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Researchers have unveiled insights into the origins of the common German cockroach.

It turns out the cockroach, Blattella germanica, found across the globe, is a pest of our own making.

For centuries, the German cockroach has thrived in close proximity to human populations, infesting homes, apartment buildings, work offices, and other structures.

Unlike many other pest species, which have natural populations in diverse habitats, German cockroaches have no known natural populations, says Edward Vargo, professor of urban entomology in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Entomology. They rely solely on human activity and manmade structures.

For years, many scientists have wondered where these household pests originated and how they came to scurry across our kitchen floors.

The new research addresses these lingering questions by diving deep into the DNA of cockroaches from across six continents. Their analysis uncovers the evolution of this insect species and sheds light on the German cockroachs close association with human habitats.

While their name might indicate origins in Germany, that name came from a taxonomist presented with a specimen from Germany, but that is not considered their origin.

Many people speculated over the years that the species origins came from Africa or Asia, Vargo says. It has been intriguing to find out that those who said Asia were right all along.

The study provides a detailed genetic analysis that shows German cockroaches originated from the Asian cockroach approximately 2,100 years ago. Alongside this development, the cockroaches began to adapt to human-built environments, eventually leading to a dependence on living inside manmade structures.

These cockroaches are known for their small size, resilience, and ability to thrive indoors. In addition to their dependence on human-built structures, they have also relied on human transportation for dispersal. As civilizations and travel advanced, it turns out our crisscrossing the world included the German cockroach as a secret passenger.

What is truly interesting here is how fairly recent that evolution occurred and how the German cockroachs origin is related directly to its association with humans, Vargo says.

Understanding the origins and evolution of the German cockroachs spread across the world is a crucial discovery for understanding the challenges these pests present. New infestations still occur through the transport of infested items like furniture, appliances, moving boxes, and travel bags.

The adaptability and resilience of this species has also led to a resistance to many different insecticides. Vargo says this reality enhances our understanding of what we might expect from this species in the future and prompts us to consider new and innovative ways to mitigate their presence in our daily lives.

Understanding the German cockroachs history and how quickly it adapted to human habitations and evolved is important because it relates to the pest control resistance of the species now, Vargo says.

Knowing how they came to exist and thrive can help us better understand how the species might adapt and cause more issues worldwide.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: Texas A&M University

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German cockroaches have humans to thank for their evolution - Futurity: Research News

Image source: Louvre Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

I recently finished reading science writer Philip Balls new book,How Life Works: A Users Guide to the New Biology. Ball is a gifted writer and science communicator, making this a pleasant volume to read. But what I found most fascinating is how often Ball, in describing this new biology, feels the need to appeal to design language despite his overt disavowal of any support for intelligent design. Its almost as if the evidence forces his hand against his will!

The main thrust of the book is that a reductionist genetic essentialism is no longer a tenable view of how life works. DNA is not a simple blueprint for building an organism. The instructions contained in the genome are subject to interpretation by a myriad of cellular and organismal systems rendering it impossible to make any predictions about the phenotype of an organism simply by analyzing its genotype. In Balls view, agency acts at all levels of organismal structure (shades of Denis Noble) making the processes of life far more complex and dynamic than the old gene-centered view allowed for. But in making this argument, Ball is forced into employing design tropes and explicit design language in ways that I think even he finds a bit embarrassing given his desire to remain biologically orthodox.

To be clear, Ball makes his anti-ID stance explicit near the end of the book: I do want to be clearthat there is no obvious challenge in any of what I have said or say hereafter to the core principles of Darwinism or perhaps we should say of neo-Darwinism (453). And about the appearance of agency in evolution he says, There need be nothing mystical about the question it is not a backdoor for intelligent design (460). Ball feels the need to assure his readers of his biological orthodoxy, but this just serves to emphasize how aware he is that what he says about how life works could easily be seen to support design thinking. Examples of this abound.

To start, Ball recognizes the intractable problem at the heart of origin-of-life scenarios:

The fact that DNA can only be made with the help of proteins (such as DNA polymerase), and that proteins can only be made with the help of DNA, poses a chicken-and-egg conundrum for how the whole shebang could have got started when life on Earth began (109).

Kudos to Ball for recognizing this problem. Unfortunately, he simply ignores the more important question of whether this conundrum renders naturalistic origin-of-life scenarios moot. He certainly offers no naturalistic explanation himself. He just leaves the conundrum hanging and ignores its larger significance.

On the matter of junk DNA, Ball praises the ENCODE project for showing that much of the human genome actually has function, and he further recognizes that this does not sit well with many evolutionary biologists. He cites Ford Doolittle to the effect that if most of the human genome is not junk, we would have to be unique among animals. Doolittle scornfully termed this genomic anthropocentrism. But Ball pushes back in defense of ENCODE, writing, To accuse an internationally renowned team of scientists of opening the door to intelligent design is akin to an ideological accusation of a betrayal of the faith (123). Ball doesnt see it this way. He supports the findings of ENCODE even as he rejects intelligent design. But his language becomes more and more design-laden as he goes.

Consider his discussion of intrinsically disordered proteins, proteins that remain in a mostly unfolded state until they are needed to perform a function at which time they take on the appropriate form. Ball (citing Polish cancer researcher Ewa Grzybowska) says of intrinsically disordered proteins that they enable cells to respond quickly to a change in circumstances, giving access to a wide variety of possible routes for transmitting and directing signals that are and this is crucial! not programmed into the system (164). But how do cells know how to respond in unprogrammed ways to unexpected circumstances? Is Ball implying some sort of cellular or even molecular cognition similar to that considered by Barbara McClintock in the 1980s? He does not say (though later it appears he is leaning this way). Once again, he tantalizes us with non-Darwinian, ID-friendly possibilities, but simply ignores the obvious implication.

However, when we get to Balls discussion of causal emergence, the cat is out of the bag. He calls causal emergence a general design principle for life (217). And in a discussion of body-patterning processes in embryonic development he writes:

Here again we can see one of natures design principles: to find the right balance between top-down, bottom-up, and middle-out mechanisms for building organisms, so that adaptation and variation can happen, and innovations dramatic new solutions to the challenge of design are possible without producing a dangerous sensitivity to small changes (330).

So nature and life possess design principles, do they! And where might these principles have come from? A designer, perhaps? Ball again has nothing more to say. He once again tantalizes us with overt design language and then moves on.

Ball goes on:

Indeed, even single, functional biomolecules like proteins represent their environment in a sense, for example in the way that the polypeptide chains are designed to fold on the assumption that they will do so in water, and the way enzymes have active sites that in a sense anticipate their respective target ligands (361).

Ball tries to protect himself here by the use of scare quotes. But he really cant have it both ways. If polypeptide chains are designed to fold in water, then they are designed to fold in water and there must have been a designer. If they are not designed, then their ability to fold in water must be the result of undirected material processes. And if the latter, why bother to use the wordsdesignandanticipateonly to undermine their meaning by using scare quotes? Clearly the evidence for design is compelling to Ball, but he must try to maintain his commitment to biological orthodoxy at the same time, leading him to twist himself into a bit of a pretzel.

In another defensive move, Ball has this to say:

I have talked here about cellsdecidingtheir fate:electingwhich valley of the landscape to go down. This sounds like very anthropomorphic language, but it neednt be. After all, we speak routinely of computer systems making decisions too, especially in artificial intelligence (262, emphases in the original).

Does Ball really want to go down this road? Computer systems make decisions only because they have been designed that way by their intelligent creators. No decision-making computer has ever arisen as the result of an undirected physical process. If the existence of decision-making computers implies the existence of an intelligent computer engineer, then the existence of decision-making cells likewise would imply the existence of an intelligent creator of those cells. Balls analogy threatens to undermine his whole anti-ID stance.

To go even further, Ball favorably quotes biologist Dennis Bray:

living cells have an intrinsic sensitivity to their environment a reflexivity, a capacity to detect and record salient features of their surroundings that is essential for their survival. This feature is deeply woven into the molecular fabric of living cells (263).

Ball doesnt even exclude the possibility of cellular sentience. And yet, to maintain credibility with his scientific readers, he simply cant bring himself to entertain the obvious conclusion being forced upon him by the accumulating biological evidence: Neo-Darwinism is dead, but intelligent design is looking more and more likely.

I appreciate Balls willingness to fully engage with this emerging dynamic view of how life works. He is right to pronounce the old gene-centered view dead on arrival, even if it is being kept artificially alive in many quarters due to fears that the alternative doesnt fit so neatly with naturalism. Yet despite Balls strenuous disavowal of intelligent design,How Life Worksjust might be one of the more important ID books to appear in recent years. And that irony should not be lost on anyone.

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Intelligent Design in a Non-ID Book - Discovery Institute

In a village near the ancient Silk Road town of Yarkand, on the edge of the Taklamakan desert in the far-western region of Xinjiang, the gongzuodui has been busy. The term means work team. In Xinjiang it refers to a group of officials dispatched to a poor rural area to change the way Muslim residents live and think. In this village, called Konabazar, the team has been engaged in ideological mobilisation. The aim is to persuade reluctant farmers to head off and do other forms of work.

It is all but impossible for journalists to find out what those ethnic-Uyghur farmers made of the work teams efforts, which involved lecturing villagers at flag-raising ceremonies and holding night-school classes. Since early 2017, when China began sending a million or more people, most of them Uyghurs, to vocational education and training centres (detention camps, in effect), it has become increasingly difficult to get first-hand accounts from victims of Chinas repression in Xinjiang. The state justifies its actions in the name of stamping out terrorism, separatism and religious extremism. Western scholars believe the camps were wound down around 2020. But they say official accounts, such as the report about Konabazar, suggest widespread forced labour is still being used for a similar purpose.

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The evolution of forced labour in Xinjiang - The Economist

Cal linebacker Cade Uluave was limited during spring, but his impressive freshman campaign now has him locked in as one of the leaders on a defense in transition.

Uluave had one session with the media during spring practice.

Whats the key to staying engaged?

Definitely been on the mental side of the ball, as our far as our defense goes, defense changes every year. So we're going to have to adjust and adapt.

And for me to be in the film room, getting mental reps, this huge for me because, I'm not able to get on this field yet.So getting those mental reps every play, watching myself will keep me engaged and keep me ready for whenever I step on the field.

On his freshman breakout campaign

Personally, coming in as a freshman I wasn't expecting to play a whole lot to be honest. And so when my time came, I knew how to set things up. And I knew had to be that guy and, run the defense and everything. And so what I did well is I felt like I learned the defense really well, adjusted really well.

I was able to make some plays and what not and just bond with the defense and learn the defense better, which is what's really helped me.

Some things that I can work on is probably being, like I said earlier, being more mental in the game, being able to understand different formations, what the offense is trying to run, different pass concepts and run concepts out of each formation and personnel group.

And so just that and then also being an alpha on the field as a freshman, having a season under my belt, now it's time for me to level up on the field, be more of a leader and be more of a better teammate.

On the game slowing down for him

I think my my first rep against defense against Oregon State, I was in there and I was like, what happened?

And so then the, last few games, Im reading everything read my keys, everything's going smoothly. And I just felt more confident like a better player. And so the game slowed down.Everything's making sense more.

And so I strive to get better each day and improve myself as a player or a person athlete, whatever it may be.

On confidence going into sophomore year

I think my game will excel and level up, got to keep working, got to stay hungry. Can't be good with where I'm atsatisfied.

Got to keep going. Keep leveling up each day, daily thing.

On working with the running backs last year helped him

I was like, cool, Like this could be cool. I was kind of open to whatever.

I was like, because I had to get on the field. However, I can get on the field and make plays and contribute to a team I was up for. And so going with the running backs was an adjustment, was fun . You got to run the ball, you score touchdowns, whatnot.

But also I am grateful for switching to running back for those few weeks because I was able to understand more of the offense and what the offense is trying to do in the objectives offense are trying to do and then apply it to defense.

I know what the offense is trying to run and it just helps me sense we have to make better plays and stuff.

What do you think of how the defense has come together this year so far?

Defense, it's good. I think it's I think it's solid defense. I think we're going to level up our game and we're going to be a force to be reckoned with. Got some new transfers and everything.

And those guys seem to be learning the system really well.There's ball making plays, having fun, just learning it, being confident and just going out and doing our thing.

On the new inside linebackers

They're doing great. I think they're adapting really well, learning the defense and everything, especially from our new guys, are new freshmen coming in early. You can tell they put in the time in the film room and got extra reps and worked on their technique to, you know, contribute to the team.

On the weight

Probably around the 235 range. You know, maybe I could go down to 230, maybe go to 240 if I'm feeling good. But aanywhere in that range is where I'm comfortable and last year, I was about 220, towards the end of the season, probably 222, 223.

So, you know, I was able to get it up and you got to make sure you can still move it up a little bit more and not lose a step. We're able to track our speed and everything. And so as I was putting on weight, I was able to keep my speed.

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Cal LB Cade Uluave on his evolution from freshman standout to defensive leader - Write For California

The exceptionally named necks-for-sex hypothesis of giraffe evolution suggests their long necks are the result of competition among males, but new research suggests it could be something much more prosaic.

Male giraffes practice neck sparring, violently swing their necks into each other to assert dominance, so the hypothesis formed that males with longer necks mayhave been more reproductively successful.

But, more recently, biologists have proposed that neck length may instead be driven by females foraging behaviour. Being able to forage deeply into trees for otherwise difficult-to-reach leaves would be an advantage for females, who have increased nutritional demands due to gestation and lactation.

Now new research has found that female Masai giraffes (Giraffa tippelskirchi) have proportionally longer necks and trunks than males.

The necks-for-sex hypothesis predicted that males would have longer necks than females, says Doug Cavener, a biologist at Pennsylvania State University in the US and lead author of the study in the journalMammalian Biology.

And technically they do have longer necks, but everything about males is longer; they are 30% to 40% bigger than females.

The researchers analysed photos of hundreds of wild and captive Masai giraffes to investigate the relative body proportions of each species and how they might change as giraffes grow and mature.

The female has a proportionally longer axial skeleton a longer neck and trunk and are more sloped in appearance, while the males are more vertical, says Cavener.

This supports previous research, which found female South African giraffes (G. giraffa) have proportionally longer necks than males.

Rather than stretching out to eat leaves on the tallest branches, you often see giraffes especially females reaching deep into the trees, he says.

Giraffes are picky eaters. They eat the leaves of only a few tree species, and longer necks allow them to reach deeper into the trees to get the leaves no one else can.

Once females reach four or five years of age, they are almost always pregnant and lactating, so we think the increased nutritional demands of females drove the evolution of giraffes long necks.

The researchers also found that adult male giraffes have longer forelegs and wider necks than females, probably to assist in mating and for male neck sparring behaviours, respectively.

If female foraging is driving this iconic trait as we suspect, it really highlights the importance of conserving their dwindling habitat, Cavener says.

The team is also using genetics to better understand which males are successful at breeding, with the aim to guide conservation efforts for this endangered species.

Populations of Masai giraffes have declined rapidly in the last 30 years, in part due to habitat loss and poaching, and it is critical that we understand the key aspects of their ecology and genetics in order devise the most efficacious conservation strategies to save these majestic animals.

Continued here:

"Necks-for-sex hypothesis of giraffe evolution challenged - Cosmos

Summary

Criminal Minds: Evolution has officially been renewed for season 3. While Criminal Minds has been airing since 2005, its new era, Criminal Minds: Evolution, began with season 16 of the series. Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 season 17 of the overall series airs its first two episodes on June 6. From there, Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 will air episodes weekly on Thursdays through the end of July.

Per Variety, Criminal Minds: Evolution has now been renewed for season 3. This season will go into production later this year, likely following the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2. Casting information has yet to be announced, but it will likely feature a number of recurring cast members from the previous iterations of the series.

The timing is key for the renewal of Criminal Minds: Evolution. While any renewal announced this week would be considered a fairly early renewal for the series, Paramount+ has decided to renew the show before the season 2 premiere airs. This indicates that Criminal Minds: Evolution is a huge point of focus for Paramount+, as the network clearly has faith in it.

Criminal Minds: Evolution introduced a controversial new character, and in the upcoming season 2, they're going to bring more chaos to the BAU.

This faith is a great sign for the shows longevity, as increased confidence in Criminal Minds: Evolutions ability to succeed may come with perks like an increased budget. Over the years, Criminal Minds has lost key players including Shemar Moores Derek Morgan, who left Criminal Minds after season 11, when Moore sought other creative opportunities. Showrunner Erica Messer has since indicated that Moore is unlikely to make even a cameo appearance, due to his starring role on the TV series S.W.A.T.

Even with this major cast departure and other changes over the years, Paramount+ is confident in the success of the show given its early renewal. The upcoming season of the show will feature the core team of investigators as they look into the Gold Star mystery. On this quest, they have to face a vicious serial killer named Elias Voit. Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 features cast members Joe Mantegna, Krsitin Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, A.J. Cook, Ryan-James Hatanaka, Paget Brewster, and Adam Rodriguez who make a great ensemble.

Criminal Minds: Evolution is available to stream on Paramount+.

Source: Variety

In Criminal Minds: Evolution, the FBIs elite team of criminal profilers come up against their greatest threat yet, an UnSub who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, the team must hunt them down, one murder at a time. Original cast members continuing their roles include Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. Zach Gilford joins the dynamic cast as a recurring guest star in a season-long arc.

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Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Renewed By Paramount+ - Screen Rant

Criminal Minds: Evolution season 17 premieres June 6 on Paramount+.

Criminal Minds: Evolution is coming back for Season 3! Paramount+ announced the news this morning on social media. Before Season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution even gets rolling, Paramount is betting big on a familiar facefor viewers. In an era where the Nielsen ratings can be a bit of an adventure for traditional shows, Criminal Minds has remained a mainstay. (During the earliest parts of the pandemic, the series enjoyed a turbo charge as people either revisited the series or discovered it for the first time.) The switch to Paramount+ for the recent entries has also reinvigorated longtime fans. Not too long ago, ComicBook caught up with Adam Rodriguez to unpack what's made the recent seasons so rewarding. There's some key cinematic differences at play here.

"Oh, man, well first of all, thank you, because we feel the same way. I mean, we're just so reinvigorated to be doing the show on Paramount+ now in more than one way. I mean, it's obviously Criminal Minds: Evolution," he told us. "So it's slightly differentfrom what Criminal Minds was. But we've got these characters that have been around for all of these years, and have built up this relationship with the audience that we now get to explore in a new way."

He added, "So it lends itself to feeling more cinematic just in the amount of breath, time, and space that we have to do that kind of exploration. I think another big part of that is the addition of Anthony Pietro, who's our Director of Photography now, is amazing and just has a has a great eye and a great feel for the show. And on top of all of that fits into the culture of the show as well."

As Season 2 gets ready to blow the doors offof Paramount+, here's a fresh synopsis: "This season of CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION stars Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Zach Gilford, Ryan-James Hatanaka with Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. Guest stars include Clark Gregg, Felicity Huffman, Liana Liberato, Paul F. Tompkins, Tuc Watkins and Brian White."

"In the wake of last season's shocking finale, the upcoming all-new season of CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION picks up as the FBI's elite team of profilers investigates the deadly mystery of GOLD STAR. As the conspiracy unfolds, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is met with an unexpected complication when serial killer Elias Voit negotiates a deal that transfers him to federal custody in the BAU's own backyard. The team faces its biggest threat yet and cannot emerge unscathed from the mind-bending consequences."

Are you stoked for more Criminal Minds? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

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Criminal Minds: Evolution Renewed for Season 3 - ComicBook.com

In the first three months of 2024, stock markets continued the strong performance trend that was evident in the late part of 2023. However, some of the key drivers of this performance have changed, writes Patrick Farrell, Chief Investment Officer, Charles Stanley.

Performance at the end of 2023 resulted from the more encouraging tone from central banks on potential interest rate cuts. This was a significant change from the higher-for-longer messaging that was with us for much of last year. This optimism continued into 2024 as the market started to expect significant cuts starting as early as March with the expectation that there would be a rate cut at every meeting from then. The pace of interest-rate cuts expected by the market was overly optimistic and was not supported by the messaging from central banks.

As the optimism started to erode and rate cut expectations started to lessen the focus for shares moved to the earnings reporting season for the last three months of 2023. This was positive overall. And it gave investors renewed confidence that everything was fine and that the US economy was strong.

As a result, there was a broadening of market performance across companies and sectors and less, albeit still significant, focus on the Magnificent Seven stocks (Apple, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla) that had dominated market performance during 2023.

At least four of the Magnificent Seven were significant contributors to the performance of the index. This is particularly true in the case of Nvidia, as it beat some of the already lofty earnings expectations for the final three months of last year. Nevertheless, the earnings season in general was better than expected across the board and was the key driver of performance first three months of the year.

This broadening of performance away from just the big names is a sign that the US economy remains strong, particularly with a lift in consumer discretionary shares resulting from stronger consumer spending.

This strength is helping some other parts of the world, such as the economically struggling regions of Europe and Japan, to generate stronger-than-expected earnings results as well. This has resulted in stronger share performance across global sectors.

Considering the global sector performance over the last three and 12 months, there are initial indications of some sector rotation. However, this trend is unlikely to fully flip around in the short term, as technology and communication sectors retain strong growth prospects, even though much of the future optimism has already been priced into the market.

The strong performance for the quarter, driven by the better earnings results, tended to overlook the rapidly reducing expectations on interest rate cuts over 2024. Earlier in the year, investors were anticipating as many as seven to eight 0.25% rate cuts in the US over the year. It is now expected to be around three rate cuts, which was much more in line with indications coming from the central banks. This change in expectations saw US bond yields rise (as rates are expected to be higher for longer) but had little negative impact on shares considering the stronger earnings results.

Where to from here?

The key drivers for performance across asset classes moving forward are likely to focus on the following.

Company earnings

Many companies have been able to adapt, and prepare for, a slowdown in demand. This has not come through in the US, and now companies are more optimistic about the future and are positioning themselves accordingly. The first-quarter earnings have been generally positive, but companies that gave cautious outlook were punished. Momentum in sales and profits at the big cloud computing companies Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet has justified their lofty valuations.

Rate cut expectations

There is likely to be more stability in speculation around interest rate cuts expected for this year as we travel through the second quarter, as central banks provide more guidance on key factors and timing. It is likely that the European Central Bank (ECB) and potentially the Bank of England (BoE) will start reducing rates before the Fed, as the higher rates have resulted in more material impacts on those regions than in the US, where the economy remains strong.

Central banks have highlighted that they are more comfortable about the continuation of the falling inflation that we have been experiencing. But are not convinced yet that it will sustainably move back to target levels. Inflation is still too high and stickier results from here will see central banks put it back into focus and will delay rate cut expectations as a response. It should be noted that the risks of sticky inflation are higher than the chances of undershooting inflation, and this is a risk for policy decisions over the next few months.

If the economy gathers momentum from here, these risks are amplified and rate-cut expectations will quickly reduce. This risk is more important in the US, where growth is strong, and less so for Europe and the UK, which is why there is the likelihood that European central banks will cut rates independent of the Fed.

Geopolitical risk

Gold and oil prices have been increasing as the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and Ukraine pick up pace. This is a risk for markets, with the rising oil price not helping to bring down inflation. It therefore needs to be watched carefully and could be a key factor for the elections in many democratic nations this year. To discuss any of the themes in this article or for information on how Charles Stanley can partner with your business, contact Head of Strategic Partnerships, Tom Hawkins on 020 3627 3990, or email IST@charles-stanley.co.uk.

The value of investments, and the income derived from them, can fall as well as rise. Investors may get back less than invested. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Charles Stanley & Co. Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Click here to learn more about Charles Stanley

About Patrick Farrell

Patrick is the Chief Investment Officer at Charles Stanley and has over 30 years experience in investment and management roles at some of Australias largest asset management companies. He was CIO for the Suncorp Group, the largest general insurance group in Australia, as well as BT Financial Group, the wealth and asset management arm of Westpac, one of Australias big four banks. Prior to that he held leadership roles in the areas of tactical asset allocation, collectives research and fixed interest portfolio management. He holds a Bachelor of Science majoring in pure and applied mathematics roles from the University of Western Australia and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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The evolution of market sentiment in the first quarter and beyond - IFA Magazine

Pour overs are a staple of specialty coffee. Beloved by coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, this brewing method is considered to extract the true expression of a coffees innate characteristics.

As the wider coffee industry continues to evolve, so does pour over. Every year, we see a range of both manual and automated pour over devices launched on the market helping to push the boundaries of extraction and flavour even further.

Many of these new brewers have been firmly embraced by the specialty coffee community, appearing on more and more coffee shop shelves and home brew bar setups. So with an increasingly wider variety of brewers and devices available, where could pour over be heading next?

To find out more, I spoke to Nicole Chabot, co-founder of Graycano, and Sasa Sestic, founder of Nucleus Coffee Tools.

You may also like our article on a brief history of manual brewing methods.

Although we often talk about pour over like its a relatively new brewing method, it actually dates back to the early 1900s.

One of the precursors in the evolution of pour over brewing was the launch of the Melitta brand in the early 1900s. After Melitta Bentz fashioned a brewer using a brass pot and a filter, the Melitta brand became one of the first to start selling commercially-available paper filters. This changed pour over brewing forever.

After the iconic Chemex launched in 1941, Hario debuted its Vector 60 (or V60) manual brewer in the early 2000s. The product was named for its 60 angle of the cone, which the company says helps to facilitate extraction.

The Clever Dripper also gained popularity in specialty coffee following its launch in 2008. This brewer combines both pour over and immersion-style brewing, which can enhance mouthfeel and texture.

In 2010, the flat bottom Kalita Wave entered the market and also became a coffee shop favourite. The devices horizontal grooves help to reduce contact between the paper filter and brewer walls, which minimises extraction inconsistencies.

Year after year, a range of new manual pour over brewers launch on the market. Each one has its own unique twist, with many different trends impacting design and functionality.

One of the biggest influences, however, is the World Brewers Cup an annual competition where some of the worlds best baristas showcase their manual filter brewing skills.

While the majority of winners have used either the Hario V60 or the Kalita Wave in their routines, we saw 2023 winner Carlos Medina use the Origami and 2024 World Brewers Cup Champion Martin Wlfl win with the Orea V4.

At the 2022 competition, Wlfl also used another new manual pour over brewer the Graycano. This conical-shaped device has a big focus on design and materials, and has become increasingly popular at the World Brewers Cup.

Nicole Chabot is a co-founder of Graycano.

Heat retention and design have become more important features of pour over brewers, she says. We wanted to combine modern design with unique materials to improve extraction efficiency.

Each brewer includes an aluminium core and air pockets, which improve temperature stability and heat retention.

The brewer also includes asymmetric ribs, which agitate the water, Nicole adds. In turn, you achieve a more even extraction and reduce the risk of channelling.

As a way of preserving flavour and aroma as much as possible, a growing number of baristas and competitors have started using techniques similar to flash brewing. In response, some equipment manufacturers have designed brewers with this in mind.

One example is Nucleus Coffee Tools Paragon, which was developed in partnership with researchers at the Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW).

Sasa Sestic is the founder of Nucleus, as well as ONA Coffee and Project Origin. He is also the 2015 World Barista Champion.

Studies have shown that when brewing temperatures are higher, we lose more aromatic volatile compounds, he explains. For instance, more volatile compounds are lost at 96C (204.8F) than 90C (194F).

This research led Nucleus and ZHAW to explore the concept of extract chilling. The 2021 Australian Barista Champion Hugh Kelly most notably used this method (albeit for espresso rather than filter) in his routine at the world finals.

With a focus on post-extraction chilling, the Paragon includes a cooled ice rock or ball that is placed underneath the pour over brewer for the first 20 to 30 seconds of extraction.

By rapidly cooling filter coffee just after extraction, we can capture more volatile compounds in the final beverage, Sasa explains. As coffee comes into contact with the cooled ice rock, it instantly chills, which means fewer aromatic compounds escape into the surrounding environment.

Alongside rampant innovation in manual pour over brewing, automation has played an increasingly important role in how we prepare filter coffee both at home and in coffee shops.

The most obvious reasons are to improve the efficiency and consistency of extraction by minimising the risk of human error. And given that a 2019 survey by UCC Coffee found 80% of consumers value consistency when visiting a caf above all else, this only further emphasises why specialty coffee has embraced automation.

Temperature stability and agitation are key elements of automated pour over brewers. Despite how skilled baristas or home brewers may be, leveraging the power of automation minimises the risk of human error. As a result, consumers receive higher-quality pour over which is especially important considering the higher prices paid for these drinks.

Launched in early 2021, Marco Beverage Systems automated SP9 countertop brewer features a unique boiler system and recirculation chamber that ensures water temperature remains consistent throughout extraction.

The Moccamaster is another popular automated brewing system that is more widely used in homes. The machine maintains a stable temperature between 92C and 96C (197.6F and 204.8F) helping home brewers and coffee enthusiasts to also achieve consistent results.

Its evident that there is an endless pursuit of higher quality when it comes to pour over in specialty coffee, and this is undoubtedly influencing the future of filter coffee preparation.

With new pour over innovation, we can get more out of coffee, Sasa says. The more innovation there is, the more we can understand about how to extract desirable characteristics and reduce the negative ones improving everyones experience.

The design and shape of manual pour over devices as well as the materials used to manufacture them will also continue to shape trends. There has been a clear shift towards more aesthetic and visually-appealing brewers in recent years which still optimise extraction, but also catch peoples attention on coffee shop shelves.

Looking at brewer material in particular, manufacturers are investing in more innovative ways to improve temperature stability. Glass, plastic, steel, and ceramic are no longer the only options, which affects how we extract coffee potentially opening up new ways to experience flavour, mouthfeel, and aroma.

Ultimately, it seems automated solutions will continue to dominate the market as both coffee shop operators and avid home brewers choose to prioritise consistency and efficiency.

At the same time, the skill of manual brewing will undoubtedly also play a key role in the future of pour over. The fact remains that manual brewing methods often add to the consumer experience, and showcase craftsmanship and skill in ways that arent always possible with automation.

But the general shift towards automation has many benefits. Automated brewers can be useful talking points for baristas to engage with customers, and showcase just how far technology has advanced in the coffee industry.

More importantly, however, baristas can focus more of their attention on enhancing the customer experience, while automated brewers manage coffee extraction for them. Undoubtedly, this could change the barista-customer interaction in specialty coffee shops forever.

In recent years, design, shape, and materials have become increasingly important factors for pour over brewers changing extraction and therefore flavour. But theres plenty more room for further innovation.

Time will only tell how pour over brewing will continue to change. So with new manual and automated devices launched on the market year after year, its an exciting time for specialty coffee.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on what coffee shops need to know about the future of pour over.

Photo credits: Graycano, Sinan Muslu, SCA Germany, Specialty Coffee Association

Perfect Daily Grind

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The ongoing evolution of pour over coffee: What's next? - Perfect Daily Grind

Paramount+ has renewed the 'Criminal Minds' revival for a third season, prior to the Season 2 premiere tomorrow, June 6.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 is still hours away, but the show has already been renewed for a third season, and stars Joe Mantegna and Zach Gilford spoke to PopCulture.com about the exciting news. Paramount+ has announced that the Criminal Minds revival has been picked up for an additional season, with production starting later this year. News comes ahead of the second season, which premieres tomorrow, June 6, with the first two episodes.

While speaking with PopCulture, Gilford, who joined last season as unsub Elias Voit, admitted that "as a fan of the show, I'm super excited." However, he isn't so sure what to think as a character on Evolution. It was a pleasant surprise when it was announced that Gilford would be returning for Season 2, and it's unknown how things will go for him since he doesn't know if Voit will be coming back. Either way, though, the Friday Night Lights alum said he'll be "excited to watch and see what happens, but no promises."

Mantegna did bring up the fact that Voit is "like a bad penny. He keeps showing up. So he's certainly beaten the hell out of me plenty of times. So we'll see what happens. But we'll see. I don't think we're done with Voit just yet."

The actor would know a thing or two about coming back, as Joe Mantegna has portrayed David Rossi since the overall third season of Criminal Minds. Now that the show will be going through at least Season 18, Mantegna revealed he loves how the show has "allowed us to push the envelope even more. As you can imagine, we deal with some pretty serious stuff, and people will say, 'Oh God, that's so creepy. It's this, it's that. It's so intense.' And because of that you had certain restrictions on network TV where you couldn't quite push that intensity to a certain level."

"Now, I mean, the language restrictions are different," Mantegna continued. "We don't have to cut to a commercial. So I mean it allows us to really do... It's the correct phrasing. It's evolution. We've been able to evolve and I think it's been improvement. Some shows maybe doesn't affect so much, but I think with our show it really allowed us to step up the game and I fans appreciate that. That's why I think it's bigger and better than ever."

It's exciting knowing that more Criminal Minds: Evolution is already on the way when the next season hasn't premiered yet. But now that will just make these upcoming episodes even better. Filming has completed for Season 2 but it wouldn't be surprising if the finale ended on yet another cliffhanger. That's still several weeks away, so for now, fans will just have to tune in to Season 2, premiering tomorrow, June 6, on Paramount+. New episodes will drop weekly. Season 3 of Criminal Minds: Evolution will be coming soon.

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'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Stars Joe Mantegna and Zach Gilford React to Early Season 3 Renewal (Exclusive) - PopCulture.com