The Economist Magazine – March 2, 2024 Preview

How high can markets go?

The Economist Magazine (February 22, 2024): The latest issue features ‘How high can markets go?; Le Pen prepares for power; India’s north-south divide; A plan for Russia’s assets…

How high can markets go?

Research Preview: Science Magazine – March 1, 2024

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Science Magazine – February 29, 2024: The new issue features ‘Protoplanetary Disk’ – Ultraviolet radiation drives rapid mass loss; What awaits scientist who take the witness stand; Nitrogen sneaks into carbon’s reaction; Endocannabinoids help shape spatial representation…

    First page of PDF

    Travel: The Scottish Village Of Gurro In Italy

    Great Big Story (February 29, 2024); The Italian Alps, home to countless quintessential Italian villages…and one not-so traditional. Welcome to Gurro, the Scottish village in Italy.

    Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:51 Meet Rosa Patritti 01:09 Folklore 01:54 Traditional Dress 02:18 Language 03:01 Music 04:00 Food

    So what actually makes this village Scottish? Legend has it that the population descended from Scottish soldiers, who stumbled across the area whilst fleeing a battle 500 years ago.

    But it’s not just their supposed ancestors flying the Scottish flag – the inhabitants today wear traditional tartan, grab drinks in their local Scottish bar and they even mix Scottish into their language…Ay, can you believe it! These are the Italian locals keeping this delightfully unexpected Scottish tradition alive.

    #Scotland #Italy #Travel

    Preview: MIT Technology Review – March/April 2024

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    MIT Technology Review (February 29, 2024): The new issue features ‘The Hidden Worlds Issue’ – Is Anybody Out There? Using technology to explore and expose hidden worlds, from enabling deeper dives into ocean depths to journeying to one of Jupiter’s orbiting bodies to pushing the boundaries of particle physics. Plus: wearables for wildlife, Wi-Fi sensing, and a reconsideration of Luddites.

    The search for extraterrestrial life is targeting Jupiter’s icy moon Europa

    NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will travel to one of Jupiter’s largest moons to look for evidence of conditions that could support life.

    Inside the hunt for new physics at the world’s largest particle collider

    The Large Hadron Collider hasn’t seen any new particles since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. Here’s what researchers are trying to do about it.

    Meet the divers trying to figure out how deep humans can go

    Figuring out how the human body can withstand underwater pressure has been a problem for over a century, but a ragtag band of divers is experimenting with hydrogen to find out.

    News: Western Balkans Summit Hosts Zelensky, US-China & The Pacific Islands

    The Globalist (February 29, 2024): We get the latest from a Western Balkans summit that includes Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

    Then: the latest battle for Pacific Island influence between the US and China, what Japan can do about its record-low birth rate and how Christian nationalism is rising in the US. Also, technology news with David Phelan and fine wines in the Arabian Peninsula.

    The New York Times — Thursday, Feb 29, 2024

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    McConnell to Step Down as Leader at the End of the Year

    The long-serving Republican leader said he would step aside from the role at the end of his term but remain in the Senate, acknowledging that his views on national security had put him out of step with his party.

    Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Trump’s Immunity Claim, Setting Arguments for April

    The former president’s trial on charges of plotting to subvert the 2020 election will remain on hold while the justices consider the matter.

    Biden’s Gaza Challenge Will Persist, but Michigan May Have Been Unique

    Democratic unease with the president’s handling of the Mideast war will continue to trail him, but his allies hope that no other state on the primary calendar will present the same challenges.

    The East Coast Is Sinking

    New satellite-based research reveals how land along the coast is slumping into the ocean, compounding the danger from global sea level rise.

    A major culprit: overpumping of groundwater.

    London Review Of Books – March 7, 2024 Preview

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    London Review of Books (LRB) – February 1, 2024: The latest issue features Mothers and Others – ‘The Pole’ and Other Stories by  J.M. Coetzee….

    Death of the Book

    By Adam Smyth

    Sometimes we ignore a book’s material presence: absorbed, ‘good’ reading is often figured as a forgetting of the material conditions of book, body, room and time, even though these conditions affect how we read. With certain other books it makes no sense to separate text from object.

    Bibliophobia: The End and the Beginning of the Book 
    by Brian Cummings.

    Give your mom a gun

    By Geoff Mann

    There are seventy million more privately held guns in the US – around four hundred million of them – than there are people. AR-15s comprise about 5 per cent of the total, but it is currently the best-selling rifle in the country.

    American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 
    by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson.

    Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture and Control in Cold War America 
    by Andrew C. McKevitt.

    Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Feb 29, 2024

     and Bo Xia

    Volume 626 Issue 8001

    Nature Magazine – February 28, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Tale of the Tails’ – How a genetic element aided tail loss in humans and apes; RNA-editing therapies for genetic diseases have in the past few months gained approval for clinical trials, raising hopes for safer treatments…

    Move over, CRISPR: RNA-editing therapies pick up steam

    Two RNA-editing therapies for genetic diseases have in the past few months gained approval for clinical trials, raising hopes for safer treatments.

    200 years of naming dinosaurs: scientists call for overhaul of antiquated system

    Some palaeontologists want more rigorous guidelines for naming species, along with action to address problematic historical practices.

    MEGA-CRISPR tool gives a power boost to cancer-fighting cells

    A system that edits RNA rather than DNA can give new life to exhausted CAR T cells.

    Design Tour: Morris Cove House, Long Island, NY

    The Local Project (February 28, 2024) – Located on a narrow peninsula in Sag Harbor, with access to water on all sides, Morris Cove by Bates Masi + Architects is a peaceful lake home.

    Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Peaceful Lake Home 00:50 – Designing for the Landscape 02:19 – Accomodating for the Weather 02:44 – The Layout of the Home 03:51 – A Character Filled Material Palette 05:00 – An Extension of the Architecture 05:28 – Favourite Aspects of the Home

    The architects, Paul Masi and Aaron Weil, whose personal affinity for this part of the world and appreciation for the site’s heritage enhanced the architecture and interior design of this peaceful lake home, have crafted a family house that will, over time, ameliorate the site’s natural conditions and deepen the residents’ connection to the landscape. Bates Masi + Architects were approached by the clients – a large family “whose love of this special place makes them stewards of the site more than just owners of it,” notes Paul – to conceive a peaceful lake home. “Previously, there was a home here and, frankly, it was contributing to the erosion of the property, so one of our goals was to look at a new design that would be beneficial to the property.”

    Therefore, Bates Masi + Architects decided against a renovation or refurbishment, opting instead for a family house that takes cues from Arts and Crafts style architecture and contemporary design ideals. The result is a family house that pays deference to the landscape while responding to the clients’ patterns of living and briefing requirements. Stretching along the peninsula and oriented towards the water, the architecture encompasses five pavilions beneath an overarching roof structure, including a kitchen, dining and living area as well as bedrooms and bathrooms.

    Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement-March 1, 2024

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    Times Literary Supplement (February 28, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Married to Mr. Hardy’ – The writer’s complicated relationships with women; Southern discomfort; a bad deal on Wall Street…