Category Archives: Previews

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – May 3, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (May 1, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Making it New’ – A.E. Stallings on the innovative classicism of Anne Carson’s poetry; Salman Rushdie’s memoir of survival; Politics and performance and more…

Health & Nutrition Letter May 2024 Preview (Tufts)

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Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter (APRIL 30, 2024): The new issue features Vitamin Supplements – Yes, of No?; A large analysis clarifies the concerns about ultra-processed foods, and more….

Consuming Plant Protein in Midlife Can Help Women Age Well

Intake of Dietary Fiber Associated with Lower Risk of Death

Previews: Country Life Magazine – May 1, 2024

Country Life Magazine (April 30, 2024): The latest issue features

Local distinctiveness

  • Kate Green and Agnes Stamp take a geological tour of our islands to dig out what makes them special; granite country, chalk downland, The Fens, Wealden clay, Welsh slate, Yorkshire mill-stone grit, The Highlands and Cotswold limestone
  • Matthew Rice sketches the myriad architectural styles
  • Mark Diacono rubs the soil between his fingers
  • Victoria Marston wraps her tongue around dialects
  • Harry Pearson downs a pint or three of local ale
  • And finally, the ultimate quiz

Et in Arcadia ego

For Constable, the countryside was a lover, for Samuel Palmer, it offered an escape from the real world and for Paul Nash it held an inescapable lure. Michael Prodger examines the effect of British landscapes on art

The Duchess of Marlborough’s favourite painting

The ceramicist chooses an evocation of her childhood

Let us now praise the Nanny State

We should embrace Mary Poppins-esque common sense, believes Carla Carlisle

The legacy

Kate Green salutes the 10th Duke of Beaufort on the eve of the Badminton Horse Trials that set British riders on their gallop to three-day-eventing victory

Cometh the ice men

Don’t cast those jumpers out just yet, advises Lia Leendertz

Interiors

Get ready for the warmer weather with Amelia Thorpe’s pick of outdoor furniture

London Life

  • Royal photographs
  • All you need to know about cloth, cheese and Trafalgar Square
  • Jack Watkins tells the tale of Covent Garden
  • Adam Hay-Nicholls relishes the roar of engines in Savile Row

Up hill and down dale

Kathryn Bradley-Hole finds that formality is leavened by verve and personality in the gardens of Dalemain at Penrith, Cumbria, where the blue poppies bloom

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson gathers bunches of fresh watercress

Native herbs

Unmistakeable in scent, versatile in use, wild garlic is a forager’s dream, but don’t let dairy cows graze it, warns Ian Morton

Travel

  • Mark Hedges escapes to our nearest paradise, the Isles of Scilly
  • Tom Parker Bowles feasts on a proper club sandwich
  • Pamela Goodman dares to swim the Dordogne

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell takes her time choosing the latest wonderful watches unveiled in Geneva

Preview: MIT Technology Review – May/June 2024

MIT Technology Review (April 29, 2024): The new issue features ‘The Robots Are Coming’ – And they’re here to help; A brief, weird history of brainwashing; Office space in space; AI comes for bodycams…

The Build issue

Who says we can’t still build things? In this issue: a look at the robots we’ve always wanted; a new model for space exploration; and efforts to flood-proof Louisiana’s coastline. Plus a wild, weird history of brainwashing; designing cheese with AI; and glow-in-the dark petunias.

Is robotics about to have its own ChatGPT moment?

Researchers are using generative AI and other techniques to teach robots new skills—including tasks they could perform in homes.Stretch Robot Presents Rose in its gripper

Opinion & Politics: Reason Magazine – June 2024

Reason magazine, June 2024 cover image

REASON MAGAZINE (March 21, 2024)The latest issue features ‘The AI Issue’

In the AI Economy, There Will Be Zero Percent Unemployment

AI developer Andrew Mayne explains why technology could create more jobs and lead to unprecedented economic growth.

The Future of AI Is Helping Us Discover the Past

An AI-generated image using the prompt, “Illustration of AI helping the study of history in the style of Da Vinci." | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson/Midjourney

Historical teaching and research are being revamped by AI.

VIRGINIA POSTREL

Will Antitrust Policy Smother the Power of AI?

An AI-generated image using the prompt, “Illustration of antitrust smothering the power of AI." | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson/Midjourney

Left alone, artificial intelligence could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.

PATRICK HEDGER

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 26, 2024

Science Magazine – April 25, 2024: The new issue features ‘Born to Explore’ – Exploratory tendency leads to diversification; Can science address loneliness?; Vitamin D, microbiota, and cancer immunity; A safer version of a 140-year-old chemical reaction…

Microbes and vitamin D aid immunotherapy

Vitamin D modulates intestinal epithelial cell function to enhance antitumor microbes

The gut microbiome has been shown to modulate the response of cancer patients to therapy, but precisely how microbiota affect anticancer immunity is still being elucidated. Giampazolias et al. report that vitamin D bioavailability in mice influences the composition of the gut microbiome (see the Perspective by Franco and McCoy). After dietary manipulation, vitamin D levels were observed to affect gut bacteria, which in turn improved cancer immunotherapy and antitumor immunity. In humans, low vitamin D levels were correlated with tumor development, and gene signatures of vitamin D activity were associated with improved patient responses to immunotherapy. These findings highlight the connection between vitamin D and the immune system through gut bacteria and may have applications for improving cancer therapies.

The power of curiosity

Lake Tanganyika contains one of the most impressive adaptive radiations, with about 250 species of cichlid occupying a variety of niches. Much research has focused on understanding the drivers of this and other adaptive radiations. Trembo et al. looked in depth at 57 of these cichlid species with regard to their behavior, ecomorphology, and genomics. They found that one behavior in particular, a tendency to explore, was related to niche adaptation, and they identified a regulatory gene that is highly associated with this behavior. These findings suggest the existence of an adaptive syndrome driven in part by a tendency to explore what is new.

The Economist Magazine – April 27, 2024 Preview

How strong is India’s economy?

The Economist Magazine (April 25, 2024): The latest issue features ‘How Strong is India’s Economy?’; Campus Clashes and the Democrats; Where next in the Tech Wars; Ukraine – What $61bn will buy and Has Taylor Swift peaked?….

How strong is India’s economy?

Brechrit: another bad Tory idea

Why leaving the ECHR would be a bad idea for Britain

Where next in the tech wars?

America, China and the battle for supremacy

San Marino, Russia and spies

Intelligence sources are concerned about the country, which is surrounded by Italy

Has Taylor Swift peaked?

The musician is at the height of her commercial, but not her creative, power

Read full edition

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 25, 2024

Volume 628 Issue 8009

Nature Magazine – April 24, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘ Switching Channels’ – Organoids and assembloids offer model way to test potential therapy for Timothy syndrome…

Detectors deep in South Pole ice pin down elusive tau neutrino

Antarctic observatory gathers the first clear evidence of mysterious subatomic particles from space.

A spa session for humpback whales

The gigantic animals have worked out an unusual way to exfoliate — a perfect way to deal with whale lice.

This water bottle purifies your drink with energy from your steps

Static electricity generated by the foot striking the ground can be captured to kill pathogens.

Burnt remains of Maya royalty mark a dramatic power shift

Finds in pyramid at Guatemalan site suggest that remains were disinterred and desecrated in a public ritual.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – April 24, 2024

Country Life Magazine (April 24, 2024): The latest issue features

The summer Season

  • Ben Lerwill looks forward to high-speed sporting action
  • Tom Chamberlin and Sophia Money-Coutts reveal how to keep your cool when the heat is on
  • Hetty Lintell presents glorious ensembles for hot days
  • Paul Henderson asks top chefs for their picnic picks
  • Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers
  • Harry Eyres and the Country Life tasting team find English fizz in sparkling form

Every picture tells a story

As the National Gallery counts down to its 200th anniversary, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating stories behind 10 paintings in the collection

John Booth’s favourite painting

The chairman of the National Gallery board of trustees picks an exquisite, skilful work that resonates with deeper meaning

The private made public

In the second of two articles, John Goodall investigates the 20th-century evolution of Stansted Park in West Sussex

Luxury

Hetty Lintell reveals the secret to staying fresh faced and fashion artist David Downton shares a few of his favourite things

The legacy

Octavia Pollock hails the talented Stevenson clan, who saved countless lives at sea thanks to their prolific lighthouse building

Interiors

Giles Kime on how decorative frames can give a room an extra edge and Arabella Youens on the creation of a family kitchen

Processions, proclamations and punishment

Time has not been kind to way-side crosses, once beacons of the British landscape. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction

Supporting acts

Amelia Thorpe selects the best structures for growing climbers

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson gets creative with fresh, cooling spearmint

Dropping down to Derwentwater

Lakeland fells form a dramatic backdrop to the captivating Arts-and-Crafts garden at High Moss in Cumbria, finds Non Morris

Satan on six legs

Crushing one is said to absolve you of all your sins, but the Devil’s coach horse beetle is also the gardener’s friend, says Ian Morton

Flying between extremes

A booming bittern and a colossal crane make it a memorable return to the Norfolk Broads for John Lewis-Stempel

Blessed among plants

It may be named after the Virgin Mary, but, warns Ian Morton, there is a hint of the profane about lady’s mantle

Native herbs

John Wright reveals how the pretty, but unpalatable ground ivy found its true calling as an ingredient in the brewing of ale

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – April 26, 2024

Times Literary Supplement (April 24, 2024): The latest issue features ‘The Mormon Conquest’ – Seth Perry on a people of the book; Is ‘green growth’ a mirage; Virginia Woolf’s rural retreat; China’s Shakespeare…