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'All politics is theatre'
Brecht to the future: a review of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertold Brecht, directed by Seán Linnen for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Roki Sasaki Falters as Dodgers Drop Third Straight
The Los Angeles Dodgers are still looking to find their stride on all facets as they drop their third straight, losing to the San Francisco Giants.
Starmer to face key cabinet meeting with ministers split over his future
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is among a minority of ministers calling for the PM to set out a timetable for his resignation.
Jalen Duren’s playoff struggles becoming major concern for Pistons
The Detroit Pistons entered the postseason expecting young center Jalen Duren to play a major role in their playoff push. After an impressive regular season that showcased his growth as one of the league’s rising big men, Duren appeared poised for a breakout postseason. Instead, the playoffs have exposed some of the challenges young players often face under postseason pressure.
Post-pandemic allowances for telehealth claims have not triggered runaway healthcare spending
If Congress doesn’t act soon, CMS’s flexible funding of telemedicine visits—a temporary holdover from the COVID era—will dry up next year. A new study may help persuade fiscally cautious representatives not to let that happen
LeBron James’ outfit for potential final NBA game draws attention
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers trail the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-0 in the NBA Western Conference semifinals. They face elimination and could get swept in Game 4 on Monday. The four-time NBA champion has stepped up in the…
A journey of persistence, passion and public health
Nalani Thomas, a doctoral graduate from Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions, defended her dissertation and will graduate this May with a PhD in population health. Her path to this moment was not straightforward — she faced challenges adjusting to college, and at one point was advised to leave school altogether.Instead, she persisted. Through exploration and redirection, she found her way into public health through community work and research focused on maternal and child health, ethics and policy.
Cowboys' Thanksgiving opponent revealed as part of NFL schedule rollout
Dallas’ Thanksgiving Day game is a tradition that dates back to 1966. This year the Cowboys will face a division rival.
ASNC speaks to policymakers about prior authorization, Medicare cuts and more
The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology visited Capitol Hill to advocate for a variety of issues. Cardiovascular Business spoke to the group's president to learn more.
Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, a year after he was fired from the role
The nomination suggests a shift in the administration’s stance on FEMA, which has faced criticism from President Donald Trump.
New coronary IVL tech from Boston Scientific impresses in first-in-human study
The company's Seismiq platform has already gained FDA approval for treating PAD. This new analysis highlights its potential to treat calcified coronary lesions during PCI procedures.
Iowa politics: Watch KCCI's full interviews with all 5 GOP candidates for governor
Eddie Andrews, Randy Feenstra, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman and Adam Steen are competing for the GOP nomination and the chance to face Democrat Rob Sand in November.
Physician Association of California and Astrana Health Launch Collaboration to Strengthen Independent Primary Care
/PRNewswire/ -- The Physician Association of California ("PAC") and Astrana Health, Inc. ("Astrana") (NASDAQ: ASTH), a physician-centric, technology-enabled...
Economists warn of downturn as US businesses face rising costs
Costs are piling up for businesses during the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran — and many economists see a bleak outlook, with some bracing for a downturn in hiring and investment in the coming months.
Seattle small business owners devastated by break-ins as commercial burglary cases flood King County courts
Several defendants faced arraignment in King County court Monday on commercial burglary charges, cases that prosecutors said illustrate an ongoing problem devastating small business owners.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama won't face fine, suspension after Game 4 ejection for elbowing Naz Reid
Nonprofit sues to stop Trump’s changes to Reflecting Pool, a historic site
President Donald Trump wants to resurface the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool by July 4. A D.C.-area foundation claims he failed to get federal reviews.
Cameras catch Paige Bueckers mocking Caitlin Clark
The Indiana Fever faced off against the Dallas Wings on Saturday in both teams’ season opener. Amazingly, the game was a clash of the WNBA’s last four number one overall picks, Aaliyah Boston (2023) and Caitlin Clark (2024) for the Fever, and Paige Bueckers (2025) and Azzi Fudd (2026) for the Wings. When the Fever…
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Newark, New Jersey's, mayoral election
Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka faces seven challengers as he seeks a fourth term Tuesday as the chief executive of his state's largest city.
This Coloradan can plug his brain into a computer. He’s trying to help turn science fiction into reality
Brandon Patterson, who is paralyzed from the chest down and has limited use of his arms, was the first person in Colorado to have a brain-computer interface implanted into a part of his brain involved in decision-making.
THE WEEKEND'S RESULTS: PRIMAVERA WOMEN IN THE FINAL
AC Milan’s Youth Sector weekend is still awaiting its final result, with tonight - Monday 11 May - set to bring everything to a close. Kick-off at 18:00 CEST sees the Women's Primavera side face Sas...
Mental health stigma persists among Hispanic students and immigrants
The stigma surrounding mental health makes many low-income descendants of immigrants opt not to pursue higher education. Those who choose to move forward in spite of it often face stronger stigma in college.
What Happens When a Sports Columnist Is Very, Very Wrong?
Usually, nothing. Our honorable scribe faces the music about a boneheaded Sixers prediction.
RadNet revises financial projections upward after ‘record’ quarter, with revenue up 22%
This comes after RadNet executed several acquisitions so far this year, including buying French AI firm Gleamer for approximately $270 million.
John Cornyn’s Inexplicably Deep-Lore Campaign Against Ken Paxton
Are there enough persuadable Texas-politics junkies for the U.S. senator’s obscure posts to matter?
Black Michiganders face wide health disparities
A new report shows racial health gaps persist across Michigan.
Steam Machine Buyers Will Face a Queue System For Its 4 Models, as Valve Moves to Prevent Scalper Markups Early
Valve leaked code reveals a reservation queue and four models for the Steam Machine to stop scalpers and prevent another launch fiasco
Starmer, fighting for his political life, pledges to bring Britain closer to Europe
The prime minister plans to use a speech on Monday to argue that he will “face up to the big challenges” and restore “hope” to the country.
The results West Ham need to survive
West Ham United could feasibly be relegated next Sunday - with a week of the Premier League season to go. Spurs, who are one point above the Hammers with a game in hand, will be safe if they win two of their final three games. After playing Leeds, they face Chelsea away and then Everton at home on the final day.
Fake OpenAI Privacy Filter Repo Hits #1 on Hugging Face, Draws 244K Downloads
Fake OpenAI Privacy Filter hit #1 on Hugging Face with 244,000 downloads, spreading infostealer malware to Windows users.
Figure1_YukiNagao_20260511
Figure 1: A visual comparison showing how interfacial proton transport, previously merged in conventional measurements, can now be separated and measured at each interface.
‘Population autopsy’ finds the US with more avoidable deaths than other wealthy countries
The United States appears to be leading all high-income countries in an unfortunate, distinctly undesirable statistical category.
"From Sea to Shining Sea": Stafford Township to Celebrate America’s 250th at Founders Day 2026
Join Stafford Township Founders Day 2026 celebration on June 13: parade, live music, food trucks & fireworks as America marks its 250th. Click for details!
Lake Orion businesses face financial strain from Oakland County water main break
Florida seniors face growing mental health crisis, Humana Foundation study finds
A new report from the Humana Foundation is shedding light on a silent crisis unfolding across Florida — one that affects hundreds of thousands of older residents and often goes unnoticed.
Hurricanes rolling in NHL playoffs. Next is another long between-rounds rest
Carolina will face the Montreal-Buffalo winner, a series running through at least Thursday.
macOS 27: Two More Changes Leaked Ahead of WWDC Next Month
macOS 27 will have a "slight redesign" compared to macOS Tahoe, along with an option to automatically group tabs in Safari, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the design changes will help to address some of the criticism surrounding macOS Tahoe's new Liquid Glass interface. In particular, the changes should improve overall readability. "Apple aims to address the shadows and transparency quirks," he said.
Israeli politics have shifted from institutional decline to perpetual negation
Beyond the Ben-Gvir controversy lies a structural crisis; information overload is reshaping politics, weakening institutions, and elevating figures who thrive in disorder.
Saudi oil giant Aramco sees Q1 profits rise 25% by shifting exports to its East-West Pipeline
Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, reports a 25% jump in first-quarter profits.
UVM Health must cut expenses by $300 million in three years, independent liaison finds
University of Vermont Health faces $300 million expense cuts and improved efficiency in outpatient clinics to meet financial goals.
Nebraska baseball takes series against Iowa in high-scoring battle
Nebraska faced off against Iowa on Saturday. In front of their largest home crowd since 2008, the Huskers claimed the series in spectacular fashion.
Report: Latinos face 'unprecedented' health coverage losses amid cuts to Medicaid, ACA
The state with the nation's second highest number of uninsured — 858,000 Latinos — is Florida, according to the report. More than 71 million people with low incomes rely on Medicaid, which expanded under the Affordable Care Act.
Kid Rock’s controversies: What to know about his lyrics about underage girls and more
The singer has faced his share of controversy in 2026.
UC-Irvine to face Hawaii in NCAA men's volleyball championship
No. 2 Hawaii beat No. 3 Long Beach and unranked UC Irvine extended its run after beating No. 1 UCLA earlier in the men's volleyball NCAA tournament.
Katie Porter and the politics of double standards
She might have faced sexist scrutiny, but her gubernatorial campaign has also struggled with political weaknesses unrelated to gender..
NiJaree Canady's last ride: Texas Tech's million-dollar ace has final shot at title
NiJaree Canady threw a perfect game and got drafted by the AUSL. She's the face of NIL in NCAA softball, but has one more thing to do with Texas Tech.
Trump and Xi’s Uneven Relationship Faces a Stress Test
Plus, humanoid robots rake in cash, Pope Leo’s influence, and the paradox of bowling.
Defiant Dubois sheds quitter tag to write new narrative
Daniel Dubois faced questions over his heart and mentality before facing Fabio Wardley, but silenced his critics by overcoming adversity to become WBO heavyweight champion.
Wardley vs Dubois: How new heavyweight champion silenced his critics
Daniel Dubois faced questions over his heart and mentality before facing Fabio Wardley, but silenced his critics by overcoming adversity to become WBO heavyweight champion.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid, La Liga: Preview
Barça face their biggest rivals with a golden chance to clinch the title at home
UFC 328 live blog: Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira
Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira face off for the flyweight championship at UFC 328
Politics And Redistricting Shake Virginia: Abigail Spanberger Faces Backlash As Court Overturns Controversial New Map In Major Political Redistricting Battle
olitics and redistricting have once again collided in Virginia, creating one of the most closely watched political battles in the state in recent years. The
Voice AI in India is hard. Wispr Flow is betting on it anyway.
Wispr Flow says growth accelerated in India after its Hinglish rollout, even as voice AI products continue to face challenges.
Mamdani’s anti-Zionist policies are targeting New York's Jewish businesses
Jewish organizations accuse Mayor Zohran Mamdani of undermining protections against antisemitism in New York City.
TST Best Bets: May 9, 2026
Two teams down 0-2 face the brink of elimination on Saturday, as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers try to steer their respective series in their favor on their homecourts. For the Cavs, the solution may be as simple as being back in Cleveland, as they are undefeated at home and winless on the road so far this postseason. However, it seems to be almost too tall a task for the Cavs to secure a win with the level of play they have gotten from James Harden, who has 11 turnovers to just
Nick Cannon’s business accountant accused of embezzling $2 million, reportedly leaves US
If convicted, Frank Musoke faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud charge and up to
Flyers-Hurricanes Game 4: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch
The Philadelphia Flyers (0-3, 4-5) face elimination on Saturday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes (3-0, 7-0) at Xfinity Mobile […] The post Flyers-Hurricanes Game 4: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch appeared first on Philly Hockey Now.
‘A year of resistance’: Cuba’s private sector faces Trump’s oil blockade
US oil blockade on Cuba is a significant blow to small family firms struggling with power outages and fuel shortages.
Olin Refocuses Epoxy Business As Valuation Gap And Risks Persist
Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) has restructured its Epoxy segment, including rationalizing high cost assets. The company now positions itself as the last integrated epoxy producer in Europe. Olin is relying on structural cost advantages from its U.S. Gulf Coast assets to support Epoxy segment profitability. These steps come as the broader epoxy market faces volatility tied to geopolitical events and global supply chain disruptions. Olin, a chemicals and ammunition producer, is putting fresh...
Top Maryland Democrat is fighting for his job after resisting redistricting plan
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) faces a tough primary challenge after defying Democratic leaders including Gov. Wes Moore on redistricting.
UFC Freedom 250 Press Conference Face-Offs
Following Thursday's UFC Freedom 250 press conference, the headlining fighters faced off for the cameras. The event takes place on June 14 at the White House. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria puts his title on the line for the first time in the fight card’s main event against interim ...
Where to watch Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres Game 2 NHL playoffs: Live stream, start time, odds, TV channel for Friday, May 8
The Canadiens face the Sabres in Game 2 of their second-round series.
FDA announces more recalls due to risk of syringe breaking during treatment
Medline already had to recall millions of syringes due to a significant safety risk. Now, multiple procedure kits that include the devices are also being recalled. The issue has been associated with four serious injuries.
AATS helps heart surgeons diagnose and manage heparin-induced thrombocytopenia
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia after heart surgery is a major concern, but prior guidelines were developed without much feedback from actual cardiac surgeons.
How expert guidelines have influenced TAVR vs. SAVR decisions
As popular as TAVR is today, SAVR continues to play a significant role in the management of patients with valvular disease.
White House prepares to replace FDA leader Marty Makary amid agency turmoil
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has faced criticism over his leadership of the agency that oversees vaccine and drug approvals.
NASA’s Psyche Mission to Fly by Mars for Gravity Assist
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet’s surface at some 12,333
Why Firefighters Burned Down an Old Building on the National Zoo’s Science Campus
When faced with the challenge of an aging facility, staff at the Zoo's science campus found a creative solution to its closure.
Startup Science Acquires Sphere, Launches Structured Mentorship Platform for Every Founder
/PRNewswire/ -- Mentored startups survive at 2x the rate of non-mentored ones, yet 97% of founders who apply to accelerator programs are rejected. The founders...
Catholic health centers respond to massive measles outbreak in Bangladesh
Caritas Bangladesh and church-run health centers are building infection prevention awareness while the country grapples with a deadly outbreak of measles that has left more than 330 children dead since mid-March.
Mom's Health: Many women face a stressful surprise after starting a family
Doctors say a common source of anxiety can be addressed with a little planning.
Sony forecasts lower gaming business sales amid memory price surge
STORY: Sony forecast lower sales in its gaming business due to a memory chip price surge.The tech giant said Friday annual sales in the segment would fall 6% to $28 billion.It also blamed lower hardware sales as its PlayStation 5 ages.Although the Japanese company said it expects gaming profit to rise 30%.That's due to higher first-party software sales and no repeat of the impairment loss it recorded a year earlier.Sony has been praised by analysts in recent years for its transformation into an entertainment powerhouse.But markets have grown concerned about the impact of AI on its business, while Sony also faces a perceived lack of growth catalysts.Both factors have weighed on shares in recent months.Investors are also concerned about the impact of a memory-chip price surge.As well as disruption to supply chains from the Iran war on margins at electronics manufacturers.The firm said it sold 1.5 million PS5 consoles in the fourth quarter, which was a 46% drop on the same period a year earlier.Looking ahead, the PS5 is expected to receive a major boost from the launch of the delayed "Grand Theft Auto VI."The game is due to release in November.Sony said in February it had secured the minimum quantity of memory needed to manage the year-end shopping season. Sony also said it sees higher profits at its pictures and chips units but a lower profit at its music business.The group reported operating profit for the year ended March rose 13.4% to $9.2 billion - below analyst forecasts. Meanwhile, rival Nintendo said it expects to sell 16.5 million units of its Switch 2 console in the financial year ending March 2027.It also projects profit to rise 2.7% to $2.36 billion.But, like with Sony, investors are concerned about the possible impact of a memory price surge on margins.
NC loses abortion clinic as pressures mount on providers
The closure of A Woman’s Choice in Greensboro highlights the financial and operational strain providers face under tighter abortion restrictions.
Opposition forming against radiologist nominee for surgeon general
“Dr. Saphier would be a catastrophic mistake on messaging and communicating with MAHA at a time where the coalition is very fragile,” one opponent says.
Siemens Healthineers shakes up leadership team, cuts profit outlook
The Erlangen, Germany-based device manufacturer announced its quarterly earnings results on May 7, which included a 6.5% year-over-year decline in revenue for its diagnostics segment.
PSMA PET imaging’s proliferation produces uptick in aggressive treatment for prostate cancer
First approved by the FDA in 2021, providers have rapidly adopted this clinical innovation, which offers greater accuracy in detecting prostate cancer.
Iran’s Economy Buckles Under Pressure as Millions Face Unemployment
Iranian officials argue the economic hardship is the result of what they describe as an unjust war imposed by the United States and Israel.
Official-looking Xperia 1 VIII images show new design, colors; launch date, price increase tipped
After leaked Amazon listing, fresh marketing images have revealed the redesigned Sony Xperia 1 VIII in all colors. Set for a potential May 20th launch, the 2026 model faces controversy over a rumored price hike and the removal of the continuous optical zoom.
Scientists discover a new way to prevent gum disease without killing good bacteria
Scientists have uncovered a surprising way to influence the bacteria living in our mouths — not by killing them, but by interrupting how they “talk” to each other. Researchers found that dental plaque bacteria use chemical signals to coordinate growth, and by blocking those signals, they were able to encourage healthier bacteria while reducing disease-linked microbes tied to gum disease. Even more intriguing, the bacterial conversations changed depending on oxygen levels above and below the gums, revealing an entirely new layer of complexity inside the mouth.
Colorado Gov. Polis faces intense lobbying blitz from DC-based groups over credit card ‘swipe-fee’ bill
Colorado’s long‑running fight over credit‑card swipe fees entered its final round Tuesday, when lawmakers sent a proposal to Gov. Jared Polis and rival industry coalitions immediately launched competing campaigns to sway his decision. The clash pits groups urging Polis to sign the bill — restaurants, hotels, breweries, liquor stores, small businesses, and big‑box retailers — […]
Scientists uncover hidden parasite diversity in barb fish from the Sea of Galilee
When most people think about biodiversity in lakes and rivers, they imagine fish, plants, or perhaps birds and amphibians. But beneath the surface exists another world that often goes unnoticed: microscopic ...
Elon Musk witness testimony hits Sam Altman in trial
From claims of safety taking a back seat to the "toxic culture" he created, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman faced a tough day in court.
The 'nostalgia effect': Scientists produce less disruptive work as they age
You probably know that Einstein changed the face of physics with his theory of relativity in his twenties. What you may not know is that he spent his later career on a crusade against quantum mechanics, ...
Apple Faces £3 Billion UK Trial Over iCloud Lock-In Claims
Apple was not able to narrow the scope of a UK lawsuit accusing it of locking 40 million UK consumers into iCloud, to the detriment of third-party cloud storage providers. British consumer group Which? first filed the lawsuit in late 2024, and is asking for £3 billion for UK Apple customers. Apple wanted to exclude non-paying iCloud users from the lawsuit, but the tribunal denied Apple's request in a 2 to 1 majority.
Starz Entertainment Corp. Reports Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2026
STARZ Delivers Positive Operating Cash Flow and Accelerates Margin Expansion Timeline OTT Revenue Grew Sequentially to $211.1 Million Net Cash Provided by...
Analysis: GOP politics — and Little — have changed since 2018. This election proves it.
Gov. Brad Little faces no prominent hardline opponent in the May 19 GOP primary, and it's no accident. For eight years, Little has sought to neutralize opposition from the right — while stepping away from the centrist coalition that helped elect him in the first place.
Upfront costs of robotic heart surgery are high—but it may be a smart investment
Makoto Hashimoto, MD, PhD, said robotic procedures are associated with a faster recovery time and many other potential benefits.
Barnes & Thornburg Fortifies Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice With Key Addition of Three Partners
/PRNewswire/ -- Barnes & Thornburg — a national law firm with more than 850 lawyers in 26 markets — has expanded its Entertainment, Media and Sports practice...
PHOTO GALLERY: Cardiac surgery technologies at the AATS 106th Annual Meeting
A wide variety of technologies, including robotic systems, heart valves, stent grafts, retractors and annuloplasty rings, were on display in Chicago.
Heart experts concerned after Trump administration authorizes fruit-flavored e-cigarettes
This is the first time the FDA has authorized market access for non-tobacco, non-menthol electronic nicotine delivery systems.
The farthest probe from Earth faces its most dangerous mission yet - Futura-Sciences
From Sci-Fi to Reality: The Launch of Voyager 1 Back in 1977, the world was grooving to new hits, and in cinemas, moviegoers were captivated by laser swords and beeping robots in a galaxy far, far away. Meanwhile, far from the silver screen, NASA was embarking on its own space...
OnlyFans Owner’s Wife Takes Control of Business After His Death
Leonid Radvinsky’s widow has surfaced as a beneficiary of the business empire behind adult-content platform OnlyFans, the latest example of “sideways” inheritances through rich individuals passing wealth to their spouses.
Trump administration now classifies Antifa and left-wing networks among ‘major’ terror groups
The Trump administration has classified left-wing networks like Antifa among “three major types of terror groups” the US faces, according to a counter-terrorism plan released Thursday.
Google accused of copying Apple's Liquid Glass look – Android head denies it
Apple’s Liquid Glass user interface has met with what can best be described as mixed reactions by the company’s own...
Silicon Valley Bank Expands Life Science & Healthcare Team
/PRNewswire/ -- Expanding its already deep bench of sector expertise, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, announced it has added...
Science diplomacy lessons from a North Korean volcano
Mount Paektu, a mythic, active volcano on the border between North Korea and China, is almost the epitome of a scientific challenge that crosses political lines. In 946 CE, it erupted in one of the five biggest volcanic events of the past 10,000 years, kicking up huge quantities of ash and sending destructive mud flows down river channels for hundreds of kilometres. Should this happen again, the entire region, including easternmost Russia, South Korea and even Japan could be hit. “It’s definitely got the potential to be big,” said James Hammond, a professor of geophysics at Birkbeck, University of London. An eruption on the scale of 946 would have “huge regional impact.” For the past 15 years, Hammond has helped lead a groundbreaking collaboration with North Korean scientists to study the volcano, navigating scientific sanctions, tough export controls on scientific equipment and a long, pandemic-enforced exodus from the country. Although he seems more at home on far-flung research expeditions – before speaking to Science|Business, Hammond was camping out on a Greenland ice sheet – he has also advised the European Commission on its changing science diplomacy strategy. His long experience with North Korea has made Hammond sceptical of blanket bans on science collaboration, no matter the country.This is a live question in Europe, where in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, institutional ties with Russian universities were almost entirely severed, although some scientists fear this could undermine our understanding of climate change’s impact on the Arctic. Here, Hammond tells the story of the Mount Paektu mission and the policy lessons he takes from it. Ominous rumblingsThe genesis of Hammond’s collaboration came in 2002, when Mount Paektu began to rumble ominously. Earthquake activity picked up and the volcano began to emit unusual gases. North Korean scientists took notice. “People felt we need to know more about this volcano,” said Hammond. In 2011, North Korean vulcanologists put out a request for international expertise to help them learn more. At the time, Hammond and his collaborator, Clive Oppenheimer, were working on a vulcanology project in another sanctioned country, Eritrea, and so decided to answer the call. Within a month, they had flown into Pyongyang. “It was pretty incredible,” recalls Hammond (left). “We were made to feel like honoured guests, and invited to official celebrations.” The scientific opportunity was huge. Paektu is unusually positioned, a thousand kilometres from where tectonic plates rub against each other in the Pacific. “It was an incredibly interesting volcano, but not much research had been done, at least not in the international community,” he said. “There was so much we felt we could do. And we had these partners that were super keen to engage.”The mission received an unusual visitor in the form of volcano-obsessed filmmaker Werner Herzog, who accompanied Hammond and Oppenheimer while directing his 2016 film Into the Inferno about volcanos across the world. Four days into the trip, the German director delivered a long speech about reunification to his North Korean hosts, recalls Hammond. “He got to the heart of the Koreans and how they felt, and how they thought, in a way that I'm not sure I ever will,” he said. UN sanctionsHowever, Hammond realised he’d been “naïve” about how difficult it would be to collaborate with North Korea, which was sanctioned far more heavily than Eritrea. “We didn’t fully appreciate the all-encompassing nature of restrictions,” he said. In 2016, as tensions escalated over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests, a United Nations resolution banned all joint scientific work with North Korea. However, the UN sanctions did allow countries to request carve outs, and the UK successfully requested an exemption for Hammond’s work. Related articlesEU pushes for joint science diplomacy, but care needed to avoid gridlock, experts sayRussia severs its last ties with German scienceAnchor Greenlanders in Arctic climate research, experts tell EU ahead of policy updateExport controls have also delayed Hammond’s work. In one case, it took 18 months to get approval from the UK government to take seismometers, which measure earthquakes, to North Korea. “It was frustrating,” he said. “But they didn’t just say no.” However, one instrument, called an induction coil, used to measure how the earth conducts electricity, was blocked entirely because it can in theory be used to detect submarines. Karaoke bondingSince the collaboration started in 2011, Hammond has visited the country around 15 times, although the pandemic closed off North Korea for more than five years. A trip last November was Hammond’s first since the outbreak. Despite this lengthy interlude, Hammond has deep bonds in the country. The North Korean scientists Hammond works with are somewhat isolated, as they struggle to access the latest research papers and travel to international conferences. That said, they are “excellent geophysicists” and are “very well trained in the field,” he said. Over karaoke and chats about their families, “we’ve made friendships, for sure,” he said. The authorities have to sign-off things like the placement of seismometers, for example, but Hammond said these requests have been approved. “Everything that we've asked for within a scientific context has been delivered.”Scientific backchannels? These kind of personal links between scientists across political lines are one purported benefit of science diplomacy. During the Cold War, some historians argue, scientific contact between the US and Soviet Union laid a groundwork of trust for other cooperation, such as on arms control. Hammond agrees that backchannel contacts to North Korean geophysicists are hardly likely to defuse a military crisis on the Korean peninsula, but the simple fact of the scientific collaboration makes contacts between diplomats that little bit easier. “It creates opportunities to understand each other a little bit better,” he said. “When maybe you have those more difficult discussions as diplomats, it's coming from a slightly better place.” Cutting tiesDrawing lessons from the Mount Paektu mission for today’s links with Russian science isn’t simple. The analogy is far from exact, Hammond said, “because one is essentially a Cold War, versus a pretty hot war in the case of Russia.” But Hammond’s broader argument is that the challenges we face, such as climate change, pandemics, biodiversity loss, pollution and so on, have globalised in an unprecedented way, making blanket shutdowns in collaboration with any country unwise.He’s somewhat critical of the UN scientific sanctions imposed on North Korea in 2016, even though they did allow for exceptions. “I think a blanket halt to some of these things, when we face big global challenges [. . .] that’s quite a risky thing to do,” he said.Institutional endorsement?European academics are still by and large free to work individually with Russian counterparts. However, official, institutional partnerships have largely ended. Shortly following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian university rectors wrote a public letter endorsing the war, meaning European universities fear official collaboration could also be seen as a kind of endorsement. Hammond acknowledges there is a risk of legitimising regimes, and state-controlled universities, through scientific cooperation. “That’s the trade off you have to make,” he said. Strategic projectsWith Russia, instead of giving a green light to restart all Arctic science, a middle ground might be firing up a few carefully selected “strategic” projects, said Hammond. After all, European countries are still collaborating with Russia on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, an experimental nuclear fusion plant in the south of France. However, even if Europe did try to revive Arctic science with Russia, there’s no guarantee Russian scientists would play ball. A series of high-profile arrests of physicists in Russia accused of sharing their findings with the outside world has made collaboration fraught. Even before the invasion of 2022, “the Russian regime made it increasingly difficult, and this sort of discouraged people,” Dag Rune Olsen, rector of the Arctic University of Norway, told Science|Business last year.
What California’s Next Governor Needs to Know about Health Care
Rising costs, an aging population, and the specter of major federal funding cuts are among the challenges the next governor will face.
An extinct human species made surprisingly creative butchery tools
Our cousins ‘Homo juluensis’ knew how to adapt in the face of an ice age.