Planned Parenthood, the nonprofit organization that provides reproductive and sexual healthcare, is reporting a surge in demand for long-acting and permanent contraceptive options following the recent presidential election. Nationally, Planned Parenthood Health Centers saw vasectomy appointments increase by 1,200 percent. IUD appointments, meanwhile, increased by more than 760 percent, while birth control and gender-affirming appointments increased by 350 percent and 140 percent, respectively. RELATED STORY | Trump would veto legislation establishing a federal abortion ban, Vance says Planned Parenthood said the uptick "reflects patients' intensified concerns over preserving their reproductive choices as political uncertainties grow." “We’re seeing record numbers of patients making proactive reproductive health choices to help secure their ability to control pregnancy outcomes,” said Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. “In a landscape where reproductive health care access is increasingly under threat, expanded access to effective contraception options — supported by essential programs like Title X and Medicaid — has become even more urgent.” RELATED STORY | Patients have paid over $1 million for contraception care that should be free Planned Parenthood of Northern New England also reported a rise in people volunteering with the organization, which operates 15 clinics in the region. CEO Nicole Clegg said it reflects a growing concern among Americans that they may not be able to access the care that they need in the future. "The day after the election and in the weeks since, our health centers have opened their doors, and our staff has done what they’ve always done: care for our patients," Clegg said in a statement. "We understand the fear and the uncertainty, and unfortunately, we anticipate more chaos and confusion in the coming months and years."Couple’s personal news shocks Block co-starsHistorians know that turkey and corn were part of the first Thanksgiving , when Wampanoag peoples shared a harvest meal with the pilgrims of Plymouth plantation in Massachusetts. And traditional Native American farming practices tell us that squash and beans likely were part of that 1621 dinner too. For centuries before Europeans reached North America, many Native Americans grew these foods together in one plot, along with the less familiar sunflower. They called the plants sisters to reflect how they thrived when they were cultivated together. Today three-quarters of Native Americans live off of reservations , mainly in urban areas. And nationwide, many Native American communities lack access to healthy food . As a scholar of Indigenous studies focusing on Native relationships with the land, I began to wonder why Native farming practices had declined and what benefits could emerge from bringing them back. To answer these questions, I am working with agronomist Marshall McDaniel , horticulturalist Ajay Nair , nutritionist Donna Winham and Native gardening projects in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Our research project, “Reuniting the Three Sisters,” explores what it means to be a responsible caretaker of the land from the perspective of peoples who have been balancing agricultural production with sustainability for hundreds of years. Historically, Native people throughout the Americas bred indigenous plant varieties specific to the growing conditions of their homelands. They selected seeds for many different traits, such as flavor, texture and color . Native growers knew that planting corn, beans, squash and sunflowers together produced mutual benefits. Corn stalks created a trellis for beans to climb, and beans’ twining vines secured the corn in high winds. They also certainly observed that corn and bean plants growing together tended to be healthier than when raised separately. Today we know the reason: Bacteria living on bean plant roots pull nitrogen – an essential plant nutrient – from the air and convert it to a form that both beans and corn can use . Squash plants contributed by shading the ground with their broad leaves, preventing weeds from growing and retaining water in the soil. Heritage squash varieties also had spines that discouraged deer and raccoons from visiting the garden for a snack. And sunflowers planted around the edges of the garden created a natural fence, protecting other plants from wind and animals and attracting pollinators. Interplanting these agricultural sisters produced bountiful harvests that sustained large Native communities and spurred fruitful trade economies . The first Europeans who reached the Americas were shocked at the abundant food crops they found. My research is exploring how, 200 years ago, Native American agriculturalists around the Great Lakes and along the Missouri and Red rivers fed fur traders with their diverse vegetable products. As Euro-Americans settled permanently on the most fertile North American lands and acquired seeds that Native growers had carefully bred, they imposed policies that made Native farming practices impossible . In 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act , which made it official U.S. policy to force Native peoples from their home locations, pushing them onto subpar lands. On reservations, U.S. government officials discouraged Native women from cultivating anything larger than small garden plots and pressured Native men to practice Euro-American style monoculture. Allotment policies assigned small plots to nuclear families, further limiting Native Americans’ access to land and preventing them from using communal farming practices. Native children were forced to attend boarding schools, where they had no opportunity to learn Native agriculture techniques or preservation and preparation of Indigenous foods . Instead they were forced to eat Western foods, turning their palates away from their traditional preferences. Taken together, these policies almost entirely eradicated three sisters agriculture from Native communities in the Midwest by the 1930s. Today Native people all over the U.S. are working diligently to reclaim Indigenous varieties of corn, beans, squash, sunflowers and other crops . This effort is important for many reasons. Improving Native people’s access to healthy, culturally appropriate foods will help lower rates of diabetes and obesity , which affect Native Americans at disproportionately high rates. Sharing traditional knowledge about agriculture is a way for elders to pass cultural information along to younger generations. Indigenous growing techniques also protect the lands that Native nations now inhabit, and can potentially benefit the wider ecosystems around them. But Native communities often lack access to resources such as farming equipment, soil testing, fertilizer and pest prevention techniques. This is what inspired Iowa State University’s Three Sisters Gardening Project. We work collaboratively with Native farmers at Tsyunhehkw , a community agriculture program, and the Ohelaku Corn Growers Co-Op on the Oneida reservation in Wisconsin; the Nebraska Indian College , which serves the Omaha and Santee Sioux in Nebraska; and Dream of Wild Health , a nonprofit organization that works to reconnect the Native American community in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, with traditional Native plants and their culinary, medicinal and spiritual uses. [ The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories. Weekly on Wednesdays .] We are growing three sisters research plots at ISU’s Horticulture Farm and in each of these communities. Our project also runs workshops on topics of interests to Native gardeners, encourages local soil health testing and grows rare seeds to rematriate them , or return them to their home communities. The monocropping industrial agricultural systems that produce much of the U.S. food supply harms the environment, rural communities and human health and safety in many ways . By growing corn, beans and squash in research plots, we are helping to quantify how intercropping benefits both plants and soil . By documenting limited nutritional offerings at reservation grocery stores , we are demonstrating the need for Indigenous gardens in Native communities. By interviewing Native growers and elders knowledgeable about foodways, we are illuminating how healing Indigenous gardening practices can be for Native communities and people – their bodies, minds and spirits. Our Native collaborators are benefiting from the project through rematriation of rare seeds grown in ISU plots, workshops on topics they select and the new relationships they are building with Native gardeners across the Midwest. As researchers, we are learning about what it means to work collaboratively and to conduct research that respects protocols our Native collaborators value, such as treating seeds, plants and soil in a culturally appropriate manner. By listening with humility, we are working to build a network where we can all learn from one another. This article is republished from The Conversation , a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Christina Gish Hill , Iowa State University Read more: Christina Gish Hill receives funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.Noida: Jewar villagers from whom govt intends to buy land for the third and fourth phases of Noida International Airport have been offered nearly 40% higher compensation than second phase rates. Landlosers will be entitled to Rs 4,300 per square metre. In the second phase, the compensation rate was Rs 3,100 per sqm. Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL), govt's special purpose vehicle for the airport, announced on Monday that around 42,000 people would be impacted by acquisition for the third and fourth phases. At 2,053 hectares, this will be the largest instalment of land buying – spread across 14 villages – for the airport, where UP govt eventually wants four runways. In the development plan, the airport's final phase is set for completion in 2040. The first phase, with one runway and a terminal building, is approaching completion. Passenger operations are scheduled for launch next April. NIAL officials said that 300 hectares of the land acquired for the third and fourth phases will be specifically allocated for prominent international aerospace manufacturers. The revised compensation rate is expected to help convince the reluctant and make the acquisition process. NIAL officials have begun preparations for a social impact assessment for the affected families. "The increase in compensation is expected to encourage farmers to release their land for the project, facilitating the timely progress of the acquisition," said NIAL CEO Arun Vir Singh. CM Yogi Adityanath had announced the increased compensation during his interaction with farmers on Dec 20. Expressing his optimism about the future of Jewar and Noida airport, the CM had said, "In the next decade, Jewar will surpass Noida and Greater Noida in terms of progress. Jewar airport will not only serve as a hub for global travel but also as a key logistics centre. Goods produced in the region will be directly transported to other countries. Large cargo planes will arrive, facilitating the export of farmers' produce." According to estimates drawn up, the fresh phase of land acquisition will affect 42,433 people (9,361 families), among them 10,847 minors and 15,243 women. The villages where land has been identified include Neemka Shahjahanpur, Khwajapur, Parohi, Kishorepur, Banwaribans, Jewar Bangar, Muqimpur Shivara, Sabauta, Ahmedpur Chauroli, Dayanatpur, Rohi, Bankapur, Thora and Ramner. The highest share of land identified is in Thora (639 hectares), followed by Neemka Shahjahanpur (307 hectares), Khwajpur (292 hectares) and Ramner (235 hectares). The first phase of the Noida airport involved acquisition of 1,334 hectares. Land acquisition has also been completed for the second phase, which covers 1,365 hectares. Besides extending the airport, an aviation hub and a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility are part of the development plan of the airport's second phase. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes.
Spears' 31 lead UTSA past Houston Christian 78-71SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Primo Spears' 31 points led UTSA over Houston Christian 78-71 on Saturday night. Spears had five assists for the Roadrunners (3-3). Raekwon Horton added 19 points while shooting 6 of 7 from the field and 7 for 7 from the line while he also had nine rebounds. Damari Monsanto finished 3 of 8 from 3-point range to finish with 11 points. Julian Mackey finished with 20 points for the Huskies (2-6). Bryson Dawkins added 16 points and two blocks for Houston Christian. Demari Williams also had 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
NEW YORK (AP) — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said in . “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.” Tech companies and leaders have millions into his inauguration fund, a sharp increase — in most cases — from past pledges to incoming presidents. But what does the tech industry expect to gain out of their renewed relationships with Trump? A clue to what the industry is looking for came just days before the election when Microsoft executives — who’ve largely tried to show a neutral or bipartisan stance — joined with a close Trump ally, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, to outlining their approach to artificial intelligence policy. “Regulation should be implemented only if its benefits outweigh its costs,” said the document signed by Andreessen, his business partner Ben Horowitz, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the company’s president, Brad Smith. They also urged the government to back off on any attempt to strengthen copyright laws that would make it harder for companies to use publicly available data to train their AI systems. And they said, “the government should examine its procurement practices to enable more startups to sell technology to the government.” Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order, which sought to protect people’s rights and safety without stifling innovation. He hasn’t specified what he would do in its place, but his campaign said AI development should be “rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.” Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, has spoken openly about the need to boost electricity production to meet increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. “The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country,′′ Burgum said on Nov. 15, referring to artificial intelligence. “And the AI that’s coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there’s just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration′′ to address it. Demand for data centers due to the rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and local governments are competing for lucrative deals with big tech companies. But as data centers begin to consume more resources, some residents are pushing back against the world’s most powerful corporations over concerns about the economic, social and environmental health of their communities. “Maybe Big Tech should buy a copy of ‘The Art of The Deal’ to figure out how to best negotiate with this administration,” suggested Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “I won’t be surprised if they find ways to reach some accommodations and we end up seeing more negotiated resolutions and consent decrees.” Although federal regulators began cracking down on Google and Facebook during Trump’s first term as president — and flourished under Biden — most experts expect his second administration to and be more receptive to business mergers. Google may benefit from Trump’s return after he made comments on the campaign trail suggesting isn’t in the U.S. national interest, after a judge declared its search engine . But recent nominations put forward by his transition team have favored those who have been critical of Big Tech companies, suggesting Google won’t be entirely off the hook. Cook’s notoriously rocky relationship with the EU can be traced back to a 2016 ruling from Brussels in a tax case targeting Apple. Cook slammed the bloc’s order for Apple to pay back up to $13.7 billion in Irish back taxes as “total political crap.” Trump, then in his first term as president, piled on, referring to the European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who was spearheading a campaign on special tax deals and a crackdown on Big Tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.” Brussels was after the bloc’s top court rejected Apple’s appeal this year, though it didn’t stop Cook from calling Trump to complain, Trump in October. Trump hosted Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Neither Apple nor the Trump transition team has commented on the nature of their discussions. , Amazon and Meta all pledged to donate $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which billionaire Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trump’s past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. He recently said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term, while also endorsing president-elect’s plans to cut regulations. The donation from Meta came just weeks after privately at Mar-a-Lago. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump in recent months had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly. And Altman, who is in a legal dispute with AI rival Elon Musk, has said he is about the Tesla CEO’s influence in the incoming administration. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits.
Keir Starmer has attempted to relaunch his struggling government with a new set of six “milestones” aimed at persuading voters he is making progress. After five months in Downing Street beset by scandals over freebies and the loss of his chief of staff and a cabinet minister, the prime minister delivered a keynote speech at Pinewood Studios in a bid to steady his ship. But in a sign of the difficult task ahead of him, his address to an event packed with Labour supporters was met with a muted audience response and little applause. It reflected the findings of a new national poll from Find Out Now UK that puts Labour in third place on 23 per cent, behind the Tories on 26 per cent and Nigel Farage’ s Reform UK on 24 per cent. And the event was overshadowed by a warning from the Bank of England that his chancellor’s much-criticised Budget would lead to job losses. Sir Keir tried to inject some energy into his flagging government by announcing that his “milestones” were raising living standards, building 1.5 million homes, putting 13,000 new police on the beat, giving children the best start in life, ending hospital backlogs, and securing green energy. But in a 54-minute speech and question-and-answer session, he appeared quickly to come unstuck on some of his past promises. He was accused of watering down a previous pledge by stating that only 95 per cent of energy will be “clean” by 2030, rather than 100 per cent as before. Energy secretary Ed Miliband was deployed to provide reassurance that the plan had not changed. And he downgraded the promise of economic growth – previously the centre of Labour’s election campaign – to a detail after “raising living standards”. There was barely a mention of a previous pledge to hire 6,500 new teachers. There was also no mention of domestic abuse despite representatives of campaign groups on the issue being in the audience. But a defiant prime minister, who joked about how he could be the next James Bond after appearing at the studios where the 007 films were made, insisted that his government is delivering for the country. Sir Keir said: “This government was elected to deliver real change for working people – and that is exactly what we are doing. “We have already stabilised the economy, secured an extra £26bn for the NHS and launched a Border Security Command to tackle illegal migration. “Faced with a dire inheritance, we know that we cannot deliver our plan for change alone. Mission-led government means doing things differently, and a decade of national renewal will require the skills and determination of us all.” New cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald has been charged with rewiring the civil service to deliver the plan, he said. The prime minister has repeated promises to cut immigration but stopped short of setting any targets. Sir Keir pledged his government would “reduce immigration – legal and illegal” but was unclear how this would be achieved. Under repeated questioning from reporters as to why he had not included immigration in the list of six “milestones, he said cutting immigration “will only be done with a serious plan” and – referring to “illegal” immigration – repeated his argument that the only way to do this would be to go after people-smuggling gangs. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said the prime minister offered “nothing concrete on immigration – because Labour have no plan to control numbers” while Reform UK criticised him for not including “any measurable targets” in his milestones. Voters want “a serious plan to ensure we’ve got control of our borders, not arbitrary caps, not gimmicks”, the prime minister said. His six milestones were meant to go alongside three foundations of economic stability, national security and secure borders. Previously, he had announced five missions and six first steps which were entwined into his “plan for change” document. The event gave the impression of a major rally and election manifesto launch even though the audience did not appear to be energised by the content of the prime minister’s speech. But his biggest headache came from the Bank of England, with its survey of chief financial officers showing the majority expect lower profit margins, higher prices and lower employment. More than a third warned of lower wages. Following the Budget, the Bank of England’s survey of small, medium and large businesses shows that 59 per cent of firms expect lower profit margins, 54 per cent expect to raise prices, 54 per cent expect lower employment and 38 per cent expect to pay lower wages than they otherwise would have done. Andrew Griffith, shadow business and trade secretary, said: “The Bank is right to warn that businesses are taking a hit from Labour’s Budget. Ultimately, it’s working people who will pay the price as employers scale back on pay, cut jobs and raise prices for everyday items. “If Labour are serious about growth, they should listen to the very real concerns from business.” While there was some welcome for the speech, there were warnings that Sir Keir’s government will need to find new investment to achieve his milestones. Patricia Marquis, executive director of the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) England, said: “To achieve his plan, the prime minister needs to join the dots between hitting NHS targets and solving the crisis in nursing. We deliver the vast majority of care, but our workforce is severely depleted and recruitment is collapsing. This impacts every service, including non-urgent, the very issue he wants to address. A plan for change needs a plan to turn our profession around.” This came as Sir Keir again refused to repeat the recent pledge by his chancellor of “no new taxes” – giving rise to concerns about another tax raid in the spring. He did receive some support from the right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), previously associated with Liz Truss’s disastrous economic policy. Dr Kristian Niemietz, head of political economy at the IEA, said: “Britain’s inability to build anything is not just a problem for one or two sectors of the economy in isolation: it is the mother of all problems, affecting nearly every part of the economy to varying degrees. The government’s recognition of this is welcome, and the prime minister is right to point out that our planning system has not just left us short of homes but of key infrastructure too, including transport and energy.”
WNBA Champion Sabrina Ionescu Joins Unrivaled LeagueNEW YORK (AP) — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said in remarks at Mar-a-Lago . “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.” Tech companies and leaders have now poured millions into his inauguration fund, a sharp increase — in most cases — from past pledges to incoming presidents. But what does the tech industry expect to gain out of their renewed relationships with Trump? A clue to what the industry is looking for came just days before the election when Microsoft executives — who’ve largely tried to show a neutral or bipartisan stance — joined with a close Trump ally, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, to publish a blog post outlining their approach to artificial intelligence policy. “Regulation should be implemented only if its benefits outweigh its costs,” said the document signed by Andreessen, his business partner Ben Horowitz, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the company’s president, Brad Smith. They also urged the government to back off on any attempt to strengthen copyright laws that would make it harder for companies to use publicly available data to train their AI systems. And they said, “the government should examine its procurement practices to enable more startups to sell technology to the government.” Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order, which sought to protect people’s rights and safety without stifling innovation. He hasn’t specified what he would do in its place, but his campaign said AI development should be “rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.” Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, has spoken openly about the need to boost electricity production to meet increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. “The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country,′′ Burgum said on Nov. 15, referring to artificial intelligence. “And the AI that’s coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there’s just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration′′ to address it. Demand for data centers ballooned in recent years due to the rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and local governments are competing for lucrative deals with big tech companies. But as data centers begin to consume more resources, some residents are pushing back against the world’s most powerful corporations over concerns about the economic, social and environmental health of their communities. “Maybe Big Tech should buy a copy of ‘The Art of The Deal’ to figure out how to best negotiate with this administration,” suggested Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “I won’t be surprised if they find ways to reach some accommodations and we end up seeing more negotiated resolutions and consent decrees.” Although federal regulators began cracking down on Google and Facebook during Trump’s first term as president — and flourished under Biden — most experts expect his second administration to ease up on antitrust enforcement and be more receptive to business mergers. Google may benefit from Trump’s return after he made comments on the campaign trail suggesting a breakup of the company isn’t in the U.S. national interest, after a judge declared its search engine an illegal monopoly . But recent nominations put forward by his transition team have favored those who have been critical of Big Tech companies, suggesting Google won’t be entirely off the hook. Cook’s notoriously rocky relationship with the EU can be traced back to a 2016 ruling from Brussels in a tax case targeting Apple. Cook slammed the bloc’s order for Apple to pay back up to $13.7 billion in Irish back taxes as “total political crap.” Trump, then in his first term as president, piled on, referring to the European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who was spearheading a campaign on special tax deals and a crackdown on Big Tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.” Brussels was eventually vindicated after the bloc’s top court rejected Apple’s appeal this year, though it didn’t stop Cook from calling Trump to complain, Trump recounted in a podcast in October. Trump hosted Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Neither Apple nor the Trump transition team has commented on the nature of their discussions. Altman , Amazon and Meta all pledged to donate $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which billionaire Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trump’s past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. He recently said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term, while also endorsing president-elect’s plans to cut regulations. The donation from Meta came just weeks after Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump in recent months had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly. And Altman, who is in a legal dispute with AI rival Elon Musk, has said he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence in the incoming administration. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits.
More than the storyline and the acting abilities of the star-cast, it is the wonders of modern technology being exhibited on the screen which is drawing people to the theatres I happened to come across an article in a national daily that sought to eulogise 1975 as the most audacious year in the history of Hindi cinema. Despite being a year that celebrated a large number of blockbusters, it says, there were a few films which, fighting against all odds, created remarkable impacts and went on to become cult classics. Approximately half-a-century later, we are at the crossroads of a significant change in Bollywood where ‘metaphorical connotations’ find no place in the matter-of-fact style of presentation of cinematic themes. Going by the plethora of senseless films being exhibited in cinema theatres and the OTT platforms these days, one can only wonder at the ‘toxic’ taste of the audience who seem to be fed a regular dose of such nonsense in the name of entertainment by film-makers. A string of supposed ‘hits’ which are neither in the ‘traditional’ mould nor in the genre of sci-fi and period drama films seek to regale the audience with a mishmash of contents that bring out ‘wows’ from them. More than the storyline and the acting abilities of the star-cast, it is the wonders of modern technology being exhibited on the screen which is drawing people to the theatres – at least for the curiosity factor, if not for anything else. It is these ‘one-time’ viewings which make the ‘new-age’ cinema eventual hits, encouraging producers to make sequels. The popularity and impact of some of these ‘trending’ movies has become a topic of discussion with many dismissing criticisms against them with the simple justification that any negative remarks against such cinematic creations would amount to attacking the artistic freedom of the film-makers. Moreover, as commercial ventures, as long as people watched and enjoyed the films, there is no basis to be critical of the films. Spruced up with enough vulgarity and violence at times, the new genre of films has built up its own fan base. Besides, when the audiences are more inclined towards such contents, what deters the producers and directors from glorifying these ‘attributes’ to churn out potential money-spinners! Hence the contention that modern movies have replaced story and character with spectacle and noise does seem to have a ring of truth about it leading one to believe that with the audience and the industry evolving in response to changes in how people consume media, the concept of films as entertainment is being redefined all over again. However, there is arguably no dearth of connoisseurs of good cinema even today who see no harm in sitting through three hours of such movies to make some sense out of them, only to get disappointed in the end. After having lived through a period which was marked by the production of some of the most widely acclaimed films of all times with narratives that addressed the social and moral issues of the times, besides serving to take satirical looks at the political scenario prevalent, we now take satisfaction applauding the ‘excellences in technology’ which pass of as films. The film fraternity all over the world realise that film-making is a business of ideas. So is it a lack of ideas which is afflicting the world of cinema now! According to a doyen in the film industry, film-makers have failed to ignite the desire, and create the yearning among the cine-going public which once put them on that pedestal of fame as sellers of dreams. When it is claimed that the old must make way for the new, it doesn’t necessarily mean that in keeping with the changing times one has to end up bereft of fresh and innovative ideas. This is also true when it comes to the world of cinema! According to an acting diva of the modern era, what makes a movie truly successful in today’s cinematic landscape is the magic that it’s able to create. Whether it’s through powerful emotions, gripping action or unforgettable music, it is by weaving magic around these aspects of the movie that the film-maker has an instant hit on his hands. While films of yore used to be a blend of all these features which appealed to the public, movies today leave one confused as to their actual ‘composition’. In the past, elevating the entertainment quotient of a scene single-handedly came so very naturally to some film stars that their very presence on the screen spelt a few minutes of thrill and excitement for cine-goers. Is this a reflection of the deteriorating standards of cinema worldwide! The argument that the entertainment industry is a business like any other that’s primary purpose is to make money has brought in a trend where studios are prioritising marketing over quality. Instead of the few hours of respite from the rat-race called life that the dream-like ambiences the yesteryear films afforded, cinemas today unceremoniously propel one into the harsh world of realities. The slew of absurd movies hitting the theatres and OTTs at regular intervals which are undoubtedly a severe test on one’s intelligence quotient completes the list. The concept of entertainment has indeed changed! (Pachu Menon is a senior columnist based in Goa.)New biodegradable structures could improve energy, information technologies and help to advance medicine. This is in the form of soft, sustainable electroactive materials. This follows Northwestern University researchers designing new materials using peptides and tiny molecular segments found in plastics. The process results in a soft material with ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties . This material requires extremely low energy to switch its polarity, unlocking applications in sustainable energy and information storage. Another application is with low-power, energy-efficient microscopic memory chips, sensors and energy storage units In terms of other practical use, arrays of fibres containing the new materials could be woven together into smart fabrics, medical implants or wearable devices. As an example, this could include new types of ultralight electronic devices while reducing the environmental impact of electronic manufacturing and disposal. Manufacturers could integrate the material into woven fibres to create smart fabrics or sticker-like medical implants. The materials are made of tiny, flexible nano-sized ribbons that can be charged just like a battery to store energy or record digital information. According to lead researcher Samuel I. Stupp : “This is a wholly new concept in materials science and soft materials research. We imagine a future where you could wear a shirt with air conditioning built into it or rely on soft bioactive implants that feel like tissues and are activated wirelessly to improve heart or brain function.” Stupp adds: “Those uses require electrical and biological signals, but we cannot build those applications with classic electroactive materials. It’s not practical to put hard materials into our organs or in shirts that people can wear. We need to bring electrical signals into the world of soft materials. That is exactly what we have done in this study.” The basis of the new material is peptide amphiphiles. This is a versatile platform of molecules previously developed in Stupp’s laboratory. These self-assembling structures form filaments in water and have already demonstrated promise in regenerative medicine. The molecules contain peptides and a lipid segment, which drives the molecular self-assembly when placed in water. The scientists replaced the lipid tail with a miniature molecular segment of a plastic called polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). However, they kept the peptide segment, which contains sequences of amino acids. Commonly used in audio and sonar technologies, PVDF is a plastic with special electrical properties. It can generate electrical signals when pressed or squeezed — a property known as piezoelectricity. It also is a ferroelectric material, which means it has a polar structure that can switch orientation by 180 degrees using an external voltage. The dominant ferroelectrics in technology are hard materials and often include rare or toxic metals, such as lead and niobium. The new materials are equally ferroelectric and piezoelectric as PVDF, and the electroactive forms are stable, with the ability to switch polarity using extremely low external voltages. This makes them suitable for low-power electronics The research has been published in the journal Nature , titled “Peptide programming of a supramolecular vinylidene fluoride ferroelectric phase.” Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
