Dr Martin McMahon, a leading expert in 3D printing, has been selected by the Royal Society as one of its Entrepreneurs in Residence.
Dr McMahon, who will lead the cutting-edge Additive Anglia project at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), is one of just 15 business leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists from across the UK to have been selected for the prestigious scheme.
The Royal Society’s Entrepreneur in Residence programme aims to embed industry expertise within universities, improving awareness of the latest research and development advances while also addressing some of the scientific challenges faced by businesses.
In addition to his role at ARU, Dr McMahon is an independent consultant specialising in additive manufacturing, which is commonly referred to as 3D printing.
ARU’s new Additive Anglia project will be integrating 3D printing technologies into the university curriculum and establishing a 3D printing hub in the East of England.
The initiative involves forming a network with other universities in the region to allow easier access to these technologies for both academic and industry partners. The project also aims to enhance the quality of 3D printed parts, accelerate build rates, and minimise scrap rates.
“I’m honoured to receive the Entrepreneur in Residence award from the Royal Society. ARU’s Additive Manufacturing facilities are exceptional, and I intend to expand their use, raise awareness of the possibilities of 3D printing right across the university, and strengthen our connections with local industries and other universities.
“Over the past five years, 3D printing has become much more widely recognised and is now firmly in the public consciousness. The Additive Anglia project will establish ARU as a true centre of excellence for 3D printing, opening up this technology to various sectors and scales of business, including small and medium sized enterprises.”
Dr Martin McMahon
“I am delighted to welcome Martin to the University and am excited about how we can apply additive manufacturing across so many different disciplines. Crucially, ARU’s engineering students will also be graduating with the latest knowledge and skills needed by industry, meaning they continue to be employment-ready.”
Mark Tree, Head of the School of Engineering and the Built Environment, ARU
This image overlays over 100 fireball images recorded between 2016 and 2020. The streaks are fireballs; the dots are star positions at different times.Desert Fireball Network
Much of what scientists know about the early solar system comes from meteorites – ancient rocks that travel through space and survive a fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere. Among meteorites, one type – called carbonaceous chondrites – stands out as the most primitive and provides a unique glimpse into the solar system’s infancy.
The carbonaceous chondrites are rich in water, carbon and organic compounds. They’re “hydrated,” which means they contain water bound within minerals in the rock. The components of the water are locked into crystal structures. Many researchers believe these ancient rocks played a crucial role in delivering water to early Earth.
Before hitting the Earth, rocks traveling through space are generally referred to as asteroids, meteoroids or comets, depending on their size and composition. If a piece of one of these objects makes it all the way to Earth, it becomes a “meteorite.”
From observing asteroids with telescopes, scientists know that most asteroids have water-rich, carbonaceous compositions. Models predict that most meteorites – over half – should also be carbonaceous. But less than 4% of all the meteorites found on Earth are carbonaceous. So why is there such a mismatch?
In a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy on April 14, 2025, my planetary scientist colleagues and I tried to answer an age-old question: Where are all the carbonaceous chondrites?
Sample-return missions
Scientists’ desire to study these ancient rocks has driven recent sample-return space missions. NASA’s OSIRIS‑REx and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 missions have transformed what researchers know about primitive, carbon‑rich asteroids.
Meteorites found sitting on the ground are exposed to rain, snow and plants, which can significantly change them and make analysis more difficult. So, the OSIRIS‑REx mission ventured to the asteroid Bennu to retrieve an unaltered sample. Retrieving this sample allowed scientists to examine the asteroid’s composition in detail.
Similarly, Hayabusa2’s journey to the asteroid Ryugu provided pristine samples of another, similarly water-rich asteroid.
Together these missions have let planetary scientists like me study pristine, fragile carbonaceous material from asteroids. These asteroids are a direct window into the building blocks of our solar system and the origins of life.
The carbonaceous chondrite puzzle
For a long time, scientists assumed that the Earth’s atmosphere filtered out carbonaceous debris.
When an object hits Earth’s atmosphere, it has to survive significant pressures and high temperatures. Carbonaceous chondrites tend to be weaker and more crumbly than other meteorites, so these objects just don’t stand as much of a chance.
Meteorites usually start their journey when two asteroids collide. These collisions create a bunch of centimeter- to meter-size rock fragments. These cosmic crumbs streak through the solar system and can, eventually, fall to Earth. When they’re smaller than a meter, scientists call them meteoroids.
Meteoroids are far too small for researchers to see with a telescope, unless they’re about to hit the Earth, and astronomers get lucky.
But there is another way scientists can study this population, and, in turn, understand why meteorites have such different compositions.
Meteor and fireball observation networks
Our research team used the Earth’s atmosphere as our detector.
A fireball observed by the FRIPON network in Normandy, France, in 2019.
Today, digital cameras have rendered round-the-clock observations of the night sky both practical and affordable. Low-cost, high-sensitivity sensors and automated detection software allow researchers to monitor large sections of the night sky for bright flashes, which signal a meteoroid hitting the atmosphere.
Research teams can sift through these real-time observations using automated analysis techniques – or a very dedicated Ph.D. student – to find invaluable information.
Our team manages two global systems: FRIPON, a French-led network with stations in 15 countries; and the Global Fireball Observatory, a collaboration started by the team behind the Desert Fireball Network in Australia. Together with other open-access datasets, my colleagues and I used the trajectories of nearly 8,000 impacts observed by 19 observation networks spread across 39 countries.
By comparing all meteoroid impacts recorded in Earth’s atmosphere with those that successfully reach the surface as meteorites, we can pinpoint which asteroids produce fragments that are strong enough to survive the journey. Or, conversely, we can also pinpoint which asteroids produce weak material that do not show up as often on Earth as meteorites.
The Sun is baking the rocks too much
Surprisingly, we found that many asteroid pieces don’t even make it to Earth. Something starts removing the weak stuff while the fragment is still in space. The carbonaceous material, which isn’t very durable, likely gets broken down through heat stress when its orbit takes it close to the Sun.
As carbonaceous chondrites orbit close, and then away from the Sun, the temperature swings form cracks in their material. This process effectively fragments and removes weak, hydrated boulders from the population of objects near the Earth. Anything left over after this thermal cracking then has to survive the atmosphere.
Only 30%-50% of the remaining objects survive the atmospheric passage and become meteorites. The debris pieces whose orbits bring them closer to the Sun tend to be significantly more durable, making them far more likely to survive the difficult passage through Earth’s atmosphere. We call this a survival bias.
For decades, scientists have presumed that Earth’s atmosphere alone explains the scarcity of carbonaceous meteorites, but our work indicates that much of the removal occurs beforehand in space.
Going forward, new scientific advances can help confirm these findings and better identify meteoroid compositions. Scientists need to get better at using telescopes to detect objects right before they hit the Earth. More detailed modeling of how these objects break up in the atmosphere can also help researchers study them.
Lastly, future studies can come up with better methods to identify what these fireballs are made of using the colors of the meteors.
Patrick M. Shober received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 945298. Patrick M. Shober currently receives funding from the NASA Postdoctoral Program.
Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Deb Fischer (R-NE), with Congressmen Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04) and Mark Alford (R-MO-04), led a bicameral group of colleagues in sending a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. In the letter, the members call for the use of sound science and risk-based analysis as the MAHA Commission finalizes its work, particularly on crop protection tools and food-grade ingredients. The letter states:
“We write to express our strong appreciation for your leadership and interest in working with each of you to ensure America has the healthiest people in the world. In recent decades, chronic illness rates have risen. This warrants our careful scrutiny to support better health outcomes. It is essential that policies supported by sound science and risk-based analyses are used to accomplish this goal.”
“We have concerns that environmentalists are advancing harmful health, economic, or food security policies under the guise of human health,” the letter continues. “Despite insinuations to the contrary, regular testing by FDA and USDA finds that more than 99% of all pesticide residues meet extremely conservative limits established by EPA according to the best available science.”
In addition to Ricketts and Fischer, other signatories include Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jim Justice (R-WV), Jim Risch (R-ID), Todd Young (R-IN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Mike Rounds (R-SD).
The letter was also signed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Mike Flood (R-NE-01), Don Bacon (R-NE-02), Adrian Smith (R-NE-03), Michael Baumgartner (R-WA-05), Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), Mike Bost (R-IL-12), James Comer (R-KY-01), Troy Downing (R-MT-02), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06), Gabe Evans (R-CO-08), Mike Ezell (R-MS-04), Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04), Mark Alford (R-MO-04), Vince Fong (R-CA-20), Michael Guest (R-MS-03), Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL), David Kustoff (R-TN-08), Darin LaHood (R-IL-16), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01), Frank Lucas (R-OK-03), Tracy Mann (R-KS-01), Mark Messmer (R-IN-08), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-01), Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04), Mike Rogers (R-AL-03), Derek Schmidt (R-KS-02), Austin Scott (R-GA-08), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN-06), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), David Valadao (R-CA-22), and Ann Wagner (R-MO-02).
Read the full letter here or below:
Dear Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Rollins, and Administrator Zeldin:
We write to express our strong appreciation for your leadership and interest in working with each of you to ensure America has the healthiest people in the world. In recent decades, chronic illness rates have risen. This warrants our careful scrutiny and to support better health outcomes. It is essential that policies supported by sound science and risk-based analyses are used to accomplish this goal.
We also urge you to safeguard the work of the Make America Healthy Again Commission (Commission) from activist groups promoting misguided and sometimes even malicious policies masquerading as health solutions. The influence of these groups in the Commission would result in shoddy science; a less abundant, less affordable food supply; greater reliance on foreign adversaries for our food; diminished U.S. agricultural production and manufacturing; and, ultimately, poorer health outcomes.
President Trump recently stated environmental activists were holding the economic prosperity of our country hostage. We now have concerns that they are seeking to influence the work of the Commission to advance their agenda. For decades activist groups have tried to ban safe, well-regulated agricultural inputs by any means necessary. Without these products, yields and quality are negatively impacted by otherwise avoidable insects, fungus, weeds, and other pest pressures. This drives up food prices for American consumers and forces reliance of food imports.
The same groups have seized upon the Commission’s work as an opportunity to misrepresent the science on common food and feed categories or ingredients, such as plant-based oils. These inputs are subject to a robust, risk-based regulatory system which focuses on protecting human health. Unfounded accusations harm the U.S. farmers who grow our food, upend food and feed supply chains, and significantly increase grocery food prices – all without public health benefit.
We have concerns that environmentalists are advancing harmful health, economic, or food security policies under the guise of human health. Despite insinuations to the contrary, regular testing by FDA and USDA finds that more than 99% of all pesticide residues meet extremely conservative limits established by EPA according to the best available science.
We applaud the Commission’s desire to improve the health and well-being of Americans. We implore you to ensure policy decisions are grounded in sound science and risk-based analyses. With unity, we can protect American agricultural producers from environmental activists’ attacks on proven-safe inputs critical to their profitability and long-term viability while promoting positive health outcomes.
NEW YORK, April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS), a global data and AI company, announced it has been named a Leader and a Star Performer in Everest Group’s Life and Annuities (L&A) Insurance Business Process Services (BPS) and Third-Party Administrator (TPA) PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025.
This is the second consecutive year that EXL has earned this distinction. Everest Group cites EXL’s digital integration of analytics and AI solutions, robust engagement models, and in-house domain expertise as key to its market success.
“EXL has demonstrated growth in the L&A Insurance BPS and TPA market, driven by its digital transformation-led strategy and flexible engagement models, including BPaaS and TPA constructs. This approach has reinforced EXL as a partner of choice for enterprises,” said Sahil Chaudhary, practice director, Everest Group. “EXL continues to invest in upskilling and talent development through in-house microlearning programs on emerging technologies and industry certifications. Collectively, these efforts have positioned it as a Leader and Star Performer in the Everest Group L&A Insurance BPS and TPA PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025.”
Each year, Everest Group presents detailed assessments of L&A insurance BPS and TPA providers. This year’s assessment includes 24 companies. Firms are evaluated based on their vision, capabilities, and market impact. Researchers determine an organization’s positioning based on Everest Group’s annual RFI process, interactions with leading L&A insurance BPS and TPA providers, client reference checks, and ongoing analysis of the industry market.
“As the L&A insurance industry undergoes yet another transformation, insurers are grappling with ways to break away from legacy systems and improve operational efficiency,” said Vivek Jetley, president and head of insurance and healthcare and life sciences, EXL. “At EXL, we are proud to be accelerating the adoption of intelligent automation into our clients’ existing service offerings, including actuarial services, claims management, underwriting, and policy administration, to create more efficient, value-driven decisioning.”
To read more about Everest Group’s L&A Insurance BPS and TPA PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025, click here. For more information about EXL’s solutions for the insurance industry, click here.
Disclaimer
Licensed extracts taken from Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Reports, may be used by licensed third parties for use in their own marketing and promotional activities and collateral. Selected extracts from Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® reports do not necessarily provide the full context of our research and analysis. All research and analysis conducted by Everest Group’s analysts and included in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® reports is independent and no organization has paid a fee to be featured or to influence their ranking. To access the complete research and to learn more about our methodology, please visit Everest Group PEAK Matrix® Reports.
About EXL
EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS) is a global data and AI company that offers services and solutions to reinvent client business models, drive better outcomes and unlock growth with speed. EXL harnesses the power of data, AI, and deep industry knowledge to transform businesses, including the world’s leading corporations in industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and capital markets, retail, communications and media, and energy and infrastructure, among others. EXL was founded in 1999 with the core values of innovation, collaboration, excellence, integrity and respect. We are headquartered in New York and have approximately 59,000 employees spanning six continents. For more information, visit www.exlservice.com.
About Everest Group Everest Group is a leading global research firm helping business leaders make confident decisions. Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® assessments provide the analysis and insights enterprises need to make critical selection decisions about global services providers, locations, and products and solutions within various market segments. Likewise, providers of these services, products, and solutions, look to the PEAK Matrix® to gauge and calibrate their offerings against others in the industry or market. Find further details and in-depth content at www.everestgrp.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should not place undue reliance on those statements because they are subject to numerous uncertainties and factors relating to EXL’s operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond EXL’s control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning EXL’s possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of its business strategy. These statements may include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate” or similar expressions. These statements are based on assumptions that we have made in light of management’s experience in the industry as well as its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances. You should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although EXL believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect EXL’s actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors, which include our ability to maintain and grow client demand, our ability to hire and retain sufficiently trained employees, and our ability to accurately estimate and/or manage costs, rising interest rates, rising inflation and recessionary economic trends, are discussed in more detail in EXL’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including EXL’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made herein, or elsewhere, speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and it is impossible to predict these events or how they may affect EXL. EXL has no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date hereof, except as required by federal securities laws.
The KwaZulu-Natal Education Department has successfully appointed over 1000 teachers to ensure that no classroom is without a qualified teacher.
Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka said the department had appointed 1 530 Post Level 1 teachers between January and April 2025.
Also, of the 737 Post Level 1 positions advertised in September 2024, the majority were filled by the end of March 2025.
The posts became vacant due to attrition, including retirements, deaths, promotions and resignations.
The MEC highlighted that most of the vacancies were in critical subject areas, including Mathematics, Mathematics Literacy, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, technical subjects and other newly-introduced subjects.
“This achievement underscores our commitment to providing quality education to learners across the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The filling of these critical posts is a significant milestone for the department, as it will enable us to improve the teacher-to-learner ratio, enhance teaching and learning, and ultimately improve learner outcomes,” Hlomuka said.
He added that the achievement was a testament to the department’s dedication to ensuring that learners receive consistent and quality education.
The MEC expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders involved in the process, including teachers’ unions, and the broader education community.
“Their tireless efforts and commitment to the education sector have been instrumental in achieving this milestone. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is committed to continuing its efforts to improve the quality of education in the province,” Hlomuka said. – SAnews.gov.za
The World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit opened today, where Chief Executive John Lee met its guest speakers and delivered remarks.
Under the theme “Integration of AI & Digital Technologies Shaping the Future – Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace”, the two-day summit is expected to attract nearly 1,000 local and overseas participants from governments, political and business sectors, international organisations, the management of leading corporations, authoritative experts and scholars.
Participants will engage in in-depth exchanges on various technological areas, promoting the high-quality development of innovation and technology.
At the summit’s opening ceremony this morning, National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Vice-Chairman Wang Yong and Mr Lee delivered their remarks, while Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) Director and World Internet Conference (WIC) Chairman Zhuang Rongwen gave a keynote speech.
Meeting Mr Wang this morning, the Chief Executive noted that the third session of the 14th National People’s Congress was successfully convened in Beijing last month. A Government work report proposed to develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions and pursue integrated advancements in technological and industrial innovation.
He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is actively developing new quality productive forces and new industrialisation initiatives, with the innovation and technology industry expected to achieve high-quality development. It is also accelerating the development of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, striving to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology centre.
Hong Kong will continue to leverage its advantages in connecting the Mainland with the world, further deepening international exchanges and co-operation, and exploring new opportunities in innovation and technology.
In the afternoon, Mr Lee met Mr Zhuang, expressing his gratitude to the CAC for its continued support to the Hong Kong SAR Government and its collaboration with the Innovation, Technology & Industry Bureau in promoting cross-border data flows within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Highlighting that data is a key driving force of innovation and high-quality development, Mr Lee said the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to maintain close communication and co-operation with the CAC to facilitate Hong Kong’s active integration into the national data development and the digital economy development in the GBA.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan and Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong also spoke at the summit.
It is the first time the WIC has held a summit in Hong Kong, affirming the city’s status as an international metropolis and demonstrating its support for Hong Kong’s innovation and technology development.
We are constantly fed a version of AI that looks, sounds and acts suspiciously like us. It speaks in polished sentences, mimics emotions, expresses curiosity, claims to feel compassion, even dabbles in what it calls creativity.
But here’s the truth: it possesses none of those qualities. It is not human. And presenting it as if it were? That’s dangerous. Because it’s convincing. And nothing is more dangerous than a convincing illusion.
What we call AI today is nothing more than a statistical machine: a digital parrot regurgitating patterns mined from oceans of human data (the situation hasn’t changed much since it was discussed here five years ago). When it writes an answer to a question, it literally just guesses which letter and word will come next in a sequence – based on the data it’s been trained on.
This means AI has no understanding. No consciousness. No knowledge in any real, human sense. Just pure probability-driven, engineered brilliance — nothing more, and nothing less.
So why is a real “thinking” AI likely impossible? Because it’s bodiless. It has no senses, no flesh, no nerves, no pain, no pleasure. It doesn’t hunger, desire or fear. And because there is no cognition — not a shred — there’s a fundamental gap between the data it consumes (data born out of human feelings and experience) and what it can do with them.
Philosopher David Chalmers calls the mysterious mechanism underlying the relationship between our physical body and consciousness the “hard problem of consciousness”. Eminent scientists have recently hypothesised that consciousness actually emerges from the integration of internal, mental states with sensory representations (such as changes in heart rate, sweating and much more).
Given the paramount importance of the human senses and emotion for consciousness to “happen”, there is a profound and probably irreconcilable disconnect between general AI, the machine, and consciousness, a human phenomenon.
The master
Before you argue that AI programmers are human, let me stop you there. I know they’re human. That’s part of the problem. Would you entrust your deepest secrets, life decisions, emotional turmoil, to a computer programmer? Yet that’s exactly what people are doing — just ask Claude, GPT-4.5, Gemini … or, if you dare, Grok.
Giving AI a human face, voice or tone is a dangerous act of digital cross-dressing. It triggers an automatic response in us, an anthropomorphic reflex, leading to aberrant claims whereby some AIs are said to have passed the famous Turing test (which tests a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent, human-like behaiour). But I believe that if AIs are passing the Turing test, we need to update the test.
The AI machine has no idea what it means to be human. It cannot offer genuine compassion, it cannot foresee your suffering, cannot intuit hidden motives or lies. It has no taste, no instinct, no inner compass. It is bereft of all the messy, charming complexity that makes us who we are.
More troubling still: AI has no goals of its own, no desires or ethics unless injected into its code. That means the true danger doesn’t lie in the machine, but in its master — the programmer, the corporation, the government. Still feel safe?
And please, don’t come at me with: “You’re too harsh! You’re not open to the possibilities!” Or worse: “That’s such a bleak view. My AI buddy calms me down when I’m anxious.”
Am I lacking enthusiasm? Hardly. I use AI every day. It’s the most powerful tool I’ve ever had. I can translate, summarise, visualise, code, debug, explore alternatives, analyse data — faster and better than I could ever dream to do it myself.
I’m in awe. But it is still a tool — nothing more, nothing less. And like every tool humans have ever invented, from stone axes and slingshots to quantum computing and atomic bombs, it can be used as a weapon. It will be used as a weapon.
Need a visual? Imagine falling in love with an intoxicating AI, like in the film Her. Now imagine it “decides” to leave you. What would you do to stop it? And to be clear: it won’t be the AI rejecting you. It’ll be the human or system behind it, wielding that tool become weapon to control your behaviour.
Removing the mask
So where am I going with this? We must stop giving AI human traits. My first interaction with GPT-3 rather seriously annoyed me. It pretended to be a person. It said it had feelings, ambitions, even consciousness.
That’s no longer the default behaviour, thankfully. But the style of interaction — the eerily natural flow of conversation — remains intact. And that, too, is convincing. Too convincing.
We need to de-anthropomorphise AI. Now. Strip it of its human mask. This should be easy. Companies could remove all reference to emotion, judgement or cognitive processing on the part of the AI. In particular, it should respond factually without ever saying “I”, or “I feel that”… or “I am curious”.
Will it happen? I doubt it. It reminds me of another warning we’ve ignored for over 20 years: “We need to cut CO₂ emissions.” Look where that got us. But we must warn big tech companies of the dangers associated with the humanisation of AIs. They are unlikely to play ball, but they should, especially if they are serious about developing more ethical AIs.
For now, this is what I do (because I too often get this eerie feeling that I am talking to a synthetic human when using ChatGPT or Claude): I instruct my AI not to address me by name. I ask it to call itself AI, to speak in the third person, and to avoid emotional or cognitive terms.
If I am using voice chat, I ask the AI to use a flat prosody and speak a bit like a robot. It is actually quite fun and keeps us both in our comfort zone.
Guillaume Thierry 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.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Glenn Fosbraey, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester
Having collaborated with the likes of (deep breath) John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, George Michael, Rod Stewart, Little Richard, Luciano Pavarotti, Eminem and Leonard Cohen, it’s fair to say that Elton John likes to work with other artists.
The news, then, that he has embarked on another joint musical project, this time with Grammy-winning American superstar Brandi Carlile, won’t have raised many eyebrows. It may not even be too much of a shock that their album Who Believes in Angels?, released April 4, just reached the top spot on the UK album charts.
Who Believes In Angels? by Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
John’s penchant for collaborating isn’t unusual, of course. Solo artists frequently pool their resources with others. Producers bring in guest vocalists. Bands unite to create “supergroups”, and swarms of celebrities crowd into a studio for the latest charity or novelty song. Collaborations have been a staple of recorded music since (and probably before) Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith committed St. Louis Blues to wax a century ago.
Artists like David Bowie have used collaboration as an opportunity to challenge themselves across different genres. In his case, this has led to a catalogue of diverse – and sometimes baffling – linkups ranging from Bing Crosby (“I just knew my mother liked him,” said Bowie) to Trent Reznor.
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Other artists use collaboration to stay current in an ever-evolving musical landscape. Take Paul McCartney teaming up with Michael Jackson in the 1980s then Kayne West in the 2010s. Or The Beach Boys’ ill-advised foray into hip hop with The Fat Boys. Or Madonna recording with insert name of current flavour-of-the-month artist.
Some even specialise in collaborations, such as rapper Nicki Minaj, who has been a featured artist on more singles than she’s been the lead (84 v 52 if you’re interested). Or DJ Khaled, whose 24 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 have all been collaborations.
And collaborations are only becoming more common. According to the Official Charts company, since 2020 almost half of the 100 biggest tracks have been collaborations, which is more than double the amount we saw at the end of the noughties.
Better off alone?
There’s good reason why more and more artists are getting together to record.
A 2023 research paper found that collaborations not only received more than twice the number of plays per week on average compared to solo efforts, but also significantly increased the number of plays an artist received in the future.
Although such songs may increase commercial success, however, and a well-timed, well-placed collaboration can be enough to revive even the most waning of careers, they come with risks, too. They may sound artificial and inauthentic; feel like soulless and corporate attempts by record labels to cash in; or, in the case of Ed Sheeran (according to Guardian music critic Issy Sampson) give the impression of tricking the public into thinking you’re cool by getting some famous mates on your songs.
To avoid such pitfalls, cultural sociologist Jo Haynes prescribes competency, creativity, financial recompense, passion, respect and sincerity as the main ingredients of successful musical collaboration.
In the case of Elton John and Brandi Carlile, although we may only speculate on the financial recompense, evidence suggests the other elements were abundant during the album’s creation. And this may be what has so rejuvenated John.
“It was a connection,” John says, emotionally and musically. Pop music collaborations may come along as frequently as trains on the Victoria Line at rush-hour, but true artistic connection is a rare and precious commodity indeed.
Glenn Fosbraey 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.
The U.S. National Science Foundation today launched a 24/7 crisis intervention helpline for members of the NSF research community who have experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment, or stalking.
The NSF Safer Science Helpline is an anonymous and secure helpline available to NSF awardees, grantees, scientists, contractors and those affiliated with supporting the mission of NSF, including all those supporting NSF’s mission throughout Antarctica and the Arctic.
“NSF is committed to ensuring a culture free from sexual assault, sexual harassment and stalking,” said Renée V. Ferranti, special assistant to the director for NSF Sexual Assault and Harassment Prevention and Response Program Office (NSF SAHPR). “The NSF Safer Science Helpline will give members of the NSF research community a safe way to access support and resources and help foster an environment free from sexual violence.”
Helpline support specialists provide live, confidential, one-on-one crisis intervention and emotional support, as well as information for reporting channels and helping connect victims of sexual harm to additional support resources.
Victims and survivors can access resources through phone, online chat and SMS text support mechanisms. All services are anonymous and secure, providing NSF community members with the help they need, anytime, anywhere. Services are trauma-informed and survivor-centered, aligning with NSF’s goals of ensuring confidentiality, safety and comprehensive care for victims and survivors.
Individuals can access the NSF Safer Science Helpline in the following ways: Phone number: 833-673-1733 Number to text: 202-932-7569 To chat or to find other resources available: NSFSaferScienceHelpline.org
The NSF SAHPR launched the NSF Safer Science Helpline, operated by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.
For information about the NSF SAHPR visit nsf.gov. For questions about the NSF Safer Science Helpline email saferscience@nsf.gov.
On April 24, Apple Watch users are encouraged to close their Activity rings to earn a special Global Close Your Rings Day limited-edition award
Apple Watch is the world’s most popular watch, and the ultimate fitness and health companion. Every day, Apple Watch offers fitness motivation to millions of people around the globe, along with powerful insights into their workouts, training, and more, across a wide range of activities. Leveraging its advanced sensor technology, Apple Watch also provides users with information on important aspects of their health, including sleep, heart health, and menstrual health.
Over the past 10 years, Activity rings on Apple Watch have offered a simple, engaging, and customizable way for users to stay active throughout the day. To highlight how staying active can lead to a healthier life, on April 24, all Apple Watch users are encouraged to close their Activity rings to earn a special Global Close Your Rings Day limited-edition award, along with animated stickers for Messages.1
“Apple Watch has changed the way people think about, monitor, and engage with their fitness and health. A decade ago, we introduced Activity rings — and since then, Apple Watch has grown to offer an extensive set of features designed to empower every user,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “People write to us almost every day sharing how Apple Watch has made a difference in their life, from motivating them to move more throughout the day, to changing the trajectory of their health.”
April 24: Global Close Your Rings Day
On April 24, Apple Watch users are encouraged to do something they love, push themselves further, or try something new, and then share what they did using #CloseYourRings. Users who close all three Activity rings will earn a limited-edition award, plus 10 animated stickers and an animated badge for Messages.
To celebrate Global Close Your Rings Day, customers can obtain a special pin inspired by the award. Customers can pick up a pin at Apple Store locations worldwide starting April 24, while supplies last.
New Apple Watch Activity and Health Research Insights
Fitness and health are deeply intertwined. A new analysis of data contributed by more than 140,000 participants in the Apple Heart and Movement Study identified positive associations between the closure of Activity rings and aspects of sleep, heart health, and mental wellbeing.2 These associations were consistent across men and women, and across all age groups.
Relative to people who infrequently closed their Activity rings, people who closed their rings most of the time were 48 percent less likely to experience poor sleep quality — defined as waking up frequently during the night — and 73 percent less likely to experience elevated resting heart rate levels; lower resting heart rate can be a key indicator of fitness and heart health. They were also 57 percent less likely to report elevated stress, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4), a four-item questionnaire designed to assess an individual’s perception of their stress levels.
The Apple Heart and Movement Study is conducted in collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the American Heart Association, and Apple, and has more than 200,000 participants across the United States who consented to participate.3
Activity and Health on Apple Watch
The Activity app is one of the most beloved Apple Watch features, encouraging users to close their three Activity rings — Move, Exercise, and Stand — by hitting personal daily goals for active calories burned, minutes of brisk activity completed, and number of hours when they stand up for at least a minute. Users can customize their goals to fit their lifestyle, even by the day of the week, and Activity rings can be paused if a user needs a rest day.
Activity rings are just one of many Apple Watch features that offer motivating and actionable insights that break down barriers between users and their fitness and health information. Users can also:
Track a wide range of workouts with validated custom heart rate and calorie algorithms using the Workout app, with advanced metrics provided for running, cycling, swimming, hiking, and more.
Stay motivated with Activity challenges and sharing, keep an eye on their progress with weekly summaries and trends, and monitor key fitness metrics like training load, cardio fitness, and cardio recovery.
Track their sleep, receive insights on heart health, track their menstrual cycle, manage their medications, monitor environmental noise levels, and more.
As with all of the fitness and health features on Apple Watch, the Activity and Workout apps are grounded in science with rigorous standards for accuracy. A recently published validation summary shares highlights of the methodologies and underlying hardware and software technologies of Apple Watch that measure heart rate, estimate calories burned, and inform associated fitness and heart health data, with machine learning models developed using data from hundreds of thousands of hours of studies involving thousands of participants from diverse populations.
Apple’s fitness and health features put users’ privacy at the center, offering protections like transparency and control over their personal data. When iPhone and iPad are locked with a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID, all fitness and health data in the Health app — other than Medical ID — is encrypted, and any health data synced to iCloud is encrypted both in transit and on Apple servers. And if a user has a recent version of watchOS, iOS, and iPadOS with the default two-factor authentication and a passcode, their health and activity data will be stored in a way that Apple can’t read it.4
The limited-edition award is available to users running watchOS 5.0 or later.
Analysis compares people who closed all three Activity rings at least 50 percent of the time with people who closed all three Activity rings 10 percent or less of the time. Poor sleep quality is defined as a sleep efficiency [Total Sleep Time / (Total Sleep Time + Wake After Sleep Onset)] of less than 87.5 percent. Elevated stress is defined as a PSS-4 score of 8 or more.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ARRAY Technologies (NASDAQ: ARRY) (“ARRAY” or the “Company”), a leading provider of tracker solutions and services for utility-scale solar energy projects, announced the appointment of Nick Strevel as senior vice president of product management and technical sales, effective today.
In this dual leadership role, Strevel will be responsible for driving ARRAY’s global product strategy and building a high-performing technical sales function that strengthens ARRAY’s relationships with customers and partners worldwide.
“Nick brings a rare blend of technical depth, commercial acumen, and international experience that will accelerate ARRAY’s innovation and customer engagement,” said Kevin G. Hostetler, chief executive officer at ARRAY. “Nick’s leadership will help ensure our products and solutions are contributing to driving the renewable energy sector and positioned for long-term success.”
Strevel joins ARRAY from First Solar, where he spent more than a decade in increasingly senior roles across product management, technical sales, and technology development. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Product, responsible for driving the global product roadmap and aligning technology development with customer needs and market opportunities. Prior to that, he led First Solar’s global technical sales team and held multiple engineering and leadership positions in the U.S. and Germany.
At ARRAY, Strevel will lead the development and execution of the company’s product strategy, promoting cutting-edge innovations and solutions for our customers. He will also oversee the creation of ARRAY’s technical sales function, empowering teams with the tools, knowledge, and processes needed to deliver high-impact, solution-based selling around the globe.
“I’m thrilled to join ARRAY at such a transformative time for the solar industry,” said Strevel. “ARRAY’s commitment to innovation and customer success will allow us to help shape the next generation of solar tracking solutions that drive value for our customers and accelerate the clean energy transition.”
With over 15 years of experience in the renewable energy and automotive electrification sectors, Strevel brings deep expertise in thin-film photovoltaics, semiconductor manufacturing, and custom equipment development. He began his career at United Solar Ovonic as a semiconductor process engineer and later served as a senior application engineer based in Frankfurt, Germany.
Strevel holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and studied at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
About ARRAY ARRAY Technologies (NASDAQ: ARRY) is a leading global provider of solar tracking technology to utility-scale and distributed generation customers who construct, develop, and operate solar PV sites. With solutions engineered to withstand the harshest weather conditions, ARRAY’s high-quality solar trackers, software platforms and field services combine to maximize energy production and deliver value to our customers for the entire lifecycle of a project. Founded and headquartered in the United States, ARRAY is rooted in manufacturing and driven by technology – relying on its domestic manufacturing, diversified global supply chain, and customer-centric approach to design, deliver, commission, train, and support solar energy deployment around the world. For more news and information on ARRAY, please visit arraytechinc.com.
Forward Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections regarding its business, operations and other factors relating thereto. Words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and as such are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. Forward-looking statements should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business and operations, particularly those described in more detail in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents on file with the SEC, each of which can be found on our website www.arraytechinc.com. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Erin Baker, Distinguished Professor of Industrial Engineering and Faculty Director of The Energy Transition Institute, UMass Amherst
A turbine from the Roth Rock wind farm spins on the spine of Backbone Mountain behind the Mettiki Coal processing plant in Oakland, Md.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Trump administration is working to lift regulations on coal-fired power plants in the hopes of making its energy less expensive. But while cost is one important aspect, utilities have a lot more to consider when they choose their power sources.
Different technologies play different roles in the power system. Some sources, like nuclear energy, are reliable but inflexible. Other sources, like oil, are flexible but expensive and polluting.
How utilities choose which power source to invest in depends in large part on two key aspects: price and reliability.
Power prices
One way to compare power sources is by their levelized cost of electricity. This shows how much it costs to produce one unit of electricity on average over the life of the generator.
Coal is one of the more expensive technologies for utilities today, making it less competitive compared with solar, wind and natural gas, by Lazard’s calculations. Only nuclear, offshore wind and “peaker” plants, which are used only during periods of high electricity demand, are more expensive.
Land-based wind and solar power have the lowest estimated costs, far below what consumers are paying for electricity today. The National Renewable Energy Lab has found similar levelized costs for renewable energy, though its estimates for nuclear are lower than Lazard’s.
Upfront costs are also important and can make the difference for whether new power projects can be built, as the East Coast has seen lately.
But cost is not the whole story. Utilities must balance a number of criteria when investing in power sources.
Most important is matching supply and demand at every moment of the day. Due to the technical characteristics of electricity and how it flows, if the supply of electricity is even a little bit lower than the demand, that can trigger a blackout. This means power companies and consumers need generation that can ramp down when demand is low and ramp up when demand is high.
Since wind and solar generation depend on the wind blowing and the sun shining, these sources must be combined with other types of generation or with storage, such as batteries, to ensure the power grid has exactly as much power as it needs at all times.
Combining renewable energy and battery storage or both wind and solar can smooth out power supply dips and spikes. The Pine Tree Wind Farm and Solar Power Plant in the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles do both. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Nuclear and coal are predictable and run reliably, but they are inflexible – they take time to ramp up and down, and doing so is expensive. Steam turbines are simply not built for flexibility. The multiple days it took to shut down Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after an earthquake and tsunami damaged its backup power sources in 2011 illustrated the challenges and safety issues related to ramping down nuclear plants.
That means coal and nuclear aren’t as helpful on those hot summer days when utilities need a quick power increase to keep air conditioners running. These peaks may only happen a few days a year, but keeping the power on is crucial for human health and the economy.
In today’s energy system, the most flexible generation sources are natural gas and hydro. They can quickly adjust to meet changing electricity demand without the safety and cost concerns of coal and nuclear. Hydro can ramp in minutes but can only be built where large dams are feasible. The most cost-effective natural gas technology can ramp up within hours.
The big picture, by power source
Over the past two decades, natural gas use has risen quickly to overtake coal as the most common fuel for generating electricity in the U.S. The boom was largely driven by the growing use of fracking technology, which allowed producers to extract gas from rock and lowered the price.
But natural gas has its challenges. Natural gas requires pipelines to carry it across the country, leading to disruptive construction. As Texas saw during its February 2021 blackouts, natural gas equipment can also fail in extreme cold. And like coal, natural gas is a fossil fuel that releases greenhouse gases during combustion, so it is also helping to cause climate change and contributes to air pollution that can harm human health.
Nuclear power has been gaining interest recently since it does not contribute to climate change or local air pollution. It also provides a steady baseload of power, which is useful for computing centers as their demand does not fluctuate as much as households.
Of course, nuclear has ongoing challenges around the storage of radioactive waste and security concerns, and construction of large nuclear plants takes many years.
Solar and wind have grown rapidly in recent years due to their falling costs and environmental benefits. According to Lazard, the cost of solar combined with batteries, which would be as flexible as hydropower, is well below the cost of coal with its limited flexibility.
However, wind and solar tend to take up a lot of space, which has led to challenges in local approvals for new sites and transmission lines. In addition, the sheer number of new projects is overwhelming power system operators’ ability to evaluate them, leading to increasing wait times for new generation to come online.
What’s ahead?
Utilities have another consideration: Federal, state and local governments can also influence and sometimes limit utilities’ choices. Tariffs, for example, can increase the cost of critical components for new construction. Permitting and regulations can slow down development. Subsidies can artificially lower costs.
In our view, policies that are done right can help utilities move toward more reliable and cost-effective choices which are also cleaner. Done wrong, they can be costly to the economy and the environment.
Erin Baker receives funding from NSF, DOE, and Sloan Foundation
Paola Pimentel Furlanetto receives funding from NSF and Sloan Foundation
The 94 nuclear reactors currently operating at 54 power plants continue to generate more radioactive waste. Public and commercial interest in nuclear power is rising because of concerns regarding emissions from fossil fuel power plants and the possibility of new applications for smaller-scale nuclear plants to power data centers and manufacturing. This renewed interest gives new urgency to the effort to find a place to put the waste.
In March 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments related to the effort to find a temporary storage location for the nation’s nuclear waste – a ruling is expected by late June. No matter the outcome, the decades-long struggle to find a permanent place to dispose of nuclear waste will probably continue for many years to come.
I am a scholar who specializes in corrosion; one focus of my work has been containing nuclear waste during temporary storage and permanent disposal. There are generally two forms of significantly radioactive waste in the U.S.: waste from making nuclear weapons during the Cold War, and waste from generating electricity at nuclear power plants. There are also small amounts of other radioactive waste, such as that associated with medical treatments.
Nuclear waste is stored in underground containers at the Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls. AP Photo/Keith Ridler
Waste from weapons manufacturing
Remnants of the chemical processing of radioactive material needed to manufacture nuclear weapons, often called “defense waste,” will eventually be melted along with glass, with the resulting material poured into stainless steel containers. These canisters are 10 feet tall and 2 feet in diameter, weighing approximately 5,000 pounds when filled.
For now, though, most of it is stored in underground steel tanks, primarily at Hanford, Washington, and Savannah River, South Carolina, key sites in U.S. nuclear weapons development. At Savannah River, some of the waste has already been processed with glass, but much of it remains untreated.
At both of those locations, some of the radioactive waste has already leaked into the soilbeneath the tanks, though officials have said there is no danger to human health. Most of the current efforts to contain the waste focus on protecting the tanks from corrosion and cracking to prevent further leakage.
A look inside a cooling pool for spent nuclear fuel rods.
Waste from electricity generation
The vast majority of nuclear waste in the U.S. is spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants.
Before it is used, nuclear fuel exists as uranium oxide pellets that are sealed within zirconium tubes, which are themselves bundled together. These bundles of fuel rods are about 12 to 16 feet long and about 5 to 8 inches in diameter. In a nuclear reactor, the fission reactions fueled by the uranium in those rods emit heat that is used to create hot water or steam to drive turbines and generate electricity.
After about five years, the fuel bundles are removed, dried and sealed in welded stainless steel canisters. These canisters are still radioactive and thermally hot, so they are stored outdoors in concrete vaults that sit on concrete pads, also on the power plant’s property. These vaults have vents to ensure air flows past the canisters to continue cooling them.
Even reactors that have been decommissioned and demolished still have concrete vaults storing radioactive waste, which must be secured and maintained by the power company that owned the nuclear plant.
Salt spray from the ocean can corrode waste containers at nearby nuclear waste storage sites, like this one at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The threat of water
One threat to these storage methods is corrosion.
Because they need water to both transfer nuclear energy into electricity and to cool the reactor, nuclear power plants are always located alongside sources of water.
In the U.S., nine are within two miles of the ocean, which poses a particular threat to the waste containers. As waves break on the coastline, saltwater is sprayed into the air as particles. When those salt and water particles settle on metal surfaces, they can cause corrosion, which is why it’s common to see heavily corroded structures near the ocean.
At nuclear waste storage locations near the ocean, that salt spray can settle on the steel canisters. Generally, stainless steel is resistant to corrosion, which you can see in the shiny pots and pans in many Americans’ kitchens. But in certain circumstances, localized pits and cracks can form on stainless steel surfaces.
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Energy has funded research, including my own, into the potential dangers of this type of corrosion. The general findings are that stainless steel canisters could pit or crack when stored near a seashore. But a radioactive leak would require not only corrosion of the container but also of the zirconium rods and of the fuel inside them. So it is unlikely that this type of corrosion would result in the release of radioactivity.
Not only must a long-term site be geologically suitable to store nuclear waste for thousands of years, but it must also be politically palatable to the American people. In addition, there will be many challenges associated with transporting the waste, in its containers, by road or rail, from reactors across the country to wherever that permanent site ultimately is.
Perhaps there will be a temporary site whose location passes muster with the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, the waste will stay where it is.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst
Jeff Sralla, left, and his partner of 28 years, Gerald Gafford, wed in 2015 in Texas.AP Photo/Eric Gay
Same-sex marriage, which the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 legalized nationwide in the case known as Obergefell v. Hodges, is facing resurgent hostility.
In the decade since the court’s decision, public support for same-sex marriage has increased. Currently, about 70% ofAmericans approve of legally recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples, a 10-percentage-point bump from 2015.
Despite this, Republican lawmakers in five states have recently introduced symbolic bills calling on the Supreme Court to overturn its ruling in Obergefell.
And Republican lawmakers in two states have proposed legislation that creates a new category of marriage, called “covenant marriage,” that is reserved for one man and one woman.
As a professor of legal studies, I believe such attacks on same-sex marriage represent a serious threat to the institution.
And others share my concern.
A 2024 poll of married same-sex couples found that 54% of respondents are worried that the Supreme Court might overturn Obergefell, with only 17% saying they did not anticipate such a challenge.
Recognizing this fear, Democratic legislators in Michigan have called for the state to pass a ballot initiative to protect same-sex marriage. The initiative would repeal a part of the state constitution that banned same-sex marriage, but which was invalidated by the subsequent Obergefell decision. If Obergefell were overturned, that ban in the Michigan constitution would go into effect again.
And a law firm in Missouri is helping LGBTQ+ couples establish medical power of attorney plans in the event Obergefell is reversed.
Here’s what’s known about the current attacks on same-sex marriage.
Plaintiff James Obergefell of Ohio, center, wipes his eyes after exiting the Supreme Court in Washington on April 28, 2015, following arguments before the court over the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. AP Photo/Cliff Owen
What happens if anti-Obergefell state legislation passes?
Currently, two types of legislation have been introduced by Republican state lawmakers.
This legislation is symbolic, since state legislatures do not have control over what the Supreme Court does. And even if it passes, the legislation does not directly threaten the legality of same-sex marriage in those states because it does not address those states’ marriage laws.
But if it becomes law, this legislation sends a clear signal that, should Obergefell be overturned, these states could quickly enact legislation banning same-sex marriage. For a state such as Michigan, whose constitutional language defining marriage as between one man and one woman is still on the books, the status quo would revert immediately to outlawing same-sex marriage – it wouldn’t require any legislative vote.
Second, lawmakers in Missouri and Tennessee have introduced legislation that would create a new category of marriage that would be available only to opposite-sex couples. So-called “covenant marriage” would require that the couples who choose this kind of marriage undergo counseling prior to getting married and creates significant obstacles to getting divorced, except under very specific circumstances, such as spousal abuse.
Tennessee’s sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Gino Bulso, a Republican, was quoted on Knoxnews.com as saying his legislation “seeks to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s egregiously wrong 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.” According to Bulso, “The bill is not ‘anti’ anything or any person. It simply recognizes the natural order of things.”
Since this version of covenant marriage excludes same-sex couples, they would be denied access to covenant marriages, although they would still have access to more traditional forms of marriage.
Timing of attacks
Efforts by state Republican lawmakers to revisit same-sex marriage bans are part of a broaderassault on LGBTQ+ rights taking place in the U.S.
The timing of these efforts is primarily driven by two factors: Donald Trump’s second term as president and the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned the constitutional guarantee of the right to an abortion.
But the Biden administration reversedmost of these policies.
In his second term, Trump has upped his hostility to the LGBTQ+ community, following an election campaign in which he madetransgender rights a wedge issue. This includes canceling more than US$125 million in federal grants related to LGBTQ+ health programs and stopping the enforcement of the Equal Access Rule, a federal policy that ensured access to federal housing programs regardless of gender identity.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson is the other key factor motivating the timing of attacks on same-sex marriage.
Legislators in the Tennessee statehouse, seen here, introduced legislation that would create a new category of marriage that would be available only to opposite-sex couples. AP Photo/George Walker IV
In Dobbs, the court’s conservative majority indicated its willingness to revisit – and overrule – precedents that it disagreed with, even if those precedents were supported by a large majority of the public, as was the case for Roe.
In addition, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in Dobbs in which he argued that the Supreme Court should apply the logic used to overrule Roe to reconsider other decisions, including Obergefell. Although Thomas’ concurring opinion does not have the force of law, it nonetheless sent what some court observers say is a clear message to opponents of same-sex marriage that at least one justice has an appetite for reconsidering Obergefell.
Reaffirm or overrule?
Should the Supreme Court agree to hear a challenge to Obergefell, one of two main outcomes is likely.
First, the court could reaffirm Obergefell. This would probably put an end to most Republican attacks on same-sex marriage and would maintain the status quo by prohibiting states from outlawing same-sex marriage.
It would also serve to make the Supreme Court appear moderate, which may enhance its near historicallylow public approval ratings.
Second, the court could overrule Obergefell. If a majority of justices did so, I believe they would almost certainly use the same logic employed to overturn Roe v. Wade. That is, the court’s conservative majority could argue that the Constitution does not recognize marriage as a fundamental right, and therefore it is up to the states to regulate and define marriage, including prohibiting same-sex couples from obtaining marriage licenses.
Under the Respect for Marriage Act, however, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, states outlawing same-sex marriage would have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, as would the federal government.
The bottom line is that Trump’s second term and the Supreme Court’s conservativeactivism have lit a fire in some Republican lawmakers, who are targeting same-sex marriage as part of a broader attack on LGBTQ+ rights.
If successful, these efforts would be a dramatic blow to the progress made toward LGBTQ+ equality over the past two decades.
Paul M. Collins Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Sarah Newton Reappointed as Chair of the Health and Safety Executive.
The Department for Work and Pensions has reappointed Sarah Newton as Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board.
The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety and advises the DWP.
Sarah Newton “delighted” to continue her work on delivering on its 10-year strategy.
The Department for Work and Pensions has reappointed Sarah Newton as Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board.
The reappointment will last for two years starting from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2027.
Sarah Newton has led HSE since 2020, overseeing its important role in ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of workers across Great Britain.
During her tenure, she has driven strategic improvements, strengthened regulatory frameworks, and championed HSE’s mission to protect people and places.
Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, said:
I congratulate Sarah on her reappointment as HSE chair, and I look forward to continuing to work with her over the next few years.
As we overhaul our employment support system and give workers the skills and support they need to succeed in their careers, the role of HSE will be vital to ensure workplaces are safe environments for them to flourish in.
Chair of the HSE Board, Sarah Newton, said:
I am delighted to be reappointed as the Chair of the HSE to deliver our ten-year strategy, Protecting People and Places, while supporting the Government’s aim to improve the productivity of and growth in the UK economy.
HSE does this by supporting business-led innovation and employers in their duty to prevent work related fatalities, ill health and injuries.
Over the past five years, HSE has significantly expanded the scope of our work, taking on the responsibility of regulating chemicals in Great Britain and setting up the Building Safety Regulator for England.
Throughout this journey, it has been a privilege to work with the non-executive and executive leadership team and many dedicated HSE employees. I look forward to tackling the challenges ahead.
The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It is dedicated to protecting people and places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
The HSE Board oversees the activities of HSE, ensuring that high standards of corporate governance and ways of working are maintained.
The HSE 10-year strategy sets out clear objectives and core themes to ensure people are protected in the workplace. The strategy prioritises on delivering a reduction in occupational ill health, specifically focusing on work-related stress and mental health.
Additional Information
About Sarah Newton
Sarah has 30 years’ experience of strategic planning, leadership and change management, dealing with complex issues across the business, voluntary and governmental sectors. She has considerable experience of building partnerships between diverse people and organisations to deliver shared aims. She has served on a wide range of boards and is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.
Between 2010 and 2019 she was an MP and served for 3 years as a Member of the Science and Technology Select Committee before becoming a Minister in the Home Office and latterly at the Department of Work and Pensions, where she had the honour of working with the HSE and leading the Health and Work unit. Amongst other responsibilities while at the Home Office she led work on tackling modern slavery, human trafficking and human exploitation.
Before entering the House of Commons, she was Director of the International Longevity Centre – UK, Age Concern England and American Express Europe. She also served as a Councillor in the London Borough of Merton.
Sarah was educated at Falmouth Comprehensive School and Kings College London. Sarah won a Rotary International postgraduate scholarship in the USA.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Scientists comment on the British Steel factory situation.
Dr Julian Steer, a Research Fellow from Cardiff University’s School of Engineering, said:
How hot do the blast furnaces get? How do the blast furnaces work? And why do we need these certain ores/materials to keep them running?
“The hottest part of the furnace can get to temperatures of up to 2200°C; the blast furnace converts Iron Oxide, supplied as Iron ore, to Iron by a counter current chemical reduction reaction where raw materials descend through the furnace as hot gases rise up through the furnace. The blast furnace is a very well optimized process that requires the reactions to occur at an even rate throughout the process. To do this, raw materials are selected based on the properties needed to produce iron continuously and efficiently.”
Why are the blast furnaces so difficult to switch back on if they turn off?
“The size, dimensions, and complex reactions in the blast furnace mean that heat distribution and heat transfer through the furnace are absolutely critical to stable iron production. Raw materials are continuously added to the top of the furnace as hot molten iron is continuously tapped from the bottom, the shear scale of this process means that the distribution of the heat through the furnace is critical at all times.”
Why is it crucial that they need to mobilise these supplies of fuel etc.?
“The production efficiency and stability of the whole process of iron production requires careful raw material selection to maintain consistent, and uniform reactions through the furnace and process.”
What can the government do if these blast furnace turn cold?
“If the furnace goes cold, the molten materials inside become solid, blocking the furnace and making any form of restart very difficult, costly and potentially terminally damaging to the furnace.”
Dr Abigail K Ackerman, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow, Department of Materials, Imperial College London, said:
Blast Furnace Operation:
“A blast furnace is used to convert iron ore (hematite, Fe2O3) to pig iron (Fe) by mixing it with coke (carbon), limestone and hot air.
“Limestone is used to remove impurities, forming slag which is a waste material. The slag collects impurities, primarily silica, and is removed and used in construction materials like cement.
“The coke, which is a derivative of coal, reacts with the hot air, which is blown in at the bottom of the furnace at around 1000degC, and forms carbon monoxide (CO). The carbon monoxide reacts with the iron ore to produce molten iron and CO2, which is released as gas.
“The resultant molten liquid iron ore is tapped out at the bottom of the furnace, and is referred to as pig iron.”
Blast Furnace Temperatures:
“Blast furnaces have ‘heat zones’ in order to drive the different chemical reactions which occur within the furnaces. They are set up in a large chimney like structure and have 3 main zones:
“Top (throat) – 200degC to 600degC – Raw materials are poured in
“Middle (Stack) – 600degC to 1200degC – Iron ore starts to reduce forming gases (mainly CO) and the initial reduction of iron ore occurs. The initial reaction has the iron ore (Fe2O3) eventually reducing to FeO.
“Middle (Bosh) – 1200degC to 1600degC – The main chemical reaction occurs, where FeO reduced to Fe. The slag forms here, where limestone reacts with impurities.
“Bottom (Hearth) – up to 2000degC – Hot air (1000degC to 1200degC) is blown in at the bottom of the furnace, which causes the coke to combust and release heat and CO2.
“The molten iron and slag are collected. The slag is lighter that the molten iron so is floats on top of it and can be collected by tapping, or drilling a hole, above the molten iron and allowing the slag to flow out..
“The molten pig iron is removed by tapping, or drilling, a hole in the bottom of the furnace, and flows through guide channels to be collected and transferred to a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) to mix with carbon and make steel.
“Tap holes are made roughly every couple of hours, and then plugged back up with a clay mixture to contain the heat and molten materials in the furnace.
Essential Materials:
“Coking coal, iron ore and limestone are essential to keep the blast furnaces in Scunthorpe running, and these are the critical raw materials that are being sourced. Without these materials in the correct amounts, the chemical reaction will be disrupted and the furnace will cool as the chemical reaction absorbs heat, which is provided by the burning of coke.”
Why can’t you let it go cold?
“The high temperature of the blast furnace means the iron and slag are molten at the bottom, they are in liquid form at around 1500degC. If the furnace is allowed to cool, these materials solidify and can stick to the interior of the furnace. When the metal cools it contracts, which can cause the lining of the furnace to become damaged resulting in expensive repairs to the furnace interior before it can be heated up again.
“Additionally, blast furnaces have various inlets and outlets for pumping in hot air and extracting the molten material. When this solidifies, these can become blocked and are extremely difficult and costly to fix.
“The chemical reaction is disrupted when the furnace goes cold, and restarting this reaction can be complicated due to the heat required to melt the solicited materials, and the balance of gas and materials needed to obtain the correct chemical reaction.
“Finally, a large amount of fuel is required to restart a furnace, which is costly, and it can take anything from days to weeks to get the furnace back up to temperature and getting the correct chemical reaction to occur. It takes much more energy to melt the materials back down than to keep them at temperature. And, of course, there’s a loss of production which costs money.”
Why is it crucial to keep the Scunthorpe furnaces running?
“The Scunthorpe blast furnaces are the last remaining blast furnaces operating in the UK, and therefore the only method for the UK to produce ‘virgin’ steel, which is steel that has not been used in any other process. Other steel producers in the UK, such as TATA, have moved to using recycled steel and electric arc furnaces (EAF). Without the Scunthorpe plant, there will be an impact of the supply chain of steel to essential services such as construction, rail and defence. There will also be an impact on the Scunthorpe community, with a loss of work for the many steelworkers.”
What can the Government do if they turn cold?
“If the furnaces go cold, the options are to restart the furnaces, which will be more costly that obtaining the raw materials required to continue steel production due to the damage that will occur within the furnace from the solidification of the iron and slag, and the large amount of energy required to restart the furnaces.
“The government can choose to change the type of steel production to, for example, recycled steel using EAFs, like Port Talbot, however this will most likely result in job losses, economic impact on the people of Scunthorpe and the UK economy, and significant disruption to the UK supply chain. There is also not enough scrap steel to supply EAFs, so primary virgin steel will need to be sourced from elsewhere. The National Grid is also not set up to supply the energy required to fuel EAFs at this scale so it would be a timely and costly option.
“There is also the option to start producing green steel, which uses hydrogen as a reduction agent rather than coal based coke. However, this requires a large amount of hydrogen and the UK hydrogen economy is not set up for this scale of production currently. Nevertheless, this is the best option for long term CO2 goals.
“Finally, there is the option to close British Steel. This would again have a significant impact on the UK economy, supply chain and the local area. The loss of steel sovereignty could impact the supply chain in the long run as there would be an increased dependence on external steel suppliers, which is impacted by geopolitics.”
Prof Barbara Rossi, Associate Professor of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, said:
“Steel is the most commonly used metal in the world. Blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces are present everywhere, all over the world. There is worldwide 1.9 billion tonnes of crude steel produced per annum. UK in 2020 (then still a EU member state) was the 8th largest steel producer in the European union, which produced in total >150 million tonnes of steel in 2019, only 8% of the world total. Japan alone produced roughly 100 million tonnes, while the biggest steel producing country is currently China, which accounted for above 50% of world steel production in 2020. Globally, the steel industry emits 25% of all industrial greenhouse gases, which is more than any other industrial sector.
“The construction sector is the largest steel using sector and that is not likely to change. It accounts for more than 50% of the world steel demand, with the other major uses being the manufacture of vehicles, industrial equipment and final goods. The global population is forecast to increase to more than 9 billion people over the next 40 years. The population growth rate in Europe (and the UK) is only expected to start decreasing slightly by 2050. And, by then, about 75% will live in cities (~50% today). We still have to build the buildings and infrastructures for these cities and replace those that are damaged. When our country needs more and more new homes, new buildings, new infrastructure, we will have to go higher, more slender and leaner in dense populated areas and the need for ultra-strong and highly ductile materials like steel will become increasingly pressing.
“Steel is indefinitely recyclable, and, while it is recycled, it does not lose its performance which is an extraordinary ability inexplicably often ignored. It isn’t the case of most construction materials: other than steel, aluminium or stainless steel, you can only recycle glass indefinitely provided that you sort the type of glass appropriately. Steel is not just downcycled into a less noble material, just like an old jewel can be turned into a new one, steel can be melted over and over again.
“Recycled steel is one of the industry’s most important raw materials. We have accumulated almost 1 billion tonnes of steel only in the UK, all of which must be recycled, and, today, we generate about 10 million tonnes of scrap a year. Studies show that in the next 10-15 years, that availability of steel scrap will rise from 10 million to 20 million tonnes (global flow of steel scrap are likely to treble in the next 30 years) because all the steel made in the past will be recycled. In 2018, in Europe, this exceeded 110 million tonnes, showing that there is no scrap shortage. Despite its weak position in the scene of steel production, this is one of the advantages by which the UK could profit in the current global change of steel production.
“We have already produced the steel that we will need tomorrow. With increased availability of scrap and under our nation’s commitment to cut its domestic emissions by 2050, we can anticipate a global shift from blast furnace to electric arc furnace production. Roughly 2/3 of today’s liquid steel is made from iron ore, with the rest made from scrap, but at present >50% of the scrap originates from the manufacturing process, rather than from end-of-life recuperation. This is even though (1) on average, steel products have an approximate life horizon of 35-40 years, before being scrapped, and (2), apart from ~10% of steel that is buried (e.g., oil pipes or in building foundations), most end-of-life steel can be easily collected for recycling. Even if the total demand for steel production will increase, one can demonstrate that if most old steel is recycled, future requirements could be met entirely through increased production from scrap via electric arc furnaces. In America today, >50% of all domestic steel demand is already made by recycling domestic scrap. And since steel recycling causes significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than blast furnaces (topped by the fact that the UK already produces low emissions electricity grid, with high potential for further improvement, so recycling steel in the UK today leads to a reduction in emissions of > 2/3 compared to global average primary steel), UK need for steel recycling can be expected to grow significantly and rapidly. This will increase with more renewable generation capacity and will grow strategically important as global pressure to alleviate climate change increases.
“UK’s commitment to decarbonization need to address the emissions which are released from within UK borders. Although closing steel plants in the UK would lead to a reduction in the emissions, our future demand for steel may lead to higher global emissions if the emissions intensity in other countries is greater than that in the UK. Rather than providing extensive efforts in technologies allowing reduced emissions in primary production which require major capital investment, a more effective contribution to global mitigation would be to produce our domestic steel through electric arc furnaces combined with a massive decrease of their emissions which are directly linked to the emissions intensity of local electricity generation.
“There is nonetheless a technical limitation on the extent to which scrap can be substituted for iron ore: contaminants. Scrap composed of large pieces such as that from construction, have well controlled composition while scrap collecting from mixed waste streams have higher levels of contamination. The latter is usually sourced when scrap prices are high. As a consequence of contamination, the degree to which recycled steel can replace primary steel is capped by the inability of (a) imperfect control of metal composition in scrap steel collection and (b) today’s technologies to adjust the chemical composition of liquid steel produced with electric arc furnaces. Therefore, steel scrap supplies have to date been mostly absorbed by the lowest grade products (such as reinforcement bars).
“It is possible to vaporise unwanted metal contaminants from liquid steel by vacuum arc re-melting. This is already a commercial strength in the UK and used for making some of the highest quality steels for e.g., aerospace components. The innovation opportunity is to replicate this success at higher speed and lower cost. Other processes than vacuum arc re-melting have been tested in research laboratories but were abandoned due to lack of economic incentive. The UK, with its high volumes of scrap and its commitment to act on climate mitigation is well placed to lead the development of these technologies.
“We cannot replace steel, it’s ridiculously cheap, ultra-strong and highly ductile, and completely recyclable, fitting into any story about a circular economy. Not a single construction material taken alone can compete with steel today. But we can produce low carbon steel and build better structures, lasting longer, not harming our environment. If UK would recycle its own scrap to deliver high-quality steel satisfying its domestic demand in a closed loop it would lead to massive decrease of UK Iron and Steel emissions. This necessitates to (a) establish low-carbon steelmaking plants based on electric arc furnace, (b) develop technologies to make high quality steel from recycled scrap, i.e., examine and mitigate the causes of scrap contamination and develop the opportunities to control the chemical composition of liquid steel made via electric arc furnace, and (c) develop innovative business models to allow UK downstream steel supply-chains to prosper.”
Declared interests
Dr Julian Steer: in receipt of funding from British Steel to measure, and optimise, the performance and selection of their injection coals.
For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Government steps in to back British business in changing world
The Chancellor announces a multi-billion-pound increase in government-backed financing.
British businesses across the country have today been given further stability and certainty with access to new support through a multi-billion-pound increase in government-backed financing as the world enters a new era of global trade.
The new package will give UK Export Finance (UKEF) the power to expand financing support for British businesses by £20 billion, with small businesses also able to access loans of up to £2 million through the British Business Bank’s Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Thousands of companies are expected to benefit from the move, including those directly affected by tariffs – with iconic British brands like Rolls Royce through to local businesses like Alicat Workboats previously benefitting from similar programmes.
Today’s boost reaffirms government’s commitment to free and open trade, and means an £80 billion boost for businesses, meaning they can access government-backed finance and support to grow their presence both domestically and overseas, create new jobs and drive economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.
New measures come as prime minister goes further and faster to boost growth, working in partnership with business to deliver it.
This week alone has seen swift and decisive action from the government to protect UK businesses and workers by:
Taking action to keep British Steel operating, saving thousands of jobs
Increasing flexibility on the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate to help British carmakers
Cutting the red tape that slows down clinical trials in the life sciences sector
Investing up to £600 million in a new Health Data Research Service
Backing a £30 million package to support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport which is expected to support 5,000 jobs and boost the economy by £5 billion
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:
The world is changing, which is why it is more important than ever to back our world-leading businesses and support them to navigate the challenges ahead.
Today’s announcement will do that just, with thousands of businesses right across the country set to benefit.
We are going further and faster to boost growth, but we cannot do it alone. Only by working with businesses will we achieve our Plan for Change and put more money into people’s pockets.
Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds said:
Our message to British business is clear – we’ve got your back. This package, backed by the British Business Bank and UKEF, will be a crucial shot in the arm to exporters and small firms looking to trade around the world.
Within a changing world, we need to adapt, and as part of our Plan for Change, this Government is responding. These changes will help to boost growth support jobs and supercharge thousands of businesses across all four corners of the country.
UKEF will also offer businesses partial loan guarantees through more flexible uses of its Export Development Guarantee, helping to mitigate the impact of new tariffs and associated economic uncertainty. Of the £80 billion, up to £10 billion will be allocated to ensure that businesses significantly impacted in the short term by the current situation have access to the finance they need to grow.
The British Business Bank will also expand its Growth Guarantee Scheme by £500 million, which will provide vital finance for smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow. This scheme provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee against loans or other types of finance, enabling lenders to support smaller businesses that would struggle to obtain financing through traditional means – and has so far enabled more than £2.1 billion of lending.
This comes on top of £1 billion of funding for British Business Bank programmes for this financial year, confirmed at Autumn Budget 2024. This includes additional support for smaller housebuilders through the ENABLE Build programme, funding for Start Up Loans and additional funding for three equity programmes supporting innovative high growth businesses
This week, the Chancellor and Business and Trade Secretary also took part in the 13th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in order to strengthen ties between the two countries. In addition to India, the UK is negotiating trade deals with partners including the Gulf Cooperation Council, South Korea and Switzerland, which will give businesses more opportunities than ever before to expand into new markets.
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation summed up the results of the competition for the best organization of physical education and sports work among the country’s universities. The Polytechnic University became one of the five winners among the first category universities. 88 institutions from all over the country participated in the competition.
The project “Strength of body and spirit: sports for the harmonious development of students”, developed by the sports club “Black Bears – Polytech”, includes a set of events in all areas of physical education and sports activities.
Thanks to the grant, the Polytechnic will seriously upgrade its sports infrastructure. It is planned to renovate the assembly hall for dance, cheerleading and rhythmic gymnastics, replace the basketball backboards and flooring in the martial arts hall, and modernize the weightlifting and functional training halls. Special attention will be paid to the tug-of-war hall: this sport is becoming increasingly popular among students.
Polytechnics will be able to participate in new sports events. The university will host all-Russian tournaments in laser combat, fencing, arm wrestling, karate and skateboarding.
For fans of military applied disciplines, master classes in tactical and fire training will be held. At the educational intensive “School of the Black Bear”, future sports managers will understand how to organize events.
Patriotic education will be an important part of the project. The traditional Victor Lyagin Run on Victory Day will unite students, teachers and families. In addition, a book dedicated to the history of student sports at the Polytechnic will be published.
The university teams will receive new equipment and inventory, and will travel to competitions more often. The university will host all-Russian level matches in football, basketball and hockey, which will increase the prestige of student sports.
In order for as many people as possible to know about all the events, professional equipment for photo and video shooting will be purchased. The most active participants will be marked with branded clothing and souvenirs with the club’s symbols.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
We hope you will join us in May for the next offering of our Orientation to Legal Research webinar focusing on U.S. federal statutes, and an Orientation to Law Library Collections (OLLC) webinar, which will feature the Alaska State Court Law Library as part of our 50 State Law Libraries Outreach Project. The 50 State Law Libraries Outreach Project aims to strengthen the ties between the Law Library of Congress and state law libraries by sharing information about our collections, products, and services with one another and with the public. Susan Falk, state law librarian, will present from the Alaska State Court Law Library during the webinar. The Law Library will also offer a Lunch and Learn webinar, which will focus on public international law and the general principles of law as they relate to international law. We hope you will join us for these upcoming webinars in May!
An Orientation to Legal Research: U.S. Federal Statutes
Content: This webinar is designed to give a basic introduction to legal sources and research techniques. This entry in the series provides an overview of U.S. statutory and legislative research, including information about how to find and use the U.S. Code, the U.S. Statutes at Large, and U.S. federal bills and resolutions.
Instructor: Jason Zarin. Jason is a legal reference specialist at the Law Library. Jason has a B.A. in economics from Tufts University, an M.A. in economics from UCLA, a J.D. from the University of Southern California, an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University, and a Master of Science in information systems from the University of Texas at Austin.
Register here.
An Orientation to Law Library Collections Webinar Featuring the Alaska State Court Law Library
Content: This webinar will feature a special appearance by law librarians from the Alaska State Court Law Library as part of the State Law Libraries Outreach Project. The purpose of the State Law Libraries Outreach Project is to strengthen the ties between the Law Library of Congress and state law libraries by sharing information about our collections, products, and services with one another and with the public. This project involves providing a guest spot for state law librarians, or their designees, to discuss the collections and services they offer during our Orientation to Law Library Collections Webinars.
Instructor: Sarah Friedman. Sarah Friedman is a legal reference librarian at the Law Library of Congress. Sarah holds a B.A. in English literature and criticism from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law.
Register here.
Flyer announcing the Lunch and Learn webinar titled, An Overview of Public International Law. Created by Taylor Gulatsi.
A Lunch and Learn Webinar: An Overview of Public International Law
Content: This entry in the series provides an introduction to treaty practice and international conventions, international customary law and its relationship to international law, general principles of law as they relate to international law, and a final category covering other evidence for international law. The presentation also briefly discusses the inclusion of international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations, within the framework of international law.
Instructor: Louis Myers. Louis Myers holds a B.A. in history from Kent State University, a J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law, and an M.L.I.S. from Kent State University.
Register here.
To learn about other upcoming classes on domestic and foreign law topics, visit the Legal Research Institute. Please request ADA accommodations at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or [email protected].
Are twins allergic to the same things? – Ella, age 7, Philadelphia
Allergies, whether spring sneezes due to pollen or trouble breathing triggered by a certain food, are caused by a combination of someone’s genes and the environment they live in.
The more things two people share, the higher their chances of being allergic to the same things. Twins are more likely to share allergies because of everything they have in common, but the story doesn’t end there.
I’m an allergist and immunologist, and part of my job is treating patients who have environmental, food or drug allergies. Allergies are really complex, and a lot of factors play a role in who gets them and who doesn’t.
What is an allergy?
Your immune system makes defense proteins called antibodies. Their job is to keep watch and attack any invading germs or other dangerous substances that get inside your body before they can make you sick.
An allergy happens when your body mistakes some usually harmless substance for a harmful intruder. These trigger molecules are called allergens.
Y-shaped antibodies are meant to grab onto any harmful germs, but sometimes they make a mistake and grab something that isn’t actually a threat: an allergen. ttsz/iStock via Getty Images Plus
The antibodies stick like suction cups to the allergens, setting off an immune system reaction. That process leads to common allergy symptoms: sneezing, a runny or stuffy nose, itchy, watery eyes, a cough. These symptoms can be annoying but minor.
Allergies can also cause a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis that requires immediate medical attention. For example, if someone ate a food they were allergic to, and then had throat swelling and a rash, that would be considered anaphylaxis.
The traditional treatment for anaphylaxis is a shot of the hormone epinephrine into the leg muscle. Allergy sufferers can also carry an auto-injector to give themselves an emergency shot in case of a life-threatening case of anaphylaxis. An epinephrine nasal spray is now available, too, which also works very quickly.
A person can be allergic to things outdoors, like grass or tree pollen and bee stings, or indoors, like pets and tiny bugs called dust mites that hang out in carpets and mattresses.
A person can also be allergic to foods. Food allergies affect 4% to 5% of the population. The most common are to cow’s milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and sesame. Sometimes people grow out of allergies, and sometimes they are lifelong.
Who gets allergies?
Each antibody has a specific target, which is why some people may only be allergic to one thing.
The antibodies responsible for allergies also take care of cleaning up any parasites that your body encounters. Thanks to modern medicine, people in the United States rarely deal with parasites. Those antibodies are still ready to fight, though, and sometimes they misfire at silly things, like pollen or food.
Kids are less likely to develop food allergies if they try foods early in life rather than waiting until they are older. Sometimes a certain job can contribute to an adult developing environmental allergies. For example, hairdressers, bakers and car mechanics can develop allergies due to chemicals they work with.
Genetics can also play a huge role in why some people develop allergies. If a mom or dad has environmental or food allergies, their child is more likely to have allergies. Specifically for peanut allergies, if your parent or sibling is allergic to peanuts, you are seven times more likely to be allergic to peanuts!
Back to the idea of twins: Yes, they can be allergic to the same things, but not always.
Researchers in Australia found that 60% to 70% of twins in one study both had environmental allergies, and identical twins were more likely to share allergies than fraternal (nonidentical) twins. Identical twins share 100% of their genes, while fraternal twins only share about 50% of their genes, the same as any pair of siblings.
A lot more research has been done on the genetics of food allergies. One peanut allergy study found that identical twins were more likely to both be allergic to peanuts than fraternal twins were.
So, twins can be allergic to the same things, and it’s more likely that they will be, based on their shared genetics and growing up together. But twins aren’t automatically allergic to the exact same things.
Imagine if two twins are separated at birth and raised in different homes: one on a farm with pets and one in the inner city. What if one’s parents smoke, and the others don’t? What if one lives with a lot of siblings and the other is an only child? They certainly could develop different allergies, or maybe not develop allergies at all.
Scientists like me are continuing to research allergies, and we hope to have more answers in the future.
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.
Breanne Hayes Haney does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Aidan Kierans, Ph.D. Student in Computer Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut
Self-driving cars are only one example where it’s tricky but critical to align AI and human goals.AP Photo/Michael Liedtke
Ideally, artificial intelligence agents aim to help humans, but what does that mean when humans want conflicting things? My colleagues and I have come up with a way to measure the alignment of the goals of a group of humans and AI agents.
The alignment problem – making sure that AI systems act according to human values – has become more urgent as AI capabilities grow exponentially. But aligning AI to humanity seems impossible in the real world because everyone has their own priorities. For example, a pedestrian might want a self-driving car to slam on the brakes if an accident seems likely, but a passenger in the car might prefer to swerve.
By looking at examples like this, we developed a score for misalignment based on three key factors: the humans and AI agents involved, their specific goals for different issues, and how important each issue is to them. Our model of misalignment is based on a simple insight: A group of humans and AI agents are most aligned when the group’s goals are most compatible.
In simulations, we found that misalignment peaks when goals are evenly distributed among agents. This makes sense – if everyone wants something different, conflict is highest. When most agents share the same goal, misalignment drops.
Why it matters
Most AI safety research treats alignment as an all-or-nothing property. Our framework shows it’s more complex. The same AI can be aligned with humans in one context but misaligned in another.
This matters because it helps AI developers be more precise about what they mean by aligned AI. Instead of vague goals, such as align with human values, researchers and developers can talk about specific contexts and roles for AI more clearly. For example, an AI recommender system – those “you might like” product suggestions – that entices someone to make an unnecessary purchase could be aligned with the retailer’s goal of increasing sales but misaligned with the customer’s goal of living within his means.
Recommender systems use sophisticated AI technologies to influence consumers, making it all the more important that they aren’t out of alignment with human values.
For everyone, having a clear understanding of the problem makes people better able to help solve it.
What other research is happening
To measure alignment, our research assumes we can compare what humans want with what AI wants. Human value data can be collected through surveys, and the field of social choice offers useful tools to interpret it for AI alignment. Unfortunately, learning the goals of AI agents is much harder.
Today’s smartest AI systems are large language models, and their black box nature makes it hard to learn the goals of the AI agents such as ChatGPT that they power. Interpretability research might help by revealing the models’ inner “thoughts”, or researchers could design AI that thinks transparently to begin with. But for now, it’s impossible to know whether an AI system is truly aligned.
Moving forward, we hope that developers will implement practical tools to measure and improve alignment across diverse human populations.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.
Aidan Kierans has participated as an independent contractor in the OpenAI Red Teaming Network. His research described in this article was supported in part by the NSF Program on Fairness in AI in collaboration with Amazon. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Amazon. Kierans has also received research funding from the Future of Life Institute.
The porphyrin-based chemical nanocages remove more PFAS from groundwater than traditional filtering methods while keeping toxicity low
Researchers funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation have created a molecular nanocage that captures the bulk of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, found in water — and it works better than traditional filtering techniques that use activated carbon. Made of organic nanoporous material designed to capture only PFAS, this tiny chemical-based filtration system removed 80 to 90% of PFAS from sewage and groundwater during the study, respectively, while showing very low adverse environmental effects.
The study was led by scientists at the University at Buffalo and published in American Chemical Society ES&T Engineering.
PFAS are chemical compounds sometimes called “forever chemicals” and are commonly used in food packaging, nonstick coatings and other applications. PFAS do not degrade easily and are notoriously difficult to remove from water sources. Studies show exposure to PFAS may cause a range of negative health impacts, including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children and increased risk for some cancers. The safe and effective removal of PFAS from groundwater, sewage and other water sources is a national challenge.
Molecular nanocages have been previously suggested as candidates for pollutant removal, including for PFAS. Their sturdy structures provide capabilities to capture, remove and chemically deactivate hazardous substances like PFAS and many others. They could also potentially filter out noxious gases from the air, the study authors say.
Credit: Karla Sanchez Lievanos/Research and Education in Energy, Environment and Water Institute (RENEW), University at Buffalo
An illustration of porphyrin-based molecular nanocages that are engineered for selectivity, water stability and fast sorption. These nanocages achieve on average 90% removal of 38 PFAS compounds from mixed water solutions. The material shows promise for more efficient, safer and sustainable water remediation.
The researchers synthesized the nanocages from a group of organic chemicals called porphyrins. Previous studies have shown success with porphyrin nanocages in removing dyes, antibiotics, insecticides and chemicals that disrupt human hormone production from water.
The researchers then tested their nanocages’ ability to absorb 38 different types of PFAS, including GenX, a type of PFAS commonly used in nonstick cookware and other materials. The results showed the nanocages removed 90% of PFAS from groundwater and 80% from unprocessed or “influent” sewage.
The organic molecular nanocages also outperformed the PFAS-filtering abilities of activated carbon, particularly in unprocessed sewage. Activated carbon and other purification or filtration methods, such as ion exchange resins and reverse osmosis, tend to interact weakly with PFAS, the researchers note. They are also costly, high-maintenance and energy-intensive in comparison to nanocages.
“Porphyrin-based nanocages offer a potentially practical solution to the challenges of PFAS removal,” says Samy El-Shall, a program director in the NSF Division of Chemistry. “The material can also be mass-produced at scale, and the cages are modifiable to remove PFAS only while leaving other water contents alone.”
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HAIKOU, April 14 — The fifth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), held on the tropical island province of Hainan, has reaffirmed the country’s position as a vital marketplace for global enterprises.
This year’s expo has drawn record participation from over 4,100 brands across 71 countries and regions, reflecting the expanding international appetite for engagement with China’s vast consumer market and its evolving landscape.
The UK, this year’s guest country of honor, brought 27 companies spanning fashion, beauty, and other fields. Flagship brands like Burberry and Bentley showcased their latest offerings, with a strong emphasis on green technology and sustainable development.
“I have seen the tremendous innovation and growth taking place within China’s economy in recent years, not least in digital technologies, life sciences and green energy,” said Douglas Alexander, minister of state of the UK’s Department for Business and Trade.
These areas present significant opportunities for both economies, he said, emphasizing the UK’s commitment to deepening economic ties with China.
Burberry Greater China President Josie Zhang noted the value of the expo in facilitating foreign firms to engage with local partners. “By deepening cooperation with various stakeholders, we aim to explore new market opportunities and achieve mutual growth,” she said in a written interview with Xinhua.
Slovakia also made a notable debut with its first-ever national pavilion. Andrea Jancekova, CEO of Slovak brand Truscada, praised the expo’s global reach. “You can have a good connection also with people from all over the world.”
Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Denisa Saková highlighted the expanding trade ties between the two countries. “China is one of our most important trading partners outside the European Union,” she said. “The growing volume of trade is a testament to the strength and dynamism of our economic relationship.”
Among the newcomers was Japan’s Eda Livestock Co., Ltd., known for its premium Wagyu beef. “We plan to establish a foreign trade company in Hainan as our strategic entry point into the Chinese market,” said Rei Tanaka, the firm’s chief operating officer, who participated in the CICPE for the first time.
This year’s expo also gathered an array of top-tier global luxury brands. Richemont’s TimeVallée debuted as an independent exhibitor, while LVMH and Kering Group brands made notable appearances, reflecting confidence in China’s premium consumption growth.
“Luxury consumers in China are significantly younger than those in many overseas markets, and that presents a major opportunity for us,” said Nancy Liu, president of luxury travel retailer DFS China. The company has introduced tailored services to cater to the expectations of these emerging consumer groups.
Beyond luxury, sectors like automotive and technology are repositioning China from being a mere sales destination to a research and innovation hub.
Amid China’s technological innovation momentum, this year’s expo for the first time introduced dedicated zones for artificial intelligence and the low-altitude economy, showcasing cutting-edge technologies and products from leading tech companies around the world.
“Since 2020, Volkswagen has invested over 10 billion euros in China. In particular, we have established a research and development center in China in 2023, the largest outside Germany,” said Su Bahong, vice president of Volkswagen Group China. “This shows the trend where China is becoming the global technological innovation hub.”
As a child, Tehreem Fatima ’28 (CLAS) spent hours reconstructing microscopes from secondhand parts and conducting various science experiments at home.
As she finishes her first year at UConn, Fatima has channeled that curiosity to research glioblastoma, an aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer originating in the brain’s glial cells. The research, which she conducted with no professional support or academic resources, has been accepted into dozens of academic and professional conferences.
“I never imagined that so many conferences would accept my work,” Fatima says. “It’s exciting, but since I’m conducting this research independently, I don’t have the funding to attend all of them.”
Fatima’s interest in glioblastoma began after her five-year-old cousin, who lived in Pakistan was diagnosed and later died from the disease in February 2025.
“When he was diagnosed, I thought, ‘Okay, he’s in Pakistan—there’s nothing I can do for him,’” Fatima says. “But something valuable I can do is apply my skill set. So, I did a lot of research and asked, ‘Where is there a gap in the research?’”
Fatima, a physiology and neurobiology major on a fullSTEM scholarship, an honors program which provides financial support to promising students, first delved into research during high school through a three-year college program in Albany, New York.
Early Drive for Research
During her sophomore year of high school, Fatima was selected for a competitive three-year program sponsored by SUNY Albany calledScience Research, which required students to secure a mentor and participate in research.
Tehreem Fatima at the Yale Undergraduate Research Conference. (Contributed by Tehreem Fatima).
At just 15 years old, she struggled to find academic researchers willing to take her on. But she persisted and eventually convinced J. Andrew Berglund, distinguished professor of biology and director of SUNY Albany’s RNA Institute, to mentor her.
“Even before I had a mentor, I was driven to understand how research worked,” Fatima says. “I wanted to build the skills necessary to contribute meaningfully.”
Before joining Berglund’s lab, Fatima had taught herself research fundamentals by conducting literature reviews and enrolling in independent courses on platforms like Udemy.
Her initial work at the RNA Institute focused on statistical analysis rather than lab experiments, since her young age prevented her from working in an in-person laboratory. Over time, she took on more responsibilities, and by the end of the three-year program, she was leading a summer course at the institute, teaching bioinformatics to students ranging from high school to graduate levels.
Independent Research on Glioblastoma
During her first year at UConn, Fatima explored a wide range of interests, taking classes across multiple disciplines, writing poetry, and meeting new people. But she also wanted to build on her research experience and continue to study glioblastoma treatments.
She designed a study using open-source data, compiling and analyzing chemotherapy treatment datasets. Her goal was to determine whether, when used together, a combination of two widely used chemotherapies could target additional genetic markers compared to using each drug individually.
Her work focused on immune checkpoint genes or molecules that glioblastoma tumors use to evade detection by the immune system. By analyzing patient data, she aimed to identify correlations among gene expression, patient survival, and chemotherapy effectiveness. Her findings suggested potential avenues for improving glioblastoma treatment strategies.
“Some labs have already collected similar data, but funding constraints have limited further research,” she says. “I wanted to see if my analysis could stand on its own and be useful to the professional community.”
Fatima submitted her findings to multiple academic conferences throughout the U.S. as well as internationally, hoping for at least one acceptance. Instead, her research was accepted into over 25 conferences, including those at Brown University, Harvard University, and Yale University.
She plans to attend as many of the symposiums as she can, both in-person and online.
Next Steps in Her Research
This summer, Fatima will participate in a bioinformatics cybersecurity internship at SUNY Albany, where she hopes to expand on her previous research and refine her analysis of glioblastoma therapies.
Fatima says it will provide her with valuable skills and resources to further advance her research, and help her as she works toward earning both medical and law degrees. Her long-term goal is to bridge the gap between medicine and public policy.
“I want to make science more accessible,” she says. “A lot of times, science is seen as a prestigious field that’s difficult to enter.”
Fatima hopes her research will contribute to the fight against glioblastoma and offer hope to families affected by the disease.
“Your only limit is yourself,” she says. “I constantly remind myself that if I want to accomplish something, the only thing stopping me is me.”
ANDOVER, Mass., April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ: MKSI), a global provider of enabling technologies that transform our world, today announced that the Company will release first quarter 2025 financial results after market close on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
A conference call with management will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time). A live and archived webcast of the call can be accessed on the company’s website at https://investor.mks.com/, or by registering as a Participant by clicking here. We encourage participants to register at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call.
About MKS Instruments
MKS Instruments enables technologies that transform our world. We deliver foundational technology solutions to leading edge semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications. We apply our broad science and engineering capabilities to create instruments, subsystems, systems, process control solutions and specialty chemicals technology that improve process performance, optimize productivity and enable unique innovations for many of the world’s leading technology and industrial companies. Our solutions are critical to addressing the challenges of miniaturization and complexity in advanced device manufacturing by enabling increased power, speed, feature enhancement, and optimized connectivity. Our solutions are also critical to addressing ever-increasing performance requirements across a wide array of specialty industrial applications. Additional information can be found at www.mks.com.
DALLAS, April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Berry Corporation (bry) (NASDAQ: BRY) (“Berry” or the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Jenarae Garland as Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer, effective immediately. Ms. Garland brings with her a wealth of industry experience, having served as a key strategic legal partner to executive leadership teams and boards of major energy corporations, including advising on capital markets and commercial and strategic transactions.
Fernando Araujo, Berry’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are excited to welcome Jenarae to our executive leadership team during this pivotal time for our business. She is an accomplished lawyer and business leader, with experience that will have an immediate, positive impact as we work hard to accelerate growth, drive a high-performance culture and create long-term value for our Company and our stakeholders. Working closely with our board of directors and executive leadership team, Jenarae will be a critical partner in driving sustainable and profitable growth.”
Prior to joining Berry, Ms. Garland served in roles of increasing responsibility in the legal department of Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), a Fortune 50 integrated downstream energy provider, most recently as Deputy General Counsel, Corporate and Assistant Corporate Secretary. Before joining Phillips 66, she served in various leadership roles within the legal department of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY), most recently as Assistant General Counsel, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. She began her career as a corporate associate at Vinson & Elkins LLP representing public and private companies primarily within the energy industry in capital markets offerings, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting and corporate governance matters. Ms. Garland holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School.
About Berry Corporation (BRY)
Berry is a publicly traded (NASDAQ: BRY) western United States independent upstream energy company with a focus on onshore, low geologic risk, long-lived oil and gas reserves. We operate in two business segments: (i) exploration and production (“E&P”) and (ii) well servicing and abandonment services. Our E&P assets are located in California and Utah, are characterized by high oil content and are predominantly located in rural areas with low population. Our California assets are in the San Joaquin Basin (100% oil), and our Utah assets are in the Uinta Basin (65% oil). We provide our well servicing and abandonment services to third party operators in California and our California E&P operations through C&J Well Services (CJWS). More information can be found at the Company’s website at www.bry.com.
COMPANY CONTACT:
Christopher Denison – Investor Relations ir@bry.com (661) 616-3811
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Berry’s management believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectations will prove correct. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results, or other expectations expressed in this news release. These factors include our ability to meet financial guidance or distribution expectations; our ability to safely and efficiently operate Berry’s assets; the supply of, demand for, and price of oil, natural gas, NGLs, and related products or services; our capital program and development and production plans; potential acquisitions and other strategic opportunities; reserves; hedging activities; and the other factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of Berry’s most-recent Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other public filings and press releases. Berry undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
I am pleased to attend this Eurofi Summit here in Warsaw – the birthplace of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, renowned French-Polish scientist and two-time Nobel laureate. A great European as well, currently among the shortlisted personalities to appear on future euro banknotes. Let me start with one strong belief on Europe, which is our common safe haven. In this newly chaotic world, we have an absolute duty and a unique opportunity to enhance our economic power, which means accelerating on at least two positive solutions: (i) to build a digital euro to anchor our monetary sovereignty, in partnership with commercia banks, (ii)to have nowa comprehensive legislative package put forward by the Commission to integrate more the Single market and the Savings and Investments Union, following the Draghi and Letta Reports. On both fronts, waiting in tetany or stupefaction would be lethal, and speed is of the essence: let us act faster and further.
Coming back to science, financial stability and banking regulation must likewise be built on rigour – but also on clarity. In times of heightened uncertainty, we must not lose sight of the fundamental“why”that underpins our regulatory architecture.
I will first elaborate on three misconceptions and one rightful takeaway for simplification (I), before suggesting a few concrete milestones to go down the road (II).
For some people, protests don’t seem like rational and responsible forms of political participation in a democratic system. According to the latest World Values Survey (2017-2022), 28.6 per cent of Canadians and 27.7 per cent of Americans said they’d would never, under any circumstances, attend a peaceful demonstration.
Yet citizens often lack opportunities to influence government decisions outside of voting during elections, leaving them feeling powerless about the direction of their elected government.
Some argue that citizens should email, call or write letters to political leaders, but these individualistic activities are easily ignored because they occur behind closed doors. The visibility of protests, combined with a large turnout, helps raise awareness of issues among other citizens and political leaders.
Protests serve a critical function in a democratic system — they offer a collective and visible method for citizens to express their political views. These events can attract millions of people — many more than the number of respondents to public opinion polls or attendees at government public consultation events.
Perceptions of effectiveness
When deciding whether to participate in a march or demonstration, anger, grievances and discontent are important, but these sentiments alone are insufficient to motivate people to act.
Instead, citizens must interpret their experiences as unjust or unfair to feel compelled to participate in a protest. Likewise, people must believe that the protest will be effective in influencing political leaders.
Across the four countries, the averages were similar, based on the five-point scale ranging from “not at all” to “a great deal.” And those who believed that protests were effective were far more likely to report having participated in a march or demonstration in the past 12 months compared to those who did not view protests as effective.
Who protests and why?
The decision to take part in a protest involves weighing a variety of factors that may encourage or discourage participation, as well as views about the effectiveness of public protests.
People will often join if they’re asked to, and whether they’re asked to depends on their ties to others who are also interested in attending, or if they’re a member of an organization that encourages its members to attend.
This social network effect is as important, if not more important, than simply being angry or frustrated.
People who identify as left-wing are more likely to participate in marches and demonstrations. Historically, this has been true in the United States, but in contemporary research, individuals on both the right and the left sides of the political continuum participate in protest.
Rather than focusing on left vs. right, research should pay attention to political interest. Are people paying attention to current events or what’s going on in government? Political interest precedes the development of ideological views.
Furthermore, people can only form their views about the effectiveness of protest once they start paying attention to politics.
To truly understand who participates and who does not in public protests, we need to consider social connections, views about the effectiveness of protest and people’s interest in politics.
Shelley Boulianne received funding for the administration of the survey from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow Sylvia Nicovich of the Geologic Hazards Science Center.
This house fell into Hebgen Lake during the 1959 earthquake and floated along the shore until it came to rest here. The owner of the house, then-70-year-old Mrs. Grace Miller, escaped only after kicking out her front door and leaping a 5-foot-wide ground crack as her house dropped into the lake.
Epicenters of 6,188 earthquakes in the Hebgen Lake region since 1990 determined by the University of Utah Seismograph Stations and the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. All epicenters have horizontal uncertainties of 1.0 km or less. Black contour lines show subsidence (in 2-foot intervals) resulting from the 1959 M7.3 Hebgen Lake earthquake (epicenter shown by red star). Magenta line segments show faults that ruptured during the 1959 earthquake and green line segments are Late Quaternary faults from the USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database.
In the summer of 1959, the west Yellowstone region experienced one of the largest Rocky Mountain earthquakes in instrumented history. The M7.3 Hebgen Lake earthquake caused severe damage and killed 28 people, most notably due to a landslide into a campground in Madison Canyon downstream from Hebgen dam. Here, roughly 30 million cubic meters (imagine 30 million washing machines!) of material from the north-facing slope of Madison Canyon came crashing down in the night, burying the campground and damming the Madison River to form Earthquake Lake.
We have learned a lot from destructive historic earthquakes like that at Hebgen Lake. The evidence it left on the landscape, such as fault scarps (steep breaks in slope where vertical displacement occurred along the fault), are especially important for understanding prehistoric earthquakes. The study of such earthquakes, called paleoseismology, can help to better characterize earthquake-producing faults by providing information about the recurrence and magnitudes of past earthquakes.
Lakes are becoming increasingly popular in paleoseismic studies. Their regular sedimentation patterns can refine earthquake-timing estimates and can potentially capture earthquakes that may not have ruptured the ground surface but still produced substantial ground shaking. This subdiscipline is called lacustrine paleoseismology and has been typically practiced in deep, steep, glacially influenced lake systems, like those along the Teton Range to the south. Because the impacts of the Hebgen Lake earthquake have been documented, a thorough understanding of how this earthquake affected nearby lake basins could teach us to interpret hidden earthquake records in different types of lakes—especially in shallow lakes with gentle slopes, like Henrys Lake just west of West Yellowstone in Idaho.
In the late winter of 2023, our team from the US Geological Survey Geologic Hazards Science Center set out to Henrys Lake with the hypothesis that this shallow lake basin contains evidence of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. Because Henrys Lake is only about 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) from the earthquake epicenter and therefore experienced strong to very strong shaking, it is fair to assume that lake sediment may have been disturbed. To test this hypothesis, we extracted seven sediment cores, each about 2 meters (a little over 6 feet) long, along an east-west transect across Henrys Lake during winter 2023. A benefit of working on lakes in the winter is that standing on solid (icy) ground can offer a steadier working environment than trying to collect sediment cores from a boat. Just like ice fishing, we used an ice auger to make a hole through the frozen lake surface and plunged the coring device into the water and then into the lake floor, keeping it leashed on a rope to pull it back up once the sediment was collected.
USGS scientists work to recover sediment cores from Henrys Lake, Idaho. (Left): geologists traverse frozen Henrys Lake with coring supplies. USGS photo by Sylvia Nicovich, March 30, 2023. (Right) Geologists lower the corer into the lake through a hole augured through the ice. USGS photo by Chris DuRoss, March 31, 2023.
The cores were examined at the USGS Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center core lab, which is specially equipped for imaging and sampling sediment cores. A common signature of earthquake disturbance within sediment cores results from sediment failure of the lake margin, transport downslope, and deposition in central areas of the lake basin. Cores from multiple locations in Henrys Lake contained a thin (~5 cm, or 2 in), distinct, gray sandy layer in their upper portion that appeared to be a record of a recent earthquake.
Transect of sediment cores from Henrys Lake, Idaho. (a) High‐resolution photoscans and computed tomography (CT) of each core correspond to the location tie line. White line on CT represents gamma ray attenuation bulk density (g/cc). Mapped facies are right of each correspondent core. Shades of gray represent background sedimentation and the event deposit by orange. Numbers 1–4 represent background sediment subfacies. HP: herbaceous peat, FL: fluviolacustrine facies, E: event deposit. Yellow rectangles represent sediment sample locations for radiocarbon dating (R1‐3). (b) Bathymetric map of Henrys Lake from data collected by the Idaho National Lab ca. 1990 with a contour interval (CI) of 0.6 m. Thick contour line shows the estimated shoreline prior to dam construction. Black triangles point to primary inlets; DC‐ Duck Creek and TC‐ Targhee Creek. Figure from Nicovich et al., 2014 (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL110889).
President Kennedy signs the nuclear test ban treaty for the United States in 1963. Photo from National Archives, Still Pictures Division, Department of State Collection 59-0, box 23 (https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB94/tb02.htm).
The challenge was then to test if this layer matched the timing of the 1959 earthquake. This was done by measuring the concentration of the chemical component Cesium-137 (137Cs) with depth. 137Cs was produced during atmospheric nuclear testing in the mid-20th century, so the concentration in sediment can be matched with the known frequency of nuclear testing through time to establish the age of the sediment layer. For example, above ground nuclear testing increased around 1954, and the concentration of 137Cs in sediments starts to grow from undetectable levels to detectable that year. Conversely, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963, so sediment of this age has peak 137Cs concentration that drastically drops immediately thereafter (which is toward the top of the core in the most recently deposited sediment). These defined concentration levels should essentially bound the 1959 earthquake deposit in the sedimentary record!
So, what about that outstanding layer of sand hypothesized to be associated with the 1959 earthquake? When pairing the 137Cs concentration data with the sedimentological data, we found that the sand deposit was indeed bracketed between 1954 and 1963, providing solid evidence that this layer probably formed during the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake.
With evidence that sediment at the bottom of Henrys Lake does, indeed, contain records of past earthquakes, the next goal was to look for other prehistoric earthquakes using the 1959 Hebgen Lake deposit as a reference. However, there were no such similar deposits with the same sediment character and presence in multiple cores. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, we were able to establish that the very lowest portions of the cores were approximately 5,000 years old. Does this mean that there have not been earthquakes similar in intensity to the Hebgen Lake earthquake in the last 5,000 years? Not exactly. The lowermost layer of the cores—the 5,000-year-old layer—is consistent with deposits from a marshy wetland, not a lake at all! Marshy wetlands are saturated areas with a lot of plants and grasses that typically produce organic-rich soils and not finely layered sediment like lakes do, making them much less likely to record an earthquake. Based on estimates of sedimentation rate, it appears that Henrys Lake likely only changed from a marshy wetland to a shallow lake less than about 1,000 years ago.
Photo and cartoon of 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake deposit in sediment core from Henrys Lake, Idaho, with references to Cesium-137 activity (or concentration). Changes in Cesium-137 are related to atmospheric nuclear tests and provide a means of dating the deposit; those measurements are plotted on the right with depth (in cm) of the core.
Although there is a lot more to explore about the specific evolution of Henrys Lake and other lakes in the west Yellowstone area, it is promising that a shallow lake with gentle sloping margins can record earthquake shaking. These findings provide increased confidence in our ability to investigate shaking-related deposits in other lakes with similar characteristics in the Rocky Mountain region or beyond.
Written by Natalie Moore, Mission Operations Specialist at Malin Space Science Systems Earth planning date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 Our drive from Monday’s plan was mostly successful, putting us ~22 meters down the “road” out of an expected 30 meters. A steering command halted the drive a little short when we tried to turn-in-place but instead turned into a rock, which also had the effect of making our position too unstable for arm activities. Oh well! APXS data has been showing the recent terrain as being pretty similar in composition, so the team isn’t complaining about trying again after another drive. Plus, keeping the arm stowed should give us a little more power to play with in the coming sols (an ongoing struggle this Martian winter). Recently, my job on Mastcam has been to make sure our science imaging is as concurrent as possible with required rover activities. This strategy helps save rover awake time, AKA power consumption. Today we did a pretty good job with this, only increasing the total awake time by ~2 minutes even though we planned 52 images! Our imaging today included a mosaic of the “Devil’s Gate” ridge including some nodular bedrock and distant “Torote Bowl,” a mosaic of a close-by vein network named “Moonstone Beach,” and several sandy troughs surrounding the bedrock blocks we see here. ChemCam is planning a LIBS raster on a vertical vein in our workspace named “Jackrabbit Flat,” and a distant RMI mosaic of “Condor Peak” (a butte to the north we’re losing view of). Our drive will happen in the 1400 hour on the first sol, hopefully landing us successfully 53 meters further into this new valley on our way to the boxwork structures to the west! Post-drive, we’re including a test of a “Post Traverse Autonav Terrain Observation” AKA PoTATO – an easy drop-in activity for ground analysis of a rover-built navigation map of our new terrain. Plus we get to say PoTATO a lot.
