SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " mean " 3,393 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
"Inter means family". The exclusive interview with Lothar Matthäus
"I am proud to be able to tell my kids and my friends that I played for this Club, that I was an Inter player." Those words perfectly capture the deep love and special bond Lothar Matthäus developed ...
Mental and Behavioral Health Profiles – Memorial Regional Hospital’s Outpatient Behavioral Health Center
Driven by a desire to make a lasting difference, Elizaveta “Liza” Houellemont, LMHC, chose a career in mental health to help people build healthier relationships with themselves and create more fulfilling lives. Working in substance use treatment, she finds the greatest reward in seeing patients commit to recovery and experience meaningful transformation. As a licensed […]
The Daily Mauling: 9/24/26
Kansas Jayhawks News Tre White seems to have an extra year of eligibility. Michael Swain if 247 writes about what it might mean for Kansas Speaking of guys from least year’s team wanting one more year of eligibility, here’s the latest on the Melvin Council, Jr Through the Phog writes that there’s a men’s basketball […]
Mary Means Business: Starkville: Jive Turkey turns temporary closure permanent at Eckford location
A temporary hiatus has officially turned permanent for a popular spot on Eckford Drive.
Things to do. Dwight Yoakam, Oktoberfest, Celtic Thunder, symphony
Autumn means fun things to do in the Canton area, including Oktoberfest downtown and in North Canton, as well as Dwight Yoakam at Palace Theatre.
Calling all current and future scientists: Kiel is the place to be this week
This week, Kiel has become a meeting place for science in Europe. Researchers, school pupils, young scientists and members of the public are coming together through a series of major events led or co-organised by Kiel University.At the centre of it all are around 150 of Europe’s most talented young researchers, aged 14 to 20, who have travelled to Kiel from nearly 40 countries for the 37th European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). Running from 22 to 27 September, the European Union’s flagship competition for young scientists brings together winners of national science competitions to present around 100 original research projects across fields ranging from engineering and computer science to medicine, environmental research and the social sciences. The winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony on Saturday.For Kiel University, hosting EUCYS is both an honour and a natural extension of a much longer story. Germany’s northernmost comprehensive university has invested for many years in supporting young scientific talent and bringing research into dialogue with society. The Kiel Science Factory gives school pupils opportunities to experience research first-hand, while programmes such as Rent-a-Scientist send researchers directly into local classrooms. Major annual public events including Kiel Week and the European Researchers’ Night take science beyond the campus through talks, exhibitions and hands-on activities.That long-standing commitment has increasingly taken on a European dimension – and this week, many of those efforts are coming together.One of the foundations for this success is the European Researchers’ Night (ERN), which celebrates its tenth edition in the Kiel region this year. The initiative is funded through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, with Kiel University developing the successful EU proposals and securing the funding, while regional partner KielRegion coordinates the many activities on the ground. Together with research institutions, schools, companies, local authorities and civil society, they have built ERN into a major platform for public engagement.Over the years, Kiel’s ERN programme has grown far beyond a single evening into a whole “Science Summer”, beginning with “Science Shopping” in spring and culminating tomorrow, 25 September, in Science Day.“We have developed a wide range of public engagement formats, often together with the other research institutions in the region, the city and regional authorities, schools, companies and civil society,” says Eckhard Quandt, Kiel University’s vice president for research, academic infrastructure and transfer. “Over the past decade, we have increasingly taken this commitment to the European level.”That combination of European funding expertise and strong regional partnerships also helped Kiel University take the next step. Drawing on its experience with ERN and its European networks, including the SEA-EU University Alliance, the university brought together Brest in France and Split in Croatia for a successful bid to the EU’s new Science Comes to Town initiative. Throughout 2026, the three cities are serving as Europe’s first Science Ambassadors, with more than one thousand activities bringing science into schools, public spaces, cultural venues and everyday life.EUCYS is perhaps the clearest example of how Kiel University is using Science Comes to Town to create new connections between major European initiatives. From the outset, the university deliberately planned the contest for the week of European Researchers’ Night and opened the EUCYS exhibition to the wider Science Day audience. Tomorrow, that means thousands of visitors can encounter the next generation of scientific talent first-hand, while the young researchers themselves gain a much bigger public stage.“Because we opened EUCYS up for European Researchers’ Night, there will be a lot of people actually visiting the exhibition,” says organiser Stefanie Altemark of Kiel University.“We wanted Europe’s most talented young scientists not only to compete with one another, but also to become visible to the wider public. At the same time, people in Kiel will have the opportunity to see what the next generation of scientists are already capable of,” says Quandt.“We’ve shown over the last years that science is a big part of Kiel, and it’s always been the goal to not only show that to people in Germany, but also to show it to people all over Europe. Thanks to Kiel University’s expertise in European funding programmes, we have been able to turn that ambition into reality,” says Sünje Fock, who is coordinating the Science Summer at KielRegion.The model is characteristic of Kiel University’s approach: combining European funding expertise and international networks with strong regional partnerships to give major initiatives greater reach and visibility.This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, giving Kiel University the special opportunity to welcome Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, Head of Department for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions at the European Research Executive Agency, to Kiel tomorrow. Her visit brings together two priorities that have shaped Kiel University’s work over the past decade: supporting researchers and bringing science closer to society. Debiais-Sainton emphasises how closely the two are connected: "For thirty years, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) have given more than 150,000 researchers the chance to pursue their dreams and open up new fields. Doctoral Networks and Postdoctoral Fellowships give them the freedom to move, to connect, to train and to follow their curiosity across borders, sectors and disciplines. But excellence cannot live only in laboratories. Researchers’ Night takes science out of the lab and into the city, to the families, the schoolchildren and the curious minds who will become the next generation. Kiel shows what that looks like at its best. That is the MSCA promise: open science, open borders, open doors."For Kiel University, these activities are not separate endeavours. They are part of a broader understanding of academic excellence in which outstanding research, talent development, international cooperation, knowledge transfer and engagement with society strengthen one another.“For me, one of the most important lessons from the past decade is that scientific excellence, knowledge transfer, talent development and engagement with society cannot be treated as separate tasks,” stresses vice president Quandt. “They reinforce one another.”That philosophy is also reflected in Kiel University’s current bid for Germany’s Excellence University status. The designation is part of Germany’s national Excellence Strategy, which provides substantial long-term funding to selected universities to strengthen internationally competitive research and their overall institutional development. A successful outcome would provide new opportunities to build on what has already been created: deepening international cooperation, creating more opportunities for knowledge exchange and public engagement, and extending the university’s reach across the region and beyond. “If we are successful, it would allow us to take what we have built in Kiel considerably further – including expanding our networks and transfer activities beyond the region and increasingly across the Baltic area,” says Quandt.This week’s events offer a glimpse of what that could mean in practice: a university using its research strength, European expertise and regional partnerships to create opportunities for scientists at every stage of their careers while making science more visible, accessible and exciting to the wider public.
Megan Mostyn-Brown on Grounding Fictional Horror in Real Science
Genetics have fascinated me since I was a teenager. My interest didn’t spawn from a well-meaning science teacher or an Oscar winning documentary. My interest in genetics came from one man—Dean Koon…
Collins Leads in Maine in Our New Poll. Is That an Outlier or an Omen?
There’s nothing more uncomfortable for a pollster than a result that stands out from the pack, but it doesn’t mean it should be dismissed.
An AI model has found a new ‘CRISPR-like’ biological system. Here’s what it means for science
After coding, mathematics and chatbots, AI companies are setting their sights on the messy world of biology.
Omaha student-led clubs help teens open up about mental health
When it comes to reaching teenagers, meeting them where they are often means going to school.
Ex-NC State sports medicine director arrested after indictment
Former NC State sports medicine director Robert Michael Murphy was arrested Wednesday evening after a grand jury indicted him last week on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts involving the sexual abuse of male student-athletes he had treated.
How the Cubs Playoff Rotation is Shaping Up
With the MLB postseason race shaping up, the Chicago Cubs' playoff rotation is becoming clearer. They have occasionally had a rough time with their pitching staff this season, and it has been hard to know who they can trust. However, they are heading for a best-of-three series in the Wild Card round. This means that …
Jeff Probst explains ‘Survivor 51’ premiere tribute to Finian Shea Johnson
‘Survivor 51’ ended its premiere with a tribute to Finian Shea Johnson. Host Jeff Probst honors the late crew member and explains how much he meant to the show.
Brewers beat Phillies, meaning Diamondbacks cannot be eliminated on Wednesday
The Phillies losing to the Brewers on Wednesday helped the Diamondbacks' playoff hopes.
Trump SBA to Extend Comment Period After Ranking Member Markey Leads Effort to Rescind SBA Policy that Reclassifies Billion-Dollar Businesses as “Small Businesses”
Trump admin policy would reclassify 114,000 larger businesses as “small” to access small business resources and win federal contracts meant for small businesses Letter (PDF) (Washington, September 23) – This week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its plans to extend the deadline to submit comments on its controversial proposed rule regarding small business size standards until November 20. The Trump SBA’s announcement came shortly after Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), alongside 12 of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Administrator Kelly Loeffler demanding that the Trump SBA rescind a harmful policy that would dramatically redefine what a small business is. The Administration’s proposed policy would change the small business size standard to designate 114,000 larger companies some with annual revenue above $1 billion—as small businesses, giving these businesses access to small business resources and federal contracts typically set aside for actual small businesses. In the letter, Ranking Member Markey and the lawmakers emphasized that small businesses will be shut out of the federal contracting space as government agencies award contracts to larger businesses, causing small businesses to lose revenue, lay off workers, or close their businesses entirely. “For more than 70 years, SBA’s mission has been clear: promote and protect the interests and viability of small businesses. By proceeding with this proposed methodology and rule, SBA moves further away from its mission of facilitating healthy small business participation in the U.S. economy. We urge SBA to rescind these proposals, meet in earnest with small businesses across the country, and discuss the proposal and methodology with congressional committees of jurisdiction. SBA must be committed to developing measured increases to the size standards that do not reward large, billion-dollar companies but instead helps our small businesses survive, grow, and thrive.” The lawmakers highlighted the following points in their letter: Under the Trump SBA’s new size standards, the highest receipts-based standard would exceed $1 billion in annual revenue—more than 20 times the current $47 million maximum—and the highest employee-based standard would reach 3,600 employees—more than twice the current 1,500 employee maximum. Specific increases include an increase in size of nearly 492% for banks, 1,500% for law firms, and more than 2,051% for private equity firms. Of the 114,000 businesses that would be newly classified as small, more than 37,000 of these businesses have collectively won more than 100,000 federal contracts worth approximately $71 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 alone without a small business designation. If SBA included the awards won by these 37,000 businesses in its Fiscal Year 2025 analysis, small business contracts would have accounted for 38% of all federal contracts, instead of the 27% that SBA announced this summer. The letter was co-signed by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Christopher Coons (D-Dela.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Ranking Member Markey is fighting to protect small businesses in Massachusetts and across the country from the Trump SBA’s harmful policies that put big businesses and billionaires over American small businesses, workers, and families. In August, Ranking Member Markey slammed the Trump SBA’s proposal to overhaul its small business size standards to benefit big businesses over small businesses. In July, Ranking Member Markey and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the Trump administration’s policy that bans green card holders from accessing essential Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to start and grow their businesses. Also in July, Ranking Member Markey and Senator Hirono submitted a comment letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) opposing a proposed rule change by Trump’s SBA to the 8(a) Business Development Program that would harm underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs. In June, Ranking Member Markey released a new report highlighting Trump’s drastic reduction in federal contracting dollars awarded to American small businesses. ###
MN Science Museum’s Pine Needles, Tanglewood lands permanently protected
The new protections mean the museum’s entire 300-acre St. Croix Watershed Research Station has been conserved.
Harry Shum Jr. says it ‘means the world’ to see “iCarly” costar Miranda Cosgrove support him on ‘DWTS’
The season 35 competitor also celebrated the presence of his “Shadowhunters” and “Crazy Rich Asians” costars.
BMAC windows reflect refugees’ perspectives on migration and home
BRATTLEBORO — What do the concepts of “migration” and “home” mean to people forced to flee a beloved homeland, only to encounter new perils in the country where they land?
New 2027 Medicaid work rules mean 600K Oregon Health Plan members are getting notices
Oregon has begun sending letters to about 600,000 Oregon Health Plan members warning them about new requirements taking effect next year that potentially impact their eligibility for Medicaid benefits. For […]
‘Politics means caring for people’ says city council candidate Dina Ramaha
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A recent voice in city council public comment, Dina Ramaha announced her campaign during the Fourth of July parade. Ramaha, who owns Three Pines Coffee and Conscious Mind Therapy, says...
Jaxson Dart’s injury could reverberate around the NFL
What Jaxson Dart's injury means for the Giants, and perhaps the NFL
SLO County hospital network switches to AI-assisted electronic records system
Here’s what the switch means for patients.
Xbox's Latest Merger Means 'Forza Motorsport' Is Almost Certainly Done
Forza Horizon developer Playground and Forza Motorsport creators Turn 10 are merging into one studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises.
Target 'Pokémon' Event Quietly Meant To Stop Adults From Buying All The Cards From Kids
Target's special 30th Anniversary Pokémon event will give out a promo card, goodie bag, and plenty of TCG products
Playoff Countdown: New England Revolution, St. Louis CITY mean business
Most teams have eight games left. The end is nigh. Until then… Each week, we’ll look at four teams rising or falling in the standings, three players making an impact, and three storylines to watch. An Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs race 4-3-3, if you will. Four teams we're monitoring
Islanders Preseason News: Varlamov returns in comeback win
The Islanders had their second preseason outing Tuesday night in Manhattan, and though it meant nothing, it’s still fun to see the Smurfs blow a 3-0 lead to the Islanders, who prevailed, 4-3, on the back of three power play goals. Elsewhere
AI-enabled Pelago expands from SUD care to mental health, behavioral addictions
Pelago, a virtual substance use disorder (SUD) provider, has expanded to mental health and behavioral addiction care. | The new Pelago Behavioral Health Platform means co-occurring conditions can be assessed and treated in a single plan. Behavioral addiction programming includes gambling, gaming and binge eating
Design competition returns to New Orleans Fashion Week as 2026 event kicks off
September has always meant fashion, from Vogue’s thick fall issue to previews of next season’s looks at shows in New York, Milan, Paris and London.
At Rutgers, Talking Across Difference Aims for Civil Dialogue in a Divisive Political Climate
An initiative at Rutgers University-New Brunswick is helping students develop the skills and confidence to engage in meaningful conversations during an era marked by political polarization, social division and declining trust in democratic institutions. Through Talking Across Difference, a program developed within the Rutgers Democracy Lab at the Eagleton Institute of Politics during the 2024-2025 academic year, students, faculty and staff are learning how to engage in productive conversations
Andy Murray set to face Rafa Nadal for first time in 10 years in Rafa Nadal Academy Slam
Andy Murray will take part in the 10-year anniversary celebrations of Rafa Nadals tennis academy; It will mean the pair meet on the court once again for the first time in 10 years; Murray is captaining a team, with Nadal skippering the other
What happened to ‘The Love Boat’ cast? See the crew of the Pacific Princess 40 years later
That swirling theme music could mean only one thing: The Pacific Princess was pulling in with its appealing crew and oodles of celebrity guests. See the stars of ‘The Love Boat’ more than 40 years after the finale.
DA Larry Krasner faces an uncertain political future as Democrats weigh what could come next
New questions emerged this week about Krasner’s political ambitions and his potential bid for Philly mayor. Meanwhile, others are angling for his job.
Hospitals are conveners, not dividers
In this climate, it has become too easy to point fingers without offering meaningful solutions to the country’s healthcare affordability crisis. To make matters worse, there is a tendency to turn our back on complex problems that don’t have easy answers in favor of oversimplified rhetoric that ignores reality. As chief executive of a rural […]
California adds $5,000 fines, misdemeanor risk for influencers hiding paid political posts
Platforms and campaign teams could face added pressure, too.
Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, North Lumber & Home Center
Read the release on Sen. Ernst's website HERE. Throughout this Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: North Lumber & Home Center of Decatur County. Throughout the 119th Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in each of Iowa's 99 counties. “North Lumber & Home Center has truly gotten to the root of what it means to be a hardworking, dedicated small business” said Chair Ernst. “For more than four decades, this family-owned and operated business has continued to branch out by providing quality services and staying actively engaged in its community.” In 1980, current owner Sally Dykes and her family purchased North Lumber. As the family continued to expand their inventory and operations to better serve its customers, they renamed the business to North Lumber & Home Center. In 2002, they opened a second store in Lamoni, Iowa. Today, Sally continues to run the lumberyard and building materials supplier business alongside her son, Tony Dykes. Stay tuned as Chair Ernst continues to recognize outstanding Iowa small businesses with her Small Business of the Week award. ###
Google is reinventing the Thompson Center. Hear from the team making it happen.
Crain’s will explore what Google’s investment could mean for the future of downtown Chicago at a live event on Oct. 14.
News 40 Weather Report: The science behind the first day of fall
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – It’s the first day of fall. That means different things to different people. It may be as simple as leaves falling or pumpkins popping up everywhere…evening in coffee. But there’s a scientific aspect to fall…and it’s called the equinox. The autumnal equinox, to be exact. Equinox means “equal nights”…an occurrence that happens two days every year…the...
Democrat in Central Dallas County aims to unseat powerful Republican House Member
Allison Mitchell is the Democratic candidate running against the powerful Chairman of the Texas House Ways and Means Committee, Morgan Meyer. Lone Star Politics speaks to her about he uphill battle in the Park Cities and central Dallas. Meyer has not yet responded to a request for an interview.
Zach Ertz Talks Being 'Honored' By Eagles Reunion
Tight end Zach Ertz explained what being back with the Philadelphia Eagles means to him and his family.
Five reasons to stick with your iPhone 17 Pro instead of upgrading to the 18 Pro
If you already have an iPhone 17 Pro, the improvements in the iPhone 18 Pro aren't meaningful enough to make the leap worth it.
Ligue 1 Review | Is Le Classique still a classic?
Le Classique is supposed to be Ligue 1’s premier fixture. However, the contrasting realities of France’s two biggest teams, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, meant that Sunday night...
Should Boeing Stock Investors Worry About Its Money-Losing Jet Business?
If you own Boeing (BA), the worry is whether its commercial airplane business can earn money on the jets it sells. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, that business lost money. Its operating margin was negative 2.7%, meaning costs ran above sales. The jet business brought in nearly half of Boeing's revenue for the quarter.
Why a food and drinks giant is betting big on crop science
At a multigeneration family farm in Alberta, drones and data are replacing guesswork—part of PepsiCo’s broader bet that healthier soil means a more resilient global supply chain
AI is generating a mental health crisis, warns Divine Mercy University president
"Who are we? What does it mean to be human? What understanding of the person should guide technological and social development?"
Coffee doesn’t have to keep you awake to disrupt your sleep
Caffeine may make sleep less restorative even when you fall asleep normally and stay in bed for eight hours, with EEG recordings revealing fewer of the slow brain waves associated with deep sleep. Individual sensitivity varies dramatically, meaning even caffeine consumed earlier in the day could affect nighttime recovery for some people.
Is 50 the new 60?
Subscribe TL;DR: Younger generations are showing signs of worse health compared to earlier-born cohorts at the same age This backward “drift” is showing up both in mortality risk and chronic disease Worsening trends in obesity and diabetes are the most consistent signals Taking the long view, we’ve made astonishing gains in health and life expectancy in the last century. Global average life expectancy has more than doubled from 32 years in 1900 to 73 years in 2024. (But don’t forget, there were still old people when life expectancy was 32). As people lived longer, they also generally lived healthier along the way. It turns out that avoiding things that can kill you early, like malnutrition and lots of childhood infections, also keeps you healthier later in life. In a classic 2004 paper, Finch and Crimmins proposed that cohorts of children who benefited from fewer early life infections had less lifetime exposure to inflammation and cardiovascular disease later in life, accelerating mortality improvements at older ages. Poor nutrition in the womb has also been linked to a higher risk of later chronic disease. The upshot is that improvements in childhood health can pay dividends many decades later. The combination of better living conditions (nutrition, sanitation) and medical advances (antibiotics, vaccines, blood pressure meds, etc) meant that people’s healthy lifespan generally expanded, even as they lived longer. Aging researchers call this best-case scenario “compression of morbidity”—meaning we delay the onset of disease and disability even faster than the years of life we are adding. During my 20+ year research career, we could generally bank on the idea that younger generations would not only live longer but also keep getting healthier along the way. “60 is the new 50” as they say… Enter “Generational Health Drift” Sadly, this expectation of steady progress may be changing. You’ve probably heard that US life expectancy gains have slowed to a crawl in the past couple of decades. Mortality improvements are also slowing (though less dramatically) in many other high-income countries (you can read more about that in a review paper I wrote here). Mortality is a very blunt health measure, but it is often a good barometer for the broader population health trends happening underneath. And we are now seeing that younger generations may be in worse health at similar ages compared to earlier born cohorts. My collaborator Prof. George Ploubidis at University College London coined this worsening health in more recently born cohorts “generational health drift.” “Generational health drift” is bad news on multiple fronts. Most obviously, we don’t want our health progress to go backward. But the timing is also bad, since our populations are aging. In demographic terms, “population aging” means that the proportion of the population at older ages (i.e >65 years) is increasing. Fun demography fact: Current population aging is not due to the recent declines in the birth rates making the news, but declines in fertility decades ago, after the “baby boom.” As baby boomers reach older ages, the smaller cohorts behind them mean the percentage of older adults will increase. For example, the share of the population age 65 and older in the US increased from 12.4% in 2004 to 18.0% in 2024. This story of population aging was written long ago. Many worry that population aging will put pressure on health care and pension systems. But if people reach older ages in better health than in years past, those fiscal pressures would be less dire than projected. Healthy older people can also continue to contribute to society in many valuable ways, including paid work, caregiving, community service….even high political office 🤷. On the flip side, if younger generations reach retirement age in worse health and with more disabling conditions, this could magnify the societal challenge of population aging. Evidence for worsening generational health A recent paper that I LOVED in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Leah Abrams and colleagues examined which birth cohorts (aka generations) were behind worsening US mortality. Behold the Lexis diagram (cue swooning demographers). Calendar time is on the x-axis, age on the y-axis. Birth cohorts can be followed over time as they age on the diagonal lines moving up and to the right. This figure plots the year-on-year % change in all-cause mortality at a given age. Green shading indicates mortality improvements over time, white is stagnation, and gray shading indicates worsening mortality. Following the diagonal line for those born in 1950, you can see a noticeable shift from green to gray that follows this cohort for most of their lives. This gray shading shows generally worsening mortality for the 1950 to 1959 birth cohorts compared to their predecessors across all ages. Concerningly for my GenX and elder millennial peeps, there was also a deterioration in mortality for birth cohorts born in the 1970s and 1980s, visible as dark gray areas at ages 30 to 45 during the 2010s. While some of these mortality changes reflect specific shocks such as the opioid epidemic, most deaths still occur from major causes of death such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. For cancer, the gray in the top left corner of the figure below reflects the legacies of smoking for older cohorts, followed by a period of green with improvements in cancer mortality as smoking rates declined. But the white/gray shading in the bottom right corner highlights a stagnation and reversal of the cancer trends, with cohorts born around 1970 to 1985 experiencing worsening cancer mortality. This deterioration was most noticeable for colon cancer mortality, possibly linked to obesity or dietary factors. Not just dying more, but less healthy along the way. A recent paper by Dr. Laura Gimeno of University College London (of which I am a co-author), found evidence that more recently born cohorts in Great Britain have stagnating or worsening health. A stylized picture of what“generational health drift” might look like: The review paper found: Rates of childhood overweight and obesity were highest among Gen Z. Rates of diabetes in the 40s almost doubled from 3.1% among the Baby Boomers to 5.9% in Generation X. Gen Z reported higher rates of poor mental health in adolescence compared to earlier-born groups. These UK results are consistent with studies showing worsening health across generations in the US as well. A 2021 US study found that more recently born cohorts had worse biological markers (like blood pressure and blood sugar) than earlier generations at the same age. A separate 2022 study of Americans aged 50 and over found that more recently born generations had a higher number of chronic diseases, with younger age of disease onset. A 2024 Lancet paper found that in the US, women born in 1945 had 33% obesity prevalence at age 50, rising to 48.2% for women born in 1970 turning 50. So what’s going on, and can we turn it around? We don’t have a definitive answer for what’s causing the deteriorating health of younger cohorts, but circumstantial evidence points to worsening trends in obesity and diabetes in both the US and UK. Remember that cohort trends reflect lagged effects of early environments, and younger generations have faced both earlier onset and more severe obesity across their lifetimes. Despite these very concerning trends, the future is not set in stone. We’ve reversed poor generational health trends before: drops in smoking are a major reason cancer and heart disease deaths fell so dramatically in recent decades. GLP-1 drugs may finally turn the tide against rising rates of obesity and diabetes, though it is still early days. But things could also get worse…for example from a return to higher levels of childhood infectious diseases that can have a lasting impact on health. See for example: [ ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) [ Don’t You Forget About Me(asles): The Virus That Erases Immune Memory ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) Jenn Dowd, PhD · March 24, 2025 [ Read full story ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) Even as an optimist, emerging data on the “generational health drift” has my full attention. For most of my research career, we took it for granted that each generation would be healthier than the last. But if present trends continue, **50 could be the new 60….**and Gen Z celebrities will soon look older than Paul Rudd :). Stay well, Jenn Share the Health! If you found this post useful, please share it with a friend. Share
How lip-syncing to AI let Forced Entertainment ‘play the game of theatre’
Today we have a fascinating piece by long-time Forced Entertainment fan Ben Kulvichit, speaking to Tim Etchells about their latest show Cold Sweat, how they are integrating lip-sync and AI voices into their work, the question of ‘authenticity’ on stage, and how lip-sync has even opened the door for them to make “something a little bit like drama”. This piece is a paid partnership with the Southbank Centre, where you can see Cold Sweat next month – we’re very grateful to the Southbank Centre for their ongoing support for Exeunt. Holly Williams ‘It was immediately interesting and uncanny’ **By Ben Kulvichit** “Is the microphone on?” So goes one of the opening lines of Signal to Noise, delivered by a human performer lip-syncing to an AI-generated voice. The voice is American, cheery but sluggish, slowed down into a gelatinous drawl. It repeats ad infinitum in a farce of stuckness; an answer never materialises. I find myself asking the same question as I hop on a Google Meet call with Tim Etchells, the artistic director of Forced Entertainment. We spend five or ten minutes frowning at each other, muting and unmuting, me gesticulating in semaphore into my webcam, checking if I am coming through now, restarting the laptop. To Etchells, I appear exaggeratedly mouthing words, my voice missing. In this gloopy purgatory of broken communication, life imitates art imitates life imitates art. We try a Zoom instead. Forced Entertainment, the pioneering British theatre company who have been at the avant-garde of performance since the 1980s, turned an interesting artistic corner with Signal to Noise, created on the occasion of their 40th anniversary. The whole performance employed this lip-sync technique to AI voices; on the face of it a left-field move from a company whose identity has long been grounded in the earthy, immediate presences of its performers and its unassuming, low-tech approach to theatricality. The technique, however, turned out to provide the company with a “rich new seam” of artistic enquiry, and has now spawned a trilogy of works. The second instalment, Cold Sweat, plays at Sheffield Theatres, Southbank Centre, and Lancaster Arts in October, while the third part, Everything Must Go, has been touring in Europe and is slated to come to the UK in 2027. As is often the case with Forced Entertainment shows, the main conceit for this work didn’t arrive until quite late. They were “four or five weeks into rehearsals for Signal to Noise,” Etchells recalls, and getting nowhere. Away from rehearsals, he had been playing around with feeding “weird texts” to AI voices to see how they would cope with them – “basically for my own amusement” – and was compelled by the uniformly “serviceable, benign, good-natured” tone they would read in, no matter how poetic, fractured or experimental the writing. On a hunch, he brought some examples into rehearsals and the performers gave lip-syncing a go. “It was immediately interesting and uncanny,” he recalls, with the performers having to deal in the moment with the problem of mapping themselves onto another artificial ‘performer,’ which itself was dealing with the problem of a very human text. “Almost all the writing for these projects would be useless to us unless it was done in this way,” says Etchells. “We wouldn’t know what to do with it. It’s too poetic. It’s too fictional. It’s too tangled.” But exploring lip-syncing along to the text has opened “an enormous reservoir of ways of thinking about writing and performing.” Subscribe to Exeunt, and get two in-depth pieces on theatre a week, direct to your inbox Subscribe Forced Entertainment have long been sifting through the detritus of popular culture, from daytime TV to end-of-the-pier vaudeville, magic acts and clown shows, to find frameworks for their own unusual entertainments. Lip-syncing, then, makes sense for them to experiment with. As a mode of performance, it’s wired into popular consciousness through pop stars trying to convince stadium audiences of their liveness, or those same voices as channeled through the made-up lips of contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or movie dialogue spreading virally through the host bodies of TikTok users. For Etchells, lip-syncing is often about “approaching real voices and trying to take on their aura,” subsuming that original human presence into yours. “There’s a very basic, elemental sort of theatre magic to it, produced in this very easy way.” This broad approach resonates with instances of lip-syncing within contemporary performance, too. In works like Re-Member Me and Showmanism, performance artist Dickie Beau acts as a kind of spirit medium for archival recordings (this process of re-membering – as in, giving corporeal form to voices – relies on his masterfully precise actor’s technique), while Frankie Thompson is similarly possessed by a host of characters ranging from a nine-year-old Jacob Rees-Mogg to Cliff Richards, all of whom she finds compellingly nauseating, in the exorcism ritual that is her latest show, Horrible Things. What’s different about Forced Entertainment’s use of lip-syncing is that here, there is no original presence to be channeled. The performers are instead taking on what Etchells describes as “the voices of nobody,” or rather the “phantasmic, aggregated echoes” of the many many voices on whose data the AI has been trained, and which are now conjuring into existence words they never actually said. There is a sort of mournful, empty quality to these voices, having “washed up” far away from the people they originally belonged to, to find themselves in stranger’s mouths listing objects, wondering if anyone can hear them and glitching in interminable loops. There is a cold, sad anonymity to it all. Etchells remarks that occasionally the software company he used has notified him that particular people are withdrawing their voices from the platform, instructing him to cease use of those voices. Using these technologies in performance certainly brings up ethical questions around digital rights, consent, identity and ownership, although in the grand scheme of things, Etchells is fairly blasé about it: of all the purposes someone’s voice might be put to without their knowledge, “an avant-garde performance is probably the least of their worries.” [ ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) [ Frankie Thompson: How I manage my own ‘horrible things’ at the Edinburgh Fringe ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) Exeunt · Aug 25 [ Read full story ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) For the performers, though, lip-syncing to these strange, artificial voices is an odd task, requiring them to bend their live, human presence into the shapes produced by machines. Politically, it mirrors processes that are already at play in the continued computational automation of human life. Etchells brings up James Bridle’s writings on new technologies as a reference point: one example Bridle gives is of “chaotic storage”, a logistics technique employed by Amazon fulfilment centres whereby items are stored not according to traditional methods of categorisation or alphabetisation, but in a way that an algorithm determines to produce the most efficient routes for ‘picking’ based on customer purchase patterns. This appears completely random and incomprehensible to humans, with paddling pools sitting next to USB sticks sitting next to blowtorches, and so for the warehouse workers, the process of picking items becomes completely reliant on technology which tells them where to go. Our world is increasingly being designed not with humans in mind, but rather machines. As Etchells puts it, “technology malforms the space, and then you end up having to live in it.” Initially, Forced Entertainment tried their best to live in the world of machines: “I was in the it’s-got-to-be-perfect school of lip-sync,” says Etchells. But with their aesthetic being so tied to the failing act, the slipping mask, the shoddy costume, “it’s no surprise really that that didn’t last.” Instead, the performers got to enjoy being late for a line, or playing games with each other, “stealing” each other’s voices. Etchells compares it to the principles of ventriloquism, in which a free-floating voice unattached to a body is fundamentally discomforting and “sort of traumatic”. That discomfort is equally as alluring to Forced Entertainment as the satisfaction of precision, the pretence of authenticity only interesting if shown to be a pretence. Lip-sync has also opened up new avenues for the company. Having been allergic all their lives to Plays-with-a-capital-P, with Cold Sweat Forced Entertainment find themselves approaching something a little bit like drama. Rather than the presentational arena of Signal to Noise’s open white stage, Cold Sweat places us more decisively in a “fictional locale”: what appears to be “the aftermath of some disastrous party or backyard drinking binge” where three figures – family members, or neighbours, perhaps – are the last ones standing. “It’s all quite acrimonious and accusatory, everyone’s talking over each other.” For Etchells, this more fictional mode is “a door that we’ve never been able to open. We’ve just never really gone there.” Perhaps it is the technique of lip-syncing, an extra buffer of mediation, that allows them to venture away from the here-and-now without feeling that they have to commit to the “psychological claptrap” that comes along with acting; to be able to “play the game of theatre, without getting one’s hands too dirty.” As I wonder how else the impulses behind Forced Entertainment’s work have changed over time, it occurs to me that over the last ten years of new creations, with the exception of If All Else Fails, the company’s performers haven’t ever spoken on stage: there were two shows without any language at all, Out of Order and Under Bright Light, and then this trilogy of lip-sync works. Etchells agrees it’s a shift away from earlier productions, that were so often about “the actual voices of the performers and their actual presences. We had a lot of money, in some ways, on an authentic approach to what it might mean to speak on the stage.” But this sense of authentic presence itself had a fakeness to it; these days, Etchells can’t stand that mode of being onstage where performers “are here to be cheeky and witty versions of themselves. I don’t want to be charmed.” Pulling back into a more anonymous space has resulted in works that feel slightly sharper-edged, more brutal in a way. “All of these shows are post-Brexit, post-Trump, post-truth, post-everything,” Etchells notes. Speech, charisma, authenticity – these things feel politically loaded, and perhaps warmth and openness just don’t feel like the right tools to reflect the world we’re living in. “It feels like the space is closing down, and we’re trying to deal with the fact that the system, the structure that you’re in, is more oppressive and more powerful. It probably always was, but I think we’re just more tuned to it now.” Yet even without their voices, the performers’ distinctive presences – ones that many audiences have followed around for years, if not decades – still, inevitably, shine through as they physically navigate whatever unending task the system of the piece has set for them. They’re still trying to keep up with the onslaught of text, still running about, changing costumes, moving stuff around. The human is always stuck in the teeth of the machine, jamming the smooth, frictionless cheeriness of the not-real, gesticulating silently, trying desperately to communicate. Cold Sweat is at Sheffield Theatres, 2 to 3 October; Southbank Centre, London, 9 to 10 October; Lancaster Arts, 14 October [ ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) [ Exeunt recommends... the best autumn theatre ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) Exeunt · Sep 16 [ Read full story ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) This piece was paid for by the Southbank Centre. Such support helps Exeunt to keep publishing the most interesting writing, about the most exciting theatre. Interested in partnering with Exeunt? Visit our Advertise with Exeunt page, where you can get more information, download an advertising pack, and find our contact details.
Observability should start with business outcomes, not infrastructure
A dashboard full of metrics is only useful if it can tell you what those numbers mean for customers and the business.
Brian Cox: UKRI’s Cern project cut ‘damages science base’
Cut will mean “reduced scientific capability” for Large Hadron Collider beauty upgrade, its board warns
Vikings Hot Start Earns Major Recognition From FOX Sports
The Minnesota Vikings came in at the third spot on Fox’s NFL Power Rankings on Monday afternoon. The outlet put the rankings on social media.The Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks were the two teams ahead of the Vikings. In the meantime, the team has a ton of momentum after beating the Chicago Bears by a […] The post Vikings Hot Start Earns Major Recognition From FOX Sports appeared first on HEAVY.
After new federal requirements, changes coming to the Oregon Health Plan
About 600,000 Oregon Health Plan members will soon receive a notice that Medicaid is about to change. In Oregon, that means some people will need to renew their coverage every six months instead of every two years. Many between the ages of 19 and 64 will also need to prove they work or volunteer.
What Zach Ertz’s return means for Eagles after Goedert injury
Zach Ertz gives the Eagles an experienced receiving option while Dallas Goedert recovers from the sprained MCL suffered in Week 2
Augusta University announces new Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Starting in Fall of 2027 Augusta University is set to offer a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, an addition meant to open pathways for students to help solve health
Akron launches program meant to expand small business access to city contracts
Akron officials unveiled the Small Business Enterprise program Monday. It's aimed at making it easier to compete and secure contracts for public projects.
Arch Manning's changed demeanor on full display in Monday presser
The days of "off-the-cuff" Arch Manning are over. But after his controversy, the Texas QB is now robotic and emotionless.
The Fed Moved. The Borrowing Math Changed for Businesses.
Citizens’ Mark Valentino and Eric Merlis unpack the business implications of the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike, examining what the new borrowing environment means for investment and financial …
What a Trump order to put political appointees in charge of NIH funding would mean for science
Advocates and scientists warn that giving political appointees power over research grants would “upend” U.S. science
What a Trump order to put political appointees in charge of NIH funding would mean for science
Advocates and scientists warn that giving political appointees power over research grants would “upend” U.S. science
Littleton Craft Fair returns Oct. 3
While the weather is getting cooler and farmers market season is slowly coming to a close, that doesn’t mean outdoor shopping is quite over. Littleton’s annual Craft Fair is set
How did the Rojiblanca academy get on this weekend?
This weekend was painted Red-and-White! The U-21 and U-19 teams played Mexico’s Clásico as part of Matchday 9 of the Apertura 2026. Both squads left Coapa with all three points in the bag.Meanwhile...
Opinion: 'Pothole Politics' Should Mean Fixing Our Schools
"Green Schools ... connect so many of the mayor’s priorities: child care, safe work, good jobs, and fixing what’s broken in our day-to-day."
Raphinha's Great Start To The 2026/27 Season
Every fan who’s been following FC Barcelona during the past few seasons knows how important Raphinha has been to the team. Temporarily losing him due to injuries often meant a decline in the team’s performance, and he became widely respected among the Culers. After the summer break, he has seemingly ascended to another level, exceeding […] The post Raphinha’s Great Start To The 2026/27 Season appeared first on Stadium Rant.
New initiative brings entrepreneurship beyond the business world at PVAMU
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Sept. 21, 2026) – For a student studying engineering, education, health care or another field, entrepreneurship can be more than building a business. It can mean recognizing an opportunity, solving a problem and finding a new way forward. That idea is
Browns NFL playoff standings: Why not after Week 2’s win?
The Week 2 victory for the Cleveland Browns means the NFL playoff order, not the NFL draft order, gets attention Monday
Travel health insurance
Travel health insurance Do you have a friend or relative traveling to the Dominican Republic? Encourage them to get travel health insurance before they depart the U.S. to avoid possible medical emergencies becoming financial emergencies, too. Many travelers ask, “Why would I need travel health insurance–I have health insurance?” But your domestic U.S. health insurance may not work overseas. Hospitals here in the Dominican Republic often require payment in full prior to the patient being treated or being discharged. Some private U.S. insurance companies pay for overseas medical care, but usually only on a reimbursable basis, meaning you must pay first and request reimbursement later. The U.S. government does not pay for medical care overseas, and Medicare does not cover medical or hospital expenses incurred outside the United States. In addition, if the traveler needs to be medically evacuated for any reason, this is not covered by most U.S insurance and usually costs well over $10,000 USD. Travel medical insurance can alleviate this cost burden. Don’t let unexpected medical costs ruin your vacation! Please review more information here on Travel.State.Gov and on the Embassy website’s page on Medical Emergency – U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic.
Pittcon 2027: What America’s Biggest Lab Science Show Means For You
For over 75 years, Pittcon has been at the cutting edge of industry-defining changes, and next year it returns home for the first time in six decades.
Crain's 40 Under 40 2026
This year’s 40 Under 40 honorees are reshaping what it means to lead in West Michigan.
15 Major Actors Who Were Supposed to Be in a Movie, But Never Made It to the Final Cut
Getting cast in a movie does not necessarily mean anyone will ever see you in it. Actors can spend days or even weeks filming scenes, pose for publicity photos, and tell everyone about their new proje...
Explore what makes us human at the 16th Annual Wisconsin Science Festival
The 16th annual Wisconsin Science Festival will explore the science of Us — who we are, what it means to be human, and what humans are capable of — all across the state from Oct 15-25.
Ligue 1 Review | Is Le Classique still classic?
Le Classique is supposed to be Ligue 1’s premier fixture. However, the contrasting realities of France’s two biggest teams, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, meant that Sunday night�...
Suno made a new AI music model with major labels. Here's what it means
Record labels that sued AI music companies are now licensing them. But payouts are undisclosed, lawsuits continue and musicians ask who benefits.
What a Massive New Crater Means for Future Moon Bases
At a whopping 728 feet wide, the newfound basin hints at the risks that impact events may pose to planned human outposts.
[Caring the Korean Way] Korean parents turn to dream lenses to slow childhood myopia
What does it mean to care -- deeply, instinctively and culturally? In this series, "Caring the Korean Way," we explore the distinct practices, beliefs and values that shape how Koreans care for themselves and each other. From time-honored folk remedies to modern reinterpretations of healing, each st
Does more funding mean rural buses are back in business?
A rise in bus miles with council funding might be starting to reverse the reduction in services.
Texas senior citizens could be leaving health benefits on the table
Almost 5% of Texas households are multigenerational, meaning grandparents, parents and children live together.
Banqup and Post Business Solutions partner to revolutionize digital financial workflows for Austrian businesses
LA HULPE, BELGIUM – 21 September 2026, 7:00 a.m. CEST – Banqup Group SA (Euronext: BANQ) (Banqup, Company), a European fintech provider that simplifies financial flows through an innovative secured platform for e-invoicing, e-payment, e-reporting and e-trust solutions with built-in compliance at its core, announces a new meaningful collaboration with Post Business Solutions, an Austrian based leader in innovative digital and physical business process solutions. The new partnership marks a signif
BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Undergrowth in Great Barrington—from kitchen table dream to reality
This new mother-daughter business is bringing together art, craft, and community through meaningful experiences and beautifully made goods rooted in creativity, nature, and shared stories.
CW@60: AI will change the economics of business more profoundly tha...
I have spent most of my working life watching technology change what it means to run a business.
Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay Brings Business Events and Island Experiences Together in Northern Phu Quoc
/PRNewswire/ -- As organisations place greater value on meaningful connections, event planners are increasingly seeking destinations that combine convenience,...
Opinion | Hate should be avoided, even in politics
It is often said, “you should not speak ill of the dead,” meaning that once someone has passed away, one should avoid negative remarks about the person out of respect for their life. And while there are exceptions to this rule — good things cannot be said about every person’s character — there is a...
Christian McCaffrey joins elite company with his 100th career touchdown
Christian McCaffrey put himself in some elite company with two short touchdown runs. McCaffrey's two 1-yard TDs in a 35-13 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday made him the fourth-fastest player in the Super Bowl era to reach 100 career touchdowns and the third player ever with at least 50 TDs with two franchises. “It means a lot,” McCaffrey said.
Big gains for far-right AfD, big losses for center-right CDU
Chancellor Merz's CDU is suffering heavy losses in two German state elections, while the far-right AfD is polling first in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Berlin, meanwhile, the Left Party is celebrating.
Ebola outbreak update: Cases and deaths; Dungu health zone, Haut-Uélé province now affected
A total of 73 new confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) were reported on September 18, 2026, including 25 community deaths. Of these confirmed cases, 46 were from Ituri province, 18 from North Kivu, 6 from Haut-Uélé, and 3 from Tshopo. A new health zone, Dungu, in Haut-Uélé province, was affected during the day. As this zone borders South Sudan, strengthening cross-border surveillance is necessary. During the day on September 18, 2026, 12 deaths within Ebola Treatment Centers (ETCs)—10 in Ituri and 2 in North Kivu—were unfortunately recorded, bringing the total number of deaths for the day to 37. However, 41 patients were declared recovered (30 in Ituri, 6 in Haut-Uélé, 3 in North Kivu, and 2 in Tshopo) after testing negative for EVD twice. Since the start of the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a cumulative total of 7,614 confirmed cases, including 3,676 deaths, has been recorded, representing a case fatality rate of 48.3%. The epicenter remains Ituri province, which accounts for 77.2% of the confirmed cases reported across the seven affected provinces and also accounts for 63.0% of the new confirmed cases. A new health zone was affected on September 18, 2026. Consequently, 63 out of 167 health zones (37.7%) across 7 provinces are affected. Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube Response measures feature 97% traveler screening at entry points, surveillance expansion to new area Dungu, and community outreach sensitizing over 110,000 people in one day. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s health system faces deep, structural constraints that predate the current Ebola outbreak and make epidemic response far harder. These problems are most acute in rural areas and the conflict-affected east. Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Eastern provinces have seen health facilities damaged, looted, or abandoned. Insecurity delays patients, blocks supply deliveries, and exposes staff to attacks. Millions of displaced people live in camps with poor water, sanitation, and health services, increasing outbreak risk. Vast distances and poor roads mean many people walk hours or days to reach care. These same weaknesses explain why Ebola has continued to spread into new, under-prepared health zones even as some original hotspots show improvement: surveillance, laboratory turnaround, contact tracing, and infection control remain thin outside the best-supported sites. The Ministry of Health and partners have scaled up treatment centres, laboratories, and vaccination in the current outbreak, and some digital surveillance systems (DHIS2) provide a useful backbone. However, the underlying gaps in staffing, basic infrastructure, reliable funding, and logistics have not been closed. Without sustained investment in those foundations, the system will remain vulnerable to both routine disease burden and the next large outbreak. If you like the reporting on Outbreak News Today, please consider a paid subscription for $5/month or $30 a year. Help support the cause of this niche journalism. It is appreciated.
University Place Celebrates Launch of Entertainment District with Ribbon-Cutting
University Place mall's entertainment district is officially live — meaning customers can take alcoholic to-go drinks outside.
'Handful' of Reported Layoffs at Apple Could Mean a More Robust Health App Coming Soon
You've probably never heard of the feature affected by these job cuts.
'Handful' of Reported Layoffs at Apple Could Mean a More Robust Health App Coming Soon
You've probably never heard of the feature affected by these job cuts.
California High-Speed Rail watchdog says cash crisis could mean even shorter Central Valley segment
The California High-Speed Rail project is expected to run out of funding by December 2027, and it could mean an even shorter first segment through the Central Valley than what lawmakers and project officials had been planning, according to the project's government watchdog.
Haaland completes Premier League set by scoring against Sunderland
Erling Haaland’s goal against Sunderland today means he has now scored against all 25 sides he has faced in the Premier League. Men's Team Haaland becomes top scorer in Manchester derbies in Premier...
Pols & Politics: Massachusetts health officials now call mothers ‘birthing persons’
Motherhood is taking on a new meaning in Massachusetts as officials are now calling mothers “birthing persons,” Mike Minogue calls for relief at the pump, and Gov. Healey to launch new attack ad.
TCU Gets Positive, Negative Injury Updates Before Arkansas State
TCU is set to face off with Arkansas State on Saturday night and the Horned Frogs are ready to welcome back one of their biggest threats. Meanwhile, an offensive powerhouse will wait at least another week to suit up for the team.
Employer Health Costs Are Projected to Jump 8.2%. At 65, Moving to Medicare Means Her HSA Contributions Have to Stop
Switching from an employer plan to Medicare looks straightforward until a single enrollment rule quietly wipes out months of tax-free contributions, and most workers only discover it after the damage is done.
Employer Health Costs Are Projected to Jump 8.2%. At 65, Moving to Medicare Means Her HSA Contributions Have to Stop
Switching from an employer plan to Medicare looks straightforward until a single enrollment rule quietly wipes out months of tax-free contributions, and most workers only discover it after the damage is done.
The Human Brain Isn't Meant to Be Awake Past Midnight, Scientists Warn
Dangerous things can happen.
Data points to big Michigan win against UTEP
If common-opponents mean anything, Michigan is in for a big day. The first-ever meeting between Michigan and UTEP will kick […]
New releases from Blancpain, Czapek, Grand Seiko and more
This past week has been one for the ages. Rolex announces an annual calendar carrying an official nickname for the first time, Blancpain releases one of the smallest mechanical movements to date, and Grand Seiko brings back Arabic numerals after 25 years. There’s plenty more too, spanning other all sort of styles and budgets with … Continued
Bar Harbor Parents Again Raise Concerns About How Some Science Education In Sixth Grade.
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Restaurant Barn. BAR HARBOR—Parents again raised concerns this week about how Bar Harbor students receive science instruction after fifth grade, months after the same issue came before the Bar Harbor School Board. The concern centers on a past scheduling change at Conners Emerson School that gives fifth graders a full year of science rather than switching between science and social studies at midyear. Principal Dr. Heather Weir Webster told the board that the school has been monitoring test scores, teacher feedback, and the experience of students as it considers whether the current approach is working. If it is not, the approach may be changed, but that would not likely occur this school year. In fifth and sixth grade, the school used to have one semester of social studies and one of science in each year. That schedule shifted because switching at midyear often broke up the learning units. So, approximately two-three years ago, they decided to shift that a bit. Science became a dedicated focus in fifth grade. Social studies was the dedicated focus in sixth grade. The school staff members are hoping to dive deeply into the data and see if the students are having a more quality experience throughout their time in those grades when it comes to science and social studies. If not, things could shift again. This year, Dr. Webster said at the September meeting, potential changes to curricula have been a bit complicated by moving into the school’s new building in late October and early November. “There have been no changes this year because it’s hard enough to handle the move. That allows them to have consistency,” Dr. Webster said. Dr. Webster said that after the Covid pandemic which prevented students from attending school in person, many fifth graders were struggling. “We tried several different configurations,” she said, including a co-teaching model to help with that struggle, but to also see how to best schedule and support those students. “We found that a January switch” where classes switched from social studies to science was really difficult. Part of the decision making stemmed from science being more hands-on and accessible to fifth graders. Social studies was a bit more abstract content, which was why the school tried the current configuration. In a letter submitted as public comment, parent Beth Dumont wrote, “In May 2026, I wrote to express my concern that our middle school students are not receiving consistent instruction in science and social studies. I appreciate that the Board took this concern seriously and requested a presentation from Principal Webster. I am also grateful for the opportunity to meet with Principal Webster and Julie Keblinsky in July to learn more about the current curriculum and scheduling. “During that meeting, I learned that the current model is intended to integrate science and social studies into other subjects during the years or semesters when they are not offered as standalone courses. “While I appreciate the intent behind this model, I remain concerned about its premise. Science and social studies are core academic disciplines that provide students with essential knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking. Yet under the current schedule, students are not guaranteed consistent instructional time in these subjects. Instead, exposure to content in these disciplines may depend on whether opportunities for integration arise within other classes. “To be clear, I strongly support interdisciplinary learning. Integrating science and social studies across the curriculum can enrich students’ educational experiences and help them make meaningful connections across subject areas. My concern is not with integration itself, but with relying on integration as a substitute for dedicated instruction in core disciplines.” Dr. Webster said that they’ve been monitoring test scores, talking to teachers, seeing how the pilot program works. It’s in its third year now of this schedule. One science teacher, she said, told her he’d seen positive outcomes with full year science and that there was a stronger classroom community. Another science teacher had concerns over the readiness last year, but she isn’t feeling that way about this year’s current class. A third teacher for social studies said he loves the full year. A fourth teacher of social studies hasn’t said that anything has changed. For the three fathers who spoke at the school committee meeting, the fractured science curriculum caused concerns. One father said that when he spoke to others, “all were surprised and confused as to why there was no dedicated, continuous science education,” at the school. Though students are testing well in science and math, he worried that without continuity in education, learning is lost. “We shouldn’t have to choose between key learning disciplines,” he said. Matthew Bergin, another father, agreed, adding, “I’m just a little concerned.” In her letter, Dumont wrote, “As the parent of a recent sixth grader who completed an entire year without a dedicated science course, I saw very little evidence that this integration was occurring in a consistent, systematic, or readily identifiable way. This is not a criticism of our middle school teachers, who have been uniformly excellent. Rather, it is a structural criticism of the current schedule.” Dr. Webster gave an update about all aspects of the schedule and how it’s created and she also spoke to social and emotional learning (SEL) in middle school. It’s explicitly taught but also embedded. Science is embedded as well and explicitly taught at all but that one grade. The school schedule is built from lunch out, then electives like art and physical education are placed, before going into the instruction time, teacher planning time, multi-tier support systems (MTSS), and then social and emotional learning. Teachers have to have 250 minutes a week of planning time per their contracts. That’s the minimum and occurs when their students are at specials. “The schedule is really not the purview of the board,” School Board Chair Marie Yarborough reminded the other board members and the public and thanked Dr. Webster for the presentation. The parents were also thanked for coming. LINK TO LEARN MORE [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/despite-strong-rankings-some-bar) [ Despite Strong Rankings, Some Bar Harbor Parents Raise Concerns About School's Science Education ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/despite-strong-rankings-some-bar) Carrie Jones · Jun 4 [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/despite-strong-rankings-some-bar) HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other. We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going. If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship. It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now. Thank you so much for being here. Founding member information can be found here. Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you. Subscribe Share Bar Harbor Story Share Leave a comment
The Big Holes in Wearable Heart Rate Variability And Readiness Scores
On September 9th, Apple announced it was revamping its Apple Watch Health Sensing System, rolling out a Readiness score (0 to 10), and increasing the frequency of heart rate variability (HRV) outputs 24-fold. This can be viewed as upping its competition with various other consumer wearable sensors. These “readiness scores” as a composite of multiple metrics, with heart rate variability (HRV) being front and center for most. The majority of Americans are now using wearable sensors, which equates to well over 100 million adults. HRV and Readiness scores are increasingly being marketed as a measurement of autonomic nervous system health, a digital marker for future disease, a clock for biological age, and a holistic metric to promote healthspan and even longevity. (Apple also introduced a new longevity tab and “Health Age”.) None of this has been proven. In this edition of Ground Truths I am going to review what we know about heart rate variability and readiness scores. Heart Rate Variability HRV is the variation in normal heart cycle timing. The variability of the heart rate, the barely perceptible millisecond changes in time between consecutive heart beats (see R-R intervals in the Figure below, left panel), is due to interplay between the sympathetic and parasympathetic (vagal nerve) inputs. Distinct from heart rate, individuals with the same heart rate can have very different HRVs. It is a rough reflection of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, inadequate to say whether a person’s ANS function is abnormal. For more than three decades, heart rate variability (HRV) has been measured and several studies have found an association of low HRV and clinical outcomes, particularly a link with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. There have also been less well established links of low HRV to risk of early cognitive impairment, dementia, mental illness, Type 2 diabetes and substance abuse. An important reminder is that HRV is a surrogate marker without any established cause-and-effect relationship. If you increase your HRV, that doesn’t mean it will improve health outcomes. In fact, there is no hard evidence for that. All that work linking to health outcomes was done with electrocardiogram (ECG) derived HRV. Now, in the era of consumer wearables, this is getting assessed differently, by optical pulse (yes, the lights you see) plethysmography (PPG) or what is called pulse rate variability (PRV). They are not the same, as shown below (right panel) and only concordant when the delay between the ECG and pulse is kept constant, which basically means at rest. I should mention there’s also what I will call MPV, a mattress mechanical movement sensor, a derived heart rate variability, that companies like Eight Sleep use, even further away from directly measuring HRV. HRV has not one uniform measurement but many different types of quantification, such as RMSSD, the magnitude of difference between successive R-R intervals of normal sinus beats (N-N) or SDNN, the standard deviation of NN intervals, both in milliseconds. SDNN is one of the so-called frequency domain HRVs (others are LF, HF, LF/HF). Different wearable sensors use different metics; Apple has relied on SDNN and nearly all of the others use RMSSD, which is generally considered the more accurate metric. There’s also the different length of time measured, such as for a matter of minutes, all day, or an overnight’s sleep. Short measurements are especially problematic since they don’t capture enough of respiratory modulation and other factors that influence HRV. Share Ground Truths How well does HRV correlate with PRV? There are very limited studies, especially independently done. One that is commonly cited was conducted by Air Force researchers in only 13 healthy adults assessing Oura ring 3 and 4, Whoop 4.0, and Garmin Fenix 6 and showed a correlation coefficient of 0.88 to 0.97 and a mean absolute percentage error from 6 to 10%. The correlation is not a perfect 1.0, but there’s at least a fairly high level of correlation. HRV is supposed to increase during the night due to takeover of the parasympathetic nervous system, and higher during deep sleep. A recent example of my 1 week, all day “HRV,” and one during sleep is shown below. As you can see, the N of 1 data are inconsistent for the same days from different sensors (Oura, AppleWatch, Fitbit Air, and Eight Sleep) by patterns, absolute numbers, and comparison with prior days and weeks. The largest study in over 8 million Fitbit users (the old version, not Google Fitbit Air, introduced in May 2026) gives you a sense of the effect of age, sex, and the 2 different main HRV (here PRV) metrics, with RMSSD on the left and SDRR (=SDNN) on the right below. That study, from data collected in 2018, is a major outlier, since all the more recent ones are tiny with respect to sample size. Many of the companies have not had independent evaluation of their HRV, such as Eight Sleep, but have published a low standard error on their website. There are some other published studies on the correlation between HRV and PRV, but they are all small and only in healthy adults. A scoping review emphasized the lack of study in underrepresented individuals, including the aged, people of color (which affects the PPG signal), and individuals who are underweight or obese. Add the typical adult age 60 plus with one or more chronic diseases. For example, one study in over 900 adults found poor correlation of HRV and PRV, non-uniformly underestimated across many chronic diseases (cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, respiratory, and others), concluding PRV is “an invalid surrogate for HRV.” A recent systematic review of 43 studies comparing HRV and PRV found reasonable pooled absolute standardized error (HRV as gold standard) but only 10 of the studies provided quantitative synthesis in ideal conditions. Their main conclusion was similarly cautious: “PPG-derived HRV [PRV] should not be regarded as universally interchangeable with ECG-derived HRV across all devices, populations, and recording contexts.” Factors Affecting HRV and PRV That gets me to the long list of factors that affect HRV (and PRV) besides the device, the type of measurement (RMSSD, SDNN or others), the person’s signal, the sensor site, the duration of data capture, if weighting by sleep stage is used, how artifact is processed and corrected. And this list is not complete!: Oura puts out data from their community of users (who input data) on what affects their overnight HRV. The factors currently provided are: no alcohol (increase 8%), melatonin (increase 2%, float tank (increase 2%), wine (decrease 4%), and party (decrease 14%) in overnight HRV. Must be some big parties! Subscribe What is a PRV measurement good for? It has been falsely characterized as an index of “autonomic balance” and a specific indicator of stress. A 2018 review of the studies available for HRV and its relationship to stress, not using any of the current wearables, found that stress can lower HRV. But so can many other factors. The non-specificity of the signal, indexed to the table above, is striking. Evidence from a UK Biobank study of over 46,000 participants with actual HRV looked at genetically predicted HRV, a genetic risk score, that failed to show the expected HRV-mortality link, indicating that _HRV is likely not causa_l, but rather a reflection of person’s physiologic state. A review of consumer wearable HRV data from 5 longitudinal studies showed that nighttime PRV was not associated with perceived stress, and surprisingly higher HRV, in the largest cohort (N=717 participants), was correlated with higher stress. An Oura ring cohort of 525 first-year college students found a link between overnight PRV and perceived stress, but that was also seen with resting heart rate, sleep, and respiratory rate. Several very small studies have examined the relationship of HRV and athletic injuries or guiding training with mixed, and predominantly negative results. HRV biofeedback training with paced breathing had no significant effect on reducing stress or raising HRV, as demonstrated with sham controlled trials. When HRV for multiple days showed a decline in conjunction with body temperature, the Oura ring published data for prediction of Covid. The WHOOP company sponsored an observational study, published in 2026, of 30,000 users for 72 weeks, without a control group, that reported reduced alcohol intake (5.8 % points) by self-report. That doesn’t tell us much, and particularly about the merits of HRV for behavioral change. If you use the same device and conditions as longitudinal trends for multiple (at least 2-3) weeks that may be the one way to get something useful from the measurements. Data for overnight sleep with minimal motion and using RMSSD is the best proxy for real HRV. The reason to look at trends rather than any given night is that it more likely represents something, even though you won’t know with certainty what the “it” is. Keep in mind there are no data, no peer-reviewed evidence, to show that HRV fluctuation in-person has any correlation with health outcomes. Share Readiness Scores These are proprietary scores that integrate different metrics for each of the wearables: no algorithms have been disclosed. They are unvalidated against health outcomes. In a review of 14 composite health scores of readiness and recovery, HRV contributed 86% to the scores, followed by reading heart rate (79%), physical activity and sleep duration (both at 71%). That review noted the substantial variability in measurement protools and lack of standardization. Sleep staging is notoriously inconsistent and inaccurate by these sensors, which adds further to the HRV uncertainties for what the scores, which use sleep stage data, mean. Only resting heart rate has been shown consistently across devices to be extremely accurate. I’ve made a Table to summarize what we know about which metrics are included, the scores, any peer-reviewed studies that compared the readiness score with health outcomes, and the corresponding (if any, NA-not available) citation. You will note that some companies do not use the term “readiness," such as WHOOP for recovery, and Garmin, which has 2 different scores, one of which is Body Battery. Eight Sleep uses the term “Fitness Score.” They all include HRV; Apple includes a new metric they call “Recovery HRV” which among other components uses 7-days of sleep, but it is unclear what this means or how it is differentiated from other scores (there are clearly no data for outcomes). We have no knowledge of how the different components are weighted or whether any of these scores are better than resting heart rate, HRV alone, physical activity, or any other single metric. Since none of these are standardized, they are not interchangeable, so if you get a 90 for Oura that has no relationship to a 90 on a Google Fitbit Air. Notably, the company can update its algorithm for readiness score at any point without notification to device users. Without any useful evidence of actionability for these scores or established relationship with health outcomes, it is hard to make a case for their value. At the Apple recent announcement they showed their Readiness score (0-10) on the watch (Figure below) but there are no published data on this score, not even on their website. It’s available only on their new Watch Series 12 or Ultra 4 [of course, ;-)]. That exemplifies the problems with these scores, lack of data and evidence for being meaningful to promote health. Perhaps the best study (which isn’t saying much) is the WHOOP Recovery for golfer performance, because it did correlate with an objective outcome, even though there was no control group and the authors were all from the company. Among the 389 pro golfers, an absolute 10-per cent point increase in Recovery score was associated with about 0.5 fewer strokes per round. But that’s hardly a health outcome! WHOOP is also conducting a study in over 2,700 runners to see if their recovery score will be linked to less injuries and improved performance, but that is not yet published and has no control group or randomization. Putting This in Context For two decades I’ve been enthusiastic about the potential for digital health and particularly wearable biosensors. Over the years, we’ve seen some great progress for their ability to promote physical activity and accurately detect atrial fibrillation (the first FDA cleared deep learning AI for consumers). That work was the subject of rigorous research. But there are holes in the data and evidence for other metrics. One notable one is the “VO2 max” story that I wrote about earlier this year. At that time many subscribers asked me to cover heart rate variability, which I finally got to here. When I dived into the research and publication for HRV and readiness scores, I expected to find at least some that were of high quality and demonstrated their utility by linkage to health outcomes. To my surprise, I found none. The wearable sensor measurements for HRV (PRV) are, for the most part, accurate, but that validation work has only been done in small studies of healthy adults and does not take into account the long list of factors, from the device, software side, and the user side, that affect HRV measurements. Moreover, this metric chiefly relies on optical sensing and, as we have learned for heart rate PPG sensing, may be less accurate in people of color. Keep in mind that all of the health outcome association evidence comes from ECG-derived HRV; none are from wearable sensor data. I will repeat the key point: there's no peer-reviewed evidence to show that in-person HRV fluctuation—or efforts to raise your HRV— has any correlation with health outcomes. For those of you who look at your HRV on awakening, or even 2+ week trends of it being low, I hope this context helps to relieve any anxiety. Yes, low HRV (not PRV) has been shown to increase risk of some diseases as summarized above. But efforts to raise your HRV—a surrogate metric— has not been established for improving any health outcomes. HRV does not have any evidence of causality (the genetic evidence actually goes against this possibility). In this summary, I have not included data for other wearable sensors such as Polar, Samsung, Withings, Suunto, Amazfit, Coros, Ultrahuman, or additional mattress sensors. These are beyond my first-hand experience, and as far as I know from my in-depth review none have any peer-reviewed published data that differ from the 6 sensors I’ve reviewed here. From the points I’ve gone over above, we’re not ready for readiness scores. Besides being proprietary, they are predominantly based on metrics that have their own issues. It’s compounding the problem, like building a house without a solid foundation that has never undergone a rigorous inspection, and then selling it. Like I mentioned for PRV, you can look at trends over weeks rather than any single day, to get a handle, but even that may not be helpful. There’s simply no evidence that these scores meaningfully relate to health outcomes. I’d emphasize they might, but that requires doing prospective or randomized studies to prove it. None exist. There’s great promise for HRV/PRV utility_. For example**,**_ Prof Maiken Nedergaard, who discovered the brain glymphatics that are essential in eliminating metabolic waste products from the brain during sleep, has posited that HRV could be a non-invasive marker for neuromodulator oscillations, brain-body regulatory circuits, and brain clearance. That would be extremely useful, but like everything else on HRV and readiness scores it requires solid research and validation. The lay media isn’t helping much to get the story straight. Earlier this year The Economist published a piece entitled “The most useful indicator of your overall health” which ordained HRV as an “accumulated stress score.” That’s akin to the false assertion about VO2max: “V02 max is the singular most powerful marker for longevity.” As I’ve summarized here, that is not established. The fact is that so many things can lower HRV, including physical exercise (especially an intense workout), reduced sleep quality, stress, the list above, no less the device, signal, and software. Whatever fluctuations observed have not been correlated with any health outcome. Sadly, “datamaxxers” are widely using HRV and readiness scores that have never been validated to mean anything. We already know that for some people using the sensors for sleep metrics, it can induce “orthosomnia,” an obsession to get high sleep quality, with associated high levels of anxiety. In an experiment done by a company to promote sleep quality for its employees, “For those employees who did use the trackers, many reported feeling perfectly rested until their tracker told them they had had a terrible night. Others were told that they had slept like a baby when they had actually been lying awake worrying about the quality of their sleep. “ The same problem can result from preoccupation with HRV or readiness scores, with anxiety that would lead to further reduction in both. It you are using a wearable like >100 million American adults, it’s OK to look at these data, but contextualized with the major caveats reviewed here. If you are one to require evidence that HRV or readiness scores are linked to health outcomes, you may not even want to look. The companies make it hard to turn them off! Let me end with the companies that make and sell wearables. Apple’s doubling down on HRV (24-fold more reporting and heart rate very 5 seconds) and introduction of a Readiness score tells us that consumers have bought into these metrics and they are joining the club. However, all of this is occurring with a backdrop of tens millions of users, claims about the data that are not backed up by adequate evidence, marketing way out in front of whatever limited data exists, and not being transparent about their readiness score algorithms. The companies can well afford to do the research that is needed to connect these metrics with health outcomes show, once and for all, that increasing HRV or using readiness scores promotes our health. If they believed and invested in the products they are selling, we’d not be in this position of not knowing. That’s essentially where we are with HRV and readiness scores. Perhaps someday this will change and we’ll have good reason to embrace them. NB: I wrote this post. No AI. I have no conflicts of interest with any of its content. Loading... Ground Truths has 215,000 subscribers from every US state and 214 countries. There are over 300,000 followers of Ground Truths so more than 90,000 folks who can easily convert to be free subscribers. Your subscription to these free essays and podcasts makes my work in putting them together worthwhile. If you’re not a subscriber, please join! If you found this interesting PLEASE share it! Share Ground Truths The proceeds from all voluntary paid subscriptions go to support our summer internship program. It enabled us to accept and support a record number of 62 summer interns that joined us in 2026! These are high school, college and medical students selected from thousands of applicants. We couldn’t do this expanded program without the funds coming in through Ground Truths. Thank you!
Apple Explains Why the iPhone 18 Pro Has a Variable Aperture
Apple explains why it added variable aperture, how it works, and what it means for how people capture photos and videos on iPhone.