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直擊〉新日本來了

直擊〉新日本來了

「這次,『它』真的變得不一樣了……。」時間往前推,今年三月,全球最大的上市避險基金集團英仕曼(ManGroup),在官網發布了一篇分析報告,報告核心,圍繞在一個已開發國家近年推行的資本市場改革。報告的結論是這麼下的:「它付出的努力,曾經收效甚微,但,這一切很可能即將改變。」 「轉型」、「不一樣」……,這些象徵著自我革新與重生的語彙,指向的,是一個經濟發展停滯逾三十年的國度——日本。 「過去十年,是這個國家的盤整期,」談到日本的未來展望時,元大金控策略長吳杰用篤定與樂觀的語氣提出定調:「現在,它即將全面邁入復興的階段。」 時間回到五月十七日,當天,代表日本大型股表現的日經二二五指數升破了三萬點關卡,不僅創下二○二一年九月以來新高,更逼近一九九○年八月以來的最高水平;同期間,反映日本整體企業表現的東證指數(Topix)也突破了二一二七點,來到三十三年高位。 帶動日股創新高的一大功臣,是外資。 根據日本財務省日前公布的統計資料顯示,今年四月,外資在日本股市總計買超四.九八兆日圓,這個單月買超金額,創下自○五年一月日本開始統計外資動向以來的歷史最高紀錄。 另一邊,…

THE POET, THE GARDENER AND THE WITCH: FORGOTTEN VOICES OF TUDOR ENGLAND

THE POET, THE GARDENER AND THE WITCH: FORGOTTEN VOICES OF TUDOR ENGLAND

1 Elizabeth Stile, the condemned witch Elizabeth Stile was a witch - at least, in the minds of many of her contemporaries. She was 65 years old, widowed, and living in Windsor when she was accused of witchcraft. Together with her associates, she was accused of killing several people and bringing harm to many others, with the help of familiars including a rat, a black cat and a toad. All of the accused women were poor. Some of their alleged victims had been targeted, it was said, because they had refused to hand out charity, or had been responsible for some other small injustice against these already marginalised women. We might think that these alleged witches were just scapegoats, picked upon because they were already vulnerable, in an attempt to explain misfortunes…

Secrets of the Whales

Secrets of the Whales

JOHN FORD WANTED a whale’s-eye view. One summer day in 1978 a pod of killer whales raced toward a pebbled beach on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. The young biologist was waiting in a wet suit and snorkel. The ghostly black-and-white procession steamed in like a team of U-boats, low and fast. Ford pressed on his face mask and slipped into the sea. In waters barely 10 feet deep, the creatures slowed and rolled to their sides. Bodies partially submerged, the fans at the end of their tails—their flukes—wagging, the whales began to twist and shimmy. One by one, each scuffed its side and belly on the stones, like grizzlies scratching against the pines. Ford, age 66, has now studied killer whales, the largest dolphin and from the branch of the Cetacean…

Comment: The Case Against Trump

Comment: The Case Against Trump

“I don’t want to say, ‘The election is over,’” Donald Trump said on January 7, 2021. He’d been given a script for a video statement on the events of the previous day, when, at his prompting, a mob had assaulted the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the electoral-vote tally. The video was meant to calm his supporters and to reassure the country that the election was, indeed, over. But, as indicated by outtakes from the filming which were shown last Thursday, at a hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the events of January 6th, Trump wasn’t ready to send that message. All he was willing to say was that “Congress has certified the results”; it had done so at close to four o’clock that morning, in a building…

F1 INSIDER

PICTURES 01 TOST SPREADS HIS WINGS AlphaTauri team boss to go after 17 years 02 MUSICAL CHAIRS AT MERC Allison returns in tech director job swap 03 NEW CONTRACT FOR NEWEY TOST OFF: NEW BOSS FOR ALPHATAURI 01 After 17 years at the helm of a Formula 1 team, Franz Tost is to step down from his role as team principal at AlphaTauri to make way for Laurent Mekies, currently racing director at Ferrari. It remains unclear, however, when exactly Mekies will be able to take up his duties at AlphaTauri’s Faenza base. The announcement of Tost’s imminent departure was made prematurely – in response to rumours leaked to the press of Mekies’ forthcoming move from Ferrari to AlphaTauri. Initial reports of the Frenchman’s intention to leave the Maranello outfit had surfaced at the start of 2023; insiders…

F1 INSIDER

JOINED BY STARS AND OTHER ROYALS THE QUEEN ENJOYS COLOURFUL GARDEN DISPLAYS AT THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

‘Her Majesty loves gardens and riding in a Queenmobile is a great way for her to be able to pursue her passion’ It is one of her favourite events in the royal calendar, so the Queen was determined to attend this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, despite her mobility issues. But rather than walk around the 23-acre showground, she opted to enjoy the colourful sights and heavenly smells of the floral displays from the comfort of a new golf buggy dubbed the Queenmobile – after the Popemobiles used by Popes since John Paul II, including the present Pontiff. Her Majesty looked radiant in a pink lemonade coat and ivory silk dress by Stewart Parvin, adding pearls, a floral Cartier brooch given to her by her parents George VI and Queen Elizabeth and a…

JOINED BY STARS AND OTHER ROYALS THE QUEEN ENJOYS COLOURFUL GARDEN DISPLAYS AT THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

1926–2022 ‘FAMED AS “BABY BETTY” BEFORE SHE COULD TALK, SHE NOW ASSERTS, “I AM LILYBET THE P’INCESS!”’TIME on Princess Elizabeth at age 3, Jan. 27, 1930 QUEEN ELIZABETH II WAS THE WORLD’S LONGEST-serving head of state when she died at 96 on Sept. 8. She had led her subjects for more than seven decades—an extraordinary reign that began in 1952, and spanned 15 British Prime Ministers and 14 U.S. Presidents. She inherited the throne of a country almost broken by the legacy of war, and remained upon it through a time of epochal change for both the U.K. and the world. When Elizabeth took the throne, the U.K. was the seat of an empire that straddled the globe. Today, Britain is a smaller player on the world’s stage, but she remained the sovereign…

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

INSIDE ZELENSKY’S WORLD

THE NIGHTS ARE THE HARDEST, when he lies there on his cot, the whine of the air-raid sirens in his ears and his phone still buzzing beside him. Its screen makes his face look like a ghost in the dark, his eyes scanning messages he didn’t have a chance to read during the day. Some from his wife and kids, many from his advisers, a few from his troops, surrounded in their bunkers, asking him again and again for more weapons to break the Russian siege. Inside his own bunker, the President has a habit of staring at his daily agenda even when the day is over. He lies awake and wonders whether he missed something, forgot someone. “It’s pointless,” Volodymyr Zelensky told me at the presidential compound in Kyiv, just…

INSIDE ZELENSKY’S WORLD
SPECTACULAR SMART LIGHTS

SPECTACULAR SMART LIGHTS

1 IKEA FLOALT Sometimes you don’t want a bulb, you want a whole panel of light to control from your phone or through your smart speaker – and that’s exactly what you get with the Floalt, part of Ikea’s growing range of intelligent illumination products. Available in a variety of sizes, these panels really enable you to get creative with your lighting setup. From £65, ikea.com 2 PHILIPS HUE AMARANT One of the latest products from the smart lightning veterans at Philips Hue is the Amarant, an outdoor light bar that can blanket a wall or a particular part of your property with a white or coloured light. You can even connect several of them together, and they’re perfect for hedges, fences, and any other bit of outdoor furniture that you want to illuminate. £129.99,…

SECRETS OF AN EXCEL ESPORTS PLAYER: HOW PROS TAP THE TRUE POWER OF SPREADSHEETS

SECRETS OF AN EXCEL ESPORTS PLAYER: HOW PROS TAP THE TRUE POWER OF SPREADSHEETS

Most people view Microsoft’s Excel as a simple “spreadsheet program” that’s rapidly being eclipsed by free web-based apps that can run on any cheap laptop. Well, think again. Modern-day Excel is an advanced analytics tool that can push today’s fastest hardware to their limits, and it’s sexy enough that it rates its own esports coverage. No joke—thousands tuned in live to watch the Financial Modelling World Cup that was broadcast by ESPN. Intrigued by the interest of “gamers” and curious to see just how hard advanced Excel users are pushing the application, PCWorld decided to interview spreadsheet superstar Jason Moore. Moore is the head of analytics and data at an investment firm, and a semifinalist who won cold, hard cash in December’s Financial Modeling World Cup. Moore is also the same Excel…

遺世之境不孤立

遺世之境不孤立

摘自 LE FIGARO 清晨5點在冰島西南部的凱夫拉維克機場(Keflavík Airport),天色尚暗,空氣潮濕。一股強烈陣風,讓我們這架來自波士頓的航班,在降落時驚險萬狀。連我這種不信神的人,都開始祈求上蒼保佑。 不過完全沒有必要。冰島航空的機師泰然自若地應付著這個生死瞬間。在他們眼裡,這種強勁、狂暴的側風充其量只是返鄉時司空見慣的歡迎場面。 一個小時後,天還是沒亮,我慶幸自己抵抗誘惑,在機上的最後3小時滴酒未沾。冰島當地對酒駕的規定非常嚴格,而我正開著一輛租來的車,要到50公里外的雷克雅維克(Reykjavík)。我不免心想,在破曉前的一片漆黑中落地,又有「北歐黑色」風格電影一般的雨瀑相伴,這對2021年8月這趟遺世之旅,是再完美不過的開場了。 人在旅途往往充滿期待。冰島曾是丹麥的屬地,離冰島最近的陸塊是地圖上一片白色的格陵蘭。這個亞北極圈內的島國地廣人疏(居民數376,000人),堪稱人類最偏遠的居住地。因其地理位置,加上與歐盟的緊密關係,冰島有如歐洲的露台。我不知道自己會在這裡有什麼樣的發現。…

GOODBYE, ISS. HELLO, PRIVATE SPACE STATIONS

GOODBYE, ISS. HELLO, PRIVATE SPACE STATIONS

FROM ITS INCEPTION, THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE Station (ISS) was an improbable machine. As big as a football field and made of 17 pressurized modules and a pair of massive solar wings, the $150 billion spacecraft has been an instrument of research, exploration, and politics, built and maintained by 15 nations, led by the U.S. and Russia. Even as the war in Ukraine rages, NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, continue to cooperate in space. But what politics cannot break, time and age can. The ISS is getting old. Its first component was launched nearly 24 years ago, and orbital hardware can last only so long before equipment breaks down, small air leaks appear, and the constant punishment both by micrometeorites and the continual thermal cycling the station goes through on…

RAISING A GLASS TO HER MAJESTY HELLO!’S PLATINUM PARTY DAME JOAN COLLINS IS JOINED BY SOCIETY AND SHOWBIZ GREATS AT OUR SPARKLING SOIREE

RAISING A GLASS TO HER MAJESTY HELLO!’S PLATINUM PARTY DAME JOAN COLLINS IS JOINED BY SOCIETY AND SHOWBIZ GREATS AT OUR SPARKLING SOIREE

Dressed in patriotic shades of red, white and blue, the great and good of British society and showbiz were out in full force to toast the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at a sparkling soirée hosted by Dame Joan Collins and HELLO! editor in chief Rosie Nixon. Lavish private members’ club Upstairs at Langan’s Brasserie, in London’s Mayfair, was abuzz with love, laughter and glamour as guests including lords, ladies, legends and dames gathered last Tuesday – much to the delight of the evening’s hostesses. “We had a fabulous time,” Dame Joan tells us. “It was a marvellous party. “So many of my friends came, which was wonderful. Langan’s did a fantastic job of decorating everything and I was thrilled Rosie asked me to be co-host. “It was a very happy atmosphere – I didn’t want…

你輕忽的索命殺手 慢性病

你輕忽的索命殺手 慢性病

九月十四日, 知名演員龍劭華猝逝,享壽六十八歲,相驗死因為「疾病因素」。龍劭華有逾十年糖尿病史,而糖尿病常見的併發症之一就是心血管疾病,他的猝逝是因病奪命的冰山一角,如一整座冰山般的慢性病風暴早已悄悄籠罩全台! 台灣自五月爆發本土Covid-19疫情後,至九月二十一日累計死亡八四○例,死亡案例中,令人不安的現象就是高達九成有慢性病史,其中為數極少的三、四十歲年輕死亡個案,也有近七成是慢性病患者。 至今,台灣covid-19死亡率約五.二%,遠高於全球平均的二.○六%(九月二十一日數據)。雖然專家學者指出高死亡率的原因很複雜,但台灣如此「突出」的表現仍是一記警鐘,讓人意識到台灣慢性病問題之嚴重。 「台灣十大死因除了事故傷害外,大部分都是慢性病,像心血管、糖尿病、高血壓等。」台大醫院社區醫學科主任詹其峰解釋,只要是非傳染性疾病(NCD),而且需要持續一年以上的醫療照顧,或導致日常生活功能限制,就可稱為慢性病,也因此癌症也歸類在慢性病裡。 台慢性病早死率 高於韓日星 最後階段臥床長達8.5年…

WHERE THERE’S FIRE, THERE’S TOXIC SMOKE

WHERE THERE’S FIRE, THERE’S TOXIC SMOKE

ON A RURAL HIGHWAY in Northern California, a July traveler’s tire went flat. Metal rim scraped against pavement. The sparks ignited a fire that ripped through dry forest, whirled into flame tornadoes, and roared over tens of thousands of acres, making fuel of everything in its path. When it jumped the Sacramento River and headed for the city of Redding, Keith Bein prepped his new rig—a trailer holding two tiny electric cars, a lot of tubes and instrumentation, and a white contraption that looks like a miniature lighthouse. Bein works as an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Davis campus, about 150 miles south of Redding. By the time he hooked the loaded trailer to his truck and began driving upstate, the 2018 Carr Fire—those sparks ignited near a power…

TWEET STORM

TWEET STORM

THERE’S AN OLD JOKE AMONG TWITTER EMPLOYEES THAT being on the platform is like playing a huge online multiplayer game where every day there’s a different main character—meaning a person who’s critiqued, harassed, or otherwise shoved into the spotlight. According to the joke, you have just one goal: never become that main character yourself. One day in 2018, Twitter’s main character was Vernon Unsworth, a British diver who’d spent days assisting the rescue of Thai boys trapped in a flooded cave. After billionaire Elon Musk offered a minuscule submarine to the rescue divers, Unsworth told the media that Musk’s idea was just a useless PR stunt. Musk then took to Twitter, where (in tweets that he later deleted) he baselessly accused the man of being a “pedo guy,” or pedophile. The…

Chloë (Always Candid)

Chloë (Always Candid)

Chloë Grace Moretz should be on the road. She stars in two major films being released this year, so there’s a lot to promote. But since the pandemic has halted regular life, she is stationed at her home in Los Angeles, which presents her with a couple of new realities: being at her abode (this is the longest stretch ever) and having loads of free time. From age 5, Chloë has spent most of her life traveling or on a set. Since she can remember, her days have run on a rigid schedule planned to the hour. Then, poof, her routine suddenly dismantled, and Chloë became unmoored. “In the beginning it felt nice to take a break. I thought it might last for a few weeks. Then it became very real…

THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE

The year 2009 could go down in the astronomical textbooks as the one when a revolution in our understanding of the Universe began. The protagonist at the centre of this upheaval was not a person but a machine: a space probe called Planck. Named after the great German physicist Max Planck, the spacecraft was launched by the European Space Agency that year and was tasked with detecting the ‘blueprint’ of the Universe – capturing a snapshot of the seeds of the stars and galaxies that surround us today. Prior to its launch, cosmologists had spent over a century constructing mathematical theories to describe the story of the Universe, from the earliest moments to the present day. But analysis of the data returned by Planck has revealed a number of plot holes…

THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE
Finding Their Light

Finding Their Light

ALEXANDRA GRAY BENNETT and her husband were ready to nest. Finally back together in their native Minnesota—after they married, he had moved to Boston for business school—the couple were looking for an ideal home to start a family in. “We were basically Trulia regulars,” jokes Bennett. “But I remember the first moment I saw our house in 2017. I just had a feeling.” Set in the leafy Kenwood neighborhood of South Minneapolis, the 2,300-square-foot, two-and-a-half-story 1920s cedar-shingle dwelling had a traditional foursquare design, with a room in each corner and a central hall and stairway. It ticked all their boxes: It was simple and beautiful, close to lakes and trails for their Labrador, and—the kicker—walking distance from one of the city’s best playgrounds. Two years and one positive pregnancy test later,…

News

GO TURBO {Work it, Mom!} Cool moves To stay active when the weather outside is frightful, Stephanie Ruhle gets her family in on the fun. PLAYGAMES I’ve been wearing a Jawbone Up tracker for a year, and my sons recently started using my husband’s. They love beating me, so if I’ve taken 9,000 steps and they’re at 3,000, they’ll go run all over to try to get ahead. EMBRACE THECHILL We make a poi nt to get out of the house: We go skiing every weekend and often head outdoors for walks when we’re home. Being out in cold temperatures isn’t uncomfortable if you bundle up in cozy, warm layers. RETHINK YOUR ROUTINE This time of year, I’m all about maintaining. I don’t want to spend an hour sweating on the elliptical; I’d rather be home, celebrating the holidays…

Powered by Plants

Powered by Plants

Plant-based eating is experiencing a growth spurt. Almost one-third of Americans say they are actively trying to reduce their consumption of meat and dairy, according to the Plant Based Foods Association. Last year, 28 percent of people reported eating more protein from plant sources, 24 percent had more plant-based dairy, and 17 percent ate more plant-based meat alternatives than they did in 2019, a survey by the International Food Information Council found. Our desire for a more wellness-oriented lifestyle is fueling the trend. Health is the key reason 56 percent of people choose plant-based proteins, according to a 2020 report from the market research company Mintel, while environmental impact and animal welfare are the top concern for 26 percent, according to Mattson Consulting. “There’s been a lot of emerging science, as well…

Bright Mood, Better Health

Looking at life with a brighter viewpoint is a science-backed tool that can improve your mood, help you meet goals, and upgrade your health. And you don’t have to overhaul your personality to benefit: Even small differences in your attitude can deliver big payoffs, says Hilary Tindle, M.D., the author of Up: How a Positive Outlook Can Transform Our Health and Aging. What makes optimism so powerful is that it’s based in realism—it’s not about simply thinking things will be OK. “True optimists are pragmatic, perhaps because they scan the horizon to see what might go wrong, then work and plan around those potential pitfalls so things can go right,” Dr. Tindle says. In other words, optimists proactively work to make the positive happen. In return, they score some major health…

Bright Mood, Better Health

golden BOUNTY

QUILT Finished size: 54½ ×72½" Finished block: 18" square MATERIALS Yardages and cutting instructions are based on 42" of usable fabric width. ❑ ½ yard each of six assorted prints in pink, coral, peach, dark orange, light pink, and gold (blocks) ❑ 3⅜ yards solid white (blocks)❑ 1 yard teal print (blocks, binding)❑ 3½ yards backing fabric FABRICS are from various collections by Art Gallery Fabrics (artgalleryfabrics.com). CUT FABRICS Cut pieces in the following order. From each assorted print, cut: ◼ 8—2½ ×8½" rectangles ◼ 8—2½ ×4½" rectangles ◼ 4—1½ ×4½" rectangles ◼ 8—2½" squares ◼ 4—1½ ×2½" rectangles From solid white, cut: ◼ 48—2½ ×12½" rectangles ◼ 96—2½ ×6½" rectangles ◼ 96—2½ ×4½" rectangles ◼ 60—2½" squares From teal print, cut: ◼ 7—2½ ×42" binding strips ◼ 48—1½ ×6½" rectangles ASSEMBLE BLOCKS Measurements include ¼" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated. Press seams in directions indicated by arrows on diagrams.…

golden BOUNTY
evening HARVEST

evening HARVEST

QUILT Finished size: 68½ ×92½" Finished block: 12" square MATERIALS Yardages and cutting instructions are based on 42" of usable fabric width. ❑ 3—⅓-yard pieces assorted orange prints (blocks)❑ 1¼ yards cream tone-on-tone (blocks)❑ ⅛ yard brown print (blocks)❑ 4½ yards mottled navy blue (blocks, setting squares, binding)❑ 1¼ yards orange and-red print (border)❑ 5⅝ yards backing fabric❑ 77×101" batting CUT FABRICS Cut pieces in the following order. From each assorted orange print, cut: ◼ 18—2½ ×5½" rectangles From cream tone-on-tone, cut: ◼ 72—4" squares ◼ 36—1½ ×3" rectangles ◼ 72—2" squares From brown print, cut: ◼ 18—1½" squares From mottled navy blue, cut: ◼ 9—2½ ×42" binding strips ◼ 17—12½" setting squares ◼ 18—7⅜" squares ◼ 72—3½" squares From orange-and-red print, cut: ◼ 8—4½ ×42" strips for border ASSEMBLE BLOCKS Measurements include ¼" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated. Press seams in directions indicated by arrows on diagrams. If no…

Hands on With macOS Monterey: Improvements Abound

Hands on With macOS Monterey: Improvements Abound

The public beta of macOS Monterey, released by Apple in early July, doesn’t look surprisingly new. Exceptions include Safari, which gets a dynamically resizing tab bar and other conveniences, and FaceTime, which gets a background-blurring portrait mode and screen-sharing features. As you get more familiar with Monterey, however, you’ll find improvements and conveniences everywhere and may wonder how you managed without them. This is because Apple’s annual updates to the Mac operating system tend to have a regular rhythm. Massive updates arrive on even-numbered years: Big Sur, for example, the 2020 update to macOS that was also the first version that ran on Apple Silicon hardware. Updates in odd-numbered years, such as Monterey, look more or less like the previous version but come with under-the-hood improvements that may do more for…

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G: A Superb Value-Focused Option

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G: A Superb Value-Focused Option

As a six-core, 12-thread processor with great integrated graphics, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is the CPU that 2021 has been waiting for. A strong successor to older, budget-friendly, gaming-focused CPUs such as the AMD Ryzen 5 3400G, it puts up some of the fastest game frame rates to date from an integrated graphics processor (IGP). Cheaper than the IGP-less Ryzen 5 5600X ($299) and layered in with the highly capable Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics engine, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a serious threat to Intel’s competing Intel Core i5-11600K on CPU grunt and really puts the hammer down once you factor in its gaming results and Radeon Software compatibility. Whether you’re an esports hopeful aiming to get a gaming PC built for cheap or just want a…

Beats Fit Pro: Solid ANC

Beats Fit Pro: Solid ANC

After releasing the relatively affordable Studio Buds ($149.99) earlier this year, Beats is back with a new pair of noise-cancelling true wireless earphones, the Beats Fit Pro. Aptly named, the focus here is on in-ear fit security, with built-in earfins made of a pliable material that truly helps create a more secure seal in your ear. They’re also armed with active noise cancellation (ANC), and since Beats is owned by Apple, you get the company’s H1 chip, which enables features including Spatial Audio with head tracking, Adaptive EQ, hands-free Siri, and one-touch iOS pairing. The sonic performance is classic Beats, with intense bass, boosted highs, and a scooped-out midrange. The ANC is better than average, with effective low-frequency noise elimination. For the price, there’s plenty to like, but the Beats…

Learning a Language Literally Changes Your Brain

Learning a Language Literally Changes Your Brain

If you’ve ever learned a new language — or tried to — you know how difficult it can be. Native languages seem almost built-in. We soak them up naturally when we’re very young. But learning a new language, especially after early childhood, can be a huge task, burdened by long vocabulary lists and genders to memorize, complex cases and troublesome tenses to master. Of course, it’s worth the effort. In today’s interconnected world, learning a new language can change your life. It will certainly change your brain. ALTERNATE ROUTES Learning anything changes your brain, at least a little bit. But learning a language does it in high gear. John Grundy, a neuroscientist at Iowa State University who specializes in bilingualism and the brain, explains that learning a new language causes extensive neuroplasticity in…

In Search of the Nudibranch

In Search of the Nudibranch

Slowly and deliberately, I searched shallow, underwater outcrops covered in colors. Weightless amidst the invisible push and pull of the current, pink coralline algae hung closely to rock surfaces or branched skyward against sporadic patches of neon green and glimmering iridescence. Shades of yellow, brown, white and orange flora began to appear as I drifted past micro-environments dictated by sunlight and structure. I allowed my scientific brain to go to work underwater, relying on one of my first developed senses: observation. I had come to this underwater world to seek out a nudibranch. I had heard of this elusive marine organism, but until recently, knew almost nothing about it. My goal at the moment was just to find one, to examine it with my own eyes. I’ve always been drawn to scuba…

Blood Work

Blood Work

Late one night in 1982, a Yale University medical student named Martin Yarmush witnessed a harrowing scene at a local hospital. A toddler was admitted, and several nurses attempted to insert an IV needle into one of the child’s tiny veins. Each time they missed the vessel, the child screamed more shrilly, and the mother grew more worried. There has to be a better way, thought Yarmush, now a professor of biomedical engineering at Rutgers University. The incident changed his outlook on medicine. Thoroughly unnerved by the anguish he’d witnessed, Yarmush started to imagine what would happen if the process of drawing blood could be automated. At the time, automation was found primarily on assembly lines for cars, where robots were so powerful and dangerous that they were bolted to the ground…

How do superconductors work so efficiently?

Top metal superconductors Here are the best metal (Type 1) superconductors with their critical transition temperatures – which is the point at which it is necessary to cool them before they will superconduct Lead 7.196 K Lanthanum 4.88 K Tantalum 4.47 K Mercury 4.15 K Tin 3.72 K Superconductors are metals (such as lead) or oxides which conduct electricity with no resistance. There’s just one catch – to display their superpowers, they need to be kept at a frosty -260 or so degrees Celsius (-436 degrees Fahrenheit). Peer inside a chunk of lead and you’ll see row upon row of neatly packed ions, bathed in a swarm of electrons. These loose electrons are what conduct electricity – set them into motion and you have an electrical current. At room temperature, the lead ions vibrate away frantically. From an…

How do superconductors work so efficiently?

缺電 .水荒 投資就業 vs.農地生態

誰都沒想到,在七月盛夏用水、用電的高峰前,台灣已數度出現水電荒! 先看缺電。過去二十年來,全台發生四次大規模停電,其中兩次就發生在今年五月。依據台電統計,歷年最高用電量前十名中,至少有五名出現在今年五月,二十八日用電量飆破三八四○萬瓩,打破歷年用電尖峰紀錄,五月最低備轉容量率一度下降到三.八四%,低於六%供電警戒。 再看缺水。五月,中部六大主要水庫的水位同步創歷史新低,供應台中用水的鯉魚潭水庫, 水位更低於一%,完全見底。四月初,台中、苗栗、北彰化地區開始實施「供五停二」分區供水措施,新竹地區也預計六月要亮起分區供水紅燈。從去年十月到今年一月初,全台共有超過九萬公頃稻作、雜糧蔬菜等作物停灌休耕,這也創下台灣最大規模農地停灌紀錄。 所幸,五月底,接連幾波鋒面助攻,六月初取消所有限水令,也緩解水情不佳的水力發電窘迫。眼下雖然驚險過關,但考驗沒有結束。緊接著,六月,占夏季備轉容量率約二.五%的核二廠一號機就要除役,立即影響入夏供電能力。…

缺電 .水荒 投資就業 vs.農地生態

BAKE YOUR BODY, BOOST YOUR BRAIN?

FROM THE Huberman Lab podcast to your biohacker buddy’s garage to your social feeds, saunas are everywhere right now. Part of the surge in interest (and sales) is largely thanks to science showing a connection between frequent sauna use and better mental and physical health and maybe even longevity—including some stunning evidence that it may help prevent dementia. Not to mention the whole sauna thing: the community, the relaxation, the ritual, the ahh moment. Most of the research on brain benefits comes from Finland, where sauna bathing is a pillar in the culture of being healthy and happy. The sauna is the poor man’s pharmacy, goes one old proverb. And increasingly, science agrees. A few years ago, when Finnish researchers dug into some overlooked data on chronic disease risk—numbers they’d been collecting…

BAKE YOUR BODY, BOOST YOUR BRAIN?

F1 PARADE

No kerbing their enthusiasm This was my first time at the Miami Grand Prix so I came in with no preconceptions about the circuit or where to go. The chicane was an area many of the drivers complained about last year but it does have a few things going for it visually: there’s an elevation change and the drivers have an incentive to spend as little time in it as possible, so they tend to ride the kerbs. I shot this from Turn 14 where the elevation change means you’re low relative to the car, so you can play with the foreground and background. A slow shutter speed adds to the sensation of movement and the right-front wheel in the air shows just how hard the driver is trying. Photographer Jake Grant Where Miami,…

F1 PARADE

SEVEN DAYS OF UNWRAPPING THE KING

“How greatly the dangers were feared for the dead is shown by the profusion of amulets and sacred symbols placed on the mummy, which were intended to protect it against injury on that journey in the underworld.”—Howard Carter The historic examination of Tutankhamun’s mummy inside the innermost coffin was performed over seven days in October and November of 1925, and meticulously recorded in Carter’s journals. The extraordinary effort, led by medical experts Douglas Derry and Saleh Hamdi Bey, with assistance from Carter, revealed hidden wonders of ancient craftsmanship. The king’s mummy was stacked, mostly over the neck and chest, with protective amulets and jewels, many in avian, scarab, and serpent forms. Ancient embalmers also had concealed more than 140 precious objects (nearly all illustrated here) between 17 layers of thin linen…

SEVEN DAYS OF UNWRAPPING THE KING
GADGET GURU

GADGET GURU

KEVIN HOWELL, RYDE Q Forget cardio, Guru. I need to gain mass A Guru’s got you, reader. Bulk is one of his many unkind middle names. And before we dig in, know that GaGu was incredibly tempted to facetiously offer 300 words of baking advice here, so you’re lucky he’s in a good mood – though, as a second preface, you’re also a fool if choose you follow his advice. First, refocus your training to follow Guru’s Three Musts of Gettin’ Buffed: eat, drink, and eat again. Frankly even that short list could be trimmed. You want to eat good things every three hours or so, meaning clean protein, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and so on. Don’t avoid carbs, but do save them for an after-gym feed up. If you need help…

Meeting the moment

TIME is a study in leadership, telling the history of our time through the people who make it WHAT MAKES A LEADER? TIME HAS BEEN many things across its nearly 100 years—a news digest, a journal of ideas, an arbiter of influence, a chronicler of what matters across virtually every discipline. But there is a constant across the decades: TIME is a study in leadership, telling the history of our time through the people who make it. Often, the leaders through whom we tell the world’s stories are household names, from the Speaker of the House on the cover of our first issue in 1923 to Queen Elizabeth II on the most recent. What is striking to me throughout this new issue is the extraordinary array of leaders featured who are less…

Meeting the moment
MODERN LOVE

MODERN LOVE

My mother is getting married,” my 13-year-old daughter, Domino, told her teacher. “How lovely, who is she marrying?” the teacher asked. “My father,” came the reply. After a bewildering 18 months, I felt a longing for something anchoring. Not only for me, but for my children, who, like everyone else, had been shaken by the pandemic. “Let’s get married,” I suggested to David one evening after supper with the kids, at home on an island in the Bahamas where we live and where we had spent the lockdown as a family. David asked me to marry him 25 years ago when I was pregnant with our son, Felix. Being in my independent-woman phase, I never accepted, but I felt strongly that Felix and our four children who would follow should carry…

GREEN STEEL FROM SWEDEN

GREEN STEEL FROM SWEDEN

AT A STEEL PLANT IN LULEA, SWEDEN, WORKERS MAKE the world’s most essential construction material the old-fashioned way: piling iron ore and coke, a kind of coal-derived fuel, in a huge blast furnace, heating the mixture to enormous temperatures, and then “tapping” the cauldron of molten metal, which sends a stream of white-hot pig iron—and showers of sparks—spilling out along a sluiceway. But less than a mile away, the plant’s owner, SSAB, is piloting a less dramatic steelmaking process at a new facility. “It doesn’t look that spectacular,” says Martin Pei, executive vice president and chief technology officer at the Swedish steelmaker. “You don’t see very much either, because it’s all automatically controlled.” It’s spectacular in a different way, though. Traditional blast furnaces emit huge amounts of CO₂. But SSAB’s HYBRIT pilot…

WORKING REMOTELY

WORKING REMOTELY

What’s the one item you always take on, or bring back from, an assignment? " My son, Oliver, was born in May of 2021. Since then I’ve kept one of the socks … he wore as a newborn. I have taken it everywhere with me.—SAUL MARTINEZI always bring tobacco to offer the land as a spiritual gesture of respect for nature and to ask for safety when traveling.—PAT KANEThere is a bobcat fetish that lives in my camera bag … [It] comes all over the world with me.—KARINE AIGNERAn FDA-approved device for motion sickness that looks like a watch but shocks like an electric eel … which is very handy when flying in bush planes or rocking around ocean swells on a boat.—KILIII YÜYANI like to get a shave from a…

5 laptop trends from CES 2022 you can’t ignore

5 laptop trends from CES 2022 you can’t ignore

CES 2022 is typically the single most important media event for the PC laptop industry. This year proved no different despite the sudden and unexpected shift to a largely virtually show (the major chipmakers all stayed remote, as did most laptop manufacturers). In fact, 2022 is shaping up to be an excellent year for Windows laptops. New CPUs and GPUs from AMD, Nvidia, and Intel promise to send laptop performance to the moon—and that’s just the start. Here’s 5 top laptop trends from CES 2022 that simply can’t be ignored. Expect to see some of these notebooks cracking our list of the best laptops sooner than later. 1. LAPTOPS GROW IN POWER (AND POWER CONSUMPTION) The PC laptop world was focused on large, heavy, and expensive laptops at CES 2022. While AMD, Intel, and…

對調的人生

對調的人生

摘自 THE ATAVIST 麗塔.海恩斯大腹便便地踏上這間偏鄉醫院的木階梯。那天是1962年12月7日,她圓滾滾的肚子正隨著每一次的宮縮收緊。在醫院裡的她,感覺下腹的疼痛越來越劇烈,起初還能忍受,但到了夜裡就開始劇痛難耐。午夜時分剛過,新生兒來報到,哭聲響徹雲霄。是個男孩,她將孩子取名叫克萊倫斯.彼得.海恩斯。小克萊倫斯隨後就被安置在育嬰室的搖床中,而麗塔則是在女病房休息。 克萊倫斯小名是「克萊」,在加拿大一個叫聖伯納(St. Bernard’s )的漁村長大。這個像靴子一般的半島,位於紐芬蘭島(New found land)南部,臨北大西洋側的財富灣(Fortune Bay)。克萊的父親切斯是漁夫,海恩斯一家在克萊之後,又陸續生了好幾個孩子。男孩子同睡一個房間,克萊睡在雙層床的上舖。弟弟們的皮膚都比克萊要白,克萊的皮膚則為淺棕色,頂著一頭濃密的深色頭髮。隨著年齡漸長,他那輪廓分明的面貌和肌肉結實的身材,讓他成了當地的萬人迷。他開著海軍藍雪佛蘭出現在鎮上時,聖伯納的妙齡少女無一不為之心動。…

DENY DISTRACT DELAY

NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, DONALD TRUMP learned the legal strategy that would repeatedly get him out of tight legal jams. It was 1973, and the Justice Department had just filed a civil rights lawsuit against Trump and his father Fred Trump. The complaint alleged that the Trumps and their company, which managed some 14,000 apartments in Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, had violated the Fair Housing Act by systematically flagging the applications of Black renters and steering them away from available units. To push back, the Trumps hired the famously combative Roy Cohn—Senator Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel during the 1950s Red Scare hearings—and sued the Justice Department for $100 million, claiming defamation. The case naming the Trumps was settled two years later. That early entanglement with the Justice Department drove home to Trump…

DENY DISTRACT DELAY

1 FIRST Riders MBUK

IT’S EASY TO KEEP THE FRONT WHEEL PLANTED AND YOUR YOUR WEIGHT NICELY BALANCED BETWEEN THE WHEELS TO AID GRIP AND CONTROL ON THE STEEPEST CLIMBS SANTACRUZ BLUR XC X01 AXS RSV £8,099 The US brand’s lightest full-suspension XC bike yet Santa Cruz are back at the sharp end of World Cup cross-country racing, with their htSQD team jumping on this brand new bike. The Blur XC retains a traditional 100mm of travel at each end, but has all the hallmarks of a truly up-to-date race rig. There’s also a Blur TR, with 115mm/120mm of travel. The frame Made from Santa Cruz’s ‘CC’ grade carbon fibre, the new Blur XC is claimed to weigh nearly 300g less than the previous iteration. There’s no rear pivot – instead, the brand have built flex into the sculpted…

1 FIRST Riders MBUK
CANON ANNOUNCES THE R3 – AND IT’S BUILT FOR SPEED

CANON ANNOUNCES THE R3 – AND IT’S BUILT FOR SPEED

Canon has announced the development of the EOS R3 – a camera aimed at professional sports and news photographers that boasts 30fps continuous shooting, a brand-new stacked backside illuminated (BSI) image sensor, “next generation Dual Pixel CMOS AF” and Eye Control Function autofocus. The R3 will sit between the flagship EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR and Canon’s current top-of-the-line mirrorless camera, the EOS R5. And its specs suggest it will take aim at the new Sony A1 – at least in the all-important speed stakes. Its headline feature, which matches the A1, is the 30fps burst shooting with full AF/AE tracking and minimal rolling shutter. This is made possible by the new stacked image sensor (the first ever in an EOS camera) that delivers blisteringly fast readout speeds while minimising distortion. The…

LIVES DEPEND ON FORESTS

LIVES DEPEND ON FORESTS

IN THIS SECTION Seed Bank Alarm The First Forest Take to the Trees Ghostly Redwoods ● VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA THE HOLLOWED-OUT TRUNK of the ancient yellow cedar felt like a cocoon with its soft floor of bark strips. A mother bear had molded this bed when she came each year to hibernate and to birth her cubs inside the 2,000-year-old tree. In the depth of winter, the shell of sapwood had protected them from the bone-chilling cold and blowing snow. A decade earlier, the mother likely had been born in this same den, near the headwaters of Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, off the coast of British Columbia. She would have returned each fall, fattened on berries and salmon. I picked one of her hairs from the grain of the wood, the scent…

POWER FOR GOOD

POWER FOR GOOD

WHEN OUR TEAM GETS TOGETHER TO CHOOSE the TIME100, we have one barometer: influence. Who shaped the year? Who stood up? Who stood out? Influence, of course, may be for good or for ill—a dichotomy never more visible than in this year’s TIME100, which includes both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. They are the poles of this list, and of this moment. The Russian dictator behind a brutal war, and his foe, the Ukrainian President, whose leadership has made him a rare heroic figure in our divisive time. Indeed, while so many crises of recent years—from COVID-19 to climate change—have seemed like calls to collective action, it was in many ways Putin who finally, unwittingly, pulled it off. “The nations of the free world,” writes President Joe Biden in a tribute…

Spotty Service

| CELEBRATE | Ready to Launch No need to wait for twilight’s last gleaming. Kids will have a blast setting off these DIY confetti poppers whenever you hand them out. Making them is definitely not rocket science. You’ll just need a cardboard box and tubes you’d otherwise recycle—from gift wrap, toilet paper, or paper towels—plus some white paint, blue painters’ tape (for the patriotic stripes), barbecue skewers, red construction paper, and kitchen twine (for the faux fuses). The only thing you might not have on hand is the confetti; these oversize dots and stars are easy to find online and made of biodegradable paper. To let ’em rip, all little ones have to do is hold the rocket in one hand, push the handle up with the other, and … ka-boom! For…

Spotty Service
A TALE OF TWO LIZARDS

A TALE OF TWO LIZARDS

THE FOSSIL was heralded as the smallest dinosaur ever found. Named Oculudentavis and known from a skull encased in 99-million-year-old amber, the living animal would have been about the size of the smallest modern hummingbirds. Strange, then, that such a tiny fossil stirred the largest paleontological controversy of the year. From the time of the fossil’s March publication in Nature, outside experts were skeptical of the animal’s identity. The initial analysis by paleontologist Lida Xing and colleagues couldn’t pin down where Oculudentavis fit in relation to other dinosaurs; if anything, the fossil had characteristics that were both primitive and advanced for a dinosaur of its age. Rumors began to spread that there was a second specimen of the same animal that confirmed the creature’s identity as a lizard. Then, on July 22,…

STARBURST PENDANT

designed by Margherita Fusco DIFFICULTY peyote stitch / bead weaving Kheops beads frame a bezeled rivoli, and are embellished to add a bit of sparkle and depth to this amazing pendant. BEZEL 1) On 7 ft. (2.1 m) of thread, pick up 36 110 cylinder beads, and sew through the first three beads again to form a ring, leaving an 8-in. (20 cm) tail. These beads will shift to form rounds 1 and 2 as the next round is added. 2) Work rounds of tubular peyote stitch for the front of the bezel as follows, stepping up at the end of each round: Round 3: Work one round using cylinders. Rounds 4–5: Work both rounds using 150 seed beads. Set this thread aside. 3) Attach a needle to the tail, and sew through the beadwork to exit a cylinder in…

STARBURST PENDANT

STRUCTURAL ARCADE BRACELET

DIFFICULTY bead weaving 1 How to pick up the Arcos beads: With the holes running horizontally, sew through the top or bottom hole, entering from the inside edge (IE) or the outside edge (OE) as directed. The center holes will not be used. How to pick up the tile beads: With the holes running horizontally, sew through the top hole (TH) or bottom hole (BH) as directed. COLUMN COMPONENT 1) On 2 ft. (61 cm) of thread, attach a stop bead, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Pick up an Arcos (bottom, IE), a 15 seed bead, a Demi bead, a tile (BH), a Demi, a 15, an Arcos (bottom, OE), a 15, a Demi, a 4 mm pearl, a Demi, and a 15, and sew through the open hole of the second Arcos…

STRUCTURAL ARCADE BRACELET
THROUGH THE BASEMENT AND AROUND IT

THROUGH THE BASEMENT AND AROUND IT

A long-time interest in the transition-era Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW), in both standard gauge and narrow gauge flavors, plus a large (if somewhat inconveniently arranged) space set the stage for this multi-deck track plan. My client – I’m a professional layout designer – had already commissioned two excellent custom plans for somewhat different spaces, but little could be salvaged from either of those for the new space that, while ample, was festooned with doors, posts, and other obstacles. Moreover, it included a number of oddly angled walls. Based on my client’s personal interest and those earlier design efforts, the primary elements to include were Pueblo Junction wye and yard, the famous Hanging Bridge scene near Cañon City, the busy narrow gauge/standard gauge terminal at Salida, and as far north…

DELICATE DELIGHTS NECKLACE

DIFFICULTY bead weaving materials necklace 19 in. (48 cm) • 30 5 x 7 mm faceted drop beads (beige diamond coating)• 31 6 mm pearls (Swarovski, dark brown)• 30 3 mm fire-polished beads (crystal smoky metallic ice)• 9 g 11° seed beads (Miyuki 4222, galvanized pewter)• 6 g 15° seed beads (Miyuki 4473, Duracoat opaque fennel)• 1 toggle clasp• 2 6 mm jump rings• Fireline, 6 lb. test• beading needles, #11 or #12• 2 pairs of chainnose, flatnose, and/or bentnose pliers Find info for the alternate colorway at FacetJewelry.com/resourceguide Find basics online: FacetJewelry.com/basics • ending and adding thread• opening and closing loops and jump rings Take advantage of your traditional beads to make this lacy Victorian-style necklace. The delicate swoops of seed beads perfectly highlight dramatic drop beads to add grandeur to the design. BASE 1) On a comfortable length of…

DELICATE DELIGHTS NECKLACE

Model Citizen

Liya Kebede Founder and creative director of Lemlem, model, and actress New York City and Paris In a Lemlem dress, you can’t help but float through summer. Whisper-light and awash in happy, sun-drenched colors, each one is hand-woven on wooden looms by African artisans, following centuries-old traditions. The brand’s founder is Ethiopian model and maternal-health advocate Liya Kebede, who rose to fame in the early aughts as the face of Tom Ford’s Gucci and the first Black spokesmodel for Estée Lauder. On a trip to her hometown of Addis Ababa around that time, she noticed a distressing drop in the demand for traditional garments, and got busy. “Weaving is a craft that has been passed through generations and holds deep cultural significance,” says Kebede, who set her mind to preserving the art,…

Model Citizen

The New Cleanical Lifestyle

Thanks to the tireless innovation of cosmetic chemists and natural-ingredient formulators, beauty products can be effective, free of ingredients you worry about, and environmentally safe. Clean-plus-clinical face products have been gaining ground these past few years, but now you can turn to cleanical for every step of your regimen. Safe natural and synthetic ingredients are reaching more categories, revolutionizing the products we use on our hair and bodies and the fragrances we wear. And as testing and efficacy standards have grown more stringent, it’s easier to build a routine that delivers results. Here are some of the exciting new cleanical players in skin, hair, and fragrance. Skin Ingredient advancements are behind the upgraded class of clean, safe skin care. Brands and chemists are discovering new skin-improving properties of obscure botanicals and creating formulations…

The New Cleanical Lifestyle
Hands On With the OnePlus Watch: Lots of Promise for Just $159

Hands On With the OnePlus Watch: Lots of Promise for Just $159

I’ll admit, I was pretty skeptical before unboxing the first smartwatch from OnePlus, aptly named the OnePlus Watch. At $159, it’s less than half the price of our Editors’ Choice winner, the Apple Watch Series 6 (which starts at $399). And while it doesn’t work with iPhones, it offers many of the same features as Apple’s market-leading wearable. So far, my skepticism appears to have been unfounded. The OnePlus Watch offers a large color touch screen, built-in GPS, 2GB of storage, a 402mAh battery that promises two weeks of power, and the ability to make and receive calls. It also has plenty of health and fitness features, including support for more than 110 workout types, automatic workout detection for jogging and running, rapid-heart-rate alerts, guided breathing exercises, stress detection, and the…

HOW TO USE SNAP LAYOUTS IN WINDOWS 11

HOW TO USE SNAP LAYOUTS IN WINDOWS 11

Windows 11 may be better known for its centered taskbar and rounded window borders, but the new Snap Layouts feature (sometimes also called Snap Assist) might be a more useful UI innovation. Windows, as its name implies, has long been excellent at managing and rearranging program windows, but Snap Layouts elevate the operating system (OS) to the next level. HOW DO SNAP LAYOUTS WORK? To get started with this new productivity tool, you simply hover the mouse over the Maximize icon in a program window’s upper-right corner. You’ll see a choice of layouts, like this: Note that not every application supports this feature. In my testing, the Firefox and Spotify programs showed only the old Maximize option. But you can still position them within a Snap Layout after starting the process with an…

DAWN OF THE STEM CELL REVOLUTION?

FOR MORE THAN TWO decades, experts have prophesied that stem cells will someday revolutionize medicine. While adult stem cells have long been used to treat a handful of blood and immune disorders, the excitement has centered on two more versatile varieties: embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), both of which can be transformed into any cell type in the body. Google “the promise of stem cells,” and you’ll get at least 200,000 hits, involving ailments ranging from diabetes to neurodegenerative disorders. So far, however, no one has managed to translate that potential into a practical therapy. In 2020, a string of breakthroughs suggested that the revolution may finally be near. The most dramatic news came in May, when the New England Journal of Medicine published the first case…

DAWN OF THE STEM CELL REVOLUTION?
MATHEMATICIANS CRACK THE ZODIAC KILLER’S CIPHER

MATHEMATICIANS CRACK THE ZODIAC KILLER’S CIPHER

IN THE LATE 1960s, a serial killer self-identifying as “the Zodiac” killed at least five people in Northern California and claimed to have murdered more. In November 1969, the Zodiac killer sent a card to the San Francisco Chronicle containing a 340-character secret message that for more than 50 years went unsolved by numerous detectives, cryptography experts, amateur sleuths and curious others. Wonder no more, true-crime aficionados. After months of crunching code during the pandemic, three researchers on three different continents announced that they’d finally decoded the message. Further bolstering the claim, experts at the FBI verified the solution (and even tweeted about it). The encrypted message didn’t reveal the identity of the Zodiac killer, but it did bring decades of speculation, conspiracy theories and guesswork about this cipher to a dramatic…

An Eye for Ants

An Eye for Ants

The night after their wedding in 1954, my grandparents sat on the bed in their motel room, counting the cash in my grandpa’s pockets. There was barely enough to open a bank account. So, the next morning, Eleanor Lowenthal — my grandmother — in desperate need of income to put her husband through graduate school, walked into the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. There, she convinced some of the most prominent scientists in the world that she was the perfect person to mount and catalog their burgeoning ant collection. At the time, a promising graduate student named E.O. Wilson was coming up in the department. Wilson, who passed away in December 2021 at the age of 92, was called the “father of biodiversity” and the “heir of Darwin.” The myrmecologist —an…

A CLOSER LOOK

Looking at the mammogram image, with its spiderweb of faint gray lines showing dense breast tissue, you wouldn’t suspect anything was amiss. No human radiologist would hesitate to give this Massachusetts General Hospital patient a clean bill of health. But the Mirai artificial-intelligence system, created at MIT, thinks differently. When it scanned the mammogram, it flagged the patient as high risk for getting breast cancer in the next five years. Ultimately, the machine’s hunch proved correct: The patient indeed developed breast cancer, just four years after the image was taken. Since about 90 percent of people who develop breast cancer don’t have a known genetic mutation, the disease’s emergence can be highly unpredictable. Regina Barzilay, an MIT computer scientist now working on Mirai, was blindsided when she got her own breast…

A CLOSER LOOK
TARGETING TYPHOONS

TARGETING TYPHOONS

Taiga Mitsuyuki, a marine systems engineer at Yokohama National University in Japan, holds a small plastic model in his hands. The 3D-printed ship, sporting twin hulls and rigid sails mounted on an A-frame, was built to illustrate a seemingly impossible purpose. If a full-scale version of the boat is built, it could draw energy from one of nature’s most destructive forces. Mitsuyuki and his colleagues have high hopes for such a vessel: The scientists want to make storm engineering a real prospect by 2050. Once deployed, these ships would enable the team to capture and store a typhoon’s energy with propellers and batteries. At the same time, an accompanying drone armada would inject a cooling agent into the storm, helping to weaken it. This mission feels increasingly vital as storms hitting Japan…

THE FINTECH 50

Joe Bayen 46 FOUNDER AND CEO, GROW CREDIT Born in Cameroon and raised in France, Bayen has worked at gaming and design startups; in 2009, he helped created Free App a Day, an iPhone app discovery site. It attracted 12 million users before being put out of business in 2013 by an Apple policy change. In 2018 he started Los Angeles–based Grow, which takes a novel approach to helping Americans with thin or poor credit histories: a “virtual” Mastercard (no plastic) is used to pay monthly subscriptions such as Netflix, with money pulled automatically from the user’s bank account. Those timely payments are reported to credit bureaus, boosting users’ scores. Grow charges a monthly fee based on the charge limit. Annie Hockey 32 William Hockey 32 COFOUNDERS AND CO-CEOS, COLUMN By the time they married…

THE FINTECH 50

DAOs Aren’t a Fad— They’re a Platform

“This is an incredibly risky move. I don’t know if I agree with this.” Erick Calderon, the founder of a company named Art Blocks in a risk-oblivious field, nonfungible tokens, was nonetheless concerned. It was February 2021, and Calderon was one of 59 investors who had banded together to potentially buy a rare set of 150 popular NFTs, CryptoPunks, directly from their producer, Larva Labs. The group, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Flamingo, had pooled $10 million and met weekly via Zoom (audio-only to protect those wanting anonymity) to figure out what to do with it. The CryptoPunk opportunity, at about four ether ($7,200 at the time) per punk, would eat 10% of that, which is partly why Calderon aired his concerns on the group’s Discord channel. The tension got thicker when…

DAOs Aren’t a Fad— They’re a Platform

A BILLIONAIRE A DAY

IPOS Since mid-March 2020, 1,489 IPOs (including SPACs) raised $314 billion globally. More than half went public in the U.S., where they raised $277 billion. These 10 billionaires land on the list as a result of such public offerings. Pan Dong $8.3 billion • Consumer goods • Canada The richest woman new to this year’s list, she chairs laundry detergent maker Blue Moon Group Holdings, which listed in Hong Kong in December. Her husband, Luo Qiuping, is the company’s CEO. Vyacheslav Kim $3.3 billion • Fintech • Kazakhstan Mikhail Lomtadze $3.2 billion • Fintech • Georgia CEO Lomtadze and chairman Kim have steered Kaspi—a payments, e-commerce and mobile-banking app used in Kazakhstan—from a small-time retail bank to a London public listing. Half of Kazakhstan’s 18 million people use the service. Pablo Legorreta $2.9 billion • Investments • U.S. The former investment banker…

A BILLIONAIRE A DAY
Your Feedback

Your Feedback

I FOUND YOUR report on dental care very helpful. I was wondering, however, if it’s safe to return to the dentist yet because of COVID-19. —Suzanne Epstein, New York, NY EDITOR’S NOTE Yes, it’s generally safe to see your dentist, with reasonable precautions. When making your next appointment, ask what steps the practice is taking to keep patients safe. Even before COVID-19, many dentists and their staff wore personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, and eye guards during appointments, which help protect both the provider and patients from the germs that cause illnesses. And be sure to wear a mask yourself in the waiting room. WRITE Go to CR.org/lettertoeditor to share your comments for publication. THE OPENING PHOTO with the hand on the exam lamp makes me wonder if lamps are cleaned…

11大漲價缺貨股操作攻略

台股漲價缺貨概念股熱潮不斷延燒,除了傳產原物料、航運、鋼鐵、大宗商品大漲,部分車用電子、半導體、利基型電子零組件也吹起漲價或缺貨風潮,究竟台股指數位置會不會太高了?投資人又該如何擇優布局? 「其實從上市公司今年獲利成長率上看五成來看,現階段台股真的不算貴⋯⋯。」今年第二季主動式台股基金表現名列前茅的安聯台灣大壩基金經理人蕭惠中強調,投資人不要單純看表面上的指數去衡量台股,應該用「評價」來衡量,用公司獲利的成長幅度、本益比、股價淨值比的角度來看。 的確,台股上攻到一萬七七○○點之後,上市公司總市值已達五十三.八兆元。從去年第二季到今年第一季的四季上市公司總獲利二.八九兆元,以現階段換算台股本益比僅十八.五倍來看,對比二○○○年以來台股本益比除了極端值以外,多在二十五倍左右至三十、四十倍之間,並不算貴,若以上市公司總獲利今年成長三成來換算,台股本益比目前只有十四倍。 按照安聯投信內部預估,今年上市公司整體獲利,不但相較於去年獲利成長二五%更高、上看五二%,其中傳產獲利年增率大增一四○%、電子業年增三六%,不難理解市場資金為何出現「傳產原物料優於電子」的盛況。…

11大漲價缺貨股操作攻略
深入星宇心臟,看北美佈局張國煒的不可能任務

深入星宇心臟,看北美佈局張國煒的不可能任務

四月二十六日,星宇航空創辦人張國煒親自執飛,台北洛杉磯的首航。 這是重要性不亞於三年前開航的飛行任務。 飛向北美天空,意味著星宇從區域走向國際。猶如四十年前,張國煒的父親張榮發獨排眾議,大膽開出橫跨太平洋與大西洋的雙向環球航線,讓長榮海運由亞洲船公司變成世界第一。 「他們(父子)DNA是一樣的,都很有魄力、很有魅力,」長榮集團出身、前中菲行執行長林天送評論。 北美首航,轉動了星宇最關鍵的中轉客商模。這位台灣唯一、世界少數同時擁有機師和維修證照的航空公司董事長,要驗證自己「從王子變成King(國王)」,只能贏不能輸的不可能任務。 首航倒數前兩天,星宇航空的營運大腦,張國煒與執行長翟健華所在的內湖總部十六樓,透明辦公室一目了然,從主管房內到開放空間的討論區,沒有一張會議桌是空的,都處於作戰模式。就連秘書遞送文件也都急如風、甚至小跑步。 競爭對手不是兩位老大哥 當年, 看好亞洲成為世界工廠,張榮發大膽擴張海運版圖,捉住趨勢破浪。而張國煒眼中的航空市場,「台灣的地理位置這麼好,如果你善用它,台灣市場無限大,真的太大了,」張國煒左右手,翟健華提高音調分析。…

THE ELBOWS

THE ELBOWS

BULLETPR OF TRAINING Think suspension, and invariably it’s linkage systems, springs and damping that instantly come to mind. But as mountain bikers we know that our arms and legs have more “travel” than any frame or fork. There’s no CE testing or maintenance programme for our limbs and joints, however, even though the forces you experience when riding are extreme and repetitive. So it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this combination can cause some funky issues in your joints. If you’ve been riding for some time, you’ve probably experienced an occasional niggle or soreness in your elbow joints. Not from impacts necessarily, but from the relentless bombardment of vibrations and muscular tension they undergo every ride. Compounded over time, without proper care, these small niggles can become larger…

THE F1 ANALYST

@benedwardstv PICTURES WHAT MAKES ADRIAN NEWEY SO GREAT? A key pillar of Red Bull’s superb performance is aerodynamic design, and that’s no surprise given technical boss Adrian Newey has been playing with the effects of airflow on racing cars since the early 1980s. The team’s success under revised aero regulations for the current breed of cars is an exemplar of efficient execution. Adrian’s ability to oversee a project which has suffered very little bouncing or porpoising is of no surprise to fellow 1990s F1 designer Chris Murphy. Although they never worked together, there was a strong connection: Chris took over Adrian’s role as designer at the Leyton House team and inherited one of Adrian’s most intriguing machines. In the middle of 1990 the GG901 was uncompetitive but, as Adrian was shown the door, he…

THE F1 ANALYST
AI夢幻軍團出列

AI夢幻軍團出列

二○一六年,Google旗下AlphaGo擊敗世界圍棋冠軍李世乭,激起AI巨浪不久後,兩家台灣電子大廠不約而同做了大膽決定。 鴻海集團創辦人郭台銘決定發展高速運算,打造第一台超級電腦,集團內的伺服器廠鴻佰科技接下任務。 一群鴻佰、輝達(Nvidia)和微軟的工程師、超級電腦專家,齊聚微軟西雅圖會議室,在白板上來回畫著設計圖。一七年,他們打造出第一款專為AI設計的全新架構超級電腦「HGX-1」,裝配有四顆及八顆體積龐大的GPU(圖形處理器),擁有比傳統CPU(中央處理器)伺服器快一百倍的深度學習效能,執行AI訓練和推論的成本卻僅是過去的五分之一。 場景轉到台北內湖瑞光路,光寶科技的總部大樓內,當時主管電源供應器部門的光寶總經理邱森彬,眼看著高階伺服器中,GPU的角色日益吃重,就派了一組人馬和輝達、系統代工廠對接,開發AI伺服器用的高階電源供應器。(見84頁) AI2.0時代》商機比行動網路大十倍 ChatGPT帶動需求,電子廠到新創都搶進 六年後,第二波AI巨浪掀起。…

McConnell’s debt gamble

AS SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONnell mulled blocking Democrats from raising the nation’s debt ceiling, he faced two scenarios. Neither was good. In the first, the U.S. could default on its debt, triggering a global recession and costing Americans millions of jobs. In the second, Democrats could get rid of the filibuster to raise the ceiling without GOP help and create a Senate where the party in power—notably, not McConnell’s—could prevail with a simple majority vote. So McConnell relented, agreeing on Oct. 6 that Republicans would allow a temporary extension of the debt ceiling to the end of the year. (A vote to that effect passed in the Senate on Oct. 7, and in the House of Representatives on Oct. 12.) But the deal McConnell offered shouldn’t be confused with magnanimity. With…

McConnell’s debt gamble
THE ANKLES

THE ANKLES

Dab your foot as the front tyre washes out in a loose turn, or simply miss that step on the way to the toilet after one too many post-ride beers and it’s all too easy to roll your ankle. And if you like getting airborne, bailing a jump or even coming up short and casing the landing are two surefire ways to bruise your heels or blow your ankles up like balloons. Stronger feet and ankles are essential for riding, and not just injury prevention, as the power generated in your legs is ultimately delivered to the pedals through your feet and ankles. So if you want to ride faster, jump higher or simply smash through rock gardens, strong, flexible ankles are essential. And while sprains and strains are common, by improving…

The voice of a female golden age

The great 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer frequently shared the wisdom of others in his writing. In his poems, for example, he recommends Homer, Virgil and Ovid, admired authorities in medieval culture. One of his short, personal verses, though, recommends a less well-known counsel. In it, Chaucer advises - indeed, implores - his friend Sir Peter Bukton, when pondering a decision about marriage, to read the words of Alison, the Wife of Bath. She was a peculiarly unlikely source of enlightenment - because she was a figment of his own imagination. The Wife is the only one of Chaucer’s characters whom he treats as an author in her own right. He takes her outside her own text, written in the late 14th century, and writes about this character as if she is a…

The voice of a female golden age
Return of the Florida Panther

Return of the Florida Panther

‘Welcome to panther country,’ Brian Kelly says when I meet him at a busy intersection in East Naples, Florida, a stone’s throw from a gas station and an urgent care center. Kelly, a state panther biologist, points east into the sprawling subdivision where he lives. A panther was caught on camera just a quarter mile away, he says, and another one made it across the six-lane road we’re standing beside. Yet another panther, an eight-year-old female named FP224, lives nearby. She’s been hit by a car twice, breaking a leg each time. She was treated by veterinarians and released after both accidents. To look for signs of her, we drive to Kelly’s house, next to a patch of forest where she recently denned and birthed at least three kittens. It’s the wet…

14歲在體育館擦地板,登上美國《運動畫刊》35歲向台積電喊話:我將是你們的最大客戶現在,他被封為全球AI之王黃仁勳憑什麼贏?

14歲在體育館擦地板,登上美國《運動畫刊》35歲向台積電喊話:我將是你們的最大客戶現在,他被封為全球AI之王黃仁勳憑什麼贏?

Profile 黃仁勳 出生:1963年 現職:輝達執行長 經歷:超微(AMD)、巨積(LSI logic)工程師 學歷:史丹佛大學電子工程碩士、奧勒岡州立大學電機工程學士 家庭:妻Lori Huang,育有2子女 他用一份財報,瞬間炸開這個世界對人工智慧(AI)的進度想像! 美東時間五月二十四日,輝達(NVIDIA)公布今年第一季財報及第二季財測。首先讓一眾分析師跌破眼鏡的,是第一季的「成績單」。 根據輝達公告,第一季(二月至四月底)公司營收七十一.九億美元,高於市場預期的六十五.二億美元;其中,來自「資料中心」的營收達到四十二.八億美元,年增十四%,不僅高於預期的三十九億美元,亦超越了晶片龍頭英特爾同季的三十七.二億美元。獲利部分不遑多讓,第一季調整後(Non-GAAP)的EPS為一.○九美元,儘管年減二○%,仍高於市場預期的○.九二美元。 更讓分析師跌破眼鏡的,是第二季的營收與獲利預測。…

找出讓年輕人怦然心動的生育政策 這樣做,我願意生

找出讓年輕人怦然心動的生育政策 這樣做,我願意生

台灣生育率跌破「超低」門檻,已整整18年。 這段期間,「少子化」成為許多問題的癥結,政府接連推出的催生政策,卻無明顯成效。 每個不生小孩的決定,背後都有複雜糾結的因素。但《今周刊》的獨家調查,提供了明確努力目標:若增加價格親民的公共托育名額、創造能安心請假育嬰的職場環境大部分年輕人,將更有生育意願。 這是急欲擺脫低生育陷阱的台灣,不容錯過的改變契機。 理財達人郭莉芳, 是四個孩子的媽。她十八年前生第一胎時,唯一能領的補助是勞保生育給付;到了現年七歲的小女兒誕生那年,生育給付才從一個月投保薪資增加到兩個月,她設籍的台北市,則額外發放每胎兩萬元生育獎勵與每月二五○○元育兒津貼,「後來還有很多我錯過的友善生育政策不斷上路,但我身邊不敢生的人,還是不太敢生。」 「不敢生,不是這幾年才開始的,我就有很多同學是『頂客族』,就算有生的,通常也只生一個。」四十八歲的郭莉芳觀察,「原因,大概是我們這一代的集體焦慮吧⋯⋯,每個人都想給子女最好的資源,偏偏又覺得自己手上的資源有限,到了該生育的年齡,就會有很多顧慮。」 不敢生養的集體焦慮 今年人口估「自然負成長」五萬人…

AS THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE CALLS HER ‘INCREDIBLE’ DAME DEBORAH JAMES LEAVES A BEAUTIFUL LEGACY AFTER ROSE IS NAMED AFTER HER

Roses are her favourite flower and she burst into tears when she heard one would be named after her. But last week, Dame Deborah James was all smiles as she paid a secret visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to see her namesake bloom in person. “I just can’t wait for my family to plant them everywhere this autumn,” the 40-year-old cancer campaigner said. “What breaks my heart and brings me the most beautiful thought is that this variety can be grown forever and maybe one day even Eloise [her 12-year-old daughter] might choose to have it in her bouquet.” The podcast host, who raised more than £6.5m for cancer research after announcing she was receiving end-of-life care for the disease, made an out-of-hours trip to the floral exhibition with her…

AS THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE CALLS HER ‘INCREDIBLE’ DAME DEBORAH JAMES LEAVES A BEAUTIFUL LEGACY AFTER ROSE IS NAMED AFTER HER

6 A.M. WITH… THE LITTLE BIG SHOT

CALEB McLAUGHLIN hangs from the bar, sweat dripping from his forehead. He’s midway through his morning workout at EpiFIT Club, just west of Atlanta, and his trainer, Mikael Hadiri, is pushing him through a pullup gauntlet. Each set, McLaughlin switches grips, going from underhand to overhand to wide grip to narrow. It’s a tactic for back gains and serious forearm burn—and it’s going to cripple McLaughlin’s jump shot when he hits the court later. But the 21-year-old actor wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’ve been super competitive my whole life, and I’ve always been into, like, physique and health,” he says during a 60-second breather between sets. “I just felt that if I stay consistent with doing pushups and situps, I’ll be ahead of everybody else.” McLaughlin smiles, perhaps in part…

6 A.M. WITH… THE LITTLE BIG SHOT
THE BUGS IN THE TREES

THE BUGS IN THE TREES

Brian Brown, curator of entomology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, photographed all the insects in this article using a camera-and-microscope setup that was originally developed to examine flaws in computer chips. On a balmy January morning in Manaus, a Brazilian port city surrounded by rainforest, a group of entomologists and I scattered into a supermarket to stock up for an expedition. Twenty minutes later, in the checkout line, it became clear that we had different ideas about what that meant. I had peanuts, raisins, and bug repellent; the entomologists, all of whom were dipterists, or fly specialists, had heaps of bruised produce, nearly expired trays of chicken, and bits of peacock bass wrapped in cellophane. “I asked for the worst tomatoes they have, the most rotten potatoes and onions—that’s…

OUT RAGE MACHINES

OUT RAGE MACHINES

IN response to the question “How do you make a 600-hp sports sedan?” BMW, Audi, and Mercedes have turned in answers so similar that if this were an exam, they’d be accused of cheating. The brands started with the bones of a buttoned-down sedan and crafted a version with a narrow-eyed performance-car glare, a dropped roofline, and a sloping tail. Each car has all-wheel drive, adaptive dampers, brake rotors the size of Saturn’s rings, and a twin-turbo V-8 of at least 4.0 liters making completely unbuttoned dyno numbers. Add up all three and you get 1838 horsepower. Presumably to enrage our readers, the marketing people advertise these things as four-door coupes. “Swoopy, saggy-assed sedans” could work, but that doesn’t quite capture the seriousness of this trio. The Audi RS7, the BMW M8 Competition…

Oz Clarke: 8 New World wines that mean the most to me

1 GALLO’S HEARTY BURGUNDY Student wine was filthy stuff, scraped from the dregs of whatever tank was cheapest. And here I was as a student actor, in a vast dorm in Madison, Wisconsin, the air so thick with ‘smoke’ I didn’t know if it was more dangerous to inhale or asphyxiate. And I was downing this mug of juicy, fruity, riotously drinkable red wine. Gallo’s Hearty Burgundy. How could cheap wine be this good? Well, the Gallos wanted to get America drinking table wine. Good grapes were so cheap they even used Rochioli’s Russian River Pinot Noir, Barbera, Petite Sirah and other taste bombs for the Hearty Burgundy. It worked. It seemed to me that if America was the land without class, the land of opportunity, the land of the free,…

Ask Martha

How do I grow beautiful hydrangeas year after year? —Michelle Cannon, Red Hook, N.Y. Adored for their fluffy pom-pom flowers, these plants are nature’s cheerleaders, typically thriving throughout Zones 4 to 9. But the various types require unique care for lasting impact. To ensure that yours explode with beauty every summer, heed the advice of Ryan McEnaney, communications manager at Bailey’s Nursery, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a spokesperson for ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas, on snipping, soaking, and feeding them. 1. Know Your Variety Most hydrangeas fall into one of three categories: panicle (cone-shaped, like those shown), smooth (large and snowball-like), or bigleaf (bigger leaves—you guessed it—in tighter globes or more open, lacy petals). The first two bloom on new growth; the last erupts on both new and old (i.e., the prior year’s branches). 2. Prune…

Ask Martha

Black in Academia

IN MAY, the killing of George Floyd brought a harsh reality to the forefront of conversations worldwide: Racism permeates every aspect of society. And science, as part of society and my own profession, is not immune. Social media movements in 2020 such as #BlackInTheIvory and #BlackBirdersWeek urged the scientific community to take a hard look at the racism that lies within its walls, as revealed by its own community members. Thousands of Black scientists took to Twitter, Facebook and beyond to share personal stories of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination faced throughout their careers. These experiences have had devastating consequences for their mental health, professional success and, ultimately, willingness to stay in their fields. Racism in science is nothing new. For centuries, science has been a foremost tool used to build, defend…

Black in Academia

GOLDEN PATHS NECKLACE

designed by Mandi Olaniyi DIFFICULTY herringbone stitch FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6 FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8 Take an adventurous winding journey in herringbone stitch and create clever bezel settings in this gorgeous necklace. materials necklace 17 in. (43 cm) • 1 20 x 12 mm gemstone teardrop bead (aventurine) • 11 6 mm bicone crystals (Swarovski, aquamarine golden shadow) • 17 g 110 seed beads (Toho 557PF, permanent finish galvanized gold) • 1 g 150 seed beads (Toho 557PF, permanent finish galvanized gold) • Fireline, 6 lb. test • beading needles, #11 or #12 basics (Basic Beading Techniques booklet) • herringbone stitch: tubular • ladder stitch: making a ladder, forming a ring • ending and adding thread NECKLACE Bezeled bicone components 1) On 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread, pick up four 110 seed beads, and sew through the beads again, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Position…

GOLDEN PATHS NECKLACE

Christmas COUNTDOWN

CALENDAR Finished size: 23¾×24¾" MATERIALS Yardages and cutting instructions are based on 42" of usable fabric width. ❏ 10" square each of 25 assorted novelty prints (pocket flaps) (Designer Heidi Staples fussy-cut several flaps so that there was one image on the front of the flap and a second image on the inside. See “Fussy-Cutting Flaps,” page 63, for details.)❏ 1⅜ yard tan linen (pocket center, border, backing)❏ ⅜ yard muslin (pocket flaps)❏ ¼ yard aqua stripe (sleeve)❏ 24×25" piece batting❏ Fabric-marking pen❏ Embroidery hoop❏ Embroidery floss: black❏ Pinking shears (optional)❏ Clover Hera marking tool (optional)❏ Basting spray❏ ⅜"-diameter wooden dowel: 28" long❏ Bakers twine for hanging (optional) CUT FABRICS Cut pieces in the following order. From each novelty print, cut: ▪ 2—3¼×3½" rectangles From tan linen, cut: ▪ 1—24½×25½" backing rectangle▪ 2—3½×24½" border strips▪ 2—3½×19½" border strips▪ 5—4½×18½" rectangles▪…

Christmas COUNTDOWN

The Body Shop

gift guide THE SCENT OF HAPPY The Saje Aroma (Be) Free Cordless & Rechargeable Diffuser ($128, includes essential oil, saje.com) looks more like a jewel than a wellness tool. The chic, rechargeable device sends a cool mist to fill a room with uplifting blends—like the holiday exclusive, Joyful Blooms, a mix of tangerine, jasmine, and magnolia. To More Gatherings Even our cheers gear is feeling more festive! Bodum Oktett barware, an exclusive reissue from the MoMA Design Store ($16 to $22 per pair, store.moma.org), retains all the class of glass vessels with the practicality of chunky, funky recycled-plastic stems. Click here to shop these products. WHAT CLIMB IS IT? Your giftee gets throwback cool and step counter too with these fun new G-Shock styles (GMDB800-4, $99, and GMAB800-7A, $120, amazon.com/shop/shape). The watches are Bluetooth enabled so steps…

The Body Shop
Human respiration

Human respiration

Breathing is not something that we have to think about, and indeed is controlled by muscle contractions in our body. Breathing is controlled by the diaphragm, which contracts and expands on a regular, constant basis. When it contracts, the diaphragm pulls air into the lungs by a vacuum-like effect. The lungs expand to fill the enlarged chest cavity and air is pulled right through the maze of tubes that make up the lungs to the alveoli at the ends, which are the final branching. The chest will be seen to rise because of this lung expansion. Alveoli are surrounded by blood vessels, and oxygen and carbon dioxide are then interchanged at this point between the lungs and the blood. Carbon dioxide removed from the blood stream and air that was…

How to keep kids safe

How to keep kids safe

With the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine newly given emergency-use authorization for children 5 to 11, many parents are asking the question: Should we vaccinate our kids? Many of them may have already made up their mind. Some of those arguing against vaccinating kids make the case that COVID-19 typically does not cause severe illness among children with healthy immune systems. Thankfully, purely as a percentage of total cases, it does hold true. To date, around 6 million children in the U.S. have contracted this coronavirus, which has led to more than 65,000 hospitalizations and 897 deaths. These numbers pale in comparison to the over 3 million hospitalizations among U.S. adults, and a staggering 754,000 deaths. The low rates of complications and severe illness from COVID-19 in children are the exact data needed to…

Quick Comfort

Quick Comfort

Cheater’s Mac and Cheese Replacing a traditional béchamel sauce with cream cheese, which melts almost instantly, makes this recipe ultraspeedy. Feel free to swap in other vegetables, such as fresh or frozen cauliflower florets or peas, for the broccoli. 4 ounces short pasta, such as penneKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)1½ cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets2½ ounces cream cheese (⅓ cup)1 tablespoon unsalted butter½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (⅓ cup), plus more for serving 1. Cook pasta in a pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes less than per package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and cover to keep warm. Add broccoli to pot; continue boiling until pasta is al dente and broccoli is bright green, 1 to 2 minutes more. Drain. Return pot to medium heat; add…

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 (2021): A Superlative Aspirational System

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 (2021): A Superlative Aspirational System

We won’t try to keep you in suspense. When we reviewed last year’s model, we called the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon the best laptop in the world—though we later decided it shared that title with the Dell XPS 13 OLED—and it hasn’t done anything in its latest revision to change that state of affairs. The X1 Carbon Gen 9 catches up with the Dell and other elite ultraportables by moving to an 11th Generation Intel “Tiger Lake” Core processor and a slightly taller 16:10 rather than 16:9 screen aspect ratio. Its premium price and lack of an SD card slot still knock half a star off what would otherwise be a perfect five-star rating, but it effortlessly collects yet another Editors’ Choice award as the most desirable executive notebook on…

Razer Viper V2 Pro: A Perfect Mouse for Esports

Razer Viper V2 Pro: A Perfect Mouse for Esports

You can’t talk about gaming mice without talking about Razer. In 2019, we raved about the wireless Razer Viper Ultimate, a high-end spinoff of the light, fast, and ambidextrous Razer Viper. Complete with all the esports fixings you could ask for in a wireless gaming mouse, the Ultimate impressed us with its fabulous feature set, despite its high price. Three years later, the company has taken another step toward wireless gaming domination with the Viper V2 Pro, which upgrades the Viper Ultimate in almost every way. The new mouse is no cheaper than its predecessor, despite a simple USB-C cable replacing the latter’s charging dock, but it easily earns Editors’ Choice honors. PROS • Clean, minimalist design • Excellent sensor • Durable optical switches • Lightweight CONS • Expensive • No RGB lighting • Fewer buttons THE BOTTOM LINE Tons of…

DID COVID HEAL NATURE?

DID COVID HEAL NATURE?

THE WELSH VILLAGE of Llandudno went quiet in March as stay-at-home orders began. Then the goats descended from the mountain. A wild herd of Kashmiri goats has lived near Llandudno for almost two centuries, and they sometimes come down from the Great Orme Mountain during inclement weather. But this spring, while the human world hit pause, they settled into town for a few days, munching on hedges and trotting down the empty streets. The goats joined a host of animal celebrities flooding the internet after they supposedly reclaimed urban areas: dolphins frolicking in Venice’s clean canals, elephants drunk on corn wine in a tea garden in China’s Yunnan province. Tweets announcing these events proclaimed that nature was recovering from years of abuse by humans, thanks to COVID-19 shutdowns. While the goats really did…

SHOW ME THE SCIENCE

SHOW ME THE SCIENCE

Some scientists wish to uncover truths of the natural universe — to learn the properties of distant stars, or deep-sea creatures, or the interior of our cells. Others seek solutions, hoping to better our lives or undo the damage we’ve done to our environment. The list of motivations runs long, depending on who you talk to. But most people don’t know any scientists personally. In 2017, about 4 out of 5 Americans polled couldn’t name a single living scientist, according to Research America. Of those who could, top answers were Stephen Hawking (27 percent), who died in 2018; Neil deGrasse Tyson (19 percent), who last published research in 2008; and Bill Nye (5 percent), who quit his job as an engineer in 1986. Yet 1.5 million-plus Americans are currently working as…

Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics

EARTH IS ACTION-PACKED. Even if there were zero life on our planet, the place would be full of birth and death, marriage, breakup and even a little dirty dancing. That’s all thanks to the lithosphere, a solid layer of crust and part of the upper mantle that’s broken into more than a dozen slabs, or plates, of varying sizes. These pieces, divided between older continental crust and younger oceanic crust, ride atop the gooey asthenosphere, a semiliquid layer of magma and partly melted rock. Most of us may think of Earth’s cracked and creeping crust only when we hear of a catastrophic event caused by it, such as an earthquake or volcanic eruption. But the puzzle pieces of the lithosphere are always in motion, slamming against one another, grinding past or…

Slim to None

Slim to None

Ann was a long-standing patient of mine whom I saw for severe gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD. She was extremely overweight and met medical criteria for morbid obesity. Doctors consider a patient morbidly obese when they are at least 100 pounds over their ideal body weight — and/or when their weight may significantly contribute to medical conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure, or fatty liver disease, that put their life in danger. Ann was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 250 pounds. She had been a slim 130-pound athlete as a teenager, but had gained weight with each of her pregnancies. During one of our clinic visits, the topic of her possibly undergoing surgery to lose weight came up. I was supportive of Ann seeing a surgeon who…

SEEKING LOST LIGHT

SEEKING LOST LIGHT

I never wanted to be an astrophysicist. While a lot of my colleagues were looking through amateur telescopes, I was dreaming of decoding hieroglyphics and brushing off hidden artifacts in newly discovered Ancient Egyptian tombs. As is the case with most young Egyptophiles, for me there was one story that captured the excitement of Ancient Egyptian discoveries more than any other: the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. In November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter held up a candle and peered through a small drill hole in the tomb door. His patron, Lord Carnarvon, asked him if he could see anything, to which Carter, struck dumb with amazement, could only reply, “Yes, wonderful things, wonderful things!” He recounted later that, in the dim candlelight, “details of the room emerged slowly from…

THE BLOCKCHAIN 50

You’ve come a long way, blockchain! Since our inaugural roundup of the Blockchain 50, published in 2019, the billion-dollar companies (minimum, by sales or market value) on our annual list have moved beyond test projects and now rely on “distributed ledger” technology to do serious work. A lot of the action is in the back office, verifying insurance claims or facilitating real estate deals. It has also become vital to supply chains, whether checking the provenance of conflict minerals like cobalt or tracking auto parts for Renault. Nearly half of the Blockchain 50 are based outside the United States; 14% are Chinese. New this year: venture capital firms, which as a group invested more than $32 billion in the sector in 2021. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether grab all the headlines,…

THE BLOCKCHAIN 50

THE WORLD’S RICHEST PEOPLE

Over a volatile year capped by a worldwide plunge in stock prices, the number of billionaires on our 36th annual list fell to 2,668—87 fewer than a year ago. Altogether they’re worth $12.7 trillion, down from $13.1 trillion. The U.S. remains home to the most, with 735, followed by greater China (including Hong Kong and Macau), with 607. To calculate net worths, we used stock prices from March 11, 2022. For the full list of billionaires and our methodology, please see forbes.com/billionaires. 1. Elon Musk Net worth: $219 BIL ↑ • Source: TESLA, SPACEX • Age: 50 • Citizenship: U.S. In March, the world’s richest person challenged Vladimir Putin, who some think is likely as rich (see page 104), to single combat days after SpaceX, now the U.S.’s second-most-valuable unicorn, began sending telecom…

THE WORLD’S RICHEST PEOPLE
Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell: No Wires Required

Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell: No Wires Required

If you’re in the market for a smart doorbell but don’t want to deal with wiring and voltage transformers, the Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell is an excellent deal. It runs on a rechargeable battery, installs in minutes, and comes with a wireless remote chime that you can place anywhere in your home or yard. The camera delivers sharp 1080p video, works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, and offers free cloud storage for video recordings. It doesn’t support the Apple HomeKit or IFTTT platforms, but the Toucan is still a strong value that earns our Editors’ Choice award for affordable wireless video doorbells. PROS • Completely wireless • Sharp 1080p video • Free cloud storage • Includes a remote chime • Supports Alexa and Google Assistant CONS • Limited third-party integration options • Doesn’t support HomeKit or…