Daily Archives: July 29, 2022

Land plants evolved 470 million years ago from algae and, since then, they fundamentally reshaped our planet. During their evolution, ferns have undergone several changes that helped them survive and thrive on land. Now, a team of researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Forestry in Beijing and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has managed for the first time to comprehensively study the genomic arrangement of tree ferns, offering new insights into how ferns evolved.

According to the scientists, a major breakthrough in the evolution of land plants involved the invention of their vascular systems, which helped them conduct nutrients and water through their bodies. Such systems consist of two tissues: the xylem and the phloem. While the xylem facilitates the transport of water to the stems and leaves, the phloem helps transporting sugars created through photosynthesis to the rest of the plant. Moreover, xylem cells are lined with lignin, a supportive structural material that provides rigidity to wood and bark.

Ferns are the earliest vascular plants, and lignified cell walls were a key innovation during the evolution of these plants, said study senior author Ray Ming, a professor of Plant Biology at the University of Illinois. This study has improved our understanding of how vascular tissues developed in ferns and other land plant species.

By sequencing the genome of the flying spider-monkey tree fern Alsophila spinulosa, Professor Ming and his colleagues discovered that two vascular-related Mac-Domain genes were highly expressed in this ferns xylem compared to other tissues, suggesting that they might be key regulators in the formation of xylem-specific cells. The scientists also measured the levels of lignin and secondary metabolites compounds that are not required for growth and reproduction, but nevertheless offer some benefits in ferns, and found that lignin makes up 40 percent of the stem cell wall.

Moreover, they identified a new secondary metabolite primarily made in xylem, which they called alsophilin. This new compound is abundant in the xylem, likely as one of the compounds filling up the cavity of non-functional tracheid cells. We also identified the genes involved in the biosynthesis of alsophilin in the genome, Professor Ming reported.

To understand how ferns evolved, the researchers compared the genome of A. spinulosa to other members of the same species spread across China. Surprisingly, they identified six distinct populations, with different genomic sequences. Based on these findings, the experts reconstructed the evolutionary history of ferns and discovered that these species underwent a drastic decline twice (35.6 34.5 million years ago and 2.5 0.7 million years ago).

This analysis of genomes and lignin composition from a broader collection of ferns will help us understand the role of lignin in the early lineage of vascular plants. In our future studies, we hope to increase the number of locations and the sample sizes for the genomic analysis, Professor Ming concluded.

The study is published in the journal Nature Plants.

By Andrei Ionescu, Earth.com Staff Writer

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Study sheds light on the evolution of ferns - Earth.com

The arms race between the human immune system and gonorrhea might have had the useful side effect of promoting healthy brain tissue later in life.

This tiny boost to cognitive health in our twilight years might have played a small role in ensuring grandmas were sharp-minded enough for evolution to keep them around.

While it's fiendishly difficult and may be impossible to figure out what evolutionary factors are responsible for living beyond ages where we no longer reproduce, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are closing in on some possible explanations.

In 2015, a team of researchers led by molecular medicine professor Ajit Varki discovered that humans have a unique type of immune receptor that protects against Alzheimer's disease and sets us apart from other primates.

In a paper published this month, the team found that the spreading of this variant immune receptor in our species wasn't entirely random, but rather the result of intense selection pressure over a relatively brief period.

The research showed that some of our closest relatives Neanderthals and Denisovans did not have this version of immune receptors coded into their genomes. Something drove humans to develop this special immune receptor early in our history as a species, the researchers said.

The likely culprits are infectious human-specific pathogens like Neisseria gonorrhoeae that try to disguise themselves by dressing in the same sugar coating as human cells, which fools patrolling immune cells into thinking the bacteria are harmless.

Gonorrhea got very good at tricking the human immune system into thinking it was just another human cell. But the human immune system found a way to fight back.

The researchers showed that the newly evolved immune receptor could see through the disguise and kill the invading bacteria, while the older variation of the immune receptor could not.

Getting rid of gonorrhea is useful for the survival of the species because this disease can mess with human reproduction.

The new version of the immune receptor is called huCD33. Thanks to the way this version is tweaked into two subtly different structures within our body, it's been the subject of investigations by evolutionary scientists for some time.

Once evolved, this immune receptor was probably co-oped by brain immune cells, called microglia, for a different purpose: protection against aging, the researchers suggest.

The human immune system usually doesn't attack itself on purpose, but it needs to when cells start to decay.

The huCD33 receptor, which seems to have evolved as a response to sneaky bacteria, had the added benefit of being able to recognize decaying brain tissue and thereby protect cognitive function in old age.

Microglia use the huCD33 receptor to clear away damaged brain cells and amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.Whether this might have played a role in clearing the way for evolution to add a few more precious years to our lives for the sake of helping out with raising families is a topic open to debate.

Grandparents provide benefits to the human species as they help to look after kids and pass on important cultural knowledge. And gonorrhea may be to thank for that.

This paper was published in Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Original post:

Study Suggests We Have This STI to Thank For The Evolution of Grandmothers - ScienceAlert

Photo: John Lennon memorial, Central Park, by Lolalatorre, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

Jason Rosenhouse, a mathematician who teachers at James Madison University, is the author of the recent bookThe Failures of Mathematical Anti-Evolutionism. The purpose of the book isto discredit the mathematical and algorithmic arguments presented by ID proponents against the plausibility of undirected evolution crafting complex novelties. Rosenhouse focuses much of his critique on William Dembskis design-detection formalism based on specified complexity. Dembski responded in detail to Rosenhouses arguments, highlighting Rosenhouses confusion over Dembskis theoretical framework and its application to biological systems (here, here). Rosenhouse in turnresponded to Dembskis critique. His counter-response, published atPandas Thumb, reveals that his opposition to Dembski is not based on any flaws in the substance of Dembskis work but instead on Rosenhouses unassailable faith in the limitless creative power of natural selection.

Dembskis approach to detecting design centers on identifying the presence of specified complexity (SC). A pattern or object demonstrates SC if it has high probabilistic complexity but low descriptive complexity.Dembski explains:

To appreciate how probabilistic and descriptive complexity play off each other in specified complexity, consider the following example from poker. Take the hands corresponding to royal flush and any hand. These descriptions are roughly the same length and very short. Yet royal flush refers to 4 hands among 2,598,960 total number of poker hands and thus describes an event of probability 4/2,598,960 = 1/649,740. Any hand, by contrast, allows for any of the total number of 2,598,960 poker hands, and thus describes an event of probability 1. Clearly, if we witnessed a royal flush, wed be inclined, on the basis of its short description and the low probability event to which it corresponds, to refuse to attribute it to chance.

Only a mind can generate significant quantities of SC (e.g., dealing four royal flushes in a row), so its presence reliably points to design.

Dembski has also collaborated with computer scientists Robert J. Marks and Winston Ewert to prove conservation of information theorems. These theorems demonstrate that search algorithms cannot find targets corresponding to high levels of specified complexity unless they are provided with information about the target (here,here,here,here). Consequently, no undirected evolutionary process, known or unknown, could achieve any innovation or transformation that requires a significant quantity of generated SC.

Rosenhouse responds to Dembski and his colleagues by asserting that their research has no relevance to biological evolution. This, in his mind, is for several key reasons. First, he claims that probabilities cannot be reliably assessed for the origin of biological structures:

Anti-evolutionists routinely present spurious probability calculations meant to refute evolution. In a lengthy chapter on probability, I explain that a proper calculation must take place in the context of what mathematicians refer to as a probability space. For our purposes, this means that you must have a good grasp on the range of possible outcomes, as well as an understanding of the probability distribution appropriate to those outcomes. In the context of the evolution of complex adaptations, we never have what we need to do this. As Harvard biologist Martin Nowak put it, You cannot calculate the probability that an eye came about. We dont have the information to make this calculation.

Second, biological structures do not conclusively represent specified patterns:

But there is an obvious problem with applying this notion to evolutionary questions: How do we distinguish design-suggesting patterns from those we impose on nature through excessive imagination? Dembski claims that we can use the function of a complex adaptation as its specification, but biologists claim that natural selection crafts functional structures as a matter of course. Given this, does the function of a system suggest design or just natural selection? How can we be confident that in using function as a specification we are not doing the equivalent of looking at a fluffy, cumulus cloud and seeing a dragon?

And third, the conservation of information theorems do not challenge evolutionary theory since nature provides the required information to discover complex novelties:

As applied to biology, his argument is nothing more than the claim that nature has to be a certain way for evolution to work. Most of us did not need difficult mathematical theorems to understand this. The fitness landscapes confronted by evolving organisms arise ultimately from the laws of physics, and Dembski and his collaborators are really just asking why the universe is as it is. Its a perfectly good question, but hardly one within biologys domain.

Rosenhouses response to Dembski ultimately fails since it is based on what he imagines to be true about biology instead of what has been empirically demonstrated. The assertion that probabilities cannot be evaluated for biological systems is highly misleading. Exact probabilities are typically impossible to compute but calculating upper bounds to probabilities is often tractable.

Douglas Axe demonstrated for the beta-lactamase enzyme that the upper bound for the enzymes larger domain is 1 functional sequence in every 1077randomly selected ones. Rosenhouse attempts to discredit this estimate by citing Arthur Hunts critique, but he fails to acknowledge that Axe and others showed that such negative assessments reflect misunderstandings of his research and the technical literature (here,here,here, here).

The beta-lactamase enzyme performs a relatively simple function. Consequently, the sequence rarity for a significant proportion of proteins in life almost certainly corresponds to a quantity of specified complexity that could only have arisen through intelligent agency. This conclusion is reinforced by aTian and Best 2017 article that estimated the rarity of functional protein domains using a method completely different from Axes. Their results confirm that most domains larger the 80 amino acids are too rare to have emerged through an undirected search.

In addition, Ola Hssjer, Gnter Bechly, and Ann Gaugerpublished a mathematical modelfor the time required for coordinated mutations to appear in a population. Their model demonstrates that for most animals the time available for major transitions is insufficient for even a few new regulatory sequences to emerge. Yet the evolution of a structure as simple as a lens for a vertebrate eye requires dozens if not hundreds of such specified sequences (here,here). An upper bound to the probability for such a large quantity of specified complexity to arise is minuscule.

In addition, engineers working with biologists have concluded that living systems demonstrate the same specified patterns as isseen in human engineering. For instance, leading experts in bacterial flagella have not simply concluded that these molecular machines resemble rotary motors. Instead, they concluded that they are rotary motors (here,here,here). And flagellar navigation systems perform perfect robust adaptation, which is only achievable by two classes of control modules (here,here). The conclusion that such biological systems display specified complexity is indisputable.

Finally, the view that nature provides the information for evolutionary searches conflicts with a torrent of recent literature that demonstrates that evolutionary/adaptive processes almost exclusively tweak preexistent structures or choose from a preexistent library of traits (here,here,here). Genetic information is never gained in significant quantities, but it is at best maintained and often lost (here,here,here). In short, Rosenhouses belief in the creative power of evolutionary processes is based not on hard data but on his faith in the philosophy of scientific materialism and oncircular reasoning.

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Continue reading here:

In Critiquing Dembski, Jason Rosenhouse Prioritizes Imagination over Reality - Discovery Institute

The complexity of mobile communications has increased exponentially as the digital generations have advanced. Beginning as infrastructure and ecosystem that managed only voice and simple messaging in the first days of GSM, todays networks present a very different picture. With the bandwidth, speed and latency of 5G networks, the sophistication, flexibility and power of digital communications have entered a new era. Everywhere you look, there are predictions of billions of connections, endless new business cases, and transformational approaches to communications and processes.

However new technology capabilities are only valuable if they can be monetised - and the wider ecosystem has not yet caught up with the potential of the new generation networks. An obvious statement here: absolutely critical to the monetisation of network applications and services is the ability to charge for them correctly. And at the moment, the billions of data transactions taking place over 5G and the IoT cannot yet be accurately billed.

Since the inception of 2G in 1991, roaming and billing settlements have been carried out using TAP - Transferred Account Procedures. TAP was designed primarily for voice and is simply not flexible enough to handle the data deluge or the complicated variety of use cases enabled by 5Gs unique network slicing capability. According to PwC, from its Global Economic Impact of 5G report,More than 80% of the economic potential appears to lie in healthcare applications (projected to contribute US$530bn to global GDP), smart utilities management (an additional US$330bn), and consumer and media applications (US$254bn more). Smaller contributions from the other industries in our study bring the total estimated uplift to US$1.3tn.But only, surely, if the full revenue potential can be extracted from those applications by the operators. An IoT system can have millions of sensors, and the activity of each on its own is of very low value in terms of billing. Add all the IoT activity together, and it becomes a real revenue-generating network as long as the activity can be accurately charged between participating operators.

The GSMA is not planning to evolve TAPin order to cater for new services and technologies- but it has had the foresight to set out the new approach for our data-driven world, and that is the aptly named Billing and Charging Evolution - BCE. BCE is a flexible GSMA next-generation simplified process/approach for reporting and invoicing for inter-operator settlement.

BCE approaches roaming settlement in an entirely different way to TAP. It is driven by new formats such as Usage Data Report (UDR), Usage Summary Report (USR), and Billing Statement Report (BSR). The serving party shares these BCE reports with the served party, which are then used to generate the invoice by the serving party.

By simplifying the complex multi-party settlement processes for data, BCE supports new generation use cases catalysed by 5G.

The introduction of new technologies such as 5G, IMS and MIoT mean that both parties have access to the roamer activity records from their own network nodes.BCE standardises the exchange of aggregated reports between parties and is, therefore, an ideal candidate to utilise the blockchain approach.

Blockchain is a technology known for its immutable auditing and distributed ledger system that captures and shares information accurately among numerous verified partners. With the complexity brought on by 5G roaming billing and settlement, blockchain serves as a tactical solution to simplify the sharing of reports - confidentially, securely, and on time.

Blockchain can easily handle the volume of data exchange via BCE in 5G roaming scenarios with the latest technics and technological advancements that happened in the field. The exchange of UDR, USR, and BSR over blockchain will also support automated reconciliation. Accurate invoicing leads to efficient settlement processes besides significant cost and effort savings. With BCE reports being periodically exchanged through the blockchain, operators no longer need to wait for the closure of month-end activities to reconcile or raise a dispute, if any.

All alerts and notifications can be coded as business logic within smart contracts and triggered automatically. Smart contracts can also capture the agreed timelines, thresholds for reconciliation, and tolerances between networks and SLAs, providing a single point for monitoring.

Reconciliation output can be broadcasted to relevant stakeholders or parties on a blockchain-based dashboard using APIs. Dispute findings and reconciliation reports can be shared with respective parties over the private channel in near real-time, and transactions over blockchain ensure data security due to intrinsic mechanisms of the DLTs.

BCE is designed to support wholesale roaming settlement in 5G and IoT and is flexible enough for operators to agree on settlement windows between themselves monthly, quarterly, annually or bespoke- and use commercial models that would enable its monetisation, such as volume and tier agreements. These commercial models are not supported nowadays by TAP. An IoT event is inherently lower in value and volume, but the picture changes dramatically when all events are aggregated. This is why volume and tier agreements are more suitable to handle them.

There is no doubt that the 5G-driven IoT promises much, but in all the excitement surrounding its abilities, the back room requirements have been somewhat overlooked by the operators. To fully benefit from the increasingly widespread deployment of 5G, operators need to look carefully at BCE and how best to implement it for their customers.

It will undoubtedly take time for BCE to become embedded into the mobile ecosystem. Still, the quicker that happens, the faster operators will be able to release the full value of the new IoT business cases. The connected world is constantly evolving - the way that evolution is monetised needs to keep pace.

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Billing and Charging Evolution (BCE): Bringing Out the Full Value of the 5G IoT Roaming Featured - The Fast Mode

Success in the hospitality world hinges on the guest experience. What encourages the guest to come back for more? How does a hotel or restaurant stand out from nearby competitors? What role does technology play in the evolution of operations without losing a concepts sense of exceptional hospitality? Each of these questions plays a part in the strategy behind a hotels inner workings, and its important to ensure both the guests and the staff enjoy what the space has to offer.

In todays hotel market, competition is high and so are guests expectations. Hospitality professionals must be on their A-game and strive to create memorable experiences for each guest, every day. Thinking back to how hotel stays looked even a decade ago, its amazing to witness the impact technology, in particular, has had on the guests journey, from booking to check-out. From the way they make their reservation to the amenities that are presented in each guest room, hotels have continued to raise the bar over the years, in an effort to stand out from the crowd and impress those who choose to stay at their property.

While standard in-room features often include a television, WiFi, a coffee maker, complimentary toiletries and more, seeing the hotel through the eyes of the guest allows hoteliers to think bigger about what else could make a guests stay even more hospitable and convenient. So, lets rewind to before a guest even steps foot in the hotel. Booking a stay can sometimes be a hassle, and then, once the guest arrives, checking in isnt always a quick process. Thats where enhanced technology comes into play to re-envision the guest experience.

While many hotels across the nation continue to operate traditionally, some destinations exemplify this emerging trend, which impacts each hotel stay from start to finish. As soon as an individual books their room, the staff is digitally debriefed on their planned arrival time, stay preferences and any accommodation needs. Once the guest arrives, they dont need to look around to find the reception desk, because there isnt one. Instead, a staff member greets the guest in the lobby, as if they are being welcomed into a friends home. From this point on, the guest experience flows seamlessly, and those staff members are better equipped to meet each guests needs as they surface throughout their stay. As opposed to calling down to the front desk or taking a trip to the lobby for any given request, the guest is an app away from having hospitality and convenience at their fingertips, from ordering room service to booking nearby tours.

Each team member is not just a tour guide of the property or an escort to the guest rooms. They are an advocate for each and every guest that walks into the hotel, providing them with a next-level stay that exemplifies the future of hospitality. So, what goes into preparing for this major operational transition, and why is it seen as a way of the future? Clear and efficient training across all departments, such as housekeeping, maintenance, food and beverage and registration, is key to smoothly implementing this type of program. Each team member needs to feel confident and perform well in each category so the guest experience doesnt skip a beat and the employees day-to-day is enjoyable. Looking ahead at the future of hotel stays, its important to understand that this particular shift in technology is not an effort to replace the human factor, but rather strengthen it.

This advancement in the guest experience is not simply a boost for the guest. This strategy enhances the everyday routine of the hotel staff, allowing them to expand their role and take on a varying pool of responsibilities. This in turn opens the door of possibilities for where each staff member can take their career in the future. Not only is an expanded resume helpful from a growth and financial perspective, but the role that this opportunity brings provides a more meaningful, fulfilling work experience that promotes longevity in the industry. Elevating each staff member to a management position in this capacity increases their ability to manage and enhance the guest experience with a 360 degree scope. This approach also allows staff to focus on the experiential, memorable part of a guests stay, leaving the transactional tasks to be handled in the background.

Overall, altering the guest experience that hotels have presented as the standard for decades can be a tricky task. Over time, though, change is essential, and understanding the ins and outs of how to be truly hospitable from pre-arrival to post-departure gifts each guest with an unforgettable stay and supports the future of the hospitality industry as a whole.

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Evolution of the Guest Experience in Today's World - Hospitality Net

Image source: Discovery Institute.

The latest animated video fromLong Story Shortexplains the complex requirements for energy harnessing in life.Writing here, Iprovided an overview of the three steps to chemiosmotic coupling, the universal foundation of energy harnessing. Today, we will delve into the details and consider the proposed shortcuts for a naturalistic origin of life.

The first step of chemiosmotic coupling commonly involves the membrane respiratory complexes (more generally, the electron transport chain). This series of protein complexes serve to transfer electrons from the cells food source to an oxidizing agent. But direct transfer of electrons would circumvent energy harnessing, resulting in a raw and unproductive release of energy as heat much like touching a wire between the positive and negative poles of a battery. Rather, a discrete chain of small redox steps is employed to harness the energy, ultimately resulting in 10 protons pumped across a membrane for each pair of electrons that progresses through the redox chain.

Each step must be extremely precise because loose electrons not only waste energy but can randomly damage bystander molecules such as DNA. In a simple prokaryotic life form such asThermusthermophilus, the common pathway involves respiratory complexes I, III, and IV, which are comprised of 25 distinct proteins in total, each incorporating a precise arrangement of homochiral amino acids which are required for pinpoint handling of electron transfers down each redox step. The end result of the first step of chemiosmotic coupling is a proton gradient across a membrane a membrane that will not allow protons to pass freely, even though much larger molecules must be transported across the same membrane (this is described by the priorLong Story Shortvideo,here).

The second step in chemiosmotic coupling involves harnessing the proton gradient to rotate a transmembrane nanomachine known as ATP synthase. The rotation of ATP synthase combines ADP and phosphate into higher energy ATP. ATP synthase is made of at least eight distinct proteins and more than twenty protein units.

Nick Lane, an origin-of-life researcher, described ATP synthase as:

the most impressive nanomachine of them allThis is precision nanoengineering of the highest order, a magical device, and the more we learn about it the more marvelous it becomes.1

However, Lane immediately recanted his insinuation of design, replacing it with a hand-waving explanation, crafted from obligatory naturalism:

Some see in it proof for the existence of God. I dont. I see the wonder of natural selection.2

Nick Lane came to this conclusion without explaining how life succeeded in harnessing energy before the existence of ATP synthase, and he neglected to describe the additional complexity that is required for assembling ATP synthase proteins3, not to mention the incredible complexity of transcribing and translating DNA to produce such proteins.

We should also consider the interesting pathway that life employs to manufacture ADP the starting molecule that must first be produced before it can enter the endless recycling pathway between ADP and ATP. As it turns out, producing one molecule of ADP requires at least seven molecules of ATP a powerful example of circular causality. Producing ADP also requires a cadre of enzymes such as pyrophosphokinase, amidophosphoribosyltransferase, GAR synthetase, GAR transformylase, FGAM synthetase, AIR synthetase, AIR carboxylase, SAICAR synthetase, adenylosuccinate lyase, AICAR transformylase, IMP cyclohydrolase, and adenylosuccinate synthase.4And of course, production of each of these enzymes requires a supply of ATP more layers of circular causality.

The third and final step of chemiosmotic coupling involves the generalized application of ATP to power hundreds of reactions to build, organize, and repair the molecules of life. Importantly, the requisite molecules to harness energy via ATP are themselves produced by molecules which require ATP to operate. So, again, ATP must have been available to produce the ability to manufacture ATP.

Origin-of-life researchers are understandably desperate to sidestep all of this energy-harnessing complexity and circular causality. Nick Lanes attempt to explain the formation of ATP synthase through the wonder of natural selection is less than satisfying.

Origin-of-life researchers sometimes look to acetogens or methanogens, simple forms of life that generate a proton gradient across a membrane but replace the respiratory complexes with the acetyl-CoA pathway. However, this requires its own complex set of enzymes and is anything but simple (even if one ignores the source of the complex cofactors) and is unlikely to represent the first biological economy.5Also, methanogens and acetogens still require steps two and three of chemiosmotic coupling. Rather than sidestepping all the complexity of energy harnessing, acetogens or methanogens take a partial deviation down another complex pathway.

Others place their hope in fermenters that can produce ATP from a different (simpler) process: substrate-level phosphorylation. However, fermenters appear to have taken more of a degenerate pathway from the norm, rather than serving as pioneers in innovating toward the norm. Fermentation requires complex enzymes to make ATP and produces a large amount of partially oxidized end product,6which inhibits further growth unless cleaned up by another form of life or by oxidative phosphorylation. Also, fermenters still require steps two and three of chemiosmotic coupling but, interestingly, they run ATP synthase in reverse, consuming ATP to produce a proton gradient. This facilitates active membrane transport6and helps to expel the mess that they produce.

Another supposed pathway toward the evolution of energy harnessing comes from alkaline hydrothermal vents (white smokers). The vents natural pH gradient and ability to form small compartments provide hope that they may have jumpstarted the concept of proton gradients across a membrane. However, there are a host of reasons why alkaline hydrothermal vents are not up to the task: Brian Miller, writing in the journal Inference, has shown that the energy density required by life is about 100,000,000 times that which can be produced by the pH gradients of the vents.7The small compartments in the rock structure have membranes that are far too thick for energy harnessing. And they would still require complex molecular machinery to make use of the free pH gradient.8

Energy harnessing in even the simplest forms of life requires extreme complexity and exhibits circular causality. Advocates for abiogenesis desperately seek to sidestep this complexity, but their best approach thus far requires placing blind faith in the wonders of natural selection.

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Energy Harnessing and Blind Faith in Natural Selection - Discovery Institute

While only joining the organizational hierarchy two decades ago, the CDO role is already evolving from a CIO Mini-Me to a full-blown equal on the CEO executive leadership team.

It's time for the next evolution of the CDO: leading organizational efforts to utilize data and analytics to power the business. This means championing the application of data and analytics to help the organization optimize key business processes, mitigate compliance and regulatory risks, generate net new revenue streams, derive value from data and create distinct customer and stakeholder experiences.

The next generation of CDOs has to adapt due to the following five ways the role has changed since its inception, as explored in the 2022 IDC study "Driving Business Value from Data in the Face of Fragmentation and Complexity.''

The next-generation CDO role is evolving from a reactive data management role to a proactive, value creation one.

"Data leadership levels of maturity" provide a roadmap for advancing the organization's data and analytics capabilities to power the business, states the IDC report.

The following four levels of data and analytics maturity are identified in the report:

One area where optimized organizations are excelling is in operational AI. Optimized organizations are five times more likely to use AI to increase operational innovation and generate higher levels of business value. Optimized organizations also take advantage of advanced analytics to create semi-autonomous capabilities that continuously learn, adapt and scale with minimal human intervention.

CDOs must think beyond just digital transformation. They must become the catalyst for cultural transformation because operationalizing AI is not a technology issue, it's a cultural one.

Data and analytics cultural transformation occurs when organizations create a data and AI-literate culture that understands where and how to use data and analytics to drive more accurate, more relevant decisions. The culture should also empower employees to identify new areas of the business where data and analytics can drive new sources of customer and operational value.

AI and machine learning excel at optimizing business processes based upon the customer, product, service and operational insights -- predictive behavioral and performance propensities that already exist in the data.

CDOs must become the catalyst for cultural transformation because operationalizing AI is not a technology issue, it's a cultural issue.

However, the CDO's charter cannot stop at just "optimizing today's cow path" with AI and ML. CDOs must drive organizational AI literacy to fuel strategies about where and how data and AI can transform the customer experience and operational excellence.

CDOs should seek to empower empathy, experimentation, methodical failure and continuous learning to reinvent key business and operational processes. They can cultivate an environment where everyone thinks like a data scientist by democratizing data and AI ideation, instilling a culture of experimentation and learning through analyzing purposeful failure.

The data and analytics industry is struggling between centralized versus decentralized data and analytics structures. Researchers from IDC advocate for centralizing everything, with market concepts like the data mesh, data virtualization and federated learning pushing enterprises in the decentralized direction.

The answer is the hub-and-spoke model, which achieves the following:

Data products represent one of the best of the hub-and-spoke organizational structures. Data products are a category of domain-infused, AI-powered apps designed to help non-technical users manage data-intensive operations to achieve specific business outcomes.

Data apps use AI to mine a diverse set of customer and operational data, identify patterns, trends and relationships buried in the data, and make timely predictions and recommendations. Data apps track the effectiveness of those recommendations to continuously refine AI model effectiveness.

Organizations are failing to become data driven, according to a 2022 NewVantage Partners big data and AI leadership survey. While many business leaders believe that data is the catalyst to drive economic growth in the 21st century, companies' ability to become data driven is regressing.

CDOs are leading the charge in becoming value-driven through data. CDOs should champion a value engineering framework that drives cross-organizational collaboration to identify and validate how the organization creates value, and the KPIs and metrics against which the organization measures that value creation effectiveness.

The role of the CDO is evolving. To be successful, the modern CDO not only needs to master data and data management, but also champion value creation by empowering everyone in the organization with data ideation. This includes allowing them to give input on how data and analytics can drive new sources of customer, product, service and operational value.

As the evolution of the CDO role continues, the successful CDOs may realize it's more about cultural transformation and empowerment than it is about digital transformation and data management.

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The evolution of the chief data officer role - TechTarget

There is a strong case to be made that Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele are the two most important players to watch on the Cubs throughout the 2022 season.

As Jed Hoyer, Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office forges a path for the future of the franchise, it will all come back to pitching namely, starting pitching.

And if Thompson and Steele can continue along the progression theyve shown this season particularly over the last month-plus that would be a decisive answer for the state of the rotation.

Steele earned a spot in the Opening Day rotation and has proved he is worthy of holding down that role throughout this season. Thompson, however, began the year in the bullpen as a dynamic multi-inning relief weapon.

When injuries struck the Cubs rotation, Thompson received his opportunity and he has made the most of it.

After his gem Tuesday afternoon, the 27-year-old right-hander is 8-4 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 88.1 innings this season.

He hasnt quite been able to match the success he had in the bullpen, when he was 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 8 appearances. But Thompson has flashed his potential and learned valuable lessons along the way as a starter.

He hit a speed bump in mid-June when he surrendered 12 runs (10 earned) in 3.2 innings over a span of 2 starts in Baltimore and New York. But immediately after that rut, he responded with one of the best starts of his career (6 shutout innings, 9 strikeouts vs. the Braves on June 17).

In the 7 starts since his outing in New York, Thompson sports a 2.52 ERA, is striking out more than a batter an inning (43 whiffs in 39.1 frames) and has averaged more than 5 innings per start.

Tuesday afternoon was a big part of that, as the outing against the Pirates represented the longest start of Thompsons career. He surrendered 2 unearned runs in 7 innings, striking out 7 and allowing only 4 hits without walking a batter.

That was as good as weve seen Keegan, David Ross said.

With each passing outing, Thompsons confidence grows.

I see a guy whos confident in his ability and knows what he can do now in this league, Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. And youre starting to see him take off. Even the little blip of a week that he had, he was working on stuff in that process. So he knew he was gonna be better for it as he got through.

Once he got through it, then we refocused on the athleticism and being aggressive in the strike zone; hes doing things that he knew he could do. I think that confidence and his ability to trust his stuff in the strike zone you see it every night he goes out there.

Thompson made his MLB debut last season and began by making an impact out of the bullpen. But as the Cubs focus shifted following the trade deadline selloff, he was stretched out to join the rotation. He struggled in 5 outings (7.11 ERA, 2.13 WHIP) and averaged less than 3 innings per start.

But through it all, he was learning how to pitch in the majors and also discovering what worked well for him.

Since Thompson has found more success in the bullpen than in the rotation early in his young MLB career, he has modified his pre-start routine to be more like his warm-up for relief appearances.

In the past, Thompson would warm up for a start by playing long toss and then throw 25-30 pitches in the bullpen. But he found he was wasting energy and bullets that he could be utilizing in a game against an opponent instead of throwing to an empty batters box in a bullpen.

There was one instance last season where he realized how his original routine was not working in his favor. Before a particularly hot start against the White Sox on Aug. 27, Thompson was drained and sweating profusely after playing long toss on the field.

So he worked with Hottovy and the rest of the Cubs coaches to find a routine that works for him before starts.

Just getting my arm ready enough to go into the game is all Im trying to do right now instead of trying to build up and throw more warming up and all that stuff, Thompson said. Ive been able to hold my velocity far deeper into the game still.

Thompson has also learned a lot with his pitch sequencing and how to utilize his arsenal. During his blip in mid-June, Ross felt like Thompson got away from using his fastball too much and pushed for the young righty to go back to what he does best.

Thompson also added a new pitch, working in a slider that he has slowly started to throw more often over the last few outings (while throwing his curveball less).

The slider is something Thompson and the Cubs have been working on in bullpens occasionally throughout the season and he recently felt confident enough to take it into games. He has thrown a slider in the past, but this is a new grip and new movement profile.

Its a good pitch and something we want to keep exploring but its also a relatively new addition to his arsenal, Hottovy said. But its cool to see him have the confidence to be able to take it and find the moments when he wants to break it out and use it.

That word confidence has been a big key to Thompsons evolution as a pitcher. With each pitch he throws, he is gaining valuable experience and learning more and more how to get MLB hitters out on a consistent basis.

Hes a confident kid but hes also confident in what he needs to do to be successful, Hottovy said. Weve simplified a lot of things and hes just aggressive.

I think hes gonna continue to get better. Youre gonna see him continue to find ways to hone in different parts of his arsenal.

Thompson has been so impressive at points throughout this season that he has a teammate touting his ability as a potential ace down the road. During the Cubs trip to Los Angeles earlier this month, veteran catcher Yan Gomes told Rick Sutcliffe he felt like he was catching a No. 1 in Thompson.

Hes still kind of a younger guy that probably needs to learn his pitching arsenal yet but with everything hes got power fastball, curveball, slider, changeup hes got a good mix as a possible No. 1 guy, Gomes said.

This is a catcher who has worked with Cy Young winners like Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer throughout his career.

Gomes believes the early-season success Thompson had as a multi-inning reliever helped build confidence for the young pitcher.

I think you saw a little bit of the maturity when he made the transition to a starter, Gomes said. The reliever-to-starter mentality kinda changed a little bit and we wanted him to still think the same way as a reliever.

Youve started to see that back up again. Its air everything out and thats just kinda how his game plays. Thats a big level of maturity, especially doing so well in the pen and then making the move and having a small little hiccup and then being able to regather yourself and really compete every time hes out there.

Thompson hasnt topped 100 innings in a season since 2018 (129.2) so the Cubs will undoubtedly be conscious of his workload as the season wears on. He is at 88.1 innings after Tuesdays start.

He has earned the right to stick in the rotation indefinitely and if he can continue to evolve and mature, Thompson can help change the calculus for the offseason as the Cubs build a rotation for 2023 and beyond.

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The evolution of Keegan Thompson - Marquee Sports Network

CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / July 29, 2022 / Cosmos Holdings, Inc. ("the Company") (NASDAQ:COSM) announced today that it is changing the name of the Company to Cosmos Healthto better reflect the Company's evolution into an innovative global healthcare group with a focus on improving people's lives. The enhancement with cutting edge technlogies for the development of its pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, through its vertical integrated ecosystem, will enable Cosmos Health to implement its goal of becoming a global healthcare group, committed to human health needs.

"The Cosmos Health brand marks a new chapter in the Company's evolution and better reflects our commitment towards a leading, highly scalable and innovative global healthcare group based on our R&D partnerships, fully licensed production facilities and fast deployment to distribution channels. This is in alignment with the Company's recent announcements about R&D partnerships (CloudPharm) and a proposed acquisition (Cana Laboratories) of a fully licensed Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) medical manufacturing facility with an outstanding scientific personnel, represents with the utmost accuracy the plan that is being implemented towards the goal of becoming a leading global healthcare group," stated Greg Siokas, Chief Executive Officer of Cosmos Health.

"Our ecosystem enables cutting-edge technology and top-tier R&D departments to produce innovative and unique formulations for new pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, primarily focusing on major health disorders and prevalent diseases. Our organization's principles are the beacon to continue to build, progress and enhance this ecosystem under the Cosmos Health banner," concluded Greg Siokas.

The Company is qualified to do business under the name Cosmos Health and will formally amend its Articles of Incorporation following this fall's annual shareholders meeting.

About Cosmos Health Inc.

Cosmos Health Inc. (Nasdaq: COSM) is a global healthcare group that was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Cosmos Health is engaged in the nutraceuticals sector through its own proprietary lines of products "Sky Premium Life" and "Mediterranation." Additionally, the Company is operating in the pharmaceutical sector through the provision of a broad line of branded generics and OTC medications and is involved in the healthcare distribution sector through its subsidiaries in Greece and UK serving retail pharmacies and wholesale distributors. Cosmos Health is strategically focused on the R&D of novel patented nutraceuticals (IP) and specialized root extracts as well as on the R&D of proprietary complex generics and innovative OTC products. Cosmos has developed a global distribution platform and is currently expanding throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Cosmos Health has offices and distribution centers in Thessaloniki and Athens, Greece and Harlow, UK. More information is available at http://www.cosmosholdingsinc.com and http://www.skypremiumlife.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements preceded by, followed by, or that otherwise, include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "projects," "estimates," "plans" and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "would," "may" and "could", are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts, although not all forward-looking statements include the foregoing. These statements, involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may individually or materially impact the matters discussed, herein for a variety of reasons that are outside the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to raise sufficient financing to implement its business plan, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, on the Company's business, operations and the economy in general, and the Company's ability to successfully develop and commercialize its proprietary products and technologies. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, as actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers are urged to read the risk factors set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update, or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:Crescendo Communications, LLCTel: 212-671-1020Email: COSM@crescendo-ir.com

SOURCE: Cosmos Holdings, Inc.

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Cosmos Holdings Announces Name Change to Cosmos Health, Reflecting Company's Evolution into an Innovative Global Healthcare Group, Driven by One...

Evolution Theatre Companys 2022 season rolls on with the area premiere of Gently Down the Stream, Martin Shermans touching look at the struggles, triumphs and tragedies of the last half century of the gay liberation movement, in a production empathetically directed by Joe Bishara.

Gently Down the Stream follows cabaret accompanist Beau (Mark Phillips Schwamberger), through a love triangle that turns into deep friendship with English banker Rufus (Jarrod Turnbull) and Rufus eventual husband Harry (Akky Oyagi).

I thought I was getting sex, not an interview, Schwambergers Beau says to Turnbulls Rufus in the first scene of the play as Rufus machine-guns giddy questions about Beaus history he seems to know an uncomfortable amount about, especially Beaus extended period as pianist for legendary torch singer Mabel Mercer.

Theres an interesting tension in these early scenes where the more paranoid of us might think were seeing a stalker situation. Bisharas direction subtly plays out that relatively quickly resolved red herring, while he and the actors tease out the power dynamics of both a May-December romance and the power dynamics of a fan and an artist; how are these similar and where they diverge, what happens when the two intertwine?

Schwamberger walks a razors edge, his character simultaneously flattered by the attention and wary of being fetishized for where hes been, what hes done, and who hes known. Turnbull does an excellent job shading Rufus from a puppy-dog fanboy, desperate to romanticize any past era and vibrate with someone who was there, into a three-dimensional person with his own needs and desires who must as we all do live in the now. When that energy triangulates with the introduction of Oyagis Harry for the final third of the 80-minute one-act, the quiet intensity of his performance shifts everything and adds a balance and a middle ground.

At moments I started to roll my eyes at the Zelig-like nature of Beau hes at the Upstairs Lounge the night of the fire; he dated James Baldwin. But every time that reflex seized me, in the next breath, I was won over by the specifics of the story Schwamberger is telling, by the carefully-chosen, cut-crystal details, and the easy rhythms Bishara and his cast settle into, letting every scene breathe. Bishara also keeps the proceedings (two, then three men, in a small apartment) from getting too static with a handful of indelible images, shifting the Upstairs Lounge story to a video screen atop the set framed as an old camcorder recording, or Oyagi, in a yellow boa, extracting a slow-burn read at the side of the stage of the Gershwin standard The Man I Love.

Gently Down the Stream is one of the best depictions Ive ever seen of the immutable human sense that we understand our lives in retrospect. Its subtlety and warmth reverberated with me all the way home as I sat down to write this. The sharpness of the storytelling, the charisma of Schwambergers narrator Beauregard, and his chemistry with Turnbull and Oyagi made for an incredibly satisfying evening at the theater as well as an excellent example of the kind of work Evolution does so well, and I cant picture another company in Columbus bringing to us.

Gently Down the Stream runs through July 30 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For tickets and more information, visit evolutiontheatre.org.

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Theater Review: Evolution's Warm and Touching 'Gently Down The Stream' - Columbus Underground