Highly-sensitive beaks could help albatrosses and penguins find their food

University of Cambridge

 

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Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos) feeding on the surface of the ocean on fishery bycatch.

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Credit: Carla du Toit

Researchers have discovered that seabirds, including penguins and albatrosses, have highly-sensitive regions in their beaks that could be used to help them find food. This is the first time this ability has been identified in seabirds.

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, studied over 350 species of modern birds and found that seabirds have a high density of sensory receptors and nerves at the tip of their beaks, which has been previously identified in specialised tactile foragers such as ducks.

The researchers say this touch-sensitive region could have come from a common ancestor, and further work is needed to determine whether it serves a specific function in modern birds. Further study of their beaks and food-gathering behaviour could help conserve some of these birds, many of which are at threat of extinction. The results are reported in the journal Biology Letters.

In the same way as humans and other primates use their hands, birds use their beaks to interact with the world around them. Some birds have specialised touch-sensitive areas at the tips of their beaks to help them find food, but since this ability has not been widely studied, it’s not known how the phenomenon evolved or how widespread it is.

“Many scientists had assumed most birds had touch-sensitive beaks, but we hadn’t investigated it enough to know whether it’s a common ability, or whether it’s limited to particular families of birds,” said lead author Dr Carla du Toit from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences.

One group that hasn’t been well studied is the large group of seabirds called Austrodyptornithes, which includes albatrosses, petrels, and penguins. Since many of the bird species in this group are critically endangered, understanding how they find their food using their beaks could be a valuable tool to aid in their conservation.

Du Toit and her colleagues from the UK and South Africa conducted a study of 361 modern bird species, based on fossil and skeletal records, as well as birds that had been accidentally killed by fishing lines and nets. The team focused on the beaks of these birds, how they are constructed and connected to their nerves and blood vessels.

The researchers found that albatrosses and penguins have organs with high density sensory receptors and high concentrations of nerves in their beaks, which is more common in specialised foragers such as ducks. This is the first time that this functionality has been observed in seabirds.

“Seabirds aren’t known to be tactile foragers, so it’s surprising to find that they have this organ,” said du Toit. “It’s really exciting when you get to be the first to see something.”

These touch-sensitive beaks might help seabirds find food at night or underwater, as they might enable the birds to detect tiny vibrations from potential prey. Some birds that are already known to have touch-sensitive beaks use them to detect tiny underground vibrations from worms, for example.

However, these sensitive areas could also be a ‘leftover’ trait from a common ancestor that doesn’t have a specific function in modern birds, like the beaks of ostriches and emus. Further studies in live birds will be needed to establish the exact purpose of these touch-sensitive areas, which may also help determine how the ability evolved.

“In humans and other primates, our sensitive hands and fingers allowed us to master a huge range of environments,” said du Toit. “Beaks are analogous to hands in a way, but this is the first time we’ve seen touch-sensitive beaks in seabirds. It’s remarkable that no one has ever really studied this in detail, considering that we all learn about evolution from the beaks of Darwin’s finches in school.”

The researchers say their findings could potentially play a role in conserving some of these birds. Of the 22 known species of albatross, 15 are threatened with extinction and two are listed as critically endangered. One of the big threats to albatrosses is commercial longline fishing, which kills an estimated 100,000 of the birds per year, when they get tangled in the lines and drown. According to du Toit, if scientists can better understand how these birds get their food, it could be used to help protect them.

“Much further work is needed, but if albatrosses and other seabirds are able to detect vibrations from potential prey via their beaks, it could be possible to attach some sort of device to longlines that could repel them, so they are less likely to get caught,” said du Toit. “Of course, the bigger threats to birds like albatrosses are climate change, rising ocean temperatures, plastic pollution and falling fish stocks, but if there’s a way to reduce the risks to seabirds in even a small way, then that’s incredibly valuable. These are such special birds and I’ve been interested in them for as long as I can remember.”

The research was supported in part by the Royal Society, the Newton International Fellowship, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Birds use their beaks for a diverse range of tactile functions (much as primates use their hands), including building nests, finding food, caring for young and during courtship or social interactions.

Credit

Grace Kinney-Broderick

A pair of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) touching beaks.

Credit

Carla du Toit

The beaks of albatrosses and penguins, compared to other, “normal” beaks (examples shown of a petrel and a gull) and a bird with a tactile bill-tip organ (a tinamou, close relative of ostriches and emus and which has an ancestral bill-tip organ). The photographs show the underside of the beak bones, and the red struictures on the right show the neurovascular tissue (nerves and blood vessels) within the bone. Note the high numbers of neurovascular pits or “holes” on the bone of the beak and high density of neurovascular canals in albatrosses and penguins, similar to that of the birds with known bill-tip organs.

Credit

Carla du Toit

Journal

Biology Letters

DOI

10.1098/rsbl.2024.0259 

Article Title

Tactile bill-tip organs in seabirds suggests conservation of a deep avian symplesiomorphy

Article Publication Date

18-Sep-2024

 

Research shows finger counting may help improve math skills in kindergarten

Q&A with Child Development author

WE WERE DISCOURAGED FROM USING OUR FINGERS, INCLUDING  CORPORAL PUNISHMENT 

Society for Research in Child Development

Preschool teachers have different views on finger counting. Some teachers consider finger counting use in children to signal that they are struggling with math, while others associate its use as advanced numerical knowledge. In a new Child Development study, researchers at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Lea.fr, Editions Nathan in Paris, France, explored whether a finger counting strategy can help kindergarten-aged children solve arithmetic problems. 

Adults rarely use their fingers to calculate a small sum (e.g., 3+2) as such behaviors could be attributed to pathological difficulties in mathematics or cognitive impairments. However, young children between the ages of four and six who use their fingers to solve such problems are recognized as intelligent, probably because they have already reached the level of abstraction allowing them to understand that a quantity can be represented by different means. It is only from the age of eight that using finger counting to solve very simple problems can indicate math difficulties.

The current study aimed to determine whether children who do not count on their fingers can be trained to do so and whether this training would result in enhanced arithmetic performance. The study focused on 328 five and six-year-old kindergarteners (mainly White European living in France) and tested their abilities to solve simple addition problems. Participating children were recruited through their teachers who voluntarily took part in the experiment. Teachers were required to register through a digital pedagogical and collaborative network, Lea.fr which was used to provide them with the materials and procedure details to implement the intervention program in their classrooms. The study included a pre-test, a training held over two weeks, a post-test closely after the training's end, and a delayed post-test. 

The results show an important increase in performance between pre- and post-test for the trained children who did not count on their fingers originally (from 37% to 77% of correct responses) compared to non-finger users in the control group (from 40% to 48%). These results were replicated in an experiment with an active control group instead of a passive control group. This is the first study to show that children's performance in arithmetic can be improved through explicit teaching of a finger counting strategy.

Researchers suggest that since children who use their fingers to help solve math problems outperform those who do not, teaching a finger counting strategy could help reduce inequity among children in mathematics. However, whether children who use finger counting are using it as an arithmetic procedure or understand something deeper about numbers will still need to be determined with future research. 

The Society for Research in Child Development had the opportunity to discuss this research with Dr. Catherine Thevenot from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Lausanne.

SRCD: What led you to study finger counting in kindergartners?  

Dr. Thevenot: The idea originated from conversations with primary school teachers. They often asked me whether they should encourage or discourage children from using their fingers to solve calculations. Surprisingly, the existing research didn’t offer a clear answer, which left teachers understandably frustrated with my frequent response of “I don’t know.” This recurring question, coupled with the lack of concrete evidence, inspired me to investigate the issue myself. The best way to provide a meaningful answer was through experimental studies—so that’s exactly what I set out to do.

SRCD: How can these findings be useful for teachers, practitioners and caregivers?

Dr. Thevenot: Our findings are highly valuable because, for the first time, we provide a concrete answer to the long-standing question of whether teachers should explicitly teach children to use their fingers for solving addition problems—especially those who don’t do so naturally. The answer is yes. Our study demonstrates that finger calculation training is effective for over 75% of kindergartners. The next step is to explore how we can support the remaining 25% of children who didn’t respond as well to the intervention. 

SRCD: Were you surprised by any of the findings? 

Dr. Thevenot: Absolutely. When I first saw the results, I was amazed by the huge improvement in performance among children who didn’t initially use their fingers to solve the problems. Before our intervention, these children were only able to solve about one-third of the addition problems at pre-test. After training, however, they were solving over three-quarters of them! The difference was striking, especially compared to the control groups, where gains were insignificant. The extent of this improvement truly exceeded my expectations. 

SRCD: What’s next in this field of research? 

Dr. Thevenot: An important question now is to determine whether what we taught to children goes beyond a mere procedure to solve the problems. In other words, we want to know whether our intervention led to a deeper conceptual understanding of numbers, specifically whether children better grasp how to manipulate the quantities represented by their fingers. In fact, we have already started addressing this question and the initial results are very promising. However, we still need to carry out additional experiments to confirm that these improvements are indeed a direct result of our training program.

This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Schweizerischer Nationalfonds).

Summarized from an article in Child Development, “Finger counting training enhances addition performance in kindergarteners,” by Poletti, C., Krenger, M. (Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland),Létang, M., Hennequin, B. (Lea.fr, Editions Nathan, Paris, France) and Thevenot, C. (Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland), Copyright 2024 The Society for Research in Child Development. All rights reserved. 

---

Journal

Child Development

DOI

10.1111/cdev.14146 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Finger counting training enhances addition performance in kindergarteners

Article Publication Date

18-Sep-2024

 

‘Scuba-diving’ lizards use bubble to breathe underwater and avoid predators

Experiment shows bubble serves a functional role for water anoles

Binghamton University

 

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A species of semi-aquatic lizard produces a special bubble over its nostrils to breathe underwater

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Credit: Lindsey Swierk

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Presenting the world’s smallest (and scrappiest) scuba diver: A species of semi-aquatic lizard produces a special bubble over its nostrils to breathe underwater and avoid predators, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. 

Lindsey Swerk, an assistant research professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University, studies water anoles, a type of semi-aquatic lizard found in the tropical forests of southern Costa Rica. She had previously documented the lizards using a bubble underwater. When these lizards feel threatened by a predator, they dive underwater and breathe a bubble over their heads. 

“We know that they can stay underwater for a really long time. We also know that they're pulling oxygen from this bubble of air,” said Swierk. “We didn’t know whether there was actually any functional role for this bubble in respiration. Is it something that lizards do that is just a side effect of their skin’s properties or a respiratory reflex, or is this bubble actually allowing them to stay underwater longer than they would, say, without a bubble?”

To investigate whether the bubble serves a functional role in respiration or is merely a byproduct, Swierk applied a substance to the lizards’ skin surface that would prevent bubble formation.

“Lizard skin is hydrophobic. Typically, that allows air to stick very tightly to the skin and permits this bubble to form. But when you cover the skin with an emollient, air no longer sticks to the skin surface, so the bubbles can't form,” said Swierk.

Swierk recorded the number of bubbles that the lizards could produce and how long they could stay underwater, and compared them to lizards in a control group that were allowed to breathe normally. She found that the lizards in the control group could stay underwater 32% longer than those with impaired bubble formation.

“This is really significant because this is the first experiment that truly shows adaptive significance of bubbles. Rebreathing bubbles allow lizards to stay underwater longer. Before, we suspected it – we saw a pattern – but we didn't actually test if it served a functional role,” said Swierk.

The study confirmed that the bubble helps lizards stay underwater for longer periods, providing them with a refuge from predators.

“Anoles are kind of like the chicken nuggets of the forest. Birds eat them, snakes eat them,” said Swiek. “So by jumping in the water, they can escape a lot of their predators, and they remain very still underwater. They're pretty well camouflaged underwater as well, and they just stay underwater until that danger passes. We know that they can stay underwater at least about 20 minutes, but probably longer.”

Going forward, Swierk wants to figure out whether lizards are using the bubble as something called a physical gill. A physical gill occurs in insects that use bubbles to breathe underwater. Insects have smaller oxygen requirements, and the amount of oxygen that diffuses from the water into the air of the bubble is enough to sustain them. Water anoles are likely too big to be supported merely by the oxygen that's diffusing into a bubble. One of Swierk’s graduate students, Alexandra Martin, is testing whether a physical gill-type action is allowing lizards to spend even more time underwater by changing the oxygenation of the water and measuring its effects on lizards’ dive time.

Swierk said that the research is exciting because scientists don't know much about vertebrate bubble use, which can open the door to bioinspired materials It’s also just interesting to learn about a new animal behavior.

“I've had people talk to me about how much they love scuba diving and freediving, and how they're interested in how animals might do the same thing,” said Swierk. “So there's a great opportunity to get people excited about science by having this relationship between what they love to do and what’s evolved in nature. Even in animals that seem commonplace – you're always finding new things.”

The paper, “Novel rebreathing adaptation extends dive time in a semi-aquatic lizard,” was published in Biology Letters.

A species of semi-aquatic lizard produces a special bubble over its nostrils to breathe underwater

Credit

Lindsey Swierk

“Scuba-diving” lizard can stay underwater for 16 minutes (VIDEO)

Water anole leaps in water (VIDEO)

Water anole breathing with bubble underwater (VIDEO)

Water anole breathing underwater (VIDEO)

Lindsey Swierk researched the water anole in the triopical forests of southern Coata Rica. 

Credit

Lindsey Swierk

Journal

Biology Letters

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Novel rebreathing adaptation extends dive time in a semi-aquatic lizard

Article Publication Date

17-Sep-2024

2021

"Scuba-diving" lizards use bubble attached to snout to breathe underwater

Shock new study reveals 1.5m Brits stake up to £4.3bn on illegal gambling black market each year


Betting And Gaming Council

19 September

Partner content

Black market gambling online has “high awareness, is easy to find, and is already commonly used”, says new report

£2.7bn staked on illegal, unregulated gambling black market sites online
Up to £1.6bn staked in underground gambling venues

One in five 18-24 year olds who bet have gambled with the black market, survey says
Black market aggressively advertising to young people and problem gamblers

Standards body representing 90 per cent of regulated betting and gaming sector says balanced regulations best defence against the black market

A major new study has found 1.5m Brits stake up to £4.3bn on the growing, unsafe gambling black market each year.

The report published today by leading consultants Frontier Economics, and commissioned by standards body the Betting and Gaming Council, is the first major study on the black market since the publication of the previous Government’s White Paper on gambling reform.

It found illegal operators are aggressively targeting UK customers, significantly undermining player protections, while sucking millions from sport and the Treasury.

According to the research more than one in five 18-24 year olds who bet already use the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online, and via secure online messaging apps.

Meanwhile, outfits based overseas aggressively target customers who have self-excluded from regulated betting operators.

Researchers found the vast sums bet on the gambling black market online and offline could deprive the Treasury of up to £335m over the course of a five-year Parliament, if action is not taken.

Annually, that is the equivalent of up to 1,700 nurses salaries, or up to 1.2m extra GP consultations or up to 1,500 teacher salaries.

While £2.7bn is staked on illegal sites online – impacting every area of betting and gaming from online poker to horse racing - the study suggested up to a further £1.6bn could be being staked in-person at illegal gambling dens.

Standards body the BGC said balanced regulations and stable taxation is the best defence against the black market.

Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst, said: “This shocking report exposes the unnerving true scale of the growing, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.

“From online gaming, to betting on sports like horse racing, millions of customers are being driven into the arms of pernicious black market operators. These people don’t care about player safety, don’t want to pay their fair share to support sport and don’t pay a penny in tax.

“By failing to adhere to the stringent standards set by the Gambling Commission, unregulated operators in the unsafe black market can make bigger offers, grant customers total anonymity, and promise the freedom to gamble without any controls or safety measures, unlike BGC members.

“Worst of all, these sites are making a mockery of the rules set up to protect the most vulnerable by aggressively advertising their services to those who have self-excluded.

“The Government and the regulator risk sleepwalking into this issue. Simply giving the GC more powers and more resources to tackle the black market won’t, in itself, work. Enforcement is only part of the solution.

“The fact is onerous and ill-judged regulations drive customers from the regulated sector to the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.

“Proposals by anti-gambling prohibitionists like advertising bans or intrusive, blanket, low level affordability checks will not protect customers, in fact they will give another leg up to unscrupulous black market operators, the last thing anyone wants.

“Every comparable market in the world tells us the same thing. The best defence against this growing illegal, gambling black market is getting the balance of regulations right.”

Andrew Leicester, Associate Director at Frontier Economics and one of the report’s authors, said: “This report shows that most gambling today is done through regulated, visible channels. That is good news.

“But there are warning signs. The landscape is evolving quickly in ways that suggest black market gambling is getting easier to find and access.

“This report provides timely new evidence on the scale of the black market. Efforts to make gambling safer are important, but must avoid the risk of simply pushing more players and spend into unregulated providers who do not need to comply with regulations around safer play.”

Separate studies have shown European countries which deploy draconian regulations on betting, see a surge in unregulated gambling.

Restrictions in Norway resulted in a black market that now accounts for over 66 per cent of all money staked.

Another report found that in Bulgaria 47 per cent of money staked goes to unregulated gambling, in Portugal it is 31 per cent. Both countries face high rates of gambling taxes.

Last year’s White Paper urged the Gambling Commission (GC) to improve its knowledge on the black market, so more could be done to limit its reach.

In total, the research revealed 15 per cent of those who regularly bet – around 2.8m people – had heard of at least one online black market site.

The BGC has previously called on internet giants to cooperate with our members in the regulated market to prevent the growth of online black market gambling.

Illegal sites peddle crypto gambling and gambling with credit cards, and even mimic regulated sites to the point that over half of players (54 per cent) were unaware they were even using unregulated operators.

The report also uncovered the wide use of VPNs – or Virtual Private Networks – used to mask a customer’s true location so they can access unregulated gambling outfits operating overseas.

Meanwhile, a worrying number of customers “multi-home”, conducting betting on regulated and unregulated sites, posing more risk to the regulated market.

Current attempts to prevent the growth of the online black market have proved unsuccessful as illegal operators can easily rebrand or create new identities to evade detection and continue operating.

All BGC members are regulated by the Gambling Commission, meaning they meet stringent standards.

They offer player protection measures and safer gambling tools as standard, including deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion through GAMSTOP.

They must also meet strict data protection rules, comply with anti-money laundering regulations, meet fair play requirements, abide by strict advertising rules and pay tax.

In addition, BGC members and GC regulated licensees have voluntarily donated £172.5m over four years to tackle problem gambling and gambling related harm.

This is on top of their significant economic contribution.

According to a separate report, BGC members contribute £7.1bn to the economy and generate £4.2bn in tax while supporting 110,000 jobs.

The regulated betting and gaming industry also provides some of the country’s most popular sport with vital funding.

Horse racing benefits to the tune of £350m a year, while the English Football League and its clubs receive £40m, and snooker, darts and rugby league receive more than £12.5m.

Each month around 22.5 million people in Britain enjoy a bet and the overwhelming majority do so safely and responsibly.

The most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4 per cent of the adult population are problem gamblers.

Frontier Economics’ study was based on a large-scale survey of more than 6,000 people plus additional data supplied by BGC members.

The full report can be read here.

 

World’s oldest Jewish newspaper rocked by accusations and walkouts

The Catholic Herald

September 19, 2024 

The 180-year-old Jewish Chronicle finds itself trying to cover one of the most serious crises in modern times for Israel and the Jewish people while also accused of journalistic misconduct, shifting ideologically too far to the Right and becoming a mouthpiece for the Israeli government.

The turmoil has resulted in a number of contributors and columnists refusing to write for the publication, which in addition to being the longest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world, plays a significant role serving the Jewish community in Britain.

The problems for the weekly paper, which also has a website, came to a head after it had run a number of dramatic stories and “scoops” about the war in Gaza written by the freelance journalist Elon Perry. The stories seemingly involved access to top-level intelligence sources who revealed “eye-opening details about the conflict”, reports the Daily Telegraph, resulting in, as it is known in the trade, the most compelling copy that is likely to be gobbled up by readers.

Questions, however, began to be raised about the validity of the sensational stories and their sources, ultimately leading to the JC conducting an investigation into Perry, followed by it cutting all ties with him and removing the previously published stories.

Despite the paper’s actions to rectify the situation, four of its star columnists stood down in protest: Hadley Freeman, Jonathan Freedland, David Baddiel and David Aaranovitch made it clear that the Perry scandal was, for them, the last straw following ongoing concerns about the paper’s general editorial tone and direction.

“The latest scandal brings great disgrace on the paper – publishing fabricated stories and showing the thinnest form of contrition – but it is only the latest,” Freedland commented in a letter to the paper’s editor, Jake Wallis Simons.

Critics have argued that the paper has become more right-wing and ideological under the editorship of Wallis Simons, and also increasingly aligned with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Those writers who stood down were known to be liberal/left-leaning in their stances.

“Ever since its founding in 1841, the JC has published an idiosyncratic mix of community trivia and weighty geopolitics, but its crown jewel is (or was) its roster of columnists, some of Fleet Street’s finest,” writes Josh Glancy in The New Statesman. “The recent resignations are a blow to the paper’s claim to represent the full gamut of mainstream British Jewry.”

He notes that Freedland is a second-generation JC writer who “embodies a long tradition of high-minded liberal Jewish thought”.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Hadley Freeman said: “The Jewish Chronicle is the mainstream national newspaper for Jews in this country, and Jews represent barely half a per cent of the British population. So it is important that it represents the plurality of views of British Jews, not the Israeli government.”

Other columnists, however, have not seen it fit to resign.

“This incident is not reason enough to give up on a paper that has been a powerful and essential voice for our Jewish community for 180 years,” Naomi Greenaway, deputy editor of the Telegraph Magazine and a JC columnist, told the Telegraph. “But I have a lot of respect for the journalists who have resigned, and I’m glad it triggered the Jewish Chronicle to interrogate their editing processes.”

Wallis Simons has said he takes “full responsibility for the mistakes that have been made and I will take equal responsibility for the task of making sure nothing like this can happen again.”

Wallis Simons became editor of the paper in 2021. In addition to his editor duties, he has been an frequent contributor to news programs regarding Israel and Jewish concerns, especially since the 7 October attack by Hamas, and he often writes for the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator on such matters too.

While often arguing Israel’s case, he has also been critical of Netanyahu and the Israeli government. He has also focused on highlighting and calling out anti-Semitism, particularly its resurgence in the UK.

A major concern and ongoing issue for many in regards to the paper’s future, and which relates to editorial disagreements, is the lack of knowledge about who actually owns and is backing the JC.

Various individuals are known as acting as directors and shareholders, but when it comes to who is bank rolling the media operation – which included a recent £3.5 million loan to cover the loss-making paper, the Telegraph notes – that continues to remain unknown, and a source of continuing tension.

Josh Glancy notes he had written for the paper on and off for his entire journalistic career, and that from 2020 he wrote a regular column for the JC until he took umbrage at the “increasingly belligerent editorial direction and, more importantly, found the idea of being paid by a secret ownership increasingly unsettling”.

He concludes that the Elon Perry scandal “has upset the balance of Anglo-Jewry at a fraught moment”, explaining:

“Britain’s Jewish community is one of the country’s oldest and most successful ethnic minorities, and it has flourished, in part, thanks to its strong institutions, including the Board of Deputies, the United Synagogue, and, of course, the Jewish Chronicle.

“The paper has a critical role to play in what is sure to be a turbulent few years for British Jews.”

Turkish armored vehicle manufacturer opens new facility in UK

By Dylan Malyasov
Sep 20, 2024
DEFENSE BLOG

courtesy photo


Specialist defense manufacturer Nurol Makina UK (NMS UK), a subsidiary of Turkish wheeled armored vehicle manufacturer Nurol Makina, has announced the opening of a new production facility at Tachbrook Park, Leamington Spa.

The facility will focus on producing protected patrol vehicles for the UK defense industry and international markets. The announcement was made during the biennial defense industry exhibition, DVD2024, held in Bedfordshire from 18th-19th September.

The new 7.9-acre site in Warwickshire is set to create up to 150 highly skilled jobs over the next three years. NMS UK will employ workers in a variety of roles, including engineering, factory management, training, and aftersales, with the facility expected to be fully operational by the end of this year. The company’s investment underscores its commitment to supporting the resilience of the UK defence industry’s supply chain.

David Zevulun, UK Country Director at NMS UK, stated: “Our new home in Leamington Spa is key to our ambition to become an integral part of the British defence industry ecosystem, supporting a robust pipeline of UK-made armoured vehicles.”

Local officials have welcomed the investment. Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said, “This investment by NMS shows why our region continues to be the beating heart of UK advanced manufacturing and exporting. It will also mean 150 highly skilled jobs for local people.”



Nurol Makina also showcased two key vehicles: the 18-tonne Ejder Yalcin, and the 14-tonne NMS-L. The Ejder Yalcin, which can carry a crew of two plus seven troops, offers protection against mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to NATO STANAG Level 4a/2b. The vehicle features a V-shaped hull and wall-mounted seats with shock protection for added safety. Meanwhile, the lighter NMS-L is a heli-transportable version of Nurol Makina’s NMS 4×4 and is designed to carry a crew of five. It provides mine and IED protection to NATO STANAG Level 3a/2b and boasts impressive mobility, including a maximum road speed of 150 km/h, a 0.9 m fording capability, a 0.9 m trench-crossing capability, and the ability to climb 0.5 m obstacles and negotiate gradients of 70% and side slopes of 40%.

Much of Thwaites Glacier - Antarctica's largest - could be gone by 23rd century, experts warn

If the Thwaites Glacier melted entirely, experts said it would raise sea levels by 3.3 metres, enough to put Westminster, Battersea and Canary Wharf underwater.


By Dylan Donnelly,

 news reporter
Friday 20 September 
 Sky News

Experts now think much of the Thwaites Glacier could have melted by the 23rd century. Pic: PA

A massive ice sheet in Antarctica - equal to the size of Great Britain - could be all but lost by the 23rd century, experts warn.

The Thwaites Glacier is one of the largest and fastest-moving in the world. Along with the wider region - the Amundsen Sea Embayment - it accounts for 8% of the current rate of global sea level rise, at 4.6mm a year.

Experts from the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) now say ice loss at the glacier will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd.

If it all melted, experts said the glacier would raise sea levels by 3.3 metres, or close to 10 feet.

Modelling from Climate Central - an independent group of scientists - holds that such a rise in sea level would put large parts of central London, including Westminster, Battersea and Canary Wharf, underwater.

"Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster," British Antarctic Survey (BAS) marine geophysicist Dr Rob Larter said.

The expert, also of Science Co-ordination of the ITGC, added: "There is a consensus that Thwaites Glacier retreat will accelerate sometime within the next century.

More on Antarctica

Explorer Shackleton's last ship discovered 'intact' on sea floor - as sonar image released


Applications open for Antarctica's penguin post office with one applicant using tattoos to show her enthusiasm

Bird flu found in king penguins for first time on islands near Antarctica


"However, there is also concern that additional processes revealed by recent studies, which are not yet well enough studied to be incorporated into large-scale models, could cause retreat to accelerate sooner."

Image:Pic: NASA

Thwaites Glacier rests on a bed far below sea level that slopes downwards towards the heart of West Antarctica, leaving it more vulnerable to rising sea temperatures.


It is roughly 120km across, making it the widest in the world, and in some places is more than 2,000 metres thick.

The researchers said they used underwater robots, new survey techniques, and new approaches to ice flow and fracture modelling to investigate the glacier.

While they acknowledge there is a lot unknown about the glacier's future, their results indicate the rate of ice loss from the retreating glacier will increase in response to climate and ocean changes.

The researchers added the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf - which currently covers around half of the 120km-wide front of the glacier - is likely to disintegrate in the coming decade.
Last year a group of scientists tasked by the UK Foreign Office to investigate "unprecedented" changes in Antarctica warned the disruption was not being taken seriously enough.

In March, scientists said they were designing a radical 62-mile long curtain to protect the glacier from being nibbled away by warm water beneath it, as it floats on the sea surface.

At least one stolen password found for everyone in the UK legal sector


Eve Tawfick, Editor
September 20, 2024

A new study of more than 5,000 law firms has found that cyber security threats are becoming an issue, with passwords to work devices hacked and stolen.

New research by Atlas Cloud reveals that almost three-quarters of UK law firms have at least one employee password leaked into publicly available sources.

The IT services company audited over 5,000 UK-headquartered law firms for cyber security competence, making it the industry’s largest study of its kind.

The study looked at breached passwords, phishing protection, email hijack protection and analysed the size of each firm’s attack profile. They also assessed alignment with the UK Government’s Cyber Essentials programme, which covers a range of defence mechanisms.

Of the 5,140 firms audited, 72.2 per cent had one or more instances of employee username and password combinations evident in lists circulating on the Dark Web. In total, auditors Atlas Cloud found just over one million (1,001,313) passwords relating to firms in the study.

This averages out at 195 password combinations per firm or or 1.27 per individual – meaning that for every one person working in the sector, there is at least one username and password combination available for criminals to purchase.

The news comes after a recent study revealed successful cyber-attacks against UK law firms rose 77 per cent in the past year.

Cybercriminals use username and password information to enter a firm’s IT systems, looking to gain access to valuable information or intercept a transaction. In conveyancing, for example, it is common that criminals attempt to redirect purchase transitions away from a firm’s holding account – often leaving the firm liable for any lost funds.


Pete Watson, CEO of Atlas Cloud, advises Partners and IT Directors:

“The sheer volume of password combinations available to criminals is a stark reminder of the threat that cyber poses to a firm. You can minimise this risk by applying multi-factor authentication on your systems, which adds an additional one-time authentication token, but criminals have been known to find ways around this too.

“It’s circumvented by tricking users to do something. That means the only true way to eliminate this threat is ensuring everyone representing your firm has a strong awareness of the tactics criminals are using today.”

The study found more cyber threats to be aware of. DMARC, a key protective factor that stops criminals from hijacking corporate domains has been implemented by less than half (46.2%) of firms. A hijacked domain would allow an unlawful actor to send emails that appear to come directly from the firm, opening up numerous opportunities for exploitation.

Watson elaborates on DMARC:


“DMARC is essential in this sector. While it’s essentially a policy that you just switch on, doing so could cause operational disruptions. Firms usually start with a simple analyser tool to eliminate any risk to billable time. Thankfully, most firms I speak with are either compliant or working towards it”.

Atlas Cloud’s study also categorised firms’ digital attack profile by size and cross referenced this with the size of the firm.

They described over half of firm’s attack profiles as “Large”, but found only 11 per cent of big firms (employing over 5,000) operated a Large profile and described the majority as “Low” or “Very Low”. A quarter of firms had “Medium” sized profiles, leaving the rest as Low or Very Low.

Watson comments:


“When it comes to cyber security, being a mile wide and an inch deep doesn’t do you any good. If the majority of big firms can operate a small attack profile, any firm can.”

The study also assessed alignment with a Government-backed scheme called Cyber Essentials. It found fewer than one in seven firms were certified as having achieved the nationally recognised minimum level of protective measures.

Researchers stressed this doesn’t necessarily mean six in seven firms don’t have these factors in place; however, Cyber Essentials is recommended as part of Lexcel accreditation and is required for all public sector case work.


Finally, the research also revealed the industry’s adoption of specialised phishing protection technologies. It found at least half (53.1%) of firms employ a solution to filter out emails suspected as impersonation, a tactic that standard ‘spam’ filters aren’t able to recognise. The research wasn’t able to validate for sure that the remaining 46.9 per cent of firms don’t employ such technologies but, given the volume that they were able to validate, the figure offers a warning to firms that don’t have a solution in place.

According to Official UK statistics, phishing is the number one cause of breach (Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 2024) and has been for many years.

UK
Southport imam tells the Canary about the far-right riot and the real situation in the town

 by Ed Sykes
19 September 2024
in Analysis
THE CANARY

After far-right rioters targeted and damaged the Southport Mosque and Cultural Centre on 30 July, the Canary went to meet Ibrahim Hussein, the mosque’s imam.

He said the attacks created a lot of worry, but that there has been a lot of support from the community and elsewhere. He also insisted that the focus of people’s support should be on the people directly affected by the tragedy that had occurred the day before the riot.

Southport, the far-right attacks, and what helped to fuel them

Hussein stated that misinformation and fake news helped to fuel the riot. One source of misinformation, he stressed, is the government, with politicians “blaming immigrants or the immigration issue for everything” and making out that “they are responsible for all the problems that Britain faces”.

He added “that is terrible – this is not the truth at all”. But because some people “like this kind of talk”, politicians carry on with it. In terms of dealing with unrest and division, he said the biggest thing politicians can do is to apply laws.

The government provided some temporary security after the riot. But as he insisted:

We don’t really want a security. We want to come and go as ordinary people, you know? You leave your home and you go to work and you don’t need security.

In the coming months and years, he stressed, “I hope we can come closer and accept each other’s differences”, with a “live and let live” attitude. And he asked:

Why be an enemy? Life is too short. You do not need to create an enemy from somebody that you don’t even know anything about. These people who came here, they hate everything around them. And they even hate themselves, because they don’t respect themselves at all. They got drunk – they were happy to act as fools. It doesn’t matter who’s in front of them – whether it’s the police, whether it’s the local community, whether it’s Muslims. What is the point of living like this?
“You can fix a building, but when life is lost, you can’t fix that”

After the far-right attacks on the mosque, meanwhile, they got “people from all over the place, not even from this area, coming from far away and they were offering their help and support”. They also received “flowers and biscuits”, along with lots of cards and letters from people showing solidarity. He said:

If you read some of the words, it really brings tears to your eyes, because they’re so supportive: ‘We stand with you’; ‘we don’t agree with this rubbish that took place’; and ‘you’re not to blame, you are welcome’.

However, Hussein insisted that it isn’t the Muslim community that really needs support right now. Instead, it’s the families of the three young girls who were killed on 29 July and the people who experienced the tragedy first-hand. “To us Muslims, family is everything”, he said, so “I can’t really imagine how they felt – the parents or the people who were actually there”. He stressed:

It’s absolutely terrible. And we really feel more for them than we feel for ourselves. This is only a building. And if it’s damaged in any way, we can fix it. But when life is lost, you can’t fix that. You can’t bring them back.

He also mentioned how much the community came together in the wake of the horrific events in July. The grieving parents condemned violence, local people helped to repair the damage that rioters had caused, and people reached out to each other to see how they were doing. And it was in those moments that people confirmed what he already felt – that the community is full of really decent people.

Not enough support for people in the wake of the July murders

Speaking about the “absolutely dreadful and awful” murder on 29 July, Hussein said the people the tragedy affected directly “need a lot of support” but they’re not getting as much as they need. Despite what politicians and media outlets have said, some local people had told him “this support is not handy, it’s not in front of people”.

Local councillor Sean Halsall, who also participated in the conversation, added:

From the beginning of this, the ruling party, the Labour Party that I was a part of, have been told not to engage the media, not to speak to people. And because of that, I think there’s been a massive void there left behind where people should have been leading the community who weren’t. And then it’s fallen on other people who shouldn’t have had that burden.

I was happy to pick it up. I’m a councillor myself, not in that ward but the neighbouring ward. But just reaching out to the communities of people who feel threatened at that time and making sure you know you’ve got allies, at least. And at best, there should have been some sort of service set up here with counselling or whatever on site in Southport. There’s plenty of empty buildings, empty shops in town that could have been repurposed for a short period of time to offer a counselling service or any other service that people need.

“Live and let live” – from Southport to Palestine

In Southport itself, Hussein said all the neighbours are very polite to mosque-goers and will congratulate them during important religious festivals. And around the time of Ramadan, he pointed out, “we usually go around with a thank you card or box of chocolates and say thank you for your patience” because of parking inconveniences, even though people are very understanding and kind about it.

He also mentioned that there have been exchanges of visits with churches and synagogues locally, with people from other faiths visiting the mosque and vice versa. He summed up by saying “you believe what you want to believe. I believe what I want to believe. It doesn’t stop me from having a cup of coffee with you and a biscuit”.

For people who are not religious, the vigils and demonstrations against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza have served as a meeting point with local Muslims and others. As Halsall asserted:

It has been a good space for people to have conversations they might never have had before and get to know each other. And I think that, if there is any positive to come from the atrocities that are going on the Middle East, it is that bringing people together over politics and just disagreeing that genocide’s the right thing to do.

Hussein agreed. And regarding Palestine, he said:

My hopes are different from my expectations. Because all these politicians, they should know better. They know what is right and what is wrong. But it seems like it has served their purpose to support a rogue state like Israel.

Despite critiques of the genocide from within the halls of international law and the United Nations, he stressed, “the politicians seem to be looking to the other side and whistling as if they haven’t seen anything”. He also stressed that so-called ‘friends of Israel’ from political parties should, to be true friends, be honest with Israel about its actions. If you just express concerns in private, that’s not good enough, he insisted. Instead:

Justice has to be seen. People should see that justice is implemented in real life.

You can see and read Sean Halsall’s full interview with us in Southport here. And stay tuned for the final article from our visit to the town.

Featured image via the STV – screengrab

UK Government Should End Cruel ‘Two-Child Limit’ Now

Key First Step to Reforming Social Security

Kartik Raj
Senior Researcher,

 Western Europe

HRW

Click to expand Image
Children play in a park on a housing estate in Redcar, Teesside, May 17, 2023. © 2023 Joanne Coates/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The United Kingdom Labour Party is about to meet for its annual conference. Now that Labour is in government, with their leader Keir Starmer as prime minister, it should act to strengthen social security, and tackle poverty and inequality. The first concrete step should be immediately ending the cruel “two-child limit” policy.

The “two-child limit” is an arbitrary social security policy introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, in its austerity-motivated shake-up of social security. It cuts off child-related social security support to low-income households after the second child. Larger families are left with fewer resources as their need increases.

The latest official data show that 440,000 families are affected, losing out on £3,455 per child per year. The Labour government has so far refused to scrap the policy, citing fiscal constraints, despite mounting pressure. Evidence shows that the two-child rule is driving increasing child poverty; it is a needless, cruel rule that harms children and society, and should end now.

Repealing the two-child limit should also be the springboard for broader UK social security reform.

The “benefit cap,” established in 2013, is an arbitrary financial limit on the amount of total social security benefits a household can receive, designed to ostensibly reduce reliance on welfare and drive people into employment. It largely hasn’t worked. And absurdly, the benefit cap, affecting 123,000 households, is lower in real and nominal terms today than it was in 2013.

Current levels of social security support are inadequate to meet people’s right to a decent standard of living in the UK. The government should listen to the Guarantee Our Essentials campaign, set up an independent evaluation of the adequacy of social security payment levels, and pass legislation to ensure no one is left below this level.

To demonstrate it takes its human rights obligations seriously, the government should also go a step further and make key programs universal, rather than means-tested.

Labour has committed to a child poverty strategy, reviewing how the Universal Credit social security system works, and enacting a socioeconomic equality duty that was first agreed 14 years ago. These are positives, but do not obviate the need for broader social security policy reform aligned with human rights, starting with immediately ending the two-child limit.