegar the fermenting bacteria die during the process.

    The health benefits of fermented foods are widely promoted. Some advocates, like epidemiologist Tim Spector, suggest the gut microbiome is the key to our health, while others are more cautious: in essence, although kefir is certainly good for your gut, it isn’t a cure-all. Still, the research is ongoing and diversifying: one study has even suggested that probiotics could fight the less pleasant recent phenomenon of microplastics in our stomachs.

    The future of fermented foods is definitely something to keep an eye on, but equally interesting is their long past and the different fermented food fashions we see over time.

    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.

    People have been fermenting food since before the written word. Thanks to archaeological discoveries, we know that 13,000 years ago ancient Natufian culture in the Levant was fermenting grain into beer and that around the globe in Jiahu, Northern China, 9,000 years ago, a mixture of rice, honey and fruit was fermented to make early “wines”.

    In fact, most cultures have at some point in their history fermented plants into alcohol, from agave pulque in Mesoamerica to gum-tree way-a-linah in Australia.

    Mosaic depicting a garum jug with a titulus reading ‘from the workshop of the garum importer Aulus Umbricius Scaurus’.
    Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA

    As to preserving food, archaeologists have found that nearly 10,000 years ago fish was fermented by the Mesolithic inhabitants of Sweden. Today nam pla (fish sauce made from fermented anchovies) is very popular, but fermented fish sauces were a major commodity in the ancient world, including the garum of the Romans. This was made from the blood and guts of mackerel, salt-fermented for two months. Although it might not sound very appealing, garum was an expensive condiment for the Roman nobility and was shipped all the way from Spain to Britain.

    Garum eventually lost its popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages, but fermented fish made a comeback in the 18th century. In Asia fish sauces had continued strong, and colonialism brought the south Asian fish sauce kê-chiap to Europe, alongside soy sauce (fermented soybeans). Salt-fermenting oysters and anchovies in this style became popular in England and North America, and people eventually branched out to preserving tomatoes – giving us modern ketchup.

    Cabbage cultures

    No discussion of fermentation would be complete without pickled vegetables. Today, the most talked-about fermented vegetable is the cabbage, in the form of kimchi and sauerkraut, thanks to its strong probiotic and vitamin C content.

    The historical origins of these dishes are unclear. Online articles might tell you that pickled cabbage was first eaten by the builders of the Great Wall of China 2,000 years ago and brought to Europe in Genghis Khan’s saddlebags. These kinds of apocryphal stories should be taken with more than a grain of salt.

    An illustration of the cultivation of grapes and winemaking in Ming dynasty China (1368–1644).
    Wellcome Collection

    So should the apparent connection to Roman author Pliny the Elder, who made no mention of “salt cabbage” anywhere in his works. While the Greeks and Romans loved cabbage and considered it a cure for many illnesses, they almost always boiled it, which would kill the lactobacillus.

    Still, as Jan Davison, author of Pickles: A Global History, writes, literary evidence suggests that salt pickling in general does have a long precedence. Pickled gourds were eaten in Zhou dynasty China around 3,000 years ago.

    It’s hard to say when sauerkraut became a common dish, but the term was in use by the 16th century and was associated with Germany by the 17th. As to Korean kimchi, research suggests this style of preservation was practised by the 13th century, only using turnips rather than cabbage.

    The popularity of radish and cabbage kimchi only came about in the 16th century, alongside the use of chilli peppers. Now an iconic aspect of this bright-red dish, peppers were not part of “Old World” diets before the Columbian exchange.

    History reveals our long relationship with fermented food. Our pickling ancestors were more interested in food preservation than in their bacterial microbiome – a very modern concept. Looking to past practices might even help us innovate fermentation technologies, as recent research from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels shows. I’m not sure about bringing back fermented fish guts, but more pickled turnips doesn’t sound half bad.

    This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

    Serin Quinn 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. A potted history of fermented foods – from pickles to kimchi – https://theconversation.com/a-potted-history-of-fermented-foods-from-pickles-to-kimchi-260132

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Dogs are helping people regulate stress even more than expected, research shows

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Kevin Morris, Research Professor of Social Work, University of Denver

    Studies show that dogs help humans cope with stress. marcoventuriniautieri/E+ via Getty Immages

    In a 2022 survey of 3,000 U.S. adults, more than one-third of respondents reported that on most days, they feel “completely overwhelmed” by stress. At the same time, a growing body of research is documenting the negative health consequences of higher stress levels, which include increased rates of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune conditions and even dementia.

    Assuming people’s daily lives are unlikely to get less stressful anytime soon, simple and effective ways to mitigate these effects are needed.

    This is where dogs can help.

    As researchers at the University of Denver’s Institute for Human-Animal Connection, we study the effects animal companions have on their humans.

    Dozens of studies over the last 40 years have confirmed that pet dogs help humans feel more relaxed. This would explain the growing phenomenon of people relying on emotional support dogs to assist them in navigating everyday life. Dog owners have also been shown to have a 24% lower risk of death and a four times greater chance of surviving for at least a year after a heart attack.

    Now, a new study that we conducted with a team of colleagues suggests that dogs might have a deeper and more biologically complex effect on humans than scientists previously believed. And this complexity may have profound implications for human health.

    How stress works

    The human response to stress is a finely tuned and coordinated set of various physiological pathways. Previous studies of the effects of dogs on human stress focused on just one pathway at a time. For our study, we zoomed out a bit and measured multiple biological indicators of the body’s state, or biomarkers, from both of the body’s major stress pathways. This allowed us to get a more complete picture of how a dog’s presence affects stress in the human body.

    The stress pathways we measured are the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis and the sympathoadrenal medullary, or SAM, axis.

    When a person experiences a stressful event, the SAM axis acts quickly, triggering a “fight or flight” response that includes a surge of adrenaline, leading to a burst of energy that helps us meet threats. This response can be measured through an enzyme called alpha-amylase.

    At the same time, but a little more slowly, the HPA axis activates the adrenal glands to produce the hormone cortisol. This can help a person meet threats that might last for hours or even days. If everything goes well, when the danger ends, both axes settle down, and the body goes back to its calm state.

    While stress can be an uncomfortable feeling, it has been important to human survival. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors had to respond effectively to acute stress events like an animal attack. In such instances, over-responding could be as ineffective as under-responding. Staying in an optimal stress response zone maximized humans’ chances of survival.

    Dogs can be more helpful than human friends in coping with stressful situations.
    FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

    More to the story

    After cortisol is released by the adrenal glands, it eventually makes its way into your saliva, making it an easily accessible biomarker to track responses. Because of this, most research on dogs and stress has focused on salivary cortisol alone.

    For example, several studies have found that people exposed to a stressful situation have a lower cortisol response if they’re with a dog than if they’re alone – even lower than if they’re with a friend.

    While these studies have shown that having a dog nearby can lower cortisol levels during a stressful event, suggesting the person is calmer, we suspected that was just part of the story.

    What our study measured

    For our study, we recruited about 40 dog owners to participate in a 15-minute gold standard laboratory stress test. This involves public speaking and oral math in front of a panel of expressionless people posing as behavioral specialists.

    The participants were randomly assigned to bring their dogs to the lab with them or to leave their dogs at home. We measured cortisol in blood samples taken before, immediately after and about 45 minutes following the test as a biomarker of HPA axis activity. And unlike previous studies, we also measured the enzyme alpha-amylase in the same blood samples as a biomarker of the SAM axis.

    As expected based on previous studies, the people who had their dog with them showed lower cortisol spikes. But we also found that people with their dog experienced a clear spike of alpha-amylase, while those without their dog showed almost no response.

    No response may sound like a good thing, but in fact, a flat alpha-amylase response can be a sign of a dysregulated response to stress, often seen in people experiencing high stress responses, chronic stress or even PTSD. This lack of response is caused by chronic or overwhelming stress that can change how our nervous system responds to stressors.

    In contrast, the participants with their dogs had a more balanced response: Their cortisol didn’t spike too high, but their alpha-amylase still activated. This shows that they were alert and engaged throughout the test, then able to return to normal within 45 minutes. That’s the sweet spot for handling stress effectively. Our research suggests that our canine companions keep us in a healthy zone of stress response.

    Having a dog benefits humans’ physical and psychological health.

    Dogs and human health

    This more nuanced understanding of the biological effects of dogs on the human stress response opens up exciting possibilities. Based on the results of our study, our team has begun a new study using thousands of biomarkers to delve deeper into the biology of how psychiatric service dogs reduce PTSD in military veterans.

    But one thing is already clear: Dogs aren’t just good company. They might just be one of the most accessible and effective tools for staying healthy in a stressful world.

    Kevin Morris receives funding for this research from the Morris Animal Foundation, the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute, and the University of Denver.

    Jaci Gandenberger receives funding from the University of Denver to support this research.

    – ref. Dogs are helping people regulate stress even more than expected, research shows – https://theconversation.com/dogs-are-helping-people-regulate-stress-even-more-than-expected-research-shows-254563

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How mothers supporting mothers can help fill the health care worker shortage gap and other barriers to care

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Sona Dimidjian, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder

    For generations, women have relied on informal networks of friends, family and neighbors to navigate the complexities of birth and motherhood. Today, research is finally catching up to what generations of women have known: Peer support can be a lifeline.

    Despite growing evidence, the unique wisdom and strength that arise when mothers help mothers has been surprisingly under‑explored in the scientific literature, but that’s beginning to change. Peer-delivered programs are beginning to bring together long-standing community traditions and structured, evidence-based approaches to support the mental health of new and expectant moms.

    We are clinical psychologists at the University of Colorado Boulder Renée Crown Wellness Institute. Our work and research weaves together psychological science and the wisdom of mothers supporting mothers. Our program, Alma, supports women in restoring well-being in ways that are community-rooted, evidence-based and scalable.

    Pressure on parents

    Nearly 50% of parents report feeling overwhelmed by stress on most days. An even larger share, about 65%, experience feelings of loneliness, according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These feelings hit mothers especially hard, the report says.

    Many mothers report experiencing depression during pregnancy, which is one of th emost common complications of childbirth.
    kieferpix/GettyImages

    In 2025, mothers in the United States continue to shoulder most of the caregiving of children while also managing work, personal health and household responsibilities. The transition to motherhood is often marked by emotional and psychological strain. In fact, 10% to 20% of women experience depression during pregnancy, the postpartum period or both. Depression is one of the most common complications of childbirth. A similar number of women also face significant anxiety.

    In many communities, mental health resources are scarce and stigma around mental health issues persists; therefore, many mothers are left to navigate such challenges alone and in silence. Antidepressants are widely prescribed, but research suggests that many women stop using antidepressants during pregnancy – yet they don’t start therapy or an alternative treatment instead.

    Psychotherapy is the most preferred care option among new and expectant mothers, but it is often inaccessible or nonexistent. This is due in part to a workforce shortage of mental health providers.

    The shortage has contributed to long wait times, geographic disparities and cultural and language barriers between providers and patients. This is especially true for underserved populations. In fact, more than 75% of depressed mothers do not receive the care they need.

    Science of peer support

    The science of peer support is part of a larger field exploring community health workers as one way to address the shortage of mental health providers. Peer mentors are trusted individuals from the community who share common experiences or challenges with those they serve. Through specialized training, they are equipped to deliver education, offer mental health support and connect people with needed resources.

    A study that analyzed 30 randomized clinical trials involving individuals with serious mental illness found that peer support was associated with significant improvements in clinical outcomes and personal recovery. Researchers have proposed that peer support creates space for learning and healing, especially when peers share lived experience, culture and language.

    As clinical psychologists, we heard from mothers in our work and communities that wanted to help other moms recover from depression, navigate the challenges of motherhood and avoid feeling alone. This insight led us to co-create Alma, a peer-led mental health program based on behavioral activation.

    Behavioral activation is a proven method for treating depression based on decades of randomized clinical trials, including in new and expectant mothers. It helps new and expectant mothers reengage in meaningful activities to improve mood and functioning.

    The Alma program

    Alma is based on the principle that depression must be understood in context and that changing what you do can change how you feel. One strategy we use is to help a mother identify an activity that brings a sense of accomplishment, connection or enjoyment – and then take small steps to schedule that activity. Mothers might also be guided on ways to ask for help and strengthen their support networks. Alma is offered in English and Spanish.

    Peer mentors typically meet with moms once a week for six to eight sessions. Sessions can take place in person or virtually, allowing flexibility that honors each family’s needs. Traditionally, peer mentors have been recruited through long-standing relationships with trusted community organizations and word-of-mouth referrals. This approach has helped ensure that mentors are deeply rooted in the communities they serve. Alma peer mentors are compensated for their time, which recognizes the value of their lived expertise, their training and the work involved in providing peer mentoring and support.

    “This was the first time I felt like someone understood me, without me having to explain everything,” shared one mother during a post-program interview that all participants complete after finishing Alma.

    To date, more than 700 mothers in Colorado have participated in Alma. In one of our studies, we focused on 126 Spanish-speaking Latina mothers who often face significant barriers to care, such as language differences, cost and stigma. For nearly 2 out of 3 mothers, symptoms of depression decreased enough to be considered a true, measurable recovery — not just a small change.

    Notably, most of the depression improvement occurred within the first three Alma meetings. We also observed that peer mentors delivered the Alma program consistently and as intended. This suggests the program could be reliably expanded and replicated in other settings with similar positive outcomes.

    A second study, conducted through a national survey of Spanish-speaking Latina new and expectant mothers, found that peer-led mental health support was not only perceived as effective, but also highly acceptable and deeply valued. Mothers noted that they were interested in peer-led support because it met them where they were: with language, trust and cultural understanding.

    Supporting mothers works

    Supporting mothers’ mental health is essential because it directly benefits both mothers and their children. Those improvements foster healthier emotional, cognitive and social development in their children. This interconnected impact highlights why investing in maternal mental health yields lasting benefits for the entire family.

    It also makes strong economic sense to address mood and anxiety disorders among new and expectant mothers, which cost an estimated US$32,000 for each mother and child from conception through five years postpartum. More than half of those costs occur within the first year, driven primarily by productivity losses, preterm births and increased maternal health care needs.

    Beyond the impact on individual families, the broader economic toll of untreated mood and anxiety disorders among new and expectant mothers is substantial. For example, it’s estimated that $4.7 billion a year are lost to mothers who have to miss work or reduce their job performance because of symptoms like fatigue, anxiety and depression.

    Together – as individuals, families, communities and institutions – we can cultivate a world where the challenges of parenting are met with comprehensive support, allowing the joy of parenting to be fully realized. Because no one should have to do this alone.

    Read more of our stories about Colorado.

    Sona Dimidjian reports funding from philanthropic foundations and the National Institute of Health, and founding and receiving revenue from Mindful Noggin, Inc. and Access Consulting, LLC.

    Anahi Collado reports receiving funding from philanthropic foundations.

    – ref. How mothers supporting mothers can help fill the health care worker shortage gap and other barriers to care – https://theconversation.com/how-mothers-supporting-mothers-can-help-fill-the-health-care-worker-shortage-gap-and-other-barriers-to-care-257520

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Filipino sailors dock in Mexico … and help invent tequila?

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Stephen Acabado, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles

    Bottles of tequila now command premium prices in trendy bars. On Instagram, celebrity-backed brands of the agave-based Mexican spirit jostle for attention. And debates over cultural appropriation and agave sustainability swirl alongside booming tourism in Jalisco, the western Mexican state that serves as the world’s tequila distillation hub.

    But behind the spirit’s flash of marketing and growing popularity lies a rarely asked question: Where did the knowledge to distill agave come from in the first place?

    In recent years, scholars studying how Indigenous communities responded to colonialism and global trade networks have begun to look more closely at the Pacific world. One key focus is the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade route, which linked Asia and the Americas for 250 years, from 1565 to 1815.

    The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade route.
    Jesse Nett/Oregon Encylopedia

    After Spain colonized the Philippines in 1565, Spanish galleons – towering, multidecked sailing ships – carried Chinese silk and Mexican silver across the ocean. But far more than goods traveled aboard those ships. They moved people, ideas and technologies.

    Among them was the craft of distillation.

    This overlooked connection may help explain how distilled agave spirits such as tequila came into being. While tequila is unmistakably a Mexican creation, the techniques used to produce it may owe something to Filipino sailors, who brought with them deep knowledge of transforming coconut sap into a potent spirit known as lambanog.

    3 competing theories

    For centuries, the rise of tequila has been credited to the Spanish. After the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century, colonizers introduced alembic stills, which are based on Moorish and Arabic technology. Unlike simple boiling, distillation requires managing heat and capturing purified vapor. These stills represented a major technological leap, allowing people to transform fermented drinks into distilled spirits.

    Agave, long used to make the fermented drink pulque, soon became the base for something new: tequila and mezcal.

    Colonial records, including the “Relaciones Geográficas,” a massive data-gathering project initiated by the Spanish Crown in the late 16th century, describe local Mesoamerican communities learning distillation from Spanish settlers. This version is well documented. But it assumes that technology moved in only one direction, from Europe to the Americas.

    A second idea suggests that Mesoamerican communities already had some understanding of vapor condensation. Archaeologists have found ceramic vessels in western Mexico that may have been used to capture steam. While distillation requires additional steps, this prior knowledge may have primed Indigenous groups to more readily adopt new techniques.

    As Mexican ethnobotanists Patricia Colunga-GarcíaMarín and Daniel Zizumbo-Villarreal have argued, “The adoption of distillation was likely not simply imposed, but creatively adapted to local knowledge systems.”

    A third perspective, which other researchers and I are exploring, traces a potential Filipino influence. The galleon trade brought thousands of Filipino sailors and laborers to Mexico, particularly along the Pacific coast. In places such as Guerrero, Colima and Jalisco, Filipino migrants introduced methods for fermenting and distilling coconut sap into lambanog, the coconut-based spirit.

    The stills they used, sometimes called Mongolian stills, were built with clay and bamboo and included a condensation bowl. Historian Pablo Guzman-Rivas has noted that these stills more closely resemble the earliest Mexican agave distillation setups than European alembics. He has also documented oral traditions in some coastal Mexican communities to link local distillation practices to their Filipino ancestors.

    The still on the left in Jalisco, Mexico, has similarities to the lambanog on the right from Infanta, Quezon, Philippines.
    Photo on left courtesy of Patricia Colunga-GarcíaMarín and Daniel Zizumbo-Villarreal; photo on right courtesy of Sherry Ann Angeles and Rading Coronacion, CC BY-SA

    Beyond the bottle

    Filipino influence extends beyond the distilling pot.

    In Colima and other Pacific port towns, traces of the Manila galleon trade ripple through daily life – in kitchens, cantinas and even in architecture. The word “palapa,” used in Mexico and Central America today to describe rustic thatched roofs, is exactly the same as the term for coconut fronds that’s primarily used in the Bicol Region of the Philippines.

    Filipino migrants in Mexico also shared knowledge of boatbuilding, fermentation and food preservation. Coconut vinegar, fish sauce and palm sugar-based condiments became part of Mexican cuisine. One of the most enduring legacies is tuba, the fermented coconut sap still popular in coastal areas of the Mexican state of Guerrero, where Filipino sailors once settled. Known locally by the same name, tuba is sold in markets and along roadsides, often enjoyed as a refreshing drink or as a cooking ingredient.

    A replica of a galleon, the Spanish trading ship that traversed the world’s oceans from the 16th century to the 18th century.
    Dennis Jarvis/flickr, CC BY-SA

    Exchange moved both ways. Filipino vessels carried corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes and cacao back across the Pacific, reshaping food in the Philippines. These exchanges took place under the shadow of colonialism and forced labor, but their legacies endure in language, in taste and even in the roofs over people’s heads.

    Technical knowledge rarely travels through official channels alone. It moves with cooks in ship galleys, with carpenters below deck, with laborers who desert ships to settle in unfamiliar ports. Sometimes it was a way to build a roof or preserve a flavor. Other times, it was a method for turning a fermented plant into a spirit that could keep for long voyages. And by the early 1600s, new types of distilled agave spirits were being made in Mexico.

    Tequila is unmistakably a product of Mexico. But it is also a product of movement. Whether Filipino migrants directly introduced distillation methods or whether they emerged from a mix of Indigenous experimentation and European tools, every time you sip tequila, you’re tasting an echo of those long ocean crossings from many centuries ago.

    Stephen Acabado receives funding from the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Filipino sailors dock in Mexico … and help invent tequila? – https://theconversation.com/filipino-sailors-dock-in-mexico-and-help-invent-tequila-258166

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: From Sideline to Lifeline: Advancing Emergency Skills in Athletic Training Education

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Athletic trainers play a key role in keeping athletes safe by providing care, including injury and illness prevention, rehabilitation, and emergency care in cases of catastrophic injury.

    Last year, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) updated guidance on writing and adopting an Emergency Action Plan (EAP), a document indicating the preparations for and response to any type of catastrophic injury. An EAP is used to help ensure a comprehensive approach to athlete care in any serious illness or injury situation for health care team members and other stakeholders in a prehospital setting. It also accounts for the care of others involved with sports – from coaches and referees to spectators at events.

    To help athletic trainers discuss acute emergency injuries and revise their emergency action plans according to the latest evidence-based science, the UConn Institute for Sports Medicine (ISM) held a day-long workshop in Hartford at UConn’s space in the PeoplesBank Arena, formerly the XL Center, for Connecticut athletic trainers.

    Associate professor-in-Residence and director of the Master of Science in Athletic Training Program Eleni Diakogeorgiou at the event. (Jason Sheldon/UConn Photo)
    Athletics trainers from around the state came to PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford for the workshop. (Jason Sheldon/UConn Photo)
    UConn ISM is a collaboration between the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) and UConn Health. (Jason Sheldon/UConn Photo)

    “UConn ISM is committed to the health, performance, and longevity of athletes,” says Laurie Devaney, head of the Department of Kinesiology and co-director of UConn ISM. “We do that by applying our research and medical knowledge to protect athletes of any age and skill level from injury and illness. This includes life-threatening emergencies as they may occur at any time and place.”

    Faculty from UConn Health and the UConn Department of Kinesiology in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) spoke on a variety of topics during morning sessions related to athlete safety, including care for concussions and loss of consciousness, orthopedics, and airway management considerations.

    “The goal of our workshop was to include a variety of emergency topics relevant to Athletic Trainers, which was complemented by engaging hands-on activities,” says Lauren Sheldon, assistant professor in residence and director of clinical outreach, community engagement, and injury prevention for the UConn Institute for Sports Medicine.

    The afternoon sessions featured rotating workshops that included hands-on demonstrations and a simulation of a medical emergency, giving athletic trainers practical advice and an opportunity to enhance their skills. It concluded with preceptor training to enhance mentoring and teaching skills to the next generation of athletic trainers.

    One athletic trainer who attended the training commented that the workshop “Exceeded my expectations. I love the new location.” Another noted the workshop was “really a blessing for a local AT.”

    “Connecting athletic trainers and the ability to collaborate with stakeholders on their individualized EAPs will improve overall response and decrease errors during an emergency when quick and comprehensive response is crucial,” says Devaney. “We’re proud to be able to offer workshops like these to improve the health and safety of athletes around the state.”

    This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.

    Follow UConn CAHNR on social media

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Congo and critical minerals: What are the costs of America’s peace?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Evelyn Namakula Mayanja, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Carleton University

    In March 2025, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered the country’s critical mineral reserves to the United States and Europe in exchange for security and stability.

    At the time, the March 23 (M23) militia insurgency was unleashing violence: killing civilians, committing sexual violence, displacing communities and looting mineral resources. Since 1996, eastern Congo has been engulfed in wars and armed conflicts driven by regional powers and more than 120 armed groups.

    The U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC raises critical questions: Is this a genuine path to sustainable peace, or a continuation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy to secure access to critical minerals through coercive diplomacy?



    Read more:
    4 things every peace agreement needs – and how the DRC-Rwanda deal measures up

    Global arms race for critical minerals

    The global shift toward renewable energy, digital infrastructure and military modernization has sparked a geopolitical scramble for critical and rare earth minerals.

    In early 2025, Trump signed a series of executive orders that introduced aggressive and imperial-style tactics to secure access to mineral wealth. He threatened Canada with annexation and tariffs, demanded access to Greenland’s resources and linked U.S. support for Ukraine to access to its mineral reserves.

    The DRC’s offer must be viewed through this lens of global resource competition.

    Congo’s critical mineral wealth

    The DRC holds some of the world’s richest deposits of critical minerals and metals. A 2012 article estimated the value of Congo’s untapped mineral wealth at US$24 trillion, a figure nearing the U.S. first-quarter 2025 GDP of $29.962 trillion.

    The DRC produces 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt, ranks fourth in copper, sixth in industrial diamonds and also possesses vast reserves of nickel and lithium, including the Manono deposit expected to yield 95,170 tonnes of crude lithium.

    But the struggle to control these resources has fuelled a cycle of armed violence, displacement and exploitation. Despite several peace agreements, peace and stability remain elusive.

    America’s interests in Congo

    U.S. involvement in Congo stretches back to the Cold War, when it played a role in the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first elected prime minister who sought economic sovereignty.

    In 1996, the U.S. was accused of backing Rwanda and Uganda in the initial invasion of eastern Congo. A U.S. diplomat, “Mr. Hankins,” was quoted in Goma saying: “I am here …to represent American interests.”

    In 2024, President Joe Biden met Tshisekedi to advance the Lobito Corridor, a strategic trade route to counter China’s dominance in the region. Chinese companies currently control around 80 per cent of Congo’s copper market.

    When Trump signed the 2025 peace agreement, he openly stated the U.S. would gain “a lot of mineral rights … foreign trade and investment from the regional critical mineral supply chains.”

    U.S.-brokered peace deal

    The deal, however, prioritizes America’s access to minerals over the well-being of Congolese citizens. Historically, Congo’s mineral wealth has enriched elites and foreign powers while leaving its people impoverished and vulnerable. The new agreement could entrench existing inequalities and inflame tensions further.

    The U.S. has also cut off aid for war survivors, including emergency medical kits and antiretrovirals for rape victims, undermining humanitarian efforts.

    Crucially, the agreement overlooks:

    • The root causes and drivers of conflict at national, regional and international levels.

    • The role of Rwanda and Uganda, whose militaries and intelligence services have long been implicated in supporting groups like M23. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has referred to M23 as “our brothers” and threatened military action in Congo.

    • The voices of Congolese civil society, war survivors and the public, who were excluded from the negotiation process.

    • State fragility and institutional collapse — major enablers of protracted violence.

    • The grievances of Hutu and Tutsi communities in the DRC, deeply rooted in colonial and regional politics.

    • The presence of more than 120 armed groups, many of them proxies for foreign powers engaging in what some scholars call “geocriminality.”

    Between January and February 2025 alone, more than 7,000 people were killed in the DRC. The United Nations and several human rights organizations have documented mass atrocities, including crimes of genocidal magnitude.

    A path toward real peace

    The peace agreement fails to demand justice for crimes committed against the Congolese people. Nobel Peace laureate Denis Mukwege condemned the deal for “rewarding aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congo’s natural resources, and sacrificing justice for a fragile peace.”

    It also ignores the roles of international mining corporations and external entities that have long profited from Congo’s instability.

    True and lasting peace in the DRC cannot be imposed from the outside. U.S.-led mineral extraction without justice risks deepening the crisis. Since 1999, UN peacekeepers have been deployed in the Congo , yet violence continues.

    Sustainable peace will require:

    • An end to impunity;

    • Thorough investigations into war crimes;

    • Regional truth-telling processes;

    • Justice and reparations for victims;

    • And most importantly, inclusion of Congolese voices in shaping their future.

    Without these commitments, the U.S. risks replicating a long history of exploitation, trading in minerals while ignoring the human cost.

    Evelyn Namakula Mayanja receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and from Carleton University

    – ref. Congo and critical minerals: What are the costs of America’s peace? – https://theconversation.com/congo-and-critical-minerals-what-are-the-costs-of-americas-peace-260567

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Stanford faculty member George Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D. named Director of Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    For Immediate Release:
    July 21, 2025

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the appointment of George Francis Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D., as Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). In this role, Dr. Tidmarsh will lead the FDA’s efforts to ensure safe, effective, and high-quality drugs are available to the American people.
    “Dr. Tidmarsh is an accomplished physician-scientist and leader whose experience spans the full arc of drug development—from bench to bedside,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. “His appointment to lead CDER brings exceptional scientific, regulatory, and operational expertise to the agency. I look forward to working with him to strengthen our drug review programs, foster innovation, and advance cross-agency initiatives that improve health outcomes for the American public.”
    Dr. Tidmarsh earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in cancer biology from Stanford University where he completed residency training in pediatrics. He went on to complete two subspecialty programs at Stanford, one in pediatric oncology and another in neonatology. He brings over 30 years of experience in biotechnology, clinical medicine, and regulatory science and has authored 143 scientific publications and patents.  
    Dr. Tidmarsh was also the founding co-director of Stanford’s Master of Translational Research and Applied Medicine (M-TRAM) program, which bridges academic research and clinical application by training students and researchers to translate scientific discoveries into real-world medical solutions. His commitment to education, mentorship, and translational research continues to shape the next generation of physician-scientists and innovators. 
    Dr. Tidmarsh has led the successful clinical development of seven FDA-approved drugs and served as founder and CEO of multiple biopharmaceutical companies focused on oncology and critical care medicine. His work spans the full translational pipeline—from discovery through regulatory approval—and he is widely recognized for his ability to bring forward innovative treatments that address serious unmet medical needs. He has also served on advisory boards across academia, government, and industry.

    Consumer:888-INFO-FDA

    ###

    Boilerplate

    The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products.

    Content current as of:
    07/21/2025

    Follow FDA

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Stanford faculty member George Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D. named Director of Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    For Immediate Release:
    July 21, 2025

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the appointment of George Francis Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D., as Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). In this role, Dr. Tidmarsh will lead the FDA’s efforts to ensure safe, effective, and high-quality drugs are available to the American people.
    “Dr. Tidmarsh is an accomplished physician-scientist and leader whose experience spans the full arc of drug development—from bench to bedside,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. “His appointment to lead CDER brings exceptional scientific, regulatory, and operational expertise to the agency. I look forward to working with him to strengthen our drug review programs, foster innovation, and advance cross-agency initiatives that improve health outcomes for the American public.”
    Dr. Tidmarsh earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in cancer biology from Stanford University where he completed residency training in pediatrics. He went on to complete two subspecialty programs at Stanford, one in pediatric oncology and another in neonatology. He brings over 30 years of experience in biotechnology, clinical medicine, and regulatory science and has authored 143 scientific publications and patents.  
    Dr. Tidmarsh was also the founding co-director of Stanford’s Master of Translational Research and Applied Medicine (M-TRAM) program, which bridges academic research and clinical application by training students and researchers to translate scientific discoveries into real-world medical solutions. His commitment to education, mentorship, and translational research continues to shape the next generation of physician-scientists and innovators. 
    Dr. Tidmarsh has led the successful clinical development of seven FDA-approved drugs and served as founder and CEO of multiple biopharmaceutical companies focused on oncology and critical care medicine. His work spans the full translational pipeline—from discovery through regulatory approval—and he is widely recognized for his ability to bring forward innovative treatments that address serious unmet medical needs. He has also served on advisory boards across academia, government, and industry.

    Consumer:888-INFO-FDA

    ###

    Boilerplate

    The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products.

    Content current as of:
    07/21/2025

    Follow FDA

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Why it can be harder to sleep during the summer

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    By Timothy Hearn, Anglia Ruskin University

    As the days stretch long and the sun lingers late into the evening, most of us welcome summer with open arms. Yet for a surprising number of people, this season brings an unwelcome guest: insomnia.

    For these people, summer is a time of tossing and turning, early waking – or simply not feeling sleepy when they should. Far from just being a nuisance, this seasonal insomnia may chip away at mood, concentration and metabolic health.

    But why does insomnia spike in summer — and more importantly, what can be done about it? The answer lies in the light.

    Every tissue in the body owns a molecular “clock”. However, these clocks take their cue from a central timekeeper – the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus. This cluster of about 20,000 neurons synchronises the myriad cellular clocks to a near 24-hour cycle.

    It uses the external light detected by the eyes as a cue, driving the release of two different hormones: melatonin, which makes us sleepy and a pre-dawn surge cortisol to help us wake.

    In winter, this light cue is short and sharp. But in June and July, daylight can stretch on for 16 or 17 hours in the mid‑latitudes. That extra dose matters because evening light is the most potent signal for pushing the central timekeeper later. In summer melatonin shifts by roughly 30 minutes to an hour later, while dawn light floods bedrooms early and kills the hormone off sooner.

    This can have a big effect on the amount of sleep we get. One study monitored the sleep of 188 participants in the lab on three nights at different times of the year. The researchers found that total sleep was about an hour shorter in summer than winter.

    Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep — the sleep stage most strongly linked to emotional regulation and the consolidation of emotionally charged memories — accounted for roughly half the sleep loss in summer.

    The same team later tracked 377 patients over two consecutive years and showed that sleep length and REM sleep began a five‑month decline soon after the last freezing night of spring. Sleep length shrank by an average of 62 minutes, while REM decreased by about 24 minutes. Slow-wave sleep – the phase most critical for tissue repair, immune regulation and the consolidation of factual memories – reached its annual low around the autumn equinox.

    Both studies took place in a city bathed in artificial light – suggesting that even in modern environments our sleep remains seasonally affected.

    Big population surveys echo these findings. Among more than 30,000 middle‑aged Canadians, volunteers interviewed in midsummer said they slept eight minutes less than those interviewed in midwinter. The summer interviewees also reported greater insomnia symptoms in the fortnight after the autumn clock change – suggesting the abrupt time shift exacerbates underlying seasonal misalignment.

    One study also compared the effect of summer sleep in people living at very different latitudes – such as near the equator, where there’s little change in day length in the summer, and near the Arctic circle, where the differences are extreme. The study found that for people living in Tromsø, Norway, their self-reported insomnia and daytime fatigue rose markedly in summer. But for people living in Accra, Ghana (near the equator), these measures barely budged.

    This show just how strongly daylight – and the amount of daylight hours we experience – can affect our sleep quality. But it isn’t the only culprit of poor summertime sleep.

    Temperature is another factor that can spoil sleep during the summer months.

    Just before we fall asleep, our core body temperature begins a steep descent of roughly 1°C to help us fall asleep. It reaches its lowest point during the first half of the night.

    On muggy summer nights this can make falling asleep difficult. Laboratory experiments show that even a rise from 26°C to about 32°C increases wakefulness and reduces both slow-wave and REM sleep.

    Different people are also more vulnerable to summer insomnia than others. This has to do with your unique “chronotype” – your natural preference to rise early or sleep late.

    Evening chronotypes – “night owls” – already lean towards later bedtimes. They may stay up even later when it stays bright past 10pm. Morning chronotypes, on the other hand, may find themselves waking up even earlier than they normally do because of when the sun rises in the summer.

    Mood can amplify the effect. Research found people who suffered with mental health issues were more likely to experience difficulty sleeping in summer.

    Chronic anxiety, alcohol use and certain prescription drugs — notably beta blockers, which suppress melatonin — can all make sleep more elusive in summer.

    Reclaiming summer sleep

    Happily, there are many ways of fixing the issue.

    • Get some morning sunshine. Try to step outside within an hour of waking up – even if it’s just for 15 minutes. This tells the clock that the day has begun and nudges it to finish earlier that evening.

    • Create an artificial dusk. Around two hours before bed, close the curtains, turn off the lights and reduce the intensity of your phone screen’s blue light to help your melatonin rise on time.

    • Don’t let the dawn light in. Being exposed to the dawn light too early will wake you up. Blackout curtains or a contoured eye-mask can ensure you don’t wake before you’re rested.

    • Keep things cool. Fans, breathable cotton or linen sheets or a lukewarm shower before bed all help the body to achieve that crucial one-degree drop in core temperature needed to get a good night’s sleep.

    The deeper lesson here from chronobiology is that humans remain, biologically speaking, seasonal animals. While our industrialised lives flatten the calendar, our cells still measure day length and temperature just as plants and migratory birds do.

    By adapting and aligning our habits with those light signals, we might just be able to recapture some sleep – even during the warmer months.

    Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    The opinions expressed in VIEWPOINT articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARU.

    If you wish to republish this article, please follow these guidelines: https://theconversation.com/uk/republishing-guidelines

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: The plan for the Decade of Science and Technology is aimed at achieving technological leadership

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    A meeting of the Coordination Committee for the Decade of Science and Technology was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. Participants discussed the interim results of the Decade’s initiatives for 2025 and preparations for the V Congress of Young Scientists.

    “The Decade of Science and Technology, announced by President Vladimir Putin, is aimed at strengthening the role of science and technology in solving key development problems of the country. Its main goal is to achieve technological leadership of Russia. To achieve this, a special plan has been developed, which provides for the popularization of modern scientific knowledge and obtaining a real socio-economic effect. One of the main annual events – the Congress of Young Scientists – has been included in the national project “Youth and Children” since this year. The event will traditionally bring together representatives of the scientific community, business leaders, as well as representatives of state and public organizations from Russia and other countries,” said Deputy Prime Minister, Co-Chairman of the Coordination Committee for the Decade of Science and Technology Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    Last year, more than 7,000 people from 85 regions of Russia and abroad took part in the Congress of Young Scientists.

    The Decade’s initiatives strengthen the human resources potential of the scientific and technological sphere.

    “Holding the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia is, of course, a very important initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. It is aimed at popularizing scientific achievements and creating conditions for doing science. I believe that the organizers and all participants of the Decade of Science and Technology are, on the whole, successfully coping with these tasks,” said Gennady Krasnikov, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

    Minister of Education and Science Valery Falkov noted that the Decade of Science and Technology forms the correct perception of science and the profession of a scientist. According to surveys, the proportion of parents who welcome their children’s choice of a career in the scientific field is increasing, now there are more than 60%.

    “We also see a growing interest among young people in engineering specialties, which is associated with the extensive work within the Decade of Science and Technology. Compared to 2022, admission to engineering programs in 2024 increased by 7% – from 213 thousand to 228 thousand people,” the minister emphasized.

    Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Denis Sekirinsky reported that scientific volunteering is developing, the study of the legacy of the Soviet scientific school continues, the network of scientific playgrounds for children is expanding – today there are 55 of them in 41 cities in Russia. In the “Science and Innovation” domain, 26 services are available for the research community. In Russia, 12 new routes for popular science tourism have been launched in the regions, and in general, there are 87 of them in the country.

    “Since the beginning of 2025, more than 3,000 events of the Decade of Science and Technology have been held, reaching more than 4 million people. This reflects the scale of the work done and sets a high bar for the second half of the year. The development of existing formats continues, new areas are emerging so that more and more young people see science as an opportunity for professional growth and participation in the future of the country,” he said.

    Sofia Malyavina, Director General, spoke about the work of the operator of the Decade of Science and Technology, ANO National Priorities: “Since the beginning of the Decade of Science and Technology in 2022, we have organized more than a hundred excursions and lectures “Science is Nearby”, created dozens of thematic TV projects and podcasts, and attracted over 100 thousand schoolchildren and students to participate in competitions. Since the beginning of 2025 alone, over 24 thousand publications about science have been published – on television, radio, in the press, and online. Interest in this topic is growing, and our task is to ensure that as many people as possible learn about scientific achievements and the specialists behind them.”

    The head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov noted that the scientific volunteer community consists of more than 60 thousand people, and in 2025, more than 3 thousand volunteers joined it: “Rosmolodezh, together with the “Movement of the First”, is implementing the direction “Science and Technology. “DARE AND DISCOVER”, which helps popularize science among children and young people, including through the flagship project “First in Science”. This year, we plan to launch at least 600 “First” scientific clubs in 30 pilot regions. We support young people who strive to develop in science, we create conditions so that children and young people can implement their ideas and propose innovative projects within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”, launched on the initiative of the President of Russia.”

    Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President and Head of the Interdepartmental Working Group for the Preparation and Holding of the Congress of Young Scientists and Associated Events, spoke about the preparations for the anniversary V Congress of Young Scientists to be held on November 26–28, 2025.

    “Special attention in 2025 is being paid to expanding the international component of the Congress of Young Scientists – active work is underway to invite foreign scientists from friendly countries to participate in the congress. As part of the international promotion, the congress was presented at external communication platforms, including off-site events and presentation sessions of the SPIEF in Mexico, Turkey, India, and Arab countries. Also this year, the partner of the invitation campaign is Friends for Leadership – an association created following the XIX World Festival of Youth and Students, which operates in 130 countries. As a result of the work, to date, more than 1.6 thousand participants have submitted applications to participate in the congress,” said Anton Kobyakov.

    Among the innovations of the upcoming congress, the Presidential Advisor named the holding of the BRICS Social and Humanitarian Research Forum on the sidelines of the congress. In addition, exhibition clusters dedicated to industry, technological development, healthcare, ecology, and digitalization will be organized within the framework of the congress exhibition.

    The Director General of the State Corporation Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, spoke about the events of the V Congress of Young Scientists related to the topic of the atom and the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry.

    The Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Dmitry Artyukhov paid attention to the regional experience of implementing the Decade’s initiatives.

    The director of the National Center “Russia” Natalia Virtuozova spoke about the activities of the National Center “Russia” to implement the tasks of the Decade. According to her, one of the strategic areas was the popularization of science fiction – through exhibition projects, international discussion platforms and educational programs. The flagship of this work was the international symposium “Creating the Future”.

    The head of the Educational Foundation “Talent and Success” Elena Shmeleva, the rector of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy, the rector of the Presidential Academy Alexey Komissarov put forward a number of proposals for holding projects and events within the framework of the Decade and the Congress of Young Scientists.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Catherine Staggs: Advancing Artemis Through Contracting Expertise

    Source: NASA

    A lifelong baseball fan, Catherine Staggs set out with her family to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums across the United States. That love of the game eventually led them to settle in Houston about eight years ago – a choice that helped lead Staggs to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where she is a contracting officer for the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Through CLPS, she helps manage the contracts with commercial companies delivering science and technology to the Moon. These efforts support NASA’s Artemis campaign and lay the groundwork for continuous human presence on the lunar surface.

    She joined NASA as a civil servant in 2018, but Staggs’ career in the federal government stretches back to her college days. She completed an accounting co-op with the Department of Defense as a student at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, and secured a full-time accounting position with the agency following her graduation. She transitioned to a business financial manager position supporting U.S. Marine Corps projects while earning an MBA from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. “That position is where I started to dabble in contracting,” she said.
    Staggs moved to Texas in 2014 to be closer to her boyfriend – now husband – who was stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen. She was hired as a contract compliance manager for a small, Killeen-based business that specialized in government contracts, officially launching her career in contracting. When Staggs’ husband retired from the Army, the couple decided to move to Houston because they loved to watch the Houston Astros play ball. Staggs continued working for the contracting company from her new home but missed meeting new people and collaborating with colleagues in person.
    “I applied for a contract specialist job with NASA to get back into the office, and the rest is history,” she said.
    Her current role at Johnson involves managing the administrative contract functions for the 13 base contracts that support CLPS, which are valued at $2.6 billion. She is also the contracting officer for Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission-3 and helps to train and develop up-and-coming contract specialists. “I love to see the development each contract specialist has over their career,” she said. “My first Pathways intern is now working full-time for NASA as a contract specialist, and they are working to become a limited warrant contracting officer.”

    Her training experience provides valuable perspective on new team members. “Everyone starts at the bottom, not knowing what they don’t know,” she said. “We all have a beginning, and we need to remember that as we welcome new employees.”
    Staggs said that navigating change has at times been difficult in her career, but she strives to remain flexible and open to adjusting work and life to meet the needs of the mission. “My time at NASA has helped develop my leadership skills through confidence in myself and my team,” she said.

    She looks forward to mentoring the Artemis Generation and sharing her contracting knowledge with new team members. She also anticipates crossing more baseball stadiums off her family’s list this summer.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Tests Scalable Satellite Tech to Launch Sensors Quicker

    Source: NASA

    NASA’s Athena Economical Payload Integration Cost mission, or Athena EPIC, is a test launch for an innovative, scalable space vehicle design to support future missions. The small satellite platform is engineered to share resources among the payloads onboard by managing routine functions so the individual payloads don’t have to.
    This technology results in lower costs to taxpayers and a quicker path to launch.

    “Increasing the speed of discovery is foundational to NASA. Our ability to leverage access to innovative space technologies across federal agencies through industry partners is the future,” said Clayton Turner, Associate Administrator for Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. “Athena EPIC is a valuable demonstration of the government at its best — serving humankind to advance knowledge with existing hardware configured to operate with new technologies.”
    The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the U.S. Space Force are government partners for this demo mission. Athena EPIC’s industry partner, NovaWurks, provided the space vehicle, which utilizes a small satellite platform assembled with a Hyper-Integrated Satlet, or HISat.

    The HISat instruments are similar in nature to a child’s toy interlocking building blocks. They’re engineered to be built into larger structures called SensorCraft. Those SensorCraft can share resources with multiple payloads and conform to different sizes and shapes to accommodate them. This easily configurable, building-block architecture allows a lot of flexibility with payload designs and concepts, ultimately giving payload providers easier, less expensive access to space and increased maneuverability between multiple orbits.
    Scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, designed and built the Athena sensor payload, which consists of an optical module, a calibration module, and a newly developed sensor electronics assembly. Athena EPIC’s sensor was built with spare parts from NASA’s CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) mission. Several different generations of CERES satellite and space station instruments have tracked Earth’s radiation budget.
    “Instead of Athena carrying its own processor, we’re using the processors on the HISats to control things like our heaters and do some of the control functions that typically would be done by a processor on our payload,” said Kory Priestley, principal investigator for Athena EPIC from NASA Langley. “So, this is merging an instrument and a satellite platform into what we are calling a SensorCraft. It’s a more integrated approach. We don’t need as many capabilities built into our key instrument because it’s being brought to us by the satellite host. We obtain greater redundancy, and it simplifies our payload.”

    This is the first HISat mission led by NASA. Traditional satellites, like the ones that host the CERES instruments — are large, sometimes the size of a school bus, and carry multiple instruments. They tend to be custom units built with all of their own hardware and software to manage control, propulsion, cameras, carousels, processors, batteries, and more, and sometimes even require two of everything to guard against failures in the system. All of these factors, plus the need for a larger launch vehicle, significantly increase costs.
    This transformational approach to getting instruments into space can reduce the cost from billions to millions per mission.  “Now we are talking about something much smaller — SensorCraft the size of a mini refrigerator,” said Priestley. “If you do have failures on orbit, you can replace these much more economically. It’s a very different approach moving forward for Earth observation.”

    Athena EPIC is scheduled to launch July 22 as a rideshare on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The primary NASA payload on the launch will be the TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission. The TRACERS mission is led by the University of Iowa for NASA’s Heliophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Earth Science Division also provided funding for Athena EPIC.
    “Langley Research Center has long been a leader in developing remote sensing instruments for in-orbit satellites. As satellites become smaller, a less traditional, more efficient path to launch is needed in order to decrease complexity while simultaneously increasing the value of exploration, science, and technology measurements for the Nation,” added Turner.
    For more information on NASA’s Athena EPIC mission:
    https://science.nasa.gov/misshttps://science.nasa.gov/mission/athena/ion/athena/

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Innovate and Lead – The New Wave Logistics Competition held today for students from Hong Kong and Macao to exhibit innovative solutions

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

    ​The Innovate and Lead – The New Wave Logistics Competition, funded under the Logistics Promotion Funding Scheme of the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund launched by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) and organised by the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (HAFFA), was held today (July 19). The competition attracted 40 secondary school teams from Hong Kong and Macao, providing students with the opportunity to propose innovative solutions for the future development of the logistics industry in three specific themes, namely smart city logistics, sustainable logistics and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) as well as entrepreneurship and innovation in logistics.
     
    In the Action Plan on Modern Logistics Development promulgated in 2023, the TLB proposed to strengthen the promotion of the modern logistics industry with a view to enriching the younger generation’s understanding of the latest developments in the logistics sector, thereby inspiring their interest in and attracting them to join the industry. This competition provides a platform for students to unleash their creativity on one hand and promotes the innovation of the industry on the other hand.
     
    The participating teams showcased their solutions to the public and the professional judging panel via exhibitions at the Grand Hall of Hong Kong Science Park. The judging panel evaluated each team based on their understanding of industry development challenges, the feasibility and practicability of their proposed solutions, and so on. Gold, silver, bronze, and merit prizes, as well as an overall grand champion and Cathay Cargo merit prize were awarded to the winning teams to recognise their efforts and creativity. 
     
    At the award ceremony, the Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, pointed out that the logistics sector has been advancing towards smart development, digitalisation and modernisation. He expressed his trust that the competition helped students experience the professionalism, innovation and vitality of the modern logistics industry. He also encouraged students to participate in the Internship Scheme on Modern Logistics to gain personal exposure to the interesting work of the industry and understand its various opportunities for career development.
     
    To better equip students for the competition, HAFFA arranged a series of logistics-related seminars, simulation and virtual-reality trainings, as well as workshops ahead of the event. Senior industry professionals were invited to share their knowledge and insights, with a view to helping students gain an understanding of the latest developments in the modern logistics industry.
     
    The event was fully supported by the logistics sector and academia, demonstrating the collaborative effort across sectors to promote young talent development in the logistics industry. Members of the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council also visited the exhibitions this morning to understand the details and ideas behind each participating team’s creative proposal and spoke highly of the students for their creativity. For more information on the Innovate and Lead – The New Wave Logistics Competition, please visit haffa.aiatros.com/.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The first meeting of the Board of Directors of PJSC NK Rosneft was held following the annual shareholders meeting

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC NK Rosneft. The meeting also formed the composition and elected the chairmen of three standing committees of the Board of Directors.

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada was first elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft in June 2023. He has over 40 years of experience in the energy sector. Al-Sada is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Science and Technology (Doha, State of Qatar), a member of the Board of Trustees of the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Fund for Energy and Sustainable Development, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Governing Body of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nesma Infrastructure.

    From 2007 to 2011, Al-Sada served as Minister of State for Energy and Industry of Qatar, and from 2011 to 2018, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar, and Chairman of the Board of Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy).

    Department of Information and AdvertisingPJSC NK RosneftJuly 21, 2025

    These materials contain statements about future events and expectations that are forward-looking in nature. Any statement in these materials that is not a statement of historical fact is a forward-looking statement that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ. We assume no obligations to update the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in factors affecting these statements.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Oral question – Methodological and democratic deficiencies in the Commission’s public consultations – a call for reform – O-000025/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for oral answer  O-000025/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 142
    Christine Anderson
    on behalf of the ESN Group

    Over the past decade, the Commission has increasingly used public consultations to bolster claims of transparency and democratic legitimacy. Now central to the Better Regulation agenda, they accompany nearly all major legislative initiatives[1]. While public participation is fundamental to representative democracy, independent audits and academic research highlight serious flaws in how these consultations are designed and interpreted[2].

    Consultations routinely suffer from self-selection bias, as responses mainly come from actors with a pre-existing interest or resources, skewing outcomes away from the broader EU population[3]. The Commission rarely employs scientifically robust techniques such as randomised sampling, post-stratification weighting or neutral question framing, all of which are standard in public opinion research.

    The format itself restricts participation. Dense documents, technical language and online-only access exclude many citizens with a lower level of education, limited digital access or little familiarity with EU processes[4]. There is growing concern that consultation outcomes have limited policy impact, with decisions often shaped earlier by lobbying or internal agendas[5].

    • 1.Given these concerns, how does the Commission justify treating its consultation methods as credible democratic engagement, despite their lack of core safeguards from social science?
    • 2.What reforms will the Commission introduce to reduce participation bias, reach beyond organised stakeholders and improve accessibility for under-represented and digitally excluded groups?
    • 3.Will the Commission adopt rigorous techniques such as randomised and stratified sampling, statistical weighting and neutral framing to ensure that outcomes reflect the views of the broader EU public?
    • 4.Finally, what steps will be taken to ensure that consultation results are systematically analysed, publicly reported and meaningfully reflected in legislation?

    Submitted: 17.7.2025

    Lapses: 18.10.2025

    • [1] Rangone, N., ‘Improving consultation to ensure the EU’s democratic legitimacy: From traditional procedural requirements to behavioural insights’, European Law Journal, Volume 28, Issue 4-6, July-November 2022, pp. 154-171, https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12439.
    • [2] European Court of Auditors Special Report 14/2019 of 5 September 2019 entitled ‘“Have your say!”: Commission’s public consultations engage citizens, but fall short of outreach activities’.
    • [3] Røed, M. & Hansen, V., ‘Explaining Participation Bias in the European Commission’s Online Consultations: The Struggle for Policy Gain without too Much Pain’, Journal of Common Market Studies, Volume 56, Issue 6, September 2018, pp. 1446-1461, https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12754.
    • [4] Centre of Expertise for Good Governance of the Council of Europe, ‘Comparative analysis of European practices on public consultations’, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 5 July 2021, https://rm.coe.int/council-of-europe-comparative-analysis-of-european-practices-on-public/1680aef56f.
    • [5] Thompson, L., ‘Is the EU’s consultation process broken?’, The Parliament, 5 September 2023, https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/eu-consultation-process-citizen-participation.
    Last updated: 21 July 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Rosneft Oil Company Holds First Board of Directors Meeting Following Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Results

    Source: Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft Oil Company. The meeting also formed the composition and elected the chairmen of the three permanent committees of the Board of Directors.

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada was first elected Chairman of Rosneft Board of Directors in June 2023. He holds more than 40 years of experience in the energy sector. Currently, Al-Sada holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Doha University for Science and Technology (the State of Qatar), Member of the Board of Trustees at the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development and Advisory Board member for GCC supreme council, as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nesma Infrastructure & Technology.

    From 2007 to 2011, Minister of State for Energy & Industry Affairs of the State of Qatar, from 2011 to 2018 as Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar, and Chairman of the Board of Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy).

    Department of Information and Advertising
    Rosneft Oil Company
    July 21, 2025

    These materials contain statements regarding future events and expectations that are forward-looking estimates. Any statement in these materials that is not historical information is a forward-looking statement that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to adjust the data contained herein to reflect actual results, changes in underlying assumptions or factors affecting the forward-looking statements.

    Please note; this information is the raw content received directly from the information source. This is exactly what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Scientists from NSU and Scientific and Technical Complex “Microsurgery of the Eye” are developing an autonomous AI assistant for visually impaired people

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Novosibirsk State University –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The basic model of an autonomous intelligent assistant for visually impaired and blind patients was presented to Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation — Head of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko during his visit to Novosibirsk State University. The device is being developed using large language models and artificial intelligence technologies.

    The idea of the development belongs to the Novosibirsk branch of the Federal State Autonomous Institution “National Medical Research Center “Microsurgery of the Eye” named after Academician S.N. Fedorov” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, which, together with scientists Research Center in the Field of Artificial Intelligence of NSU (NSU AI Center) creates a new device designed to make it easier for visually impaired and blind people to navigate in space using modern technologies.

    As noted by the director of the Novosibirsk branch of the Scientific and Technical Complex “Microsurgery of the Eye”, professor, doctor of medical sciences Valery Chernykh, today there are various approaches related to the possibility of giving a blind person a chance of functional orientation in the surrounding space, his adaptation and rehabilitation with the possibility of actively and independently living a full life.

    First of all, these are social and rehabilitation-educational programs that require quite large financial investments. In addition, over the past 20 years, scientists from various countries have been attempting to implant expensive and high-tech chips either into the retina or directly into the occipital part of the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for the function of vision. These are very complex and expensive operations with a high risk of complications and, unfortunately, with a fairly low percentage of effectiveness, since the results obtained do not last long. Several such operations have also been carried out in our country, the results of which cannot yet be considered satisfactory.

    — Considering the active development of technologies related to the capabilities of artificial intelligence, the idea was born to use the auditory analyzer of the brain for human orientation in space. When a person reads a book or listens to an audio recording, certain images of objects, etc. are formed in his brain. If a visually impaired or blind patient is given the opportunity to determine the distance to an object (doorway, window, vehicle), its size, etc. through the auditory analyzer, this will certainly help him in real life and adaptation in the social environment. Considering the previous successful experience of joint work, we decided to join forces with scientists from the Research Center for Artificial Intelligence of the Novosibirsk State University in order to create such a technology that should be autonomous and not use the Internet, — said Valery Chernykh.

    At the first stage, the developers create a prototype of the device and train the model in accordance with the tasks set, which is actively carried out by the formed working group, which includes scientists from the NSU AI Center and the Scientific and Technical Complex “Microsurgery of the Eye”.

    — We use large language models to help this category of patients analyze the surrounding space — to create a guide for them that could give a concentrated verbal description of all objects in front of the user. The principle of this system is simple: a video camera will “see” instead of a person, the information from which will be sent to a portable computer, which will convert it into text. Then the text description is converted by a voice assistant and sent directly to the patient through headphones. This message provides the basic information that the user needs to know to navigate in space, — explained Alexey Okunev, head of the project at the NSU AI Center.

    The device is developed using a multimodal language model, which allows it to already provide a fairly high-quality verbal description of surrounding rooms and objects. In the future, the user will be able to ask clarifying questions about the observed scene and receive detailed answers to them. This language model also perfectly recognizes texts, reads inscriptions, signs, obstacle warnings, etc.

    Currently, a basic model has been created, a prototype of the device will be ready by the end of 2025. This is a compact wearable system consisting of a single-board 16-core computer placed in a shoulder bag, a video camera (for example, GoPro) and headphones. The device will be equipped with a battery, and all elements will be connected by wireless communication channels. The user will hold the video camera in his hand and point it in the desired direction. The total weight of the device with the battery will be about 1 kg.

    According to the experts of the NSU Center for Information Technologies, it will take more than one year to develop the final product ready for replication, and now they are at the very start of the project. This concerns both the technical part and the training of artificial intelligence. After the prototype is created this year, long-term work will begin on setting up the device, setting modes, collecting a database and training AI.

    The developers plan to teach the AI to prioritize information delivery, highlighting from the entire video sequence the details that are most important for the visually impaired person to orient themselves in space and assess the surrounding environment depending on the situation. It is assumed that the device will have several operating modes: a movement mode for moving in space, a reading mode for working with text documents, etc.

    It will also be necessary to train a blind or visually impaired patient to work with the device in various modes and adapt it to new capabilities. As noted by the Scientific and Technical Complex “Microsurgery of the Eye”, at this stage, the work of not only ophthalmologists, but also specialists in the field of neurophysiology will be required. And the third task that will need to be solved is the need to create a specialized ophthalmological rehabilitation center to prepare blind patients directly for working with the device.

    “The creation of such a device is of interest in the ophthalmological community as an extremely relevant and necessary area, the implementation of which will enable blind patients to adapt to the environment, which is a socially significant project,” concluded Valery Chernykh.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • PM Modi opens Parliament’s Monsoon Session with call for unity, hails Operation Sindoor as symbol of national pride

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Monsoon Session of Parliament, calling it a “true celebration of victory” and a moment of collective national pride. Addressing the media outside Parliament, the Prime Minister highlighted recent achievements across defence, science, economy, and digital governance, urging unity among lawmakers to strengthen the nation’s resolve.

    Calling the monsoon a symbol of “renewal and rejuvenation,” PM Modi pointed to favourable weather conditions and record-high water reservoir levels—three times the ten-year average—as indicators of a strong agricultural and rural economic outlook.

    “This Monsoon Session is a moment of great pride for the country,” he said, referring to the recent unfurling of the Indian tricolour aboard the International Space Station. He described the milestone as a unifying moment for both Houses of Parliament and an inspiration for India’s youth in the fields of science, technology, and innovation.

    PM Modi praised the success of Operation Sindoor, India’s precision strike targeting terrorist camps. “Our armed forces achieved their mission with 100 percent success, neutralizing high-value targets within 22 minutes,” he said. He attributed this precision and efficiency to India’s growing defence self-reliance, highlighting global recognition of ‘Made in India’ military technology.

    The Prime Minister called on Parliament to come together in a unified tribute to the operation, stating that such solidarity would boost defence sector innovation, manufacturing, and employment for India’s youth.

    On the internal security front, PM Modi spoke about the decline of terrorism, Naxalism, and Maoism. He noted that many districts once dominated by insurgency have now transformed into “Green Growth Zones,” underscoring the growing influence of constitutional order over violence.

    He also highlighted India’s rise from being among the “Fragile Five” economies in 2014 to being on the cusp of becoming the world’s third-largest economy. He noted that 250 million people have risen out of poverty during the past decade, and emphasized that inflation—currently around 2 percent—has stabilized the cost of living for citizens.

    Turning to digital achievements, the Prime Minister lauded the widespread adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which he described as a symbol of India’s leadership in the global fintech landscape. He said UPI has now become a recognized name worldwide.

    Citing data from the International Labour Organization, PM Modi noted that more than 900 million Indians are now covered under social security. He also highlighted India’s successful eradication of trachoma, as declared by the World Health Organization, describing it as a key milestone in the nation’s public health journey.

    Addressing the recent Pahalgam terror attack, PM Modi credited a united response by MPs across party lines for exposing Pakistan’s role in sponsoring terrorism at the global level. “This cross-party effort strengthened our diplomatic campaign and helped the world understand India’s position,” he said.

    As the session got underway, the Prime Minister made a final appeal for unity among MPs. “While political opinions may vary, our intentions in matters of national interest must remain aligned,” he said. Modi urged all Members of Parliament to carry forward the spirit of “one voice” in championing India’s sovereignty, development, and aspirations.

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Introducing the new ACT Climate Change Council

    Source: Australian National Party

    As part of ACT Government’s ‘One Government, One Voice’ program, we are transitioning this website across to our . You can access everything you need through this website while it’s happening.

    Released 21/07/2025

    A new Chair and general members have been appointed to the ACT Climate Change Council for a 3-year term following a recruitment process.

    The eight members of the Council are representatives of the Canberra community with a wide range of expertise, skills and experience. Their insights will be vital as the ACT builds a climate-resilient city and community and continues to work on new and innovative methods to achieve net zero by 2045.

    The new members work across a variety of areas in the ACT including energy innovation and the energy transition, public health, climate change adaptation and resilience, youth engagement, and social and economic sciences.

    Dr Arnagretta Hunter will Chair the Council through her second term on the committee after joining in 2022.

    The ACT Government has also appointed the first of 2 dedicated Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander positions, with Stephen Mudford formally joining the Council after participating previously as an Observer. Madison Barancewicz also joins as the Council’s first ever youth representative.

    The new appointments of the ACT Climate Change Council are:

    • Dr Arnagretta Hunter – (Chair)
    • Stephen Mudford (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Member)
    • Madison Barancewicz (General Member)
    • Dean Spaccavento (General Member)
    • Professor Jacki Schirmer (General Member)
    • Associate Professor Rebecca Colvin (General Member)
    • Dr Rosemary McFarlane (General Member)
    • Dr Heinz Schandl (General Member)

    The new Council will work with the Canberra community to ensure their views can be reflected in the advice provided to the Minister.

    Recruitment will be undertaken for a second dedicated Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander position, as outlined in the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010. The government will continue working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to fill this position.

    Find out more about the ACT Climate Change Council on the Everyday Climate Choices website.

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water Suzanne Orr:

    The ACT Climate Change Council provides valuable, independent expertise and advice to help guide and inform the development of government climate change and energy policy. The ACT has an ambitious target of becoming a zero-emissions territory by 2045.

    Whilst we are making progress towards achieving this goal, there is more work to be done and we need to shift to doing things differently. As a jurisdiction we’ve achieved a lot and we’re now arriving at an increasingly complex and challenging period of the transition.

    The diverse skills and expertise of the new ACT Climate Change Council will be important as we investigate further emissions reduction options for hard to abate and complex sectors, such as waste and transport.

    The new and diverse Climate Change Council seeks to better represent every corner of the Canberra community. The Council will play an important role in helping to shape the new ACT Climate Change Strategy, with a focus on changing and improving the way we reduce emissions and prepare and adapt for the impacts of climate change.

    I want to extend my gratitude to the outgoing members and the outgoing Chair, Professor Mark Howden, who have contributed significantly to the ACT’s nation-leading work on climate action.

    I look forward to working with the new Council to provide further benefits for the ACT community.

    Quotes attributable to Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council Dr Arnagretta Hunter:

    “It is an honour to accept another term with the ACT Climate Change Council and particularly to serve as its Chair. I’ve accepted this role because of the remarkable group that’s been assembled for this Council term. I’d like to thank our remarkable ACT community for their expertise and enthusiasm to be involved, and also congratulate the Minister on her work to achieve what will be a great Council.  With diverse skills, deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the changing climate, along with genuine community connection I believe the Council will continue to offer frank and fearless advice framed with compassion and engagement for the ACT today and into the future.

    “I’m particularly proud to do this work in Canberra. The ACT has been a global leader in climate change action and policy and, along with other significant challenges, climate change remains a focus and priority.  The past few years have offered us a glimpse of the challenges to come with increasing extreme weather events as the climate changes, we know that planning for our future is increasingly important.

    “This Council will balance our robust understanding of science and communities along with an imagination for our best future. Among other tasks, we will help frame the next iteration of the ACT Climate Change Strategy, offering what we hope is the best evidence and approach for our community”.

    – Statement ends –

    Suzanne Orr, MLA | Media Releases

    «ACT Government Media Releases | «Minister Media Releases

    MIL OSI News –