NewzIntel.com

Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Celebrates National Farm to School Month with Students and Vermont Farmers at Montpelier High School

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    MONTPELIER, VT – During National Farm to School Month and to celebrate Vermont’s farms and local food systems, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) visited Montpelier High School with local farmers and Vermont agriculture leaders to meet with students and talk about the impact of Farm to School programming on education and wellness. While at MHS, he joined the students for a nutritious and locally-sourced meal prepared by students, and saw the school’s greenhouse, gardens and hoop house, where students grow greens in biology class for the cafeteria and study genetics through growing hot peppers which are then processed into a hot sauce sold to the cafeteria and community.
    “Our State’s farmers have fed and inspired our kids for generations in Vermont. This incredible program at Montpelier High School, and so many other Farm to School programs at schools across Vermont, are showing students how complex agriculture is—with science, math, entrepreneurship and creativity deeply rooted in the curriculum. Learning can happen behind a desk, but it can also happen in the garden and greenhouse as you study the genetics of peppers, and as you make a fresh batch of delicious hot sauce,” said Sen. Welch. “I am thankful Montpelier High School students met with me today and shared a locally-grown meal, and am glad we were joined by Vermont’s fantastic farmers and agriculture leaders. Schools across America should replicate Vermont’s great success and celebrate Farm to School Month every month like we do.”
    See photos from the tour below:

    Senator Welch was joined by students, local farmers; educators, staff and administrators from Montpelier High School; the Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network; The Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools; and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets Anson Tebbetts.
    “Students are engaged in this work, and they enjoy cooking and being a part of their regional food system. I want to continue to foster those learning experiences for students,” said Sam Bromley, Educator at Montpelier High School.
    “Montpelier High School is such a good example of engaging students with their community and their food system, encouraging entrepreneurial ventures, and integrating farm to school learning into existing curriculum. When students are in the cafeteria, they are seeing the food they grew and the food they know is from their local farms. Those connections stay with them into adulthood,” said Betsy Rosenbluth, Farm to School Director, Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools.
    Senator Welch is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Development. The Senate’s draft Farm Bill, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, supports programming that distributes fresh fruits and vegetables to schools. Farm-fresh school meals for all are a reality in Vermont, and Sen. Welch is a cosponsor of federal legislation—the Universal School Meals Program Act, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—to permanently end child hunger in schools. Senator Welch is also an original sponsor of the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act, which would cancel student lunch debt nationwide.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Environment – Greenpeace condemns rapid removal of freshwater protections by Government

    Source: Greenpeace

    Greenpeace is slamming the Government for proceeding with a controversial bill to strip back freshwater protections, which passed its second reading late last night.
    Greenpeace freshwater spokesperson Will Appelbe says, “New Zealanders value clean, swimmable lakes and rivers, and access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right.
    “By stripping away freshwater protections, the Government will undermine these key values that New Zealanders hold dear. Christopher Luxon’s coalition Government is positioning itself as anti-environment by putting commercial interests over the health of communities and ecosystems.”
    The Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill seeks to remove the requirement for resource consent applicants to comply with Te Mana o Te Wai, as well as removing restrictions on mud farming or intensive winter grazing.
    “Nobody wants to see cows giving birth knee-deep in mud. Nobody wants local streams choked with algal blooms or their tap water contaminated. But these are the real consequences of pushing this bill through Parliament,” says Appelbe.
    Already, many rural communities across the country, especially in Canterbury, are facing high levels of nitrate in their drinking water. A growing body of science shows that long-term exposure to levels of nitrate above 1 mg/L can lead to an increased risk of developing bowel cancer, and at levels above 5 mg/L, the New Zealand College of Midwives advises pregnant people to find an alternative water source due to an increased risk of preterm birth.
    “Greenpeace will continue to stand with communities and fight to end pollution of lakes, rivers, and drinking water at source. This means reducing the dairy herd, ending the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, and stopping new big irrigation schemes,” says Appelbe.
    Greenpeace is hosting a town hall meeting this Saturday in Rangiora to discuss the water pollution crisis in Canterbury – the hotspot of freshwater pollution in Aotearoa – and to support local communities in taking action on the issue. Additionally, more than twenty thousand people have signed a Greenpeace petition calling on the Government to leave New Zealand’s freshwater protections alone.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: NHC vice-minister meets with president of Swedish Karolinska Institutet

    Source: People’s Republic of China Ministry of Health

    Cao Xuetao, vice-minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), met with Annika Östman Wernerson, president of the Karolinska Institutet of Sweden, in Beijing on Oct 11. The two sides exchanged views on promoting China-Sweden cooperation in healthcare.

    Cao said he appreciated the exchanges and cooperation between Karolinska Institutet and Chinese universities, research institutes and hospitals. He added that China encourages medical schools and health institutions from both countries to deepen cooperation in medical research and clinical practice, and supports Chinese institutions including the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences to continue practical cooperation with Karolinska Institutet in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer, medical personnel training and academic exchanges.

    He also briefed the Swedish guests about the goals and measures of health reform highlighted at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

    Wernerson presented the progress made in collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and relevant Chinese institutions. She said her institute attaches great importance to cooperation with the related Chinese institutions, and is ready to further strengthen exchanges with the Chinese side to jointly contribute to global health development.

    Officials from relevant NHC departments and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College attended the meeting.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Shaping a better future with AI Literacy during Europe Code Week

    Source: Google

    AI is quickly transforming our world, introducing new opportunities and challenges across almost every industry. To ensure a future where everyone benefits from this powerful technology, we must work collectively to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate it.

    Empowering young people through Europe Code Week

    Europe Code Week has been promoting digital literacy and sparking interest in technology among young people since 2014. In 2021 alone, over 4 million people from 80+ countries participated and nearly half of them were young women, highlighting the importance of fostering an inclusive environment within the tech industry.

    2024’s upcoming Europe Code Week will continue this very important work, encouraging creativity and problem-solving through coding and computer science. Taking place from 14th to 27th October, this fun and engaging introduction to the digital world aims to help young people make sense of the rapidly changing world and explore new ideas.

    Leading the change with Women Techmakers in 2024

    Google has proudly participated in Europe Code Week since 2015, actively supporting initiatives that cultivate digital literacy and promote diversity in tech. This year is no different and we are delighted to collaborate with Women Techmakers, a program championing female talent in the tech sector.

    In alignment with our broader commitment to supporting organizations that empower future generations, Google.org recently supported the Raspberry Pi Foundation with $10 million in funding to expand access to Experience AI to educators and young people across Europe, Middle East and Africa. This innovative program, co-developed with Google DeepMind, provides teachers with the training and resources needed to both educate and inspire young people aged 11-14 about AI and the role it could play in their lives.

    Women Techmakers, through its dedicated network of volunteer ambassadors, aims to significantly amplify program awareness and expand reach across Europe, Middle East and Africa. These passionate advocates for diversity and inclusion will spearhead Experience AI workshops and training sessions, inspiring young girls and fostering a love for technology.

    Participate in Europe Code Week

    Through collaborations like Europe Code Week and Women Techmakers, we can inspire future generations of tech leaders and build a more inclusive industry for all.

    We invite you to explore upcoming Experience AI Events organized by our Women Techmakers ambassadors for Europe Code Week 2024.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Study Surveys CT’s Forest Owners Ahead of Funding for Sustainable Initiatives

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    A new study updates a gap in data about Connecticut’s private forest owners.

    A vast majority, 71%, of Connecticut’s 1.75 million acres of forest are owned by private individuals.

    This means understanding private woodland owners’ priorities and interests is critical for state and federal outreach and funding programs.

    Ava Smith ’22 (CAHNR), now a social science research specialist at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, realized there were limited efforts in the last decade to update information about forest owners in Connecticut.

    “It’s important to continuously update our understanding and knowledge of private forest owners so that we can keep up and inform conservation targets,” Smith says.

    This survey sought to assess woodland owners’ interest in participating in forest management plans. These are individualized plans that help the owners engage in management practices to support whatever their intentions for their lands are.

    “It’s an effort on the part of the woodland owner to give some thought to the future,” says Thomas Worthley, associate extension professor of forest stewardship. “We know what the land is like now and we know how people use it now, but what is their intent five, ten, fifteen years from now with respect for their land? And the plan is a document that spells out how to accomplish whatever that vision is.”

    While they were not able to reach all forest owners, the researchers found some important differences within the group.

    This research, by Smith, Worthley, and Chadwick Rittenhouse, associate professor in residence in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, was published in Trees, Forests and People.

    For example, they found male landowners were more likely to have a management plan in place than female landowners.

    Smith says this may be because women have not historically been private landowners, or, it may just be a matter of women having different priorities for their lands as those interested in timber production or hunting.

    “Historically private landowners have been predominantly male,” Smith says. “It has been changing though. It could be that female landowners don’t know what avenues to pursue. They don’t necessarily have the same knowledge base or networks that landowners who have had the land for generations and generations do.”

    Ava Smith (Contributed photo)

    Woodland owners in Connecticut are generally more likely to be interested in the non-commercial benefits that forests provide such as privacy, connecting with nature, protecting wildlife habitat, or preserving a family legacy.

    “While the value of wood products is not to be ignored, that’s generally not their highest priority,” Worthley says.

    Those with plans were also more likely to be aware of resources available to them and be enrolled in a state program that incentivizes people to keep their land as woodlands, agricultural land, or open space.

    The survey showed that those who did not have a plan were generally neutral about developing one, rather than actively against them.

    The researchers also found that landowners had priorities beyond what they originally included as options such as pollinator protection.

    “To us, it means that there needs to be a level of effort or thought put into future educational programming and represent those varied interests,” Smith says. “If programs are not tailoring to the interests of the landowners, that’s potentially why participating in certain programming is low or landowners are not reaching out to their local service forester to learn more about what they can do to better their lands.”

    One of the biggest motivators for conducting this survey now is that within the next decade, the federal and state governments are going to provide funding to private woodland owners to enact climate sustainable practices, but only if they have a management plan in place.

    These practices will aim to improve forest resiliency to changes in temperatures and severe weather events or increase carbon sequestration.

    “As the public, we are depending on the forest to sequester carbon from the atmosphere,” Worthley says. “The only practical way we have of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is to grow green things as fast as we can.”

    This means forest owners can concentrate on which kinds of trees can grow fastest and sequester the most carbon, as one example of a sustainable management practice.

    As an extension forester, Worthley will be working diligently over the next few years to connect woodland owners with resources at UConn and beyond to help them get these plans in place.

    Private woodland owners can contact UConn Extension, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Forestry Division, or the National Resources Conservation Service to begin the process of creating a management plan.

    This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Advancing Adaptation and Resilience in a Changing Climate.

    Follow UConn CAHNR on social media.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Month of Discovery: Nadine Noaman ‘26, Uncovering UConn Muslim History

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The contributions of the Muslim community at UConn — from the Arabic language program, to partnerships with international universities, to the Muslim Student Association and the Islamic Center at UConn (ICUC) — are now so integral to the University that a newly arrived first-year student might not think twice about how they all came to be, says Nadine Noaman ’26 (CLAS).

    But Noaman knows exactly how much work went into creating today’s community.

    “The impact of these generations should not go unnoticed. We are part of UConn history,” she says.

    Noaman is currently producing a docuseries entitled “Tracing the Trailblazers: UConn’s Muslim Community, Accommodations, and Activism Journey,” funded by the UConn IDEA grant and UConn BOLD Women’s Leadership Network.

    The impact of these generations should not go unnoticed. We are part of UConn history.

    For the project, Noaman is collecting oral histories from alumni and students who span the last half-century of Muslim life at UConn. The earliest interviewees were doctoral students at UConn in the 1970s; the most recent are current undergraduates, Noaman’s peers.

    The series has three major aims, says Noaman: to preserve this rich community history, to highlight strides made by Muslims at UConn, and to track the impact of Muslim student activism on the university.

    For Noaman, this history is personal. She herself is a third-generation leader in UConn’s Muslim community: both her maternal grandparents received their PhDs from UConn in the 1980s, and her mother received a Pharm.D. from the school. (Her aunt and uncle are also alumni.)

    The UConn International House in the 1950s. (Jerauld A. Manter/Department of Archives & Special Collections/UConn Library)

    From the Ashes

    In late 2023, a fire destroyed the Whitney House on the edge of the UConn Storrs campus – an iconic white building near Mirror Lake that had variously served as UConn’s International House and the home of the Rainbow Center over the past 50 years. The house was dismantled after the University deemed it beyond repair.

    “One of the earliest memories that I have that sparked the idea [for ‘Tracing the Trailblazers’] was when my mom and I were passing by the International House when they were about to take it down,” Noaman remembers. “And she started to recall how impactful that building was on campus. She shared how there were communal prayers and Eid celebrations – so many initiatives and events took place there that brought communities together.”

    “It’s unfortunate that the building is no longer physically there,” she continues. “In that moment, I realized I want to honor and preserve the legacy and experiences of these past generations at UConn.”

    UConn’s Muslim students tabling at the International Fair in the 1980s. (Courtesy of Nadine Noaman)

    Though the International House is no longer standing, UConn’s Muslim community has found other venues for sharing space and strengthening community ties. The Islamic Center at UConn (ICUC) hosts daily prayers, holiday festivities, and weekly halaqas, or lecture circles, to discuss Islam-related topics. It also accommodates the Muslim Student Association (MSA), of which Noaman is the Islamic Education Chair.

    “I love when I have the opportunity to do tabling; I get to talk to other amazing Huskies on campus and clear up misconceptions about Islam or provide accurate knowledge,” she says.

    In addition, Noaman also currently works as a coordinator for UConn Salaam, a program within the Asian American Cultural Center. Salaam develops programming that increases accurate knowledge of Islam, strives to dismantle Islamophobia, and builds coalitions amongst various student organizations.

    Muslim community members participate in a weekly halaqa, 2024. (Photo by Nadine Noaman)

    What Changes, What Stays the Same

    MSA table set up for an event informing the student community about Muslim life (Photo by Nadine Noaman)

    As a prominent player in these spaces, Noaman was curious about how Muslim life at UConn had evolved from the experiences of her grandparents to her own. While working on “Tracing the Trailblazers,” she learned that the reasons for this evolution were twofold.

    There were societal issues: the early interviewees recalled hostile jokes about Muslims all living in the desert, while current students report having to counter misconceptions that Islam promotes violence. Though the trends changed over time, they all fall “under the same iceberg: lack of knowledge,” notes Noaman.

    Second, there was the dynamic way the UConn Muslim community advocated for their needs, encouraging the University to be a more positive and inclusive place. Community organizing and solidarity established more accommodations for Islamic worship and holidays for generations to come.

    Celebrating the Diversity of Islam

    By engaging with the stories in “Tracing the Trailblazers,” Noaman says, viewers will be able to appreciate a rich array of perspectives and backgrounds.

    “There is such diversity in our Muslim community – in one Friday prayer, we realized that we had over 40 different nationalities represented,” she says.

    Muslim Huskies go on to make a difference for the University and the world, contributing in diverse ways, too.

    “We are a religion of peace,” says Noaman. “There’s a strong emphasis on being active in our community and helping others. So, many of my friends are in fields like healthcare and engineering because they want to embody those specific Islamic values.”

    Editing “Tracing the Trailblazers.” (Courtesy of Nadine Noaman)

    Noaman herself (who is double-majoring in Psychological Sciences and Spanish) wants to go into education – a field for which her coursework, student leadership, and independent research have well prepared her.

    Once complete, “Tracing the Trailblazers” will be available to stream online, and Noaman hopes to be able to host an on-campus premiere as well. She extends her gratitude to God, as well as her family, peers, and the BOLD network and IDEA grant team who supported this independent project.

    Having the funding was “affirming and motivating, and it gave me the resources to be detailed in the research aspect,” Noaman says. “I’ve done traditional research before, but embarking on this project has expanded my understanding of what I see as research, and so I’m grateful for this experience – times a gazillion-fold.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Science expeditions in snow, hail and air pollution

    Source: US Government research organizations

    NSF celebrates the 2024 Earth Science Week theme ‘Earth Science Everywhere’ with 3 upcoming field campaigns across the country

    Starting this winter through next summer, the U.S. National Science Foundation is supporting three field campaigns, or collaborative research activities, to study atmospheric phenomena. The first will take place in Colorado and focus on snowstorms. Soon after that wraps up, another group of researchers will gather in the Great Plains to study hailstorms. Finally, a team of scientists will take to the skies above New York City to look at air pollution drivers.

    Winter snowstorms from a cloudy perspective

    Credit: Melissa Dobbins

    From their perch in a wind vane atop the Storm Peak Laboratory, several cloud probes measure the properties of snowflakes and aerosols.

    Claire Pettersen and a group of researchers will spend 4 1/2 months working at a lab atop a Colorado mountain this coming winter as part of an NSF-funded field campaign to improve snowfall forecasts and climate change projections in the western U.S. mountains.

    The team includes scientists from multiple universities gathering at NSF-supported Storm Peak Lab, which sits atop Mount Werner next to a chairlift in the Steamboat Ski Resort, about an hour northwest of Denver. “Storm Peak Lab is a really cool place to design a field campaign,” Pettersen, a professor at the University of Michigan, said. “The lab actually sits inside a cloud when it snows on the mountain.”

    The lab’s unique location and cutting-edge meteorological instruments make it an ideal location to study how mountains impact winter clouds and snowfall. The upcoming effort, called the Snow Sensitivity to Clouds in a Mountain Environment (S2noCliME) field campaign, will leverage many NSF-funded resources in addition to the lab’s instruments, including the Colorado State University Sea-Going Polarimetric Radar, which will help the team study how storms can strengthen or weaken as they move through the region, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook radar observatory, which will help the team investigate cloud and ice particles during a snowstorm.

    The team is working with scientists at the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) to put together a public field catalog that holds its data and observations. The team is also connecting with the community, including the local airport and nearby schools, to share weather forecasts and raise awareness of the campaign. “We want to provide something to the community that’s useful,” Pettersen said.

    Springing into hailstorms in the Plains

    After the snow melts and spring turns to summer next year, hail scientist Becky Adams-Selin of the company Atmospheric and Environmental Research, along with 14 collaborating institutions from 11 states and four countries, will spend six weeks in the Great Plains and Front Range studying hailstones falling from the sky.

    Hail can destroy buildings and devastate crops. To better understand the science behind the ice, Adams-Selin is leading an upcoming field campaign called In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains (ICECHIP), which will use a variety of instruments and techniques to study hail processes in thunderstorms in the Great Plains and Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

    Credit: Becky Adams-Selin, AER

    A 3D-printed replica of the 7-inch hailstone that fell in Aurora, Nebraska on June 22, 2003.

    “It’s been a few decades since the last major field campaign focused on hail,” Adams-Selin.

    ICECHIP plans to make up for the long gap with a multipronged approach. The team will send out four mobile radars to characterize hailstones’ physical characteristics, like their size and shape. During a hailstorm, the team will use custom-designed equipment to capture the stones as they fall and redirect them into a cooler. Other plans include creating 3D printed hail models and then using drones to drop them to see how fast they fall.

    “Hail science is having a renaissance moment,” Adams-Selin said. Not only will this campaign provide valuable data for researchers and weather forecasters, but it will also aid insurance companies trying to set rates and mitigate damage, roofing companies, farmers and other entities affected by hail. “We are very integrated with the people who will use our science,” she said.

    City air in the summertime

    In the height of summer next year, John Mak and a team of researchers will spend four to six weeks studying what happens in the air above and around New York City.

    “New York City is a unique environment with a lot of relevance to the American population,” Mak, a professor at Stony Brook University, said. “We will fly the NSF NCAR C-130 aircraft and collect gases and particles to study this densely populated area that has a forest to its north, ocean to its south and large urban center in its center.” The resulting information will inform future research on ozone and air pollution and provide important information to air quality agencies to help them make decisions on methodologies for mitigating air pollution.

    The Greater New York Oxidant, Trace gas, Halogen and Aerosol Airborne Mission (GOTHAAM) will focus on the summer months. The warmer temperatures and longer days make for a unique laboratory setting to see how both urban and natural emissions from surrounding forests and water bodies create unique chemical reactions that can impact air quality and public health.

    “You can get a really interesting ‘soup’ of different kinds of compounds that can change throughout the day,” Mak said. “We’ll be exploring the interplay among the different pots, looking at how they mix throughout the day and what happens overnight, and how this impacts the next day’s chemistry as the sun comes up.”

    Earth Science Week activities

    Whether they’re studying snow in Colorado, hail in the Great Plains or air pollution in New York City, NSF-supported scientists are supporting the 2024 Earth Science Week theme, ‘Earth Science Everywhere.’

    Here are some activities related to each field campaign for K-12 students and educators:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU hosted a strategic session “Youth Laboratories: Uniting to Solve Regional and National Problems”

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    The event is part of a series of strategic sessions aimed at forming a community of youth laboratory leaders, developing horizontal connections, and identifying problems that arise during the creation and operation of such research centers.

    The creation of youth laboratories is one of the activities for the implementation of the national project “Science and Universities”. The main goal of the organized strategy sessions is to determine the role of youth laboratories in the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation.

    The strategic session, which took place at NSU, brought together 115 heads of youth laboratories from different cities of the Siberian Federal District – Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and others.

    Deputy Governor of the Novosibirsk Region Irina Manuilova took part in the session; she spoke about the importance of supporting youth laboratories at the regional level to achieve technological sovereignty and solve the problems of the Decade of Science and Technology:

    — Youth laboratories are an opportunity for young people to find their place, find employment and come to science. Therefore, at the regional level, last year we created three youth laboratories at the expense of the regional budget, we support them and will continue to finance them. We will create another laboratory in 2025. The main thing is that these youth laboratories produce results – the development of the relevant topics that they have chosen and their promotion. This will make a real contribution to the economy and fundamental science. And those very young researchers, who we need like air now, play a huge role in this process in order to fulfill all the tasks that the time and our President set for us.

    The rector of NSU, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Fedoruk addressed the participants with a welcoming speech:

    — The university turned 65 this year. On September 28, 1959, the first 308 students began their studies. Since then, of course, the university has grown a lot: now NSU has more than 8,500 students in 6 faculties and 4 institutes. The university is a participant in all major federal development programs, including the national project “Science and Universities”, we have 7 youth laboratories. I wish you a successful strategic session, to get the most useful things out of it, to find new friends and get a lot of positive impressions.

    Speaking about the objectives of the session, Alina Pavlova, Head of Department at the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Directorate of Scientific and Technical Programs”, member of the Corresponding Council, PhD in Chemical Sciences, and moderator of the session, noted:

    — This strategic session is aimed at identifying the problems, raising the acute issues that you encountered during the implementation of this support measure. And identifying your proposals on how to improve the mechanisms for its implementation. It is important for us that this support measure is convenient, useful, and that it really works to attract young people to science.

    During discussions in interdisciplinary teams, participants identified the most pressing issues, the solution of which will allow them to draw up an effective plan for the development of youth laboratories. Important results included the preparation of proposals for improving work and the development of a comprehensive and systematic approach.

    The leaders of the youth laboratories met with each other, talked, exchanged experiences and proposed creating a platform for further ongoing interaction.

    Irina Chugueva, Deputy Director of the Department for Coordination of Activities of Scientific Organizations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, summing up the session, noted:

    — Colleagues, I am really very glad that you have gathered here. It is very important that you have now communicated and seen each other. I hope that such horizontal connections will emerge that can have a very good effect in the future. Regarding the creation of a common platform for discussion — it is a very good idea. There really should be some kind of resource, an electronic platform where all the heads of youth laboratories can communicate.

    The series of events “Youth Laboratories: Uniting to Solve Regional and National Problems” started on October 8 in Vladivostok. The final strategic session aimed at summarizing the results will be held from November 12 to 14 in Moscow. In the future, a round table dedicated to the development of the youth laboratories project is planned to be held within the framework of the IV Congress of Young Scientists.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://vvv.nsu.ru/n/media/nevs/science/strategic-session-youth-laboratories-uniting-to-solve-problems-reg/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Aman Agrawal, Postdoctoral Scholar in Chemical Engineering, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

    How did early cells keep themselves distinct while allowing for some amount of exchange? UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering/Peter Allen, Second Bay Studios, CC BY-ND

    Billions of years of evolution have made modern cells incredibly complex. Inside cells are small compartments called organelles that perform specific functions essential for the cell’s survival and operation. For instance, the nucleus stores genetic material, and mitochondria produce energy.

    Another essential part of a cell is the membrane that encloses it. Proteins embedded on the surface of the membrane control the movement of substances in and out of the cell. This sophisticated membrane structure allowed for the complexity of life as we know it. But how did the earliest, simplest cells hold it all together before elaborate membrane structures evolved?

    In our recently published research in the journal Science Advances, my colleagues from the University of Chicago and the University of Houston and I explored a fascinating possibility that rainwater played a crucial role in stabilizing early cells, paving the way for life’s complexity.

    The origin of life

    One of the most intriguing questions in science is how life began on Earth. Scientists have long wondered how nonliving matter like water, gases and mineral deposits transformed into living cells capable of replication, metabolism and evolution.

    Chemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey at the University of Chicago conducted an experiment in 1953 demonstrating that complex organic compounds – meaning carbon-based molecules – could be synthesized from simpler organic and inorganic ones. Using water, methane, ammonia, hydrogen gases and electric sparks, these chemists formed amino acids.

    The Miller-Urey experiment showed that complex organic compounds can be made from simpler organic and inorganic materials.
    Yoshua Rameli Adan Perez/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Scientists believe the earliest forms of life, called protocells, spontaneously emerged from organic molecules present on the early Earth. These primitive, cell-like structures were likely made of two fundamental components: a matrix material that provided a structural framework and a genetic material that carried instructions for protocells to function.

    Over time, these protocells would have gradually evolved the ability to replicate and execute metabolic processes. Certain conditions are necessary for essential chemical reactions to occur, such as a steady energy source, organic compounds and water. The compartments formed by a matrix and a membrane crucially provide a stable environment that can concentrate reactants and protect them from the external environment, allowing the necessary chemical reactions to take place.

    Thus, two crucial questions arise: What materials were the matrix and membrane of protocells made of? And how did they enable early cells to maintain the stability and function they needed to transform into the sophisticated cells that constitute all living organisms today?

    Bubbles vs droplets

    Scientists propose that two distinct models of protocells – vesicles and coacervates – may have played a pivotal role in the early stages of life.

    Miniature compartments, such as lipid bilayers configured into capsules like liposomes and micelles, are important for cellular organization and function.
    Mariana Ruiz Villarreal, LadyofHats/Wikimedia Commons

    Vesicles are tiny bubbles, like soap in water. They are made of fatty molecules called lipids that naturally form thin sheets. Vesicles form when these sheets curl into a sphere that can encapsulate chemicals and safeguard crucial reactions from harsh surroundings and potential degradation.

    Like miniature pockets of life, vesicles resemble the structure and function of modern cells. However, unlike the membranes of modern cells, vesicle protocells would have lacked specialized proteins that selectively allow molecules in and out of a cell and enable communication between cells. Without these proteins, vesicle protocells would have limited ability to interact effectively with their surroundings, constraining their potential for life.

    Coacervates, on the other hand, are droplets formed from an accumulation of organic molecules like peptides and nucleic acids. They form when organic molecules stick together due to chemical properties that attract them to each other, such as electrostatic forces between oppositely charged molecules. These are the same forces that cause balloons to stick to hair.

    One can picture coacervates as droplets of cooking oil suspended in water. Similar to oil droplets, coacervate protocells lack a membrane. Without a membrane, surrounding water can easily exchange materials with protocells. This structural feature helps coacervates concentrate chemicals and speed up chemical reactions, creating a bustling environment for the building blocks of life.

    Thus, the absence of a membrane appears to make coacervates a better protocell candidate than vesicles. However, lacking a membrane also presents a significant drawback: the potential for genetic material to leak out.

    Unstable and leaky protocells

    A few years after Dutch chemists discovered coacervate droplets in 1929, Russian biochemist Alexander Oparin proposed that coacervates were the earliest model of protocells. He argued that coacervate droplets provided a primitive form of compartmentalization crucial for early metabolic processes and self-replication.

    Subsequently, scientists discovered that coacervates can sometimes be composed of oppositely charged polymers: long, chainlike molecules that resemble spaghetti at the molecular scale, carrying opposite electrical charges. When polymers of opposite electrical charges are mixed, they tend to attract each other and stick together to form droplets without a membrane.

    Coacervate droplets resemble oil suspended in water.
    Aman Agrawal, CC BY-SA

    The absence of a membrane presented a challenge: The droplets rapidly fuse with each other, akin to individual oil droplets in water joining into a large blob. Furthermore, the lack of a membrane allowed RNA – a type of genetic material thought to be the earliest form of self-replicating molecule, crucial for the early stages of life – to rapidly exchange between protocells.

    My colleague Jack Szostak showed in 2017 that rapid fusion and exchange of materials can lead to uncontrolled mixing of RNA, making it difficult for stable and distinct genetic sequences to evolve. This limitation suggested that coacervates might not be able to maintain the compartmentalization necessary for early life.

    Compartmentalization is a strict requirement for natural selection and evolution. If coacervate protocells fused incessantly, and their genes continuously mixed and exchanged with each other, all of them would resemble each other without any genetic variation. Without genetic variation, no single protocell would have a higher probability of survival, reproduction and passing on its genes to future generations.

    But life today thrives with a variety of genetic material, suggesting that nature somehow solved this problem. Thus, a solution to this problem had to exist, possibly hiding in plain sight.

    Rainwater and RNA

    A study I conducted in 2022 demonstrated that coacervate droplets can be stabilized and avoid fusion if immersed in deionized water – water that is free of dissolved ions and minerals. The droplets eject small ions into the water, likely allowing oppositely charged polymers on the periphery to come closer to each other and form a meshy skin layer. This meshy “wall” effectively hinders the fusion of droplets.

    Next, with my colleagues and collaborators, including Matthew Tirrell and Jack Szostak, I studied the exchange of genetic material between protocells. We placed two separate protocell populations, treated with deionized water, in test tubes. One of these populations contained RNA. When the two populations were mixed, RNA remained confined in their respective protocells for days. The meshy “walls” of the protocells impeded RNA from leaking.

    In contrast, when we mixed protocells that weren’t treated with deionized water, RNA diffused from one protocell to the other within seconds.

    Inspired by these results, my colleague Alamgir Karim wondered if rainwater, which is a natural source of ion-free water, could have done the same thing in the prebiotic world. With another colleague, Anusha Vonteddu, I found that rainwater indeed stabilizes protocells against fusion.

    Rain, we believe, may have paved the way for the first cells.

    Droplets with meshy walls resist fusion and prevent leakage of their RNA. In this image, each color represents a different type of RNA.
    Aman Agrawal, CC BY-SA

    Working across disciplines

    Studying the origins of life addresses both scientific curiosity about the mechanisms that led to life on Earth and philosophical questions about our place in the universe and the nature of existence.

    Currently, my research delves into the very beginning of gene replication in protocells. In the absence of the modern proteins that make copies of genes inside cells, the prebiotic world would have relied on simple chemical reactions between nucleotides – the building blocks of genetic material – to make copies of RNA. Understanding how nucleotides came together to form a long chain of RNA is a crucial step in deciphering prebiotic evolution.

    To address the profound question of life’s origin, it is crucial to understand the geological, chemical and environmental conditions on early Earth approximately 3.8 billion years ago. Thus, uncovering the beginnings of life isn’t limited to biologists. Chemical engineers like me, and researchers from various scientific fields, are exploring this captivating existential question.

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

    – ref. Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it – https://theconversation.com/rain-may-have-helped-form-the-first-cells-kick-starting-life-as-we-know-it-238291

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 9 million Mozambicans live below the poverty line – what’s wrong with the national budget and how to fix it

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Felix Mambo, Country Economist, London School of Economics and Political Science

    Mozambique ranks in the bottom 20 of the human development index. This measures a country’s progress based on key dimensions such as a long and healthy life and a decent standard of living. Nearly two-thirds of Mozambicans – 18.9 million people – live below the national poverty line of US$0.70-a-day.

    The country also struggles to finance public spending, consistently running state budget deficits . At the same time it also fails to spend all the money that’s been budgeted.

    Mozambique’s frequent budget deficits are no surprise. The country has a rapidly growing population, increasing needs of the poor populations, dilapidated infrastructure, and very limited revenue generation.

    In a recent study on budget credibility in Mozambique we explored how the government’s challenges in meeting its revenue and expenditure targets harm the overall economy. And we suggest solutions.

    Our study focused on public expenditures on the social sector. This included education, health, social protection and public works (which includes water and sanitation). All are vital for human capital generation and poverty reduction. The social sector accounts for 40% of budgeted expenditure. Education is the largest at about 20% of the overall pie.

    Our study introduces – and successfully tests – a simple method that can be easily applied by budget oversight entities. This includes the parliament budget oversight unit and the accounts court. It can also be applied by planning units within ministries, especially the ministry of finance. Finally, it can be used by civil society budget watchdogs, as it relies on public information.

    Adopting it will provide tools to improve budget management in turn leading to more credible budget execution.

    Assessing public financial management

    The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability programme was initiated in 2001 by the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the governments of France, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. The aim was is to improve fiscal outcomes. It has conducted 533 assessments in 155 countries, including 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Ten assessments have been completed in Mozambique.

    The programme defines budget credibility as the extent to which the government’s budget is realistic and implemented as intended. A credible budget reassures a range of stakeholders on the predictability of public expenditure and services. This includes taxpayers, donors and lenders, the firms that supply the government, public workers and the recipients of public services.

    The credibility question

    To measure the credibility of the budget in Mozambique, we used publicly available state budget data. We looked at both planned spending and actual execution.

    In its previous assessments, the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability programme had identified several weaknesses. These included deviations, sector-specific variability, revenue shortfalls and mid-year budget adjustments.

    However, these insights didn’t explore the origins of the underlying budget discrepancies. The assessments therefore didn’t allow for in-depth insights.

    In our study, we further analysed the credibility of the budget measured along expenditure types and the fiscal year.

    Our findings revealed consistent under-execution of budgeted expenditures. This was the case even in years with sufficient revenue. Significant disparities existed along sectors. For example, education and health showed relatively credible budgets compared to public works, social protection and overall non-social expenditures.

    A comparison between types of expenditure showed interesting patterns. An example is the investment expenditures in social sectors (such as schools, health facilities, water, and sanitation). These were primarily externally funded, showed higher volatility and lower credibility than current expenditures. Current expenditures include teachers’ payments and, more generally, overall salaries.

    We also found a strong indication of resource reallocation outside of regular budgetary rules. For example, we found a suggestion that resources initially allocated for investments were redirected to fund current expenditures.

    Finally, we found no strong evidence that mid-fiscal year budget adjustments improved reliability. This was in line with Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability reports.

    Causes and potential solutions

    The Government of Mozambique’s State Budget Account attributes budget inconsistencies to two main factors.

    On one hand, slower economic growth and inefficient tax collection lead to revenue shortfalls. On the other, there were expenditure overruns due to a range of developments. These included natural disasters, health shocks (such as COVID-19), inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and delays in donor disbursements. Administrative and logistical issues that delayed projects also played a role.

    The government has taken steps to mitigate these vulnerabilities. These include:

    • establishing a reserve fund under the new sovereign fund

    • increasing tax collection

    • it has initiated VAT reform. This was suggested by the IMF.

    These efforts are coupled with measures to address expenditure overruns. These include improving transparency and accountability in public budgets. They also include efforts to limit the overall public sector wage expenditure.

    Our study recommends additional strategies to boost budget credibility:

    Sectoral focus: enhance expenditure targeting in social sectors. This includes education, health, social protection and social work. And improve related budgeting processes

    Enhanced investment management: strengthen oversight mechanisms for externally financed projects. The aim would be to reduce fund diversion to unplanned purposes. And better alignment with long term development goals

    Budget adjustments reassessment: focus mid-fiscal-year budget adjustments on strategic reallocation rather than ad-hoc adjustments

    Improved monitoring: implement a system that enables the Ministry of Economy and Finance to identify areas for improvement, potential quick wins and best practices

    Budget credibility is crucial for Mozambique’s economic development and public trust. Effective budget management ensures transparency, predictability, and accountability. All are essential for sustainable growth.

    This is an modified version of a blog, Budget credibility in Mozambique – challenges and solutions, originally published by UNU-WIDER.

    An extended discussion of the topics covered in the blog, Understanding Mozambique’s budget credibility issues and solutions, was published by the International Growth Centre (IGC).

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

    – ref. 9 million Mozambicans live below the poverty line – what’s wrong with the national budget and how to fix it – https://theconversation.com/9-million-mozambicans-live-below-the-poverty-line-whats-wrong-with-the-national-budget-and-how-to-fix-it-240027

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: 9 million Mozambicans live below the poverty line – what’s wrong with the national budget and how to fix it

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Felix Mambo, Country Economist, London School of Economics and Political Science

    Mozambique ranks in the bottom 20 of the human development index. This measures a country’s progress based on key dimensions such as a long and healthy life and a decent standard of living. Nearly two-thirds of Mozambicans – 18.9 million people – live below the national poverty line of US$0.70-a-day.

    The country also struggles to finance public spending, consistently running state budget deficits . At the same time it also fails to spend all the money that’s been budgeted.

    Mozambique’s frequent budget deficits are no surprise. The country has a rapidly growing population, increasing needs of the poor populations, dilapidated infrastructure, and very limited revenue generation.

    In a recent study on budget credibility in Mozambique we explored how the government’s challenges in meeting its revenue and expenditure targets harm the overall economy. And we suggest solutions.

    Our study focused on public expenditures on the social sector. This included education, health, social protection and public works (which includes water and sanitation). All are vital for human capital generation and poverty reduction. The social sector accounts for 40% of budgeted expenditure. Education is the largest at about 20% of the overall pie.

    Our study introduces – and successfully tests – a simple method that can be easily applied by budget oversight entities. This includes the parliament budget oversight unit and the accounts court. It can also be applied by planning units within ministries, especially the ministry of finance. Finally, it can be used by civil society budget watchdogs, as it relies on public information.

    Adopting it will provide tools to improve budget management in turn leading to more credible budget execution.

    Assessing public financial management

    The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability programme was initiated in 2001 by the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the governments of France, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. The aim was is to improve fiscal outcomes. It has conducted 533 assessments in 155 countries, including 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Ten assessments have been completed in Mozambique.

    The programme defines budget credibility as the extent to which the government’s budget is realistic and implemented as intended. A credible budget reassures a range of stakeholders on the predictability of public expenditure and services. This includes taxpayers, donors and lenders, the firms that supply the government, public workers and the recipients of public services.

    The credibility question

    To measure the credibility of the budget in Mozambique, we used publicly available state budget data. We looked at both planned spending and actual execution.

    In its previous assessments, the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability programme had identified several weaknesses. These included deviations, sector-specific variability, revenue shortfalls and mid-year budget adjustments.

    However, these insights didn’t explore the origins of the underlying budget discrepancies. The assessments therefore didn’t allow for in-depth insights.

    In our study, we further analysed the credibility of the budget measured along expenditure types and the fiscal year.

    Our findings revealed consistent under-execution of budgeted expenditures. This was the case even in years with sufficient revenue. Significant disparities existed along sectors. For example, education and health showed relatively credible budgets compared to public works, social protection and overall non-social expenditures.

    A comparison between types of expenditure showed interesting patterns. An example is the investment expenditures in social sectors (such as schools, health facilities, water, and sanitation). These were primarily externally funded, showed higher volatility and lower credibility than current expenditures. Current expenditures include teachers’ payments and, more generally, overall salaries.

    We also found a strong indication of resource reallocation outside of regular budgetary rules. For example, we found a suggestion that resources initially allocated for investments were redirected to fund current expenditures.

    Finally, we found no strong evidence that mid-fiscal year budget adjustments improved reliability. This was in line with Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability reports.

    Causes and potential solutions

    The Government of Mozambique’s State Budget Account attributes budget inconsistencies to two main factors.

    On one hand, slower economic growth and inefficient tax collection lead to revenue shortfalls. On the other, there were expenditure overruns due to a range of developments. These included natural disasters, health shocks (such as COVID-19), inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and delays in donor disbursements. Administrative and logistical issues that delayed projects also played a role.

    The government has taken steps to mitigate these vulnerabilities. These include:

    • establishing a reserve fund under the new sovereign fund

    • increasing tax collection

    • it has initiated VAT reform. This was suggested by the IMF.

    These efforts are coupled with measures to address expenditure overruns. These include improving transparency and accountability in public budgets. They also include efforts to limit the overall public sector wage expenditure.

    Our study recommends additional strategies to boost budget credibility:

    Sectoral focus: enhance expenditure targeting in social sectors. This includes education, health, social protection and social work. And improve related budgeting processes

    Enhanced investment management: strengthen oversight mechanisms for externally financed projects. The aim would be to reduce fund diversion to unplanned purposes. And better alignment with long term development goals

    Budget adjustments reassessment: focus mid-fiscal-year budget adjustments on strategic reallocation rather than ad-hoc adjustments

    Improved monitoring: implement a system that enables the Ministry of Economy and Finance to identify areas for improvement, potential quick wins and best practices

    Budget credibility is crucial for Mozambique’s economic development and public trust. Effective budget management ensures transparency, predictability, and accountability. All are essential for sustainable growth.

    This is an modified version of a blog, Budget credibility in Mozambique – challenges and solutions, originally published by UNU-WIDER.

    An extended discussion of the topics covered in the blog, Understanding Mozambique’s budget credibility issues and solutions, was published by the International Growth Centre (IGC).

    – 9 million Mozambicans live below the poverty line – what’s wrong with the national budget and how to fix it
    – https://theconversation.com/9-million-mozambicans-live-below-the-poverty-line-whats-wrong-with-the-national-budget-and-how-to-fix-it-240027

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by FS at welcome dinner for Standard Chartered Private Bank Global Family Network 2024

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the welcome dinner for the Standard Chartered Private Bank Global Family Network 2024 today (October 15):Bill (Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered, Mr Bill Winters), Ben (President, International, Standard Chartered, Mr Benjamin Hung), Mary (Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered, Ms Mary Huen), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,     Good evening. I am very pleased to join you all at this welcome dinner for Standard Chartered’s inaugural flagship Global Family Network Forum, bringing together influential families from across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.     First of all, I wish to extend our warmest welcome to you all to Hong Kong. You’ve chosen a wonderful time to visit, with the perfect autumn weather gracing our city. International asset and wealth management hub     Hong Kong is Asia’s leading international financial centre and asset and wealth management hub. Just now, Mary has already given you a good idea of the scale of assets under management and the number of family offices in this city. Let me supplement that many asset and wealth management firms are expanding their presence in Hong Kong. They include, of course, Standard Chartered. And no less optimistic are other prominent firms like UBS. Its Chief Executive commented in June this year that Hong Kong might well become the world’s first in the asset management business by 2027.      A world of ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals have gathered in Hong Kong for a good reason. For you can place your wealth, here for good. Unique strengths under “one country, two systems”      Hong Kong, after all, has very strong fundamentals. Our unique strength is the “one country, two systems” arrangement. While being part of China, we preserve all the defining characteristics that make this city unique: practising common law with a judiciary exercising powers independently; maintaining free flow of capital, goods, people and information; a low and simple tax system, and a currency pegged to the US dollar.     As President Xi Jinping made clear on various occasions, this arrangement is here to stay for the long term.Staunch support from the country      Indeed, Hong Kong always enjoys staunch support from the Central Government. Over the years, the central authorities have rolled out highly favourable policies that benefit the city’s progress and advancement. This is well illustrated in our financial market development. In April this year, for instance, the CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission) announced a series of measures to boost Hong Kong’s capital market. That included injecting more liquidity into the Southbound Connect with Hong Kong, and supporting leading Mainland enterprises to list on our stock exchange. Now, over 100 such companies are in the queue for listing in Hong Kong. Diverse investment offerings and opportunities      Above all, the prime value proposition of Hong Kong for family offices is the diverse array of investment offerings and opportunities we offer.      Speaking of our stock market, it is home to over 2 600 companies with a capitalisation of over US$4.6 trillion. Over the years, we have engaged in listing reforms, facilitating such companies from the new economy, biotech and hard-tech sectors to list on our stock exchange, and thus enlarging our pool of quality issuers.      No less vibrant is the bond market. Hong Kong ranked first in the world for 16 years in terms of international bond issuance arranged by Asian institutions. Last year, around US$90 billion of such bonds were issued, accounting for about a quarter of the market. We are also the hub for Renminbi bonds, including sovereign bonds issued by the central authorities as well as those by provincial and municipal governments.     Hong Kong offers a wide range of financial products that suit impact investors. For example, as Asia’s leading green finance hub, we have on average issued over US$63 billion in green bonds and debt annually over the past three years, accounting for more than one-third of Asia’s total. Over 230 ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds have been authorised by our Securities and Futures Commission, managing approximately US$170 billion in assets.      A rich array of investment products and professional services are underpinning a burgeoning ecosystem for families and their offices here in Hong Kong. The Government has rolled out a package of policies, including tax concessions to family-owned investment holding vehicles managed by single family offices in the city. This year, we have also established a Network of Family Office Service Providers comprising private banks, accounting and legal firms, trusts and other professional service firms, forming a strong nexus that cater to your needs. Recent rally in our stock market     Speaking of investment, you may have noticed the recent rally in our stock market since the central authorities announced a stimulus package to inject liquidity to the banking sector and to provide more support to the real estate sector. Over this period, we have seen strong net buys from American and European investors, and they constituted some 85 per cent of the buy side by value. In terms of the background of those investors, 90 per cent of them are long-term fund managers and investment banks.     In January this year, when I visited Davos to attend the World Economic Forum, I met some investors and fund managers. The message I got from them then was clear – despite geo-economic fragmentation, the world of international investors remained interested in the opportunities of the Mainland market. They have long been waiting for the right time to invest here. Now, they are seeing the opportunity.      And beyond investors from the US and Europe, there is growing interest from our Middle East friends. For example, later this month, two ETFs (exchange-traded funds) will be listed on the Saudi Exchange for investing in our stock market. Making a lasting impact with Hong Kong      Ladies and gentlemen, most if not all, family offices aim for more than just financial returns. They care about the collective good of our society and the planet.      To promote and support philanthropy endeavours, the annual Wealth for Good Summit held in Hong Kong since last year successfully brought together influential family office owners and decision-makers to explore strategies for effective philanthropy and wealth legacy. We will soon launch an “Impact Link” platform to foster the connection between family offices and high-potential, high-social impact philanthropy programmes.     There is also one important dimension of impact investing that I should not miss: innovation and technology. We are home to a vibrant, energetic and promising innovation circle, with many innovators from around the world who gather in Hong Kong, acting to change the world for the better, in AI (artificial intelligence), biotech, green tech, and many more areas. Many of these start-ups are based in our two innovation flagships, the Science Park and Cyberport. They have a global vision, and present valuable opportunities for investment. For instance, one start-up from Science Park has developed geospatial and sensory technologies for precision farming, helping farmers around the world to increase crop yield. Another start-up has developed 3D-printed reef tiles to help restore coral reefs and thus increase regional carbon sequestration capacity. The firm has now expanded to the Middle East.Closing remarks     Ladies and gentlemen, in a nutshell, Hong Kong is where you can conserve and grow your wealth across generations. I believe the speakers at the forum tomorrow will further enlighten us with their valuable insights.      For now, please enjoy this good evening, and I wish you all a rewarding event tomorrow and an enjoyable experience in Hong Kong. Thank you very much. 

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Childless cat ladies’ is a political catchphrase that doesn’t match reality − Democrats and Republicans have similar demographics and experiences when it comes to parenthood

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Laurel Elder, Professor of Political Science, Hartwick College

    Republicans and Democrats tend to have children at around the same rates and ages and to view parenthood in a similar way. iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance infamously said in 2021 that the Democratic Party is run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices they’ve made” – and do not have a “direct stake” in the future of the United States.

    Three years later, after Vance’s selection as Trump’s vice presidential pick, these comments resurfaced and quickly became a cultural touchstone.

    In July 2024, Vance clarified his controversial comments, saying that what he meant was that the Democratic Party has become anti-family and anti-child.

    At a September 2024 campaign event alongside Donald Trump, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders echoed Vance’s sentiments about Democrats being anti-family. “My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble,” she said.

    The single cat lady theme was amplified further when singer Taylor Swift used it to sign off on her Instagram endorsement of Harris.

    While the cat lady framing is new, politicians making parenthood and family a centerpiece in their appeals to the American public has a long history.

    As we show in our 2012 book, “The Politics of Parenthood,” and subsequent research, politicians have been using messages about parenthood as a way to appeal to voters since the 1980s. eg: link wouldn’t work for me

    Content analysis of party platforms and speeches by presidential candidates reveals that both parties have devoted more and more time and space to making the case that they are the true pro-family party. Republicans argue that lower taxes and smaller government strengthen American families, while Democrats argue that strengthening social welfare programs represents the best way to support families.

    Despite the parties’ contrasting pro-family messages and the image conjured by Vance’s childless cat lady comments, Republicans and Democrats are not really that different when it comes to their actual experiences having and raising children.

    Our analysis shows that the age at which Americans have children, how many children they have and whether parents work outside the home are surprisingly similar across partisan lines.

    A woman attends a CatCon event in Pasadena, Calif., in August 2024 and wears a ‘Childless cat ladies for Kamala’ shirt.
    Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    Democrats and Republicans find parenting rewarding

    To explore whether there are differences between Republicans and Democrats in terms of their families, we analyzed data from the 2022 General Social Survey, which had 4,149 respondents. GSS is a nationally representative and well recognized survey of American adults that has been conducted since 1972. We also analyzed data from a 2022 Pew survey of 3,757 mothers and fathers focused on parenting in America.

    This data shows that both Republicans and Democrats deeply value their roles as parents. In the Pew survey, 87% of parents said that their role as a parent is the most important or one of the most important aspects of their identity. Our analysis shows this is true for parents in both parties – 86% of Democrats and 88% of Republicans said they value their role as parents as the most or one of the most important aspects of their identity.

    Similarly, our analysis of the Pew data reveals that Democrats and Republicans both enjoy being parents – 84% of Republicans say they find parenting enjoyable most or all of the time, compared with 81% of Democrats.

    That said, contemporary parenting is also challenging.

    The 2022 Pew survey showed that 29% of parents describe raising children as stressful most or all of the time. And 42% of parents report that raising children is tiring all or most of the time. Our analysis shows that this is equally true for Republicans and Democrats.

    Indeed, the stresses of modern parenthood led the U.S. surgeon general in August 2024 to issue a public health advisory about parents’ declining mental well-being.

    One of the reasons for this stress is that most parents today are balancing parenthood with work. The Republican Party has long embraced “traditional marriage,” meaning a marriage between a man and a woman, where the mother stays home to raise the children. Yet the reality is that most moms have jobs outside the home. In our analysis of the 2022 Pew data, we find that about the same portion of Republican moms – 67% – work outside the home as Democratic moms, who totaled 69%.

    Both Republican and Democratic moms do more parenting

    Another way that the experience of parenthood is similar across partisan lines is that moms spend more time parenting than dads. Pew asked parents with partners and spouses about the division of labor around a variety of child care tasks in 2022.

    In our analysis of the full set of this data, which Pew provided us, we found that 77% of Democratic mothers and 80% of Republican mothers report doing more than their spouse or partner when it comes to managing their children’s activities. And 60% of Democratic mothers and 58% of Republican mothers report providing more comfort and emotional support to their children than their spouses or partners do.

    This may account for why the Pew data reveals that mothers, more so than fathers, report parenting being tiring most or all of the time – 47% for moms, compared with 34% for dads. Once again, our analysis shows that mothers’ higher levels of fatigue hold true for both Republican and Democratic mothers compared with Republican and Democratic dads.

    To assess the demographics of parenthood, we analyzed the 2022 General Social Survey data and found that Republicans and Democrats start their families at a similar age, just as they did a decade ago.

    On average, male and female Democrats are 26 when they have their first kid, while Republicans are 25. Higher levels of education are associated with starting families later, but this is true for those in both parties.

    Looking at women specifically, we find that Democratic women have their first child at 25 years old, and Republican women at 24. There is no evidence that Democratic women – more so than Republican women – are delaying having children so that they can pursue their careers, as suggested by Vance and Sanders in their critiques of the Democratic Party and Harris specifically.

    It is true that Americans are having fewer children compared with a few decades ago. But this drop in having children is nearly universal in high-income democracies, even despite some government policies that seek to increase the birth rate in the U.S.

    Our analysis reveals that the gap between Republicans and Democrats on this issue is modest. On average, Democrats are having 1.53 children, compared with 1.86 for Republicans.

    And the 2022 General Social Survey data shows that Democrats do report having no children at a modestly higher rate than Republicans, but it is men – more than women – who report being childless at higher rates. Among Americans over 40, 22% of Democratic men and 16% of Republican men have no kids, compared with 17% of Democratic women and 10% of Republican women.

    Despite political rhetoric suggesting there is a deep partisan divide among Americans on issues of families and child-rearing, the data tells a different story. It paints a picture of Americans, whether Democrats or Republicans, as remarkably similar in the basic demographics of parenting, as well as in their views about the joys and challenges of parenthood.

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

    – ref. ‘Childless cat ladies’ is a political catchphrase that doesn’t match reality − Democrats and Republicans have similar demographics and experiences when it comes to parenthood – https://theconversation.com/childless-cat-ladies-is-a-political-catchphrase-that-doesnt-match-reality-democrats-and-republicans-have-similar-demographics-and-experiences-when-it-comes-to-parenthood-238960

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: On crime and justice, Trump and Harris records differ widely

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

    Though crime and criminal justice policy are central issues in many elections, that’s not true in 2024. Surveys show that relatively few American voters rank crime as their most important concern.

    Yet both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris say they take those problems seriously. Trump and the Republicans have focused attention on the problem of illegal immigration and the crimes that he says immigrants commit.

    Harris, as The Economist noted, “is using her history as a prosecutor in San Francisco to burnish her tough-on-crime bona fides.” She has mentioned that background in connection with immigration, drug policy and corporate wrongdoing.

    As someone who studies crime and justice in the United States, it is clear to me that there are substantial differences between the two candidates, though each of their records contains some interesting twists and turns.

    Kamala Harris gives her first news conference as attorney general of California in November 2010.
    AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

    Kamala Harris, the prosecutor

    Harris has a long record of working in the criminal justice system. She worked in the Alameda County district attorney’s office in California, starting in 1990, where she specialized in child sexual assault cases. She then served as district attorney in San Francisco from 2004 to 2010 and as attorney general of California from 2010 to 2017, when she was elected to the U.S. Senate.

    Axios reported that during her term as district attorney, “the number of violent crimes rose steadily in the city of San Francisco during her first five years in office then fell 15% in her last two years.” And when she served as the state’s attorney general, “the violent crime rate in the state was 439.6 per 100,000 residents the year before she took office and fell to 396.4 by 2014. … However, violent crime surged to 444.8 in 2016 during her last year in office to a six-year high,” Axios reported.

    In both offices, Harris undertook a number of reforms in criminal justice policy.

    For example, in San Francisco she developed a “Back on Track” initiative“ that aimed to help nonviolent drug offenders between the ages of 18 and 30. According to The New York Times, its key promise was that ”after a full year of employment, education, community service, regular meetings with a supervising judge and crime-free behavior, the charge would be expunged from the offender’s record.“ It was generally well received, especially among progressives.

    When Harris became the state’s attorney general, she reformed California’s approach to school truancy by focusing on the parents of truant children. As The New York Times reported, she threatened them ”with fines or even imprisonment if they did not ensure that their children attended class.“ FactCheck.org found that as a result of her policy, ”district attorneys reported prosecuting 3 to 6 … cases per year,“ on average.

    Considering Harris’ record in California, The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California) said Harris ”earned a reputation as tough on sexual abuse, human trafficking and organized crime, and did not shy away from pursuing incarceration.“

    Throughout her career, Harris has been an opponent of the death penalty. During her first campaign for San Francisco district attorney, she promised that she would never seek a death sentence no matter how heinous the crime. She stuck to that promise, but as attorney general she went to court to defend death sentences that had been imposed under prior administrations.

    The Los Angeles Times said her decision to do so was an appropriate one for the attorney general, ”putting professional responsibility over personal politics.“

    CNN summarized her record on capital punishment by saying it ”broke hearts on both sides.“

    Donald Trump speaks at a meeting about prison reform in 2018.
    AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

    Donald Trump’s record as president

    Trump, by contrast, was a strong proponent of the death penalty during his time in the Oval Office. In March 2018, he directed the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty in cases involving drug traffickers. The department also vigorously pursued new death penalty prosecutions in other areas and defended existing death sentences in court.

    After a long time without any federal executions, the Trump administration carried out 13 of them in the last seven months of his term. ProPublica said Trump’s administration ”executed more federal prisoners than any presidency since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s” and more than the prior 10 presidents combined.

    In other areas, the Trump administration stepped in to stop some criminal justice reform initiatives. For example, according to ABC News, Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, stopped former President Barack Obama’s effort to end prison privatization, and then began distributing contracts for new privately run detention centers.

    But during his presidency, Trump was not consistent in being tough on crime. For instance, in March 2018, he signed an executive order creating the Federal Interagency Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry Council. He charged it with identifying ways “to provide those who have engaged in criminal activity with greater opportunities to lead productive lives” and to develop “a comprehensive strategy that addresses a range of issues, including mental health, vocational training, job creation, after-school programming, substance abuse, and mentoring.”

    The Biden administration built on and extended those efforts.

    And in December 2018, Trump supported the so-called “First Step Act,” which passed Congress with bipartisan support. It funded efforts to reduce the likelihood that inmates would be convicted again after their release, including by providing addiction treatment, mental health care, education and job training.

    Trump also commuted the sentences of more than 90 people and pardoned more than 140 others. His use of clemency power was quite controversial, as some of its beneficiaries were Trump associates, such as Steve Bannon and Paul Manafort, who led Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and had committed financial fraud.

    As far as the crime rate during Trump’s presidency, the Dallas Morning News reported that “During the first three years of Trump’s presidency, the violent crime rate per 100,000 population … fell each year. But, the Morning News – citing Politifact – said that in 2020, “the violent crime rate spiked,” though it was slightly lower than it had been in Obama’s final year in office.

    Crime and criminal justice in the next administration

    The next president will have choices to make about the crime and justice policies that the federal government will pursue and about whether to emphasize reform or harsh punishment. He or she will also have to decide whether, and how, the federal government should use grants and other funding, guidelines and enforcement to further those goals.

    Their records suggest that Harris and Trump would make very different choices about those and other crime and criminal justice issues.

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

    – ref. On crime and justice, Trump and Harris records differ widely – https://theconversation.com/on-crime-and-justice-trump-and-harris-records-differ-widely-240004

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Candidate experience matters in elections, but not the way you think

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Charlie Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

    Previously holding political office is an obvious advantage for candidates seeking votes. SDI Productions/E+/Getty Images

    Ever since he was chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate back in July, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, has come under a level of scrutiny typical for a vice presidential candidate, including for some of his eyebrow-raising public statements made in the past or during the campaign.

    One line of critique has persisted through the news cycles: that his lack of political experience may make Vance less qualified than others, including his opponent, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, to be vice president.

    Do more politically experienced politicians have advantages in elections? And if they enjoyed such advantages in the past, do they still in such a polarized political moment?

    The answers are complicated, but political science offers some clues.

    Why experience should matter

    Previously holding political office, and for a longer period of time, is in some ways an obvious advantage for candidates making the case to potential voters. If you were applying for a job as an attorney, previous legal experience would be favorably looked upon by an employer. The same is true in elections: If you want to run for office, experience as an officeholder could help you perform better at the job you’re asking for.

    This approach has been taken by a number of high-profile politicians over the years. For example, in Hillary Clinton’s first campaign for president in 2008, the U.S. senator from New York and future secretary of state made “strength and experience” the centerpiece of her argument to the voters.

    Experience also might matter for the same reasons as incumbency – that is, when a candidate is currently holding the office they are seeking in an election. Incumbents typically have much higher name recognition than their challenger opponents, distinct fundraising advantages and, at least in theory, a record of policy achievement on which to base their campaigns. Even for nonincumbents, these advantages are more prevalent for previous officeholders rather than someone who is a newcomer to politics.

    Barack Obama and his family on Nov. 4, 2008, the day he won the presidential election, showing that a lack of political experience can be used as a benefit.
    Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

    Inexperienced, or an ‘outsider’?

    But Hillary Clinton was, of course, unsuccessful in her first bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. She was beaten by a relatively inexperienced candidate named Barack Obama; like Vance, Obama had served less than a full term in the Senate before running for higher office.

    Obama’s 2008 win shows that a lack of political experience can be leveraged as a benefit.

    One of the few things Obama and Donald Trump have in common is that both benefited from an appeal to voters as a political “outsider” in elections in which Americans were frustrated with the political status quo. As outsiders, they appeared uniquely positioned to fix what voters believed was wrong with politics.

    Does experience equal ‘quality’?

    The “outsider” label isn’t always a ticket to victory.

    In 2020, for example, voters were frustrated with the chaos of having a political outsider in the White House and turned to Joe Biden – possibly the most experienced presidential candidate in modern history at that point, with eight years as vice president and several decades in the Senate under his belt. Voters were hungry for political normalcy in the White House and made that choice for Biden.

    Does U.S. Sen. JD Vance’s lack of political experience make him less qualified than his opponent, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, to be vice president?
    Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Political science has other important lessons about when experience matters and when it doesn’t. In Congress, electoral challengers – those running against incumbents – enjoy more of a boost from prior experience in places such as the state legislature. In fact, the typical indicator for challenger “quality” used in political science research is a simple marker of whether the challenger has prior political experience.

    But even this finding is more complicated than it seems: Political scientists such as Jeffrey Lazarus have found that high-quality – that is, politically experienced – challengers do better in part because they are more strategic in waiting for better opportunities to run in winnable races.

    Experience matters only sometimes – and maybe less than ever

    The usefulness of a lengthy political resume also depends on which stage of the election candidates are in.

    Research has found, for example, that a candidate’s experience matters much more in settings such as party primaries, where differences between the candidates on policy issues are typically much narrower. That leaves nonpolicy differences such as experience to play a bigger role.

    In the general election, voters supportive of one party are unlikely to factor candidate experience in that heavily, even, or especially, when the candidate they support lacks it.

    The political science phenomenon known as negative partisanship means that, more and more, voters are motivated not by positive attributes of their own party’s candidates but rather by the fear of losing to the other side. This has only been exacerbated as the two parties have polarized further.

    Voters are therefore more willing than ever to lower the standards they might have for their favored candidates’ resumes if it means beating the other side. Even if a Democrat is clearly more qualified than a Republican in terms of political experience, that advantage is unlikely to sway many Republican voters, and vice versa.

    What about 2024?

    In 2024, the experience factor is complicated. Trump, of course, has been president before – the ultimate prior experience for someone running for exactly that office.

    But he has continued to run as an outsider from the political establishment, casting Kamala Harris – who, as vice president, has little actual institutional power – as an incumbent who is responsible for the current state of the country. Since polls show consistently that a majority of Americans believe the country is not headed in the right direction, we can see why Trump might try to frame the race in this way.

    Whether Trump’s strategy ends up working will be more apparent after the election is over. For now, Trump and Harris can rest assured that most of their supporters don’t appear to care how much – or how little – experience they have.

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

    – ref. Candidate experience matters in elections, but not the way you think – https://theconversation.com/candidate-experience-matters-in-elections-but-not-the-way-you-think-240191

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bridget Marshall, Professor of English, UMass Lowell

    An illustration of a court scene during the late-17th century witch trials in Salem, Mass. Christine_Kohler/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    I teach a course on New England witchcraft trials, and students always arrive with varying degrees of knowledge of what happened in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.

    Nineteen people accused of witchcraft were executed by hanging, another was pressed to death and at least 150 were imprisoned in conditions that caused the death of at least five more innocents.

    Each semester, a few students ask me about stories they have heard about dogs.

    In 17th century Salem, dogs were part of everyday life: People kept dogs to protect themselves, their homes and their livestock, to help with hunting, and to provide companionship.

    However, a variety of folklore traditions also associated dogs with the devil – beliefs that long predated what happened in Salem. Perhaps the most famous example of such belief is the case of a poodle named Boy who belonged to Prince Rupert, an English-German cavalry commander on the Royalist side during the English Civil War. Between 1643 and 1644, stories spread across Europe that Boy the poodle had supernatural powers, including shape-shifting and prophecy, that he used to aid his master on the battlefield.

    There is no mention in the official records of Salem’s trials of any dogs being tried or killed for witchcraft. However, dogs appear several times in the testimony, typically because an accused witch was believed to have had a dog as a “familiar” who would do her bidding, or because the devil appeared in the form of a dog.

    Numerous testimonies in the Salem trial records claim that dogs were in league with the devil, adding to the paranoia of this community that was spinning out of control.

    Associating the devil with the dog

    On May 16, 1692, a 45-year-old Amesbury, Massachusetts, man named John Kimball testified against Susanna Martin, a 71-year-old widow, saying, among other things, that she had caused a “black puppy” to appear before him when he was alone in the woods. Kimball testified that he was terrified by the dog, which he thought would tear out his throat. The dog disappeared when he began to pray.

    This, among other testimony, would contribute to Martin’s conviction for witchcraft in June 1692; she was hanged on July 19, 1692.

    In several instances recorded by the courts, accused witches confessed that the devil had appeared to them in the form of a dog. In September 1692, 19-year-old Mercy Wardwell testified that she had been conversing with the devil, and that he had appeared to her in the shape of a dog. Her confession caused her to be jailed, although she was later released when the hysteria died down.

    During the same proceedings that September, 14-year-old William Barker Jr. testified that the “shape of a black dog” appeared to him and provoked anxiety; soon after this, the devil appeared. It’s hard to know if he was suggesting that the dog was the devil himself or his companion.

    Barker confessed that he had “signed the devil’s book,” meaning that he had made a covenant with the devil and was a witch. Barker was jailed, though he would later be acquitted.

    Tituba, a woman of color enslaved in the Rev. Samuel Parris’ household, also testified about a dog. When she was examined by magistrates on March 1, 1692, Tituba recounted how the devil had appeared to her at least four times, “like a great dog” and as “a black dog.” She also said she saw cats, hogs and birds, an entire menagerie of animals working for the devil.

    An accused witch was believed to have a dog or another animal as a ‘familiar’ who would do her bidding,
    © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA

    Kimball’s, Wardwell’s, Barker’s and Tituba’s testimonies certainly may have contributed to the ongoing alarm that the residents of Salem were being led astray by a devil who might appear to them in the shape of a dog.

    Sketchy evidence

    Some popular accounts of the trials also suggest that at least two dogs were killed during the trials, but there is no evidence supporting this in the official legal testimony of the time. There is certainly some local legend that supports the claim, and many accounts of Salem have included these two dog deaths as a part of the story.

    According to local historical researcher Marilynne K. Roach’s 2002 book, “The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege,” some of the afflicted girls claimed that a man named John Bradstreet had bewitched a dog. Although the dog was a victim, it was killed. Roach’s history also notes that another dog was shot to death when a girl claimed that the dog’s specter had afflicted her.

    Witchcraft belief at the time held that witches could send their “spectres,” or spirits, out to do their bidding.

    While these are compelling stories, neither of these events can be verified in any existing official trial documents. The source that Roach cites for the Bradstreet case is Robert Calef’s book “More Wonders of the Invisible World,” which was published in 1700. Calef, who was a Boston merchant, objected to how the trials were conducted. However, he was not present at the trials, and it is not clear what his source was for the dog stories. Such stories – and Calef’s uncited retelling of it – do not have the same authority as the legal documents in the case.

    The earliest account of a dog being shot for being a witch appears in a commentary on the Salem trials, “Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits,” published in 1693, in which the clergyman Increase Mather claims that “I am told by credible persons” that a dog was shot for bewitching a person.

    But significantly, Mather did not name the human victim or the person who told him the story. Surprisingly, Mather actually defended the dog, saying that the fact that they had successfully killed it meant that “this dog was no Devil.”

    Nearly every history of Salem recounts how when Samuel Parris’ daughters were having terrible fits that led people to believe they were bewitched, Tituba, the enslaved woman who lived in the household, baked a “witch cake” using urine from the afflicted girls and fed it to the family’s dog.

    Somehow, this was supposed to cause the dog to reveal the identity of the witch. Indeed, Reverend Parris condemned the ritual, which itself seemed to be its own kind of witchcraft.

    Fear and distrust

    All around, Salem’s witch trials seem to have been bad for dogs. Although there is no official legal evidence that dogs were killed for being witches, it’s clear that there were strong associations between dogs and the devil, and that dogs were sometimes treated poorly because of superstition.

    The Salem trials are a horrifying example of what happens when people use terrible logic and leap to indefensible conclusions with shoddy evidence. In an environment of fear and distrust, even man’s best friend could be suspected of dealings with the devil.

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

    – ref. How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials – https://theconversation.com/how-dogs-were-implicated-during-the-salem-witch-trials-239802

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Farms to fame: How China’s rural influencers are redefining country life

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mitchell Gallagher, Ph.D Candidate in Political Science, Wayne State University

    In the quiet backwaters of Yunnan, Dong Meihua – though her followers know her by the public alias Dianxi Xiaoge – has done something remarkable: She’s taken the pastoral simplicity of rural China and made it irresistible to millions. In her hands, a village kitchen becomes a stage, and the rhythms of farm life become a story as compelling as any novel. She is one of many rural influencers returning to their roots.

    In a digital revolution turning established narratives on their head, China’s countryside is emerging as an unlikely epicenter of viral content. Xiaoge is one of thousands of influencers redefining through social media how the countryside is perceived.

    Upending preconceptions of rural China as a hinterland of poverty and stagnation, this new breed of social media mavens is serving up a feast of bucolic bliss to millions of urbanites. It is a narrative shift encouraged by authorities; the Chinese government has given its blessing to influencers promoting picturesque rural images. Doing so helps downplay urban-rural chasms and stoke national pride. It also fits nicely with Beijing’s rural revitalization strategy.

    Hardship to revival

    To fully appreciate any phenomenon, it’s necessary to first consider the historical context. For decades, China’s countryside was synonymous with hardship and backwardness. The Great Leap Forward of the late 1950s and early 1960s – Communist China’s revered founder Mao Zedong’s disastrous attempt to industrialize a largely agrarian country – devastated rural communities and led to widespread famine that saw tens of millions die.

    The subsequent Cultural Revolution, in which Mao strengthened his grip on power through a broad purge of the nation’s intelligentsia, further disrupted customary rural life as educated youth were sent to the countryside for “reeducation.” These traumatic events inflicted deep scars on the rural psyche and economy.

    Meanwhile, the “hukou” system, which since the late 1950s has tied social benefits to a person’s birthplace and divided citizens into “agricultural ” and “nonagricultural” residency status, has created a stark divide between urban and rural citizens.

    The reform era of Mao’s successor, Deng Xiaoping, beginning in 1978, brought new challenges. As China’s cities boomed, the countryside lagged behind.

    Millions of rural Chinese have migrated to cities for better opportunities, abandoning aging populations and hollowed-out communities. In 1980, 19% of China’s population lived in urban areas. By 2023, that figure had risen to 66%.

    Government policies have since developed extensively toward rural areas. The abolition of agricultural taxes in 2006 heralded a major milestone, demonstrating a renewed commitment to rural prosperity. Most recently, President Xi Jinping’s “rural revitalization” has put countryside development at the forefront of national policy. The launch of the Internet Plus Agriculture initiative and investment in rural e-commerce platforms such as Taobao Villages allow isolated farming communities to connect to urban markets.

    Notwithstanding these efforts, China’s urban-rural income gap remains substantial, with the average annual per capita disposable income of rural households standing at 21,691 yuan (about US$3,100), approximately 40% of the amount for urban households.

    Enter the ‘new farmer’

    Digital-savvy farmers and countryside dwellers have used nostalgia and authenticity to win over Chinese social media. Stars such as Li Ziqi and Dianxi Xiaoge have racked up huge numbers of followers as they paint rural China as both an idyllic escape and a thriving cultural hub.

    The Chinese term for this social media phenomenon is “new farmer.” This encapsulates the rise of rural celebrities who use platforms such as Douyin and Weibo to document and commercialize their way of life. Take Sister Yu: With over 23 million followers, she showcases the rustic charm of northeast China as she pickles vegetables and cooks hearty meals. Or Peng Chuanming: a farmer in Fujian whose videos on crafting traditional teas and restoring his home have captivated millions.

    Since 2016, these platforms have turned rural life into digital gold. What began as simple documentation has evolved into a phenomenon commanding enormous audiences, fueled not just by nostalgia but also economic necessity. China’s post-COVID-19 economic downturn, marked by soaring youth unemployment and diminishing urban opportunities, has driven some to seek livelihoods in the countryside.

    In China’s megacities, where the air is thick with pollution and opportunity, there’s clearly a hunger for something real – something that doesn’t come shrink-wrapped or with a QR code. And rural influencers serve slices of a life many thought lost to China’s breakneck development.

    Compared with their urban counterparts, rural influencers carve out a unique niche in China’s vast social media landscape. Although fashion bloggers, gaming streamers and lifestyle gurus dominate platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, the Chinese TikTok, rural content creators tap into a different cultural romanticism and a yearning for connection to nature. In addition, their content capitalizes on the rising popularity of short video platforms such as Kuaishou and Pinduoduo, augmenting their reach across a wide demographic, from nostalgic retirees to eco-conscious millennials.

    But this is not simply digital escapism for the masses. Tourism is booming in once-forgotten villages. Traditional crafts are finding new markets. In 2020 alone, Taobao Villages reported a staggering 1.2 trillion yuan (around $169.36 billion) in sales.

    The Chinese government, never one to miss a PR opportunity, has spotted potential. Rural revitalization is now the buzzword among government officials. It’s a win-win: Villagers net economic opportunities, and the state polishes its reputation as a champion of traditional values. Government officials have leveraged platforms such as X to showcase China’s rural revitalization efforts to international audiences.

    Authenticity or illusion?

    As with all algorithms, there’s a catch to the new farmer movement. The more popular rural influencers become, the more pressure they face to perform “authenticity.” Or put another way: The more real it looks, the less real it might actually be.

    It raises another question: Who truly benefits? Are we witnessing rural empowerment or a commodification of rural life for urban consumption? With corporate sponsors and government initiatives piling in, the line between genuine representation and curated fantasy blurs.

    Local governments, recognizing the economic potential, have begun offering subsidies to rural content creators, causing skepticism about whether this content is truly grassroots or part of a bigger, state-led campaign to sanitize the countryside’s image.

    Yet, for all the conceivable pitfalls, the new farmer trend is an opportunity to challenge the urban-centric narrative that has dominated China’s development story for decades and rethink whether progress always means high-rises and highways, or if there’s value in preserving ways of life that have sustained communities for centuries.

    More importantly, it’s narrowing the cultural disconnect that has long separated China’s rural and urban populations. In a country where your hukou can determine your destiny, these viral videos foster understanding in ways that no government program ever could.

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

    – ref. Farms to fame: How China’s rural influencers are redefining country life – https://theconversation.com/farms-to-fame-how-chinas-rural-influencers-are-redefining-country-life-239540

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How profits from big pharma’s use of genetic information could revolutionise nature conservation

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Eleanor Jane Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford

    The blood of rare horseshoe crabs is sometimes used in the development of vaccines. Sinhyu Photographer/Shutterstock

    The blue blood of threatened horseshoe crabs contains a chemical essential for testing the safety of vaccines. So these ancient creatures are highly sought after by pharmaceutical companies worldwide, contributing to declines in their populations.

    While species are disappearing at alarming rates, with a global biodiversity financing gap of US$600 billion to US$800 billion (£460 billion to £610 billion) annually, the genetic information of rare plants and animals is a commercially valuable resource.

    Advances in technology now allow the rapid sequencing and sharing of genetic data, bringing huge benefits (and profits) for biotechnology and medicine. However, it also opens the door to “biopiracy”: the unethical or unlawful appropriation of biological resources, typically from countries or Indigenous communities in developing countries.

    Even if genetic information is obtained and used appropriately and within the law, important ethical, legal and financial questions still arise: who owns the genetic data derived from nature, and how can we ensure fair sharing of the benefits derived from their use?

    A key debate at Cop16, the upcoming UN biodiversity conference, will be how best to channel funding into protecting valuable biological resources. If done properly, people can benefit from the genetic information that nature contains, while ensuring that those conserving these resources, particularly Indigenous people, are properly compensated financially for their efforts.

    Our recent paper argues that rules of fair allocation, which have been around since the time of Aristotle, offer a potential way forward.

    Genetic information extracted from living organisms can now be easily digitised and shared across borders. This practice, often referred to as digital sequence information (DSI), plays a pivotal role in advancing research in fields such as medicine, agriculture and environmental science.

    For example, the genome of the COVID-19 virus was digitally sequenced and shared globally, enabling researchers worldwide to use that DSI to develop vaccines quickly.

    Yet, this leads to ethical and legal challenges. The genetic codes of plants and animals from all over the world are stored in international databases, often without proper acknowledgement or compensation to the countries or communities where these sequences originated.

    Countries with rich biodiversity, particularly in developing countries, have raised concerns that their genetic resources are being used – and in some cases monetised and commercialised – without approval or fair compensation. Indigenous peoples and local communities have similar concerns.

    So, who owns genetic data? It depends.

    The ownership of genetic data derived from plants and animals has become a grey area. In theory, countries have sovereignty over their biodiversity, as stipulated in an international agreement adopted in 2010 called the Nagoya protocol. This mandates that countries sharing their biological resources should be compensated through access and benefit-sharing agreements.

    Genetic codes of rare plants aren’t currently owned by their country of origin.
    Polonio Video/Shutterstock

    However, the concept of DSI has complicated these agreements. When genetic data is transformed into a digital format and stored in databases, it is not always clear whether the original country still holds any rights over that data.

    Should the digital sequence information of a rare Amazonian plant, for example, belong to the country where it was found, or is it now part of a global commons available to any researcher or commercial entity? Currently, there is no universal agreement on DSI, and with companies and research institutions using genetic data freely, this opens the door to the next wave of biopiracy

    Biopiracy has been a historical problem, long before digital data entered the picture. For decades, pharmaceutical and agricultural companies have sourced plant and animal materials from the Amazon rainforest or African savannas. They patented products based on those materials and profited without compensating source countries or Indigenous peoples and local communities who may have used these species for generations.

    Now this issue extends beyond physical specimens. The real treasure lies in the genetic information itself. When genetic data is digitised and shared globally, it becomes challenging to trace its origins and hold companies accountable for unauthorised use.

    In the absence of benefit-sharing mechanisms (formal ways to share the monetary and non-monetary benefits of using biodiversity with those who bear the costs of conserving it), companies can patent discoveries derived from DSI, with profits flowing to corporations and research institutions in developed countries.

    Meanwhile, low-to-middle-income nations that are home to these resources and the communities that protect them do not benefit. We argue this is unjust and contributes towards the continued undervaluation and therefore degradation of biodiversity.

    A new genetic code

    At Cop16, a potential solution is up for a negotiation: a global system governing the exchange of DSI, including a multilateral fund into which companies which benefit from DSI would contribute.

    This fund would be used to pay for action to conserve biodiversity, with a specific priority given to funding for Indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth. As well as providing compensation for stewardship of the biodiverse ecosystems that contain these genetic resources, funding can be used for training and capacity-building (such as genetic research), which could start to compensate for longstanding inequalities of opportunity that are built into today’s research and commercialisation systems.

    Many questions remain as to how this fund would work. That will be negotiated at Cop16. One particular challenge is determining how to implement mechanisms to distribute this fund that are fair, enforceable, and do not overburden countries or companies.

    Proposed solutions are grounded in rules of fair allocation. Pharmaceutical companies using DSI could contribute in proportion to their profits or revenues. Beneficiaries could receive payment or other benefits according to criteria such as the levels of biodiversity conserved, threats to biodiversity and financial need.

    This multilateral fund could be a major contributor to conservation finance, and one which is directed at those who actually conserve biodiversity on the ground. It has been described as a potentially “historic breakthrough” by the executive secretary of the convention on biological diversity.

    But there are still major hurdles to overcome. Big pharma companies are resistant due to the potential financial implications. There has been limited engagement from the conservation community, perhaps because fair sharing of the benefits from genetic materials appears much less immediately pressing than the conservation of wild species and their habitats.

    If successful, this could represent a major step towards generating the finance that is desperately needed to support nature conservation. It would set a precedent for similar mechanisms to ensure that those benefiting from using nature pay for the cost of conserving or restoring it – just like bycatch taxes in commercial fisheries or pollution taxes on large agribusinesses.

    We believe that this proposal could be revolutionary if it succeeds in channelling large amounts of biodiversity finance to where it is most needed in a fair and equitable way. Genetic data should not only be seen as a resource that generates new drugs and technologies, but as a shared asset of humanity, with the rights and sovereignty of nature’s stewards properly respected and valued.


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    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 35,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Eleanor Jane Milner-Gulland receives funding from UKRI, Research England Development Fund, Login5 Foundation, IKI, Defra, USFWS, Leverhulme Trust and the Leventis Foundation. She is a member of the UK government’s Defra Biodiversity Evidence Committee, chairs the Darwin Expert Committee, a member of IUCN-SSC, and the Nature Positive Initiative.

    Dale Squires was supported by an Oxford Martin School Visiting Fellowship.

    Hollie Booth receives funding from the UK Darwin Initiative. As well as University of Oxford she is affiliated with The Biodiversity Consultancy and Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan.

    – ref. How profits from big pharma’s use of genetic information could revolutionise nature conservation – https://theconversation.com/how-profits-from-big-pharmas-use-of-genetic-information-could-revolutionise-nature-conservation-240565

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: We tend to keep away from midges and – even when in swarms – they tend to keep away from each other

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alex Dittrich, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Nottingham Trent University

    Shutterstock

    We’ve all found ourselves trying to avoid the swarms of midges that are so common in late summer. But as you try to avoid them, what you may not know is that they are equally keen to avoid each other.

    It’s strange behaviour for creatures that typically move around together. But physicist Andrew Reynolds from research centre Rothamsted Research recently investigated swarms of the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius, and found something very strange happening.

    While they may move around in swarms, they do so in a way that ensures they keep their distance from each other. And it might be why, paradoxically, they are so successful at breeding.

    Swarming, where animals form large and dense groups, is common in a lot of animals. A lot of us are familiar with the murmuration of starlings at sunset as they dance in the setting sun, for example. In water, animals form shoals, pods and schools. They may vary in their cohesiveness and the species that they contain, but are all essentially different types of swarms.

    It helps animals evade predators and gives them safety in numbers. Large numbers of animals in these aggregations make it difficult for predators to single out a target. This is known as the selfish herd effect where animals seek positions towards the centre of a herd, shoal or flock where there’s less risk of being attacked.

    Animals sometimes behave differently as part of a bigger system where the animal is interacting with it’s nearest neighbour. Fish for example align themselves and match speed with their nearest neighbour to shoal together and avoid collisions. Birds operate in a similar way.

    Social insects such as ants often swarm in the summer, in mate-finding nuptial flights. Locusts defoliate large patches of land before moving on. Some researchers suggest that this social aggregation behaviour is linked to elevated serotonin the locusts get from close contact.

    However, in the midge C. riparius we see something different.

    Reynold’s research showed that these midges maintain maximum distance from one another. In the lab based models of these midges he studied, the midges are almost, by equal measure attracted to the centre of a swarm, but also away from each other.

    Birds in a flock move in the same direction, staying close to one another (positive correlation). But C. riparius midges position themselves apart, so if one moves left, others tend to move right for example (maximal anticorrelation).

    The swarms of C. riparus are predominantly for reproductive purposes and they are made up of males. Midges maximise their potential to find a mate by collecting at the same time, in the same place. You could argue that’s how bars and pubs work for humans.

    When a female enters the swarm however, and is pursued by a male, the swarm maintains cohesion. The other members of the swarm are still drawn towards her. But this force of attraction is weaker than the negative “impulse” for the males to stay away from each other.

    Staying evenly spaced means there is less competition between males. Which means that, as a group, they spend less energy and have more overall mating success.

    The repellent effect also has other advantages. When midges are spaced apart in an organised and distributed way, the swarm can collectively respond to disruptions, such as changes in weather or predators, without losing its structure. Because each midge’s relative position to each other is defined by the maximal anticorrelation, a disturbance to one part of the swarm can quickly be compensated by the whole group.

    We might learn a thing or two from the midge. In social situations, let’s take a step back, wait our turn, and give each other some space. Don’t interrupt your friend in conversation, don’t barge in at the self-service checkouts in the supermarket… and certainly don’t flirt with your friend’s partner.

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

    – ref. We tend to keep away from midges and – even when in swarms – they tend to keep away from each other – https://theconversation.com/we-tend-to-keep-away-from-midges-and-even-when-in-swarms-they-tend-to-keep-away-from-each-other-241055

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Music and dementia: researchers are still making discoveries about how songs can help sufferers

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Atkinson, Researcher in Music Therapy, Anglia Ruskin University

    Numerous studies have shown music therapy has many benefits for dementia patients. Unai Huizi Photography/ Shutterstock

    Music is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. Whether it’s lifting our spirits, pushing us to run faster or soothing us to sleep, we can all recognise its power. So it’s no wonder it is increasingly being used in medical treatment.

    As well as proving very useful in cancer treatment, managing chronic pain and even helping the brain recover after a stroke, researchers have also been making great strides in using music to help patients with dementia.

    It reduces patients’ anxiety and depression, and improves wellbeing both for them and their carers by enhancing everyone’s ability to adapt and cope with adversity or stress.

    Music therapy in the form of playing, singing or listening to music can also have a positive effect on cognitive function – particularly for older adults either with dementia or memory issues.

    So why does music appear to have such a powerful effect for people with dementia?

    Music and the brain

    About a decade ago, researchers discovered that when people listened to music, multiple areas of the brain were involved in processing it. These included the limbic (which processes emotions and memory), cognitive (involved with perception, learning and reaction) and motor areas (responsible for voluntary movement). This challenged preconceptions that music was processed more narrowly in the brain – and helped explain why it has such a unique neurological impact.

    Not only that, research has shown that music might help regenerate the brain and its connections. Many causes of dementia centre around cell death in the brain, raising the possibility that music could help people with dementia by mending or strengthening damaged neural connections and cells.

    Many brain areas are activated when we listen to music.
    Toa55/ Shutterstock

    It’s not just any music that has a regenerative effect on the brain, though. Familiar and favourite music has been shown to have the biggest impact on the way we feel, and is closely linked with memory and emotions. This is because listening to our favourite songs releases feel-good hormones that give us a sense of pleasure. Curated music playlists of favourite music could be the key in helping us deal with the stress of everyday life.

    This is relevant to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia because researchers have discovered that parts of the brain linked with musical memories are less affected by these conditions than other areas of the brain. This explains why memories and experiences that are linked to favourite music are often preserved for people with such conditions.

    Listening to music can also help manage their experiences of distress, agitation and “sundowning” – where a person is more confused in the afternoon and evening.

    In a small study conducted by us and our colleagues at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, we showed just how great of an effect listening to music can have for people with dementia. We found that when people with dementia repeatedly listened to their favourite music, their heart rate and movements changed in direct response.

    This showed that people’s physical responses were affected by musical features like rhythm and arrangement. Their heart rate also changed when they sang along to music, or when they began reminiscing about old memories or stories while listening to a song or thinking about the music. These changes are important because they show how music affects movement, emotions and memory recall.

    Studies have also shown that during and after listening to music, people with dementia experienced less agitation, aggression and anxiety, and their general mood was improved. They even needed less medication when they had regular music sessions.



    Read more:
    Why researchers are turning to music as a possible treatment for stroke, brain injuries and even Parkinson’s

    Other researchers have even begun testing the effects of music training programmes to support cognition for people with dementia. Results have been promising so far – with adults in the study showing improved executive functioning (problem solving, emotion regulation and attention) compared to those who took part in just physical exercise.

    So, music is likely to continue to be a useful medical treatment for people with dementia. But based on what we know so far, it’s important that it comes from the patient’s own music collection – and is used alongside other management techniques such as using drugs that can slow the progression of dementia or help manage symptoms to support self-care and wellbeing.

    Dr. Rebecca Atkinson is affliated with Chiltern Music Therapy, non-profit organisation.

    Ming-Hung Hsu receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Innovate UK.

    – ref. Music and dementia: researchers are still making discoveries about how songs can help sufferers – https://theconversation.com/music-and-dementia-researchers-are-still-making-discoveries-about-how-songs-can-help-sufferers-239446

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: QuEra Computing announces investment from key strategic partner to accelerate development of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BOSTON, Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QuEra Computing today announced an investment in QuEra by Google Quantum AI. The investment marks a significant milestone in QuEra’s journey to develop and make available useful, scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers and affirms the recent significant technical progress made by the company. The investment builds on a collaboration with Harvard and MIT, based on the groundbreaking research led by the laboratories of Mikhail Lukin, Vladan Vuletic, and Markus Greiner. Google Quantum AI’s investment in QuEra’s neutral atom technology adds to its portfolio of primary work in superconducting qubits.

    For QuEra, the investment will help to accelerate technology advancements in the neutral atom space, such as developing quantum error correction capabilities needed to deliver quantum computing solutions and delivering additional capabilities outlined in QuEra’s strategic roadmap, publicly announced in January 2024.

    “Google Quantum AI’s strategic investment in QuEra, which we recently closed, is a testament to the strength of our technology, our world-class team, and our long-term partnerships with Harvard and MIT. This investment from Google Quantum AI, coupled with an additional financing initiative to be announced in the coming weeks, allows us to execute on our vision and company strategy, and positions us as the recognized market leader for neutral atom-based quantum computing solutions,” said Andy Ory, Interim Chief Executive Officer of QuEra. “Google Quantum AI is a leader in quantum computing and this investment recognizes the potential of different quantum computing technologies, and specifically QuEra’s leading neutral-atom technology.”

    QuEra’s quantum solutions are being developed for use cases in important verticals such as Materials, Chemicals, Life Sciences/Pharma, Government, Financial Services, and other compute-intensive industries, and may be used to enable novel AI/Machine Learning capabilities. QuEra invites interested parties to learn more about our quantum computing initiatives or to contact us directly for partnership opportunities. For additional information, please visit http://www.quera.com.

    About QuEra
    QuEra Computing is the leader in developing and productizing quantum computers using neutral atoms, widely recognized as a highly promising quantum computing modality. Based in Boston and built on pioneering research from Harvard University and MIT, QuEra operates the world’s largest publicly accessible quantum computer, available over a major public cloud and for on-premises delivery. QuEra is developing useful, scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers to tackle classically intractable problems, becoming the partner of choice in the quantum field. Simply put, QuEra is the best way to quantum. For more information, visit us at quera.com and follow us on X or LinkedIn. 

    Media Contact 
    Merrill Freund 
    press@quera.com 
    +1-415-577-8637 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIST Awards $15 Million to ASTM International to Establish Standardization Center of Excellence

    Source: US Government research organizations

    Credit: Have a Nice Day Photo/Shutterstock

    GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $15 million for a center of excellence to support U.S. engagement in international standardization for critical and emerging technologies (CETs) essential to U.S. competitiveness and national security. The new Standardization Center of Excellence will be led by global standards organization ASTM International, with multiple partners from across the standards development ecosystem. 

    “Broad U.S. participation in the international standards process is vital to ensuring global market access for our products and services in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving technologies and that the resulting standards are based on sound science,” said NIST Associate Director for Laboratory Programs Charles Romine. “This first-of-its-kind public-private partnership will help us advance international standardization for the critical and emerging technologies that are changing our lives every day, such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and biotechnology.” 

    NIST supports the development of standards by identifying areas where they are needed, convening stakeholders and providing technical and scientific guidance and expertise to help stakeholder groups reach a consensus. Broad U.S. participation in the international standards process will support global market access for American products and services. The Standardization Center of Excellence will focus on four broad areas: 

    • Pre-standardization engagement to encourage and ensure private sector-driven participation, especially by underrepresented groups such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in international standardization efforts. 
    • Workforce capacity building to create a pipeline of professionals, especially early- to mid-career professionals, who can engage in and lead international standards development efforts. 
    • A collaborative pilot program with NIST to accelerate the development of industry-driven standards where needed for selected CETs.
    • Creation of an information and data sharing hub to serve as a central resource for all stakeholders involved in standardization, with information and tools that are tailored to meet the specific needs and priorities of particular CETs.

    The center’s efforts will align with the U.S. Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET) and its Implementation Roadmap. The center will also support and complement the broader goals of the United States Standards Strategy published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), with the goal of ensuring that the U.S. remains a global leader in standardization efforts.

    ASTM International is joined by several initial partners that bring experience in marshaling global expertise for standards development, standards education and workforce development, standards optimization and more. The partners involved include several other standards developing organizations: 

    NIST will provide funding for the center through a cooperative agreement over a five-year period and will actively engage with the center and its stakeholders, providing technical expertise and leadership. Future funding awards will be subject to the availability of funds. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Alzheimer’s disease may damage the brain in two phases

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    News Release

    Tuesday, October 15, 2024

    NIH-funded brain mapping study uncovers which cell types may be harmed first.

    Alzheimer’s disease may damage the brain in two distinct phases, based on new research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) using sophisticated brain mapping tools. According to researchers who discovered this new view, the first, early phase happens slowly and silently — before people experience memory problems — harming just a few vulnerable cell types. In contrast, the second, late phase causes damage that is more widely destructive and coincides with the appearance of symptoms and the rapid accumulation of plaques, tangles, and other Alzheimer’s hallmarks.

    “One of the challenges to diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s is that much of the damage to the brain happens well before symptoms occur. The ability to detect these early changes means that, for the first time, we can see what is happening to a person’s brain during the earliest periods of the disease,” said Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director, NIH National Institute on Aging. “The results fundamentally alter scientists’ understanding of how Alzheimer’s harms the brain and will guide the development of new treatments for this devastating disorder.”

    Scientists analyzed the brains of 84 people, and the results, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that damage to one type of cell, called an inhibitory neuron, during the early phase may trigger the neural circuit problems that underlie the disease. Additionally, the study confirmed previous findings about how Alzheimer’s damages the brain and identified many new changes that may happen during the disease.

    Specifically, the scientists used advanced genetic analysis tools to study the cells of the middle temporal gyrus, a part of the brain that controls language, memory and vision. The gyrus has been shown to be vulnerable to many of the changes traditionally seen during Alzheimer’s. It is also a part of the brain that researchers have thoroughly mapped for control donors. By comparing control donor data with that from people who had Alzheimer’s, the scientists created a genetic and cellular timeline of what happens throughout the disease.

    Traditionally, studies have suggested that the damage caused by Alzheimer’s happens in several stages characterized by increasing levels of cell death, inflammation and the accumulation of proteins in the form of plaques and tangles. In contrast, this study suggests that the disease changes the brain in two “epochs” — or phases — with many of the traditionally studied changes happening rapidly during the second phase. This coincides with the appearance of memory problems and other symptoms.

    The results also suggest that the earliest changes happen gradually and “quietly” in the first phase before any symptoms appear. These changes include slow accumulation of plaques, activation of the brain’s immune system, damage to the cellular insulation that helps neurons send signals and the death of cells called somatostatin (SST) inhibitory neurons.

    The last finding was surprising to the researchers. Traditionally, scientists have thought that Alzheimer’s primarily damages excitatory neurons, which send activating neural signals to other cells. Inhibitory neurons send calming signals to other cells. The paper’s authors hypothesized how loss of SST inhibitory neurons might trigger the changes to the brain’s neural circuitry that underlie the disease.

    Recently, a separate NIH-funded brain mapping study by researchers at MIT found that a gene called REELIN may be associated with the vulnerability of some neurons to Alzheimer’s. It also showed that star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes may provide resilience to or resist the harm caused by the disease.

    Researchers analyzed brains that are part of the Seattle Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Cell Atlas (SEA-AD), which is designed to create a highly detailed map of the brain damage that occurs during the disease. The project was led by Mariano I. Gabitto, Ph.D., and Kyle J. Travaglini, Ph.D., from the Allen Institute, Seattle. The scientists used tools — developed as part of the NIH’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative – Cell Census Network (BICCN) — to study more than 3.4 million brain cells from donors who died at various stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Tissue samples were obtained from the Adult Changes in Thought study and the University of Washington Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

    “This research demonstrates how powerful new technologies provided by the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative are changing the way we understand diseases like Alzheimer’s. With these tools, scientists were able to detect the earliest cellular changes to the brain to create a more complete picture of what happens over the entire course of the disease,” said John Ngai, Ph.D., director of The BRAIN Initiative®. “The new knowledge provided by this study may help scientists and drug developers around the world develop diagnostics and treatments targeted to specific stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”

    This study was funded by NIH grants: U19AG060909, P30AG066509, U19AG066567, U01AG006781. Additional funding was provided by the Nancy and Buster Alvord Endowment. The Rush University Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Chicago, Il, shared donor metadata from the Religious Orders Memory/Memory and Aging Project.

    Researchers can obtain data from the SEA-AD study by going to the study’s website: https://portal.brain-map.org/explore/seattle-alzheimers-disease

    About the National Institute on Aging (NIA): NIA leads the U.S. federal government effort to conduct and support research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. Learn more about age-related cognitive change and neurodegenerative diseases via NIA’s Alzheimer’s and related Dementias Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center website. Visit the main NIA website for information about a range of aging topics, in English and Spanish, and stay connected.

    The BRAIN Initiative, a multidisciplinary collaboration across 10 NIH Institutes and Centers, is uniquely positioned for cross-cutting discoveries in neuroscience to revolutionize our understanding of the human brain. By accelerating the development and application of innovative neurotechnologies, The BRAIN Initiative® is enabling researchers to understand the brain at unprecedented levels of detail in both health and disease, improving how we treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders. The BRAIN Initiative involves a multidisciplinary network of federal and non-federal partners whose missions and current research portfolios complement the goals of The BRAIN Initiative.

    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 http://www.nih.gov.

    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

    Reference

    Gabitto, M. I.; Travaglini, K. J.; et al. Integrated multimodal cell atlas of Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Neuroscience. 2024 October 15 doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01774-5

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ghana’s informal settlements are not all the same – social networks make a difference in community development

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Seth Asare Okyere, PhD, Visiting lecturer, University of Pittsburg and Adjunct Associate Professor, Osaka University, University of Pittsburgh

    Informal settlements in Africa are diverse. Across regions and even in the same city, socioeconomic and physical conditions vary. One thing is common though: upgrading them is a challenge.

    Among the challenges are issues of including people, having enough funding and sustaining improvements. That’s why attention is shifting to community driven development. This concept refers to local interventions that are started or led by community groups with support from the local government, private or civil society organisations.

    Community driven development has gained support from international agencies such as the World Bank. The World Bank Group is estimated to have invested about US$30 billion in projects like this across 94 countries.

    These initiatives are considered more affordable, efficient and durable. Communities often contribute local resources and labour, and residents can learn skills from service providers which enable them to manage projects in the long term. When residents work together it can also strengthen bonds and build social capital. Social capital generally refers to the ties, bonds, relationships and trust found in a community. It is an important resource in informal settlements.

    We are a group of urban and development planners who examined the role of social capital in community driven development in urban Ghana.

    We conducted our study in the Abese Quarter (La township) and Old Tulaku communities, in the Greater Accra metropolitan area. These are both informal settlements but have different social characters.

    Our findings highlight the need for local governments to tailor development to the social context of informal settlements. Development planning institutions should use the networks already present in communities, as well as providing external help and resources.

    The research

    Our analysis was based on questionnaire responses from 300 residents of informal settlements in Greater Accra. Abese Quarter is what we call an indigenous settlement. It it composed of residents from the local Ga ethnic group with similar cultural practices. Old Tulaku is a migrant settlement. It includes a mix of residents originally from other regions in Ghana who moved to Accra in search of economic opportunities.

    We observed community water and sanitation projects planned and carried out by local residents.

    In doing so, we considered the role of two types of social capital: bonding and bridging.

    Bonding social capital deals with the personal relationships between individuals based on shared identity. It’s about family, close companionship, culture and ethnicity. Bridging social capital refers to the connection between people and external groups.

    In the indigenous settlement, bonding social capital had a positive influence on community driven development. Bridging social capital showed a negative relationship with it. For example, the public toilet in the community was in a deplorable state. This seemed to be explained by an inability to build wider connections outside the community to get the support needed. We reason that socially homogeneous communities tend to generate inward-looking networks that limit access to resources from beyond the group. Overemphasis on social ties can impede long-term community development.

    In the migrant informal settlement, our research revealed the opposite. Without shared identities (like ethnicity, language and social norms), migrant residents drew on shared challenges and goals. They organised and built connections to get support from businesses and donors for community projects.

    Our research reinforces the argument that the relationship between social capital and community-driven development of informal settlements is not straightforward. The social character of the settlement, be it indigenous or migrant, produces different outcomes.

    Bonding and bridging social capital

    Informal settlements are often neglected by local government and planning authorities. In such poor conditions, social connections influence the local capacity to carry out improvement projects.

    Typically, high levels of bonding social capital are seen to promote collective action in communities that share similar social and cultural norms and practices. However, the long term benefits of such projects may require building partnerships with external support organisations and service providers.

    Bridging social capital goes beyond shared identities. It fosters connection between people and external organisations.

    Generally, community-driven development success is greatest when both forms of social capital are high and used together. For instance, in the Ubungo Darajani informal settlement in Kinondoni Municipality in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, landholders relied on both to secure land for community development.

    What next?

    Local government and community-based organisations should harness the different forms of social capital for development.

    Policymakers can learn from the creative and innovative ways that informal communities solve problems. This could help improve informal settlements equitably and sustainably.

    Beatrice Eyram Afi Ziorklui, a registered valuer and auditor at the Performance and Special Audit Department of the Ghana Audit Service, was part of the research team and contributed to this article.

    – Ghana’s informal settlements are not all the same – social networks make a difference in community development
    – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-informal-settlements-are-not-all-the-same-social-networks-make-a-difference-in-community-development-239133

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Speech: PM International Investment Summit Speech: 14 October 2024

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered a speech at the International Investment Summit 2024.

    Delivered on:
    (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

    And thanks to all you for being here…

    It’s fantastic to stand here and look out and see so many of you here…

    And I’m really grateful that you have made the effort, and you are here. It means a huge amount to me and my government…

    And welcome to this Government’s first International Investment summit.

    And some of you I know have come a very long way to be here…

    You have flown in from a great distance, some of you will be going straight back out again afterwards.

    You have made a huge effort to share with us the precious gift of your time…

    And we are really, really grateful for that.

    And welcome to the Guild Hall…

    London’s ancient Town Hall…

    Isn’t it a fantastic building, it’s really breathtaking this Guild Hall.

    Not of course to be confused with the nearby Guildhall school of music…

    Where I once pursued a fleeting ambition to play the flute professionally. I kid you not…

    Complete with then long hair and very, very flared jeans. 

    All photographic evidence has been destroyed.

    But today we are pursuing a different ambition…

    A shared ambition…

    Growth.

    You have to grow your business.

    And I have to grow my country.

    I’ll leave it to you to decide if you think voters or shareholders are the more forgiving audience…

    But without growth – let’s just agree it’s a difficult conversation…

    And that therefore, growth is a cause that binds us together.

    The shared endeavour of prosperity.

    It’s why we’ve made it the number one test of this government…

    I am determined to do everything in my power to galvanise growth…

    Determined for this country to be the highest growing economy in the G7…

    That is our most important national mission.

    Because it’s the only way to deliver the mandate for change that we won.

    Growth is higher wages.

    Growth is more vibrant high streets.

    Growth is public services back on their feet.

    It’s less poverty, more opportunity, more meals out, more holidays, more precious moments with your family, more cash in your pocket.

    And of course, for any business…

    It means a bigger market.

    Higher demand…

    A more secure and prosperous future…

    Your effort and enterprise – rewarded in profit.

    But it’s much more important, even than all that. 

    We live in an age when political fires rage across the world.

    Conflict. Insecurity. A populist mood that rails against the open values so many of us hold dear.

    Values which, as you know…

    Are so crucial for making business easy to do.

    And yet – at the same time…

    Look around the world…

    Look at the investments you and others are making.

    This is an age of great possibility, as well. 

    Huge revolutions in digital technology, clean energy, medicine, life sciences…

    Each – with the potential to fundamentally change the way we live and the way that we work…

    Each – with the possibility to transform the lives of working people for the better.

    And so, in times like this…

    Economic growth is vital – as it always has been…

    If we are to steer our way through a great period of insecurity and change…

    And on to calmer waters. 

    Because when working people benefit from that growth…

    When every community enjoys the fruits of wealth creation…

    It stops a country turning in on itself and against the world.

    And that in turn, helps provides a stable foundation…

    Breathing space… 

    For a country to take advantage of those opportunities for a better future.

    To put it more simply…

    It’s not just that stability leads to growth – though we all recognise that. 

    It’s also that growth leads to stability…

    Growth leads to country that is better equipped to come together…

    And get its future back.

    That’s why it’s always been so critical to my political project.

    The key ingredient of that ‘Great Moderation’ we became accustomed to before the financial crash…

    But which together, in partnership…

    We now have to earn again. 

    Every one of you here today…

    Has been invited for that reason.

    It’s not just that you lead some of the most important businesses in the world.

    It’s also because you are pivotal to this great cause of our times. 

    And the reason we are focusing so much on investment…

    Is because the mission of growth, in this country in particular…

    Demands it.

    Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country…

    And pay our way in the world.

    And make no mistake – this is a great moment to back Britain…

    This is great moment to back England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. 

    We have an amazing education system that produces some of the best talent in the world.

    The largest tech sector in Europe.

    Leading positions in some of those great industries of the future…

    Artificial Intelligence, Life Sciences, Clean energy, the creative industries.

    We’re a country where businesses thrive – small and large alike…

    With clear regulatory frameworks and protections…

    A legal system that sets high standards around the globe…

    A location which means we can speak to our colleagues in the Americas or Asia in the same day…

    A high ranking in the Global Innovation index, every year…

    Our wonderful global language…

    Our world-renowned sport and culture… 

    This great modern city…

    And all around us…

    A heritage steeped in commerce and trade…

    A set of shared values – centuries-long…

    For being a country that is open for business.

    You can’t put a price on any of this.

    Now we have our problems – of course we do.

    As I’ve said – our public services need urgent care… 

    And our public finances need the tough love of prudence…

    Challenges we cannot ignore. 

    Because, we know – just as every leader here knows…

    That those early weeks and months are precious.

    And, no matter how many people advise you to ignore it…

    That you must run towards the fire to put it out…

    Not let it spread further.

    So we will fix our public services…

    We will stabilise our economy… 

    And we will do it quickly.

    Because we don’t want any of those problems associated with our inheritance…

    Misting up the shop window of Britain…

    Distracting you – from all those assets I just listed.

    Assets that may feel more intangible…

    But are more valuable…

    More enduring…

    Deeper in the bones of this nation.

    And which are ready to be unlocked…

    If we take firm and decisive action on policy – which we can and we will…

    To give you total confidence that this is the moment to back Britain.  

    So let me quickly run through four crucial areas in our pitch for Britain.

    I know – it’s a kind of CEO heresy to have a list of four not three…

    So I apologise!

    But please indulge me.

    First – stability.

    We have a golden opportunity to use our mandate…

    To end the culture of chop and change…

    The policy churn…

    The sticking plaster politics…

    That makes it so hard for investors to assess the value of any proposition.

    Now, you may think – well every government says that…

    But the stability that comes with a large majority in our system…

    That is a unique advantage.

    And we have the determination…

    The focus on clear long-term ends…

    A mission-led mindset that thinks in years…

    Not the days or hours of the news grid…

    Needed to unlock that potential. 

    And don’t doubt that.

    Second – strategy.

    We are building a more strategic architecture for growth. 

    A way for investors to have a much steadier hand on the tiller.

    That’s why we’ve announced a new National Wealth Fund…

    And switched on Great British Energy…

    Which will accelerate investment in clean power and future technologies.

    Like Carbon Capture and Storage, for example…

    Which we just backed – alongside BP, Equinor and Eni

    And which shows the hard-headed approach we will bring to industrial policy.

    A partnership – sharing the risk with the private sector…

    Ambitious – absolutely. 

    But also unsentimental.

    Guided by the market…

    Focused, at all times…

    On the real potential for comparative advantage in this country.

    You know – this is the point I would always make about our Modern Industrial Strategy. 

    In this country, there has been a long rather arcane political debate about “picking winners”.

    Well, we’re not in the business of individual picking winners.

    But we are in the business of building on our strengths.

    Mowing the grass on the pitch…

    Making sure the changing rooms are clean and comfortable…

    That the training ground is good.

    So that when our businesses compete…

    They are match fit…

    That, to put it simply…

    We give the businesses of this country the best conditions to succeed.

    I don’t know why that’s sometimes controversial in this country…

    Industrial policy seems fairly commonplace elsewhere around the world.

    But it is fundamental to the way we see our job on growth…

    And our relationship with a room like this.

    Third – Britain’s global standing.

    We’re determined to improve it.

    Determined – to repair…

    Britain’s brand as an open, outward-looking, confident, trading nation.

    Look – I see this as a diplomatic necessity…

    And I think it’s clear how much priority I have given it in the first 100 days of government.

    All around the world…

    Whether it’s countries, or investors…

    People want to know that Britain can be a stable, trusted, rule-abiding partner.

    As we always have been…

    But that somehow, during the whole circus that followed Brexit… 

    The last Government made a few people less sure about. 

    Needlessly insulting our closest allies…

    And of course a few choice Anglo-Saxon phrases for business. 

    Well – no more.

    We have turned the page on that – decisively…

    And we will use that reset for growth. 

    Finally fourth – regulation

    Now, I don’t see regulation as good or bad.

    That seems simplistic to me.

    Some regulation is life-saving…

    We have seen that in recent weeks here, with the report on the tragedy of Grenfell Tower.

    But across our public sector…

    I would say the previous Government hid behind regulators.

    Deferred decisions to them because it was either too weak or indecisive…

    Or simply not committed enough to growth. 

    Planning is a very real example of that…

    Or – for our friends from across the pond…

    ‘Permitting’ is a really clear example of that… 

    The global language…

    But anyway – the key test for me on regulation…

    Is of course – growth. 

    Is this going to make our economy more dynamic?

    Is this going to inhibit or unlock investment?

    Is it something that enables the builders not the blockers?

    Now – I know some people may be wondering about our labour market policies introduced last week.

    Let me be clear – they are pro-growth.

    Workers with more security at work…

    With higher wages…

    That is a better growth model for this country.

    It will lead to more dynamism in our labour market.

    And seriously – we have to think differently about this…

    A nation’s position in the world is changing all the time…

    As must its growth model. 

    So while I know this is a room full of businesses who take investing in their human capital seriously…

    When I look at the British economy as a whole…

    It does seem as if sometimes, we are more comfortable hiring people to work in low paid, insecure contracts…

    Than we are investing in the new technology that delivers for workers, for productivity and for our country.

    And so we’ve got to break out of that trap.

    But we’ve also got to look at regulation – across the piece. 

    And where it is needlessly holding back the investment we need to take our country forward…

    Where it is stopping us building the homes…

    The data centres, the warehouses, grid connectors, roads,  trainlines, you name it…

    Then mark my words – we will get rid of it.

    Take the East Anglia 2 wind farm.

    A £4 billion investment.

    One Gigawatt of clean energy.

    An important project – absolutely.

    But also the sort of thing a country as committed to clean energy as we are…

    Needs to replicate again and again.

    Now regulators demanded over four thousand planning documents for that project…

    Not 4000 pages – 4000 documents.

    And then six weeks after finally receiving planning consent…

    It was held up for a further two years by judicial review.

    I mean – as an investor…

    When you see this inertia…

    You just don’t bother do you?

    And that – in a nutshell…

    Is the biggest supply-side problem we have in our country.

    So it’s time to upgrade the regulatory regime…

    Make it fit for the modern age..

    Harness every opportunity available to Britain.

    We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment…

    We will march through the institutions…

    And we will make sure that every regulator in this country…

    Especially our economic and competition regulators…

    Takes growth as seriously as this room does.

    And look – tell us about your frustrations on this. 

    Speak to my team…

    Speak to me, to Rachel, to Jonny, to Ed…

    And our new Minister for Investment, Poppy. 

    Any leader knows the importance of a good team – and we’ve got one here.

    We are united behind growth…

    Our door is open…

    And the work of change has already begun.

    We’re reforming the planning system…

    The onshore wind ban has gone… 

    New projects in solar, wind, tidal energy…

    Carbon Capture and Storage…

    Tax relief for the creative industries…

    Investment from the world’s leading companies…

    Blackstone, Amazon…

    A new partnership with Cyrus One to build data centres in Didcot…

    Finally grasping the nettle on airport expansion…

    A new £1 billion commitment from Manchester Airport Group to expand Stansted…

    Opening up new routes to work and holiday destinations…

    The first of tens of billions worth of inward investment deals we will sign today.

    Because we are determined to lead the way on growth. 

    Determined to get Britain building…

    Determined to get our economy moving…

    Through the shock and awe of investment.

    That’s the message to take home today.

    When the big decisions are made…

    When you go back to your board rooms and ask…

    Where does our money go…

    Where do our jobs go…

    Where does our investment in a better future go?

    Let me offer you a new answer…

    It’s time to back Britain.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM International Investment Summit Speech: 14 October 2024

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered a speech at the International Investment Summit 2024.

    Delivered on:
    (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

    And thanks to all you for being here…

    It’s fantastic to stand here and look out and see so many of you here…

    And I’m really grateful that you have made the effort, and you are here. It means a huge amount to me and my government…

    And welcome to this Government’s first International Investment summit.

    And some of you I know have come a very long way to be here…

    You have flown in from a great distance, some of you will be going straight back out again afterwards.

    You have made a huge effort to share with us the precious gift of your time…

    And we are really, really grateful for that.

    And welcome to the Guild Hall…

    London’s ancient Town Hall…

    Isn’t it a fantastic building, it’s really breathtaking this Guild Hall.

    Not of course to be confused with the nearby Guildhall school of music…

    Where I once pursued a fleeting ambition to play the flute professionally. I kid you not…

    Complete with then long hair and very, very flared jeans. 

    All photographic evidence has been destroyed.

    But today we are pursuing a different ambition…

    A shared ambition…

    Growth.

    You have to grow your business.

    And I have to grow my country.

    I’ll leave it to you to decide if you think voters or shareholders are the more forgiving audience…

    But without growth – let’s just agree it’s a difficult conversation…

    And that therefore, growth is a cause that binds us together.

    The shared endeavour of prosperity.

    It’s why we’ve made it the number one test of this government…

    I am determined to do everything in my power to galvanise growth…

    Determined for this country to be the highest growing economy in the G7…

    That is our most important national mission.

    Because it’s the only way to deliver the mandate for change that we won.

    Growth is higher wages.

    Growth is more vibrant high streets.

    Growth is public services back on their feet.

    It’s less poverty, more opportunity, more meals out, more holidays, more precious moments with your family, more cash in your pocket.

    And of course, for any business…

    It means a bigger market.

    Higher demand…

    A more secure and prosperous future…

    Your effort and enterprise – rewarded in profit.

    But it’s much more important, even than all that. 

    We live in an age when political fires rage across the world.

    Conflict. Insecurity. A populist mood that rails against the open values so many of us hold dear.

    Values which, as you know…

    Are so crucial for making business easy to do.

    And yet – at the same time…

    Look around the world…

    Look at the investments you and others are making.

    This is an age of great possibility, as well. 

    Huge revolutions in digital technology, clean energy, medicine, life sciences…

    Each – with the potential to fundamentally change the way we live and the way that we work…

    Each – with the possibility to transform the lives of working people for the better.

    And so, in times like this…

    Economic growth is vital – as it always has been…

    If we are to steer our way through a great period of insecurity and change…

    And on to calmer waters. 

    Because when working people benefit from that growth…

    When every community enjoys the fruits of wealth creation…

    It stops a country turning in on itself and against the world.

    And that in turn, helps provides a stable foundation…

    Breathing space… 

    For a country to take advantage of those opportunities for a better future.

    To put it more simply…

    It’s not just that stability leads to growth – though we all recognise that. 

    It’s also that growth leads to stability…

    Growth leads to country that is better equipped to come together…

    And get its future back.

    That’s why it’s always been so critical to my political project.

    The key ingredient of that ‘Great Moderation’ we became accustomed to before the financial crash…

    But which together, in partnership…

    We now have to earn again. 

    Every one of you here today…

    Has been invited for that reason.

    It’s not just that you lead some of the most important businesses in the world.

    It’s also because you are pivotal to this great cause of our times. 

    And the reason we are focusing so much on investment…

    Is because the mission of growth, in this country in particular…

    Demands it.

    Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country…

    And pay our way in the world.

    And make no mistake – this is a great moment to back Britain…

    This is great moment to back England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. 

    We have an amazing education system that produces some of the best talent in the world.

    The largest tech sector in Europe.

    Leading positions in some of those great industries of the future…

    Artificial Intelligence, Life Sciences, Clean energy, the creative industries.

    We’re a country where businesses thrive – small and large alike…

    With clear regulatory frameworks and protections…

    A legal system that sets high standards around the globe…

    A location which means we can speak to our colleagues in the Americas or Asia in the same day…

    A high ranking in the Global Innovation index, every year…

    Our wonderful global language…

    Our world-renowned sport and culture… 

    This great modern city…

    And all around us…

    A heritage steeped in commerce and trade…

    A set of shared values – centuries-long…

    For being a country that is open for business.

    You can’t put a price on any of this.

    Now we have our problems – of course we do.

    As I’ve said – our public services need urgent care… 

    And our public finances need the tough love of prudence…

    Challenges we cannot ignore. 

    Because, we know – just as every leader here knows…

    That those early weeks and months are precious.

    And, no matter how many people advise you to ignore it…

    That you must run towards the fire to put it out…

    Not let it spread further.

    So we will fix our public services…

    We will stabilise our economy… 

    And we will do it quickly.

    Because we don’t want any of those problems associated with our inheritance…

    Misting up the shop window of Britain…

    Distracting you – from all those assets I just listed.

    Assets that may feel more intangible…

    But are more valuable…

    More enduring…

    Deeper in the bones of this nation.

    And which are ready to be unlocked…

    If we take firm and decisive action on policy – which we can and we will…

    To give you total confidence that this is the moment to back Britain.  

    So let me quickly run through four crucial areas in our pitch for Britain.

    I know – it’s a kind of CEO heresy to have a list of four not three…

    So I apologise!

    But please indulge me.

    First – stability.

    We have a golden opportunity to use our mandate…

    To end the culture of chop and change…

    The policy churn…

    The sticking plaster politics…

    That makes it so hard for investors to assess the value of any proposition.

    Now, you may think – well every government says that…

    But the stability that comes with a large majority in our system…

    That is a unique advantage.

    And we have the determination…

    The focus on clear long-term ends…

    A mission-led mindset that thinks in years…

    Not the days or hours of the news grid…

    Needed to unlock that potential. 

    And don’t doubt that.

    Second – strategy.

    We are building a more strategic architecture for growth. 

    A way for investors to have a much steadier hand on the tiller.

    That’s why we’ve announced a new National Wealth Fund…

    And switched on Great British Energy…

    Which will accelerate investment in clean power and future technologies.

    Like Carbon Capture and Storage, for example…

    Which we just backed – alongside BP, Equinor and Eni

    And which shows the hard-headed approach we will bring to industrial policy.

    A partnership – sharing the risk with the private sector…

    Ambitious – absolutely. 

    But also unsentimental.

    Guided by the market…

    Focused, at all times…

    On the real potential for comparative advantage in this country.

    You know – this is the point I would always make about our Modern Industrial Strategy. 

    In this country, there has been a long rather arcane political debate about “picking winners”.

    Well, we’re not in the business of individual picking winners.

    But we are in the business of building on our strengths.

    Mowing the grass on the pitch…

    Making sure the changing rooms are clean and comfortable…

    That the training ground is good.

    So that when our businesses compete…

    They are match fit…

    That, to put it simply…

    We give the businesses of this country the best conditions to succeed.

    I don’t know why that’s sometimes controversial in this country…

    Industrial policy seems fairly commonplace elsewhere around the world.

    But it is fundamental to the way we see our job on growth…

    And our relationship with a room like this.

    Third – Britain’s global standing.

    We’re determined to improve it.

    Determined – to repair…

    Britain’s brand as an open, outward-looking, confident, trading nation.

    Look – I see this as a diplomatic necessity…

    And I think it’s clear how much priority I have given it in the first 100 days of government.

    All around the world…

    Whether it’s countries, or investors…

    People want to know that Britain can be a stable, trusted, rule-abiding partner.

    As we always have been…

    But that somehow, during the whole circus that followed Brexit… 

    The last Government made a few people less sure about. 

    Needlessly insulting our closest allies…

    And of course a few choice Anglo-Saxon phrases for business. 

    Well – no more.

    We have turned the page on that – decisively…

    And we will use that reset for growth. 

    Finally fourth – regulation

    Now, I don’t see regulation as good or bad.

    That seems simplistic to me.

    Some regulation is life-saving…

    We have seen that in recent weeks here, with the report on the tragedy of Grenfell Tower.

    But across our public sector…

    I would say the previous Government hid behind regulators.

    Deferred decisions to them because it was either too weak or indecisive…

    Or simply not committed enough to growth. 

    Planning is a very real example of that…

    Or – for our friends from across the pond…

    ‘Permitting’ is a really clear example of that… 

    The global language…

    But anyway – the key test for me on regulation…

    Is of course – growth. 

    Is this going to make our economy more dynamic?

    Is this going to inhibit or unlock investment?

    Is it something that enables the builders not the blockers?

    Now – I know some people may be wondering about our labour market policies introduced last week.

    Let me be clear – they are pro-growth.

    Workers with more security at work…

    With higher wages…

    That is a better growth model for this country.

    It will lead to more dynamism in our labour market.

    And seriously – we have to think differently about this…

    A nation’s position in the world is changing all the time…

    As must its growth model. 

    So while I know this is a room full of businesses who take investing in their human capital seriously…

    When I look at the British economy as a whole…

    It does seem as if sometimes, we are more comfortable hiring people to work in low paid, insecure contracts…

    Than we are investing in the new technology that delivers for workers, for productivity and for our country.

    And so we’ve got to break out of that trap.

    But we’ve also got to look at regulation – across the piece. 

    And where it is needlessly holding back the investment we need to take our country forward…

    Where it is stopping us building the homes…

    The data centres, the warehouses, grid connectors, roads,  trainlines, you name it…

    Then mark my words – we will get rid of it.

    Take the East Anglia 2 wind farm.

    A £4 billion investment.

    One Gigawatt of clean energy.

    An important project – absolutely.

    But also the sort of thing a country as committed to clean energy as we are…

    Needs to replicate again and again.

    Now regulators demanded over four thousand planning documents for that project…

    Not 4000 pages – 4000 documents.

    And then six weeks after finally receiving planning consent…

    It was held up for a further two years by judicial review.

    I mean – as an investor…

    When you see this inertia…

    You just don’t bother do you?

    And that – in a nutshell…

    Is the biggest supply-side problem we have in our country.

    So it’s time to upgrade the regulatory regime…

    Make it fit for the modern age..

    Harness every opportunity available to Britain.

    We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment…

    We will march through the institutions…

    And we will make sure that every regulator in this country…

    Especially our economic and competition regulators…

    Takes growth as seriously as this room does.

    And look – tell us about your frustrations on this. 

    Speak to my team…

    Speak to me, to Rachel, to Jonny, to Ed…

    And our new Minister for Investment, Poppy. 

    Any leader knows the importance of a good team – and we’ve got one here.

    We are united behind growth…

    Our door is open…

    And the work of change has already begun.

    We’re reforming the planning system…

    The onshore wind ban has gone… 

    New projects in solar, wind, tidal energy…

    Carbon Capture and Storage…

    Tax relief for the creative industries…

    Investment from the world’s leading companies…

    Blackstone, Amazon…

    A new partnership with Cyrus One to build data centres in Didcot…

    Finally grasping the nettle on airport expansion…

    A new £1 billion commitment from Manchester Airport Group to expand Stansted…

    Opening up new routes to work and holiday destinations…

    The first of tens of billions worth of inward investment deals we will sign today.

    Because we are determined to lead the way on growth. 

    Determined to get Britain building…

    Determined to get our economy moving…

    Through the shock and awe of investment.

    That’s the message to take home today.

    When the big decisions are made…

    When you go back to your board rooms and ask…

    Where does our money go…

    Where do our jobs go…

    Where does our investment in a better future go?

    Let me offer you a new answer…

    It’s time to back Britain.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Spotlight: Felipe Valdez, an Inspiring Engineer

    Source: NASA

    Felipe Valdez is someone who took advantage of every possible opportunity at NASA, working his way from undergraduate intern to his current job as a flight controls engineer. 
    Born in the United States but raised in Mexico, Valdez faced significant challenges growing up.  
    “My mom worked long hours, my dad battled addiction, and eventually, school became unaffordable,” Valdez said. 
    Determined to continue his education, Valdez made the difficult choice to leave his family and return to the U.S. But as a teenager, learning English and adapting to a new environment was a culture shock for him. Despite these changes, his curiosity for subjects such as math and science never wavered.  
    “As a kid, I’d always been good with numbers and fascinated by how things worked. Engineering combined both,” Valdez said. “This sparked my interest.”  
    While he pursued an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Sacramento, guidance from his professor, Jose Granda, proved to be pivotal.  
    “He encouraged me to apply for a NASA internship,” Valdez said. “He’d actually been a Spanish-language spokesperson for a [space] shuttle mission, so hearing about someone with my background succeed gave me the confidence I needed to take that step.”  
    Valdez’s hard work paid off – he was selected as a NASA Office of STEM Engagement intern at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. There, he worked on software development for vehicle dynamics, actuators, and controller models for a space capsule in computer simulations. 
    “I couldn’t believe it,” Valdez said. “Getting that opportunity changed everything.”  
    This internship opened the door to a second with NASA this time at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. He had the chance to work on flight computer development for the Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Lower Drag, an experimental flying wing design. 
    After these experiences, he was later accepted as an intern for NASA’s Pathways Program, a work-study program that offers the possibly of full-time employment at NASA after graduation. 
    “That was the start of my career at NASA, where my passion for aeronautics really took off,” he said.  
    Valdez was the first in his family to pursue higher education, earning his bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State and his master’s in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of California, Davis. 
    Today, he works as a NASA flight controls engineer under the Dynamics and Controls branch at Armstrong. Most of his experience has focused on flight simulation development and flight control design, particularly for distributed electric propulsion aircraft. 
    “It’s rewarding to be part of a group that’s focused on making aviation faster, quieter, and more sustainable,” Valdez said. “As a controls engineer, working on advanced aircraft concepts like distributed electric propulsion allows me design algorithms to directly control multiple motors, enhancing safety, controllability, and stability, while enabling cleaner, and quieter operations that push the boundaries of sustainable aviation.”  
    Throughout his career, Valdez has remained proud of his heritage.   “I feel a strong sense of pride knowing that inclusion is one of our core values, opportunities are within reach for anyone at NASA.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Technology partnerships between the UK and Central and Eastern Europe: Science and Innovation Network impact story

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Countries in Central and Eastern Europe offer a significant opportunity for science, innovation, and technology partnerships with the UK.

    The first outcome of the UK-Bulgaria meeting on semiconductors was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between TechWorks (UK) and BASEL (Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics).

    Summary

    The 9 countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) offer a significant opportunity for science, innovation, and technology partnerships with the UK. Together, the region’s combined GDP is over €2 trillion – an economy of emerging innovators leading a tech revolution (the region has increased its enterprise value since 2017 by 7.6 times).

    This is driven by each countries’ effort to combine their science and technology expertise and skilled workforces (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania make up 4 of the 6 EU countries in the Top 25 countries of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) excellence) together with traditional strengths in manufacturing, IT and science. 

    The priorities of the UK’s International Tech Strategy align with pockets of excellence across the region. Austria, for example, is the fourth largest producer of semi-conductors with expanding supply chains through Czechia and Bulgaria, Croatia’s unicorns drive 4% of the country’s GDP and Poland and Czechia’s retention of 90% of their startup enterprise value show the strength of the emerging ecosystems. A recent report estimated that AI would further boost the regional economic value by €100 billion. 

    UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN) teams in Central and Eastern Europe are working to communicate these opportunities to UK stakeholders and build connections. The appetite to work with the UK is high – during the previous Horizon Europe programme, the UK was among the top partners of choice for CEE researchers. 

    Following the UK’s reassociation to Horizon Europe and Copernicus, we are keen to maintain and strengthen those connections. Our events on tech, showcased below, all help to communicate and encourage collaboration while engaging on policy approaches that will be critical to the safe and secure emergence of critical tech. 

    Impact

    Semiconductors

    In January, SIN organised a high-level roundtable on semiconductors to connect Bulgarian and UK stakeholders looking to develop cooperation and exchange approaches on semi-conductors.   

    Semiconductors is a priority sector for the UK, in the context of the UK Semiconductors Strategy and Bulgaria is recognised as partner in this area under the UK-Bulgaria Strategic Partnerships Agreement. 

    Why Bulgaria?

    Bulgaria is rapidly developing opportunities in the sector, building on its ICT strengths (contributing over 7% of GDP, the highest level among CEE countries). This is a legacy of chip manufacturing (by the late 1970s, Bulgaria was one of the top 10 biggest electronics manufacturing countries in the world).

    In 1989, Bulgaria exported more computers than all other countries in CEE with 11% of workers employed in the production of computers and electronics. Today there are over 400 microelectronics, many supporting the growing demand for chips from Bulgaria’s automotive industry. 

    Bulgaria is positioned well to become a supply chain hub under the EU Chips Act – it has attracted investment by global companies such as Melexis (producing equipment and critical materials for semiconductor fabs) and Global Foundries and the government is investing in R&D centres to support the developing capacity.

    The roundtable enabled government, industry and academic contacts to share government strategy and approaches, including on skills development, explore potential commercial R&D and academic collaboration opportunities. This has led to an opportunity to work with the Bulgaria Ministry of Innovations and Growth as they prepare a report and recommendations to develop the sector in 2024, the potential to develop an accelerator programme based on the UK’s Chipstart programme and a memorandum of understanding signed between the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BASEL) and TechWorks UK.

    Artificial intelligence (AI)

    In February, SIN hosted the first UK-Romania research conference with a focus on AI to help us better understand emerging opportunities in AI research with Romania. Bringing together contacts from academia, SMEs, NGOs, and senior officials.

    The event was part of series of SIN initiatives on AI which started in 2021 with a UK-Romania high-level dialogue in London, an online workshop on national AI strategies, and a visit to present the Romanian government’s AI advisor, “Ion”, to the UK. The roundtable helped secure the topic as part of the forthcoming UK-Romania Bilateral Forum in 2024 within the frame of the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed in March 2023.

    Why Romania?

    A surge in AI startups and a rapidly developing ecosystem is drawing significant international attention. Romania’s IT and cyber sector drives a significant proportion of GDP – Romania is number one in Europe and sixth in the world in terms of the number of IT professionals. Companies such as Amazon, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Oracle have long operated in Romania’s IT sector, which generated €9 billion in 2022.

    In March, SIN supported a wider delegation of AI stakeholders from Czechia, Slovakia and Poland to the UK to attend the Alan Turing Institute AI Expo 2024, using the opportunity to share policy approaches on AI regulation, build connections for AI influencers in the region, and connect researchers. 

    Tech mapping

    To find out more about opportunities across the wider Central and Eastern Europe region, read our report on tech opportunities commissioned by SIN and created by researchers at Public International (a UK-based tech insights organisation). The report provides country by country snapshots on why CEE is important to the UK under each of the 5 priority technologies. 

    Technology and Innovation in Central and Eastern Europe (public.io).

    Contact details:

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: OTC Markets Group Welcomes Blumetric Environmental, Inc. to OTCQX

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced Blumetric Environmental, Inc. (TSX-V: BLM; OTCQX: BLMWF), (“BluMetric”) an integrated product and service organization, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX® Best Market. BluMetric Environmental, Inc. upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink® market.

    BluMetric Environmental, Inc. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol “BLMWF.”  U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on http://www.otcmarkets.com.

    The OTCQX Market provides investors with a premium U.S. public market to research and trade the shares of investor-focused companies. Graduating to the OTCQX Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. 

    “We are excited to announce our trading debut on the OTCQX,  a milestone that reflects our commitment to connecting with a broader investor base,” said Scott MacFabe, CEO of BluMetric. “This achievement coincides with our strategic expansion into the U.S. market through our recent acquisition of Gemini Water. We look forward to leveraging this platform as we execute on our new opportunities and drive shareholder value.”

    About BluMetric Environmental Inc.
    BluMetric Environmental Inc. is an integrated product and service organization. It principally provides sustainable solutions for complex environmental issues. It serves clients in many industrial sectors, and at all levels of government, both domestically and internationally. The organization offers services and solutions such as environmental earth sciences and engineering; contaminated site remediation; water resource management; industrial hygiene; occupational health and safety; and water and wastewater design-build and pre-engineered solutions. It operates in Canada and internationally, of which the majority of the revenue is derived from the operations in Canada.

    About OTC Markets Group Inc.
    OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our three public markets: OTCQX® Best Market, OTCQB® Venture Market and Pink® Open Market.

    Our OTC Link® Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading.  Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.

    OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN and OTC Link NQB are each an SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC.

    To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit http://www.otcmarkets.com.

    Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

    Media Contact:
    OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, media@otcmarkets.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sellafield engineer announced as finalist for prestigious award

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Technical engineer Natalie Parker has been shortlisted for the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2024.

    Natalie Parker, a technical specialist and manager for Operational Technology Group at Sellafield Ltd.

    Natalie is a technical specialist and manager for Operational Technology Group at Sellafield Ltd.

    In her role, Natalie offers technical advice to frontline engineering teams, provides project support and enhances facility operations by establishing an off-site space for engineers to share problems, develop innovative ideas and learn from each other’s experiences.

    Natalie is also committed to advocating a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, and organises workshops at various primary schools, engaging students with entertaining and interactive activities by introducing them to electrical circuits and programming.

    The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) highlight some of the exceptional talent and role models in the engineering sector such as Natalie who is passionate about encouraging young people, especially girls, to consider careers in engineering.

    With only 16% of engineering professionals being female, addressing this gender imbalance is a high priority for the IET.

    Natalie said:

    I am honoured to even be considered as a finalist. The passion and enjoyment I get from promoting a career in STEM to the future generation and helping to break down barriers as a woman gives me constant motivation.

    The IET’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards are a great platform to help promote all the amazing work carried out by engineers and highlight female role models in the engineering and technology fields.

    I am often asked what success looks like for equality and diversity in the industry and my answer is always that we will no longer need ED&I groups.

    The IET’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2024 will be held on 9 December 2024.

    Are you looking for your next career challenge at Sellafield Ltd?

    Graduate and placement applications are open

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –