STAT+: These 10 scientists are leading a new generation of gene editors developing CRISPR medicines

Science and Health

Barely 12 years after the publication of the first papers unveiling CRISPR-Cas9, a powerful enzyme for editing DNA, sickle cell patients are now receiving the first approved CRISPR-based medicine, Casgevy. Hundreds of patients with other inherited diseases, cancers, and chronic bacterial and viral infections are enrolled in clinical trials testing other CRISPR treatments. And tens of thousands of papers have been published detailing discoveries of new CRISPR enzymes, new ways to deliver them, and a mountain of preclinical data. (Many of these key advances can be found in STAT’s curated database, the CRISPR Tracker.)If you’ve been following the biomedical revolution now thoroughly underway, then you likely know the names of the scientific luminaries who kicked it all off. advertisement

There’s Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, the Nobel-prize winning authors of a 2012 Science paper that detailed how CRISPR-Cas9 worked in bacterial cells. Then there’s heavyweights Feng Zhang and George Church, who showed in a pair of papers published a few months later that the enzyme worked in human cells too. And of course, David Liu, whose lab invented CRISPR systems that, rather than cutting DNA, swapped a single letter (base editing) and deleted or added long strings of letters (prime editing).

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LIB’s Tyler Francis Clears Air on ‘Sperm Baby’ Scandal at Season 7 Reunion: ‘There’s No Rule Book’

Arts & Culture, Books

Love Is Blind Tyler Francis finally addressed the paternity scandal surrounding the season 7 star and wife Ashley Adionser during the Wednesday, October 30, reunion.
“Those kids, that family, they did not sign up for this. So what is happening now is I try to keep that from happening. Their birth certificates are online. Things that shouldn’t be happening are now happening,” Tyler, 35, said during the season 7 reunion after Vanessa Lachey asked him to clear up the paternity drama. “And to get into the story, I did help a friend and her wife start a family, but her wife ended up leaving her and left her high and dry.”
He continued, “This was my very close friend. So I stepped in, voluntarily stepped in and helped. So there is pictures of me around. You’ll see me around. I’ve spent holidays with all my friends, you know, all their kids. And I played a part that became very shaky with a friend.”
“There’s no rule books to this. There’s no set lines to this,” Tyler added. “But I do want to let people know, Ashley knows all this. This is news to the world. This has never been news to us.”
Tyler became emotional as costar Garrett Josemans showed him support. “I don’t owe anyone an explanation but my wife,” Tyler said. He and Ashley, 32, confirmed they are still going strong one year after tying the knot during the season 7 finale.

In a sneak preview trailer that dropped two days prior to the reunion airing, it seemed that Ashley, 32, and Tyler, 35, appeared to be working things out together.
“Who has better insight on what’s going on? Social media or me?” Ashley asked, while Tyler later admitted, “I don’t owe anyone an explanation but Ashley.”
Tyler and Ashley tied the knot in the October 23 finale, despite the fact that he waited to tell her that he fathered three children until episode 9 of Love Is Blind. The season was filmed in October 2023, while the reunion taped one year later.
The account executive told his future bride that he was a sperm donor for a couple he knew and was the biological father of two girls and a boy.
The following day after Ashley had time to absorb the news, she told Tyler, “I’m not upset by you trying to help a couple have kids. I think that’s admirable in certain ways, but the issue comes in with me feeling like I was not getting the full picture of you.”
“Once you’re not given the full picture of something, it’s hard not to question everything. Me being a single woman before this, to come into this scenario and fall in love with a guy who has three sperm babies, sperm-donor babies, is a lot to absorb,” she added.

Netflix
The duo went ahead with their wedding. After the ceremony, Ashley gushed, “I’m looking forward to daily simple things with you,” while Tyler added, “Just little things that makes her happy, weekly, monthly…”
“Then that builds up and then before we know it,” he continued, before Ashley finished his sentence, “Kids.”
Love Is Blind season 7 dropped on Netflix on October 2. Several days later, TikTok blogger Storytimewithrikkii shared a video alleging Tyler was the father of three kids “and he scrubbed them from his Instagram entirely when he found out he was gonna be on the show.”
She went on to claim that his 7-year-old son and twin 5-year-old daughters were conceived with Tyler as the sperm donor, but “he is very active in their lives.”
The children’s mother, Bri Thomas, came forward to slam Tyler’s claim that he was simply a “sperm donor” in an October 10 Instagram post.

“Yes, I am the mother of Tyler’s three children. I’m trying really hard to do this the right way, but I have no understanding why he would characterize his relationship with his children as he has,” she wrote. “I guess I have to speak on this, despite trying so hard not to. ‘Sperm babies’ they are not.”
A few hours later, Bri shared then deleted a holiday video where a little boy could be heard calling Tyler “dad,” explaining it was taken around Christmas 2022. “My children love their ‘Dad.’ To think that he has reduced them to ‘sperm babies,’ when I was told he was going on the show to be able to better provide for them,” she wrote.

According to Bri, her son was conceived via sperm donation while she was married to her ex-wife, Daeshon. Following her divorce, Bri said she and Tyler conceived the twins as a result of “natural unplanned intercourse with absolutely no complexity surrounding parentage.”

Ashley seemingly defended Tyler in the comments of an October 24 Instagram post, where a user left the comment, “I hope you never need egg donation. It’s not cool to make someone feel bad about it — it’s just genetic material, it’s not paternity.”
“Did you hear the part where I say, ‘I’m not mad at him trying to help a couple start a family…in fact I find it to be admirable!’” the marketing expert responded. “I would NEVER EVER demean anything about a woman’s fertility.”
In another comment Ashley explained, “I was upset that he didn’t share it with me sooner. I’d love to open this dialogue further. But for now I’ll say it’s more complicated when you donate to friends and family.”

XElemNet: A Machine Learning Framework that Applies a Suite of Explainable AI (XAI) for Deep Neural Networks in Materials Science

Science and Health

Deep learning has made advances in various fields, and it has made its way into material sciences as well. From tasks like predicting material properties to optimizing compositions, deep learning has accelerated material design and facilitated exploration in expansive materials spaces. However, explainability is an issue as they are ‘black boxes,’ so to say, hiding their inner working. This does not leave much room for the explanations and analysis of the predictions and poses an immense challenge to real applications. A team of Northwestern University researchers designed a solution, XElemNet, that focuses on XAI methods, which makes processes more transparent.

The existing methods focus primarily on complex deep architectures like ElemNet in estimating the material properties as the function of elemental composition and the formation energy of the material. Inherently, ‘black box’ type models limit deeper insight and pose a high chance of erroneous conclusions arising from reliance on correlations or features that do not depict physical reality. It elicits the need to design models that allow researchers to understand how AI predictions are achieved so they can trust them in decisions involving materials discovery.

XElemNet, the proposed solution, employs explainable AI techniques, particularly layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP), and integrates them into ElemNet. This framework depends on two primary approaches: post-hoc analysis and transparency explanations. Post-hoc analysis uses a secondary binary element dataset to investigate and understand the relationship intricacies of the features involved in the prediction. For instance, convex hull analysis helps visualize and understand how the model predicted the stability of various compounds. Other than explaining individual features, the global decision-making process is also brought to light by the model to foster a deeper understanding. Transparency explanations are quite imperative to derive insight into the workings of the model. The decision trees act as a surrogate model approximating the behavior of the deep learning network. This two-pronged methodology successfully enhances predictive accuracy and generates critical insights regarding material properties relevant to the material sciences.

In conclusion, this paper addresses the issue of explainable AI within materials science by introducing the model XElemNet to the problem of interpretability in deep learning models. The work is essential because it is accompanied by robust validation processes involved in large training sets and innovative post-hoc analysis techniques to achieve a deeper understanding of behavior. However, there may be technical issues in the form of a need for cross-validation over different datasets to verify its generalizability across the different types and material properties. The authors have addressed accuracy versus interpretability. That is very good and something that has come as a growing realization from the scientific community: only through trustworthiness would they take up AI technologies into practical applications. This work underlines the integration of explainability into AI applications in the field of materials science. It hence opens up prospects for even more reliable, interpretable models, a factor that may impact material discovery and optimization in quite a radical fashion. Being a highly interesting field to further innovate and develop upon, XElemNet represents an advancement towards explainable AI answering a call by both predictive performance and transparency.

Check out the Paper. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and join our Telegram Channel and LinkedIn Group. If you like our work, you will love our newsletter.. Don’t Forget to join our 55k+ ML SubReddit.

[Trending] LLMWare Introduces Model Depot: An Extensive Collection of Small Language Models (SLMs) for Intel PCs

Visitor industry seeks public input in tourism recovery plan

Travel

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories as The Guam Daily Post takes a deep dive into Guam’s ailing visitor industry.With tourism numbers down for well over a year, a plan forward could reflect the ideas and suggestions of the public, as the collective of independent tourism executives including members of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association, Guam Travel and Tourism Association and Japan Guam Tourism Association, who created the Guam Recovery Plan, are calling for input from the community.The first draft of the Guam Recovery Plan was unveiled during a Guam Visitors Bureau board of directors meeting held Oct. 24. It’s now available for public viewing online. The draft plan is accompanied by an online survey where members of the public can offer their input.“This document lays the foundation for a collaborative recovery strategy to be developed by the Guam Visitors Bureau in partnership with the private sector and overseen by the GVB board,” the Guam Recovery Plan website stated.The survey, which references the Guam Recovery Plan, asks the public to rate Guam’s overall current marketing effort and effectiveness. It also asks people to provide comments or suggestions for improving marketing.According to the Guam Recovery Plan, the path forward begins with “publicly acknowledging and validating assumptions through source market research.”“Some initiatives, such as adding Korea flights, will yield immediate results, while others, like brand repositioning, will take time. Guam anticipates 2025 as a rebuilding year, with significant progress by 2026 and full recovery to 2019 levels by 2027. However, without decisive action, Guam risks remaining at 50% of 2019 arrivals, leading to further business closures and a downward spiral of fewer arrivals and economic decline,” the recovery plan said.The collective of private sector tourism executives and industry professionals that developed the draft plan said that $50 million is needed over two years, “$32 million in Year 1 and $18 million in Year 2.”“However, with limited immediate funding, GVB can allocate the full $14 million from its reserves and $7 million from (the Tourist Attraction Fund) surplus for 2025. Additional support will be needed, including increased TAF allocations for 2026 and beyond,” the plan states.The survey notes that the Guam Recovery Plan proposes a focus on three unique selling points: culture, “Where America’s Day Begins,” and unique experiences and attractions.Unique selling points, according to the recovery plan, are “essential in differentiating a destination from competitors, offering travelers distinct reasons to travel.”“In an increasingly competitive tourism landscape, a clear understanding and promotion of these unique attributes is crucial to stand out,” the plan said. “USPs should provide the foundation for Guam’s marketing efforts, creating a distinct brand identity that appeals to modern travelers seeking more meaningful journeys.”The survey asks if the three USP focal points are important and which is most important, or if there are other “truly unique selling points for Guam.”The survey also asks participants to gauge how important culture is to defining Guam’s image as a unique destination and how important it is to “driving arrivals.”It proposes seven marketing tactics and asks which are best, while welcoming other marketing suggestions.The tactics listed include Premium Guam, which targets higher-spending guests; Feature Guam, highlighting unique attractions and options tours; Value Guam, which involves coupons for upgrades and value-adds; location subsidies to attract media; travel coupons; and digital marketing, to include influencers and niche marketing.Building on what will attract tourist arrivals, the survey contains questions about events such as the EDM Music Water Festival, sporting events, international food competitions and festivals, asking which the participant believes is best. It also asks how many a year would be worthwhile, noting that signature events can cost $500,000 or more, and a minor event would cost $250,000.With improving Guam’s tourism economy in mind, the survey asks participants to rate product improvements in airport arrival experience, cleanliness and beautification, major upgrades to Tumon, clean sightseeing spots and improved security.The survey notes that “airport transportation is still based on the old paradigm of large tour buses, even though (free independent travelers) are now most of the market. Some people have suggested that transportation from the airport to hotels needs to change and improve.”The survey asks which the participant believes is best.Participants are encouraged to review the Guam Recovery Plan before filling out the survey. Those who complete the survey will have the opportunity to offer suggestions toward improving arrivals and make statements directed at the Guam Visitors Bureau board.The plan and the survey can be found at guamrecoveryplan.com.

Political science professors offer insight on upcoming election

Science and Health

As election day nears, feelings of apprehension and confusion riddle voters. An extensive ballot requires a large amount of research, which, when combined with an already heavy workload and busy schedule, can often seem impossible to complete. However, for political science professors, being informed is part of the job.In anticipation of Nov. 5, visiting assistant professor of political science Kyle Hull and his colleagues encourage students to do the research necessary to cast an informed vote.“More research is always better,” Hull said. “The more you can read about in advance, the better.”Hull said one of the best resources students from any state can use to get informed on both national and local elections is Ballotpedia, a website that breaks down the views of candidates and explains ballot measures. Students voting in Nebraska can also look to the Secretary of State’s informational packet for answers to questions about ballot initiatives.Intaking information is one thing; understanding it is another. Assistant political science professor Geoff Lorenz said students can actively contribute to their community by gaining knowledge about civics in order to make an informed vote.“Mostly, I engage and encourage my students to be active citizens by training them in civic skills—data literacy, persuasive communication, and understanding the challenges inherent in organizing for a political cause,” Lorenz said.Ballot initiatives are important to be educated on because they have the potential to greatly affect day-to-day life, according to Hull. This year, with two competing abortion-related initiatives on the ballot, understanding them may prove difficult, Hull said.“434 would, if passed, constitutionalize the state law, which is a ban (on abortion) after 12 weeks, so after the end of the first trimester. For 439, a vote yes is constitutionalizing the right to abortion before fetal viability,” Hull said. “So, between those two, if they were to both pass, the one with the more ‘yes’ votes wins.”Ethnic studies and political science professor Alice Kang said those who are not fully informed on election day should still cast a ballot and skip the portions they’re unsure of.“It’s okay if you skip some of the questions on the ballot. You could vote for just one candidate or on one ballot initiative and leave it at that,” Kang said. “It’s totally up to you how you want to vote. And then next time, you could look up more information and vote on more candidates and issues.”According to Lorenz, those who don’t fully support either presidential candidate should still cast their ballot for one of them.“Until our electoral rules change, you should still vote for the candidate of the major party closest to your preferences and values,” Lorenz said. “Think of it less as voting for your avatar in government and more like voting for your negotiating partner. If no candidate is at your preferred position, you want the candidate who is going to be easiest to move to your preferred position.”Lorenz said another reason that students hesitate to vote is the belief that their votes don’t count or will not influence the results of the election.“Every vote counts. This year in particular, there are potentially close races and some pretty important ballot initiatives. Depending on where you vote and the issue at hand, some outcomes could come down to a difference of a few thousand votes,” Kang said. “If you feel that the electoral contest you care about is already predetermined, there is still something to be said about making your voice heard through your vote.” Political science professor Kevin Smith said that voters should not let the general election overshadow local issues and elections, as those have as much or a greater impact on a students’ life.“In terms of the impact on your day to day life, it’s actually people at the state and the local level. They’re the ones who are responsible for the stuff we all notice,” Smith said. “I think it’s important to inform yourself, simply because those down ballot races deal with issues that are more likely to have an effect on a student’s day to day life.”According to Lorenz, it’s important for young people to become civically engaged as new generations begin their transition into power.“Our two most recent presidents have been, shall we say, of a certain age, and Congress has been dominated by Baby Boomers for decades, but that’s starting to change,” Lorenz said. “Gen Zers have distinctive experiences and values… and you see critical local, state, and national issues with fresh eyes. You’re not just pivotal to the future, you’re important right now.”[email protected]

Roxane Gay! Tom Wolfe! Love in the time of apocalypse! 24 books out in paperback this November!

Arts & Culture, Books

October 31, 2024, 4:14am

November is here, and what a wild November it already seems it will be, particularly for those of us in the United States bracing for the aftermath of our presidential election, for there will almost certainly be chaos regardless of the victor. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been dreading this month.Article continues after advertisementRemove Ads
Still, there are some comforting constants to look forward to, as well, including the fact that there are remarkable and resonant new books to look forward to. In this list, you’ll find twenty-four books newly out in paperback this month, featuring a dazzling selection of writers new and established alike in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. If you missed them in hardcover or want to pick up an exciting new edition of a classic, you’ll want to check these out throughout the month.
It will be a November to be nervous in, perhaps, but one that will be made a bit more bearable—and even, with some optimistic luck, lovely—with some of these in our book piles.
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Gabrielle Korn, Yours for the Taking(St. Martin’s Griffin)
“Gatekeeping girlboss insidiousness, climate injustice and ecological inequality, love in the time of perpetual apocalypse—Korn’s thrilling work of speculative fiction, about billionaire-funded bubbles designed to seal off select people from inhospitable living conditions, trains a big, queer black mirror on the sociopolitical iniquities of our time.”–Electric Literature

Lexi Freiman, The Book of Ayn(Catapult)
“A furious, jagged and radiant reckoning with the dangers of the manifesto, the mortifications of aging, the mercies and limitations of the comic posture, the job of the novelist and the indiscriminate desecration it demands.”–The New York Times Book ReviewArticle continues after advertisementRemove Ads

Sigrid Nunez, The Vulnerables(Penguin)
“Strikes the difficult balance of being both elegiac and comedic as it seeks to explore what it means to be alive during our complex moment in history. Like much of her work, Nunez’s latest seeks brief and blisteringly beautiful moments of connection, which burn ever brighter amid the haunting loneliness she crafts.”–Chicago Review of Books

Roxane Gay, Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business(Harper Perennial)Article continues after advertisementRemove Ads
“Insightful, witty and accessible prose….Gay has an ability to blend the personal and political in a way that feels simultaneously gentle and brutal….For 1,400 or so words you look at a cultural moment through Gay’s eyes and, by the end, you see the world differently.”–The Guardian

Lauren Elkin, Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art(Picador)
“Like her many subjects, Elkin is a stylish, determined provocateur…and also careful and diligent about demonstrating her arguments. It’s a very satisfying combination. She has a clear and elegant style reminiscent of other sharp and cool feminist academia thinkers, such as Sara Ahmed and Maggie Nelson….Art Monsters is not prescriptive or instructive—better, it’s exemplary. It describes a whole way to live, worthy of secret admiration.”–The Washington Post
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Dick Gregory, Christian Gregory (editor), The Essential Dick Gregory(Amistad Press)
“A useful bookend to a public figure who wielded humor with vigor and an astuteness to the American condition perhaps matched only by Mark Twain.”–The Washington Post

Ishion Hutchinson, School of Instructions: A Poem(FSG)
“Hutchinson decolonizes the epic in this chronicle of West Indian soldiers….Interwoven with episodes from the life of a Jamaican schoolboy in the 1990s named Godspeed, these soldiers’ histories contribute a new chapter to the story of modern poetry.”–The Washington Post

Celina Baljeet Basra, Happy(Astra House)
“A zany comedy about human trafficking? This novel is genius…strange and superb…radiant and exhilarating….The achievement of Basra’s prose is that this arc neither exploits Happy nor the reader….We can claim that we respect the humanity of the dispossessed, the exploited or the systematically oppressed, but to recognize it in fiction, as Basra has, takes this level of depth and artfulness….Politically, it’s an essential novel, with an urgency that avoids the didactic.”–The Telegraph

Katherine Howe, A True Account: Hannah Masury’s Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself(Holt)
“This sweeping, ambitious novel secures Katherine Howe’s place as one of today’s best historical fiction writers. Combining a fast-paced, rollicking eighteenth-century story about a female pirate and a twentieth-century mystery set in academia, Howe touches on identity, ambition, history, class, and culture. Filled with unexpected twists and turns, A True Account is a wild ride. I loved this book.”–Christina Baker Kline

Katherine Vaz, Above the Salt(Flatiron)
“Since the publication of her first novel, Saudade, Katherine Vaz has stood out as a Portuguese American writer uniquely capable of expressing the inchoate longing of the Portuguese soul. Now, with Above the Salt, she becomes the pre-eminent voice of those of us who are part of the vast Portuguese diaspora with this visionary, immigrants’ tale told through her rueful, hallucinogenic prose.”–Michael Rezendes

Tom Wolfe, The Painted Word(Picador)
“The Painted Word is a masterpiece. No one in the art world…could fail to recognize its essential truth. I read it four times, each of them with mounting envy for Wolfe’s eye, ear, and surgical skill.”–The Washington Post

Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff(Picador)
“Crammed with inside [scoops] and racy incident…fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system….Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes.”–Time

Jean Strouse, Alice James: A Biography(Picador)
“Strouse, in acquainting us with the younger sister of William and Henry James, has, as it were—and she is witty about Henry’s ineluctable ‘as it weres’—written a Jamesian novel, subtle, evasive, embroidered, splendid….Miss Strouse, who weaves instead of hammering home her delicate points is as expert in literary criticism as she is in recreating family life, medicine, psychology and education in nineteenth-century America.”–The New York Times

Lindsay Hunter, Hot Springs Drive(Grove Press)
“The Gone Girl-style thriller you were waiting for is here….[Hot Springs Drive] is a gripping psychological thriller that is both a character study and a twisting combination of lust and tension…filled with memorable prose and fascinating characters—men and women desperately searching for happiness in their lives and in each other—penned by a fearless writer with an enviable eye for detail.”–The Washington Post

Deborah Willis, Girlfriend on Mars(Norton)
“A deeply moving, deeply funny novel about love and loyalty in the midst of the paralyzing effects of eco-anxiety and the seductive toxicity of reality entertainment….Girlfriend on Mars is propulsive and surprising in the very best ways–Deborah Willis writes with a combination of pathos and humor that entrances and lights a way forward in this troubled time.”–Suzette Mayr

Ariel Lawhon, The Frozen River(Vintage)
“Gripping….Examines the ripple effects of a crime in a small community—and paints a striking portrait of a woman devoted to healing and justice….Lawhon draws on the real Martha Ballard’s diary to construct her narrative, which contains a number of breathless twists and a large cast of hardscrabble characters….Lawhon’s novel is a riveting story of small-town justice and a fitting tribute to a quiet, determined heroine.”–Shelf Awareness

Dina Nayeri, Who Gets Believed? When the Truth Isn’t Enough(Catapult)
“A groundbreaking book about persuasion and performance that asks unsettling questions about lies, truths, and the difference between being believed and being dismissed in…asylum interviews, emergency rooms, consulting jobs, and family life…The book is as deeply personal as it is profound in its reflections on morals, language, human psychology, and the unspoken social codes that determine how we relate to one another.”–Arab News

Noah Whiteman, Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins—From Spices to Vices(Little Brown)
“Through captivating storytelling, Noah Whiteman breathes life into the history of nature’s toxins, exploring the pleasures, comforts, and agonies that have shaped human evolution as it has intertwined with the evolution of these vital yet often overlooked organisms.”–Beth Shapiro

H. W. Brand, The Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and the Brawling Birth of American Politics(Vintage)
“The author writes with a sharp and absorbing style, turning what could be a fairly dry topic into a highly readable tale worthy of a cable miniseries with backstabbing characters, high drama, shady deals, and huge egos all clashing to determine the course of the new country. For anyone who thinks that gridlock and partisan machinations are a recent development, this book will quickly lay those misconceptions to rest.”–New York Journal of Books

Paul Auster, Baumgartner(Grove Press)
“The subject of lost loved ones and all that follows in the wake of such a loss is hardly unusual in contemporary literature, but Paul Auster’s Baumgartner is a worthy addition…a well-drawn portrait of a man wrestling with grief, and a sensitive character study that displays many of the qualities for which Auster’s been lauded….Baumgartner’s story is revealed in episodic fashion and with precise, observant, and sometimes touching detail….Poignant.”–Shelf Awareness

Richard Kreitner, Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America’s Imperfect Union(Back Bay Books)
“If you thought disunion was an invention of the slave South and is long dead and buried, think again….Kreitner offers a powerful revisionist account of the troubled history of the American nation, showing how secessionist movements have made their appearance at numerous times, and in numerous parts of the country. They are again proliferating today—a reflection of our polarized politics and culture and our failure to make the existing Union benefit all Americans.”–Eric Foner

Stuart A. Reid, The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination(Vintage)
“[The Lumumba Plot] is many things at once: a biography, a history of Congo’s chaotic independence, a dissection of the UN’s first big peacekeeping mission and a thriller about plots to kill Lumumba. There are villains of every stripe, from rogue Belgian pilots to shamelessly scheming UN officials and racist ambassadors. This is a tragic tale but also a rollicking read….Lumumba’s life might seem of a distant, dramatic era. Yet this story feels timely.”–The Economist

Jesse David Fox, Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture—and the Magic That Makes It Work(Picador)
“Compendious, deeply considered, provoking, and rather dizzying…savvy, insidery, immersed, excited, with its own developing vocabulary….A bonus side effect of reading Comedy Book, of reading about all these comedians and their processes, was that I was cured, finally, of my sentimental attachment to the idea of the stand-up as truth-telling philosophe.”–The Atlantic

Martyn Rady, The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe(Basic Books)
“An astonishing book…an authoritative scholarly account….Anecdotes, colorful stories and quotations, as well as the constant presence of Rady’s wise and engaging voice make this a rare book….This is an unparalleled resource for anyone concerned about the future of Europe and the history of its nations–Library Journal

OPINION | Tulane should increase business programs to meet growing demand

Business News

The Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex, home of Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business, is one of the busiest and most popular spots on campus. Every day, upon entry into the Marshall Family Commons, one is greeted by a swarm of students coming and going and endless tabling and events. The building’s colossal size, popularity and state-of-the-art amenities reflect the school’s strength. To build on its success, Tulane should increase funding and expand the business program to ensure that all students can benefit from business courses. 
On Sept. 26, Tulane’s Freeman News published an update on the school’s rise in rankings, earning a top 40 spot in the U.S. News’ Best Undergraduate Business Programs. One look at Freeman alumnus’ LinkedIn pages displays no shortage of talent and success. 
With an already robust reputation and consistently high rankings, the business school’s well-established connections with the “Big Four” accounting firms, investment banking firms like Goldman Sachs and major energy companies ensure students enter careers with potential for growth. 
Tulane has a remarkable undergraduate business program, although it is highly restrictive. Unlike many well-known business schools, such as Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, Tulane does not allow non-majors to enroll in business courses. In addition, non-business school students do not have the option to pursue a minor in business. Instead, Tulane offers SLAM, the strategy, leadership and analytics minor.  
Although SLAM presents some offerings similar to those of the business school, it is nowhere near as cohesive and in-depth. While other business school minors require students to take the same core courses as majors but at a fewer amount, Tulane’s SLAM students enroll in different courses entirely. This inequity is due to SLAM being in the School of Liberal Arts, which is vastly different from the Business School.  
Tulane University is known for its strong interdisciplinary programs, where students have academic freedom and are encouraged to pursue interests in a variety of fields. Even though students may not want to concentrate in business, gaining the skills business courses foster, such as leadership, financial literacy, effective communication and networking, are all helpful in any field. Therefore, it is important that Tulane can offer the same, robust business courses that non-majors can take.  
The main issue with the restriction is the size of the programs. Currently, the business school does not have the space for courses to accommodate anyone outside of Freeman. Even students enrolled in the business school often find it difficult to find courses, as they fill up fast. Most business courses are capped at 40 to 50 students to ensure that professors get to know their students and promote participation in a close-knit environment.   
As such, the current scale of the Freeman School cannot support business programs that extend beyond the school. To provide the critical skills business teaches without forcing students to commit to business, Tulane should expand the business school and allow more students to access its courses. In addition, Freeman’s own areas can be expanded, such as integrating information technology and operations and supply chain management concentration into its program.  
Tulane is already well known for its strong business program. Many students, myself included, chose Tulane because of the A.B. Freeman School of Business. Increasing funding to expand the faculty, areas of study and facilities is beneficial and improves academic accessibility for all students. Unlike the School of Liberal Arts, which is fairly open and unrestrictive, opening the doors to the Freeman School will drive Tulane student success.

More travelers are getting a ‘sleep divorce.’ Here’s why.

Travel

For most couples, a romantic getaway includes fancy dinner reservations and sunset strolls along the beach. However, for a growing number of lovers, it also means ending the night in separate beds.According to Hilton’s recently released 2025 Trends Report, 37% of people are choosing to sleep in separate beds from their partners while on vacation, a rising trend dubbed as “sleep divorce.” Although it may seem taboo, over two-thirds of respondents said they actually sleep better when they’re alone.”This shift highlights a growing awareness of the importance of a good night’s sleep while on the road, as travelers seek environments that maximize rest,” Amanda Al-Masri, global vice president of wellness at Hilton, told USA TODAY. “Prioritizing self-care and wellness while traveling has been a rising trend for some time – last year, Hilton’s 2024 Trends Report found that the desire to rest and recharge is the number one reason people want to travel.”While the word “divorce” or the idea that your partner is the thing getting in the way of a good night’s sleep may imply some sign of relationship trouble, sleeping apart may do the opposite and foster a more meaningful connection between partners, according to Fatemeh Farahan, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles who has seen more of her clients consider sleeping apart.Two couples tried traveling together:Why one split, the other marriedEnjoy your worry-free vacation: Best travel insurance policiesSince everyone has specific sleep preferences, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to sharing a bed for every relationship. “Couples have higher satisfaction in their relationship when they honor their needs first and are not going by a myth and forcing the idea the old adage that you have to sleep together to actually be intimate – it’s not true,” said Farahan.Here’s why you may want to consider sleeping in separate beds on your next vacation.Sleep your way to a better relationshipImagine this, Farahan posed: you’re on a trip to Paris with your partner, so you obviously want to do all the things: museums, the Eiffel Tower, endless croissants. By the end of the day, you’re both exhausted. However, one of you is a night owl who stays up looking at their phone, while the other is a light sleeper who gets irritated at the blue light in their face. It’s not exactly the makings of a romantic vacation in the City of Lights.Sleeping apart can be a wise solution. “You don’t have to deal with that real close proximity to give you that space to unwind the way you need to,” she said. (This goes for sleeping at home, too.)This especially rings true for those who deal with snoring, conflicting sleep schedules, sleep disorders and different sleep temperature preferences – the main reasons why couples hit the hay in separate beds, according to a survey by Naturepedic of 400 people in healthy relationships who do not share a bed.Research supports the idea that if sleeping separately improves rest, it can also positively impact the quality of a relationship. A 2017 study from The Ohio State University found that couples with sleep problems struggle to regulate their emotions, leading to more conflict, and can be more hostile to each other. When our brain is sleep-deprived, we often end up feeling more stressed, depressed and anxious, which can negatively impact our relationships, according to a 2013 study.When we’re well-rested, our mood improves and we can better show up for our partner. “They actually make more time to make sure they have their moments instead of it being forced,” Farahan said.Farahan suggests couples curious about sleeping apart can start by setting up small rituals to foster “a few minutes of closeness – such as a good night kiss or having their morning coffee together – before going their separate ways.”The message for me is separate beds can be a really empowering choice for couples who see it as a way to prioritize both rest and connection,” said Farahan.”It’s really about recognizing that sometimes healthiest relationship choices are the ones that acknowledge both partners’ unique needs.”