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Mysterious Long-Range Four-Stranded DNA Structures Found To Play a Role in Rare Aging Disease

Illustration of G-Quadruplexes. Credit: Federica Raguseo

A special form of four-stranded DNA, recently seen in human cells, has been found to interact with a gene that causes Cockayne Syndrome when faulty.

As well as the classic double-helix, researchers have recently discovered a whole host of other DNA strand configurations, including quadruple-helix DNA, which forms knot-like structures called G-quadruplexes.

While many of these new DNA configurations have only been observed in cells in dishes, G-quadruplexes have recently been . However, their possible functions in cells have not been discovered.observed in living human cells

Now, researchers from the Molecular Science Research Hub at Imperial College London have observed a protein called Cockayne Syndrome B (CSB) preferentially interacting with one specific type of G-quadruplex. These special G-quadruplexes arise when distant parts of DNA interact, something that researchers thought was impossible to form within cells.

Normally functioning CSB proteins do not cause any ill effects, but mutations of the gene that produce CSB protein can cause the fatal premature aging disorder Cockayne Syndrome, which kills many sufferers before adulthood.

The team found that CSB proteins with mutations that cause Cockayne Syndrome are no longer able to interact with the long-range G-quadruplexes. While we don 19t yet know why this might be, the team 19s results, published on December 2, 2021, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, suggest that these long-range DNA G-quadruplexes are specifically linked with the functional role of CSB.

More complex interactions

Lead researcher Dr. Marco Di Antonio, from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial, said: 1COur genomic DNA is more than two metres long, but is compressed into a space only a few microns in diameter. It shouldn 19t therefore be a surprise that there are ways the long-range looped structures are leveraged to compress DNA in more complex interactions than we imagined.

1CThere is still so much we don 19t know about DNA, but our results show that how and where G-quadruplex structures form affects their function, making them more important biologically than previously thought. 1D

DNA strands are incredibly long and are wound in tight structures to fit inside our cells. Previously, researchers had assumed that G-quadruplexes form only from regions of DNA that sit next to each other. However, the team discovered G-quadruplexes that are formed from parts of the DNA strand that are spatially distant one from the other.

It 19s these G-quadruplexes that specifically interact with the CSB protein. The team shows that CSB could potentially use the G-quadruplexes to link together distant portions of the DNA.

Exactly what the interaction results in is yet to be determined, but previous found that cells without CSB have difficulty processing the DNA around sequences with the potential to form G-quadruplexes.independent research

The Imperial team has now found that the mutated form of CSB that causes Cockayne Syndrome is specifically attracted to G-quadruplexes that link distant DNA portions. This could mean further study of the mutated CSB gene might reveal the specific biological function of these long-range DNA structures.

Disease discoveries

Next, the researchers want to image the G-quadruplexes and the functional CSB gene bound together to determine exactly what the relationship does: whether the CSB helps the G-quadruplex hold the two distant regions of the DNA together, or whether CSB actually initiates the break-up of G-quadruplexes once they have completed their function, or a combination of both.

First author of the study Denise Liano, from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial, said: 1CThere is currently no cure for Cockayne Syndrome.

1CBut with further study into how G-quadruplexes and the gene behind Cockayne Syndrome interact we can learn details that will hopefully allow us to discover therapeutic tools, such as designer molecules that can regulate the interaction and fight back against the premature aging caused by the disease. 1D

Reference: 1CCockayne Syndrome B Protein Selectively Resolves and Interact with Intermolecular DNA G-Quadruplex Structures 1D by Denise Liano, Souroprobho Chowdhury and Marco Di Antonio, 2 December 2021, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c10745

[kailashsingh11]

Kashi Vishwanath Temple: Corridor of faith

Kashi Vishwanath Temple: Corridor of faith

The inauguration of the new Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor by the prime minister at a cost of Rs. 800 crore is a boon for pilgrims and a boost for the BJP with polls nigh.

advertisement

Ashish Misra

Lucknow December 10, 2021

ISSUE DATE: December 20, 2021

UPDATED: December 10, 2021 00:04 IST

A views of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor; Photo by Anand Singh for India Today

In February 2018, Mayank Agarwal, a 42-year-old bank worker from Lucknow 19s Rajajipuram, had taken his elderly parents to Varanasi. They had hoped for darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on February 13, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. However, despite reaching Varanasi a day early and leaving for the temple at 6 am, Agarwal found it impossible to fulfil his parents 19 wishes. All the roads leading to the temple were packed with devotees. 1CIt was not possible for my parents, who are over 70, to brave the crowds for too long. There were also problems because of the lack of toilets and other facilities. After spending some time trying to make our way to the temple, we went to Maidagin chowk, and did darshan of Baba Vishwanath on the LED screen there. 1D

In February 2018, Mayank Agarwal, a 42-year-old bank worker from Lucknow 19s Rajajipuram, had taken his elderly parents to Varanasi. They had hoped for darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on February 13, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. However, despite reaching Varanasi a day early and leaving for the temple at 6 am, Agarwal found it impossible to fulfil his parents 19 wishes. All the roads leading to the temple were packed with devotees. 1CIt was not possible for my parents, who are over 70, to brave the crowds for too long. There were also problems because of the lack of toilets and other facilities. After spending some time trying to make our way to the temple, we went to Maidagin chowk, and did darshan of Baba Vishwanath on the LED screen there. 1D

Many devotees tell similar stories, of being unable to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple because of the massive crowds packing the narrow streets leading to the temple. After December 13, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Kashi Vishwanath corridor 14a sprawling construction connecting the temple to the river Ganga 14this will no longer be the case. For the devout Hindu, darshan now promises to be an easier, more serene affair, with a level of ease and facilitation they could scarcely have expected earlier. Following the construction of the corridor, which began in 2019, the narrow streets have been replaced by wide avenues. The Kashi Vishwanath temple complex, which formerly occupied an area of 3,000 sq. ft, has now been expanded to a massive 500,000 sq. ft. The corridor also features modern amenities, such as ramps and escalators, to make the journey easier for pilgrims.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, contesting from Varanasi, had raised this issue, expressing a desire to see the Kashi Vishwanath temple developed on the lines of the Somnath temple in Gujarat. In 2017, after the Yogi Adityanath government was formed in Uttar Pradesh, this plan gained momentum 14in April that year, while reviewing the development plans for Varanasi, Chief Minister Adityanath directed government officials to prioritise the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor. To speed up the process, the state cabinet approved the formation of a special area development board to expedite the acquisition of land for the project and for the construction. By March 2019, about 60 per cent of the land needed for the project had been acquired, with Prime Minister Modi laying the foundation stone of the corridor on March 8 that year, a few days before the general election was announced.

Now, by inaugurating the corridor in the runup to the 2022 assembly election in UP, Prime Minister Modi will hope to once again reap political advantage. Kaushal Kishor Mishra, dean of social sciences and professor of political science at the Banaras Hindu University, says, 1CThe Kashi Vishwanath temple attracts a large number of tourists not only from across the country, but also from abroad. People would never have imagined that the temple, which was situated between very narrow streets, would one day be surrounded by a grand corridor. And by inaugurating the corridor just before the UP assembly election, Prime Minister Modi will not only highlight his development agenda, the BJP will also aggressively push the Hindutva agenda by talking about the completion of this project in Varanasi and the commencement of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. 1D

A views of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor; Photo by Anand Singh for India Today

Sources say it was not an easy task to expand the temple complex from its original 3,000 sq. ft area into a grand corridor measuring 500,000 sq. ft. For one, officials identified over 300 buildings that were within the proposed footprint of the corridor and would need to be removed. Deepak Agrawal, who took over as commissioner of Varanasi division in March 2018, and is the chairman of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board, played a major role in this process. When it came to these buildings, Agrawal says he had two options 14to either acquire these properties and demolish them, or to include them in the corridor through mutual agreement. 1C314 properties were identified, 1D he says. 1CThese included privately owned properties, trust properties and assets held by entities which only had custodians. 1D Another problem was having these properties vacated 14more than 100 cases involved properties with different owners and occupants, with the latter being either tenants or encroachers. 1CIn cases where tenants did not have legal documentation for the properties they were occupying for business, a one-time settlement was done on the basis of mutual agreement. Rehabilitation grants between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh were paid, 1D he says. He adds that these grant payments also took into consideration the social status of the people being relocated 14widows and members of SC/ ST (scheduled caste/ tribe) communities got higher payments. As a result of such efforts, he says, not a single case of land acquisition has become a dispute pending in court. This effort also saw an example of communal harmony 14for the construction of the corridor, about 1,700 sq. ft of land in front of the Gyanvapi Masjid had to be acquired. This land was purchased, with the Anjuman Intezamiya Masjid (AIM, the organisation in charge of the Gyanvapi Masjid) being given 1,000 sq. ft of land in Varanasi 19s Bansphatak area.

After the land was acquired, demolition of the existing structures began in 2019. During this process, 61 ancient temples, along with idols of gods and goddesses were recovered. Agrawal says, 1CWhen the corridor was being designed, it was thought that the entire complex surrounding the temple would be flattened. The design was changed to incorporate the temples uncovered during the demolition into the corridor. Many buildings, such as the Vedic Centre and the Mumukshu Bhavan, were also relocated. 1D Of the temples that were uncovered, 27 of the largest are being renovated. A 18dev gallery (gallery of the gods) 19 is also being constructed as part of the corridor, where the remains of the temples and the idols uncovered during the demolition will be preserved.

However, not everyone is happy with the process. Questions have been raised about the demolition of sacred structures in the area. Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, says, 1CThe demolition of temples around the Kashi Vishwanath temple for the construction of the corridor has changed the ecosystem of the entire area. The ill effects of this will be seen in the days to come. 1D Others disagree. Ashutosh Tandon, minister in charge of Varanasi district, says, 1CThe number of temples that have emerged from the buildings around the Kashi Vishwanath temple prove that in ancient times there were many temples in the Baba Vishwanath temple complex, which were later encroached upon. These temples have been protected [by including them in the corridor]. 1D

As a result of this progress, the BJP has begun pushing its cultural agenda. A major facet of this was a multi-city religious procession carried out with a statue of Mata Annapurna that was recently repatriated from Canada to India. This 18th century stone idol had been stolen from Kashi and transported to Canada in 1913, where it was housed at the University of Regina. After the Indian government received information about the statue 19s whereabouts, the Centre began diplomatic efforts to have it returned. After it was brought back to the country, on November 11, on the occasion of Gopashtami, it began a journey to Varanasi in a procession that travelled from New Delhi to Varanasi via Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow and Ayodhya. On November 15, on the occasion of Devotthan Ekadashi, at a function attended by Chief Minister Adityanath, it was installed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex.

Kishor Mishra says, 1CJudging from how processions were carried out in a dozen cities across Uttar Pradesh before the installation of the statue in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, it is clear that before the 2022 assembly election, the BJP will resort to aggressive displays of Hindutva to counter the issues raised by Opposition parties. 1D The BJP 19s Varanasi unit has also been deputed to create buzz about the inauguration of the temple corridor. To ensure sufficient attention on the inauguration ceremony on December 13, the local unit has put together a team involving BJP office bearers, MLAs and ministers. Mahesh Chand Srivastava, the BJP 19s Varanasi president, says, 1CPrasad from the Kashi Vishwanath temple will be carried from village to village. Officials responsible for this have also been given block-wise responsibilities to encourage villagers to visit the temple. 1D

Questioning the BJP 19s effort to get political mileage from the corridor, Omprakash Singh, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and tourism minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, says, 1CThe Kashi Vishwanath corridor project was begun during the term of the SP government. Five buildings were also purchased. The BJP will not benefit from the construction of the corridor. 1D One way or another, the true test of the project 19s popularity will be the results of the UP assembly election, scheduled for February 2022.

THE KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE 19S NEW LOOK

ON JUNE 19, 2018: Uttar Pradesh 19s Yogi Adityanath government constituted a special area development board for the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor project, with the commissioner of Varanasi as chairman of the board.

ON MARCH 8, 2019: Just before the Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone

of the project, which would expand the 3,000 sq. ft temple complex into a 500,000 sq. ft area that connects the temple with the river Ganga

THE PROJECT: The master plan was prepared by HCP Design, Planning and Management, the same firm that is responsible for the development of the Central Vista in New Delhi. Construction is being carried out by Ahmedabad-based PSP Projects.

THERE ARE three main parts of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor: the temple complex, spread over a rectangular area 73 metres long and 40 metres wide, a temple chowk in the middle, about 5,000 sq. m in size and a pathway connecting the temple chowk to the Ganga ghat

THE TEMPLE generally sees about 20,000 devotees per day. On special occasions like Shivraatri, this number rises to beyond 200,000. The revamped temple complex will be able to accommodate 500,000 devotees per day.

THE REDEVELOPMENT has come at a massive cost 14about Rs 390 crore to acquire land, Rs 70 crore on rehabilitation and demolition 14and Rs 339 crore on Phase I of construction. Another Rs 66 crore will be spent in Phase II, to build a ramp at Ganga Ghat and a gate and jetty at Lalita Ghat.

TEMPLE COMPLEX

The temple is surrounded by an 11-foot-wide gallery, with a bhogshala (food hall) behind the yaatri suvidha kendra (visitor facilitation centre) at the Saraswati Gate. Sadhus living at the temple will have their food prepared at the bhogshala

NEELKANTH PAVILION

This houses the office of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board on the first floor and a fire fighting system on the ground floor

GUEST HOUSE

There is a two-storey guest house next to the Neelkanth pavilion, with 18 rooms on each floor

MUMUKSHU BHAVAN

This stands behind the Varanasi gallery and city museum. It will have accommodation for 48 people. Elderly devotees who wish to spend their last days in Kashi will be able to stay here

VARANASI GALLERY AND CITY MUSEUM

On the right side of the pathway connecting the temple chowk to the Ganga ghat, this museum will relate the history of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The remains of old temples and the artefacts found during construction will be on display

MULTIPURPOSE HALL

This two-storey building will be able to host 330 devotees per floor. Religious events and seminars will be conducted here

TOURIST FACILITATION CENTRE

This building will house various services for visitors, from booking travel tickets to hiring tour guides to visit places around Varanasi

WOOD STORE

The basement of the tourist facilitation centre will contain a firewood godown/ store for funerals at the Manikarnika ghat

SPIRITUAL BOOK CENTRE

Spiritual books from many religions will be available for purchase at this centre, near the food court

MANDIR CHOWK

There are three- storey buildings on both sides of the Mandir chowk. The ground floor houses toilet complexes and locker rooms, the first floor contains handicraft emporiums, while the second floor will have meeting rooms for members of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board

VIEWING GALLERY

A viewing gallery has been built above the gate entering the temple chowk from the pathway. From here, devotees will be able to see the Ganga river on one side and Kashi Vishwanath temple on the other

FOOD COURT

Devotees will be able to purchase refreshments from this food court near the entrance to the temple chowk

VEDIC CENTRE

At this centre, up to 100 people at a time will be given training in rituals and yoga. It will also house copies of various ancient texts

GHATS AND JETTIES

A route to the corridor has been developed via the Jalasen and Lalita ghats. Devotees arriving by boat will be able to land directly at a jetty being built on the Lalita ghat

YAATRI SUVIDHA KENDRA

Visitor facilitation centres have been constructed at the three entry gates to the revamped complex. Devotees will be able to avail of services like booking aarti slots and renting lockers. Security checks of devotees will also be conducted here

QUEUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

To prevent long wait times and crowding within the corridor, a queue management system is being implemented. After booking darshan/ aartis, devotees will be given time slots for their visits

Click here for IndiaToday.in 19s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted byArindam Mukherjee

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[kailashsingh11]

Kashi Vishwanath Temple: Corridor of faith

Kashi Vishwanath Temple: Corridor of faith

The inauguration of the new Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor by the prime minister at a cost of Rs. 800 crore is a boon for pilgrims and a boost for the BJP with polls nigh.

advertisement

Ashish Misra

Lucknow December 10, 2021

ISSUE DATE: December 20, 2021

UPDATED: December 10, 2021 00:04 IST

A views of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor; Photo by Anand Singh for India Today

In February 2018, Mayank Agarwal, a 42-year-old bank worker from Lucknow 19s Rajajipuram, had taken his elderly parents to Varanasi. They had hoped for darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on February 13, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. However, despite reaching Varanasi a day early and leaving for the temple at 6 am, Agarwal found it impossible to fulfil his parents 19 wishes. All the roads leading to the temple were packed with devotees. 1CIt was not possible for my parents, who are over 70, to brave the crowds for too long. There were also problems because of the lack of toilets and other facilities. After spending some time trying to make our way to the temple, we went to Maidagin chowk, and did darshan of Baba Vishwanath on the LED screen there. 1D

In February 2018, Mayank Agarwal, a 42-year-old bank worker from Lucknow 19s Rajajipuram, had taken his elderly parents to Varanasi. They had hoped for darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on February 13, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. However, despite reaching Varanasi a day early and leaving for the temple at 6 am, Agarwal found it impossible to fulfil his parents 19 wishes. All the roads leading to the temple were packed with devotees. 1CIt was not possible for my parents, who are over 70, to brave the crowds for too long. There were also problems because of the lack of toilets and other facilities. After spending some time trying to make our way to the temple, we went to Maidagin chowk, and did darshan of Baba Vishwanath on the LED screen there. 1D

Many devotees tell similar stories, of being unable to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple because of the massive crowds packing the narrow streets leading to the temple. After December 13, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Kashi Vishwanath corridor 14a sprawling construction connecting the temple to the river Ganga 14this will no longer be the case. For the devout Hindu, darshan now promises to be an easier, more serene affair, with a level of ease and facilitation they could scarcely have expected earlier. Following the construction of the corridor, which began in 2019, the narrow streets have been replaced by wide avenues. The Kashi Vishwanath temple complex, which formerly occupied an area of 3,000 sq. ft, has now been expanded to a massive 500,000 sq. ft. The corridor also features modern amenities, such as ramps and escalators, to make the journey easier for pilgrims.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, contesting from Varanasi, had raised this issue, expressing a desire to see the Kashi Vishwanath temple developed on the lines of the Somnath temple in Gujarat. In 2017, after the Yogi Adityanath government was formed in Uttar Pradesh, this plan gained momentum 14in April that year, while reviewing the development plans for Varanasi, Chief Minister Adityanath directed government officials to prioritise the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor. To speed up the process, the state cabinet approved the formation of a special area development board to expedite the acquisition of land for the project and for the construction. By March 2019, about 60 per cent of the land needed for the project had been acquired, with Prime Minister Modi laying the foundation stone of the corridor on March 8 that year, a few days before the general election was announced.

Now, by inaugurating the corridor in the runup to the 2022 assembly election in UP, Prime Minister Modi will hope to once again reap political advantage. Kaushal Kishor Mishra, dean of social sciences and professor of political science at the Banaras Hindu University, says, 1CThe Kashi Vishwanath temple attracts a large number of tourists not only from across the country, but also from abroad. People would never have imagined that the temple, which was situated between very narrow streets, would one day be surrounded by a grand corridor. And by inaugurating the corridor just before the UP assembly election, Prime Minister Modi will not only highlight his development agenda, the BJP will also aggressively push the Hindutva agenda by talking about the completion of this project in Varanasi and the commencement of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. 1D

A views of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor; Photo by Anand Singh for India Today

Sources say it was not an easy task to expand the temple complex from its original 3,000 sq. ft area into a grand corridor measuring 500,000 sq. ft. For one, officials identified over 300 buildings that were within the proposed footprint of the corridor and would need to be removed. Deepak Agrawal, who took over as commissioner of Varanasi division in March 2018, and is the chairman of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board, played a major role in this process. When it came to these buildings, Agrawal says he had two options 14to either acquire these properties and demolish them, or to include them in the corridor through mutual agreement. 1C314 properties were identified, 1D he says. 1CThese included privately owned properties, trust properties and assets held by entities which only had custodians. 1D Another problem was having these properties vacated 14more than 100 cases involved properties with different owners and occupants, with the latter being either tenants or encroachers. 1CIn cases where tenants did not have legal documentation for the properties they were occupying for business, a one-time settlement was done on the basis of mutual agreement. Rehabilitation grants between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh were paid, 1D he says. He adds that these grant payments also took into consideration the social status of the people being relocated 14widows and members of SC/ ST (scheduled caste/ tribe) communities got higher payments. As a result of such efforts, he says, not a single case of land acquisition has become a dispute pending in court. This effort also saw an example of communal harmony 14for the construction of the corridor, about 1,700 sq. ft of land in front of the Gyanvapi Masjid had to be acquired. This land was purchased, with the Anjuman Intezamiya Masjid (AIM, the organisation in charge of the Gyanvapi Masjid) being given 1,000 sq. ft of land in Varanasi 19s Bansphatak area.

After the land was acquired, demolition of the existing structures began in 2019. During this process, 61 ancient temples, along with idols of gods and goddesses were recovered. Agrawal says, 1CWhen the corridor was being designed, it was thought that the entire complex surrounding the temple would be flattened. The design was changed to incorporate the temples uncovered during the demolition into the corridor. Many buildings, such as the Vedic Centre and the Mumukshu Bhavan, were also relocated. 1D Of the temples that were uncovered, 27 of the largest are being renovated. A 18dev gallery (gallery of the gods) 19 is also being constructed as part of the corridor, where the remains of the temples and the idols uncovered during the demolition will be preserved.

However, not everyone is happy with the process. Questions have been raised about the demolition of sacred structures in the area. Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, says, 1CThe demolition of temples around the Kashi Vishwanath temple for the construction of the corridor has changed the ecosystem of the entire area. The ill effects of this will be seen in the days to come. 1D Others disagree. Ashutosh Tandon, minister in charge of Varanasi district, says, 1CThe number of temples that have emerged from the buildings around the Kashi Vishwanath temple prove that in ancient times there were many temples in the Baba Vishwanath temple complex, which were later encroached upon. These temples have been protected [by including them in the corridor]. 1D

As a result of this progress, the BJP has begun pushing its cultural agenda. A major facet of this was a multi-city religious procession carried out with a statue of Mata Annapurna that was recently repatriated from Canada to India. This 18th century stone idol had been stolen from Kashi and transported to Canada in 1913, where it was housed at the University of Regina. After the Indian government received information about the statue 19s whereabouts, the Centre began diplomatic efforts to have it returned. After it was brought back to the country, on November 11, on the occasion of Gopashtami, it began a journey to Varanasi in a procession that travelled from New Delhi to Varanasi via Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow and Ayodhya. On November 15, on the occasion of Devotthan Ekadashi, at a function attended by Chief Minister Adityanath, it was installed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex.

Kishor Mishra says, 1CJudging from how processions were carried out in a dozen cities across Uttar Pradesh before the installation of the statue in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, it is clear that before the 2022 assembly election, the BJP will resort to aggressive displays of Hindutva to counter the issues raised by Opposition parties. 1D The BJP 19s Varanasi unit has also been deputed to create buzz about the inauguration of the temple corridor. To ensure sufficient attention on the inauguration ceremony on December 13, the local unit has put together a team involving BJP office bearers, MLAs and ministers. Mahesh Chand Srivastava, the BJP 19s Varanasi president, says, 1CPrasad from the Kashi Vishwanath temple will be carried from village to village. Officials responsible for this have also been given block-wise responsibilities to encourage villagers to visit the temple. 1D

Questioning the BJP 19s effort to get political mileage from the corridor, Omprakash Singh, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and tourism minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, says, 1CThe Kashi Vishwanath corridor project was begun during the term of the SP government. Five buildings were also purchased. The BJP will not benefit from the construction of the corridor. 1D One way or another, the true test of the project 19s popularity will be the results of the UP assembly election, scheduled for February 2022.

THE KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE 19S NEW LOOK

ON JUNE 19, 2018: Uttar Pradesh 19s Yogi Adityanath government constituted a special area development board for the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor project, with the commissioner of Varanasi as chairman of the board.

ON MARCH 8, 2019: Just before the Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone

of the project, which would expand the 3,000 sq. ft temple complex into a 500,000 sq. ft area that connects the temple with the river Ganga

THE PROJECT: The master plan was prepared by HCP Design, Planning and Management, the same firm that is responsible for the development of the Central Vista in New Delhi. Construction is being carried out by Ahmedabad-based PSP Projects.

THERE ARE three main parts of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor: the temple complex, spread over a rectangular area 73 metres long and 40 metres wide, a temple chowk in the middle, about 5,000 sq. m in size and a pathway connecting the temple chowk to the Ganga ghat

THE TEMPLE generally sees about 20,000 devotees per day. On special occasions like Shivraatri, this number rises to beyond 200,000. The revamped temple complex will be able to accommodate 500,000 devotees per day.

THE REDEVELOPMENT has come at a massive cost 14about Rs 390 crore to acquire land, Rs 70 crore on rehabilitation and demolition 14and Rs 339 crore on Phase I of construction. Another Rs 66 crore will be spent in Phase II, to build a ramp at Ganga Ghat and a gate and jetty at Lalita Ghat.

TEMPLE COMPLEX

The temple is surrounded by an 11-foot-wide gallery, with a bhogshala (food hall) behind the yaatri suvidha kendra (visitor facilitation centre) at the Saraswati Gate. Sadhus living at the temple will have their food prepared at the bhogshala

NEELKANTH PAVILION

This houses the office of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board on the first floor and a fire fighting system on the ground floor

GUEST HOUSE

There is a two-storey guest house next to the Neelkanth pavilion, with 18 rooms on each floor

MUMUKSHU BHAVAN

This stands behind the Varanasi gallery and city museum. It will have accommodation for 48 people. Elderly devotees who wish to spend their last days in Kashi will be able to stay here

VARANASI GALLERY AND CITY MUSEUM

On the right side of the pathway connecting the temple chowk to the Ganga ghat, this museum will relate the history of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The remains of old temples and the artefacts found during construction will be on display

MULTIPURPOSE HALL

This two-storey building will be able to host 330 devotees per floor. Religious events and seminars will be conducted here

TOURIST FACILITATION CENTRE

This building will house various services for visitors, from booking travel tickets to hiring tour guides to visit places around Varanasi

WOOD STORE

The basement of the tourist facilitation centre will contain a firewood godown/ store for funerals at the Manikarnika ghat

SPIRITUAL BOOK CENTRE

Spiritual books from many religions will be available for purchase at this centre, near the food court

MANDIR CHOWK

There are three- storey buildings on both sides of the Mandir chowk. The ground floor houses toilet complexes and locker rooms, the first floor contains handicraft emporiums, while the second floor will have meeting rooms for members of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board

VIEWING GALLERY

A viewing gallery has been built above the gate entering the temple chowk from the pathway. From here, devotees will be able to see the Ganga river on one side and Kashi Vishwanath temple on the other

FOOD COURT

Devotees will be able to purchase refreshments from this food court near the entrance to the temple chowk

VEDIC CENTRE

At this centre, up to 100 people at a time will be given training in rituals and yoga. It will also house copies of various ancient texts

GHATS AND JETTIES

A route to the corridor has been developed via the Jalasen and Lalita ghats. Devotees arriving by boat will be able to land directly at a jetty being built on the Lalita ghat

YAATRI SUVIDHA KENDRA

Visitor facilitation centres have been constructed at the three entry gates to the revamped complex. Devotees will be able to avail of services like booking aarti slots and renting lockers. Security checks of devotees will also be conducted here

QUEUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

To prevent long wait times and crowding within the corridor, a queue management system is being implemented. After booking darshan/ aartis, devotees will be given time slots for their visits

Click here for IndiaToday.in 19s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted byArindam Mukherjee

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NASA launches spacecraft to test asteroid defense concept

Space

NASA launches spacecraft to test asteroid defense concept

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November 24, 20213:22 AM ET

The Associated Press

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, spacecraft onboard from Space Launch Complex 4E, at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Calif. Bill Ingalls/AP hide caption

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, spacecraft onboard from Space Launch Complex 4E, at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Calif.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) 14 NASA launched a spacecraft Tuesday night on a mission to smash into an asteroid and test whether it would be possible to knock a speeding space rock off course if one were to threaten Earth.

The DART spacecraft, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in a $330 million project with echoes of the Bruce Willis movie "Armageddon."

If all goes well, in September 2022 it will slam head-on into Dimorphos, an asteroid 525 feet (160 meters) across, at 15,000 mph (24,139 kph).

"This isn't going to destroy the asteroid. It's just going to give it a small nudge," said mission official Nancy Chabot of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which is managing the project.

Dimorphos orbits a much larger asteroid called Didymos. The pair are no danger to Earth but offer scientists a way to measure the effectiveness of the collision.

Dimorphos completes one orbit of Didymos every 11 hours, 55 minutes. DART's goal is a crash that will slow Dimorphos down and cause it to fall closer toward the bigger asteroid, shaving 10 minutes off its orbit.

Space

In a first test of its planetary defense efforts, NASA's going to shove an asteroid

The change in the orbital period will be measured by telescopes on Earth. The minimum change for the mission to be considered a success is 73 seconds.

The DART technique could prove useful for altering the course of an asteroid years or decades before it bears down on Earth with the potential for catastrophe.

A small nudge "would add up to a big change in its future position, and then the asteroid and the Earth wouldn't be on a collision course," Chabot said.

Scientists constantly search for asteroids and plot their courses to determine whether they could hit the planet.

"Although there isn't a currently known asteroid that's on an impact course with the Earth, we do know that there is a large population of near-Earth asteroids out there," said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA. "The key to planetary defense is finding them well before they are an impact threat."

DART will take 10 months to reach the asteroid pair. The collision will occur about 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers) from Earth.

Ten days beforehand, DART will release a tiny observation spacecraft supplied by the Italian space agency that will follow it.

DART will stream video until it is destroyed on impact. Three minutes later, the trailing craft will make images of the impact site and material that is ejected.

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Rumbleverse Adds a Melee Twist to the Battle Royale

Any new battle royale title needs a hook: After all, we all know the formula, and Halo Infinite's popularity suggests that . With that in mind, here's the hook of Iron Galaxy's new title, Rumbleverse: wrestling, and no guns.people may be tired of it

The game was conceived back in October 2017, explains Adam Boyes, co-CEO of Iron Galaxy. "We were brainstorming, talking about different types of competitive games and Royale games, and our co-CEO, Chelsey Glasgow, was like 'We should do wrestling,'" he says. "And then the whole brainstorming session became what it would it feel like if you could chokeslam someone off of a 40-story building."

Courtesy of Epic Games

The demonstration kicks off with a character creation screen. Iron Galaxy emphasizes that customization is critical in the game, with a huge suite of body types, faces, costumes, and accessories available for players to create their own monstrous or beautiful identity.

"Some of us have landed our characters, like my shirtless chef: I've been playing him for three years now 13you almost become that persona," he says. "And that's what we're really excited about. Because if you think about a lot of streamers, they have an in-game persona. And we're excited to see what kind of characters they are going to build."

The game moves into the pregame lobby area, the Battle Barge, where combatants are testing out grapples and doing the worm. The barge transports players to their destination, Grapital City, eventually firing them into the clouds so they can skydive in. A large zone blocks off a specific section of the city, so you'll fight in a different area of the island each time: Boyes estimates an average match is shorter than a typical battle royale game, at 12 to 15 minutes.

Courtesy of Epic Games

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VIDEO: Abused Senate Staffer Talonya Adams Calls on Arizona Secretary Of State and Gubernatorial Candidate Katie Hobbs 1CRESIGN from Office 13 DROP OUT Of The Race For Governor 1D

Talonya Adams was recently awarded a $2.75 million by a jury after facing racial discrimination from Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.

Adams, a former Democratic staffer in the Arizona Senate, was fired by Katie Hobbs in 2015. A jury later ruled that Hobbs was guilty of racial and sexual discrimination, costing the state millions in damages.

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She made it clear this morning, that Katie Hobbs 19 awkward public apology issued on Wednesday, was not enough to repair the damage caused to her and her family. 

On Thursday, Adams held an independent press conference to respond to Hobbs 19 weak public apology.

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She held her own press conference outside of the same courthouse where she represented herself against the Arizona Senate, and won.

Hobbs was the Democratic frontrunner for Governor of Arizona before this court ruling but things are starting to look different for her.

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The Gateway Pundit reported on Hobbs 19 forced apology to Adams after Adams was awarded $2.75 million in damages and Adams 19 planned press release in response.

Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Katie Hobbs Apologizes For Her Racial Discrimination Against Talonya Adams, 6 Yrs & 2 Jury Verdicts Later 13 Adams To Respond Via Presser At 11:15 A.M.

In Hobbs 19 official printed response, she couldn 19t even bother to write the correct name.

12 News 19 Joe Dana said that this response 1Ccould help or hurt Hobbs 1D chances at the Democratic nomination for Governor, before the presser. 

When Conradson told Adams what a great press conference she held at the end, Dana said 1Cwhat the f*ck 1D out loud.

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Liberal media outlets did their best to discredit Adams and lay cover for Katie Hobbs with their questions.

The Gateway Pundit correspondent Jordan Conradson was on the scene to capture Talonya 19s story and her call for action.

Adams: I have taken the day off work, to be here unpaid, to address and respond to the statements that have been made by Kathleen 1CKatie 1D Hobbs, our sitting Secretary of State and Gubernatorial Candidate. As many of you may know, I was fired from the Arizona State Senate around February 20th, 2015. During that time, I worked as a policy advisor for the Democratic Caucus, I had a minority Democratic leader. That individual was Katie Hobbs. The week of February 12th, 2015, I went to Seattle, Washington, to be with my son who had been hospitalized. I had departed based upon approved emergency medical leave from Katie Hobbs 19 Chief of Staff. Prior to my departure, I sent an email to then-Senator Hobbs, the minority leader, advising her of my family emergency. She was aware my son was sick. She was aware that I was traveling to the state of Washington, where he resided to be with him. And five business days later, I was fired over the phone based in part on a decision made by Wendy Baldo, who then communicated the termination to me over the telephone the morning of February 20th, 2015, but due entirely to a decision made by Katie Hobbs. She was the Senate minority leader. The role she played in my termination was critical. She was the deciding factor. It was because of Katie Hobbs that I was terminated from the Arizona Senate. It was here that I came to seek justice. It was here that a jury of eight individuals, nearly all white Arizonans, registered voters, watched a trial in July of 2019, listened to the facts including Senator Katie Hobbs testifying that I was 1Cvery competent 1D in my role as a Democratic policy advisor. And it was here in July of 2019 that, that jury unanimously found Katie Hobbs a key decision maker in the Adams versus Arizona Senate trial, that discriminated against me based upon my race and based upon my sex, and then retaliated against me when I sought a raise.

From February 15th until today, I have not spoken to Katie Hobbs. I have had no conversation with her. From February 15th until today, Katie Hobbs has worked dilligently to testify against me, to use her power, a woman one heart beat away from being the Governor of our state, right now today to use her power against me in the light of day, on the taxpayer dime. To destroy my reputation, to further sully my career, to cause demise in my life where she has already very effectively disrupted.

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Adams cried as she detailed her discriminatory firing and the insults by Hobbs as well as the effects that the loss of a job has on Americans.

After delivering her official response to Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Conradson was able to ask a few questions.

Conradson: Do you call for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to resign from office?

Adams: Thank you for your question. Yes, I do. I do call for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to resign from office.

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Conradson: Do you also call on her to drop out of the race for Governor?

Adams: Yes, I do. I call for Katie Hobbs, current Secretary of State to drop out of the race for Governor.

Conradson: As you mentioned, she is currently at the head of the helm for elections here in Arizona. Do you think she can be trusted in 2022 with black votes?

Adams: I don 19t think she can. And I would urge African Americans not to vote for Katie Hobbs to the extent that the Democratic Party wants to roll the dice and take this risk and advance her as the Democratic nominee,

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Talonya also responded to another reporter 19s question, as to whether or not Hobbs is a racist, saying,

Adams: My grandmother has told me so many times, 1CWhy don 19t you tell the people, Katie Hobbs is a racist? 1D and she 19s watching right now, and I will tell you, is Katie, a racist as defined in the Oxford Dictionary? And I 19m going to quote it here so we 19re very clear. As, prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race, based on the belief that one 19s own race is superior. Yes, She is. Is she worthy of sitting in any role of government? No, she is not. Katie Hobbs has stated, her response to the jury was short-sighted. It was undemocratic! The Secretary of State, you sit at the helm governing. Our sacred right to vote is the bedrock of our Democracy, and yet you will not allow this democratic process when it yields a result adverse to your own personal interests. She has no place in leadership. She has no place in government.

Talonya even called Katie Hobbs out for not even bothering to visit the Arizona audit, less than two miles away, while screeching about the audit on mainstream media networks and using her office to boost her gubernatorial campaign.

After the botched and stolen 2020 election, Katie Hobbs can never be trusted to run an election or to be Governor of Arizona.

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Katie Hobbs must resign and drop out immediately.

1CShe has no place in government 1D.

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Groundbreaking Experimental Compound Displays Effectiveness in Treating Symptoms of Autism and Alzheimer 19s Disease

Experimental compound, which has received orphan drug and pediatric rare disease designations from the FDA, displays effectiveness in treating symptoms of Autism and Alzheimer 19s disease.

Researchers developed a novel model to assess the effect of this experimental drug on symptoms related to autism, intellectual disabilities, and Alzheimer 19s disease, and found that a short protein segment called NAP remedies a broad spectrum of symptoms.

The symptoms that were remedied using NAP: slow development, poor communication, and brains with a relatively small number of synapses, low electrical activity, and protein aggregate similar to those found in Alzheimer 19s patients.

An extensive international study led by Tel Aviv University found that an experimental drug which has been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA for future treatment of a rare development disorder can also treat a variety of symptoms relating to autism, intellectual disability, and Alzheimer 19s disease.

The experimental drug, NAP, was discovered in the lab of Prof. Illana Gozes of the Tel Aviv University Sackler Medical School 19s Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. In recent years, the FDA has granted the experimental drug with orphan drug designation and pediatric rare disease designation for treatment of a rare developmental disorder called ADNP syndrome, which can cause a variety of symptoms, among them, hallmark features are intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.

In the current study, a team of researchers led by Prof. Gozes developed an innovative lab model and found that NAP can be effective in treating a broad spectrum of symptoms of ADNP syndrome, which is caused by mutations in the ADNP gene which is essential to cerebral development and protecting cerebral brain cells. Previous studies showed that ADNP syndrome is related to Alzheimer 19s disease and certain types of mental disabilities, developmental delays, and autism.

Prof. Illana Gozes. Credit: Jonathan Blum, Tel Aviv University

Ramot, Tel Aviv University 19s technology commerce company filed a number of patent applications to protect the technology and its implementation and, in collaboration with Prof. Gozes, is raising funds to finance further clinical research. Similarly, Ramot is in discussions regarding commercial collaboration with pharmaceutical companies. 1CWe 19re excited by this new discovery and believe that this is groundbreaking technology that will remedy a variety of symptoms and disabilities in a broad spectrum of orphan diseases, 1D said Prof. Keren Primor Cohen, CEO of Ramot.

The study, which is the culmination of the MD/PhD student Dr. Gideon Carmon 19s doctoral research, was joined by a team of researchers from Prof. Gozes 19s lab: Dr. Shlomo Sergovich, Gal Hacohen-Kleiman, Inbar Ben-Horin-Hazak, Dr. Oxana Kapitansky, Alexandra Lubincheva, and Dr. Eliezer Giladi. The team was further joined by Dr. Moran Rubinstein, Prof. Noam Shomron, and Guy Shapira of TAU 19s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. Metsada Pasmanik Chor of Tel Aviv University 19s George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. Researchers from the Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, and Canada also participated. The article was published in the prestigious journal Biological Psychiatry.

Prof. Gozes explained that: 1CNAP, in fact, comprises a short segment of the normal ADNP protein. We previously found that treatment using NAP corrects the function of human nerve cells afflicted with ADNP syndrome in a laboratory test-tube. In this study, we sought to examine the efficacy of NAP in treating various aspects of the syndrome using a model with the most harmful mutation, which allowed us to view brain development and facilitate remedying of behavioral problems. 1D

The study, which examined a model using mice with ADNP syndrome, used objective methods to analyze behavior, electrical activity, and to further identify select protein contents in the brain. The researchers found that the mice suffering from ADNP syndrome demonstrated a broad spectrum of pathological outcomes, including increased rates of neonatal death immediately after birth, slowed development and aberrant gait, primarily among females, as well as poor voice communication.

Cerebral examinations demonstrated additional findings: A relatively small number of synapses 13 the points of contact tween nerve cells, impaired electrophysiological activity demonstrating a low potential for normal cerebral arousal, as well as precipitates (aggregates) of the Tau protein in young mice, similar to those in the brains of elderly Alzheimer 19s disease patients.

For most of these symptoms, the researchers examined the effect of the future medicinal substance NAP 13 made of a short and normal segment of the ADNP protein, the same protein that is impaired because of the mutation. Prof. Gozes: 1CIn the past, we have found that NAP corrects impaired functioning of ADNP that has mutated in the nerve cell model in the culture. We now examined its effect in vivo 13 in animals modeling the syndrome (ADNP mutation). To our amazement and joy, we discovered that treatment using NAP normalizes the functioning of these mice for most of the symptoms indicated above! 1D

Researchers further sought to identify 13 in the blood of the mice, a clear biological indicator of ADNP syndrome that will enable diagnosis of this severe disease and effective monitoring of treatment using a simple blood test. With the help of genetic sequencing technologies, they identified an anomaly in a manner characteristic only of females as well as a method for repair using NAP on five proteins (at the messenger RNA level). These findings matched the changes discovered in white blood cells of children suffering from ADNP syndrome. One of the indicators discovered is FOXO3 13 a protein with an important role in generating cerebral synapses and healthy aging.

Prof. Gozes summarized: 1CIn this study, we examined the effect of the ADNP gene 19s most prevalent mutation in a broad spectrum of aspects and found extensive impairment in physical and cerebral functioning parallel to the symptoms of autism, developmental delay, mental disability, and Alzheimer 19s disease in humans. Similarly, we examined the potential use of the NAP drug for treating these diseases, and discovered that it is effective against most of these symptoms in lab models. This study is an important milestone on the way to developing a drug, or drugs, that will help children with autism stemming from genetic mutations, as well as Alzheimer 19s patients. 1D

Reference: 1CNovel ADNP Syndrome Mice Reveal Dramatic Sex-Specific Peripheral Gene Expression With Brain Synaptic and Tau Pathologies 1D by Gidon Karmon, Shlomo Sragovich, Gal Hacohen-Kleiman, R. Anne McKinney, Moran Rubinstein and Illana Gozes, 27 September 2021, Biological Psychiatry.

DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.09.018

[kailashsingh11]

Hubble is Fully Operational Once Again

Posted on December 9, 2021December 9, 2021 by Matt Williams

Hubble is Fully Operational Once Again

In the history of space exploration, a handful of missions have set new records for ruggedness and longevity. On Mars, the undisputed champion is the Opportunityrover, which was slated to run for 90 days but remained in operation for instead! In orbit around Mars, that honor goes to the 2001 Mars Odyssey, which is still operational 20 years after it arrived around the Red Planet. 15 years

In deep space, the title for the longest-running mission goes to the Voyager 1 probe, which has spent the past 44 years exploring the Solar System and what lies beyond. But in Earth orbit, the longevity prize goes to the Hubble Space Telescope(HST), which is once again fully operational after experiencing technical issues. With this latest restoration of operations, Hubble is well on its way to completing 32 years of service.

The issue began at 01:46 A.M. EDT (10:46 P.M. PDT) on October 23rd, when NASA reported that the venerated space telescope was sending error codes, which indicate the loss of a specific synchronization message. This message provides timing information that Hubble 19s instruments use to respond to data requests and commands correctly. The same error codes were issued two days later, indicating multiple losses of synchronization messages and triggering . Hubble to enter safe mode

The Hubble Space Telescope is being released from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 in this photo. Credit: NASA/IMAX

Throughout November, NASA 19s Hubble team attempted to restart its main computer and backup systems. On November 8th, they announced that they had by bringing the telescope 19s (ACS) back online. They followed by restoring the (COS) and the (WFC-3), Hubble 19s most heavily-used instrument.retained partial controlAdvanced Camera for SurveysCosmic Origins SpectrographWide Field Camera 3

On Monday, December 6th, the team announced that all four active instruments were back online after power was restored to the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). While the telescope is fully operational again, this latest glitch and need for restoration are part of a recurring pattern. Last June, an unspecified issue caused Hubble 19s to stop working, prompting it to enter safe mode. NSSC-1 payload computer

As part of the telescope 19s (SI C&DH) module, this computer controls and coordinates the telescope 19s scientific instruments. After a lengthy investigation and multiple attempts to restart Hubble 19s backup systems, the telescope was restored to full operational status by July 17th. Similarly, back in October 2018, one of Hubble 18s reaction wheels failed t to go into safe mode. But on October 26th, after a considerable effort on behalf of the operations team, that the venerable Hubble had been restored to working order.Science Instrument Command and Data HandlingNASA announced

Steps to the Hubble Constant. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)

Given Hubble 19s long history of service and the fact that it runs on systems developed in the late 80s-early 90s, these two incidents have caused their fair share of trepidation. After all, when a 31-year old mission experiences three significant issues that cause it to enter safe mode 13 the most recent of which happened in the last six months 13 one might get the impression it was on its last legs.

And yet, Hubble 19s heat is once back online after experiencing another scare. According to the latest updates from NASA 19s , the team will continue developing and testing changes they 19ve made to the instrument software. These changes (it is hoped) will allow Hubble to continue running science operations if it experiences several lost synchronization messages in the future.Goddard Spaceflight Center

The first of these changes is scheduled to be installed on the COS in mid-December, while the other instruments will receive similar updates in the coming months. In its 31 years of operation, Hubble has been responsible for some of the most profound astronomical discoveries. These include providing new measurements on the expansion rate of the Universe, which revealed that it 19s been accelerating for billions of years (leading to the theory of Dark Energy).

NASA 19s James Webb Telescope, shown in this artist 19s conception, will provide more information about previously detected exoplanets. Beyond 2020, many more next-generation space telescopes are expected to build on what it discovers. Credit: NASA

Its deep cosmological surveys have also led to newer, more accurate age estimates for the Universe, taught us a great deal about the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) that reside at the center of most galaxies. It has also been essential to the study of extrasolar planets, often by working in tandem with exoplanet-hunting telescopes like Kepler. It has been used extensively to study the planets, comets, asteroids, and other objects in the Solar System.

With the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope(JWST) later this month, NASA expects the two observatories will work together throughout the remainder of this decade, expanding our knowledge of the cosmos even further. In fact, some estimate that Hubble could be around until the 2030s and 2040s, where it could assist next-generation telescopes like NASA 19s (RST), the ESA 19s Euclid and PLATOspacecraft.Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

For the second time in the past year, Hubble has shown us that it 19s not done yet!

Further Reading: NASA

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Apple gets an important win in the Epic vs Apple case

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Apple gets an important win in the Epic vs Apple case

By Lance Ulanoff published 8 December 21

A Federal Appeals court puts a pin on Epic's quest to add links to external commerce options inside App Store apps

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

In the ongoing and seemingly never-ending battle between maker Epic Games and maker Apple, the latter just scored a major win, gaining a "permanent injunction" on a key that would've forced Apple to allow external links within App Store-hosted Apps to external transaction systems.FortniteiPhoneSeptember 2021 ruling

In handed down Wednesday by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Circuit Judges wrote that Apple's appeal "raises serious questions" on the merits of the original district court's ruling, and added that Apple "made a sufficient showing of irreparable harm" if the ruling remained.the ruling

The portion of the that's now stayed pending another appeal would've forced Apple to allow developers to include "metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and (ii) communicating with customers through points of contact, obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app."old ruling

This is a significant win for Apple, which was about to lose a piece of its vice-like control over its and the 15%-to-30% commissions it collects on every single in-app purchase. App Store

Epic launched the case against Apple and the in-app transactions rule in August 2020 by bypassing Apple's in-app purchase system and offering users direct links to Fortnite in-app purchases. It was a gambit that, while intending to force Apple's hand, also resulted in the from the iOS platform.removal of Epic's popular Fortnite game

In a statement to TechRadar regarding the new ruling, Apple said, "We 19re constantly evolving the App Store to help create an even better experience for our users and the incredibly talented community of iOS developers. Our concern is that these changes would have created new privacy and security risks, and disrupted the user experience customers love about the App Store. We want to thank the court for granting this stay while the appeals process continues. 1D

While Apple will no longer have to plan for allowing third-party transaction links, the portion that called for Apple to allow developers the ability to contact customers through links obtained via in-app registration may still stand.

Does this mean this epic in-court battle is done? Unlikely, as Epic will surely appeal to another higher court and Apple will, as it's done since day one, fight tooth and nail to keep the status quo.

: which Apple phone is for you?Best iPhone 2021

Lance Ulanoff

US Editor in Chief

A 35-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and 1Con line 1D meant 1Cwaiting. 1D He 19s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Ryan, Fox News, Fox Business, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN and the BBC. 

See more Apple news

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New Zealanders can now score free Amazon AU shipping on select items

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New Zealanders can now score free Amazon AU shipping on select items

By Sharmishta Sarkar published 9 December 21

As long as your total order is over AU$59

(Image credit: Budrul Chukrut / Shutterstock)

Since July 2021, and have select items shipped across the Tasman Sea... for a price.Amazon Australia has allowed New Zealanders to shop on the site

Starting today (December 9, 2021) that price is being scrapped for select items, but your total order will need to be the equivalent of AU$59 or more (about NZ$62 at current conversion rates) to qualify for free shipping.

This is excellent news for Kiwi shoppers as it maximises savings, and comes just in time for Christmas shopping. However, if you are keen to buy Christmas gifts on Amazon, you may need to hurry 13 Amazon has confirmed that the cutoff ordering date for getting items delivered on time is December 10 for rural areas and December 16 for metro-based customers.

We did a bit of digging and found most of the items Amazon has gathered under its section are eligible for free shipping to New Zealand. That said, there's some tech that's already out of stock, or has very limited supply remaining, so you really ought to get a wriggle on.Christmas gift ideas

If you're on a budget, we've put together a list of great available on Amazon... and yes, several on that list are eligible for free shipping.tech gift ideas that cost under AU$100

Making it easy this Christmas

'Tis the season of giving, and while Amazon is yet to extend its Prime program to Kiwi shoppers, the offer of free shipping is a great way to save cash over Christmas. Amazon has some very competitive prices on hundreds of items, including discounts on several in our round-up of affordable gift ideas, allowing New Zealanders to maximise their savings.

If you haven't yet tried shopping on Amazon Australia, the online retail giant has put together a helpful to explain how it all works. And it's even making returns easy by including a postage-paid label with most items 13 all you have to do is drop it off at a DHL office convenient to you or arrange for it to be picked up from your home.FAQ page

Note that all prices you see on Amazon AU will be in AUD, though, so keep a calculator at hand to convert the prices to NZD.

On another note, you can for the best deals in Decembercompare broadband plans in NZ

Sharmishta Sarkar

Managing Editor (APAC)

Sharmishta is TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor and loves all things photography, something she discovered while chasing monkeys in the wilds of India (yes, she studied to be a primatologist but has since left monkey business behind). While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, she's also an avid reader and has become a passionate proponent of ereaders, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about the convenience of these underrated devices. When she's not testing cameras and lenses, she's discovering the joys and foibles of smart home gizmos. She also contributes to Digital Camera World and T3, and helps produce two of Future's photography print magazines in Australia.

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Content creators can now cash in on their Facebook profile page

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Content creators can now cash in on their Facebook profile page

By Anthony Spadafora published 9 December 21

Upgrade for your profile to professional mode to access new monetization options

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Meta has announced a new professional mode for user profiles that makes it easier for to monetize their posts on the social network.Facebookcontent creators

While professional mode will first be available to select users in the US, the company plans to expand it to more countries in the coming months while also adding access to more monetization options and platform tools.

Content creators that do decide to use professional mode with their Facebook profiles will be presented with additional ways to and with expanded insights that were previously only available with Facebook Pages.make money on the social network

One of the main perks of Facebook's new professional mode is the ability to participate in the company's new bonus program where top content creators will be able to earn up to $35,000 per month based on the views of their short-form videos. Unfortunately though, for the time being access to this program is by invite only and Meta will have the final say when it comes to determining which creators will qualify to earn bonuses. However, interested creators can to learn more about the program.Reels Playsign up here

Professional mode

Although Meta didn't provide concrete details on the other monetization options for professional mode in the announcing it, the company did highlight the fact that it will make professional-level insights available to creators that do decide to upgrade their Facebook profiles.blog post

These insights are similar to the ones Page owners already have access to and include detailed information on a creator's posts, audience and profile. For instance, they'll be able to see the total number of shares, reactions and comments on their posts as well as their follower growth over time. With these insights in hand, they'll be able to better tailor their content for both their followers and the platform itself.

It's worth noting that if a content creator does decide to upgrade their existing profile on Facebook to professional mode, they'll effectively become a on the social network. This means that anyone will be able to follow them and see the public content posted to their feed. However, they'll still be able to mark posts as public or friends-only just like with a private profile.public figure

Meanwhile, content creators that are using will be opted into Facebook's new Pages experience that will provide them with access to a Professional Dashboard. The company is also working on a two-step composer for Pages which will allow creators to schedule posts and cross-post into groups.Facebook Pages

We'll likely hear more from Meta regarding its new professional mode for Facebook profiles once this new experience begins rolling out to content creators in countries besides the US.

We've also featured the , and best social media management toolsbest website builderbest ecommerce platforms

Via TechCrunch

Anthony Spadafora

After living and working in South Korea for seven years, Anthony now resides in Houston, Texas where he writes about a variety of technology topics for ITProPortal and TechRadar. He has been a tech enthusiast for as long as he can remember and has spent countless hours researching and tinkering with PCs, mobile phones and game consoles.

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Elizabeth Warren Wants to Know How Hertz Went From Bankruptcy to Buybacks in Six Months

Timothy Noah/December 8, 2021

Elizabeth Warren Wants to Know How Hertz Went From Bankruptcy to Buybacks in Six Months

Good question. The answer is that corporate success these days looks an awful lot like failure.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Is Hertz car rental a fantastically successful company or a pathetically weak one? That isn 19t an easy question to answer, and the reason why crystallizes a lot about what 19s gone wrong with American corporations.

The case that Hertz is a fabulously successful company begins with the fact that its market share is a very healthy 15 percent, a 2018 calculation by the Open Markets Institute. Granted, that 19s way down from the market share Hertz commanded in the mid-1960s until Avis, then at number two, pushed Hertz 19s market lead down to with the ingenious slogan 1C. 1D But Hertz, which also owns Thrifty and Dollar, still places second after Enterprise (27 percent), which also owns Alamo, National, and Zimride. Avis, now number three (8 percent), owns Budget, Zipcar, and Payless Car Rental, and together the three companies control 50 percent of the market. I don 19t recall ever in my life renting a car from a company that isn 19t today part of this oligopoly.according to61 percent49 percentWe Try Harder

In October, Hertz a 39 percent profit for the third quarter, its highest since 2015. That 19s good, right? The company 19s so flush that last month it up to $2 billion in stock buybacks. That earned the company a stern December 6 from Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren chiding it for its greed in rewarding 1Cexecutives, company insiders, and big shareholders. 1D Hertz told CNN that it had received Warren 19s letter and intended to respond, though as of Tuesday afternoon it .announcedauthorizedletterhad not done so

The case that Hertz is a pathetically weak company begins with the fact, noted pointedly by Warren in her letter, that it

entered 2020 1Cbloated with debt 1D and was unable to withstand the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, filing for bankruptcy in May 2020. The company laid off or furloughed 20,000 workers and sold almost 200,000 cars from its fleet, reducing the fleet size by nearly one third, before emerging from bankruptcy in June 2021.

It 19s true. Those 20,000 workers represented half the company 19s workforce. Even before Covid-19, Hertz 19s debt load was $17 billion. And before that, the company had been struggling for years, partly because, after a , it ($2.3 billion) to buy Dollar and Thrifty. Carl Icahn sold off his in the company during Hertz 19s bankruptcy, recording a $2 billion loss. Newly purchased by two finance companies, Hertz emerged from bankruptcy a mere five months ago.

bidding war with Avispaid too much39 percent stake

Have you been inside a Hertz office lately? I was, last month, at Los Angeles International Airport. It didn 19t feel like a successful business. It wasn 19t like stepping into, say, an Apple store, agleam with brushed steel and white walls and pleasant, impeccably groomed salespersons. It wasn 19t even like stepping into a Starbucks. It was like stepping into a soup kitchen for the homeless: short-staffed, shabby decor, long lines, unhappy customers. A clerk told me to fetch my car from a separate office a couple of miles away ( 1CTake an Uber 1D); the industrial-looking building I was sent to didn 19t have any kind of sign indicating whom I was doing business with. The sole attendant on the premises said it didn 19t matter that I 19d booked a reservation. There were no cars. The managers had overbooked, he said, and whenever they do that, they go home and leave me to handle irate customers like you. I felt sorry for him.

Yes, Covid-19 has created supply chain problems for Hertz and other rental car companies, and also a labor shortage that makes it hard for Hertz to staff back up. Still, it was hard to reconcile my customer experience with an enterprise that 19s so successful its profit margin is 39 percent and so flush that it 19s buying back its own stock. Profits were up not because Hertz was renting more cars; they were up because Hertz was renting fewer cars, pricing them, according to cited by Warren, 147 percent higher than before the pandemic.an analyst

The supply chain snafu drove up the price of cars, but, as Warren further pointed out, Hertz 19s pricing for what it called 1Cthe elements in vehicle rental pricing that management has the ability to control 1D was up over the previous year. Hertz wasn 19t enjoying financial success in spite of its seedy rental offices, its loss of half its workforce, its inability to furnish many rental cars, and the outrageously high price it commanded for those few rental cars that were available. It was enjoying financial success because of these things. It was acting very much like a corporation owned by two finance companies.44 percent

What 19s happening at Hertz is emblematic of what 19s been happening at American corporations. Some people look at this picture and conclude that corporations 19 increased concentration and rising profits demonstrate they 19re becoming more powerful than ever. That 19s true. Other people look at corporations 19 indifferent treatment of all personnel except those in the C-suites, their disinclination even to pretend that they provide customer service until someone makes a stink on social media, and their desperation to please shareholders and conclude that corporations have become pitifully weak. That 19s also true.

The true heyday of the American corporation was the 1920s through the 1960s. That 19s when big corporations maintained institutional identities independent of Wall Street. These corporations were so powerful, Nicholas Lemann noted in his 2019 book, , that they didn 19t typically need banks to furnish capital; they invested from their own ample revenues. And because labor unions were still powerful, these corporations allocated a much larger portion of their revenues to their workers than they do today. The result was a conformity criticized in 1950s books like and , but these corporate colossi sustained a thriving working class.Transaction ManThe Organization ManThe Lonely Crowd

Today, according to University of Michigan sociologist Gerald F. Davis in his 2016 book, , 1Ccorporations are in decline. 1D They 19re becoming 1Cvestigial rather than central pillars of the economy, 1D unable to control their own destinies. The Vanishing American Corporation

For most of the twentieth century, corporations followed a model described by Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means in their 1932 book, , wherein managers didn 19t much care what the shareholders wanted. They didn 19t have to. By the 1970s, conservatives like Milton Friedman this unaccountability a scandal and a corporation 19s sole responsibility was to its shareholders. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan made Friedman 19s critique the policy of the U.S. government. In doing so, he put corporations at the mercy of the financial services industry. One reason it 19s so easy these days to take a corporate CEO from one industry sector and plug him into another is that CEOs today are all essentially bankers, interested mainly in raising the company 19s stock price (and therefore their compensation packages). The Modern Corporation and Private Propertyjudgedsaid

Today we 19re enjoying a heyday for corporate profits even as the corporation experiences mass extinction. The number of American companies listed on the stock market, Davis noted, dropped by more than half in the first 15 years of this century, with departures outnumbering initial public offerings almost every year. The formula today to be a successful entrepreneur is to build a company that 19s so innovative one of the still surviving bloated conglomerates will buy it and either absorb it or shut it down completely. Only suckers dream of building their own freestanding corporation.

So: Is Hertz a hugely successful company? Yes, by its own lights. No, as best Warren can see. It 19s hard to disagree.

@TimothyNoah1Timothy Noah

Timothy Noah is a New Republic staff writer and author of The Great Divergence: America 19s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It.

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Sustainable trade and peatland management for emissions reduction and community livelihoods

Event Coverage

Sustainable trade and peatland management for emissions reduction and community livelihoods

Challenges and opportunities in Indonesia

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 @hanoman01Robert Finlayson

Tuesday, 7 Dec 2021

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0Aerial view of canal blocking in Dompas, Riau. CIFOR/Mokhamad Edliadi

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These ecosystems could determine our climate future: study

Finding the sweet spot: How to scale up and finance ecosystem-based adaptation

Pact prioritizes forests and biodiversity conservation in Papua New Guinea

Managing peatlands in Indonesia 19s South Sumatra for multiple benefits

Growing and trading commodities while protecting and sustainably managing forests and other natural ecosystems from agricultural encroachment is crucial for meeting development and climate targets both nationally and internationally.

Although they pose environmental risks, agricultural commodities also improve livelihoods by contributing to economic development, poverty alleviation and food security.

They were a major topic last month at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, as leaders of more than 25 countries 13 including Indonesia 13 signed a affirming their commitment to the Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade Dialogue, establishing trade and market development, smallholder support, traceability and transparency, and research, development and innovation as key areas of focus.joint statement

On the sidelines of COP26, a , examining aspects of the country 19s complex trade in agricultural commodities.talk show moderated by Niken Sakuntaladewi from Indonesia 19s Ministry of Environment and Forestry covered related topics in the Indonesia Pavilion

In Indonesia, the (TRADE Hub) focuses on two agricultural commodities 14 palm oil and coffee 14 in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), , , and Indonesia 19s (Bogor Agricultural University) and .Trade, Development and Environment HubWildlife Conservation SocietyResearch Center for Climate ChangeInstitute Pertanian Bogor UniversityUniversity of Lampung

Neil Burgess, chief scientist with the and principal investigator with TRADE Hub, said: 1CWe 19re gathering data on agricultural commodities and wildlife trade in Brazil, China, Congo Basin, Indonesia and elsewhere to better inform trade agreements and trading companies. We want to learn how, for example, does the palm-oil trade link to deforestation and emissions and rural incomes. 1DU.N. Environment Programme 19s World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Key risk commodities identified by the are palm oil, beef, cocoa, coffee and maize. How these interact with climate is closely linked to policies in consuming countries and institutions in producing countries.Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

1CPalm-oil consumption in the European Union [EU] is driven by policy rather than consumer preferences, driving distant impacts, 1D said Elizabeth Robinson, director of the institute. 1CThe EU sets targets for bioenergy renewables, for example, which increases demand. Reduced demand in the EU is similarly driven by policy 13 now there 19s a discussion about a phasing out ban by 2030. I think they are focusing too much on the oil rather than on stopping deforestation. It has led to losses for producers, conflicts between governments and clashes in the field. 1D

Trade agreements are increasingly using 1Cnon-tariff measures 1D to influence producing countries, she added. For example, the has tariff reduction linked to forest protection, which, she said, raises issues of sovereignty.Indonesian 13European Free Trade Association 19s Free Trade Agreement

The Association of South-East Asian Nations [ASEAN] issued an to COP26, calling for increased ambition and opportunities to finance implementation, said Associate Professor Simon Tay, chairperson, .ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate ChangeSingapore Institute of International Affairs

1CWe need our own 18ASEAN Climate Community 19 to scale up action, 1D he said. 1CCarbon markets are necessary for pushing our ambitions forward beyond the . We must also find nature-based solutions with high-quality, verified carbon credits, twinning growth with carbon responsibility. We also have to look at how concessions for palm oil and other commodities can be better managed to reduce emissions, make livelihoods possible for communities and bring in the right kinds of investments. 1DNDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions)

Michael Brady, principal scientist and leader of the Value Chains, Finance and Investment research group at CIFOR-ICRAF, researched agreements in the region as part of , a joint project with the and that is implemented , CIFOR and the Global Environment Centre.Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast AsiaInternational Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentGlobal Environment Centreby the ASEAN Secretariat

1CThere are 23 million hectares of peatland in Southeast Asia, 38 percent of the world 19s tropical peat, with Indonesia and Malaysia holding 99 percent, 1D he said. 1CClimate change has exacerbated fires used for clearing peatland with serious impact from transboundary haze on health, trade, production, transport, fisheries, crops, loss of life and determent of foreign investors. 1D

The 2015 fires were estimated to incur losses of $16 billion, he said. 1CThis is a cross-cutting issue for ASEAN, which has established several policy frameworks. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution provides a strong political basis, requiring member states 19 cooperation to prevent and monitor haze, provide information and institute legislation. 1D

He listed factors for reducing fires and protecting peatlands. Regionally: coordination between state and non-state actors; and a consistent approach to methodologies, data and estimates for monitoring. Nationally: leadership providing support; coordinated prevention; comprehensive policies; improved data; and a common understanding.

Herry Purnomo, scientist with both CIFOR-ICRAF and IPB, who coordinates TRADE Hub Indonesia, welcomed the COP26 pledge to end deforestation and Indonesia 19s pledge for forests to be a net carbon sink, both by 2030.

1CBut how? 1D he asked. 1CThese are complex sourcing areas and destinations, flows of money, levels and types of employment and emissions. Around 2 million hectares of oil-palm plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan are on peatlands. How to deal with this? 1D

TRADE Hub Indonesia 19s simulations found that business-as-usual would lead to increases in oil-palm plantations, volume of exports, incomes and employment but also emissions unless peatlands were protected.

1CCommitments can decrease deforestation as we have seen in South Sumatra, 1D said Purnomo, 1Cand emissions can be reduced locally using intercropping and canal blocking. 1D

However, sometimes there will be no option but to swap plantations on peatlands to other land, he said.

Tiur Rumondang, Director of Assurance, Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), explained that their certification aimed to reduce emissions and improve livelihoods.

1CFor sustainable palm oil to be the norm, there must be, first, a competitive and sustainable sector; second, sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction, human rights; and third, protected and enhanced ecosystems. RSPO certification includes guidance to achieve these. In the 2018 RSPO P&C standard, we stipulated that sustainable oil palm should not be on peatlands. 1D

She highlighted that RSPO 19s smallholders 19 credit scheme annually disbursed IDR 29 billion (approximately $2 million) to 33 independent groups of more than 8000 smallholders. In 2019, sustainable palm-oil practices by members reduced emissions by 1.4 million tonnes and conserved more than 230,000 hectares of highly valuable forests. Tiur admitted that the number of certified groups was small 14 1 132 percent 14 but last year saw a 180 percent increase in membership.

1COnce we have a champion organization, such as FORTASBI [Forum Petani Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan Indonesia/Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Farmers Forum], that provides programmes for smallholders, 1D she said, 1Cengagement is spread wider. But if we want to be faster, we need data about where smallholders are located. 1D

Asked by the moderator for summaries, Robinson said that from the EU perspective it is important to work with producing countries toward the same ends; Tay noted the urgency to cooperate to avoid contention; Purnomo said that zero net deforestation by 2030 in Indonesia was highly possible; Brady said that an integrated approach was needed, including regionally; and Rumondang said that from the perspective of practitioners of sustainable palm oil, certainty is needed from government.

The TRADE Hub is funded by the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund and led by the UN Environment Programme 19s . Indonesia is one of the locations of a country hub and research activities. World Conservation Monitoring Centre

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For more information on this topic, please contact Herry Purnomo at .h.purnomo@cgiar.org

This research forms part of the , which is supported by .CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and AgroforestryCGIAR Fund Donors

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Echelon Connect EX3 review

Our Verdict

The Echelon Connect EX3 bike is a cheaper alternative to Peloton that offers a high-quality spin-style experience with a ton of live and on-demand classes to keep you motivated.

For

Easy to set up

App can be used by 5 people

Affordable

Quiet and slimline

Great range of classes

Against

No in-built screen

No fast forward for on-demand classes

Monthly membership needed

Need a tablet or phone to watch classes

Resistance dial is under-sensitive

Live Science Verdict

The Echelon Connect EX3 bike is a cheaper alternative to Peloton that offers a high-quality spin-style experience with a ton of live and on-demand classes to keep you motivated.

Pros

+ Easy to set up

+ App can be used by 5 people

+ Affordable

+ Quiet and slimline

+ Great range of classes

Cons

- No in-built screen

- No fast forward for on-demand classes

- Monthly membership needed

- Need a tablet or phone to watch classes

- Resistance dial is under-sensitive

Jump to:Set up and usability

Design and display

Features

Performance

Verdict

Related products

The Echelon Connect EX3 is a competitive alternative to Peloton Bike: good value, well designed and easy to use, it 19s got everything you want 13 apart from an inbuilt display.

Just like Peloton, it has a ton of live and on-demand classes available via the Echelon Fit app ($39.99 a month), but you 19ll need your own tablet, smartphone or smart TV to stream these.

Echelon Connect EX3: Key Specs

Dimensions: 59 1D x 23 1D x 53 1D

Weight: 105 lbs

Max user weight: 300 lbs

Display: No

Resistance levels: 32

Warranty: One year

Workouts: Live and on-demand via Echelon Fit app

Other features: Bluetooth compatibility, 29 lbs flywheel, rotating console, USB charging port, compatible with Fitbit and Strava, SPD compatible pedals with toe cage 

The Echelon Connect EX3 comes with a 29 lbs rear-mounted flywheel, fully adjustable handlebars, competition padded seat and dual-compatible pedals.

It 19s got a small footprint so is well suited to people with limited space, and is fairly easy to move around thanks to the transport wheels. Just make sure you move it to somewhere near a power point.

Currently on offer on Echelon for $1262 (down from $1595), it comes with 32 magnetic resistance levels for a smooth and quiet ride. We love that it offers an authentic spin experience from the comfort of your own home, but found that the resistance could be a little under-sensitive at times. Connectivity was also sometimes an issue. If your class gets cut short because of tech glitches you 19ll have to restart it, as there is no fast forward option.

But we love the array of on and off-bike classes and instructors, all of whom are enthusiastic and motivating. You can also filter your workout by music genre for an extra boost while training.

The Echelon Connect EX3 is a high-quality, well-designed exercise bike that offers excellent value and performance from the comfort of your home.

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Echelon Connect EX3: Set up and usability

The Echelon Connect EX3 is super easy to set up on your own (although you might need help lifting the box inside). It comes 4-way adjustable handlebars and a comfy 6 1D padded competition seat.

It 19s a slimline and compact design and doesn't take up much space 13 but at 105 lbs it 19s quite heavy so make sure you position it where you plan to keep it and also near a power point.

(Image credit: Amazon)

The Echelon Connect EX3 has a height recommendation of 4.5 1D to 6.8 1D, so if you are outside that bracket then try testing the bike out in person before you buy.

The EX3 is fully integrated and connects via Bluetooth to your smart device, meaning you can track your progress in real-time. You can also connect the bike to Facebook to share your workout with friends, or compete with each other.

Once you 19ve plugged the bike in, look at the Echelon logo button 13 it will flash as it tries to connect and then go to a blue glow once it 19s set up. Personally, we found the connectivity on the Echelon Connect EX3 really good. There were only a few times that it disconnected, but we think that might have been due to our poor WiFi connection. Bear in mind that if that happens, you 19ll lose the data from your workout and will have to restart the class from the beginning.

You also need to subscribe to the Echelon Fit app to get started (available on Android and iOS devices from $39.99). When you open the app it will automatically connect to the bike and you can choose your workout. The app can be a bit overwhelming at first as there is a lot going on - lists of classes, both live and on-demand, as well as challenges and the Featured tab. But it 19s fairly easy to navigate, and after the first few rides, you will find the app easier to use.

Under the handlebars is your magnetic resistance dial. Choose from 32 levels to increase or decrease intensity. Note that the resistance is slightly different to what you might be used to in the spin studio or gym. We assumed level 14 was going to feel hard-going and heavy, like sticky mud, but because there are so many resistance options, this actually felt relatively easy. Echelon advises that up to 15 is beginner level, 15-25 is intermediate and 25 and above is more advanced intensity.

The resistance dial itself can be a little under-sensitive, so you might need to turn it a few more times to get your desired level.

Echelon Connect EX3: Design and display

The Echelon Connect EX3 is well designed with a slimline footprint. It looks very similar to a spin bike in the gym, and it 19s small enough not to overwhelm a room with its 29 lbs rear-mounted flywheel.

It has dual pedals 13 clip-in and cage 13 so you can choose to wear cycling shoes or regular sneakers. There 19s space for two water bottles on either side of the frame, which is much needed during a sweaty spin session.

(Image credit: Amazon)

The bike itself is sturdy (it weighs 206 lbs) so it 19s not the easiest thing to move around on your own despite the transport wheels. Ideally, just set it up where you plan to store it and make sure there is a power point nearby as the wire isn 19t that long.

It doesn't come with an inbuilt screen, but there is a tablet holder where you can put your iPad or phone to view classes. There is also a USB port to keep your device charged as you ride. 

The Echelon Connect EX3 also doesn 19t have inbuilt speakers so you need Bluetooth-enabled headphones or speakers if your tablet or smartphone isn 19t loud enough for your personal preference. You can also stream the app from your computer or smart TV via Bluetooth if you want a larger screen.

Echelon Connect EX3: Features

The Echelon EX3 doesn 19t have any pre-programmed workouts but a subscription to the Echelon Fit app gives you access to a ton of workouts and stats. Use your tablet or smartphone to monitor your metrics 13 speed, calories burned and distance. You can enjoy 14+ daily live classes, scenic rides and thousands of on-demand workouts so this is a great exercise bike for all fitness levels.

You can try out different rides like Power, Endurance, Hill Rides, Speed, Bootcamp and Low Impact or opt for a Freestyle Ride. We recommend trying the beginner classes first, and building up to longer rides if you 19re new to exercise or spinning. To access a live class, you can schedule this on the app and click 18add to calendar 19 so you don 19t forget when it 19s on.

One drawback of the Echelon Connect EX3 is there is no fast forward button, so if the app cuts out then you have to either restart the ride from the beginning. This is really annoying if you are mid-ride when you have a technical hitch.

The bike offers a comfortable ride thanks to the wide padded seat, and the adjustable 12.9 1D screen holder works well with most devices. When you start a class, you can keep or swipe away various stats that automatically appear on the screen, such as the leaderboard. There 19s also space for heart rate metrics if you pair the EX3 with an external monitor. We tried it with a MyZone chest strap monitor and it synced efficiently.

The most useful information you need during a ride is in the middle of the screen. It 19s your RPM, resistance levels and wattage. You will vary the first two features to change the intensity of your training.

We loved the Tabata-style workouts the most 13 short bursts of speed or endurance followed by active recovery or rest. These were challenging and helped me build up stamina and strength without getting bored. The scenic rides are also great for a bit of escapism in the Covid-19 era, where traveling isn 19t so easy.

When you 19ve finished your class you can look at metrics in the Progress tab, including calories burned and your place on the leaderboard. These results can be emailed to you too so you can look back on your progress. Sync your Fitbit or Strava app to get more extensive stats.

If you love music then you 19ll like that the workouts are categorized by different genres, from rock and EDM to 80s and 90s. And if you feel you 19ve exhausted the ride options, you can try FitPass, which is video-based workouts off-bike from Zumba and HIIT to low impact yoga or meditation.

Echelon Connect EX3: Performance

To get used to how everything works on the Echelon Connect EX3, I recommend watching the introduction videos, which cover how to use the bike and all the features. If you 19re new to spinning or a bit rusty, try the 10 and 20-minute classes to get started and used to the bike. It also means you can work out which of the teachers you like most (and want to avoid!).

(Image credit: Echelon)

All of the workouts track three things: cadence (speed), resistance and output (effort level). Competitive types can compare their performance with other members on the leaderboard, or swipe this off the screen if you find it distracting.

The padded seat makes it a really comfortable ride and the magnetic resistance means that getting out of the saddle to do a running ride is smooth and fluid. It 19s also really quiet so won 19t disturb your neighbors or anyone else in the house during a workout session.

Should you buy the Echelon Connect EX3?

The Echelon Connect EX3 is a well-made, durable exercise bike, which offers an authentic spin style experience. There are enough live and on-demand classes to keep you busy on and off the bike and it 19s super easy to set up and use. The Echelon Connect EX3 is a solid and affordable Peloton alternative and a great way for the whole family to invest in their health and fitness at home. 

If this product isn 19t for you

For a cheaper option, the ($899) comes with a free app and 32 resistance levels. It 19s compact and well designed with a 26 lbs flywheel and a wooden bracket for your smartphone and tablet (no inbuilt screen). It 19s also compatible with certain third-party apps including Zwift and Kinomap.Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike

The is a mid-range exercise bike with an ergonomic design and a variety of on-demand only classes via the MYXfitness app (subscription cost: $19.95/month). It doesn 19t have live workouts but it adds new content every week so you won 19t get bored. It 19s more expensive than the Echelon Connect EX3 at $1399, but it has an inbuilt 21.5 1D touchscreen, Polar OH1 heart rate monitor and you can pair it with Apple Watch.MYX II

If money isn 19t an issue, the has a great rep for being the Don of all exercise bikes. With its solid, heavy frame, it is super quiet and offers a huge variety of live and on-demand workouts, as well as an 18auto-follow 19 feature that adjusts the resistance to match the instructor 19s. It retails at $2145 (plus an extra subscription fee to the Peloton app, $39/month) so it 19s a lot more expensive than the EX3 but if you 19re looking for the ultimate home exercise bike with all the bells and whistles, this is the one.Peloton Bike+

If you're still undecided about which brand of exercise machines to choose, we've written up a comparison of .Peloton vs Echelon

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Maddy Biddulph

Maddy is a freelance journalist specializing in fitness, health and wellbeing content. She has been a writer and editor for 22 years, and has worked for some of the UK's bestselling newspapers and women 19s magazines, including Marie Claire, The Sunday Times and Women's Health. Maddy loves HIIT training and can often be found working out while her two young daughters do matching burpees or star jumps. As a massive foodie, she loves cooking and trying out new healthy recipes (especially ones with hidden vegetables so the kids eat them). Maddy is currently completing a diploma in Level 3 personal training and can 19t wait to help other busy mums like her feel energized and confident in how they look and feel. 

[kailashsingh11]

How Benefit Segmentation Will Take Your Marketing Campaigns to the Next Level

If you're a fan of HubSpot's , you probably understand the importance of . In fact, with growing revenue prioritize customer success as "very important." So, if you want your business to succeed you must make sure your customers do, too.Inbound Marketing Methodologycustomer success70% of businesses

By doing so, you can stack the odds in your favor, ensuring the leads you 19re passing to your sales team are a good fit for your business through benefit segmentation. In this post, we'll go over what benefit segmentation is, why you should use it, and where it can be seen in the real world.

What is benefit segmentation?

Benefit segmentation is the categorization of your target audience based on the value they'll receive from your product or service. Different customers often seek different value propositions from the same product or service. For this reason, companies use benefit segmentation to tailor their messaging to each specific customer segment, improving lead acquisition and customer success.

Why should you do benefit segmentation?

Benefit segmentation will help you gain a better understanding of the different needs of your customer base in addition to the following:

1. Benefit segmentation makes it easier for sales reps to convert leads into customers.

That's because your marketing campaigns will attract customers who are better suited for your product or service. Since the campaigns are targeted to the people who need your business the most, your sales team should have an easier time closing deals.

2. Marketers and salespeople can use benefit segmentation to engage customers.

By identifying the key value that your business provides, your team will create more compelling marketing campaigns and sales pitches. They'll know exactly how to differentiate your product or service to make it attractive to your target audience.

3. Benefit segmentation improves .customer retention

Converting leads that are a good fit for your organization will decrease your churn rate over time. Customers will be happy your product or service is fulfilling their needs and will be less likely to shop with your competitors.

Now that we understand what benefit segmentation is and why you should use it, let's take a look at some real examples where this marketing technique helped businesses attract and close leads.

Benefit Segmentation Examples

1. Samsung

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The cell phone has become one of the most fundamental products of modern technology. Almost everyone has a cell phone to get them through their day-to-day tasks. But, depending on who you are, how old you are, and where you're from, your cell phone needs may differ dramatically from the next customer. Most of us need a cell phone, but often for a different reason. So, how do phone companies manage to fulfill these customer needs?

Samsung uses benefit segmentation to personalize ads for different target audiences. In the cell phone industry, age is a major determining factor of customer needs. As customers get older, what they need from their cell phone changes. It goes from fun features like cameras and apps to more practical benefits like battery life and security.

We can see this play out in the two advertisements pictured. The first one is aimed at a youthful audience and inspires them to "Do bigger things." The phone comes with two cameras and lets the user draw on images using the included stylist.

Image Source

Compare this to the next ad where Samsung focuses on the practicality of the phone. Its tagline, "Designed for humans," lets the reader know the phone is user-friendly and easy to set up. The phone is designed for optimal performance so that it never slows down no matter how many apps are running at once. This is particularly useful for an audience that may have a busy professional schedule and is working on multiple tasks at once.

Highlights:

Samsung used it 19s 1CDo bigger things 1D campaign to attract a younger audience by reeling them in with sleek new camera features.

Conversely, the company was able to attract older users who may not be as tech or gear savvy with the tagline 1CDesigned for humans, 1D implying the phone is user-friendly for all.

2. Ford

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Car companies often use benefit segmentation to position different types of vehicles. For example, we can look at Ford to see the difference in advertisement between its Ford Fusion and F-150 models.

The Ford Fusion is a practical, four-door sedan that's described as "sophisticated" and "cool." Ford recognizes that people who are interested in this car will value its style in addition to its performance and price. The company highlights this by using vibrant colors in its advertisement to compliment the car's eye-popping design.

Now, compare that image to the image of the Ford F-150 below. The F-150 is a work truck designed for people who need a powerful, durable vehicle. Customers who are interested in the F-150 would value the truck's impressive towing capacity and ability to navigate difficult terrain. That's why the image below shows the truck towing a large piece of equipment with a tagline of "Built Ford Tough."

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Highlights:

Ford marketed the Fusion sedan to users who were more interested in having a practical, but stylish car to get around town.

For the F-150, Ford used it 19s 1CBuilt Ford Tough 1D campaign featuring the rugged outdoors to attract buyers looking for a durable, all-terrain truck that could handle the toughest jobs.

3. Airbnb

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Airbnb's market segmentation is interesting because it has to account for two main target audiences: hosts and guests. Not only does the company have to find customers to book the rooms, but they must also attract welcoming hosts with desirable living spaces. This forces Airbnb to perform benefit segmentation to create ads that appeal to both guests and hosts.

In the example above, we can see how Airbnb uses benefit segmentation to attract hosts in New York City. New Yorkers have a lot of pride for their city and value companies sharing that passion. So, Airbnb created these subway ads to educate New Yorkers on why Airbnb is good for local business owners as well as community development.

We can compare that educational message to the inspirational one below. This ad is aimed at potential guests who are planning a future trip but haven't made concrete travel plans. Airbnb capitalizes on this opportunity by creating a message that embraces uncertainty. Rather than pointing to a specific location, Airbnb makes the destination irrelevant and instead focuses on how the company will help, no matter where you go. This makes Airbnb look more trustworthy to customers who may be nervous about making a major financial decision.

Image Source

Highlights:

To attract NYC hosts to use their service, Airbnb embarked on a campaign that tapped into the pride New Yorkers have for their city and local businesses.

For guests, Airbnb established themselves as a trustworthy accommodation option 13 no matter where they decided to crash 13 by using the uncertainty of the audience 19s destination to their advantage.

4. Nike

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Nike offers a wide range of products to a variety of target audiences. It needs to use benefit segmentation to develop different marketing campaigns that appeal to each group of customers. The most notable example we can pull from Nike is its ads featuring tennis superstar, Serena Williams.

These ads are aimed at Nike's female target audience, particularly at its youthful demographic. Nike understands that these customers value the athletic confidence they experience when wearing Nike products. That's because Nike's apparel is not only stylish but designed for elite performance. The company uses the tennis phenom, Serena Williams, as an icon to demonstrate how this added confidence can improve your athletic ability.

Highlights:

Nike expertly leveraged it 19s reputation for creating high-performance gear by using tennis star Serena Williams.

Additionally the brand was able to tap into youthful nostalgia and appeal to female buyers by using images of Williams as a youth to inspire their audience to greatness.

5. Hulu

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Amidst the "" phenomenon, Hulu has been able to position itself as a viable alternative to cable TV. Hulu's users value convenience and efficiency and don't want to spend money paying for television channels they never watch. So, the company has created an ad campaign that explains how Hulu users can save money while maintaining access to their favorite content.cord-cutting

In the ad above, we see how benefit segmentation influenced Hulu's marketing campaign. For example, the copy highlights how users can view "current episodes" and "hit movies." Since many cord-cutters worry about losing access to new content, this lets users know that Hulu's content is updated so they'll never miss a recent episode. That's incredibly important for people who follow series like Game of Thrones, where it's vital to watch the episode as soon as it airs.

Highlights:

Hulu 19s ad campaign assures potential cord-cutters they won 19t miss current episodes of their favorite shows.

Hulu found what was most important to their customers (missing their favorite shows) and then tailored their messaging to address their needs.

The Advantage of Using Benefit Segmentation

With benefit segmentation, you can organize your customers and leads based on the value you provide them. This ensures you're attracting customers who will develop a strong relationship with your business over time. <>By pursuing these customers, your organization will improve lead acquisition and ensure customer success.

This article was originally published June 3, 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

 Originally published Dec 8, 2021 7:00:00 AM, updated December 08 2021

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Why are so few women inventors named on patents?

Why are so few women inventors named on patents?

By Clara Guibourg and Nassos Stylianou

Data journalists, BBC News

Published

2 October 2019

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Image source, Hannah Eachus

It's easy to list some of the many everyday items invented and patented by women - the dishwasher, windscreen wipers, the board game Monopoly, to name but a few - but the world is still failing to take full advantage of women's innovative ideas, a report suggests.

Women inventors account for just under 13% of patent applications globally, , by the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO). That's one female inventor for every seven male ones.according to the study

And although the proportion among patent applications is increasing, at the current rate it won't reach gender parity until 2070.

So, why are there so few women in the world of inventing?

Researchers attribute the gap to a lack of women working in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem). According to Penny Gilbert, partner at intellectual property law firm Powell & Gilbert, it's simply a pipeline issue.

"If we want to see more women filing patents, then we need to see more women taking up Stem subjects at university and going on to careers in research," she says.

Currently only about and fewer girls and women study these subjects at secondary school and university, despite efforts to diagnose and solve this imbalance. a quarter of the UK workforce in Stem industries is female

Two-thirds of applications still all-male

Patents are granted to the owner of an invention, allowing the creator and subsequent owners to prevent others from using their invention. In order to qualify as an "invention" patent, the filing must contain a new, useful idea - that would not be obvious to a skilled person in that field.

They can be filed individually, or by teams of inventors.

The gender disparity among inventors grows even starker when you take into account most female inventorship takes the form of a lone female on a male-dominated team.

More than two-thirds of all patents come from all-male teams or individual male inventors - and just 6% from individual female inventors.

All-female teams are nearly non-existent, making up just 0.3% of applications, according to the IPO.

Even when they apply for patents, women may be less likely to receive them, according to a , by Yale University researchers. They found applicants with an obviously female name were less likely to have their patent approved.study of US patent applications

And of course, not everyone involved in an invention is credited with a patent.

Patents: A beginner's guide to intellectual property

What if there were more women in tech?

Grace Hopper's compiler: Computing's hidden hero

Nine things you didn't know were invented by women

All in all, female scientists are less than half as likely to obtain a patent for their research, according to a, suggesting women may be less likely than men to think about commercialising their inventions. previous World Intellectual Property Organisation study

Biotech the most gender equal

In 1991, Ann Tsukamoto developed a way to isolate stem cells. Her innovation led to great advancements in understanding the blood systems of cancer patients and could lead to a cure for the disease.

Dr Tsukamoto, who is currently conducting further research into stem cell growth, is also the co-patentee on more than seven other inventions.

Image source, Hannah Eachus

Biotechnology, the use of living organisms to produce useful products such as medicine and food, is the sector with the highest proportion of female inventors. Some 53% of biotechnology-related patents have at least one female inventor.

In second place, 52% of pharmaceutical-related patents have at least one female inventor.

Electrical engineering was at the bottom of the list, with fewer than one in 10 applications having at least one female inventor.

Parity by 2070

The proportion of women inventors has doubled in the past 20 years, according to the IPO, from just 6.8% in 1998 to 12.7% in 2017, the latest year for which full data is available.

During the same period, the proportion of applications naming at least one woman among the inventors rose from 12% to 21%.

Dr Gilbert says stereotypes around women's educational and career choices need to be tackled - by encouraging women to choose Stem areas, introducing mentoring schemes, and celebrating female role models.

"We should applaud the fact that some of the greatest scientists and inventors throughout history have been women - from Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin to Grace Hopper, [a computer programming pioneer], and Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar," she says.

"We should tell their stories."

Russia tops the list

Although female inventorship in the UK has increased, from 8% in 1998 to 11% in 2017, other countries are well ahead.

With 17% of patent applications including at least one woman over the past 20 years, Russia had the highest proportion of female inventors, out of the 10 countries with the most patent applications, followed by France.

At the other end of the scale, in Japan and South Korea fewer than one in 20 patent applications included a female inventor during the time period.

How was the data collected?

The gender of inventors is usually not included in patent applications, so the IPO inferred gender based on inventors' first names, using data from the European Patent Office Worldwide Patent Statistical Database (PATSTAT).

Inventors' names were matched to a gender using birth data from the UK's Office for National Statistics and the US Social Security Administration, which lists the names of all babies born, and the number of male and female entries, as well as by crawling Facebook profiles to create a larger list of names and their likely gender.

Only names for which at least 95% of entries were male or female were included, so gender-neutral names such as "Robin" have been excluded.

A total of 75% of inventors' names were matched to a gender, although this success rate varies country by country. The name lists used were biased towards Western names, so the UK has the highest "success rate", while countries in East Asia, including South Korea and China, have a lower rate.

What is 100 Women?

names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year and shares their stories.BBC 100 Women

Find us on , and and use #100Women.FacebookInstagramTwitter

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Women

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More on this story

Patents: A guide to the key terms

Published

20 August 2013

[kailashsingh11]

3 tactics to improve CTAs for increased relevance and conversions

Calls to action (CTAs) provide customers with a path to follow to achieve their goals, whether that 19s completing a purchase or requesting a consultation. Despite being one of the last steps in the customer 19s journey, CTAs have gone overlooked as brands adopt a generic approach in this final, crucial solicitation, using messages like 1CClick here, 1D 1CJoin now, 1D and 1CRead more. 1D

Creating descriptive CTAs takes time, but it can also signal relevance to search engines, guide your users and improve conversion rates. At , Billie Hyde, senior account manager at The SEO Works, shared several tactics she uses with her own clients to improve the experience for users while furthering business outcomes.SMX Convert

Ditch the generic CTAs

1CThere are two types of calls to actions . . . subtle calls to action or glaringly obvious, 1D Hyde said, 1CThese super obvious ones . . . they appear everywhere on the page, so they can be in the meta description or in the actual content or on the product description towards the end. 1D

CTAs often serve as anchor text, but generic wording may downplay the relevance of the link for users as well as search engines. Hyde recommends that marketers go beyond these bland CTAs to provide more value.

Image: Billie Hyde.

1CTry to put something relevant to the page you 19re trying to take users to, 1D she said. Instead of a CTA like 1CBrowse our collection today, 1D Hyde recommends 1CBrowse our collection of gold earrings today, 1D she provided as an example. 1CSo I 19m still saying to Google that where this call to action is taking you is relevant for this reason and the page that we 19re linking to is what we 19re saying it is, 1D she said, adding that this also helps with internal linking.

If you must use a generic CTA, it 19s worth researching and testing whether it actually applies to the content you 19re using it for, Hyde added.

Use your CTAs to strengthen the user journey

Your CTAs should be leading users across your pages, educating them about your offerings while nudging them along the journey you 19ve designed for them. More subtle, specific CTAs are better suited for this purpose, as they allow you to suggest alternatives (if a product is unavailable) or simply add more touchpoints to build trust.

1CNot what you are looking for? Why not browse our collection of colourful prints to add some colour and art to your house, 1D was one example Hyde provided for situations when a user might leave because they 19re not able to find what they were looking for.

Image: Billie Hyde.

1C[These types of CTAs] are super helpful because it allows your users to become more informed and they can find exactly what they 19re looking for, 1D she said, noting that informed users are the best type of user because they 19re more likely to have realistic expectations, which can increase satisfaction along with the likelihood of future conversions.

Site owners can look to their analytics to assess which page a user might head to next and craft the relevant CTA using that information. 1CThe anchor text that we 19re using in the links on this journey need to be relevant to the page we 19re taking them to, 1D Hyde added, 1CSo just always keep that in mind. 1D

Prioritize differently-abled users

Sites are typically designed on desktop, for abled users. Search engines, like Google, have incentivized improving the mobile experience through algorithm updates like the . However, no such ranking boosts exist for sites that are designed with visually impaired users in mind.mobile-friendly update

1CIn 2020, there were over 2 billion sales made online, and according to Practical Ecommerce, around 3% of all online shoppers use a screen reader, 1D Hyde said, 1CSo that means an estimated 60 million online sales last year were made by people who have visual impairments. 1D

Image: Billie Hyde.

Users that rely on screen readers may not have the benefit of the site 19s visual content for context. 1CIf [a CTA is] is ambiguously named, a person with a screen reader is not going to think it applies to them, that 19s why you need to say exactly what you want, 1D she said. Not doing so could leave users stuck on a page, which means you run the risk of losing that conversion.

To avoid this scenario, Hyde recommends that marketers download a screen reader. 1CEvery single client I get it, I take about half an hour to an hour and I use the screen reader to navigate their site, 1D Hyde explained, 1CI click every single link I can, I go through the article using it and I just try to understand how this works for users with visual impairments. 1D

This technique can help you eliminate roadblocks on your journey that may trip up users, regardless of whether they rely on a screen reader or not. Additionally, it can also help you improve your user experience by highlighting ambiguous navigation, for example.

1CYour on-page SEO doesn 19t just stop at the content and this isn 19t technical SEO 14 this is just being a good human being creating content for other human beings, 1D Hyde said, 1CWe need to factor them all in. 1D

Watch the full SMX Next presentation here (registration required).

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About The Author

George Nguyen

George Nguyen is an editor for Search Engine Land, covering organic search, podcasting and e-commerce. His background is in journalism and content marketing. Prior to entering the industry, he worked as a radio personality, writer, podcast host and public school teacher.

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