A robotic system capable of imaging and transferring the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans could replace hours of tedious lab work, according to a recent study. Laboratory workers spend untold hours every year manipulating C. elegans, a tiny nematode worm used in genetics research that reproduces quickly and is optically transparent. Often, the labor required to manage and manipulate the animals is a major bottleneck for using the worms to address questions in biology. Fang-Yen, Zihao (John) Li, Anthony Fouad and colleagues developed WormPicker, a robotic system capable of handling routine tasks, increasing the productivity of human researchers.

https://www.miragenews.com/new-robot-manipulates-genetics-of-roundworm-1041102/

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Spiders are often maligned for being creepy critters, but they are some of the most environmentally friendly pest regulators. Because they actively feed on flies, moths, mosquitoes and roaches, spiders eliminate parasites and many other vectors of disease—protecting both humans and plants from harm. A new University of Maryland-led study published online in the journal Ecology found one simple way to take advantage of this natural ecosystem service: give tree-dwelling spiders a more diverse habitat.

https://www.miragenews.com/research-more-tree-species-boost-spider-density-1055397/

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S Korea-NikeS. Korea orders import ban of fake Nike products SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industry ministry on Thursday ordered a domestic clothing seller to halt imports of counterfeit Nike clothes for its trademark rights violation of the global sportswear giant. Nike Innovate C.V. sought a probe by the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) under the ministry into the South Korean seller, saying it sold forged Nike products. After inspection, the KTC ruled that the seller violated Nike's trademark rights by importing and selling fakes, and ordered it to halt imports, destroy already imported items and make public the correction order.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/001/0014150992?sid=104

#naver

SummerSlam Night 1 featured everything fans have come to expect from WWE's premier summer event. 

https://www.yardbarker.com/wrestling/articles/summerslam_night_1_takeaways_oba_femi_stands_tall/s1_13132_44127304

#Yardbarker.com

BACOLOD CITY — Three Catholic bishops in Negros Occidental issued a collegial pastoral statement on Tuesday, Feb. 28, calling for the urgent transition into renewable energy amid the current climate crisis. Bishops Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos, Patricio Buzon of Bacolod, and Louie Galbines of Kabankalan urged all stakeholders to join their call to adopt clean and sustainable energy sources and pursue measures that would contribute to climate adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1737902/3-negros-bishops-call-for-urgent-transition-to-renewable-energy

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The contribution of high value-added industries such as new energy and biotechnology to China's total economic inputs picked up in July, due to growing labor and technology inputs, a Caixin index showed Wednesday. The Caixin BBD New Economy Index (NEI) came in at 29.5, up from 28.2 in June, indicating that monitored new economy industries accounted for 29.5% of China's overall economic input activities last month.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-08-07/caixin-china-new-economy-index-rises-on-growing-labor-and-tech-investment-102090799.html

#caixinglobal

PARIS/BEIJING China and France will study the need for cargo planes and long-haul jets "in due course," a joint statement said on Friday, following a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. The comments suggest a more muted stance on the prospect for significant orders of large Airbus jets compared with the planemaker's best-selling A320neo medium-haul model, for which it is doubling production capacity in China. "The two countries will in due course study the freight and long-haul needs of Chinese airlines, depending on the recovery and development of China's air transport market and fleet," the statement wrapping up Macron's visit to Beijing said.

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/kianweiaritcles/2023-04-08-story-h-274159501-China_signals_wait_and_see_stance_on_big_jet_orders

#i3investor

East Hanover, August 22, 2023 — Since the COVID-19 pandemic, gains in the labor market for people with disabilities have been at near all-time highs. Expert speakers at last Friday's nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar provided results from an in-depth University of New Hampshire research study, which took a closer look at the unprecedented surge in employment-to-population ratio among most of the six disability subgroups identified by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Possible driving factors behind this employment transformation were also explored.

https://www.miragenews.com/august-2023-ntide-report-record-high-employment-1069916/

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Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in The Liberty Braves Group ( NASDAQ:BATRK – Get Rating ) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,471,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,409 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in The Liberty Braves Group were worth $47,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company.

https://www.dailypolitical.com/2023/06/05/the-liberty-braves-group-nasdaqbatrk-shares-acquired-by-gamco-investors-inc-et-al.html

#dailypolitical

In a paper published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems , researchers at Washington University in St. Louis describe a portable uterine-contraction tracker: a cheap-to-make, flexible electrode patch. Shantanu Chakrabartty , the Clifford W. Murphy Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering, and Chuan Wang, associate professor of electrical & systems engineering in McKelvey Engineering, led an effort to shrink down a technique invented by Yong Wang, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the School of Medicine, who was also a collaborator on this new work.

https://www.miragenews.com/portable-low-cost-tech-tracks-uterine-1048276/

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(Sept 21): Palm oil fell to its lowest level in almost three months on concerns about poor demand and rising production, with losses in soybean oil putting further pressure on the tropical oil. Futures in Kuala Lumpur fell 1.2% to close at RM3,677 a tonne, the lowest level since June 27. Soyoil, palm's closest food and fuel substitute, slumped for a fourth day in Chicago to the lowest since August. Palm succumbed to selling pressure in US soyoil and Dalian vegetable oil markets, while demand remains a major concern, according to Paramalingam Supramaniam, a director at Pelindung Bestari, a Selangor-based broker.

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/savemalaysia/2023-09-21-story-h-239154025-Palm_oil_hits_three_month_low_on_weaker_soyoil_demand_worry

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Search Cars For Sale SKODA Kodiaq Kodiaq odometer 10 km Engine 2.0T, 4 cyl. Engine Power 132kW, 320Nm Fuel Petrol - Premium ULP (95) 8.2L/100KM Manufacturer 4X4 Transmission NA Warranty 7 Yr, Unltd KMs Ancap Safety 5/5 star (2017) Key Features & Details Variant NS Sportline Wagon 7st 5dr DSG 7sp 4x4 2.0T [MY23.5] Manufacturer Model Code KODIAQ Seller Comments Overview Variant NS Sportline Wagon 7st 5dr DSG 7sp 4x4 2.0T [MY23.5] Build Country CZECH REPUBLIC Manufacturer Model Code NS7RRZ/23 Drive Ratings Handling & Dynamics 7.

https://www.drive.com.au/cars-for-sale/car/969358449/

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There are not a lot of quality No. 9 strikers around these days, so we look at the best now that Erling Haaland has been snapped up by Man City.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4663018/after-haaland-signed-for-man-citywho-are-the-best-young-no-9-strikers-the-big-clubs-should-sign

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Southwest Airlines ( NYSE:LUV – Free Report ) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports. Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. 22nd Century Group restated a maintains rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 26th.

https://www.dailypolitical.com/2023/07/16/barclays-increases-southwest-airlines-nyseluv-price-target-to-40-00.html

#dailypolitical

QUITO — Ecuador's National Assembly on Saturday voted in favor of a report which recommends opening an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso, accusing him of corruption over dealings in public companies. The report, which is not binding, was approved by 104 of Ecuador's 137 lawmakers in an expected rejection of Lasso's leadership. Lasso, a conservative former banker, does not have a majority in the National Assembly and has repeatedly clashed with lawmakers, some of who tried to oust him in 2022.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1738531/ecuador-assembly-backs-report-calling-for-lasso-impeachment-process

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Ursula von der Leyen —REUTERS European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen will begin her two-day visit to the Philippines tomorrow, and an international watchdog hopes that human rights will be high on her agenda with President Marcos. '[Von der Leyen] should make it clear to President Marcos that while a different narrative on human rights is welcome, his administration needs to walk the talk,' said Claudio Francavilla, senior European Union advocate of New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/217057/ec-leader-must-also-tackle-human-rights-under-marcos-hrw

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Having coached in virtually every level of the sport, Adamson University head coach Nash Racela swears that Jerom Lastimosa's experience playing for the national team will be transformative. 'I'm sure his experience with Gilas (Pilipinas) will help him a lot,' he told the Inquirer in a lengthy chat on a rainy Friday afternoon. 'In the short-term, you're going to think about how he is going to be in the UAAP and its next season. And then the maturity he's gained playing alongside PBA veterans? I'm sure he saw things he doesn't normally see in the UAAP, which will add to his improvement as a player,' he said.

https://sports.inquirer.net/511991/nash-racela-expects-jerom-lastimosas-career-growth-after-gilas-stint

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Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were all present for the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitch to Japanese free agent right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto at Do...

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/12/923e5f38cf3f-baseball-ohtani-joined-dodgers-pitch-to-japan-ace-yamamoto-report.html

#english #baseball

International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre New Delhi, India 5:46 P.M. IST THE PRESIDENT: Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you all. My colleagues, this is — someone once said in a similar domestic action that was positive: This is a big deal. This is a real big deal. And I want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. One Earth, One Family, One Future: That's the focus of this G20 Summit. And in many ways, it's also the focus of this partnership that we're going to — that we're talking about today: building sustainable, resilient infrastructure; making quality infrastructure investments; and creating a better future — a future of a greater — that's — represents greater opportunity, dignity, and prosperity for everyone.

https://www.miragenews.com/biden-addresses-global-infrastructure-1081115/

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Ford Motor is preparing for a new round of layoffs for its salaried workers in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company in March last year announced plans to reduce structural costs of up to $3 billion at its gas-powered vehicle unit. In August, Ford said it would cut a total of 3,000 salaried and contract jobs, mostly in North America and India. According to the WSJ report, the new round of layoffs is expected to affect employees at the Detroit automaker's gas, electric-vehicle and software divisions, but the number of cuts could not be learned.

https://business.inquirer.net/406909/ford-preparing-for-new-round-of-layoffs-for-us-salaried-workers-wsj

#inquirer