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  • Low Vision Rehabilitation in a Family Affected by Peters’ Anomaly Sy

    Low Vision Rehabilitation in a Family Affected by Peters’ Anomaly Sy

    Introduction

    Peters’ anomaly (PA) is a rare congenital ocular syndrome that could be associated with systemic disorders. Mutations in specific genes, which are SLC4A11, PAX6, PITX2, CYP1B1, and FOXC11 are identified as responsible for the inheritance of this autosomal recessive or dominant condition, however sporadic cases have also been reported.2 Low vision in PA is attributed to multiple factors. The PA syndrome is primarily marked by an opacification of the central cornea, which obstructs the visual axis and leads to decreased visual acuity. Additional factors include thinning or absence of corneal Descemet and Bowman’s membranes, stroma, and endothelium, which contributes to reduced clarity of the cornea due to edema and irregularities.3 Also, abnormalities in the anterior segment of the eye, such as a shallow anterior chamber and iridocorneal adhesion, which further obstruct the visual pathway and decrease vision. PA is classified into three types based on clinical manifestations.4 Type I, which is usually unilateral, is characterized by central corneal cloudiness accompanied by iridocorneal synechiae. Whereas, Type II, which is usually bilateral but often asymmetrical, exhibits central corneal cloudiness along with additional ocular defects that further impair vision in PA. These defects include cataract, glaucoma, iris coloboma, microcornea, microphthalmia, and adhesion between the cornea and the lenticular lens.3 When ocular signs are accompanied by additional systemic signs, including facial defects, bone anomalies, short stature, heart defects and intellectual disability, this condition is classified as Peters’ plus syndrome.5

    The incidence of PA is very low and it is reported to be approximately 1.5 per 100,000 births;6 and in other studies it was reported to be in 1 in 5,000–6,000 births,7 and1 in 12,000–15,000 births.8 Despite the low incidence, it leads to significant vision deterioration. Surgical procedures such as cataract extraction,9 corneal transplant,10 and optical iridectomy11 have been employed to enhance vision in patients with PA. However, the diverse ocular phenotypes associated with this syndrome along with the potential presence of amblyopia or glaucoma may result in insufficient visual outcomes following surgical interventions leading to low vision.9,10 Research indicates that 10–50% of cases attained a visual acuity exceeding 20/200 following surgical intervention.5 Consequently, these patients require a functional vision assessment and visual rehabilitation following ocular surgeries to optimize the use of remaining vision through low vision devices, thereby enhancing their independence and improving vision-related quality of life. Herein, this case report discusses family members diagnosed with PA, outlining the functional vision assessments performed and the corresponding visual rehabilitation provided for each individual.

    Materials and Methods

    A family which consists of a man, his wife, and their three children, two daughters and a son, from the southern region of the West Bank was referred to the Low Vision Center at An-Najah National University for visual function assessment and rehabilitation. A comprehensive ocular and systemic history was initially obtained, followed by a visual assessment utilizing the Lea chart to evaluate visual acuity (VA) at both distance and near. The MARS contrast sensitivity test was employed to measure contrast sensitivity, alongside the Bernell vision disc to assess visual field and peripheral vision and the Precision Vision 16 Hue Test (PV-16) for color vision assessment. Recommendations regarding the use of visual or non-visual aids have been provided based on the visual assessment results of each case, along with their specific needs and goals.

    Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee at An-Najah National University, which reviewed and approved the publication of case details (AANS. Jan. 2024/2). All subjects and their parents provided written informed consents, which included permission for the publication of the clinical details. The patients and their parents were fully informed about the nature of the data being used and agreed to its use for publication.

    Results

    Case I

    The 13-year-old daughter has experienced PA, nystagmus, and exotropia since birth. Nevertheless, she has no notable medical history or disabilities. The patient presents with visual impairments at both distance and near, exhibiting better vision in the right eye. She encounters difficulties when reading her school books, which are printed in a font size of 20P and require a viewing distance of 9–10 cm. She writes from a distance of 12 cm using large handwriting (25P). She utilizes her mobile phone at a proximity of 10 to 15 centimeters. She stated a preference for white illumination to improve vision. Furthermore, she experiences difficulty with distance vision, such as reading content on the blackboard in school or viewing television, which she does from a distance of 30 cm from a 30-inch screen. She experiences photophobia. No additional restrictions on activities of daily living were reported. The child wears prescription spectacles to correct her combined myopic astigmatism: right eye −2.00/-2.00 x175 and left eye −2.00/-3.00 x 005, which does not improve her vision. She admitted the use of a 1.5x bar magnifier for reading purposes. The visual assessment of this child revealed a best corrected visual acuity of 6/75 at distance and 6/95 at near in the right eye, while the left eye demonstrated a visual acuity of 6/95 at both distance and near (Table 1), necessitating three times magnification of near materials to achieve sustained reading. The patient demonstrated moderate contrast sensitivity loss in the right eye and severe loss in the left eye, along with abnormal eye movements in both eyes. Color vision remained normal, while visual field assessment revealed a restriction in both eyes.

    Table 1 The Visual Acuity for the Four Cases Was Calculated Based on the Read M Size and Test Distance

    This child’s visual impairment was classified as moderate according to international health standards.12 Based on her visual demands and goals to improve vision for near and distance tasks, along with her preference for visual aids, she was prescribed binocular spectacle magnifiers of +12.00D for near tasks which improved her near VA to 30P at 25 cm which is sufficient for sustained reading of her school books. A 4x monocular telescope was prescribed for distance viewing and improved her VA to 6/18. It was recommended to utilize additional assistive technology or apply some environmental modification as it can enhance visual functioning, including felt pens and typoscopes, as well as to enhance illumination for writing. Furthermore, positioning oneself closer to the blackboard, approximately 1.5 meters away, was suggested. The use of sunglasses outdoors may reduce the sensation of photophobia.

    Case II

    The second daughter, aged 11, has been diagnosed with PA, and nystagmus since birth in addition to aniridia, exotropia and spherocoloboma. Nevertheless, she has no notable medical history or disabilities. The patient reports experiencing visual difficulties at both distance and near, exhibiting better vision in the right eye.

    She encounters difficulties when reading her school books, which are printed in a font size of 20P and require a viewing distance of 11 cm. She writes from a distance 17 cm with large handwriting (30P). She stated a preference for white illumination to improve vision, and she utilizes her mobile phone at a proximity of 10 to 15 centimeters. Furthermore, she experiences difficulty in seeing the material presented on the blackboard in school or viewing television, which she does from a distance of one meter from a 30-inch screen. She also experiences photophobia and occasionally stumbles while walking, even at home. No additional restrictions on activities of daily living were reported. The child possesses prescription spectacles to address her combined myopic astigmatism: −2.25/-1.50 x75 in the right eye and −5.00/-3.50 x170 in the left eye, which does not improve her vision. She stated the use of a 1.5x magnifying ruler for reading purposes. The visual assessment of this child revealed a visual acuity of 6/60 at distance and at near in the right eye, while the left eye demonstrated a visual acuity of 6/60 at distance and 6/95 at near (Table 1), necessitating three times magnification of near materials to achieve sustained reading. The patient demonstrated moderate contrast sensitivity loss in the right eye and severe loss in the left eye, along with abnormal eye movements in both eyes and abnormal color vision. The visual field assessment revealed a remarkable restriction in both eyes.

    This child’s visual impairment was classified as moderate according to international health standards.12 Based on her visual demands and goals to improve vision for near and distance tasks, along with her preference for visual aids, she was prescribed binocular spectacle magnifiers of +12.00D for near tasks which improved her near VA to 20P at 25 cm which is sufficient for sustained reading of her school books. A 4x monocular telescope was prescribed for distance viewing and improved her VA to 6/12. It was recommended to utilize additional assistive technology or apply some environmental modification as her sister.

    Case III

    The eldest son who is 17 years old also suffer from PA, nystagmus since birth in addition to iridocorneal synechiae which resulted in a very poor vision. Nevertheless, he has no notable medical history or disabilities. The patient presents with visual impairments at both distance and near, exhibiting no preference between the two eyes.

    The boy encounters difficulties when reading his school books, which are printed in a font size of 20P and require a viewing distance of 8–9 cm. He writes from a distance 20 cm with large handwriting (30P). He stated a preference for white illumination to improve vision, and he utilizes his mobile phone at a proximity of 10 to 15 centimeters. Furthermore, he experiences difficulty in seeing the material presented on the blackboard in school or viewing television, which he does from a distance of one meter from a 30-inch screen. He also complains from light sensitivity and poor contrast. No additional restrictions on activities of daily living were reported. The child does not use any prescription spectacles nor magnifiers.

    The visual assessment of the boy indicated a visual acuity of 6/75 at both distance and near in the right and left eyes (Table 1), necessitating three times magnification of near materials to achieve sustained reading. He demonstrated severe contrast sensitivity loss in both eyes, normal ocular motility, normal color vision, and a remarkable restricted visual field in both eyes.

    The patient’s visual impairment was categorized as moderate based on international health standards.12 Considering his visual demands and goals, as well as his preference for visual aids, both visual and non-visual aids or recommendations were provided to him. This boy no longer attends school and requires improvement in his near vision, as he primarily depends on his phone to enlarge text, read street signs, and identify shop names, which is essential for securing suitable employment. Consequently, the boy was recommended to utilize particular mobile applications to increase text size and improve contrast, employ an 8x monocular telescope for distant viewing, and was referred to a local society association focused on economic empowerment for youth with disabilities.

    Case IV

    The father who is a 50 year old male patient was diagnosed with PA, nystagmus and exotropia since birth which let to severe visual impairment. The patient has a medical history of hypertension and walking difficulties. The patient presents with visual impairments at both distance and near, exhibiting no preference between the two eyes.

    The man encounters difficulties when reading, which he does at a very close distance of 3–4 cm. He writes from a distance 8 cm with large handwriting (30P). He stated a preference for white illumination to improve vision, and he utilizes his mobile phone at a proximity of seven centimeters. Furthermore, he experiences difficulty in watching television, which he does from a distance of 20 cm from a 30-inch screen. He also complains from light sensitivity, poor contrast, poor color vision and difficulties in recognizing faces. He has walking difficulties indoor and outdoor. No additional restrictions on activities of daily living were reported. The man does not use any prescription spectacles, but he uses an electronic portable magnifier.

    The visual assessment of this patient indicated a visual acuity of 6/600 at both distance and near in the right and left eyes (Table 1), necessitating at least 12 times magnification of near materials to achieve sustained reading. He demonstrated severe contrast sensitivity loss in both eyes, abnormal ocular motility, abnormal color vision, and a remarkable restricted visual field in both eyes.

    The visual impairment of this patient was categorized as severe based on international health standards.12 Considering the patient’s visual requirements and objectives to enhance near vision for reading and mobility, a portable video magnifier was prescribed to enlarge text and improve contrast, along with a recommendation to increase illumination during reading. The patient was advised to utilize a cane while getting around.

    Case V

    A 49-year-old mother. She has no prior history of PA or any other ocular conditions. She experienced significant stress and overwhelm, leading to her referral to a mothers’ counseling group for emotional support.

    Discussion

    PA is a disease of the anterior ocular segment primarily characterized by corneal cloudiness and anterior segment synechiae, often resulting in significant visual loss.3,4 The severity of visual impairment is affected by various ocular defects, including iridocorneal synechiae, microphthalmia, glaucoma, and cataract.3,4 This case series presents four family members, a father and his three children, who exhibit distinct phenotypic variations of PA, leading to differing degrees of low vision and rehabilitation requirements.

    Vision loss in PA is primarily caused by the central corneal opacity, which obstructs the visual axis.3,4 In this family, the father and three children exhibited this ocular finding. Additional factors contributing to low vision included glaucoma, nystagmus, and structural anomalies such as coloboma and aniridia. The two daughters exhibited nystagmus and exotropia, potentially due to early onset visual deprivation. The younger daughter also has aniridia and spherocoloboma, further reducing her visual function. Additionally, both daughters demonstrated compound myopic astigmatism, complicating their ability to achieve functional vision and succeed in school. The brother exhibited only nystagmus and iridocorneal synechiae. The father experienced severe visual impairment due to advanced corneal opacity, resulting in a significant reduction in vision and contrast sensitivity. The condition greatly affected his reading skills and mobility.

    Rehabilitation approaches were individualized and tailored to the unique functional needs of each family member. For school-aged children, magnifiers and telescopes were provided to assist with near tasks and viewing the blackboard, respectively. Additionally, to non-optical aids such as felt pens and typoscopes were included. Research indicates that these tools can improve reading skills and academic performance in schoolchildren with low vision.13,14 Furthermore, additional educational and environmental modifications were suggested, including preferential seating in the classroom, extended test duration, and the use of digital learning materials.

    An alternative approach was implemented for the older son, focusing on smartphone-based magnification applications and accessibility features to support independent reading and digital engagement. Research indicates that mobile technologies are both effective and well-accepted among people with visual impairment, significantly enhancing their functional independence.15,16

    The father with the most profound visual impairment was prescribed a portable electronic magnification device to address his high magnification needs. Additionally, he received guidance on orientation and mobility strategies, including the use of a white cane, which is essential for the rehabilitation of individuals with severe vision loss.17 However, the lack of accessible infrastructure raises concerns about the safe movement.17,18 It is important to address the social and psychological burden of vision impairment.19 The final member of this family is the mother, although she is unaffected by this syndrome, she was referred to a counseling group for mothers to help her cope with emotional stress and social stigma.

    All individuals received training on the appropriate use of the optical or non-optical devices, which is essential for successful visual rehabilitation.20 They were also advised to follow up with their ophthalmologist to monitor the progression of the disease.

    Conclusion

    This case series highlights the wide phenotypic variability and multi-dimensional impact of PA. Functional vision assessment and appropriate vision rehabilitation can assist affected individuals in improving their vision-related quality of life. Different visual aids, rehabilitation methods, or advice can be tailored to each case of the same disease based on individual needs, goals, and lifestyle. The psychological factors for both affected and non-affected family members should not be neglected. Finally, societal awareness of genetic diseases that affect vision should be enhanced.

    Disclosure

    The author reports no conflicts of interest in this work.

    References

    1. Weh E, Reis LM, Happ HC, et al. Whole exome sequence analysis of Peters anomaly. Hum Genet. 2014;133(12):1497–1511. doi:10.1007/s00439-014-1481-x

    2. Frydman M, Weinstock AL, Cohen HA, Savir H, Varsano I. Autosomal recessive Peters anomaly, typical facial appearance, failure to thrive, hydrocephalus, and other anomalies: further delineation of the Krause-Kivlin syndrome. Am J Med Genet. 1991;40(1):34–40. doi:10.1002/ajmg.1320400107

    3. Elbaz U, Ali A, Strungaru H, Mireskandari K. phenotypic spectrum of peters anomaly: implications for management. Cornea. 2022;41(2):192–200. doi:10.1097/ICO.0000000000002768

    4. Bhandari R, Ferri S, Whittaker B, Liu M, Lazzaro DR. Peters anomaly: review of the literature. Cornea. 2011;30(8):939–944. doi:10.1097/ICO.0b013e31820156a9

    5. Zaidman GW, Flanagan JK, Furey CC. Long-term visual prognosis in children after corneal transplant surgery for Peters anomaly type I. Am J Ophthalmol. 2007;144(1):104–108.e1. doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2007.03.058

    6. Kurilec JM, Zaidman GW. Incidence of peters anomaly and congenital corneal opacities interfering with vision in the United States. Cornea. 2014;33(8):848–850. doi:10.1097/ICO.0000000000000182

    7. Bermejo E, Martínez-Frías ML. Congenital eye malformations: clinical-epidemiological analysis of 1,124,654 consecutive births in Spain. Am J Med Genet. 1998;75(5):497–504. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-8628(19980217)75:5<497::AID-AJMG8>3.0.CO;2-K

    8. Shigeyasu C, Yamada M, Mizuno Y, Yokoi T, Nishina S, Azuma N. Clinical features of anterior segment dysgenesis associated with congenital corneal opacities. Cornea. 2012;31(3):293–298. doi:10.1097/ICO.0b013e31820cd2ab

    9. Tătaru CI, Tătaru CP, Preoteasa LD. Surgical approach in type II Peters anomaly – case report. Ron J Ophthalmol. 2022;66(1):101–105.

    10. Yang LLH, Lambert SR. Peters’ anomaly. A synopsis of surgical management and visual outcome. Ophthalmol Clin North Am. 2001;14(3):467–477. doi:10.1016/S0896-1549(05)70245-5

    11. Spierer O, Cavuoto KM, Suwannaraj S, McKeown CA, Chang TC. Outcome of optical iridectomy in Peters anomaly. Graefe’s Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2018;256(9):1679–1683. doi:10.1007/s00417-018-4000-2

    12. WHO WHO. World report on vision. Organization WH. World Heal Organ. 2019;214(14):180.

    13. Singh B, Suwal R, Shrestha R, Adhikari S, Karki S, Khadka D. Bilateral Iridochorioretinal coloboma managed with low vision rehabilitation: a case report. J Nepal Med Assoc. 2023;61(258):184–187. doi:10.31729/jnma.8023

    14. Nayar PD, Senjam SS, Christy B, et al. Low vision, vision rehabilitation, and assistive technology. South-East Asia Eye Heal. 2021;267–287.

    15. WebAIM: survey of web accessibility practitioners results. Available from: https://webaim.org/projects/practitionersurvey/. Accessed August 11, 2025.

    16. Senjam SS, Manna S, Bascaran C. Smartphones-based assistive technology: accessibility features and apps for people with visual impairment, and its usage, challenges, and usability testing. Clin Optom. 2021;13:311–322. doi:10.2147/OPTO.S336361

    17. Riazi A, Riazi F, Yoosfi R, Bahmeei F. Outdoor difficulties experienced by a group of visually impaired Iranian people. J Curr Ophthalmol. 2016;28(2):85–90.

    18. Gustafson-Pearce O, Billett E, Cecelja F. Testing the effectiveness of a tactile signal to deliver navigation information while the participant’s attention is otherwise engaged. Brit J Vis IMPA. 2009;27(2):147–157. doi:10.1177/0264619609102219

    19. Khurana A, Singh M, Malik A, Agarwal P, Chauhan L. Psychological distress among low-vision patients. J Clin Ophthalmol Res. 2024;12(2):110–114. doi:10.4103/jcor.jcor_126_23

    20. Langmann A, Lindner S, Kollegger E. Low-vision training for better usage of magnifying visual aids. Ophthalmologica. 1994;208(2):92–94. doi:10.1159/000310459

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  • As Agentic AI Gains Traction, 86% of Enterprises Anticipate Heightened Risks, Yet Only 2% of Companies Meet Responsible AI Gold Standards

    As Agentic AI Gains Traction, 86% of Enterprises Anticipate Heightened Risks, Yet Only 2% of Companies Meet Responsible AI Gold Standards

    Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), the research arm of Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today unveiled critical insights into the state of responsible AI (RAI) implementation across enterprises, particularly with the advent of agentic AI. The report, Responsible Enterprise AI in the Agentic Era, surveyed over 1,500 business executives and interviewed 40 senior decision-makers across Australia, France, Germany, UK, US, and New Zealand. The findings show that while 78% of companies see RAI as a business growth driver, only 2% have adequate RAI controls in place to safeguard against reputational risk and financial loss.

    The report analyzed the effects of risks from poorly implemented AI, such as privacy violations, ethical violations, bias or discrimination, regulatory non-compliance, inaccurate or harmful predictions, among others. It found that 77% of organizations reported financial loss, and 53% of organizations have suffered reputational impact from such AI related incidents.

    Key findings include:

    AI risks are widespread and can be severe

    • 95% of C-suite and director-level executives report AI-related incidents in the past two years.

    • 39% characterize the damage experienced from such AI issues as “severe” or “extremely severe”.

    • 86% of executives aware of agentic AI believe it will introduce new risks and compliance issues.

    Responsible AI (RAI) capability is patchy and inefficient for most enterprises

    • Only 2% of companies (termed “RAI leaders”) met the full standards set in the Infosys RAI capability benchmark — termed “RAISE BAR” with 15% (RAI followers) meeting three-quarters of the standards.

    • The “RAI leader” cohort experienced 39% lower financial losses and 18% lower severity from AI incidents.

    • Leaders do several things better to achieve these results including developing improved AI explainability, proactively evaluating and mitigating against bias, rigorously testing and validating AI initiatives and having a clear incident response plan.

    Executives view RAI as a growth driver

    • 78% of senior leaders see RAI as aiding their revenue growth and 83% say that future AI regulations would boost, rather than inhibit, the number of future AI initiatives.

    • However, on average companies believe they are underinvesting in RAI by 30%.

    With the scale of enterprise AI adoption far outpacing readiness, companies must urgently shift from treating RAI as a reactive compliance obligation to embracing it proactively as a strategic advantage. To help organizations build scalable, trusted AI systems that fuel growth while mitigating risk, Infosys recommends the following actions:

    • Learn from the leaders: Study the practices of high-maturity RAI organizations who have already faced diverse incident types and developed robust governance.

    • Blend product agility with platform governance: Combine decentralized product innovation with centralized RAI guardrails and oversight.

    • Embed RAI guardrails into secure AI platforms: Use platform-based environments that enable AI agents to operate within preapproved data and systems.

    • Establish a proactive RAI office: Create a centralized function to monitor risk, set policy, and scale governance with tools like Infosys’ AI3S (Scan, Shield, Steer).

    Balakrishna D.R., EVP – Global Services Head, AI and Industry Verticals, Infosys said, “Drawing from our extensive experience working with clients on their AI journeys, we have seen firsthand how delivering more value from enterprise AI use cases, would require enterprises to first establish a responsible foundation built on trust, risk mitigation, data governance, and sustainability. This also means emphasizing ethical, unbiased, safe, and transparent model development. To realize the promise of this technology in the agentic AI future, leaders should strategically focus on platform and product-centric enablement, and proactive vigilance of their data estate. Companies should not discount the important role a centralized RAI office plays as enterprise AI scales, and new regulations come into force.”

    Jeff Kavanaugh, Head of Infosys Knowledge Institute, Infosys, said, “Today, enterprises are navigating a complex landscape where AI’s promise of growth is accompanied by significant operational and ethical risks. Our research clearly shows that while many are recognizing the importance of Responsible AI, there’s a substantial gap in practical implementation. Companies that prioritize robust, embedded RAI safeguards will not only mitigate risks and potentially reduce financial losses but also unlock new revenue streams and thrive as we transition into the transformative agentic AI era.”

    To read the full report, please visit here.

    Methodology

    Infosys used an anonymous format to conduct an online survey of 1,502 business executives across industries across Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States Australia, France, Germany, UK, US, and New Zealand, as well as qualitative interviews with 40 senior executives.

     

    About Infosys

    Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 320,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses, and communities. We enable clients in 59 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

    Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

     

    Safe Harbor

    Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the ‘safe harbor’ under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, increased competition for talent, our ability to attract and retain personnel, increase in wages, investments to reskill our employees, our ability to effectively implement a hybrid work model, economic uncertainties and geo-political situations, technological disruptions and innovations such as artificial intelligence (“AI”), generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

     

    Media contact

    For more information, please contact: PR_Global@infosys.com

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  • 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships awarded to Cape Town

    2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships awarded to Cape Town

    The 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships have been awarded to the South African city of Cape Town, marking the first time the event will be held in Africa.

    Following a successful joint application by Golazo South Africa, Athletics South Africa and Western Province Athletics, Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain will provide a stunning location for the championships, which will take place from 6-10 October 2027.

    Cape Town, known as the gateway to Africa, has a proven track record of staging major running events, including the Cape Town Marathon and the Two Oceans Marathon, one of the most scenic ultra-marathons in the world.

    The organisers hope that this championship will not only highlight Africa’s immense potential in off-road running but also cement the continent’s status as a world-class host for endurance sports while also inspiring a new generation of African trail runners.

    It will also provide the perfect opportunity for fans and runners from around the world to experience the continent’s natural beauty and rich culture, all from the vantage point of one of the most recognised natural wonders on Earth.

    While Table Mountain boasts a unique flat-top peak, the trails around Cape Town feature significant elevation changes. Runners will face steep ascents and descents, particularly on Table Mountain and Lion’s Head, presenting a tough yet rewarding challenge.

    There will also be a variety of terrains, from rugged, technical paths to fast descents, offering a diverse and challenging experience for runners of all levels. One of the biggest rewards will come in the form of the unparalleled panoramic views of the city, the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding mountains.

    The World Mountain Running Championships began in 1985 and was an annual fixture, while 2007 saw the first World Trail Championships. The two events merged in 2021 to become the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships and the event shifted to a biennial format with the first edition held in Chiang Mai, which was postponed by a year.

    The 2023 edition was held in Innsbruck and Stubai, while this year’s championships will take place in Canfranc-Pirineos, Spain, between 25-28 September.

    There are four senior championship races with individual and team medals awarded in each: classic (up and down), uphill, short trail and long trail. Along with an U20 championship race, there will also be mass participation and side events, allowing amateur runners to experience the thrill of the event.

    It is estimated that about 1200 runners from more than 80 nations will compete in the championship races in 2027, while more than 2000 runners will take to the start line for the mass participation events.

    “It is always exciting when a major athletics event is staged in a new continent for the first time, and this is no exception,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “Cape Town hosting the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships marks not only an exciting opportunity for the local area, but also for the sport as a whole. This will be the fifth global athletics event held in Africa within a 10-year period, and I have every faith that Cape Town will prove to be spectacular hosts of these championships.”

    “On behalf of the partnership of the World Mountain Running Association, the International Association of Ultrarunners and the International Trail Running Association, we are delighted to bring the fourth World Mountain and Trail Running Championships to Africa,” the presidents of the three partner associations – Tomo Sarf, Nadeem Khan and Janet Ng – said in a joint statement. “The sensational views of Cape Town and Table Mountain will form a fitting backdrop to the WMTRC 27 and we are sure it will build on the forthcoming WMTRC 25 in Canfranc, Spain. Cape Town has had plenty of success from being the host of a number of prestigious international events and we are looking forward to enjoying the races on Table Mountain and the hospitality of the Cape. The standard of the bids for the event was very high and we also thank all those who took the time to submit their interest in hosting the event.”

    “The Western Cape Government is delighted to welcome this exciting event to Cape Town,” said Ricardo Mackenzie, Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape Government. “This continues to show that the Western Cape Government is fast becoming the hub for major sporting events. Events of this nature bring a boost to our local economy and assist in creating many jobs. We can’t wait to welcome runners for this event to our picturesque city, where we offer some of the best views for mountain and trail running.”

    “We are so excited for the mountain and trail running world to descend on Cape Town in 2027 for the very first African staging of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships,” said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. “There is surely no better backdrop to this prestigious event than our very own Wonder of the Natural World, the iconic Table Mountain. But runners should not be fooled by her beauty and her fame – Table Mountain’s rugged trails and steep elevations will pose a stern challenge to elite runners and mass participants alike. I cannot wait to welcome this wonderful event to Cape Town in October 2027, and to show the world why the Mother City is rightly considered one of the mass participation sports capitals of the world.”

    “We are absolutely thrilled to have been awarded the opportunity to host these World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2027,” said Bob Verbeeck, CEO of Golazo, the delivery partner for the championships. “Following events like the Diamond League, the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet in Nairobi, and the European Road Running Championships in Belgium – along with many other athletics and (trail) running events – this marks not only an exciting new milestone for our company, but also for Cape Town and South Africa. It also represents an important step forward for Golazo as we open a new office in Cape Town around this time, paving the way for many more exciting running and sporting events in the near future.”

    World Athletics

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  • NASA’s Hubble Uncovers Rare White Dwarf Merger Remnant

    NASA’s Hubble Uncovers Rare White Dwarf Merger Remnant

    An international team of astronomers has discovered a cosmic rarity: an ultra-massive white dwarf star resulting from a white dwarf merging with another star, rather than through the evolution of a single star. This discovery, made by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope’s sensitive ultraviolet observations, suggests these rare white dwarfs may be more common than previously suspected.

    “It’s a discovery that underlines things may be different from what they appear to us at first glance,” said the principal investigator of the Hubble program, Boris Gaensicke, of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. “Until now, this appeared as a normal white dwarf, but Hubble’s ultraviolet vision revealed that it had a very different history from what we would have guessed.”

    A white dwarf is a dense object with the same diameter as Earth, and represents the end state for stars that are not massive enough to explode as core-collapse supernovae. Our Sun will become a white dwarf in about 5 billion years. 

    In theory, a white dwarf can have a mass of up to 1.4 times that of the Sun, but white dwarfs heavier than the Sun are rare. These objects, which astronomers call ultra-massive white dwarfs, can form either through the evolution of a single massive star or through the merger of a white dwarf with another star, such as a binary companion. 

    This new discovery, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, marks the first time that a white dwarf born from colliding stars has been identified by its ultraviolet spectrum. Prior to this study, six white dwarf merger products were discovered via carbon lines in their visible-light spectra.  All seven of these are part of a larger group that were found to be bluer than expected for their masses and ages from a study with ESA’s Gaia mission in 2019, with the evidence of mergers providing new insights into their formation history.

    Astronomers used Hubble’s Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to investigate a white dwarf called WD 0525+526. Located 128 light-years away, it is 20% more massive than the Sun. In visible light, the spectrum of WD 0525+526’s atmosphere resembled that of a typical white dwarf. However, Hubble’s ultraviolet spectrum revealed something unusual: evidence of carbon in the white dwarf’s atmosphere. 

    White dwarfs that form through the evolution of a single star have atmospheres composed of hydrogen and helium. The core of the white dwarf is typically composed mostly of carbon and oxygen or oxygen and neon, but a thick atmosphere usually prevents these elements from appearing in the white dwarf’s spectrum. 

    When carbon appears in the spectrum of a white dwarf, it can signal a more violent origin than the typical single-star scenario: the collision of two white dwarfs, or of a white dwarf and a subgiant star. Such a collision can burn away the hydrogen and helium atmospheres of the colliding stars, leaving behind a scant layer of hydrogen and helium around the merger remnant that allows carbon from the white dwarf’s core to float upward, where it can be detected. 

    WD 0525+526 is remarkable even within the small group of white dwarfs known to be the product of merging stars. With a temperature of almost 21,000 kelvins (37,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and a mass of 1.2 solar masses, WD 0525+526 is hotter and more massive than the other white dwarfs in this group.

    WD 0525+526’s extreme temperature posed something of a mystery for the team. For cooler white dwarfs, such as the six previously discovered merger products, a process called convection can mix carbon into the thin hydrogen-helium atmosphere. WD 0525+526 is too hot for convection to take place, however. Instead, the team determined a more subtle process called semi-convection brings a small amount of carbon up into WD 0525+526’s atmosphere. WD 0525+526 has the smallest amount of atmospheric carbon of any white dwarf known to result from a merger, about 100,000 times less than other merger remnants.

    The high temperature and low carbon abundance mean that identifying this white dwarf as the product of a merger would have been impossible without Hubble’s sensitivity to ultraviolet light. Spectral lines from elements heavier than helium, like carbon, become fainter at visible wavelengths for hotter white dwarfs, but these spectral signals remain bright in the ultraviolet, where Hubble is uniquely positioned to spot them.

    “Hubble’s Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is the only instrument that can obtain the superb quality ultraviolet spectroscopy that was required to detect the carbon in the atmosphere of this white dwarf,” said study lead Snehalata Sahu from the University of Warwick.

    Because WD 0525+526’s origin was revealed only once astronomers glimpsed its ultraviolet spectrum, it’s likely that other seemingly “normal” white dwarfs are actually the result of cosmic collisions — a possibility the team is excited to explore in the future.

    “We would like to extend our research on this topic by exploring how common carbon white dwarfs are among similar white dwarfs, and how many stellar mergers are hiding among the normal white dwarf family,” said study co-leader Antoine Bedrad from the University of Warwick. “That will be an important contribution to our understanding of white dwarf binaries, and the pathways to supernova explosions.”

    The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for more than three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

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  • Doodles are the freewheeling emanations of our pixillated minds

    Doodles are the freewheeling emanations of our pixillated minds

    In 1936, Gary Cooper starred in the Oscar-winning film Mr Deeds Goes to Town and changed the meaning of marginal squiggles forever. Mr Deeds, a sweet man from small-town Vermont, survives the Great Depression juggling a string of quirky jobs – he’s a part-time greetings card poet, a tuba player, and an investor in the local animal fat factory – but then he inherits a cool $20 million from an estranged uncle. The film follows the travails of this loveable everyman as he attempts to give away his newfound wealth to the poor. Mr Deeds’s radical acts of altruism (for example, offering 2,000 10-acre farms to struggling Americans) quickly excites the ire of New York’s elite, not least the pernicious attorney John Cedar who plots to have Mr Deeds declared ‘insane’ by a New York judge.

    In the film’s courtroom finale, various witnesses from his hometown attack Mr Deeds’s personality, claiming he has long been known as ‘pixillated’ – one of them clarifying:

    Pixillated is an early American expression deriving from the word ‘pixies’, meaning elves. They would say, ‘The pixies have got him,’ as we nowadays would say a man is ‘balmy’.

    Next, the snooty Dr Emile Von Haller (a parody of Central European intellectuals like Sigmund Freud) appears with a large graph depicting the mood swings of a manic depressive – pixillated affective errancies that map exactly onto the everyday eccentricities of Mr Deeds as described by other witnesses. Called upon to defend himself against such slander, Mr Deeds demonstrates his grip on rationality by celebrating his love of irrational things – from ‘walking in the rain without a hat’ to ‘playing the tuba’ during the Great Depression – before introducing the courtroom to a newfangled form: ‘the doodle’.

    ‘[E]verybody does something silly when they’re thinking,’ says Mr Deeds as the courtroom erupts with laughter. ‘For instance, the Judge here is an “O-filler”.’

    ‘A what?’ says the Judge.

    ‘An O-filler,’ says Mr Deeds. ‘You fill in all the spaces in the O’s, with your pencil … That may make you look a little crazy, Your Honour, … but I don’t see anything wrong ’cause that helps you to think. Other people,’ Mr Deeds says, ‘are doodlers.’

    ‘Doodlers?’ the judge exclaims.

    ‘That’s a name we made up back home for people who make foolish designs on paper when they’re thinking. It’s called doodling. Almost everybody’s a doodler … People draw the most idiotic pictures when they’re thinking. Dr Von Haller, here, could probably think of a long name for it because he doodles all the time.’

    Reflecting the elitist psychoanalytical gaze back at Dr Von Haller, Mr Deeds finds something between ‘a chimpanzee’ and ‘Mr Cedar’ in Von Haller’s idiotic doodles, effortlessly exposing the hidden errancies that inform even the most rational analytical formulas.

    The doodle is subversive. Democratically able to contain all gestures regardless of their formal difference. In light of this remarkable egalitarian power, the judge irreverently declares Mr Deeds ‘the sanest man that ever walked into this courtroom.’ Far from symbolising a frivolous eruption of nonsignifying noise, the doodle emerges in interwar modernist culture as a distinctly informal form oriented towards containing the value of apparently illogical things – like giving away your personal wealth for public good. Or upholding democratic processes that defend the rights of everyone (even the pixillated, meaning the ‘pixies’ rather than the ‘pixels’) in an age defined by the cold logic of mechanical reproduction, anti-humanist Taylorite efficiency programmes, and the global ascension of fascism.

    As Mr Deeds says: ‘everybody’s a doodler’. Everybody matters.

    To doodle is – if anything – a doddle. Equally the domain of avant-garde artists and incarcerated monkeys, presidents and poets, toddlers and self-help gurus, doodling is a radically non-hierarchical and non-classical activity that relays modernism’s epochal desire to reinvent traditional systems of value and to encourage the acceptance of new modes of being.

    Doodles explode across modernist culture, high and low. From the constellatory squiggles and biomorphic shapes parading across Jean Dubuffet’s doodle cycle L’Hourloupe (1962-85) to Norman McLaren’s abstract expressionist cartoon Boogie-Doodle (1940), through to the ‘pixillated’ and ‘sagacious’ doodlers of, respectively, James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake (1939) and Samuel Beckett’s novel Watt (1953), the modernist exhibits a veritable will-to-doodle. But why does the doodle come to matter at this 20th-century modernist moment?

    I would argue that the doodle is to modernism something like what the beautiful once was to the Renaissance: an aesthetic form that indicates a wider system of value intrinsic to a period of history. The beautiful embodies Renaissance ideals of harmony, rationality and humanism, just as the doodle alerts us to modernism’s fascination with difference and repetition, complexity, errancy and the ordered disorders that hide in irrational processes of all sorts.

    The aesthetic experience of the doodle is never fixed, never singular

    As a distinct aesthetic form, the doodle is often aligned with Paul Klee’s understanding that ‘A line is a dot that went for a walk’ – or as his fellow artist Saul Steinberg fondly misquotes it: ‘A line is a thought that went for a walk.’ Steinberg’s slippage points to modernist lines not being formally representative of things but things in and of themselves. This is form animated by the eventful idiosyncrasies of what the poet Henri Michaux calls ‘an entanglement, a drawing as it were desiring to withdraw into itself.’ Doodles are noisy and unfinished process-oriented forms – emerging always like a multitude of ‘starts that come out’, as the poet and musician Clark Coolidge says: they are minor gestural forces that open experience to novel possibilities of becoming. Doodles speak to the modernist idea of an endlessly wandering world, open, as the philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy says, to ‘the indeterminate possibility of the possible’.

    Page of doodles by Saul Steinberg, including a photocopy of a 1965 drawing. Saul Steinberg Papers, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, inv 3083 © The Saul Steinberg Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Copyright Agency 2025

    Because of its radical openness to difference, the doodle tends to function as a kind of meta-aesthetic attuned to containing a network of ambivalent affects and fleeting everyday aesthetic experiences that become increasingly common in the 20th century. Just as our consumerist lifeworld is a patchwork of ‘cool’ Nike ads, ‘cute’ outfits, ‘interesting’ data points, ‘dank’ memes and ‘whimsical’ shopping-mall muzak, the doodle presents scrawled assemblages that flitter with cute blobs, cool waveforms, interesting jottings and fey twinkling stars. The aesthetic experience of the doodle is never fixed, never singular.

    Far from encouraging distinct sovereign aesthetic experiences like the beautiful, the modernist doodle presents a decentred experience that is, in part, about the meta-aesthetic expansion and reframing of classical aesthetic experience into something non-sovereign, multitudinous and relational. While drawing together errant, marginal and unworthy gestures long excluded from the royal aesthetic experiences favoured by the Renaissance, the doodle is about commingling weak and everyday forms in a democratic soup of bounteous difference and animate commixture.

    Doodles have a long history, of course. There’s the ‘monkish pornographic doodle’ that the poet Lisa Robertson marvels at, drawn around a flaw in the vellum of a translation of the Codex Oblongus from De rerum natura held in the British Library. Or the variety of curious knots and flourishes that adorn the marginalia of Edward Cocker’s early modern ‘writing-books’ like Arts Glory (1669). Such pre-modern forms are largely treated as formless nothings before the modernist moment awakes to the informal value of doodled forms, whether avant-garde or popular. Indeed, the word ‘doodle’ enters popular parlance in the early 20th century – appearing alongside swaths of similar ‘doo-’ terms for worthless objects, errant movements and unbalanced states of mind, including ‘doodad’, ‘doodah’, ‘doolally’, ‘doohickey’, ‘doojigger’, ‘doo-doo’, ‘dooky’ and ‘doofus’ – as a variant both of old German words like Dödel (‘fool’) or Dudeltopf (‘simpleton’) and the loaded revolutionary war-era phrase ‘Yankee Doodle’ – before bursting forth across US pop culture with the success of Mr Deeds Goes to Town.

    By the late 1930s, most major newspapers in the US take to clarifying the meaning of ‘doodles’, often alongside definitions of the promiscuous neurotic category of the ‘pixillated zany’, underlining the doodle’s comedy of psychoanalytical pretension. The Los Angeles Times in 1936 insists that ‘Persons who create geometric masterpieces during a telephone conversation, are a little pixilated [sic].’ In 1937, a columnist at The Washington Post admits (ironically) to fearing being caught doodling ‘dogwood blossoms’ while chatting on the telephone and being goaded with ‘that fatal form of neurosis known as “pixillated”.’ As one popular columnist surmises: ‘a hundred million guinea pigs are now “doodles”-conscious’ – both in thrall to doodling and in fear of the wisecracks it’ll inspire. Also in 1937, Life magazine publishes funny exposés of doodling politicians and doodling celebrities alongside a feature on the New York subway’s pixillated ‘photo-doodlers’. What matters here is the doodle’s containment of a ‘pixillated’ comedy of neurosis, skewering the period’s po-faced ‘science’ of dreams while celebrating errant expressions of all kinds.

    Black and white photo series of people transforming into others using drawn-on cartoon facial features.

    Gertrude Stein meets Albert Einstein photo-doodle in ‘Speaking of Pictures… These Are Photo-Doodles’ in Life (2 August 1937). Supplied by the author

    These burgeoning pop cultures celebrating the American public’s democratic respect for minor differences coincided with, and were fed by, a growing interest in psychoanalysis and the unconscious colliding with older (largely Western European) avant-garde, occult and pseudoscientific interests in planchette writing, graphology, automatism and free-association parlour games. In Life magazine’s 1930s showcasing of subway photo-doodles and doodling Democrats, for example, explicit parallels can be drawn with Marcel Duchamp’s Dada portrait of the Mona Lisa in L.H.O.O.Q. (1919) and Louis Aragon’s recycling of the discarded doodles of French ministers in the magazine La Révolution surréaliste in 1926. In turn, Russell Arundel’s cartoonish doodle catalogue, Everybody’s Pixillated (1937) – ‘a pixillated book for pixillated people’, published hastily in the wake of Mr Deeds Goes to Town – owes as much of a debt to late-19th-century graphology textbooks that attempt to taxonomise character through handwriting as it does to the highbrow strictures of Freudian psychoanalysis.

    Altered version of Mona Lisa with a moustache by Marcel Duchamp titled “L.H.O.O.Q.” featuring added letters and scribbles, artwork.

    L.H.O.O.Q. (1919) by Marcel Duchamp. Courtesy Wikipedia

    Cover of a doodle book titled “Everybody’s Pixillated” on a red background, featuring whimsical sketches and text.

    Cover of Everybody’s Pixillated (1937) by Russell Arundel. Courtesy the Centre for Book Arts

    The doodle skirts close to an irreverent form of psychoanalysis for the people

    Graphological understandings of the modernist doodle catalogue are more evident still in Your Doodles and What They Mean to You (1957) by Helen King:

    The signature shows the personality – that side which we appear to be to the public. The penmanship shows the character – that which we really are. And the doodles tell of the unconscious thoughts, hopes, desires. [my italics]

    King’s pop-ish sense of doodles as the cartoon sigla of modernism’s unconscious folds back readily into the avant-garde surrealist’s interest in parlour games like ‘exquisite corpse’, which topologically enfolds an assemblage of individual doodles into a grotesque vision of Jung’s collective unconscious.

    To be sure, as they erupt across modernist pop culture, doodles often parody these older and more serious concerns of graphologists, occult automatists, avant-garde surrealists and early psychologists. As if referring back to Mr Deeds’s comic analysis of Dr Von Haller’s doodles, the doodle comes to the fore as a tongue-in-cheek expression of a re-materialised unconscious that is more inclined to poke fun at the elitism and highfalutin snobbery saturating interwar modernist psychoanalytical practices than to posit any serious means of understanding dreams. This said, in preferring to simply celebrate the silly things people do to help them think (to paraphrase Mr Deeds), the doodle skirts close to an irreverent form of psychoanalysis for the people. Like the modernist doodle, the graphologist’s doodle upholds the value of democracy through its informal containment of difference.

    A surprising number of interwar modernist novels contain characters who erupt with dawdling forms that are in close dialogue with late-Victorian practices of automatism and graphology. In Virginia Woolf’s novel Night and Day (1919), for instance, Ralph Denham gazes absently into a page riddled with ‘half-obliterated scratches’ and a ‘circumference of smudges surrounding a central blot’, before beginning to doodle ‘blots fringed with flames’. Instantly, Ralph finds his lawyerly way of inhabiting the world softening, opening onto a network of what Helen King called ‘unconscious thoughts, hopes, desires’. Drawing on the occult practice of planchette writing, Woolf has Ralph find the ‘objects of [his] life, softening their sharp outline’ as the doodle mediates first a kitsch image of cosmic totality, and then his genuine human connection with the woman he loves, the upper-class Katharine Hilbery. For Katharine immediately recognises something familiar in ‘the idiotic symbol of his most confused and emotional moments’. ‘Yes,’ she says in rational agreement with Ralph’s irrational doodle, ‘the world looks something like that to me too.’

    The modernist’s will-to-doodle folds out still more explicitly and wonderfully in Joyce’s ‘verbivocovisual’ Finnegans Wake. Apropos of the media frenzy surrounding Mr Deeds Goes to Town, Joyce adds in numerous references to the ‘doodling dawdling’ antics of his dream novel’s cast. ‘He, the pixillated doodler,’ writes Joyce, ‘is on his last with illegible clergimanths boasting always of his ruddy complexious!’ The reference is to Shem the Penman’s terrible handwriting in his transcription of a letter by his mother, Anna Livia Plurabelle (ie, ALP).

    The social affordance of the doodle contains both ecological and democratic differences

    The letter itself is a muddied and crumpled communicative mess that echoes Finnegans Wake’s own erratic and polyphonic form. ALP’s doodle-laden pixillated letter is a non-sovereign projective field of subjects and objects all mixing and mingling in ‘strangewrote anaglyptics’, wherein the voice of Anna Livia blurs not only with Shem’s ‘kakography’ but also with ‘inbursts’ from Maggy (ie, Isobel/Issy/Girl Cloud, and ALP’s only daughter with HCE, ie, Here Comes Everybody/Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker), and an array of more-than-human gestures, from tea stains and orange-peel smudges to chicken scratches, electromagnetic wavelengths, muddy splashes and more. Regurgitating what Stephen Dedalus in Joyce’s earlier novel Ulysses (1922) calls the ‘signatures of all things’, ALP’s doodle-laden letter is both an indelibly human and more-than-human form that foregrounds the marginalised signatory gestures of subjects and objects alike: rivers; men; orange-peels; Morse code machines.

    For all of Joyce’s interest in Mr Deeds and the rise of modernism’s ‘pixillated doodlers’, the meaning of the Wake’s doodles again blurs with an older, late-Victorian interest in graphology. As Walter Benjamin writes in 1928, ‘graphology is concerned with the bodily aspect of the language of handwriting and with the expressive aspect of the body of handwriting.’ With Shem’s/ALP’s pixillated letter, Joyce explodes this ‘body of handwriting’ into an intermedial and non-anthropocentric ecology that brings together the animate gestures of chickens, medieval high priests and supersonic televisions. Rejoicing in the many-in-oneness of all expression – or ‘the identities in the writer complexus’ – Joyce dwells on the poetry of a letter’s variegated surfaces. Its ‘stabs and foliated gashes’; its ‘curt witty wotty dashes’ and ‘disdotted aiches’; its ‘superciliouslooking crisscrossed Greek ees’ and ‘pees with their caps awry’; its ‘fourlegged ems’ and ‘fretful fidget eff[s]’; its ‘riot of blots and blurs and bars and balls and hoops and wriggles and juxtaposed jottings linked by spurts of speed’.

    From Joyce we learn that the social affordance of the doodle contains both ecological and democratic differences. A healthy public depends on a healthy planet, and both begin by recognising that everyone – and indeed everything – is a doodler.

    In the postwar period, and eventually in pop culture, the modernist doodle takes on an increasingly cartoonish and commodified form. The more doodles circulate, the more they become pastiches of themselves (meaningless sigla imbued with oversized meanings, parodies of an all-too-formulaic commitment to formlessness). In Robert Arthur Jr’s satirical story ‘Mr Milton’s Gift’ (1958), first published in Fantasy and Science Fiction, we find the hapless Horace Milton ‘sitting back, daydreaming and doodling … doodling something while daydreaming about being rich’. Following a mysterious ‘charm’, Horace Milton’s lazy doodles come to constitute a bizarre late-capitalist labour-saving device, as he realises ‘he hadn’t just been doodling. Unknown to him, his hand was drawing a perfect hundred dollar bill.’ The modernist doodle is here remade in the parodic vision of a post-modernist America, defined not by the democratic containment of difference but by the hypercommodification of everything. Not least, the collective desire to ‘daydream about being rich’. The play of difference and irreverence celebrated by Mr Deeds – and his ‘insane desire to become a public benefactor’ – is absorbed into a homogenising pursuit of capital.

    Throughout the post-1945 period, the doodle has been further sterilised, homogenised and hypercommodified into an increasingly ‘game-changing’ neoliberal form of ‘creative power’. Think of ‘Google Doodles’ (1998-), or business management gurus styling themselves as ‘info-doodlers’, for example. The modernist doodle’s non-hierarchical formalism has been flattened and its sociopolitical errancy standardised in overwrought simulations of spontaneity. Into the early 21st century, the postmodernist doodle tends to help brands and corporations disguise systemic agendas of extraction and exploitation in colourful and fun-loving – squiggling and non-sovereign(!) – surfaces full, as Google says, ‘of spontaneous and delightful changes’.

    Yet I cannot help but wonder: what if the doodle rekindled its modernist errancy and rediscovered its democratic roots? The doodle’s history points to an indelibly American form of ‘being in the impasse together,’ as Lauren Berlant says in Cruel Optimism (2011), meaning that it helps us to imagine a non-classical kind of collectivity that foregrounds a non-hierarchical communion of marginal differences. As Gilles Deleuze once said of that exemplary modernist Dödel, Charlie Chaplin, the struggle is to find a form that ‘make[s] the slight difference between men the variable of a great situation of community and communality (Democracy).’ The original social agency of the doodle is clearly formed by a promiscuous ability to bring people together by way of popularising their errant and wasteful gestures – gestures once confined to the peripheries of occult automatisms, pseudoscientific graphology manuals and obscure surrealist practices. The question now is: how might the doodle recover this capacity to put the play of marginal differences to work as socially generative form? In a time when democracy seems once more under threat, how might the doodle rekindle its long-lost power to inspire pixillated dreams of togetherness?

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  • Bella Hadid celebrates designer Reema Al Banna by wearing her Palestine-inspired dress – Culture

    Bella Hadid celebrates designer Reema Al Banna by wearing her Palestine-inspired dress – Culture

    Bella Hadid has once again used her platform to celebrate Palestinian talent — this time while promoting her perfume brand, Orebella.

    In her latest Instagram post, the Palestinian-American model shared a series of photos of herself wearing an exquisite piece from Palestinian designer Reema Al Banna’s label Reemami, praising the designer’s skill and vision. The dress features the olive tree and other symbols of the Palestinian resistance.

    Calling Al Banna a “brilliant, beautiful, hard-working, talented young Palestinian artist and designer,” Hadid described the outfit as “a piece of art” and expressed gratitude for her craftsmanship.

    Banna started her brand at 24, fresh out of college. Her label, according to Official Bespoke, captures the spirit of a daring and thriving generation that has rooted itself in a recovering region.

    The designer, who won the DDFC/Vogue Fashion Prize for ready-to-wear in 2016, said in an interview featured on Gems of Arabia in April, “The symbolism in Palestinian craftsmanship feels like homecoming to me. It’s about celebrating my identity.” She spoke about how fashion can be a force for purpose, not just aesthetics.

    Hadid’s post went beyond fashion. Tying the shoot to her own heritage, Hadid reflected on her “Eternal Roots”, a theme she has been championing, and spoke about “holding your lineage when the world makes it hard,” a clear nod to the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza and the backlash Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices face for speaking up. Hadid has faced intense backlash for her support of her father’s homeland, including threats from the Israeli government.

    “Roots are not passive,” she wrote. “They hold us steady through storms, and they remind us of who we are when the ground feels unsteady. My roots are my compass,” she declared.

    Describing those roots as her family, her ancestors, mother nature, God and love — elements she says have guided her through the toughest times — she added, “And they will always, always run deep.”

    Hadid ended her post by spotlighting another Palestinian creative, singer Elyanna, whose song ‘Olive Branch’ she used in the video. “Bless you, Habibti. I am so proud of you and all that you do,” she wrote.

    “Eternal Roots comes from within, we just have to make sure we walk in our truth, the rest will follow,” concluded the model.

    This isn’t the first time Hadid has merged her advocacy for Palestine with her work in fashion and beauty. The model has consistently spoken out against injustices faced by Palestinians, making her platform a space where artistry and activism often intersect.

    Earlier, she wore a red keffiyeh dress to Cannes, France, during the city’s famed film festival. In an Instagram post highlighting her look, she spoke about the significance of the keffiyeh.

    “Palestine on my mind, in my blood and on my heart. Always… While I still have to go to work, even through this horror, to wear our culture makes me a proud Palestinian, and I want the world to continue to see Palestine, wherever we go,” Hadid wrote.

    Hadid said the dress, designed by Michael and Hushi in 2001, was “a beautiful way to represent the history, labour of love, resilience and, most importantly, the art of historic Palestinian embroidery.”


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  • Mavis Camera App Now Supports Atomos Ninja Phone for iPhone-based Workflows

    Mavis Camera App Now Supports Atomos Ninja Phone for iPhone-based Workflows

    In their new collaboration, Atomos and Mavis have announced a new integration that brings the fully featured Mavis Camera app’s support to the Atomos Ninja Phone accessory. The move allows content creators to connect professional cameras and lenses via HDMI to a much wider range of iPhones and iPads.

    In practice, this combination unlocks a flexible camera-to-cloud workflow. The main camera records high-quality video while the iPhone simultaneously captures and uploads a proxy file. It also enables direct streaming from any DSLR or mirrorless camera to popular social media platforms or to custom RTMP/SRT destinations. The update also adds the long-requested external record trigger feature, meaning the Mavis app’s recorder can be started or stopped by the camera’s own record button to automatically generate an H.265 or H.264 proxy clip for social media or cloud upload.

    Mavis camera app. Source: Mavis

    External trigger and camera-to-cloud workflows

    The Atomos Ninja Phone (which dropped to $199 earlier this year) acts as a 10-bit HDMI video bridge, turning an iPhone into a 4K HDR monitor-recorder for cameras (yes, it’s not a 4K screen, but it can record in 4K). With the new Mavis integration, filmmakers can record proxy footage on the phone and use it as a high-quality on-camera monitor while the main camera records internally.

    The Mavis Camera app, fresh off its version 7 update earlier this year, offers a host of pro filmmaking features such as assist tools including focus peaking, false colour, zebras, waveform and vectorscope, as well as direct streaming, Frame.io Camera-to-Cloud support, a comprehensive audio system and more. Now, with Ninja Phone support added, creators can fully leverage those tools in tandem with their dedicated cameras. “With this latest update, Ninja Phone now works seamlessly with the Mavis Camera app, giving creators complete flexibility,” said Peter Barber, Atomos CEO. “You can record directly on your iPhone and use it as a high-quality monitor for your professional camera.”

    The Ninja Phone and Mavis combination effectively serves as a camera-to-cloud pipeline. For example, a video shooter can film in high resolution on a mirrorless camera while the attached iPhone, via Ninja Phone, records a proxy in H.265 or H.264 and instantly sends it to cloud platforms. According to Atomos, this setup is “the perfect camera-to-cloud package – recording hi-resolution video on the camera while the phone records and sends the proxy file.” Alternatively, the iPhone can act as a wireless video hub. They also note that the Ninja Phone and Mavis combo “can be used to stream from any DSLR directly to all popular social media platforms or, for professional live productions, to custom RTMP or SRT.” In other words, users can live stream the output of virtually any HDMI-equipped camera via the iPhone’s 5G or Wi-Fi connection, which sounds like a straightforward way to get a live stream going.

    The new external record trigger syncs the phone’s recording with the camera, so hitting record on the camera can automatically trigger the Mavis app to capture a proxy clip. According to the companies, this was a much-requested feature that should simplify post-production workflows, especially when using Frame.io Camera-to-Cloud. Mavis offers built-in Frame.io cloud integration as an optional add-on, enabling proxies to upload to the cloud in near real time.

    Expanded compatibility to older iPhones and iPads

    When the Atomos Ninja Phone was first introduced at NAB 2024, it was geared toward Apple’s latest devices, clipping onto an iPhone 15 or 16 Pro via USB-C to turn it into a 10-bit HDR monitor, recorder and streamer. Now, Atomos has extended compatibility to all iOS 18 devices, significantly broadening its user base. “By extending compatibility to all iOS 18 devices, the Ninja Phone is no longer limited to the latest Pro models. Now older iPhones and iPads can be put to work as part of a professional workflow. Giving older gear a longer life is a win for sustainability too, which has always been part of Atomos’ philosophy,” Barber noted.

    Atomos Ninja Phone in use. Image credit: CineD

    In practical terms, this means that even an older iPhone or iPad updated to iOS 18 can serve as a companion monitor-recorder via Ninja Phone. The Ninja Phone itself is a compact video co-processor module that mounts to the back of the phone and provides an HDMI input and additional power. It converts the camera’s HDMI feed into high-quality video formats, up to ProRes, H.265 or H.264, which the phone can then record or stream. By pairing it with Mavis’s advanced app interface and monitoring tools, users gain a versatile, hybrid workflow that combines the connectivity and usability of iPhones with the imaging capabilities of dedicated cameras.

    Pricing and availability

    The Mavis Camera app is available now as a free download on the App Store, with optional in-app purchases such as Adobe Frame.io Camera-to-Cloud integration, advanced audio mixing tools and multitrack audio recording to unlock additional functionality. The Atomos Ninja Phone hardware is currently priced at USD $199 / EUR €199 excluding local taxes. According to Atomos, existing Ninja Phone owners can start using the new integration right away at no additional cost by simply downloading the updated Mavis Camera app from the App Store.

    What’s your take on the integration of the Mavis app with Atomos Ninja Phone? Let us know in the comments below.


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  • Higher Levels of Postpartum Depression in Women With MS Raise Importance for Screening Efforts

    Higher Levels of Postpartum Depression in Women With MS Raise Importance for Screening Efforts

    A recently presented clinical study of women with multiple sclerosis (WwMS) identified some potential links to postpartum depression (PPD), as well as found an overall higher rate of PPD than reports in both general and MS populations. All told, these data underscored the importance of screening for PPD from late gestation until 12 months postpartum, while also suggesting that active management of MS inflammatory activity could reduce PPD burden.1

    Part of a late-breaking abstract at the 2025 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting, the study featured 121 WwMS enrolled across 2 sites starting at gestational week 36 and followed serially until 12 months postpartum. At the conclusion of the study, PPD by any measure was associated with Black/Hispanic ancestry (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.09-2.40; P = .03), pre-pregnancy depression/anxiety (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.12-2.91; P = .000), and absence of exclusive breastfeeding (OR, 3.28; 95% CI, 0.19-2.18; P = .01).

    Senior investigator Riley Bove, MD, an associate professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues, used several different scales to measure PPD. Among them included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; threshold >9/30), met by 20.7% of the cohort, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric interview (MINI)/Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID), for which 18.2% met criteria, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D, threshold >8). Overall, 40.5% of the study participants met criteria for PPD based on any measure.

    In the trial, EDPS was most commonly elevated in the first month postpartium (19%), and correlated highly with HADS-D (r = 0.79; P <.05), and moderately with fatigue, lower Social Support, and worse Mother-Infant Bonding (|r|>0.37, P <0.05 for all measures). For reference, fatigue, social support, and mother-infant connections were assessed through Modified Fatigue Impact Scale, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, and Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale, respectively.

    In the trial, covariates included demographic and other MS-specific factors. Overall, results revealed that PPD was associated with higher pre-conception Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.21-3.33; P = .0006), and with gestational clinical relapses (in 17% overall; OR, 5.65; 95% CI, 1.12-28.61; P = .03).

    READ MORE: Real-World Analysis Shows Growing Use of Octave’s MS Disease Activity Test in Clinical Practice

    It has been known as that people with MS have an increased prevalence of depression and anxiety compared with the general population. Several factors are believed to contribute, including pathobiological mechanisms of MS itself. Over the years, there has been growing literature on the occurrence of depression and anxiety in the peri- and postnatal settings.

    One large-scale analysis, published in Neurology in 2021, assessed the occurrence of perinatal depression and anxiety in 114,629 pregnant women in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort study (1999-2008) before and after diagnosis of MS. Results revealed that WwMS diagnosed before pregnancy had an adjusted odds ratio of 2.0 (95% CI, 1.2-3.1) for depression in the third trimester, while the risk of anxiety was not increased.2

    In the study, women with MS were identified from national health registries and hospital records and grouped into (1) MS diagnosed before pregnancy (n = 140) or MS diagnosed after pregnancy with (2) symptom onset before pregnancy (n = 98) or (3) symptom onset after pregnancy (n = 308). The reference group (n = 111,627) consisted of women without MS. All told, risk factors for depression included socioeconomic factors and history of psychiatric disease and physical/sexual abuse.

    The analysis included a small group of women (n = 35) diagnosed with MS in the postpartum period. Similar to work by Bove et al, these women were at especially high risk of PPD. Women with MS symptom onset within 5 years after pregnancy had increased risk of both depression and anxiety during pregnancy, whereas women with more than 5 years until symptom onset did not.

    Click here for more CMSC 2025 coverage.

    REFERENCES
    1. Kim MJ, Balan A, Anderson A, et al. LBA10 – Prospective Ascertainment of Peri-Childbirth Depression and Its Relationship with Postpartum Inflammatory Activity in Women with MS. Presented at: 2025 CMSC Annual Meeting; May 28-31; Phoenix, Arizona. LBA10.
    2. Eid K, Torkildsen OF, Aarseth J, et al. Perinatal Depression and Anxiety in Women With Multiple Sclerosis: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Neurology. 2021;96(23):e2789-e2800. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000012062

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  • Omega’s New Seamaster Looks Like James Bond’s Vacation Watch

    Omega’s New Seamaster Looks Like James Bond’s Vacation Watch

    The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M fills an interesting role in the brand’s lineup as simply a great, wearable, everyday watch. Unlike the Seamaster 300M or the Speedmaster, which are made for underwater adventures or space travel, respectively, the Aqua Terra wants you to kill it while you grab a coffee and head to that meeting. The watch also looks great on a red carpet. Omega turns the Aqua Terra out in all manner of bright colors, and the brand is adding another compelling shade to the roster today.

    The new Aqua Terra takes the watch’s diving heritage and turns the piece out in a sleek color combination. The turquoise and black ceramic is a handsome mix. There are two new pieces, a 38 mm and 41 mm variant, available in this color combo today. The Aqua Terra is Omega’s equivalent to Rolex’s Datejust: a watch that can be worn day in, day out and for a price that’s relatively friendly compared to the other wares you’d find at your local high-end boutique. Seen from that perspective, the turquoise colorway, which first appeared late last year, albeit without this version’s ceramic black bezel, is an especially exciting addition. I mean, imagine the type of person rocking this reference on the daily.

    The net effect of the blue-black combination is an aesthetic that lies somewhere between the tactical and the tropical—a sort of vacation watch for when MI6 lets James Bond take a week off but might call at any moment.

    The turquoise accents are all over this new Aqua Terra. Within the black inner ring of the bezel is a turquoise-colored, polished lacquer dial that fades from a darker to a lighter shade toward its center. Finished with applied, black PVD-coated dart hour markers, a framed date window at 6 o’clock, and a luminous arrow-tipped handset (also in black), it boasts a bright turquoise minute track that connects visually to the top stitching on its integrated black rubber strap with a neat embossed pattern.

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  • Hidden fault beneath Canada could trigger massive earthquake

    Hidden fault beneath Canada could trigger massive earthquake

    A long-overlooked geologic fault in Canada’s remote north may be capable of producing a massive earthquake, according to new research.

    The Tintina Fault, stretching about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from British Columbia to Alaska, was once thought to be inactive for at least 40 million years. Now scientists say it has a history of large ruptures within the last 2.6 million years and could do so again.

    The study, led by researchers at the University of Victoria (UVic) identified an 81-mile (130-km) section of the fault near Dawson City where multiple past quakes have left their mark on the landscape. The team used high-resolution topographic data from satellites, aircraft and drones to detect fault scarps, narrow ridges formed when the ground shifts during an earthquake, that were previously hidden under dense forest and glacial deposits.

    “Lidar and satellite data are incredibly important for this kind of work, and have revolutionized the field of paleoseismology,” lead author Theron Finley told Space.com in an email. “There are many other cases in Canada and beyond where previously unrecognized faults have been discovered thanks to this technology.”

    Evidence of ancient, powerful earthquakes

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