The Government has launched a consultation on how to grow British industry, jobs and skills through public procurement reform, closing 5 September 2025.
Whether you are new to public contracts or have built your business around them, this is an important opportunity to help shape the UK’s economic growth ambitions.
DLA Piper has a cross-discipline and cross-sector team ready to assist with drafting and shaping responses to the consultation, with specialists in procurement and public law experienced in advising bidders and all types of contracting authorities on every element of procurement, including social value, alongside sector experts in construction and infrastructure, technology, energy, and transportation who can help you develop the strongest response possible.
Contact Emma Dowden-Teale and Steven Condie if you would like to discuss the consultation further.
A developer at Virtuos-owned Black Shamrock has said that “any” Xbox Series S game should be possible to port to the Nintendo Switch 2, adding insight into the console’s capabilities.
In terms of the Nintendo Switch 2’s capabilities, while some say it matches the PlayStation 4 in performance, others believe it is closer to the Xbox Series S, partly due to Nvidia’s DLSS frame generation.
In an interview with wccftech on July 7, Eoin O’Grady, technical director at Black Shamrock, explained how the Switch 2 could handle Xbox Series S games.
O’Grady said the graphics card in Nintendo’s new handheld performs “slightly below” the Series S, but the Switch 2’s use of DLSS, which is not available on Xbox, makes the GPU more comparable between the two systems.
Regarding its processor, O’Grady noted that the Switch 2 is closer to the PlayStation 4, but said that “any game shipping at 60 FPS on the Series S should easily port to the Switch 2. Likewise, a 30 FPS Series S game that’s GPU-bound should also port well.
Games with complex physics, animations, or other CPU-intensive elements might incur additional challenges in reaching 30 or 60 FPS or require extra optimisation during porting.”
Black Shamrock has previously worked on titles including Marvel’s Midnight Suns, The Outer Worlds, and Grounded, all of which could be candidates for Switch 2 ports.
The Oropouche virus (OROV), classified under the genus Orthobunyavirus and the family Peribunyaviridae, is recognized as the causative agent of a zoonotic vector-borne disease that presents clinical symptoms very similar to those caused by dengue virus, Zika virus, or other febrile illnesses. Endemic to the Amazon region and first identified in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, the virus has spread throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America over the years, with several reassortants [1], including the new strain, responsible for the recent outbreaks in Brazil and Cuba.
OROV exhibits a sylvatic cycle in forested regions, where vertebrate hosts, such as nonhuman primates, sloths, rodents, and birds, contribute to its circulation, alongside an urban epidemic cycle involving humans [2]. The virus primarily spreads to humans through the anthropophilic biting midge Culicoides paraensis, while in the sylvatic cycle, the primary arthropod vector remains unidentified [1]. However, mosquitoes such as Culex quinquefasciatus, Coquillettidia venezuelensis, and Aedes serratus have been found infected in natural settings [2,3,4].
The OROV genome consists of three single-stranded negative-sense RNA segments: small (S), medium (M), and large (L). The S segment encodes an overlapping open reading frame (ORF) for nucleocapsid and a nonstructural protein, the M segment encodes for two glycoproteins and a nonstructural protein, and the L segment encodes for an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase [5]. Like other multi-segmented viruses, OROV can reassort its genome segments. This mechanism, which occurs during genome replication after the coinfection of a single cell with multiple viruses, can generate progeny capable of altered virulence or immune evasion. Reassortment can also occur during coinfection with different OROV strains, favoring evolution and viral spread by altering vector competence or virulence [6, 7].
Public health concerns about OROV intensified in 2024 following an unprecedented increase in the incidence of human infections in Central and South America, including reports of four fatalities and cases of vertical transmission of the virus linked to miscarriages, fetal deaths, and microcephaly [8,9,10]. Contextually, the detection of OROV in human semen has raised questions regarding its potential for sexual transmission, emphasizing the need for further research in this area [11].
In the same year, the first 19 imported cases of Oropouche (ORO) fever were reported in EU countries [12], and Italy identified its first five cases in travelers returning from Cuba and Brazil [13]. To assess the risk of potential local transmission of OROV in temperate continental Europe, where known competent OROV vectors are not present, research on the competence of other local vectors is necessary to evaluate the current and potential future adaptation of OROV to new ecological niches.
Prior to 2024, vector competence studies focused on OROV were limited in number and primarily conducted on insect species that circulate in endemic regions or North America [2, 14, 15]. To date, no experimental studies have been carried out on European mosquito populations, leaving a significant gap in knowledge regarding the virus’s ability to establish itself in nonendemic regions. The objective of this study is to investigate, through controlled experimental infections, the potential vectorial role of Italian populations of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens in transmitting the newly circulating OROV strain introduced by infected travelers. This particular reassortant has been found to be genetically distinct from the four previously known OROV genotypes, clustering into a highly supported monophyletic clade. This newly identified genotype V also includes viral sequences associated with the 2022–2024 Brazilian outbreak [16].
The experimental work was conducted in a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) facility using two mosquito colonies derived from field populations collected in Rome. Culex pipiens colony originated from larvae and Ae. albopictus from eggs collected using ovitraps employed for Aedes surveillance.
Both of the mosquito species were experimentally exposed to the first OROV strain isolated in Italy, obtained from a patient who had recently returned from Cuba in 2024 [16]. To initiate the infection process, adult female mosquitoes, aged 8–11 days, were allowed to feed for 1 h using a membrane feeder containing a mixture of rabbit blood and an OROV suspension. The final viral concentration of this suspension was 1.7 × 106 TCID50/ml, and the temperature of the blood meal was maintained at 37 °C using a circulating warm water system. After feeding, only fully engorged females were transferred to a controlled climate chamber, maintained at a temperature of 26 ± 1 °C, 70% relative humidity, and a 14 h light/10 h dark photoperiod cycle. These mosquitoes were then sustained on a saturated sucrose solution and monitored for 21 consecutive days. For each mosquito species, a subset of five individuals was sampled at day 0 (immediately after blood feeding). In the case of Ae. albopictus, 20 mosquitoes were randomly collected at 7, 14, and 21 days post-exposure (dpe). For Cx. pipiens, 20 mosquitoes were sampled at 7 dpe, but due to high mortality rates, only 15 mosquitoes were available for collection at 14 dpe. At each collection time, mosquitoes were immobilized by placing them on a petri dish on ice and dissected by removing the legs and wings. Saliva was then collected by inducing salivation with the application of 1 mL of 1% pilocarpine solution to the body and placing the proboscis in a finely drawn quartz capillary tube filled with mineral oil (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1
Detail of mosquito saliva collection following stimulation with pilocarpine 1% inside a capillary containing mineral oil. The arrows indicate the small drops of saliva that flow into a larger drop inside the oily medium
The bodies, legs + wings, and saliva of each mosquito were processed and analyzed separately to determine the presence of the OROV genome, allowing for the calculation of infection rate (IR), dissemination rate (DR), and transmission rate (TR) [17]. After the infectious blood meal, all engorged female mosquitoes of both species were allowed to lay eggs (first gonotrophic cycle, F1). The eggs were allowed to hatch, and the larvae developed into adulthood. For each species, ten pools of five adults, divided by sex (five male and five female pools), were tested for possible transmission of the virus to the F1 generation. The main phases of the experiment are schematized in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2
Main phases of the vector competence experiment: A) virus uptake via infectious blood meal and maintenance of engorged females; B) dissection of a selected number of individuals and collection of body, legs + wings, saliva, and Fast Technology for Analysis of Nucleic Acids (FTA) cards at 7, 14, and 21 days post-exposure. Eggs were collected throughout the experiment; C) RNA extraction from individual samples and molecular screening by real time RT-PCR; D) virus isolation from positive sample homogenates to check virus viability. Created in BioRender. Mancuso, E. (2025) https://BioRender.com/9ie8r8k
Fast Technology for Analysis of Nucleic Acids (FTA) cards were soaked in a sugar solution to collect mosquito saliva weekly and assess the potential presence of the virus throughout the experiment. The supernatant of samples that resulted in positive tests was filtered and inoculated onto Vero cell cultures to evaluate the viability of the virus. The development of cytopathic effects (CPE) in the cell cultures was used as a marker to confirm the presence of infectious virus particles.
The RNA was singularly extracted by each body, legs + wings, saliva, and FTA card specimens, and by pools of mosquitoes of the F1 generation by using the QIAsymphony DSP Virus/Pathogen Midi Kit in combination with the QIAsymphony SP (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). The OROV RNA presence in the different specimens was evaluated by the real Time RT-PCR protocol by RIVM Laboratory (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands) modified from Weidmann et al. [18]. OROV quantification was obtained by comparing the crossing points of the values of the standard curve obtained from tenfold serial dilutions of OROV stocks, with estimated concentration by titration on Vero cells expressed as tissue culture infectious dose (TCID)50/ml.
All results described below are reported in Table 1. Specimens belonging to both Cx. pipiens and Ae. albopictus, which were collected immediately after being exposed to the OROV infectious blood meal (specifically at day 0), were tested and found to be positive for the presence of the virus. The mean viral titers measured in these individuals were 1.3 × 104 TCID50/ml for Cx. pipiens and 1.4 × 104 TCID50/ml for Ae. albopictus, thereby confirming that these mosquitoes had successfully ingested infectious virus particles during the blood meal. For Cx. pipiens, all tested specimens—including their bodies, legs + wings, saliva samples, and FTA cards tested negative for the presence of viral RNA at all collection time points. As a consequence, IR, DR, and TR were all determined to be zero, indicating a lack of infection, dissemination, and transmission potential for this species. In contrast, regarding Ae. albopictus, viral RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in one body sample at 7 dpe and in another body sample at 21 dpe, with cycle threshold values equivalent to viral titers of 1.7 × 105 TCID50/ml and 1.15 × 106 TCID50/ml, respectively. These results led to a cumulative IR of 3.3%, calculated as the number of infected mosquito bodies divided by the total tested. When the supernatant of the two OROV-positive body homogenates was inoculated onto Vero cells, viable virus was confirmed to be present. This was demonstrated by the appearance of CPE at times consistent with the viral titers found in the bodies: 6 days after inoculation for the “7 dpe-positive” body, and 4 days after inoculation for the “21 dpe-positive” body.
Table 1 Viral RNA determination in the tested specimens during the experiment
However, viral RNA was not detected in any of the legs + wings, saliva samples, or FTA cards of this species, indicating a complete absence of disseminated infection as well as an inability to transmit the virus.
Finally, for both mosquito species examined in this study, no virus particles were detected in the F1 generation. Nevertheless, since the results obtained from the first gonotrophic cycle may not be indicative of potential viral transmission to the eggs, further studies in this direction would be advisable to definitively rule out vertical transmission, especially if these populations were to become competent for OROV transmission in the future.
In recent years, the OROV has re-emerged as a significant public health concern, posing a growing threat to human populations in various regions. This resurgence has been characterized by an increasing frequency of epidemics, some of which have occurred for the first time in certain South American and Caribbean countries, such as Cuba. The notable rise in the number of reported cases within endemic areas, combined with the occurrence of cases imported by travelers returning from affected regions to previously unaffected areas, such as Europe and the United States, suggests a broader pattern of viral expansion and circulation [19]. Although scientific evidence strongly supports the idea that C. paraensis midges are more effective vectors of OROV than mosquitoes in the urban cycle [20], the lack of detection of this species in Cuba—where one of the most recent outbreaks occurred—initially suggested a potential role for mosquitoes in transmitting OROV to humans. However, their presence was finally documented for the first time in Cuba in March 2025, following extensive surveillance conducted after the outbreak. While all previously used traps proved ineffective, the midges were caught by human landing catch [21]. Although this new evidence suggests that C. paraensis was likely already present at the start of the outbreak, the lack of detection could be due to the inadequate surveillance system or their low population density. This reinforces the importance of investigating the role of mosquitoes in OROV transmission and whether they may contribute to the establishment of an endemic circulation on the Island of Cuba [22]. Therefore, evaluating the vector competence of different mosquito populations remains a critical factor in preventing the virus’s potential spread to new geographic areas. A thorough understanding of the intricate virus–vector interactions is essential, particularly as the transmission and circulation of the virus could be influenced by the pathogen’s capacity to adapt to different vector species. In line with previous findings regarding American populations of Cx. pipiens and Ae. albopictus, our study indicates a lack of vector competence for the most recently circulating OROV strain in their Italian counterparts. Specifically, our results are consistent with those reported by Payne et al. [15], who demonstrated that experimentally infected American mosquito species were not competent vectors for either historical or recent OROV strains, as evidenced by an IR of 2% and the absence of transmission. Earlier research has demonstrated that multiple mosquito species, including Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens, fail to acquire the virus through natural feeding on infected mice. However, experimental thoracic microinjection of the virus into these mosquitoes leads to significantly increased viral titers, enabling subsequent transmission to naive immunodeficient mice [15]. In light of previous observations, our findings suggest that the primary barriers to infection and transmission are likely located at the midgut level. This finding is consistent with the conclusions drawn by Gallichotte et al. in their comprehensive systematic review of pre-2024 studies [14], which emphasized the importance of midgut barriers in restricting virus acquisition and dissemination rather than attributing these limitations to a fundamental molecular incompatibility between the virus and its mosquito hosts. Although our study did not detect any OROV infection in Cx. pipiens, a single positive saliva sample recently documented by Payne et al. [15], highlights the necessity for ongoing intraspecific surveillance among Cx. pipiens populations. While we acknowledge the limitations of this pioneering study—including the absence of biological replicates, limited sample sizes due to BSL-3 constraints, and the assessment of transmission only to the F1 generation—we consider these preliminary results important as they provide an early indication to health authorities of a negligible risk of OROV circulation by the two main arbovirus vectors in Italy and Europe. Future studies with expanded sample sizes, replicated experiments, different mosquito populations, and evaluation of subsequent gonotrophic cycles will be essential to elucidate the vector competence of these species fully. In summary, despite the experimental limits, our study provides evidence that does not support vector competence in Italian Cx. pipiens and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes for the recently circulating OROV strain in Cuba. Nevertheless, the possibility of co-evolutionary processes and shifts in vector–virus interactions facilitating the adaptation of OROV to new epidemiological contexts and promoting its geographical expansion should not be underestimated. The introduction of OROV fever cases into Italy and other nonendemic regions in 2024, along with the increasing circulation of the virus throughout much of Central and South America, reinforces the importance of maintaining a high level of vigilance as the 2025 vector activity season in Europe approaches. Sustained vector surveillance efforts, combined with comprehensive research on potential transmission dynamics, will be crucial in mitigating the public health risks associated with the continued spread of this emerging arbovirus.
GENEVA: The United Nations on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the deaths of at least 10 people in Kenya where police and protesters clashed during anti-government demonstrations the previous day.
The violence erupted on Saba Saba Day (meaning Seven Seven) when demonstrators annually mark the events of July 7, 1990 when Kenyans rose up to demand a return to multi-party democracy after years of autocratic rule by then-president Daniel arap Moi.
“We are deeply troubled by the killings yesterday of at least 10 people, as well as looting and destruction of property in Kenya,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
She said that “lethal ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons were used” as police responded to the protests.
She highlighted that Kenyan police had reported that at least 11 people were killed, 52 police officers injured and 567 arrests made.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights meanwhile reported at least 10 deaths, 29 injuries, 37 arrests and two abductions, she added.
“We have also received reports of looting and damage to public and private property by unidentified individuals in multiple locations.”
Shamdasani said the violence came “barely two weeks after 15 protesters were reportedly killed and many more injured in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya on 25 June.”
UN rights chief Volker Turk renews “his call for calm and restrain, and full respect for the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” she said.
“It is essential that legitimate grievances at the root of these protests are addressed,” the spokeswoman said.
The UN rights office noted that Kenyan police had announced an investigation into earlier incidents.
Shamdasani stressed that “under international human rights law, intentional lethal force by law enforcement officers, including with firearms, should only be used when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat.”
Turk reiterates “his call for all reported killings and other alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, including with respect to use of force, to be promptly, thoroughly, independently and transparently investigated,” she said.
As search crews were continuing to pick through the wreckage from Friday’s deadly floods in Texas’s Hill Country, mothers on Monday were dropping their teenage children off at Trinity Baptist church in hard-hit Kerrville for camp.
For the past few days, the church had served as a meeting point for families coming to – hopefully – be reunited with children who had attended other camps in the area. One of those was Camp Mystic in Kerr county, which lost more than two dozen campers and counselors during Friday’s deluge. The death toll as of Monday had exceeded 100 across Texas.
And, though that grim number made them nervous and sensitive to the mourning around them, the mothers bringing their daughters to Trinity on Monday said they believed it was important to fight for a return to normalcy amid the devastation.
They also took comfort in the fact that the Trinity summer camp is on a lake and unlikely to experience anything like what had happened days earlier at Camp Mystic and other communities along the Guadalupe River.
One of the women at the church, 26-year-old Brooklyn Thomas, said that some of her core memories as a child had come from camp along the Guadalupe River.
“I’m sure they’ll take some more precautions,” Thomas remarked, contributing to an ongoing discussion about whether public safety alerts sent out ahead of Friday’s flooding reached everyone they needed to reach in time.
Brooklyn Thomas, 26, and Toni Way, 54, at Baptist Trinity church in Texas reflect on the catastrophic flooding. Photograph: Edward Helmore/The Guardian
Thomas was accompanying her mother, Toni Way, to drop Thomas’s sister off at the camp. Way said their instinct to carry on with camp despite what had happened came from something “very deep rooted” within.
“These children’s parents went there when they were kids,” Thomas said. “Every year they send the next generation to camp.”
But scenes of unimaginable heartbreak had also unfolded in the very space where Way and Thomas described their battle to preserve tradition.
Cliff Brown, who had been coordinating the reunification effort at Trinity Baptist, said: “Some have found their children and gone home. Others haven’t.”
Brown said he found hope in how the community had reached out “incredibly” to the families of those who had been lost to offer condolences or whatever assistance they could.
A region unprepared for floods
Way, Thomas and Brown all acknowledged the political discussion surrounding the deadly flooding – about whether Trump administration budget cuts affecting the regional National Weather Service (NWS) office had left the area underprepared.
Government officials, in part, have maintained that warnings of flash flooding were issued in advance. But some residents reported not receiving them – something Texas’s lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, acknowledged while he appeared on Sunday on Fox News.
Kerr county had looked into installing sirens, river gauges and new communication tools on the Guadalupe River in 2017, the New York Times reported, but the plan was not taken up.
Cliff Brown at Baptist Trinity church in Texas helped coordinate reunification efforts at the church after the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River. Photograph: Edward Helmore/The Guardian
In any event, an initial NWS forecast before Friday’s disaster had called for only 3-6in of rain.
But the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, combined with other weather systems that stalled in the area, ended up dumping 12in of rain before dawn on Friday. That is estimated to have increased the discharge of the Guadalupe River from 10 cubic feet per second on Thursday to 111,000 cubic feet per second on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, communities along the Guadalupe River became overwhelmed when the river rose 26ft (8 meters) in 45 minutes on Friday morning.
A focal point of the destruction has been Camp Mystic. The nearly century-old, nondenominational Christian institution – which draws many participants from outside the surrounding area – reported the deaths of 27 summer campers and counselors. Among the dead were its director. Authorities later said 10 girls and a counselor were still missing.
It marked an unfathomably dark chapter in the history of a camp that “has always served as a near-flawless training ground for archetypal Texas women”, as the magazine Texas Monthly put it in a 2011 profile of the institution.
Campers’ belongings after the deadly flooding that killed 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic and left 10 girls and another counselor missing. Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters
While Way was sympathetic to the families affected by the horrors at Camp Mystic, she said she had long ago resigned herself to the fact that flooding from the Guadalupe River has been a hazard throughout her life.
The US Geological Survey calculates that the Guadalupe has flooded notably in 1936, 1952, 1972, 1978, 1987, 1991 and 1997. In 1998, it recorded a flood that exceeded 500-year flood projections.
“There’s been so many floods it’s kind of not funny,” Way said.
Neither Way nor her daughter could imagine the Texas Hill Country summer camp tradition being altered no matter what changes Friday’s devastation may spur.
Brown, meanwhile, offered his perspective on how suddenly things devolved.
“No one had any idea the water would rise like it did,” Brown said. “It came up so quickly it caught people off-guard.”
Astronomers say Earth could be located in a billion-light-year-wide void, illustrated here by the green dot. If so, matter would flow away from us due to stronger gravity from the surrounding denser regions, as shown by the red arrows. And that could solve one of science’s greatest conundrums: the Hubble tension. Image via RAS/ Moritz Haslbauer/ Zarija Lukic.
Earth could be located inside a billion-light-year-wide void, astronomers say.
This could explain the Hubble tension, or disagreements in measurements of how fast the universe is expanding.
The evidence comes in the form of sound waves from the Big Bang known as baryon acoustic oscillations.
The Royal Astronomical Society published this story on July 8, 2025. Edits by EarthSky.
Is Earth in a huge void? Sound waves from the Big Bang suggest so
Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighboring regions of the universe, astronomers say.
Their theory is a potential solution to the Hubble tension and could help confirm the true age of our universe, which is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old.
The latest research – which will be shared at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) in Durham, U.K., on July 9, 2025 – shows that sound waves from the early universe, which the scientists call “essentially the sound of the Big Bang,” support this idea.
Could a void explain the Hubble tension?
The Hubble constant was first proposed by Edwin Hubble in 1929 to express the rate of the universe’s expansion. It can be measured by observing the distance of celestial objects and how fast they are moving away from us.
The stumbling block, however, is that extrapolating measurements of the distant, early universe to today using the standard cosmological model predicts a slower rate of expansion than measurements of the nearby, more recent universe. This is the Hubble tension.
Study lead Indranil Banik of the University of Portsmouth explained:
A potential solution to this inconsistency is that our galaxy is close to the center of a large, local void. It would cause matter to be pulled by gravity toward the higher density exterior of the void, leading to the void becoming emptier with time.
As the void is emptying out, the velocity of objects away from us would be larger than if the void were not there. This therefore gives the appearance of a faster local expansion rate.
He added:
The Hubble tension is largely a local phenomenon, with little evidence that the expansion rate disagrees with expectations in the standard cosmology further back in time. So a local solution like a local void is a promising way to go about solving the problem.
Evidence for this void comes in the form of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs), described as the “sound of the Big Bang.” Image via RAS/ Gabriela Secara/ Perimeter Institute.
What’s the evidence?
For the idea to stand up, Earth and our solar system would need to be near the center of a void about a billion light-years in radius and with a density about 20% below the average for the universe as a whole.
Directly counting galaxies does support the theory, because the number density in our local universe is lower than in neighboring regions.
However, the existence of such a large and deep void is controversial because it doesn’t mesh particularly well with the standard model of cosmology, which suggests matter today should be more uniformly spread out on such large scales.
Despite this, new data that Banik will present at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting 2025 shows that baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) – the “sound of the Big Bang” – support the idea of a local void.
He explained:
These sound waves traveled for only a short while before becoming frozen in place once the universe cooled enough for neutral atoms to form. They act as a standard ruler, whose angular size we can use to chart the cosmic expansion history.
According to the study, a billion-light-year void around Earth would distort the relationship between the size of these sound waves and measurements of redshift, which is what astronomers use to measure how quickly things are moving away in space.
Banik said:
By considering all available baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements over the last 20 years, we showed that a void model is about 100 million times more likely than a void-free model with parameters designed to fit the cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations taken by the Planck satellite.
Study lead Indranil Banik of the University of Portsmouth. Image via LinkedIn.
Next steps
The next step for researchers is to compare their local void model with other methods to estimate the history of the universe’s expansion, such as cosmic chronometers.
This involves looking at galaxies that are no longer forming stars. By observing their spectra, or light, it is possible to find what kinds of stars they have and in what proportion. Since more massive stars have shorter lives, they are absent in older galaxies, providing a way to establish a galaxy’s age.
Astronomers can then combine this age with the galaxy’s redshift – how much the wavelength of its light has been stretched – which tells us how much the universe has expanded while light from the galaxy was traveling toward us. This sheds light on the universe’s expansion history.
Bottom line: New research says sound waves from the Big Bang support the idea that Earth is in a huge void, which could explain the Hubble tension.
Source: Theoretical and observational approaches to the Hubble tension
Via Royal Astronomical Society
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The key to sticking to and reaping the rewards of exercise over the long term may be as simple as doing something you enjoy, say the authors of a new study from UCL.
Previous research has shown that the personalities of people who engage in different types of organized sport tend to vary. But what is less clear is how personality affects the types of exercise people actually enjoy doing.
The new study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, explored whether individual personality traits corresponded to the enjoyment of different types of exercise, whether participants completed a prescribed exercise program, and the subsequent impact on their fitness levels.
The study found several correlations between exercise type and personality traits, including extroverts’ enjoyment of high intensity exercise and the preference of those with the neuroticism trait – associated with people prone to worrying – for short bursts of activity rather than prolonged effort.
Dr Flaminia Ronca, first author of the study from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH), said: “We know that the global population is becoming increasingly sedentary. You often hear about people trying to become more active, but struggling to make lasting changes. In this study, we wanted to understand how personality can influence this to support the development of effective interventions for changes in health behavior.
“We found some clear links between personality traits and the type of exercise the participants enjoyed most, which I think is important because we could potentially use this knowledge to tailor physical activity recommendations to the individual – and hopefully help them to become and remain more active.”
For the study, the team assessed 132 volunteers from the general public with a range of fitness levels and backgrounds, who were assigned either to an eight-week cycling and strength training program (intervention group), or to a resting control group1.
Participants’ benchmark fitness levels were assessed at the beginning of the programme. Strength was tested via press ups, performing a plank to failure, and countermovement jumps (jumping again immediately after landing). This was followed by a low intensity cycling session for 30 minutes, and then a cycling test to measure their peak oxygen capacity (V̇O2 max test) after a short rest.
The team also assessed their perceived stress levels on a scale of one to 10, as well as their personality traits using the Big 5 model, a common personality test in the field of sport and exercise psychology. The Big 5 model groups individuals according to whether their dominant trait is extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism or openness2.
During the exercise programme, participants were asked to rate their enjoyment of each exercise session, before having their fitness level tested again once the program had been completed.
Of the 132 starters, 86 people completed the intervention and all of these participants got fitter and stronger regardless of personality.
How personality trait influences exercise enjoyment
While not all personality traits had a link to exercise enjoyment, several connections were uncovered by the study.
Extroverts tended to particularly enjoy high intensity exercise, such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) and a fitness test of maximum intensity cycling.
Those with a strong neuroticism trait engaged well with the exercise intervention, but preferred bursts of intensity rather than prolonged intensity. They also preferred not being monitored, such as not recording their heart rate while undertaking the program, suggesting that these individuals might appreciate being given space for independence and privacy when engaging in exercise.
Those who were conscientious tended to have a well-rounded fitness level, meaning that they tended to score more highly on aerobic fitness as well as core strength, and were generally more physically active. However, conscientiousness didn’t predict higher enjoyment of a specific form of exercise. The authors say this might be because conscientious individuals tend to be driven by the health-related outcomes of engaging in physical activity rather than enjoyment, suggesting that adherence to the program may be less about enjoyment than because it was ‘good for them’.
The impact of personality and exercise on stress
At the beginning of the study, the stress levels of the intervention group and the control group were similar. However, the only group to experience a significant reduction in stress levels after exercising were those who scored highly in the neuroticism trait.
Professor Paul Burgess, an author of the study from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: “We found that people who scored more highly in the neuroticism personality trait showed a particularly strong reduction in stress when they undertook the fitness training recommended in the study. This suggests that there may be particular benefits in stress reduction for those with this trait.”
The researchers concluded that the most important thing people can do to improve their activity levels is to find something that they enjoy, which will make it more likely that they’ll stick with it.
Notes
The program consisted of:
Three weekly cycling sessions of varying intensity: a 60-minute light ride at an easy pace, a 30 min threshold ride at a moderate but sustainable effort, or a High Intensity Interval Training session where the level of exertion varied.
One weekly bodyweight strength session.
The five traits measured in The Big 5 model are:
Extroversion: how energetic, outgoing, and sociable an individual is, including how much they seek company and stimulation.
Agreeableness: Involves attributes related to cooperation, trust, compassion, and a considerate nature toward others.
Conscientiousness: Reflects traits like orderliness, reliability, and the drive to achieve goals through careful planning and persistence.
Neuroticism: Measures emotional stability and the tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, mood swings, or irritability.
Openness: Describes a person’s willingness to try new experiences, curiosity about the world, and imagination.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Tuesday handed Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of the group into police custody for 10 days, extending their three-month detention.
In March, Mahrang and other BYC members were arrested for “attacking” the Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after the group faced a police crackdown while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018.
Mahrang has been held at the Hudda District Prison in Quetta under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) — a law that empowers authorities to arrest and detain individuals suspected of posing a threat to public order.
Mahrang’s counsel, Advocate Israr Baloch, told Dawn.com that the BYC organiser and five other activists were presented before Judge Saadat Bazai, who approved the state prosecutor’s request for their 10-day physical remand.
The other activists were Gulzadi, Bebow Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, Ghaffar Baloch and Beberg Baloch. Advocate Shoaib Baloch also appeared in the court as their lawyer.
The BYC members were presented in the court in “four different” first information reports (FIRs) after the last extension in their MPO detention expired, Israr added.
Advocate Jibran Nasir, who has served as Mahrang’s counsel in a case last month, shared with Dawn.com the FIR numbers provided by Mahrang’s family of the four cases.
According to a BHC judgment from May provided by Nasir, the FIRs included those registered at the Civil Lines police station on March 19 for storming the Civil Hospital and at Brewery police station on March 2 for blocking the Western Bypass Road in Quetta.
Mahrang was taken into custody under MPO for a period of 30 days (first term) on March 22. Thereafter, her detention was extended for an additional 30 days (second term) through a decision of the Balochistan Home Department in April.
After the BYC leaders had completed three months in custody last month, the provincial government issued a fourth extension order, extending their imprisonment by another 15 days.
Referring to that, Nasir said in a post on Instagram: “After the state ran out of ways to exploit colonial MPO laws the liberty of the BYC leaders is now being infringed by exploiting the ATC and penal laws.”
“Expect long remands, delayed hearing of bail applications, likely dismissal of bail from ATC and when bail would finally be granted, expect another arrest and transfer to another district jail in another,” the renowned rights lawyer wrote.
BYC member Sammi Deen Baloch, in a post on X, called it a “matter of concern” that activists were being taken to court without evidence.
“Such actions not only cause the state to lose its credibility but also render its own legal and judicial system ineffective and meaningless,” she added.
While the BYC is not listed among banned organisations by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), Mahrang is included on its list of proscribed persons.
Constitutional petitions seeking the release of Mahrang and two other activists were rejected by the Balochistan High Court (BHC) in May.
Subsequently, Mahrang’s sister Nadia Baloch appealed the Supreme Court in June against the BHC decision.
The petition alleged that her repeated unlawful detention and labelling her as a “sympathiser of militants” was a planned effort by the respondents to stop her from raising her voice for missing persons.
The same month, the Kech chapter of the BYC launched a three-day hunger strike in front of the Turbat Press Club in protest of the leadership’s arrests.
Pakistan’s retailers, struggling against foreign sellers, welcome new e-commerce taxes
KARACHI: Pakistan’s imposition of new taxes on international e-commerce giants such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress is drawing relief from local retailers, who say the foreign firms have been operating in the country without paying taxes, thus undercutting domestic businesses.
The new measures, introduced through the federal budget passed on June 26, include an 18% sales tax on goods delivered by courier companies on behalf of foreign platforms, a 5 percent fixed income tax on digital retailers, and a reduction in the duty-free threshold for imported parcels from Rs5,000 to Rs500 ($18 to $1.80).
The tax regime took effect on July 1.
“This is a very welcome move by the government to have brought the international platforms into the tax net,” Malik Asim Dogar, secretary-general of the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), told Arab News.
The policy, he said, would ease the burden on domestic retailers, prevent inflows of “inexpensive but substandard” goods, and help Pakistan’s cash-strapped government raise tax revenue.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration has pledged to collect over Rs14 trillion ($49.3 billion) in taxes this fiscal year, partly to meet targets under a $7 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund.
Until now, foreign e-commerce platforms had been selling directly to Pakistani consumers, often via social media, without being subject to local tax laws. Formal retail chains in Karachi such as Imtiaz, Chase Up, and Naheed — already paying up to 25% in taxes — said they had struggled to compete with tax-exempt imports offering cheaper prices.
A Temu representative did not respond to questions, while Shein and AliExpress could not be reached. Pakistani courier giant TCS also did not reply to questions about delivery volumes from foreign e-commerce sellers.
CAP estimates Pakistan’s retail sector includes about 5 million shops, generating Rs20 trillion ($70.5 billion) annually, of which only 10% comes from the tax-compliant formal sector.
Daily parcel volumes from foreign platforms have surged from around 1,000 per day in 2023 to between 20,000 and 30,000 this year — a rise of nearly 2,900%, according to internal figures from local courier companies shared by CAP.
“What we have seen is that on a daily basis, tens of thousands of shipments are coming into the country,” CAP chairman Asfandyar Farrukh said. “People order online on these platforms through social media or other websites. All these products are coming into Pakistan.”
Farrukh said the most affected segments include domestic sellers of crockery, home goods, small electronics, and casual clothing, who had reported sales declines of up to 10% in the past six months.
CAP’s Dogar said the lack of regulation previously created an “unfair playing field” for local retailers.
But Shankar Talreja, head of research at brokerage firm Topline Securities, said the new taxes would address a long-standing complaint of local retailers.
“This was an unfair advantage to the importers,” Talreja told Arab News. “Now that a certain percentage of tax is applied to the products sold by foreign vendors, the domestic sellers will get some level-playing field.”
Talreja noted Pakistan’s growing Internet penetration — with over 80% teledensity — was already fueling e-commerce, even if it still accounts for less than 1% of the overall retail market.
Retailers themselves are shifting to digital platforms, albeit reluctantly.
“Nowadays, we are seeing that most of the footfall on digital platforms and online shopping is of those who are young in age and more savvy digitally,” said Salman Bashir, CEO of Chase Up, one of Pakistan’s largest retail chains.
“We as well as the whole retail sector will have to bring this change into their companies.”
However, Bashir expressed skepticism about whether the new tax measures would be properly enforced.
“These [taxes] haven’t been implemented even if they stand passed,” he said, speaking two days after the budget became law on July 2.
Dogar and Talreja echoed his concerns, pointing to implementation hurdles in assigning tax collection duties to banks and courier companies.
Under the new rules, financial institutions are required to withhold a portion of remittances made to foreign sellers. Courier firms are also expected to collect sales tax at the point of delivery — a move some say is burdensome and unrealistic.
“The responsibility to collect these taxes has been put on courier companies, which would very much affect their business operations,” Dogar said.
Talreja warned that enforcement could falter without better coordination.
“The courier companies often do not have visibility into whether the seller is registered as a local or foreign. Couriers are logistics firms, not tax collection agents by design,” he said.
“This will increase their administrative work, hence the motivation to work in this aspect would be lower.”
