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  • Cabinet approves resumption of new gas connections; declares climate and agriculture emergencies – Pakistan

    Cabinet approves resumption of new gas connections; declares climate and agriculture emergencies – Pakistan

    Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Wednesday announced that the federal cabinet has approved the resumption of new gas connections across the country, ending the ban imposed in 2021.

    Briefing the media on cabinet decisions along with Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, he said the government had responded to strong public demand by lifting the restriction on new connections.

    He said the cabinet took several key decisions, including restoring new domestic gas connections, particularly in newly developed housing areas where residents had been forced to rely on LPG cylinders and alternative fuels.

    The minister assured that both Sui companies had already completed procurement processes for meters and pipelines, and would immediately begin processing pending applications once the official notification is issued.

    Existing applicants would also be given the option to convert their requests to RLNG-based connections by paying the prescribed security fee to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, he added.

    Highlighting the government’s commitment to easing the energy burden on citizens, the minister said the decision would help reduce household fuel expenses and provide much-needed relief amid inflation.

    He explained that although RLNG would remain costlier than domestic natural gas, it would be around 30–35 per cent cheaper than LPG, thereby easing household fuel costs.

    “We already have a surplus of RLNG and adequate electricity availability, but we are working to strengthen governance and sustainability in the sector,” he added.

    He said that one bidding round for domestic gas exploration had already been completed, while another would conclude soon.

    Chaudhry said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had decided to lift the ban on domestic gas connections imposed in 2021 to address a longstanding public demand.

    He expressed gratitude to the premier and the petroleum minister for resolving a major issue that households had been facing for years. “The difficulties caused by the suspension of gas connections will now be resolved,” he added.

    Malik said efforts were also being made to attract international companies, including those from Turkiye, China and the United States, for both onshore and offshore exploration.

    “By gradually boosting local production, we aim to reduce reliance on RLNG and provide cheaper, indigenous fuel to the people,” he said.

    He reiterated the government’s determination to achieve sustainability in the energy sector, reduce dependence on costly imports, and gradually shift towards indigenous fuel resources.

    On the floods, he said the prime minister was personally supervising a comprehensive damage assessment in consultation with provinces. The federal government, he assured, would fulfil its responsibility to provide maximum relief to the victims.

    Cabinet declares climate, agriculture emergencies

    Meanwhile, Chaudhry said the federal cabinet declared both a climate and agriculture emergency in the country.

    Sharing details of the cabinet meeting, he said the premier had decided, and the cabinet endorsed, the immediate enforcement of a climate emergency.

    Climate change, he said, was already one of the most debated subjects globally and was severely affecting Pakistan through shifting weather patterns.

    “Unfortunately, in past decades, we failed to protect our forests and trees, while encroachments narrowed natural waterways — rivers, streams, and channels that once allowed easy passage of rainwater. This has worsened the flooding situation we see today,” he said.

    The minister added that the climate minister was tasked with submitting a comprehensive report to PM Shehbaz within 15 days. He added that the cabinet would deliberate on the report, to figure out how Pakistan could cope with climatic challenges and prepare effective strategies to protect the nation from such devastating losses in the future.

    “Since 2022, we have witnessed the devastation caused by floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab. Now, this water is flowing into Sindh from the five-river basin, and our prayers and efforts are focused on minimising the losses there as well,” he said.

    The minister said the floods had caused massive destruction, particularly to agriculture, along with human and financial losses — a matter discussed in detail during the cabinet meeting.

    An agriculture emergency, he said, would help assess the extent of damage to agriculture across the country and determine how farmers can be compensated for their losses.

    Chaudhry stressed that climate and agriculture challenges could not be addressed without the cooperation, support, and consultation of provincial governments.

    Therefore, he said the prime minister had decided to convene an immediate meeting of all provincial stakeholders under the leadership of their respective chief ministers.

    “This country belongs to all of us, and together we must overcome its challenges,” he said, adding that stakeholders from GB and Azad Kashmir would also participate in the huddle.

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  • The emergence of globular clusters and globular-cluster-like dwarfs

    The emergence of globular clusters and globular-cluster-like dwarfs

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  • Mixed export performance seen across goods producers in Asia – S&P Global

    1. Mixed export performance seen across goods producers in Asia  S&P Global
    2. Niche Asian exports wilt because of Trump’s tariffs  Financial Times
    3. Asia must prioritize regional cooperation for economic resilience amid tariff uncertainty  Brookings
    4. Singapore exporters absorbing more than 20% of US tariff costs: Nomura  The Straits Times
    5. Asia Export Hubs Show Robust Activity Despite Trump Tariffs  Bloomberg.com

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  • NASA Fuel Storage Research Launches Aboard Resupply Mission

    NASA Fuel Storage Research Launches Aboard Resupply Mission

    Space missions rely on cryogenic fluids — extremely cold liquids like liquid hydrogen and oxygen — for both propulsion and life support systems. These fuels must be kept at ultra-low cryogenic temperatures to remain in liquid form; however, solar heating and other sources of heat increase the rate of evaporation of the liquid and cause the pressure in the storage tank to increase. Current storage methods require venting the cryogenic propellant to space to control the pressure in fuel tanks.

    NASA’s Zero Boil-Off Tank Noncondensables (ZBOT-NC) experiment is the continuation of Zero Boil-Off studies gathering crucial data to optimize fuel storage systems for space missions. The experiment will launch aboard Northrop Grumman’s 23rd resupply mission to the International Space Station.

    Even with multilayer insulation, heat unavoidably seeps into cryogenic fuel tanks from surrounding structures and the space environment, causing an increase in the liquid temperature and an associated increase in the evaporation rate. In turn, the pressure inside the tank increases. This process is called “boil-off” and the increase in tank pressure is referred to as “self-pressurization.”

    Venting excess gas to the environment or space when this process occurs is highly undesirable and becomes mission-critical on extended journeys. If crew members used current fuel storage methods for a years-long Mars expedition, all propellant might be lost to boil-off before the trip ends.

    NASA’s ZBOT experiments are investigating active pressure control methods to eliminate wasteful fuel venting. Specifically, active control through the use of jet mixing and other techniques are being evaluated and tested in the ZBOT series of experiments.

    ZBOT-NC further studies how noncondensable gases (NCGs) affect fuel tank behavior when present in spacecraft systems. NCGs don’t turn into liquid under the tank’s operating conditions and can affect tank pressure.

    The investigation, which is led out of Glenn Research Center, will operate inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the space station to gather data on how NCGs affect volatile liquid behavior in microgravity. It’s part of an effort to advance cryogenic fluid management technologies and help NASA better understand low-gravity fluid behavior.

    Researchers will measure pressure and temperature as they study how these gases change evaporation and condensation rates. Previous studies indicate the gases create barriers that could reduce a tank’s ability to maintain proper pressure control — a potentially serious issue for extended space missions.

    The research directly supports Mars missions and other long-duration space travel by helping engineers design more efficient fuel storage systems and future space depots. The findings may also benefit scientific instruments on space telescopes and probes that rely on cryogenic fluids to maintain the extremely low temperatures needed for operation.

    The investigation could improve tank design models for medical, industrial, and energy production applications that depend on long-term cryogenic storage on Earth.

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  • From Vouchers to Visas: China’s Innovative Plan for AI Dominance – Foreign Policy Research Institute

    1. From Vouchers to Visas: China’s Innovative Plan for AI Dominance  Foreign Policy Research Institute
    2. On China’s open source AI trajectory  Interconnects | Nathan Lambert
    3. The “Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing” special action is about to be implemented, highlighting the leading advantages of Geekplus-W’s benchmark cases.  富途牛牛
    4. CN MIIT Researching Implementation Plan for ‘AI+ Manufacturing’ Special Initiative  AASTOCKS.com
    5. China targets global leadership in AI-driven energy sector by 2030  South China Morning Post

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  • Study explains how a rare gene variant contributes to Alzheimer’s disease | MIT News

    Study explains how a rare gene variant contributes to Alzheimer’s disease | MIT News

    A new study from MIT neuroscientists reveals how rare variants of a gene called ABCA7 may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s in some of the people who carry it.

    Dysfunctional versions of the ABCA7 gene, which are found in a very small proportion of the population, contribute strongly to Alzheimer’s risk. In the new study, the researchers discovered that these mutations can disrupt the metabolism of lipids that play an important role in cell membranes.

    This disruption makes neurons hyperexcitable and leads them into a stressed state that can damage DNA and other cellular components. These effects, the researchers found, could be reversed by treating neurons with choline, an important building block precursor needed to make cell membranes.

    “We found pretty strikingly that when we treated these cells with choline, a lot of the transcriptional defects were reversed. We also found that the hyperexcitability phenotype and elevated amyloid beta peptides that we observed in neurons that lost ABCA7 was reduced after treatment,” says Djuna von Maydell, an MIT graduate student and the lead author of the study.

    Li-Huei Tsai, director of MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Picower Professor in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, is the senior author of the paper, which appears today in Nature.

    Membrane dysfunction

    Genomic studies of Alzheimer’s patients have found that people who carry variants of ABCA7 that generate reduced levels of functional ABCA7 protein have about double the odds of developing Alzheimer’s as people who don’t have those variants.

    ABCA7 encodes a protein that transports lipids across cell membranes. Lipid metabolism is also the primary target of a more common Alzheimer’s risk factor known as APOE4. In previous work, Tsai’s lab has shown that APOE4, which is found in about half of all Alzheimer’s patients, disrupts brain cells’ ability to metabolize lipids and respond to stress.

    To explore how ABCA7 variants might contribute to Alzheimer’s risk, the researchers obtained tissue samples from the Religious Orders Study/Memory and Aging Project (ROSMAP), a longitudinal study that has tracked memory, motor, and other age-related changes in older people since 1994. Of about 1,200 samples in the dataset that had genetic information available, the researchers obtained 12 from people who carried a rare variant of ABCA7.

    The researchers performed single-cell RNA sequencing of neurons from these ABCA7 carriers, allowing them to determine which other genes are affected when ABCA7 is missing. They found that the most significantly affected genes fell into three clusters related to lipid metabolism, DNA damage, and oxidative phosphorylation (the metabolic process that cells use to capture energy as ATP).

    To investigate how those alterations could affect neuron function, the researchers introduced ABCA7 variants into neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.

    These cells showed many of the same gene expression changes as the cells from the patient samples, especially among genes linked to oxidative phosphorylation. Further experiments showed that the “safety valve” that normally lets mitochondria limit excess build-up of electrical charge was less active. This can lead to oxidative stress, a state that occurs when too many cell-damaging free radicals build up in tissues.

    Using these engineered cells, the researchers also analyzed the effects of ABCA7 variants on lipid metabolism. Cells with the variants altered metabolism of a molecule called phosphatidylcholine, which could lead to membrane stiffness and may explain why the mitochondrial membranes of the cells were unable to function normally.

    A boost in choline

    Those findings raised the possibility that intervening in phosphatidylcholine metabolism might reverse some of the cellular effects of ABCA7 loss. To test that idea, the researchers treated neurons with ABCA7 mutations with a molecule called CDP-choline, a precursor of phosphatidylcholine.

    As these cells began producing new phosphatidylcholine (both saturated and unsaturated forms), their mitochondrial membrane potentials also returned to normal, and their oxidative stress levels went down.

    The researchers then used induced pluripotent stem cells to generate 3D tissue organoids made of neurons with the ABCA7 variant. These organoids developed higher levels of amyloid beta proteins, which form the plaques seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. However, those levels returned to normal when the organoids were treated with CDP-choline. The treatment also reduced neurons’ hyperexcitability.

    In a 2021 paper, Tsai’s lab found that CDP-choline treatment could also reverse many of the effects of another Alzheimer’s-linked gene variant, APOE4, in mice. She is now working with researchers at the University of Texas and MD Anderson Cancer Center on a clinical trial exploring how choline supplements affect people who carry the APOE4 gene.

    Choline is naturally found in foods such as eggs, meat, fish, and some beans and nuts. Boosting choline intake with supplements may offer a way for many people to reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Tsai says.

    “From APOE4 to ABCA7 loss of function, my lab demonstrates that disruption of lipid homeostasis leads to the development of Alzheimer’s-related pathology, and that restoring lipid homeostasis, such as through choline supplementation, can ameliorate these pathological phenotypes,” she says.

    In addition to the rare variants of ABCA7 that the researchers studied in this paper, there is also a more common variant that is found at a frequency of about 18 percent in the population. This variant was thought to be harmless, but the MIT team showed that cells with this variant exhibited many of the same gene alterations in lipid metabolism that they found in cells with the rare ABCA7 variants.

    “There’s more work to be done in this direction, but this suggests that ABCA7 dysfunction might play an important role in a much larger part of the population than just people who carry the rare variants,” von Maydell says.

    The research was funded, in part, by the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, the Freedom Together Foundation, the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation, James D. Cook, and the National Institutes of Health.

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  • Kate Moss opens up about close bond with late David Bowie

    Kate Moss opens up about close bond with late David Bowie

    Kate Moss discusses close friendship with late David Bowie 

    Kate Moss just discussed how close she was to late David Bowie.

    The 51-year-old model opened up about her friendship with the rock icon and the unusual nickname he gave her.

    Speaking on BBC Radio 6 Music‘s new series Music Uncovered – David Bowie: Changeling, she said: “David, who by the way’s nickname for me was Smasher, started phoning me on my birthday.”

    “I didn’t need any other presents after that,” she confessed.

    A couple of years before the Space Oddity rocker passed away, he had a very special request for his friend.

    She recalled: “At the BRIT Awards in 2014 Bowie asked me to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf.”

    “I said I would, as long as I could wear something from his archive,” Moss revealed.

    “I wore the original Kansai Yamamoto bodysuit that David had worn for his Rainbow Theatre gigs in 1972 – it fit me like a glove. It was a very surreal experience,” she said of that time.

    However, previously, Kate Moss has admitted that David Bowie would often tease her when she would not be able to fit into some of his outfits.

    She told BBC Radio 6 Music in 2016: “Yeah, it didn’t fit me! When I saw him after that he was like, ‘Mmm, I heard the clothes didn’t fit.’ All right, rubbing it in!’”


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  • Gravitational wave detector confirms theories of Einstein and Hawking: ‘This is the clearest view yet of the nature of black holes’

    Gravitational wave detector confirms theories of Einstein and Hawking: ‘This is the clearest view yet of the nature of black holes’

    The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is celebrating 10 years of cutting-edge gravitational wave science by confirming predictions made by physics luminaries Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Roy Kerr — and potentially revealing a path toward a theory of quantum gravity.

    LIGO achieved this latest milestone by detecting gravitational waves, or tiny ripples in spacetime. The existence of gravitational waves was first predicted by Einstein in his 1915 theory of gravity, general relativity. The newly detected ripples resulted from the collision of two black holes, each estimated to have a mass around 32 times that of the sun.

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  • Mark Ronson on Memoir ‘Night People’ and the Music That Made Him

    Mark Ronson on Memoir ‘Night People’ and the Music That Made Him

    When Mark Ronson began writing his debut memoir a few years back, he grossly underestimated the commitment. “It ate my life,” he tells Variety of “Night People: How to Be a DJ in ’90s New York City,” an electric reminiscence of his days as a DJ on NYC’s club playground. “I’ve turned down production gigs left and right and whatever else it is, but I am proud of it in the way that it’s as good as I could have made it with my whatever, my writing talents.”

    Ronson may be playing coy — at 50, he’s remarkably humble for someone who’s halfway to an EGOT and performed at the Super Bowl — but “Night People” explains why. Before producing canonical records with Bruno Mars and Amy Winehouse, he had humble beginnings as a teen discovering the art of deejaying, lugging records in cabs across town and building his name one club show at a time. “Night People” is written with a sense of clarity and, above all, appreciation for the pedigree of his musical career, a blueprint for the records he would inevitably produce and the dynamic impact he would leave on pop culture.

    Currently, Ronson is in the promotional blitz for “Night People,” out Sept. 16 via Grand Central. He initially intended to release a single to coincide with the book drop, and was crafting an album fueled by samples and flips of records from that ’90s era. But ultimately, he doubled down on “Night People,” a read that makes you nostalgic for a time you may have never experienced. 

    Below, Ronson breaks down a handful of the 245 songs named in the book that were key to his makings.

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  • Caitlin Urwin’s Rugby World Cup diary

    Caitlin Urwin’s Rugby World Cup diary

    It’s great to be in Bristol after a fun few days in Brighton. We got some nice weather on our day off on the Sunday so I went to see some sights and obviously had to have an ice-cream near the beach – which is a little rockier than we’re used to but it’s still nice to be close to the water. We’ve been able to see a lot of the country during our travels for games, and York was really beautiful as well. All the old buildings over here makes it pretty different from back home and it’s amazing to see.

    On our days off we have Tabua Tuinakauvadra and Layne Morgan arranging a few social nights and activities, but any time there’s been an afternoon or morning off we’ve been getting out and about in small groups as well. My parents are over here so it’s been nice to spend time with them and mix it up with some time with the team. This is my first experience of a big international camp, so just being here has been an amazing experience and something I’ll certainly never forget.

    For when we’re not able to get out for a coffee out and about, we’re lucky enough to have a coffee machine in camp. Georgina Friedrichs has been the expert, making coffees left, right and centre and supplying the goods for everyone. I’ve got to give it to her, she does some pretty good latte art as well! There’s usually a decent queue of people waiting on her expertise. I’m not sure what her record is but the other day there were seven cups lined up. She should definitely be trying to make some money out of it.

    She’s one of many players we are fortunate to have in camp. My team-mates are all incredible at passing on their skills and knowledge, something Lori Cramer in particular has always been amazing at doing. I’ve played with her at the Queensland Reds, and her being a really experienced player who has played in multiple different teams I think she just asks the right questions of you and points you in the right direction. She’s got a lot of experience and is funny as hell, so she’s a good player to have around. In really high-stress moments she is a calm head. As silly as she is, she’s really switched on as well and just knows what to say and do in those moments.

    On the field, the game against England on Saturday didn’t go our way but it has still given us a lot of positives. The first half in particular was really promising, and if we’re able to take more of that into this weekend’s game then it could be anyone’s day. Canada will be a tough team to beat; they have plenty of speedsters but we’ve been working on our defensive structures and I’m backing our girls to keep them quiet. We’ve got things to work on and fixes to make, but we’re going to bring a lot of energy, play to our strengths and see what unfolds at Ashton Gate.

    The atmosphere around the cities and the stadiums has been amazing. It’s so cool hearing our family and friends and everyone who has come all the way over from Australia to support us. When they get around those calls it makes the girls on the field really excited knowing they’ve got something and someone to play for.

    But it’s not just our fans that have made this tournament great. It’s been so good at all the stadiums how the crowds have embraced all the players and have supported the games. Everyone is excited about women’s rugby in general, so there’s been support for every player by everyone in the stadiums. Each team has their supporters but at the end of the day everyone is excited that women’s rugby is stepping into a new stage.

    It really feels like this is just the start of something. The more that people can see the game, the more that we get around, the more it’s going to grow. The more international games that we can play, the better that we’re going to get, but also at the end of the day this is a sport we love to play, so if we get to play it more often then that would be amazing.

    Starting this Saturday. Hopefully we can get a big crowd in Bristol with plenty of support for both teams in what is a big quarter-final against the Canadians – see you there!

    Caitlin

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