Genetic changes to avian influenza viruses have led to spread among many wild species, creating an uncontrollable global outbreak.
Researchers catalogue more than 3,000 different types of cell in our most complex organ.
Recent studies evaluate risks associated with drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
Plastic is cheap to make and shockingly profitable. It’s everywhere. And we’re all paying the price.
Plastic, and the profusion of waste it creates, can hide in plain sight, a ubiquitous part of our lives we rarely question. But a closer examination of the situation can be shocking.
Indeed, the scale of the problem is hard to internalize. To date, humans have created around 11 billion metric tons of plastic. This amount surpasses the biomass of all animals, both terrestrial and marine, according to a 2020 study published in Nature.
Currently, about 430 million tons of plastic is produced yearly, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)—significantly more than the weight of all human beings combined. One-third of this total takes the form of single-use plastics, which humans interact with for seconds or minutes before discarding.
Philosophers, cognitive scientists, and engineers are grappling with what it would take for AI to become conscious.
David Chalmers was not expecting the invitation he received in September of last year. As a leading authority on consciousness, Chalmers regularly circles the world delivering talks at universities and academic meetings to rapt audiences of philosophers—the sort of people who might spend hours debating whether the world outside their own heads is real and then go blithely about the rest of their day. This latest request, though, came from a surprising source: the organizers of the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), a yearly gathering of the brightest minds in artificial intelligence.
The Guardian Weekly (October 27, 2023) – The new issue features International security corespondent Jason Burke traceing the possible route to a wider war or, in the other direction, to at least a pause in hostilities.
Elsewhere, Ruth Michaelson and Julian Borger hear from terrified Gazans who have been pushed south, while Emma Graham-Harrison, Julian and Ruth consider the likely consequences of a “victorious” Israeli ground offensive.
There’s also a report on rising antisemitism against Jewish people across Europe since the 7 October Hamas terror attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. And in the Opinion section, Jonathan Freedland and Nesrine Malik offer powerful perspectives on the conflict.
With much attention ranged on the Middle East, the war in Ukraine has fallen a little from the spotlight. Pjotr Sauer reports from Belgrade, where some young Serbs have been signing up to fight for Russia despite the risk of prosecution at home.
Tributes were paid this week after the death of Sir Bobby Charlton, the former Manchester United and England footballing legend. The Observer’s former football correspondent Paul Wilson remembers a player who became virtually synonymous with the English game.
Times Literary Supplement (October27, 2023): The new issue features ‘Tomorrow becomes today’ – J.G. Ballard’s prescient vision; Revolutionary Paris; The modern novel; Germany from the ashes and Oh, what a lovely war!….
Country Life Magazine – October25, 2023: The new issue features Native Breeds – celebrating the noble Shire horse; Taken by storm – artists from Rembrandt to J.M.W. Turner in the eye of the storm; Lighting-up time – Magical autumn colours make Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex….
‘England’s past has been borne on his back’: Kate Green cele-brates the noble Shire horse, a gentle and patient servant
Michael Prodger examines the artist in the eye of the storm, from a gale-tossed Rembrandt to a J. M. W. stomach-Turner
More than a century after The Wind in the Willows was written, the exploits of Ratty, Mole and Toad continue to entertain, as Matthew Dennison discovers
Riding a Victorian high wheeler for 400 miles across war-torn Ukraine was a real eye-opener for adventurer Neil Laughton
Kitchens can be so much more than mere functional spaces, as three leading interior designers reveal to Arabella Youens
Magical autumn colours make Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex a place for all seasons, suggests Charles Quest-Riston
The Guide Dogs for the Blind chairman selects his favourite characterful animal painting
Mary Miers finds that the spirit of the Arts-and-Crafts Movement is alive and well as she visits Ballone Castle, a remarkable Scottish tower-house restoration
Simon Lester endeavours to untangle the natural wonder that is the spiderweb—gossamer thin, but stronger than steel
John Lewis-Stempel conquers the timeless Sussex Downs, before an October storm forces him to beat a hasty retreat
Hetty Lintell explores bespoke eyewear, Penhaligon’s potions and remedies, and the life and legacy of Coco Chanel, Prof Tim Spector shares his favourite things, plus beautiful and practical navigation watches
Melanie Johnson welcomes pumpkins to her autumn kitchen
The Israeli government is taking a leaf out of Ariel Sharon’s playbook to try to undo what it regards as Sharon’s biggest mistake. This essay is on the ‘regime change’ planned for Gaza, and the carnage it entails.
BARRON’S MAGAZINE – October 23, 2023 ISSUE:
For some advisors, the move to Charles Schwab from TD Ameritrade didn’t go smoothly. Chances are, they’ll stick around anyway.
Asset managers’ shares are cheap, and the companies could benefit from an upturn in investment flows. Sizing up BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, and more.Long read
The Change Company was touted as a community-development leader. It became the country’s largest provider of exotic mortgages.Long read
The crypto industry wants laws passed that clarify how it will be regulated.Long read
Home equity accounts for almost half of the median net worth of homeowners 60 and older.4 min read
Apparel that straddles athleticwear and loungewear has become Americans’ de facto uniform. Here are the companies best positioned to profit from it.Long read
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (October 22, 2023): This week’s issue features “Hunting the Falcon,” on this week’s cover, Tina Brown, who reviewed it, calls it “a fierce, scholarly tour de force,” adding: “The authors, a husband-and-wife historian team, are a dream pairing.”
In “Hunting the Falcon,” the historians John Guy and Julia Fox take a fresh look at an infamous Tudor marriage — and find there is indeed more to know.
By Tina Brown
HUNTING THE FALCON: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the Marriage That Shook Europe, by John Guy and Julia Fox
Anne Boleyn glanced over her shoulder repeatedly as she waited at the Tower of London for her executioner, a specialist swordsman who had been summoned from France. Would Henry VIII, who could spare lives as casually as he snuffed them out, spare her life on the scaffold as he’d been known to do before?
In “The Halt During the Chase,” by Rosemary Tonks — first published in 1972, and newly reissued — a young woman goes in search of herself.
By Mary Marge Locker
THE HALT DURING THE CHASE, by Rosemary Tonks
From the first page of this clever, fishy little novel, our narrator, Sophie, is the kind of woman whose laughter is a weapon. She could scare off an assailant with one well-timed whack of her tongue. Originally published in 1972, “The Halt During the Chase” is the second Rosemary Tonks novel to be reissued by New Directions in as many years, bringing a new audience to her charming and imperfect heroines, who are all voice, half poetry and half snarl.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (October 22, 2023): The latest issue features In Search of Kamala Harris; Longer Commutes, Shorter Lives: The Costs of Not Investing in America and The Botched Hunt for the Gilgo Beach Killer….
After nearly three years, the vice president is still struggling to make the case for herself — and feels she shouldn’t have to.
All the conditions seemed right for a chance to reset the narrative.
At the Munich Security Conference in February, amid rising international angst about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris led a delegation of Americans, including around 50 lawmakers from both parties. She spent her first day in Germany in seclusion, preparing for the next 48 hours: meetings with European leaders the first day and a keynote speech the next in the ornate ballroom of the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. When she emerged, head high and shoulders back, Harris exuded what her staff members have argued is a particular comfort with her role on the international stage. There, they say, she is respected.
For decades, spending on the future put the nation ahead of all others. What would it take to revive that spirit?
Every morning in 21st-century America, thousands of people wake up and prepare to take a cross-country trip. Some are traveling for business. Others are visiting family or going on vacations. Whether they are leaving from New York or Los Angeles, Atlanta or Seattle, their trips have a lot in common.
REASON MAGAZINE (DECEMBER 2023) – The latest issue features The Endangered Species Act at 50 – Why have so few species been taken off the endangered species list?; Dobbs and the abortion debate is reshaping American Politics; Will Russia ever be free?, and more…
Why have so few species been taken off the endangered species list?
Some progressives want to remove bureaucratic obstacles to growth—in the service of Democrats and big government.
A wave of ballot measures reminds us most Americans are moderate on abortion.
Promise and peril in post-Putin Russia
