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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: Changes to speech and language can help detect Alzheimer’s early – here are five things to look out for

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Curtis, Doctoral Candidate, Language use in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease, School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University

    More people than ever are being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease New Africa/Shutterstock

    Ten million people are diagnosed with dementia worldwide each year – that’s more than ever. According to the Alzheimer’s Society approximately one million people in the UK are currently living with the disease. Studies predict this figure will rise to 1.6 million people by 2050.

    Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and leads to a decline in memory and thinking skills. This is a physical illness that causes the brain to stop working properly and gets worse over time. Identifying the onset of Alzheimer’s early can help patients and caregivers find the right support and medical care.

    One way to detect Alzheimer’s early is by spotting changes to people’s use of language. This is because new speech problems are one of the first signs of a mental decline that could indicate the onset of this disease.

    Here are five early, speech-related signs of Alzheimer’s disease to look out for:

    1. Pauses, hesitations and vagueness

    One of the most recognisable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is trouble remembering specific words, which can often lead to frequent or long pauses and hesitations. When a person with Alzheimer’s is struggling to remember a word, they may talk vaguely such as saying “thing”, or describing and talking around a word. For example, if someone is having trouble remembering the word dog, they may say something like “people have them as pets … they bark … I used to have one when I was a child”.

    2. Using words with the wrong meaning

    Trouble remembering the right word can be an early feature of Alzheimer’s. People with Alzheimer’s might replace a word they are trying to say with something related to it. For example, instead of saying “dog”, they might use an animal from the same category, saying “cat” for instance. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, however, these changes are more likely to be related to a broader or more general category such as saying “animal” instead of “cat”.

    3. Talking about a task rather than doing it

    Someone with Alzheimer’s may struggle with completing tasks. Instead of performing a task, they may talk about their feelings toward the task, express doubts, or mention past abilities. They might say, “I’m not sure I can do this” or “I used to be good at this”, rather than discussing the task directly.

    4. Less word variety

    A more subtle indicator of Alzheimer’s disease is the tendency to use simpler language, relying on common words. People with Alzheimer’s often repeat the same verbs, nouns and adjectives instead of using a broader vocabulary. They can also use “the”, “and” or “but” frequently to connect sentences.

    5. Difficulty finding the right words

    People with Alzheimer’s can have trouble thinking of words, objects or things that belong in a group. This is sometimes used as a cognitive test for the disease. For example, those with Alzheimer’s may struggle to name things in a specific category, such as different foods, different parts of the body or words that start with the same letter. This gets harder as the disease progresses, making these tasks increasingly challenging.

    Age is the biggest risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s – the chance of developing the disease doubles every five years after the age of 65. However, one in 20 people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are under the age of 65. This is referred to as younger – or early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

    While forgetting words now and then is normal, persistent and worsening problems remembering words, speaking fluently, or using a variety of words could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Identifying these signs early can be particularly important for people at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease as they age, such as people with Down Syndrome.

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

    – ref. Changes to speech and language can help detect Alzheimer’s early – here are five things to look out for – https://theconversation.com/changes-to-speech-and-language-can-help-detect-alzheimers-early-here-are-five-things-to-look-out-for-252251

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Europe faces worst measles outbreak since 1997 – new data

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton

    SamaraHeisz5/Shutterstock

    Europe has had the highest number of measles cases since 1997, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). There were 127,350 cases in 2024 – about double the number from 2023.

    “Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” says Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. “Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.” Last year, there were 38 deaths from measles.

    Transmission is similar to COVID, with respiratory droplets and aerosols (airborne transmission) spreading the virus between people. The infection produces a rash and fever in mild cases, and encephalitis (brain swelling), pneumonia and blindness in severe cases.

    Hospitalisation and deaths are overwhelmingly in unvaccinated people, with mortality rates in developed countries around one in 1,000 to one in 5,000 measles cases.

    Each person infected with measles will, on average, spread the virus to between 12 and 18 other people. This is more infectious than COVID. For example, someone with the omicron variant would spread the virus to around eight others.

    In 2022 the WHO had described measles as an “imminent threat in every region of the world”. The widespread impact of COVID made it harder for people to access healthcare, reducing the ability of regular health services, like vaccinations, to function properly.

    These new stark figures from WHO Europe are an inevitable consequence of lower vaccination rates. Measles is almost entirely vaccine-preventable, with two doses providing greater than 99% protection against infection. The vaccine has an excellent safety record, with severe harm being extremely rare.

    The proportion of the population that needs to be vaccinated to keep local transmission low and prevent outbreaks (so-called “herd immunity”) is around 95%.

    WHO Europe highlighted some examples of where there are clear gaps in vaccine coverage. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania, fewer than 80% of eligible children were vaccinated in 2023, with rates below 50% for the past five or more years. Romania had the highest number of measles cases in Europe in 2024 – an estimated 30,692 cases.

    Misinformation is the driver

    Misinformation is an important factor that reduces vaccine uptake. For example, in the UK, former physician Andrew Wakefield presented falsified data in 2002 claiming the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine caused autism. He somehow got these claims published in The Lancet – although the paper was later retracted.

    This fake scare received sustained media coverage, which resulted in lower uptake in young children at the time and was then a key factor a large measles outbreak among teenagers in England in 2012.

    The claims have spread internationally. In 2020, a US population survey found that “18% of our respondents mistakenly state that it is very or somewhat accurate to say that vaccines cause autism”.

    Sadly, misinformation about health can even be found at the highest levels of government. US President Donald Trump repeatedly made false claims during the COVID pandemic, including the suggestion that injecting disinfectant might cure COVID. In 2025, he appointed Robert F. Kennedy as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has long espoused anti-vaccine viewpoints, including being required to apologise in 2015 for comparing vaccination programmes to the Holocaust.

    RFK Jr. was made to apologise for comparing vaccination programmes with the Holocaust.
    Maxim Elramsisy/Shutterstock

    In a recent interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity, Kennedy said of the MMR vaccine: “It does cause deaths every year. It causes — it causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera.”

    This is untrue. The Infectious Disease Society of America points out that there have been “no deaths related to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in healthy individuals”. This is amid two measles deaths in unvaccinated people in the US, the first such deaths since 2003. There are estimates that the measles vaccine prevented 94 million deaths globally between 1974 to 2024.

    The US National Institute for Health, one of the world’s biggest funders of health research, announced on March 10 2025 that it was axing research that aimed to understand and address vaccine hesitancy.

    This goes alongside the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) apparently planning a large study into potential associations between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies indicating there being no such link.

    This volatility coming from the US and elsewhere matters for Europe. Trump and the US have political supporters in Europe, so their messaging carries weight and could do harm. Anti-vaccine sentiment promoted on Facebook from within the US resulted in comments on the posts from multiple countries. The use of social media has been observed to spread misinformation internationally, for example, within Europe. Russian trolls are also involved in creating arguments about vaccines.

    There is an urgent need for outbreaks to be brought back under control and for accurate information about vaccines to be the key message in public discussions. As Dr Kluge highlights: “The measles virus never rests – and neither can we.”

    Michael Head has previously received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Research England and the UK Department for International Development, and currently receives funding from the UK Medical Research Foundation.

    – ref. Europe faces worst measles outbreak since 1997 – new data – https://theconversation.com/europe-faces-worst-measles-outbreak-since-1997-new-data-252327

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: This is why physical affection can boost your health

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    By Viren Swami, Anglia Ruskin University

    In the opening scene of Love, Actually, Hugh Grant’s character says how, whenever he gets gloomy with the state of the world, he thinks about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport. The reason is on screen: we see couples kissing, old friends embracing, children smiling and laughing as they jump into the arms of their parents.

    Airports are great places to really understand the importance of physical affection – hugging, kissing, cuddling, holding hands, or even just touching. But physical affection is ubiquitous in everyday life, too – and with good reason. Science shows that non-sexual physical affection produces more than just moments of joy – it also benefits our mental and physical health.

    Physical affection is one of the most direct and important ways that people communicate intimacy in their romantic relationships. And it seems to occur in romantic relationships all over the world, despite cross-cultural differences in ideas of love and romance.

    People in romantic relationships report more intimate physical affection than singletons. They’re also more comfortable allowing their partners to touch more of their bodies than strangers or friends. For example, most people are comfortable being touched on their thighs and abdomen by their partner, but not by other people.

    Even how we touch our partners is different to how we touch other people. When participants in one study were asked to stroke their partner, a friend, a stranger, or an artificial arm, they did so more slowly with their partner. Slower strokes may be experienced as more pleasant and erotic than quicker strokes. Even just thinking about physical affection from a partner evokes pleasant and erotic sensations.

    There is now strong evidence showing that physical contact is associated with better physical and mental health. One review of “touch interventions” – think massage – in 212 studies involving more than 13,000 participants found that physical touch benefited everything from sleep patterns to blood pressure to fatigue. Touch interventions were especially helpful in reducing pain, depression and anxiety.

    Couple’s therapy

    Before you rush off to book yourself a massage, you should know that much of the evidence suggests the strongest benefits come from physical affection with romantic partners. Several studies have found that, in couples, physical affection is associated with a range of physiological effects, including lower blood pressure and better immune responses.

    In couples, physical affection is also associated with better psychological wellbeing. One study found that couples who sleep-touched – cuddling shortly before or after sleep – felt happier and calmer in the morning, which meant they were more likely to enjoy the company of their partners.

    Physical affection – including kissing and affection after sex – is also associated with greater relationship and sexual satisfaction, and better ratings of one’s relationship overall, which in turn contribute to better psychological wellbeing. And even when conflicts do occur, hugging seems to reduce levels of negative mood in couples.

    Cuddle up, because there’s more. Receiving physical affection from a partner makes us feel psychologically stronger. One study found that women showed less activation in parts of the brain that respond to threat when holding their husband’s hand. Even just imagining touch from a partner can increase one’s willingness to take on challenging tasks.

    Another way to look at this is to examine what happens when we lose physical affection. Studies have shown that “touch deprivation” – the absence of touch – is associated with greater symptoms of depression and anxiety. Indeed, the loss of affection from others during the pandemic hit many people hard. Among couples, a lack of physical affection is associated with lower relationship satisfaction, stress, and feelings of loneliness.

    There are several ways in which physical affection provides these benefits. Affectionate touch is known to activate reward centres of the brain, which boosts our mood and promotes feelings of wellbeing. Touch also stimulates the release of oxytocin, which can strengthen social bonds and increase feelings of trust between individuals. It’s for these reasons that oxytocin is sometimes called the “cuddle chemical”.

    Physical affection also reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol and reduces perceived pain, which suppress physiological stress systems. One study found that a 10-minute neck-and-shoulder massage from one’s partner helped lower cortisol responses, helping to regulate levels of stress.

    Psychologically, physical affection in romantic relationships is an important way to keep our emotions under control. Touching one’s partner in a caring manner helps to improve their mood and makes them feel loved, secure, and safe. As feelings of connection, trust, and belonging are strengthened through non-sexual physical signs of affection, negative effect is reduced and psychological well-being is improved.

    However, not everyone likes to be touched, even if it is by their romantic partners. Some people are “touch avoidant” – and some people may actually be apprehensive about being touched. For instance, people with avoidant attachment styles – characterised by a discomfort with emotional closeness – often have very negative views about cuddling and are more hesitant to touch their partners. Conversely, people with anxious attachment styles – characterised by a fear of abandonment – may desire more touch than they receive.

    But when couples have similar touch preferences, it can lead to greater attraction, closeness, and commitment to one another. And if you’re looking for a fun way to incorporate non-sexual physical affection into your relationships, consider home massage. One study found that couples who took turns massaging each other at home felt a deeper connection with each other, and felt more relaxed and less stressed.

    Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University

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

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

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

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Christian nationalism in the U.S. is eerily reminiscent of ‘dominionist’ reformers in history

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gary K. Waite, Professor Emeritus, Early Modern European History, University of New Brunswick

    In this etching from Dutch theologian Lambertus Hortensius’ 1614 book ‘Van den oproer der weder-dooperen,’ Anabaptists warn the residents of Amsterdam of the coming vengeance of Christ in 1535. (Lambertus Hortensius)

    Far-right politics and Christian nationalism are on the rise in North America and Europe, leading to growing concerns about what it means for human rights and democracy.

    As an historian of the demonizing language of the 16th century, I have been watching current events, around QAnon and Christian nationalist support for United States President Donald Trump with considerable trepidation.

    Why? Because we’ve seen before what happens when religious groups use government to force their beliefs and morality upon society.

    Religion scholar Bradley Onishi writes that the Christian nationalist movement known as the “New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is one of the most influential and dangerous Christian nationalist movements in the United States” and has become “a global phenomenon.”



    Read more:
    New Apostolic Reformation evangelicals see Trump as God’s warrior in their battle to win America from satanic forces and Christianize it

    This movement has reshaped its theology in ways eerily reminiscent of the prophets of the Anabaptist kingdom of Münster of the 1530s in present-day Germany. As my scholarship has examined, those religious dissenters faced polemical demonizing by religious authorities and faced violent oppression, via torture and execution.

    Today’s Christian nationalists, however, have faced no such maltreatment. Yet, like persecuted dissenters of the 1530s, they claim divine authority to remake society.

    The Anabaptists of Münster

    A portrait of Jan van Leiden, a leader of the Münster Anabaptists, by Dutch artist Jan Muller circa 1615.
    (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

    The 16th-century Reformation had originally broken down the religious state of medieval Europe. However, Protestant leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin quickly saw the advantage of having civic governments force conformity to their reforms, and punish dissent.

    Among those targeted were the small groups of dissenters whose Biblical interpretation, congruent with the life and teaching of Jesus, led them to follow the Gospel’s command to preach and baptize “on confession of faith” and a person’s commitment to discipleship.“ By contrast, reformers, and the church they sought to reform, “practised and required infant baptism for the entire population (usually required by law).”

    Derisively called Anabaptists, the small group of dissenters also refused to participate in government. For these practices they were persecuted, with hundreds horrifically tortured and executed.

    Driven to desperation, some Anabaptists in northwestern Europe and northern Germany looked for hope to the Westphalian city of Münster in present-day Germany.

    Here the city’s major preacher, Bernhard Rothmann, was moving the city into the Reformed Protestant camp, rather than that of their Lutheran neighbours. When large numbers of Anabaptist refugees arrived in 1533, they won the civic election and Münster became an Anabaptist city.

    The Catholic bishop of Münster had other ideas. Hiring Catholic and Lutheran troops, he laid siege to the city and things became desperate. Enraged by persecution, the Münsterite Anabaptists changed their image of Jesus from the peacemaker of the Gospels to the apocalyptic Jesus of Revelation.

    The Jesus of Anabaptist Münster

    Rothmann’s original theology was like what Calvin would develop for Geneva. What made the two cities distinct was the charismatic leadership of the Dutch Anabaptist prophet Jan Matthijs, who predicted that Christ would return on Easter Day, 1534, adding both urgency and confidence in applying God’s directives.

    Now besieged, Matthijs and Rothmann took their reform movement in a more “dominionist” direction, meaning they believed their movement should take moral, spiritual and religious control over society. They expelled anyone who refused to co-operate.

    When Christ did not return on Easter 1534 and Matthijs was killed by the besiegers, his successor, Jan van Leiden, simply postponed Christ’s return to the following Easter and declared himself a semi-divine king.

    He also abandoned the message of the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount in favour of the vengeful Jesus of the Book of Revelation. Rothmann justified this in a tract which I translated as:

    “It was … the intention of our hearts in our baptism, that we would suffer for Christ, whatever men did to us. But it has pleased the Lord … that now we and all Christians at this time may not only ward off the violence of the godless with the sword, but also, that he has put the sword into our hands to avenge all injustice and evil over the entire world.”

    King van Leiden sent people out to spread this revolutionary message and take over other cities. This led to several militant episodes, including in Amsterdam, where in February 1535, 11 Anabaptists paraded naked through the streets proclaiming the “naked truth” of God’s anger.

    Others delivered the message while waving swords. Finally, in May, 1535 about 40 Anabaptists captured Amsterdam’s city hall. All were arrested and executed. These were the actions of desperate people inspired by their prophets’ assurances of divine authority. When, however, Münster fell at the end of June 1535, the result was massive disillusionment, a return to non-violence and increased persecution.

    This etching (circa 1629-1652) by Dutch artist Pieter de Hooch depicts Anabaptists walking naked through the streets of Amsterdam after being inspired to remove and burn their clothes in February 1535.
    (Rijksmuseum)

    Divine authority to remake society?

    This transformation of the Münster Anabaptists into vengeful militants reminds me of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). As Matthew D. Taylor has revealed, this movement sees itself as fighting a “spiritual battle” against the demonic forces opposing Trump; some participated (non-violently) in the Jan. 6, 2020 riot.

    Taylor concludes with a warning that the NAR act as “spiritual warmongers, constantly expanding the arena of spiritual warfare, mapping it onto geographical territory and divisive politics in a deeply destabilizing and antidemocratic manner.” It is as if we are listening to Rothmann’s fiery sermons again.

    One difference, of course, is that the NAR folk are not under persecution, despite what they might claim. Taylor describes this as “the Evangelical Persecution Neurosis.”

    Three of the NAR’s principle components are:

    1. A charismatic approach to Christian life that affirms God speaks directly to them. They see themselves as biblical prophets who speak God’s commands which must be implemented regardless of social impact.

    2. The Evangelical Christian belief of living in the end-times on the eve of Jesus Christ’s return for judgment. NAR preachers proclaim that while Jesus in the Gospels taught to “turn the other cheek,” they now follow the judgmental Jesus of the apocalyptical Book of Revelation and mobilize a struggle with Satan to rely on scapegoat ideology.

    3. Derived from a group of Reformed or Calvinist theologians called “Christian Reconstructionists,” and building on Calvin’s theology of the “godly city,” they pursue a broader “dominionist” rationale to take over all of society for Christ. Believing one is living in the end-times means that society must be taken over and cleansed immediately, adding to urgency.



    Read more:
    I went to CPAC as an anthropologist to see how Trump supporters are feeling − for them, a ‘golden age’ has begun

    Believers, drawing on these three beliefs, derive an assurance they speak with God’s voice. This was the case for the Münster Anabaptists, and now similarly, for the NAR. As the example of the Münster Anabaptists suggests, we’ve seen this many times before throughout history, and it doesn’t end well.

    A 1685 engraving by Dutch poet and engraver Jan Luyken depicting the 1571 burning of Anabaptist woman Anneken Hendriks from Thieleman van Braght’s 1660 book ‘The Bloody Theatre or Martyrs Mirror.’
    (Allard Pierson Museum)

    There have been many more recent episodes of Christian groups claiming divine authority to remake society. Like Jan van Leiden, those in the NAR or who concur with its theology have recast the Jesus of the Gospels, and U.S. President Donald Trump, in apocalyptic terms.

    U.S. congresswoman Lauren Boebert, for example, who has been described as a Christian nationalist and is a strong gun advocate, is among those who say God anointed Trump to the presidency.

    This gives a gloss of divine approval for Trump’s autocratic goals. As authoritarianism and Christian nationalism rises, the fusion of charismatic authority with Reformed Protestant certitude and end-times fervour continues to attract followers.

    Gary K. Waite has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Christian nationalism in the U.S. is eerily reminiscent of ‘dominionist’ reformers in history – https://theconversation.com/christian-nationalism-in-the-u-s-is-eerily-reminiscent-of-dominionist-reformers-in-history-250600

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Youth are charting new freshwater futures by learning from the water on the water

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Andrea Reid, Assistant Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia

    The future of freshwater is increasingly in jeopardy across Canada and around the world.

    Lakes, rivers and wetlands face numerous threats, from climate change to a range of harmful pollutants. Today, one-quarter of freshwater fauna are at risk of extinction.

    As climate change and other stressors worsen, ecological grief is increasingly recognized as a legitimate response to the losses of valued species and ecosystems.

    This grief poses a serious threat to mental health and well-being for many, with young people often feeling an outsized burden. While young people have contributed little to these challenges over their lifetimes, they face bearing the brunt of intensifying climate change impacts.

    Similarly, this existential angst is reportedly heightened among marginalized groups. This is often true for Indigenous Peoples, who are frequently the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet yet face higher climate risk or vulnerability to the direct consequences of climate change.

    What we need are adaptive approaches that address this grief and reconnect people with the natural world at this time of profound disconnection. Research about ecological grief points to approaches that centre social support, deep listening and sensitivity, as well as valuing an ethic of care as key elements. This is ultimately about fostering community and interconnectedness in relationships.

    As freshwater scientists, we are committed to contributing toward a better future for fresh waters. This is what led us to create a registered charity, Riparia, where we work to unite these concerns and approaches by facilitating free land-based learning programs for young people, especially Indigenous young women.

    These programs are geared towards facing this climate-uncertain future together and the profound need for improved stewardship of freshwater ecosystems.

    Why land-based learning

    Land-based learning is, by definition, experiential and rooted in local culture and history. It is a mode of education that arises from connecting learners with the land, by spending time on the land, in ways that engage minds, bodies, hearts and spirits.

    This approach has always been at the core of Indigenous learning. While conventional classrooms are often a far cry from these lived experiences, there is growing interest in breaking out of these confines and engaging in active land-based learning across the continent.

    In our time contributing towards land-based learning initiatives over the last decade, we have observed numerous benefits. There’s a saying that numbers numb and stories stick; we find that the voices of youth who participated in land-based learning best convey its meaning and impact.

    Among other benefits, land-based learning has fostered a heightened sense of connection to the land and water, spurred a deep drive to steward and care for these systems and built a community of practice to achieve that. In the words of youth aged 13-18 who participated in Riparia programs between 2019-2024:

    “I could feel my point of view of the world changing. In every way. I felt as though I had become closer to the land.”

    “This experience changed my view on how we should be more active in the environment and protect our water.”

    “Being with these girls reassured me that our environment’s future isn’t something we have to take on alone and it will be much easier if we do it together.”

    Together, our experiences with Riparia and the growing body of literature highlighting beneficial outcomes of land-based learning, tell us that these approaches can play an important role in fostering the community of care required to chart new freshwater futures.

    Learning that centres Indigenous perspectives

    Throughout the history of outdoor education — as an organized approach to learning in western systems — harmful stereotypes have been reproduced and Indigenous knowledge systems have been appropriated.

    How many recall attending youth camps bearing the names of Indigenous Peoples or places? Were they involved in any way? Was there regard for whose land this is?

    How many have participated in journey “wilderness”-based experiences? Many such experiences have often perpetuated western ideas of a “pristine” or “wild” “nature,” free from human influence. This point of view is in line with the doctrines of terra nullius (Latin for “nobody’s land”) and aqua nullius (“nobody’s water”) used to justify European colonization of Indigenous lands and waters.



    Read more:
    Terra nullius has been overturned. Now we must reverse aqua nullius and return water rights to First Nations people

    What we need is learning that recognizes that Indigenous Peoples, languages and cultures are alive and evolve in close relationship with the land.

    We also need learning to be accessible so it can play a foundational role building the community of care that humans and fresh waters now require.

    Little programming — from youth outdoor education through university — is built with Indigenous learners in mind. Few initiatives are offered at no cost to participating youth and their families. Women remain underrepresented in existing outdoor education initiatives because of cultural and social inequalities.

    What we can do

    As scientists supporting youth engagement through Riparia, we join the growing movement to break down these specific barriers to access.

    You can also contribute to this movement by helping connect young people in your life to existing youth engagement programs and offering support through relevant local ways or donations.

    But youth are not the only ones who need connection to land and water. We all deal with eco-grief. We all need water. And we all need to work together to chart new futures. Spending time in and on the water together is an important step in this direction. This video offers an opportunity to dive into what land-based learning with, in, and for fresh waters can look like and feel like.

    As a 15-year-old Kanien’kehá:ka participant in a Riparia 2019 program shared with us: “Water is the most important thing, it’s the thing we all have in common.”

    Dr. Andrea Reid co-directs Riparia from her role as an Assistant Professor at The University of British Columbia. She is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Indigenous Fisheries Science.

    Dr. Dalal Hanna co-directs Riparia from her position as an assistant professor at Carleton University, where she leads the Watershed Stewardship Research Collaborative.

    – ref. Youth are charting new freshwater futures by learning from the water on the water – https://theconversation.com/youth-are-charting-new-freshwater-futures-by-learning-from-the-water-on-the-water-250987

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Canada’s local food system faces major roadblocks without urgent policy changes

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rosie Kerr, Research Associate, Sustainable Food Systems Lab, Lakehead University

    As Canada’s trade conflict with the United States escalates, governments are encouraging Canadians to buy local to support the country’s economic, social and environmental stability and independence.

    But while enthusiasm in purchasing locally made food is growing, actually identifying Canadian products in grocery stores is often confusing. Decades of free trade have deeply integrated Canada’s food supply chains with the U.S., making it difficult to determine what is actually local.



    Read more:
    Trump tariffs have sparked a ‘Buy Canadian’ surge, but keeping the trend alive faces hurdles

    Even for Canadian-owned companies, most food products are enmeshed in global supply chains and often contain a mix of Canadian and foreign ingredients.

    Canada’s beef industry is a striking example of this. Two multinational corporations — American-owned Cargill and Brazilian-owned JBS — process more than 95 per cent of beef produced in Canada. This means that even if some of the food consumers purchase is labelled as Canadian-owned, the economic benefit may be flowing outside the country

    As food systems researchers and practitioners who have explored ways for Canadians to feed themselves in equitable and sustainable ways, it has become clear that local food systems lack the infrastructure and supply to meet increasing demand.

    What’s holding local food systems back?

    In collaboration with Sustain, an Ontario-wide network that promotes healthy, just and sustainable food and farming, we conducted a study to understand the policy priorities of organizations and businesses working to build local food economies in regions across the province.

    Ontario already has a vibrant network of farmers, organizations and food entrepreneurs ready to meet local food demand. However, systemic challenges continue to hinder their ability to scale up production and distribution.

    To better understand how to support Ontario’s food system, we surveyed over 90 organizations working in different food-related sectors.

    Through this research, we developed a series of policy reports focused on supporting aspiring farmers, protecting land for food production and strengthening local food systems.

    Our findings show that regulatory changes to support small- and medium-sized enterprises and key investments could remove barriers and allow local food economies to flourish.

    Smaller farms struggling to survive

    Our study identified several barriers holding back Ontario’s local food economy. The first set of barriers are on the supply side. A strong local food system depends on a strong network of farmers. However, many small- and medium-sized farms that supply local markets face disproportionate barriers that threaten their survival.

    Many current government policies favour large-scale food production, making it difficult for smaller farmers to flourish.

    Compounding the issue is Canada’s looming farm succession crisis. More than 40 per cent of farmers in Canada are expected to retire by 2033, yet many aspiring farmers cannot afford to purchase farms or access start-up capital. When farmers can’t afford land, it’s often sold for non-agriculture uses.

    To tackle these barriers, our study calls for provincially supported low-interest loan programs to finance down-payments, construction and equipment. Strengthening policies to protect farmland from urban sprawl, among other strategies, is also essential, as is expanding access to public land for local, ecological food production.

    Processing, distribution bottlenecks

    The second set of barriers we identified affect the farm-to-plate process. Small- and medium- sized farmers need better access to retail opportunities to sell fresh produce, along with the infrastructure to process raw foods into products like flour, packaged meats, jams, sauces and pickles.

    This is especially evident in Ontario’s meat-processing sector, where a shortage of local abattoirs has led to long wait times.

    To address these issues, our study recommends increased investment in regional food hubs. Food hubs are shared-use facilities that manage the aggregation, processing and distribution of food products from local and regional producers, giving them better access to markets.

    These hubs are essential to meeting the growing demand coming for sustainable, local food from businesses, public institutions and school food programs. But they are only part of the picture.

    We also identified funding opportunities that could bolster local food economies. These include expanding Ontario’s Fair Finance Fund to provide more financing options for regional food enterprises and supporting new abattoirs through the expansion of the Meat Processors Capacity Improvement Initiative.

    A co-ordinated strategy is needed

    Ontario manufacturers, retailers and farmers have all shown a willingness to expand local food production, but they need better support from policymakers to make it viable. There must be policies in place to support local food production and processing, remove key barriers and prioritize much-needed investments.

    Across Canada, other provinces and territories face similar challenges in building strong local food networks. Most of the recommendations we heard are similarly outlined across different regions.

    With consumer interest in local food on the rise, this is a critical moment for governments at all levels to improve avenues for new farmers, invest in processing and storage facilities and build local distribution networks — all essential to building a robust local food system.

    Moe Garahan, a board member of Sustain Ontario, co-authored this article.

    Rosie Kerr receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    Charles Z. Levkoe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

    Leigh Potvin receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Council for Articulation and Transfer, the Government of Nova Scotia, and the University of the Arctic.

    – ref. Canada’s local food system faces major roadblocks without urgent policy changes – https://theconversation.com/canadas-local-food-system-faces-major-roadblocks-without-urgent-policy-changes-251578

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Minister Thomas-Symonds speech at the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Minister Thomas-Symonds speech at the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

    Minister Thomas-Symonds speech at the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

    It really is a pleasure to be here with you all today.

    But I do want to just begin, by joining Maros in wishing all our Irish friends a very happy St Patricks Day. 

    I’d also like to thank the Assembly…

    …especially the Chairs, Sandro and Marsha…

    …for giving Maros and I this opportunity to speak to you all today.

    And it is that idea of opportunity that I want to talk about…

    …because we have a chance to strengthen the strategic alliance between the UK and the EU…

    …and I want to talk about how – by being ruthlessly pragmatic – we can harness this opportunity, for the benefit of the people that we are all elected to serve.  

    Now this is the very first meeting of the reconstituted Assembly…

    … and I know that you are welcoming members, both new and old.

    Since this Government came into power, we have worked tirelessly to change the UK’s approach. 

     In the recent past, we have been too focused on what divides us…

    …and it’s those differences that have too often defined the agenda.

    But I believe these groups and these meetings must be used for our collective good.

    This Assembly was set up under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement…

    …to ensure the voices of parliamentarians – and, in turn, our citizens – can be heard. 

    You’re all serving the interests of the people who voted for you…

    …and we must use every opportunity available to us to build trust…

    …and improve cooperation.

    And all of you here today – through your membership in the Assembly – are essential to that work.

    Now, I have already met members of both delegations – and I am committed to maintaining that engagement.

    The UK and EU’s future will be defined by how we both tackle our shared challenges together.

    We are living through a period of generational challenge…

    …and I know as political leaders – we all feel the scale of this moment. 

    War in Ukraine…

    …people smuggled in treacherous conditions by treacherous criminals…

    …the price of energy and the cost of inflation…

    …achieving growth and prosperity to boost living standards for our citizens… 

    …all of these challenges are exacerbated by a mindset of division.

    They are problems across our continent…

    …and they require a coordinated response.

    Just look at the actions of our Prime Minister this year.

    He was delighted to be a part of the European Leaders retreat last month…

     …where he made the case for greater cooperation between the EU and the UK.

    On 2 March, he hosted European leaders, as well as the NATO Secretary General and the Presidents of the EU Commission, EU Council and indeed welcomed Canada… 

    …for a summit focused on Ukraine.

    The importance of these meetings cannot be overstated.

    They are emblematic of how seriously this Government takes European security.

    And there is no greater imperative to this than supporting Ukraine.

    In the face of Russia’s illegal and barbaric invasion, we must be resilient.

    It is why we recently announced an increase in UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

    We are stepping up, and we know that the EU is stepping up, too.

    It was heartening to see – on the anniversary of the invasion – that the EU reaffirmed its unwavering support.

    And at the European Council meeting earlier this month, where EU leaders agreed a significant increase in defence spending. 

    I know that, together, we are determined to help Ukraine prevail…

    …and rebuild.

    We must keep pushing – together – to find new ways to achieve this.

    At a time of such intense global change, I believe it is vital to recognise what unites the UK and the EU…

    …and understand how our mutual priorities can be realised through teamwork.

    We saw that in action this January…

    …where, on the same day, the UK Chancellor and the President of the European Commission gave speeches about the challenges facing them.

    Both spoke about their desire for growth…

    …both spoke about how their potential had been held back…

    …and both spoke too about the importance of trade openness.

    In fact, both our Prime Minister’s ‘Plan for Change’ and the President’s ‘Competitiveness Compass’ focused on the same priorities…

    …like reducing red tape, improving skills and a more resilient economy.

    The UK government was elected on a mandate to increase our security, keep our citizens safe and to encourage growth.

    Europe is a crucial partner in these priorities…

    …and, indeed, Europe shares those concerns.

    That is why we are living up to the obligations we have in existing Agreements and Frameworks…

    …that is how trust is earned. 

    No more threats to break international law in ‘limited and specific ways’… 

    …and no more undermining of the ECHR.

    So we are respectful of the TCA and the Windsor Framework… 

    …and we want to build on that structure to address emerging challenges and opportunities.

    The Prime Minister has tasked me with leading these discussions with Maros…

    …supported by our new EU Sherpa Micheal Ellam. 

    And I want to thank Maros – not only for the way he has been so constructive in his relationship with me…

    …but for the many years – and no doubt late nights – that he has dedicated to the EU – UK relationship…

    …but also the pragmatism he is known and respected for.  

    And in our discussions I have always been clear about our desire to strengthen our alliance – and I focus on the three priorities I mentioned…

    …on security, safety and prosperity…

    …where I believe there is much benefit to be gained.

    And it’s these priorities I would like to focus on.

    First, security.

    Now, I’ve already spoken about how seriously we’re taking this…

    …and I know that it is a topic you will be discussing later today.

    But it bears repeating: to keep Europe secure, we need to support allies like Ukraine…

    …and work with NATO on security and defence.

    As the Prime Minister said in the UK Parliament recently, we have: 

    “A recognition of the fact that once again, we live in an era where peace in Europe depends upon strength and deterrence.”

    So, we are seeking a broad UK-EU cooperation on security and defence matters…

    …and we’re ready to negotiate a Security and Defence Partnership.

    This has been central to the Prime Minister’s approach with European leaders.

    When he visited the informal European Leaders’ Summit, he discussed what this partnership could include…

    …and what it could address.

    He suggested a focus on R&D…

    …improved military mobility across Europe …

    …greater co-operation on missions and operations…

    …and building on our industrial collaboration.

    Building on that commitment, let me turn to the next pillar: safety.

    I am clear that if we want to protect our respective borders…

    …and keep our citizens safe…

    …then we need to work together.

    The criminals that we all try and combat pay no respect to our borders…

    …whether they’re taking part in the vile global trade in human trafficking…

    …or planning a terrorist attack to push their agenda and terrify our citizens.

    These challenges plague us all…

    …and I believe that it is only through greater cooperation that we can remain safe.

    It’s why we have already increased the UK’s presence at Europol…

    …but I believe we should be going further.

    We need to think of new ways to coordinate our security…

    …and ensure we have the intelligence and skills to combat cross-Europe criminal enterprises.

    And finally, prosperity.

    The European Union is the UK’s biggest trading partner…

    …with trade totalling over £800bn in 2023.

    And while that figure is still impressive, we know it is not as good as it could be.

    A study published last year by Aston University Business School showed that between 2021 and 2023, the goods EU businesses export to the UK were down by 32%…

    …while UK goods exports to the EU were down by 27%.

    What I’m hearing from businesses that I speak to is that this drop is down to them facing more barriers and more costs.

    They’re frustrated, and I can understand why.

    As ‘Businesseurope’ set out in a report this Autumn, and I quote: “There remain many unnecessary barriers to trade and investment. Following the elections of new governments in the EU and UK, there is a clear opportunity to upgrade the relationship to deliver for businesses and citizens.”

    And that is why we want to build on the structures we have – the TCA and the Windsor Framework…

    …to tear down trade barriers and make Brexit work better for the British and European people.

    We have already said that we will seek to negotiate a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement…

    …to help boost trade… 

    and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in both the UK and the EU. 

    Now, all these issues have been at the forefront of our Government’s discussions with the EU.

    In fact, since the UK election, there have been over 70 direct engagements between UK ministers and their EU Counterparts.

    We have agreed to hold regular UK-EU Summits…

    …with the very first one, as Maros has said, being hosted in London on 19th May…

    …which will be a great opportunity to strengthen this work further.

    But ultimately, this is all about building trust…

    …and this Government wants to keep its word…

    …and become a trusted and stable partner.

    Our discussions continue on the full implementation of the TCA and the Withdrawal Agreement …

    …with almost all of our Specialised Committees meeting last year…

    …and there are plans in place to meet again in the coming months.

    The co-chairs continually update each other on their progress…

    …whilst monitoring and reporting on their passage to full and faithful implementation.

    We fully believe in these structures…

    …but we also fully believe in the opportunities to improve the status quo.

    So, ladies and gentlemen, the time for ideologies is over.

    The time for ruthless pragmatism is now.

    And it is the only way we can seek a closer, more cooperative relationship.

    After all, a stronger UK-EU relationship means a stronger Europe.

    This Assembly will be a vital part of that journey…

    …where that mutual interest will be demonstrated and discussed.

    I also know that many of you have deep expertise, insights and passion for this agenda…

    … and I am sure that this forum will be a fantastic way to bring these to bear. 

    I want to thank you for the time you have given me to discuss my work. To say how much that I am looking forward together. 

    This forum, this Assembly is such an important part of hat shared future and what a pleasure it is to discuss this with you today. 

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIH-funded study identifies potential new stroke treatment

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    Media Advisory
    Monday, March 17, 2025

    Preclinical study in rodents suggests that uric acid is ready for human clinical testing.
    What
    In a preclinical study, rodents treated with uric acid showed improved long-term outcomes after acute ischemic stroke. The findings suggest that the treatment may work as an add-on therapy to standard stroke treatments in humans. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in Stroke.
    Led by Enrique Leira, M.D., and Anil Chauhan, Ph.D., at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, researchers used a well-established rodent model of stroke that closely simulates stroke in humans. They administered intravenous uric acid or saline control and monitored animals’ recovery over one month. Behavioral and neurological assessments, including MRI scans, were used to evaluate the treatment’s effects.
    Mice treated with uric acid had better sensorimotor function—the primary outcome measure—30 days after stroke. More animals in the uric acid group also survived their stroke compared to control animals. However, some secondary outcome measures, such as brain damage, were not reduced.
    The research teams used equal numbers of male and female animals and studied older, young, and obese mice, as well as rats with hypertension. Uric acid was efficacious across all groups, suggesting that the treatment could potentially perform well in human trials, including in people with stroke comorbidities.
    Ischemic stroke, a leading cause of disability and death in the United States, occurs when a blood clot or other blockage in an artery cuts off blood supply to the brain. Strokes are treated with medications or surgery aimed to break up clots and restore blood flow to affected brain areas. These therapies are highly effective, but not all people fully recover. Using additional treatments that protect brain tissue from damage, either immediately before or during clot removal, could boost the effects of standard treatments and greatly improve recovery in patients.
    The study was part of the NIH’s Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN), a rigorous, transparent approach to preclinical research that mimics clinical trials. SPAN applies standard clinical practices, like randomization and blinded analysis, to animal studies, with the goal of finding agents that are likely to succeed in clinical trials. Recently, the network tested six promising stroke treatments and found one, uric acid, that showed efficacy. The current study described the results of this trial.
    The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (U01NS113388, U24NS113452) and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (R35HL139926).
    Who
    Walter Koroshetz, M.D., director, NINDS; and Francesca Bosetti, Ph.D. program director, NINDS, are available for interviews. To arrange an interview, please contact: NINDSpressteam@ninds.nih.gov.
    Article
    Patel, R.B., and Kumskova, M., et al. “Uric acid stroke cerebroprotection transcended sex, age, and comorbidities in a multicenter preclinical trial.” Stroke. March 17, 2025. DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.124.048748.
    About the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): NINDS is the nation’s leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.

    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNECE ModernStats World Workshop 2024

    Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

     

    Abstracts and papers for the different topics of this workshop can be found below.

    Background:

    Modern statistical production systems require standardization of the processes, information and architectures that are involved in producing statistics, so that those processes can be automated, and information (including data) can be seamlessly passed between different systems, perhaps using software components that have been developed by another organization for the same purpose.

    The need to do this has never been more pressing, due to the multiplicity of different sources of data, different outputs required, and different technologies that may be used to choreograph all of the required elements required to produce statistics.

    This workshop is organized by the Supporting Standards Group, which maintains a set of standards and models for processes, information, architectures and other activities needed to produce statistics, and supports collaboration activities for their implementation, to provide a foundation for modern production.

    This year’s workshop is focused on the objectives of interoperability, governance, and of transparency, traceability and provenance in production, discussing the role of various models and standards for achieving those objectives. There will also be sessions showcasing the use of models and the future of production.

    Abstracts:

    Title Document
    Information Note 1 pdf
    Information Note 2 pdf
    Timetable pdf
    Title Abstract Paper Slides

    Session: Interoperability using Standards and Models

    		      
    The DDI Cross-Domain Integration (DDI-CDI) Specification: Overview and Implementations, CODATA and DDI pdf   pdf
    The statistical production LEGO set: using standard models and tools to build metadata-driven pipelines at StatCan, Statistics Canada pdf   pdf
    Using standards to develop a system for coherent metadata for production and dissemination in Denmark, Statistics Denmark pdf   pdf
    Enhancing Interoperability and Transparency through Linked Open Data Standards: Lessons Learned from the ESS LOD Community of Practice, Eurostat pdf   pdf

    Session: Transparency, traceability and provenance

    		      
    From micro to macro data: ModernStats models for the conceptual modelling of statistical metadata in an interoperability perspective, Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) pdf   ppsx
    Unlocking data transparency: how improved metadata empowers IMF data users., International Monetary Fund pdf   pdf
    Describing and Querying Data Transformation Scripts: SDTL and SDTH, University of Michigan pdf   pdf

    Session: Governance

    		      
    Streamlining statistical and data production, Statistics Finland pdf   pdf
    The designed governance for a central metadata system, Istat pdf pdf pdf
    A reference framework for structural metadata governance, OECD pdf   pdf
    Simplifying the Reuse of Concepts Across Organisations, Federal Statistical Office (FSO) pdf   pdf

    Session: Using ModernStats models

    		      
    Tau-Argus: Lessons learned of sharing an IT-tool in Official Statistics, Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) pdf   pdf
    Applying GSBPM to processes based on new data sources, Istat pdf   pdf
    Using standards to direct the flow of data: Modernizing production processes at Statistics Iceland, Statistics Iceland pdf   pdf
    Adopting GSBPM in a national statistical institute, Statistics Denmark pdf   pdf
    Modeling of Business Process Activities and Data: GSBPM, GSIM, and BPMN, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, México) pdf   pdf

    Session: Modern production in 2025 and beyond

    		      
    Incorporating AI into statistical standards: Enhancing GSBPM with (generative) AI, Statistics Finland pdf pdf pdf
    Modernizing the BIS Data Bank: A Metadata-Driven Approach to Statistical Business Processes and SDMX Integration, Bank for International Settlements pdf   pdf
    A dataset catalogue as a tool for automated and metadata driven statistical production, Statistics Sweden          pdf pdf pdf
    Modernization and agility powered by Communities of Practice, Statistics Netherlands pdf   pdf
    Capabilities and Metadata Standards, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pdf   pdf
    Tools For Automating Metadata-Driven Processes In Statistics Poland, Statistics Poland pdf   pdf

    Other presentations

    		      

    Updates on the activities and plans of the Supporting Standards Group, Flavio Rizzolo, chair of SSG

    		   pdf pdf

    Update on the HLG Open-Source project, Carlo Vaccari, Project Manager

    		     pdf
    Soapbox presentation on Units of Measurement, OECD     pdf

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Saskatchewan Extends 4R Nutrient Stewardship Agreement with Fertilizer Canada

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 17, 2025

    The Government of Saskatchewan has renewed its ongoing collaboration with Fertilizer Canada to support education, training and expansion regarding 4R Nutrient Stewardship in the province through the signing of a new three-year Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC).

    Extending the joint effort based on previous agreements, the Ministry of Agriculture will work with Fertilizer Canada to continue advancing the implementation of 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Saskatchewan. This approach to crop nutrient management and environmental stewardship follows the four “Rs” of fertilizer use: Right Source @ Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place.

    “Healthy soil means healthy crops, and that is part of the reason Saskatchewan enjoys a reputation as a major global producer of quality agri-food products,” Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison said. “The 4R approach is fundamental to a responsible, sustainable agriculture industry driven by producers who set the bar for best practices, and we are very pleased to continue working with Fertilizer Canada to enhance 4R Nutrient Stewardship in our province.”

    “Saskatchewan is a cornerstone of Canadian agriculture, demonstrating industry leadership through its commitment to responsible nutrient management and science-based farming practices,” Fertilizer Canada Interim President and CEO Catherine King said. “With 40 per cent of Canada’s cropland, the province is a key driver of the national economy. The Government of Saskatchewan’s commitment to the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework reflects its dedication to balancing environmental responsibility with economic growth in agriculture, strengthening Canada’s global competitiveness. Fertilizer Canada values this strong partnership and the province’s ongoing efforts to promote best practices on the farm, ensuring the long-term success of the agricultural sector.”

    Areas of collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and Fertilizer Canada outlined in the new agreement focus on progress toward achieving shared objectives, including data and information sharing and knowledge transfer activities. The ministry has promoted 4R practices to a broad audience of producers and industry through events such as the Crop Diagnostic School and the Agronomy Research Update, as well as publications, webinars and research and demonstration initiatives. The percentage of agricultural land in Saskatchewan under a 4R stewardship plan has experienced steady growth, increasing by over 20 per cent from 2022 to 2023.

    Pursuant to the agreement, the ministry and Fertilizer Canada have co-chair roles on the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Steering Committee, which includes representation from industry partners – the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers, Canola Council of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Prairie Certified Crop Adviser Board, and Agriculture-Applied Research Management (Agri-ARM) sites -and the University of Saskatchewan.

    More information on 4R Nutrient Stewardship and sustainable farming practices in Saskatchewan is available at https://fertilizercanada.ca/our-focus/stewardship/4rs-across-canada/saskatchewan/. 

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIH-sponsored trial of Lassa vaccine opens

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    News Release
    Monday, March 17, 2025

    Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease that can be fatal and that causes permanent hearing loss.

    A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored clinical trial of a candidate vaccine to prevent Lassa fever has begun enrolling participants at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore. Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease that can be fatal and that causes permanent hearing loss in up to one-third of those who contract it. Lassa virus is spread by rodents, known as multimammate rats, that are native to many countries in West Africa. The virus can also be spread from person to person. Currently, there are no specific drug treatments or vaccines for Lassa fever. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is sponsoring the Phase 1 trial.
    “The candidate vaccine being tested in this trial was developed by an NIH-supported research team at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia,” said NIAID Director Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H. “The progression of this candidate from the lab to a first-in-humans clinical trial is a promising step towards a vaccine to prevent Lassa fever.”  
    The trial will enroll up to 55 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 50 years to test the safety and immunogenicity of three different concentrations of the vaccine candidate. Participants will receive two injections, delivered 28 days apart, of either the vaccine candidate or a Food and Drug Administration-licensed rabies vaccine (control).
    In research published in 2024, Matthias Schnell, Ph.D., and colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University tested the experimental vaccine, known as LASSARAB, in nonhuman primates. They found that two doses of the vaccine, delivered 28 days apart, protected all the immunized animals that were exposed to large and lethal amounts of Lassa virus six weeks after the second inoculation.
    LASSARAB is based on a weakened (attenuated) rabies vaccine that is subsequently inactivated to make the vaccine candidate. The experimental vaccine is then modified so that it expresses all the rabies proteins found in inactivated rabies vaccine along with a Lassa virus surface protein called the glycoprotein precursor complex (GPC). If LASSARAB is shown to be safe and elicits a good immune response to both the rabies proteins and the Lassa GPC, it could be used to prevent both diseases pending further testing in clinical trials and subsequent approval by the FDA.
    Additional information about the new clinical trial is available at clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier NCT06546709.
    NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: KVN League of the State University of Management is looking for organizers

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    KVN is not only writing jokes and performing on stage, it is also a lot of organizational work, allowing you to gain unique management experience in an intensive mode. The KVN League of the State University of Management allows you to give such experience in a specialized university.

    If you love KVN and want to become part of one of the best university leagues in Moscow, you can join the creative team of the First Management League.

    Who we are looking for: – Organizers – if you want to learn how to plan and coordinate events, we are definitely on the same page! – SMM specialists – if you know how to attract attention on social networks and make our events bright and memorable, we will be glad to see you. – Partner managers – if you have a desire to interact with partners and find a common language with different people, then we are ready to be friends and work with you.

    We offer: — Invaluable experience: organizing interregional and all-Russian events, as well as the opportunity to create a portfolio — a great start for a future career. — Training and development: we will teach you everything you need to work successfully both in KVN and in other areas. You will be able to implement your ideas based on real projects. — The opportunity to undergo educational practice: if you want, we can provide you with tasks specifically in your specialty so that you can undergo practice with us in the League.

    Join our team to create unforgettable moments for spectators and participants!

    If you are ready for new challenges and want to learn more, fill out the form here: http://ligakvnguusearch.tilda.ws/

    Let’s make KVN at GUU even better!

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 03/17/2025

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Important information for out-of-town participants of the final stage of the SPbGASU School Olympiad in Architecture in the 2024/2025 academic year!

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –

    We remind you that SPbGASU provides accommodation for the period of participation in the final stage to out-of-town participants and their parents (legal representatives).

    The check-in will take place at the Interuniversity Student City (MSC), located at the following address: Saint Petersburg, Basseynaya St., Building 8 (entrance from Varshavskaya St., checkpoint No. 1). The nearest metro stations are: Park Pobedy, Elektrosila.

    Move-in to the MSG is possible from March 21 to April 1, 2025.

    The working hours of the MSG check-in point are: Monday – Friday, from 09:00 to 18:00.

    Out-of-town participants temporarily staying at the MSG, including a parent (legal representative), must have the following with them at the time of registration:

    passport (birth certificate) of the participant and its copy; passport of the legal representative (birth certificate confirming legal representation) and its copy.

    Cost of living in a hostel per day: 750 rubles for Olympiad participants, 1100 rubles for a parent (legal representative).

    No more than one legal representative is allowed to accompany one participant.

    The number of places is limited!

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: King, Collins Praise Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Combat Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and member of SSCI and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today lauded the passage of bipartisan legislation that would crack down on illegal fentanyl trafficking. The Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances (FRS) — any substance that is structurally related to fentanyl by one or more listed modifications — as Schedule I controlled drugs. These drugs have no current accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse.
    A permanent scheduling classification of FRS is required to make penalties for drug-related crimes clear and enforceable under the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The legislation would also streamline the process for scientists seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to research those substances. The bill passed the Senate in a 84-16 vote.
    “Opioids like fentanyl have devastated families and communities across Maine and the country for far too long,” said Senator King. “As we continue working to combat the fentanyl and overdose crisis, commonsense bills like the HALT Fentanyl Act will pave a the way toward a safer tomorrow. I am thankful to my colleagues for putting partisanship aside and recommitting to keeping our families out of harm’s way.”
    “The fentanyl epidemic has devastated lives and wreaked havoc on communities all over the United States, including here in Maine,” said Senator Collins. “This bipartisan legislation will permanently classify fentanyl analogues as a Schedule I substance, ensuring law enforcement always has the tools they need to combat the scourge of fentanyl and hold cartels accountable.”  
    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there were 107,543 overdose deaths in the United States in 2023. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances accounted for nearly 75,000 of those deaths. Since 1999, the overdose crisis has increasingly been characterized by deaths involving these illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids, which are commonly sold through illicit drug markets for their fentanyl-like effect, and are often mixed with heroin or other drugs, such as cocaine, or pressed in to counterfeit prescription pills. The New England Journal of Medicine estimated that 22 teenagers died of overdoses each week in 2022.
    Since 2013, Maine has experienced tragically significant growth in total deaths from fentanyl-related overdoses. In 2021, 77% of all drug overdoses in Maine were due to fentanyl. The University of Maine estimates fentanyl to be 25 times more potent than oxycodone and 50-100 times more potent than heroin.
    However, there have recently been positive downward trends for overdose deaths in Maine and nationwide. Overall, the CDC found that drug overdose deaths in the United States decreased by three percent in 2023, the first annual decrease since 2018. Drug overdose deaths in Maine decreased by nearly 16% over this same period; this was the first year-over-year reduction in fatalities since 2018. Provisional data from the CDC also shows that overdose deaths for last year decreased 25% nationwide and 24% in Maine.
    As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Select Senate Committee on Intelligence, Senator King has previously supported legislation to combat illicit drug use and decrease overdoses. He is a cosponsor of the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act, bipartisan legislation that is designed to stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders. Senator King also cosponsored the INTERDICT Act, bipartisan legislation to help halt the flow of illicit fentanyl from Mexico, China and other nations around the world into the United States. During an open hearing of the Select Senate Intelligence Committee last year, Senator King pressed Avril Haines, the former Director of National Intelligence and Christopher Wray, the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), about what the intelligence community is doing to halt the flow of illicit drugs — including fentanyl — from Mexico, China and other nations into the United States.
    Senator Collins has also been working to combat the fentanyl epidemic for years. Senator Collins is a cosponsor of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act , which was signed into law last year. This bill disrupts the flow of fentanyl into the United States, including by requiring the President to sanction criminal organizations and drug cartels involved in trafficking fentanyl and its precursors. Last Congress, she also introduced the Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy Importers, and Netting Gains (FIGHTING) for America Act to crack down on fentanyl smuggling.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: University of Arizona Student Shares Educational and Career Updates After Receiving SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The SBB Research Group Foundation is proud to announce the continued success of Emerald Bell after receiving the STEM Scholarship in 2024. The $2,500 award empowers students to create value for society by pursuing higher learning through interdisciplinary combinations of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

    Emerald Bell received the SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship during her fourth year at the University of Arizona to pursue a graduate degree in nursing.

    Since receiving the scholarship, Bell won her university’s Outstanding PhD Dissertation Award at her graduation. She continues to work in the Herbst-Kralovetz lab and plans to publish the findings from her dissertation.

    “Emerald is an incredible student, and we are so happy to hear that she has finished her program and was recognized for her dissertation. We wish her the best in her career,” said Matt Aven, co-founder and board member of the SBB Research Group Foundation.

    The SBB Research Group Foundation is honored to have played a role in Bell’s success. We look forward to continuing to support outstanding students in STEM and helping them achieve their full potential.

    For eligibility criteria and more information on the Foundation’s STEM scholarship, please visit http://www.sbbscholarship.org.

    About the SBB Research Group Foundation

    The SBB Research Group Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that furthers the philanthropic mission of SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), a Chicago-based investment management firm led by Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven. The Foundation sponsors the SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship, supporting students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. In addition to its scholarship program, the Foundation provides grants to support ambitious organizations solving unmet needs with thoughtful, long-term strategies

    Contact: Erin Noonan
    Organization: SBB Research Group Foundation
    Email: scholarship@sbbrg.org
    Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062 United States
    Phone: 1-847-656-1111
    Website: https://www.sbbscholarship.com/

    The MIL Network –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: SPbGASU named the winning team of the qualifying round of the International Engineering Championship “CASE-IN”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Team “C-Key” (Ekaterina Buryak, Alexandra Leonova, Elizaveta Petrova, Alexey Khimichev, Sofia Tarkhanova, Denis Lebedev, Alexander Katsyuba) and Kirill Pivovarov

    The results of the selection round of the student league of the International Engineering Championship “CASE-IN” in the direction of “Architecture, design, construction and housing and public utilities” were summed up at SPbGASU. The defense of case solutions and the award ceremony for the winners took place on March 12.

    CASE-IN was created 13 years ago to promote engineering and technical education and to train future highly qualified specialists. The organizers of the championship are the Nadezhnaya Smena Foundation, the Youth Forum of Mining Leaders Non-Commercial Partnership, AstraLogika LLC, and the presidential platform Russia – the Land of Opportunities. The championship is included in the Science of Winning initiative of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia.

    According to Marina Malyutina, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy, SPbGASU has been participating in CASE-IN since 2019. According to Marina Viktorovna, this is a fundamental and important decision for an engineering university. Students show good results, the number of those wishing to participate is growing year after year. In the future, they are offered practice, internship, and employment. Previously, the university participated in the “Engineering Design” competency, and the tasks were not entirely specialized. Now, thanks to the Metropolis company, SPbGASU students have the opportunity to apply the specialized knowledge they receive at the university.

    Artem Korolev, director of the Nadezhnaya Smena charity foundation and founder of the CASE-IN International Engineering Championship, shared his plans for the 13th season in a video message: this year, there will be school, student, and special leagues. 280 schools are expected to participate in the school league. More than 220 universities are expected in the student league, 80 of which will host the in-person selection round. A total of 18,500 participants are expected – schoolchildren, students, young professionals, experts, mentors, and curators. The theme of the 13th season is Technological Innovations.

    The first deputy general director of the autonomous non-profit organization “Russia – Land of Opportunities” Gennady Guryanov spoke about the successes of the project in a video message: during its existence, the project has united more than 120 thousand schoolchildren, students and young professionals from Russia and neighboring countries. Since 2019, together with the presidential platform “Russia – Land of Opportunities”, the project provides young people with opportunities for personal, professional and career growth.

    Eight teams spent 21 days solving a case from Metropolis, the initiator of the direction and strategic partner of the championship. Each team brought together students from different directions. Under the guidance of mentors, future architects, builders, and designers developed a hotel and tourist complex in a natural area. The results of their work were assessed by an expert commission, which included representatives of Metropolis and SPbGASU.

    The architectural and design solutions, power supply systems, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, general requirements (technology, fire safety, energy efficiency, automation systems) were assessed. The speakers’ fluency in professional terminology, their ability to express and justify their opinions, the clarity and understandability of the slide structure, the logicality of their answers to questions, etc. were also taken into account. After the defenses, the experts provided targeted feedback to the teams assigned to them: they highlighted strengths and growth areas, provided comments and advice on improving the solution.

    Andrey Surovenkov and Olga Bochkareva

    Olga Bochkareva, a member of the expert committee, deputy dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management for academic work, associate professor of the Department of Construction Management, believes that the championship gave students the opportunity to “pump up” their knowledge in practice, to feel that the entire project depends on the joint work. In addition, the competition showed that students of technical specialties need to learn to speak: “Whatever profession students are studying – builder, designer, architect – it is important to be able to “sell” their project. In the modern world, there is no way around it!”

    Andrey Surovenkov, a member of the expert committee and head of the architectural design department, believes that the benefit of the championship is that students from different specialties, who most likely did not know each other before, unite into a team. For the curators, this is also a useful experience – they had to set the vector for creating a good project.

    Participants of the selection round. Ahead is the expert committee: chief architect of the project OOO Metropolis Alexey Bondarenko, Kirill Pivovarov, chief specialist of the design solutions department Alina Sitova, senior lecturer of the department of heat and gas supply and ventilation of SPbGASU Sergey Kashnikov, deputy director of the educational center of digital competencies of SPbGASU Denis Nizhegorodtsev, associate professor of the department of water use and ecology of SPbGASU Alexander Podporin

    Kirill Pivovarov, Chairman of the Expert Commission and Head of the Metropolis Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Department Group, is confident that for the company, the championship is, first and foremost, about attracting new employees. Moreover, employers have the opportunity to evaluate their abilities without an interview or probationary period. For students, this is an opportunity to create. When compiling the assignment, the company was guided by the students’ current capabilities and, at the same time, sought to bring the tasks closer to reality.

    “This is a great experience for the guys in terms of applying their skills in practice. The theory they study at the university is superimposed on a real project here, and this will help them in their future work. Many students are great: they have quite serious projects at the level of practicing designers. I would rate the overall level of work as very high,” said member of the expert commission, senior lecturer of the Department of Heat and Gas Supply and Ventilation Sergey Kashnikov.

    “I regularly participate in assessing student work at a variety of competitions – both within our university and at other venues. I would like to note that it is precisely such competitions that develop students’ extremely important skills of independent work, including as part of project teams. And it is especially pleasant to see that the level of students’ work is growing from year to year,” said Denis Nizhegorodtsev, a member of the expert commission and deputy director of the Educational Center for Digital Competencies.

    Third place went to the YeezyBIM team (mentor – associate professor of the Department of Heat and Gas Supply and Ventilation Viktor Yakovlev). It included Alina Kizchenko (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, leader/BIM coordinator), Arina Tereshchenko (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Architecture, architect), Olga Gavrichenkova (third-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, water use and sanitation engineer), Anna Yarullina (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, design engineer of internal electrical equipment and lighting), Yaroslav Perevalov (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, designer), Polina Orlova (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, heating and ventilation engineer).

    The second place was won by the team “Bim Bam Boom” (mentor – assistant of the Department of Design of Architectural Environment Dmitry Fleisher). The team consists of Emilia Sukhareva (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Architecture, leader/architect), Kirill Besedin (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, designer), Daniil Goncharenko (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, heating and ventilation engineer), Mikhail Danilchenko (third-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, designer), Kirill Ivanov (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, BIM coordinator), Sergey Sergeev (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, power supply engineer), Dmitry Sidorchuk (fourth-year bachelor’s degree student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Urban Management, water supply and sanitation engineer).

    “The team decided to implement the current principle of nature-likeness as the most suitable for the given topic. It implies minimizing the impact on the environment and using natural factors for the functioning of the facility. The team worked under the leadership of captain Emilia Sukhareva, a talented student studying at the Department of DAS. Kirill Besedin is the most experienced and proactive member of the team. Daniil Goncharenko, having project experience, successfully implemented the general concept of ventilation and heating. Dmitry Sidorchuk, having extensive experience in participating in competitions of this kind, managed to provide the facility with water supply and sewerage networks. Sergey Sergeev, also an experienced team member, was engaged in the design of power supply networks and showed an excellent result. Mikhail Danilchenko gained his first experience of participating in a team on this project, but he coped with the tasks set by the KR very well. Kirill Ivanov provided BIM technologies throughout the project and in all its areas. Well done!” – summed up Dmitry Fleisher.

    The first place was awarded to the “C-Key” team (mentor – Deputy Dean for Career Guidance, Associate Professor of the Department of Technosphere Safety Alexander Glukhanov). It included Ekaterina Buryak (third-year specialist student of the Faculty of Construction, chief project engineer), Alexandra Leonova (third-year specialist student of the Faculty of Construction, BIM coordinator), Elizaveta Petrova (third-year undergraduate student of the Faculty of Architecture, architect), Sofia Tarkhanova (third-year specialist student of the Faculty of Construction, designer), Denis Lebedev (third-year specialist student of the Faculty of Construction, designer), Alexey Khimichev (third-year undergraduate student of the Faculty of Architecture, architect), Alexander Katsyuba (third-year undergraduate student of the Faculty of Engineering Ecology and Urban Economy, specialist in engineering networks).

    “It was difficult. But we approached the solution comprehensively, followed all the requirements of the technical specifications and achieved the result!” – Ekaterina Buryak is sure.

    “This is the first experience of such live interaction with the subject area. I worked with guys from other specialties, it was very interesting. I learned some programs all over again, I learned a lot of new things in these three weeks. The experience is colossal!” – shared Alexander Katsyuba.

    “We developed the architectural solutions section together with Elizaveta Petrova. And we want to say that this project was very interesting for us from the point of view of interaction between specialists in related fields. It was interesting to track how architectural issues are connected with issues of utility networks, design solutions, how all issues are resolved in the design system,” said Alexey Khimchev.

    The mentor of the winners, Alexander Glukhanov, gave his comment: “The team developed a concept for the development of a tourist cluster on the Black Sea coast. The students created a detailed description of the construction project, took into account the features of the area, the needs of tourists, and the possibilities of using the infrastructure. They created a harmonious arrangement of the park area located in the heart of the territory, the active recreation area and the entrance area, integrated recreation areas and other functional components of the complex. Special attention was paid to the optimal combination of space-planning solutions: they took into account functional, sanitary and hygienic and fire safety requirements.”

    The champions and prize winners of the Architecture, Design, Construction and Housing and Utilities category will be invited to an internship at Metropolis with the prospect of further employment. The winning team will take part in the final competition, which will be held in Moscow at the end of May. We wish them good luck!

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Washington Post’s turnaround on its opinion pages is returning journalism to its partisan roots − but without the principles

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joseph Jones, Assistant Professor of Media Ethics and Law at Reed College of Media, West Virginia University

    Owner Jeff Bezos has made big changes to The Washington Post’s editorial pages. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Jeff Bezos, the world’s third-richest person and owner of The Washington Post, announced in February 2025 significant changes to the editorial pages of his Pulitzer-Prize winning newspaper.

    The editorial section, also called the opinion section, is where editors and contributors with a deep and broad understanding of the latest news offer their analysis of the day’s issues. This content is distinct from the fact-based news reporting of the outlet’s everyday journalists.

    Both kinds of content serve the public interest. Journalists report news to inform the public, while editors and opinion writers analyze and explain news, putting facts into a larger context to aid understanding.

    At the Post, instead of news editors making independent decisions on what to write and the perspectives they should take, Bezos tweeted, “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”

    Opinion and analysis in the Post was thus going to limit itself to one particular viewpoint.

    As a journalism historian, I analyze how journalism has changed over time. Over the years, the purpose, practices and forms of journalism have evolved.

    Bezos’ decision harks back to an earlier time when editors and owners were the same person, and newspapers offered a specific interpretation of the world, not just a neutral report.

    Informed opinions and analysis

    While editorial writers and opinion columnists offer their opinions, these views are still expected to be grounded in journalistic principles, building from verifiable facts and comprehensively considering context to offer well-reasoned analysis.

    Many of today’s news editors and journalists stake their professional reputations on their obligation to truth, independent of special interests or particular ideologies. They pride themselves on reporting and explaining the news without fear or favor.

    After Bezos’ announcement, editorial page editor and veteran journalist David Shipley resigned from his position. Shipley told his staff he was stepping down “after reflection on how I can best move forward in the profession that I love.”

    Journalists and media critics from across the political spectrum read Bezos’ editorial policy change as going against the tradition of a paper that long prided itself on editorial independence in the name of public service. Historically, the newspaper’s opinion section offered a range of views on a variety of issues.

    Limiting the newspaper’s opinion section to a single viewpoint, critics argue, doesn’t seem to align with the Post’s slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” as it stifles public discussion and purposefully turns off some of the lights.

    Former Washington Post editor Marty Baron told the Guardian, “If you’re trying to advance the cause of democracy, then you allow for public debate, which is what democracy is all about.”

    Putting all of this in historical context can help illuminate Bezos’ decision as well as the current state of American media.

    A facsimile of a 1765 edition of The Pennsylvania Journal, focused on The Stamp Act, in which the British government imposed direct taxation upon the American Colonies.
    The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images

    Opinionated early American journalism

    At the nation’s founding, the very first newspapers were highly partisan, supporting and receiving much of their funding from particular political parties and government subsidies. Newspapers were small operations where editors, owners, writers and typesetters were usually all the same person.

    As the country and its political direction were just forming, these editor-owners felt a public obligation and duty to stake out a clear political position. There were no standards of journalistic neutrality; editor-owners framed news reports, wrote columns and published other people’s opinions based on their own particular viewpoints.

    Editors wrote passionately, using language that suggested the fate of the nation was at stake. They were also principled and willing to criticize their own parties if they thought it warranted. And because they were transparent about their views, readers responded by gravitating to their preferred newspapers. Consequently, the number of newspapers in the U.S. increased from 35 in 1783 to 1,200 by 1833. Historians have thus argued that the early United States was a “nation of newspaper readers.”

    Unlike modern notions of journalistic impartiality, if a newspaper didn’t support a political party or remained neutral, it was dismissed by readers as either lacking morals or being too stupid to form an opinion.

    As newspapers of the early republic developed from reporting recycled news from other sources to guiding public discussion, the editorial thus emerged as a short opinion essay separate from reports on local speeches or foreign news.

    Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post.
    Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    Fact-based journalism and informed analysis

    For various reasons, the partisan press gave way to a journalism that attempted wider appeal. By 1900, many news outlets aimed for impartiality and neutrality.

    By the 1920s, most journalists embraced the ideals of objectivity, the notion that journalists should only report facts.

    Interestingly, this led to a growth in editorials, opinion columns and news analysis.

    Opinion columns written by journalists provided interpretive frameworks for readers to understand the meaning of news events. One such journalist-commentator was Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), a political analyst who wrote a number of influential columns, including a piece infamously viewed as a catalyst for Japanese internment during World War II.

    Such content provided journalists a means to show their independence from the powerful. Journalists could commit themselves to truth and verifiable facts while still asserting their independent role to contextualize news, explain its implications and guide the conversations necessary for democracy.

    Research has shown that such opinion-based news content can influence what citizens and media outlets prioritize as important, as well as how policymakers approach certain issues.

    Today, especially with the increase in partisan television, radio and internet outlets, there is no shortage of opinion-based news and analysis.

    As long as people stay empathetic and open to others with different experiences, this is not inherently bad for democracy. Problems arise, however, when opinionated news outweighs fact-based reporting and people begin to mistrust all reporting they do not agree with, a psychological phenomenon known as confirmation bias.

    In today’s digital world, everyone can broadcast or publish their opinion, whereas fact-based reporting takes time and resources. While news analysis and thoughtful opinion can generate important social conversations and help citizens understand news, too much opinion that isn’t grounded in facts can also lead to a general atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion. This spells trouble for the good-faith understanding, open dialogue and mutual trust so vital to democracy.

    Profiting from polarization

    Polling data suggests Americans are more divided than ever.

    Perhaps Washington Post owner Bezos is simply responding to the public’s documented preference for partisanship over truth or to the profitability of partisan news.

    But as a matter of context, there is a difference between the principled partisans of the early republic, the professional analysts of the 20th century, and an owner who demands his media outlet’s opinions should be limited to his preferences.

    When he purchased The Washington Post in 2013, Bezos said the newspaper would not change and that “the paper’s duty will remain to its reader and not to the private interests of its owners.”

    In this latest move, he has signaled that his private interest is a priority, at least for the editorial section. This limits the perspectives the Post-reading public can encounter and restricts the free marketplace of ideas. So when a Post journalist of 40 years wrote a column opposing Bezos’ editorial decision, her bosses refused to publish it.

    Apparently, light criticism was not a “personal liberty” afforded a longtime employee. With her beloved employer not even willing to discuss the column – discussion being the cornerstone of deliberative democracy – the veteran journalist resigned.

    In the current media environment, organizations and people who don’t participate in news production or share its values can purchase journalistic outlets and alter their standards and practices. As a result, principled journalists may decide to leave rather than compromise their mission of public service.

    Ultimately, Bezos is being transparent. It is thus up to the American people to decide on the kind of journalism and pursuit of truth they desire. It’s worth noting that tens of thousands of canceled subscriptions have already begun to make that decision clear.

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

    – ref. Washington Post’s turnaround on its opinion pages is returning journalism to its partisan roots − but without the principles – https://theconversation.com/washington-posts-turnaround-on-its-opinion-pages-is-returning-journalism-to-its-partisan-roots-but-without-the-principles-251189

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: You’ve heard of the Big Bang. Now astronomers have discovered the Big Wheel – here’s why it’s significant

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Themiya Nanayakkara, Lead Astronomer at the James Webb Australian Data Centre, Swinburne University of Technology

    The Big Wheel alongside some of its neighbours. Weichen Wang et al. (2025)

    Deep observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed an exceptionally large galaxy in the early universe. It’s a cosmic giant whose light has travelled over 12 billion years to reach us. We’ve dubbed it the Big Wheel, with our findings published today in Nature Astronomy.

    This giant disk galaxy existed within the first two billion years after the Big Bang, meaning it formed when the universe was just 15% of its current age. It challenges what we know about how galaxies form.

    What is a disk galaxy?

    Picture a galaxy like our own Milky Way: a flat, rotating structure made up of stars, gas and dust, often surrounded by an extensive halo of unseen dark matter.

    Disk galaxies typically have clear spiral arms extending outward from a dense central region. Our Milky Way itself is a disk galaxy, characterised by beautiful spiral arms that wrap around its centre.

    An artist impression of the Milky Way showcasing the dusty spiral structures similar to The Big Wheel.

    Studying disk galaxies, like the Milky Way and the newly discovered Big Wheel, helps us uncover how galaxies form, grow and evolve across billions of years.

    These studies are especially significant, as understanding galaxies similar to our own can provide deeper insights into the cosmic history of our galactic home.

    A giant surprise

    We previously thought galaxy disks form gradually over a long period: either through gas smoothly flowing into galaxies from surrounding space, or by merging with smaller galaxies.

    Usually, rapid mergers between galaxies would disrupt the delicate spiral structures, turning them into more chaotic shapes. However, the Big Wheel managed to quickly grow to a surprisingly large size without losing its distinctive spiral form. This challenges long-held ideas about the growth of giant galaxies.

    Our detailed JWST observations show that the Big Wheel is comparable in size and rotational speed to the largest “super-spiral” galaxies in today’s universe. It is three times as big in size as comparable galaxies at that epoch and is one of the most massive galaxies observed in the early cosmos.

    In fact, its rotation speed places it among galaxies at the high end of what’s called the Tully-Fisher relation, a well-known link between a galaxy’s stellar mass and how fast it spins.

    Remarkably, even though it’s unusually large, the Big Wheel is actively growing at a rate similar to other galaxies at the same cosmic age.

    The Big Wheel galaxy is seen at the centre. In striking contrast, the bright blue galaxy (upper right) is only about 1.5 billion light years away, making the Big Wheel roughly 50 times farther away. Although both appear a similar size, the enormous distance of the Big Wheel reveals its truly colossal physical scale.
    JWST

    Unusually crowded part of space

    What makes this even more fascinating is the environment in which the Big Wheel formed.

    It’s located in an unusually crowded region of space, where galaxies are packed closely together, ten times denser than typical areas of the universe. This dense environment likely provided ideal conditions for the galaxy to grow quickly. It probably experienced mergers that were gentle enough to let the galaxy maintain its spiral disk shape.

    Additionally, the gas flowing into the galaxy must have aligned well with its rotation, allowing the disk to grow quickly without being disrupted. So, a perfect combination.

    An illustration of how a massive spiral galaxy forms and evolves over billions of years. This evolutionary path is similar to real-world galaxies like Andromeda, our closest spiral galaxy neighbour, which also developed distinct spiral arms similar to the Big Wheel.

    A fortunate finding

    Discovering a galaxy like the Big Wheel was incredibly unlikely. We had less than a 2% chance to find this in our survey, according to current galaxy formation models.

    So, our finding was fortunate, probably because we observed it within an exceptionally dense region, quite different from typical cosmic environments.

    Besides its mysterious formation, the ultimate fate of the Big Wheel is another intriguing question. Given the dense environment, future mergers might significantly alter its structure, potentially transforming it into a galaxy comparable in mass to the largest ones observed in nearby clusters, such as Virgo.

    The Big Wheel’s discovery has revealed yet another mystery of the early universe, showing that our current models of galaxy evolution still need refinement.

    With more observations and discoveries of massive, early galaxies like the Big Wheel, astronomers will be able to unlock more secrets about how the universe built the structures we see today.



    Read more:
    From dead galaxies to mysterious red dots, here’s what the James Webb telescope has found in just 3 years

    Themiya Nanayakkara receives funding from Australian Research Council.

    – ref. You’ve heard of the Big Bang. Now astronomers have discovered the Big Wheel – here’s why it’s significant – https://theconversation.com/youve-heard-of-the-big-bang-now-astronomers-have-discovered-the-big-wheel-heres-why-its-significant-252170

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: HSE student wins gold medal at All-Russian karate competition

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    The All-Russian Karate Competition was held in Odintsovo, Moscow Region, bringing together more than 2,000 participants from 42 regions of the country. A second-year student of the OP “Business management” Higher School of Business HSE Dmitry Konyaev became the winner in the category 18-20 years old, weight up to 65 kg. He managed to get ahead of several dozen athletes representing leading clubs from different regions.

    The tournament in Odintsovo is considered one of the most prestigious in karate and attracts the strongest athletes from all over Russia. For many participants, this is an important moment in their sports career, which opens the door to new opportunities and achievements.

    “The tournament was quite difficult, especially in comparison with last year,” comments Dmitry Konyaev. “There were no easy opponents at all, I had to get to work from the first fight. The goal was achieved – I met the standard for the title of candidate for master of sports, now we are collecting documents and will wait for the order to assign it.”

    The HSE student has been practicing karate since he was six years old: his parents took him to the section closest to his home, and soon he began winning competitions.

    “I am very grateful to fate for such a long and interesting path with such plot twists that you can make a movie. I got 90% of the people in my circle thanks to this sport,” the winner shared.

    Dmitry noted that he strives to win gold in any competition he participates in. The most successful seasons for the athlete so far were 2018 and 2019, when he managed to win three World Cups – in Croatia, Italy and Cyprus. “Before the pandemic, we traveled very often: Germany, Mexico, Estonia, Latvia. On the domestic stage, I once came in fifth at the Russian Championship and won more than a dozen All-Russian competitions, I lost count a couple of years ago. When I lived in St. Petersburg, I was a member of the city team and was a leader in all age and weight categories in which I participated,” said Dmitry Konyaev.

    When choosing a university to enroll in, he immediately decided to move: “The goal was to try myself in another city. I understood that if I moved to the capital, it would be hard without work, and so I looked for a program at a top university, studying in which would allow me to work at the same time. Actually, the choice fell on the educational program “Business Management” at the National Research University Higher School of Economics,” the student explained. He says that preparing for admission was typical for a person who wants to enroll in a prestigious university: “I am generally satisfied with my studies, I have found wonderful people, which I am very happy about. It is known that the best rest is a change of activity, so work, study and sports do not interfere with each other in my life. The main thing is to know why you are doing all this – and to enjoy it.”

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Fewer deaths, new substances and evolving treatments in Philly’s opioid epidemic − 4 essential reads

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kate Kilpatrick, Philadelphia Editor

    Opioid overdose deaths in Philly dropped in 2023. Data for 2024 has not yet been released. Jeff Fusco/The Conversation U.S., CC BY-NC-SA

    In Philadelphia, fatal overdoses are the No. 3 cause of death after heart disease and cancer. That’s been the case each year since 2016, except in 2020 and 2021 when COVID-19 deaths outpaced overdose deaths. The vast majority of fatal overdoses in Philly involve the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

    Data on overdose deaths in Philly in 2024 is not yet available. However, new research shows that drug deaths are dropping in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

    Still, opioid overdose deaths in Philadelphia remain what public health researchers call a “wicked problem.” These are complex, multifaceted challenges that are constantly changing and have no clear solution.

    The Conversation U.S. published several articles over the past year that sought to untangle various threads of this wicked problem in Philadelphia. Here are four essential reads.

    1. Overdose deaths down – but still high

    Philadelphia’s 7% drop in fatal overdoses in 2023 is notable. Still, opioid use disorder claimed the lives of over 1,100 residents that year – more than three times as many lives as 10 years earlier.

    Ben Cocchiaro, assistant clinical professor of family medicine and community health at Drexel University, explains one likely reason why overdoses in Philly spiked in the first place: the unpredictable potency of the city’s street fentanyl supply.

    “Local drug-testing efforts found as much as a fiftyfold difference in potency between bags of fentanyl that appear identical,” Cocchiaro writes. “It’s like cracking a beer and not knowing whether drinking it will get you mildly buzzed or send you to the graveyard.



    Read more:
    How opioid deaths tripled in Philly over a decade − and what may be behind a recent downturn

    2. ‘Tranq’ wounds proliferate

    Forensic testing has revealed that over 90% of street heroin and fentanyl samples in Philly now contain xylazine, an animal tranquilizer with no FDA-approved use in humans.

    Rachel McFadden is an emergency room nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and also works at a walk-in clinic in North Philadelphia that serves people who use drugs. Before xylazine, she says, most of the wounds she saw were minor skin infections that she treated with antibiotics.

    But that changed in late 2019.

    “Participants at the wound care clinic started to come in with a different kind of wound. They were filled with black and yellow dead tissue and tunneled deep into the skin. They were not wounds from infection but rather from tissue death or necrosis,” McFadden writes.

    McFadden explains the protocol for treating these serious wounds, which involves removing the dead tissue, administering antimicrobials and antibiotics for the inflammation and infection, and keeping the wound moist and dressed. She says it’s also important that people’s other basic needs, including food, shelter and a place to shower, are met so they can properly heal.



    Read more:
    How opioid deaths tripled in Philly over a decade − and what may be behind a recent downturn

    3. A new treatment for withdrawal

    The combination of fentanyl and xylazine in Philly street opioids has made withdrawal symptoms far more excruciating than those experienced by heroin users in the past.

    That’s according to Kory London, an emergency room doctor and associate professor of emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. London says these withdrawal symptoms lead many patients who are addicted to opioids to discharge themselves from the hospital before their treatment is complete.

    “Patients with opioid use disorder will often do whatever they can to stay out of the hospital due to fear of withdrawal,” he writes. “Asking how withdrawal symptoms are managed, therefore, is often their first priority when hospitalized. We see this even when they have conditions that require complicated and time-sensitive treatments.

    Beginning in 2022, London and colleagues began experimenting with new approaches to treating “tranq” dope withdrawal in Philly. The new protocols reduced the likelihood of these patients leaving early by more than half – from 10% to just under 4%.



    Read more:
    Philly hospitals test new strategy for ‘tranq dope’ withdrawal – and it keeps patients from walking out before their treatment is done

    4. Industrial chemical BTMPS has unknown risks

    Philadelpha’s public health department has issued health alerts about xylazine and medetomidine becoming more prevalent in the city’s street opioid supply.

    Researchers Karli Hochstatter and Fernando Montero at Columbia University are part of a team that tests fentanyl samples collected in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia each month. Those tests have turned up a new adulterant: an industrial chemical known as BTMPS that is used in making plastics.

    “We first detected BTMPS in Philadelphia in June 2024. We found it in two of the eight samples – 25% – that we collected that month. By November 2024, 12 of 22 samples – or 55% – contained BTMPS,” Hochstatter and Montero write. “What’s more, the amount, or concentration, of this industrial chemical in the drug samples often exceeded the amount of fentanyl.”

    BTMPS has not been studied in humans, but rat studies reveal exposure – at far lower levels than what is found in the Philly fentanyl samples – can cause heart defects, serious eye damage and death.



    Read more:
    Philly’s street fentanyl contains an industrial chemical called BTMPS that’s an ingredient in plastic

    This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

    – ref. Fewer deaths, new substances and evolving treatments in Philly’s opioid epidemic − 4 essential reads – https://theconversation.com/fewer-deaths-new-substances-and-evolving-treatments-in-phillys-opioid-epidemic-4-essential-reads-251969

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Thirty years ago Ukraine got rid of its nuclear arsenal – now the people regret that decision

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jennifer Mathers, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Aberystwyth University

    Around 73% of Ukrainians now want their country to “restore” its nuclear weapons, according to a recent opinion poll. A majority of Ukrainians (58%) were in favour of Ukraine owning nuclear weapons, even if this meant losing western allies.

    This suggests an underlying regret that Ukraine agreed to relinquish the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal as part of the Budapest Memorandum around 30 years ago. This agreement, signed in December 1994, provided security guarantees for Ukraine from the US, the UK and Russia in return for giving up the weapons. Ukraine also agreed it would not acquire nuclear weapons in the future.

    The focus on nuclear weapons is intensifying all over Europe. This week the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, called on the US to station its nuclear weapons in his country to deter Russian attacks. He cited Moscow’s decision to deploy nuclear weapons just across the border in Belarus during 2023 as part of his reasoning.

    Trump’s apparent weakening commitment to Nato has also prompted the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to suggest that France could extend protection of its own nuclear weapons to its allies.

    It’s clear that some Ukrainians now believe that their country would have been less likely to have experienced a Russian invasion if it had held on to its nuclear capacity. Ukrainians now question how much they can rely on other states after the failure of security guarantees that were central to the 1994 agreement.

    The pledges by the US, UK and Russia to protect the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine were put to the test in 2014 when Russia invaded and then annexed Crimea and began providing financial and military backing for militia leaders in eastern Ukraine who claimed to lead pro-Russian separatist movements.



    Read more:
    Are Ukrainians ready for ceasefire and concessions? Here’s what the polls say

    The US and UK imposed economic sanctions against Russia and provided training, equipment and non-lethal weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces. But these measures fell well short of ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and were insufficient to help Ukraine retake its territory.

    Similarly, US and UK support for Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, although valuable and much appreciated by the Ukrainians, has not been enough to allow Kyiv to completely expel Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

    What was the Budapest Memorandum?

    What if Ukraine still had nuclear weapons?

    But what if Ukraine had never given up its nuclear weapons? The logic of deterrence suggests that Putin would have not have invaded and attacked a nuclear-armed Ukraine. But the argument that Ukraine should not have surrendered the Soviet nuclear weapons on its territory overlooks the specific circumstances. For while physical components of a nuclear weapons capability – delivery vehicles and nuclear warheads – were within Ukraine’s grasp, the launch codes remained in Moscow, and Russian leaders showed no willingness to relinquish them.

    So, Kyiv would have had no control over whether, when or against whom those weapons might have been used. The risk to Ukraine of becoming the target of another state’s nuclear strike would have been considerable, and the Kyiv government would have been unable to do anything to reduce that risk. Retaining nuclear weapons left over from the Soviet period would have probably made Ukrainians less rather than more secure.



    Read more:
    What is the value of US security guarantees? Here’s what history shows

    Ukraine also lacked the economic resources to maintain the nuclear weapons on its territory, or develop them into a credible deterrent force. In exchange for giving up nuclear weapons, Ukraine received much-needed economic assistance from the west.

    In the 1990s Ukrainian views were shaped by the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This had a devastating and lasting impact on the land and the people in that part of Ukraine, highlighting the risks of the nuclear sector. In 1994, when the Budapest Memorandum was being negotiated, only 30% of Ukrainians were in favour of Ukraine possessing nuclear weapons.

    What now?

    Ukraine would face considerable technical challenges in developing nuclear weapons today, both in creating the necessary quantities of fissile material for warheads and manufacturing delivery vehicles.

    Kyiv would also need to pay for an expensive nuclear weapons development programme at a time when the Ukrainian economy is struggling to supply its soldiers with conventional weapons and meet the needs of civilians.

    And unless Ukraine’s international supporters were on board, Kyiv might face the withdrawal of economic and military aid at a crucial juncture. If Moscow detected any move on Ukraine’s part to develop nuclear weapons, there would be a strong motive for a preemptive Russian strike to put an end to that plan.

    But even though it may not be feasible for Ukraine to develop an independent nuclear deterrent in the short term, Kyiv may feel compelled to pursue a nuclear weapons programme unless Ukraine is provided with serious and reliable security guarantees. With the Trump administration apparently ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine, the onus is on the country’s international supporters to come up with an alternative unless they want to see further nuclear proliferation in Europe.

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

    – ref. Thirty years ago Ukraine got rid of its nuclear arsenal – now the people regret that decision – https://theconversation.com/thirty-years-ago-ukraine-got-rid-of-its-nuclear-arsenal-now-the-people-regret-that-decision-251733

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Mona Lisa is a vampire

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Frankie Dytor, Research Fellow, literature, art history and gender studies, University of Exeter

    Louvre Museum/Canva, CC BY-SA

    When Bernard Berenson learned that Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa had been stolen from the Louvre Gallery in Paris, the art critic heaved an enormous sigh of relief. Finally, he reflected, he could remove himself once and all from the dangerous influence of the work. “She had simply become an incubus,” he recalled years later, “and I was glad to be rid of her.”

    At long last, Berenson had freed himself from the vampiric face of the Mona Lisa.

    Today Leonardo’s painting, happily recovered in 1913 for generations of visitors after its theft in 1911, still looms large as perhaps the definitive symbol of Italian Renaissance art.

    French president Emmanuel Macron recently announced plans for a project titled Nouvelle Renaissance, which will see the artwork moved to its own exhibition room, relieving pressure on the main gallery space. One of the most visited artworks in the world, Berenson’s pronouncement of the enigmatically smiling figure as a male demon in female human form, sits oddly with her endless appearance on t-shirts and tea-towels.

    But looking again at how the myth of the Mona Lisa emerged, I believe that her fame is due not just to the painting’s display of artistic ingenuity – but to the troubling vampirism and gender ambiguity that 19th-century critics saw in Leonardo’s work.

    This article is part of Rethinking the Classics. The stories in this series offer insightful new ways to think about and interpret classic books and artworks. This is the canon – with a twist.

    Unlike many of his artistic contemporaries, Leonardo’s reputation remained relatively stable following his death in 1519. But praise for his work was, for centuries, caveated with one apparently intractable problem: he seemed a better draughtsman, inventor and scientist than artist proper.

    John Ruskin, England’s preeminent mid-Victorian critic, wrote off the Mona Lisa as a total mess. He lamented that the painting’s background was simply “grotesque” being all “blue and unfinished”.

    But as the century progressed, the tide began to turn, particularly in France. Writers newly praised the strange feelings that Leonardo’s paintings provoked, interrogating the nervous smiles and ironic stares of their subjects. “You are fascinated and troubled,” the historian Jules Michelet imagined in his monumental book Histoire de France (1855), describing himself in the Louvre moving like hypnotised prey towards the sinister artworks.

    The Mona Lisa was being slowly injected with a dose of eerie, haunted beauty. But it wasn’t until 1873, when the Oxford aesthete Walter Pater published his explosive book Studies in the History of the Renaissance that the character of the Mona Lisa took a decisively gothic turn. In it, Pater described her as one of the undead:

    She is older than the rocks on which she sits; like the vampire, she has been dead many times and learned the secrets of the grave

    “Lady Lisa”, as Pater memorably nicknamed her, turned from an Italian noblewoman into a dangerously deathly femme-fatale. Pater claimed that she carried all of time and history within her body, bearing the world’s experience from “the animalism of Greece” to “the sins of the Borgia”.

    The passage caused shockwaves, and a generation of readers were hooked. The poet Richard Le Gallienne recalled in his memoir how his friends were “all going round quoting the famous description”, as wannabe aesthetes endlessly recited, copied and reworked Pater’s lines.

    Pater scholar Michael Davis has explained how the book “queered the Renaissance”: he called on his readers to worship at the altar of a strange beauty, demanding that they “burn” with a “hard, gemlike flame” as they did so. Pater’s new reading of Mona Lisa was at the heart of an erotic revolution. The Mona Lisa had become a symbol of a new way of looking and feeling, charged with the aching pain of melancholic beauty.

    By the early 20th century, an industry of criticism had developed that took increasingly outrageous stances against the Mona Lisa.

    Stories circulated about virtuous mothers who refused to allow reproductions of the work to enter their home. Sigmund Freud reworked Pater’s interpretation of the Mona Lisa’s “unfathomable smile” to evidence his theory of Leonardo’s homosexuality, claiming that the Mona Lisa’s smile was in fact a painting of his dead mother’s smile. Pater’s passage, as the Irish writer W. B. Yeats summarised, had taken on a “revolutionary importance” and with it the Mona Lisa changed from a minor work to an icon of a decadent generation.

    Beyond the canon

    As part of the Rethinking the Classics series, we’re asking our experts to recommend a book or artwork that tackles similar themes to the canonical work in question, but isn’t (yet) considered a classic itself. Here is Frankie Dytor’s suggestion:

    The lesbian poet couple Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper, published the poem La Gioconda (the Italian name for the Mona Lisa) under the pseudonym “Michael Field” in 1892:

    Historic, side-long, implicating eyes;

    A smile of velvet’s lustre on the cheek;

    Calm lips the smile leads upward; hand that lies

    Glowing and soft, the patience in its rest

    Of cruelty that waits and does not seek

    For prey; a dusky forehead and a breast

    Where twilight touches ripeness amorously:

    Behind her, crystal rocks, a sea and skies

    Of evanescent blue on cloud and creek;

    Landscape that shines suppressive of its zest

    For those vicissitudes by which men die.

    The poets frequently turned to historical subjects and artworks to explore queer and same-sex desire. Here, they show themselves to be the disciples of Pater’s cult of beauty, openly incorporating his stress on the “cruelty” that surrounds the “historic” features of the figure.

    But they also go beyond Pater, revelling in the desire that saturates the work, such as the twilight touching the Mona Lisa’s breast “amorously”.

    Frankie Dytor receives funding from The British Academy.

    – ref. The Mona Lisa is a vampire – https://theconversation.com/the-mona-lisa-is-a-vampire-249987

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Living Mountain: why a second world war meditation on nature’s fragility and wonder is still relevant today

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sam Illingworth, Professor of Creative Pedagogies, Edinburgh Napier University

    Cairngorms national park, Scotland. Nat Nat Nat/Shutterstock

    Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain is not a book about conquering peaks or mapping uncharted terrain. It is instead a deeply felt, poetic encounter with the Cairngorms.

    This vast mountain range in north-east Scotland has been shaped by ancient glaciers and known for its high plateaus, deep corries and shifting light. These mountains, some of the highest in the UK, are rugged, remote, and often treacherous. Yet, they hold a stark, indifferent beauty.

    First written towards the end of the second world war, The Living Mountain remained unpublished in a drawer until 1977, its quiet brilliance only gradually recognised. Now, with publisher Scribner bringing out its first US edition, a new audience will discover this landmark of nature writing.

    Shepherd, a Scottish writer, educator, and poet, had an unparalleled relationship with the mountains. The best way to describe it is a word she herself used: feyness. There is a deep, almost mystical sensitivity in the way she moves through the landscape. She does not seek to master it, but to know it intimately – its ice, its rock, its light.

    Each chapter of The Living Mountain focuses on an element of this vast range: the plateau, the recesses, the plants, and, most strikingly for me, the water. Her description of Loch Etchachan made me want to go there immediately, but such is the clarity of her prose that I felt as if I already had. Its pristine waters shimmering in the shifting light, the stillness broken only by the wind and the sheer presence of the place evoked so vividly that it felt less like reading and more like remembering.

    Shepherd’s writing reminds me of the Scottish poet Norman MacCaig – though where MacCaig wrote often of Assynt in the far north-western corner of Scotland, Shepherd’s domain was the Cairngorms. Both share an awe, a humility and a sense of reverence towards their subject.

    There is a poetic tenderness throughout Shepherd’s writing, in the cadence of her sentences, in the careful weight of each word. At around 30,000 words, it is a short book, yet every phrase feels hewn from the page, as enduring as the granite she describes.

    A line I return to often is one that Shepherd uses to describe the water at the height of these peaks: “It does nothing, absolutely nothing, but be itself.” This is the essence of Shepherd’s philosophy. The mountains do not exist for our amusement or our conquest. They simply are.

    This is a book not about “Munro bagging” – the practice of ticking off Scotland’s 282 mountains over 3,000 feet – but about being with the land, walking it slowly, attentively, over a lifetime.

    A fragile land

    Yet, The Living Mountain is also a stark reminder of the fragility of that world. Shepherd notes, as early as 1934, that summer snow is disappearing: “Antiquity has gone from our snow.” Was this, unwittingly, one of the earliest literary observations of climate change? Around the same time, British engineer Guy Callendar had begun linking rising global temperatures to CO₂ emissions, though his findings were dismissed. Almost a century on, Shepherd’s words feel prophetic.

    For US readers encountering The Living Mountain for the first time, they may wonder what a remote range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland offers them. But these mountains contain, in their own way, the spirit of the Santa Cruz mountains, the Appalachians, the Rockies. In their solitude and permanence, they offer the same humility, the same respect, the same quiet self-reflection that comes with encountering something so vast and indifferent to human life.

    With a framing introduction by Robert Macfarlane, a British writer known for his books on landscape and nature, and an afterword by Jenny Odell, an American artist and educator, this edition gives The Living Mountain the platform it deserves. This is not just a book about place – it is a book that is place. It remains as vital as the mountains themselves, urging us to look more closely. To listen more deeply. To move through the world with the same quiet reverence that Shepherd once did.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

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

    – ref. The Living Mountain: why a second world war meditation on nature’s fragility and wonder is still relevant today – https://theconversation.com/the-living-mountain-why-a-second-world-war-meditation-on-natures-fragility-and-wonder-is-still-relevant-today-246725

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Parents abused by their children often suffer in silence – specialist therapy is helping them find a voice

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Morgan, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Swansea University

    shutterstock Frame Studio/Shutterstock

    Home is not always a place of safety for everyone. This is an unspoken reality for some parents who endure abuse at the hands of their children. From physical violence to emotional manipulation, this largely hidden issue cuts across families of all backgrounds.

    For too long, stigma and silence have allowed child-to-parent abuse to fester in the shadows, unacknowledged in policy discussions and under-researched in academic circles. But a recent study of ours analysed a therapeutic programme designed to address child-to-parent abuse, and its transformative potential.

    Child-to-parent abuse affects families across socio-economic and cultural boundaries. But it’s particularly prevalent in homes where domestic abuse and intimate partner violence is present.

    Legally, child-to-parent abuse is ambiguously positioned in England and Wales. It is often subsumed under domestic abuse legislation, including the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. But the law primarily focuses on people aged 16 and older, and problematically labels children as perpetrators, despite youth justice policy and practice moving to child-first approaches.

    This adds to the societal stigmas around child-to-parent abuse, and it is often misattributed to poor parenting. The problem is then compounded, discouraging parents from seeking help and perpetuating a cycle of silence and isolation.

    The Parallel Lives Programme is a therapeutic intervention in Wales, which takes a non-punitive, relationship-focused approach to support families affected by child-to-parent abuse. Delivered over seven weeks, the programme uses therapeutic and relationship-based approaches to support children and their parents to prevent child-to-parent abuse.

    What we found

    We undertook an evaluation of the programme to understand its potential strengths for addressing the abuse and areas for development. We used interviews, online surveys, observations and file reviews. A total of 42 people participated, including six members of staff, 19 parents and 17 children.

    One of the most significant findings from our research is the importance of therapeutic spaces and the destigmatisation of the issue. The Parallel Lives Programme created safe spaces for families to discuss complex and often stigmatised issues. Therapists provided non-judgmental environments where parents and children felt heard and supported. By framing young people as “children first” and creating spaces free of blame, the programme helped families address their issues.

    One therapist described the kind of things that often prevent parents from speaking out:

    There’s a lot of guilt and shame attached to [child-to-parent abuse], and [the parents] don’t feel like they can talk about it. So “I must be the only parent whose kid kicks off and breaks my window.” I think it is a lot for them to say, okay, this is a thing, and these are the steps that we can take, and also give them strategy.

    Parents echoed this sentiment, highlighting how the programme provided a rare opportunity to speak openly in a supportive environment. One father of a 12-year-old boy described his experience:

    Talking about raw emotions with people who do not judge you, they do not gasp, they don’t laugh or tut, they feel what you feel, and they want to help; it’s a safe environment. I struggle to talk about my feelings, and this has helped me open up.

    Another important finding was the programme’s emphasis on parent-child relationship building. Both parents and children reported improved communication and reduced conflict as a result of the intervention. One 14-year-old girl reflected: “[Because of the programme] my mum is listening to me more. She used to always just talk at me and have a go at me without listening to my side of things. It’s so much better now.”

    The strength-based approach adopted by the programme was also critical. Rather than focusing on deficits, therapists emphasised the inherent capabilities of families. One 16-year-old boy described how this approach helped him “learn to deal with anger and about my strengths”.

    Explaining the ethos behind this method, one therapist said: “We focus on strengths. It’s in our [organisational] DNA – everything that we do is focused on children’s strengths.”

    Tailored support also emerged as a central factor. No two families are the same, so interventions were flexible and adaptive, considering the unique circumstances and needs of each family member.

    Child-to-parent abuse affects families across socio-economic and cultural boundaries.
    polya_olya/Shutterstock

    Recommendations

    Our evaluation has highlighted critical gaps and opportunities in addressing child-to-parent abuse. But more extensive research is needed to understand how much of it goes on. Future research should also focus on measuring the long-term effectiveness of interventions like the Parallel Lives Programme.

    In terms of policy, child-to-parent abuse requires its own legal and policy frameworks, distinct from domestic abuse. Legislative reforms must reflect the complexity of this kind of abuse and avoid stigmatising children or neglecting parents’ needs.

    Initiatives like the Parallel Lives Programme should also be scaled, ensuring accessibility for all families. Increased funding and therapist training are essential to sustaining and replicating such initiatives.

    Finally, destigmatisation efforts are vital. Public awareness campaigns may be crucial in breaking the silence surrounding child-to-parent abuse. Removing the sense of shame and disgrace from this issue may encourage more families to seek help and engage with support services.

    Gemma Morgan received funding from the Media Academy Cymru to undertake an external evaluation of the Parallel Lives Programme.

    Joseph Janes received funding from the Media Academy Cymru to undertake an external evaluation of the Parallel Lives Programme.

    – ref. Parents abused by their children often suffer in silence – specialist therapy is helping them find a voice – https://theconversation.com/parents-abused-by-their-children-often-suffer-in-silence-specialist-therapy-is-helping-them-find-a-voice-244859

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bradley Wade Bishop, Professor of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee

    Museum collections are invaluable to many researchers. Miguel Habano/E+ via Getty Images

    Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see – museum collections are filled with all this and more.

    These collections are treasure troves that recount the planet’s natural and human history, and they help scientists in a variety of different fields such as geology, paleontology, anthropology and more. What you see on a trip to a museum is only a sliver of the wonders held in their collection.

    Museums generally want to make the contents of their collections available for teachers and researchers, either physically or digitally. However, each collection’s staff has its own way of organizing data, so navigating these collections can prove challenging.

    Creating, organizing and distributing the digital copies of museum samples or the information about physical items in a collection requires incredible amounts of data. And this data can feed into machine learning models or other artificial intelligence to answer big questions.

    Currently, even within a single research domain, finding the right data requires navigating different repositories. AI can help organize large amounts of data from different collections and pull out information to answer specific questions.

    But using AI isn’t a perfect solution. A set of shared practices and systems for data management between museums could improve the data curation and sharing necessary for AI to do its job. These practices could help both humans and machines make new discoveries from these valuable collections.

    As an information scientist who studies scientists’ approaches to and opinions on research data management, I’ve seen how the world’s physical collection infrastructure is a patchwork quilt of objects and their associated metadata.

    AI tools can do amazing things, such as make 3D models of digitized versions of the items in museum collections, but only if there’s enough well-organized data about that item available. To see how AI can help museum collections, my team of researchers started by conducting focus groups with the people who managed museum collections. We asked what they are doing to get their collections used by both humans and AI.

    Museums can have vast collections – everything from samples from archeological sites to preserved insects to dinosaur bones. And huge collections means lots of data to collect and organize.
    Justin Pumfrey/The Image Bank via Getty Images

    Collection managers

    When an item comes into a museum collection, the collection managers are the people who describe that item’s features and generate data about it. That data, called metadata, allows others to use it and might include things like the collector’s name, geographic location, the time it was collected, and in the case of geological samples, the epoch it’s from. For samples from an animal or plant, it might include its taxonomy, which is the set of Latin names that classify it.

    All together, that information adds up to a mind-boggling amount of data.

    But combining data across domains with different standards is really tricky. Fortunately, collection managers have been working to standardize their processes across disciplines and for many types of samples. Grants have helped science communities build tools for standardization.

    In biological collections, the tool Specify allows managers to quickly classify specimens with drop-down menus prepopulated with standards for taxonomy and other parameters to consistently describe the incoming specimens.

    A common metadata standard in biology is Darwin Core. Similar well-established metadata and tools exist across all the sciences to make the workflow of taking real items and putting them into a machine as easy as possible.

    Special tools like these and metadata help collection managers make data from their objects reusable for research and educational purposes.

    Many of the items in museum collections don’t have a lot of information describing their origins. AI tools can help fill in gaps.

    All the small things

    My team and I conducted 10 focus groups, with a total of 32 participants from several physical sample communities. These included collection managers across disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, botany, geology, ichthyology, entomology, herpetology and paleontology.

    Each participant answered questions about how they accessed, organized, stored and used data from their collections in an effort to make their materials ready for AI to use. While human subjects need to provide consent to be studied, most species do not. So, an AI can collect and analyze the data from nonhuman physical collections without privacy or consent concerns.

    We found that collection managers from different fields and institutions have lots of different practices when it comes to getting their physical collections ready for AI. Our results suggest that standardizing the types of metadata managers record and the ways they store it across collections could make the items in these samples more accessible and usable.

    Additional research projects like our study can help collection managers build up the infrastructure they’ll need to make their data machine-ready. Human expertise can help inform AI tools that make new discoveries based on the old treasures in museum collections.

    Bradley Wade Bishop receives funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy – https://theconversation.com/museums-have-tons-of-data-and-ai-could-make-it-more-accessible-but-standardizing-and-organizing-it-across-fields-wont-be-easy-250487

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: What was the first thing scientists discovered? A historian makes the case for Babylonian astronomy

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James Byrne, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society, University of Colorado Boulder

    Ancient Babylonians looked to the skies to predict what would happen. mikroman6/Moment via Getty Images

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

    What was the first thing scientists discovered? – Jacob, age 9, Santiago, Panama

    All societies have had ways of understanding nature based on their experiences of it. For example, farmers need to understand the seasons and weather to know when to plant and harvest their crops. Hunters need to understand the lives of animals to know how to hunt them.

    This kind of understanding of the natural world isn’t quite the same as science though. Science typically refers to knowledge that’s more organized and formal than that. It’s not just an explanation, but a system that uses observations and experiments to build theories that are recorded, passed on to others and built on.

    With that idea in mind, as a historian of science, my best answer to the question of what the first scientists discovered is Babylonian astronomy.

    The Babylonians lived from about 2,500 to 4,000 years ago in the area that’s now Iraq. What makes Babylonian astronomy stand out as being especially scientific is the careful, organized way in which Babylonian scribes – their keepers of knowledge – observed, recorded and eventually mathematically predicted the ways that the Sun, Moon, stars and planets move in the skies.

    Babylonian astronomy was uniquely scientific

    Before clocks, observing the sky was how people knew the time. During the day you can see the Sun, and at night you can see the stars. Many calendars are based on the skies too. A month is about how long it takes the Moon to go through its phases. A year is one full revolution of the Earth around the Sun.

    But keeping track of time wasn’t the only way the Babylonians used astronomy. Like today’s world, Babylonia could be both predictable and chaotic. The weather changed with the seasons; crops were planted and harvested; festivals were celebrated; people were born, aged and died, all predictably. But a bad harvest might cause high prices for grains and starvation; a king might die young, causing political upheaval; a disease might kill thousands, all unpredictably.

    The stars and planets can seem like that, too. The stars are always in the same places in relation to one another, so you can identify constellations, and those constellations rise and set at regular times over the course of a year. But the planets move around – they’re not always in the same places, and sometimes they even seem to stop and move backward in their paths. Sometimes even more spectacular events occur, such as eclipses.

    An eclipse might have seemed like a powerful omen of something that would happen next.
    Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

    For the Babylonians, those ideas were linked. They saw changes in the motions of the planets or rare events such as eclipses as signs – omens – about what was going to happen on Earth. For example, they might think the shadow of the Earth moving over the Moon in a certain way during a lunar eclipse meant that a flood would also happen.

    The scribes kept a book called Enūma Anu Enlil listing omens and their meanings. So if the seemingly changing motions of the heavens could be predicted, maybe earthly events could be, too. This led the scribes to study astronomy.

    How Babylonian astronomy worked

    The foundation of Babylonian astronomy was kept in a book called MUL.APIN, meaning “The Plough Star,” the name of a constellation. It recorded the positions of the stars, when in the year they would first be visible, the paths of the Sun and Moon, the periods when the planets would be visible in the night sky, and other fundamental astronomical knowledge.

    Later, Babylonian scribes began to keep their Astronomical Diaries, which contained detailed records of the positions of the Moon and planets along with events on Earth such as the weather and the price of grain. In other words, they recorded their observations of both astronomical omens and the events they might have predicted.

    Babylonian scribes used cuneiform to write down records of all kinds.
    mikroman6/Moment via Getty Images

    This kind of careful observation and record-keeping is a major part of science. The Astronomical Diaries were kept for over 700 years, making them maybe the longest-running scientific project ever.

    The records in the Astronomical Diaries helped Babylonian scribes take another scientific step: predicting astronomical events. One part of this was computing what the Babylonians called goal-years: the number of years it took for a planet to return to the same place on the same day. For example, they computed that the period for Venus was eight Babylonian years. So if Venus was somewhere on a particular day, it would be in the same place on the same day eight years later.

    By around the fourth century B.C.E., the scribes developed this knowledge into a system of mathematically predicting astronomical events. They made tables called ephemerides that showed when these events would happen in the future. So Babylonian scribes succeeded in their project: They made the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets predictable.

    Babylonian astronomy and you

    MUL.APIN, the Astronomical Diaries, the ephemerides and all of Babylonian astronomy had a major impact on later astronomers, one that continues to today. Greek astronomers used Babylonian observations to make geometric models of planetary motions, part of the long path toward modern astronomy. The ephemerides were the ancestors of astronomical tables, which still exist. For example, NASA has a table of eclipses online that goes to the year 3000.

    We tell time using the Babylonian system.
    Catherine McQueen/Moment via Getty Images

    But the most familiar thing that comes from Babylonian astronomy is how we tell time. The Babylonians didn’t use a decimal system with units of 10 like we do. Instead, they used a sexagesimal system, with units of 60. Babylonian observations were so important that later people kept Babylonian units for astronomy, even though they used a base 10 system for other things.

    So if you’ve ever wondered why an hour has 60 minutes, and a minute has 60 seconds, it’s because we’ve kept that way of measuring from Babylonian astronomy. Whenever you tell the time, you’re using some of the very oldest science.

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

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

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

    – ref. What was the first thing scientists discovered? A historian makes the case for Babylonian astronomy – https://theconversation.com/what-was-the-first-thing-scientists-discovered-a-historian-makes-the-case-for-babylonian-astronomy-244463

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s first term polarized teens’ views on racism and inequality

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Laura Wray-Lake, Professor of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles

    Teens who supported President Trump in 2016 became less aware of societal inequalities after the election. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

    When asked about reactions to Donald Trump being president, a 16-year-old Black girl said, “I feel unsafe and not protected. The United States is supposed to be the land of the free but is really the land of racism.”

    In contrast, a 16-year-old white girl said, “I think it’s OK … I do feel bad for minorities … I’m white however and come from a somewhat similar background so I will be alright.”

    These two teenagers responded very differently to the racial climate created by Trump – during his first presidency. Research on adolescents during Trump’s first term takes on new relevance now that he is back in office.

    As a scholar of adolescent development, I have studied U.S. teenagers for over two decades. When Trump took office in 2016, I was in the midst of leading a five-year study to understand how young people become civically engaged. My colleagues and I were tracking adolescents’ beliefs and behaviors over time, which gave us a unique opportunity to document changes after Trump was elected.

    Focusing on 1,400 ninth through 12th graders, I hypothesized that adolescents would become more divided during Trump’s presidency, given the political divisions evident among adults in 2016. And, like other social scientists, my team and I did identify diverging worldviews about racism and inequalities among teenagers and increased discrimination.

    Decades of research shows that adolescents are influenced in lasting ways by societal events and political shifts, such as the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and changing presidential administrations. Likewise, the short-term impacts of Trump’s presidency identified by research may portend long-lasting effects for this generation of young people.

    Diverging worldviews

    In our study, young Trump supporters were more likely to be white and male and to have politically conservative parents, and less likely to be immigrants. Teenagers in our study who disapproved of Trump were more likely to be female and Latino, Black or Asian, to have politically liberal parents, and to have parents or grandparents who were immigrants. These groups were not just different demographically; they diverged in their worldviews about race and inequality over time.

    Across Trump’s first year in office, young Trump supporters decreased their race consciousness – that is, their support for racial equity and inclusion declined. We measured race consciousness by whether high schoolers agreed with statements like “I show support for equal rights for people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds” and “I express concern about discrimination faced by racial and ethnic groups.”

    Young Trump supporters also grew less aware of inequalities in society during this time frame, becoming less likely to endorse statements like “In America, certain groups have fewer chances to get ahead.”

    Conversely, young Trump detractors increased their race consciousness and awareness of societal inequalities during this time. Another study that interviewed youth of color during Trump’s first presidency similarly found that adolescents critical of Trump developed deeper capacities to understand societal inequalities in response to Trump’s policies.

    Did these divergent beliefs translate into different behaviors?

    Interestingly, only young Trump supporters in our study became more likely to vote after Trump’s first election. This heightened interest in voting among young Trump supporters aligns with 2024’s election results. Although people ages 18-29 were more likely to support Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, the majority of white youth (54%) and young men (56%) who voted turned out to support Trump. The adolescents we surveyed in 2016 and 2017 are among this cohort of young voters in 2024.

    Dozens of incidents of swastikas and other racist graffiti were reported in schools in Revere, Mass., between May and November 2018.
    Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    Increased discrimination

    The divergent beliefs of Trump supporters and detractors may have implications for other behaviors in addition to voting.

    After Trump’s first election, 28% of K-12 teachers reported witnessing increases in students’ derogatory remarks toward minority groups, especially in predominantly white schools. Students were emboldened to make bigoted statements about immigrants, Muslims and other groups. Researchers documented incidents of anti-Black racism and anti-transgender discrimination in schools.

    Our study found that Latino youth experienced more discrimination after Trump was elected. Latino adolescents also expressed fears and anxieties due to Trump’s hostile immigration policies and rhetoric, and they attributed Trump’s stance to racism. Four psychologists who systematically reviewed the available research concluded that the first Trump presidency harmed Latino adolescents’ mental health.

    These studies did not definitively attribute increased discrimination to actions of young Trump supporters. But young Trump supporters did become less concerned about discrimination and racial equity. And adult Trump supporters did endorse more racist and anti-immigrant attitudes and the use of political violence compared with other adults.

    What about now?

    Trump’s executive orders in 2025 have expanded the detention and deportation of immigrants, declared that gender is binary, and that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are illegal.

    Based on how people responded in the early days of Trump’s first term, these orders may directly harm adolescents and embolden discrimination again. For example, immediately after the 2024 election, crisis calls from LGBTQ+ youth increased by 200%, and harassing texts were sent to Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ adolescents across 20 states.

    The executive order to eliminate teaching on racial and gender equity from schools, if upheld, would limit adolescents’ opportunities to learn about racism, sexism and inequalities faced by different groups.

    Adolescents’ awareness of and concerns about inequalities diverged during Trump’s first presidency based on their political views. Given the policy focus of Trump’s second term, I anticipate similar or greater divisions in young people’s racial attitudes and actions than my research revealed over the course of his first term.

    Laura Wray-Lake received funding for research reported herein from the National Science Foundation and John Templeton Foundation. She is a registered Democrat.

    – ref. Trump’s first term polarized teens’ views on racism and inequality – https://theconversation.com/trumps-first-term-polarized-teens-views-on-racism-and-inequality-249911

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: PIMCO Announces 2025 Managing Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets, is pleased to share the promotion of the officers of the firm to Managing Director.

    “Our goal is to have a Managing Director group as a collective that represents broad skillsets and expertise across our business globally, and leaders who embody PIMCO’s core values and our commitment to integrity and excellence – the key elements of our culture”, said PIMCO Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Roman and PIMCO Group Chief Investment Officer Daniel Ivascyn.

    The following officers have been promoted to Managing Director with these objectives in mind: 

    Ben Ensminger-Law
    Mr. Ensminger-Law is a managing director and portfolio manager in the New York office. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2018, he was an analyst at Claren Road and previously worked at Citigroup in the U.S. and Asia. He began his career at MMC and has 24 years of investment experience. He holds an MBA from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.

    Esteban Burbano
    Mr. Burbano is a managing director and fixed income strategist in the New York office. He joined PIMCO in 2009. Prior to joining PIMCO, Mr. Burbano was at Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. He has 21 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also received undergraduate degrees in economics and engineering.

    Kirill Zavodov
    Mr. Zavodov is a managing director and portfolio manager in the London office. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2020, he was a managing director in the merchant banking division of Goldman Sachs. He began his career at The Blackstone Group. He has 14 years of investment experience and holds a Ph.D. in financial economics from the University of Cambridge.

    Rachit Jain
    Mr. Jain is a managing director and portfolio manager in the London office. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2009, he was an assistant director in the principal trading group at Royal Bank of Scotland/ABN Amro. He has 17 years of investment experience and holds master’s and undergraduate degrees in mathematics and computing from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi, India.

    Sam Watkins
    Mr. Watkins is a managing director and head of PIMCO’s business in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2022, he worked at Goldman Sachs. Previously, he worked at Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and Macquarie Bank in Australia. He has 24 years of investment and financial services experience and holds an undergraduate degree in agricultural economics from the University of Sydney.

    DISCLOSURES

    About PIMCO 

    PIMCO is a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. We invest our clients’ capital across a range of fixed income and credit opportunities, drawing upon our decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Our flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped us become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and nontraditional solutions for companies that need financing and investors who seek strong risk-adjusted returns.

    Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO’s sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

    Contact:
    Michael Reid
    Global Head of Corporate Communications
    Ph. 212-597-1301
    Email: michael.reid@pimco.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Zoom debuts new agentic AI skills and agents for Zoom AI Companion

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Zoom AI Companion expands agentic skills across the entire Zoom platform, using reasoning and memory to take action and orchestrate task execution, conversational self-service, custom agent creation, and more
    • More than 45 new innovations announced, including AI enhancements for Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone, Zoom Team Chat, Zoom Docs, and Zoom Contact Center, help users get more done, do their best work, and strengthen relationships
    • New Zoom customer experience (CX) innovations include next-generation enhancements to Zoom Virtual Agent chat and the introduction of Virtual Agent for voice, AI intent routing capabilities, and Advanced Quality Management

    ORLANDO, Fla., March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today Zoom Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) unveiled agentic AI Companion capabilities, new Zoom AI Companion skills, and AI updates across its platform, including Zoom Meetings, Zoom Team Chat, Zoom Docs, Zoom Phone, Zoom Whiteboard, Zoom Contact Center, industry solutions, and more.

    “AI Companion is evolving from a personal assistant to being truly agentic, which signals a major leap forward in how AI can enhance productivity and collaboration at work,” said Smita Hashim, chief product officer at Zoom. “We’re delivering value for our customers through AI agents and agentic skills that solve real customer problems, helping them connect, collaborate, and get more done, all within the Zoom platform our users trust and love.”

    “We’ve been using Zoom AI Companion since it became available, and I’ve seen firsthand how it has transformed our academic and administrative operations,” said Steven Carroll, chief information officer at Saint Leo University. “This technology isn’t just about efficiency; it allows our employees to spend less time on manual tasks and more time on meaningful collaboration, and focus on what matters most: supporting our students’ educational journey.”

    AI Companion takes action with AI skills and agents

    Zoom is elevating AI Companion across its entire platform through AI agentic skills, agents, and models to deliver high-quality results, help users improve productivity, and strengthen relationships.

    • AI Companion will help users get more done by executing on their behalf and managing multi-step actions with the knowledge of which agents and skills to tap into using reasoning and memory to make decisions, solve complex problems, and learn over time, along with task action and orchestration to execute and complete tasks.
    • Additional new agentic skills include calendar management to help schedule meetings and find a time that works for everyone, clip generation for fast clip creation, writing assistance for advanced document creation, and more.
    • AI Companion will also extend to specialized agents that power Zoom Business Services. For customer self-service, Zoom Virtual Agent leverages memory and reasoning skills to deliver empathetic and contextual conversations and task action to resolve complex issues from start to finish. With AI Studio, users can effortlessly create and deploy customizable virtual agents (available in beta later this spring). Zoom Revenue Accelerator users will also be able to benefit from a specialized agent for sales in the coming months to help increase revenue through automated insights, personalized outreach and enhanced prospecting.
    • Coming soon, with Zoom’s open platform, users will be able to interact with third-party agents such as ServiceNow AI Agents and create their own custom agents with specific skill sets to address unique needs, such as streamlining sales RFPs or IT and HR service requests. AI Companion will know when to work with third-party and custom agents to take action and complete tasks.

    Custom AI Companion add-on will allow organizations to customize AI Companion with AI Studio by tailoring it to address their unique needs and drive efficiency.

    • Organizations will be able to create custom meeting templates and custom dictionaries with vocabulary unique to their business or industry, incorporate information from their own data sources, including compatible third-party applications, and use AI Studio to expand AI Companion’s knowledge and skills to help drive decisions and actions and complete tasks.
    • Users will have access to a digital personal AI coach and custom meeting summary templates that will allow users to structure meeting summaries for specific industry verticals or use cases, such as one-on-one meetings, customer intake, or brainstorming meetings.
    • Users will also have access to Custom Avatars for Zoom Clips to help scale video clip creation and avoid multiple takes by using a personalized AI-generated avatar to create clips with a user-provided script. Custom Avatars will be included in the Custom AI Companion add-on and will also be available for purchase separately.
    • The Custom AI Companion add-on is expected to be available for purchase in April for $12 per user per month (personal coach is expected to be available in June).

    As part of Zoom’s federated approach to AI, the Custom AI Companion add-on will incorporate Small Language Models (SLMs) alongside Zoom’s third-party LLMs to deliver industry-leading performance and cost-effectiveness for modern businesses. Zoom’s new SLMs are trained with extensive multilingual data, optimized for specific tasks to perform complex actions, and well-positioned to facilitate multi-agent collaboration.

    Get more done with AI Companion

    With new agentic skills, AI Companion can help users get more done, identify and execute tasks, manage meetings, and more. AI Companion’s agentic skills work across the platform to help reduce manual work so users can focus on what matters most.

    • Zoom Tasks with AI Companion will help users surface, complete, and manage tasks across Zoom Workplace by automatically detecting action items in meeting summaries, chats, and emails, and completing tasks like scheduling follow-up meetings or generating documents from meetings. Tasks will be available in a new tab within Zoom Workplace and can be embedded into a Zoom Doc, creating a central repository to track personal, team, and project tasks from creation to completion. Zoom Tasks is expected to launch at the end of March.
    • Meeting agendas with AI Companion, expected to launch in May, will help users stay organized by using templates or recent agendas to provide recommended content. Hosts will be able to add an agenda timer to sections to keep meetings on track and receive AI-generated live notes during the meeting. After the meeting, hosts will be able to easily share the summary and action items.
    • Live notes for Meetings and Phone, expected to launch in May, will provide real-time summaries during a meeting or phone call to help users catch up quickly, stay on track, focus on real-time topics connected to the agenda, and track updates live.
    • AI Companion for Zoom Phone can now generate voicemail summaries and support the Zoom for Microsoft Teams app. Zoom Phone calls within Microsoft Teams can generate AI Companion call summaries, and prioritize and extract tasks from voicemails.
    • A new voice recorder on the Zoom Workplace mobile app, expected to launch in late March, will transcribe, summarize, and capture action items with AI Companion and create high-quality recordings for in-person conversations, so users can connect without taking notes.
    • AI Companion for Workspace Reservation will show in-office workers when colleagues are expected to be in the office, recommend which days to go into the office based on scheduled meetings and their teammates’ scheduled in-office days, and have AI Companion proactively book a desk or a Zoom Room for them. These updates are expected to launch in May.

    AI Companion helps users do their best work and get better results

    Zoom Docs helps workers create high-quality content more efficiently by providing AI Companion writing assistance, as well as internal and external information search capabilities to help maximize productivity and streamline workflows.

    • Zoom Docs will have enhanced AI Companion capabilities with advanced references and queries that will be able to help a user create a writing plan based on the context, search internal and external information for references, and aggregate them into a high-quality business document based on user instructions. Advanced references and queries are expected to launch in June.
    • Users can prompt AI Companion to automatically create data tables, including from meeting summaries, so that content may be more easily digested and organized in a table format. AI Companion will be able to automatically label the columns so users can quickly see highlights and automate information like categorization and summarization for each record. This feature is expected to be available in July.

    Zoom also announced Zoom Drive, a central repository for meeting and productivity assets such as Zoom Docs, that will make it easier to find and access assets across Zoom Workplace. Zoom Drive is expected to launch in May.

    Zoom AI Companion continues to be included at no additional cost for customers with the paid services in their Zoom user accounts. Specialized AI Companion capabilities, custom agent configurations, and third-party agents may cost an additional fee or be subject to separate pricing.

    Visit the Zoom newsroom for more information on Zoom’s approach to agentic AI and Zoom Workplace enhancements.

    Strengthen relationships with Zoom Business Services

    The Zoom Business Services suite for marketing, customer care, and sales includes AI-first solutions that are tightly integrated with Zoom Workplace and designed to help customer-facing employees strengthen customer relationships and improve customer experiences.

    Zoom Customer Experience (CX)
    Zoom is bringing agentic skills to Zoom Contact Center with specialized AI agents to help revolutionize customer experiences, empower customer service agents, and enhance self-service interactions while maintaining the importance of human connections.

    • New generative AI advancements with agentic AI skills will introduce the next evolution of self-service. Zoom Virtual Agent will offer more natural language skills, handle complex queries, and execute tasks on behalf of customers. To extend these capabilities, Zoom Virtual Agent will be available for voice and chat channels (planned for qualified customer beta later this spring), offering a seamless, always-on experience.
    • AI-intent routing (expected to launch at the end of March), will intelligently route customers to the best-suited agent based on real-time intent detection.
    • With Advanced Quality Management, contact center teams will have access to Auto Quality Management, which will use AI to automatically score up to 100% of customer interactions, and Ask Quality Management, which will deliver a conversational interface for supervisors to directly query transcripts and uncover valuable insights. Advanced Quality Management is expected to launch in May.

    Visit the Zoom newsroom for an in-depth look at Zoom Business Services enhancements, including updates for Zoom Revenue Accelerator and Zoom Events.

    Zoom delivers powerful industry-specific solutions

    • Zoom Workplace for Frontline, expected to launch in April, is a purpose-built, AI Companion-based, mobile solution that gives frontline workers the on-shift communications and work management tools needed to be more connected and efficient in their daily tasks.
    • Zoom Workplace for Clinicians, expected to launch at the end of March, is designed to streamline clinical workflows. It enables doctors, nurses, and practitioners to dedicate more time to patient care and engagement rather than spending valuable time on documentation and administrative tasks. Zoom Workplace for Clinicians will be able to automatically generate clinical notes in the office or a virtual Zoom telehealth appointment so that physicians can focus on what matters most: their patients.
    • Zoom Workplace for Education will provide AI Companion-generated lecture summaries with supporting material that teachers can use to generate assignments and students can use to create study materials (expected to be available in May). Later this year, a live notes feature will enable students to add comments, reactions, and highlights to the live transcripts to engage with lecture content during and post class to further learning.
    • The Zoom hardware certification program is expanding solutions to support industry verticals beginning in April:
      • For education customers, Zoom will add select document cameras, which are intended to capture documents or objects on a table that can be shared in a Zoom virtual meeting or class, to its certified hardware portfolio.
      • For healthcare customers, Zoom will certify select cameras for use in patient rooms, enabling remote observation of patients.

    Some features and products may not be available for all regions and industry verticals.

    About Zoom
    Zoom’s mission is to provide an AI-first work platform for human connection. Reimagine teamwork with Zoom Workplace — Zoom’s open collaboration platform with AI Companion that empowers teams to be more productive. Together with Zoom Workplace, Zoom’s Business Services for sales, marketing, and customer experience teams, including Zoom Contact Center, strengthen customer relationships throughout the customer lifecycle. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Get more information at zoom.com.

    Zoom Public Relations
    Lacretia Nichols
    press@zoom.us

    The MIL Network –

    March 18, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Kemp Announces Superior Court, State Court, and Solicitor General Appointments

    Source: US State of Georgia

    Atlanta, GA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced the following appointments: the Honorable Judge Nichole Carswell to the Mountain Circuit Superior Court, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Chan Caudell; the Honorable Judge Carlton “Hobbie” Jones III to the Mountain Circuit Superior Court, filling the vacancy created by the passing of Judge Rusty Smith; James “Jay” Crowe, Jr. to be State Court Judge for Worth County, filling the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Ralph Powell to the Superior Court of the Tifton Judicial Circuit; and Ryan English as the Solicitor General of Houston County, filling the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Amy Smith to the Superior Court of the Houston Judicial Circuit.

    Judge B. Nichole Carswell currently serves as the juvenile court judge of the Mountain Judicial Circuit and the presiding judge of the Mountain Judicial Circuit Family Dependency Treatment Court. Before being appointed as the first full time juvenile court judge of the circuit in 2017, she was a partner at McClure, Ramsay, Dickerson & Escoe, LLP in Toccoa, where her practice encompassed family law, adoptions, real estate law, probate, appellate law, and general litigation.

    In addition to her position as the juvenile court judge for the Mountain Judicial Circuit, Judge Carswell has served as a superior court judge pro temp and as the presiding judge for the Rabun County Felony Drug Court. She also serves as a part-time adjunct professor at Truett McConnell University. Judge Carswell is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the Mountain Judicial Circuit Bar Association. She received her bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University and her J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Judge Carswell resides in Habersham County with her husband and two children.

    Judge Carlton “Hobie” Jones III is currently the probate judge in Rabun County, where he has served since his election in 2020. At various times in his 39 year career, he has also served as a municipal judge, a state court judge (by special appointment), and a magistrate judge. Judge Jones started his career in 1986 as an associate attorney at Glover and Davis, P.A. in Newnan and Peachtree City, Georgia. He practiced law in the Fayette County, Coweta County, and South Fulton area until 2015, when he returned to his native Rabun County. During that time, he maintained an active litigation practice with an emphasis on personal injury, domestic relations, and estate disputes. He is also a trained mediator.

    Judge Jones attended the University of Georgia Terry College of Business and is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law. Judge Jones and his wife, Jill, have 5 adult children and live in Clayton, Georgia.

    James “Jay” E. Crowe, Jr. currently serves as solicitor general for the Worth County State Court, solicitor for the City of Sylvester, and has a general law practice, Jay Crowe, Attorney At Law, LLC. Crowe is active in his local community, serving as chairman of the Worth County EDA, director on the Board of Directors for the Sylvester Kiwanis Club, and a Worth County Building Authority Board member. He has served as the past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for Worth County and as past president of the Sylvester Kiwanis Club. Crowe is on the Executive Board for the Georgia Solicitor General’s Association and is also a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association.

    Crowe graduated with honors from Mercer University with bachelor’s degrees in English, History, and Anthropology and received his law degree from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law. He lives in Sylvester, Georgia. He is married to Meredith Cobb Crowe, with whom he has two children, William and Anna Leigh. 

    Ryan W. English is an assistant district attorney with the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, currently assigned to the Narcotics Division. English has served as an assistant district attorney for the last nine years, working in both the Houston Judicial Circuit and the Oconee Judicial Circuit as well as serving as the solicitor for Pulaski County Probate Court. Prior to working as a prosecutor, he was in private practice in Houston County with the law firm of Walker, Hulbert, Gray, & Moore, LLP and also worked as an assistant public defender in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit. English is an accomplished trial attorney who has been successful in securing convictions in criminal cases, including offenses of murder, aggravated assault, trafficking in controlled substances, and racketeering (RICO). English is active in the community and currently serves the State Bar of Georgia on the Board of Governors, representing the Houston Judicial Circuit.

    English is a 2008 magna cum laude graduate of Georgia Southern University with a B.A. in history and anthropology He received his J.D. in 2012 from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. English and his wife, Cara, have one daughter, Amelia, and live in Perry. They are faithful members of First Baptist Perry. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 18, 2025
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