The 17th edition of the Asia Cup will kickstart on Tuesday (September 9) with Hong Kong taking on Afghanistan in the tournament opener. As many as eight teams are competing in the Asia Cup 2025, with the final on September 28. The much-important India vs Pakistan clash is scheduled for September 14 in Dubai.
Eight teams have been divided into two groups each in the Asia Cup 2025. India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman constitute Group A while Group B includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong.
When and where to watch Asia Cup 2025 on live TV in India?
Sony Sports Network has the official broadcast rights of Asia Cup 2025 in India. The live telecast of all the matches of Asia Cup 2025 will be available on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 1 HD, Sony Sports Ten 5 and Sony Sports Ten 5 HD TV.
How to watch Asia Cup 2025 live on mobile?
Live streaming of Asia Cup 2025 will be available on SonyLIV app and website in India.
Can Asia Cup 2025 be watched live on SonyLIV for free?
Unfortunately, unlike JioHotstar on special events, fans in India cannot watch the Asia Cup 2025 for free on SonyLIV. Live streaming of Asia Cup 2025 on SonyLIV will be available on a subscription basis.
Only about 1 in 7 stock photos found online correctly depict the right way to measure blood pressure, researchers reported in a new study. Photo by Photo Sesaon/Adobe Stock/HealthDay News
Folks figuring out how to take their blood pressure at home might be tempted to use online stock photos to see how it’s done — but they really shouldn’t, a new study warns.
Only about 1 in 7 stock photos found online correctly depict the right way to measure blood pressure, researchers reported in the journal Hypertension.
“We expected that about 50% of images would be accurate. However, our findings were worse than expected,” said lead researcher Alta Schutte, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia.
“Because people tend to remember images better than words — a phenomenon known as the picture-superiority effect — inaccurate visuals could have serious public health consequences,” she added in a news release.
Home blood pressure readings have become increasingly important, with clinical guidelines now recommending that people regularly self-monitor their pressure and report the data to their doctor, researchers said in background notes.
But fewer than 1 in every 5 home blood pressure device owners report that someone has shown them how to properly take their own readings, researchers said. Many likely turn to the internet for guidance.
For the new study, researchers analyzed more than 1,100 images found on 11 major online stock photo sites using the term “blood pressure check.”
Only 14% of those images depicted people properly checking their blood pressure in the correct posture and with the right device, researchers found.
Things the pictures get wrong, based on clinical guidelines, include:
Not sitting upright with the back supported in a chair (73%).
Not resting the whole forearm on a flat surface or table (55%).
Using a manual self-pumping device rather than an electronic upper-arm device (52%).
Dangling feet rather than placing them flat on the floor (36%).
Not putting the mid-arm on the same level as the heart (19%).
Talking with someone else while taking the reading (18%).
Sitting with legs crossed (13%).
Placing the blood pressure cuff over clothing, rather than on the bare arm (12%).
Standing or lying down rather than sitting during the reading (5%).
“More people are checking their blood pressure at home,” Schutte said. “But because of the inaccurate depictions online — even on reputable websites — it is very likely that people who look for information on the internet about blood pressure will see these images and may use the incorrect technique at home.”
And that’s a problem, she cautioned.
“If this happens, people will get blood pressure readings that are either too high or too low, which can lead to wrong conclusions about their blood pressure and possibly too much or too little treatment when these blood pressure measures are shared with their health care team,” Schutte explained.
Interestingly, while photos of people taking their own blood pressure at home were most often incorrect, they tended to be better than photos showing blood pressure taken in a doctor’s office, researchers found.
About 25% of images showing self-measurement of blood pressure were accurate, compared to 8% of images depicting a health professional taking a patient’s blood pressure, results show.
Even major health organizations and universities have been using inaccurate images, Schutte noted.
“We urge these organizations, media outlets, stock photo creators, web developers, medical journalists and researchers to take a closer look at their online images,” Schutte said. “They should check that all images show how to measure blood pressure accurately and represent the proper techniques to reduce the likelihood of incorrect blood pressure readings at home and in clinical settings.”
Shutte said this is the first comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy of images being provided to the public about taking your own blood pressure.
Dr. Daniel Jones is chair of the American Heart Association’s high blood pressure guideline writing committee.
He said the new study highlights the importance of using accurate images to demonstrate the proper technique for measuring blood pressure.
“Home blood pressure monitoring is recommended for patients to help confirm an office diagnosis of high blood pressure and to monitor, track progress and tailor care as part of an integrated care plan,” he said in a news release.
More information
The American Heart Association has more on home blood pressure monitoring.
Nils Pratley (Oil and gas imports are a problem. Labour should rethink its North Sea stance, 2 September) cites Offshore Energies’ estimate that offshore jobs are being lost at a rate of about 1,000 a month. What this and a similar estimate by the shadow energy minister, Andrew Bowie, of 400 job losses every fortnight up to 2030, misses is that this is less than half the rate of job losses under the Tories between 2013 and 2023. During this time, they continued to invest in new oil and gas fieldsand 227,000 workers lost their jobs all the same. That’s a rate of 436 a week.
Analysis of North Sea data by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition shows that by 2027, more than two-thirds of the UK’s gas needs will be completely dependent on imports, and even if new fields are approved, the UK will still be 94% reliant on imports by 2050. Given the horrendous carbon footprint of US liquefied natural gas, that makes it even more imperative that we make any continued gas use as residual as possible.
According to official statistics, only 14% of the gas originally estimated to be in the North Sea basin remains commercially viable. Even if this only supplied national needs, at current levels of demand existing fields would hold just three years of gas, while new fields would add less than six months. So there is no jobs lifeline in opposing the ban on new investment.
Unions should be campaigning for a plan like Uplift’s New Deal for the North Sea, which sets out a lifeline from oil and gas to work on offshore renewables. Holding out the fantasy that overturning the ban on investing in new fields would make any significant difference to the loss of work in a dying area is leading their members up the garden path, where Nigel Farage is waiting for them. Paul Atkin Greener Jobs Alliance
Expansion of North Sea oil, as proposed by Kemi Badenoch is common sense. In this context, she could be deemed to be more representative of blue-collar workers than Keir Starmer. And I say this as a blue-collar trade unionist.
North Sea oil is not a mere fuel but also an industrial feedstock. And it has applications in the daily maintenance of green tech such as wind turbines, nuclear plants and railways, as well as in their initial manufacture. For such tech one also needs high-grade steel, and for high-grade steel one needs coke coal. Hence the rationale for the coke coal applications in south Wales and Cumbria. More jobs in Scotland, the north and in south Wales would make for a more “one nation” United Kingdom, complete with less housing pressure in the overpopulated south.
There are much more effective ways to help the environment, such as expanding public transport, planting more trees and tightening up on plastic waste. Cleaner countryside, rivers and seas will feed into carbon sinks. Let’s focus our energies there. John Barstow Pulborough, West Sussex
Nils Pratley’s call to maximise North Sea oil is at odds with the science. The International Energy Agency, the United Nations Environment Programme and the UK’s own Climate Change Committee have all made it clear that new fossil fuel fields are incompatible with net zero. The answer is not “less bad barrels” but scaling up renewables, storage and efficiency – cheaper, cleaner and job-rich. Colin Ettinger London
In a fractious nation, the building of the dam was one thing that brought people together
The vastness of the building site was at first overwhelming for the young Ethiopian mechanical engineer.
Hundreds were already digging the foundations in tough conditions for what is now Africa’s largest hydro-electric dam, straddling the Blue Nile. The dam will help electrify the country as well as provide power to the region.
Moges Yeshiwas was 27 when he arrived in that remote corner of western Ethiopia in 2012, eager to gain valuable experience in his profession. The completion of the project is set to change his nation, but it also changed his life.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed formally launched the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), hailing it as “the greatest achievement in the history of the Black race”.
Abiy, alongside Kenya’s President William Ruto and Djibouti’s Ismail Guelleh, unveiled a plaque before powering up the turbines.
The dam will help electrify the country as well as provide power to the region.
It wall stretches 1.78km (1.1 miles) across a valley and stands 145m (475 feet) high – it is constructed with 11 million cubic metres of concrete. It has created a huge reservoir, called Lake Nigat, which means dawn in the Amharic language.
The dam’s construction on a Nile tributary, which provides most of that great river’s water, was controversial with downstream countries. Diplomatic tension with Egypt cranked up and there was even talk of conflict.
But for Ethiopia the Gerd has become a symbol of national pride and, in Abiy’s view, it has placed his country firmly on the world stage.
On a personal level, Mr Moges, now 40, was also “very proud to be part of it”.
“Watching the dam’s progress day by day was deeply satisfying. I came seeking employment, but somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like just a job. I grew attached to the project, worrying about its future as if it were my own.”
There were challenges.
“Lengthy separation from family was difficult,” he told the BBC. Mr Moges could only go home – a 400km-drive away in Bahir Dar – twice a year.
The dam site’s remoteness and the at times extreme heat – with temperatures sometimes hitting 45C – also presented issues. Plus, the working hours were long.
“Our shifts ran from 7am to 7pm, with only an hour’s break for lunch. Then we handed over to the night crew, because the work had to continue around the clock,” Mr Moges said.
His job was to make sure the building work was structurally sound and construction standards were maintained.
The Gerd project was a rare unifying force as the Horn of Africa country has been rocked by political violence and ethnic strife in the past decade.
While some, like the engineer, worked directly on the dam, millions of other Ethiopians were, literally, invested in it.
People from all walks of life contributed to building the dam through donations and the purchase of government-issued bonds.
Despite claims by US President Donald Trump that Washington financially supported the dam’s construction, Addis Ababa maintains it was fully funded domestically.
AFP via Getty Images
It took 14 years of round-the-clock work to build the dam
Several fundraising campaigns were held that saw members of the public contribute multiple times.
Clinical nurse Kiros Asfaw was one of those.
Despite being from the Tigray region, which was blighted by a two-year civil war, he contributed when he could to the dam’s construction ever since the plans were first announced in 2011.
He says he bought government bonds more than 100 times – though he had to pause his purchases during the conflict, when basic services, including banking, were suspended in Tigray.
Mr Kiros’ motivation was rooted in remarks made by Ethiopia’s late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who oversaw the beginning of the project, that all Ethiopians must come together in backing the dam.
“I promised myself to do everything I could to help it through the finish line,” the father-of-five told the BBC.
Now, with all the turbines working, thoughts turn to what difference the power can make to Ethiopia.
At full capacity it should generate 5,100MW of power – more than double what the country produces without the dam and enough to supply tens of millions more homes in the country. That is however dependent on the infrastructure being in place to carry the power to different parts of the country.
Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Ifeta told the BBC that nearly half of the country’s 135 million people do not have access to electricity.
“That is what we want to reduce now in the coming five years. Our intention is by 2030 at least 90% of our nation should get access to electricity,” he said.
Thirty-five-year-old Getenesh Gabiso, who lives in Alamura, a farming village just outside Hawassa, a major city in southern Ethiopia, is one of those who is imagining the difference it could make.
Her life mirrors that of millions of others in rural Ethiopia.
Despite her small, mud-walled thatched hut being just 10km from Hawassa, Ms Getenesh, her husband and her three children do not have access to electricity.
For cooking she collects firewood around their farm nearby.
And for light they use kerosene-powered lamps. Her husband, Germesa Galcha is concerned for the health of his family.
“[Getenesh] used to have big and beautiful eyes. But all these years of smoke is damaging them. They have become watery,” he said.
“I worry what I would do if the fumes suffocate my children.”
Amensisa Negera / BBC
Getenesh Gabiso is hoping that electricity will come to her village
For Ms Getenesh, who, when it is dark, sometimes relies on the weak light from her husband’s mobile phone, just being able to see at night is what she dreams of.
“I want to see light in my house. All the other electric goods don’t matter now. Just light in the evening is all I want,” she tells the BBC.
They are looking forward to the difference that the power from Gerd could make. But the government minister, Habtamu, admits that much more needs to be done to expand the infrastructure of the national power grid.
Tens of thousands of kilometres of cable still need to be laid to ensure that small towns and remote villages can be connected.
But for the engineer, Mr Moges, the power generated on the Blue Nile will eventually make a difference.
He has a son who was born while he was working on the dam.
“I hate the fact that I couldn’t be there for him as much as I needed to,” he says. “But I know his future is going to be bright because of something I have contributed, and I am so proud to tell him that when he grows up.”
Four most experienced female officials appointed for quarter-finals
Ian Tempest (England) to reach 50 tests as a Television Match Official
Match official profiles are available in the World Rugby Media Zone.
World Rugby has announced the Emirates Match Official appointments for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 quarter-finals on 13-14 September.
The four most-capped female match officials in test history will take charge of the matches in Exeter and Bristol in Sara Cox (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) and Aurélie Groizeleau (France).
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Cox will referee the first quarter-final between defending champions New Zealand and South Africa, playing in the knockout stage for the first time, in her hometown of Exeter on Saturday at 13:00 local time (GMT+1).
Cox, who last weekend became the first female to referee 50 tests with Japan’s win over Spain in York, will equal the record of 11 Women’s Rugby World Cup matches in the middle held by Nicky Inwood of New Zealand with her first quarter-final appointment.
Davidson, with 43 tests to her name, will referee Saturday’s other quarter-final between Pool B Canada winners Canada and Australia in the first match of the tournament at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol at 16:00.
Barrett-Theron takes charge of the first of two all-European quarter-finals on Sunday between France and Ireland at Sandy Park in Exeter at 13:00, her 48th test in the middle. This match will see Ian Tempest (England) bring up 50 tests as a Television Match Official.
The last of the quarter-finals, between hosts England and Scotland in Bristol at 16:00, will see Aurélie Groizeleau (France) referee a Women’s Rugby World Cup knockout match for the first time on the occasion of her 43rd test in the middle.
The wider team remains in contention for the remainder of the tournament.
Chair of the World Rugby Emirates Match Officials Selection Committee, Su Carty, said: “I am full of admiration for the way our match officials have performed throughout this remarkable Women’s Rugby World Cup, both in their professionalism and the positive example they set.
“They have played their full role in what will be remembered as a joyous and highly competitive pool phase. I would like to congratulate Sara, Hollie, Aimee and Aurélie, along with the assistant referees and TMOs, on their well-deserved appointments. We now look forward to an exciting weekend of knockout rugby.”
World Rugby Women’s High Performance Referee Manager, Alhambra Nievas added: “Congratulations to those who have been appointed. The selection process was extremely challenging given the consistently high level of performance across the team.
“Our match officials have worked tirelessly to achieve consistency and clarity in their decision-making, creating the best possible platform for the players to showcase their talent – something that has been clear for all to see throughout this tournament.
“There is a strong culture and sense of unity within this group, as well as a close working relationship with the coaches and players. While the referees are the ones who receive the recognition for these appointments, this is truly a team effort. We are fortunate to have an outstanding group of referees, assistant referees, and TMOs, all driven by a shared commitment to being the best they can be, both individually and collectively.”
NBA great LeBron James wrote a rare op-ed in Chinese state media this week, pointing to basketball as an avenue for diplomacy amid tensions with the US.
Writing in Monday’s edition of the People’s Daily newspaper, the 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star said “basketball is not only a sport, but also a bridge that connects us.”
The piece was published as James was in China ahead of two NBA preseason games next month in Macao between the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets. And it comes as leaders in China and the US seek options to avert a potential trade showdown between the world’s two biggest economies.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose steep tariffs on China, which has said it would respond with retaliatory levies of its own. Trump said last month that he would delay the tariffs for 90 days as negotiators from both countries work on a potential deal, which could ultimately lead to a summit later this year or early next year between the US leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
As the standoff unfolds, James’ comments caught the attention of the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, which reported: “It is rare for the mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party to run articles carrying the byline of foreign sports stars. It is more common for international sporting heroes to connect with fans in China via Chinese social media.”
The NBA is working to rebuild its brand in greater China, where basketball has long been popular. The games on October 10 and 12 will take place more than five years after the league was effectively banned for a while in China over NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s decision not to punish Daryl Morey in 2019 for tweeting support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
The geopolitical rift started when Morey, then the general manager of the Houston Rockets and now GM of the Philadelphia 76ers, tweeted support for protesters while the Nets and Los Angeles Lakers were in China.
The tweet was deleted, but the fallout lasted years. No NBA games were shown in China for a year, and broadcasts of games only started returning regularly in 2022.
There’s been a series of moves toward a return to normalcy between China and the league, including a visit by Golden State’s Stephen Curry and then-Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox last year that drew enormous crowds. Curry returned for a visit last month.
Ahead of his 23rd season in the NBA, James said he was amazed by the reception he has received in China.
“It’s super humbling for me to be able to come here, so far away from home, and get the reception and the love, I just wanted to pour it back to the community and to this country,” Xinhua, the official news agency, quoted him as saying as he wrapped up his visit in Chengdu.
Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel is poised to acquire the parent company of Secret Cinema, the London-based immersive film and TV business that has put on shows themed on movies such as Star Wars and Stranger Things.
Emanuel, who co-founded US entertainment group Endeavor and now runs the company behind World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is to buy TodayTix Group, the Guardian understands.
The US-based digital ticketing firm acquired Secret Cinema in a $100m (£90m) deal in 2022 and went on to expand the UK operation to the US and Australia.
The deal is the second for Emanuel’s as-yet-unnamed global events company, which is backed by Apollo Global Management and Redbird Capital Partners, and likely to formally launch in the coming weeks.
RedBird Capital has investments including Premier League team Liverpool FC, AC Milan and is trying to push through a deal to buy the Telegraph newspaper group.
In May, Emanuel’s events company bought the Frieze global art fair and publishing group from Endeavor, where he remains executive chair of its Hollywood talent agency WME Group, in a deal valuing the business at $200m.
The consortium is also in the running to buy Endeavor’s tennis assets, which include the Miami and Madrid Open tournaments, according to reports.
Secret Cinema was founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Fabien Riggall, initially with mystery screenings at undisclosed venues in London, involving sets and interactive performances. Deals with media companies including Disney were followed by a move into television, initially with Netflix.
TodayTix Group was founded in 2013 by Broadway producers Brian Fenty and Merritt Baer, who met at theatre camp as kids.
The company started out in ticketing with a mission to “find a seat for everyone”, with brands including New York Theatre Guide.
It then branched out into creating its own events including a supper club in New York’s Times Square and holding concerts with Broadway stars in Brooklyn.
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Secret Group, the former parent of Secret Cinema, came in for criticism during Covid for receiving almost £1m from the government’s culture recovery fund while more affordable and accessible venues had been turned down.
In 2021, Secret Cinema was forced to defend proposals for an immersive Dirty Dancing event in east London, after residents claimed it would be “hijacking” vital green space during the summer and could present a Covid risk.
Endeavor – which was bought for $25bn earlier this year by the private equity firm Silver Lake – first bought a 70% stake in Frieze in 2016 under Emanuel’s leadership and then took full ownership in 2023.
The mind of a fruit fly encompasses 125,000 nerve cells, squeezed into the space of a poppy seed. At first glance, the fly brain looks nothing like a human brain. But many of the underlying neural circuits are surprisingly similar.
Close-up of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), the model organism used in Fumika Hamada’s research on temperature rhythms and sleep. (Hamada Lab / UC Davis)
Fumika Hamada, a professor of neurobiology, physiology, and behavior, is using fruit flies to study a critical but oft-overlooked brain function: the regulation of our body temperature in a consistent daily rhythm.
“All animals have body temperature rhythms, from flies to fish and humans,” said Hamada. Body temperature influences countless body functions including sleep, blood pressure, and metabolism. “The brain sets the pace of this daily rhythm and uses body temperature to synchronize all other organs.”
Hamada is identifying the molecules and brain cells that do this in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Her work could lead to advances in human medicine, including new treatments for sleeping disorders, and perhaps even new ways to prevent the onset of metabolic syndrome — the constellation of weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and immune dysfunction that undermines the health of millions of Americans.
Flies and humans have similar rhythms
Average human body temperature is around 37°C (98.6°F), but our temperature actually varies by a small but meaningful amount over the course of 24 hours. It falls by about one degree at night and rises throughout the day.
“That evening reduction in body temperature is a cue for the onset of sleep,” says Hamada.
She has found that the body temperature of flies follows a similar rhythm. Because flies are cold-blooded, they can’t regulate their body temperature metabolically as mammals do. Instead, they regulate it behaviorally by perching in places that match the temperature they prefer at a given moment. If Hamada puts flies in a long chamber where the temperature ranges from 18°C at one end to 32°C at the other, most of them hang out in the middle, where the temperature is around 25°C. But at night the flies like it a little cooler and move to where the temperature is closer to 23.5°C.
Fumika Hamada is elucidating the neural circuits and molecules that fruit flies use to sense their environment and regulate their temperature preference in response to eating, changes in light, and the cycle of day and night. Her work could identify potential drug targets for treating disorders of sleep, metabolism, and body weight in humans. (Joaquin Benitez / UC Davis)
“For a long time, people knew little about the mechanism of body temperature rhythm in insects or mammals,” says Hamada. But when she began studying it in flies, she made two major discoveries.
First, she found that in flies this daily rhythm is controlled by a simple network of brain cells, called dorsal neurons. Three sets of these neurons are the key regulators of temperature preference rhythm, and without them, flies lose their rhythm.
Second, she found that some of these neurons require a specific protein, called DH31R, to maintain the temperature rhythm. Of special note is that fruit fly DH31R is almost identical to a protein in mice, humans, and other mammals, called calcitonin receptor. In another experiment, to test if the functions of these two proteins are similar, Hamada found that the calcitonin receptor appears to regulate temperature rhythms in mice. This further illustrates the parallels of molecular pathways between flies and mammals.
For Hamada, these discoveries highlight another important set of questions she hopes to investigate. “Because body temperature is related to sleep, we think this could help us learn more about the regulation of sleep in both flies and mammals,” she says.
Fruit flies in the process of lining up in a chamber, according to their temperature preference. Hamada is using genetic tools to inactivate specific genes in particular nerve cells within the fly brain. She then determines how these changes affect their temperature preference. In this way, she is discovering the neural pathways that integrate circadian rhythm with temperature preference, hunger, satiety, sleep, and other functions. (Hamada Lab / UC Davis)
Links to eating and metabolism
Hamada is also mapping out other important similarities in the way that humans and flies regulate temperature. It is known, for example, that prolonged starvation in humans and other mammals causes a slight drop in body temperature, which may conserve calories by slowing metabolism.
She has found that hungry flies prefer a slightly cooler temperature in much the same way that mammals do. Once the flies have eaten, they go back to preferring the normal warmer temperature. And she has discovered that in flies, this interplay between hunger, satiety, and body temperature is driven by a molecule that is nearly identical to the human hormone insulin. This discovery is interesting, because in humans, insulin plays a critical role in regulating blood sugar levels – and the disruption of this function leads to diabetes.
Most recently, in 2024, Hamada discovered that even the mere taste of sweet food can trigger a fly’s temperature preference to increase slightly — even if that taste comes from an artificial sweetener. Humans and other mammals have a similar response to the initial taste of food.
Because of these strong similarities, Hamada believes that her experiments could lay the groundwork for improving medical care for humans. Figuring out how changes in temperature prepare the body for sleep could identify key proteins and neurons. Researchers could then develop new drugs targeting them to treat sleeping disorders.
Deciphering the connections between eating, insulin, body temperature, and sleep could also yield new treatments for other common ailments.
By studying how fruit flies regulate body temperature, Hamada is uncovering insights that could lead to new treatments for sleep and metabolic disorders in humans. (Joaquin Benitez / UC Davis)
Scientists increasingly recognize that the chronic sleep loss experienced by many Americans can trigger appetite swings, weight gain and abnormal insulin signaling. This leads to poor regulation of blood sugar, and eventually diabetes and high blood pressure. Chronic sleep loss can also impact the immune system, leading to inflammation that increases the risk of heart attacks. Hamada believes that studies in flies could identify the key molecules and nerve cells that are behind these links – opening the door for human studies and improved medical care.
The long-term goal is to address a slow-moving epidemic and reduce the burden of chronic disease in Americans and people around the world. “We can work more quickly in flies,” says Hamada, “because we have so many research tools that allow us to alter gene function precisely, in specific cells in the fly brain.”
Hamada’s work is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Her work utilizes research core facilities at UC Davis, including the West Coast Metabolomics Center and the DataLab.
Fumika Hamada with members of her research team at UC Davis. Together, they use fruit flies as a powerful model to uncover how brain circuits regulate body temperature and how those discoveries could translate into new treatments for sleep and metabolic disorders in humans. From left: Michelle Khine, Gregory Bui, Fumika Hamada, Tadahiro Goda, Richard Ramolete, Alexis Atherley, and Olivia Lopez (Joaquin Benitez / UC Davis)
Allegations of sexual misconduct have hit the Christian music community.
At least five men accused internationally known Christian musician Michael Tait of sexual assault, in what Andrew Mall, associate music professor at Northeastern University, called “the highest-profile case” he’s seen in this section of the music industry.
While this is news to the world, others said Tait’s behavior was “the biggest open secret in Christian music.” Northeastern experts said the alleged incidents were likely exacerbated by the insularity and beliefs of this particular branch of Christianity.
“My hope is that, at the very least, it shifts the conversation within evangelical churches and communities to recognize that this stuff happens,” said Mall, who wrote a book on the Christian music industry. “So many of the young people that grow up in these churches grow up in sheltered environments. They don’t have access to media, or are led to believe that some media isn’t very truthful. There’s less of a concept that (sexual abuse) does happen in the evangelical bubble.”
Tait’s career dates to the late 1980s, when he helped found the band DC Talks while attending Liberty University, an evangelical Christian college. The band released five albums and won multiple Grammys. When it went on hiatus in 2000, Tait performed solo before joining Newsboys, another Christian rock band. He has sold 18 million albums of Christian music, encouraging sobriety and abstinence.
Over the summer, multiple men said Tait sexually assaulted them, with several alleging that they suspect he drugged them. Others said Tait came on to them with unwanted touching or sexual advances.
Tait posted a statement on Instagram admitting to touching men “in an unwanted sensual way” and abusing alcohol and cocaine. A police investigation into the accusations is underway.
09/29/23 – Boston, MA – Northeastern music professor Andrew Mall poses for a portrait on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University11/03/22 – BOSTON, MA. – Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Assistant Professor of Religion and Anthropology, poses for a portrait on Nov. 3, 2022. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern UniversityNortheastern University experts said the insularity and beliefs of the Christian music world may be why it took so long for the victims of Michael Tait to come forward. Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University and Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Mall said the reaction to this has been “really mixed.” Some people in the Christian music world said they were ignorant of his behavior. Others have tried to remain fans and grapple with separating the art from the artist. Some former evangelicals who have since left the church have said they weren’t surprised.
“There’s an idea that this has been known for years (and) that this is going to upend the industry and has potential to end careers far beyond Michael Tait’s, which is why (some people) are distancing themselves because if they did know … that’s a cover-up,” Mall added.
It’s common for sexual misconduct to fester under the surface for years before people feel safe speaking out. But since this is happening in the evangelical Christian entertainment world, it means there are additional factors that might have led to people staying quiet, sources said.
For starters, there is the belief system.
“There is an intense focus on moral purity and perfectionism, which means that evangelicals do not want to be ‘tainted’ by the sin of the world (things like secularism, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive justice),” said Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, an assistant professor of religion and philosophy at Northeastern. “This means creating firm social boundaries and community insularity (against) things they disagree with.”
This includes creating purely Christian entertainment, such as the Christian music industry, which Mall said dates to the ’60s and ’70s.
“That’s when the seeds of the Christian entertainment complex were planted,” Mall said. “Evangelical Christianity started returning to the public sphere under Reagan because they saw the potential for a lot of political influence. Part of that was building up this ecosystem where they could really teach people the ethics and the values that were central to the political ideals that they were trying to promote and propose.”
For a while, the Christian music industry was relatively niche. Albums were sold in Christian music stores and tracks were played on Christian stations. But within the last eight to 10 years, it has gained more popularity with the rise of evangelicalism and social media, Mall said.
There are several genres within the Christian music industry, such as gospel music, praise and worship and contemporary Christian music, which mimics secular market musical trends and doesn’t necessarily talk about God or faith, but is usually created by openly Christian artists.
“That’s become a way (for evangelicals) to justify why it’s OK to listen to certain artists and not others, even if neither of them is talking about faith,” Mall said. “It may be OK to listen to this artist because they are Christian and they’re not going to lead us down a path of temptation, whereas other artists are in the secular entertainment industry where there’s a lot of sin. It’s definitely a way to insulate, but with these very specific purposes in mind, to teach young people, and one of the ways they control what they learn and believe is by limiting their media diet.”
The insularity of the community, down to the entertainment many members consume, may be partially why it took so long for the people Tait allegedly assaulted to come forward, Mall said.
“If we read the reporting (on) the victims, a lot of them didn’t realize how harmful it was,” Mall said. “They didn’t have anyone to talk to, they didn’t go to counseling, they didn’t go to law enforcement. It was just not an option or they didn’t think about it. Only once a lot of time passed … they then had some hindsight to be like, ‘Oh wow, this actually was potentially criminal and harmed and traumatized me.’”
Also complicating the case is the fact that the Tait accusations involve a man preying on other men. Homosexuality is frowned upon in the evangelical community, which may have led to a lot of shame for both Tait and his victims.
“I don’t want to absolve Michael Tait of anything, but if he lived and worked in another industry where homosexuality wasn’t something he had to hide, would he have turned into a person who victimized people?” Mall said. “That’s something that we’ll never know. The sin of homosexuality is so great that it may bring people to a place where they see there’s no other way for them to be themselves, or they at least feel that way. And I can’t imagine how difficult that must be.”
Riccardi-Swartz said research shows that cases like this, where a noted figure breaks from a religion’s framework, can “divide believers” and can prompt a group to become more insulated and focused on purity.
“The Tait case will probably recapitulate the same type of anxieties about perfection and concealment for many evangelicals,” she added.
Mall said he hopes the case will at least shine a light and make people more aware that sexual abuse can happen anywhere, even in spaces focused on moral purity.
“There’s a severe hypocrisy there that can have really dramatic implications,” Mall said. “But cracking open a door so people are aware that things could be different, that’s important and at the very least, acknowledging that people get harmed in Christian communities, in Christian business, in the Christian entertainment industry sector, in the same ways that people get harmed outside of the evangelical bubble. That’s an important message for people to hear.”
AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images
Amensisa Negera / BBC
Getty Images/BBC
