All posts tagged: development

UK bans meat, dairy imports from Hungary, Slovakia after foot-and-mouth case – POLITICO

UK bans meat, dairy imports from Hungary, Slovakia after foot-and-mouth case – POLITICO

Published by Sam

The U.K. farming industry was devastated by an outbreak of the disease in 2001, with more than 2,000 farms affected and more than 6 million animals slaughtered. The reports from Hungary follow claims last month that banned German products were being “auto-cleared” to enter the U.K. six days after the ban was put in place, with experts blaming the incident on a failure to update the government’s import notification system, known as IPAFFs. Giving evidence to the environment, food and rural affairs committee earlier this week, NPA CEO Lizzie Wilson claimed illegal German products were still bypassing the border. Currently, she explained, there is “no mechanism to identify those lorries that have self-declared themselves as low-risk and therefore auto-cleared so they don’t have to be inspected.” A spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has denied the claims. “Restrictions were immediately brought in on animal products from Germany to prevent an outbreak,” they said. “These goods are not permitted to enter the country, any consignment carrying them will not progress through our …

Trump’s FDA Cuts Are Putting Drug Development at Risk

Trump’s FDA Cuts Are Putting Drug Development at Risk

Published by skeptic

Budget and staffing cuts at the Food and Drug Administration orchestrated by President Donald Trump could prevent new drugs “from being developed, approved, or commercialized in a timely manner, or at all,” according to dozens of annual reports sent by pharmaceutical companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission in late February. “The Trump Administration has enacted several executive actions that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, the FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities,” says one filing from Xenon Pharmaceuticals, a company based in Canada that researches treatments for epilepsy. “If these executive actions impose constraints on the FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively affected.” In February, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency laid off hundreds of FDA employees, causing widespread panic about the status of grant applications, active clinical trials, and drug approvals. Just over a week later, it reinstated a handful of staffers who regulate the American food supply and review medical devices. The …

Use the power sound to achieve less stress and better self development

Use the power sound to achieve less stress and better self development

Published by skeptic

While there is certainly an app available for practically anything, few are as extraordinary as the app that provides transformative solutions for stress relief, relaxation, self-empowerment, and much more. Best of all, new users can get a lifetime subscription to the Harmony Hypnosis Premium Plan for $99.99—that’s 50% off. The app has several free hypnotic meditations that can make a significant difference in how you feel after just five days of listening to one session every day. The Premium Plan offers personalized self-hypnosis and meditation therapy sessions designed to assist you in cultivating confidence and calmness, just as you were seeing a professional hypnotherapist. The hypnotic experience has a mesmerizing effect, enhanced by having suggestions delivered through both ears. Your brainwaves are trained by syncing their rhythm with sound pulses that help you quickly achieve a deeply relaxed state. Harmony can be connected to your health app to monitor your heart rate and other physiological benefits and measure your progress toward calmness and relaxation. There are dozens of sessions on multiple subjects, and new topics …

Quantum sensing technology opens new doors in drug development

Quantum sensing technology opens new doors in drug development

Published by skeptic

The ability to probe the smallest building blocks of matter has long fascinated scientists, fueling advancements in medicine, security, and materials science. Traditional methods like nuclear quadrupolar resonance (NQR) spectroscopy have revealed molecular structures by detecting interactions between nuclear quadrupole moments and local electric field gradients. Despite their utility, these techniques are fundamentally limited by their reliance on macroscopic ensembles of nuclei. This limitation masks the molecule-to-molecule variations critical in fields such as protein research or drug development. Recent breakthroughs at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering) have overcome these limitations. Using quantum sensors embedded in diamonds, researchers have refined NQR spectroscopy to detect signals from individual nuclei—a feat previously deemed impossible. This advancement opens the door to transformative discoveries in molecular science. Traditional NQR spectroscopy employs radio waves to identify molecular “fingerprints,” making it a staple in detecting explosives, analyzing pharmaceuticals, and conducting thermometric studies. These methods, however, average signals across trillions of atoms, overlooking subtle but significant molecular differences. In protein research, for example, small structural variations …

Real estate firms pivot to energy development amid booming data center demand

Real estate firms pivot to energy development amid booming data center demand

Published by skeptic

Brendan Wallace has a lot on his mind lately. Wallace is the co-founder of Fifth Wall Ventures, a nine-year-old proptech venture firm with $3.2 billion in assets under management. He’s also a homeowner in L.A., which continues to battle raging wildfires. While his place remains intact, many of his friends haven’t been so lucky.  Wallace is becoming accustomed to external forces beyond his control. First, the pandemic drastically altered the landscape for many of Fifth Wall’s limited partners, a who’s who of real estate (CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Lennar). Unfortunately for many of those same players, office vacancy rates still stand at roughly 20% nationwide, and analysts don’t expect that number to budge as many companies abandon the idea of a full return to the office. Proptech has also taken its slings and arrows in recent years, partly owing to high-fliers whose fortunes turned fast, like WeWork, which emerged from bankruptcy last June following a failed IPO and massive restructuring.  Change typically presents hidden benefits, however, and Wallace believes the industry is poised for a …

mfg Solicitors boosts residential development team

mfg Solicitors boosts residential development team

Published by skeptic

Worcestershire law firm mfg Solicitors has expanded its residential development team with the appointment of Paul Harris as a new senior associate. Clare Regan, partner and head of the firm’s commercial property department, said: “Paul is a talented and commercially aware residential development specialist, underlined by his reputation across the West Midlands. “We are so lucky to have within the Commercial Property team a well-respected partner in Rhiannon Clark, and a site assembly and plot sales solicitor in Becky Husband,” she added. “Paul’s arrival will enable us to assist more developers and landowners in the region, with the technical and commercial experience to get deals done and to build on mfg’s reputation for service and approachability.” Paul is well respected for his specialism in a variety of residential matters, including strategic and immediate land promotion, as well as developer acquisition and disposal. He will be based at the Worcester office. He said: “My roots are in the area, and my experience with some of the biggest housebuilders, promoters and landowners mean there are exciting times …

Why there’s no such thing as normal in child development

Why there’s no such thing as normal in child development

Published by skeptic

For parents, carers and teachers, it’s often tempting to base our thinking on a child’s development around what we understand as “normal”. Much of the time we do this without thinking, describing a child as “doing well” in one subject and “behind” in another. Whenever we make this sort of comparison, we have some sort of mental benchmark or yardstick in our head: for example, a toddler should be able to climb on furniture by age two. Increasingly, child development researchers are arguing that the same thing happens in child development research — the study of how behaviours and abilities such as language develop. Many of the studies that claim to research child development either implicitly, or explicitly, claim that their findings are universal. There could be many reasons for this. Sometimes there’s a temptation to oversell conclusions, sometimes it might be the way findings are interpreted by readers or the media. The upshot is that what’s been found in one group of children is then taken as the standard — the yardstick against which …

Why materials science is key to unlocking the next frontier of AI development

Why materials science is key to unlocking the next frontier of AI development

Published by skeptic

But this pace of innovation is not guaranteed, and the next frontier of technological advances—from the future of AI to new computing paradigms—will only happen if we think differently. Atomic challenges The modern microchip stretches both the limits of physics and credulity. Such is the atomic precision, that a few atoms can decide the function of an entire chip. This marvel of engineering is the result of over 50 years of exponential scaling creating faster, smaller transistors. But we are reaching the physical limits of how small we can go, costs are increasing exponentially with complexity, and efficient power consumption is becoming increasingly difficult. In parallel, AI is demanding ever-more computing power. Data from Epoch AI indicates the amount of computing needed to develop AI is quickly outstripping Moore’s Law, doubling every six months in the “deep learning era” since 2010. These interlinked trends present challenges not just for the industry, but society as a whole. Without new semiconductor innovation, today’s AI models and research will be starved of computational resources and struggle to scale …

Nothing trumps political engagement for personal development

Nothing trumps political engagement for personal development

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles The energy in Washington DC was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Every conversation echoed the tension and excitement. And there we were, a group of UK students, immersed in one of the most anticipated US elections in modern history. The journey that led us here had been intense and exhilarating. It all began here with an initiative run by The Talent Foundry to join an immersive programme called Inspire US24, which would culminate in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of the US elections. The starting point was a competition for young people to create social campaigns for community betterment. Seventy-five schools and sixth form colleges developed campaigns with missions that resonated in their communities. My team’s campaign, TalkAboutPeriods, from Preston Manor High School in London, refined our ideas tirelessly. Each team brought something unique: from tackling menstrual health stigma and healthcare inequality to addressing public vaping awareness and community infrastructure issues. The competition was fierce, knowing only ten teams would make it to the final in London, where …

Teacher development: Government to review delivery

Teacher development: Government to review delivery

Published by skeptic

Sheffield Hallam University appointed to review and develop a ‘theory of change’ Sheffield Hallam University appointed to review and develop a ‘theory of change’ More from this theme Recent articles The government has commissioned Sheffield Hallam University to review and develop a “theory of change” for teacher development delivered by teaching school hubs (TSHs). Details of what this might entail, or the context behind it, are sparse. But Richard Gill, chair of the Teaching School Hubs Council, a sector body set up to oversee the network, described it as an evaluation of the teaching school hub programme. Some 87 teaching school hubs are accredited to deliver training and development including the early career framework and national professional qualifications. Richard Gill The Department for Education said the project will build on the existing evaluations already completed into the ECF and NPQs. The DfE has awarded the university a £38,797 contract for work until March next year. It will involve engaging with a range of stakeholders. James Noble-Rogers, executive director of the Universities Council for the Education …