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Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Nasa data reveals 'alarming' rise in intensity of weather events
New data from Nasa has revealed a dramatic rise in the intensity of weather events such as droughts and floods over the past five years. The study shows that such extreme events are becoming more frequent, longer lasting and more severe, with last year's figures reaching twice that of the 2003-2020 average. The steepness of the rise was not foreseen. The researchers say they are amazed and alarmed by the latest figures from the watchful eye of Nasa's Grace satellite, which tracks environmental changes in the planet. They say climate change is the most likely cause of the apparent trend, even though the intensity of extremes appears to have soared even faster than global temperatures. The data is not yet peer-reviewed, and researchers said they would need another 10 or more years to confirm to conclusively call it a trend. The data has been co-produced by Dr Bailing Li, from the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center – affiliated with the University of Maryland's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, who told the Guardian: 'We can't prove causation yet – we would need a much longer dataset. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what's happening here, but other events suggest that (global) warming is the driving factor. We are seeing more and more extreme events round the world, so this is certainly alarming. Her colleague Dr Matthew Rodell, chief of hydrologic sciences at Goddard, also counselled caution over the latest data, but admitted that he too was worried about the apparent acceleration of a trend in destructive events. 'It's certainly scary,' he said. The earlier part of the Nasa time series was published in Nature Water in 2023. The researchers used a mathematical formula to calculate the total effect of a weather event in terms of severity measured by the total area affected, the duration of the event and how wet or dry it was. The paper warned that disturbance to the water system would be one of the most significant consequences of the climate crisis. The paper noted that the intensity of extremes was strongly correlated with global mean temperature, more so than with El Niño, the influential ocean current, or other climate indicators, suggesting that continued warming of the planet will cause more frequent, more severe, and longer and/or larger droughts and floods. The Nasa researchers produced the updated statistics at the request of the Oxford-based research organisation Global Water Intelligence, whose head, Christopher Gasson, said water companies are in the firing line of climate change – facing too much water or too little water – or both. He said most water companies are completely unprepared to cope with the changes under way. 'This is extremely scary,' he said. 'The industry needs to attract investment on a massive scale.' Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organization's [url= report[/url] calculates an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will top 2024 as the warmest year on record. It says global temperatures are set to continue to increase over the next five years, increasing climate risks and impacts on societies, economies, and sustainable development. The unpredictability of extreme events revealed in the new data is likely to alarm the insurance industry, which bases current premiums on previous trend data. This could have widespread effects across entire economies. The Guardian
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Trust in news in Singapore higher than global average, ST is most trusted news brand: report
Trust in news here has stayed consistent in the last eight years, and is up slightly from the 42 per cent recorded in 2017. PHOTO: ST FILE Trust in news in Singapore higher than global average, ST is most trusted news brand: report SINGAPORE - Singaporeans' trust in the news continues to be higher than the global average, while news avoidance behaviour remained low, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute. It also found that mainstream media outlets remained the most trusted news brands in Singapore, with The Straits Times coming out tops. The news organisation is trusted by 75 per cent of audiences here, followed by CNA with 74 per cent, and Channel 5 News with 73 per cent, among the 15 brands included in the survey for Singapore. The Digital News Report surveyed 100,000 people in 48 markets, including 2,014 people in Singapore, and found that 45 per cent here said they trust the news most of the time. This puts Singapore 15th worldwide, and 3rd in the Asia-Pacific region, behind Thailand (55 per cent) and Hong Kong (52 per cent). Trust in news here has stayed consistent in the last eight years, and is up slightly from the 42 per cent recorded in 2017. The survey found that overall trust in the news around the world has kept at 40 per cent for a third year in a row, which is still lower than the 44 per cent recorded in 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, news avoidance, which typically grows as trust declines, is at the highest level in this year's report by the Oxford-based institute. Worldwide, some 40 per cent of respondents said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up slightly from 39 per cent in 2024 and 29 per cent in 2017. The top reasons given by respondents around the world for avoiding news were the negative effect on mood, feeling worn out by the amount of news, and too much coverage of conflict and war. But the proportion of respondents in Singapore who said they sometimes or often avoid the news was 27 per cent, which was the fifth lowest of the 48 countries and territories surveyed. Places with the lowest news avoidance were Japan (11 per cent) and Taiwan (21 per cent), while those with the highest news avoidance were Bulgaria (63 per cent), Turkey and Croatia (61 per cent). The report noted that Singapore's legacy news brands had largely retained or improved their brand trust scores, while alternative and independent outlets still rank lower, partly due to their limited track record and emphasis on viral news. Audiences of all generations still prize trusted brands with a track record for accuracy, even if they do not use the brands as often as they once did, it added. The report found that around the world, trusted news brands are the ones that people most frequently turn to when they want to check whether a piece of news or information is true or false, along with official sources. This year's report included a question about what people do to gauge the veracity of a piece of information, and the biggest proportion of respondents (38 per cent) said they would first look to news outlets they trust, followed by official sources (35 per cent) and fact-checkers (25 per cent). In Singapore, ST and CNA were tied for the highest offline reach, with 33 per cent of respondents reporting that they used both outlets weekly. CNA was the most used online news source (47 per cent), followed by Mothership (46 per cent) and the ST website (41 per cent). Online and social media remain the most common ways of accessing news in Singapore, while both TV and print have declined significantly over the last few years. Whatsapp (33 per cent) remained as the top social media network people turned to for news in Singapore, though platforms such as YouTube (32 per cent), Instagram (24 per cent) and TikTok (18 per cent) have grown in popularity as news sources compared to the year before. Data for the report was gathered by research firm YouGov through an online questionnaire, with sampling designed to be nationally representative by age, gender, and region. The Reuters Institute said that for countries with lower internet penetration, the results should be interpreted as representative of the online population rather than the national population. The institute also cautioned that its use of a non-probability sampling approach meant it was not possible to compute a conventional margin of error, and that small differences are very unlikely to be statistically significant. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Cambridge Is The Place To Be For Start-Ups And Scale-Ups
More start-ups make it to seed stage in Cambridge than anywhere else Where should you locate your start-up business to give it the best possible chance of making the jump from seed status to Series A? New data from Dealroom suggests the UK's Cambridge is your best bet, with more businesses in the university city making the transition from start-up to scale-up than in any other prominent hub for entrepreneurship. Dealroom's analysis reveals that, on average, 41% of seed-round start-ups in Cambridge make it to a Series A round; that compares with only 35% of similar businesses in Cambridge's arch-rival Oxford, and only 33% in London. To put Cambridge's performance into perspective, the equivalent figure for the Bay area in the US is 40%. Cambridge's start-ups and scale-ups raised $2.3 billion of new funding last year, Dealroom's figures show. That was the city's second-best year ever – with fund raising almost doubling compared to 2023's figure of $1.2 billion. The success of businesses in the city is even more impressive in the context of a difficult environment for fund raising elsewhere in Europe. While London-based start-ups and scale-ups raised $11.3 billion last year, that was down 12% on 2023. Leading continental European hubs such as Stockholm and Berlin also saw fund raising fall back. Venture capital investors appear to have focused on locations with a high proportion of technology businesses. Oxford-based businesses also managed to attract more funding, with investment in the city up 1% to $706 million. Zurich managed a 5% increase in funding, taking the total amount of money raised in the Swiss city last year to $990 million. Nevertheless, Cambridge's ecosystem of start-ups and scale-ups increasingly stands out in Europe. Dealroom values the city's technology sector at $222 billion – more valuable than in any city in the UK other than London. 'Cambridge continues to be a shining example in the European ecosystem, at the heart of a new Palo Alto with its deep scientific and technological research heritage,' says Yoram Wijngaarde, founder of Dealroom. Clearly, the city has certain natural advantages, including the scientific prowess of its university and the proximity of role-model global technology companies such as Arm, Wayve and Quantinuum. However, those active in the city's start-up community argue that businesses have also benefited from a broad range of entrepreneurial support aimed at building the next generation of such companies. 'To get more venture scientists to break-out stage, we need to back them with the right support, from mentoring and business development to funding,' says Gerard Grech, the managing director of Founders at the University of Cambridge, which runs an accelerator programme in partnership with Cambridge Enterprise, the university's innovation arm. 'We're making sure they have what they need to build the deep tech companies that will shape our future.' Wijngaarde agrees. 'Cambridge it cannot rest on its laurels,' he warns. "The Cambridge ecosystem needs to continue to grow and mature to improve the rate at which companies reach unicorn and exit stage so that it can remain globally competitive.' The good news in this regard is that 2025 has already seen a number of notable fund-raising rounds from university spin-outs. Electric vehicle charging specialist Nyobolt raised $30 million in new funding in April, while the engineering business Cambridge GaN Devices picked up $32 million in February. Professor Dame Clare Grey, co-founder and chief scientist at Nyobolt, says she wants to see other businesses from the city follow in its footsteps. 'Cambridge provides unparalleled foundations for deep tech ventures with its unique international networks and expertise,' she says. 'We must maintain focus on our ultimate mission: transforming breakthrough science into scalable solutions that tackle universal challenges, particularly those that ensure a more sustainable future for all.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Orthopaedic Institute of North Mississippi merging, rebranding
TUPELO – In a blockbuster three-way merger, Tupelo-based Orthopaedic Institute of North Mississippi, Jackson-based Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center and Oxford-based Oxford Ortho and Sports Medicine will rebrand under the Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center name, effective Aug. 4. Following the merger, MSMOC will have 32 doctors and 33 advanced practice providers at 18 locations, creating the largest network of orthopedic specialists in the state and one of the most comprehensive in the Southeast. Founded in 1984, Mississippi Sports Medicine has locations in Jackson, Flowood, Madison, Brookhaven, Ruleville and Yazoo City. MSMOC surgeons were the first of five in the U.S. and the first in Mississippi performing outpatient joint replacements. The group performs over half the total joint replacements in the state. It has the largest orthopaedic joint center in the country, the first in the state, and it was one of the first three centers in the U.S. to perform orthopaedic joint replacements. Dr. Eric Lewis, fellowship-trained orthopedic hand surgeon at OINMS, said joining forces with MSMOC would benefit more people in the region. 'For decades, we have earned our reputation by providing exceptional, patient-focused care in Tupelo and across North Mississippi,' he said. 'Teaming up with Mississippi Sports Medicine will strengthen our statewide collaboration and expand access to cutting-edge treatments and specialized expertise for the region and people we serve.' In a press release, OINMS said its physicians and staff "remain committed to the advanced orthopedic and sports medicine care their neighbors across the region have trusted for nearly three decades." OINMS said Mississippi Sports Medicine had "built a reputation for orthopedic excellence through its clinics and fellowship programs, which have trained several orthopedic physicians in the area, and Oxford Ortho's team has been its region's leader since the 1990s. By partnering with their colleagues in Jackson and Oxford, the Tupelo team is able to extend its legacy across Mississippi and the Southeast." As the three groups merge their operations over the next couple of months, patients will continue to be seen at the same locations by the same physicians. "The name will change, but the same doctors that have been trusted by the Tupelo and North Mississippi community for decades will remain the same," the press release said. 'As someone who completed my sports medicine fellowship at Mississippi Sports Medicine, I'm excited to deepen our collaboration with the Jackson team,' said Dr. Bryan Fagan, an OINMS orthopedic surgeon. 'Together, we'll bring more innovation and specialized expertise to patients across North Mississippi.' Leading up to the launch of the new brand on Aug. 4, residents and patients will see the new name on signage, materials and communications. 'Orthopedics is a team sport,' said Dr. J.R. Woodall, a spine surgeon based in Jackson. 'I've long respected the Oxford and Tupelo teams, and this evolution will unlock new opportunities in research, education and cutting-edge care for every Mississippian.' Orthopaedic Institute of North Mississippi was born of a merger in 2018 when North East Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and North Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Clinic of Tupelo joined forces and moved the practice to Midtown Pointe.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brainomix Driving Treatment Decisions in Stroke: New Studies Presented at Leading European Stroke Conference
New evidence from the largest prospective evaluation of stroke AI imaging further validates Brainomix 360 Stroke impact on mechanical thrombectomy, expanding patient access across networks to the life-changing treatment The Oxford-based pioneer continues to drive cutting-edge research with its novel biomarkers, forging partnerships with world-leading stroke institutions across the US and Europe OXFORD, England and CHICAGO, May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Brainomix, a global leader in AI-powered imaging solutions in stroke and lung fibrosis, presented a series of new studies at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) in Helsinki, solidifying the position of its market-leading Brainomix 360 Stroke as the most clinically validated stroke AI imaging solution. Gary Ford (Professor of Stroke Medicine at Oxford University, and Chief Executive of Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley) presented new and expanded results from the largest prospective evaluation of stroke AI imaging software, showing that the use of Brainomix 360 Stroke was associated with an increase in mechanical thrombectomy rates across evaluation sites. The impact was particularly significant in primary stroke centers (104% increase), but was also observed in comprehensive stroke centers (73% increase), representing a network-wide benefit from Brainomix 360 Stroke to expand patient access to the life-changing procedure. Dr Albert Yoo (Texas Stroke Institute) presented results from a research collaboration between Brainomix and the TESLA Trial team, whose randomized study was originally published in JAMA in September 2024. In this new analysis of the trial data, Brainomix 360 Stroke was used to estimate the ischemic core volume and degree of hypoattenuation on the non-contrast CT (NCCT) scans taken upon admission for the 276 large vessel occlusion (LVO) patients included in the original study. The results showed that both ischemic core volume and the degree of hypoattenuation (as measured by net-water-uptake) modified the effect of mechanical thrombectomy and should therefore be considered when assessing suitability of endovascular treatment in patients with large core ischemic stroke. Building on its track record of cutting-edge stroke imaging research, Brainomix also presented a new study with leading academic clinicians from the Mayo Clinic and West Virginia University, exploring brain frailty as an independent predictor of functional outcome in patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy. George Harston, Chief Medical & Innovation Officer at Brainomix, said: "This is an exciting study, where our next generation biomarkers were able to assess brain frailty, finding it to be a useful criterion when assessing a patient's suitability for mechanical thrombectomy and the likelihood of them achieving a good clinical outcome." This topic will be included with other breakthrough research projects in an upcoming webinar that Brainomix have organized with Dr Ansaar Rai and Dr Waleed Brinjikji on Thursday, June 12th. Brainomix supported a number of additional studies at ESOC, including: Dr Amelia Adcock (West Virginia University) presented the results of a comparative analysis of Brainomix 360 Stroke and with the findings demonstrating that both AI solutions accurately identified intracranial LVOs. Notably, Brainomix 360 Stroke did exhibit a higher sensitivity for more distal occlusions and was the only CT perfusion solution that showed a significant association between perfusion deficit and NIHSS. Dr Esra Zhubi (Semmelweis University, Budapest) presented results from a study where Brainomix 360 Stroke was used to assess collateral status on CT angiography. The team concluded that changes in collateral status during transfer for thrombectomy were strong predictors of outcome following thrombectomy in LVO patients. A research collaboration between Brainomix and Boston Medical Center assessed the accuracy of Brainomix 360 Stroke's automated hemorrhage detection tool to identify intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). A total of 351 cases were successfully processed, with the Brainomix software exhibiting high overall sensitivity (93%) and specificity (94%), demonstrating high efficiency and efficacy for all subtypes of ICH detection to provide a reliable triage and notification service to aid clinicians in identifying cases. A study with leading stroke researchers in Czechia looked at the utility of CT Perfusion processed with Brainomix 360 Stroke to more effectively differentiate stroke mimics from strokes, as a way of optimizing care and reducing the risk of inappropriate treatment for stroke mimic patients. Notes to Editors About Brainomix Brainomix specializes in the creation of AI-powered software solutions to enable precision medicine for better treatment decisions in stroke and lung fibrosis. With origins as a spinout from the University of Oxford, Brainomix is an expanding commercial-stage company with offices in the UK, Ireland and the USA, and operations in more than 20 countries. A private company, backed by leading healthtech investors, Brainomix has innovated award-winning imaging biomarkers and software solutions that have been clinically adopted in hundreds of hospitals worldwide. Its first product, the Brainomix 360 stroke platform, provides clinicians with the most comprehensive stroke imaging solution, driving increased treatment rates and improving functional independence for patients. To learn more about Brainomix and its technology visit and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contacts :Jeff Wyrtzen, Chief Marketing Officer jwyrtzen@ T +44 (0)1865 582730 Media Enquiries : Charles Consultants Sue Charles Sue@ M +44 (0)7968 726585 Logo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Brainomix Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
