Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Plans to boost skills and diversity in UK cyber backed by tech giant IBM
Technology giant IBM have backed plans to diversify the UK’s cyber sector and encourage young people into cyber careers.
IBM to host 2025 CyberFirst Girls Competition Platform.
Global tech giant IBM to provide platform for flagship cyber skills programme for girls – boosting diversity in the booming £13 billion cyber sector as more young people explore careers in cyber
girls between 12-13 to be supported in developing new computing and cyber skills
partnership comes as best and brightest cyber minds gear up to represent UK Cyber Team in a series of international challenges
Technology giant IBM have backed plans to diversify the UK’s cyber sector and encourage young people into cyber careers, as the government safeguards online services which deliver economic growth – central to the Plan for Change.
In new support being announced today (Saturday 22 March), IBM have agreed to partner with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), to provide the online platform for the CyberFirst Girls competition – a UK-wide programme open to girls between the ages of 12 and 13.
The CyberFirst Girls Competition, currently run by the NCSC, is the UK’s flagship cyber security programme for schools, with more than 85,000 students across the country having taken part since its launch in 2017. It puts students through a series of cyber challenges from cryptography and networking to artificial intelligence, building up their skills and encouraging them to consider future careers in the field. To support the next generation of cyber talent, IBM will provide the platform for the 2025 edition of the competition.
Improving the diversity of the UK’s cyber sector is a key priority for the government, with women currently accounting for just 17% of our cyber workforce. Though average salaries in the sector exceed £56,000 – with the top 20% of earners receiving salaries between £73,000 and £350,000 – almost half of UK businesses (44%) also report having cyber security skills gaps, meaning it’s more pressing than ever to ensure the next generation of cyber security leaders are joining the ranks.
Minister for Cyber Security Feryal Clark said:
If we’re going to keep the UK safe from the threats we face online, then we need to build a diverse workforce which is reflective of every community in the country.
By partnering with IBM to deliver the next edition of the CyberFirst Girls Competition, we’re driving forward our plans to do exactly that – building up the skills of young girls across the country and nurturing the next generation of UK cyber leaders.
The girls who will benefit from this support could even go on to represent the UK Cyber Team – the cream of the crop of British cyber talent who will fly the flag for us across the world – and I’ll be proudly cheering the team on today as they head to Dublin for their first international competition.
Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, said:
Over the past decade, the CyberFirst Girls Competition has offered tens of thousands of young women a fun opportunity to test their cyber skills against real-world cyber problems.
I’m delighted that a new partnership across government and the private sector will be taking forward the delivery of this vital initiative which is inspiring the next generation of cyber security professionals.
We need a cyber industry which reflects our diverse society and encourages the most talented individuals to keep our digital lives secure.
Today’s partnership comes as some of the country’s best and brightest cyber minds prepare to represent the UK Cyber Team in their first international competition – putting their skills to the test against Ireland, Germany, and Denmark.
The UK Cyber Team programme is an e-sports style cyber security competition launched in collaboration with SANS, which looks to identify the next generation of cyber talent. Competitors have gone through a rigorous set of challenges to showcase their skills, with 30 18-25 year olds from across the country qualifying to represent the UK Cyber Team.
These competitors are drawn from across the country, representing their home communities across London, the South Wast, Wales, Scotland, the North of England, West Midlands, and the South West. With 37% of the team being female, 57% being male, and 3% identifying as non-binary, the UK Cyber Team is a true representation of communities and backgrounds up and down the country.
Mark Hughes, IBM Global Managing Partner for Cyber Security, said:
IBM is delighted to build upon our partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre by supporting the CyberFirst Girls competition with DSIT. Our commitment to fostering diversity in cybersecurity remains unwavering, as highlighted in our ‘Diversity & Inclusion in Cybersecurity’ initiative.
This new collaboration is a significant step towards nurturing the next generation of cyber leaders, ensuring a more inclusive and robust industry. We are confident that this partnership will make a substantial impact in encouraging more young girls to pursue rewarding careers in cybersecurity.
The move to boost cyber skills is part of the government’s wider work to grow the economy and develop the successful UK cyber security sector, which is now worth £13.2 billion, up 12% on the previous year.
Notes to editors
1. The 2024 Cyber security skills in the UK labour market report shows strong demand for cyber skills in the UK, with 44% of businesses reporting a skills gap. Salary data is also sourced from this report
2. The 2025 Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis shows the UK cyber security sector generated revenue of £13.2 billion, up 12% since last year. 2,165 companies employ 67,300 people (full time equivalents), up 11% since last year, an increase of around 6,600 jobs
3. The total gross value added (GVA) for the sector has reached c. £7.8 billion, an increase of 21% since last year
4. The 2025/2026 CyberFirst Girls Competition will be run as a partnership between DSIT, NCSC and IBM.
This year marks the 75th birthday of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a United Nations specialized agency, which has overseen the free and unrestricted exchange of data, products, and services underpinning decisions ranging from daily leisure activities to seasonal crop planting to multi-billion dollar infrastructure investments.
“We are more than just weather forecasters,” said Celeste Saulo. “WMO makes the world safer, more secure, and prosperous.”
WMO’s transformation of science into action for the global good is more necessary than at any time in its history.
WMO recently confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record. Ocean warming and sea level rise is accelerating. Glacier retreat and melting ice threaten long-term changes. This is accompanied by more extreme weather events such as rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, devastating rainfall, storm surges, flooding, deadly droughts, and wildfires.
“Yet, almost half the world’s countries still lack access to these life-saving systems. It is disgraceful that, in a digital age, lives and livelihoods are being lost because people have no access to effective early warning systems,” he said.
World Meteorological Day is observed on 23 March each year. It showcases the essential contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to society and to building a safer, more resilient world.
“The staff of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services are like doctors and nurses – working 24/7 to safeguard and promote public well-being,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“During the past 75 years, we have brought billions of dollars in added value to the global economy. We have saved billions more in averted economic losses from weather, climate and water-related hazards. And we have saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” she said.
75th birthday of the World Meteorological Organization
Advances and Gaps
Every minute of every day, data flows from monitoring stations across the world to weather prediction centers. Millions of individual measurements – from satellites, from stations on the ground, from weather balloons, from ocean buoys and ships, from satellites, from aircraft – and more.
Without WMO coordination and its unified network, each country would face the impossible task of collecting global data on its own.
While forecasting capabilities have advanced significantly, gaps remain in observation networks, forecasting accuracy, and access to high-quality climate and hydrological data.
Strengthening National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in developing nations is not only vital for climate adaptation – it is essential for global resilience, security, and economic stability.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
GymAware has been awarded 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year at the Chief Minister’s Export Awards. Image: Canberra Airport.
A Canberra business success story that developed a product now used in gyms around the world has been recognised as the ACT Exporter of the Year.
Each year the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards celebrate the best and brightest in Canberra’s export industry and showcase the success of local businesses in global markets.
Kinetic Performance Technology (GymAware) was awarded the 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year for their work as a global leader in velocity-based training solutions. A staggering 89 per cent of its sales are exports, with 80 per cent of these to the USA, 10 per cent to the United Kingdom and 6 per cent to France and China.
The company’s RS and FLEX products are designed to help coaches and athletes of all levels measure and track strength training activities in the weight room. This technology has been a part of weight training for professional athletes across a range of sports, helping hundreds of teams and individuals prepare for their career-defining moments on the field.
The company’s systems are used in weight rooms across 65 per cent of all professional sporting teams in the USA, all teams in elite Australian leagues like the NRL and Super Rugby, as well as respected international teams, such as the New Zealand All Blacks.
“I am honoured that GymAware has been recognised as the 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year at the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards,” GymAware founder Evan Lawton said.
“GymAware has been a labour of love, and it’s rewarding to see our commitment to excellence being acknowledged in such a meaningful way by our own community in Canberra.”
The ACT Exporter of the Year awards showcased several of emerging and established exporting companies. Category winners included:
Emerging Exporter – Infinity Avionics Pty Ltd
Resources and Energy – Ardexa Pty Limited
Sustainability and Green Economy – The Mullion Group (FLINTpro)
ACT Promising Exporter – Catch the Sun Communications
ACT Promising Exporter – Science Skincare International Pty Ltd
“It was inspiring to see so many businesses with a clear plan for identifying and pursuing valuable export markets – ultimately all Canberrans benefit when local businesses achieve export success,” CEA Technology and ACT Export Awards judge Michael Burton said.
Businesses who are ready to export have access to support through the TradeStart program. Learn more about exporting and the assistance available on the ACT Business website: act.gov.au/business
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Submit your best weather photos to the Bureau of Meteorology’s 2026 Australian Weather Calendar competition for the chance to be featured in the next edition.
The 2025 edition of the calendar featured an atmospheric foggy sunrise over Mornington, Western Australia, a glowing aurora australis from Squeaking Point, Tasmania and a stunning storm and rainbow combination in Nightcliff, Northern Territory.
Each year, 13 photos sent in by photographers from all corners of the country are selected by a panel of Bureau judges to feature on the calendar’s cover and each month.
The calendar includes a meteorological description explaining the science behind each of the phenomena, written by the Bureau’s meteorologists, beside each photo.
Senior Meteorologist Andrea Peace, one of the judges of the competition, encourages people from all corners of the country to send in their spectacular weather photos.
“The Bureau invites anyone who has taken a great weather photo anywhere in Australia to submit it for the next edition of the Australian Weather Calendar,” she said.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my position at the Bureau is being involved in judging the competition and seeing all the incredible photos submitted, featuring the diverse array of weather the Bureau forecasts in Australia.”
Competition entries close for judging at 5:00pm (AEDT) on 31 March 2025.
To be eligible for the calendar, photos must be original and with only minor adjustments accepted, which must be listed with the entry.
Images cannot be digitally enhanced, altered or manipulated (including via the use of filters and digital software).
The Bureau’s Australian Weather Calendar is released annually, with photo entries remaining open perpetually for future editions.
Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
‘President Trump and Secretary Wright must apply their best-in-class leadership to rescue TVA from itself…We won’t be satisfied by half-measures. Nor will President Trump. Nor will the American people. The time for bold action is now.’
America’s Nuclear Renaissance: How the TVA Can Lead Our Energy Future By: Senators Hagerty and Blackburn March 20, 2025 Link here.
You may have heard of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), our nation’s largest public utility and source of cheap, clean, and reliable electricity for 10 million people. You may even know that its Board of Directors is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, making it directly accountable to the American people.
But one thing you might not know: the TVA is facing a historic moment that could decide our nation’s energy security for decades to come.
With the right courageous leadership, TVA could lead the way in our nation’s nuclear energy revival, empower us to dominate the 21st century’s global technology competition, and cement President Trump’s legacy as “America’s Nuclear President.”
President Trump’s Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, has charted the course. “The long-awaited American nuclear renaissance must launch during President Trump’s administration,” he declared in a February order. “As global energy demand continues to grow, America must lead the commercialization of affordable and abundant nuclear energy.”
Wright is right. The 21st century will be America’s next Golden Age only if we can supply the vast amounts of power required to run artificial intelligence, quantum computers, and advanced manufacturing. Nuclear energy is the only viable solution, but the industry has been stagnant for decades. We’ve lacked national ambition.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party has been ramping up its nuclear industry, announcing plans last year to build 11 new nuclear reactors to power its economy. As we face this global competition, TVA could be to the nuclear race what NASA was to the space race.
How? TVA holds the nation’s only early site permit for a next-generation small modular reactor, known as SMR. SMR is the new nuclear technology that has the best chance of being deployed in the United States within the next decade.
The beauty of SMR technology is its simplicity. It’s just a smaller version of the nuclear technology that powers much of America today, with the benefit of being safer, more replicable, and more efficient. It’s not a science project, it’s a proven commodity.
Yet, having the ticket to build the first made-in-America SMR won’t take TVA very far if the status quo of a hidebound bureaucracy gets in the way. As it stands now, TVA and its leadership can’t carry the weight of this moment.
The presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed, TVA Board of Directors lacks the talent, experience, and gravitas to meet a challenge that clearly requires visionary industrial leaders. The group looks more like a collection of political operatives than visionary industrial leaders.
The current TVA board focused on the diversity of its executives ahead of job creation for hungry workers in the region it is supposed to serve. It has fallen victim to paralysis by analysis, encumbering TVA’s SMR project with studies and hurdles that will bog it down.
Absent world-class vision, fiduciary competence, and the courage to effectively balance risks and rewards, TVA’s board has allowed the nation’s largest public utility’s role in leading America’s “Nuclear Renaissance” atrophy. And when TVA’s current CEO announced his retirement in February, the board quickly hired a tiny headhunter firm with an apparent aim to ensure TVA’s next CEO would be hired from within. While maintaining the status quo, an “inside job” forgoes the chance to recruit a top-quality leader from the outside.
What’s required at this moment is clear. President Trump and Secretary Wright must apply their best-in-class leadership to rescue TVA from itself. An interim CEO trusted by the president must be appointed to clean up this mess and lay the groundwork for a new, long-term leader. United States senators who have an interest in the future of TVA—and all of them should—must demand strong, competent, visionary board leadership—a departure from its current culture of patronage. Once TVA’s leadership is on a steady course, the interim CEO must:
Immediately file an SMR construction application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Seek funding from the Department of Energy Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Program.
Stop analysis paralysis from getting in the way of producing a first-in-class SMR.
Articulate a plan, and the resources necessary, for the nation’s largest public utility to command a lead in the provision of energy for the country’s technological innovations that will ensure American leadership throughout this century and beyond.
If we, as a nation, fail to meet this moment, American leadership in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and the ability to win conventional wars will be put at risk. If we choose to lead, a Golden Age lies ahead.
We won’t be satisfied by half-measures. Nor will President Trump. Nor will the American people. The time for bold action is now.
The cannabis-derived product CBD has been hailed “the wonder drug of our age”, offering potential health benefits without the high. From juices and coffee to truffles and ice cream, CBD products have flooded the market for consumers looking for an answer to health problems from anxiety to insomnia.
But with CBD products in the UK and EU falling under “novel foods” regulations rather than pharmaceutical standards, they aren’t subjected to the same rigorous safety and quality controls as drugs. The UK’s Committee on Toxicology has even flagged potential health risks, such as liver injury, leading the Food Standards Agency to issue safety guidance.
The regulatory gaps and health concerns of today reflect those of the 19th century when cannabis products were commercialised by the food industry.
In the 1830s, William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish doctor, discovered that cannabis was effective in treating muscle spasms and stomach cramps. French psychiatrist Jacques-Joseph Moreau later explored its potential for mental illness. This led many 19th-century doctors to champion cannabis as a cure-all.
It wasn’t long before patent medicine manufacturers began using cannabis as a common ingredient in their formulas. But soon, cannabis wasn’t just in pharmacies – it was in food.
Surprisingly, this shift was not driven by the food industry, but by the free church environment in Sweden as part of efforts to combat tuberculosis – a leading cause of death across all social classes in the country at the time.
Paul Petter Waldenström, leader of the Swedish Mission Covenant, wrote a letter to Svenska Morgonbladet about a woman reportedly cured of tuberculosis by a homebrewed gruel made with hempseed, rye flour and milk. His endorsement helped popularise the remedy and many started making their own “Waldenström gruel”, as it became known.
Sensing a business opportunity, entrepreneur J. Barthelson developed a powdered commercial version with the elegant French name Extrait Cannabis. He marketed it as a dietary remedy for tuberculosis, chest diseases and low energy. As demand grew, competitors quickly jumped on the bandwagon, using fearmongering tactics to persuade consumers that they were putting their lives at risk without it.
The rise and fall of Maltos-Cannabis
The most striking cannabis-infused product of the era came from the Red Cross Technical Factory. Their “health drink”, Maltos-Cannabis, was a maltose and cannabis blend marketed as both nutritious and delicious, especially when mixed with cocoa.
With an aggressive advertising campaign, the company raked in nearly SEK 290,000 a year (around £775,000 in modern money), opening factories in Chicago, Helsinki, Brussels and Utrecht.
A particularly dramatic advertisement depicted the Grim Reaper fleeing from the light of science, shining from a lighthouse. Meanwhile, a mother and daughter raised their arms triumphantly, symbolising victory over death thanks to Maltos-Cannabis. The tagline boldly claimed that the product had “a big future”.
Maltos-Cannabis advertisement, Hälsovännen, 1 February 1894. Wikimedia Commons
However, questions swirled about its legitimacy. Newspapers debated whether the product was a groundbreaking remedy or “a pure scam product”. While some critics called the craze an “epidemic”, others argued coffee was more harmful – a hot topic in Sweden’s parliament at the time.
In response, Red Cross published a half-page rebuttal signed by its executives, defending the product’s credibility. But scepticism persisted. After various lawsuits and growing concerns over its effectiveness and safety, sales of Maltos-Cannabis began to decline. By the 1930s, the product had disappeared entirely.
History repeats itself?
The 19th-century commercial cannabis market was able to thrive due to the absence of marketing regulations for both food and pharmaceutical products. Manufacturers freely advertised their products using pseudo-scientific claims and buzzword-heavy marketing – strategies we’re seeing again today in the thriving CBD industry.
This is because CBD is a “borderline” product, existing in a regulatory grey area that allows for marketing strategies to flourish without stringent oversight. Much like in the past, brands tap into consumers’ health anxieties with promises of a wellness revolution. Most worryingly, social media influencers are being used to endorse CBD, making it particularly appealing for younger audiences.
With the global CBD market valued at US$19 billion in 2023 and projected to grow by 16% annually until 2030, looking back at the broader, problematic history of commercial cannabis should serve as a cautionary tale.
Lauren Alex O’Hagan 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: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Mark R. Warner (both D-VA) joined 23 of their colleagues in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding detailed answers about the Trump Administration’s illegal cancellation of over $600 million in federal funding for teacher training grants, and to warn the Secretary of the detrimental effects the cancellation is already having on communities across the nation.
“We write to raise serious objections and call for the immediate reinstatement of federal funding provided in the Department of Education’s (Department) appropriations laws intended to help strengthen our educator workforce in at least 34 states and improve teaching and learning for our nation’s students. It is shocking to us that the Department would take such disruptive action to take away funding from schools as they work to implement their approved plans to improve outcomes for our nation’s students,” the senators wrote.
The senators continued, “The cancellation of these grants comes at a time when our country faces dire teacher shortages. A recent analysis of state-identified teacher shortages found that in recent school years, nationally, 1 in 8 of all teaching positions—or over 400,000 positions— are vacant or filled by a teacher who is not fully certified for their position. … Congress created and funded the Teacher Quality Partnership, Supporting Effective Educator Development, and Teacher and School Leader Incentive Fund programs in a bipartisan manner to ensure that all students have access to an effective educator workforce. The Department’s decision to terminate locally-driven grants previously awarded to schools, institutions of higher education, and other partners to address educator shortages and improve the quality of the teaching workforce will have long-term consequences on student outcomes.”
Regarding the confusion and distress caused by the cancellation of funds already promised, the senators wrote, “Cutting off grant funds already adopted and in use in local budgets shows utter disregard to local officials who are now faced with a lengthy process for challenging the terminations and are required to adjust their adopted budgets and plans. These local communities may also face difficult decisions to curtail activities paid for by these terminated grant funds, such as recruiting teachers in rural communities, improving literacy, and mentoring early-career teachers to improve retention. Ultimately, the Department’s decision to terminate these grant funds simply passes necessary expenses onto local and state taxpayers, who may have to sustain costs previously supported by federal funds that have been taken away by the Trump administration.”
“We are deeply disappointed that despite claims of radical transparency from President Trump and other administration officials, the Department has not provided any transparency to Congress or the public about its teacher training grant terminations. Instead, the President’s disregard for the law and his desire to find savings to pay for his tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations seems to be driving these terminations. Given the need for actual transparency, stability, and productivity in government, as well as the bipartisan support these critical education training programs have received for many years, it is critical for the Department to provide accurate, timely responses on its use of taxpayer resources provided by the laws passed by Congress,” the senators wrote before concluding their request with a detailed list of questions for McMahon.
The letter was led by Kaine and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and signed by Warner and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Edward Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
The full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary McMahon:
We write to raise serious objections and call for the immediate reinstatement of federal funding provided in the Department of Education’s (“Department”) appropriations laws intended to help strengthen our educator workforce in at least 34 states and improve teaching and learning for our nation’s students. Approximately two weeks ago, the Department announced that it terminated “over $600 million in divisive teacher training grants” and created confusion for schools and institutions of higher education around our nation.[1][2][3] The amount of reported savings is misleading since many of the terminated grants had already been partially spent and were in active use. Further, it appears that terminated grantees received no information from Department staff in response to their requests for additional information, even for grants with obligated and spent funds.[4] It is shocking to us that the Department would take such disruptive action to take away funding from schools as they work to implement their approved plans to improve outcomes for our nation’s students. Thankfully, a federal judge ordered the administration to temporarily restore these grants in eight states[5] and just yesterday, another federal judge ordered the reinstatement of more than 100 of these grants,[6] but every impacted grantee deserves immediate action.
U.S. students have not recovered from the devastating effects of the pandemic. National scores are below pre-pandemic levels in all tested grades and subjects, and gaps continue to grow between higher-performing and lower-performing students. A February 2025 analysis found that our students are approximately half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in math and reading.[7] With teachers and principals being the most important in-school factors to student learning, these grant cancellations will hinder pandemic learning recovery and break President Trump’s promises of “great principals and great teachers.”[8]
The cancellation of these grants comes at a time when our country faces dire teacher shortages. A recent analysis of state-identified teacher shortages found that in recent school years, nationally, 1 in 8 of all teaching positions—or over 400,000 positions— are vacant or filled by a teacher who is not fully certified for their position.[9] This school year, 49 states reported to the Department critical shortages in math, science, or special education teachers.[10] In rural America, to attract and retain teachers in many places, including in states like Colorado,[11] Louisiana,[12] Missouri,[13] and Texas,[14] districts were forced to move to 4-day school weeks, despite the unknown impact on student achievement. Research shows that principals are the second most important in-school factor to student learning and also impact teacher retention. Yet, about one in ten principals leave the field every year.[15]
Congress created and funded the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP), Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED), and Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Incentive Fund programs in a bipartisan manner to ensure that all students have access to an effective educator workforce. The Department’s decision to terminate locally-driven grants previously awarded to schools, institutions of higher education, and other partners to address educator shortages and improve the quality of the teaching workforce will have long-term consequences on student outcomes. These terminations create confusion for dozens of local communities supported by now unavailable grant funds.[16] Cutting off grant funds already adopted and in use in local budgets shows utter disregard to local officials who are now faced with a lengthy process for challenging the terminations and are required to adjust their adopted budgets and plans. [17] These local communities may also face difficult decisions to curtail activities paid for by these terminated grant funds, such as recruiting teachers in rural communities, improving literacy, and mentoring early-career teachers to improve retention. Ultimately, the Department’s decision to terminate these grant funds simply passes necessary expenses onto local and state taxpayers, who may have to sustain costs previously supported by federal funds that have been taken away by the Trump administration.
We are deeply disappointed that despite claims of radical transparency from President Trump and other administration officials, the Department has not provided any transparency to Congress or the public about its teacher training grant terminations. Instead, the President’s disregard for the law and his desire to find savings to pay for his tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations seems to be driving these terminations. Given the need for actual transparency, stability, and productivity in government, as well as the bipartisan support these critical education training programs have received for many years, it is critical for the Department to provide accurate, timely responses on its use of taxpayer resources provided by the laws passed by Congress. We request you provide written answers to the following questions as soon as possible but not later than March 26, 2025:
Please describe the policy and procedure established for the review of grants terminated on or after January 20, 2025.
Are they the same as any grant terminations prior to this date? If not, how and why were they different, including in the use of any program or technology not previously employed?
Please identify the offices and titles of staff involved in the review.
How many employees involved in the review were onboarded at the Department on or after January 20, 2025? Please describe each of such employee’s role in the review.
Please provide the total costs, including all personnel and non-personnel costs, of the review.
Please identify any other program currently undergoing or planned for the same or similar review and the associated timeline for each such review.
Please specifically identify each program undergoing a different review and explain each difference and the reason for each such difference for such program.
Please explain the policy and procedure for offering grantees the opportunity to clarify, explain or modify any element of their approved application prior to termination to avoid the disruption to grant activities that the Department’s termination has caused. Please explain why an opportunity was not offered in each case of it not being offered.
Please explain the policy and procedure for offering grantees the opportunity to appeal their grant termination. When will appeals be reviewed, and when will grantees receive a decision on their appeal?
For each program that includes a terminated grant, please provide the following about all such terminated grants:
The total number of grants terminated by fiscal year of initial funding,
The total amount of funding expected under the approved budgets of terminated grants on official documentation as of January 1, 2025 for each fiscal year,
The total amount of funding outlaid as of the date of response to this letter for each fiscal year, and
The total amount of funding deobligated by fiscal year as of the date of termination.
For each program that includes a terminated grant, please provide the following about all such terminated grants:
The total number of educators expected to participate in professional development activities,
The total number of new educators expected to be prepared,
The expected number of years of service that were expected from participants under each grant,
The number of years of service that had already been completed,
The total number of schools expected to benefit from any grant activities, and
The total number of states in which any grant activities were expected to take place.
For each program that includes a terminated grant, please provide the following:
The name of each recipient of a grant not terminated by program and fiscal year of initial funding,
An assurance that each non-terminated grant was subject to the same policy and procedure described in response to the first question, and as applicable, the reason for not doing so, and
Please provide the most recent annual performance report submitted by each non-terminated grantee prior to January 1, 2025.
For each terminated grant, please provide the most recent annual performance report submitted by such grantee prior to January 1, 2025, if applicable.
For each terminated grant, please provide the following:
The Department’s definition of divisive ideology,
The Department’s definition of inappropriate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and
The specific evidence demonstrating how the grantee’s approved grant activities are inconsistent with such definitions of divisive ideology and DEI.
Please explain how and when you will comply with the temporary restraining orders issued by federal judges on March 10, 2025 and March 17, 2025.
Please provide a detailed plan on how the Department will prioritize training and preparing educators for the classroom.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
The president needs congressional approval to shutter the department. The order, however, directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
The executive order reflects many recommendations from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a conservative political initiative to revamp the federal government. But it’s worth noting that the foundation’s attempt to abolish the Education Department goes back more than 40 years.
As a sociology professor focused on diversity and social inequality, I’ve followed the Heritage Foundation’s efforts to eliminate the Department of Education since 1981. Although the idea didn’t garner enough support 44 years ago, the current political climate makes conditions more favorable.
Mandate 1981
In its 1981 mandate, the Heritage Foundation struck now-familiar themes.
Its education policy recommendations included closing the Department of Education and “reducing its controls over American education.”
Additionally, the think tank called on lawmakers to repeal the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides federal funding for disadvantaged students in K-12, so that “the department’s influence on state and local education policy and practice through discretionary grant authority would disappear.”
And the Heritage Foundation called for ending federal support for programs it claimed were designed to “turn elementary- and secondary-school classrooms into vehicles for liberal-left social and political change …”
The Heritage Foundation building is seen on July 30, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Education experts disputed these proposed reforms just a few years later.
But they all saw the need for a strong federal role in education.
The four reports blamed the U.S. educational system for losing ground to Japan and Western Europe. And all called for more required courses rather than the “curriculum smorgasbord” that had become the norm in many public schools. They all wanted longer school days, longer school years and better-trained teachers.
Jumping ahead more than 40 years, Project 2025 reflects many of the main themes the Heritage Foundation addressed in the 1981 mandate. The first line of Project 2025’s chapter on education states: “Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.”
The charges of leftist indoctrination have expanded. Now, conservative advocates are calling to eliminate anything that has to do with diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
Other executive orders that Trump has signed reflect these attitudes.
According to Project 2025, school choice – which gives students the freedom to choose schools that best fit their needs – should be promoted through tuition tax credits and vouchers that provide students with public funds to attend private school. And federal education programs should either be dismantled or moved to other federal departments.
Current political climate
In the 1980s, the Heritage Foundation was seen as part of the New Right, a coalition that opposed issues such as abortion, homosexuality and affirmative action. The GOP’s alliance with conservative evangelical Christians, mobilized by advocacy groups such as Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority, was picking up steam, but it was still seen as marginal.
By 2025, things have moved significantly to the right.
Despite public reluctance to eliminate the department – in February, 63% of U.S. residents said they opposed its elimination – it looks like Heritage Foundation influence could cause significant damage, with the additional firing of staff members and the reduced distribution of funds.
McMahon sent a directive to department employees in early March calling the dismantling of their agency a “final mission.”
Fred L. Pincus 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.
Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe announced three appointments to the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Council and the appointment of a new Atchison County Treasurer.
Roye Cole, of Rogersville, was appointed to the MissouriSentencing Advisory Commission.
Mr. Cole has served as Sheriff of Webster County since 2008 and has been a certified police officer since 2003. He previously worked as a deputy juvenile officer for the State of Missouri and as a security guard at Drury University. Cole holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminology and a Master of Business Administration from Drury University, with expertise in leadership, management, and economics.
Amanda Grellner, of Linn, was appointed to the MissouriSentencing Advisory Commission.
Ms. Grellner has served as the prosecuting attorney for Osage County since 2002. In addition to her prosecutorial work, Grellner has held leadership roles in various organizations such as the Community Health Center of Central Missouri, Missouri Association of Treatment Court Professionals, Rape and Abuse Crisis Service, and the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law.
Kurt D. Marquart, of Lee’s Summit, was appointed to the MissouriSentencing Advisory Commission.
Mr. Marquart is a retired attorney, and has operated a private law practice since 1991. Before practicing law, he served as a Missouri State Highway Patrolman. Marquart is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, and the Knights of Columbus. He also serves as a director for the Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society (MASTERS). He earned his Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement from Southeast Missouri State University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
Tasha Zach, of Rock Port, was appointed as the Atchison County Treasurer.
Ms. Zach is currently filling the vacant county treasurer position, having been appointed by the county commission in December of 2024. She previously served as an accounts payable deputy and the election deputy in the Atchison County clerk’s office for over nine years. Ms. Zach holds an Office Information Systems Technology certificate from Iowa Western Community College.
Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
Hickenlooper answered questions about Trump admin threats to our economy, national parks, scientific research, veteran care, and more
In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper held a statewide virtual town hall last week to answer questions from Coloradans about Trump’s attacks on our federal government and top-of-mind concerns from constituents.
More than 8,000 Coloradans from across the state attended the event live to ask questions and hear from Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper plans to hold in-person town halls across Colorado in the coming weeks. Since the beginning of his term, Hickenlooper has held at least four public town halls every year. Last year he held in-person town halls in Alamosa, Cortez, Eagle, Pueblo, and Walden.
Watch the full video of the event HERE or see excerpts below:
On threats to Colorado’s public lands:
“Coloradans overwhelmingly support protecting our public lands. You look at any poll there’s 75%, 80%, sometimes 85% of voters who support protections for our public lands. That doesn’t seem to stop or slow down the Trump administration. They’re threatening all of that.”
“They’ve fired over 3,400 US Forest Service employees. 3,400. They fired another 2,300 workers from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and there might even be another one. I mean, these are cuts that we’re going to feel. These are the folks who are being fired who are responsible for wildfire mitigation, for timber management, for all kinds of things. They are the people that remove hazardous fuels on federal lands, clean the campsites, or maintain the trails. This doesn’t all happen by itself. These cuts are going to put Colorado at a higher risk for wildfires. These cuts are going to hurt our economy.”
On protecting Medicaid:
“Health care is a right, not a privilege. Let’s recognize the Republicans’ budget for what it is: it’s a blatant attempt to strip critical services like Medicaid from Americans who need the help the most. They are stripping these critical services to fund these tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Bottom line: millions are going to lose their healthcare and the ultra-wealthy get tax cuts that in all cases they don’t need, and in many cases they don’t want.”
“We have 1 million Coloradans that are enrolled in either Medicaid or CHIP: that’s almost 1 in 6 Coloradans. 60% of seniors in nursing homes are able to be there because they are covered by Medicaid. You cut Medicaid at that level, and you are going to have a lot of grandmothers and grandfathers out of their ear, bankrupt.”
“We stayed up all night a month ago fighting for amendments to protect access, to protect Medicaid, investments in renewable energy, veterans benefits. The Republicans blocked every single one. I think we can use those votes to let the public know what the Republicans have been doing. In other words, they are on the record by those votes. We made them vote on those amendments and bills so that they are on the record and when the time comes we will be able to make sure that they can be held accountable. When they go back to their states or to Colorado when they hold town halls, they are going to have to answer for those votes.”
On efforts to make government more efficient::
“The first time I got into politics in 2003 I ran on the premise that I was going to come in as mayor and make the city government smaller and yet do more, but I didn’t come in and say I was going to use an axe to make cuts.”
“…We went into each agency and made sure we knew what everyone was doing so we knew how we were spending the money and what we were getting for it so that we could really look for actual fraud, waste, and abuse. If that’s what we are about then I am game, but that’s not what the Trump administration is doing. They’re taking an axe and sledgehammer to our federal government without any concern on the impact it has on Coloradans or Americans. You just can’t throw our veterans, working families, or the services we all depend on under the bus by saying you are looking for fraud and abuse.”
On supporting our veterans:
“What is happening is a travesty of history… Ever since I got to the Senate I’ve made supporting veterans and enhancing VA care a priority. The PACT Act, like I said, advanced care to over a million veterans. The news that the Trump administration is planning to fire 80,000 staff from the Veterans Administration is beyond words. It’s insulting to our nation’s heroes.”
“…We introduced an amendment during the reconciliation process, which of course they ignored, but this was an amendment seeking to reverse workforce cuts and fill frontline vacancies like at the Veteran Health Administration, particularly personnel who provide access to healthcare for rural veterans. We’ve joined many of our colleagues sending a very direct letter to President Trump demanding fired veterans be reinstated across the federal government. We also supported a resolution condemning mass termination of VA employees.”
“I mean I just can’t imagine what these people are thinking… I mean, firing veterans serving our communities is not a way to find fraud, waste, and abuse. It is not waste. It is not fraud. It is not abuse.”
On the importance of trust in science:
“The American people look to us, to science, for trust and for accurate, factual information so they can have the freedom to raise their families without fear. Now again, I’m not saying all science is perfect. I’m not saying that one agency or another hasn’t made mistakes, but when trust is broken, things fall apart.”
“…Unfortunately, the new administration has elevated people into cabinet positions who peddle some of these anti-science claims and mistruths and misinformation. This threatens not just Coloradans but our country. It puts us at risk. That’s why funding for things like medical research through the NIH or climate research through NOAA is so important.”
Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, along with 26 of their Senate colleagues, recently called on President Trump to reverse the illegal firing of Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“This action contradicts long standing Supreme Court precedent, undermines Congress’s constitutional authority to create bipartisan, independent commissions, and upends more than 110 years of work at the FTC to protect consumers from deceptive practices and monopoly power,” the senators wrote.
“We urge you to rescind these dismissals so the FTC can get back to the people’s work.”
On Tuesday, the Trump administration fired two Democratic FTC commissioners, violating the independence of the agency, which was established in 1914 to enforce consumer protection and antitrust laws. In 2024 alone, the FTC returned $337.3 million to consumers.
The FTC consists of five commissioners, each nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Historically, no more than three commissioners can be from the same political party. Longstanding Supreme Court precedent protects FTC commissioners from being fired by the president over policy disagreements.
Hickenlooper serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy, which oversees the FTC.
Hickenlooper recently condemned the firings on Twitter/X saying:
“Firing two FTC commissioners without cause is illegal and threatens consumers. It puts the FTC’s independence and ability to protect Americans at risk. This sets a dangerous precedent that could raise costs for consumers.”
Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:
Dear President Trump,
On March 18, 2025 you announced your intention to fire Commissioner Slaughter and Commissioner Bedoya from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This action contradicts long standing Supreme Court precedent, undermines Congress’s constitutional authority to create bipartisan, independent commissions, and upends more than 110 years of work at the FTC to protect consumers from deceptive practices and monopoly power. We urge you to rescind these dismissals so the FTC can get back to the people’s work.
Congress established the FTC in 1914 as an independent agency made up of bipartisan, multi-member, expert commissioners who are tasked with protecting consumers. In 2024 alone, the FTC used this authority to return more than $330 million to consumers, while simultaneously blocking anticompetitive mergers and challenging monopoly power that can result in higher prices, fewer choices, and less opportunity for American consumers, workers, and small businesses. The FTC has consistently carried out this mandate as a bipartisan commission under Republican and Democratic administrations.
When establishing the FTC, Congress lawfully exercised its power to establish a bipartisan, multi-member, expert commission and to shield that commission from political pressure by allowing commissioners to serve 7-year terms and limiting the President’s power to remove commissioners only “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Under the law, as you are aware, the President retains the sole authority to nominate new commissioners and to appoint the Chair of the Commission. The President may also appoint a new Chair among the sitting commissioners at any time.
Ninety years ago, the Supreme Court held that Congress’s authority to create bipartisan, multi-member, expert commissions—and specifically the FTC—“cannot well be doubted” because “it is quite evident that one who holds his office only during the pleasure of another cannot be depended upon to maintain an attitude of independence. . . .” In a 2020 decision involving whether Congress could insulate the single director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from at-will removal by the President, the Supreme Court declined to revisit this precedent, finding important differences between the CFPB and the FTC, including that the FTC has multiple expert members to ensure the Commission retains relevant expertise at all times, that each President can influence the makeup of the Commission by nominating new members and appointing the Chair (as you have already done), and that the Commission is funded through the traditional appropriations process that the President may influence.
As such, the structure of the FTC does not undermine executive authority and is well within Congress’s power to establish independent agencies tasked with protecting Americans from harmful business practices, fraud, and outright corruption. As Commissioners duly appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya must be allowed to continue their work at the Commission.
Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe, was shut down following a fire at a single electricity sub-station on the night of March 20. The fire at the North Hyde substation in Hayes, about 1.5 miles from Heathrow, seriously disrupted the local area’s power supply, including that of the airport.
The closure has caused chaos, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. More than 1,300 flights have been affected, according to the plane tracking website Flightradar24. About 120 of these were already in the air.
Barry Hayes, associate professor in electrical power systems, University College Cork
It appears that a transformer fire in the North Hyde 275kV substation caused the power outage (videos from the scene clearly show one of the large power transformers ablaze). This is a large electrical substation which supplies the area to the northeast of Heathrow airport as well as the Heathrow airport site. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, the local electricity distributor, said 67,000 homes and businesses in the area were cut off overnight as a result of this issue.
While the North Hyde substation is a very important part of the west London electricity grid, it is generally not expected that this would cause such a big impact at Heathrow airport. There are also dedicated supplies to other parts of the airport site.
Typically, a critical electricity load such as Heathrow would be served from multiple supply points in the electricity grid, and therefore there would be an option to feed the loads at Heathrow from an alternative supply point. There are some reports that parts of the airport (for example, Terminal 5) have power.
The exact reasons for such a big impact are unclear at this point, but we do know the North Hyde substation is in a highly constrained area of the UK electricity grid – an area where there has been “a steep increase in the number of new electricity connection requests across west London, driven by new housing developments, commercial investment and datacentres”.
The UK power grid (as in many developed countries) is generally old or outdated, with many of its components at the end of their anticipated service lifetime and in urgent need of modernisation. These issues may be a factor in the power outage affecting Heathrow. However, it will take some time before the exact causes of this incident are established.
Weather, ageing equipment or malicious attacks could be to blame
Chenghong Gu, professor in smart energy systems, University of Bath
This is a very rare event. Substations are built and operated according to very strict standards, and they are monitored 24/7. There are also many automatic devices in substations like this one to deal with faults.
A substation has many components including transformers, circuit breakers, an isolator, busbars and measuring equipment. Transformers are the most vulnerable to fire. There is insulation oil in them and in high-temperature, high-pressure situations, they can explode – meaning the insulation oil leaks and can catch fire.
However, it is very unusual for big substations like this to catch fire. One cause can be extreme weather such as lightning strikes, which could cause extreme high voltage on the equipment. Extreme hot weather together with high demand can also cause transformers to become overheated, thus leading to faults.
Another factor is the ageing of transformers. The insulation gas can degrade, which could cause an explosion inside a transformer. Or there could be a malfunction of other auxiliary devices such as the insulator, switch gears or circuit breakers inside the substation.
Other possible causes include a malicious attack on the substation – someone setting fire to it deliberately, for example. Cyber-attacks on IT systems can also cause a malfunction of devices in the substation, leading to fire.
Serious questions about Heathrow’s back-ups
Kirk Chang, professor of management and technology, University of East London
The airport lost power because of the fire – we understand that. But the back-up system didn’t work. It’s difficult to understand how that could happen.
There are two things we need to look at. Number one is the technical part. Why did the back-up machines not work? Maybe the machines did not have sufficient fuel, or for some reason the system was not linked to the grid. The backup should kick in immediately.
The second point is more the human side. Who is responsible for the power management, and what intervention strategies were attempted? I would assume they would need a second back-up system if the first fails. It’s very unusual to see both Plan A (the back-up) and Plan B (the back-up to the back-up) not working.
Usually, a main back-up (Plan A) will supply about 90% of the power the facility usually receives. Whereas Plan B will usually only supply a fraction of the power – maybe 50% or 30%. The reason is that Plan B is usually expensive to maintain all the time. It may be outsourced to a third party – either the power company or a software company which manages their power distribution network.
Critical infrastructure arguably needs more security
Paul Cuffe, assistant professor, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin
An airport like Heathrow requires a lot of electricity to operate, equivalent to a large town. As such, it would be typical for it to be given a dedicated connection from the substation at Hayes.
There is likely a dedicated power line and transformer there that connects the airport to the wider grid. When a major fire severs that link, it will no longer be possible to bring bulk electricity to the airport.
I would anticipate that a major airport like Heathrow would have some on-site emergency capability to ride through a grid disturbance. I would hope the traffic control tower and runway lights weren’t totally plunged into darkness!
However, processing planeloads of passengers requires Heathrow in its totality to consume a town’s worth of electricity, and the inability to meet this requirement is probably why the flights had to be cancelled.
The failure is not overtly abnormal. We can anticipate that, from time to time, substation equipment will fail and downstream power outages will result. But one could argue that a critical piece of national infrastructure like Heathrow deserves special grid connection arrangements to secure its supply of electricity further. For instance, sometimes critical loads like this are fed from two separate substations to provide redundancy when outages happen.
It is ultimately a political and economic question to determine the right level of capital investment into grid infrastructure to avoid the problems that outages like this cause. Redundant power supplies for an airport the size of Heathrow do not come free.
Climate change means the grid will face more threats like this
Hayley J. Fowler, professor of climate change impacts;
Colin Manning, postdoctoral research associate in climate science; and
Sean Wilkinson, professor of structural engineering, Newcastle University
The closure of one of the world’s largest airports due to a failure of just one electricity substation underlines how important it is that critical national energy infrastructure – pylons, substations and so on – keeps functioning. This is only becoming more important as demand for electricity increases, thanks to transport and domestic heating switching to lower-carbon electrified alternatives – notably electric cars and heat pumps.
Yet the UK’s energy system is facing growing threats from unprecedented risks. We still don’t know what caused the Heathrow fire, but it appears to be unusual in this regard, as threats to energy systems come mainly from extreme weather. In the UK, that tends to mean windstorms, flooding, heatwaves and associated wildfires, and cold spells.
2024 was the warmest calendar year on record, and the “fingerprints” of climate change are increasingly evident in more intense and frequent extreme weather events. It is crucial to ensure the energy network can handle this weather.
Gas and electricity operators in the UK have established protocols for managing networks in adverse weather, investing large amounts to protect critical assets. But recent events have exposed vulnerabilities. The storms Arwen and Éowyn left thousands without power for days, underscoring the previous UK government’s admission that the country is underprepared for extreme weather events.
Barry Hayes has an active research collaboration with ESB Networks, and is an academic member of ESB Networks’ Innovation Stakeholder Panel.
Colin Manning receives funding from UKRI.
Hayley J. Fowler receives funding from UKRI, NERC, EPSRC, and the EU Horizon 2020 Programme. She is a member of the UK Climate Change Committee and was a member of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero Science Expert Group (E-SEG) from 2021 to 2025. This article represents her own work and views, not the position of either of these organisations.
Paul Cuffe has no direct links with the electricity industry in the UK. As an Irish academic, he has had occasional collaborations with Eirgrid, the transmission system operator, and ESB Networks, the distribution network operator. He has received funding as part the ESIPP and NexSys projects; these were co-funded by stakeholders in the Irish energy sector.
Sean Wilkinson receives funding from EPSRC and DESNZ.
Chenghong Gu and Kirk Chang do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Jajiktek Seawall Hiking Trail to connect visitors and locals with the island’s unique coastal landscape
March 21, 2025 · Port Hood, Nova Scotia · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Tourism plays a vital role in Atlantic Canada, creating jobs and strengthening communities. The Government of Canada is supporting eco-friendly, year-round tourism that creates memorable outdoor experiences while protecting the environment and growing the local economy. New Coastal Trail Coming to Cape Breton
Today, Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA, and Member of Parliament for Cape Breton—Canso, announced a non-repayable contribution of $3 million to the Municipality of the County of Inverness. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
This funding will help the municipality design and build the Jajiktek Seawall Hiking Trail, a 50-kilometre coastal trail in Cape Breton’s Northern Highlands. This project includes constructing overnight huts at three sites along the trail. Once completed, the trail will offer multi-day hikes, guided tours, and will expand possibilities for seasonal activities such as ski touring and snowshoeing. It is expected to attract visitors to stay and explore the region in all four seasons, enhance recreation opportunities for surrounding community members, and generate new tourism prospects for nearby businesses.
Today’s announcement further demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting sustainable tourism, strengthening communities, and protecting natural spaces for future generations.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Betsy Sinclair, Professor and Chair of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis
As Americans’ social worlds grow further apart, stereotypes intensify – driving an even deeper wedge between red and blue America.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus
Are you angry about politics right now? Seething? You’re not alone. According to the Mood of the Nation Poll by researchers at Penn State, 9 in 10 Americans can name a recent news event or something about American politics that made them angry.
Political scientists Steven Webster, Elizabeth Connorsand I have investigated what happens to people’s social networks – their friends, family and neighbors – when partisan anger takes over. For example, suppose your neighbor is a member of the opposite political party. You’ve always watered their plants when they go on vacation. Given the news these days and how angry you’re feeling, what will you say when they ask for help during their next trip?
We found that when someone is angry with the opposite party, they avoid people with those views. That can include not assisting neighbors with various tasks, avoiding social gatherings attended by people from the other side, and refusing to date people who vote differently. It means being disappointed if your son or daughter marries a supporter of the opposing party, and even severing close friendships or distancing yourself from close relatives.
We see that political anger disrupts ordinary life – coffee with a friend – as well as more major life decisions. Political anger breaks our social networks.
People rely on their relationships to understand our world – and to vote. The more we isolate ourselves from people who see things differently, the easier it is to misunderstand them, pushing us to separate even more.
Stereotype vs. reality
During the Obama administration, my collaborators and I asked a nationally representative sample of voters to describe their stereotypes about the opposite party. Our questions were intended to tap into perceptions of the other side’s lifestyles and cultural values, in addition to policy attitudes.
First, we wanted to establish each side’s actual views. Our 2012-2016 study asked around 1,300 Americans whether they agreed with statements that are often associated with one party or the other – including creationism, guns, taxes and eco-friendliness.
For example, 42.5% of all Republicans we surveyed agreed with the statement that “this country would be safer if every law-abiding citizen possessed a firearm,” versus 25.1% of independents and 14.2% of Democrats. Meanwhile, 38.7% of Democrats agreed that “this country would be better if every citizen drove an electric car,” compared with 22% of independents and 11.4% of Republicans.
Two months later, we went back to the same voters and asked them a different question: What percentage of Democrats and Republicans did they think would agree with these statements?
We saw dramatic evidence of stereotypes. For example, only 19% of Democrats agreed that all Americans should pay more taxes, but more than 80% of Republicans believed the percentage to be higher. The same pattern occurred with electric cars and firearms. Just over 42% of Republicans agreed that all “law-abiding” citizens should have a gun, but the typical Democrat believed the percentage to be 60%-80%.
Americans do not understand each other across the red-blue divide. Importantly, respondents with more ideologically extreme views themselves had less accurate perceptions of the other party.
Avoiding the Joneses
The more extreme our beliefs become, the harder it will be to understand our neighbors.
Suppose you are a Republican. You learn that your Democratic neighbors believe that everyone should drive an electric car, marijuana should be legal in all states, and universal health care should be available to all citizens. Or suppose you are a Democrat, and you learn that your Republican neighbors believe that humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time, that elementary school students should be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, and that a fence should be built between the U.S. and Mexico.
Would you want to be friends?
These hypothetical neighbors have stereotypical beliefs – and most Americans say they do not want those neighbors in their social networks. Specifically, according to our 2023 study, they reported not wanting to become friends, not having this neighbor over for a family meal, and not feeling comfortable allowing their children to play with the neighbor’s kids, among other activities.
Stereotypes don’t just drive individual people and families apart; they make neighborhoods less cohesive. We ascribe stereotypical beliefs to people who are members of the opposite party – and then we react to these stereotypes, not to our neighbors themselves.
Cutting off those in-person relationships isn’t just a problem for safety and friendliness around the block. It’s a problem for democracy because Americans need relationships with people whose politics are different than their own.
A majority of Americans have social circles that are politically homogeneous. Even in 2020, 53% of Republicans said that their network was exclusively composed of Donald Trump supporters, and 55% of Democrats said that their network was exclusively composed of Joe Biden supporters.
In her book “Through the Grapevine,” political scientist Taylor Carlson documents that approximately 1 in 3 American voters mostly learn about politics from socially transmitted information: news they get from talking with friends or scrolling on social media. Relying on these sources is particularly problematic in social networks that are homogeneous, as exposure to information from someone in your own party can lead people to have more extreme positions. Carlson’s work highlights that voters who rely on friends to shape their views rely upon a resource that is heavily biased.
In my own book “The Social Citizen,” I investigated the influence peers have on political decisions, from voting and donating to identifying with a political party. For example, if a neighbor knocks on your door and asks you to turn out to vote, you are 4%-11% more likely to go cast a ballot than if a stranger knocked on your door.
Democracy in action
What can we do to remedy the fractures? We need to understand each other.
The U.S. has a long tradition of political dialogue. Indeed, after a brutal election tested their friendship, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson did not exchange letters for 11 years. But the pair resumed their correspondence in 1812 with Adams’ statement – later echoed by Jefferson – “You and I, ought not to die, before We have explained ourselves to each other.”
What Adams and Jefferson understood in the 19th century still applies to the divisions in American society today: Reconciliation requires understanding. These conversations are frequently painful and hard; data scientists have noted that Thanksgiving dinners with guests who cross party lines are frequently shorter. But as my own research shows, we are most able to persuade people with whom we have the closest ties.
Democracy challenges us to participate in more ways than simply by voting. It challenges everyone to understand those around us and seek what is in the collective best interest.
And we have the most influence over people in our social networks. So that friend you’re really angry with about their politics? It’s time to give them a call and have a conversation.
Betsy Sinclair 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.
What is your technology, what is innovative about it, and how will it change the world? These are the initial questions the innovation management team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) asks researchers when they have new inventions with commercialization potential.
Researchers submit their innovative ideas as records of invention (ROI) or software records, thus initiating a collaborative review and discussion with members of NREL’s Technology Transfer Office and Office of General Counsel. Technologies that pass muster and show potential for measurable market impacts may move on to the multiyear process with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to secure the patent rights necessary to bring yesterday’s ideas into today’s practical use.
In Fiscal Year 2024, researchers at NREL submitted a record-breaking 294 innovations, representing potentially patentable inventions or copyrightable software. This remarkable level of innovation productivity resulted in 46 awarded U.S. patents and 12 NREL-enabled startup companies—an unprecedented amount of growth for this DOE laboratory focused on integrated energy solutions for an affordable and secure energy future.
To Eric Payne, licensing executive lead for the tech transfer office, NREL’s record year signals that researchers are more engaged than ever before in the commercialization process as a means for their research to have impact.
“NREL scientists are among the most inventive in the national lab system, and this record year reflects their continued dedication to having commercial impacts in the U.S. energy economy,” Payne said.
A subtle, yet crucial, distinction about patents, Payne explained, is that they are “a snapshot back in time” of the research NREL was conducting three to five years ago.
“Patent issuances are actually a lagging indicator of innovation, because if you think about the timeline, a researcher will first file an ROI. We typically file a patent application about six to 12 months after that, and then the patent application is pending within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for at least two to five years,” Payne said.
The process can sometimes take even longer, partly due to the volume of applications received at the U.S. Patent Office and partly due to the complexity of the technology itself. The more complicated the technology, the more time it takes for a patent application to be examined, with NREL’s team of patent attorneys expertly navigating the prosecution process. Because research at the laboratory is often early stage, researchers will typically use this waiting period to continue developing their technologies toward market readiness.
In the case of FY 2024, the “oldest” awarded patent originated from an ROI submitted in 2014, though most patents were initiated in 2019 or later.
So, what was cutting edge at NREL five years ago? In short: NREL’s origins as a solar research institute still shine, accompanied by advances in wind, hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy fields. The patents overwhelmingly represent improvements in the efficiency of energy systems and manufacturing processes to make technology easier to scale and cheaper to use. New materials and advanced composites were introduced, and methods that reduce the amount of energy needed to power everyday lives were proposed.
Protecting Power Grids From Cyberattacks
With the rise of new technologies, power grids are becoming more vulnerable to advanced malware capable of infiltrating a utility company and toggling the on/off switch of electricity for millions of customers at once, remotely.
Joshua Rivera and Vivek Kumar Singh, two researchers at NREL’s Cybersecurity Research Center, aim to get ahead of these threats by exploring how modern cybersecurity concepts—like cloud-based programs, process automation, and even artificial intelligence—can be applied to the energy grid to make it more resilient.
This thought led to the Cybersecurity Research Center’s first patent, issued in February 2024, titled “Network visualization, intrusion detection, and network healing.” Rivera and Kumar Singh are coinventors along with NREL’s Adarsh Hasandka and Joshua Van Natta.
The patent proposes a system that detects, visualizes, and mitigates anomalies in power grids automatically. The system’s rapid response lies in the rule-based, model-based, and AI-driven methods it was developed with. By comparing incoming data to preestablished models, plotted by the team, the system can immediately trigger corrective actions when disruptions are found.
Vivek Kumar Singh (presenting) describes the NREL-patented tool for protecting power grids. Photo from Vivek Kumar Singh, NREL
The team’s ROI for the technology was initiated in 2019, “at the right place and the right time,” according to Rivera and Kumar Singh.
“In 2019, we were trying to capture the moment; we were forecasting that people were really going to care about AI,” Rivera added. “Terms like virtualization, software-defined networking, automation, and orchestration are common in IT and cloud security for ensuring resilience. So, we set out to adapt those philosophies with these new detection methodologies and apply them specifically to power systems. By combining them, we realized we could create something truly novel at the time.”
As electrical grids become more connected and vulnerable to online threats, cybersecurity is now a core component of energy systems rather than an afterthought. To refine and bring technologies like this patent to market, the team said that partnerships and collaborations will be essential.
“This patent required a diverse team of people with different domain expertise and different capabilities,” Rivera said. “The more collaboration and involvement we get from others, the more likely we can build something that will be successful.”
Matereal’s NIPU Foam Replaces Traditional Polyurethane
For retired NREL researcher Phil Pienkos, his renewable, nontoxic polyurethane product, trademarked as Polaris, came closer to commercialization in FY 2024 with a new patent for the technology.
Developed with Tao Dong and Lieve Laurens of NREL, Pienkos’ non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) foam can be made from readily available oils, such as linseed or soybean oil, as well as oils derived from algae or food waste. It is synthesized without petroleum-based chemicals and isocyanates: hazardous chemicals that are known to cause irritation, asthma, and severe lung issues. And its end product offers both recyclable and biodegradable options for polyurethane used in everything from textiles, automotive interiors, mattress cushioning, and more.
Phil Pienkos (right) holds a prototype of his non-isocyanate polyurethane material, while Eric Payne (left) holds the patent license agreement that helped Pienkos form his company, Matereal. Photo from Eric Payne, NREL
This latest patent, “Non-isocyanate polyurethane products and methods of making the same,” specifically addresses the method of making NIPU foam. By increasing the reaction speed between amines and cyclic carbonates, the building blocks of the material, researchers have made NIPU foam synthesis more comparable to conventional polyurethane production, which is crucial for uptake by industry partners.
“It’s got regulation push. It’s got market pull,” Pienkos said of the opportunities for commercialization. “It’s got everything.”
As of summer 2024, Pienkos’ startup company, Matereal, had completed a round of seed funding, raising $4.5 million to continue Polaris’ development after early partnerships with brands like Patagonia, the outdoor company, and Tempur Sealy, the mattress company.
Ocean Wave Energy Converters Make a Splash
Two patents issued in the last fiscal year centered on marine energy and the conversion of the ocean’s waves into “something more useful,” said Blake Boren, a senior engineer on NREL’s water power research and development team—be it electricity or desalinating seawater into drinkable fresh water.
Boren was a lead researcher on the patent titled “Flexible wave energy converter,” also known as a flexWEC, a device that can bend, flex, and/or stretch to generate electricity from ocean waves. Where traditional wave energy converters are typically rigid and move within one degree of freedom, a flexWEC is innately able to move in several degrees of freedom and can therefore interact with a broader range of ocean wave periods and frequencies than what would otherwise be directly possible. With many small energy transducers embedded across the device, instead of concentrated at central point, the flexWEC can better adapt to changing wave environments and continue operating even if some transducers fail.
A prototype of the inflatable pump Jenne built in his garage. Photo by Scott Jenne, NREL
“If a couple of the smaller energy transducers fail, it’s not ideal, but the overall energy conversion structure should largely still operate as intended, and in that way, flexible wave energy converters could be more robust than a more conventional WEC,” Boren said.
The flexWEC is an ocean wave energy converter based on distributed embedded energy converter technologies (DEEC-Tec), a new type of marine energy innovation that was patented in September 2022 by Boren and Jochem Weber, chief engineer for NREL’s water power program, also named on the new patent.
Dale “Scott” Jenne’s FY 2024 patent, “Inflatable pressure absorption wave actuated pump,” also described a wave energy converter, though based on a different mechanism than the flexWEC. After six years of working on desalination technologies, Jenne—a multidisciplinary research engineer on the water power team—noticed a common theme.
“Almost every wave energy converter that I had worked with or analyzed was, in some way, pumping a fluid. And a lot of companies earlier on were using what we call hydraulic systems: a piston that is pushing up and down, then that motion runs a motor, which can then run a generator,” Jenne said.
But hydraulic systems are expensive, prone to leaks, and rely on rigid parts like gearboxes that could break over time, leading Jenne to question, “How do you simplify that process and make a system that pumps water with the simplest mechanism possible?”
The result, a prototype Jenne built in his garage with $150 of supplies, is a modified version of a diaphragm pump that relies on the kinetic energy of a moving wave to pressurize a bag. Squeezing the bag then forces air through a column to generate electricity. The inflatable pump has no moving parts and reduces the complexity of mechanical systems with hydraulic seals. And the prototype’s low-cost build implies the technology could be scaled inexpensively.
NREL researchers Blake Boren and Stephen Chamot (from left to right), with Isabel Hess, a Ph.D. student from the University of Florida, do final checks to the distributed embedded energy conversion technology (DEEC-Tec) equipment before testing it in the Wave Tank at the NREL Flatirons Campus. Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL
In December 2024, Jenne’s team applied for a Technology Commercialization Fund grant from DOE to advance the inflatable pump for high-pressure scenarios, like those needed for desalination.
In both cases, the flexWEC and the inflatable pump hold promise for generating energy from the harsh environment of ocean waves, particularly in areas affected by hurricanes or in remote coastal areas that lack reliable infrastructure. Ocean wave energy has unique advantages in niche applications like those, filling in gaps where wind and solar renewables are less effective. Demonstrating that WECs can succeed in smaller-scale systems—such as powering oceanographic sensors for data collection, desalinating seawater, or supplying energy to microgrids in island communities—could build momentum for larger-scale applications of marine renewable energy technologies in the future.
Solar Panels, Minus the Lengthy Setup
Innovations in solar energy technologies represented a majority of the patents NREL acquired in FY 2024, mirroring the growing role solar plays in the global electricity market at-large. As the most abundant renewable resource, solar is predicted to account for 40% of the U.S. electricity supply by 2035 and 45% by 2050.
One standout solar technology comes from researchers Bryon Larson and Obadiah Reid of NREL’s chemistry and nanoscience program. Their patent, “Microwave photoconductance spectrometer and methods of using the same,” describes a technique to analyze materials used in photovoltaics (PV) quickly and efficiently, without needing to build a full solar panel device first.
The device could help solar panel manufacturers implement real-time quality control monitoring on production lines and facilitate more efficient research on PV materials beyond silicon. Where traditional silicon solar panels have established metrics for quality, new materials, such as perovskites, are less well characterized and require more meticulous processing to achieve optimal performance.
Reid and Larson’s spectrometer works by aiming microwaves at a film of semiconducting material. When the waves bounce back, they are carrying information about the material’s quality at high speed, allowing manufacturers to adjust factors to improve the material’s conductivity in real-time. The spectrometer is built to incorporate into a future where solar panels are manufactured on a roll-to-roll press akin to a newspaper printing press.
“The technique is contactless, so you are essentially pointing a probe at a running web of material that is moving very rapidly,” Larson said. “The faster you run the printing press, the higher the yields in solar panel production—per hour, day, or year. That’s important because, in a manufacturing setting, the less downtime you have, the more likely you’ll be profitable.”
After the ROI was filed in 2018, DOE selected Reid and Larson’s spectrometer for its Small Business Innovation Research grants where industry competed to advance the technology. Oregon-based Tau Science Corporation adapted the team’s research tool into a commercial prototype, and along the way, Reid and Larson made the technology even better. Though their original spectrometer is 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional methods, today’s version is even more precise, enabling research into higher-quality perovskites, cadmium telluride, and other trending semiconducting materials.
Chemistry researchers Bryon Larson (left) and Obadiah Reid demonstrate a commercial prototype of their microwave spectrometer. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL
Reid predicts that as the solar industry adopts roll-to-rolling printing—projected to be a $50 billion annual market in the next two decades—the microwave spectrometer will naturally transition to industrial applications.
“I have pretty high hopes that it will be adopted by research laboratories because it is super useful as a way of characterizing the material you’re making before going all the way to a full device,” Reid said. “If that happens, if the people developing the materials are trained with this particular technique, they’re going to want that same feedback in their systems when they join industry.”
These and NREL’s remainingpatents from FY 2024 have been added to an ever-expanding portfolio of technologies that Payne’s office is managing, including 750 patented technologies and 700 commercial and open-source software records. Each invention isavailable for licensingthrough NREL’s Technology Transfer Office.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 grants on earthquake hazards science and is authorized to award up to $7 million. Interested researchers can apply online at GRANTS.GOV under funding Opportunity Number G26AS00244. Note that all proposals submitted to the FY26 open application period are now limited to 15 pages, maximum. Please review the application instructions found in the GRANTS.GOV solicitation for more information.
The grants offered through the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) are a long-standing effort that contributes to the advancement of earthquake research. The EHP encourages the submission of new ideas that will provide more timely and accurate earthquake information, better characterization of earthquake sources, and a reduction in uncertainty for earthquake hazard and risk assessments. USGS also seeks proposals that will help to mitigate earthquake losses and better inform the public about earthquakes and earthquake safety, such as earthquake early warning or other scientific efforts that will lead to reduced risk. The complete list of FY2025 EHP science research priorities is included in the grant’s solicitation found on GRANTS.GOV, as well as the EHP External Grants website.
Every year, the USGS invites innovative earthquake research proposals from colleges and universities, state and local offices, non-profit organizations, private institutions, unaffiliated scientists, engineers, and foreign organizations. Past funded grant projects include:
Evaluating earthquake and tsunami hazard in the Cascadia Subduction Zone
Updating the subduction ground motion model for Alaska
Understanding responses to ShakeAlert-powered earthquake early warning
Improving 3D seismic velocity models in the San Francisco Bay region
Simulating the evolution of stress on the Wasatch Fault system
Analyzing GNSS Strain Rate and uncertainty in the New Madrid Seismic Zone
A complete list of previously funded projects and reports can be found on the USGS EHP external research support website.
Related
USGS is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year 2025 grants on earthquake hazards science. The grants are a long-standing effort that…
Read Article
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 grants on earthquake hazards science and is…
Read Article
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 grants on earthquake hazards science and is…
Read Article
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 grants on earthquake hazards science and is…
Read Article
The USGS is currently soliciting project proposals for 2018 grants on earthquake hazards science.
Bridging the gap between academia and key industry sectors at the heart of the North East of Scotland’s economy is the key aim for three new business development executives at the University of Aberdeen.
The three new posts have been created by the 430-year-old institution in order to build and strengthen links and partnerships with the business community across energy, health and life sciences, and digital and creative industries.
It’s hoped that the initiative will foster greater collaboration as part of a wider drive by the University to support regional economic development.
Responsible for the health and life sciences portfolio is Dr Marina Kovaleva who boasts 25 years in the sector working within academia and biotech and pharma companies.
Marina pioneered the discovery of new drug therapies developed from the shark immune system, leading to the first preclinical study on shark-based drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and designing targeted tumour therapies. This research was spun out into the biotech company Elasmogen Ltd in 2016, of which Marina is a founding team member.
Marina has degrees in Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine obtained from universities in Russia and Germany.
Taking on the digital and creative industries brief is Dr Allison Noble who has held various roles in both government and the charity sector.
Following roles involving helping NHS health boards address vaccine hesitancy and develop clear travel guidance during the pandemic and sustainability research with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Allison comes to the University after two and a half years with Research Data Scotland (RDS). With RDS, Allison helped restructure the organisation’s information architecture and implemented AI safely at an institutional level whilst working with bodies such as National Records of Scotland, Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland.
These appointments demonstrate the University’s ongoing support for the region’s ambition to be an innovation-driven economy, leveraging our world-class research expertise to support business.” Professor Pete Edwards, Vice-Principal for Regional Engagement
Her doctorate from the University of Southampton investigated how music streaming platforms and their algorithms impact the creation, distribution, and consumption of music.
Aberdeen Geology and Petroleum Geology graduate, Dr Ian Brightmore, will be the lead for energy. He returns to the University, where he also obtained his PhD, with 15 years of international operator experience in the UK continental shelf, Norwegian continental shelf, Kurdistan and Barents.
Ian worked as geologist with ExxonMobil in Norway and Houston before returning to Aberdeen to take a position with Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) and has worked for numerous international operators since in the capacity of exploration geologist.
Dr Liz Rattray, University of Aberdeen Interim Chief Operating Officer and Director of Research and Innovation, said: “There is an abundance of cutting-edge research being carried out at the University of Aberdeen which could have real and immediate benefits for industry.
“The challenge is having key individuals in place with an overview of vital areas – such as energy, health and life science and digital and creative industries – who can act as a single point of contact between industry requirements and our researchers they could be collaborating with.
“The appointment of our three new business development executives to cover these key industry sectors is crucial to maximising collaboration, fostering long-term industry links and promoting the expertise that the University of Aberdeen boasts – to the benefit of all parties.”
Professor Peter Edwards, Vice-Principal for Regional Engagement, said: “These appointments demonstrate the University’s ongoing support for the region’s ambition to be an innovation-driven economy, leveraging our world-class research expertise to support business.
The University of Aberdeen hosts the largest concentration of academic researchers in the North of Scotland and the new business development executives will work with industry to understand their problems, before connecting them to the relevant academic experts, and providing advice on the most appropriate mechanism to facilitate joint work.”
Related Content
Initiative is set to be the largest Indigenous majority-owned infrastructure project in Canada
March 21, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario
The Government of Canada understands the importance of diversifying Canada’s export market opportunities, supporting Indigenous economic reconciliation objectives and ensuring development is aligned with our climate and environmental goals. Supporting large-scale innovative projects will position Canada for a cleaner and stronger economy—and when done thoughtfully and strategically, one that is competitive in a low-carbon world. The Cedar LNG Project will also connect Canada’s natural resources sector to more export markets while creating more economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples and Canadians.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, on behalf of the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a contribution agreement under the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) of up to $200 million toward a $5.963 billion project with Cedar LNG Partners LP (Cedar LNG). This project will create approximately 300 full-time construction and trades jobs and 100 highly skilled jobs in Canada, with a strong focus on providing long term Indigenous employment opportunities. The project is expected to generate $275 million in gross domestic product (GDP) contributions over the construction phase and $85 million in annual GDP contributions during the operations phase.
Cedar LNG is a partnership between the Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. This four‑year project consists of the construction, commissioning and operation of a new Indigenous majority-owned floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) processing facility and marine export terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia. The facility will be powered by clean hydroelectricity from B.C.’s grid and will produce ultra low-carbon LNG that has the potential to displace the use of higher-emitting forms of energy in Asia. Once operational, the facility will have the capacity to process and liquefy 400 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day and produce 3.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for international markets.
The Cedar LNG Project is a model for Indigenous ownership in natural resource projects. Partnering with Indigenous peoples, communities and businesses is critical to building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient natural resource sector in Canada. Cedar LNG will create jobs, drive economic growth, diversify our export markets, and support global energy security and the transition away from higher-emitting energy sources.
FedNor funds will foster new and existing business development as well as adventure tourism
March 21, 2025 – Wawa, ON – Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario – FedNor
Terry Sheehan, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, today announced a total FedNor investment of $1,825,250 in two projects in the Superior East and Algoma areas. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
Of the total funds, $1,600,000 will go to the Superior East Community Futures Development Corporation (SECFDC) in support of operating costs for the period of 2025 to 2029. The funding will help SECFDC provide business counselling and investment services to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as leadership in community strategic planning, succession planning, and socio-economic development.
The remaining $225,250 of FedNor funds will support R&R Watson Inc. in renovating and expanding their Windy Point Lodge facility, a fly-in fishing and hunting destination resort. FedNor’s investment will enable the renovation and expansion of the main lodge, dock, and cabins. This project will allow Windy Point Lodge to accommodate both more guests and staff. As a fly-in fishing and hunting destination, the lodge will help expand regional tourism by drawing visitors from urban centres to nearby rural communities.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2
News Release Friday, March 21, 2025
Treatment shows potential to slow the progression of human degenerative eye diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed eye drops that extend vision in animal models of a group of inherited diseases that lead to progressive vision loss in humans, known as retinitis pigmentosa. The eye drops contain a small fragment derived from a protein made by the body and found in the eye, known as pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). PEDF helps preserve cells in the eye’s retina. A report on the study is published in Communications Medicine. “While not a cure, this study shows that PEDF-based eye drops can slow progression of a variety of degenerative retinal diseases in animals, including various types of retinitis pigmentosa and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD),” said Patricia Becerra, Ph.D., chief of NIH’s Section on Protein Structure and Function at the National Eye Institute and senior author of the study. “Given these results, we’re excited to begin trials of these eye drops in people.” All degenerative retinal diseases have cellular stress in common. While the source of the stress may vary—dozens of mutations and gene variants have been linked to retinitis pigmentosa, AMD, and other disorders—high levels of cellular stress cause retinal cells to gradually lose function and die. Progressive loss of photoreceptor cells leads to vision loss and eventually blindness. Previous research from Becerra’s lab revealed that, in a mouse model, the natural protein PEDF can help retinal cells stave off the effects of cellular stress. However, the full PEDF protein is too large to pass through the outer eye tissues to reach the retina, and the complete protein has multiple functions in retinal tissue, making it impractical as a treatment. To optimize the molecule’s ability to preserve retinal cells and to help the molecule reach the back of the eye, Becerra developed a series of short peptides derived from a region of PEDF that supports cell viability. These small peptides can move through eye tissues to bind with PEDF receptor proteins on the surface of the retina. In this new study, led by first author Alexandra Bernardo-Colón, Becerra’s team created two eye drop formulations, each containing a short peptide. The first peptide candidate, called “17-mer,” contains 17 amino acids found in the active region of PEDF. A second peptide, H105A, is similar but binds more strongly to the PEDF receptor. Peptides applied to mice as drops on the eye’s surface were found in high concentration in the retina within 60 minutes, slowly decreasing over the next 24 to 48 hours. Neither peptide caused toxicity or other side effects. When administered once daily to young mice with retinitis pigmentosa-like disease, H105A slowed photoreceptor degeneration and vision loss. To test the drops, the investigators used specially bred mice that lose their photoreceptors shortly after birth. Once cell loss begins, the majority of photoreceptors die in a week. When given peptide eye drops through that one-week period, mice retained up to 75% of photoreceptors and continued to have strong retinal responses to light, while those given a placebo had few remaining photoreceptors and little functional vision at the end of the week. “For the first time, we show that eye drops containing these short peptides can pass into the eye and have a therapeutic effect on the retina,” said Bernardo-Colón. “Animals given the H105A peptide have dramatically healthier-looking retinas, with no negative side effects.” A variety of gene-specific therapies are under development for many types of retinitis pigmentosa, which generally start in childhood and progress over many years. These PEDF-derived peptide eye drops could play a crucial role in preserving cells while waiting for these gene therapies to become clinically available. To test whether photoreceptors preserved through the eye drop treatment are healthy enough for gene therapy to work, collaborators Valeria Marigo, Ph.D. and Andrea Bighinati, Ph.D., University of Modena, Italy, treated mice with gene therapy at the end of the week-long eye drop regimen. The gene therapy successfully preserved vision for at least an additional six months. To see whether the eye drops could work in humans – without actually testing in humans directly – the researchers worked with Natalia Vergara, Ph.D., University of Colorado Anschutz, Aurora, to test the peptides in a human retinal tissue model of retinal degeneration. Grown in a dish from human cells, the retina-like tissues were exposed to chemicals that induced high levels of cellular stress. Without the peptides, the cells of the tissue model died quickly, but with the peptides, the retinal tissues remained viable. These human tissue data provide a key first step supporting human trials of the eye drops. The research was funded by the NEI Intramural Research Program. Additional funding was provided by the Prevention of Blindness Society, Fondazione Telethon, HEAL-ITALIA Foundation, CellSight Development Fund, and Research to Prevent Blindness. Reference: Bernardo-Colón A, Bighinati A, Parween S, Debnath S, Piano I, Adani E, Corsi F, Gargini C, Vergara N, Marigo V, and Becerra SP. “H105A peptide eye drops promote photoreceptor survival in murine and human models of retinal degeneration.” Mar 21, 2025, Comms Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-00789-8 NEI leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs to develop sight-saving treatments and address special needs of people with vision loss. For more information, visit https://www.nei.nih.gov. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health® ###
America’s Butterfly Populations Down 22% over Past Two Decades
Butterfly populations are declining quickly across the United States, highlighting the urgent need for management strategies that protect these key pollinators, according to a new nationwide study funded in part by the Midwest CASC.
Between 2000 and 2020, the number of butterflies in the United States fell by 22%, according to a new study funded in part by the Midwest CASC. The researchers calculated this alarming decline from over 76,000 surveys and 12.6 million records of individual butterflies combined from 35 different monitoring programs across the country. There were enough records for the researchers to calculate population trends for 342 of the 554 total species in the dataset.
Butterflies are essential pollinators and, as caterpillars, are important food sources for many types of birds. They are also the most widely surveyed group of insects. Despite this, this study, published in the journal Science, is the first to pull together data from various monitoring programs to analyze nationwide trends. Many of these monitoring programs rely on citizen science efforts, so understanding the full scale of the butterfly decline wouldn’t have been possible without community involvement. The researchers found that about half of the species had populations that declined by more than 42% over the twenty-year period, while 107 species declined more than 50%, and four species more than 99%. Only nine species in the study experienced population increases.
Butterflies play a key role as pollinators for both wild and agricultural plants – including many flowers that bees don’t visit. Yet, habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides are driving their widespread declines. The study’s authors emphasize that, despite these challenges, butterflies have short life cycles which allows for rapid population growth and recovery – provided the right conditions and strategies are in place.
This research was funded in part by the Midwest CASC project:“Evaluating the Role of Climate on Midwestern Butterfly Trajectories, Monarch Declines, and the Broader ‘Insect Apocalypse.’”
Physics and poetry might seem like an unlikely pair, but both are rooted in structure, rhythm and precision. Both rely on clarity – distilling complex ideas into their simplest, most elegant form. And, as I explore in my latest book The Poetry of Physics, both seek to capture something fundamental about the universe.
Some physicists have embraced this connection. James Clerk Maxwell, the Scottish physicist and mathematician behind the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, wrote verse about atoms, thermodynamics and imposter syndrome. Rebecca Elson, an astrophysicist studying dark matter, wrote poems that fused cosmic exploration with human fragility. Their work reminds us that physics is not just about numbers – it is about patterns, motion and meaning.
Writing poetry about science can seem daunting. But structure helps. Just as scientific experiments follow a method, poetic forms can provide a scaffold that can shape your ideas and guide your writing, giving you boundaries within which to explore.
Form matters. The structure of a poem can mirror the scientific idea it describes, making both the form and the content work together. A nonnet, for example, is a perfect choice for writing about loss, decay, or transformation.
A nonnet is a nine-line poem that starts with a line of nine syllables and decreases by one syllable per line, ending with a single-syllable word. This structure creates a natural sense of diminishing, making it ideal for exploring physical processes like entropy, energy loss, or the melting of sea ice. The shrinking lines do not just tell the story – they embody it, visually and rhythmically reinforcing the concept.
Take entropy for example. Entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness within a system. A system with high entropy is more chaotic, while a system with low entropy is more structured. According to the second law of thermodynamics, the total entropy of an isolated system can only increase or remain constant – it never decreases. This natural progression toward disorder can be creatively captured through a nonnet, a poetic form that mirrors the gradual decline of structure.
The tea cools, spreading its warmth outward
Molecules slow, drift apart, fade
Heat unwinds in quiet waves
Order gives way to chance
Each moment less still
Motion dissolves
Atoms hum
Time flows
Gone
The structure mirrors the process it describes – just as the syllables fall away, so too does energy, dissipating into the surroundings. The poem does not just explain entropy; it makes you feel it.
Writing your own physics poem
To start, choose a scientific concept with a natural progression – something that grows, collapses, fades or transforms. A black hole swallowing light. The cooling of a neutron star. The flickering of a quantum state.
Once you have your subject, let the structure guide you. The longest line should introduce the concept, setting up the movement that follows. Each line should shrink not just in syllables but in intensity, following the physical process you are describing. Keep the language clear and simple – both physics and poetry thrive on precision.
Most importantly, let the poem take its time. Writing is like experimentation – your first attempt is rarely your final result. Refine, adjust and revise until the form and meaning align.
Once you have experimented with a nonnet, you may want to explore other poetic forms. Different structures can emphasise different aspects of physics, shaping the way the subject is presented and experienced. Perhaps a haiku, a villanelle, or maybe even a sestina?
Eventually, as in physics, structure should not confine you. It should empower you. Just as quantum mechanics could only emerge after centuries of classical physics, free verse poetry becomes most effective once you understand the forms it is breaking away from. Poetic structure teaches control, rhythm and precision. It helps you learn how to balance content and form, just as classical mechanics teaches foundational principles that underpin later discoveries.
Once you are comfortable with structured poetry, try letting go. Write about physics with no predetermined form. Let the language shape itself. See where the words take you.
And when you have something you are happy with, why not share it? The Brilliant Poetry Competition 2025 invites writers from around the world to explore the connections between science and poetry. This year’s competition is themed around UNESCO’s international year of quantum science and technology, with prizes of up to £1,000 and entries accepted in English, French and Spanish.
Physics is already rich with poetry. Its rhythms are found in the orbits of planets, its symmetry is woven into the fabric of the universe, its surprises are hidden in the flicker of quantum states. Writing a physics poem is not about forcing science into art but about recognising the poetry that is already there. The universe is waiting. Now, all you need to do is write.
Sam Illingworth 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 cannabis-derived product CBD has been hailed “the wonder drug of our age”, offering potential health benefits without the high. From juices and coffee to truffles and ice cream, CBD products have flooded the market for consumers looking for an answer to health problems from anxiety to insomnia.
But with CBD products in the UK and EU falling under “novel foods” regulations rather than pharmaceutical standards, they aren’t subjected to the same rigorous safety and quality controls as drugs. The UK’s Committee on Toxicology has even flagged potential health risks, such as liver injury, leading the Food Standards Agency to issue safety guidance.
The regulatory gaps and health concerns of today reflect those of the 19th century when cannabis products were commercialised by the food industry.
In the 1830s, William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish doctor, discovered that cannabis was effective in treating muscle spasms and stomach cramps. French psychiatrist Jacques-Joseph Moreau later explored its potential for mental illness. This led many 19th-century doctors to champion cannabis as a cure-all.
It wasn’t long before patent medicine manufacturers began using cannabis as a common ingredient in their formulas. But soon, cannabis wasn’t just in pharmacies – it was in food.
Surprisingly, this shift was not driven by the food industry, but by the free church environment in Sweden as part of efforts to combat tuberculosis – a leading cause of death across all social classes in the country at the time.
Paul Petter Waldenström, leader of the Swedish Mission Covenant, wrote a letter to Svenska Morgonbladet about a woman reportedly cured of tuberculosis by a homebrewed gruel made with hempseed, rye flour and milk. His endorsement helped popularise the remedy and many started making their own “Waldenström gruel”, as it became known.
Sensing a business opportunity, entrepreneur J. Barthelson developed a powdered commercial version with the elegant French name Extrait Cannabis. He marketed it as a dietary remedy for tuberculosis, chest diseases and low energy. As demand grew, competitors quickly jumped on the bandwagon, using fearmongering tactics to persuade consumers that they were putting their lives at risk without it.
The rise and fall of Maltos-Cannabis
The most striking cannabis-infused product of the era came from the Red Cross Technical Factory. Their “health drink”, Maltos-Cannabis, was a maltose and cannabis blend marketed as both nutritious and delicious, especially when mixed with cocoa.
With an aggressive advertising campaign, the company raked in nearly SEK 290,000 a year (around £775,000 in modern money), opening factories in Chicago, Helsinki, Brussels and Utrecht.
A particularly dramatic advertisement depicted the Grim Reaper fleeing from the light of science, shining from a lighthouse. Meanwhile, a mother and daughter raised their arms triumphantly, symbolising victory over death thanks to Maltos-Cannabis. The tagline boldly claimed that the product had “a big future”.
Maltos-Cannabis advertisement, Hälsovännen, 1 February 1894. Wikimedia Commons
However, questions swirled about its legitimacy. Newspapers debated whether the product was a groundbreaking remedy or “a pure scam product”. While some critics called the craze an “epidemic”, others argued coffee was more harmful – a hot topic in Sweden’s parliament at the time.
In response, Red Cross published a half-page rebuttal signed by its executives, defending the product’s credibility. But scepticism persisted. After various lawsuits and growing concerns over its effectiveness and safety, sales of Maltos-Cannabis began to decline. By the 1930s, the product had disappeared entirely.
History repeats itself?
The 19th-century commercial cannabis market was able to thrive due to the absence of marketing regulations for both food and pharmaceutical products. Manufacturers freely advertised their products using pseudo-scientific claims and buzzword-heavy marketing – strategies we’re seeing again today in the thriving CBD industry.
This is because CBD is a “borderline” product, existing in a regulatory grey area that allows for marketing strategies to flourish without stringent oversight. Much like in the past, brands tap into consumers’ health anxieties with promises of a wellness revolution. Most worryingly, social media influencers are being used to endorse CBD, making it particularly appealing for younger audiences.
With the global CBD market valued at US$19 billion in 2023 and projected to grow by 16% annually until 2030, looking back at the broader, problematic history of commercial cannabis should serve as a cautionary tale.
Lauren Alex O’Hagan 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.
When Hong Kong-listed conglomerate CK Hutchison announced it was selling its two port concessions on the Panama Canal to a US consortium led by New York-based giant BlackRock, the Chinese government issued a strongly worded rebuke.
Through government-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao, Beijing accused the US of forcing the deal “through despicable means”, and claimed that if this was completed: “The United States will definitely use it for political purposes … China’s shipping and trade there will inevitably be subject to the United States.”
CK Hutchison’s decision to sell its ports, which it has operated since 1997, to a US-led buyer came after the US president, Donald Trump, criticised Chinese influence over this strategically vital waterway. In his inaugural address, Trump claimed, falsely, that “China is operating the Panama Canal” and vowed “we’re taking it back”. In fact, data shows that the majority of traffic through the canal goes to or from the US.
This has stoked fears in Beijing that US companies operating ports on the canal will do Washington’s bidding and potentially seek to restrict China’s access. Beijing’s angry response indicates the rivalry between the two great powers is deep and ongoing.
While it is likely that this rivalry will continue to intensify under Trump, the president is unpredictable. Indeed, he sees unpredictability as a virtue – a way to keep advisers and foreign leaders on their toes.
When asked last year whether he would support Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Trump gave his own twist on the longstanding US policy of “strategic ambiguity”, saying: “I don’t want to reveal my cards … I wouldn’t want to give away any negotiating abilities by giving information like that to any reporter.”
This means there are multiple plausible outcomes for the US-China relationship in the second Trump administration.
On the one hand, there is a very strong, bipartisan consensus in Washington that China poses a systemic, generational challenge to American power. Whereas Russia is viewed as a disruptor, China is a potential peer competitor that could build a new international order based on Beijing’s preferences and interests.
Since Trump’s first term in office, the US has been aggressively waging a “tech war” on China to limit its technological and military development, by cutting off access to high-end semiconductors designed by US companies.
This was intensified in the Biden years with new sanctions on Chinese tech companies, and the passage of the Chips and Science Act, designed to encourage the return of semiconductor manufacturing to the US. Defensive weapons sales to Taiwan had already been increased in Trump’s first term – and remained at high levels under Joe Biden.
What Biden called “extreme competition” with China has become the main organising principle of US foreign policy. While Republican lawmakers have, so far, been willing to go along with Trump’s diplomacy when it comes to Russia, there is likely to be less tolerance of a similar approach to China.
Unlike other US presidents, Trump does not seem to believe that alliances extend American power in the world – although he does still want the US to be the undisputed number one. In his second inaugural address, he vowed to “build the strongest military the world has ever seen”.
Trump sees China as an economic adversary, one of the reasons for imposing punitive tariffs of 20% on all incoming goods. China has retaliated with tariffs of its own and and has proposed more restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals. These are vital components of semiconductors, electric batteries and many weapons – and the global market is dominated by China.
Policy shift?
The US State Department recently signalled a possible shift in policy towards Taiwan, removing the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” from its fact sheet on Taiwan in February. This irritated Beijing, which sees the island as an integral part of China.
This subtle move away from the US’s longstanding “One China” policy – along with the tariffs and Trump’s hostility to alleged Chinese influence over the Panama Canal – suggests the continuation of a hostile, competitive approach to China.
That said, as Trump’s recent diplomacy with Russia and his comments about absorbing Greenland showed, he is not afraid to upend the established norms of US foreign policy. He enjoys provoking the “globalist” foreign policy establishment. He lauds his own deal-making abilities, and would not want to fight a war with China over Taiwan.
Trump is attracted to “strongman” leaders and claims to have “a great relationship with President Xi”. He achieves his goals by taking maximalist positions (for example, the punitive tariffs) which he uses to extract concessions. At a recent press conference, Trump stated: “I see so many things saying we don’t want China in this country. That’s not right. We want them to invest in the United States. That’s good. That’s a lot of money coming in.”
Trump is well aware the US is heavily dependent on imported semiconductors from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) – the world’s leading chip manufacturer – and has repeatedly accused Taiwan of “stealing” the US semiconductor industry. He recently took credit for TSMC’s announcement that it would invest a further US$100 billion (£77 billion) in three chip factories in Arizona, declaring that production of vital semiconductors inside the US was “a matter of national security”.
But it will take years for TSMC’s investments to come to fruition in terms of aiding US self-sufficiency in chip manufacture. In the meantime, it is not out of the question that Trump could seek a deal with China that guarantees US access to imported chips from Taiwan, in return for China absorbing the island peacefully. Given the historic importance of Taiwan to Beijing, this could appeal.
Avoiding war could also be popular with Trump voters who want to put “America first” without getting embroiled in foreign wars. Although the hawkish China consensus is firmly embedded in Washington, its continuation is not guaranteed while the mercurial Trump is at the helm.
Maria Ryan has received funding from the British Academy.
Legend has it that William Tell shot an apple from his young son’s head. While there are many interpretations of the tale, from the perspective of the theory of technology, a few are especially salient.
First, Tell was an expert marksman. Second, he knew his bow was reliable but understood it was just a tool with no independent agency. Third, Tell chose the target.
What does all this have to do with artificial intelligence? Metaphorically, AI (think large language models or LLMs, such as ChatGPT) can be thought of as a bow, the user is the archer, and the apple represents the user’s goal. Viewed this way, it’s easier to work out how AI can be used effectively in the workplace.
To that end, it’s helpful to consider what is known about the limitations of AI before working out where it can – and can’t – help with efficiency and productivity.
First, LLMs tend to create outcomes that are not tethered in reality. A recent study showed that as much as 60% of their answers can be incorrect. Premium versions even incorrectly answer questions more confidently than their free counterparts.
Second, some LLMs are closed systems – that is, they do not update their “beliefs”. In a mutable world that is constantly changing, the static nature of such LLMs can be misleading. In this sense, they drift away from reality and may not be reliable.
What’s more, there is some evidence that interactions with users lead to a degradation in performance. For example, researchers have found that LLMs become more covertly racist over time. Consequently, their output is not predictable.
Third, LLMs have no goals and are not capable of independently discovering the world. They are, at best, just tools to which a user can outsource their exploration of the world.
Finally, LLMs do not – to borrow a term from the 1960s sci-fi novel Stranger in a Strange Land – “grok” (understand) the world they are embedded in. They are far more like jabbering parrots that give the impression of being smart.
Think of the ability of LLMs to mine data and consider statistical associations between words, which they use to mimic human speech. The AI does not know what statistical association between words mean. It does not know that the crowing of the rooster does not lead to a sunrise, for example.
Of course, an LLM’s ability to mimic speech is impressive. But the ability to mimic something does not mean it has the attributes of the original.
Lightening the workload
So how can you use AI more effectively? One thing it can be useful for is critiquing ideas. Very often, people prefer not to hear criticism and feel a loss of face when their ideas are criticised – especially when it happens in public.
But LLM-generated critiques are private matters and can be useful. I have done so for a recent essay and found the critique reasonable. Pre-testing ideas can also help avoid blind spots and obvious errors.
Second, you can use AI to crystallise your understanding of the world. What does this mean? Well, because AI does not understand the causes of events, asking it questions can force you to engage in sense-making. For example, I asked an LLM about whether my university (Bath) should widely adopt the use of AI.
While the LLM pointed to efficiency advantages, it clearly did not understand how resource are allocated. For example, administrative staff who are freed up cannot be redeployed to make high-level strategic decisions or teach courses. AI has no experience in the world to understand that.
Third, AI can be used to complement mundane tasks such as editing and writing emails. But here, of course, lies a danger – users will use LLMs to write emails at one end and summarise emails at the other.
You should consider when a clumsily written personal email might be a better option (especially if you need to persuade someone about something). Authenticity is likely to start counting more as the use of LLMs becomes more widespread. A personal email that uses the right language and appeals to shared values is more likely to resonate.
Fourth, AI is best used for low-stakes tasks where there is no liability. For example, it could be used to summarise a lengthy customer review, answer customer questions that are not related to policy or finance, generate social media posts, or help with employee inductions.
Where decisions might have serious consequences, human input is better. M Stocker/Shutterstock
Consider the opposite case. In 2022, an LLM used by Air Canada misinformed a passenger about a fee – and the passenger sued. The judge held the airline liable for the bad advice. So always think about liability issues.
Fans of AI often advocate it for everything under the sun. Yet frequently, AI comes across as a solution looking for a problem. The trick is to consider very carefully if there is a case for using AI and what the costs involved might be.
Chances are, the more creative your task is, or the more unique it is, and the more understanding it requires of how the world works, the less likely it is that AI will be useful. In fact, outsourcing creative work to AI can take away some of the “magic”. AI can mimic humans – but only humans “grok” what it is to be human.
Akhil Bhardwaj 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: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The State of the Global Climate 2024 report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) shows that key climate change indicators have again reached record levels. Although long-term warming (averaged over decades) currently sits below 1.5°C, sea-level rise and ocean warming will be irreversible for hundreds of years. Record greenhouse gas concentrations combined with El Niño and other factors to drive 2024 record heat, while glacier melt accelerated and extreme weather caused massive social and economic upheaval.
Journalists came to this online briefing to hear from some of the authors of the report and put their questions to them.
Speakers included:
Prof Chris Hewitt, Director of Climate Services Division, WMO
Dr Omar Baddour, Chief Climate Monitoring, WMO
Dr John Kennedy, Scientific Coordinator and Lead Author of the report
Dr Karina von Schuckmann, Senior advisor, Ocean Science for Policy, Scientific Direction, Mercator Ocean international, France
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
The Prime Minister has appointed 5 Trustees to the British Museum
The Prime Minister has appointed Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE, Tom Holland, Dr. Tiffany Jenkins, Martha Kearney and Claudia Winkleman as trustees of the British Museum; their four year terms started on 19 March 2025.
Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE
Daniel is a columnist on The Times newspaper and a member of the House of Lords. He is also the author of a family memoir and history of the Second World War, ‘Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad’.
He joined the Times in 2001 having previously worked as an adviser to John Major when Sir John was serving as Prime Minister and William Hague when he was leader of the Opposition.
He is a patron of the Wiener Holocaust Library, a director of Chelsea FC, and the Chair of the Chelsea FC Foundation. In 1997 he was awarded an OBE as Director of Research for the Conservative Central Office.
Tom Holland
Tom is an award-winning historian, translator and broadcaster. He has written books about the Graeco-Persian wars; Roman history from the fall of the Republic to the age of Hadrian; empire and religion in late antiquity; Anglo-Saxon England; 11th century Latin Christendom; and the evolution and impact on the world of Christianity. He has translated Herodotus and Suetonius for Penguin Classics.
He is co-presenter of the history podcast, The Rest is History. He has written and presented numerous TV documentaries, on subjects ranging from the Islamic State to dinosaurs. He is a Board Member of the British Library and an honorary fellow of Queens’ College, Cambridge.
Dr. Tiffany Jenkins
Tiffany is a writer and academic. Her latest book, ‘Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life’, is set to be published in May 2025. Previous publications include ‘Keeping Their Marbles: How the Treasures of the Past Ended up in Museums and Why They Should Keep Them’ (2016) and ‘Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections: The Crisis of Cultural Authority’ (2010).
She has served as an honorary fellow in the History of Art at the University of Edinburgh and as a visiting fellow in the Department of Law at the London School of Economics. Her broadcasting contributions include presenting the series ‘A History of Secrecy, Contracts of Silence’, and ‘Beauty and the Brain: What Science Can and Cannot Tell Us About Art’ for BBC Radio 4. Additionally, she frequently appears as a critic on Radio 4’s Front Row, and her opinion pieces have been published in The Observer, Financial Times, The Spectator, and The Scotsman, where she previously served as a weekly opinion columnist.
Martha Kearney
Martha Kearney is a BBC presenter. She has presented the Today programme, The World at One, Woman’s Hour and Newsnight Review. As well as being Political Editor of Newsnight, she reported from Northern Ireland for many years and has had many overseas assignments including several trips to Afghanistan.
Martha was educated in Edinburgh and at Oxford University where she studied classics. Archaeology remains a lifelong passion. After leaving Today in 2024 Martha has launched a new interview series for BBC Radio Four called This Natural Life.
Claudia Winkleman
As a child, Claudia went to the National Gallery and British Museum almost every Saturday morning with her father, igniting a passion which eventually led her to study History of Art at Cambridge University in 1993.
After graduation, Claudia went on to work in television and radio and has done so for the past 30 years. She has hosted shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, The Traitors, The Piano and The Great British Sewing Bee. Claudia hosted the Radio 2 Arts Show for six years before hosting her eponymous show every Saturday morning at 10. In 2023 she won the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance.
Claudia has written weekly columns for The Independent and The Sunday Times and continues to write for The Times. She is a Trustee for Comic Relief, a patron for Child Bereavement UK, and an Ambassador for The King’s Trust.
Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Tom Holland, Dr. Tiffany Jenkins, Martha Kearney and Claudia Winkleman have not declared any significant political activity.
Lord Daniel Finkelstein has declared he has been a parliamentary candidate and a party official for the Conservative Party, and a parliamentary candidate for the Social Democratic Party. He also canvassed for both parties and held minor party office at a local level for both. He currently has the Conservative whip in the House of Lords.
DCMS has around 400 regulated Public Appointment roles across 42 Public Bodies including Arts Council England, Theatres Trust, the National Gallery, UK Sport and the Gambling Commission. We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. To find out more about Public Appointments or to apply to be a Trustee of a National Museum or Gallery visit the HM Government Public Appointments Website.
Federal support for upgrades to Village musical acadien will enhance visitor experience
March 21, 2025 · Evangeline, Prince Edward Island · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Tourism plays a vital role in Atlantic Canada, driving local economies, creating jobs and strengthening communities. It also helps preserve and celebrate the region’s diverse cultural heritage. The Government of Canada is investing to help a Prince Edward Island community share the vibrant traditions, culture and stories of the Acadian people.
Today, Bobby Morrissey, Member of Parliament for Egmont, announced a commitment of up to $284,200 to Village musical acadien in the Évangéline region, P.E.I. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
Village musical acadien is a cultural hub that celebrates the region’s Acadian heritage through music, food and historic exhibitions. This contribution will help the village make upgrades to the interior and exterior of the property’s arrival area and install energy efficient lighting. These improvements will create a welcoming and memorable visitor experience.
Today’s announcement demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to building a robust and sustainable tourism sector that showcases the diversity of Atlantic Canada.
New genomic data aids in preventing the species from disease while advancing conservation efforts
Credit: Donald Cameron
Leaves of the white oak (Quercus alba)
U.S. National Science Foundation-funded researchers at Indiana University and Penn State have collaborated with scientists from the U.S. Forest Service and others to produce the first complete genome for the white oak (Quercus alba). This tree provides large amounts of timber and is the primary species used in barrels for aging spirits.
Data to complete the genome came from a range of academic sources, such as the Forest Service, state forests and industry. By combining those data into an unbiased annotation of the white oak’s genes, the researchers have created a resource to understand genetic diversity and population differentiation within the species, assess disease resistance and the evolution of genes that enhance it, and compare with other oak genomes to determine evolutionary relationships between species and how the genomes have evolved.
“Plants, including trees, help meet society’s needs for food, fuel, fiber and, in this case, other key economic services. Having genomic data like this helps us address important biological questions, including those related to the economic and societal use of the species,” said Diane Jofuku Okamuro, a program officer in the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences.
The research included the use of the NSF-supported CAGEE (computational analysis of gene expression evolution) software. The tool enabled the researchers to study gene expression and the evolution thereof across the various oak species.
“Often, the community needs new tools and methods to capture and analyze the data necessary for biological discoveries, and NSF has long supported investments in cyberinfrastructure like CAGEE that benefit a wide range of researchers,” said David Liberles, also a program officer in the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences.
