Author: Bruce Hawsking

Christian Pulisic interview: ‘I want to show the world what the U.S. can do’
18Jan Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Sports

Christian Pulisic interview: ‘I want to show the world what the U.S. can do’

Christian Pulisic is perched on a bar stool in the old clubhouse overlooking the first-team training pitch at Milanello, AC Milan’s training ground.He makes a hand gesture, one he didn’t need the past six months living in Italy to learn. Pulisic is talking about himself as one of the “older guys” on the USMNT and, as he does so, he is sure to put air quotes around it.Nearby is a portrait of Milan legend Paolo Maldini lifting a trophy, a player who retired in his forties. Pulisic isn’t that age yet. He turned 25 shortly after joining Milan from Chelsea in August. But as the United States get ready to host the Copa America as a guest competing nation this summer, the first newly-expanded 32-team Club World Cup the following year and then the biggest men’s World Cup finals yet, with 48 countr...
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A.I.’s Latest Challenge: the Math Olympics
17Jan Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Technology

A.I.’s Latest Challenge: the Math Olympics

For four years, the computer scientist Trieu Trinh has been consumed with something of a meta-math problem: how to build an A.I. model that solves geometry problems from the International Mathematical Olympiad, the annual competition for the world’s most mathematically attuned high-school students.Last week Dr. Trinh successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on this topic at New York University; this week, he described the result of his labors in the journal Nature. Named AlphaGeometry, the system solves Olympiad geometry problems at nearly the level of a human gold medalist.While developing the project, Dr. Trinh pitched it to two research scientists at Google, and they brought him on as a resident from 2021 to 2023. AlphaGeometry joins Google DeepMind’s fleet of A.I. systems, which...
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China’s GDP Grew in 2023, but Economic Strains Lurk
17Jan Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Business

China’s GDP Grew in 2023, but Economic Strains Lurk

Car production set records in China last year. Restaurants and hotels were increasingly full. Construction of new factories surged.Yet China’s economic strengths conceal weaknesses. Deep discounts helped drive car sales, particularly for electric cars. Diners and travelers chose cheaper dishes and less expensive hotels. Many factories ran at half capacity or less because of weak demand inside China, and are working to export more to make up for it.China’s economy grew 5.2 percent last year as it rebounded from nearly three years of stringent “zero Covid” pandemic control measures, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday. During the final three months of the year, output rose at an annual pace of 4.1 percent.Longer term, China’s growth is slowing. High debt, a hou...
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Israel-Hamas War and Yemen’s Houthi Militia: Latest News
17Jan Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
World

Israel-Hamas War and Yemen’s Houthi Militia: Latest News

The Biden administration plans to designate Yemen’s Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, partly reimposing penalties it lifted nearly three years ago on the Iran-backed group whose attacks on Red Sea shipping traffic have drawn a U.S. military response.Beginning in mid-February, the United States will consider the Houthis a “specially designated global terrorist” group, according to a U.S. official, blocking its access to the global financial system, among other penalties. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a policy that had not yet been officially announced.But Biden officials stopped short of applying a second, more severe designation — that of “foreign terrorist organization” — which the Trump administration imposed on the Houthis in its final days. The S...
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An Ultrasound Experiment Tackles a Giant Problem in Brain Medicine
16Jan Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Health

An Ultrasound Experiment Tackles a Giant Problem in Brain Medicine

There is a problem with the recently approved Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. It can remove some of the amyloid that forms brain plaques that are hallmarks of the disease. But most of the drug is wasted because it hits an obstacle, the blood-brain barrier, that protects the brain from toxins and infections but also prevents many drugs from entering.Researchers wondered if they could improve that grim result by trying something different: they would open the blood-brain barrier for a short time while they delivered the drug. Their experimental method was to use highly focused pulses of ultrasound along with tiny gas bubbles to pry the barrier open without destroying it.The investigators, at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University, reported their results last week in Th...
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Peacock’s wild-card game likely just the start of the NFL’s playoff streaming era
16Jan Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Sports

Peacock’s wild-card game likely just the start of the NFL’s playoff streaming era

The only place a reverse happens in the NFL is on the field. The league rarely moves backward when it comes to increasing its media rights coffers. If you were to place a wager on whether Saturday’s first-ever exclusive, live-streamed NFL playoff game is going to be repeated in the future, you’d be wise to bet big on the same thing happening during the 2024 postseason.Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, nearly said as much during a conference call with reporters three days before the game.“As it relates to the wild-card game exclusively, we’re excited to continue the conversation,” said Schroeder. “This is a deal for this year, but it’s an NFL playoff game. I expect there will be a lot of interest in it. We’re excited to continue the conversation with ...
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