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Beyond hours saved: Building the business case for agentic automation
The RPA-era ROI model misses most of the value agentic automation creates. This post gives AI center of excellence leaders a framework to size the full value of agents across time savings, exception handling, decision quality, and maintenance economics, and to prioritize which workflows to automate first.
Build apps, workflows, and agents together | New in Copilot Studio, September 2026
Explore September 2026 Copilot Studio updates that bring apps, workflows, and AI agents together in one place to transform business processes.
Hyundai and UCI Health Continue Collaboration to Advance Child Passenger Safety in Southern California
/PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America and UCI Health are building on their commitment to child passenger safety by expanding access to education, inspections,...
UC Health, HealthSource of Ohio opening Batavia facility
The building will help expand primary and specialized health services to Clermont County, eastern Greater Cincinnati and other communities.
Google experiments with an AI-powered gaming platform
Google Labs is working on a new AI-powered game-creation platform called Playground for users to build browser-based games using simple text prompts.
Why Charlie Kirk Didn’t Build a ‘MoveOn of the Left’
The Turning Point USA founder's obituaries invoked his desire to build a conservative MoveOn. What he built instead is revealing about the structure, strategies, and outcomes of political advocacy organizations.
Devers Emerges as Giants’ Building Block After Lost Year
Amid a dismal 97-loss season, Rafael Devers proved his resilience by clobbering 37 home runs through injury, cementing his status as the cornerstone of the San Francisco Giants.
Beyond the Science: Building infrastructure for Maryland’s e...
Maryland’s quantum ambitions depend on more than research: an inclusive ecosystem of legal, policy and business support could shape who benefits from its growth...
The Business Case For SEO Is Changing; Budget Justifications Should Too
Build an SEO budget around revenue growth, revenue protection, shared infrastructure, and AI experiments to justify spending beyond organic traffic.
Journalism is serious business. That doesn’t mean it can’t be funny.
5 reasons humor (and memes) can help journalists inform audiences, build community and cut through the noise
To the top of the tower
From the top floor of the 515 Walnut Tower you can see the Des Moines metro roll out in front of you, the views cutting through even the darkest and gloomiest fall mornings. The Business Record toured the 33-story high-rise residential building on Wednesday, Sept. 30, riding the yellow freight elevator up the side of…
Ankeny council approves agreement for Accumold expansion; groundbreaking today
The Ankeny City Council has approved the development agreement with Accumold for the company’s expansion of its facility in Ankeny. Accumold, which makes small plastic parts for the medical, microelectronics, and optics industries, plans to build a 50,000-square-foot addition to its campus at 1711 SE Oralabor Road. Company officials have said the expansion, the second…
Starkville considers pausing development of car maintenance businesses
Recent concern around the density of gas stations, car washes and other vehicle repair and maintenance businesses in the city has prompted the board of aldermen to consider temporarily pausing new builds or site redevelopments.
UM Health-West introduces new security measures
UM Health-West has expanded its safety measures with the help of a new wearable device used to alert the building to security threats. It’s called Canopy Protect, and hospital leaders say they’ve already seen safety improvements since implementing the device about two weeks ago.
‘A tsunami and an earthquake’: Rural health care braces for Medicaid cuts
North Shore Health and other health care providers are bracing for the effects of H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Changes to Medicaid from the new law are being phased in over several years, with some provisions extending into 2028. In Minnesota, however, some eligibility restrictions took effect Oct. 1....
$4.6 Million Construction Permit Issued for Upcoming 49,000 SF Round1 Entertainment Venue
Round1 Bowling & Arcade has received a permit valued at $4.6 million to build its upcoming location at Westfield Wheaton. The nearly 49,000 SF entertainment venue will transform the former […]
Ben Gleib built a late-night show in his house — he’s not the only comedian going DIY
Ben Gleib’s DIY late-night show reflects how comedians are using YouTube and social media to build audiences and create on their own terms.
The moderate money network quietly reshaping Utah Republican politics
A surprising coalition is building a new campaign engine at the local level. Who’s behind it?
Rockies Rotation Facing Another Overhaul This Offseason
While the Colorado Rockies have certainly had some lean years offensively in recent seasons, the main issue has consistently been the Rockies' rotation. During the course of this extended rebuild, the Rockies were routinely one or two injuries to the starting rotation away from disaster. Resulting in a lot of innings that had to be …
Your Business Should Make You Wealthy, Not Just Keep You Busy
Build a business that creates wealth, not just work. Learn how to turn profits, cash flow and business value into long-term personal wealth.
NFA test scores dip, but 91% of freshmen stay on track to graduate
NFA's performance index for the 2025-2026 school year is lower than the state average but comparable or better than nearby larger high schools.
Nomura Asset counting on Japanese market enthusiasm to expand global business
The asset management arm of Nomura Holdings is capitalising on rising investor interest in Japanese assets to attract new customers and build out its global operations, its chief executive said.
Nomura Asset counting on Japanese market enthusiasm to expand global business
The asset management arm of Nomura Holdings is capitalising on rising investor interest in Japanese assets to attract new customers and build out its global operations, its chief executive said.
Nomura Asset counting on Japanese market enthusiasm to expand global business
By Anton Bridge and Miho Uranaka TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The asset management arm of Nomura Holdings is capitalising on rising investor interest in Japanese assets to attract new customers and build out its global operations, its chief executive said...
AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Shares Just Moved, So What Is Driving Attention Now?
AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) has just refinanced about $3.97b of existing borrowings, rolling them into new first and second lien facilities and notes that run out to 2031 and beyond. The refinancing arrives after a volatile stretch for AMC Entertainment Holdings, with the share price at $2.95 and a 90-day share price return of 54.45%, alongside an 83.23% year-to-date gain that points to building short-term momentum, despite a weaker 3-year total shareholder return of 70.26% and a 5-year...
Calista Initiative builds curiosity using hands-on science
Founder says program lets kids explore water science for themselves
Calista Initiative builds curiosity using hands-on science
Founder says program lets kids explore water science for themselves
‘Like a horror movie’: Broughton spa owner describes fire that left business in ‘total loss’ state
Savannah Fire responded a little after 3 a.m. last Thursday to the flames. The smell of smoke still infiltrates the building, which stretches from Levy Jewelers to Broughton Liquor.
TSU students return to Science Building, report persistent mold smells and safety concerns
Students at Texas Southern University were allowed back inside the Science Building after mold, condensation, and air quality issues forced the facility to shut down for nearly two months.
TSU Science Building reopens amid mold concerns
Texas Southern University has reopened its science building after mold issues, but students voice ongoing concerns about air quality and health risks. FOX 26's Sakura Gray has the latest.
Islamic Development Bank and Global Fund Strengthen Partnership to Advance Sustainable Health Financing
GENEVA/JEDDAH – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) signed on 6 October a new Partnership Agreement to strengthen collaboration and accelerate investments in health across low- and middle-income countries. The agreement, which marks a new chapter in a long-standing relationship, establishes a framework for aligning investments and coordinating financing, mobilizing additional resources, and supporting country-led efforts to build…
COA cuts ribbon at health science building
College of The Albemarle officially opened its new Regional Health Sciences Center, a 60,000-square-foot simulated hospital, with a grand opening and ribbon cutting that drew dozens of guests, elected officials
Concerns over water amid push to build Constitution Pipeline
The project is a 125-mile, 30-inch natural gas pipeline designed to run from Pennsylvania’s fracking fields through New York counties to connect with regional networks.
Concerns over water amid push to build Constitution Pipeline
The project is a 125-mile, 30-inch natural gas pipeline designed to run from Pennsylvania’s fracking fields through New York counties to connect with regional networks.
Concerns over water amid push to build Constitution Pipeline
The project is a 125-mile, 30-inch natural gas pipeline designed to run from Pennsylvania’s fracking fields through New York counties to connect with regional networks.
Concerns over water amid push to build Constitution Pipeline
The project is a 125-mile, 30-inch natural gas pipeline designed to run from Pennsylvania’s fracking fields through New York counties to connect with regional networks.
Onondaga County Legislature passes 2027 county budget
The approved budget totals nearly $1.7 billion.
Purdue Polytechnic assistant dean publishes book on creative teamwork in themed entertainment
A new book coauthored by Chris Rogers, assistant dean of Purdue Polytechnic in Indianapolis, has just been published. The new title explores how cross-disciplinary teams build world-class themed entertainment experiences.
MNUFC, Allina Health and the Sanneh Foundation Team Up to Address Food Insecurity with Meal Kit Initiative
Meal kit program launched to build connection between nutrition education and lifelong well-being
UNC Health building a new medical campus near Research Triangle Park
The campus will eventually have a 152-bed community hospital in Durham off N.C. 55, just outside Wake County, Cary and RTP.
Local Farms and Food Businesses Receive Nearly $500,000 in Grants to Help Make Metro Chicago Food System More Equitable - Cook County Department of Public Health
Today, Cook County Department of Public Health launched Building Healthier Communities 2030, suburban Cook County’s Community Health Improvement Plan. The plan was announced together with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Department of Public Health, community organizations, healthcare providers and cross-sector partners. Building Healthier Communities 2030 serves as both a collective vision and a practical roadmap that will guide public health efforts across suburban Cook County through 2030.The plan aligns with President Preckwinkle's Policy Roadmap and reflects a shared commitment to advancing health equity through coordinated, community-informed action.
Local Farms and Food Businesses Receive Nearly $500,000 in Grants to Help Make Metro Chicago Food System More Equitable - Cook County Department of Public Health
Today, Cook County Department of Public Health launched Building Healthier Communities 2030, suburban Cook County’s Community Health Improvement Plan. The plan was announced together with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Department of Public Health, community organizations, healthcare providers and cross-sector partners. Building Healthier Communities 2030 serves as both a collective vision and a practical roadmap that will guide public health efforts across suburban Cook County through 2030.The plan aligns with President Preckwinkle's Policy Roadmap and reflects a shared commitment to advancing health equity through coordinated, community-informed action.
UNC Health Begins Construction of West Cary Campus
A medical office building and parking deck will open in 2028, followed by a hospital in 2032.
New Mexico behavioral health committee meets goal of approving all 13 regional health plans
The committee overseeing New Mexico's efforts to rebuild behavioral health infrastructure hit a milestone by approving all 13 regional plans.
2026 October Pixel Update Available for Your Pixel Phone
Google released the October Pixel update today to all of their still-supported Pixel phones. We have new builds for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro up through the new Pixel 11 series. The update arrives under a global build, as well as a Softbank specific build. For most of you, the global build is...
Meta joins with group of companies to tame ‘chaos’ of doing business with AI bots
Meta and OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor’s startup Sierra are building a set of tech standards to make it easier to do business with AI bots.
Study: How GLP-1 meds used to treat sleep apnea may affect oral health
“We need to understand how these medications affect the mouth so we can identify potential problems early and make sure patients receive comprehensive care.”
Meet the former MMA fighter building his business in Prince William County
On Sept. 1, a retired mixed martial arts fighter strode into board chambers at the Prince William County government center complex in Woodbridge. This time, he was seeking a different kind of knockout.
Why the CIO role is increasingly more about business than technology
The Trump administration and Anduril Industries unveiled plans Tuesday for a new “software-defined” shipyard that will help build attack submarines for the Navy
AI founders for hire: Startup hub Foundations launches service to connect businesses with builders
Foundations Design and Engineering is meant in part to give founders a new way to fund their companies as early-stage investment gets harder to raise. Prices and the share of each contract that Foundations will keep are still being worked out.
Marion County health inspectors find dripping sewage during inspection
Marion County health inspectors find improper sewage disposal, workers incorrectly wearing gloves and buildup of grease during inspections.
From Building Homes to Building Hope: Larry and Heidi Canraelli Commit $50 Million to Intermountain Health Nevada Children’s Hospital
LAS VEGAS — Intermountain Healthcare Foundation today announced a remarkable $50 million commitment from Larry and Heidi Canarelli to help bring Nevada's first comprehensive, stand-alone children's hospital closer to reality. This gift advances Intermountain Health's Nevada Campaign for Kids, expanding access to specialized pediatric care clos...
Auburn Basketball Faces Key Early Tests
Auburn basketball's opening games will serve as an early indicator of just how good this team can be. As players become more familiar with their roles, Auburn will have the chance to build confidence and team identity while also finding ways to grow. Even though early results do not matter as much as conference play, …
Meet the former MMA fighter building his business in Prince William County
Ever the family man, Woodbridge resident and small business owner Elder Ramos, 42, attended Forest Park High School and now runs HaiJoe Stamped Concrete Patios & Decks. The company fell under the purview of the “Haijoe Property” rezoning that came before the board Sept. 1.
Re:Build Expanding Operations in York County
Re:Build, an integrated engineering and manufacturing company, announced plans to expand its advanced composites manufacturing operations in York County. The company’s approximately $20 million investment will create 150 skilled manufacturing and...
Brazil: Lessons from a Disaster
By Antonio Martins (Outras Palavras) Defeats become deeper and more prolonged when we misunderstand what caused them, avoid correcting course, and embrace “solutions” that only compound our mistakes. Lula’s government and the Brazilian left suffered a disaster in Sunday’s election. Contrary to every poll, the president finished the first round 2.2 million votes behind Flávio Bolsonaro—and, more significantly, 3.4 million votes below his total four years ago, when the machinery of the state was working against him and in favor of his opponent. His vote share declined in 98 percent of Brazil’s municipalities. The PL, the main party of the far right, elected 121 deputies and 28 senators, becoming the largest caucus in both houses of Congress. The parties aligned with the Centrão—Brazil’s bloc of transactional center-right parties—were somewhat diminished, but will still hold roughly 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. That will make it easier to assemble the majorities needed to amend the Constitution or impeach Supreme Federal Court justices. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro could appoint four members of the Court, substantially altering its internal balance of power. What produced these results? How can the far right be prevented from consolidating them into a prolonged political hegemony? And what is the essential change of direction the left now needs? Explaining the Disaster Across the commercial media and the exuberant chaos of digital platforms, interpretations are multiplying. Some focus on specific episodes: Lula’s absence from the Globo debate, his very close relationship with Alexandre de Moraes, or his emphasis on issues supposedly remote from most people’s everyday concerns, such as rare earth minerals. Among the more systemic interpretations, three seem especially questionable. One argues that the principal defeat was not the left’s, since its congressional representation declined only slightly. The decisive movement captured at the ballot box, according to this view, was a shift within the right itself—from the more moderate and transactional forces of the Centrão toward the more ideological and radicalized forces of the PL and Novo. A second interpretation holds that the nature of electoral and political processes has changed. The material interests and aspirations of society, it argues, no longer play the central role they once did; they have given way to forms of subjective self-identification that the left has yet to understand. And a third concludes that, because of these two developments, we should expect a political winter: a prolonged period in which the far right and the broader right dominate Brazilian political life. There are important elements in all three interpretations. The problem lies in what they deny or leave out: Lula’s third government was a small-bore government. It offered the majorities that elected it neither a clearly better life nor reasons to believe again in politics and its power to transform society. These failures flowed from two fatal accommodations, which I will examine below. As a result, the government suffered a slow but steady erosion of support. And, as has happened in so many Western countries, it gave the far right the opportunity to present itself as anti-system and to benefit from popular frustration and distress. The interpretation that emphasizes the migration of votes from the center-right and traditional right toward the far right has been advanced, among others, by the courageous journalist Leonardo Sakamoto. In his UOL column on Monday, October 5, he highlights the miserable behavior of the traditional conservative parties. Over the past four years, they repeatedly joined forces with the “neo”-fascists, helping to “normalize” them—a criticism that could equally be directed at almost the entire corporate media. Believing they could use the far right as a stepping stone, they instead ended up partly devoured by it. This was especially true in the Senate, where the PL’s gain of 13 senators and Novo’s gain of two came at the expense of the PSD, which lost nine; the MDB, which lost two; the PSDB, which lost two; and the PP, which lost one. Sakamoto’s observation is accurate and necessary, but it leaves uncomfortable questions unanswered. Why did the erosion of the Centrão benefit the far right rather than, for example, producing growth for the left—as has happened so many times before, both in Brazil and elsewhere? The answer is not difficult. Throughout its four years in office, Lula’s third government was almost invariably associated with the Centrão. Here lies its first accommodation: accepting the limits imposed by conservative institutions; avoiding, as much as possible, any attempt to strain those limits through popular pressure; and believing only in the modest changes that could be squeezed through openings in Congress. The failure of the campaign to end the six-day workweek is emblematic. Lula could have electrified the presidential race by pairing it with a popular campaign for passage of the measure. Instead, he chose to place his hopes in the hands of Senate president Rodrigo Alcolumbre. He generated no mass mobilization, did not force his opponents onto an uncomfortable defensive, and won no victory. In September 2025, the government squandered the greatest of its many opportunities to shake up conservative power in Congress. Popular opposition to the so-called Shielding Amendment—which, if approved, would have restricted criminal proceedings against members of Congress—brought crowds into the streets, mobilized primarily by artists and social movements. This opened the possibility for a broader political education: a campaign that could begin exposing the limits and dysfunctions of Brazil’s political system while putting Bolsonaro’s movement on the defensive for its predictable support of political privilege. The amendment was defeated. But the executive branch then backed away from the fight. It remained associated with an institutional world widely seen as corrupt, elitist, and indifferent to ordinary people’s struggles. In doing so, it forfeited its credibility as a vehicle for the protest vote. On Sunday, it reaped the bitter fruits. Are We Doomed? Taking a different approach from Sakamoto, the philosopher Moysés Pinto Neto and other writers have drawn attention, in their first analyses of October 4, to the fragmentation of the public sphere produced by Big Tech platforms. Through their algorithms, these platforms present each person with a different view of social reality. As a consequence, it becomes much harder to identify common material problems and demands—for example, the fight for labor rights or for a properly funded public health system. Voters no longer embrace such demands, these authors argue, because they no longer see themselves as part of a collective. Instead, they tend to value the identities assigned to them by neoliberal subjectivity—the role of the entrepreneur, for example. On this interpretation, the left’s possible error lies in clinging to outdated illusions. Moysés’s warning is highly relevant and resonates with arguments such as Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s “Apocalyptic Fascism and the Billionaires’ Bet.” Unlike a century ago, the far right no longer promises a radiant future. It concentrates instead on resentment—especially that of young men. “They belong to a generation that fears it may never own a home, but compensates with the pleasure it gets from constantly provoking progressives online. Convinced their future has been stolen, they share memes romanticizing historical authoritarian regimes,” the authors write. But Moysés seems to confuse this danger with inevitability. He fails to see that the left’s answer cannot be adaptation. On the contrary, it must strengthen the possibility of politics as collective action. Nor does he recognize that precisely such a reversal is already becoming possible in some of the most promising mobilizations of the twenty-first century: the election, at the end of 2025, of the young Muslim Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, on a platform centered on the intensely material fight for an affordable city; the Left Party’s victory in Berlin two weeks ago, built around the demand to expropriate private real-estate corporations; and the very recent wave of demonstrations in Spain—including an occupation of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol—in which tens of thousands of young people mobilized by the Tenants’ Union have demanded limits on rents. By putting itself in the straitjacket of the “fiscal framework” in the first months of 2022, Lula’s third government adopted the second fatal accommodation of its term. Faced with conservative institutions and a country devastated by four years of Bolsonaro, increased public investment was the government’s remaining weapon for offering a more dignified life to the majority and forging an anti-conservative pact with them. The same state that disburses 1 trillion reais a year to enrich a small class of rentiers could instead spend money to extend the Family Health Strategy to every Brazilian, at a cost of 30 billion reais; provide full-day public schooling and childcare to all adolescents and children—and, especially, relief to their mothers; achieve universal sanitation while cleaning up polluted urban rivers; multiply metro systems; begin transforming the urban peripheries; and undertake many other urgently needed projects. In April 2023, an article in Outras Palavras warned that the fiscal framework could “shrink the Lula government and preserve the forces that condemn the country to inequality and regression.” A year later, another article showed that restraints on public spending were strangling policies vital to ordinary people and undermining the president’s popularity. In November 2024 came a reality check, in the form of the government’s humiliating defeat in the municipal elections. Even then, the fiscal lock was neither removed nor loosened. On the contrary: throughout the government’s four years, fiscal restraint remained central to its political narrative. The administration proudly proclaimed that it had “put the state’s accounts in order,” without grasping either how misleading that phrase was—given the payment of 1 trillion reais in interest—or how badly the message was hurting it politically. Lula finally woke up in September 2026. The increase in Bolsa Família benefits, after four years of being frozen; the announcement that anti-obesity drugs would be offered through Brazil’s public health system; and the ban on online betting showed that the state has the power to act decisively on behalf of the majority when those in government are willing to confront obstacles. The huge marches that closed the campaign in Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo on the eve of October 4 showed how such initiatives can mobilize activists and the broader public. But it was too late—and too little to change the outcome of the first round. History has not ended The possibility of a turnaround in the three weeks leading up to November 25 cannot be ruled out. It will not be simple or easy. Lula must not only make up a deficit of 2.2 million votes; he must also offset the movement of voters who backed other right-wing candidates in the first round, most of whom are likely to move toward Flávio Bolsonaro. Pulling that off will require a broad, grassroots effort to win over voters, potentially reinforced by new initiatives from Lula. The coming hours and days will be decisive. If Bolsonaro’s movement also wins the presidency, the result will create a high-risk situation for Brazilian sovereignty and democracy. The enormous challenges posed by such an outcome would require the left to reexamine, in depth and with a genuine willingness to engage in self-criticism, its political projects—or its lack of them—and its practices. But would that mean we are condemned to the long winter of far-right hegemony that some analyses are beginning to forecast? It is far too early to say, suggests a recent text by Álvaro García Linera, the thinker who served as vice president of Bolivia under Evo Morales. His central hypothesis is that this political current will prove short-lived. At a moment when the entire world is once again talking about sovereignty and protecting national economies, the far right offers a stale, recolonizing neoliberalism. Its submission to the United States is as blatant and pathetic as Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro’s overtures to Donald Trump. Its project amounts to something like every man for himself: greater inequality, capitalism without limits, devastation, and supremacism. Will it work? In the United States, just two years into his second term, Trump himself is reaching record levels of unpopularity and may be on the verge of losing Republican control of both the House and Senate in November. Every new beginning is difficult. Whatever the outcome of the second round, the defeats of October 4 show how profoundly the Brazilian left will have to rethink and rebuild. But just as it would be foolish to underestimate the seriousness of its mistakes, it would be equally foolish to conclude that rebuilding a political project is no longer possible. History has not ended. The times are moving faster than ever. Originally published in Portuguese by Outras Palavras. English translation by Eric Blanc; I’ve added the subtitles. More We can’t stop the far right at home or abroad without a revitalized labor movement, which is yet another reason why you should become a sustaining supporter of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) — one of US labor’s pivotal bright spots. Relatedly, Jacobin published a short piece of mine reflecting on a decade of Bernie Sanders inspiring a whole new generation of young worker organizers.
Historic Kress building set for new entertainment hub in El Paso
Take a first look inside the transformation of the historic Kress building.
Historic Kress building set for new entertainment hub in El Paso
Take a first look inside the transformation of the historic Kress building.
Scientists finally understand why Antarctica froze long before the Arctic - Futura-Sciences
The research shows that the creation of an escarpment, plateau, and mountain region in East Antarctica produced the high terrain needed for snow and ice to build up. The process began when Antarctica and Africa started pulling apart during the Jurassic Period, between 201 and 143 million years ago. Powerful...
Business Strategy: Oklahoma aerospace is entering its next chapter
Kenton Tsoodle argues Oklahoma can build on its aerospace legacy as autonomous aircraft, advanced air mobility and other technologies reshape the industry.
Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 injured in the 2009 shooting at a a medical building
Danbury office building sells for $3.9M
A 92,319-square-foot office building in Danbury has sold for $3.9 million, according to land records.
Tasveer Film Center finding success with movie theater, film festival
Seattle's Tasveer Film Center is finding success after purchasing the building housing the former Ark Lodge Cinemas, and is about to launch the 21st year of its prestigious film festival.
SKYBOXE Enters Reseller Partnership to Offer Verizon Business Data Plans to Business Customers
SKYBOXE®, a 5G fixed wireless internet company built for the way people work, build, and stay connected today, announced that it has entered into a reseller partnership that enables SKYBOXE to offer Verizon Business data plans to qualified business customers across the United States.
Box truck slams through the side of Ambridge distribution business
Photos from the scene show heavy damage to the building and the truck.
How healthcare can build a human-in-command approach to AI
Healthcare AI needs human oversight. Risk-based safeguards, meaningful authority and continuous requalification can help build a human-in-command model.
Healthy eating habits to support student success
Simple nutrition tips can help college students build healthy eating habits, maintain energy and support focus throughout the day.
Sun Life research reveals the ripple effect behind small business success
As Canada's small businesses navigate a rapidly changing business environment, new research from Sun Life shows that success is about more than growing revenue. It's about building resilience. When owners feel confident in their ability to weather challenges and plan for the future, they're more likely to invest in their employees, strengthen their businesses and create lasting impact for the people who depend on them. The findings align closely with how Sun Life supports small business owners,
3 names emerging as possible replacements for Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders’ future at Colorado is facing renewed scrutiny after the Buffaloes fell to 2-3. If the school eventually makes a coaching change, Dan Mullen, Willie Fritz and Jason Eck could emerge as possible candidates, offering different combinations of Power Four experience, program-building success and recent momentum.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Celebrates Aberdeen's Public Works Building, New Business Park
Past and present city officials gathered with numerous public works employees and state and local economic development officials to celebrate the start of
Tuesday ‘Dawg Bites Isn’t Anxious… Yet
Welcome to Tuesday, Bulldog fans! And it’s week 6… the halfway point of the regular season. At this juncture, I believe we all thought we’d know exactly where the 2026 Georgia team stood in the national conversation, because the team would have faced 2 lower division opponents, a rebuilding SEC team, an SEC team that […]
Lakers vs. Warriors Preview: Building off a strong start
After an impressive opener to the preseason, the Lakers are right back at it against the Warriors on Tuesday.
Salsa classes seek to spread Hispanic culture, boost campus life
The free weekly dance classes are at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building.
The Business Behind the Blooms
Natalie Noll ’26 is putting her economics degree to work as the founder of Nova Flora, using lessons in pricing, markets and operations to build her floral business.
Science starts at the dinner table: Building STEM connections with families
By inviting children, parents and grandparents to explore science together, a Hartford outreach program is helping families see research as part of everyday life.
Prince George’s Co. Council votes to advance billion-dollar entertainment venue project
The Prince George’s County Council voted 11-0 authorizing up to $215 million in special obligation bonds to help build the entertainment complex.
After FBI departure, Andrew Bailey says his focus is not on 2028
Andrew Bailey walked out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. Friday and was back in Missouri watching his son play football Saturday, ending a roughly 13-month stint as co-deputy director of the FBI.
1 killed, 2 injured when car crashes into Santa Fe Springs business
One person died and two people were injured when a car crashed into a business Monday afternoon in Santa Fe Springs. The crash was reported at about 2:30 p.m. near Telegraph Road and Slauson Avenue in the community about 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Details about what led to the crash into the front of the building, possible…
Oct. 8 talk to discuss building a new era of materials characterization
Pinshane Y. Huang, Racheff Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, will give the talk “Building a new era of atom-by-atom materials characterization with electron ptychography” at 3:05 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, in 10 Sparks Building on the University Park campus.
Jameson Electric Builds a Family Business Rooted in Prescott Community
Jameson Electric is more than a local electrical company. Jameson Electric Builds a Family Business Rooted in Prescott Community
Did New Science Board Just Shift BioCryst's (BCRX) Investment Narrative?
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals recently formed a seven-member Scientific Advisory Board made up of experienced rare disease and drug development leaders to guide its research, clinical plans and regulatory approach. The depth of this board, spanning big pharma R&D, AI driven drug discovery and rare disease commercialization, directly targets BioCryst’s execution risk as it builds a broader pipeline beyond its current portfolio. We will now examine how BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’ investment narrative...
Why I Don’t Think Ride Or Die Should Have Been Cancelled (And What Company Should Save It...)
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) So…I recently came across a Reddit thread, talking about films on streaming, wondering why there are no reliable sources out there for streaming ratings data. Sigh. Honestly, as annoyed as I am that so many still don’t realize that we have streaming ratings, I somewhat get it. Until now, there was such a long delay between when a show or film came to streaming and when we got its viewership data; I understand why people were confused. (But, as you know, this just changed.) Also, even back in the day, how many people knew how well films did on television? Luckily, as a reader, you’re in the know. Okay, on to this week’s issue. I want to take a look at Prime Video cancelling Ride or Die and whether I agree with that decision. Overall, we didn’t have any breakout hits (no TV shows landed over 20 million hours according to Nielsen) but we have a lot of steady performers on the streaming charts. Plus, we’ll look at where $50 million in missing box office dollars went. (Spoiler: straight-to-streaming.) All that, plus new episodes of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Supergirl heads to streaming, a new YA show does well on Netflix, the viewership for the Daily Wire’s $50 million fantasy show, what TV show hit-maker can’t make streaming hits, CD sales, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of September 7th to September 13th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Ride or Die Is a Hit…But It Got Cancelled? What The Data “Says” I hate the phrase “here’s what the data says”, even though sometimes I find myself using it. If data just told us everything, we data folks would be out of a job! Data is often messy, complicated and nuanced. When it comes to strategy, many of the best decisions can’t actually use “data”, since it’s vastly too complicated to model. Anyways, I’ve been singing the praises of Prime Video’s Ride Or Die this summer, a show that did very well for them. And yet…it got cancelled. Now, usually when a show gets cancelled, a bunch of websites say “a hit show got cancelled”... Here’s the thing, though: in this case, they’re right! The data “says” that this show was a hit. Specifically, out of 522 first seasons to make a week on the Nielsen charts since 2020, it’s the 75th biggest. On Amazon, Ride or Die is eighth out of 41 first seasons: That’s top 15th percentile all time, almost exactly, which is my definition of a “hit”! I mean, outside of Reacher, Amazon needed a hit this summer! (Admittedly, Off Campus did well for Amazon in the spring, but Ride or Die performed even better.) So what happened? Why did Amazon cancel one of their rare 2026 bright spots? Well, Deadline reported a reason—which I’ll get to—but I’d break it down into three relevant questions: What is a given streamer’s reasoning? Is that reasoning sound? Could the stated reason not be the real reason? According to Deadline, Amazon felt the show “over-indexed” in middle-aged women. (This was based on leaks from within Amazon.) The logic is this: Amazon already reaches this demographic because of unlimited two-day shipping bundled with Prime, so they don’t really need more shows like this. Now, it’s my job to ask if that’s a good reason, and I’ll be honest, in this case, I don’t think it is. Sure, this show may “over-index” in middle-aged women—I’ll just assume that’s the case here—but I think folks often oversell how important over-indexing actually is. When a show is a “hit”, it isn’t a bit bigger than its rivals; it’s usually multiples bigger. For example, Elle only made the charts for two weeks at 8.3 million hours each. So Ride or Die was 80% bigger in its first two weeks, and likely had a much stronger hold, with its terrific 13 million hours in week three. Ride or Die was nearly three times bigger than Sterling Point through three weeks too. And that means that _Elle, Sterling Point a_nd other Amazon YA shows need to not just over-index a little with younger women (assuming that’s who Amazon prefers over middle-aged women), but massively over-index. Otherwise, more people in that demo (and a bunch more besides) likely watched Ride or Die. (I’ll try to explore this concept more in a future article.) And don’t get me started on how Ride or Die did compared to a certain (very, very popular, possibly the world’s most popular) YouTuber’s reality show…which didn’t make the charts after its first week and likely cost much, much more than Ride or Die. All to say, Amazon-MGM Studios/Prime Video can tell reporters that this show didn’t reach the right audience, but that excuse feels weak to me. So this leads to the third question: could other reasons have come into play? Yes! Renewal or cancellation decisions rarely (I’m tempted to say “never”) boil down to one variable. At its simplest, it’s two things: budget versus viewership. But often factors like critical acclaim, ownership and, yes, personal opinion come into play. In this case, Amazon has a new executive running things, and this show isn’t owned by Amazon-MGM Studios (unlike Elle). And yes, it may not have indexed with the right target viewers, too. Likely all of those factors came into play.1 My guess is ownership ended up mattering most. Amazon doesn’t own Ride or Die. It’s actually produced by another major studio. Fortunately/allegedly, this show is being shopped around. I can think of one brand new CEO who should consider it for one of his two major streamers…especially if he wants to rebuild goodwill in Hollywood. His name is on this list of exec producers of Ride or Die… If David Ellison needs some goodwill—and he does—rescue this female-led show tomorrow and grab some good headlines for a day. The data justifies it. Quick Notes on TV We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… How The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives latest season did on Hulu, post-controversy... Whether Supergirl soared on HBO Max... Why the box office is losing money due to the streamers... The viewership for the Daily Wire’s $50 million fantasy show... Updates on The Gentlemen, Lanterns, Outer Banks, King of the Hill and more... What former hit-maker has three streaming flops in a row... Whether The Mandalorian and Grogu popped in week two... All the flops, bombs and misses... And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Oh man, we’re almost caught up! We just have two more issues, then the streaming Ratings Report will be coming out just two weeks after a TV show premieres! Next issue, I’ll be looking at the first two weeks of the NFL Thursday night games on streaming, a huge new spinoff, Reacher’s Neagly on Prime Video, and the latest edition of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix, the return of Slow Horses on Apple and MobLand (quietly one of their biggest shows) on Paramount+, and Dancing with the Stars on both ABC and Disney+. Plus I’ll take a look at animation for adults in 2026. The week after, a ton of movies are coming to streaming: Toy Story 5 on Disney+, Backrooms on HBO Max, Jackass: Best and Last on Paramount+ and The Breadwinner on Netflix, plus a Unabomber film on Netflix and a romcom on Prime Video. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey have a show on Apple, along with a game show inspired by Willy Wonka that everyone seems to hate. Long term, some crazy (but hopefully crazy like a fox) IP news. FX ordered a new Sons of Anarchy show from Charlie Hunnam, but it’s not about the biker gang. No, it features the show’s cast playing themselves in a new “meta-thriller”. Huh. And a lot of the cast is coming back. Next, Ryan Gosling is producing a Flintstones movie about a “grown-up Bamm-Bamm Rubble”. Also, huh. This one is in “early development” so we’ll see what happens. Both projects are based on IP, but also seem to have crazy takes on the IP, which I like.
Bladen Community College to host “So You Want to Start a Small Business” class and preview Pitch It Bladen 2027
The Small Business Center at Bladen Community College invites aspiring entrepreneurs to attend “So You Want to Start a Small Business” on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Building 14, Room 104. This class will help participants explore what it takes to become an entrepreneur and take the first steps toward turning a business idea into reality.Participants will explore the entrepreneurial mindset and consider whether they have the interests, characteristics, motivation and willingness to take on the challenges of business ownership. The class will encourage attendees to examine their personal goals, expectations, strengths and readiness to pursue entrepreneurship.Attendees will also gain insight into the realities of starting and operating a small business, including the commitment, planning, decision-making and perseverance required to build a successful venture. Whether participants are just beginning to consider business ownership or already have an idea they want to pursue, this class will provide a foundation for determining their next steps.In addition to the class instruction, attendees will receive advance information about the upcoming Pitch It Bladen 2027 Business Competition, including the application form and details about the program. Individuals who are ready to move forward may submit their applications early and have the opportunity to receive advance acceptance into the program.Pitch It Bladen helps aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs develop their business ideas through structured instruction in business planning, financial management, cash-flow projections, marketing and operations. Participants work toward completing a business plan and preparing a business pitch, with the opportunity to compete for cash prizes.Last year's Pitch It Bladen program demonstrated the value of investing in local entrepreneurs by helping participants strengthen their business knowledge, develop their business plans and prepare to present their ideas. The competition showcased the creativity and potential of Bladen County's small-business community and provided participants with practical tools to move their business goals forward.Building on that success, Pitch It Bladen 2027 will provide another opportunity for local entrepreneurs to gain knowledge, build confidence and take meaningful steps toward launching or growing a business.“The Small Business Center wants to help individuals make informed decisions about entrepreneurship before they take the leap into business ownership,” said Theresa Dennison, Small Business Center director, in a press release. “This class gives participants an opportunity to evaluate whether entrepreneurship is right for them while also introducing them to Pitch It Bladen 2027 and the resources available to help them succeed.”Registration: Visit www.ncsbc.net and search for the class by name, or contact the Small Business Center at 910-879-5572 for additional information.
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Yale School of Medicine On the Science of Childhood Anxiety, Say, Anxiety Disorders Are the Most Common Mental Health Challenges In Youth
Credit: Matt Bradbury October 5, 2026 - By Isabella Backman - Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health challenges in youth. Left untreated, they can disrupt the lives of both children and their families. The good news is that with intervention, most children will overcome these conditions. Across Yale School of Medicine, scientists are working to understand anxiety at every level, from common anxious behaviors to molecular biomarkers in the brain. They are using their findings to develop and disseminate new evidence-based treatments for childhood anxiety. Today, the go-to treatment for childhood anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a form of psychotherapy that teaches children skills for confronting anxious thoughts and helps them practice managing situations that cause anxiety. While it is the gold-standard treatment backed by considerable scientific evidence, up to 50% of children will not see sufficient benefit from CBT alone. Wendy Silverman, PhD, Alfred A. Messer Professor in the Child Study Center, co-directs the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program alongside Eli Lebowitz, PhD, associate professor in the Child Study Center. One of their main interests is learning how to improve outcomes beyond CBT. “We’re developing cutting-edge, research-based knowledge that can reduce the suffering that anxiety causes children and their families,” says Silverman. Changing parent behavior YSM experts are investigating how to improve CBT outcomes for children by involving the parents. Silverman’s research has uncovered two main components of parent intervention that improve childhood anxiety: not enabling children to completely avoid the things that make them anxious and taking steps to enhance their autonomy. Parents may unintentionally reinforce their child’s anxiety by allowing them to avoid what makes them anxious. They also may unintentionally limit the children’s sense of autonomy by being overly intrusive. “One of the things that we take pride in is that we’ve focused on trying to understand what parents need to do, and to test our ideas and see if changing the parents’ behaviors is enhancing the effects of CBT,” Silverman says. “Our findings thus far suggest that they do." As much as CBT can be helpful, it can also be challenging to get one’s child to do the necessary steps for CBT to work. This is one important reason why Lebowitz created a novel intervention program for parents named Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE). Existing intervention programs often teach parents to act as therapists for their child, such as training them on how to practice breathing exercises. “It makes sense, but this doesn’t work very well in practice,” says Lebowitz. “And part of the reason, I think, is that it’s not easy to get your kid to do things, especially if they’re not excited about doing it.” SPACE is unique because it focuses entirely on parent involvement and changing parental behavior—children are not involved in the sessions. For example, parents learn how to use supportive messages that convey confidence that their child can tolerate and manage distress. “It might sound like a parent saying to a child, ‘I get that this is really hard for you, but I know that you can handle it,’” Lebowitz says. The program also works with parents to identify the ways in which they are accommodating anxious behaviors. “We’ll pick one thing that parents are doing that is an accommodation and help them make a detailed plan for how they’re going to change that,” Lebowitz explains. Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents Much of the existing research on SPACE has focused on parents of children under age 14. Ongoing studies are now exploring its use with parents of older teens. “Both anxiety and accommodation can interfere with normative developmental shifts during the teen years, including increased autonomy and individuation from parents,” says Rebecca Etkin, PhD, associate research scientist in the Child Study Center. “In this sense, SPACE may be particularly well-suited for anxious teens and their parents. We want to see whether it is effective during this distinct developmental window.” Unfortunately, many families in need of CBT face barriers, including limited availability of services and geographic constraints. One way to improve access is digital interventions. Silverman and her team are developing an evidence-based digitized intervention program for parents that they can access directly from their computer or smart phone. “The work we’re doing will be one of the very few parent interventions that is digitized and importantly tested for effectiveness,” she says. Creating interventions for anxiety-related challenges Silverman and Lebowitz recently received a generous gift to develop and test other interventions that help parents reduce other child anxiety-related behavioral and emotional difficulties, such as restrictive eating and unexplained somatic symptoms. One of these projects in particular focuses on understanding the risks of social media and its potential benefits, including offering a sense of connection. “A lot of research has focused on the idea that social media is harmful and the less of it the better,” says Lebowitz. “But we actually see is that this is not quite right—there are negatives, but there are also positives. So, we’re trying to get a little bit more nuanced of a picture.” The team is working with teens with social anxiety and their parents over an extended period to better understand their social media habits and how their anxiety levels affect engagement with different platforms. The teens will answer questions sent to an app on their phones about mood and social media usage in an effort to capture emotional responses as they unfold. “We hope to develop interventions that can help make the best of social media while protecting against the more problematic effects,” Lebowitz says. The brain’s role in anxiety Researchers are also testing therapies to address anxiety at the neurological and molecular levels. In collaboration with Dylan Gee, PhD, professor of psychology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Hilary Blumberg, MD, John and Hope Furth Professor of Psychiatric Neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine, Lebowitz and Silverman are using brain imaging to identify changes in a child’s brain before and after parents enroll in SPACE. In one study, children viewed anxiety-inducing images while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); the researchers conducted scans with and without the children’s parents nearby. Before SPACE, children’s brains were better able to activate the regulatory circuitry needed to turn off an anxious response when their parents were nearby. But after SPACE, children could activate this circuitry even without the parent around. “As parents work on gradually reducing some of their accommodations, you can see a child get better at regulating their own fear system in the brain,” Lebowitz says. “It’s remarkable.” Research into the molecular underpinnings of anxiety can also inform new childhood anxiety treatments. In a recent study, Lebowitz, Silverman, and Flora Vaccarino, MD, Harris Professor in the Child Study Center, discovered that a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) could be protective from the toxic effects of stress. FGF2 levels in children and their parents were linked to the children’s risk of developing anxiety and depression, the study showed. The findings could help explain why some children who are exposed to early life trauma such as poverty or abuse are more prone to developing mental health disorders. And FGF2 could be a target for treatment. “This is very novel because it starts to give a clue to what is the molecular chain that connects those lived experiences to the actual psychological outcomes,” Lebowitz says. New ways to study and treat childhood anxiety Michael Crowley, PhD, associate professor in the Child Study Center, collaborates with Silverman and Lebowitz to study the role that attention plays in development and maintenance of childhood anxiety. There is a large body of research that shows that anxious children, like anxious adults, are prone to focus on threatening stimuli such as angry faces compared with neutral faces. This has led to innovative interventions that involve attention retraining. The idea is that if experts train children to look away from threatening stimuli, it may reduce their anxiety—especially children with social anxiety who are most prone to attend to threats. The researchers have just completed a clinical trial for attention retraining with 10- to 14-year-olds with social anxiety disorders and are currently analyzing the findings. Besides this innovative attention retraining research, as Crowly notes, “I like to design tasks that are engaging to kids,” Crowley says. “My goal is to assess something without the kids knowing what we are assessing.” With this goal in mind, Crowley has created a virtual game, named Boom, to study threat processing in children with anxiety disorders. The game is similar to that of hot potato—the child and three digital players take turns virtually passing a ball to each other’s gloves. At some point, the ball turns into a bomb, and as the bomb lands in each player’s glove, the outline of the glove turns yellow. The goal is to avoid having the bomb go off in your glove. What isn’t obvious is that the game is designed to measure different types of threatening stimuli, both ambiguous and direct. In the game, the direct threat occurs as the bomb is traveling towards your glove. The ambiguous threat is the yellow outlined glove as it is unknown where the bomb will travel next. While children play the game, Crowley’s team measures their brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). The researchers have discovered that in kids with anxiety, the brain reacts more strongly to ambiguous threats than it does in their peers, but less strongly to direct threats. They believe that the initial abnormally large brain response to not knowing where the bomb is going impairs the brain's ability to properly respond when the threat is actually traveling the child’s way. “The brains of children with anxiety are unable to differentiate between threats you need to do something about and those that are not your problem.” Michael Crowley, PhD, develops innovative games for studying anxiety in children and adolescents.Credit: Matt Bradbury Based on these insights, Crowley hopes to study whether interventions like attention training could restore appropriate threat processing. Crowley’s team is also working on a test called the Balloon Risk Avoidance Task, which evaluates risk-taking and avoidance behaviors. It features a digital balloon that is full of air and about to burst. Kids have six seconds to let air out of the balloon. The more air they let out, the less risk they face that the balloon will pop. But at the same time, the balloon becomes less valuable as it deflates. “The more air you keep in the balloon, the more points you get,” Crowley explains. So far, the researchers have found that when the balloons pop unexpectedly, teens with social anxiety show distinct brain responses. Studying these responses can help psychologists understand the underlying pathways driving the various manifestations of anxiety. The genetics of anxiety When Thomas Fernandez, MD, associate professor in the Child Study Center and of psychiatry, was still in training, there was a lot of excitement about understanding the genetics associated with autism spectrum disorder. Since then, scientists have identified around 250 genes associated with autism. The genetic contribution to anxiety disorders, on the other hand, has historically received less attention. Anxiety is less heritable than autism, but the genetic contribution for anxiety disorders that emerge in childhood may be higher than for anxiety disorders overall. While scientists estimate the heritability of anxiety disorders in general to be around 30% to 50%, some studies suggest higher heritability for certain childhood-onset anxiety presentations. “I saw firsthand how researchers in the field went about finding vulnerability genes for autism,” Fernandez says. “So, we’re using a very similar playbook for childhood anxiety.” “I saw firsthand how researchers in the field went about finding vulnerability genes for autism. So, we’re using a very similar playbook for childhood anxiety.” Thomas Fernandez, MD Associate Professor In the Child Study Center and in Psychiatry Now, Fernandez and Emily Olfson, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Child Study Center, are studying children and their parents to identify genetic changes that are present in the child but not the parents, known as “de novo mutations.” “All of us have some de novo mutations—maybe about 50 to 100 sprinkled throughout the genome,” Olfson says. “But when they occur within the coding regions of genes, they can be really disruptive.” Previous research shows that people with autism have higher rates of damaging de novo mutations than the general population. In 2022, Olfson, Lebowitz, Silverman, and Fernandez published a study on 68 children and their families that found that children with anxiety had similarly high levels of these mutations. Studying de novo mutations can help point the researchers to where they should be looking for genes associated with anxiety. “The end game is using the genes to steer us toward the right part of biology that we can then target to come up with better treatments,” Fernandez says. Building on those findings, the team is now studying more families to better understand how these de novo mutations, along with other genetic and environmental factors, shape pediatric anxiety disorders. They recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to enroll 750 new families over the next five years. Olfson is the principal investigator, with co-investigators Lebowitz, Fernandez, Silverman, and Shuangge Steven Ma, PhD, department chair and professor of biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health. Neurodevelopment, Risk Genes, and Mental Health Conditions - The Olfson Lab Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, is interested in how different anxiety disorders differ genomically. “We are studying social phobia, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, working to understand why people differ in their risk to these specific anxiety disorders and evaluating various risk factors,” he says. Gelernter was recently involved in one of the largest studies to date of the genomics underlying anxiety disorder. The study included around 122,000 people with anxiety disorders and around 730,000 without. It found that some genetic differences associated with anxiety were linked to signaling that helps reduce overactivity in the nervous system. Many anxiety medications available today work by targeting this process. “It’s nice when the biology that you get out of a large genome-wide study ratifies things that we already know because that can help increase confidence in further findings from the study,” Gelernter says. Uncovering the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders John Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Translational Research and chair of the Department of Psychiatry, is interested in the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of which anxiety is a major symptom. In the late 1980s, Krystal’s team discovered that the drug yohimbine activated symptoms in patients with PTSD. “This was the first time we could link a specific biological mechanism to the symptoms of PTSD,” Krystal says. At the time, he adds, this finding was highly controversial. “A lot of people felt that PTSD was a purely psychological syndrome that didn’t have an underlying biology.” Since then, Krystal has dived deep into understanding the neurobiology of PTSD to learn how to better treat it. His team is evaluating the use of ketamine and psychedelics. These would be among the first treatments to be developed specifically for PTSD. They may also be applicable for other disorders including anxiety disorders, Krystal adds. An important gap in PTSD treatment is the absence of biological tests that inform how to best help patients manage their PTSD symptoms. A doctor doesn’t diagnose cancer based on how they feel. Rather, they use tests of the biology of the cancer to determine the best course of treatment. “And we can’t do that in any psychiatric disorder other than Alzheimer’s disease,” Krystal says. “But now we are building a foundation for this approach to the treatment of anxiety disorders for the first time.” Source: Yale School of Medicine