SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " ample " 697 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
NVIDIA’s Upcoming N1 SoC For AI PC Laptops Spotted On Engineering Motherboard: 128 GB Memory, User Claims Launch Expected This Year
An engineering sample motherboard featuring NVIDIA's upcoming N1 SoC, which will power its AI PC laptops, has been spotted online.
Scientists say we’ve been wrong about what makes sprinters fast
A new international study is shaking up how we think about elite sprinting, arguing there’s no single “perfect” running style behind the world’s fastest athletes. Instead, speed emerges from a complex mix of an individual’s body, coordination, strength, and training—meaning every top sprinter moves differently. Using examples like rising Australian star Gout Gout, researchers show that unique physical traits can produce world-class speed without copying anyone else’s technique.
Texas talk of swallowing eastern New Mexico is an old impulse
A legislative directive to study a merger with eastern New Mexico is the latest example of secessionist sentiments around the country. The breakaway notions are fanciful but the discontent is real.
Aetna Provider Survey Reveals Optimism and Opportunities to Simplify Health Care
Research findings from the inaugural Aetna Provider Survey, a quarterly study that polls a representative sample of the U.S. provider market to better understand their perceptions, opportunities, and challenges today and into the future.
MAGA Is Winning Its War Against U.S. Science
Source: NBER With all the other terrible news right now, you may not have noticed that Donald Trump is in the process of killing American science. OK, that’s an exaggeration — but not that much of an exaggeration. The Trump administration’s latest budget proposal calls for a gigantic increase in military spending combined with severe cuts to social programs. But as the chart above shows, it also calls for debilitating reductions in research funding. Furthermore, Trump appointees have already been strangling science by sharply reducing the rate at which research grants are approved. Here, for example, is the number of new grants approved by the National Science Foundation: Source: Nature Large numbers of existing grants have also been frozen or terminated, especially in the study of infectious diseases. Add to this a sharp drop in visas issued to foreign students, who often play a direct role in research and who help support academic departments that do research: Put all of this together, and much U.S. scientific research is set to come to a screeching halt — not a few years from now, but over the course of the next year or two. This new assault on U.S. science is taking place at a time when the role of American science in the world has already been greatly eroded. The chart below, based on research recently reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research, measures national strength in science by the share of publications in highly ranked journals. In the 1990s the United States had more such publications than the rest of the world combined. Since then we’ve dropped into third place — well behind China and slightly below the European Union. And this was before the Trump administration’s attack on science had time to take its full effect. Source Some erosion in U.S. scientific preeminence was inevitable given China’s growing sophistication and wealth. But we’ve also fallen behind Europe, even though everyone says that Europe is lagging economically and technologically. Claims about Europe’s underperformance are, in fact, dubious if one looks hard at the data. But it’s still striking to see America lagging. What’s going on? There are presumably multiple factors behind America’s scientific lag. But even before Trump II the growing hostility of the U.S. right to science surely had some negative effect. And since the rise of MAGA G.O.P. attitudes toward science in general have become overwhelmingly hostile. This is true even for the Republican rank and file: And while I haven’t been able to find good survey data, it’s obvious that the anti-science turn has been even more pronounced — and began earlier — among the Republican political elite. Chris Mooney published The Republican War on Science in 2005, and even then was describing a longstanding trend. Why have Republicans turned so anti-science? Part of the answer is that they believe that scientists don’t support them. And they’re right! A study of who scientists give money to shows that only a small percentage gave money to Republicans even 20 years ago, and that almost none of them donate to Republicans now: Social scientists have always been strongly pro-Democratic, while there used to be a significant number of physical, “hard” scientists supporting the GOP. But these days physicists are almost as uniformly Democratic, or at least non-Republican, as sociologists. Why are there almost no Republican scientists? It’s not a mystery. GOP political orthodoxy includes positions that are at odds with the scientific consensus on multiple issues, ranging from the validity of the theory of evolution, to the reality of climate change, to the efficacy and safety of vaccines. In each case the scientific consensus is solidly grounded in evidence. But even before the rise of MAGA the U.S. right was increasingly hostile to evidence-based policymaking — especially, of course, where the evidence is unfavorable to fossil fuel interests or quack medicine, both financial mainstays of right-wing politics. So scientists don’t support Republicans, and the feeling is mutual. Today’s Republican Party doesn’t like science or scientists. It doesn’t like having its preconceived views challenged by appeals to evidence. It knows that very few scientists are on its side electorally. In general, it sees scientific research as a threat to its grasp on political power. Add in MAGA’s combination of rabid anti-intellectualism and allergy to any hint of criticism, and one has the makings of a drastic anti-science turn in policy. “Ignorance is strength” might was well be an official MAGA motto. And as I said, we aren’t talking about something that will happen over the course of multiple years: The U.S. scientific enterprise is threatened with severe damage, even collapse, over just the next year. There are many reasons to find this prospect horrifying: Think of all the beneficial advances, affecting almost every part of life, that won’t happen because U.S. science — still crucial to the world — has been eviscerated. But think, also, of America’s international standing. Can a nation that has forfeited its role as a leader, or even a contender, in global science, still be a Great Power? No. MUSICAL CODA
Bone rescans 'another example of health inequalities' in Jersey
Patients have been called for a repeat scan after an independent review found "potential concerns".
MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers and Yankees blah blah blah, let's talk about the Brewers and Pirates(?!)
Meanwhile, get your 'small sample size' and 'it's early yet' caveats out now, because we're done with them
The Science Behind Fish Markets And DNA Tracking In The Arabian Gulf
Scientists in Bahrain are building the country’s first DNA reference library for sharks and rays using fish market samples, unlocking the full potential of environmental DNA to identify species in one of the hottest and most understudied seas on Earth.
The inside scoop of UWW-TV sports
Sports coverage has never been limited to one format. It varies from written recaps to watching highlights or listening on the radio. Providing these services is important for engagement within a community, and it has been proven with Whitewater being an example of growth and connection through sports. Students and locals can tune into media...
Airborne DNA reveals shifting reproductive timing in bryophytes
Reconstructing time from decades of air samples shows bryophytes releasing spores earlier as the climate warms.
Science Fiction as Prior Art?
Some inventors find their inventive spark through science fiction. Tasers, for example, were inspired by (and named after) the 1911 novel Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle. Likewise, Motorola’s...
Best and worst design features in a family's 560-square-foot tiny home
Brielle Matranga loves that her tiny home brings her family together and is easy to clean, but she hates not having a dishwasher or ample storage.
Shroud of Turin, claimed to be Jesus' burial cloth, contaminated with carrot and red coral DNA
An analysis of samples taken from the Shroud of Turin, the cloth thought by some to have been wrapped around Jesus, reveals a rich tapestry of animal and plant DNA. But what does it mean?
Microplastics have been found everywhere. That's a problem for research
Microplastics scientists are finding the tiny particles everywhere, even in their own research laboratories. So how do they know if what they're finding is in the sample or contamination from plastic fibers floating in the air?
RFK Jr, EPA chief 'declare war' on microplastics amid growing evidence of health risks
RFK Jr. and the EPA head "declare war" on microplastics, adding them to the drinking water contaminants list and launching new health studies.
Album Review: 6WA by BigXthaPlug & 600 Entertainment
BigXthaPlug spent eight months in Nashville making a country-rap album that debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, put “All the Way” with Bailey Zimmerman at No. 4 on the Hot 100, got him a Rolling Stone cover, and filled arenas with Jelly Roll. And then he came back to Dallas, rounded up four of his signees, and made a gangsta-rap record with N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton on the cover. 6WA is the second group release from 600 Entertainment, named after the 600 block of Meadowridge Street in Ferris, Texas, where BigX and his people grew up. The whole thing is loaded with West Coast samples. From N.W.A.’s “8Ball,” Eazy-E’s “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” and “Boyz-N-The-Hood,” Ice-T’s “6 in the Mornin’,” Snoop Dogg’s “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” and more. BigX is staking his name on the lineup he built—Rosama, MurdaGang PB, Yung Hood, KevanGotBandz, KaineMusic—and claiming a lineage from 1,400 miles away while insisting Dallas is its own thing. A million dollars in cash, split and handed straight to his mother. That’s the first place BigX goes on “From the Bottom.” He’d probably still be in the streets if he didn’t have his son and daughter. He only started rapping to make life better for Carter. Couldn’t start his car back then, now people get starstruck at Starbucks, and he throws the whole field away in one sentence: “How you think we competin’? You on the same bag, I just made me some millions off country.” Goyard bags off a Nashville payday, and he wants you to know exactly how far he’s come from everybody else. “Safe to Say” does something similar but looser. It’s a straight Ice Cube “It Was a Good Day” flip, and BigX nails it. Wakes up, checks both phones, nobody’s locked up, kid accounts look good. Gets pulled over, only catches a warning. Pulls up on the squad to liquor, ladies, and haze. Rosama takes the second verse and matches him. Wakes up to his girl cleaning his cuticles, twins playing peekaboo, pays off his car, calls a cousin, sees the opps and they don’t trip. Lawyer calls, he beat his case. Rosama is the strongest voice in the 600 camp after BigX, and “Life of a Gangster” is why. Third person, riding low, blacked-out windows, snub-nose revolver. A character who chose sticking people up over selling dope. “Quick eraser like a number-two pencil.” He never breaks character, and his delivery drops lower and slower than anything he does on the group cuts, like he’s telling you something at a cookout that he probably shouldn’t. Then on “Long Live Fre$h” he’s a completely different rapper. “Short-bus diamonds, these bitches retarded,” wide-body Durango he can’t even park. That kind of range matters on a group record. MurdaGang PB’s best verse is on the title track. Feds at his door at 6 AM, cameras busted, flushing dope, ram truck putting everybody on the floor. Yung Hood on “The Hottest” just lays out four reasons to keep hustling. Who wants to be broke, women cost money, you need bail, and home has to be straight. It’s funnier and more honest than most rappers get when they’re trying to explain why they sell drugs. KevanGotBandz on “Ain’t Never Slowin’ Down” talks about his father getting caught on the dope while he’s sitting on $300K somewhere in the hills, which is a specific kind of guilt that doesn’t usually make it onto crew tapes. KaineMusic, the newest signee, takes the back half of “Who Dunnit” and introduces herself in third person—“Took flight just to show these hoes how to perform”—but it’s too short to know if she can hold a full song. The flex tracks fill the middle of the LP and mostly run together. “I Go” is Rosama and PB trading brands, guns, and food punchlines. Rosama’s “anemic, my iron tucked low in this shirt” is a slick gun bar, PB fires back with “.223 with a clip ‘bout as big as a toddler” and “I go Burger King, stay with that whopper.” Quick, funny sometimes, but it’s all shopping lists. “Dopeman” is a chant. “6ixer Party” brings Snoop Dogg, who does exactly what you’d expect Snoop Dogg to do. BigX contributes the night’s wildest overshare: “She say she brought a friend too, well, I’m tryna put sausage on her dental.” These songs move fast and don’t overstay, but three or four of them could trade verses and nobody would catch it. Midway through, The D.O.C. shows up for a spoken-word interlude. Tracy Curry. West Dallas native, former N.W.A affiliate, co-writer on a lot of the records getting sampled on this very album. He thanks BigX for the tribute and then gets direct: “This your time, this DFW time. You need to do it like we do it down here.” Leave bread crumbs so everybody behind you can eat. Keep God in your life. It’s fatherly and generous, and it does raise the question of whether 6WA follows that advice. The album borrows heavy. The cover art, the Eazy-E samples, “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” opening with a direct “Boyz-N-The-Hood” lift, Yung Hood rapping “Flag on my left side, Crip until I die.” But the stuff that actually stays with you is Dallas. BigX talking about Pleasant Grove, Rosama calling himself a country boy, PB recounting a raid that could’ve been last Tuesday. The record smells most like itself when it smells like Ferris, Texas, and least like Compton. BigX on “The Hottest” says his father was the first person he knew who had chickens. Not the way rappers usually wave at the drug trade. He means his actual father, his actual family. On “600 Degrees,” Rosama compares his chopper’s stutter to a speech disorder, PB claims he still has the block on his back even after leaving the city. BigX closes that one saying he used to spin and smack, and now the plaques are platinum. Thirty-two minutes was right for this. Nobody overstays, Tony Coles and Rance and Charley Cooks keep the production punchy, and BigX gives his signees real room instead of crowding every song. 6WA doesn’t reinvent anything. Five rappers, good beats, short clock. Most of what they say you’ve heard before. Some of it—the million to his mother, the cuticles and peekaboo, the four reasons to hustle—you won’t forget. Solid (★★★½☆) Favorite Track(s): “Safe to Say,” “From the Bottom,” “The Hottest” Subscribe
Gemma 4 and what makes an open model succeed
Having written a lot of model release blog posts, there’s something much harder about reviewing open models when they drop relative to closed models, especially in 2026. In recent years, there were so few open models, so when Llama 3 was released most people were still doing research on Llama 2 and super happy to get an update. When Qwen 3 was released, the Llama 4 fiasco had just gone down, and a whole research community was emerging to study RL on Qwen 2.5 — it was a no brainer to upgrade. Today, when an open model releases, it’s competing with Qwen 3.5, Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax M2.5, GPT-OSS, Arcee Large, Nemotron 3, Olmo 3, and others. The space is populated, but still feels full of hidden opportunity. The potential of open models feels like a dark matter, a potential we know is huge, but few clear recipes and examples for how to unlock it are out there. Agentic AI, OpenClaw, and everything brewing in that space is going to spur mass experimentation in open models to complement the likes of Claude and Codex, not replace them. Especially with open models, the benchmarks at release are an extremely incomplete story. In some ways this is exciting, as new open models have a much higher variance and ability to surprise, but it also points at some structural reasons that make building businesses and great AI experiences around open models harder than the closed alternatives. When a new Claude Opus or GPT drops, spending a few hours with them in my agentic workflows is genuinely a good vibe test. For open models, putting them through this test is a category error. Something else to be said about open models in the era of agents is that they get out of the debate of integration, harnesses, and tools and let us see close to the ground on what exactly is the ability of just a model. Of course, we can’t test some things like search abilities without some tool, but being able to measure exactly the pace of progress of the model alone is a welcome simplification to a systematically opaque AI space. Share The list of factors I’d use to assess a new open-weight model I’m considering investing in includes: Model performance (and size) — how this model performs on benchmarks I care about and how it compares to other models of a similar size. Country of origin — some businesses care deeply about provenance, and if a model was built in China or not. Model license — if a model needs legal approval for use, uptake will be slower at mid-sized and large companies. Tooling at release — many models release with half-broken, or at least substantially slower, implementations in popular software like vLLM, Transformers, SGLANG, etc due to pushing the envelope of architectures or tools. Model fine-tunability — how easy or hard it is to modify the given model to your use-case when you actually try and use it. The core problem is that some of these are immediately available at release, e.g. general performance, license, origin, etc. but others such as tooling take day(s) to week(s) to stabilize, and others are open research questions — with no group systematically monitoring fine-tunability. In the early era of open models, the days of Llama 2 or 3 and Qwen pre v3.5, the architectures were fairly simple and the models tended to work out of the box. Some of this was due to the extremely hard work of the Llama, Qwen, Mistral, etc. developer teams. Some is due to the new models being genuinely harder to work with. When it comes to something like Qwen 3.5 or Nemotron 3, with hybrid models (either gated delta net or mamba layers), the tooling is very rough at release. Things you would expect to “just work” often don’t. I’ve been following this area closely since we released Olmo Hybrid with a similar architecture, and Qwen 3.5 is just starting to work well in the various open-source tools that need to all play nice together for RL research. That’s 1.5 months after the release date! This is just to start really investing more into understanding the behavior of the models. Of course, others started working on these models sooner by investing more engineering resources or relying on partially closed software. The fully open and distributed ecosystem takes a long time to get going on some new models. All of this is lead-in for the most important question for open models — how easy is it to adapt to specific use-cases? This is a different problem for different model sizes. Large MoE open-weight models may be used by entities like Cursor who need complex capabilities in their domain, e.g. Composer 2 trained on Kimi K2.5. Other applications can be built on much smaller models, such as Chroma’s Context-1 model for agentic search, built on GPT-OSS 20B. The question of “which models are fine-tunable” is largely background knowledge known by engineers across the industry. There should be a thriving research area here to support the open ecosystem model. The first step is to understand characteristics of different base and post-trained models to understand what they look like. The second step is to tune pretraining recipes for open models so they’re more flexible. Interconnects AI is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe For The ATOM Project and other Interconnects endeavors, we’ve put in substantial effort to measuring adoption trends in the open ecosystem. Everything takes a long time to unfold after a model is first publicly available — and adaptability is why. What we know for sure now, when Qwen has been going from strength to strength with its releases, is that technical staff across the industry has gotten comfortable working with Qwen models. Countless research methods and datasets were made to work with Qwen. It’ll take patience for any other model family to get to this point — a patience I’m not sure many open model builders have. This takes us to Gemma 4, Google’s latest open models. Gemma 3 was released more than a year ago, in March of 2025, and is a bit underrated. Gemma 4 comes in 4 sizes for now, with a bigger, MoE model of over 100B total parameters rumored but not released yet. The models we have today come in sizes of ~5B dense, 8B dense, 26B total 4B active MoE, and 31B dense. I’m most excited that they’re finally adopting a standard Apache 2.0 open source license. This’ll massively boost adoption. The standard of better licenses for strong open-weight LLMs was set by mostly Chinese open model labs in the last 1-2 years, and now U.S. companies are following suit. I will personally be so happy if the horrible Llama licenses and Gemma terms of service were an ~18-month transient dynamic of the industry being nervous about releasing strong open models. The Gemma 4 scores look very solid, the small models have incredible benchmark scores (especially in general domains like LMArena) and the 31B model rivals the recent Qwen 3.5 27B, which is the leading member of that class. The ~30B size range is an important one, as it’s accessible both to researchers and to enterprises looking to deploy the model in real use-cases. Where the 7B model scale is the default for tinkering and research, a 30B model is the default for seeing if an open model can unlock substantial value in your specific workflow — a good mix of intelligence, low price, tractability for downstream training, etc. This takes us back to the above adoption criteria I mentioned for open models and the bigger question — do I think Gemma 4 will be an overwhelming success? Previous Gemma models have been plagued by tooling issues and poorer performance when being finetuned. Gemma 4’s success is going to be entirely determined by ease of use, to a point where a 5-10% swing on benchmarks wouldn’t matter at all. It’s strong enough, small enough, with the right license, and from the U.S., so many companies are going to slot it in. I’m cautiously optimistic that Gemma 4 is going to work better here. Winds are shifting for open models built in America. We saw GPT-OSS go through a bumpy launch to become an overwhelming success. There’s a collective energy around the likes of Reflection, Arcee, Nemotron, Gemma, Olmo, and peers that show substantial demand for building new stacks around open models. There’s capital to be spent on AI stacks across the economy by those who want more ownership of everything, including the model. After launching The ATOM Project 240 days ago, the conversation is shifting into the next stage. Summer of 2025 was a crisis moment where the U.S. AI scene realized it can’t wait and figure out open models after building AGI. The two markets will capture different areas and proceed in parallel. Now that more companies in the U.S. are releasing strong models, we need to improve the ecosystem so that these models are easy to use, understand, and build value around. It’s the hard work to build another inflection point in these adoption plots I’ve been updating consistently, but that’s the work to be done. Join me in it. More data coming soon! Here’s a sneak peek:
We all need to become better science storytellers. Here’s why and how.
Last week, in a lovely New Haven bar, six people gathered in front of a crowd to tell stories that were somehow related to science and public health. It was magical. One person talked about learning how social determinants of health helped them forgive their mother’s alcoholism. Another shared what it’s been like navigating a dementia diagnosis. Another described their last dinner with their mother before they left Nigeria to come to the U.S. and how that moment, plus the diagnosis that followed, shapes their career goals today. As the Executive Director of The Evidence Collective at Your Local Epidemiologist, I was ecstatic to bring this event, “Science and Storytelling,” to the community surrounding the Yale School of Public Health. Stories are not the default way most people communicate about science and public health. In fact, we are taught to take all the emotion out of data, but that makes it pretty darn boring to everyone else. And if people can’t see themselves in it, feel themselves in it, or influence it, how can we ask them to support it? Why do stories stick? How can we all—from community members to public health scientists—do better? And what are some examples?
Smiley: Let's return to a politics of respect, compassion
Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley reflects on political division, using a recent mural controversy as an example of growing hatred.
Never had the flu? Scientists may know why
Scientists estimate somewhere between 5%-35% of people do not get sick from the flu despite being exposed to the virus that causes it. Now, researchers may have figured out why. The team looked at mouthwash samples from 19 healthcare workers who, despite frequent contact with infected patients, report never getting flu symptoms. Today on Short Wave, we talk about how what they found could help scientists develop treatments and strategies to protect people who do get the flu. If you liked this episode, check out our show on an effort to map the entire immune system.Interested in more health science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Cloudflare Announces EmDash As Open-Source "Spiritual Successor" To WordPress
Cloudflare continues to be full of open-source surprises
Stanford scientists create shape-shifting material that changes color and texture like an octopus
A new shape-shifting material can change both its texture and color in seconds, inspired by the camouflage abilities of octopuses. By precisely controlling how a polymer swells with water, researchers can create detailed, reversible patterns at the nanoscale. The material can even mimic realistic surfaces and dynamically adjust how it reflects light. In the future, AI could allow it to automatically blend into its surroundings.
Brian Gutekunst says Skyy Moore addresses Packers special-team priority
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he has been prioritizing special teams for several years and signing Skyy Moore is the latest example.
Apple Reportedly Planning to Launch iMac With OLED Display
Apple is preparing to launch an iMac featuring an OLED panel with higher brightness, according to ZDNet Korea. Apple has apparently requested that Samsung Display, LG Display, and other suppliers produce 24-inch OLED panel samples suitable for a future iMac model using their mass-production facilities. This would be the biggest ever OLED display offered on an Apple device.
Steven Fulop on Fighting for Business Interests in Zohran Mamdani's New York
Steven Fulop, the new President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, the city’s leading big business advocacy group, spoke with The New York Editorial Board on the morning of March 19, 2026. Fulop recently began in the role after 12 years as mayor of Jersey City and a 2025 run for governor of New Jersey. He replaced longtime Partnership President/CEO Kathryn Wylde. (photo by Liena Žagare) Participating journalists: Nicole Gelinas, Josh Greenman, Alyssa Katz, Ben Max, Akash Mehta, Harry Siegel, Ben Smith, Liena Žagare Full Transcript **Ben Max**Good morning. Thanks for being here. So start us off: The people who hired you for this role, what did they make clear were their top priorities for you coming into it, and for the Partnership, and what did you sort-of pitch as the direction you thought things could go? Give us a little of that bifurcation of where the minds met in terms of the priorities and the leadership for the new era. **Steven Fulop**Let me explain to you how I ended up in the job, OK? That’s probably a good starting point, because I don’t think anybody initially thought that I was the pick that they coveted or thought that would be an ideal fit for this position. I’d run for [New Jersey] governor, as you guys know, and I was very deliberate in the lane that I was taking as a candidate for governor. The same candidate when I ran for mayor and city council — it was outside the establishment. It was building on issues, single-issue voters — very, very concentrated on detailed policy. And I thought that if I could build an organization, outside of the typical political organization, of single-issue voters, you could become viable because they’re passionate people generally, OK? And one is mayor, outside the establishment doing that. You won two races in the country that Obama actually engaged in as president. Rahm Emanuel and Jeremiah Healy, my predecessor, was a ten-year incumbent. So we won based on this structure. Run for governor, kind of in that same model. And I thought at the time that 550,000 people would turn out in the election. That was based on history in a similar election, when Chris Christie left and it was Trump’s first-year primary, you know, changeover in governor. There was five hundred or four eighty-seven [thousand]. So I thought five-fifty was a bump up. Same numbers Sherrill had, Ras Baraka had. I thought five hundred and fifty thousand people in the election, six candidates running that are viable — two congresspeople, two mayors, senate president, and the teachers’ union president — that if I got to a hundred and thirty thousand votes, single-issue passionate voters, I would get in through the primary with twenty, twenty-five percent, and then put it back together even though I was kind of the outside establishment guy. I think I did everything perfect during that election, OK? With the exception of winning. Which is the big deal. But I miscalculated one thing. And I don’t know in hindsight how I could have changed anything. But I miscalculated that the turnout ended up spiking to eight-fifty, OK? So I said five-fifty. We all said five-fifty. Going into Election Day on Tuesday, and I’m a pretty pragmatic person. Going into Election Day on Tuesday, if you said, Steve, are you gonna win? I would have told you, we caught them and we’re gonna win, OK? We have more volunteers. I mean, to give you perspective on it: Uber, which is a data company, like, the week before, they wrote a million-dollar check to my super PAC, five hundred [thousand] to Sherrill, five hundred [thousand] to Ciattarelli. Election Day, the New York Times embedded one reporter, photographer for most of the day with only one of us, me. CNN, the day before, me, right? The trend was there. I miscalculated that there was an additional 300,000 people that came out. I saw, similar to here [in New York City], the voter numbers surging early, and I just thought it was a displaced Election-Day voter. I thought you were so excited to vote that you were voting early. I never imagined that there were 300,000 additional people voting. And if you tuned in late, then you would have ultimately– I had the wrong message. My message was, Trenton was broken, these are the things we would fix. And Sherrill, for example, was: I’m a helicopter pilot to fight Trump, right? Her message was better for that. It was over in five minutes. So why do I tell you that? I was shell-shocked, didn’t really know what happened, and the way this business works is when you lose, your phone goes dead. Nobody calls. It’s just, that’s it. Silence. And so, I’m trying to think about what happened and two weeks after the fact, I get a phone call by this guy. His name is Jim Simpson. He was Christie’s DOT chair, OK? Commissioner. And he worked on the widening of the Pulaski Skyway with me as the mayor of Jersey City. And Christie went after me with Bridgegate, and I was a government witness during Bridgegate. But even when nobody in the Christie administration could talk to me, Jim Simpson was always like, I have this major project going through Hudson County, predominantly Jersey City. I’m gonna deal with the guy. And he would tell you that Steve was a professional, good guy to deal with. I think that’s what Jim Simpson would say. I didn’t talk to Jim Simpson for 12 years. I lose the election. Two weeks after, I get a phone call. He leaves a voicemail. Hey, Steve, it’s Jim Simpson. Can you give me a call back? And I was kind of like fuck the world at that point. I didn’t want to call anybody back. And I called Jim Simpson back, and I was like, Hey, Jim. How’s it going? And he says to me, he says, Look, I’m very thankful you remember who I am, blah, blah, blah, blah. He said, Look, I had an issue in a warehouse I own in Jersey City. Didn’t know really how to navigate the building department. I figured it out, right? But thanks for calling me back. That was the conversation, OK? And I’m like, OK, great. You know? Whatever. So the conversation ended. He says, You know, I moved to Pennsylvania, but I’m sometimes up in New York. If I’m up there again, why don’t we just get together? I said Sure. I got nothing but time, right? And so he calls again about a week-and-a-half later, says, I’m gonna be in New York tomorrow. Wanna grab breakfast? Sure. So we meet for breakfast, and he knew nothing about me. When I got there, he was googling me, OK? Like, he knew nothing about my deeds. He’s like, Oh, you were in the military. That’s amazing. Like, it was a weird conversation. And, you know, towards the end of the conversation, he says, What are you gonna do next? And I said, I honestly don’t know. You know, I think maybe this, maybe that. And he says, You know who you should call? I said, No idea. Who, Jim? And he says, I don’t get along with her, he said. I used to be a Rockefeller fellow. I do not get along with her. We do not see eye to eye, but you should call this woman named Kathy Wylde. And I said, I met Kathy, ten years ago once. I don’t know if I would call her, and I don’t…That’s a weird conversation, just to call a stranger and ask for help with a job, right? And he says, No, you should figure out how to call her. We’re gonna figure out how to get you in touch with her again. I gotta think about it. I said, OK. We left. I never thought anything of it. He calls me four days later, and he says, I was giving it some thought. I was googling and I saw she’s leaving [as President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City]. You should apply for the job. And I said, I don’t know anybody. It’s a weird dynamic. And he said, We gotta figure it out. You know? Good guy. A couple weeks later, I was going to a conference in Montana, and three years earlier, I had met Rob Speyer at the conference. Spoke to Rob probably twice in my life since then, OK? But, we had a night we sat next to each other at a dinner, had a nice conversation. So I texted him. I said, Are you going to this conference by chance, in a couple weeks? He said, I am going, right? I said, Oh, can I grab you when you’re there for a couple minutes? He said, Sure. I go with my wife. He comes over, says hello. He knew my wife from a couple years ago, pleasantries. I said, Hey, Rob. you know, I texted you, if I could speak to you. He said, Yeah, yeah. What’s up? And I was, like, nervous at this point. I’m, like, sweating. Like, I’m gonna give a pitch. I said, I see you’re very involved with the Partnership. I think I’d be killer at that job. And he says, Why? And I gave him a pitch, which I’ll tell you in a second. And he said, Honestly, he said, Steve, there’s 12 people in the search committee. He says, I couldn’t even help you if I wanted to, nor would I. But what I can do when people ask me is just get in touch with Heidrick & Struggles and, go through the process. I said, That’s all I could ask. It’s fine. So I send him a text two days later with my resume, and I said I was serious about this. Can you connect me to the person? He says, Sure. Heidrick & Struggles would tell you that they did the interview as a courtesy. And that they thought that it was going nowhere, largely because when the search committee, which is a who’s who of business, outlined who they wanted, they said they wanted somebody from New York City, and they wanted somebody who was not in elected office. So here I am. I would go through these interviews, and I would outline what I thought the Partnership was doing wrong, and how politics has changed, and where I thought the potential was. Largely that the model of shuttle diplomacy, of relationships in the way that it worked 20, 30 years ago, doesn’t work anymore. And today you see, both with Mamdani and Trump— The assets that they [Partnership member companies] have are that they have 800,000 employees. They have the ability to communicate at scale, and they have a general centrist message, and none of those things are leveraged in any meaningful way, is what I would outline. And I really believe, and I continue to believe, that if the Partnership is perceived as a voice of very wealthy people and the CEOs, it will no longer exist in five or ten years. And the reason I say that is because one of the assets that people value is this convening component. And it’s a convening component because you have everybody from, you know, the CEO of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs towards mid-level to low-level CEOs, and they want to be in the room with the next person in that food chain, so to speak. And when people view it as not good use of their time, because it’s not effective, you start seeing deterioration and you no longer get that involvement. And I would explain this to them, and I would say, This is how we’re going to organize employees, and I think is the most effective way to do it. It’s something that I did as a [mayor] or a candidate when I was running these campaigns, so it’s something I know. And they would ask a lot of questions, and we would go through this model in detail, and they would ask, and they would just move me along in the campaign in, in this situation. And then at the end, probably ten interviews in, the woman from, you know, Heidrick says, You know, I think, you know, as crazy it is, you might land this plane. And I said I knew I was going to land the plane. But— **Josh Greenman**Can I ask? So you mentioned— **Steven Fulop**Sorry to take so much time on that, but— **Josh Greenman**Three hundred thousand, or I forget the number. **Steven Fulop**Eight hundred thousand. **Josh Greenman**Eight hundred thousand employees. And correct me if any of the assumptions embedded in the question are wrong. But you’re a membership organization, you’re supposed to be speaking for the large employers. **Steven Fulop**Yes. Large employees. Employers and employees. **Josh Greenman**Employers and employees. But you don’t canvas them every time an issue comes up. You described it as centrist. OK. An issue comes up. First of all, how do you, as the head of the Partnership, decide whether to get engaged and involved in that particular issue? And second of all, how do you decide what the posture of the Partnership is, if it’s not predefined? How much of it is your instinct? How much of it is, Let me take the temperature of the employees and the employers first? **Steven Fulop**The honest answer is I think it’s a hybrid. At the last board meeting, I spoke about being more narrow in the things that we’re going to be involved in. I think it’s very important we’re very deliberate and specific on issues that we care about and being less involved in kind of broad things that don’t necessarily touch 250 of the different companies. **Josh Greenman**Even though you made a statement about antisemitism. **Steven Fulop**I made a statement on antisemitism because it touches a lot of our companies, if not all of them, because they have Jewish employees, and they’re all very invested here. **Ben Smith**What’s something that you think the Partnership should get out of? **Steven Fulop**We had a lot of time last year in the fashion industry. I think the fashion industry is important. I don’t know who reads that report ultimately or how you move the needle ultimately on the fashion industry. We did some work very publicly on short-term rentals. Not really sure that that’s the best place to be spending a lot of time, because I don’t think it pertains to every single person here. I think that there are things that do pertain, quality-of-life issues that touch everybody. How do those things come to light? So I spoke broadly at the executive board meeting about things that I thought were important. They had lots of questions, Why this, that, and I outlined things both in a framework of government and politics: This is what I think. This is where the opportunity is. This is where the vulnerability is, et cetera, and we went through some of that stuff. When we’re working, for example, now, I gotta review it. We’ve been going back and forth on a blueprint of things to change for New York City that I think, or our team thinks, are meaningful, practical, and tangible things that you could change that would impact the budget in a meaningful way. And a normal person would say, You’re probably right about that. And the politics could be tough for those. So put a litany of, let’s say, 330 of them together. A lot of it’s our team’s ideas. Some of them are a little bit maybe venturing into a place that the Partnership historically has felt maybe uncomfortable. Those are broader conversations because I don’t yet have 20 years of trust with those people. So I say, Here’s what I’m looking to do. Here’s the reasons why. And we have those conversations with the executive board. **Liena Žagare**Does universal childcare fit into that? **Steven Fulop**Universal childcare is a part of it ‘cause— universal childcare is a part of it. It’s definitely in there. And I’ll tell you this. We polled our employee base because we were curious. It’s something again that touches, I believe, the affordability crisis. I think Mamdani and Hochul are right on this. It touches everybody who lives here in some way or another. Roughly two-thirds of our employers provide some sort of childcare today. Some is on-site, some is off-site, some is subsidies for low-income, some is subsidies for everybody, some is using a tax credit. And I’ve said this to the mayor before, that our knowledge of this space is vast because we have experience, practical experience on this sort of thing that others don’t have. They may have abstract experience or be ideological in a certain way. We experience it. We can tell you what works and what doesn’t work in the Building Department, what the challenges are in the bureaucracy, what the issues are in accomplishing this in a different way, because a lot of us have tried to provide that, right? So how do we communicate that publicly in a way that makes sense from our objective, which is improving New York, and at the same time in a way that’s value-added to the mayor or the administration, is kind of where we are. But it’s a hundred-percent part of that blueprint. There is a section on this. **Akash Mehta**It’s interesting to hear you emphasize that you represent the employees, not just the employers. Are there formal structures that put that into practice? Are there elected board positions from the employee base, or anything like that? **Steven Fulop**What we’re starting to do now— So it’s a shift, OK? And what we’re doing now, the short answer is no. What we’re doing now is starting a lot of these town hall-type conversations with the CEOs and me. It is an April, May, June, two, three-year initiative, where we’re talking about civic involvement, the importance of New York, and people can opt to sign up for information from us. So we’re communicating in that way. People will opt in, and then we’ll have the ability to better communicate with the employee base with regards to what we’re doing. You know, there’s no secrets to what I’m saying. I mean— **Ben Smith**But you think the opportunity is to mobilize employees? **Steven Fulop**The opportunity is to better communicate because I think there’s a disconnect between a lot of the things that happen, and how and when we communicate to employees things that may impact them. Because you have all sorts of legalities, and general counsels, obviously, that put obstacles in place on this stuff. And we need to figure out a way, because people are invested here in a meaningful way, so they should have knowledge of this. I don’t believe– Of course, our employee base is different than working for the Hotel Trade Council or Carpenters [union] or whatever, right? They’re monolithic, told to do something, they’re gonna do it. Employee bases aren’t that. I think that’s an asset. Having a generally college-educated employee base, if you lay out an issue in a reasonable way, they could make an informed decision whether that works for them or doesn’t work for them. The— **Akash Mehta**Wait, the carpenters can’t make an informed decision? **Steven Fulop**I didn’t say they can’t make an informed decision. I’m gonna say they’re more monolithic in what they do, and it’s driven by the decision of a leader, specifically in the Carpenters. The Carpenters would say from their executive board, maybe in Washington, maybe in New York, maybe in New Jersey, say, Directionally, we are supporting Ben. And then we support Ben. We don’t have that luxury. That’s not the way we’re structured. **Akash Mehta**What does that have to do with them being college-educated? **Steven Fulop**Well, it doesn’t have to. I mean, I think that you don’t have to necessarily be college-educated, it’s a fair question, to weigh something. But I think generally somebody that’s gone through some sort of rigorous education and training on pragmatic thinking has a better chance because they’ve been educated to think that way. I don’t think it’s a referendum on, you only could understand an issue if you’re college-educated. **Alyssa Katz**But I want to dig in a little more to that when you’re talking about pragmatic thinking, because it’s not an elephant exactly, but the sort-of power in the room is the mayor, who’s elected with actually a lot of college-educated support. And also based on a sort of different way of looking at pretty much everything in some ways, right? Like around– OK, we’re gonna start with principles, we’ll figure out the practicalities later. And also around mobilizing large numbers of people who have interests potentially at odds with capitalism, right? Tenants, people who generally think that money and politics and billionaires are the core problem, or a core problem to address, and on and on. So I’m interested in your efforts to mobilize people in that light. I mean, are you looking to build a counterforce? How does that factor in? **Steven Fulop**I don’t use a “counter force.” I don’t think people are generally sympathetic or upset with capitalism or sympathetic to socialism. I view it more as a couple of things were true in the November election. A, you had an alternative to Mamdani that was tremendously flawed. So they had a ceiling. It was an exact situation that happened in Jersey City, where you had a former governor who resigned in disgrace running for mayor, my old seat, same exact outcome. So it wasn’t, it wasn’t a reflection of, everybody’s sympathetic to socialism. I think elections are choices ultimately, and these are the four choices that you ultimately had. Do I think that people are frustrated and more fiscally liberal than they’ve ever been before? Yeah, absolutely. I think that when people say that I, people say, a twenty-year model ago would say, I am, you know, fiscally conservative and socially liberal, that model has flipped really. People are fiscally liberal because what’s going on today isn’t working for them. They’re not necessarily sympathetic to socialism, but they’re open to trying things because there’s an acknowledgement that what’s happening isn’t working. And we see that too. We’re not blind to that. So do I think that you can organize a counterweight, was the question? Is that what it is? I don’t know if I would frame it as a counterweight. I think that you need to organize something that has a voice that is relevant in the political atmosphere, definitely. **Josh Greenman**Can you just explain both the number and percentage of people the Partnership represents of employees, versus the employment base of the city as a whole? **Steven Fulop**Yeah, I don’t know the— **Josh Greenman**What’s happened to that over time? I’m curious, like, is it— **Steven Fulop**I can get that to you. I don’t know. I don’t know that— **Josh Greenman**And then the other is inside the Partnership. What are the constituent companies and groups, and…Are there a couple of companies that have a highly disproportionate share of Partnership members? **Steven Fulop**No. **Josh Greenman**So how broad-based is it? Can you just describe it? **Steven Fulop**I mean, there’s 350 companies. They range in size from– I mean, they would be significant companies, maybe 50 employees, OK, to several thousand employees. But on the executive board, you can see from the site and the broader board, they vary in size and background. Most of the companies you would have some familiarity with. But, they vary in size. **Josh Greenman**How is it determined whether you’re part of the Partnership as a company in New York City? **Steven Fulop**As part of the Partnership, is generally we go through a process of meetings. I meet with them initially, provide them some information. They express that they’re interested, I express that we’re interested. I take it to the board to make sure that we’re moving in that direction, and then the board validates that. This year we’ve had, I mean, a bunch more have joined, and we’ve restructured some things so some have left intentionally. It’s not intentionally, but I guess– **Nicole Gelinas**You’re running pretty hard against the two income-tax hike proposals that the mayor ran for office and won on. Do you see the employee base as part of the battle against those tax increases? Would Partnership company employees go up to Albany to make their point known against that? **Steven Fulop**Yeah. But I don’t think you’re gonna have that same sort of advocacy group that the DSA does. It’s a totally different type of person that would engage, number one. Do I think that a lot of the employees would be opposed to an increased tax structure in New York? I think without clear parameters on what that tax structure looks like, I think the answer is yes. And it’s not only the income taxes that we’re concerned about. So we’ll go into that, too. The reality on this is, if you look at it from a reasonable point of view, if you added the income tax, the payroll, the PTET tax, which is one that we care a lot about and we’re concerned about, the corporate tax, the estate tax, and the property taxes: You put all of those together, right? And you said, OK, we’re gonna do them all. And without some structural changes to the budget, you will be at the trough again in three years. And I think a reasonable person who’s even supportive of, maybe, the highest earners paying more would say, Does it make sense to do this every two or three years, and at what point is there a tripwire? So I think, yeah, the people would be sympathetic. It depends how and what information you provide and how those taxes are. But we don’t have that structure in place yet. I just got started. So we’re just building that stuff out, which I’ve told you, but it’s new days on this. **Nicole Gelinas**So there’s, there’s a reasonable person, and then there’s Albany. Now that the budget is— **Steven Fulop**No, I gotta be careful ‘cause I gotta work with people. So I can’t say they’re unreasonable. **Nicole Gelinas**Now that the budget is just a week-and-a-half away, what do you see as your prospects for stopping those tax hikes? And if you don’t stop them, does that hurt your power early on? **Steven Fulop**No. I don’t think any reasonable person would say that there’s a structure in place today, after two months of me being there, that is gonna push back against everything in Albany from a political standpoint. I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say. I don’t think the Partnership leadership think of it that way, and I think that most people wouldn’t think of it that way. I think the governor has been very strong [against tax increases], so that’s good. That pass-through tax that was put in place when the SALT reduction was eliminated, and now there’s a proposal to eliminate that, that would be an income tax increase on not only the wealthiest people, it would be an income tax increase on business owners throughout the city. And that is one that we’re keeping track of right now that I think doesn’t get the scrutiny that it deserves. Everybody focuses on the income tax and the corporate tax, which the governor is fairly clear, at least now, that she’s not supportive of, but we’ll see. **Josh Greenman**On the corporate tax, Mamdani has repeatedly said it shouldn’t harm the climate here in New York City because it applies to anyone who does business in the state, not if you’re headquartered here, so it shouldn’t lead to corporate flight of any kind. Is that how you see it? **Steven Fulop**No. So first of all, it’s challenging when it’s depicted as corporate flight, because then it becomes a conversation around, Well, you didn’t leave. You didn’t leave. So I know what I did is OK because you didn’t leave. The reality of how this works is that it’s attrition over time, and decisions on where to scale outside of New York. That’s generally how this works. And because the immediacy isn’t there, people don’t view it as, Well, I made this decision, and tomorrow you left. And that’s a challenge for us, because the argument we lose, even though what we’re saying happens to be true, that people constantly are making decisions to scale [businesses] elsewhere. You see it. You see it. So I think that his argument is flawed, although it’s a political argument ultimately is what he’s making, and I understand that. But if you do change the tax rate as he proposes, you will be one hundred percent higher than New Jersey, right, which is at 11 percent, and you would be at 22 percent, according to the CBC, when you layer in all these other things. So at that point, you start saying, Well, I have the same talent pool that I’m pulling from here in the New York system. I’m no longer making the decision to go to Texas or Florida or Tennessee, where it’s a geographic total distance, but at a hundred percent premium to be in New York City, is that worth it, and should I be elsewhere? Your competition is elsewhere at that point in proximity. That’s the dangerous thing to what he’s saying. **Ben Smith**Do you think even more broadly, there is just this sense among— ’cause I think you’re right. You talk to business leaders, and most of the really big businesses in New York don’t care about New York anymore. They’re not New York businesses. They’re global businesses that happen to be here, and New York taxes are a diminishing share of the thing they worry about. Because they’re so global now, they don’t have the kind of commitment they did when David Rockefeller was running the Partnership. And I think a lot of them and a lot of people just think, long-term, New York is cooked. There’s a flight not to Jersey, but to the Sun Belt — to Houston, to Dallas, to Atlanta, to Miami — that’s kind of unstoppable at this point. And you see just the growth of those cities demographically. You see it in terms of their businesses. You know, maybe that’s not this year or next, but I think if you just literally look at the lines on paper of New York, Philadelphia, Boston…these northeastern cities, versus the Sun Belt. Just feels like an irreversible trend: these places are in decline, these places are rising. This is probably beyond our professional careers even, we’ll be fine. But do you think long-term that it’s true, that New York is just sort of irreversibly declining? **Steven Fulop**I think it’s fragile. There’s a lot of indicators and pressure to push people away, and there isn’t an easy solution to it. First, let’s just talk about last week. Regardless of what you say about the corporate tax conversation, we could disagree or agree, regardless. You know, your job isn’t to agree or disagree. But using the estate tax that was proposed last week, OK, or two weeks ago, nobody above the age of 60 would live in New York City if that happened to be approved. Period. End of story. You would see flight, because no sane person would do that? Because the tax rates, that you’re not talking about the one percent, you’re talking about somebody who has a $750,000 home or apartment, OK? You know who that is. So you have pressure because of the dialogue that’s happening there for sure. You definitely have gradual attrition and people moving jobs elsewhere because they’re more portable. There’s no question about that. You have pressure at the bottom because it is very hard for entry-level people to find jobs, and at the same time to find housing. It’s a true thing here in New York, the pressure. So you have a lot of difficult situations going on and absence of a tough political solution, meaning willing to make decisions that are not popular, you won’t be able to change the trajectory. And that is only one that the mayor can actually drive, OK? So the property tax reform stuff that de Blasio and Adams both tried to do, it’s necessary. It’s really necessary, but it’s gotta be driven by the mayor leaning into it, making that a number one priority. Use things like FHEPS, OK? You guys have all written about that. **Ben Smith**I don’t know what that is, sorry. **Steven Fulop**It’s the rental assistance program, OK? It’s growing at four percent per month. It’s a billion-dollar-plus program. Four percent per month! It’s not sustainable. And if the mayor was sitting here, he would say, Well, I didn’t approve the expansion of the program. That’s what he would say. Because I had a conversation with one of his people last night on this, and I said, Yeah, but the expansion would have made it worse. The existing program is four percent per month, right? We need to solve for that. How do you solve for that? That program is a byproduct of the de Blasio administration when Cuomo got rid of the rental assistance program at the state, and so the city inherited that. There isn’t another city in the country that has a similar entitlement program. It’s not sustainable. That program belongs at the state or at the federal government, but it is a politically tough thing to do. So you gotta be able to make decisions like the property tax reform, that. Those are not easy things to do. But outside of that, your trajectory for the city is very, very dangerous. It’s a fact, you know? [Note: After this interview occurred but before it was published, the Mamdani administration continued the appeal of a court ruling requiring the city to expand the FHEPS program as dictated in a law passed by the City Council, while the two sides of City Hall negotiate a potential settlement.] **Akash Mehta**Do you broadly agree with Mamdani’s analysis that Cuomo shafted New York City — that Albany shafted New York City under Cuomo? **Steven Fulop**Honestly, it predates me, so it’s hard for me to kind of give you a fair assessment on that. I would tell you that I was mayor for 12 years in Jersey City, economic backbone for New Jersey. We drive jobs, we drive the statewide economy, we drive every number. It’s disproportionately housing growth. Everything is Jersey City. And I used to say, We don’t get what we put in. We don’t get that back. It’s true, OK. I know New Jersey and New York both say to the federal government, you know, they both pay much more to the federal government than what they get back. I mean, this is a narrative that people say. It’s probably true. Does it get corrected? I don’t know. You know, it’s on the governor’s situation. I have no idea, is the short answer, ‘cause I’m not in the weeds on that. **Akash Mehta**One quick question on the tax battle. The Partnership has a [501] C4 that was seeded with $10 million. What are your plans for the group? Are you planning to spend that money on this battle? **Steven Fulop**Um…unclear. And, conversations this week on that. You know— **Josh Greenman**Do you run the C4? **Steven Fulop**We hired an executive director this week. There is a willingness, we had a call this week and there is a willingness to spend real money to make sure that New York City stays competitive. So this was literally this week. There was a call. I would tell you that there is a serious appetite there. It’s literally a ripe conversation that’s happening in the last 24 hours. Good question, though. **Nicole Gelinas**Large donors proved last year that they’re very good at spending a lot of money — but it didn’t work. In fact, it may have worked against them. Are you confident that beyond the money, you understand local and state politics well enough that some of these people are actually listening? I mean, is [State Assembly Speaker] Carl Heastie, is [State Senate Majority Leader] Andrea Stewart-Cousins listening to these arguments and saying, We didn’t realize that the potential for attrition in the corporate side was this great. Because the money hasn’t worked before. **Steven Fulop**The short answer is, I’ve been there two months. I doubt at this stage, we don’t have that relationship. I mean, I’ve met everybody. I doubt that I have the standing or credibility with them to make, or the structure in place to make that argument today more compelling than it was made six months ago. It’s just the reality of the situation. I think that you have two types of people that exist in any political sphere. You have ideologues and opportunistic people, OK, that just think about their next election. Those are the two types only. And absent somebody that has an alternative, the opportunistic person will only always be sympathetic to the ideologue, because they view that as their best route to get reelected because that’s where the gravity of energy is. **Josh Greenman**What were you? **Steven Fulop**It’s a good question. I was a hybrid. **Josh Greenman**Oh, the only one. **Steven Fulop**[Laughing] That’s right. I was unique. I think that when you look at Albany, you have a growing DSA base for sure. The question that I would have as I get into it is how much of those— the rest of the people that aren’t pure ideologues are there because there’s not an alternative that they see, can be supportive, and helpful to a pragmatic view. So I don’t know what they’ll listen to — Carl and Andrea — in the next week-and-a-half. I mean, who knows? **Josh Greenman**Should we charge more for street parking? **Steven Fulop**It’s a good question. I happen to be a supporter of some of those proposals on street safety and better streets. I don’t think it’s a broader position that the Partnership has taken, and I don’t think it’s something, going back to what I said earlier, narrowing view and going back to your question earlier on how we approve things. I’ll tell you that, as I wrote out this idea of a blueprint of things that, pragmatically, that are politically difficult to change that I believe are the right things to do, I included it in there. And going back to what you said and questioned earlier in how we get these things approved, because the nature of what we wrote, you know, once we get it to a place, I will circulate that a little bit more to the executive board and get some more feedback on whether we wanna go down this road at this point or not, or not at this time. So there’s a process on this stuff. **Ben Max**What are a few other examples? So property tax reform, some streetscape stuff, universal childcare, what else? **Steven Fulop**If you can wait till next week, it’ll be better. OK. Like– **Josh Greenman**Are you fast enough for the political world? What I’m saying is, if you’ve got to go through that process, and these conversations are happening, the budget’s gonna be cooked in ten days, are you gonna be behind the curve? **Steven Fulop**I am obsessed with the political world. I mean, I, I lived in this— Ben MaxHe means the Partnership. **Josh Greenman**The Partnership. Is the Partnership behind the curve if it’s got to deliberate on all this? **Steven Fulop**Look, I think the answer is yes. The short answer is, I don’t know, right? Like, I don’t know. I’ve not been in long enough to have a gauge on all of this. But my gut tells me yes, because the leadership there is hyper-engaged in New York City and the Partnership, it’s not something where they just kind of parachute in once every three months and think about, kind of the Partnership and what’s happening in Albany and happening in New York City. They happen to be very engaged here on a regular basis. So I think the short answer is yes. They will be able to turn stuff around relatively quickly, and I feel pretty good about that. It’s not where I think about obstacles. **Ben Max**So big picture, I’m still trying to figure out right now: What does the Partnership care about, big picture. I know you’re working on a blueprint. I know you’re rethinking some of this, but is it first and foremost, the business climate and economic growth? **Steven Fulop**Right now, I wouldn’t say this is in perpetuity. I mean, obviously, in this moment in time, it’s competitiveness and the business climate. But when the C4 was launched initially last year, they spent money on one initiative, OK? Spent a couple million dollars on the discovery bill. It had nothing to do with finances, taxes. It had to do with public safety and what they viewed as in the best interest of quality of life. So their interests aren’t necessarily only about taxes. We happen just to be in this fire drill at this moment that I got thrown into, where there’s a new tax proposal every other day. So trying to deal with that is where we are right now. I think broadly speaking, the place of the Partnership is really wanting to have a relationship where we’re kind of helping bridge the gap between the public and private sector, and helping find solutions. We have a venture fund, a $200 million venture fund, which I don’t think gets the recognition it deserves. It’s been involved in creating 37,000 jobs, seeding very early-stage New York companies that do a lot of good here. We have a tech lab that partners with DOT, with the Port Authority, with New Jersey Transit, experimenting on technologies to make government more efficient. It is a collaboration that has happened for 15 or 20 years. A lot of companies are a part of that, new companies helping on that on-ramp. It is a unique and special thing. We actually, I think, at the end of this month, have kind of that shark tank at our office where everybody comes in and pitches, and the board of that is like a who’s who. So, I mean, there’s a lot of things beyond what you guys see on the C4 and the advocacy and the lobbying sort-of side. **Nicole Gelinas**So on the Transit Tech Lab, some of the ideas that have come out of there have been very good ideas. But more broadly, for the MTA or the state and local government to actually save enough money so that we don’t have what you described with them coming back for new revenue every couple years, you have to confront the unions on some big issues, whether it’s work rules on the construction side, whether it’s two people on every single subway train, whether it’s Department of Education rules that mean they can’t be as flexible as charter schools. Do you see the Partnership taking on the unions in any sense? **Steven Fulop**Going back to the pragmatic that you said, I would use the word pragmatic and then you asked me about kind of a little bit more about that. You brought up the conductors on the trains and the proposals on that. It is very expensive. There isn’t a city in the country that has that structure. If you outline that to an employee of XYZ Corporation, and you said to them, Here’s the landscape, OK, We need help with XYZ, I would venture to say that they would be sympathetic to our point of view. That’s what I was getting at, just to give that to you earlier. You know, the New York Post called me the day that Mamdani entered into the— he said at the end of a press conference, I wasn’t there, obviously, but he mentioned that he wasn’t gonna do the sweeps of the homeless encampment. And it was probably my second or third day on the job. And the Post called and said, Do you want to comment on this? And I said, Yeah. And I said something critical of him at the time. Prior to doing that, because it was like my second or third day, I did say to some of the people on the team, going back to how nimble the organization is, I said, Hey, I would like to comment on this, OK? Because I think it’s wrong, his approach, and I think he’s gonna have to move off of where he is, ultimately. And some people said, Well, is that really the hill you wanna climb? Is that really that important to us? And I said, It absolutely is. Because, A, he’s wrong on the issue, and B, it’s a quality-of-life issue. Going back to the fact that it ended up being right, he ended up moving on, and you could see it from, like, far away, just based on being a legislator versus an executive and accountability. But I think our job is to call balls and strikes and just be fair about it. So do I think– Let me say it this way better. If you are gonna grow housing, OK, ‘cause he says it’s a priority. During his election, when he was a candidate, he would tell you if he was sitting here, he would tell you, you look at his CBS, the debates, he would talk about Jersey City and Tokyo, Jersey City and Tokyo as housing growth models. He would tell you that if he was sitting here — he said it on TV multiple times. Now, he followed that about what we did in Jersey City ‘cause we grew a lot. How are we able to grow? OK, A, you had layers of government here that we do not have there, so you need to clean that up. We upzoned, of course, more aggressively than the City of Yes around transit centers, which you have to do here for sure. And then the third part about it is that if you mandate affordable housing, community givebacks, the union labor, et cetera, et cetera, the projects financially cannot handle that. They don’t pencil out. So what we would generally do is that, on the union labor front, because the people that get squeezed the most were the ones that pressure the building trades better, because their jobs are usually the ones that get–are most competitive, are the less skilled parts of the building trades. So when you build a high-rise building, the electricians, the plumbers, the operating engineers, the ironworkers are generally gonna be union, because it’s a more complicated thing. Carpenters, laborers, painters generally are the ones that have competition from non-union, and that’s really where it is ultimately. And we would say in Jersey City, on the projects that are important to us, if they were coming to the city for some sort of subsidies or big zoning changes, and it was an important project, we would work with the developer to give the unions a last look to be competitive with the open-shop bid, and some sort of grace between five and ten percent to be competitive. Now, absent that, there is no way to get it built in union labor. So if the mayor continues to be strident that everything is gonna be a hundred percent building trades, you’re never gonna meet the objective of whatever he has a hundred, two hundred thousand units. So I think that our voice is gonna be that you need some practical reforms to these incentives, and practical reforms means that you cannot pay a 30 percent premium for the carpenters. **Nicole Gelinas**So something very simple on that, though. Two people on a train. Would you see yourself making a statement similar to the encampments that, you know, Hey, intuitively, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to leave people in encampments. Intuitively, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to mandate two people on a train. Would you just call up the Post and say that, or that’s a different— **Steven Fulop**I don’t think that— I think if you called me and you said to me, What do you think? I’d probably just answer you, that I think it’s not something that any other city does, and in a financial crisis, you probably gotta be reasonable about that. **Ben Max**This is what you got hired in part for, right? To be out there more and to be a voice pushing back. **Steven Fulop**I think that it’s just my personality. I don’t know if it’s necessarily, it’s just like this is— You’d ask me, and I would say it. I wouldn’t go call up the Post and say, Let me-- Carl [Campanile], let me comment on this, right? I wouldn’t do that. Like, that’s not how I would think about it, right? I’d be going with my day, and then Carl would say, Do you care to comment on this? Or he would call, and I would just be like, Yeah, I think so and so. And he would say, Is that on the record? And generally, I’m not gonna say, This is off the record, on anything. I generally just talk. OK? So— **Josh Greenman**You talked about incentives, government incentives. I want to talk about literal government incentives, like, Amazon, right? Remember how many years ago, half of Amazon’s HQ2 was gonna be here. **Steven Fulop**Yeah, I remember. We tried to pitch it too. **Josh Greenman**It didn’t happen. You tried to pitch it, too. What do you think of the state’s current corporate incentives? Do they make sense as currently structured? To try to attract businesses to New York State, to try and attract businesses to New York City, there are various programs. There’s been a lot of talk about restructuring those programs to make them more rational, and there’s a larger question of, should we have this environment in which cities chase corporations by throwing money at them or tax abatements at them, or should there be some kind of compact where cities agree that they don’t do this to each other? **Steven Fulop**Yeah. I generally think — putting on my mayor’s hat — that the structure exists today is a race to zero, and it’s not healthy from the public side. But you cannot unilaterally disarm, is the unfortunate part of the conversation. And so absent governors getting together and having some sort of détente where they’re no longer doing that, I do not see how a state doesn’t participate in this. That said, I think that the competitiveness conversation in New York and New York City is more complicated than just incentives. I think that, you think about other places in the country, where people have mobility to get to, and there’s opportunity, there’s more of a deliberate effort to attract beyond just the incentives. Texas reordered their entire court system to replicate Delaware, to make it more friendly for corporations. They’re having a Texas stock exchange to have better access to capital markets. It’s more of a deliberate strategy than just saying, Hey, we’re gonna give incentives. Now, it is not helpful– you know, people, absent certainty on communication, they try to interpret a lot of what somebody means or what they say. So, governor or mayor says X, Y, Z in a statement, they try to interpret, what does that ultimately mean? How should I envision that to manifest itself for what I’m trying to do? And the thing that we are trying to calibrate for, and I say this publicly and privately, is that a lot of the rhetoric out of City Hall, which is consistent tax, tax, tax on any front that’s possible, whether you make $500,000, whether you have a house that’s $750,000, whether it’s a pass-through and you have a small business, it creates a very volatile environment. And that’s the problem ultimately. So I think you need certainty on that. **Josh Greenman**I have one other topic that we haven’t talked about that I just wanna make sure we discuss, which is AI. You represent a lot of employees. And AI is going to be increasingly a large employer, in theory in the city, but it’s also coming for some of those employees’ jobs, maybe many of those employees’ jobs. **Ben Smith**And the employers are very excited about it. **Josh Greenman**And some of the employers, the CEOs, are excited about being able to save dollars and innovate in various ways. **Steven Fulop**Well, they don’t communicate that with me, but just go ahead. **Josh Greenman**So how do you, how do you balance those tensions, which are very, very real, among employees who might be excited and employers who might be excited about AI, and those who might say, Holy shit, my job is gonna be gone in 10 years, or five? **Steven Fulop**I think that that is— I said this, maybe I touched on it a little bit earlier, I think that young people not being able to find jobs and the housing crisis was pressure from the bottom that is one of the most at-risk situations for New York. AI is part of that conversation, potentially — so you have macro environment, why people aren’t hiring, and then AI might be part of that too. You know, though they don’t clarify that with me. They don’t say, Here’s the reason I’m doing this or doing that. I do think that one of the biggest risks over the next 12 or 18 months is the AI impact on jobs. I agree. And I don’t think anybody has a good solution, both in the Partnership or in City Hall, yet on that. And in order to kind of figure out how to do that and solve for that, I think that you need to have some sort of broader conversation on implications. I will tell you that one of the things that we outlined in kind of what we were talking about on this blueprint was that, I do think that part of the procurement process for city government services needs to factor in who is training and who is factoring in the AI conversation, and those scores should be appropriately weighted, beneficial for companies that are thinking about training or have a training program as part of it. So we’re trying to think of ways to kinda think about training people and getting people into another space and using the leverage of City Hall to do that. I don’t think there’s a broad enough plan yet to solve for it. It is the biggest risk for New York, because New York City relies on white-collar jobs disproportionately for its budget. And where AI is coming is directly at the white-collar jobs as opposed to the blue-collar jobs. And so New York City is poised to get hit in a different sort-of way than anybody else. Short answer is, I don’t think anybody has a clear-eyed solution on that. Some of that’s gotta be set by the mayor, you know, that’s the truth too. I said earlier in the conversation, we had a roundtable on childcare in December with the mayor. And the mayor, at the end of it, I said to his staff, I said, You know, we outlined some of the inefficiencies and bureaucracies to getting these childcare centers open, which we’re familiar with. I told you earlier. We can help you with that from a technology standpoint, okay? And this goes back to making tough decisions. You’ve seen employee headcount since COVID skyrocket at City Hall. Whole, another conversation. I mean, that’s a fair thing to say. We said we’d help you with some efficiencies on that from a technology standpoint. And they were nice in their response but there was really no follow-up on that. And, and my point on that is we can only do so much from the Partnership. You need a dance partner in order to dance, right? Like, that’s really the reality of this. So, I do not know the solution, and I push back. People aren’t— They don’t, at least they don’t express to me they’re happy about, you know, not hiring jobs. You know, maybe to you, Ben. But, and AI displacement, I think people are very concerned about it in the Partnership too. **Harry Siegel**You said maybe without some changes, the Partnership won’t be there in five to ten years. We just did have a big turnout election, that led to an avowedly socialist mayor. Can you just step back and say— **Steven Fulop**No, I think the Partnership— I think I clarified that on the, that current trajectory of how it positions itself needed to change. So I think that’s part of the reason we’re here, to make sure it’s relevant for the next ten years, but— **Harry Siegel**But the business community seems increasingly less relevant to the political direction of the city. The Partnership seems less relevant. This is a bit of an inside conversation. For people who maybe vaguely know what it is or just spot its name in headlines or whatever, what is the point of the Partnership? And frankly, what is the good and utility that the business community brings to the city, if you just want to explain that? **Steven Fulop**What does the Partnership add to the city? **Harry Siegel**Sure. **Steven Fulop**Or the politics shifting left. **Harry Siegel**However you want to take it. **Steven Fulop**I think, forget about the Partnership as an organization for a second. I think the big corporations add a disproportionate amount of philanthropy, revenue, budget help, employee help to the ecosystem here in New York City. If those larger corporations migrate out, you would have a massive budget problem, you would have significant more unemployment, and the amount of philanthropy, which is tens of millions of dollars a year across, which sometimes is underreported or undershared, is a good thing ultimately, helps private institutions or public institutions, culture and arts institutions disproportionately, hospitals disproportionately. So I think that the business community here has a huge impact. The Partnership acts as a conduit from them to the public sector, and has multiple layers to it as I touched on earlier, where we help incubate early companies, facilitate connection to New York City, help advocate for policy change, et cetera, et cetera. **Harry Siegel**Outside of real estate, the business community, as you and Ben [Smith] were talking about, is less and less rooted here, and the problem is sort of a slow trickle to other regions, as opposed to people just pushing out and moving. Lots more people are voting. They seem less interested in the priorities of the business community. You’re talking about employees as a sort of base for the organization, 800,000 of them. I’m just trying to understand how business makes itself more relevant. **Steven Fulop**That’s a little bit of a process that I touched on earlier, a little bit of the transition that I touched on earlier on why we’re here. I think that people, as you saw in this last election, are struggling, an affordability crisis is real. There’s a lot of pressure, whether it’s jobs or housing. I think that’s all real. And I think that people have become, as I said earlier, fiscally more liberal because what’s working for them today and not working today has shifted from 10 years ago. So in order to be relevant, we need to be cognizant of that. **Alyssa Katz**People mentioned earlier that antisemitism is a priority for you, fighting it, and you know, I know you— **Steven Fulop**It’s a priority for us, yeah. **Alyssa Katz**Yeah, and we had a couple incidents that may have coincided with right when you arrived at the Partnership, right? The most visible one was, you know, this Israeli drone company. **Steven Fulop**Oh, the Israeli drone company, Easy Aerial? Yeah. OK. **Alyssa Katz**Yeah. What’s the other one? **Steven Fulop**It was the Park East Synagogue situation. **Alyssa Katz**Oh, right. Well, listen, but I’m talking purely on the business side. We can talk about it more broadly. But you know, there’s a company that was in a city-owned property. The city says it was a lease issue but it had been the target of a campaign saying, Well, you’re providing drones to the Israeli military, and we need you out of here. And then sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. And I’m just kind of curious about how you are approaching that kind of pressure on Israeli individuals and their businesses to get out of town, basically. How do you address that? **Steven Fulop**I think it’s a new conversation, obviously. We do think that antisemitism is rising, and it’s a significant concern. The BDS conversation and singling out one country to different standards than other countries that the U.S. or the public agrees with or disagrees with, or that has human rights violations or doesn’t have human rights violations, is a totally different conversation that we don’t agree with — singling out a single country. And the reality is that that BDS conversation, building on that, is not acceptable to us. And as you see elected officials more vocal in this space, unfortunately, if that ends up being, I think that is a place you’d definitely see us spend money. **Liena Žagare**Do you think Mayor Mamdani is doing a good job, and where would you— **Steven Fulop**Doing a good job? **Liena Žagare**Yeah. Doing a good job in the city and— **Steven Fulop**I think— Yeah, look, I think— **Liena Žagare**Where should he be more careful? **Steven Fulop**I think, I think there is— The short answer is, it’s been two-and-a-half months, so it’s hard to tell. I think that there’s a lot of mixed signals between things he says sometimes in smaller meetings versus what he says publicly. I think that, there’s been some missteps along the way, like for example the real estate tax proposal I thought was a misstep. I think that there’s been some really encouraging things. How he’s handled the president has been terrific. And I think that the city is in a better place than anybody would have thought post-election with regards to the president as a result of his communication there. I think that he has shown some willingness to move away from an extreme left position that he came in. That transition from a legislator to an executive is a transition, and from being a backbench Assemblyperson to a prominent front and center mayor, that transition is always complicated. Homeless encampments, the library funding, the FHEPS situation, he’s moderated some of those views, which are good. And at the same time, I think sometimes going back to how we interpret things that he puts out there, sometimes he’ll put something out that we’ll interpret in a way that I – ‘cause you have no choice but to interpret this stuff – you’re concerned about. You know, like, and I’ve said to them, Look, when American Express announced their headquarters, right? It’s a big deal. You know, a big American brand establishing a significant presence again here, recommitting. It’s good for his narrative ultimately, right? You know, that was in the works for some time. Or the Bank of America situation. If you look at the kind of statements that came out as a result of that, they never acknowledged the corporate side. They talked about the building trades. And that signals to us, A, questions about the housing conversation, right? And B, whether you understand the ecosystem that American Express employs thousands of people here, and they’re hugely involved philanthropically and committed to the city, and what that means. So I would say it’s mixed. **Nicole Gelinas**One thing that’s been missing from the ecosystem is a person like Dick Ravitch, who passed a...
Scientists shocked to find lab gloves may be skewing microplastics data
Scientists may have been unknowingly inflating microplastics pollution estimates, and the surprising source could be their own lab gloves. A University of Michigan study found that common nitrile and latex gloves release tiny particles called stearates, which closely resemble microplastics and can contaminate samples during testing. In some cases, this led to wildly exaggerated results, forcing researchers to track down the unexpected culprit.
How baseball imitates life: Authors share tips for sports parents
What do Derek Jeter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and "Seinfeld" have in common? They provide examples of how baseball lessons can help our kids succeed.
Scientists may be overestimating the amount of microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves
Tiny particles from certain lab gloves look like microplastics, and they can contaminate samples, new study finds.
Scientists may be overestimating the amount of microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves
Tiny particles from certain lab gloves look like microplastics, and they can contaminate samples, new study finds.
Business booming at Albany's Capital Center ahead of 10-year anniversary
This weekend, the first-ever Empire State Strength & Fitness Expo will be held on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.The expo is one example of the Capit
How Weight Training Helps Women Through Hormonal Changes
The hormonal changes women undergo throughout their lives can affect muscle and bone health. Menopause, for example, dramatically speeds bone loss, with
Glyphosate: A story of science, risk, and nuance
In the summer of 2014, a California groundskeeper named Dewayne Johnson started noticing patches of raw, weeping skin spreading across his body. He had spent years applying Roundup, Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide, for a school district, sometimes drenched in it when equipment malfunctioned. By 2014, he had a diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018, a jury awarded him $289 million in damages, later reduced on appeal. Tens of thousands of lawsuits followed. The story hasn’t quieted down. It’s all over the internet, swinging between “this will kill you, buy organic” and “relax, you’re fear-mongering.” Some of that recent chatter stems from an Executive Order protecting glyphosate and its production, which set off intense infighting within the MAHA movement. Some of it reflects a deeper truth: Americans genuinely care about harmful chemicals in their environment (see poll below). And the conversation isn’t going anywhere, with a Supreme Court case involving Monsanto set for this April. Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. But does glyphosate cause cancer? And how much exposure is actually risky? With so much mistrust in institutions and corporations (and some genuine conflicts of interest), making sense of the actual scientific evidence is genuinely hard. Here is a translation of what the scientific evidence actually says. Does glyphosate cause harm? Glyphosate is an herbicide that kills most plants it contacts rather than targeting specific species. It works by blocking an enzyme pathway (EPSPS) that plants and many microorganisms need to produce essential amino acids. Without those amino acids, the plant can’t grow and dies. Glyphosate was first developed by Monsanto in the 1970s and became ubiquitous after the company introduced “Roundup Ready” crops in the 1990s. In 2024, Bayer removed glyphosate from residential Roundup-branded products due to litigation pressure. But today it is still the most widely used herbicide in the world. Farmers also discovered they could spray it directly on crops like oats, lentils, beans, and peas just before harvest to dry them out faster and make harvesting easier. Because of its widespread use, it’s obviously really important to understand if it’s harmful to humans. The key principle: The dose makes the poison The most important concept in toxicology is that “the dose makes the poison.” Sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus articulated what remains the foundational principle of toxicology: sola dosis facit venenum. Water will kill you if you drink enough of it. Aspirin saves lives at 81 milligrams and causes internal bleeding at higher chronic doses. So, at what dose is glyphosate poisonous? The LD50 in rats (the dose that kills half the test animals) is around 5,600 mg/kg body weight. Table salt is roughly 3,000 mg/kg. By that classic measure, glyphosate is less acutely toxic than salt. But some people are exposed to a lot of glyphosate through their work. And among the general public, there are many questions about low-dose, cumulative exposure from multiple sources over long periods. Does glyphosate cause health problems? Cancer Correlation maps are striking, with one analysis finding that 60% of counties that spray the most glyphosate have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma rates above the national average. But correlation alone doesn’t establish cause, which is why animal and human studies matter. In animals: Rat studies are typically what most fear is rooted in, but most people don’t know the study details on the dosage given to rats. A pooled analysis of the 13 most rigorous rat studies found evidence that very high doses, around 55,000 times greater than typical food residue exposure, can cause certain cancers. In humans: One of the strongest studies followed 55,000 herbicide users over 20 years and found no overall increased cancer risk. There was one signal: among those with the highest use, rates of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) appeared elevated. A broader meta-analysis of 18 human studies also found no overall cancer risk, though a separate meta-analysis focused specifically on non-Hodgkin lymphoma found that people with high cumulative glyphosate exposure faced a 41% higher relative risk compared to those with low or no exposure. These human studies are observational studies (randomized controlled trials would be unethical), and meta-analyses are only as reliable as the studies they pool. But the story seems consistent: at very high exposure levels, there may be some cancer risk. But that’s about as far as the science currently takes us. Emerging research: gut and reproductive health Gut: Because glyphosate targets a pathway that exists in some gut bacteria, scientists have questioned whether it could affect the microbiome. In mice, a 2023 University of Iowa study found that glyphosate altered gut bacterial composition and raised markers of intestinal inflammation. A 2024 systematic review found similar patterns: disrupted gut bacteria and problems with the mucus layer that protects the intestinal wall in mice. Whether this translates to humans is an open question. The human gut is highly variable and resistant, and we don't yet have strong studies confirming the same effects in people. Reproductive health: Animal studies have found that glyphosate-based herbicides can interfere with reproductive hormones, including disrupting egg cell development in mice and reducing the number of eggs available in sheep’s ovaries. However, the doses used in these experiments were high, so it’s not yet clear whether the same effects would occur in humans. On the human side, a 2021 pilot study led by Mount Sinai researchers tested urine samples from pregnant women across the U.S. and found glyphosate in 95% of them. The study also found a possible connection between higher glyphosate exposure during pregnancy and a subtle physical difference measured in female newborns. That said, some connections weren’t statistically reliable and this was a small study. The researchers themselves said more and larger studies are needed before drawing firm conclusions. What do regulators say about glyphosate safety? In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2A). The classification is worth taking seriously. But, there’s an important distinction: IARC classifies hazard, meaning the potential to cause harm under some conditions. It does not assess risk, which accounts for actual exposure levels and the real-world probability of harm. The U.S. EPA, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and regulatory agencies in Australia and Japan have all concluded that glyphosate is “unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans” at realistic exposure levels. They’re asking a different question: given how much of this people actually encounter, what is the probability of harm? Your actual exposure is what determines your actual risk. What does glyphosate mean for your daily life? At the grocery store: Food residues are small. The EPA’s acceptable daily intake is 1.75 mg/kg of body weight per day. To hit that threshold from oatmeal alone, a 150-pound adult would need to eat roughly 50 pounds of oats every day. But this calculation addresses only one pathway (food), and we don’t yet have robust tools to measure people’s actual total exposure. If reducing exposure matters to you, organic certification prohibits synthetic herbicides, and organic oat products generally test at lower or undetectable levels. Either way, a diet rich in whole grains, conventional or organic, is far better for your health than one that omits them out of fear of residues. On the farm: Occupational exposure is orders of magnitude higher than consumer exposure. Farmers and farm workers who mix, load, and apply glyphosate-based herbicides, especially without protective equipment, face meaningfully different risk profiles. Proper PPE isn’t optional. Integrated weed management strategies that rotate chemical modes of action are also worth taking seriously, both for health and for long-term effectiveness. If you live near a farm: Spray drift is real. Concentrations near field edges can spike during and after application, particularly on windy days. This is an area where I think public health could really step up and empower rural communities with buffer zones, rather than placing the onus on individuals. But for now, knowing your local agricultural calendar and keeping windows closed during application are the first steps. Bottom line Dewayne Johnson was exposed to glyphosate at levels most people will never encounter, and a jury decided he deserved compensation. That outcome is not evidence that the oatmeal in your pantry is dangerous. But it is a reminder that the dose, the context, and the person doing the exposing all matter enormously. Glyphosate is a chemical tool with benefits, trade-offs, and genuine open scientific questions. Learning to hold that complexity without collapsing into panic or dismissal is, honestly, one of the most useful and hardest things to do in navigating modern health science. Love, YLE Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. Hannah Totte, MPH, is an epidemiologist and YLE Community Manager. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
Yankees’ Netflix debut is latest example of sports’ complicated TV landscape
Fans have never had more access to live sports on TV. But it comes with costs, like navigating a maze of networks and new subscription fees.
Caldara overlooked facts in slamming utilities
Normally, I appreciate the variety of perspectives published on Colorado Politics. But regarding Jon Caldara’s recent column on Xcel, he irresponsibly neglects key facts to the point of annihilating credibility (“Are our overlords normalizing power outages?” March 15). He neglects any discussion regarding the nuance of safety (or fiduciary responsibility) versus inconvenience, for example: Is […]
How magnetic is the moon? A new study cracks the long-standing mystery
Researchers believe rock samples taken from the Apollo missions gave scientists a misleading impression
Why going to an HBCU might be better for Black students’ health
A study found correlation between the environment and long-term wellness in sample of 1,978 who attended college between 1940-80
An asteroid sample contains all the key components for life on Earth
DNA from a distance
We disagreed on politics. We agreed on wine. That was enough.
At the Virginia Governor’s Cup Gala in Richmond earlier this month, a very dapper gentleman approached me and introduced himself. In his light-colored suit and bowtie, he looked very Southern in a classical sense, the sort of Virginia Gentleman you used to see south of the Rappahannock as recently as my college days. “I’m a longtime reader and fan of your writing, if not your politics,” he said. His comment was the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, simultaneously conveying praise and disapproval while establishing boundaries. Man, I wish we still discoursed like this instead of shouting bromides and insults to try and “own” our opponents with a funny meme and a furrowed brow. Subscribe “Well, we’ll always have wine to share together,” I said, and thanked him for his kind words. We clinked glasses, exchanged pleasantries about the delicious gold medal-winning wines being poured that evening, and went our separate ways. Our exchange reminded me that more unites us than divides us. Wine brings people together to share a meal and a few hours of joy despite our differences.1 That’s why I refer to the wine community — including readers and consumers — rather than the wine industry. Together, we are so much more than production, distribution and sales statistics. A few minutes later the evening’s awards ceremony began. Applause grew as the 12 winemakers who made the top-scoring wines for the Governor’s Case took the stage, including a loud cheer for Jonathan Wheeler of Trump Winery and his 2018 Blanc de Noir sparkling wine. All the winemakers on stage had reason to be proud, Wheeler perhaps more so. Trump Winery was the only winery to win six gold medals in the competition this year. (Wineries are limited to six entries.) Two of Wheeler’s ciders also won gold medals in a separate competition. When you cover the labels and take the sour taste of politics off your palate, the wines are pretty darn good.2 Then Gov. Abigail Spanberger, newly elected Democrat and Virginia’s first female governor, was introduced to great applause to announce which of the 12 wines had won the Governor’s Cup. She spoke for a few minutes about the importance of wine to Virginia’s economy and tourism and the international acclaim Virginia wine has received. Just two weeks earlier, she gave the Democrats’ response to Trump’s State of the Union speech, but this night wasn’t about politics. That didn’t stop several people in the crowd from speculating on the irony should she have to present the trophy to Trump Winery. In the end, Valley Road Vineyards was displayed on the screen behind Spanberger as the winning winery. Blue Bee Cidery in Richmond took top honors for that category. The crowd cheered a female governor presenting the state’s highest trophy to a female winemaker and then resumed the evening’s festivities, united by their mutual love of wine. A whiff of politics couldn’t dim the cheer of celebration and a community united by its love of wine. In Memoriam: Michel Rolland The global wine community lost a giant March 20, with the passing of Michel Rolland. He was 78. Rolland was the original “flying winemaker,” a globe-trotting consultant who helped Bordeaux regain its mojo in the 1970s and then shaped the rise of Napa Valley cult Cabernet as consultant to Simi, Harlan, Newton, Screaming Eagle, Araujo, Dalle Valle and other wineries. He was instrumental in Argentina’s rise to prominence and even had his own winery, Clos de los Siete, in a partnership with other wine families. Rolland’s career arc paralleled that of Robert Parker, the world’s most influential critic. Parker championed many of the wines Rolland consulted on, helping build his reputation and demand for his services. It also made him a target for Parker’s critics. As W. Blake Gray wrote on Wine-Searcher in his excellent tribute to Rolland: Rolland created the type of wines Parker loved: rich body, plenty of fruit, soft tannins. He sometimes faced the accusation of creating a generic international style of red wine, where the great wines he made in Argentina were indistinguishable from the great wines he made in France. Rolland chafed at that critique, as did many of his fans. He was credited with championing green harvesting and leaf pulling, as well as careful selection of grapes in the winery, practices we nearly universally think of today for high-quality winemaking. “Michel was an incredible innovator who changed how wine was made and how grapes were grown,” Napa Valley winemaker Aaron Pott wrote on Facebook. “His work has transformed the wine trade. He created new ways of looking at wine, tasting wine, evaluating ripeness and quality. … This was not just a man with a ‘style’ that he imposed on vineyards but a man that understood how to make great wine from great sites.” Rolland started his consulting company in 1973 in Libourne, in Bordeaux, with his wife, Dany. Both had graduated the year before from Bordeaux’s Institute d’Oenologie. The couple sold their majority share in the business in 2020, according to Wine Spectator. Over his career, Rolland reportedly worked with more than 100 wineries in 20 countries. He even made it to Virginia, where he consulted for Kluge Estate in the mid-2000s. (Kluge Estate is now Trump Winery.) Reader feedback, please! Last week, I did my first WineLine Live! with Dr. Laura Catena of Catena Zapata winery in Argentina. We enjoyed a fascinating discussion about her efforts to preserve the genetic heritage of old vineyards in Mendoza. I conceived of WineLine Live! for paid subscribers, as a thank you for your financial support. And while only a few people joined live, the video now has more views than I have paid subscribers, so I guess that’s pretty good. Even so, I’m considering opening future installments to anyone on Substack to reach a broader audience. So my questions to you: Should these be public? And what format do you prefer? Live gives a chat feature with the potential for viewers to interact with me and the guest, while a video post would just be that. Another alternative is a podcast, which would just be audio, without video of my chins. Please let me know in the comments. Leave a comment In the Glass A few wines I’ve enjoyed recently: Bonny Doon Vineyard Take Me to Your Liter, Le Cigare Volant, Red Wine of the Earth. 2023, Central Coast, CA. Blend of Grenache, Syrah Cinsaut and Petite Sirah. Delightful wine with expressive red fruit flavors, casual drinking. Doon lovers of a certain age will remember Randall Grahm’s Big House Red; this is more in that style than his original Le Cigare Volant, modeled after Chateauneuf du Pape. The liter bottle makes it an even better value. I see this online at about $15. Great value. Albert Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir Origines 2023. 13% - Textbook pinot noir and an excellent, affordable entry (regional) Burgundy. Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wines of 2025. $24 at Total Wine & More. Loma Larga Pinot Noir 2021 “Coastal Cool Climate Wine”, Valle de Casablanca, Chile. An older sample, showing beautifully. Spicy and fruit forward. I’m seeing widely varied pricing online, from $18-$32. At the lower end, it’s a terrific value. 13.5% Dr. Loosen Riesling Dry 2016, Mosel, Germany. Found this “in the stack.” And it stacked up well, shedding some of its youthful acidity for opulent Riesling character, including a hint of the mineral oil older Riesling often features. A great value, as I’m seeing it as low as $14 online. 12% abv. Red Tail Ridge Blau Franc Blend 2024, Sans Oak, Finger Lakes. 13.4% abv. The name is a neat portmanteau of Blaufrankisch and Cabernet Franc, thus Blau Franc. The blend is 50-50, no oak involved. The Blau dominates on the palate, with the spicy caraway seed (think New York deli rye bread). The Franc adds body. The result is juicy, energetic and joyful. Sokol Blosser Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir 2025, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon. This first rosé of 2025 was a welcome respite to our cold, snowy winter here in the Mid-Atlantic. Oh man, I needed this! Bright and energetic, exuberant even, it perks up the mood and goes down fast. 13%. Certified B Corp. Ingredient and nutrition labeling, and in a modest way that doesn’t occupy a lot of label space. (Since it’s not required, presumably there are no minimum font size requirements.) More wineries should follow this example. Dave McIntyre's WineLine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Thanks for reading Dave McIntyre's WineLine! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share 1 Some restraint may be required. 2 Especially the bubblies.
Scientists Say Surprising Smells Are Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Mummies
Analyzing samples of mummies from different dynastic periods showed how the mixtures of substances used in mummification became more complex with time.
iPhone Air Said to Be Roughly Twice as Popular as iPhone 16 Plus
While it certainly has its critics, the iPhone Air appears to have validated Apple's decision to retire the iPhone Plus, if new results from an independent analysis are anything to go by. Crowdsourced Speedtest data published by Ookla suggests the iPhone Air captured 6.8 percent of iPhone 17 generation samples in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2025, up from the 2.9 percent share the iPhone 16 Plus managed in the same launch window a year earlier.
Closing the women’s health gap: 5 key focus areas and why they need more research
Only 6% of private investment targets women's health, a World Economic Forum report says. 5 examples show how strategic investments could change this.
Scientists Open Moon Rocks Locked Away Since 1972 – and Find Something Totally Unexpected
Decades after being sealed away, Apollo-era lunar samples are revealing unexpected chemical signatures that challenge long-standing assumptions about the Moon’s composition.
Your Thymus and Your Healthspan
Our thymus gland plays a central role in the development or our immune system, specifically for supporting T cell development (how these cells got their name, maturation and differentiation in the thymus) and discriminating between self and foreign, non-self antigen proteins with production of dendritic cells. As we age, our thymus gland shrinks—the process known as involution—with progressive change from spongy to fatty tissue, with loss of functionality. But this process, with respect to timeline and extent, markedly varies from one person to the next. And to make things even more complicated, our thymus gland anatomy and precise location in the chest also is highly variable. So the famous Frank Netter diagrams from the 1960s (such as at left below) don’t capture the remarkable heterogeneity that a random set of 12 chest CT scans (below at right). What I consider as 2 landmark papers in Nature this week (here and here) used AI to quantify health of the thymus in 2 large cohorts, and then correlate the metric to a broad array of health outcomes. In this edition of Ground Truths, I’m going to cover three questions: (1) How was thymus health determined by AI?; (2) How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? and (3) Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? Subscribe 1. How was thymus health determined by AI? This was accomplished by extensive work developing and validating an AI pipeline for 2 stages, the first for localization and segmentation of the thymus bed, and the second to quantify a digital marker, termed the thymic health score. There’s a lot to this algorithmic development, so I won’t go into all the details, but just provide a rudimentary outline of what was done. The 1st stage used supervised learning with 2 radiologists reviewing 2,461 chest CT scans. That work trained a 3D U-Net model to automatically identify the thymic bed’s 3D cropped region using center of mass coordinates, which reached 99.8% accuracy. The 2nd stage used a foundation model that was pre-trained with SwAV (which stands for Swapping Assignment between multiple Views), a self-supervised model, that generated a high-dimensional thymus representation of 4,096 features. That compares to the radiology reductionist and subjective scoring of 0 to 3 where 0 means the thymus is fully degenerated and fatty, and 3 is considered dense, intact glandular soft tissue. Notably, the self-supervised learning (SSL) performance was superior to supervised (AUC ~0.75 vs 0.55, respectively) reflecting the shallowness of the 0-3 classifier vs SSL’s holistic, self-taught AI. The thymic health score ranged from 0 to 100, with the highest number indexed to fully preserved thymic health. The algorithmic work extended to explainability with both Shapely value distribution, meaning the model was holistic not relying on any “magic” pixel, and occlusion sensitivity, demonstrating the model’s performance was not affected by ribs, sternum, lung tissue, but rather focused on the thymic bed directly. Below are a few saliency maps from the occlusion sensitivity that indicate the thymic bed focus, not affected by neighboring structures, using the jet color scale. Now the AI was ready for processing ~25,000 CT scans, each over 30 MB files, from the 2 large participant cohorts to provide a thymic health score, it did so in less than 14 hours, which is less than 2 seconds per scan! Share 2. How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? The two cohorts were the National Lung Screening Trial, NLST (N=25,031) and the Framingham Heart Study, FHS (N=2,581) each with baseline demographics and long term follow up of >12 years for health outcomes. From the NSLT, you can see below that increased age and body-mass index were correlated to reduced thymic health. And, overall, men had reduced thymic health scores compared with women. There are a lot of graphs in the paper for outcomes, for both the NLST and FHS cohorts. To simplify the major outcomes, below is a composite Figure with striking reduction of all-cause mortality and for the different causes of death. The results were consistent between the 2 cohorts. For example, the cardiovascular mortality hazard ratio average was 0.57 in NLST and 0.38 in FHS (weighted to be 0.53 for the aggregate). The reduction of mortality also extended to digestive diseases and pulmonary disease (data not shown below). Lung cancer incidence was reduced by 36% for high vs low thymic health (Figure below, with a panel -incidence and b panel-mortality, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking status). Notably, there was a smoker’s paradox: lower incidence and improved survival for lung cancer in smokers who had a high thymus health score. Smoking was associated with lower thymic scores whereas alcohol was not. Higher thymic health was linked to higher HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, lower fasting blood glucose, and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Inflammation biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, were elevated in the people with lower thymic health scores. In their second paper, the same team looked at the relationship between thymic score and outcomes for 3,476 patients receiving cancer immunotherapy. The non-small cell lung cancer progression-free survival was reduced in patients with low thymic health score. A parallel relationship for survival was seen for other types of cancer including melanoma, breast, and kidney with a 44% lower risk among high thymic scores (Figure). A similar pattern was seen with different immune checkpoint inhibitors. The thymus health score outperformed programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)and tumor mutation burden (TMB) assay of the tumor and was an independent prognostic marker of progression-free survival. In this dataset, a direct connect with thymus score and adaptive immune function was noted with a correlation before cancer treatment for both T-cell diversity and thymus T-cell production (a metric known as T cell receptor excision circles). Thymus Removal Study There is a highly relevant citation about thymus function before moving onto ways to rejuvenate it. In 2023, a very important study of thymus removal during cardiothoracic surgery was published, with 1146 patients undergoing thymus removal vs 1146 matched controls (mean age 55 years). The adverse outcomes for thymus removal were striking, with a 2.9 higher risk of all-cause mortality and doubling of cancer incidence, 1.5 fold increase in cancer mortality, and 1.5-fold increase in autoimmune diseases. The immune function showed marked compromise after thymus removal, as reflected by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (Figure below) Share Ground Truths 3. Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? In recent months we’ve learned a lot about the process of thymus involution and the pathways by which this may be modulated. Thymus involution is primarily due to loss to thymus epithelial cells (TECs) and there are 2 subtypes with different functions: the cortical, responsible for positive selection of T cells, and the medullary, for negative selection. When adipose tissue infiltrates the thymus, thymic adipocytes are pro-inflammatory, knocking out T-cell output. Likewise, systemic inflammation, or “inflammaging,” from smoking, obesity, and chronic stress promote thymic adipocytes. Now, from preclinical studies, we know about key pathways that account for these processes. Historically, back in 2014, FOXN1 was recognized as a single master transcription factor essential for TEC function, with studies in mice with forced FOXN1 upregulation leading to thymus regeneration. That laid the foundation for potential regrowth of quiescent thymus cells. It took awhile to find pathways to accomplish this goal and to even refute its role as the master regulator. The Liver-Thymus Axis Feng Zhang and his team recently showed that injection of an mRNA vaccine to the liver encoding DLL1, IL-7 and FLT3-L in combination, factors known to support thymopoiesis (Figure), successfully enhanced immune function in aged mice. However, the effect was transient. The FGF21 Story Two reports in 2025 addressed the thymus gland’s production of FGF21, a growth factor (fibroblast growth factor 21) and its control of thymus involution. This growth factor is also produced by the liver, but it doesn’t have impact on the thymus in aged rodent models. In contrast, The liver’s hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been shown to reverse senescent TEC structural changes. Growth hormone stimulates production of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the liver and the thymus. Two small studies in human participants (TRIIM, for Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation) of 6 and 50 people, respectively, treated with combined human growth hormone, metformin and DHEA, suggested the potential of slowing epigenetic aging and improving thymus mass and function. But the combination of drugs, small sample, and lack of controls make conclusions murky. Increased thymus FGF21 led to increased CD8 T cells in old mice and extended healthspan and improved physical performance. Building on the previous FOXN1 data, ablation of β-klotho, the obligatory co-receptor for FOXN1, accelerated thymic aging. The benefit to FGF21 was confirmed in a companion paper using an FGF21 knock-in mouse model showing thymus enlargement and increased TECs throughout the lifespan. (schematic Figure below). The accompanying editorial for these 2 papers speculated: “The proposed link between age-associated thymus involution and organismal aging is intriguing, and suggests we might seek to achieve systemic rejuvenation by counteracting thymic involution.” Other Factors Lessons from the Axolotl (Mexican Salamander) In an elegant set of experiments of the axolotl (Figure), known for its complete thymus regeneration after total surgical removal, mediators were identified. Surprisingly FOXN1 was dispensable. But midkine, a growth factor, appeared to be the driver, the initiator of thymus cell growth, survival, and repair. Other components that contributed were Postn+ (periostin-expressing mesenchymal niches) and Ccl19, a chemokine protein from the bloodstream. RANK and RANKL RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB its ligand (RANKL) have been considered key regulators of medullary TECs. In a study of both aged mice and human thymus cell cultures, their key role was confirmed, with multiple benefits of resorting TEC function, recruitment of progenitor cells, and T cell development. Subscribe Summing Up This body of work strongly supports the health of the thymus gland as a critical regulator of human healthspan, not just a correlate or link. The new landmark studies are reinforced by the regenerative biology experimental models that have shown, via an array of mediators, that healthspan of aged mice is at least in part dependent on thymus gland function and its critical role for maintaining adaptive immunity. It sure seems that we’d be better off having an immune reservoir of naive T cells instead of a profile in older adults of exhausted, low quality, memory T cells, with a senescent phenotype. It is striking that we ignored the importance of the thymus gland for many decades. A wake-up call was the results of the thymectomy matched control study reviewed here, with the opposite of high thymic health score improved health outcomes. The convergence of AI and healthspan here is notable. The exceptional and laborious work for developing and validating (no less explaining) the AI to quantify thymus health set the foundation for probing the connect the major health outcomes in two cohorts with extensive follow-up. We’ve never had a way to meaningfully quantify the thymus gland before, so this represents important leverage of supervised, self-supervised, and transformer models. The study wouldn’t have been possible without AI. And it begs the question as to whether there are ways we can maintain our thymus at a high health score. But it’s not so simple to rejuvenate our thymus. There are multiple risks including the induction of autoimmunity, increasing the risk of cancer, and inducing a pro-inflammatory state. For example, factors that increase TEC proliferation could compromise the medulllary negative selection process and leak out auto-reactive (self-attacking) T cells. Thymic cells could be induced to proliferate, but we know, for example, that growth hormone and IGF-1 are associated with an increase risk of cancer. If thymus rejuvenation doesn’t clear out the accumulated senescent cells in older adults, then inflammation within the gland could block the production of TECs. Keeping these risks in mind, we now have identified many ways to keep our thymus healthy as we age that undoubtedly will be tested in clinical trials going forward. Ultimately, the benefit-to-risk tradeoffs will be defined. In the meantime, we have desperately needed an immunome. As I’ve stressed in multiple prior Ground Truths, we have no test in the clinic to assess a patient’s immune status! It was very encouraging for me to get an email from Hugo Aerts, the senior author of the landmark papers in the days after they were published: “I also wanted to say that your Substack on “Why We Need an Immunome” was inspiring for this work. We found it a very compelling perspective and greatly enjoyed reading it.” Just having an assessment of a person’s immune status via a chest CT scan, with millions of these performed per year, might help in guiding the right immunotherapy for cancer (e.g. more intensive, combinations for those with low thymic health scores) and help define people who are increased risk for age-related diseases of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative. The main theme of Super Agers is that we now have many layers of data (genetics, proteins, biomarkers, organ clocks that can be integrated via multimodal AI) for us to define a person’s specific risk decades before one of these age-related diseases leads to symptoms, enabling prevention. From the new studies this week, we can add thymus health score as yet another way to understand a person’s risk, a window into their adaptive immune system and healthspan. And perhaps someday we will be able to safely rejuvenate the thymus, or maintain its health through one’s life, and use the thymus health score to monitor. NB: I wrote this post (No A.I.) A Quick Poll Loading... ********************************************************************* Thanks to Ground Truths subscribers (now > 200,000) from every US state and 212 countries. Your subscription to these free essays and podcasts makes my work in putting them together worthwhile. Please join! If you found this interesting PLEASE share it! Share Ground Truths Paid subscriptions are voluntary and all proceeds from them go to support Scripps Research. They do allow for posting comments and questions, which I do my best to respond to. Please don’t hesitate to post comments and give me feedback. Let me know topics that you would like to see covered. Leave a comment Many thanks to those who have contributed—they have greatly helped fund our summer internship programs for the past two years. It enabled us to accept and support 47 summer interns in 2025! We aim to accept even more of the several thousand who will apply for summer 2026.
Data Science Use Cases: 15 Real-World Applications Transforming Enterprise Operations
Explore 15 enterprise data science applications across manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and finance — with case studies, code examples, and proven outcomes.
Pentagon policy limiting independent press access is unlawful, judge rules
A federal judge on Friday voided various parts of a restrictive press policy rolled out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year, ruling that they trampled on the constitutional rights of reporters who seek to cover the US military from within its sprawling headquarters.
“Loyal Slaves” and Campfire Entertainment in Frank Vizetelly’s Confederate Camp
Frank Vizetelly’s illustration titled “Night Amusements in the Confederate Camp” appeared in the Illustrated London News on January 10, 1863. It was one among a number of wartime scenes that Vizetelly captured for the newspaper. Subscribe Following the war, the illustration appeared in a number of books, including John O. Casler’s Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade (1893) and Campfires of the Confederacy (1898) by Ben La Bree. The scene depicts a Confederate camp at night with an enslaved man, most likely a camp servant, performing a dance around a fire with the music provided by a soldier playing a banjo. Another enslaved man looks on at the right. Vizetelly likely witnessed the scene—one that would have been common throughout the war. It’s a wonderful example of the way in which Confederates—slaveowners and nonslaveowners alike—experienced the presence of slave labor in the army. Vizetelly was deeply sympathetic to the Confederate cause. His depiction of the enslaved man as more than happy to entertain the very people who were fighting to keep him enslaved was precisely the kind of image designed to reassure a British audience that slavery was benign, and by implication, that Britain need not feel morally troubled about recognizing or supporting the Confederacy. Share Just as importantly, the sight of a dancing slave reassured Confederates themselves that the institution of slavery remained secure even after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I’ve come across this illustration many times before and I plan on using it in my next book project on the role of enslaved labor in the Confederate army during the Gettysburg Campaign, but this is not the reason I am sharing it with you today. It has to do with where I recently found it, which came as a complete surprise and is incredibly revealing. Let’s take a look.
DAVID MARCUS: Liberal wives, not conservative husbands, rule the political roost
Conservative radio host alleges liberal wives control their husbands' politics, citing examples from Joe Kent to Jimmy Kimmel in controversial social media post.
AMD "Medusa Point" APU Early Benchmarks Match "Strix Point" at Half the Clock Speed
AMD is preparing to launch its "Medusa Point" APU in early 2027. However, more benchmarks are emerging to showcase what the actual SoC can do as AMD and its OEM partners test the chip. In the latest Geekbench v6 run, AMD's 10-core, 20-thread "Zen 6" chip appeared with the AMD Engineering Sample numb...
Texas primary results showed limitations of polling
Many factors explain why pollsters face challenges in getting good sample sizes that truly reflect who is going to cast a ballot.
Africa’s great divide: Why the continent’s split is so exciting for science
The African continent is splitting along a triple junction of rifts that converge in Afar, Ethiopia. A new ocean may take millions of years to form, but that is giving scientists ample time to glean important discoveries from one of the world’s most inhospitable regions.
From game plans to lesson plans: How teachers are using sports to teach economics
A St. Cloud State professor made lesson plans teaching econ using real-world examples, like the Minnesota Lynx, Caitlin Clark and Taylor Swift's effect on NFL viewership.
From game plans to lesson plans: How teachers are using sports to teach economics
St. Cloud State professors are teaching econ using real-world examples, like the Minnesota Lynx, Caitlin Clark, and Taylor Swift's effect on NFL viewership.
In physics first, Chinese scientists create rare 'hexagonal diamond' that's harder than natural diamond
Researchers made small, pure samples of the elusive mineral lonsdaleite – also known as hexagonal diamond — and tested its material properties to show it's harder than diamond.
The 7430U CPU scandal could spread: Another manufacturer under suspicion, ODM comes into the spotlight
While we recently found Chuwi guilty of CPU fraud twice, there are now indications that another Asia-based brand, Ninkear, could be affected. We also have a sample of this laptop at our disposal and are investigating immediately. Spoiler: The result exonerates the manufacturer, but raises questions about the original design manufacturer (ODM).
Fetuses likely have more ‘forever chemicals’ in blood than thought
US test of 120 umbilical blood cord samples identified 42 Pfas compounds, which do not naturally break down
New cholesterol guidelines released by the American Heart Association
Also, for the first time, doctors are advised to test for two biomarkers in the blood that have been linked to increased risks of heart disease.
James Blake: Trying Times review – platitudes about politics and Kanye can’t detract from an excellent album
Amid the stylistic shifts of Blake’s seventh record come samples of Dusty Springfield and Dizzee Rascal: gripping distractions from some preachy sentiments
Iowa State tramples Texas Tech to reach Big 12 semifinals
Tamin Lipsey scored 20 points to help fifth-seeded Iowa State roll to a 75-53 victory over fourth-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City and advance to the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
Exercise and brain function, hedgehog hearing, and can AI change our minds?
The Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample, talks to Madeleine Finlay about three eye-catching science stories from the week
A massive asteroid hit the North Sea and triggered a 330-foot tsunami
A long-running debate about the Silverpit Crater beneath the North Sea has finally been resolved. Scientists now confirm it formed when a roughly 160-meter asteroid struck the seabed about 43–46 million years ago. New seismic imaging and rare shocked minerals in rock samples provided the crucial proof. The impact would have sent a massive plume skyward and unleashed a tsunami over 100 meters (330 feet) high.
Letter: Moore and Ristow demand higher travel and entertainment budgets to attend conferences | Los Gatan
At Los Gatos’ annual priority-setting session, Mayor Moore and Vice Mayor Ristow demanded higher travel and entertainment budgets to fund boondoggle conferences while the Town Manager forecasts upcoming multimillion-dollar operating deficits with no relief in sight. It’s another example of failed Council fiscal leadership, which could cause painful service and staff reductions. Moore and Ristow […]
Scientists Found a Way to Store All of Our Data on Pieces of Glass Forever (Almost)
A research team figured out a way to write data onto wafers of glass using lasers, and unlike, for example, a magnetic tape, that glass can hold the data for 10,000 years.
The global fallout of RFK Jr's vaccine policies
In his role as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is changing how the United States approaches vaccines. But those changes aren’t limited to the United States. NPR global health correspondent Gabrielle Emanuel joins Short Wave to talk about two examples of how the global public health landscape may be shifting. First, the United States’ ultimatum to an international vaccine group. Second, the uncertain fate of a vaccine trial. Some researchers are calling the trial a “unique” opportunity, and others are calling it “unethical.” Read more of global health correspondent Gabrielle Emanuel’s work here.Interested in more global health? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Sample Photos Comparison
The Galaxy S26 Ultra brings faster apertures and better image processing. Is that enough to beat the iPhone?
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Pixel 10 Pro XL: Sample Photos Comparison
With improved cameras, the Galaxy S26 Ultra might just beat the Pixel 10 Pro XL in photo quality.
Painless skin patch offers new way to monitor immune health
Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have developed the first bandage-like microneedle patch that can sample the body's immune ...
Asbestos fees drive inspections strengthening public health protections
The fee-supported asbestos program exceeded its inspection goals, ensuring safer demolition and renovation practices statewide.
Offworld Biology: Processing Microbe Samples Inside The Microgravity Science Glovebox
NASA astronaut and Expedition 74 Flight Engineer Chris Williams
Here's How Much The Toyota GR Supra Has Depreciated In 5 Years
The Toyota GR Supra has lost roughly 23% of its MSRP in the past five years, which means used examples are still relatively expensive.
New Trier Dems call mailer ‘dirty politics’
"Scam sample ballot" changes some of New Trier Democrats' official endorsements.
Politics ruined what should've been U.S. hockey's shining moment
Politicians hijacked fans' joy of the U.S. men's Olympic hockey gold medal win, turning a moment of unity into another example of America's division.
Sacred Heart multisport senior 'sets a great example' alongside her sister and cousins
Sacred Heart senior Leah Varisco excels at multiple sports with family by her side.
Your next Mac Mini might be made in the US
It's the latest example of Tim Cook leaning into the made-in-America theme as Apple navigates tariffs during Trump's second term.
Style and Politics: On “The National Security Strategy of the United States of America”
"We need to feel our culture, and history, and current system is better than all the others, while acting as though we don’t believe those things." The National Security Strategy of the United States of America may have its longest life as a particularly vivid example of the ways in which bad faith will always manifest in terrible prose,
The truth about fat, and its complex role in our health
To find out more about the complex role fat plays in our health, Ian Sample hears from co-host Madeleine Finlay and from Declan O’Regan, professor of cardiovascular AI at Imperial College London
The truth about fat, and its complex role in our health
To find out more about the complex role fat plays in our health, Ian Sample hears from co-host Madeleine Finlay and from Declan O’Regan, professor of cardiovascular AI at Imperial College London
PRET for impact: Advancing pandemic preparedness in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
IN THE SPOTLIGHT PRET for impact: Advancing pandemic preparedness in the Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPR Korea) is making significant progress in strengthening pandemic preparedness, with dedicated support from the WHO South‑East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Partnership Contribution (PC).Aligned with the WHO Global Influenza Strategy and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework Partnership Contribution High‑Level Implementation Plan III (2024–2030), the country is strengthening its capacity to prepare for and respond to influenza and other respiratory threats. In early 2025, a core team from the Ministry of Public Health of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) participated in a two‑day virtual workshop, which included a mini‑simulation exercise. The workshop was organized by WHO SEARO in collaboration with the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) Secretariat at WHO headquarters and the WHO Country Office for the DPRK. Read more A REGIONAL CONSULTATION GUIDES WHO SEARO IN DEVELOPING A ROADMAP FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PREPPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE FOR EMERGING THREATS (PRET) INITIATIVE BASED RESPIRATORY PATHOGEN PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESSInfluenza and other respiratory pathogens with pandemic potential continue to pose major public health risks globally. To strengthen regional preparedness and response, Member States of the WHO South‑East Asia Region (SEAR) convened in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to review and provide input on the draft Roadmap and Action Framework for Broad Respiratory Pathogen Pandemic Planning (2026–2031). Supported through the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Partnership Contribution (PC) funds, the proposed roadmap aims to advance robust, integrated preparedness and response capacities for influenza and other respiratory threats across SEAR. This work is aligned with the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative and the SEAR Strategic Roadmap on Health Security and Health System Resilience for Emergencies Read moreSRI LANKA’S USE OF ANTIVIRALS TO REDUCE THE SEASONAL INFLUENZA BURDEN Sri Lanka is strengthening its influenza response by placing greater emphasis on rapid testing, timely treatment, and integration with maternal health services. With support from WHO, the country is building a stronger evidence base on the burden of influenza and the value of vaccination, advancing a holistic approach to protect vulnerable populations and enhance pandemic preparedness. To reduce hospitalizations and deaths from seasonal influenza, Sri Lanka is taking proactive steps to expand access to rapid diagnostic testing and ensure prompt initiation of treatment. National clinical guidelines recommend the use of oseltamivir for individuals at high risk of complications, helping prevent severe illness and shorten the duration of infection. This strategy not only saves lives but also supports local pharmaceutical production, contributing to a reliable supply of antivirals for both seasonal outbreaks and future pandemics.Read moreBHUTAN BOOSTS PANDEMIC INFLUENZA READINESS WITH PANDEMIC INFLUENZA PREPAREDNESS FRAMEWORK PARTNERSHIP CONTRIBUTION SUPPORTED TRAINING AND SIMULATIONSOriginally developed in 2012, the National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan (NIPPRP) has long served as Bhutan’s central framework for managing influenza threats. In 2024, the plan underwent a comprehensive update to reflect evolving global and regional guidance, lessons learned from the COVID‑19 pandemic, and new capacities developed under the PIP Framework. The revised NIPPRP is now more clearly aligned with Bhutan’s broader emergency and disaster risk management structures, ensuring a coordinated, whole‑of‑government approach to pandemic response. As part of efforts to strengthen national pandemic preparedness, Bhutan conducted three national‑level training sessions followed by simulation exercises on influenza pandemic preparedness and response at five sentinel hospitals between April and May 2025, with support from the PIP Partnership Contribution (PC). These activities brought together more than 140 health professionals and key partners from across the country, with a focus on operationalizing the updated NIPPRP and enhancing readiness at key frontline facilities. Read moreSTRENGTHENING INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE: WHO BRINGS TOGETHER INFLUENZA EXPERTS FROM SOUTH-EAST ASIA AND WESTERN PACIFIC REGIONSThe World Health Organization (WHO) convened the 18th Bi‑regional Meeting of National Influenza Centres (NICs) and Influenza Surveillance for the WHO South‑East Asia and Western Pacific Regions from 9–11 September 2025. Hosted by the WHO South‑East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), the meeting brought together representatives from Member States, Territories, and Areas across both regions, alongside experts from the WHO Collaborating Centres for Reference and Research on Influenza in Australia and Japan, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals in the United States, quadripartite partners (WOAH and FAO), and other technical counterparts. The consultation provided a platform to review progress, share experiences, and outline priorities for strengthening influenza and respiratory pathogen surveillance across the two WHO regions.Read moreNETWORKS AND TECHNICAL PARTNERSHIPSSTRENGTHENING PANDEMIC READINES: SOUTH-EAST ASIA ADVANCES UNITY STUDIES UNDER THE PANDEMIC INFLUENZA PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVEThe WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) Investigations & Studies initiative, also known as Unity Studies, provides a standardized, globally coordinated framework to support these efforts. Originally developed for influenza and adapted during COVID-19, Unity Studies enable countries to conduct rapid, nationally led investigations and studies to assess transmissibility, severity, susceptibility, and intervention effectiveness. To better prepare for future influenza pandemics, WHO has recently launched a network of sites which will be ready to conduct these investigations and studies rapidly in the event of a pandemic, or epidemic of an emerging or re-emerging respiratory pathogen. The WHO South-East Asia Region now hosts six sites of WHO GISRS Unity Studies across the five countries including Sri Lanka, strengthening regional capacity for early pandemic investigations. From 13–16 July 2025 in Colombo, the Global Public Health Summit offered an opportunity to advance this agenda. Read moreSTRENGTHENING PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS THROUGH UNITY STUDIES: REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS FROM INDIA IN WHO’S SOUTH-EAST ASIA REGION As countries continue to strengthen their pandemic preparedness through investments in resilient health systems during the interpandemic period, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) Investigations & Studies Global Initiative, Global Initiative, commonly known as Unity Studies, remains a vital framework for respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness. These standardized epidemiological protocols enable countries to rapidly generate high‑quality data on transmissibility, infection severity, population immunity, and the effectiveness of public health interventions. To highlight how Unity Studies protocols are being adapted and applied in national settings, WHO Headquarters, together with WHO Regional Offices, including the WHO South‑East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), hosted a global webinar. The session showcased case studies from India and the United Kingdom (UK), demonstrating innovative approaches to respiratory virus surveillance and pandemic readiness. Read moreSTRENGTHENING REGIONAL INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE AND PREPAREDNESS: WHO SEARO HOSTS HIGH-LEVEL WEBINAR AMID RISING H5 THREATS In response to the increasing detection of avian influenza A(H5) cases in humans globally and within the WHO South‑East Asia Region, the WHO Regional Office for South‑East Asia (SEARO) convened a regional webinar on 25 July 2025 to review preparedness mechanisms, strengthen surveillance pathways, and promote timely reporting of unusual respiratory events. The virtual session brought together more than 50 participants from Ministries of Health, National Influenza Centres (NICs), National IHR Focal Points (NFPs), WHO Headquarters, WHO Country Offices across the Region, and WHO Collaborating Centres (CCs) for influenza. The webinar provided an opportunity to share situational updates, discuss surveillance gaps, and reinforce coordination mechanisms critical for early detection and rapid response to avian influenza threats. Read moreOther Key PIP Updates (July-December 2025)MEMBER STATES:Bangladesh drafted and conducted a series of Core Group Meetings in 2025 to review and update the National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan for Respiratory Pathogens. In addition, the country carried out Rapid Response Team (RRT) trainings on seasonal and avian influenza and other re‑emerging infectious diseases. Bangladesh also updated its epidemiological data‑training programme for physicians at sentinel surveillance sites, using a revised epidemiological data‑collection tool.Bhutan revised and updated its National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan (NIPPRP) in 2025 and developed a national Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for influenza outbreak management. DPR Korea conducted a nationwide simulation exercise in July 2025 to support the update of its National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan (2019). This followed a PRET‑based virtual orientation and mini‑simulation exercise held in May 2025 by SEARO and the WHO PRET Secretariat. The comprehensive exercise, conducted across central and provincial levels, assessed strengths and gaps in pandemic influenza preparedness and response. The feedback gathered has been incorporated into the revised draft plan to address identified weaknesses and strengthen overall readiness.India conducted a targeted nationwide online re‑orientation training on review and updates to the influenza portal for all State Surveillance Officers (SSOs) and relevant officials using the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). The training emphasized correct marking and reporting of influenza samples as “unsubtypable” or “not subtyped” where applicable, to ensure accurate national surveillance.Maldives conducted simulation exercises in three atolls based on its existing National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan (NPPRP). The country plans to conduct similar exercises in three additional atolls after updating the NPPRP in 2026. In addition, Maldives conducted training on FluID and FluMart as part of a broader data‑management training package for Ministry of Health and Health Protection Agency officials, aimed at improving routine reporting to WHO platforms and the DHIS2 system.In Myanmar, technical support was provided to the National Influenza Centre (NIC) through dedicated human‑resource support (January–December 2025) to sustain data management and laboratory detection capacity for influenza and other emerging and re‑emerging respiratory viruses. This support also included strengthening genomic sequencing capacity.Nepal conducted a consultative workshop on the National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan (NPPRP) in July 2025. The workshop engaged key stakeholders from multiple sectors to review lessons from past pandemic responses, assess current mechanisms, and gather critical inputs for strengthening national preparedness. Key recommendations included revising the 2019 NPPRP and developing an updated Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan aligned with emerging risks, national priorities, and relevant international frameworks. Nepal also held a two day workshop dedicated to advancing the National Action Plan for Genomic Surveillance, aimed at reinforcing the country’s capacities for early detection and monitoring of emerging respiratory pathogens.Sri Lanka received the final report from WHO on the feasibility assessment for conducting an Influenza Burden of Disease (BoD) study in the country. The assessment, conducted from 28 April to 9 May 2025, included a desk review of existing data sources, document review, visits to sentinel surveillance sites, and key informant interviews. The study identified critical data sources required for a future BoD assessment, as well as their availability and quality. Officials from the Epidemiology Unit, the National Influenza Centre (NIC), and SARI/ILI sentinel hospitals across the country participated in the assessment.Timor Leste conducted on‑the‑job training and monitoring activities at two sentinel surveillance sites to strengthen surveillance and laboratory capacity for the detection of SARI, ILI, ARI, and other respiratory infections. REGIONAL OFFICE:SEARO conducted a Member States Consultation on the first draft of the Regional Roadmap and Strategic Action Framework for implementing WHO’s PRET‑based broad respiratory pathogen pandemic planning for 2026–2031. The consultation took place on 29–30 October 2025 during the final two days of the Regional PIP PC Annual Review and PRET Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Participants included representatives from Member States, WHO Country Offices, WHO SEARO, WHO Headquarters, partner agencies, and invited multidisciplinary technical experts. They reviewed the draft and provided detailed feedback, which has since been incorporated into a revised version. The consultation helped shape a shared regional vision for robust, PRET‑aligned pandemic preparedness, building on country‑level progress, addressing existing gaps and challenges, and aligning with global and regional health security frameworks. The publication is planned for release during the SEAR regional committee in 2026.SEARO documented the evolution of the National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Planning process in the Region, tracing its development from its origins as a planning tool for responding to avian influenza outbreaks in 2006, through the experiences of the 2009 and 2019 pandemics, to the current status. The document outlines the way forward for respiratory pathogen pandemic planning across all 10 SEAR countries, aligning future national plans with WHO’s PRET Framework for broad respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness.The Infectious Hazard Management (IHM) Unit has drafted the WHO South‑East Asia Regional Guidance on Influenza Prevention and Control, aligned with the Global Influenza Strategy and other regional initiatives. The draft is currently under review. Although this technical product was developed in response to a request from the Ministry of Public Health of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (MoPH‑DPRK), SEARO is finalizing it for use not only in DPRK but also across all Member States in the Region.The Immunization and Vaccine Development (IVD) Unit, in collaboration with WHE/SEARO, completed a regional landscape analysis on key barriers, challenges, and opportunities for the introduction of seasonal influenza vaccination in WHO South‑East Asia Regional (SEAR) countries.Additionally, the Immunization and Vaccine Development (IVD) Unit has completed a regional landscape analysis of influenza vaccine procurement systems across the WHO South‑East Asia Region (SEAR).KEY MEETINGS AND PUBLICATIONSMEETINGS:Six-month progress review of the implementation of the PIP-PC workplans in SEAR, focusing on Outputs 1 and 2 for the period January to June 2025, and held virtually across three sessions on 4, 8, and 10 July 2025. Read moreAnnual Regional Meeting (Hybrid) on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Partnership Contribution (PC) and WHO’s Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) Implementation in SEAR in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 27 to 30 October 2025. Read more18th Bi-regional Meeting (Virtual) of National Influenza Centres (NICs) and influenza surveillance in WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions from 9 to 11 September 2025. Read morePUBLICATIONSImplications of influenza A virus surveillance in Southeast Asian Region countries: a scoping review of approaches for the surveillance of swine influenza viruses at human-swine interfaces. Read moreAnnual South-East Asia regional meeting on operational planning for implementation of global influenza strategy and preparedness for respiratory viruses in 2025 Report on annual review meeting of implementation of pandemic influenza preparedness (PIP) partnership Contribution (PC) Fund in South-East Asia Region and the simulation exercise on PRET Status of influenza in who south-East Asia Region
Minnesota auto, toy businesses evaluate Supreme Court ruling against Trump tariffs
Culture Council: Cultivating Integrity for Long-Term Business Success
Leading by example means demonstrating the behaviors, attitudes and work ethic you expect from others, thereby setting a positive standard for your team or colleagues.
This Tudor 'T-Rex' Diver Mimics Rolex's Most Surprising Watches
Like the Comex Sub and Domino's Air-Kings before it, this rare Pelagos is one of the best examples of Tudor continuing a fun but abandoned Rolex tradition.
State Infrastructure Can Strengthen Suicide Prevention in Health Systems
State governments that establish suicide prevention infrastructure foster the advancement of sustainable, evidence-based practices within their states’ hospitals and health systems. Recent examples of effective infrastructure include the authorization of comprehensive prevention policies and programs, dedicated funding streams, coordinated leadership, and robust data systems with suicide statistics.
Psychedelics for depression, dart frog poison and why do we have chins?
Madeleine Finlay sits down with science editor Ian Sample and science correspondent Nicola Davis to discuss three eye-catching stories, including the impact of a powerful psychedelic on depression, answers on the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and an explanation to the mystery of why humans have chins
Every pair of headphones tested contained hazardous chemicals
A study of 81 headphones found hazardous chemicals in every pair. BPA appeared in 98% of samples, and sweat speeds absorption.
Five Berkeley Lab Scientists Receive DOE Early Career Research Awards
Five scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have received Early Career Research Program (ECRP) awards from the Department of Energy. The ECRP program, now in its 16th year, was established to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by supporting exceptional researchers at the outset of their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work. Recipients use the funding to pursue projects that have the potential to solve scientific challenges and advance the country’s STEM capabilities. To be eligible for the program, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution, or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory or Office of Science user facility, who is within 10 years of having earned their doctorate. Awards to an institution of higher education will be approximately $875,000 over five years, and awards to a DOE national laboratory or Office of Science user facility will be approximately $2,750,000 over five years. This year’s Berkeley Lab awardees and their projects are listed below: Timon Heim: Better detectors for more powerful particle colliders Timon Heim is a staff scientist in the Physics Division. His ECRP project will develop a new type of detector that can track the particles generated by collisions in particle colliders with high spatial and temporal resolution. Current detectors in use at high-energy colliders, like the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, can track the trajectory and measure momentum of particles, but they can’t track a particle’s time of arrival with sufficient precision to discern from which of the many particle interactions they originate. Heim’s proposed technology — called a 4D tracking detector, because it captures data about particles’ positions in space and time — aims to solve this challenge, allowing researchers to glean more precise data from collision experiments to uncover new insights into fundamental forces and potentially discover new particles. The enhanced capabilities of 4D detectors will be a necessity for experiments at future colliders, such as the Muon Collider or Future Circular Collider. The project will develop custom microelectronics that process the signal of a pixelated silicon sensor that can register charged particles passing through it in an extreme radiation environment that these colliders produce during operation. The goal is to measure individual particles’ position with 50-micro-meter spatial and 50 pico-second (one trillionth of a second) temporal precision, for an incoming flux of around 1 billion particles per second per square centimeter. Harrison Lisabeth: Studying underground processes to unleash abundant energy Harrison Lisabeth is a research scientist in the Energy Geoscience Division focused on combining real-world experiments and AI to guide development of geothermal energy systems. His project will explore how deep underground rock formations – where geothermal wells are dug – are stressed by chemical reactions of the minerals and mechanical strain from movements in the Earth. A better understanding of subsurface stresses is essential to engineer safe and reliable geothermal wells that access the heat of deep rocks to produce electricity. It is estimated that the U.S. could generate ten times the amount of energy needed to power the grid using geothermal sources. Lisabeth plans to simulate how minerals grow, dissolve, and influence the behavior of surrounding rock in geothermal reservoirs by tracking chemical changes in rock samples under pressure in the lab. The project will also develop machine learning models to predict geologic strain based on field measurements and refine existing models that describe how common rock types deform under stress. Combining these approaches, Lisabeth hopes to develop a framework to predict stress to improve stability and longevity of geothermal wells. Daniel Carney: Pushing the quantum boundaries of particle measurement Daniel Carney is a staff scientist in the Physics Division who uses quantum information science to study particle physics and gravity. At very small scales, “quantum noise” — random fluctuations from the act of measurement — can drown out faint signals from rare processes. Carney’s ECRP project, “Fundamental Physics at the Quantum Limits of Measurement,” aims to build a new mechanical quantum sensor that can measure extremely small particle interactions below the limits of that quantum noise. The approach uses lasers to hold a tiny bead containing radioactive atoms; when one decays, the system measures the bead’s motion and the energy of any particles emitted. The experiment’s initial goal is to search for heavy sterile neutrinos, hypothetical particles predicted by some extensions of the Standard Model. The system could also help measure the mass of the neutrino, study the way particles interact through the electromagnetic and weak forces, and hunt for low-mass dark matter — all unsolved mysteries in particle physics. Callum Wilkinson: Using machine learning to demystify neutrinos Callum Wilkinson is a staff scientist in the Physics Division and part of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. DUNE will create an intense beam of neutrinos that interact in detectors in Illinois and, after an 800-mile journey through the earth, in massive detectors in South Dakota. By precisely measuring neutrinos and how they change, researchers will get a better understanding of their fundamental properties and whether they are responsible for why there is so much more matter than antimatter in our universe. Wilkinson’s ECRP project will apply two machine learning techniques to improve the analysis of DUNE’s data and enhance the experiment’s precision. One approach will look for hidden patterns in how neutrinos interact and produce low-energy particles, while the other will help correct for distortions in what the detectors record. The methods will be tested on one of DUNE’s prototype detectors and could be used in other neutrino experiments, improving their measurements and helping scientists build better models. Aditi Krishnapriyan: Machine learning methods that scale as datasets grow Aditi Krishnapriyan is a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Applied Mathematics and Computational Research Division (AMCR) and assistant professor at UC Berkeley. Her project, awarded through UC Berkeley, will develop machine learning methods that scale with dataset size for modeling complex, multi-scale phenomena. The resulting tools can be applied in a wide range of research, including the study of new electrolytes for batteries or the examination of molecular interactions. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Apple Event on March 4: Here's What to Expect
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. At an Apple Experience, attendees are typically given the opportunity to try out Apple's latest hardware or software. Following the launch of Apple Creator Studio last month, for example, some content creators attended an Apple Experience in Los Angeles to go hands on with the new subscription-based bundle of apps and features.
Scientists Think Asteroids May Have Provided the Ingredients for Life on Earth
A new study analyzes three asteroid and two meteorite samples to see if space rocks smacking into Earth could’ve helped kickstart life.
Members of Congress prepare to face angry, dissatisfied primary voters in 2026
The first round of primaries on March 3 includes examples of the type of incumbent challenges both parties will be dealing with all midterm year.
Asteroid Bennu reveals a new pathway to life’s chemistry
Dust from asteroid Bennu is revealing a surprising origin story for life’s building blocks. New research suggests some amino acids formed in frozen ice exposed to radiation, not warm liquid water as scientists long believed. Isotopic clues show Bennu’s chemistry differs sharply from well-studied meteorites, pointing to multiple pathways for creating life’s ingredients.
NASA scientists say meteorites can’t explain mysterious organic compounds on Mars
Scientists studying a rock sample collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover have uncovered something tantalizing: the largest organic molecules ever detected on Mars. The compounds — decane, undecane, and dodecane — may be fragments of fatty acids, which on Earth are most often linked to life. While non-living processes like meteorite impacts can also create such molecules, researchers found those sources couldn’t fully explain the amounts detected.
Making Sports Work
There are lots of examples where sports isn’t dictated by oligarch whims at everyone else’s expense.
Celebrating Women in Science Day 2026 at CERN
Every year, on 11 February, CERN celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In an effort to amplify diverse voices in STEM, six women scientists from CERN open up about their careers and the lessons they hope to pass on to the next generation. Francesca is an Italian biomedical engineer pursuing her PhD at CERN, working in the robotics team of the Beams Department. She’s currently working on the MARCHESE project, in affiliation with Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, focusing on contactless monitoring of physiological parameters. Despite choosing a scientific career and often volunteering in scientific outreach initiatives, Francesca continues to nurture her passion for the humanities and arts. “I firmly believe that collaboration and inclusion are the right paths to improve the world together. I’m driven by a strong curiosity about everything around me.” Berare is a Turkish experimental physicist who worked with the ATLAS experiment during her MSc and PhD on searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. During her PhD, she became a Support Scientist for the Beamline for Schools (BL4S) competition, which marked the beginning of her journey combining research with science communication. She now works for both BL4S and ELISA, the mini proton accelerator at CERN’s Science Gateway. She fondly remembers the moment when the BL4S 2022 winners arrived at the experimental zone: “I felt incredibly lucky to share my passion with young, curious and really passionate people. We spent two weeks of beam time together watching their ideas turn into reality. All the intricate details of running an experiment, we accomplished them as a team.” Mia is a Canadian research fellow in the Accelerator Systems Department, working on beam developments for fundamental physics with radioactive molecules. Mia pursued a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering before moving to Vancouver for a master’s degree in engineering physics. Her interest in radioactive ion beam production brought her to CERN, where she studied actinide beams for three years as a PhD student in the Marie Curie European Training network “LISA” (Laser Ionisation and Spectroscopy of Actinides) at ISOLDE – a facility at CERN where scientists study the properties of atomic nuclei, with further applications in fundamental studies, astrophysics, and material and life sciences. Laura is a German mechanical engineer at CERN working on research and development to produce cavities for future accelerators. She studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Technical University of Munich. She joined CERN four years ago as a technical student for her master’s thesis and continued as a fellow working on collimators. Laura says that “as a child, I took part in girls’ day initiatives, which sparked my fascination for astrophysics and engineering. Later, it felt natural for me to give something back by organising workshops for young students to make STEM seem less intimidating and more accessible.” She particularly enjoys being close to the CERN Main Workshop and understanding how design ideas become real components. Paraskevi is a Greek physicist working at CERN’s HiRadMat (High-Radiation to Materials) facility, designed to deliver high-intensity beams to an irradiation area where material samples, as well as accelerator component assemblies, can be tested. She studied physics at NKUA, specialising in nuclear and particle physics, and is now pursuing her PhD at HiRadMat in collaboration with the University of Liverpool, studying novel materials for high-intensity beam diagnostics. “Continuous learning is one of my biggest motivators, and I am looking forward to exploring the limits of our knowledge on beam-material interactions,” says Paraskevi. Silvia is a Spanish physicist and deputy project manager for the Muon Drift Tube of the CMS detector, a general-purpose detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). She started her career at CERN more than 20 years ago as a technical student, working on prototypes of the first dipoles for the LHC. “My first motivation came in high school, from my teacher,” says Silvia about what made her pursue a career in STEM. “My favourite part about my job is learning. You can learn something new every day.” In parallel to this initiative, like every year since 2017, from 2 to 6 February 66 women scientists and engineers visited schools in Geneva, Switzerland, and in the Haute-Savoie and Ain regions of France to meet with students. Organised in collaboration with CERN, the University of Geneva, EPFL, LAPP and LAPTh, this event allowed more than 4200 students between 6 and 17 years old to meet a woman scientist, discuss their profession and career path, ask questions and participate in classroom activities.
Jeffrey Epstein and the scientists
The release of the latest batch of documents relating to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has shed further light on his close relationship with the world of science. To find out why he cultivated scientists and where his interests lay, Ian Sample hears from Dan Vergano, a senior editor at Scientific American.
Chang’e-6 lunar samples reveal a giant impact reshaped the Moon’s interior
A colossal ancient impact may have reshaped the Moon far more deeply than scientists once realized. By analyzing rare lunar rocks brought back by China’s Chang’e-6 mission from the Moon’s largest crater, researchers found unusual chemical fingerprints pointing to extreme heat and material loss caused by a giant impact. The collision likely stripped away volatile elements, reshaped volcanic activity, and left a lasting chemical signature deep below the surface.
Is this blood test a better predictor of heart disease than LDL cholesterol?
Recent research suggests that more people should be screened for a protein called apoB. A growing number of doctors agree.
From COVID’s uncertainty, a stronger small-business culture emerged in Nevada
In the middle of the pandemic, when it seemed like business after business in Las Vegas was closing, Upbeat Health was just getting started. Today, the Summerlin clinic’s mobile wound-care team has grown nearly tenfold, one small example of ...
Record-Breaking One-Off Bugatti Brouillard Could Become the Most Expensive Bugatti Ever
A one-off aimed at a historic record Bugatti’s latest one-off, the Brouillard, steps onto the hypercar stage with the quiet confidence of a record-breaker. The brand’s tradition of bespoke excellence meets a bold new aesthetic, positioning this unique commission to potentially become the marque’s most expensive creation. Built on the proven underpinnings of the Chiron/Mistral architecture, yet transformed by distinctive craft, the Brouillard is both homage and innovation. A name born from equestrian legend More than a century ago, a striking white horse captivated Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim. That equine myth now informs the car’s name and its sensory identity. The result is an automotive portrait of athletic grace—surfaces that read like muscle, curves that suggest motion, and details that quietly speak of discipline and heritage. Embroidered horse motifs on door panels and seat backs echo the story, while a miniature glass sculpture of the steed crowns the shifter. Sculptural design with purpose The Brouillard’s silhouette favors sinuous surfaces over hard creases, allowing light to glide over its form like a tendon under skin. Aerodynamics inform elegance: an integrated ducktail replaces a deployable wing, cleansing the airflow and boosting stability at speed. Its stance is athletic, its volumes taut, and its visual language unmistakably Bugatti. “Sculptural, organic forms—like a tendon beneath the skin—hide immense power behind noble simplicity,” said design chief Frank Heyl, capturing the car’s philosophy in a single stroke. Craft elevated to an art The cabin embraces craftsmanship at an uncommon level. Custom-woven textiles from Paris introduce a discreet tartan pattern, while green-tinted carbon fiber nods to the exterior’s hue. A glazed roof creates a cathedral atmosphere, bathing the cockpit in natural light. A central spine appears to flow from exterior to interior, emphasizing continuity and structure. Highlights include: Custom textiles with subtle tartan motifs Green-tinted carbon fiber matched to the exterior finish A “cathedral” glass roof that elevates cabin ambience A sculptural centerline linking outside to inside Bespoke embroidery and glass equine detail W16 power at its absolute apex Under the sculpted skin, the final evolution of Bugatti’s 8.0‑liter, quad‑turbo W16 delivers a thunderous 1,600 hp at 7,050 rpm and 1,600 Nm of torque. This represents the pinnacle of nearly two decades of Bugatti engineering, honed to an ultimate state. The lightweight monocoque blends carbon fiber with aluminum, holding mass to around 1,900 kg for poise and control. Experts suggest the Brouillard could surpass the 282 mph (454 km/h) achieved by the Mistral, aided by more aerodynamic bodywork and the fixed ducktail. Whether or not it sets a new benchmark, its intent is clear: relentless speed paired with refinement. Exclusivity with an exacting timeline The commissioning process is intensive, with roughly 18 months of development leading to a 2027 delivery. Bugatti’s program limits itself to no more than two creations per year, ensuring focus and rarity. Each example leaves the atelier as a singular vision, shaped to the client’s collection and the brand’s ethos. An unveiling is planned for Monterey Car Week 2025, placing the Brouillard amid the world’s most discerning enthusiasts. Its patron is a European collector deeply invested in the Bugatti universe, from historic and modern cars to Carlo Bugatti furniture and Rembrandt Bugatti bronzes. A valuation poised to make history While Bugatti has not disclosed an official price, informed estimates place the Brouillard between €10 million and €30 million. Context matters: a series Mistral begins near €5 million, while the Brouillard adds profound personalization, sculptural changes, and a pace of production that keeps scarcity front and center. In an arena where uniqueness drives value, the path to a brand record is unmistakably open. What it signals for the marque The Brouillard crystallizes Bugatti’s dual identity: traditional savoir‑faire intertwined with boundary-pushing performance. It exhibits a narrative soul—the white horse of Molsheim—woven into modern materials and world-class aerodynamics. As a rolling statement, it reaffirms that the Bugatti idea is larger than speed alone; it is about story, craft, and the courage to pursue an ideal to its logical limit.
A century of hair shows how lead exposure collapsed
For decades, Americans were surrounded by lead from car exhaust, factories, paint, and even drinking water, often without realizing the damage it caused. By analyzing hair samples preserved across generations, scientists uncovered a striking record of how exposure soared before environmental rules and then collapsed after leaded gasoline and other sources were phased out.
Experts Warn: The Dangerous Blur Between Science and Wellness in Mental Health Bestsellers
A marketplace where labels blur In many bookstores, titles rooted in clinical science sit inches from glossy self-help guides promising instant serenity. That proximity can make rigorous research look interchangeable with lifestyle advice, especially when everything shares the same bright displays. Readers encounter a single aisle labeled “psychology,” even when the content ranges from peer-reviewed evidence to spiritual rituals. The result is a subtle but pervasive blur, turning a complex health landscape into a grab-bag of mixed claims. Why the shelves can mislead Retail categories are built for convenience, not for methodological clarity or clinical accuracy. When “development personal” or “wellness” becomes the default bin, evidence-based psychology competes with coaching manifestos and mystical manuals. The visual language of covers—calming color palettes, confident subtitles, glowing endorsements—flattens the distinction between randomized trials and anecdotal wisdom. In that aesthetic harmony, a guide on cognitive behavioral therapy may appear no more “serious” than a book on moon manifestation. The stakes for readers and patients Confusion carries real risks, including delayed care when people self-treat serious symptoms with untested routines. Vulnerable readers—facing depression, trauma, or anxiety—may be swayed by charismatic voices over careful data. Some messages frame recovery as pure willpower, which can amplify shame when symptoms persist despite effort. Others overpromise universal solutions, ignoring cultural context, diagnostic nuance, and comorbidity. “Shelving is not neutral; it shapes beliefs, expectations, and choices.” What professionals and retailers are asking Clinicians and public-health experts argue for clear, readable signage that separates science-based mental health from broader wellness. Books by licensed psychiatrists or psychologists that cite peer-reviewed studies could be grouped under “Evidence-Based Mental Health.” Adjacent space might host reflective memoirs, coaching workbooks, or contemplative philosophy—valuable in their way, but clearly labeled as non-clinical guidance. Booksellers emphasize their dual role as cultural curators and commercial actors, noting they respond to demand while striving for quality standards. How clarity could look and feel The goal is not to police ideas, but to help readers navigate with confidence. Transparent categorization respects reader autonomy while lifting the signal of credible practice. Clear tags—such as “scientific references,” “clinical overview,” or “personal narrative”—can work like map legends, turning a maze into a route. And when a book blends modes, hybrid labels can acknowledge both insight and limitation. A practical checklist for choosing wisely Check the author’s credentials: clinical license, academic affiliation, or relevant training. Scan the references: citations to peer-reviewed journals or reputable guidelines. Look for scope limits: clear statements about who the book is and isn’t for, and when to seek care. Seek methods, not miracles: approaches tested across diverse groups, with measurable outcomes. Watch the language: be wary of absolute claims, stigmatizing tones, or one-size-fits-all promises. Cross-verify with trusted bodies: national psychology associations or public-health agencies. The publisher’s responsibility Publishers can raise the bar by standardizing disclosure on methods, sample sizes, and limitations. Editorial policies could require conflict-of-interest statements, transparent citations, and plain-language summaries of evidence. Marketing should avoid medicalized framing for books that lack clinical validation, even when sales incentives press for bold claims. When a manuscript mixes reflection with research, honest jacket copy can prevent false equivalence. Coexisting without confusion Wellness writing can offer genuine comfort, perspective, and daily habits that support well-being. Scientific texts can provide structured tools, validated therapies, and realistic expectations for progress. The aim is to let these strands coexist, while giving readers the navigational cues to tell them apart. With clearer shelves, informed labels, and modest design tweaks, we can protect reader trust—and keep the aisle both inviting and intelligent.
NASA Study: Non-biologic Processes Don’t Fully Explain Mars Organics
In a new study, researchers say that non-biological sources they considered could not fully account for the abundance of organic compounds in a sample
Watch The Entertainment Industry’s Trump Divide
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show could be yet another example of the growing divide over Trump in the entertainment industry, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Ronald Brownstein says.