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  • 7 Strategies to Communicate Anaphylaxis Risk in Pediatric Allergy Consultation

    7 Strategies to Communicate Anaphylaxis Risk in Pediatric Allergy Consultation

    Laura Jenkins, PhD

    Credit: Loughborough University

    A new study provided insight into how clinicians can communicate anaphylaxis risk during pediatric allergy consultations.1

    “Our ground-breaking analysis of video-recorded consultations between parents, children, and a pediatric allergy specialist reveals a set of sophisticated communicative practices used to discuss anaphylaxis risk and make decisions about adrenaline auto-injector prescriptions,” wrote study investigator Laura Jenkins, PhD, from the department of criminology, sociology and social Policy at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues.1 “We have explicated how the doctor’s diagnostic reasoning is unpacked for the patient, embedding risk-relevant factors and judgements. By doing so, a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of risk is presented to caregivers.”

    The US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has reported a 50% increase in food allergies since the 1990s, affecting roughly 33 million Americans.2 In the UK, the estimated incidence of probable food allergy doubled between 2008 and 2018, with the British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology reporting that about 1 in 40 infants develop a peanut allergy.3,4

    With few allergy specialty clinics in the UK, risk discussions often occur in visits with general practitioners in primary care or pediatricians in secondary care.1 These clinicians may lack the confidence or training to discuss adrenaline auto-injector use.

    In this study, investigators sought to identify strategies for communicating risk and guiding decisions on prescribing adrenaline auto-injectors during pediatric allergy consultations.1 The team examined 23 video-recorded UK consultations involving children aged 2 – 10 years.

    Investigators identified 7 communication practices to convey risk:

    1. Risk categorization
    2. Describing risk-relevant factors
    3. Mitigating or intensifying risk factors
    4. Non-vocal elements
    5. Uncertainty formulations
    6. Invoking caregiver anxiety
    7. Assessing caregiver understanding

    Risk Categorization

    Clinicians should describe a patient’s risk by severity level: low, moderate, or high.

    Describing Risk-Related Factors

    During a consultation, a clinician should describe the risk by laying out concerns but also providing reassurances. Here, a clinician can communicate high-risk factors.

    Mitigating or Intensifying Risk Factors

    This may be using language such as “really,” “very,” “a bit more,” or “high.” This should be lexical descriptions that modify the risk severity.

    Non-vocal Elements

    Using hand gestures or following gaze patterns to emphasize or mitigate specific risk judgments. For instance, a clinician may use a hand circle motion while saying “putting all of those together,” gesturing steps, moving the hand, shuttling both hands repeatedly right and left, and gazing at the medical history.

    Uncertainty Formulations

    This strategy downgrades the strength of the assessment. This can be achieved by linguistic uncertainty markers, such as saying something incorrectly like, “I think that probly still puts her onto a kin’ve sort of low moderate in terms of severity fer now” or “somewhere between low and possibly moderate.”

    Clinicians could also use this strategy by downplaying the medical evidence, saying something along the lines of, “The research in this area is not particularly high quality.” Clinicians can also describe medical history as uncertain, saying, “I would say that we have a question mark.”

    Invoking Caregiver Anxiety

    The next strategy is invoking caregivers with the fear of having or not having an EpiPen. This could be achieved by saying: “She’s not somebody… I would be particularly pushing for things like adrenaline, EpiPens, that kind of thing. Unless… it got to a point where your anxiety levels were so high that life was just…unbearable.”

    Assessing Caregiver Understanding

    The last approach is to monitor and check the patients’ understanding of the risk and provide explanations when appropriate. Clinicians should maintain a frequent gaze toward the caregiver, could check caregiver competency by asking them to confirm their level of education in science, could explicitly ask caregivers if they understand, and could describe an EpiPen: “[EpiPens] are a self-loaded…single dose adrenaline injection.”

    “We noted parallels with a practice observed in primary care, wherein clinicians describe what they are seeing, feeling, or hearing as a related form of diagnostic reasoning,” investigators wrote. “Within pediatric allergy, the goal of this practice is not always to gatekeep treatment (as seen in primary care). Rather, rendering visible the diagnostic reasoning can furnish caregivers with knowledge around allergy risk factors and research quality, significantly, putting them on the same epistemic playing field and enabling participation in decision-making.”

    References

    1. Jenkins L, Potter J, Hepburn A, Macdougall C. Communicating anaphylaxis risk in pediatric allergy consultations: A conversation analytic study. Patient Educ Couns. Published online August 6, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2025.109284
    2. Derman, C. Microbes, Medicine, Modern Life May Drive Food Allergy Rise, Experts Say. HCPLive. May 29, 2025. https://www.hcplive.com/view/microbes-medicine-modern-life-may-drive-food-allergy-rise-experts-say. Accessed August 25, 2025.
    3. Turner PJ, Baseggio Conrado A, Kallis C, et al. Time trends in the epidemiology of food allergy in England: an observational analysis of Clinical Practice Research Datalink data. Lancet Public Health. 2024;9(9):e664-e673. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00163-4
    4. Statistics and Figures: Allergy Prevalence: Useful Facts and Figures. Allergy UK. https://www.allergyuk.org/about-allergy/statistics-and-figures/. Accessed August 25, 2025.

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  • Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza held in ‘preventative detention’

    Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza held in ‘preventative detention’

    Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza was taken into ‘preventative custody’ from his academy in Jhelum, police said on Tuesday, a day after reports of his arrest surfaced. 

    According to Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Meesam Abbas and District Police Officer Ahmed Mohiyuddin, Mirza’s was detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance.

    Under Section 3 of the MPO, the authorities have the power to arrest and detain suspects to prevent “any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety” or to maintain public order.

    The police clarified that this so-called arrest stands as “preventative detention” and no criminal charge has been levied against him.

    According to Punjab Police, statements made by Mirza in a certain viral video could cause sectarian violence, making his detention under the MPO “inevitable”.

    He’s being detained for 30 days on the orders of Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Syed Maysam Abbas, according to district police. Mirza’s “Islamic Academy” in Jhelum has also been sealed, added police. 

    The Express Tribune was able to contact some acquaintances of Mirza, who stated that Mirza had agreed to go into custody if it meant avoiding violence.

    Read: Religious scholar Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza arrested in Jhelum

    Details regarding the case are scarce but what we do know is that on Sunday, a group of religious figures met the Jhelum deputy commissioner and submitted a written complaint demanding action against “controversial statements” Mirza made in said video.

    Mirza’s first run-in with the law was in May of 2020, when he was charged on allegations of making derogatory comments about other religious scholars. He was later released on bail.

    In 2023, Mirza found himself embroiled in yet another controversy with a blasphemy charge was filed against him in April of that year.

    Mirza has survived three assassination attempts in 2019, 2021, and 2023. In 2023, a madrasa student barged into Mirza’s Research academy armed with a knife. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) had also offered a bounty of Rs500,000 on Mirza’s head.

     

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  • General Assembly Takes Action on Drafts on Security Council Equitable Representation, Increased Membership, Artificial Intelligence, Other Matters – UN Press Releases

    1. General Assembly Takes Action on Drafts on Security Council Equitable Representation, Increased Membership, Artificial Intelligence, Other Matters  UN Press Releases
    2. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes UNGA’s decision to establish two new AI mechanisms  Newsonair
    3. UN establishes expert panel to guide global governance of AI  Geo.tv
    4. UN Sec Gen welcomes new global AI governance bodies within Organization  qazinform.com
    5. UN Chief Welcomes General Assembly Decision On AI  MenaFN

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  • Do antibiotics given during labour prevent infections in mothers and babies?

    Key messages

    • Giving antibiotics to women in labour (whose pregnancies were at least 28 weeks along) probably reduces their risk of developing sepsis – a life-threatening condition that happens when the body overreacts to an infection.

    • Giving antibiotics in this way makes little or no difference to the number of babies who develop sepsis or die, and probably makes little or no difference to the number of women who die.

    • The evidence about the adverse (i.e. harmful, unwanted) effects of preventative antibiotics is very uncertain, so we do not know if this treatment contributes to the problem of antimicrobial resistance – when antibiotics stop being effective at fighting bacterial infections.

    What is antibiotic prophylaxis, and its benefits and risks?

    ‘Antibiotic prophylaxis’ means giving antibiotics to prevent infection before any signs appear. This approach has shown some benefit in reducing infections in new mothers and newborn babies. However, routinely giving women preventative antibiotics during labour is controversial due to concerns about unnecessary antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance.

    What did we want to find out?

    We wanted to assess the effects of giving preventative (i.e. ‘prophylactic’) antibiotics to women during labour, whose pregnancies were at least 28 weeks along (i.e. 28 weeks’ gestation). We looked at how many women and babies got infections, particularly sepsis, and how many died.

    What did we do?

    We searched for studies that compared prophylactic antibiotics with a placebo in pregnant women in labour after 28 weeks’ gestation. A placebo is an inactive substance that looks identical to the antibiotic but has no therapeutic effect. This allows researchers to measure the true impact of the intervention.

    The studies included women planning a vaginal birth, as long as they did not have a specific medical reason to receive antibiotics (such as a planned caesarean section or a known infection).

    We compared and summarised the study results, and rated our confidence in the evidence, based on factors such as study methods and sizes.

    What did we find?

    We identified four studies involving a total of 42,846 pregnant women. The studies were conducted in 10 countries: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Zambia, and Pakistan, all low- and middle-income countries.

    Roughly half of the women received prophylactic antibiotics (a single dose by mouth), and half received a placebo.

    Compared to placebo, prophylactic antibiotics:

    • probably reduce the number of women who develop sepsis;

    • probably make little or no difference to the number of women who die;

    • make little or no difference to the number of newborns who develop sepsis or die;

    • make little or no difference to the number of women who develop a perineal wound infection (an infection of the tissue between the vagina and anus);

    • make little or no difference to the number of babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

    Only one study looked at antimicrobial resistance, and we are not confident in its evidence. The study reported short-term increases in antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in some samples (e.g. of breast milk, nasal or vaginal swabs) from women given antibiotics compared to those given placebo, but these differences disappeared by 13 months. In newborns, antimicrobial resistance was rare.

    What are the limitations of the evidence?

    We had moderate or high confidence in the evidence about the number of women and babies who developed infections (including sepsis) or died. As noted above, we are not confident in the evidence about antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance patterns and antibiotic use practices vary widely, and the studies focused primarily on azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, without evaluating other options. The long-term impact on antibiotic resistance remains very uncertain and requires further research.

    How current is this evidence?

    The evidence is current to July 2024.

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  • Teaching A.I. to Detect Life: Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort

    Teaching A.I. to Detect Life: Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort

    Washington, D.C. — A multi-institutional team co-led by Carnegie Science’s Michael L. Wong and Caleb Scharf of the NASA Ames Research Center has received a prestigious $5 million, five-year NASA Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) grant to develop A.I. tools for enhancing the search for signs of life on other planets.

    The cross-disciplinary project brings together experts in chemistry, geoscience, machine learning, and planetary science to address one of astrobiology’s biggest challenges—reliably distinguishing life from non-life in planetary data.

    At the heart of the project is a massive, curated dataset. Carnegie researchers—including Wong, Anirudh Prabhu, Robert Hazen, and George Cody—will lead the effort to generate highly detailed profiles of at least 1,000 samples, ranging from meteorites to fossils to living organisms. They will employ a suite of advanced techniques to analyze the molecular and chemical signatures across this broad sample set.

    “A.I. will help us identify patterns in these massive multidimensional datasets that no human, or team of humans, could sift through in one lifetime,” said Wong. “It’s a tool we can use to detect the subtle biosignatures we might otherwise miss in the noise. It may even help us illuminate the fundamental differences between life and non-life.”

    Partner institutions across the U.S.—including NASA Ames Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, Caltech, Howard University, Purdue University, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center—will provide additional instrumentation and laboratory expertise, transforming this effort into a national-scale, data-generation engine. Once the data collection is complete, the team will develop and train machine learning models on this expansive dataset to find patterns that consistently indicate life. 

    “Carnegie has a rich legacy of planetary science and cosmochemistry,” noted Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory Director Michael Walter. “Few places are better equipped to handle such a wide range of Earth and planetary samples.”

    This isn’t just about developing A.I. tools—it’s about putting that intelligence to work. Wong and his team will use their findings to recommend the most effective scientific instruments for future missions, ensuring we send the most promising tools to the most promising extraterrestrial locations in our search for life.

    “For NASA, this is incredibly valuable,” says Scharf, “exploring Mars, or an icy moon in the outer Solar System, is hugely challenging and we’re going to need to rely more and more on intelligent machines that carry an optimal collection of tools to seek out other life.”

    During data collection, the team aims to create an open-source sample library and data repository. This resource will enable future research by providing scientists with open access to these extremely rich datasets while building a shared foundation for life detection efforts across the planetary science community.

    “We’re at the edge of a new era in astrobiology,” Wong concluded. “We’ve never had more data or more computing power. Now is the moment to bring it all together and finally ask—and maybe answer—the biggest question of all: Are we alone?”

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  • Can We Teach A.I. to Detect Life? Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort

    Can We Teach A.I. to Detect Life? Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort

    Washington, D.C. — A multi-institutional team co-led by Carnegie Science’s Michael L. Wong and Caleb Scharf of the NASA Ames Research Center has received a prestigious $5 million, five-year NASA Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) grant to develop A.I. tools for enhancing the search for signs of life on other planets.

    The cross-disciplinary project brings together experts in chemistry, geoscience, machine learning, and planetary science to address one of astrobiology’s biggest challenges—reliably distinguishing life from non-life in planetary data.

    At the heart of the project is a massive, curated dataset. Carnegie researchers—including Wong, Anirudh Prabhu, Robert Hazen, and George Cody—will lead the effort to generate highly detailed profiles of at least 1,000 samples, ranging from meteorites to fossils to living organisms. They will employ a suite of advanced techniques to analyze the molecular and chemical signatures across this broad sample set.

    “A.I. will help us identify patterns in these massive multidimensional datasets that no human, or team of humans, could sift through in one lifetime,” said Wong. “It’s a tool we can use to detect the subtle biosignatures we might otherwise miss in the noise. It may even help us illuminate the fundamental differences between life and non-life.”

    Partner institutions across the U.S.—including NASA Ames Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, Caltech, Howard University, Purdue University, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center—will provide additional instrumentation and laboratory expertise, transforming this effort into a national-scale, data-generation engine. Once the data collection is complete, the team will develop and train machine learning models on this expansive dataset to find patterns that consistently indicate life. 

    “Carnegie has a rich legacy of planetary science and cosmochemistry,” noted Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory Director Michael Walter. “Few places are better equipped to handle such a wide range of Earth and planetary samples.”

    This isn’t just about developing A.I. tools—it’s about putting that intelligence to work. Wong and his team will use their findings to recommend the most effective scientific instruments for future missions, ensuring we send the most promising tools to the most promising extraterrestrial locations in our search for life.

    “For NASA, this is incredibly valuable,” says Scharf, “exploring Mars, or an icy moon in the outer Solar System, is hugely challenging and we’re going to need to rely more and more on intelligent machines that carry an optimal collection of tools to seek out other life.”

    During data collection, the team aims to create an open-source sample library and data repository. This resource will enable future research by providing scientists with open access to these extremely rich datasets while building a shared foundation for life detection efforts across the planetary science community.

    “We’re at the edge of a new era in astrobiology,” Wong concluded. “We’ve never had more data or more computing power. Now is the moment to bring it all together and finally ask—and maybe answer—the biggest question of all: Are we alone?”

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  • ‘Game of Thrones’ star Sophie Turner offers advice to new ‘Harry Potter’ cast: “Avoid social media”

    ‘Game of Thrones’ star Sophie Turner offers advice to new ‘Harry Potter’ cast: “Avoid social media”

    Sophie Turner has offered advice to the child actors starring in HBO’s new Harry Potter television series, warning them about the impact of social media.

    Turner, now 29, was 14 when she joined Game of Thrones and said growing up in the spotlight had a damaging effect on her wellbeing.

    “It had such a profound impact on my mental health, like more than I could tell you. It almost destroyed me on numerous occasions,” Turner told Flaunt magazine. She said therapy helped her cope and added, “One of the most important things to me in my life is talking about mental health: it’s vital.”

    The actress expressed concern for Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, who will play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the forthcoming series. “I look at the kids who are about to be in the new Harry Potter and I just want to give them a hug and say, ‘Look, it’s going to be OK, but don’t go anywhere near [social media],’” Turner said.

    She also urged the young stars to maintain stability in their personal lives, “Stay friends with your home friends, keep living at home with your family, make sure your parents are your chaperones — it’s so important to have that grounding adjacent to the big, crazy stuff that you do.”

    Turner, who shares daughters Willa and Delphine with ex-husband Joe Jonas, said she would not want her own children to start acting at a young age. “Oh God, they’re not acting! Not until they’re at least 25!” she said.

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  • You Can Play the New Gears of War Game on Xbox Game Pass Now

    You Can Play the New Gears of War Game on Xbox Game Pass Now

    Gears of War is one of the most iconic Xbox series, spawning sequels, spin-offs and books. I fell in love with the series almost 20 years ago when the original landed on the Xbox 360. Microsoft brought the remastered edition of the game, called Gears of War: Reloaded, to Xbox Game Pass, and I can’t wait to play it.

    Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, smart TV and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new ones, like Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.

    Here are the games Microsoft is adding to Game Pass soon. You can also check out other games the company added to the service recently, like Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

    Gears of War: Reloaded

    Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

    The iconic Gears series is back with a new, remastered edition of the original game. This game maintains the original story of Marcus Fenix and his squad as they take on the alien locust hordes and it includes a bonus campaign act, every multiplayer map and mode, plus characters and cosmetics unlocked through progression. 

    This game is also on PlayStation 5 and PC, and thanks to cross-play functionality, you can play with and against your friends on those platforms.

    Herdling

    Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

    Get ready for a grand alpine adventure as you shepherd some giant Calicorns — which look like Appa from Avatar: The Last Airbender — up into a mountain pass. You’ll encounter eerie dangers, puzzles and more on your adventure. And before you ask, yes, you can pet these wonderful creatures.

    Blacksmith Master (game preview)

    Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

    Adventuring in a medieval world can be fun and challenging but it can also be difficult work. If you’d rather run and manage a shop in a medieval setting, give Blacksmith Master a try. You run your own forge and have to manage resource acquisition, production and sale of goods. You’ll build your own forge, craft everything from utensils to weapons and become one of the most skilled craftsmen in the kingdom — all without fighting dragons or other dangerous creatures.

    Void/Breaker (PC)

    Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

    You’re trapped by a ruthless AI in an endless loop where you’re forced to fight hostile enemies, die and then repeat. In this roguelite game, each time you die, you’ll face new challenges. Fast gunplay, quick movements and all-out destruction are your friends in this adrenaline-filled adventure. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get out one day.

    Goat Simulator Remastered

    New for Game Pass Standard subscribers.

    Chaos. That’s the best way to describe this game. You play as a goat and your mission is the total destruction of everything in sight. Can’t stand the look of that car? Run it off the road. Don’t like the town hall’s placement? Demolish it. Want that kid’s ice cream? Eat it. Do what you want in this sandbox-style game where anything is possible. 

    Game Pass Ultimate subscribers got access to this game in November and Game Pass Standard subscribers can get in on the fun soon, too.

    Persona 4 Golden

    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

    A string of serial murders set this game in motion, where you’ll travel between the real world and the world within TVs as you try and find out who — or what — is behind the murders. You’ll explore your town and carry on daily activities, as well as travel to the TV World to explore different dungeons and battle monsters in this RPG.

    Dragon Age: The Veilguard

    Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on Aug. 28.

    Step into the enchanted world of Thedas, a land full of untamed wilderness, glittering cities and strife. A pair of corrupt ancient gods has broken out of their hold and is wreaking havoc across the globe. It’s up to you to gather a team and stop them, but that’s just the main quest. You can also embark on side quests and companion quests that shed light on who they are and how the world is changing around you. Veilguard changes the Dragon Age formula with a more action-oriented approach, though it retains familiar aspects like branching dialog choices and skill trees. So get ready to dive into a wild adventure, make new friends and become a legend.

    Games leaving Game Pass on Aug. 31

    While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass soon, the company is also removing five others from the service on Aug. 31. So you still have some time to finish up your campaign or any side quests before you have to buy these games separately.

    Ben 10: Power Trip
    Borderlands 3
    Paw Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay
    Sea of Stars
    This War of Mine: Final Cut

    For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.

    Watch this: Everything Announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2025 in 20 Minutes


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  • The new Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite

    The new Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite

    Released in 2021, the Zenith Chronomaster Sport has been quite a success for the Le Locle-based brand. A versatile sports chronograph with enough arguments, visually and mechanically, to compete with the heavyweights of the category, it has been made in an array of different versions since its introduction. Ranging from classic to bold, we’ve seen steel editions with tri-colour dials, models in pink, with green accents, with a tri-colour ceramic bezel, in titanium or with a rainbow bezel. Meteorite isn’t new to the collection either, and in fact, the model we’ll be looking at today already existed discreetly, as a Japan-only edition. Well, the steel Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite is now available worldwide, and it looks quite special. 

    The recipe is pretty straightforward. We’re looking at a classic steel Chronomaster Sport equipped with a different dial and a monochromatic colour scheme – of course, something that speaks to us here, at MONOCHROME (obviously…) The base is known and still as appealing as when it was released in 2021. The watch is a modern, versatile sports chronograph with everything you expect from this category. The steel case, measuring 41mm in diameter, 13.6mm in thickness and a reasonable 47mm lug-to-lug, is sharp and modern, but retains enough classism to not feel too bold – meaning that it will certainly age well. The dial is framed by a glossy black ceramic bezel, engraved with a 1/10th of a second track – a specificity of this collection being its high-frequency movement. The right side is home to two classic pump pushers and water-resistance is rated at 100m.

    The main novelty is the dial, which plays on textures first and foremost, and keeps things discreet on the topic of colours. Yes, in classic El Primero fashion, the Chronomaster Sport Meteorite has sub-counters in three different tones, but here these are treated in a gradient of white and grey, not the emblematic version with silver, grey and blue. This actually pairs well with the silver colour of the base dial, made from meteorite, and gives the Widmanstätten pattern, a naturally occurring geometric structure formed by the slow cooling of molten iron in space, all the possibilities to express itself. Hours markers and hands are classic for the collection, as well as the debatable date window at 4:30.

    At the core of the Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite beats the El Primero 3600, the latest generation of high-frequency chronograph by Zenith. With its 5Hz (36,000 vibrations/hour) frequency and a silicon escape wheel, it enables the chronograph hand to make a complete rotation every 10 seconds, capturing elapsed time to the nearest tenth of a second. Compared to a classic El Primero, it’s been upgraded with a 60-hour power reserve and a stop seconds mechanism, as well as more modern decoration.

    Presented on a steel bracelet with brushed and polished links, fastened by a double-folding clasp, as well as an additional black rubber strap with a matching clasp, the Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite, once a Japan-exclusive model, is now available worldwide, through Zenith boutiques (in-store and online) and authorised retailers. It is priced at CHF 16,900 or EUR 18,300.

    For more details, please visit www.zenith-watches.com.

    https://monochrome-watches.com/zenith-chronomaster-sport-meteorite-steel-review-price/

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  • Hasselblad’s new medium format flagship comes with end-to-end HDR

    Hasselblad’s new medium format flagship comes with end-to-end HDR

    Hasselblad has just launched the X2D II 100C, the first medium format camera capable of taking true HDR photos. Those HDR images can be instantly reviewed on the new 3.6-inch OLED touchscreen at up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness, which Hasselblad says is 75 percent brighter than the original X2D 100C. Other notable upgrades include using LiDAR to assist with autofocus, a 10-stop in-body stabilization system, an additional customizable button, and a new joystick for controlling camera functions instead of using touchscreen commands.

    At $7,399, it’s cheaper than its three-year-old predecessor, and still shares some similarities: it takes 100 megapixel photos, comes with 1TB of internal SSD storage, offers similar dynamic range, and the shape is largely unchanged. These don’t overshadow the improvements on the latest model, however, which my colleague Vjeran describes as “one of the greatest cameras I have ever used.”

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