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In a bid to make learning more engaging and stress-free, the <keyword id="22615810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-council-for-educational-research" source="keywords">National Council for Educational Research</keyword> and Training (<keyword id="20255499" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCERT" source="keywords">NCERT</keyword>) has issued guidelines for implementing '<keyword id="22348286" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bagless-days" source="keywords">bagless days</keyword>' for <keyword id="19929042" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="students" source="keywords">students</keyword> in classes 6 to 8. This initiative aligns with the recommendations of the <keyword id="19919114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Education-Policy" source="keywords">National Education Policy</keyword> (NEP) 2020, which emphasised the need for a ten-day bagless period for this age group. The guidelines, developed by the Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational <keyword id="19907717" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="education" source="keywords">Education</keyword>, aim to integrate these bagless days into the core curriculum rather than treating them as an add-on. The focus is on providing students with hands-on experiences and exposure to the world beyond textbooks. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111815619" title="This school has 12-hour days, &amp;#39;relaxing&amp;#39; meals — and no smartphones" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>During these ten days, students will be encouraged to participate in various activities, including: <ul><li>Internships: Students will have the opportunity to intern with local vocational experts like carpenters, gardeners, and potters, gaining practical skills and insights into potential <keyword id="20082244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="career-paths" source="keywords">career paths</keyword>.</li><li>Field trips: Visits to historical monuments, cultural sites, and higher educational institutions will broaden students' horizons and foster a sense of curiosity.</li><li>Community engagement: Interactions with local artists and craftsmen will expose students to different cultures and traditions.</li></ul>The NCERT believes that these experiences will not only bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application but also help students make informed decisions about their future careers. Schools are advised to allocate a minimum of ten days or 60 hours for these activities, which can be incorporated flexibly throughout the year. By introducing bagless days, the NCERT aims to create a more holistic and enriching learning environment for students, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love for learning. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="108733872" title="New curriculum, books for grades 3-6 from 2024-25, no change in syllabus for other classes: CBSE" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

NCERT students of classes 6-8 to enjoy 10 ‘bagless days’, internships and field trips

<keyword id="22782965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashima-Gulati" source="keywords">Ashima Gulati</keyword> is a lawyer turned <keyword id="22782966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="policy-consultant" source="keywords">policy consultant</keyword> with over 7 years of experience in India's public policy arena. Starting off with a B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal, Ashima kicked off her career as a securities and capital markets lawyer in Mumbai. Craving a deeper understanding of India's socio-economic landscape, she made a switch to the development and policy sector. Since her stint in Mumbai, Ashima's had quite the journey, including a two-year fellowship where she taught 70 students from a low-income community and co-founding a non-profit to improve healthcare access for marginalised communities. More recently, while Ashima was working as an independent consultant, collaborating with government, non-profit, and private organisations to build climate resilience and adaptation strategies for these groups, she went on something of a spree and applied to 10 master’s programs that combined general policy insights with climate change and sustainable development. But here’s the kicker: she got into ALL of them and bagged over USD 200,000 in <keyword id="19897091" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="scholarships" source="keywords">scholarships</keyword>! The impressive list of colleges and universities she got accepted into include Oxford, Columbia, <keyword id="191548" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cornell" source="Orion">Cornell</keyword>, <keyword id="142498" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="university-of-chicago" source="Orion">University of Chicago</keyword>'s Harris School of Public Policy, The Fletcher School at Tufts University and Geneva Graduate Institute, to name a few. As Ashima prepares to leave for Oxford, where she will pursue Master of Public Policy, we got in touch with her to ask her how she managed to achieve this monumental feat. While she works towards her ever-evolving passion for public policy and sustainable development, other aspirants can probably take a page or two out of her book! Ashima attributes her success in applying to international universities to the a few unique aspects. Here are five such major factors that helped her application stand out from the crowd in her own words: Demonstrate the uniqueness of candidature through evidence “I believe it is of utmost importance to be able to substantiate the claims that one makes in their applications with respect to their profile, work experiences, leadership qualities, and most importantly, the impact that one has created in the society. Since my college days, I have maintained a detailed record of all initiatives and opportunities I have engaged in, documenting my involvement thoroughly. For my master’s applications, I included such documentation through publications, data evidence, and other relevant sources. Additionally, I encouraged my recommenders to provide evidence supporting the qualities they intended to highlight in their letters. This approach fosters transparency and credibility in the application, avoiding the use of superlatives and ensuring grounded presentation of one’s profile.” Showcase alignment with the specific program and the university “It is essential to thoroughly research and understand the focus and advantages of the specific program before drafting application essays. This ensures that you can effectively align your profile and professional experiences with the program and the university. The application should clearly demonstrate how the program’s unique features will enhance your knowledge, skills, and career goals. In my view, the applications should be highly tailored to the specific program and university to which one is applying to.” Be honest with one’s limitations and gaps in current knowledge and skill set “In my view, there has to be a demonstrated need for upskilling and applying to the program. One should be able to discuss the obstacles and hindrances one has experienced in their current profile, and a genuine need to upskill to overcome such challenges. Additionally, the application should also discuss how the program/university will help the applicant in addressing such challenges, and in helping one grow in their professional journey.” Connect with alumni and articulate well-considered future goals “Applicants should clearly outline their professional goals, both short-term and long-term, within their applications. It is important to demonstrate that you have engaged with alumni to gain insights into the opportunities provided by the program and the university. Additionally, the application should detail how the program and the university will support you in achieving these advanced goals. This approach reflects thorough research and preparation, showcasing the uniqueness of the program and university as your commitment to leveraging these opportunities effectively.” Discuss your contribution to the growth of the program/university “Many applicants overlook this aspect in their applications. It is crucial to articulate how you will contribute to the program and university both as a current student and as an alumnus. This demonstrates a strong commitment to the institution. You should describe how you plan to leverage your skills and knowledge in specific areas, such as conferences or journals, to contribute meaningfully to the institution. This reflects your genuine interest and dedication to the institute, and a mutual relationship that you wish to nurture with the institute.” While the pointers Ashima shares are undoubtedly helpful, she stresses on how its the candidate profile that matters most. You can check out her profile <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashima-gulati/?originalSubdomain=in" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>. Furthermore, as dedicated as Ashima is towards her cause and her <keyword id="19907717" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="education" source="keywords">education</keyword> at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, she acknowledges that letting go of the financial stability that her career in law afforded her was not an easy choice to make. However, these acceptances served as affirmations that traditional notions of what a career must look like are evolving, she asserted. She now knows that taking risks in one’s career can be rewarding if done right! Going forward, Ashima is committed to using her education to advance her career in the public policy sector with the goal of contributing to the well-being and uplifting of marginalised communities, mostly by addressing the intersections of education, healthcare and climate change. And we wish her all the very best! <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112316410" title="I moved from the US to Germany for college. Tuition is mostly free, but I miss the American school spirit." mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

This Amritsar resident got into Oxford, Columbia, Cornell, and 10 major international programs with over Rs. 1.6 crore in scholarships! She shares 5 tips for fellow applicants

The <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reserve-Bank-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reserve Bank of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reserve Bank of India">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> announced the decision of the newly formed six-member MPC (<keyword id="19913109" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Monetary-Policy-Committee" source="keywords">Monetary Policy Committee</keyword>) today, following the conclusion of the three-day meeting, which began on October 7, 2024. Treading along expected lines, RBI rate-setting panel left the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the 10th consecutive time, in its 51st meeting today. The decision was made by a majority, with 5 out of 6 members voting for leaving the rate unchanged. This is the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review for FY25, and the first since three external members were appointed to the panel earlier this month. The tenure of the previous three members had come to an end on October 4, 2024. While the outgoing members include Ashima Goyal (emeritus professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research), Shashanka Bhide (honorary senior advisor, National Council of Applied Economic Research); and Jayanth R. Varma(professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad), the income members are Ram Singh (Director, Delhi School of Economics), Saugata Bhattacharya, an economist; and Nagesh Kumar (Director and chief executive, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development). <h2>Wait and Watch </h2>RBI also changed its policy stance to neutral, while remaining committed to growth and bringing down inflation to its target of 4%. This means that at present, the bank is not inclined to either increase or decrease the interest rates, but will take a call depending on macroeconomic conditions and prevailing factors. "Taking all these factors into consideration, the real GDP growth for 2024-25 is projected at 7.2%, with Q2 at 7%, Q3 at 7.4% and Q4 at 7.4%", he said. As for inflation, Das highlighted that headline inflation had softened significantly in July and August and even food inflation experienced a certain degree of correction during these two months. Keeping this in mind, CPI inflation for 2024-25 i.e. current year is projected at 4.5%, with Q2 at 4.1%, Q3 at 4.8% and Q4 at 4.2%. CPI for first quarter of next financial year i.e. 2025-26 is estimated at 4.3%. "It's with a lot of effort that inflation horse has been brought to the stable, i.e. closer to the target and within the tolerance span, compared to its place or heightened levels two years ago. We have to be very careful about opening the gate, as the horse may simply hold again. We must keep the horse in tight leash, so that we do not lose control", Das added. Most economists had anticipated a change in the central bank's current policy stance of 'withdrawal of accommodation'. This policy stand indicates that any interest rate cuts are presently off the table. However, given the ongoing geopolitical crisis and Fed's jumbo rate cut by 50-basis points last month, RBI may bring about a cut in interest rates, sooner than later. However, since food inflation remains high at 5.42% as of July 2024, experts had also estimated that now might not have been a good time for RBI to bring down interest rates. Moreover, PMI (purchase managers index) indices, which help in gauging the health of manufacturing and service sectors in the country, presently stand at a multi-month low, and even the core sector output is witnessing a contraction after 42 straight months. As Suman Chowdhury, Executive Director &amp; Chief Economist, Acuité Ratings &amp; Research had highlighted, the current circumstances are not really conducive for RBI to opt for any affirmation action towards an easier monetary policy. "While the fear of the inflation “elephant” may have subsided with the CPI headline print well within 4.0% over the last two months and a favorable monsoon, the concerns around the stability of food inflation still linger among policy makers. The RBI may wait till December 2024 or February 2025 to make a rat cut, he continued. <h2>Housing sector rejoices</h2>From the point of view of homebuyers, the relatively affordable home loan interest rate regime will continue at a critical time for the Indian housing market - the festive season - amid rising housing prices and tapered sales. Q3 2024 saw average housing prices rise by a cumulative 23% in the top 7 cities even as average prices in these markets collectively rose to approximately Rs 8,390 per sq. ft. by Q3 2024-end, from Rs 6,800 per sq. ft. in Q3 2023. "The unchanged home loan rates are much-needed demand support in the ongoing festive quarter. We are expecting faster sales momentum in Q4 2024 when compared to the preceding quarter. This year's festive quarter may see similar demand to that seen in this period a year ago, if not higher. Over 1.27 lakh units were sold across the top 7 cities back in Q4 2023. Unchanged interest rates will play and important role in achieving and maintaining this momentum", says Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Group

RBIs MPC meet concludes today: Repo rate left unchanged at 6.5%

Geneva [Switzerland], June 29 (ANI): Aspartame, one of the world's most common artificial sweeteners, is set to be declared a possible carcinogen next month by a leading global health body, pitting it against the food industry and regulators, reported Reuters. Aspartame is used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars' Extra chewing gum and some snapple drinks. The <keyword id="665762" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="international-agency-for-research-on-cancer" source="Orion">International Agency for Research on Cancer</keyword> (IARC) and the <keyword id="43588" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="Orion">World Health Organization</keyword>'s (WHO) cancer research arm will list it as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time in July, according to two sources with knowledge of the process. Following a meeting of the group's external experts earlier this month, the IARC ruling is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence. It does not take into account how much of a product a person can safely consume. This advice for individuals comes from a separate WHO expert committee on food additives, known as the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), alongside determinations from national regulators, Reuters reported. In the past, similar IARC rulings for different substances have raised concerns among consumers about their use, led to lawsuits, and pressured manufacturers to recreate recipes and swap for alternatives. This has led to criticism that the IARC's assessments can be confusing to the public. JECFA and the WHO committee on additives are also reviewing aspartame use this year. Its meeting began at the end of June and is due to announce its findings on the same day that the IARC makes public its decision on July 14, as per Reuters. Since 1981, JECFA has said aspartame is safe to consume within accepted daily limits. For example, an adult weighing 60 kg (132 pounds) would have to drink between 12 and 36 cans of diet soda - depending on the amount of aspartame in the beverage - every day to be at risk. Its view has been widely shared by national regulators, including in the United States and Europe. An IARC spokesperson said both the IARC and JECFA committees' findings were confidential until July. But they added that they were "complementary", with IARC's conclusion representing "the first fundamental step to understand carcinogenicity". The additives committee "conducts risk assessment, which determines the probability of a specific type of harm (e.g., cancer) to occur under certain conditions and levels of exposure," Reuters reported. Whereas, industry and regulators fear that holding both processes at around the same time could be confusing, according to letters from U.S. and Japanese regulators seen by Reuters. Nozomi Tomita, an official from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare wrote in a letter on March 27 to WHO's deputy director general, Zsuzsanna Jakab, "We kindly ask both bodies to coordinate their efforts in reviewing aspartame to avoid any confusion or concerns among the public." The letter also called for the conclusions of both bodies to be released on the same day, as is now happening. The Japanese mission in Geneva, where the WHO is based, did not respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. However, Frances Hunt-Wood, the secretary general of the <keyword id="17858097" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="international-sweeteners-association" source="Orion">International Sweeteners Association</keyword> (ISA) said, "IARC is not a food safety body and their review of aspartame is not scientifically comprehensive and is based heavily on widely discredited research," The body, whose members include <keyword id="6042988" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mars-wrigley" source="Orion">Mars Wrigley</keyword>, a Coca-Cola unit and Cargill, said it had "serious concerns with the IARC review, which may mislead consumers". Kate Loatman, the International Council of Beverages Associations' Executive Director said public health authorities should be "deeply concerned" by the "leaked opinion", and also warned it "could needlessly mislead consumers into consuming more sugar rather than choosing safe no-and low-sugar options," Reuters reported. Aspartame has been extensively studied for years. Last year, an observational study in France among 100,000 adults showed that people who consumed larger amounts of artificial sweeteners including aspartame had a slightly higher cancer risk, according to Reuters. Furthermore, it followed a study from the <keyword id="17858098" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ramazzini-institute" source="Orion">Ramazzini Institute</keyword> in Italy in the early 2000s, stating that some cancers in mice and rats were linked to aspartame. However, the first study could not prove that aspartame caused the increased cancer risk. The questions were raised about the methodology of the second study, including by EFSA, which assessed it, reported Reuters. The IARC said it had assessed 1,300 studies in its June review. Aspartame is authorized for use globally by regulators who have reviewed all the available evidence. Also, major food and beverage makers have for decades defended their use of the ingredient. The soft drinks giant Pepsico tweaked recent recipes which demonstrated the struggle the industry has when it comes to balancing taste preferences with health concerns. Pepsico removed aspartame from sodas in 2015, bringing it back a year later, but removed it again in 2020, according to Reuters. Sources close to the IARC said that Aspartame has been listed as a possible carcinogen which is intended to motivate more research, which will help agencies, consumers and manufacturers draw firmer conclusions. But it will also likely ignite debate once again over the IARC's role, as well as the safety of sweeteners more generally. Last month, the WHO published guidelines and advised consumers to not use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control. The guidelines caused an uproar in the food industry, which argues that they can be helpful for consumers wanting to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet, reported Reuters. (ANI)

WHO's views on sweetener Aspartame may pit it against the food industry and regulators

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Economists at the Peterson Institute studied what would happen if Trump undermined Fed independence.</li><li>They found that GDP would shrink, inflation would rise, and capital would flow to other countries.</li></ul>In August, Trump floated the idea that, as a successful businessman, he should have "at least" a say in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.A new study by the Peterson Institute of International Economics, a renowned nonpartisan think tank, found that such an idea could have catastrophic economic consequences. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/2024-09/wp24-20.pdf">study's lead researchers</a> dug into the economic impact of three of Trump's campaign promises: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mass-deportation-immigraiton-plan-federal-reserve-inflation-2024-9">mass deportations</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-golden-10-percent-tariff-bill-trump-2024-9">tariffs</a>, and eroding Fed independence.Throughout the course of a prospective Trump term, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-campaign-fed-independence-jerome-powell-interes-rates-politics-2024-4">undermining the central bank's independence</a> would lead to $304 billion in economic losses, the study found. While Trump has not specified exactly how he would interfere in the Fed, the researchers assumed he is successful and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/interest-rate-cut-trump-fed-powell-reaction-independence-history-2024-9">pressured the bank to jack up economic growth</a> when conducting their study. They found that such action would result in lower GDP and higher inflation through 2040.Business Insider spoke with one of the study's authors, Warwick McKibbin, a senior fellow at PIIE. He said that initially, GDP and employment would rise, but that inflation and input costs would go up soon after. Eventually, capital would flow out of the US, causing the dollar to fall in value."It's like the party at the front and the hangover after four years," McKibbin said over the phone. He said that by 2028, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fed-rate-cuts-inflation-kamala-harris-election-impact-2024-9">inflation would be built into the system</a> at an additional 2% per year and the economy would shrink.Domestic producers would bear the brunt of the consequences due to rising input costs. As domestic goods get more expensive, workers' purchasing power would go down, McKibbin said. All the while, the researchers argue that investors would get spooked by the politicized Fed and start directing their capital to other countries starting around 2026. Production would shift to other parts of the world, including China, the study found."Ironically, it means the rest of the world gets this free lunch because all that capital that would have gone into building America's future growth will now get invested somewhere else, mainly Canada, Mexico, and China, as well as Australia," McKibbin told Business Insider. Though Trump promises an America First economic agenda, McKibbin said that taking control of the Fed would get him the opposite results.According to the study, the economy would hit a low point in 2028 and begin rebounding."But not back to where you were," McKibbin said.He said the capital stock would feel the impact for a long time, and full recovery could take decades.While Trump's specific ideas about the Fed remain murky, some of his allies are quietly drafting plans on how to strip the central bank of independence, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/trump-allies-federal-reserve-independence-54423c2f">the Wall Street Journal reported</a>. The 10-page manifesto apparently includes policy shifts and suggests the president should have a direct say over interest rates. Sources told the Journal the group thinks Trump should be able to fire Jerome Powell as Fed chair before his term ends in 2026.Trump hasn't publicly acknowledged the plans and his advisors said they're not endorsed by the campaign. McKibbin and his fellow researchers did not examine Vice President Kamala Harris' policies in the same way because, according to the paper, she has not "proposed any major departures from the Biden administration's policies and none with as significant international economic implications as Trump's."Still, McKibbin said he wishes there was more research on the subject. He doesn't think the public is paying enough attention to the risks of Trump's Fed proposals or the overall murkiness of the candidates' economic policy. Neither Trump nor <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-kamala-harris-opportunity-economy-2024-9">Harris</a> has shared much about how to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-harris-economy-tech-debate-tariffs-taxes-2024-9">enact their proposals</a> or their long-term economic impacts."If you're going to advocate a policy, there has to be evidence as to why you're advocating that policy," McKibbin said.The policy haziness persists even as the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-us-economy-would-look-like-with-trump-biden-presidency-2024-5">economy is a top issue for many voters</a> and potentially the deciding issue in the election.

A researcher who studied Trump's plans to control the Fed said it could tank the economy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>North Korea fighting alongside Russia would be a serious escalation to the Ukraine war.</li><li>NATO and Western allies are facing pressure to respond — but have historically been hesitant.</li></ul>Western allies have options to react to the threat of North Korean troops in Russia, but are hamstrung by fears of escalation, military experts told Business Insider. On Monday, the Pentagon<a target="_blank" href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/article/3948100/pentagon-deputy-press-secretary-sabrina-singh-holds-an-off-camera-on-the-record/"> said</a> that 10,000 North Korean troops had been shipped to Russia for training and were likely to join Russian forces"over the next several weeks." NATO chief Mark Rutte said that some troops are already in Kursk, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_230105.htm">calling</a> the move "a significant escalation." He added that it is "yet another" contravention of UN Security Council resolutions. He said the bloc is "actively consulting" on what to do next. Despite these statements — and a similar chorus of condemnation from Western governments — few commitments have been made. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration, saying that his allies' response was "not so loud as it has to be" in reaction to the North Korean threat,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-war-in-ukraine-russia-north-korean-troops-western-allies-response/"> Politico reported</a>. "Till now, we heard some reactions, but it is not strong enough," he added. <h2>A watershed moment?</h2>In itself, 10,000 more troops in Russia's war in Ukraine is not a game changer, Patrick Bury, a military analyst at the UK's University of Bath, told BI. The troops, many with no experience in real war situations, could also be of limited help. There is reason, however, to imagine the numbers could rise. North Korea has steadily ramped up its cooperation with Russia, reportedly supplying<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/north-korea-supplies-half-of-the-shells-used-by-russia-in-ukraine-d3fkhppjs"> half of all artillery shells</a> used in Ukraine in the last year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has the fourth-largest standing army in the world, so there is no shortage of troops. Crucially, experts consider his regime to be receiving<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-military-officials-helping-russia-ukraine-win-for-kim-2024-10"> an economic and technological lifeline</a> in exchange. Edward Hunter Christie, a former NATO official and a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, described the dangers of the partnership as "a much more serious test of resolve for the West than most people currently realize." He added: "There's a reluctance to act." This at least means there will be no rash decisions, he said. Christie, along with other experts BI spoke to, described a hesitancy and fear of escalation among Ukraine's biggest Western partners that amounts to alack of overall strategy. <h2>The West has some options — and a history of slapping them down</h2>When it comes to options for the US and Europe, "the tools are the same tools that have been there all along," Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com./news/articles/2024-10-28/ukraine-allies-face-limited-options-as-north-korea-troops-arrive?embedded-checkout=true"> told Bloomberg.</a> That includes the ad-hoc trickling through of aid packages like one<a target="_blank" href="https://kyivindependent.com/norways-pm-announces-new-500-million-euro-aid-package-for-ukraine/"> recently announced by Norway</a>. It also includes things that have long been ruled out, like allowing Ukraine to make long-range strikes in Russia with Western-supplied missiles. A bipartisan group in Congress has called on Biden to allow Poland to intercept Russian missiles in Ukrainian airspace, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4960374-biden-poland-air-defense-ukraine/">The Hill reported</a>. It's a move that NATO's former chief Jens Stoltenberg had earlier ruled out, saying it would risk the alliance "becoming part of the conflict," the outlet reported. South Korea, too, has said it is considering sending military aid directly to Ukraine. It's an unprecedented move that could prove highly beneficial, but which the state is hesitant to make,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-ukraine-weapons-big-difference-russia-north-korea-2024-10"> experts told BI</a>. Lithuania's foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, has also revived a suggestion made in February by France's President Emmanuel Macron of not ruling out the deployment of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/french-president-wont-rule-out-sending-troops-ukraine-2024-2">NATO troops in Ukraine</a>, in support roles. "We are still on the back foot, reacting to escalation instead of reversing it,"<a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/GLandsbergis/status/1848006509013225679"> Landsbergis wrote on X</a>. "Macron's ideas should now be revisited." That idea was earlier<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everyone-angry-germany-series-screw-ups-leaks-scholz-macron-ukraine-2024-3"> publicly slapped down</a> by Germany's Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Such a move "would free up a lot of resources for Ukraine," said Ann Marie Dailey, a geopolitical strategist at RAND. It would also send an important signal to Russia, she said: "That they don't have dominance on the escalation ladder." <h2>The escalation trap</h2>President Joe Biden's administration — along with much of Western Europe — has largely avoided actions that could be seen as escalating the conflict. The fact that now a serious escalation looks possible thanks to North Korea is an indication of the failure of that policy, Christie told BI. The US presidential election and the impending change of administration also puts a chilling effect on any dramatic changes in policy for the coming months, he said. "We live in an age of US-led hesitancy within the Western world, which just keeps on failing us, which just keeps on increasing the level of danger to the security of the collective West," he said. The bind for the Biden administration is not only in dealing with two nuclear states, but also that North Korea's belligerence could cause the conflict to spill over toward its southern neighbor and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-muted-response-russia-north-korea-alliance-costly-ukraine-economy-2024-10">damage relations with China.</a> Western states are likely to have been quietly hoping that China might step in diplomatically and dissuade North Korea, Christie said. At some point, the West has to react decisively, he argued. Dailey told BI: "The problem with having a strategy of de-escalation is that if that is your stated strategy, you've already ceded every step on the escalation ladder to the enemy." In Bury's view, the West's problem is that it cannot even agree on its broader strategy, let alone decide how to implement it. "The broader point here is: the West, we're not doing the strategy," he said. "We're muddling through."

What can the West do about North Korea giving troops to Russia? Not much it hasn't already flinched from.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Americans' diets have remained largely unchanged since 1999, according to a new study.</li><li>Meals remain high in processed foods that can increase a person's risk of disease.</li></ul>Americans are eating healthier than in previous years, but they still have a long way to go, according to a researcher who studies food as medicine.Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University in Boston, co-authored a study on the quality of nearly 52,000 American adults' diets between 1999 and 2020. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M24-0190">results</a> were published online Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Mozaffarian and his co-author, Junxiu Liu, examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that the American diet has remained nearly the same over the past two decades. Between 1999 and 2020, 10.5% of study participants transitioned from "poor" diets to healthier diets with more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and less sodium, processed meat, and saturated fat. But only 1% of study participants ate an "ideal" diet — 4 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily, plus beans, whole grains, and nuts — during that same time period."People often ask me, 'Well, if the diet's slowly improving, why is obesity and diabetes still going up?' It's still going up because only 1.58% of Americans have an ideal diet. We still have a long way to go," Mozaffarian told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/17/health/improve-diet-quality-tips-wellness/index.html">CNN</a>."We have stalled as a nation — and that does not bode well for our health. If I was grading America on its diet, I'd give it a D—just up from an F," Mozaffarian said.<h2 id="645b3920-d5b9-4d14-868f-c48fe2d6ed79">Why are Americans failing in the diet department?</h2>Typically, the American diet consists of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-processed-food-2019-5">ultra-processed foods</a> and foods high in salt and sugar. These foods can increase a person's risk of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cancer-prevention-lifestyle-changes-dietitian-advice-healthy-eating-2024-5">cancer</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-making-ultra-processed-foods-healthier-in-major-new-study-2024-6">heart disease, stroke, and early death</a>Accordingng to Heidi Silver, a registered dietitian and director of the Vanderbilt Diet, Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashvil, factors like food insecurity and poverty have contributed to the overall lack of improvement in peoples' diets over the last two decadesle."Food insecurity affects diet quality via lower consumption of healthier foods, especially those that are more expensive, don't have a long shelf life and don't provide enough volume to fill a hungry child," Silver told <a target="_blank" href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/american-diets-improve-remain-poor-210006855.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIxQY8jqfhJZ3nx6GI2CtFozsjcKqPHfZhqg_rC9m-24aGDD3TjXfwdJHkeL65FOYo0wJAreBHfWpuUPOMTPw-43gndFGf3yxht1rIDsCj0IE3tNCRJY2szyhtRlrWX0oGzNtmVtXPIHHiiQjGoJPzLm36OE9ISBfPoUBCvEg_ge">Yahoo</a>.These systemic limitations can make it difficult for food-insecure populations like Black people, older people, and low-income people to make lasting diet changes.<h2 id="8710d05f-4de3-497e-a0da-5d101197b1d3">Simple diet tweaks could help reduce health risks</h2>For those seeking simple and inexpensive ways to improve their diets, removing sugary drinks is a good first step, according to Dr. Gregory Katz, a cardiologist at NYU Langone."<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cardiologist-shares-easy-way-avoid-biggest-calorie-heart-health-mistake-2024-6">Drinking calories and drinking alcohol</a> are the biggest modifiable risk factors. The number of people I see drinking 500 calories a day blows my mind," Katz told Business Insider's Gabby Landsverk. "Just because it's simple doesn't make it easy."Katz suggested doing away with soda, juice, sugar-laden coffee drinks, and cocktails and replacing them with unsweetened tea or water flavored with a splash of juice or flavored with citrus.Aiming to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harvard-researcher-healthy-swaps-to-cut-processed-foods-improve-brain-gut-health-2024-6">swap out two servings of processed foods</a> each week is another strategy that doesn't involve overhauling your entire diet, according to Dr. W. Taylor Kimberly. Kimberly, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and the senior author of a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209432">study</a> linking ultra-processed foods to health risks like dementia and stroke.You could, for example, swap French fries for a baked sweet potato or nosh on nuts and carrots instead of cookies and crackers.Kimberly said that a good rule of thumb is to prepare meals at home as much as possible."If you look at it and think, that could be made in my kitchen, that's a good indicator," he said.

Americans are just about failing when it comes to nutrition, says a food-as-medicine researcher. A few simple diet tweaks could help.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>You can make thousands of dollars by donating some time or body parts to science.</li><li>But these procedures are not all painless, and not everyone can participate.</li></ul>Get dysentery. Play cards with someone who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clinical-trial-participant-pay-erase-credit-card-debt-2024-2">has the flu</a>. Or, spend 45 days trapped in a tiny apartment with three total strangers.These are just a few of the many ways you can get paid for helping out with scientific research. If you want to aid the science community and potentially save some lives while making a little extra cash, there are some unconventional options to consider.Below is a short list, though be warned: these strategies aren't all exactly easy money.<h2 id="3c59b846-ed49-45b2-96d6-5bed88659c4a">Sell your blood plasma</h2><div type="image" title="A woman wearing a white lab coat and hair net works in a laboratory examining bags of plasma from blood." height="1361" width="1815" msid="110573073" hostid="261" sizebytes="147044"></div>Payout (per donation): around $50Plasma is the largest component in human blood. It's a protein-rich liquid that contains mostly water but is also filled with enzymes, antibodies, and salts. This gooey, sticky yellow-ish stuff can be used to create therapies that treat people with blood clotting disorders, autoimmune diseases, and even burn victims. Donating plasma is often called "the gift of life" since treatments for some conditions can't be made synthetically and require this kind of human contribution.During plasma donation, blood is drawn and an automated machine separates the plasma from other blood components, which are returned to the donor. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/is-donating-plasma-good-side-hustle">Plasma donation pay</a> varies from site to site, but the average payout is typically around $50 per donation. You can donate safely roughly once a month, according to the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/types-donations/plasma-donation">American Red Cross</a>, and a typical session takes less than two hours. Find a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.donatingplasma.org/donation/find-a-donor-center">licensed and certified plasma center</a> near you.<h2 id="c299f302-a1f6-4b10-85f3-00c047a47a65">Donate your sex cells</h2><div type="image" title="A woman wearing a blue medical gown crosses her legs and covers her crotch with her hands." height="720" width="960" msid="110573074" hostid="261" sizebytes="28336"></div>Payout for eggs (per donation): usually $10,000 to $12,000;Payout for sperm (per donation): typically $35-$150Egg and sperm donation can allow couples who have trouble conceiving naturally to become parents by using a donor's sex cells. But the time commitment and risk involved in a woman's egg donation is far steeper than what a man goes through donating his sperm.In the United States, egg donors generally net around $10,000-$12,000. Weill Cornell outlines the standard <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://eggdonor.weillcornell.org/whats_involved/">steps for egg donation</a>, which requires about a four-week time commitment.During the egg donation cycle, patients are injected with fertility drugs so that the ovaries make more mature eggs than normal. (Eligible women are generally between the ages of 21 and 30). The egg retrieval procedure takes about 20 minutes but may require several days of recovery. Donors should be aware of the risks involved (largely related to the hormones used) before signing up.Men are generally paid anywhere from $35 to $150 per sperm donation, according to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://donors.thespermbankofca.org/">The Sperm Bank of California</a>, but sperm donation can really start to add up if you regularly donate samples (many programs require a six-month or one-year donation commitment).Donors should bear in mind that even if they choose to donate anonymously, sperm and egg donation is never really 100% incognito. Your DNA always knows who you are.<h2 id="c30eb745-1d1a-4ae6-a518-d5c1bfffb975">Spend 45 days on a fake spaceship</h2><div type="image" title="A man and woman work inside NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog, a capsule designed to simulate a spacecraft" height="586" width="1041" msid="110573075" hostid="261" sizebytes="75320"></div>Payout: $160/dayNASA will pay you to spend 45 days traveling in space. Well, sort of.You'll actually be on the ground the whole time in Houston, Texas, but you'll be locked inside a model space capsule (650 square feet) along with three strangers. This simulation is designed to study what being cooped up for a very long time inside a spaceship might do to a person, both physically and mentally. NASA wants to check this out thoroughly before they start sending astronauts on missions to Mars, or to explore faraway asteroids.Participants in NASA's human research program share a capsule with each other that includes some workspace for doing lab experiments, a little kitchen table for eating meals that are just like what's served aboard the International Space Station, plus an exercise bike and some free weights. There's no internet, but you do get your own little cozy sleeping pod on the top floor.The fake astronauts "on board" the capsule in May and June of 2024 include an aerospace engineering professor, a US Air Force Reserve member, a commercial pilot, and a biomedical engineer.And that mission is nothing compared to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-simulation-job-pay-qualifications-application-chapea-mission-2024-2">NASA's CHAPEA Mars simulation</a>, which keeps recruits in a simulated habitat of the red planet for 378 days. (NASA declined to comment on how much CHAPEA pays).<h2 id="7f0066f1-ade8-4f6a-a3cd-7c5383d36e88">Take part in a clinical trial</h2><div type="image" title="A woman in a purple shirt smiles as another woman draws blood from her arm." height="657" width="500" msid="110573076" hostid="261" sizebytes="27978"></div>Payout: Varies by programThe National Institutes of Health run a searchable database, <a target="_blank" href="http://ClincalTrials.gov">ClincalTrials.gov</a>, that rounds up human clinical studies ongoing around the world. Participants may be guinea pigs for new medical products, like drugs to treat high blood pressure, or they take part in observational research, like a study that records the effects of different lifestyles on heart health.Subjects are generally paid to participate in such clinical trials, and most of the time, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. For example, a participant in one study in which participants were exposed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/man-drank-smoothie-that-gave-him-dysentery-for-vaccine-trial-2022-4">dysentery-causing bacteria</a> was paid over $7,000, while a single blood draw or lab visit for a more straightforward study may only be worth $100 or so.If you do decide to enroll in a study, choose wisely and carefully because <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/about-site/disclaimer">not all of the studies on the site are regulated</a> or evaluated for safety by the US Food and Drug Administration.<h2 id="9e5d70cb-4b97-4a29-920d-493bf19a1739">Enroll in a psychological study</h2><div type="image" title="Two friends sit on an orange couch playing video games." height="1321" width="1761" msid="110573077" hostid="261" sizebytes="278668"></div>Payout: Varies by programPaid psychological studies, such as those that examine human behavior and brain function, may not generate as high of a return as clinical trials, but they are generally lower risk and require a shorter time commitment.Most research universities keep an online database of studies so people can easily sign up. For example, here's a list of the most recent <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://as.nyu.edu/psychology/research/participate-in-research/paid-studies.html">paid research studies offered by New York University</a>. At NYU, you can make $12 an hour playing video games, and receive a $50 bonus if you're good at it.<h2 id="fdff9d09-8115-44a3-a5c5-4e0c10b1bfd1">Give your dead body to science</h2><div type="image" title="A man in a white lab coat, safety goggles, and purple medical gloves dissects a tissue sample from a cadaver." height="2498" width="2966" msid="110573078" hostid="261" sizebytes="219708"></div>Payout: free cremationThis last idea is sort of morbid, but if you're worried about being a bother when you're dead, you can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-working-at-a-body-donation-center-is-like-2019-12">donate your body to science</a>. This helps with various types of research and education.Places like <a target="_blank" href="http://biogift.org/">BioGift</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sciencecare.com/whole-body-donation-faq/">Science Care</a> will cover the costs of cremation, which can run upwards of $2,000.

How to make money from medical research and donations

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Donald Trump has touted plans to raise trade barriers and replace income tax with tariffs.</li><li>That's prompted a wave of criticism, with many economists warning of inflation and trade wars.</li></ul>With the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/7456/Who-will-win-the-2024-US-presidential-election">odds</a> of a Donald Trump White House at <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/trump-election-odds-treasury-bond-yields-inflation-deficit-debt-economy-2024-7">a new high</a>, economists and market forecasters have been wrapping their heads around what the new regime will look like.As with most things Trump-related, there's a serious divide between outlooks, and his fiscal platform is no different. Experts hold drastically different views, creating a new hot-button topic that will continue to be debated up until the election in November.Trump's proposed fiscal path contains multiple elements, the first being tariffs. In a bid to tilt trade in favor of the US, Trump has made wide-sweeping duties a cornerstone of his international platform. Virtually all US imports would be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariff-plan-inflation-policy-impact-trade-war-china-rates-2024-5">taxed at 10%</a>, he's said, though this rate would be as high as 60% for key competitors, such as China. It's a much more aggressive approach than Biden's actions so far, which have included a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.Trump has also floated the idea of using tariffs in place of the US income tax. The plan was well received by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-tariffs-trade-war-inflation-income-tax-cuts-debt-2024-6">House Republicans who first heard it</a>.But in certain economic circles, many have disagreed with these policies while warnings of price hikes and global trade wars.<h2 id="5d1c30a8-1a73-4c8c-95cc-e22c24ba2488">The camp staunchly opposed to Trump's policies</h2>The base argument against Trump's fiscal platform is that tariffs are, by nature, inflationary. According to the nonpartisan <a target="_blank" href="https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-biden-tariffs/">Tax Foundation</a>, when imported goods get levied, their producers either lift prices or pull the product out. That lowers supply, boosting costs on domestic goods as well.JPMorgan's chief global strategist David Kelly has called the proposals an "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stagflation-recession-trump-policy-tariff-immigration-deportation-economy-outlook-jpmorgan-2024-7">elixir for stagflation</a>." That description was outdone by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who characterized the income-tax-replacement idea as the "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariff-income-tax-proposal-stagflation-yellen-summers-trade-war-2024-6">mother of all stagflations</a>."Further, Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman recently made the argument in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/opinion/tariffs-trump-china-taxes.html">New York Times op-ed</a> that Trump's proposed tariffs would benefit only the wealthiest Americans. He also predicted that 80% of US consumers would end up losing after-tax income.In numerical terms, Goldman Sachs estimated that the policies would cause US GDP to drop 0.5%, while pushing inflation up 1.1 percentage point. The firm says that's enough to force a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariff-trade-policy-barrier-income-tax-rate-hikes-krugman-2024-7#:~:text=Trump%27s%20wide%2Dreaching%20tariff%20plan,%25%2C%20Nobel%2Dwinning%20economist%20says&amp;text=Trump%27s%20proposed%20tariffs%20would%20benefit,%2Dtax%20income%2C%20he%20said">130-basis-point increase</a> in interest rates, at a time when most investors want borrowing costs to climb down.The Peterson Institute offers a more drastic outcome: a full-fledged global trade war. The nonpartisan think tank notes that the last time blanket tariffs were implemented nearly a century ago, it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariff-trade-war-risk-china-exports-great-depression-economy-2024-5">contributed to the Great Depression</a>.But not everyone shares this degree of skepticism.<h2 id="8c18cb08-2648-4da1-af4b-98e9f0a497cf">The camp that says it won't be as bad as feared</h2>Longtime market veteran Ed Yardeni, the president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, falls into this group.In a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/73a7a056-1941-4e90-8d28-435d9de9cc71">op-ed for the Financial Times</a>, he cited the "benign" impact Trump's first-term tariffs had on the US economy. He noted that real GDP rose to a record 8.5% between the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2019, leading up to the pandemic. Further, inflation stayed at about 2% that whole time.Looking ahead to a new term, Yardeni thinks Trump's most extreme pursuits will likely be watered down by Congress. He also says Republicans' pro-business support for oil and gas production will keep a lid on consumer prices and counteract inflationary pressure.Famed "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman was more bluntly skeptical of inflation impact in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMABPTMmF3U">recent CNBC interview</a>:"Do I think that Donald Trump will increase tariffs on China? Sure. Do I think that would have a massively inflationary impact on the US? I think that's ridiculous."Republican donor Kyle Bass — who serves as the chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management — has taken a different tact in his support of Trump's fiscal agenda. He thinks Trump is intentionally over-exaggerating his plan, and what he would actually enact would be more restrained."Hyperbole is useful to kick the hornet's nest," he told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0dgI5AxhzY">CNBC</a> last month.<h2 id="058337c1-4aba-4ec1-9982-ed5e410d4845">It ultimately depends on Congress</h2>The Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz represents a sort of middle ground between the two polarized factions. Although he was one of 16 economists to sign an open letter warning that Trump's policies could drive inflation higher, he also says — similar to Yardeni — that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-presidency-policies-inflation-economy-americans-joseph-stiglitz-letter-2024-6">a lot depends on Congress</a>."I think general consensus, not just my view, but almost anybody modeling what is going on would say the Trump administration would be more inflationary," he told Business Insider. "How much more depends on how radical they are. And that depends on where Congress is."The chart below from Oxford Economics shows these unique dynamics in action. Although the a "full-blown Trump" administration would be the most inflationary outcome during the next presidential term, the data shows that a Trump win under a divided government would be less inflationary than a "baseline Biden" regime.<div type="image" title="Chart comparing inflation in different election scenarios" height="1406" width="1716" msid="111715410" hostid="261" sizebytes="56546"></div>

Trump's trade and tax policies are the new hot-button topic dividing economists and market experts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Biodiversity loss and human impacts are becoming a key component in climate change conversations. </li><li>Experts discuss their views on how biodiversity loss and climate change are also impacting the financial sector. </li><li>The conversation was part of Insider's event "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate," which took place on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.</li></ul>As the symptoms of climate change worsen so too do natural disasters, extreme weather events, and food and water scarcity. Wildlife experts and researchers are pressing for more attention to be paid to how the climate crisis is affecting not only humans but also the alarming loss of biodiversity. Dr. Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes at the World Resources Institute spoke with Catherine Boudreau, senior sustainability reporter at Insider, about biodiversity loss in the past decade. Chomba said, "This is hugely driven by, of course, human factors. Human beings, the way we live, the way we cultivate our food, the way we go ahead with our businesses in different dimensions of our lives."In the session Together for a Greener Tomorrow part of the "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate" Dr. Michal Nachmany, CEO and Founder of Climate Policy Radar echoed Choma's sentiments. Nachmany said, "I think between the micro and the macro, between the rhinoceros and the fungi, we need to remember that there are critical services that we don't even know how they are interconnected to each other."<h2>Biodiversity's climate change connection</h2>Chomba said that people often make policy based on a "siloed approach." In terms of climate change she said, "It's really affecting a lot of actors outside the policy environment, like the private sector actors in the energy sector, in the industrial, in the input side on the agriculture side, and of course transport."Nachmany agreed and added that humans love to think in terms of solutions. Nachmany said, "When it comes to biodiversity it is important to think of needs instead of solutions. If we think about what are human needs: humans need shelter, humansneed food, humans need a temperature range that is livable in. And all of those, the solutions that address both climate change and biodiversity conservation are the same solutions."<h2>Finance and Biodiversity</h2>Nachmany noted that the financial sector is trending towards a better understanding of sustainable investment. She said, "Without a livable planet, no investment is safe. We're seeing movement in very strange places, like large investor coalitions that all of a sudden care about nature positive investments."Chomba noted that people who can pay are the ones who are benefitting from biodiverse populations. Referring to the Congo Basin she said, "What we are seeing recently, and especially in a country like DRC, is the government last year decided to issue concessions to at least 27 concessions basically for any kind of use. Anybody who is willing to pay for the concessions gets the rights to use these lands." The Congo is home to critically endangered species and protected indigenous communities. Chomba said, "I think the case of DRC has really tested the global finance mechanisms and the global commitments to protection of biodiversity, to protection of carbon that is already in these ecosystems and to the protection of indigenous people."Catherine Boudreau:really glad that you mentioned finance because what I've been thinking about a lot is how as a society we don't really put a price on nature, even though it does have so much value to communities, to businesses, to governments. So as a result, there aren't always the best financial incentives to protect it when maybe there's more money to be made in other industries, whether it's oil or timber.Nature adds value to communities, businesses, and goverenments society doesn't necessarily put a price on nature. As an outcome governments can't find the best financial incentives to protect nature. Nachmany said, "Financial mechanisms and financial instruments are also a mechanism to ensure that polluting activities and damaging and destructive activities are capped and banned. So you asked if we can put a price on nature, and the question is, can we put a price on destroying nature?"<h2>Biodiversity and vulnerable populations</h2>Nachmany posited that the most vulnerable populations impacted by climate change are often the least likely contributors to the problem. He said, "We have vulnerable communities all over the world, but we see the people who are the strongest but also the ones impacted the most by climate change and biodiversity loss also the ones who have contributed the least towards creating it." On how to tackle biodiversity and the harm to vulnerable populations Chomba said, "The problem is, we don't have strong governance to access that that decentralized power and authority and decision making to these communities more. We still tend to have a lot of centralized regime in terms of how we manage our biodiversity, and that's a key issue."

Experts from the World Resources Institute and Climate Policy Radar discuss biodiversity and climate change.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>People cooped together in a station in Antarctica started speaking with a unique accent. </li><li>Scientists tracked the change over a six-month mission by listening to recordings of 29 common words. </li></ul>Living on the edges of the planets comes with an unexpected perk: you may pick up an exotic <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-people-making-fun-of-corporate-accent-on-tiktok-2024-1">accent</a> that's spoken only in Antarctica.A study, first reported <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240223-scientists-in-antarctica-developed-their-own-accent-after-six-months-of-isolation">by Richard Gray at the BBC</a>, found that over time Antarctic "winterers'" accents started shifting ever so slightly — a mishmash of the American, German, Icelandic, Scot, and Welsh accents being spoken at the station at the time.The research provides a snapshot into how <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-american-broadcasters-all-came-to-sound-the-same-2023-1">new accents</a> are developed when communities grow in isolation, like when English speakers colonized new countries and developed new accents.Researchers tracked the twang of 26 international researchers and support staff that spent six months in the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera Research Station in May 2018.These have little access to the outside world, as satellite calls are costly, providing a perfect test lab for linguistic research.Every few weeks, 11 winterers recorded a series of 29 common words like "food," "coffee," "hid," or "airflow," the BBC reported.The recordings were analyzed by researchers at the Institute of Phonetics and Speech Processing, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich.The researcher found gentle changes to the accents, including a slightly different way of saying the sound "ou" in the words "flow" and "sew," as well as tweak to a few consonants."It was very subtle — you can't hear the changes," Jonathan Harrington, professor of phonetics and speech and an author of the study, told the BBC.The Antarctica-dwellers also started picking up very peculiar slang like "fod plod" for litter picking — a play on the technical term "foreign object debris," per the BBC.This Antarctic drawl is likely to be short-lived, however."For accents to develop to the point where they are noticeable, it really takes a generational change," Harrington told the BBC.The research <a target="_blank" href="https://pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/article/146/5/3327/993882/Phonetic-change-in-an-Antarctic-winter">was published</a> in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Acoustical Society of America in 2019.

You Searched For "International Food Policy Research Institute" and got 11 results

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