It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Long-serving CEOs may weaken innovation, study finds
Research into UK firms finds independent directors help maintain innovation and R&D investment to mitigate against caution
A new study from the University of East London has found that companies led by long-serving chief executives may become less innovative over time unless challenged by strong independent boards.
The research examined 215 FTSE 350 companies over an 11-year period between 2010 and 2021. It explored how CEO tenure and independent directors influence a company’s “R&D knowledge stock”, which is the research, expertise and technological capability built through investment in innovation.
The study published in the journal Corporate Governance found that CEOs who remain in office for many years often become more cautious and less willing to back risky research and development projects. These companies were more likely to reduce investment in innovation and long-term technological growth.
Firms with higher numbers of independent directors were more likely to continue building innovation capacity with experienced CEOs and independent directors forming an effective partnership, to combine deep company knowledge with outside challenge.
However, both experienced CEOs and independent directors become more cautious and less willing to back risky research and development projects when the company fails to meet performance aspirations, suggesting that independent directors do not have stable risk preferences.
The findings suggest that innovation is shaped not only by technology and finance, but also by leadership culture and corporate governance structures.
“Long-serving CEOs can bring valuable experience and stability, but there is also a risk that leaders become too cautious or too attached to existing ways of thinking. Our findings show that independent directors play an important role in encouraging companies to continue investing in innovation, especially during difficult periods when firms may otherwise retreat from long-term research and development.”
He added:
“This matters beyond individual companies. Innovation drives productivity, competitiveness and economic growth. The study highlights how governance structures can influence whether firms continue building the knowledge and technologies that shape future industries.”
The paper argues that regulators and policymakers should consider governance reforms and incentives that encourage long-term innovation strategies, particularly in firms led by long-serving executives. The findings may also influence how boards think about CEO succession planning, oversight and the balance between short-term financial pressures and long-term investment.
Using satellite imagery and field observations spanning four decades, researchers found that rising temperatures, glacier melt, and thawing frozen ground are accelerating river movement and reshaping river channels across the upper Himalayas.
Credit: "Steingletscher Moods" by ScrewJ Image source link: https://openverse.org/image/ffed3338-374d-4818-a0f6-a405ae2bd6bb?q=glacier+river&p=170
The Himalayas, often called the “Water Tower of Asia,” supply water to rivers that support nearly 2 billion people. However, new findings show that climate warming is threatening these river systems. Using satellite images and field observations from 1980 to 2020, researchers found that melting glaciers and thawing frozen ground are causing Himalayan rivers to shift course much faster than before, increasing the risk of flooding, erosion, and damage to roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.
A worrying trend is unfolding in the Himalayas, where temperatures have been rising nearly twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. As glaciers melt and frozen ground thaws, rivers fed by Himalayan meltwater are changing more rapidly, raising concerns for millions of people living downstream across the plains and foothills of Asia. By studying how rivers shift and change course over time, scientists can better understand how climate warming is affecting river systems in the region.
To better understand how climate warming is reshaping Himalayan rivers, Professor Chengshan Wang and Dr. Zhongpeng Han from the China University of Geosciences, Beijing, along with Dr. Lin Zhipeng from Sichuan University, analyzed changes in river movement across three major Himalayan river basins over the past four decades.
In a study published in Volume 392, Issue 6799 of the journal Science on 14 May 2026, researchers examined the changes in Himalayan rivers between 1980 and 2020, investigating whether climate-driven glacier melt and thawing of frozen ground are accelerating river movement and reshaping river channels.
The way rivers move across the landscape can reveal how they respond to environmental changes. River movement affects flooding, erosion, sediment transport, and the stability of riverbanks. “The upper high Himalayas stand out as a region where climate warming and channel migration interact strongly, providing an opportunity to study the effects of a warming climate on river dynamics such as river meandering and planform morphodynamics,” says Dr. Han.
Using satellite imagery and field observations, the team studied 1,079 river bends covering about 1,582 km of river channels flowing through frozen ground. Many of these river bends were able to move freely without being blocked by surrounding landforms. The researchers measured the extent by which the river bends shifted over time and tracked other river changes, including cutoffs, where a river creates a new, shorter route and abandons part of its old channel; avulsions, where a river suddenly changes course into a new channel; and channel-pattern transitions, where rivers switch between single channels and multiple interconnected channels.
Their analyses showed that river movement has increased sharply over the past four decades. Overall, river migration rates increased by 33% between 1980 and 2020, while freely moving river bends showed an increase of nearly 97%. The number of cutoffs, avulsions, and channel-pattern changes also rose significantly during the assessed period.
The researchers found that these changes closely match rising temperatures, glacier melts, and the thawing of frozen ground across the Himalayas. Rising temperatures are increasing the amount of water and sediment flowing into rivers while weakening frozen riverbanks. Together, these changes appear to be making rivers more unstable and causing them to shift more rapidly.
Additionally, the study also reported that Himalayan rivers respond differently to warming than rivers in the Arctic. In Arctic regions, vegetation often helps hold riverbanks together and slows river movement. In contrast, the sparsely vegetated Himalayan landscape is more vulnerable to erosion and riverbank collapse caused by thawing ground, making the region especially sensitive to climate-driven river changes.
The researchers warn that these increasingly unstable rivers could have major consequences for water security, flood risks, sediment-related hazards, and infrastructure located along riverbanks. “For the billions who rely on Himalayan water sources, the acceleration of river dynamics documented in our study poses implications for water security, sediment-related hazards, and the stability of riparian infrastructure,” says Prof. Wang.
In conclusion, this study and its findings highlight the need to incorporate climate-driven river changes into long-term water management, flood control, and infrastructure planning across the Himalayan region.
China University of Geosciences, Beijing (CUGB) is a leading national research university in Beijing specializing in geology, natural resources, and environmental sciences. Founded in 1952 through the merger of geology departments from several major Chinese universities, CUGB has grown into one of China’s top geoscience institutions and is a part of the country’s “Double First Class” university initiative. The university has more than 16,000 students and strong international partnerships with universities worldwide. Known for its research on geology, climate, and Earth systems, CUGB has made major contributions to studies of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, mineral resources, environmental change, and polar research.
About Dr. Zhongpeng Han from China University of Geosciences, Beijing
Dr. Zhongpeng Han received his B.S. degree in civil engineering and his Ph.D. degree in mineral survey and exploration from China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China, in 2010 and 2017, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China. His research interests include the sedimentation and tectonic evolution of Cenozoic basins on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as the study of sediment source-sink processes in the Yarlung Zangbo River.
About Professor Chengshan Wang from China University of Geosciences, Beijing
Dr. Chengshan Wang is currently a Professor with China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received the Master’s degree in geology from Chengdu University of Technology, China, in 1981. He has published more than 590 academic papers in both national and international journals, and has authored 11 books in both Chinese and English. His research interests encompass sedimentology, tectonics, sedimentary basin analysis, paleoceanography and paleoclimate, growth of the Tibetan Plateau, continental scientific drilling, and data-driven discovery in geoscience.
About Dr. ZhipengLin from Sichuan University
Dr. Zhipeng Lin received his Ph.D. in Sedimentology from the China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China, in 2023. He is currently an Assistant Researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, College of Water Resources and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China. His research interests include fluvial sedimentology and geomorphology, as well as their interactions with climatic, environmental, ecological, and geohazard systems.
Funding information
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 42488201); the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (grant no. 2019QZKK0204); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2652023001) grants; the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 42402127); the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant no. BX20240237); the Sichuan Provincial Natural Science Foundation (grant no. 2026NSFSC1158); the IAS Postdoctoral Grant Scheme, the Sichuan Science and Technology Program (grant no. 2023NSFSC1989); the Sichuan University Postdoctoral Interdisciplinary Innovation Fund; and the Sichuan University SKHL Open Fund (grant no. SKHL2221).
Inspired by the fishing process, CNT networks are shrunk and densified in polymer solutions, thereby achieving uniform compounding of high-loading CNTs and polymers at the nanoscale, as well as excellent thermoplastic processability.
Plastics are indispensable in modern society, but they have inherent weaknesses in mechanical strength, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. CNTs have excellent mechanical, electrical and thermal properties, so they are ideal for enhancing the overall performance of plastics. However, traditional technologies cannot uniformly disperse and blend high-load CNTs into polymer matrices. This limits the performance improvement of plastics and severely restricts their advanced applications in cutting-edge materials and devices.
In-situ preparation strategy to solve high-loading compounding challenges
To solve the problem of high-loading compounding, the research team developed a universal compounding technology. This technology combines high-loading CNT networks with thermoplastic polymers to make CNT superplastics. First, they grew continuous CNT networks through floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition. Then, they in-situ continuously impregnated and compounded these networks into various polymer solutions, including polyamide 6 (PA6), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polycarbonate (PC) and polyetherketoneketone (PEKK). This method successfully integrates up to 59 wt% of CNTs, making the CNTs fuse spontaneously with polymer molecules while keeping the original long structure of CNTs. After that, a hot working process further improves the alignment and packing density of the CNTs.
Performance of CNT Superplastics Enabled by Uniform Nanoscale Compounding
The uniform nanoscale compounding of high-loading CNTs greatly improves the material’s overall performance. Drawing on the principle of fishing nets, the research team shrank and densified loose CNT network assemblies in polymer solutions. This allowed high-loading CNTs and polymers to fully contact and compound uniformly at the nanoscale. The highly conductive (electrically and thermally) CNT network gave the plastic excellent mechanical, electrical and thermal properties.
The PA6-based CNT superplastic has a tensile strength of 663 MPa, much higher than that of ordinary engineering plastics, and it also has good resistance to stress relaxation. In terms of electrical conductivity, it reaches 8.6×104 S·m–1, and its conductivity decreases by less than 10% after 100,000 bending cycles. For thermal conductivity, it reaches 143 W·m–1·K–1, which is higher than 304 stainless steel and some aluminum alloys, and hundreds of times higher than typical plastics (about 0.1 W·m–1·K–1). At the same time, its thermal conductivity anisotropy ratio is about 123, which enables directional heat transfer and gives the CNT superplastic broad application prospects.
Thermoplastic Processability and 3D Printability of CNT Superplastics
The CNT superplastic keeps the excellent thermoplastic processability of ordinary plastics. It can also be made into various complex structures through 3D printing and hot pressing to meet the needs of different application scenarios. For example, the research team made a CNT superplastic heat sink by 3D printing. This heat sink can quickly dissipate heat from a 90°C heat source and achieve excellent directional heat dissipation. Compared with traditional plastics, the superplastic has greatly improved its electrical and thermal conductivity, providing a new way for the development of thermoplastic polymer materials.
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) presented today at the Centre de Cultura Contemporà nia de Barcelona (CCCB) the BSC Creative Intelligence Lab, the first art and science laboratory integrated into a supercomputing center in Europe. This new institutional structure places creative practice at the core of research within the context of high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging technologies.
The laboratory formalizes and scales more than thirteen years of interdisciplinary work by the BSC Data Analytics and Visualization group, which has demonstrated that collaboration between creatives and researchers is scientifically productive, economically sustainable, and culturally relevant.
Unlike traditional artist-in-residence programs, BSC proposes a distinctive methodology through the laboratory that has proven to simultaneously generate scientific breakthroughs, patentable technologies, and cultural work with international impact.
The Creative Intelligence Lab will develop residencies, public experiments, training programs, and collaborative projects, with the fundamental objective of translating research into tangible tools, products, and services for industry and society.
The project, which has an international scope, is part of the European commitment to AI Factories. Climate change, personalized medicine, renewable energies, and digital sovereignty are some of the core pillars under which it will operate, alongside driving the creative industries themselves.
How the BSC Creative Intelligence Lab is structured and operates
The laboratory operates as a continuous cycle in which creative exploration generates new capabilities, these enable real-world applications, and the applications return questions and investment to research. This dynamic is structured across three interconnected areas:
Arts — integrates creative professionals into BSC research teams through residencies, public experiments, and projects with cultural organizations.
Studio — the operational core of the laboratory that develops the tools, visualizations, interactive systems, and experimental platforms that translate research into tangible forms.
Solutions — transfers results into products and services for industry and culture, closing the loop and sustaining future research. It incorporates the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) into the scope of supercomputing applications.
A methodology based on curiosity, flexibility, and respect
BSC is a public center whose purpose is to have societal impact. Within this framework, the Creative Intelligence Lab operates under the premise that society and industry demand new capabilities, and those demands inspire or require the development of new knowledge. The Lab's methodology stems precisely from this productive tension between what is needed and what is yet to be discovered.
The collaboration model between researchers and creatives developed by the BSC over the years forms the foundation of the new laboratory's activity. The underlying values —curiosity, flexibility, and respect— define the way artists and researchers work together as full members of the same team, rather than in separate silos.
The methodology operates as a continuous three-phase cycle: knowledge creation, where artists and researchers explore questions together and develop new capabilities; knowledge application, where these capabilities are translated into projects, technologies, and services with measurable results; and knowledge advancement, in which these results generate new funding, new partnerships, and new questions that restart the cycle.
First Announcements
EXASCALE Program for HPC and the Arts. The Lab is launching a structured framework for residencies and interdisciplinary research that will connect creatives with HPC researchers to explore the artistic and scientific potential of large-scale computing, AI, and emerging technologies. The first residency is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
Network of Institutional Alliances. Alongside historical collaborators such as Sónar+D, HacTe, and CCCB, the Lab incorporates Ars Electronica —the world's most prominent art and technology festival— and TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary as future strategic partners.
International Advisory Board. Composed of Andrea Faroppa (Sónar+D), Francesca Bria (European digital policy expert), Mónica Bello (Platform DalÃ), Nils Gilman (Berggruen Institute), and transdisciplinary artist Enrique Rosas, among others.
A case illustrating the model: the collaboration with Maria Arnal
Three years of joint work between the BSC and singer-songwriter Maria Arnal demonstrate how the methodology operates. The collaboration started in 2023 with the commission of Maria Choir for the CCCB’s exhibition “AI: Artificial Intelligence”, a work that received an honorary mention at the S+T+ARTS awards; it continued with the Impossible Larynx residency under the European S+T+ARTS AIR program; and evolved into the interactive installation Expanded Voices (2025) and the audiovisual material for her album and show AMA (2026).
The process has also produced a scientific publication to be presented this summer at the SIGGRAPH conference (Los Angeles), with potential applications in the musical, performing arts, and audiovisual industries, as well as in vocal health and education.
Mónica Bello (Platform Dalà and member of the Advisory Board), Veronika Liebl (Ars Electronica) via video, and Markus Reymann (TBA21) presented the strategic alliances; and Maria Arnal (singer and experimental artist) shared her experience of collaboration.
Vitamin D is important for the body to function properly: it balances the immune system, helps to keep bones healthy and benefits muscle regeneration. Yet, 1 billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient.This is the case in winter, particularly, as UVB rays barely reach the Earth's surface. In fact, the body produces 80% of this type of vitamin through solar radiation (the remainder comes from the diet). Given this, and considering the physiological functions of vitamin D, the effect it might have on both health and physical performance when taken as a supplement has kindled interest.
In this context, in collaboration with the University of Urbino in Italy, the researcher Eneko Fernández from the EHU-University of the Basque Country conducted a study on runners and non-runners. Some of the participants took daily vitamin D supplements for eight weeks during the autumn and winter, while the others did not. “At the beginning and end of the study, we carried out blood tests and physical tests on all of them. Naturally, the vitamin D levels rose in those who had taken the supplement. Beforehand we knew that would happen, but there is a significant finding: after the two-month period, the vitamin D levels of the runners who did not take the supplement and the non-runners who did were very similar," explained Fernandez.
According to the researcher, this is because the runners do their training outdoors, in the sun, and with a bigger surface area of their skin exposed. “So, one of the main conclusions is that performing physical activity outdoors is a very effective strategy for combating vitamin D deficiency, and it also offers other health benefits that supplementation does not offer,” he added.
The effect of vitamin D supplements on the immune system and physical performance
By examining the participants’ blood analyses, the EHU study concluded that vitamin D supplements help to strengthen the immune system. Indeed, the white blood cell counts of those who took the supplement improved. “In other words, the supplements have a positive effect on white blood cells, which are the body's defence cells. That does not mean that taking vitamin D supplements will prevent you from getting ill. What it does mean is that it helps to maintain a more balanced immune system and strengthens the body's defences against infections and viruses,” said Fernández.
Regarding physical performance, the results are clear: the study confirmed that vitamin D supplements have no direct effect. These conclusions were drawn from the physical tests done by the participants. Maximum oxygen consumption and leg power (explosive, jumping, and isometric static leg press) were measured. No differences were observed in the three tests conducted before and after the treatment.
“Vitamin D is not like taking steroids or EPO. It doesn't improve performance. That was no surprise either, but the study served to confirm this. As did seeing, once again, that the runners had the best physical condition. And don’t think they were marathon runners. They were amateurs. So, while vitamin D supplements may offer some benefits, the recommendation is not to take them. The recommendation is to be outside more in the winter and, if possible, with less clothing on. The way to do this without getting cold is to exercise in the fresh air. For example, just going outside and running at your own pace for 20-30 minutes is enough. There is a huge difference between doing nothing and doing very little. It has major benefits,” the EHU researcher stressed.
Among the younger part of the population, sleep problems, anxiety, and depression are widespread and growing issues.
But why are our sleep and mental health in such poor condition? And why does it seem so difficult to improve the situation?
New research from the University of Copenhagen aims to shed more light on these questions.
In a new study, researchers map how a range of biological, psychological, and social factors – such as stress, screen habits, and smoking – interact, and how they may create self-reinforcing cycles that risk keeping young adults in poor mental health.
“We know that poor sleep and depressive symptoms often go hand in hand, but with our mapping we now better understand how a range of other mechanisms may potentially keep the problem alive. This gives us a more nuanced picture of why it can be so hard for young people to break out of these self-reinforcing ‘vicious cycles’,” says Assistant Professor Jeroen Uleman from the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, one of the researchers behind the new study.
A complex public health crisis
In the study, the researchers map how 29 factors influence one another in young adults aged 18 to 40.
The model illustrates how sleep disturbances can worsen depressive symptoms, which in turn affect sleep, and how factors such as stress, screen habits, physical activity, social relationships, nicotine use, and bodily inflammation may play into a wide range of self-reinforcing loops.
“Our model illustrates, for example, how smoking may potentially lead to depressive symptoms, and how these symptoms can disrupt your sleep. You may then smoke more to counter increasing fatigue, while nicotine affects your sleep quality, which again may worsen depressive symptoms. Other loops are even more complex,” says Jeroen Uleman.
This complexity is precisely what needs to be uncovered, notes Professor of epidemiology and co-author of the study, Naja Hulvej Rod:
“Instead of focusing only on single causes behind the growing sleep and mental health crises among young adults – such as smartphone use or how we structure our school system – our study shows that many factors are involved. And that these factors are tightly interwoven in a complex network that we need to understand in order to figure out how to break these self-reinforcing cycles,” she says.
Experts identified key connections
The researchers built the model by inviting 14 experts in fields including sleep research, psychology, sociology, epidemiology, and biology to propose important factors, assess causal relationships between them, and highlight scientific literature supporting the connections.
So far, the experts and researchers behind the study have identified 175 causal connections between the individual factors and many thousands potential self-reinforcing loops.
The researchers emphasize, however, that they have not conducted empirical investigations of the many ‘vicious cycles’, and further research will therefore be needed to understand their effects.
The model should also not be seen as an exhaustive explanation of young people’s sleep and mental health. Instead, the researchers see it as a living tool that can be continuously updated with more factors from additional disciplines – such as political or environmental dimensions – and further supported and expanded through additional research.
Supports local interventions
The model can help highlight possible intervention areas – for example in municipalities, which, because of the upcoming public health act, will be responsible for strengthening public health locally, including mental health.
Today, the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center at the University of Copenhagen, led by Naja Hulvej Rod, has a partnership with Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality to improve the well-being of children and young people, including within sleep – and here, the model has been useful.
“There have already been workshops with practitioners in the municipality, where we provided input from our model. This way, decisions can be made based on both lived experience and scientific evidence. Our hope is that the model can be used in political decision-making processes in municipalities across the country as the public health act is implemented,” says Naja Hulvej Rod.
Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality is also excited about the collaboration.
“Our collaboration with the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center at the University of Copenhagen provides us with professional evidence that we can compare with our experiences in the municipality. In this way, our partnership with the researchers inspires us to identify where it makes sense to intervene in relation to the well-being of our children and young people – both now and in the long term. Furthermore, it is immensely meaningful that the general insights generated through the collaboration can benefit everyone,” says the mayor of Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality, Anstina Krogh.
The study identifies numerous self-reinforcing cycles that potentially keep young people trapped in mental distress and poor sleep patterns.
The loops consist of 29 factors and 175 causal connections across biological, psychological behavioral, and social dimensions – such as links between smoking, sleep disturbances, physical health, loneliness, and socioeconomic status.
The model is based on expert knowledge and existing literature, but systematic reviews of all 175 causal connections or empirical studies of each loop have not been conducted. Further research is needed to understand the public health effects of the loops.
Expert-driven methods also carry a risk of subjectivity and potential overrepresentation of certain fields. Finally, the model does not cover all possible influences on sleep and depressive symptoms – such as environmental or political factors.
The model is therefore not an exhaustive explanation of young adults’ problems with sleep and mental health but should be seen as a “living tool” that should be continuously updated and used to inform policy processes.
