The Lao She Theater Festival, an annual cultural event in Beijing, celebrates renowned Chinese playwright and novelist Lao She (1899-1966).
Named after the famous writer, whose works explore social issues in modern China with wit and humanism, the festival features performances of Lao She’s plays and other contemporary theatrical works, with a highlight on the connection between theatrical productions and literary works.
On Sept 27, the eighth edition of the festival was announced at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. In the following three months, 35 theatrical productions will be staged in the capital with 90 performances divided into seven sections. The festival showcases a variety of theatrical performances not just by Lao She but also new plays by contemporary playwrights from China and beyond.
These productions explore themes relevant to modern audiences, including social issues, cultural identity and human nature, according to Yang Cheng, president of the Beijing Artists Management Corp, the festival organizer.
“Literature can evoke deep emotions through the reader’s imagination and connection to the written word, while theater amplifies this emotional impact by presenting stories live. The immediacy and presence of actors onstage allow audiences to feel the tension, humor or sorrow in real-time, making the emotional engagement more direct,” he says.
Last year, the festival commissioned director Fang Xu to adapt Lao She’s classic novel Rickshaw Boy into a play. Featuring an all-male cast, the play has been staged in over 20 shows across the country. On Sunday and Monday, it was staged again at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center.
Fang says that while literature is often the product of a single author’s vision, theatrical productions are highly collaborative. The process of staging a play involves writers, directors, actors, set designers and more, contributing their skills to interpret the original text. This collaboration can lead to multiple layers of meaning beyond what is present in the original literary work.
This year, the festival announced its second commission for the event. Chinese director Zhang Xiao will adapt Chinese writer Du Liang’s popular novel Peking in Flames into a play, which will premiere on Dec 12 with shows running till Dec 15.
The novel is a historical drama set in Beijing (formerly Beiping) during the late stages of the War of Liberation (1946-49), specifically in 1948, just before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The novel was turned into a hit TV drama in 2009 featuring actor Liu Peiqi playing the lead role of Wen San’er, who makes a living by pulling a rickshaw and is depicted as clever, street-smart and knows how to navigate the complex political landscape of Beiping.
“The novel focuses on the lives of various characters from different social classes caught up in the political and military struggles of the time. Du Liang is known for his detailed and immersive storytelling, bringing historical events to life with rich characterizations and dramatic tension,” says Zhang. “The writer uses the setting of Beiping to symbolize the broader transformation of Chinese society during this period. The character Wen San’er is vivid and, despite his petty, streetwise demeanor, possesses a trait that shines brightly. This trait carries a resilient vitality.”
On Dec 7 and 8, the festival will stage The Family by the Jiangsu Performing Arts Group adapted from Chinese writer Ba Jin’s novel of the same title. Depicting the oppressive effect of traditional feudal families upon younger generations, the novel is Ba Jin’s most famous and influential work, which has been adapted into different art forms.
Over the years, the Lao She Theater Festival has expanded to include collaborations with international theater groups, bringing diverse theatrical styles and influences to the event. This has helped position it as a platform for cross-cultural exchange.
The Armazem Theatre Company from Brazil will debut in Beijing by staging its production Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas from Oct 31 to Nov 3. Adapted from the book by Brazil’s celebrated writer Machado de Assis, the production, directed by Paulo de Moraes, sold out when it was staged during the 10th edition of the Wuzhen Theater Festival — an annual theater event in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.
The Song of the Goat Theatre from Poland will return with its theatrical experiment Hamlet — A Commentary, featuring actors interpreting the characters, events and emotions through sounds. The text is given a melody and the dialogue is presented as musical harmonies. The words and music reflect the characters’ and family’s emotions. In 2019, the theater company staged its production Songs of Lear, an interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear, during the third edition of the Lao She Theater Festival.
Other highlights of the ongoing festival will include a new section for dance productions. Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan will present the dance drama Tian Gong Kai Wu, or The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, inspired by the science classic of the same title by Song Yingxing, a scientist who lived in the late Ming (1368-1644) and early Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. First published in 1637, the book offers a summary of ancient China’s manufacturing and farming techniques, earning recognition as an encyclopedia of science and technology. The eponymous drama, coproduced by the Jiangxi Cultural Performance Group and the Beijing Dance Academy, revolves around Song’s quest, portraying his journey to gather the techniques and tools and emphasizing the craftsmanship of ancient Chinese laborers.
Since its launch in 2017, the festival has supported young theater lovers from various universities. Eighteen theatrical productions by students of Chinese universities will be staged during the festival, selected among 60 productions from 33 universities.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ekaterina Rzyankina, Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
When most people are asked to picture an engineer at work, they probably imagine a civil engineer in a hard hat at a construction site, a chemical engineer in a laboratory or an electrical engineer examining a complex circuit board. Very few, I’m willing to bet, visualise someone aboard a ship.
But, for those drawn both to engineering and a seafaring life, marine engineering and nautical science are ideal careers – especially in a country like South Africa, uniquely positioned where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans converge.
Over 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea. That means both marine engineers and nautical scientists are crucial to global trade, transportation and resource management. These professionals play a critical role in ensuring that vessels operate reliably, comply with environmental regulations and navigate safely through the world’s oceans.
South Africa’s Department of Higher Education does not distinguish between different types of engineering when collecting statistics about graduates. However, those of us in the marine engineering and nautical science space in academia can confirm the numbers are low. At my own institution, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in Cape Town, between ten and 20 people graduate each year from these programmes. At another, Nelson Mandela University in the Eastern Cape province, around seven people graduate in these fields each year. With so few people studying these disciplines, the skills they impart are in high demand. The government’s list of scarce skills for 2024 includes “marine engineering technologist”.
I’m an engineering lecturer in the Department of Maritime Studies at CPUT. There, I teach in both the Bachelor of Nautical Science and Marine Engineering programmes, lecturing on a variety of subjects, including mathematics and applied thermodynamics (the branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat, energy and work).
Watching my students complete their degrees and start careers in marine engineering or nautical science has made it clear that this work offers a blend of adventure, technical challenge, and the opportunity to contribute to an industry that is essential to global commerce and environmental stewardship.
Whether it’s designing cutting-edge marine technology or navigating the world’s vast oceans, the maritime field promises a fulfilling professional journey.
Theory and practice
Three universities – CPUT, Nelson Mandela University and the Durban University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal – offer maritime studies courses aimed at those who intend to work at sea. A fourth, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, offers this degree with a focus on maritime law and logistics. There are also some specialised training institutions, among them the South African Maritime Safety Authority, that provide various qualifications and certifications.
You’ll need to have taken mathematics, physical science and English in your school-leaving matric year, and to have passed them well. (Contact individual universities to find out their precise degree requirements.) A strong interest in and commitment to a career at sea or in the maritime industry more broadly is crucial.
Being a strong swimmer can be an advantage. But it is not necessarily a requirement. Students who do not know how to swim will typically have the opportunity to learn and develop their swimming skills as part of their training.
There are practical and theoretical components to these degrees. At our Granger Bay campus near the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, for instance, we’ve set up a survival centre – a practical facility where students receive training to equip them for life at sea. It is fully equipped with three fully enclosed lifeboats, two open lifeboats, a rigid capsule, two fast rescue craft, a heated 12 x 7 metre pool, an underwater escape training dunker, various life rafts, life jackets, immersion suits, and more.
On the theoretical side, a Bachelor of Nautical Science programme focuses on the navigation and operation of ships. It encompasses navigation techniques, ship stability, cargo handling, meteorology, and maritime laws. This prepares students for careers as navigators in the merchant navy. (Not to be confused with the military navy – a merchant navy is a country’s commercial shipping industry, which includes all the cargo and passenger ships that are registered under that nation and used for trade, transport and other non-military purposes.)
Some of our graduates have gone on to become ship’s masters, also called captains – the highest ranking officer on any ship.
Marine engineering programmes, meanwhile, focus on the design, development, operation and maintenance of the mechanical systems and equipment used on ships and other marine vessels. This includes everything from engines and propulsion systems to refrigeration and steering mechanisms. Marine engineers ensure that these systems function efficiently and safely. They often work closely with naval architects to integrate these technologies into new ship designs or retrofit them into existing vessels.
Ample opportunities
Oceanic African countries, like South Africa, need people with these skills to harness the full potential of their maritime resources.
The development of local expertise in maritime engineering and nautical science is essential for ensuring safe and efficient maritime operations. It also helps to protect marine environments and contributes to global maritime trade. Skilled professionals in these fields help these countries take advantage of their maritime assets, promote economic growth and enhance their roles in international commerce.
As a proud lecturer, I am thrilled to see my students progress and develop both internationally and locally. Many have gone on to work in various exciting and prestigious roles around the world. Some have become ship’s masters, navigating and managing large vessels on international waters, while others have taken on critical roles in maritime operations, port management and logistics in countries such as Singapore, Norway and the United Kingdom. Some have pursued careers in maritime law and policy. Their career paths reflect the diverse and global opportunities available in the maritime industry.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
Last week, a planned working trip of representatives of the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade of SPbPU to the capital of Belarus, Minsk, took place. The delegation included Professor, Deputy Director of the Higher School of Service and Trade for Research Sergey Barykin and Associate Professor, Deputy Director of the Higher School of Industrial Management for International Activities Natalia Alekseyeva. The trip included visits to four Belarusian universities.
Sergey Barykin visited the Belarusian State University of Economics (BSEU) under the state program of the Republic of Belarus “Education and Youth Policy” at the invitation of the Dean of the Faculty of Marketing and Logistics Svetlana Lapina. He held open lectures for students on the topic “Logistics and Digitalization of Logistics”. The Polytechnic University staff also discussed issues of joint academic mobility with the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Olga Morozevich. At a meeting with the Vice-Rector for Ideological and Educational Work Sergey Skriba, the Polytechnicians outlined plans for joint scientific cooperation aimed at students of universities in Belarus and Russia.
Communication with students was positive, in an atmosphere of mutual dialogue. Working meetings with colleagues allowed us to find new opportunities for interaction in various areas, – said Sergey Barykin.
At the Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU), IPMET representatives took part in the plenary session of the XX international scientific and practical seminar. The event was held by the Faculty of Marketing, Management, and Entrepreneurship of BNTU under the auspices of the XXII international scientific and technical conference “Science for Education, Production, and Economy”, where a joint work with polytechnics “Network-centric organizations as a new basis for managing scientific and technical cooperation” was presented.
IPMET representatives met with the dean of the faculty Alexey Danilchenko, deputy dean for research and development Irina Ustinovich and head of the department of “Economics and management of innovative projects in industry” Natalia Ponomareva. The participants summed up the results of the faculty’s performance in the international scientific conference “GDTM-2024: Global Challenges of Digital Transformation of Markets”, which took place at IPMET at the end of September.
It is pleasant to note that over several years of cooperation with universities of the Republic of Belarus, we are met here not only as colleagues, but also as friends. In the corridors of universities we see familiar students, which came to the Polytechnic University. This gives us a sense of unity, despite the distance between our cities, shared Natalia Alekseeva.
At the Belarusian State University (BSU), the polytechnics visited the Department of Logistics of the Institute of Business. Together with the head of the Department of Logistics Nikolai Zenchuk, they discussed promising areas of cooperation related to modeling the behavior of logistics systems and academic mobility.
IPMET maintains strong friendly ties withFaculty of Engineering and Economics Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR). This year, the collective monograph, which is being published as part of the GDTM-2024 conference, included the work of Vladimir Parkhimenko, Head of the Department of Economics and Marketing at BSUIR, and Daria Frolova, Senior Lecturer of the Department.
Natalia Alekseeva told BSUIR students about the IPMEiT student scientific society and the annual scientific conference “Youth Week of Science IPMET”. In addition, at a meeting with the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Economics, Veronika Vernyakhovskaya, colleagues discussed Internship plan Belarusian teachers and students.
Representatives of IPMET also attended a festive concert dedicated to Teacher’s Day.
Our institute has started actively develop cooperation with Belarusian universities since 2022. And over these years we have achieved tangible results in academic mobility of teachers and students, joint scientific and congress activities. We regularly We accept students from Minsk and send our students to events organized by Belarusian universities. For several years now, teachers from partner universities have been participating in IPMEiT conferences and forums and working on joint scientific research. I would like to note that after our colleagues’ trip to Minsk, we plan to sign a cooperation agreement with the Institute of Business of the Belarusian State University and are already working on a roadmap. The Higher School of Industrial Management and the Higher School of Service and Trade are jointly developing a program for the admission of Belarusian students scheduled for the period of the annual conference “Youth Science Week of IPMEiT,” noted Vladimir Shchepinin, Director of IPMEiT.
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.
Careers in the maritime industry can take graduates all over the world.Igor-Kardasov
When most people are asked to picture an engineer at work, they probably imagine a civil engineer in a hard hat at a construction site, a chemical engineer in a laboratory or an electrical engineer examining a complex circuit board. Very few, I’m willing to bet, visualise someone aboard a ship.
But, for those drawn both to engineering and a seafaring life, marine engineering and nautical science are ideal careers – especially in a country like South Africa, uniquely positioned where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans converge.
Over 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea. That means both marine engineers and nautical scientists are crucial to global trade, transportation and resource management. These professionals play a critical role in ensuring that vessels operate reliably, comply with environmental regulations and navigate safely through the world’s oceans.
South Africa’s Department of Higher Education does not distinguish between different types of engineering when collecting statistics about graduates. However, those of us in the marine engineering and nautical science space in academia can confirm the numbers are low. At my own institution, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in Cape Town, between ten and 20 people graduate each year from these programmes. At another, Nelson Mandela University in the Eastern Cape province, around seven people graduate in these fields each year. With so few people studying these disciplines, the skills they impart are in high demand. The government’s list of scarce skills for 2024 includes “marine engineering technologist”.
I’m an engineering lecturer in the Department of Maritime Studies at CPUT. There, I teach in both the Bachelor of Nautical Science and Marine Engineering programmes, lecturing on a variety of subjects, including mathematics and applied thermodynamics (the branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat, energy and work).
Watching my students complete their degrees and start careers in marine engineering or nautical science has made it clear that this work offers a blend of adventure, technical challenge, and the opportunity to contribute to an industry that is essential to global commerce and environmental stewardship.
Whether it’s designing cutting-edge marine technology or navigating the world’s vast oceans, the maritime field promises a fulfilling professional journey.
Theory and practice
Three universities – CPUT, Nelson Mandela University and the Durban University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal – offer maritime studies courses aimed at those who intend to work at sea. A fourth, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, offers this degree with a focus on maritime law and logistics. There are also some specialised training institutions, among them the South African Maritime Safety Authority, that provide various qualifications and certifications.
You’ll need to have taken mathematics, physical science and English in your school-leaving matric year, and to have passed them well. (Contact individual universities to find out their precise degree requirements.) A strong interest in and commitment to a career at sea or in the maritime industry more broadly is crucial.
Being a strong swimmer can be an advantage. But it is not necessarily a requirement. Students who do not know how to swim will typically have the opportunity to learn and develop their swimming skills as part of their training.
There are practical and theoretical components to these degrees. At our Granger Bay campus near the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, for instance, we’ve set up a survival centre – a practical facility where students receive training to equip them for life at sea. It is fully equipped with three fully enclosed lifeboats, two open lifeboats, a rigid capsule, two fast rescue craft, a heated 12 x 7 metre pool, an underwater escape training dunker, various life rafts, life jackets, immersion suits, and more.
On the theoretical side, a Bachelor of Nautical Science programme focuses on the navigation and operation of ships. It encompasses navigation techniques, ship stability, cargo handling, meteorology, and maritime laws. This prepares students for careers as navigators in the merchant navy. (Not to be confused with the military navy – a merchant navy is a country’s commercial shipping industry, which includes all the cargo and passenger ships that are registered under that nation and used for trade, transport and other non-military purposes.)
Some of our graduates have gone on to become ship’s masters, also called captains – the highest ranking officer on any ship.
Marine engineering programmes, meanwhile, focus on the design, development, operation and maintenance of the mechanical systems and equipment used on ships and other marine vessels. This includes everything from engines and propulsion systems to refrigeration and steering mechanisms. Marine engineers ensure that these systems function efficiently and safely. They often work closely with naval architects to integrate these technologies into new ship designs or retrofit them into existing vessels.
Ample opportunities
Oceanic African countries, like South Africa, need people with these skills to harness the full potential of their maritime resources.
The development of local expertise in maritime engineering and nautical science is essential for ensuring safe and efficient maritime operations. It also helps to protect marine environments and contributes to global maritime trade. Skilled professionals in these fields help these countries take advantage of their maritime assets, promote economic growth and enhance their roles in international commerce.
As a proud lecturer, I am thrilled to see my students progress and develop both internationally and locally. Many have gone on to work in various exciting and prestigious roles around the world. Some have become ship’s masters, navigating and managing large vessels on international waters, while others have taken on critical roles in maritime operations, port management and logistics in countries such as Singapore, Norway and the United Kingdom. Some have pursued careers in maritime law and policy. Their career paths reflect the diverse and global opportunities available in the maritime industry.
Ekaterina Rzyankina is affiliated with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
It might sound far-fetched, but recent research suggests that dogs’ and humans’ brains synchronise when they look at each other.
This research, conducted by researchers in China, is the first time that “neural coupling” between different species has been witnessed.
Neural coupling is when the brain activity of two or more individuals aligns during an interaction. For humans, this is often in response to a conversation or story.
Neural coupling has been observed when members of the same species interact, including mice, bats, humans and other primates. This linking of brains is probably important in shaping responses during social encounters and might result in complex behaviour that would not be seen in isolation, such as enhancing teamwork or learning.
When social species interact, their brains “connect”. But this case of it happening between different species raises interesting considerations about the subtleties of the human-dog relationship and might help us understand each other a little better.
In the recent study, the researchers studied neural coupling using brain-activity recording equipment called non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG). This uses headgear containing electrodes that detect neural signals – in this case, from the beagles and humans involved in the study.
Researchers examined what happened to these neural signals when dogs and people were isolated from each other, and in the presence of each other, but without looking at each other. Dogs and humans were then allowed to interact with each other.
Look into my eyes
When dogs and humans gazed at each other and the dogs were stroked, their brain signals synchronised. The brain patterns in key areas of the brain associated with attention, matched in both dog and person.
Dogs and people who became more familiar with each other over the five days of the study had increased synchronisation of neural signals. Previous studies of human-human interactions have found increased familiarity between people also resulted in more closely matching brain patterns. So the depth of relationship between people and dogs may make neural coupling stronger.
The ability of dogs to form strong attachments with people is well known. A 2022 study found the presence of familiar humans could reduce stress responses in young wolves, the dog’s close relative. Forming neural connections with people might be one of the ways by which the dog-human relationship develops.
The researchers also studied the potential effect of differences in the brain on neural coupling. They did this by including dogs with a mutation in a gene called Shank3, which can lead to impaired neural connectivity in brain areas linked with attention. This gene is responsible for making a protein that helps promote communication between cells, and is especially abundant in the brain. Mutations in Shank3 have also been associated with autism spectrum disorder in humans.
Study dogs with the Shank3 mutation did not show the same level of matching brain signals with people, as those without the mutation. This was potentially because of impaired neural signalling and processing.
However, when researchers gave the study dogs with the Shank3 mutation, a single dose of LSD (a hallucinogenic drug), they showed increased levels of attention and restored neural coupling with humans.
The researchers were clear that there remains much to be learned about neural coupling between dogs and humans.
It might well be the case that looking into your dog’s eyes means that your respective brain signals will synchronise and enhance your connection. The more familiar you are with each other, the stronger it becomes, it seems.
Jacqueline Boyd is affiliated with The Kennel Club (UK) through membership and contributor to the Health Advisory Group. Jacqueline is a full member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT #01583) and she also writes, consults and coaches on canine matters on an independent basis, in addition to her academic affiliation at Nottingham Trent University.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
GUU and Profit Service presented a joint project for the production of small-sized drones intended for use in anti-drone systems.
The basis for the development was a model of an unmanned aerial vehicle, previously created and patented by one of the members of the project team formed at the State University of Management.
A joint team of the university and the company, which included GUU postgraduate student Vladimir Kutkov, performed at the in-person stage of the competitive selection of projects, organized by the National Technological Initiative Foundation, which took place at the site of the Federal Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Rudnevo Industrial Park.
The industrial partner plans to launch production of a new type of aircraft, developed by engineers of the Engineering Project Management Center of the State University of Management together with specialists from the Profit Service company based on the presented scientific and technical background, in the first quarter of 2025.
In addition, specialists from the Engineering Project Management Center of the State University of Management took part in a strategic session on the application of various types of radio-technical means and systems to solve problems in developing the unmanned aircraft systems industry, organized by the Department for Coordination of Educational Organizations of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. The event was held at MIREA.
Representatives of the State University of Management outlined a number of promising areas based on the integrated use of diverse unmanned systems, as well as complexes that combine unmanned aircraft with ground robots and other technical means and systems.
The outcome of the meeting was a list of areas in which various universities are ready and have the opportunity to develop new technologies of radio engineering, communication and navigation equipment for unmanned aviation.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 11.10.2024
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.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola, Visiting Scientist, United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), United Nations University
Extreme climate events — floods, droughts and heatwaves — are not just becoming more frequent; they are also more severe.
It’s important to understand how communities can recover from these events in ways that also build resilience to future events.
In a recent study, we analysed how communities affected by the extreme flood events of 2021 in Germany’s Ahr Valley and in Lagos, Nigeria, grappled with recovery from floods.
Our aim was to identify the factors – and combinations of factors – that served as barriers (or enablers) to recovery from disasters.
We found that financial limitations, political interests and administrative hurdles led to prioritising immediate relief and reconstruction over long-term sustainable recovery.
We concluded from our findings that the success of recovery efforts lies in balancing short-term relief and a long-term vision. While immediate aid is essential after a disaster, true resilience hinges on proactive measures that address systemic challenges and empower communities to build a better future.
Recovery should not be merely action-oriented and building back infrastructure (engineering). It should also include insights in other areas, like governance and psychology, helping people to deal with losses and to heal.
What worked
To understand the recovery pathways of the two regions, we reviewed relevant literature, newspaper articles and government documents. We also interviewed government agencies, NGO representatives, volunteers and local residents in the communities where these floods occurred.
We found that in the Ahr Valley, recovery wasn’t just about rebuilding structures, it was about empowering individuals.
Through initiatives like mental health and first aid courses, residents learned to support one another. This fostered a sense of community and resilience that was essential for meeting the emotional challenges posed by the disaster.
The focus on rebuilding with a sustainable vision also included environmental initiatives. For example, a type of heating system was put in place that didn’t rely on fossil fuels.
Not only did this reduce carbon emissions, it also served as a symbol of hope. It showed there was an opportunity to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly community.
In Lagos, too, residents found strength in community and innovation. Grassroots efforts using sustainable materials like bamboo and palm wood highlighted the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people. Faith-based organisations provided material aid as well as emotional and spiritual support. This reinforced the bonds that held the community together.
Each community faced unique challenges. But they shared a common thread: the importance of adaptive governance – flexible decision-making and strong community ties.
For example, established building codes in the Ahr Valley provided a framework for reconstruction, ensuring that new structures were resilient and safe.
In Lagos, the absence of strong government support highlighted the critical role of community organisations in providing services and fostering a sense of shared responsibility.
What needs improvment
In both the Ahr Valley and Lagos, the journey towards recovery has been fraught with obstacles as well.
In the Ahr Valley, bureaucratic red tape has become a formidable barrier. Residents, eager to rebuild their lives, find themselves entangled in a complex web of regulations and lengthy approval processes. This has delayed their access to insurance and recovery funds. Waiting for months or even years has eroded hope and fuelled a sense of abandonment.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, insufficient government support has left communities to fend for themselves, creating a breeding ground for uncertainty and conflict.
Land tenure disputes, fuelled by a lack of clear property rights, sow seeds of distrust and hinder resettlement efforts. Political disagreements complicate the picture, as competing interests divert attention and resources away from those who need them most.
In Lagos, none of the respondents reported having insurance to help them to recover from disaster-related losses.
While some residents in the Ahr Valley did have insurance, many were under-insured.
The Ahr Valley’s building codes offer a framework for reconstruction. But it’s clear that processes should be streamlined so communities can take ownership of their recovery.
In Lagos, the importance of robust social safety nets is clear. Partnerships between communities and authorities are also needed.
A different approach
Recovery isn’t a separate process that occurs after disasters only. It should be seen as an essential part of managing risks. It’s important to understand what recovery involves and what resources are needed.
This will help reduce future risks and increase resilience after extreme events.
Governments should encourage flexible governance structures that value community voices and local knowledge to enable recovery. A good example is the New Orleans Recovery Authority, established after Hurricane Katrina. It involved local residents and city officials in planning and rebuilding efforts.
Grassroots efforts in Lagos demonstrated the power of sustainable materials and community-led initiatives. Seeing things from the community’s point of view can help tailor solutions that fit the situation and adapt to evolving challenges.
Training and capacity-building programmes empower communities to be active in their own recovery.
Mental health and first aid courses were successful in the Ahr Valley. Equipping individuals with skills in sustainable practices and disaster preparedness helps weave a social fabric capable of weathering future storms.
Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola is a Visiting Scientist at, the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
Saskia E. Werners works with United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). She is grateful to have received research grants in support of her research on climate change adaptation and recovery.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola, Visiting Scientist, United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), United Nations University
Extreme climate events — floods, droughts and heatwaves — are not just becoming more frequent; they are also more severe.
It’s important to understand how communities can recover from these events in ways that also build resilience to future events.
In a recent study, we analysed how communities affected by the extreme flood events of 2021 in Germany’s Ahr Valley and in Lagos, Nigeria, grappled with recovery from floods.
Our aim was to identify the factors – and combinations of factors – that served as barriers (or enablers) to recovery from disasters.
We found that financial limitations, political interests and administrative hurdles led to prioritising immediate relief and reconstruction over long-term sustainable recovery.
We concluded from our findings that the success of recovery efforts lies in balancing short-term relief and a long-term vision. While immediate aid is essential after a disaster, true resilience hinges on proactive measures that address systemic challenges and empower communities to build a better future.
Recovery should not be merely action-oriented and building back infrastructure (engineering). It should also include insights in other areas, like governance and psychology, helping people to deal with losses and to heal.
What worked
To understand the recovery pathways of the two regions, we reviewed relevant literature, newspaper articles and government documents. We also interviewed government agencies, NGO representatives, volunteers and local residents in the communities where these floods occurred.
We found that in the Ahr Valley, recovery wasn’t just about rebuilding structures, it was about empowering individuals.
Through initiatives like mental health and first aid courses, residents learned to support one another. This fostered a sense of community and resilience that was essential for meeting the emotional challenges posed by the disaster.
The focus on rebuilding with a sustainable vision also included environmental initiatives. For example, a type of heating system was put in place that didn’t rely on fossil fuels.
Not only did this reduce carbon emissions, it also served as a symbol of hope. It showed there was an opportunity to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly community.
In Lagos, too, residents found strength in community and innovation. Grassroots efforts using sustainable materials like bamboo and palm wood highlighted the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people. Faith-based organisations provided material aid as well as emotional and spiritual support. This reinforced the bonds that held the community together.
Each community faced unique challenges. But they shared a common thread: the importance of adaptive governance – flexible decision-making and strong community ties.
For example, established building codes in the Ahr Valley provided a framework for reconstruction, ensuring that new structures were resilient and safe.
In Lagos, the absence of strong government support highlighted the critical role of community organisations in providing services and fostering a sense of shared responsibility.
What needs improvment
In both the Ahr Valley and Lagos, the journey towards recovery has been fraught with obstacles as well.
In the Ahr Valley, bureaucratic red tape has become a formidable barrier. Residents, eager to rebuild their lives, find themselves entangled in a complex web of regulations and lengthy approval processes. This has delayed their access to insurance and recovery funds. Waiting for months or even years has eroded hope and fuelled a sense of abandonment.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, insufficient government support has left communities to fend for themselves, creating a breeding ground for uncertainty and conflict.
Land tenure disputes, fuelled by a lack of clear property rights, sow seeds of distrust and hinder resettlement efforts. Political disagreements complicate the picture, as competing interests divert attention and resources away from those who need them most.
In Lagos, none of the respondents reported having insurance to help them to recover from disaster-related losses.
While some residents in the Ahr Valley did have insurance, many were under-insured.
The Ahr Valley’s building codes offer a framework for reconstruction. But it’s clear that processes should be streamlined so communities can take ownership of their recovery.
In Lagos, the importance of robust social safety nets is clear. Partnerships between communities and authorities are also needed.
A different approach
Recovery isn’t a separate process that occurs after disasters only. It should be seen as an essential part of managing risks. It’s important to understand what recovery involves and what resources are needed.
This will help reduce future risks and increase resilience after extreme events.
Governments should encourage flexible governance structures that value community voices and local knowledge to enable recovery. A good example is the New Orleans Recovery Authority, established after Hurricane Katrina. It involved local residents and city officials in planning and rebuilding efforts.
Grassroots efforts in Lagos demonstrated the power of sustainable materials and community-led initiatives. Seeing things from the community’s point of view can help tailor solutions that fit the situation and adapt to evolving challenges.
Training and capacity-building programmes empower communities to be active in their own recovery.
Mental health and first aid courses were successful in the Ahr Valley. Equipping individuals with skills in sustainable practices and disaster preparedness helps weave a social fabric capable of weathering future storms.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On October 11, 2024, at the 26th Russian agro-industrial exhibition “Golden Autumn”, a solemn ceremony of presenting state awards was held, timed to coincide with the Day of Agricultural and Processing Industry Workers. The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin.
“It is you who, with your hard work, are solving issues of food security, which are the most important issues for the development of the entire society and the achievement of national development goals that the head of state sets for us,” Mikhail Mishustin addressed the laureates and congratulated them on the upcoming holiday.
For merits in scientific and pedagogical activity, training of qualified specialists and many years of conscientious work, the honorary title “Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation” was awarded to Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Tractors and Automobiles of the Russian State Agrarian University named after K.A. Timiryazev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Otari Didmanidze.
The State University of Management has long and fruitfully cooperated with Otari Nazirovich in the field of training a personnel reserve for subordinate organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In addition, Otari Didmanidze is the scientific director of a large project “Ensuring food security of the country based on the creation of software and hardware systems and intelligent platform digital solutions in the field of development of agro-industrial technologies of the full life cycle”, carried out by the State University of Management together with the Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center and the Udmurt State University.
Let us recall that within the framework of this project, a team of young scientists from the State University of Management is developing a high-tech system for managing agricultural enterprises, and this week a working meeting was held between the management of the State University of Management and the Omsk Scientific and Technical Center, where the process of implementing the project was discussed.
The State University of Management congratulates Otari Nazimovich on being awarded the honorary title of “Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation”, wishes him further success in science and work, and also expresses hope for the continuation of fruitful cooperation.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 11.10.2024
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.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Scientists at VDEC use ‘organ-on-a-chip’ models to study infections and immune responses, aiming to improve vaccine testing and reduce reliance on animal research.
Executive summary
Scientists are constantly trying to improve the use and efficiency of models in research. As such, they are exploring a move away from traditional tissue or whole-body models. This move is proving to be a successful route to protecting human health against a variety of pathogens.
Target
The Pre-clinical team at UKHSA’s Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) has developed an expanding capability in the use of microphysiological systems (MPS), an example of this are the ‘organ-on-a-chip’ models.
Essentially, we can grow a range of different cell types in 3D structures that represent tissues and mimic human organs in miniature chambers supplied with very small volumes of growth medium (a substitute for human blood). Although we started out simply by infecting these systems with various strains of pathogens, we are now developing the ability to introduce parts of the human immune system as well so that we can model and understand how our bodies fight infectious disease and how we can enhance or supplement that protection.
Aims
Understanding the correlates of protection for new and emerging coronaviruses is at the forefront of science strategy around the world. The pandemic potential of coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) has been proven in recent years. Understanding how they evolve, and impact humans is of utmost importance. Once we can understand how this works, we are then able to (or we then have another method to) test the efficacy of vaccines against evolving variants.
One model that highlights the importance of developing such systems is the adaptation of human alveolus MPS. The SARS-CoV-2 infection model described here (1) replicates the breathing-like stretch observed in lung epithelial cells and other biochemical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection, allowing this to be used as a successful model of infection in live human tissue.
Options
An additional future benefit of this cutting-edge research is that it should help to reduce our reliance on animal research. Although that is a long-term view, it may also be possible that by increasing the complexity of the MPS models and analytical tools we use to interrogate them, we may one day be able to replace some aspects of animal research in medical research.
Outcome
Working alongside the teams that are developing and testing the MPS technology are teams using established challenge models, allowing direct comparison of human tissue replicating a whole organ system. The team at VDEC currently have 2 human lung-on-chip models. The first, a human bronchial airway and the second, human alveolus. Both models have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in order to investigate the effect of this virus against various lung tissue types. A ‘non-breathing’ lung-on-chip alveolus model has also successfully been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, allowing characterisation of the differences between severe coronavirus infections.
Future work
Leading on from the success of the SARS-CoV-2 MPS, further work to develop a MPS model that can rival the current ‘gold standard’ MERS model is currently being carried out by the team at VDEC. This could provide clear evidence that MPS models are equally as effective as current models, refining the process of challenge studies across the board. We are working to extend the range of tissue types available for testing, for example working with brain and gut (2), as well as lung tissue to investigate movement of virus from organ to organ or to study difficult-to-study syndromes like long COVID or premature ageing.
The team is also pivoting transcriptomics, whole genome sequencing as well as sophisticated histopathological techniques to analyse these tiny samples. This means we will be able to detect small changes in the biochemistry, microbiology, and immunology of infected human cells very early on in the infection process to help us test new ways to protect humans. We have begun countermeasure testing antiviral drugs but intend to include vaccines testing as well using MPS technology, with a view to provide an alternate approach to certain aspects of human clinical trials. MPS-based technologies could allow detection of uniquely human issues with vaccine or therapeutic candidates ahead of human clinical trials, which could add an early ‘go’ or ‘no-go’ step as well as saving money downstream.
The use of MPS technology also allows our scientists to study infections from a new standpoint, as various environmental or immunological elements can be added or removed to investigate their impact. An example of this is that lung tissue can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of individual immune cell populations to help us reveal and understand the significance of their roles in disease and recovery.
At VDEC we are at the forefront of this exciting technology, pushing its potential to the limits of human disease research and therapeutics for the benefit of public health.
Jones EJ, Skinner BM, Parker A, Baldwin LR, Greenman J, Carding SR and Funnell SGP. ‘An in vitro multi-organ microphysiological system (MPS) to investigate the gut-to-brain translocation of neurotoxins’. Biomicrofluidics (2024). Sep 13;18(5):054105. doi: 10.1063/5.0200459. PMID: 39280192; PMCID: PMC11401645.
Beaufort S.C.- Meet Teresa Smith, the Mammography Technician here at Naval Hospital Beaufort.
Beaufort S.C.- Meet Teresa Smith, the Mammography Technician here at Naval Hospital Beaufort. She is local to the low country; she was born in Ridgeland. Teresa said “I’ve moved around the low country throughout my life but seem to always come back to where most of my family lives, which is Hampton, S.C.” She graduated from Trident Technical College in 1994 with an associate degree in Health Science, specific to Radiology Technology. While she was living in the Charleston area, she met her husband, and they just celebrated 30 years of marriage. Teresa has worked for the last 19 ½ years at Naval Hospital Beaufort, April 2025 will mark 20 years. Teresa is a military spouse. Her husband is a retired Chief Gunners Mate with 24 years of combined active duty and reservist, very active reserve after 911. Radiology runs in her family. Her dad was a Radiology Technologist as well as her older brother. Family is very important to her, and she enjoys spending time with family, her 3-year-old granddaughter is the apple of their family’s eye. A few things Teresa enjoys doing in her free time include, going to the range with her husband, as well as shopping, traveling, and hiking. She recently hiked the presidential trail at Mt. Rushmore. She is also very active in her church helping with the youth group. When asked why she loves her job and has been doing it for so many years she replied “I find my job very rewarding, it’s all about getting the best images for my patient and my radiologist to make a diagnosis for that patient’s care. My passion is patient care, the whole reason we are here is to take care of our patients and provide them with the best care possible.”
The Peruvian coastal capital of Lima is approximately 4,970 miles south of Naval Hospital Bremerton.
Yet Lt. Renzo D. Sobrevilla has seamlessly bridged that distance from South American to North America as a Navy Medical Service Corps officer assigned to NHB.
In conjunction with October recognized by the Department of Defense as [National] Hispanic Heritage Month, Sobrevilla reflected on his roots, culture, and lineage.
“Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15 to October 15, is a time of great pride for me,” said Sobrevilla. “It’s an opportunity to recognize the vibrant contributions of Hispanic Americans and celebrate the rich cultures, histories, and traditions of the Hispanic community.”
“As someone with Hispanic roots, I take pride in celebrating the Hispanic community’s rich cultures, histories, and traditions,” continued Sobrevilla. “I value the diversity of the Hispanic diaspora. I appreciate the influence of countries which have contributed immensely to the arts and culture in the U.S.”
With this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month theme, ‘Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together,’ Sobrevilla notes that the premise is directly applicable to his responsibility at NHB which is dedicated to ensuring that the right material, contracted services and healthcare equipment are in the right place at the right time to provide medical and dental care to active duty, retirees and their families at NHB and three branch health clinics.
“The theme is significant in my role at the command. It highlights the importance of diversity and collaboration in shaping the future. It’s about how a diverse community, like ours, can come together to bring about positive change, not just within our command but also in the broader context of Navy Medicine,” stated Sobrevilla, who started from humble beginnings to embark upon his chosen career path.
“As an immigrant, I always encourage my Sailors to take full advantage of the opportunities the Navy provides. Starting as an E-1 and working my way up, I’ve seen firsthand how hard work, dedication, and motivation can turn the American dream into reality. Becoming an MSC officer was a pivotal moment for me and proof that with the right attitude, anyone can succeed,” remarked Sobrevilla.
His interest in Navy Medicine began after he enlisted in the Navy in 2007. Several influential leaders set the foundation for him to pursue a career in the medical field. After completing his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Northeastern University, Sobrevilla merged his growing healthcare interest with leadership and chose the Navy’s most diverse corps, MSC, which offers a number of healthcare administrator specialties.
“The Navy Medical Service Corps appealed to me because of its commitment to diversity and inclusivity. This career has allowed me to work in various settings, each contributing to the mission of Navy Medicine,” shared Sobrevilla, NHB Materiel Management Department head, who has been part of Navy Medicine since 2016 and served in various roles, including as a plans, operations, and medical Intelligence officer, comptroller, and logistics officer.
Sobrevilla epitomizes the value of education, having attained his Master of Healthcare Administration with Executive Concentration, Specialization in Management, Education and Training Management, and Healthcare Management from George Mason University. He is currently completing his dissertation for his Doctor of Business Administration at Grand Canyon University.
He can also add linguistic chops to a growing curriculum vitae.
“Thanks to my parents’ heritage, I am bilingual in Italian and Spanish,” Sobrevilla added, noting that the best part of his career has been the opportunity to work with diverse people from all over the world. “There’s the sense of fulfillment that comes from making a positive impact in their lives through Navy Medicine.”
Sobrevilla is optimistic that staff, as well as patients and visitors, look favorable on NHB’s Hispanic Heritage Month recognition.
“I hope others take away an appreciation for the contributions of Hispanic Americans to our society, both within the military and in broader cultural contexts,” exclaimed Sobrevilla. “It’s about understanding the importance of diversity and how it strengthens our Navy and our country.”
When asked to sum up his experience with Navy Medicine, Sobrevilla replied, “Navy Medicine has been a transformative journey, offering me the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. It’s a testament to the fact that with hard work and a strong work ethic, anything is possible.”
Source: Switzerland – Federal Administration in English
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Bern, 11.10.2024 – Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) – Check against delivery
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear Guests
Last year, I ended my speech with the words of Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse: “To achieve the possible, we must attempt the impossible – again and again.”
And that’s exactly what we do, year after year. The rapid technological advances we’re witnessing are expanding the boundaries of civilization in ways we once considered impossible.
This is where GESDA plays its role: it opens new frontiers, enabling us to not only imagine but also anticipate the future and prepare for the changes ahead with tangible, inclusive solutions.
Things are moving fast, and so is GESDA.
Following last year’s launch of the Open Quantum Institute, GESDA now presents the Anticipation Gateway Initiative, its second pioneering project, which is now entering a three-year prototyping phase.
I want to congratulate the entire GESDA team and its supporters for their unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries for multilateralism and humanity.
New technologies are reshaping relationships —between people, organisations, and our environment. While this is not new, the pace of progress now far exceeds human evolution, creating deeper divides in our societies.
Ladies and gentlemen
What’s on GESDA’s radar? What’s cooking in the labs? Let me highlight two rapidly advancing fields: synthetic biology and neuroscience.
1) Synthetic biology: This field merges biology and engineering, allowing us to create new living organisms or modify existing ones to perform novel tasks—potentially enabling us to program living cells like computers in the future.
Over the next five years, integrating synthetic biology with AI will speed up the development of new biological agents:
On the upside, it could lead to the rapid development of vaccines and treatments, helping us live healthier, longer lives.
On the downside, some agents could be misused as biological weapons.
2) Neurotechnology: This field involves technologies that interact with the nervous system to monitor or influence brain activity. GESDA foresees that next-gen implants will stimulate multiple brain regions, with AI and brain-computer interfaces becoming a reality soon.
· The bright side: Neurotechnology could help paraplegics walk again.
· The dark side: It might also be used to enhance soldiers’ abilities, improving precision, resilience, and reducing sleep needs—raising ethical concerns we must address.
Dear guests
The rapid acceleration of science will deeply impact every aspect of our lives, including international peace and security. Given Switzerland’s history of innovation and mediation, we believe it’s crucial to focus on preventing and managing conflicts that may arise from emerging technologies.
As science advances, diplomacy must keep pace.
In this spirit, during our presidency of the UN Security Council this October, Switzerland will propose a presidential statement to highlight the importance of monitoring scientific advances and their effects on global peace and security.
While the UNSC currently addresses pressing issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine, Yemen, and Sudan, we must also view global dynamics through the lens of science. Leaders need to prepare for future science-driven challenges, as they will increasingly face conflicts fuelled by technology.
This will be my message as President of the Security Council on 21 October in New York. Specifically, this will mean discussing the forms of warfare we wish to avoid, establishing rules, and setting clear limits.
Thanks to GESDA’s Anticipation Gateway Initiative, we can begin shaping this vision with three key instruments:
1. The training framework for anticipatory leadership prepares decision-makers for a rapidly evolving world, helping them understand breakthrough technologies.
2. The public portal raises global awareness on these issues (this will also feature at the Swiss Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Kansai).
3. The anticipation observatory provides a platform for everyone to engage in these vital conversations.
Ladies and gentlemen
I began with a Nobel laureate, so I’ll close with another. Marie Curie once said: “In life, nothing is to be feared, everything is to be understood. It is time to understand more, so that we may fear less.“
As we conclude this month’s Swiss presidency of the UNSC, my hope is that we leave New York with a sense of accomplishment—having made progress in ensuring the Council remains committed to monitoring scientific developments and their impact on global peace and security.
In UN terms, the Council must stay engaged and encourage others to continue this crucial discussion. The more we understand, the less we will fear.
Now, turning ‘back to the present’, I look forward to hearing the perspectives and insights from my ministerial colleagues.
Thank you.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication Federal Palace West Wing CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55 E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch Twitter: @SwissMFA
Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
Bern, 11.10.2024 – Rede von Bundesrat Ignazio Cassis, Vorsteher des Eidgenössischen Departements für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (EDA) – Es gilt das gesprochene Wort
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear Guests
Last year, I ended my speech with the words of Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse: “To achieve the possible, we must attempt the impossible – again and again.”
And that’s exactly what we do, year after year. The rapid technological advances we’re witnessing are expanding the boundaries of civilization in ways we once considered impossible.
This is where GESDA plays its role: it opens new frontiers, enabling us to not only imagine but also anticipate the future and prepare for the changes ahead with tangible, inclusive solutions.
Things are moving fast, and so is GESDA.
Following last year’s launch of the Open Quantum Institute, GESDA now presents the Anticipation Gateway Initiative, its second pioneering project, which is now entering a three-year prototyping phase.
I want to congratulate the entire GESDA team and its supporters for their unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries for multilateralism and humanity.
New technologies are reshaping relationships —between people, organisations, and our environment. While this is not new, the pace of progress now far exceeds human evolution, creating deeper divides in our societies.
Ladies and gentlemen
What’s on GESDA’s radar? What’s cooking in the labs? Let me highlight two rapidly advancing fields: synthetic biology and neuroscience.
1) Synthetic biology: This field merges biology and engineering, allowing us to create new living organisms or modify existing ones to perform novel tasks—potentially enabling us to program living cells like computers in the future.
Over the next five years, integrating synthetic biology with AI will speed up the development of new biological agents:
On the upside, it could lead to the rapid development of vaccines and treatments, helping us live healthier, longer lives.
On the downside, some agents could be misused as biological weapons.
2) Neurotechnology: This field involves technologies that interact with the nervous system to monitor or influence brain activity. GESDA foresees that next-gen implants will stimulate multiple brain regions, with AI and brain-computer interfaces becoming a reality soon.
· The bright side: Neurotechnology could help paraplegics walk again.
· The dark side: It might also be used to enhance soldiers’ abilities, improving precision, resilience, and reducing sleep needs—raising ethical concerns we must address.
Dear guests
The rapid acceleration of science will deeply impact every aspect of our lives, including international peace and security. Given Switzerland’s history of innovation and mediation, we believe it’s crucial to focus on preventing and managing conflicts that may arise from emerging technologies.
As science advances, diplomacy must keep pace.
In this spirit, during our presidency of the UN Security Council this October, Switzerland will propose a presidential statement to highlight the importance of monitoring scientific advances and their effects on global peace and security.
While the UNSC currently addresses pressing issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine, Yemen, and Sudan, we must also view global dynamics through the lens of science. Leaders need to prepare for future science-driven challenges, as they will increasingly face conflicts fuelled by technology.
This will be my message as President of the Security Council on 21 October in New York. Specifically, this will mean discussing the forms of warfare we wish to avoid, establishing rules, and setting clear limits.
Thanks to GESDA’s Anticipation Gateway Initiative, we can begin shaping this vision with three key instruments:
1. The training framework for anticipatory leadership prepares decision-makers for a rapidly evolving world, helping them understand breakthrough technologies.
2. The public portal raises global awareness on these issues (this will also feature at the Swiss Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Kansai).
3. The anticipation observatory provides a platform for everyone to engage in these vital conversations.
Ladies and gentlemen
I began with a Nobel laureate, so I’ll close with another. Marie Curie once said: “In life, nothing is to be feared, everything is to be understood. It is time to understand more, so that we may fear less.“
As we conclude this month’s Swiss presidency of the UNSC, my hope is that we leave New York with a sense of accomplishment—having made progress in ensuring the Council remains committed to monitoring scientific developments and their impact on global peace and security.
In UN terms, the Council must stay engaged and encourage others to continue this crucial discussion. The more we understand, the less we will fear.
Now, turning ‘back to the present’, I look forward to hearing the perspectives and insights from my ministerial colleagues.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Kristen Erickson-Donadee, of Folsom, has been appointed Director of the California Department of Child Support Services. Erickson-Donadee has been Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Child Support Services since 2020 and has served in several roles there since 2009, including Chief Counsel, Assistant Chief Counsel, Attorney and Contract Attorney. She was an Attorney at the Sierra Nevada Regional Department of Child Support from 2006 to 2012. Erickson-Donadee earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from California State University, Sonoma. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $226,334. Erickson-Donadee is a Democrat.
Jay Wierenga, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Communications at the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Wierenga has served as Communications Director at the California Fair Political Practices Commission since 2014. He was Principal at Jay Alan Communications from 2012 to 2014. Wierenga was Vice-President at Aderfo Group from 2011 to 2012. He was a Strategic Communications Advisor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2011 to 2012. Wierenga served as Director of Communication and Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the California Governor’s Office of Homeland Security from 2007 to 2011. He was Director of Communications at the California Conservation Corps in 2007. Wierenga was an Anchor, Co-Host and Managing Editor at KFBK-AM from 2003 to 2007. He was an Anchor at KTXL-TV from 2000 to 2003 and at KHPO-TV from 1995 to 1999. Wierenga is a member of the KVIE-TV Community Advisory Board. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, Radio and TV from Dordt University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $160,200. Wierenga is a Democrat.
Hayley Figeroid, of Carmichael, has been appointed Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Office of Data and Innovation, where she has served as Head of Government Relations since 2022. Figeroid held several positions at Covered California from 2018 to 2022, including Assistant Deputy Director of Plan Management, Senior Manager of Distribution Services and Manager of the Certification Services Team. She was an Exam Specialist at the Contractors State License Board from 2016 to 2018. Figeroid was a Provider Enrollment Analyst at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2015 to 2016. She was an English Teacher at St. Francis High School from 2010 to 2015. Figeroid is a member of California Women Lead and the Sacramento State Alumni Association. She earned a Master of Education degree in Educational Administration and Leadership from Concordia University, a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from California State University, Sacramento and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of San Francisco. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $165,000. Figeroid is registered without party preference.
Ludmil Alexandrov, of San Diego, has been appointed to the Carcinogen Identification Committee. Alexandrov has been Chief Scientific Officer at io9 since 2021, and a Professor at the University of California, San Diego since 2017. He was a J Robert Oppenheimer Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 2014 to 2017. Alexandrov was a Consultant at Deloitte from 2007 to 2009. He is a member of the American Association for Advancement of Science, the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Statistical Association, and the International Society for Computational Biology. Alexandrov earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Cancer Genetics from the University of Cambridge, a Master of Science degree in Computational Biology from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Neumont College of Computer Science. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Alexandrov is registered without party preference.
Dean Felsher, of San Mateo, has been appointed to the Carcinogen Identification Committee. Felsher has been an Oncologist, Cancer Scientist and Professor at Stanford University since 1999 and Director of Translational Research and Applied Medicine since 2011. He was an Oncology Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco from 1994 to 1999. Felsher earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in Medicine and Molecular Biology and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Felsher is a Democrat.
Mark Toney, of Lakeport, has been reappointed to the State Bar of California Board of Trustees, where he has served since 2020. Toney has been Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network since 2008. He was Executive Director of the Center for Third World Organizing from 2000 to 2004 and Executive Director of Direct Action for Rights and Equality from 1986 to 1994. He was Lead Organizer at Workers’ Association for Guaranteed Employment from 1982 to 1985. Toney is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brown University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50 per diem. Toney is a Democrat.
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The launch of ‘Missile Cum Ammunition Barge, LSAM 12 (Yard 80)’, the Sixth Barge of 08 x Missile Cum Ammunition Barge project, built by MSME Shipyard, M/s SECON Engineering Projects Pvt Ltd (SEPPL), Visakhapatnam for Indian Navy, was undertaken on 10 Oct 24 at M/s Vinayaga Marine Petro Ltd, Mira Bhayandar, Maharashtra (launch site of M/s SECON Engineering Projects Pvt Ltd). The launching Ceremony was presided over by Cmde MV Raj Krishna, CoY(Mbi).
The contract for building 08 x Missile Cum Ammunition Barge was signed between MoD and M/s SECON Engineering Projects Pvt Ltd, Visakhapatnam on 19 Feb 21. The availability of these Barges would provide impetus to operational commitments of IN by facilitating Transportation, Embarkation and Disembarkation of articles/ ammunition to IN platforms both alongside jetties and at outer harbours.
These Barges are indigenously designed and built under relevant Naval Rules and Regulation of Indian Register of Shipping. The model testing of the Barge during design stage were undertaken at Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, Visakhapatnam. These Barges are proud flag bearers of Make in India initiative of Government of India.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Oct. 11 — China successfully retrieved its first reusable and returnable test satellite, Shijian-19, at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 10:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) Friday, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
All the returnable payloads in fields like plant and microorganism breeding, autonomous control and new technology validation, space science experiments, as well as social welfare and cultural innovation, have been retrieved smoothly, said the CNSA.
Launched on Sept. 27 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Shijian-19 has realized a number of technological breakthroughs.
The flight tests have broken through key technologies such as reusability, damage-free recovery, and high microgravity assurance, verifying the technical indicators of the new generation of high-performance reusable return-style space test platforms and achieving all expected test results.
Featuring high microgravity levels and good timeliness, Shijian-19 is an efficient space test platform for high microgravity levels, supporting research in microgravity science and space life science.
Researchers carried out space breeding experiments, new technology validation, and space science experiments using the reusable satellite, aiming to promote the development and application of new space technologies.
The satellite also carried multiple international cooperation payloads, serving as an excellent platform for promoting international cooperation in space exploration and utilization.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Police will implement crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements in Kowloon and New Territories this weekend (October 12 and 13) to facilitate the holding of the Hong Kong Cyclothon. On the morning of October 13, the 50km and 32km rides will start at Salisbury Road near the Empire Centre and take route via West Kowloon and New Territories South before finishing at the Jordan Road flyover. Other races will also be held at East Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom area. Depending on the prevailing crowd situation, the Police will consider implementing crowd safety management measures in the vicinity of the racecourse and other crowded areas in Tsim Sha Tsui.A. Road closure and traffic diversions The following traffic arrangements will be implemented, except for vehicles with permit:Kowloon——-(1) From 8pm on October 12 to about 4pm on October 13: The layby on westbound Mody Road outside Mody Road Garden will be closed.(2) From 1am to about 10.30am on October 13:Road closure Mody Road between Mody Lane and Mody Road Garden.Traffic diversion Traffic along eastbound Mody Road must turn left to Mody Square and westbound Mody Road.Traffic arrangement Vehicles over seven metres in length or four tonnes in weight cannot enter Mody Road between the exit and entrance of Tsim Sha Tsui East (Mody Road) Bus Terminus and Mody Lane, and Mody Road between Mody Road Garden and Science Museum Road.(3) From 1am to about 11am on October 13:Road closure- Southbound West Kowloon Highway between Tsing Kwai Highway and the slip road of Lin Cheung Road;- The slip road of northbound West Kowloon Highway to Jordan Road;- The service road of northbound Western Harbour Crossing to the slip road of West Kowloon Highway;- Northbound Nga Cheung Road elevated road and the slip road to Western Harbour Crossing;- The third lane of southbound Lin Cheung Road between Olympic City 2 and Yau Ma Tei Ventilation Building;- The second and third lanes of southbound Lin Cheung Road between Yau Ma Tei Ventilation Building and Nga Cheung Road;- Southbound Nga Cheung Road between Lin Cheung Road and Nga Cheung Road elevated road;- The fast lane of southbound Nga Cheung Road elevated road between the slip road of southbound Lin Cheung Road and the access road to Elements;- Eastbound Jordan Road flyover between Hoi Po Road and northbound Lin Cheung Road;- Westbound Jordan Road flyover between northbound Nga Cheung Road elevated road and Hoi Po Road;- Eastbound Jordan Road between southbound Nga Cheung Road and To Wah Road;- The fast lane of eastbound Jordan Road between To Wah Road and northbound Lin Cheung Road; and- Hoi Po Road between Jordan Road and Yau Ma Tei Interchange.Traffic diversions- Traffic along Mei Ching Road cannot enter southbound West Kowloon Highway via southbound Lin Cheung Road;- Traffic from southbound Lin Cheung Road to Western Harbour Crossing will be diverted via Lai Cheung Road, Hoi Wang Road, Jordan Road and northbound Lin Cheung Road;- Traffic along northbound Western Harbour Crossing will be diverted via West Kowloon Highway, Yau Ma Tei Interchange, Lai Cheung Road and Ferry Street to eastbound Jordan Road;- Vehicles leaving from International Commerce Centre must turn left to southbound Nga Cheung Road elevated road;- Traffic along northbound Nga Cheung Road cannot enter Jordan Road to To Wah Road; and- Traffic along westbound Jordan Road flyover must turn left to southbound Nga Cheung Road elevated road.(4) From 1am to about 3.30pm on October 13:Road closure- Southbound Princess Margaret Road Link between Metropolis Drive and Hung Hom Bypass;- Hung Hom Bypass between Salisbury Road and Princess Margaret Road Link;- The second and third lanes of eastbound Hung Hom Bypass between Princess Margaret Road Link and Hung Hom Road;- The third and fourth lanes of westbound Hung Hom Bypass between Hung Hom Road and Princess Margaret Road Link;- The second and third lanes of eastbound Hung Hom Road between Hung Hom Bypass and Hung Hum South Road;- The second and third lanes of westbound Hung Hom Road between Tak Fung Street and Hung Hom Bypass;- Hong Wan Path;- The slip road leading from Metropolis Drive to Hung Hom Bypass;- Mody Lane;- Salisbury Road underpass;- Southbound Salisbury Road between Cross Harbour Tunnel Administration Building and Science Museum Road; and- Salisbury Road between Science Museum Road and Chatham Road South.Traffic diversions- Traffic along southbound Princess Margaret Road Link must turn right to westbound Metropolis Drive;- Traffic along eastbound Metropolis Drive must turn left to northbound Princess Margaret Road Link or the down ramp slip road leading to eastbound Hung Lai Road;- Traffic along southbound Science Museum Road must turn left to northbound Hong Chong Road;- Traffic along southbound Hung Hom Road will be diverted via Hung Hom Bypass slip road to Cheong Wan Road and other destinations;- Traffic along southbound Chatham Road South must turn right to westbound Cameron Road, or diverted to turn right to westbound Salisbury Road after the completion of road closure item (5), except for franchised buses;- Traffic along eastbound Salisbury Road must turn left to northbound Chatham Road South, except for franchised buses;- Traffic along eastbound Mody Road must make a U-turn at Mody Road near Mody Lane for westbound Mody Road; and- Traffic along westbound Mody Road must make a U-turn at Mody Road near Mody Road Garden for eastbound Mody Road.Traffic arrangements Granville Road between Granville Square and Science Museum Road will be re-routed to one-way eastbound from 7am to 3.30pm on October 13. Prohibited Zone of Tsim Sha Tsui East (Mody Road) Bus Terminus will be rescinded from 10.30am to 3.30pm on October 13. Eastbound Salisbury Road between Chatham Road South and the entrance of Tsim Sha Tsui East (Mody Road) Bus Terminus will be re-routed to one-way westbound from 10.30am to 3.30pm on October 13.(5) From 2.30am to about 9.30am on October 13:Road closure- Westbound Salisbury Road between Chatham Road South and Nathan Road;- Eastbound Salisbury Road U-turn slip road near Chatham Road South; and- Southbound Chatham Road South between Mody Road and Salisbury Road, except for franchised buses.Traffic diversion Traffic along southbound Chatham Road South must turn right to westbound Cameron Road, or may choose to turn left to eastbound Mody Road (except for vehicles over seven metres in length or four tonnes in weight).Traffic arrangement Vehicles over seven metres in length or four tonnes in weight cannot enter southbound Chatham Road South to the south of Cameron Road, except for franchised buses.(6) From 2.30am to about 10.30am on October 13:Road closure- Northbound Kowloon Park Drive between Salisbury Road and Canton Road;- Peking Road between Canton Road and Kowloon Park Drive;- The second and third lanes of Middle Road between Hankow Road and Kowloon Park Drive;- Canton Road between Haiphong Road and Salisbury Road;- Ashley Road between Peking Road and Middle Road;- Westbound Salisbury Road between Nathan Road and Star Ferry Pier;- Eastbound Salisbury Road between Star Ferry Pier and Kowloon Park Drive;- The fourth lane of eastbound Salisbury Road between Kowloon Park Drive and Hankow Road;- The fourth and fifth lanes of eastbound Salisbury Road between Hankow Road and Nathan Road; and- The third and fourth lanes of eastbound Salisbury Road between Nathan Road and Middle Road.Traffic diversions- Traffic along southbound Canton Road must turn left to Haiphong Road;- Traffic along westbound Middle Road must turn left to southbound Kowloon Park Drive;- Traffic along southbound Nathan Road must turn left to eastbound Salisbury Road; and- Traffic along eastbound Peking Road cannot turn right to Ashley Road.(7) From 3am to about 11am on October 13:Road closure- Westbound Austin Road West;- Westbound Austin Road West underpass;- The at-grade loop road of Austin Road West;- The third and fourth lanes of southbound Lin Cheung Road underpass between northbound Lin Cheung Road slip road and Austin Road West underpass; and- The lowest level underpass of northbound Lin Cheung Road between Austin Road West underpass and the exit of Lin Cheung Road underpass.Traffic diversions- Traffic along westbound Austin Road must turn to northbound Canton Road or southbound Canton Road; and- Traffic along northbound Canton Road cannot turn left to westbound Austin Road West.(8) From 3am to about 1pm on October 13:Road closure- The slow lane of eastbound Museum Drive; and- The slow lane of northbound Nga Cheung Road between Museum Drive and about 30 metres northward of Austin Road West roundabout.(9) From 4.15am to about 10.30am on October 13:Road closure Northbound Canton Road between China Hong Kong City and Austin Road West.Traffic diversion Northbound Canton Road between the exit and entrance of China Hong Kong City and Kowloon Park Drive will be re-routed to one-way southbound.(10) From 6.30am to about 11.30am on October 13: The layby on northbound Hoi Ting Road near West Kowloon Government Offices will be closed.New Territories—————(1) From 1am to about 7.15am on October 13:Road closure Upper deck of Lantau Link Kowloon bound.Traffic diversions- Traffic from Lantau to Kowloon will be diverted via the lower deck of Lantau Link, North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road;- Traffic from Lantau to Tuen Mun Road or Tai Lam Tunnel will be diverted via the lower deck of Lantau Link and northbound Ting Kau Bridge;- Traffic from Ma Wan to Kowloon will be diverted via westbound Lantau Link (Kap Shui Mun Bridge), the lower deck of Lantau Link, North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road; and- Traffic from Ma Wan to Tuen Mun Road or Tai Lam Tunnel will be diverted via westbound Lantau Link (Kap Shui Mun Bridge), the lower deck of Lantau Link and northbound Ting Kau Bridge.Traffic arrangement Speed limit restrictions will be implemented on northbound Penny’s Bay Highway, North Lantau Highway Kowloon bound and Lantau Link Kowloon bound.(2) From 1am to about 9am on October 13:Road closure- Eagle’s Nest Tunnel Sha Tin bound and Sha Tin Heights Tunnel Sha Tin bound;- The slip road leading from eastbound Ching Cheung Road to northbound Tsing Sha Highway;- Northbound Tsing Sha Highway between West Kowloon Highway and the exit of Sha Tin Heights Tunnel Sha Tin bound; and- The slip road leading from northbound Lai Po Road to eastbound Tsing Sha Highway.Traffic diversions- Traffic along West Kowloon to New Territories East via Eagle’s Nest Tunnel will be diverted via northbound Castle Peak Road, eastbound Ching Cheung Road, eastbound Lung Cheung Road and northbound Tai Po Road or northbound Lion Rock Tunnel;- Traffic along eastbound Ching Cheung Road to New Territories East will be diverted via eastbound Lung Cheung Road and northbound Tai Po Road or northbound Lion Rock Tunnel;- Traffic along northbound West Kowloon Highway to New Territories East will be diverted via northbound Lin Cheung Road, westbound Mei Ching Road, northbound Container Port Road South, eastbound Ching Cheung Road, eastbound Lung Cheung Road and northbound Tai Po Road or northbound Lion Rock Tunnel; and- Traffic along northbound Lin Cheung Road to New Territories East will be diverted via westbound Lai Po Road, westbound Hing Wah Street West, northbound Container Port Road South, eastbound Ching Cheung Road, eastbound Lung Cheung Road and northbound Tai Po Road or northbound Lion Rock Tunnel.(3) From 1am to about 11am on October 13:Road closure- Southbound carriageway of Tsing Kwai Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Cheung Tsing Highway;- Southbound Ting Kau Bridge;- Exits from Lantau Link to southbound Cheung Tsing Highway;- The slip roads from Kwai Tsing Road and Kwai Chung Road leading to southbound Tsing Kwai Highway;- Eastbound Tsing Sha Highway between the access road of Cheung Tsing Tunnel and West Kowloon Highway;- The slip road leading from Tsing Yi Hong Wan Road to eastbound Stonecutters Bridge;- The slip road leading from Container Port Road South to eastbound Tsing Sha Highway (Ngong Shuen Chau Viaduct);- The slip road leading from Mei Ching Road to southbound Lin Cheung Road, except for vehicles leaving Container Port via Roundabout 6 to Mei Ching Road and Tsing Kwai Highway New Territories bound ; and- North West Tsing Yi Interchange U-turn slip road from eastbound Tsing Yi North Coastal Road to westbound Tsing Yi North Coastal Road.Traffic diversions- Traffic along Tuen Mun Road and Tai Lam Tunnel heading to Kowloon will be diverted via Tuen Mun Road, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road;- Traffic from Tsing Yi South heading to Kowloon will be diverted via Tsing Yi Road, Kwai Tsing Road, Kwai Tsing Interchange, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road; and- Traffic from Kwai Chung Container Port heading to Kowloon will be diverted via Container Port Road South, Hing Wah Street West and Lai Po Road. The above road closures will not affect traffic from Western Harbour Crossing and from Kowloon or New Territories East via Route 3 or Route 8 to various destinations, including the Airport, Lantau, Ma Wan and New Territories West.B. Suspension of parking spaces Six metered parking spaces on Chatham Road South (meter no. 4271A, 4271B, 4272A, 4272B, 4723A and 4723B), five metered parking spaces on Mody Road (meter no. 4263A, 4264A, 4264B, 4265A and 4265B) and six metered parking spaces on Cameron Road (meter no. 4414B, 4415A, 4415B, 4416A, 4416B and 4417A) will be suspended from 8pm on October 12 to 3.30pm on October 13. All Green Minibus stands, taxi stands, taxi pick-up and drop-off points, loading and unloading bays and on-street parking spaces within the road closure areas in Tsim Sha Tsui will be suspended in phases from 1am on October 13 until the re-opening of roads. Vehicles will not be permitted to access or leave car parks and hotels in the affected areas during the road closure period. All vehicles parked illegally during the implementation of the above special traffic arrangements will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing. Members of the public should pay attention to the latest special traffic arrangements announced by the Transport Department. Actual implementation of traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the areas. Members of the public are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.
Representatives of line ministries with a stake in science, technology and innovation for development and representatives of the National University of Samoa have validated the draft National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at a workshop at Nafanua convened on 2nd October by the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The involvement of multiple ministries reflects the fact that, as the minister put it, ‘science is everywhere’. The workshop was hosted by the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa.
This will be Samoa’s first National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, the aim of which is to enhance the interaction of science, technology and innovation with our society in the years to come. The policy will enable science, technology and innovation in addressing complex issues affecting Samoa such as climate change, food security, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, poverty reduction, health, education, gender equality and clean energy.
In recent years, we have witnessed groundbreaking discoveries and innovative technologies in fields ranging from agriculture to healthcare, climate science and artificial intelligence. Yet, these advancements come with complex challenges that require thoughtful frameworks, which the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy strives to address.
The validation process has been a crucial step in elaborating the policy, not merely as an exercise in approval but, rather, as an opportunity for critical reflection and constructive dialogue.
The validation workshop was well attended by a wide range of stakeholders who included policymakers and technical experts in communication, technology, education, health, environment, agriculture and other areas where science plays an important role. Each brought unique insights and experiences to the table that were vital to finalizing a policy that truly serves different sectors’ collective interests and, most importantly, Samoa’s people. For instance, the participants stressed the importance of collaboration and of taking an intersectoral approach for the policy to be impactful.
At the workshop, the Honourable La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt acknowledged UNESCO for its continual funding and support, which has been instrumental in the development of this Science, Technology and Innovation policy.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
On the third day of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, a meeting of the Scientific and Educational Interuniversity Council of PJSC Gazprom was held with the participation of the heads of the corporation and its partner universities. The Polytechnic University was represented by the Rector of SPbPU, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Rudskoy, Vice-Rector for Research Yury Fomin, Vice-Rector for Educational Activities Lyudmila Pankova, Vice-Rector for Continuing and Pre-University Education Dmitry Tikhonov, Director of the Scientific and Educational Center for Information Technology and Business Analysis of Gazprom Neft Irina Rudskaya, and Scientific Secretary Dmitry Karpov.
Opening the discussion, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of PJSC Gazprom Sergey Khomyakov named the main areas of joint activities with universities: education of the younger generation, professional orientation and training, training of qualified personnel and scientific research work.
At the meeting, the rector of SPbPU, chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Rudskoy made a report. He recalled that in 2024, important legislative regulations were signed at the federal level regulating strategic guidelines, national goals and priority areas of scientific and technological development of Russia, and noted that almost every such document speaks of close interaction between the university and academic communities with industrial partners.
The cooperation between Polytechnic University and Gazprom is developing in many areas — from educational (starting with work with schoolchildren) to scientific and technological. Of the significant results, Andrey Rudskoy highlighted several joint events this year: the Gazprom student Olympiad, a job fair and a tournament on flexible skills; modernization of the laboratory and educational base through financing from PJSC Gazprom.
In the scientific and technological sphere, the rector of the Polytechnic University noted the rapid development of the field of additive printing with metals at the university and the production of high-quality products for Gazprom using this method, the development of fundamentally new technological solutions for laser cladding, heat treatment, defect detection methods, the assembly of a mobile laser cladding complex by specialists from the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport, and projects of the Advanced Engineering School “Digital Engineering” in the areas of the fuel and energy complex.
In conclusion, Andrey Rudskoy made several proposals to strengthen cooperation between Polytechnic University and Gazprom.
“Undoubtedly, the existing forms of interaction between the Polytechnic University and PJSC Gazprom are effective, but they need to be expanded and scaled up,” the Rector of SPbPU believes. “One of the forms of integrating science and production could be the creation of research and production associations (RPAs), whose participants could be universities and high-tech industrial companies. In the USSR, RPAs demonstrated high efficiency in consolidating the resources of scientific and industrial organizations. Modern RPAs will be able to receive federal support. Following his trip to the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, the President of Russia instructed the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, as well as the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation to develop mechanisms to support RPAs. In the near future, it is planned to launch a federal pilot project to create RPAs, and the Polytechnic University is ready to join this experiment. We invite you to join the joint work to create RPAs for the further development of cooperation for the benefit of science and industry in our country.”
Andrey Rudskoy also proposed creating an association of Gazprom’s flagship universities and establishing a joint journal.
It is important that the advanced experience and knowledge that have accumulated over all this time in our flagship universities are recorded and made publicly available, Andrey Rudskoy emphasized. He asked Alexey Miller to become the editor-in-chief of the journal.
Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev and Chairman of the Management Committee of PAO Gazprom Alexey Miller took time out of their schedule to attend the meeting of the Interuniversity Council and thank its participants for their cooperation.
“Today, at this forum, higher education has the opportunity to see with its own eyes the results of our common work,” Alexey Miller addressed the audience. “The first forum took place eight years ago, we set priorities, and now every year we see fundamentally new technological developments, new equipment, at the stands, above the world level.”
At the council meeting, speaking about the interaction of the Polytechnic University and Gazprom in the field of higher education, Andrey Rudskoy cited as an example two educational systems developed this year based on VR technologies. One of them was presented at the SPbPU stand and aroused genuine interest among the forum guests, especially among young people. One of the teenagers who visited the stand even thought: Maybe I should go to the Polytechnic University?
The “Maintenance and Repair of Piston Compressor and Auxiliary Equipment for Underground Gas Storage Systems” complex is a virtual model of the real Nevskaya station and is designed to study the main actions during maintenance and operation of compressor equipment used at underground gas storage facilities. This virtual training complex is a joint effort of two departments of the Polytechnic University. The compressor engineering sector of the Higher School of Power Engineering of the Institute of Power Engineering is responsible for the technical side and implementation in the educational process, and the software implementation is performed by the Laboratory of Streaming Data Processing.
“To train students in compressor and related specialties, practical classes at compressor stations are necessary. But it is difficult to get to these facilities, or students cannot do anything with their hands. Our joint work consists of preparing a scenario and technical actions, and programmers create a virtual gas-pumping unit with all the necessary control elements, on which students can practice the necessary actions according to the scenarios of the actions of a gas-pumping unit operator and a shift engineer,” said Vasily Semenovsky, associate professor at the Higher School of Power Engineering. “The simulator has been introduced into the educational process of bachelors and masters, and if necessary, we also work with this virtual model in additional education courses.
According to Vasily Semenovsky, another virtual model is 90 percent ready: an automatic gas-filling compressor station for refueling passenger and freight vehicles with methane.
This year, Polytechnic University and the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences presented a joint stand at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum. Among the developments of the RAS institutes: Voron and Strizh unmanned aerial vehicles of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center (FRC RAS), the small-sized quadrupole mass spectrometer MS7-200 for analyzing the composition of gas mixtures at atmospheric pressure of the Institute of Analytical Instrumentation of the Russian Academy of Sciences, etc.
The Voron model is a multi-base UAV for solving a wide range of tasks. The most popular applications are: real-time aerial monitoring, signal retransmission, delivery of small-sized cargo, terrain mapping, search and rescue operations, aerial photography and aerial video filming.
The Strizh UAV can perform aerial monitoring in real time, deliver small-sized cargo, participate in search and rescue operations, and conduct aerial photography and aerial video filming.
Traditionally, the SPbPU History Museum also takes part in the exhibition. This year, the museum staff introduces the guests of the stand to the Polytechnic gas plant, which produced lighting gas for laboratories. Combustible gas was obtained by dry distillation of coal at a temperature of 1000 °C.
Every day, the institute consumed over 900 cubic meters of gas: the chemical laboratory – 425 m³, metallurgical – 283 m³, the rest – 198 m³.
Light gas prepared at the plant was collected in a gas holder (gas storage) before entering the gas network, where it was under pressure. The gas holder was designed on the principle of a caisson – an engineering structure for forming an empty chamber under water.
With the advent of main gas pipelines, the work of the institute’s gas plant became irrelevant. In the 1960s, a laboratory building appeared on the site of the gas plant. The gas holder was built into the building. The round projections in the laboratory building can still be seen today.
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.
Globular cluster NGC 2005. ESA/Hubble & Nasa, F. Niederhofer, L. Girardi, CC BY-SA
As I finished my PhD in 1992, the universe was full of mystery – we didn’t even know exactly what it is made of. One could argue that cosmologists had made little progress in our understanding of these basic facts since the discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the afterglow of the Big Bang, in the 1960s.
I left the UK after my doctoral studies to begin a research career in the US, where I was lucky to be recruited to work on a new experiment called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This new survey embraced advances in digital technologies with the ambition of measuring the “redshifts” (how light becomes more red if a source appears to move away from you) of a million galaxies.
These redshifts were then used to measure distances, and allowed cosmologists to map the three-dimensional structure of the universe.
One cosmic puzzle in the 1980s, based on the pioneering CfA Redshift Survey of Margaret Geller and John Huchra, was the significant lumpiness of galaxies, and therefore matter, in our cosmic neighbourhood. Galaxies were clustered together across a wide range of scales, with evidence for coherent “superclusters” of galaxies spanning over 30 million light years in length.
This article is part of our series Cosmology in crisis? which uncovers the greatest problems facing cosmologists today – and discusses the implications of solving them.
It was important to know how such superclusters could have formed from the smooth CMB, as it would tell us the total amount of matter in the universe and, more intriguingly, what that matter was made of. That was assuming the only force in play was gravity.
By the end of the first phase of the SDSS, we had achieved our goal of a million redshifts. This data was used to discover many superclusters across the universe, including the amazing “Sloan Great Wall”, which remains one of the largest known coherent structures in the universe, over a billion light years in length.
Type 1A supernova remnant. Nasa/CXC/U.Texas
I am lucky to have lived through this amazing era of cosmic discovery around the turn of the century. Surveys like SDSS, combined with new observations of the CMB and searches for distant exploding stars known as Type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa), coincided to deliver an emphatic answer to the question: “What is the universe made of?”
The discovery of dark energy
From 1999 to 2004, the cosmological community came together to agree that the universe was 5% normal (baryonic) matter, 25% dark matter (unknown, invisible matter), and 70% “dark energy” (an expansive force) – essentially a cosmological constant, which was first postulated by Einstein. The discovery that the universe was dominated by this constant energy shocked everyone, especially as Einstein had called the cosmological constant his “biggest blunder”.
Today, cosmologists still agree this is the most likely make-up of our universe. But observational cosmologists like me have refined our measurements of these cosmic variables significantly – reducing the errors on these quantities.
The latest numbers from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) indicate that 31.5% of the universe is matter (a combination of dark and normal), with the remainder being dark energy assuming a cosmological constant. The error on this measurement is just 3%.
Knowing these numbers to higher precision will hopefully help cosmologists understand why the universe is like this. Why would we expect to have 70% of the universe today as “dark” (can’t be seen via electromagnetic radiation) and not associated with “matter” like everything else in the universe?
The origin of this dark energy remains the biggest challenge to physics, even after 20 years of intense study.
Intriguing measurements
Like me, a few cosmologists have become distracted by other problems over the last two decades. However, 2024 could be the start of a new era of discovery. This year, cosmologists published new results based on two of our best cosmological probes.
The first probe consists of exploding stars dubbed “SNeIa”. As these stars have a narrow range of masses, their explosions can be well calibrated, giving cosmologists a predictable brightness that can be seen far away. By comparing the known brightness of these SNeIa to their redshifts, we can determine the expansion history of the universe. These objects were, in fact, critical for discovering that the expansion of our universe is accelerating.
The second probe works by looking at Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) – relics of predictable sound waves in the plasma (charged gas) of the early universe, before the CMB. These are now frozen into the large-scale structure of galaxies around us. Like SNeIa, their predictable size can be compared with their observed size today to measure the expansion history of the universe.
Recently, DES reported its final SNeIa results from over a decade of work, detecting and characterising many thousands of supernova events. While these SNeIa results are consistent with the orthodox view that the universe is dominated by a cosmological constant, they do leave open the tantalising possibility of new physics – namely, that the dark energy could be varying with cosmic time.
That said, scientists are trained to be sceptical, and there are many reasons to distrust a single experiment, single observation, or even a single set of cosmologists!
Cosmologists now go to extraordinary lengths to “blind” their results from themselves during analysis of the data, only revealing the answer at the last moment. This blinding is done to avoid unconscious human biases affecting the work, which could possibly encourage people to get the answer they believe they should see.
This is why repeatability of results is at the heart of all science. In cosmology, we cherish the need for multiple experiments checking and challenging each other.
The second result to turn heads was the first BAO measurements from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), successor to the SDSS. The first DESI map of the cosmos is deeper and denser than the original SDSS. Its first BAO results are intriguing – the data alone is still consistent with a cosmological constant, but with hints of a possible time-varying dark energy when combined with other data sources.
DESI in the dome of the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. wikipedia, CC BY-SA
In particular, when DESI analyses the combination of its BAO results with the final DES SNeIa data, the significance of a time-varying dark energy increases to 3.9 sigma (a measure of how unusual a set of data is if a hypothesis is true) – only 0.6% chance of being a statistical fluke.
Most of us would take such odds, but scientists have been hurt before by systematic errors within their data that can mimic such statistical certainty. Particle physicists therefore demand a discovery standard of 5 sigma for any claims of new physics – or less than a one in a million chance of being wrong!
As scientists will say: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
Mindboggling implications
Are we entering a new era of cosmological discovery? If so, what would it mean?
The answer to my first question is probably yes. The next few years will be fun for cosmologists, with new data and results due from the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission. Launched last year, it is already scanning the sky with unprecedented accuracy.
Likewise, DESI will get more and better data, while the European Southern Observatory starts its own massive redshift survey in 2025. Then you have the Rubin Observatory in Chile coming online soon. Combining these datasets should prove beyond doubt if dark energy varies with cosmic time.
If it does, it implies there is less dark energy now than in the past. This could be caused by many things but, interestingly, it could signify the end of a present, accelerated phase of the expansion of the universe.
It also implies that dark energy is probably not a cosmological constant thought to be due to the background energy associated with empty space. According to quantum mechanics, empty space isn’t really empty, with particles popping in and out of existence creating something we call “vacuum energy”. Ironically, predictions of this vacuum energy do not agree with our cosmological observations by many orders of magnitude.
So, if we did discover that dark energy varies over time, it might explain why observations are at odds with quantum mechanics, which is an extremely well-tested theory. This would suggest the assumption in the standard model of cosmology, that dark energy is constant, needs a rethink. Such a realisation may help solve other mysteries about the universe – or pose new ones.
In short, the new cosmological observations coming this decade will stimulate a new era of physical thinking. Congratulations to my younger cosmologists: it is your era to have fun.
Donald Trump accuses others of acts he has done at an Oct. 3, 2024, rally in Michigan.AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Donald Trump has a particular formula he uses to convey messages to his supporters and opponents alike: He highlights others’ wrongdoings even though he has committed similar acts himself.
On Oct. 3, 2024, Trump accused the Biden administration of spending Federal Emergency Management Agency funds – money meant for disaster relief – on services for immigrants. Biden did no such thing, but Trump did during his time in the White House, including to pay for additional detention space.
This is not the first time he has accused someone of something he had done or would do in the future. In 2016, Trump criticized opponent Hillary Clinton’s use of an unsecured personal email server while secretary of state as “extreme carelessness with classified material.” But once he was elected, Trump continued to use his unsecured personal cellphone while in office. And he has been criminally charged with illegally keeping classified government documents after he left office and storing them in his bedroom, bathroom and other places at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
After complaining about how Hillary Clinton handled classified documents, Donald Trump stored national secrets in a bathroom. Justice Department via AP
More recently, the Secret Service arrested a man with a rifle who was allegedly planning to shoot Trump during a round of golf. In the wake of this event, Trump accused Democrats of using “inflammatory language” that stokes the fires of political violence. Meanwhile, Trump himself has a long history of making inflammatory remarks that could potentially incite violence.
As a scholar of both politics and psychology, I’m familiar with the psychological strategies candidates use to persuade the public to support them and to cast their rivals in a negative light. This strategy Trump has used repeatedly is called “projection.” It’s a tactic people use to lessen their own faults by calling out these faults in others.
Projection abounds
There are plenty of examples. During his Sept. 10, 2024, debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump claimed that Democrats were responsible for the July 13 assassination attempt against him. “I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me,” he declared.
Earlier in the debate he had falsely accused immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating other people’s pets – a statement that sparked bomb threats and prompted the city’s mayor to declare a state of emergency.
Trump isn’t the only politician who uses projection. His running mate, JD Vance, claimed “the rejection of the American family is perhaps the most pernicious and the most evil thing the left has done in this country.” Critics quickly pointed out that his own family has a history of dysfunction and drug addiction.
Projection happens on both sides of the political aisle. In reference to Trump’s proposed 10% tariff on all imported goods, the Harris campaign launched social media efforts to condemn the so-called “Trump tequila tax.” While Harris frames this proposal as a sales tax that would devastate middle-class families, she deflects from the fact that inflation has made middle-class life more expensive since she and President Joe Biden took office.
How it works
Projection is one example of unconscious psychological processes called defense mechanisms. Some people find it hard to accept criticism or believe information that they wish were not true. So they seek – and then provide – another explanation for the difference between what’s happening in the world and what’s happening in their minds.
In general, this is called “motivated reasoning,” which is an umbrella phrase used to describe the array of mental gymnastics people use to reconcile their views with reality.
Some examples include seeking out information that confirms their beliefs, dismissing factual claims or creating alternate explanations. For example, a smoker might downplay or simply avoid information related to the link between smoking and lung cancer, or perhaps tell themselves that they don’t smoke as much as they actually do.
Motivated reasoning is not unique to politics. It can be a challenging concept to consider because people tend to think they are fully in control of their decision-making abilities and that they are capable of objectively processing political information. The evidence is clear, however, that there are unconscious thought processes at work, too.
Influencing the audience
Audiences are also susceptible to unconscious psychological dynamics. Research has found that over time, people’s minds subconsciously attach emotions to concepts, names or phrases. So someone might have a particular emotional reaction to the words “gun control,” “Ron DeSantis” or “tax relief.”
And people’s minds also unconsciously create defenses for those seemingly automatic emotions. When a person’s emotions and defenses are questioned, a phenomenon called the “backfire effect” can occur, in which the process of controlling, correcting or counteracting mistaken beliefs ends up reinforcing the person’s beliefs rather than changing them.
For instance, some people may find it hard to believe that the candidate they prefer – whom they believe to be the best person for the job – truly lost an election. So they seek another explanation and accept explanations that justify their beliefs. Perhaps they choose to believe, even in the absence of evidence, that the race was rigged or that many fraudulent votes were cast. And when evidence to the contrary is offered, they insist their views are correct.
Vice President Kamala Harris has campaigned with Liz Cheney, right, a prominent Republican who formerly served in Congress. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
A way out
Fortunately, research shows specific ways to reduce people’s reliance on these automatic psychological processes, including reiterating and providing details of objective facts and – importantly – attempting to correct untruths via a trusted source from the same political party.
For instance, challenges to Democrats’ belief that the Trump-affiliated conservative agenda called Project 2025 is “dangerous” would be more effective coming from a Democrat than from a Republican.
Similarly, a counter to Trump’s claim that the international community is headed toward World War III with Democrats in the White House would be stronger coming from one of Trump’s fellow Republicans. And certainly, statements that Trump “can never be trusted with power again” carries more weight when it comes from the lips of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney than from any member of the Democratic Party.
Critiques from within a candidate’s own party are not out of the question. But they are certainly improbable given the hotly charged climate that is election season 2024.
April Johnson 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.
The Republican Party and Democratic Party offer voters starkly different visions of LGBTQ rights in America.Douglas Rissing via Getty Images
Polls show that LGBTQ rights will likely factor into most Americans’ pick for president this November as they choose between former Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.
A March 2024 survey by independent pollster PRRI found that 68% of voters will take LGBTQ rights into consideration at the polls. Fully 30% stated that they would vote only for a candidate who shares their views on the issue.
It is no coincidence, then, that LGBTQ rights issues feature prominently in the party platforms.
The Republican Party’s electoral promises include cutting existing federal funding for gender-affirming care and restricting transgender students’ participation in sports. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party platform proposes to outlaw discrimination against LGBTQ people, including passing the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, health care and public accommodations.
As a legal scholar who has written extensively on the history of LGBTQ rights, I have seen that the clearest indication of how a politician will act once in office is not what they promise on the campaign trail. Instead, it’s what they have done in the past.
Let’s examine their records.
Trump restricted some LGBTQ rights
Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, are both relatively new to politics, so their records on LGBTQ rights issues are slim.
Trump enacted two policies restricting LGBTQ rights early in his one term in office. The first was his 2017 executive order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty, which reinforced that federal law must respect conscience-based objections to comply with the First Amendment. This order indirectly imperiled LGBTQ rights because many LGBTQ rights battles are fought over whether conservative Christian businesses run afoul of anti-discrimination laws when they refuse to serve same-sex couples.
A few months later, Trump banned transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. armed forces. He ultimately revoked the directive, implementing instead a new policy that allowed existing transgender soldiers to remain in the military but barred new transgender recruits from enlisting.
Vance has opposed trans rights
Vance, a one-term senator, has accrued a record of trying to roll back the rights of transgender Americans during his short time in public office.
Between 2023 and 2024, Vance introduced or sponsored five bills opposing trans rights. One seeks to restrict gender-affirming care for minors by imposing criminal sanctions on doctors who perform such surgeries; another aims to do the same by exposing physicians to civil liability for either prescribing gender affirming hormones or performing surgeries.
Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have both made LGBTQ rights a legislative priority throughout their long political careers.
Harris initially took public office in 2003 as San Francisco’s district attorney. In that role, she established a hate crimes unit that prosecuted violence against LGBTQ youth in schools. She also trained prosecutors nationwide to counter the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses in court, which is when lawyers attempt to justify violence as a fear-based reaction to the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Since 2021, President Joe Biden has issued multiple executive orders to combat discrimination against the LGBTQ community, including by eliminating the Trump-era restrictions on transgender military service. Biden also signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, which changed the federal definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two individuals.” The statute ensures that the federal government would continue to recognize same-sex unions if the Supreme Court ever reversed its decision to legalize marriage equality.
Walz: Ally in the statehouse
Harris’ vice-presidential pick has a similarly extensive record backing LGBTQ rights.
As a U.S. representative from 2007 to 2019, Walz supported efforts to grant federal benefits to same-sex couples before marriage equality became federal law. He also co-sponsored many of the House versions of the same bills as Harris.
As citizens head to the polls in November, they can be confident that, on this topic at least, the candidates mean what they say.
Marie-Amelie George 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.
The 2024 Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry have given us a glimpse of the future of science. Artificial intelligence (AI) was central to the discoveries honoured by both awards. You have to wonder what Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes, would think of it all.
We are certain to see many more Nobel medals handed to researchers who made use of AI tools. As this happens, we may find the scientific methods honoured by the Nobel committee depart from straightforward categories like “physics”, “chemistry” and “physiology or medicine”.
We may also see the scientific backgrounds of recipients retain a looser connection with these categories. This year’s physics prize was awarded to the American John Hopfield, at Princeton University, and British-born Geoffrey Hinton, from the University of Toronto. While Hopfield is a physicist, Hinton studied experimental psychology before gravitating to AI.
The chemistry prize was shared between biochemist David Baker, from the University of Washington, and the computer scientists Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who are both at Google DeepMind in the UK.
There is a close connection between the AI-based advances honoured in the physics and chemistry categories. Hinton helped develop an approach used by DeepMind to make its breakthrough in predicting the shapes of proteins.
The physics laureates, Hinton in particular, laid the foundations of the powerful field known as machine learning. This is a subset of AI that’s concerned with algorithms, sets of rules for performing specific computational tasks.
Hopfield’s work is not particularly in use today, but the backpropagation algorithm (co-invented by Hinton) has had a tremendous impact on many different sciences and technologies. This is concerned with neural networks, a model of computing that mimics the human brain’s structure and function to process data. Backpropagation allows scientists to “train” enormous neural networks. While the Nobel committee did its best to connect this influential algorithm to physics, it’s fair to say that the link is not a direct one.
Training a machine-learning system involves exposing it to vast amounts of data, often from the internet. Hinton’s advance ultimately enabled the training of systems such as GPT (the technology behind ChatGPT), and the AI algorithms AlphaGo and AlphaFold, developed by Google DeepMind. So, backpropagation’s impact has been enormous.
DeepMind’s AlphaFold 2 solved a 50-year-old problem: predicting the complex structures of proteins from their molecular building blocks, amino acids.
Every two years, since 1994, scientists have been holding a contest to find the best ways to predict protein structures and shapes from the sequences of their amino acids. The competition is called Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP).
For the past few contests, CASP winners have used some version of DeepMind’s AlphaFold. There is, therefore, a direct line to be drawn from Hinton’s backpropagation to Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold 2 breakthrough.
David Baker used a computer program called Rosetta to achieve the difficult feat of building new kinds of proteins. Both Baker’s and DeepMind’s approaches hold enormous potential for future applications.
Attributing credit has always been controversial aspect of the Nobel prizes. A maximum of three researchers can share a Nobel. But big advances in science are collaborative. Scientific papers may have 10, 20, 30 authors or more. More than one team might contribute to the discoveries honoured by the Nobel committee.
This year we may have further discussions about the attribution of the research on backpropagation algorithm, which has been claimed by various researchers, as well as for the general attribution of a discovery to a field like physics.
We now have a new dimension to the attribution problem. It’s increasingly unclear whether we will always be able to distinguish between the contributions of human scientists and those of their artificial collaborators – the AI tools that are already helping push forward the boundaries of our knowledge.
In the future, could we see machines take the place of scientists, with humans being consigned to a supporting role? If so, perhaps the AI tool will get the main Nobel prize with humans needing their own category.
Nello Cristianini is affiliated with the University of Bath, and the author of two books that cover the topics of this article, The Shortcut (CRC Press, 2023) and Machina Sapiens (Mulino, 2024).
Globular cluster NGC 2005. ESA/Hubble & Nasa, F. Niederhofer, L. Girardi, CC BY-SA
As I finished my PhD in 1992, the universe was full of mystery – we didn’t even know exactly what it is made of. One could argue that cosmologists had made little progress in our understanding of these basic facts since the discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the afterglow of the Big Bang, in the 1960s.
I left the UK after my doctoral studies to begin a research career in the US, where I was lucky to be recruited to work on a new experiment called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This new survey embraced advances in digital technologies with the ambition of measuring the “redshifts” (how light becomes more red if a source appears to move away from you) of a million galaxies.
These redshifts were then used to measure distances, and allowed cosmologists to map the three-dimensional structure of the universe.
One cosmic puzzle in the 1980s, based on the pioneering CfA Redshift Survey of Margaret Geller and John Huchra, was the significant lumpiness of galaxies, and therefore matter, in our cosmic neighbourhood. Galaxies were clustered together across a wide range of scales, with evidence for coherent “superclusters” of galaxies spanning over 30 million light years in length.
This article is part of our series Cosmology in crisis? which uncovers the greatest problems facing cosmologists today – and discusses the implications of solving them.
It was important to know how such superclusters could have formed from the smooth CMB, as it would tell us the total amount of matter in the universe and, more intriguingly, what that matter was made of. That was assuming the only force in play was gravity.
By the end of the first phase of the SDSS, we had achieved our goal of a million redshifts. This data was used to discover many superclusters across the universe, including the amazing “Sloan Great Wall”, which remains one of the largest known coherent structures in the universe, over a billion light years in length.
Type 1A supernova remnant. Nasa/CXC/U.Texas
I am lucky to have lived through this amazing era of cosmic discovery around the turn of the century. Surveys like SDSS, combined with new observations of the CMB and searches for distant exploding stars known as Type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa), coincided to deliver an emphatic answer to the question: “What is the universe made of?”
The discovery of dark energy
From 1999 to 2004, the cosmological community came together to agree that the universe was 5% normal (baryonic) matter, 25% dark matter (unknown, invisible matter), and 70% “dark energy” (an expansive force) – essentially a cosmological constant, which was first postulated by Einstein. The discovery that the universe was dominated by this constant energy shocked everyone, especially as Einstein had called the cosmological constant his “biggest blunder”.
Today, cosmologists still agree this is the most likely make-up of our universe. But observational cosmologists like me have refined our measurements of these cosmic variables significantly – reducing the errors on these quantities.
The latest numbers from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) indicate that 31.5% of the universe is matter (a combination of dark and normal), with the remainder being dark energy assuming a cosmological constant. The error on this measurement is just 3%.
Knowing these numbers to higher precision will hopefully help cosmologists understand why the universe is like this. Why would we expect to have 70% of the universe today as “dark” (can’t be seen via electromagnetic radiation) and not associated with “matter” like everything else in the universe?
The origin of this dark energy remains the biggest challenge to physics, even after 20 years of intense study.
Intriguing measurements
Like me, a few cosmologists have become distracted by other problems over the last two decades. However, 2024 could be the start of a new era of discovery. This year, cosmologists published new results based on two of our best cosmological probes.
The first probe consists of exploding stars dubbed “SNeIa”. As these stars have a narrow range of masses, their explosions can be well calibrated, giving cosmologists a predictable brightness that can be seen far away. By comparing the known brightness of these SNeIa to their redshifts, we can determine the expansion history of the universe. These objects were, in fact, critical for discovering that the expansion of our universe is accelerating.
The second probe works by looking at Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) – relics of predictable sound waves in the plasma (charged gas) of the early universe, before the CMB. These are now frozen into the large-scale structure of galaxies around us. Like SNeIa, their predictable size can be compared with their observed size today to measure the expansion history of the universe.
Recently, DES reported its final SNeIa results from over a decade of work, detecting and characterising many thousands of supernova events. While these SNeIa results are consistent with the orthodox view that the universe is dominated by a cosmological constant, they do leave open the tantalising possibility of new physics – namely, that the dark energy could be varying with cosmic time.
That said, scientists are trained to be sceptical, and there are many reasons to distrust a single experiment, single observation, or even a single set of cosmologists!
Cosmologists now go to extraordinary lengths to “blind” their results from themselves during analysis of the data, only revealing the answer at the last moment. This blinding is done to avoid unconscious human biases affecting the work, which could possibly encourage people to get the answer they believe they should see.
This is why repeatability of results is at the heart of all science. In cosmology, we cherish the need for multiple experiments checking and challenging each other.
The second result to turn heads was the first BAO measurements from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), successor to the SDSS. The first DESI map of the cosmos is deeper and denser than the original SDSS. Its first BAO results are intriguing – the data alone is still consistent with a cosmological constant, but with hints of a possible time-varying dark energy when combined with other data sources.
DESI in the dome of the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. wikipedia, CC BY-SA
In particular, when DESI analyses the combination of its BAO results with the final DES SNeIa data, the significance of a time-varying dark energy increases to 3.9 sigma (a measure of how unusual a set of data is if a hypothesis is true) – only 0.6% chance of being a statistical fluke.
Most of us would take such odds, but scientists have been hurt before by systematic errors within their data that can mimic such statistical certainty. Particle physicists therefore demand a discovery standard of 5 sigma for any claims of new physics – or less than a one in a million chance of being wrong!
As scientists will say: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
Mindboggling implications
Are we entering a new era of cosmological discovery? If so, what would it mean?
The answer to my first question is probably yes. The next few years will be fun for cosmologists, with new data and results due from the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission. Launched last year, it is already scanning the sky with unprecedented accuracy.
Likewise, DESI will get more and better data, while the European Southern Observatory starts its own massive redshift survey in 2025. Then you have the Rubin Observatory in Chile coming online soon. Combining these datasets should prove beyond doubt if dark energy varies with cosmic time.
If it does, it implies there is less dark energy now than in the past. This could be caused by many things but, interestingly, it could signify the end of a present, accelerated phase of the expansion of the universe.
It also implies that dark energy is probably not a cosmological constant thought to be due to the background energy associated with empty space. According to quantum mechanics, empty space isn’t really empty, with particles popping in and out of existence creating something we call “vacuum energy”. Ironically, predictions of this vacuum energy do not agree with our cosmological observations by many orders of magnitude.
So, if we did discover that dark energy varies over time, it might explain why observations are at odds with quantum mechanics, which is an extremely well-tested theory. This would suggest the assumption in the standard model of cosmology, that dark energy is constant, needs a rethink. Such a realisation may help solve other mysteries about the universe – or pose new ones.
In short, the new cosmological observations coming this decade will stimulate a new era of physical thinking. Congratulations to my younger cosmologists: it is your era to have fun.
Thank you for the kind introduction, Jennet.1 Let me start by saying my thoughts are with all the people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia who have felt the force of Helene’s and Milton’s impact. I am saddened by the tragic loss of life and widespread disruption in this region. The Federal Reserve Board and other federal and state financial regulatory agencies are working with banks and credit unions in the affected area. As we normally do in these unfortunate situations, we are encouraging institutions operating in the affected areas to meet the needs of their communities.2 It is an honor to stand before you and speak to this group of audacious, innovative women. I am also very happy to be back in Charleston. I grew up in Milledgeville, Georgia, just about 250 miles down the road. Some of my fondest childhood memories of traveling in the South, especially as a Girl Scout, include South Carolina. Today I would like to talk with you about the important role startups, new businesses, and entrepreneurship play in our economy from the perspective of a Federal Reserve policymaker. I also want to share a bit of my story. Just like many of you—including those who have started a business or those who dream of doing that someday—I have faced and overcome hurdles along a winding path. My StoryI was born and raised in Milledgeville, where my mother, Professor Mary Murray Cook, was a faculty member in the Nursing Department of Georgia College and State University. She was the first tenured African American faculty member at that university. My father, Rev. Payton B. Cook, was a chaplain and then in senior leadership at the hospital there. My family lived through the events that brought Milledgeville out of a deeply segregated South. My sisters and I were among the first African American students to desegregate the schools we attended. I drew strength from the example set by my family, others in the Civil Rights Movement, and the village that raised me and from their conviction in the hope and promise of a world that could and would continually improve. While I had an interest in economics even before I entered high school, that was not the initial field of study I pursued. I entered Spelman College in Atlanta as a physics and philosophy major. After graduation, I had the honor of studying at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. After Oxford, I continued my education at the University of Dakar in Senegal in West Africa. However, at the end of my year in Africa, it was the chance to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in East Africa where I discovered my love of economics. I hiked alongside a British economist, and, by the end of the trek, he convinced me that studying economics would provide me with the tools to address some big and important questions I had pondered for a long time. I went on to earn my Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Entering the economics profession came with its usual challenges, and, for women, a few more challenges existed. To this day, women are still underrepresented in economics. Women earned just 34 percent of bachelor’s degrees in economics and 36 percent of Ph.D.’s in economics in 2022, the most recent available data from the U.S. Department of Education. The share of women earning those degrees rose only modestly from 1999, when women earned about 32 percent of economics bachelor’s degrees and 27 percent of Ph.D.’s. The data stand in sharp contrast to all science and engineering degrees, including in social science fields, where women earned roughly half of degrees granted in 2022.3 Education was paramount in my family and was construed as a means of realizing the promise of the Civil Rights Movement and continual improvement of our society and economy. Of course, economics, like physics, is a field where math skills are vitally important. Between my mother, my aunts, and my extended family, I had essentially understood STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)-related jobs to be women’s work. I was grateful to have these role models in my orbit to give me the confidence to undertake study in a STEM field. Access and encouragement for girls to pursue study in math and science are a significant concern. Economist Dania V. Francis’s research shows that Black girls are disproportionately under-recommended for Advanced Placement calculus.4 The course is often a gateway for economics, for STEM classes, and for college preparation, in general.5 My mentors and role models encouraged careful study, teaching, and scholarship and helped me block out the voices saying I did not belong at each juncture. They encouraged my work and have been champions for me. As a result, I have been committed to serving as a mentor, as well. For several years, I was the director of and taught in the American Economic Association’s Summer Program, an important training ground for disadvantaged students considering economics careers. Each year, the share of students who are women oscillated between 41 percent and 67 percent, much higher than the enrollment in undergraduate economics courses nationally.6 I told those students—and continue to tell them as they make their way through graduate programs in economics and through the economics profession—”You belong here. Your insights are unique, and the profession will benefit from them.” In my career as an economist, I studied, researched, and taught in roles at universities and worked in the private sector and in government before I was nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to become a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 2022. I am honored and humbled to serve in this role and proud to be the first African American woman and first woman of color to serve on the Board of Governors. As Fed policymakers, we make decisions affecting the entire economy and the well-being of every American by focusing on the dual mandate given to us by Congress: maximum employment and stable prices. Entrepreneurs’ Vital Role in the EconomyIn my years of conducting research and while at the Board, I have met many inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs who made important contributions to the economy. Many of them happened to be women who were very knowledgeable, creative, and inspiring. So I want to discuss the vital role entrepreneurship and new business creation play in our economy. You might ask what interest I have in this subject, as a monetary policymaker focused closely on the dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices. Well, this topic has interested me for a long time, and I conducted a fair amount of research on entrepreneurship and innovation before joining the Board. But the topic is also important precisely because of our dual mandate. To convince you of this, I will explain a few of the ways in which economists think about entrepreneurship, and how they relate to the dual mandate. The first is the most basic: For many people—many millions, in fact—entrepreneurship or self-employment is a career choice.7 It is their preferred way of participating in the labor market and obtaining income for themselves and their families. They prefer to be their own bosses, with all the benefits and risks that entails.8 But whether they end up hiring others or not, self-employed individuals support the labor market by providing a job for themselves. A second way economists think about entrepreneurship is a little broader: New business creation is a large contributor to overall job growth. In fact, new businesses punch above their weight. For example, during the handful of years before the pandemic, in a typical year only about 8 percent of all employer firms were new entrants, but these new entrants accounted for about 15 percent of annual gross job creation.9 And research has found that this job creation effect is long lasting. Even though many new firms do not survive, those that do survive tend to grow rapidly over 5 to 10 years, largely offsetting the job losses from those firms that shut down.10 A third way economists think about entrepreneurship, which I have explored in my own research, is that a small but critical subset of new firms are innovators—they introduce new products or business processes that change how we consume or produce.11 As such, they make large contributions to overall productivity growth over time. That is, innovative entrepreneurs help enable us to do more with less—and even more so if access to innovation participation is equitable.12 It is important that everyone, including women, historically underrepresented groups, people from certain geographic regions, and other diverse representative groups, can participate in the entrepreneurship and innovation economy. In my research, I have found that investors underrate the prospects of Black-founded, or simply outsider-founded, startups in early funding stages. Better assessment of the early stages of invention and innovation could broaden the range of new entrants and the ideas they contribute to their local communities and the broader economy. Consider the Dual MandateSo let’s return to the dual mandate. You can now understand that self-employment and entrepreneurial job creation are relevant for our employment mandate. Indeed, one could argue that entrepreneurs are critical to Fed policymakers’ efforts to promote maximum employment. And the productivity gains we reap from entrepreneurship are like productivity growth from any other source. When the pace of productivity growth increases, it allows for economic activity and wage growth to be robust while also being consistent with price stability. The importance of business startups to our dual mandate objectives is why I have watched closely as various measures of new business formation have surged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications for new businesses jumped to a record pace shortly after the pandemic struck the U.S.13 The pace of applications has remained elevated above pre-pandemic norms all the way from the summer of 2020 to the most recent data, even though the pace appears to be cooling some this year.14 At first, it might have seemed like these business applications were mainly being submitted by people who lost their jobs, or perhaps by an increase in “gig economy” work. There was doubtless some of that going on, but research and data since then have painted a more optimistic picture. When researchers look across areas of the country, the pandemic business applications had only a weak connection with layoffs. The surge in applications persisted long after overall layoffs fell to the subdued pace we have seen since early 2021. The applications did have a strong relationship with workers voluntarily leaving their jobs. Some quitting workers may have chosen to join these new businesses as founders or early employees. And surging business applications were soon followed by new businesses hiring workers and expanding. Over the last two years of available data, new firms created 1.9 million jobs per year, a pace not seen since the eve of the Global Financial Crisis.15 The industry patterns of this surge reflect shifts in consumer and business needs resulting from the pandemic and its aftermath. For example, in large metro areas, new business creation shifted from city centers to the suburbs, perhaps because of the increase in remote work. Suddenly, people wanted to eat lunch or go to the gym closer to their home, rather than close to their downtown office. Likewise, consumer and business tastes for more online purchases, with the shipping requirements that entails, are evident in the surge of business entry in the online retail and transportation sectors. But this is not only about moving restaurants closer to workers or changing patterns of goods consumption. There was also a particularly strong entry into high-tech industries, such as data processing and hosting, as well as research and development services.16 That may have more to do with developments like artificial intelligence than with the pandemic specifically, as I discussed in a speech in Atlanta last week.17 Economists will spend years debating the various causes of the surge in business creation during and soon after the pandemic. Perhaps strong monetary and fiscal policy backstopping aggregate demand played some role, or pandemic social safety net policies, or simply the accommodative financial conditions of 2020 and 2021.18 Indeed, more research is needed and will be the subject of many dissertations in the near future. I do think a large part of the story is ultimately a case of resourceful and determined American entrepreneurs, perhaps including some of you, responding to the tumultuous shocks of the pandemic. They, like some of you, stepped in to meet the rapidly changing needs of households and businesses. This points to a fourth way economists like to think about entrepreneurship, which is that entrepreneurship plays a big role in helping the economy adapt to change. Research suggests that entrepreneurs and the businesses they create are highly responsive to big economic shocks, and the COVID-19 pandemic was certainly a seismic shock.19 To be sure, the future is uncertain. It is unclear what the productivity effects of the pandemic surge of new businesses, particularly in high tech, will be.20 And whether that surge will continue is an open question; after all, the pre-pandemic period was a period of declining rates of new business creation, and the pandemic surge itself does appear to be cooling off recently.21 ConclusionFor now, let me say that I am grateful that entrepreneurs continue to give us a hand in meeting our employment mandate, and whatever productivity gains we may reap in coming years as a result may help ease tradeoffs with inflation as well. Finally, I will share one last story about why South Carolina will always hold a special place in my and my sisters’ hearts. Every summer and at Thanksgiving, we would travel through the Palmetto State to our grandparents’ house in Winston-Salem. Sitting in the back seat of the station wagon, we were entranced by the many colorful signs along Interstate 95 advertising what I, as a child, viewed as South Carolina’s number one attraction: the South of the Border roadside amusement park. We begged our parents to stop every time. It was an epic struggle that went on for more than a decade. Once or twice they did relent, a sweet childhood victory! And here is the funny thing about travels—paths can cross. The timing is such that my sisters and I may have even been helped by a waiter named Ben, a young man from Dillon, South Carolina, who would go on to be Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke! 22 Perhaps it was the world’s way of foreshadowing. Thank you for having me here in Charleston. It is inspiring to meet this group of bold, entrepreneurial women in South Carolina, and I look forward to continuing our conversation.
1. The views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text 2. See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Board, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and State Financial Regulators (2024), “Federal and State Financial Regulatory Agencies Issue Interagency Statement on Supervisory Practices regarding Financial Institutions Affected by Hurricane Helene,” joint press release, October 2. Return to text 3. See U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey, available on the NCES website at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey-components/7. Return to text 4. See Dania V. Francis, Angela C.M. de Oliveira, and Carey Dimmitt (2019), “Do School Counselors Exhibit Bias in Recommending Students for Advanced Coursework?” B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, vol. 19 (July), pp. 1–17. Return to text 5. See Lisa D. Cook and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman (2019), “‘It Was a Mistake for Me to Choose This Field,’” New York Times, September 30. Return to text 6. See Lisa D. Cook and Christine Moser (2024), “Lessons for Expanding the Share of Disadvantaged Students in Economics from the AEA Summer Program at Michigan State University,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 38 (Summer), pp. 191–208. Return to text 7. There is no single way to measure the number of self-employed individuals and related businesses, but it certainly numbers in the millions. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey indicates there are roughly 10 million unincorporated and 7 million incorporated self-employed individuals. Separate data on businesses from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that, as of 2021, there were about 25 million nonemployer and 800,000 employer sole proprietorships (Nonemployer Statistics; Statistics of U.S. Businesses). For analysis of inconsistencies between self-employment data sources, see Katharine G. Abraham, John C. Haltiwanger, Claire Hou, Kristin Sandusky, and James R. Spletzer (2021), “Reconciling Survey and Administrative Measures of Self-Employment,” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 39 (October), pp. 825–60. Return to text 8. See Erik Hurst and Benjamin Wild Pugsley (2011), “What Do Small Businesses Do? (PDF)” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall, pp. 73–142; and Erik G. Hurst and Benjamin W. Pugsley (2017), “Wealth, Tastes, and Entrepreneurial Choice,” in John Haltiwanger, Erik Hurst, Javier Miranda, and Antoinette Schoar, eds., Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). Return to text 9. Gross job creation refers to all jobs created by entering and expanding establishments. Data are from the Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, averaged for 2015–19. New firms’ share of net job creation is much higher, but this is partly an artifact of measurement practices: Firms with an age less than one measured in annual data cannot contribute negatively to net job creation. Return to text 10. See John Haltiwanger, Ron S. Jarmin, and Javier Miranda (2013), “Who Creates Jobs? Small versus Large versus Young,” Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 95 (May), pp. 347–61; and Ryan Decker, John Haltiwanger, Ron Jarmin, and Javier Miranda (2014), “The Role of Entrepreneurship in US Job Creation and Economic Dynamism,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 28 (Summer), pp. 3–24. Return to text 11. For evidence on the importance of innovating young and small firms, see Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit, Harun Alp, Nicholas Bloom, and William Kerr (2018), “Innovation, Reallocation, and Growth,” American Economic Review, vol. 108 (November), pp. 3450–91. For recent trends in technology diffusion of relevance to business entry, see Ufuk Akcigit and Sina T. Ates (2023), “What Happened to US Business Dynamism?” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 131 (August), pp. 2059–2124. Return to text 12. See Lisa D. Cook (2011), “Inventing Social Capital: Evidence from African American Inventors, 1843–1930,” Explorations in Economic History, vol. 48 (December), pp. 507–18; Lisa D. Cook (2014), “Violence and Economic Activity: Evidence from African American Patents, 1870–1940,” Journal of Economic Growth, vol. 19 (June), pp. 221–57; and Lisa D. Cook (2020), “Policies to Broaden Participation in the Innovation Process (PDF),” Hamilton Project Policy Proposal 2020-11 (Washington: Brookings Institution, August). Return to text 13. “Business applications” refers to applications for new Employer Identification Numbers submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. These are reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in the Business Formation Statistics. An application does not necessarily mean an actual firm with employees, revenue, or both will result. Return to text 14. Unless otherwise noted, the facts described in this section are documented in Ryan A. Decker and John Haltiwanger (2024), “Surging Business Formation in the Pandemic: A Brief Update,” working paper, September; and Ryan A. Decker and John Haltiwanger (2023), “Surging Business Formation in the Pandemic: Causes and Consequences? (PDF)” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall, pp. 249–302. Return to text 15. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics (BED) report new firm job creation of 1.9 million, on average, in 2022 and 2023, the highest pace since 2007. Alternative data on firm births from the Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which lag the BED by one year, report 2.5 million jobs created by new firms in 2022, also the highest pace since 2007. Return to text 16. See Ryan Decker and John Haltiwanger (2024), “High Tech Business Entry in the Pandemic Era,” FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 19). Return to text 17. See Lisa D. Cook (2024), “Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and the Path Ahead for Productivity,” speech delivered at “Technology-Enabled Disruption: Implications of AI, Big Data, and Remote Work,” a conference organized by the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Boston, and Richmond, Atlanta, October 1. Return to text 18. For a potential role of fiscal policy, see Catherine E. Fazio, Jorge Guzman, Yupeng Liu, and Scott Stern (2021), “How Is COVID Changing the Geography of Entrepreneurship? Evidence from the Startup Cartography Project,” NBER Working Paper Series 28787 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, May). For safety net programs (specifically expanded unemployment insurance), see Joonkyu Choi, Samuel Messer, Michael Navarrete, and Veronika Penciakova (2024), “Unemployment Benefits Expansion and Business Formation,” working paper, April. For the importance of financial conditions for entrepreneurship in past business cycles, see Michael Siemer (2019), “Employment Effects of Financial Constraints during the Great Recession,” Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 101 (March), pp. 16–29; and Teresa C. Fort, John Haltiwanger, Ron S. Jarmin, and Javier Miranda (2013), “How Firms Respond to Business Cycles: The Role of Firm Age and Firm Size,” IMF Economic Review, vol. 61 (3), pp. 520–59. Return to text 19. Examples of research finding a large role for business entry in responding to aggregate shocks include Manuel Adelino, Song Ma, and David Robinson (2017), “Firm Age, Investment Opportunities, and Job Creation,” Journal of Finance, vol. 72 (June), pp. 999–1038; Ryan A. Decker, Meagan McCollum, and Gregory B. Upton, Jr. (2024), “Boom Town Business Dynamics,” Journal of Human Resources, vol. 59 (March), pp. 627–51; and Fatih Karahan, Benjamin Pugsley, and Ayşegűl Şahin (2024), “Demographic Origins of the Startup Deficit,” American Economic Review, vol. 114 (July), pp. 1986–2023. Return to text 20. The last period of robust productivity growth in the U.S., the late 1990s and early 2000s, was preceded by several years by strong business creation in high-tech industries; see Lucia Foster, Cheryl Grim, John C. Haltiwanger, and Zoltan Wolf (2021), “Innovation, Productivity Dispersion, and Productivity Growth,” in Carol Corrado, Jonathan Haskel, Javier Miranda, and Daniel Sichel, eds., Measuring and Accounting for Innovation in the Twenty-First Century (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). Return to text 21. The number of annual new firms as a share of all firms declined from around 12 percent in the 1980s, on average, to around 9 percent in the period of 2010–19. New firms’ share of gross job creation declined from nearly 20 percent to less than 15 percent over the same period. Data are from Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. The pre-pandemic trend decline in entry rates was documented by Ryan Decker, John Haltiwanger, Ron Jarmin, and Javier Miranda (2014), “The Role of Entrepreneurship in US Job Creation and Economic Dynamism,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 28 (Summer), pp. 3–24. Return to text 22. See Ben S. Bernanke (2009), “Brief Remarks,” speech delivered at the Interstate Interchange Dedication Ceremony, Dillon, S.C., March 7. Return to text
What do qubits, parallelism, entanglement, photonics and decoherence have in common?
The answer to this question, and many more, will be top of mind when UConn’s College of Engineering (CoE) hosts a two-day Quantum Computing (QC) Workshop, November 20-21 at UConn Health in Farmington. The workshop will feature hands-on learning about quantum computing fundamentals, algorithms, security impacts, communications and applications.
This interactive event is being coordinated by UConn’s Center for Advanced Engineering Education and the School of Computing, in collaboration with QuantumCT and the Connecticut Advanced Computing Center. It is open to the public, including industry leaders, engineering organizations, faculty, state government, and anyone interested in the field.
Sanguthevar Rajasekaran, director of UConn’s School of Computing, says quantum computing offers the potential of speeding up computations by an exponential factor and can make a huge impact on every walk of life.
“Quantum computing exploits the unique features of quantum mechanics to solve problems quickly and more efficiently than traditional computing,” he explains. “QC applications are far and wide, embracing medicine, manufacturing, drug design, climate modeling and much more. The impact of this rapidly evolving technology appears limitless and can provide significant benefits for industry, science, health care, and society at large.”
According to Nora Sutton, Director of the Center for Advanced Engineering Education, workshop activities will include interactions with industry and academic experts, comprehensive exploration of quantum computing, and networking opportunities with peers and industry leaders.
“We’re very excited about this workshop, which is designed to immerse participants in the cutting-edge world of quantum technology,” says Sutton. “These real-world applications will help participants uncover the revolutionary, transformative potential in AI, cybersecurity, health care, and more. UConn and CoE are on the forefront of quantum learning, and working to become an educational leader in this important, dynamic field.”
Quantum mechanics is the area of physics that studies the behavior of particles at a microscopic level. At subatomic levels, the equations that describe how particles behave is different from those that describe the macroscopic world. Quantum computing is a multidisciplinary field comprising aspects of computer science, physics, and mathematics that utilizes quantum mechanics to solve complex problems faster than on classical computers.
Quantum computers take advantage of these behaviors to perform computations in a completely new way. The field includes hardware research and application development. Potential benefits include advanced machine learning, portfolio optimization in finance, simulation of chemical systems, significant healthcare applications and solving problems currently impossible even using powerful supercomputers.
Visit the UConn Engineering site for more information or to register.
Even though Chenglin Hong didn’t grow up locally and came to UConn via Beijing, Seattle, and Los Angeles, students in his classes might have more in common with him than they realize.
“I grew up in a very rural area in northeast China,” he says. “Neither of my parents went to middle school, so I had to navigate the education system and academia by myself. UConn has a very diverse student body. Many are from underserved communities or low-income families, and quite a few also are first-generation students.”
Chenglin Hong, assistant professor in the UConn School of Social Work (Contributed photo)
It’s a shared experience that Hong believes will help him relate to those he’s mentoring as one of the newest faculty members in the UConn School of Social Work. He also thinks that even though his position as assistant professor is steeped in research – and some students might find that intimidating – together, they can work in tandem.
“The majority of students will work as clinicians and practitioners, either as psychotherapists or case managers,” he says. “It’s important for them to know, though, that research and clinical practice are connected. Their experiences will inform my research, and my research will inform the way they deliver services.”
Hong describes himself as a global health scholar, one who started his career as a medical social worker in China and went on to get his Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health from the University of Washington and Ph.D. from UCLA.
And what he studies falls under a self-described “big umbrella.”
Right now, he’s considering the relationship between intimate partner violence among gay and bisexual men and an increased risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, an understudied area, he says, even though research has shown the prevalence of intimate partner violence among this group is similar or higher than among heterosexual counterparts.
Hong says his previous research found that as the prevalence of violence rises among gay and bisexual men, so too does the risk of mental health disorders, substance use, and HIV and STIs. He hopes to take this research a step further and look at how technology-based interventions, like eHealth and mHealth, might fit in.
“My work considers the intersection of social work, public health, psychology, and implementation science to see how I can utilize those interdisciplinary approaches to address the health issues this population faces,” Hong says.
“I came from a culture where sexual and gender identity are highly stigmatized and people don’t seek care after receiving an HIV diagnosis or an STI diagnosis,” he continues. “That really shaped my research. I want the knowledge I generate to inform practice and policy. I want to be a part of optimizing the standard of services we have and designing new ways to help individuals access health care.”
The health system in China is vastly different than the United States, Hong notes, explaining that social workers’ primary task in working with those who’ve been diagnosed with HIV is to connect people with medical services, things like getting and taking medications and showing up for follow-up appointments.
In the U.S., Hong says, supporting one’s medical care isn’t necessarily the focus. There’s already a standard of care and treatment thanks to antiretroviral therapy that offers a life expectancy much the same as the general population.
“We’re not only talking about physical health in the U.S., we’re also talking about mental health and social well-being,” he says, adding that his work in California with Black sexual minority men living with HIV included a team of professionals, from medical clinicians to lawyers. “That is really different, and I appreciate that approach because physical health is just one component of the overall well-being of individuals.”
As he begins to establish his research lab at UConn, Hong admits he misses China, his family, and the community he left behind. They’re always in his heart, he says, and have profoundly impacted the way he looks at the world and how he approaches his work.
“I’m half Korean, half Chinese,” Hong says. “The U.S. is a multicultural society with people from different backgrounds and different cultures. My own experience helps me see the health disparities and think about the best approach for us as researchers to design interventions and services to address societal problems.”
Headline: Microsoft expands AI capabilities to shape a healthier future
REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 10, 2024 — On Thursday, Microsoft Corp. is unveiling several Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare innovations that connect care experiences, enhance team collaboration, empower healthcare workers, and unlock clinical and operational insights.
Through new healthcare AI models in Azure AI Studio, capabilities for healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio, and an AI-driven nursing workflow solution, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is supporting healthcare organizations on every step of their journey toward shaping a healthier future.
“We are at an inflection point where AI breakthroughs are fundamentally changing the way we work and live,” said Joe Petro, corporate vice president, Healthcare and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms at Microsoft. “Across the broader healthcare and life sciences industry, these advancements are dramatically enhancing patient care and also rekindling the joy of practicing medicine for clinicians. Microsoft’s AI-powered solutions are helping lead these efforts by streamlining workflows, improving data integration, and utilizing AI to deliver better outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists, payors, providers, medtech developers, and ultimately the patients they all serve.”
Expanding the reach of AI beyond text: healthcare AI models in Azure AI Studio
Microsoft is announcing the launch of healthcare AI models, a collection of cutting-edge multimodal medical imaging foundation models available in the Azure AI model catalog. Developed in collaboration with partners like Providence and Paige.ai, these models enable healthcare organizations to integrate and analyze diverse data types — ranging from medical imaging to genomics and clinical records. By using these advanced models as a foundation, healthcare organizations can rapidly build, fine-tune and deploy AI solutions tailored to their specific needs, all while minimizing the extensive compute and data requirements typically associated with building multimodal models from scratch.
“The development of foundational AI models in pathology and medical imaging is expected to drive significant advancements in cancer research and diagnostics,” said Carlo Bifulco, MD, chief medical officer of Providence Genomics and a co-author of the Prov-GigaPath study. “These models can complement human expertise by providing insights beyond traditional visual interpretation and, as we move toward a more integrated, multimodal approach, will reshape the future of medicine.”
Harnessing the power of healthcare data with Microsoft Fabric
Historically, healthcare data has been difficult to access due to its unstructured nature and the limitations of existing data management systems. These challenges have limited organizations’ ability to gain a comprehensive view of patient experiences and access valuable insights.
With the general availability of healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, healthcare organizations can overcome these barriers by reshaping how users access, manage and act on data with a single, unified AI-powered platform. Additionally, healthcare security application templates for Microsoft Purview, an innovative suite of features designed to help govern healthcare data, are available in public preview. We’re also launching new capabilities in public preview within healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric including:
Conversational data integration: Send conversational data, such as patient conversations, from DAX Copilot to the Fabric platform. By sending DAX Copilot audio files, transcripts and draft clinical notes to Fabric, customers and partners can leverage various native tools in Azure and Fabric to analyze this data and/or combine it with other data to generate comprehensive insights.
Social determinants of health (SDOH) public dataset transformation: Ingest, persist, harmonize and consume SDOH national and international public datasets to enable healthcare organizations to identify risks and health-related social needs to help create equitable healthcare for all patients and communities.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) claim and claim line feed (CCLF) data ingestion: Streamline the ingestion of claims data and harmonize with clinical, imaging and SDOH data to unlock actionable insights on patients and populations.
Care management analytics: Leverage unified healthcare data and care management analytical templates to enhance patient care by identifying high-risk individuals, optimizing treatment plans and improving care coordination.
Data discovery and cohorting: Utilize an integrated workflow that allows healthcare organizations to create, manage, analyze and share patient cohorts.
Building a safe and responsible healthcare agent
Healthcare organizations face numerous challenges, including workforce shortages, rising costs and increasing patient care demands. Generative AI offers a potential solution to these challenges by automating administrative tasks, analyzing vast amounts of data for actionable insights and assisting healthcare professionals in decision-making.
To address this, Microsoft is announcing the public preview of healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio to build Copilot agents for appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching, patient triaging and more. Organizations can leverage the healthcare agent service to help create connected patient experiences, improve clinical workflows, and empower healthcare professionals while helping organizations meet industry expectations with Microsoft Copilot Studio. Early adopters, like Cleveland Clinic, which provided feedback to help optimize the solution for a healthcare setting, are already using these innovations to enhance patient experiences and improve operational efficiency.
Enhancing nursing workflows with AI: nursing early outcomes
With the World Health Organization (WHO)1 predicting a shortage of 4.5 million nurses by 2030, the urgency to deliver technology to support the nursing profession is felt more than ever.
Last month at Epic’s UGM, we announced the next focus area for our collaboration in Epic Workshop. Today, we’re sharing more about how we’re actively collaborating with several leading healthcare organizations — including Advocate Health, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Duke Health, Intermountain Health Saint Joseph Hospital, Mercy, Northwestern Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Tampa General Hospital — to build an AI solution using ambient technology that addresses nursing documentation by drafting flowsheets for review, allowing nurses to focus less on paperwork and more on their patients. This innovation expands on the company’s long-standing strategic collaboration and joint development initiatives with Epic.
“AI is transforming nursing workflows by streamlining administrative tasks, allowing nurses to focus more on patient care,” said Corey Miller, vice president of R&D at Epic. “Together with Microsoft, we’re using AI-powered ambient voice technology to populate patient assessments. Nurses using the tool are already sharing positive feedback on how it enhances personalized patient interactions.”
“For nurses, the integration of AI-driven solutions into our workflows is a game changer,” said Terry McDonnell, DNP, ANCP-BC, senior vice president and chief nurse executive, Duke University Health System, vice dean for Clinical Affairs, Duke University School of Nursing, Duke Health. “It allows us to focus more on patient care rather than the administrative burden of documentation. By automating tedious tasks, Microsoft’s ambient AI solution helps alleviate burnout and gives us more time to connect with our patients at the bedside, where we truly make a difference.”
Empowering responsible AI practices across healthcare
In line with Microsoft’s dedication to responsible AI, these new solutions adhere to the company’s AI principles established in 2018 to help guide AI development and use. Microsoft remains committed to developing responsible AI by design, ensuring that these technologies positively impact both the healthcare ecosystem and broader society. In practice this means properly building, testing and monitoring systems to avoid undesirable behaviors, such as harmful content, bias, misuse and other unintended risks. Over the years, we have made significant investments in building out the necessary governance structure, policies, tools and processes to uphold these principles and build and deploy AI safely. At Microsoft, we are committed to sharing our learnings on this journey of upholding our Responsible AI principles with our customers. We use our own best practices and learnings to provide people and organizations with capabilities and tools to build AI applications that share the same high standards we strive for.
For more information on Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and the new data and AI solutions and their impact, visit https://news.microsoft.com/hlth-2024, or visit Microsoft at booth #4004 at HLTH 2024.
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
1Nursing and midwifery, World Health Organization, 2024
For more information, press only:
Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit Microsoft Source at https://news.microsoft.com/source. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.
This press release includes key announcements on AI-driven healthcare innovations by Microsoft and includes a quote emphasizing AI’s transformative role in healthcare.
Epic is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corp.
Education is essentially an “industry of industries,” with K-12 and higher education enterprises handling data that could include health records, financial data, and other regulated information. At the same time, their facilities can host payment processing systems, networks that are used as internet service providers (ISPs), and other diverse infrastructure. The cyberthreats that Microsoft observes across different industries tend to be compounded in education, and threat actors have realized that this sector is inherently vulnerable. With an average of 2,507 cyberattack attempts per week, universities are prime targets for malware, phishing, and IoT vulnerabilities.¹
Security staffing and IT asset ownership also affect education organizations’ cyber risks. School and university systems, like many enterprises, often face a shortage of IT resources and operate a mix of both modern and legacy IT systems. Microsoft observes that in the United States, students and faculty are more likely to use personal devices in education compared to Europe, for example. Regardless of ownership however, in these and other regions, busy users do not always have a security mindset.
This edition of Cyber Signals delves into the cybersecurity challenges facing classrooms and campuses, highlighting the critical need for robust defenses and proactive measures. From personal devices to virtual classes and research stored in the cloud, the digital footprint of school districts, colleges, and universities has multiplied exponentially.
We are all defenders.
A uniquely valuable and vulnerable environment
The education sector’s user base is very different from a typical large commercial enterprise. In the K-12 environment, users include students as young as six years old. Just like any public or private sector organization, there is a wide swath of employees in school districts and at universities including administration, athletics, health services, janitorial, food service professionals, and others. Multiple activities, announcements, information resources, open email systems, and students create a highly fluid environment for cyberthreats.
Virtual and remote learning have also extended education applications into households and offices. Personal and multiuser devices are ubiquitous and often unmanaged—and students are not always cognizant about cybersecurity or what they allow their devices to access.
Education is also on the front lines confronting how adversaries test their tools and their techniques. According to data from Microsoft Threat Intelligence, the education sector is the third-most targeted industry, with the United States seeing the greatest cyberthreat activity.
Cyberthreats to education are not only a concern in the United States. According to the United Kingdom’s Department of Science Innovation and Technology 2024 Cybersecurity Breaches Survey, 43% of higher education institutions in the UK reported experiencing a breach or cyberattack at least weekly.²
QR codes provide an easily disguised surface for phishing cyberattacks
Today, quick response (QR) codes are quite popular—leading to increased risks of phishing cyberattacks designed to gain access to systems and data. Images in emails, flyers offering information about campus and school events, parking passes, financial aid forms, and other official communications all frequently contain QR codes. Physical and virtual education spaces might be the most “flyer friendly” and QR code-intensive environments anywhere, given how big a role handouts, physical and digital bulletin boards, and other casual correspondence help students navigate a mix of curriculum, institutional, and social correspondence. This creates an attractive backdrop for malicious actors to target users who are trying to save time with a quick image scan.
Recently the United States Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on the rising threat of malicious QR codes being used to steal login credentials or deliver malware.³
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 telemetry shows that approximately more than 15,000 messages with malicious QR codes are targeted toward the educational sector daily—including phishing, spam, and malware.
Legitimate software tools can be used to quickly generate QR codes with embedded links to be sent in email or posted physically as part of a cyberattack. And those images are hard for traditional email security solutions to scan, making it even more important for faculty and students to use devices and browsers with modern web defenses.
Targeted users in the education sector may use personal devices without endpoint security. QR codes essentially enable the threat actor to pivot to these devices. QR code phishing (since its purpose is to target mobile devices) is compelling evidence of mobile devices being used as an attack vector into enterprises—such as personal accounts and bank accounts—and the need for mobile device protection and visibility. Microsoft has significantly disrupted QR code phishing attacks. This shift in tactics is evident in the substantial decrease in daily phishing emails intercepted by our system, dropping from 3 million in December 2023 to just 179,000 by March 2024.
Source: Microsoft incident response engagements.
Universities present their own unique challenges. Much of university culture is based on collaboration and sharing to drive research and innovation. Professors, researchers, and other faculty operate under the notion that technology, science—simply knowledge itself—should be shared widely. If someone appearing as a student, peer, or similar party reaches out, they’re often willing to discuss potentially sensitive topics without scrutinizing the source.
University operations also span multiple industries. University presidents are effectively CEOs of healthcare organizations, housing providers, and large financial organizations—the industry of industries factor, again. Therefore, top leaders can can be prime targets for anyone attacking those sectors.
The combination of value and vulnerability found in education systems has attracted the attention of a spectrum of cyberattackers—from malware criminals employing new techniques to nation-state threat actors engaging in old-school spy craft.
Microsoft continually monitors threat actors and threat vectors worldwide. Here are some key issues we’re seeing for education systems.
Email systems in schools offer wide spaces for compromise
The naturally open environment at most universities forces them to be more relaxed in their email hygiene. They have a lot of emails amounting to noise in the system, but are often operationally limited in where and how they can place controls, because of how open they need to be for alumni, donors, external user collaboration, and many other use cases.
Education institutions tend to share a lot of announcements in email. They share informational diagrams around local events and school resources. They commonly allow external mailers from mass mailing systems to share into their environments. This combination of openness and lack of controls creates a fertile ground for cyberattacks.
AI is increasing the premium on visibility and control
Cyberattackers recognizing higher education’s focus on building and sharing can survey all visible access points, seeking entry into AI-enabled systems or privileged information on how these systems operate. If on-premises and cloud-based foundations of AI systems and data are not secured with proper identity and access controls, AI systems become vulnerable. Just as education institutions adapted to cloud services, mobile devices and hybrid learning—which introduced new waves of identities and privileges to govern, devices to manage, and networks to segment—they must also adapt to the cyber risks of AI by scaling these timeless visibility and control imperatives.
Nation-state actors are after valuable IP and high-level connections
Universities handling federally funded research, or working closely with defense, technology, and other industry partners in the private sector, have long recognized the risk of espionage. Decades ago, universities focused on telltale physical signs of spying. They knew to look for people showing up on campus taking pictures or trying to get access to laboratories. Those are still risks, but today the dynamics of digital identity and social engineering have greatly expanded the spy craft toolkit.
Universities are often epicenters of highly sensitive intellectual property. They may be conducting breakthrough research. They may be working on high-value projects in aerospace, engineering, nuclear science, or other sensitive topics in partnership with multiple government agencies.
For cyberattackers, it can be easier to first compromise somebody in the education sector who has ties to the defense sector and then use that access to more convincingly phish a higher value target.
Universities also have experts in foreign policy, science, technology, and other valuable disciplines, who may willingly offer intelligence, if deceived in social-engineering cyberattacks employing false or stolen identities of peers and others who appear to be in individuals’ networks or among trusted contacts. Apart from holding valuable intelligence themselves, compromised accounts of university employees can become springboards into further campaigns against wider government and industry targets.
Nation-state actors targeting education
Peach Sandstorm
Peach Sandstorm has used password spray attacks against the education sector to gain access to infrastructure used in those industries, and Microsoft has also observed the organization using social engineering against targets in higher education.
Mint Sandstorm
Microsoft has observed a subset of this Iranian attack group targeting high-profile experts working on Middle Eastern affairs at universities and research organizations. These sophisticated phishing attacks used social engineering to compel targets to download malicious files including a new, custom backdoor called MediaPl.
Mabna Institute
In 2023, the Iranian Mabna Institute conducted intrusions into the computing systems of at least 144 United States universities and 176 universities in 21 other countries.
The stolen login credentials were used for the benefit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and were also sold within Iran through the web. Stolen credentials belonging to university professors were used to directly access university library systems.
Emerald Sleet
This North Korean group primarily targets experts in East Asian policy or North and South Korean relations. In some cases, the same academics have been targeted by Emerald Sleet for nearly a decade.
Emerald Sleet uses AI to write malicious scripts and content for social engineering, but these attacks aren’t always about delivering malware. There’s also an evolving trend where they simply ask experts for policy insight that could be used to manipulate negotiations, trade agreements, or sanctions.
Moonstone Sleet
Moonstone Sleet is another North Korean actor that has been taking novel approaches like creating fake companies to forge business relationships with educational institutions or a particular faculty member or student.
One of the most prominent attacks from Moonstone Sleet involved creating a fake tank-themed game used to target individuals at educational institutions, with a goal to deploy malware and exfiltrate data.
Storm-1877
This actor largely engages in cryptocurrency theft using a custom malware family that they deploy through various means. The ultimate goal of this malware is to steal crypto wallet addresses and login credentials for crypto platforms.
Students are often the target for these attacks, which largely start on social media. Storm-1877 targets students because they may not be as aware of digital threats as professionals in industry.
A new security curriculum
Due to education budget and talent constraints and the inherent openness of its environment, solving education security is more than a technology problem. Security posture management and prioritizing security measures can be a costly and challenging endeavor for these institutions—but there is a lot that school systems can do to protect themselves.
Maintaining and scaling core cyberhygiene will be key to securing school systems. Building awareness of security risks and good practices at all levels—students, faculty, administrators, IT staff, campus staff, and more—can help create a safer environment.
For IT and security professionals in the education sector, doing the basics and hardening the overall security posture is a good first step. From there, centralizing the technology stack can help facilitate better monitoring of logging and activity to gain a clearer picture into the overall security posture and any vulnerabilities.
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU), an R1 research-focused university, places a high priority on safeguarding its research to maintain its reputation. In 2021, it experienced an extensive cybersecurity incident unlike anything before. The cyberattack revealed gaps in OSU’s security operations.
“The types of threats that we’re seeing, the types of events that are occurring in higher education, are much more aggressive by cyber adversaries.”
—David McMorries, Chief Information Security Officer at Oregon State University
In response to this incident, OSU created its Security Operations Center (SOC), which has become the centerpiece of the university’s security effort. AI has also helped automate capabilities and helped its analysts, who are college students, learn how to quickly write code—such as threat hunting with more advanced hunting queries.
Arizona Department of Education
A focus on Zero Trust and closed systems is an area that the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) takes further than the state requirements. It blocks all traffic from outside the United States from its Microsoft 365 environment, Azure, and its local datacenter.
“I don’t allow anything exposed to the internet on my lower dev environments, and even with the production environments, we take extra care to make sure that we use a network security group to protect the app services.”
—Chris Henry, Infrastructure Manager at the Arizona Department of Education
Follow these recommendations:
The best defense against QR code attacks is to be aware and pay attention. Pause, inspect the code’s URL before opening it, and don’t open QR codes from unexpected sources, especially if the message uses urgent language or contains errors.
Consider implementing “protective domain name service,” a free tool that helps prevent ransomware and other cyberattacks by blocking computer systems from connecting to harmful websites. Prevent password spray attacks with a stringent password and deploy multifactor authentication.
Educate students and staff about their security hygiene, and encourage them to use multifactor authentication or passwordless protections. Studies have shown that an account is more than 99.9% less likely to be compromised when using multifactor authentication.
Corey Lee has always had an interest in solving puzzles and crimes. He started his college career at Penn State University in criminal justice, but soon realized his passion for digital forensics after taking a course about investigating a desktop computer break-in.
After completing his degree in security and risk analysis, Corey came to Microsoft focused on gaining cross-industry experience. He’s worked on securing everything from federal, state, and local agencies to commercial enterprises, but today he focuses on the education sector.
After spending time working across industries, Corey sees education through a different lens—the significantly unique industry of industries. The dynamics at play inside the education sector include academic institutions, financial services, critical infrastructure like hospitals and transportation, and partnerships with government agencies. According to Corey, working in such a broad field allows him to leverage skillsets from multiple industries to address specific problems across the landscape.
The fact that education could also be called underserved from a cybersecurity standpoint is another compelling challenge, and part of Corey’s personal mission. The education industry needs cybersecurity experts to elevate the priority of protecting school systems. Corey works across the public and industry dialogue, skilling and readiness programs, incident response, and overall defense to protect not just the infrastructure of education, but students, parents, teachers, and staff.
Today, Corey is focused reimagining student security operations centers, including how to inject AI into the equation and bring modern technology and training to the table. By growing the cybersecurity work force in education and giving them new tools, he’s working to elevate security in the sector in a way that’s commensurate with how critical the industry is for the future.
Next steps with Microsoft Security
To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.
¹The Institutional Impacts of a Cyberattack, University of Florida Information Technology. January 18, 2024.
²Cyber security breaches survey 2024: education institutions annex, The United Kingdom Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. April 9, 2024
³Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal your information, Federal Trade Commission (Alvaro Puig), December 6, 2023.
Methodology: Snapshot and cover stat data represent telemetry from Microsoft Defender for Office 365 showing how a QR code phishing attack was disrupted by image detection technology and how Security Operations teams can respond to this threat. Platforms like Microsoft Entra provided anonymized data on threat activity, such as malicious email accounts, phishing emails, and attacker movement within networks. Additional insights are from the 78 trillion daily security signals processed by Microsoft each day, including the cloud, endpoints, the intelligent edge, and telemetry from Microsoft platforms and services including Microsoft Defender. Microsoft categorizes threat actors into five key groups: influence operations; groups in development; and nation-state, financially motivated, and private sector offensive actors. The new threat actors naming taxonomy aligns with the theme of weather.
