Category Archives: Life Extension

Carson City resident and University of Nevada, Reno Extension Dean and Director Emeritus Karen Hinton was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. recently.

Karen Hinton, dean and director emeritus of University of Nevada, Reno Extension, and current Carson City resident, was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame this week, for her lifetime achievements and contributions to 4-H, the nations largest youth development organization that develops citizenship, leadership, responsibility and life skills in youth through experiential learning.Nominated by the University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada 4-H Youth Development Program, Hinton was one of 20 people inducted to the National 4-H Hall of Fame during the ceremony held at the Kellogg Conference Hotel at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 12. The honorees were chosen from a slew of nominations from across the country for their exceptional leadership at the local, state, national and international levels.It is a distinct honor to be chosen as a part of the 4-H Hall of Fame Class of 2021 and to see how individual laureates have significantly impacted youth across the country, Hinton said. Through their dedication and tireless effort, countless youth from diverse backgrounds, both rural and urban, have learned skills through 4-H that prepare them to navigate life and become productive citizens.At the ceremony, Hinton was presented with a National 4-H Hall of Fame medallion, plaque and memory book. Sarah Chvilicek, who worked with Hinton and is the current 4-H Program coordinator for the northern and rural parts of the state, and current Nevada 4-H Director Carrie Stark were there to see her receive her honors.It was so great to see Karen receive this well-deserved honor, Stark said. She truly used her career in 4-H and Extension to try to make a positive impact on peoples lives. Her legacy is known far beyond Nevadas borders. She is respected by Extension and 4-H leaders across the country for her innovation, hard work and passion for serving our countrys youth.As a youth, Hinton was a 4-H member in Happy, Texas, where she lived on a 1,280-acre farm. She began her Extension career in 1981, and spent the next 31 years working for University of Nevada, Reno Extension, first as an Extension home economist in Douglas County, and then as an Extension educator in Carson City. She soon moved up the ranks to the position of western area director, overseeing all Extension programs and operations for Washoe, Douglas and Storey Counties, and Carson City. In 1998, she became the dean and director of Extension, overseeing all Extension operations, statewide. She retired in 2012, after serving as the Universitys longest-serving female dean.Karen's leadership spurred many programs that made a real difference to youth, volunteers and Nevada's citizens, Chvilicek said. Almost all the 4-H events and opportunities for youth in our state have been impacted by Karen's leadership.Hinton helped create Nevada 4-H Capital Days in the 1990s, which still exists today and includes the opportunity for youth to meet state elected officials during the legislative session. Civic engagement was essential to Hinton, who always encouraged staff and 4-H youth to interact with local-level decision-makers and place 4-H in front. By providing youth opportunities to speak to local decision-makers, they gained confidence that they could make a difference at the local level. On the national level, Karen served as the co-chair of the National 4-H Task Force formed from the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy to increase the visibility of 4-H with federal legislators.Hinton drilled into her staff to assess needs at the local level and collaborate with others to address those needs. She encouraged 4-H faculty and staff to work with community agencies and organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club and Hispanic Services' teen leadership programs to reach underserved youth. In Carson City, when teachers indicated elementary students needed to learn where their food came from, Hinton encouraged the 4-H staff to work with Nevada Farm Bureau, agriculture producers and the school district to offer students a field trip to see live animals and hands-on exhibits and demonstrations regarding agriculture and food production. The event was dubbed Capital City Farm Days, and is ongoing today.Although Hinton never lost touch with Extensions roots in agriculture and rural life, she was also one of the first to embrace new technologies to help fulfill the missions of Extension and 4-H, co-founding and serving as the board chair for eXtension, a national website/database where citizens from across the country can get answers to their questions from Extension experts. Hinton brought that same type of innovation to Nevada, where she secured funding to install interactive video conference equipment in each Extension office, allowing 4-H staff, youth and volunteers to interact with one another more often, and participate in or plan events with little or no travel costs. The technology was also made available to other groups and organizations throughout the state, to allow them to conduct business without incurring travel time and costs.Throughout her career, Hinton believed that volunteers were the heart of the 4-H Program.Karen envisioned the role of caring adults who worked with young people as very important and did not consider them just a volunteer," Chvilicek said. She valued our volunteers, and also held them to the same high standards and professionalism as she did our staff, even making sure we developed official job descriptions for our volunteers.Perhaps one of Hintons greatest passions was for 4-H camp, and in particular, the Nevada State 4-H Camp, located on the shores of Lake Tahoe, in South Lake Tahoe. During her time as dean, she led and oversaw many improvements to the camps buildings and grounds, including being on the cutting edge of energy-efficient construction, getting a green-energy-efficient cabin constructed at the camp during her tenure. She greatly valued outdoor educational experience for youth. She structured the camp program with hands-on educational workshops, evening campfire entertainment highlighting local history, cooperative games to foster a sense of belonging, and training for adult chaperones and teen counselors. She also designed an undergraduate- and graduate-level course for adults to receive college credit for volunteering as chaperones at 4-H camp.Hinton was an active member of, and at times served in leadership roles for, many national and regional associations during her career, including NAE4-HYDP, National Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, National Association County Agricultural Agents, Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, Western Extension Directors Association. In retirement, Hinton continues to be an avid supporter of 4-H and Extension. She currently serves on the fund development committee for the Nevada State 4-H Camp.

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Carson City resident Karen Hinton inducted into 4-H Hall of Fame - Nevada Appeal

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Lactoferrin Supplements Market Estimated To Experience A Hike In Growth By 2029 The Host - The Host

I swore by the Holy Quran that I will serve in accordance with the constitution and leave when my time is up. No Tazarce (tenure extension). I dont want anybody to start talking about and campaigning for unconstitutional extension. I will not accept that.

So declared President Muhammadu Buhari at a meeting in Makkah with a select group of Nigerians resident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he just ended a visit.

President Buhari also tacitly expressed support to efforts to increase the role of technology in the nations elections, arguing that the introduction of the card reader and electronic register was Gods answer to his prayers, having been cheated of his victory in three previous elections.

After the third so-called defeat, I said, God Dey. My opponents laughed at me but God answered my prayers by bringing in technology. At that point, nobody can steal their votes or buy them, the President added.

President Buhari, who ended his visit to the Kingdom with the Friday Prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah said he will continue to abide by the constitution in all its ramifications and he will at all times supervise and deal with his ministers on same basis.

He gave assurances at the meeting that in the balance of eighteen months or so of my time left, whatever I can do to improve the life of Nigerians, I will do it for the country.

The President commended diaspora Nigerians in the Kingdom for representing the country well and projecting its good image.

He also used the opportunity to urge citizens at home to be fair to his administration at all times, asking the critics to compare the security situations in the North East and South South in 2015 and how things have improved as at now.

My problem is the North West where people are killing and stealing from one another. I had to be very hard on them and I will continue to be very hard until we put them in line and bring back order, he said.

President Buhari urged Nigerians living in the country to respect the laws, remain law-abiding and do nothing to derogate from the many years of friendly and mutually beneficial relationships between the two countries.

A leader of the community, Abdulkadir Maikudi, who spoke on behalf of the group requested the President to assist the privately-run Nigerian International School in the Kingdom by equipping it to provide science and technical education.

The Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yahaya Lawal and the Consul-General in Jeddah, Abdulkarim Mansur, attested to the good conduct of the nearly 1.5 million Nigerians there.

According to them, Nigerian professionals are doing well and projecting a good image of our country.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

October 29, 2021

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Buhari pledges to leave in 2023, warns tenure extension campaigners - Premium Times

Today, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KONGSBERG) signed two contracts, valuedat MNOK 1,426, with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (FMA). KONGSBERG willdeliver a new batch of Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to the Norwegian Navy'sfrigates and corvettes. The existing inventory of missiles will go through aseries of maintenance actions to extend their operational timeline and continueproviding state of the art defence capabilities for the Navy.The triangular collaboration between KONGSBERG, the Norwegian Armed Forces andthe Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) is the key to our ability todevelop such advanced and complex systems. We are also very proud to sign amaintenance agreement that will extend the missile's shelf life, ensuring thatthe Navy will remain operational with this important capability. Contracts suchas this support KONGSBERG's and FMA's sustainability goals, and helps to securefurther employment, not only for our employees, but also for our nationalsubcontractors. We cannot produce nor deliver such advanced and state-of-the-artproducts alone," says yvind Kolset, Executive Vice President of KongsbergDefence & Aerospace.The Naval Strike Missile is a fifth-generation missile with a low radarsignature for use in sea-to-sea or sea-to-land defence. The missile, with itssuperior performance, can go up against well-defended targets with the abilityto penetrate the most advanced air defence. NSM is set up with integratedsensors to locate exact targets to engage, and will self-destruct if it isunable to locate its intended target - a build-in safety mechanism avoidingcollateral damage.For further information:Ronny Lie, Chief Communication Officer, (+47) 91 61 07 98Jan Erik Hoff, Group Vice President Investor Relations, (+47) 99 11 19 16KONGSBERG (OSE-ticker: KOG) is an international, leading global technologycorporation delivering mission-critical systems and solutions with extremeperformance for customers that operate under extremely challenging conditions.We work with nations, businesses and research environments to push theboundaries of technology development in industries such as space, offshore andenergy, merchant marine, defence and aerospace, and more. KONGSBERG has about11,000 employees located in more than 40 countries, creating a total revenue ofNOK 25.6bn in 2020.Follow us on: kongsberg.com, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

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Oslo Bors ASA, source Oslo Stock Exchange

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KONGSBERG signs contracts with the Norwegian Navy valued at MNOK 1,426 for delivery of Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and life extension of the existing...

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Nathan Kemper, a two-time U of A graduate, has been a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness since 2014.

Associate professor Nathan Kemper has been named assistant department head for undergraduate programs and online instruction for the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Kemper, who is also the departmental undergraduate and internship program coordinator, is a two-time U of A graduate. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Missouri State University in 2001, his master's degree in agricultural economics in 2005 and his Ph.D. in public policy and food policy economics in 2016, both from the U of A.

"I am fortunate to be a two-time graduate of this great university," Kemper said. "This place changed my life, and I am grateful for all of the wonderful things and people that are a part of my life because of this campus. I met some of my best friends here; I met my wife here, and I continue to meet great students who challenge me to improve each day. As a faculty member and in my new role as assistant department head, I have the opportunity to give back to the campus that has given so much to me."

In this position, he supports department head John Anderson by providing leadership and management of the undergraduate program, and in planning, development and delivery of new and existing online content. Kemper, who began his new role in August, chairs the undergraduate program committee, schedules courses and advises Anderson on teaching assignments, works with the administrative staff in reporting to the dean's office, represents AEAB on the college curriculum committee, and identifies strategy for improving undergraduate program content, student recruitment and retention efforts.

"Dr. Kemper is an outstanding scholar and one of the most dedicated and gifted teachers that I have been privileged to work with in my career," Anderson said. "He continually looks for ways to improve the quality of our program as well as the student experience in our department.He is an expert in the development of high-quality online content, and that expertise has been absolutely vital to our success as a department during the pandemic. Dr. Kemper's proven record of commitment to students and innovation in curriculum development and delivery make him ideally suited for this new role in the department."

Kemper is leading the development and implementation of additional online offerings for both undergraduate and graduate students. Most recently, he has developed a plan to create a new agribusiness concentration in the area of agribusiness risk management, to be available 100 percent online. The department is home of the Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence, which provides analysis and education on issues of price risk management in agriculture, finance and energy.

Kemper is also working across multiple U of A colleges to coordinate online offerings, oversee and promote programs, and working with Global Campus on program and course development and management.

His research interests focus on food policy economics, survey research methods, choice experiments and teaching methods. He has served as faculty adviser to the Agricultural Business Club and the Academic Quiz Bowl team since 2014.

Kemper has also coordinated the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers regional program for the Cooperative Extension Service. The program provided training, business planning consultation and cash payments to Southern farmers and fishermen in industries negatively impacted by U.S. trade policy.

Kemper, who received the Bumpers College Alumni Society Outstanding Advising Award in 2020 and the Gamma Sigma Delta 2020 Teaching Award of Merit, has held positions with Deutsche Bank, with the U of A System Division of Agriculture and with American Express Financial Advisors.

He was a research associate for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station from 2005-10 and with the Cooperative Extension Service from 2010-14. He joined the AEAB faculty as an instructor in 2014, became an assistant professor in 2017 and associate professor in 2020.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.

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Kemper Named Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Assistant Department Head - University of Arkansas Newswire

Hazel Technologies, Inc., a USDA-funded technology company delivering new solutions for fresh produce to extend shelf-life, increase sales, and fight food waste, announces the launch of its upcoming virtual Grape Quality Summit.

A one-hour event to be held on Friday October 15th, the Summit will feature keynote speakers discussing global market trends, category innovation, postharvest research and shelf-life extension technology.

Speakers will include Estefania Echeverria, Head of Yentzen Research & Consulting at Portal Frutcola, Anl Botes, Postharvest Researcher at South Africas ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, and Mario Cervantes, Director of Business Development AgTech, at Hazel Technologies, Inc. The webinar will also include a panel discussion on advancements and changes in the grape supply chain featuring Garland Perkins, Senior Manager for Insights and Innovation at Oppy, Jose Monasterio Quality and Postharvest Manager at Frusan, and Nico Tomicic, Business Development Manager at Hazel Technologies, Inc., led by Pat Flynn, co-founder and CMO at Hazel Technologies, Inc.

Keynote speeches will present on global market insights for the table grape category and highlight the latest research on fresh table grape postharvest quality, including maintaining stem quality, preventing dehydration and ensuring optimum long-distance transit. In addition, speakers will discuss new grape quality technology that has been tested by growers and international research organizations on black, red and green varieties.

Hazel Tech is helping grape growers, packers, shippers, and retailers protect the stem quality of an ever-growing list of table grape varieties around the world. I look forward to presenting grower case studies that illustrate how Hazel Techs technology is positively impacting the global supply chain, said Mario Cervantes, Director of Business Development - AgTech at Hazel Technologies, Inc.

The Grape Quality Summit is a free event. Registration is open to the general industry until October 15th or until capacity is reached.To learn more about the event and register, http://bit.ly/21grapequalitysummit

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Hazel Tech to host quality summit featuring insights on grapes - The Packer

GILMER - Wandering around the Upshur County Courthouse square on a misty weekday afternoon recently, I couldnt help but notice that in a few days upwards of a hundred thousand yam fans will be descending on this pleasant, little town north of Longview. Red, white and blue banners in almost every storefront window proclaimed, Welcome to Yamboree.

A Gilmer tradition since 1935, the four-day festival features parades, carnival rides, yam-pie baking contests, a barn dance, art exhibits, a fiddlers contest, an essay and poetry contest, a decorated yam competition, livestock shows and a Tater Trot sponsored by a local funeral home. Queen Yam has already been named.

Now, I like a slice of sweet-potato (or yam) pie as much as the next person - preferably warm, with a pat of butter melting into the orange filling - but on this day stories were on my menu, not pie. I found three. (Sweet potato and yam, by the way, are used interchangeably, but they are two entirely different vegetables.)

**

Near Gadsden, Ala., on May 2, 1863, 15-year-old Emma Sansom was busy with chores when a mule-riding Union Army detachment under the command of Col. Abel Streight passed the Sansom farm. Just beyond the farm, Streight noticed a wooden bridge across rain-swollen Black Creek. Aware that Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was in pursuit, he burned it down.

Forrest and his cavalry showed up shortly afterward, saw the bridge had been destroyed and asked the young woman working in the yard about any other crossings. Emma told him she knew of a ford. The general pulled her up behind him on his horse and off they went. As they approached the creek, Union sharpshooters atop a cliff began firing.

As the story - and later a ballad -- goes, Emma waved her bonnet, taunting the Yankees. A bullet passed through her calico dress, but neither she nor Forrest were hit. Finding the ford, the column crossed safely. Emma was delivered back to her worried mother.

A pink granite marker, erected on the Upshur County courthouse lawn in 1964, tells the Emma Sansom story, concluding with her Gilmer connection. A year after her daring ride with the future founder of the Ku Klux Klan, she eloped with a disabled Alabama soldier, Christopher B. Johnson. After the war, the couple settled near Gilmer, where they raised seven children.

Christopher Johnson died in 1887, Emma in 1900. Shes buried in Little Mound Cemetery, 12 miles west of town.

I had read online that an Emma Sansom marker in Gadsden had been the object of protests in recent years. I asked Gloria McLuckie, a retired high-school drama teacher who now heads the Gilmer Area Chamber of Commerce, whether anyone in Gilmer had ever protested. Shhh, she said, grinning. Were in Gilmer, Texas. We dont talk about such things.

Most Gilmerites, McLuckie said, dont even know the marker exists. Its one of several Confederate remembrances around town. As a granite marker outside the local museum explains, they honor our Confederate ancestors who sacrificed and gave their all to protect home, our beloved Southland and a way of life.

**

Eddie Turner knows that way of life. When he graduated in 1960 from a segregated high school near Gilmer, he resolved to flee the family farm. Graduating from Prairie View A&M with a degree in biology, he caught on with the Atomic Energy Commission and for 40 years lived in Amarillo and worked in nuclear security for the nearby Pantex plant, the nations primary assembly, disassembly, retrofit and life-extension center for nuclear weapons (quoting the Pantex website).

Turner retired in 2007, and with his wife Elberta returned to the old home place outside Gilmer. The 80-year-old -- who looks at least 20 years younger -- resolved to get involved with his community. A regular at city council meetings and county commissioners court, he also participates in community theater. In 2018, the Gilmer Area Chamber of Commerce named him the years Outstanding Citizen.

He doesnt pay much attention to the Confederate monuments. We dont need to raise cane about everything, he said.

Turners focus these days is the old Dickson Orphanage for Colored Children, the states only home for Black children between 1901 and 1943. The orphanage had almost been forgotten until Turner and his two brothers, Gene and Wilson, along with their cousin Huey Mitchell, wandered into a pine forest behind Bubbas Fat Burgers and James Brown BBQ Kitchen, about a mile south of downtown. After numerous searches over several months, they happened upon two weathered gravestones hidden under dense undergrowth.

The markers were all that was left of an orphanage that was home to as many as 200 children. Some of the youngsters may have been survivors of the Galveston hurricane of 1900. All were bereft of family, regular meals and a roof over their heads. Life for an orphaned Black child in the early 1900s was almost hopeless.

The man who came to their rescue was the Rev. W.L. Dickson, a Black minister in Gilmer who provided not only a home for the children but also an education. Boys were taught farming and a trade; girls learned domestic work. That was basically all the jobs that blacks could get, Turner reminded me.

The Rev. Robert C. Buckner, founder of the Buckner Baptist Childrens Home in Dallas, established the orphanage in Gilmer after citizens of Upshur County donated 70 acres. It grew to more than 600 acres. Its more than 40 buildings included dormitories, a library, a cook house, a domestic science building and a potato curing plant.

Dicksons health began to fail in the 1930s, and the orphanage fell on hard times. In 1943, the state closed its doors and moved the children to the Texas Blind, Deaf and Orphan School in Austin. The buildings and most of the land were sold off, with 72 acres set aside for Texas A&M to develop a sweet potato farm.

Mr. Dickson needs to be remembered, Turner said, as we stood inside the chain-link fence protecting the newly mowed cemetery. His Upshur County neighbors agree. They brought tractors, chain saws and stump grinders to help the Turner brothers clear what Eddie Turner described as a total jungle. Local churches, White and Black, cleaned up the long-forgotten cemetery. The city of Gilmer applied for and received a state historical marker.

It was a reminder to me that people are good, Turner said. My attitude is, lets do what we can do and move forward.

**

When I talked to Turner by phone last week, he was tuning up his tractor, getting it ready for the two big parades that highlight this years four-day Yamboree, the 84th. Riding atop a float will be the 2021 Yam Queen, Hannah Jean Henson, a senior at Gilmers Harmony High School. Headlining the barn dance are singer/songwriter Mike Ryan of San Antonio, along with Lee Mathis and the Brutally Handsome. School kids around the county get out on Wednesday afternoon and stay out the rest of the week.

The Yamboree owes its existence to a weevil. Yamboree creative director Amorette Burch explained that in the early 1930s the little beetle with a protruding proboscis devastated local cash crops, all except the yams. To celebrate, Gilmerites organized the East Texas Yamboree in 1935. Its been held every year since, except for three years during World War II and last year because of the pandemic.

Despite thousands expected this year, neither the city nor the county requires masking or social distancing, Gloria McLuckie told me. People are just starving for the town to come alive again, she said. Were just so excited.

Gilmer is 230 miles north of Houston. Dates for the Yamboree are October 20-23.

djholley10@gmail.com

Twitter: holleynews

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Yams are big in Gilmer, but they're not the only item on the local menu - Houston Chronicle

This is aguest post by Tim Exile, CEO and founder ofmusic-making app Endlesss, which is experimenting with someinteresting projects that connect with its core business, including mintingroyalty-sharingNFTs and launching a label. Tim and Endlesss are also interested in how music will connect withthe metaverse the loosely-connected bunch ofdigital spaces like gaming universes, virtual reality, and augmented reality so we asked him to write about his thoughts on thefuture of this space. He sees an exciting new environment where ourrelationship with the space itself is its value proposition and a huge business opportunity.

The metaverse is here, and it promises a new world in which our online lives mirror our reality. This new world infused with virtual real experiences is a new reality where online becomes an extension of our real lives. Its a destination in itself that shares the spatial, relational and cultural characteristics of our real world.

Like in real life, what happens when we come together in spaces in the metaverse will build the cultural value and status of those places and the people that frequent them. The metaverse will transform creativity from todays content production process to a co-present social interaction where everyone participates in the creation of culture and value. As the metaverse flourishes in the coming years, trillions of dollars of cultural economic activity will be brought into this new world.

Tim Exile

Today, our online lives play out on apps or sites where we go to share, discover and engage with content. Social media sites offer a way to document our real lives. They thrive on standout viral content which pulls us back to consume yet more content, capturing our attention. However, theyre not places to be in the same way as the places we live and gather in the real world.

The metaverse, on the other hand, is more of an extension of our tangible world where our online lives play out in spaces that function more like real-world spaces. While social media thrives on content that generates attention, the metaverse thrives on co-presence and composable interactions that build cultural value.

In the metaverse, creativity will be something we participate in when we show up in virtual spaces, with one another, in real time. It will be one of many aspects of our interaction in the metaverse alongside conversation, game-play and financial transactions. This doesnt mean the metaverse will be devoid of content: rather our relationship to media in the metaverse will be the inverse, as the container.

For example; if you go to a restaurant, you dont consume the decor as content, you experience the decor as the container.

One way to conceptualise the essence of the metaverse is to imagine going to Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club in London. Once there, you enter into a relationship with its rich history, the space and its decor, and the evenings performers. You and the rest of the audience experience the music as a ritual, amplified and focussed by the ambience of the venue. The venue is decorated with visible autographed portraits of the performers who have played there, and the invisible storytelling and myth-making behind the Ronnie Scotts brand.

In this way, Ronnie Scotts is a living space: a container for us to gather in, constantly growing in richness, depth and value, constantly being refreshed and redecorated by new rituals. These rituals often generate media audio recordings, images or videos. Aside from being collateral for their social media manager, the biggest impact of this media is to reinforce the container; the Ronnie Scotts brand and venue.

Endlesss

In the metaverse, creativity will unfold as an ongoing sequence of co-present interactions, building an ever-expanding relational, composable history of creativity that enriches the spaces we gather in. What we create and how as well as where we create it and with who will all be essential metadata. It will be that which proves the value of our creativity, and ascribes cultural status to the people we create with, and the spaces we create in.

Rather than producing content to compete for attention, the outputs of our creativity in the metaverse will be symbols, narratives or experiences. Theyll encapsulate and communicate the value of the spaces we gather in, and the status of the people that gather there.

At Endlesss, weve been building metaverse-ready containers for creativity since we launched our beta product in 2019. We started with music, but the infrastructure weve built applies to any creative medium: audio, video, images, code.

As the promise of the metaverse is realised in the coming years, were incredibly excited to play our part in building the root-level infrastructure that changes the way we interact online, and offers creators of all types a new world of unbounded possibilities.

Joe Sparrow

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How the metaverse promises to transform how we interact with music online (guest column) - Music Ally

The gods do not grow old. They live in human imagination as luminous forms of splendour, ever-youthful and glowing, exactly as they are in mythological stories and calendar illustrations. But men and women who worship them do age, even as some strive to be gods themselves. For millennia, mankind, obsessed with the divine and immortality, has been struggling to find ways and means to live longermay you live long is an ancient blessing, or a curse depending upon the time, place and situation.

From Kaya Kalp in Ayurveda to the latest genetic technology, the fastest-growing science in the world is anti-ageing. The first Longevity Economy report released in 2013 by AARP and Oxford Economics calculated that the Longevity Economy was worth $7.1 trillion in annual economic activity. This figure has been revised up to $7.6 trillion. British biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey who claims to be spearheading the global crusade against ageing predicts that by 2023, people who can afford therapies like making molecules younger wont be affected by aging-related diseases entirely.

Biogerontologists at Sierra Sciences are working to lengthen telomeres, the caps at the end of each strand of DNA, which get shorter every time a cell divides itself. After a well past middle age, the cells become inactive, as the telomeres get very short. Putting the telomeres in reverse gear to their state at your birth is posited to reduce your biological age to 25, not like the world according to Garp, but the age when maturity begins to arrive. The CEO of Sierra Sciences competitor Bio Viva, Elizabeth Parrish, underwent telomere therapy in 2015 and found that her telomeres had grown younger by roughly 30 years, causing her body to reverse age.

Setting the Age Bar: The uniqueness of such experiments apart, human life is just a wrinkle in the great topsail of time. But the global anti-ageing services market size, estimated at $24.6 billion in 2019, was expected to reach $25.9 billion before the pandemic. Science isnt giving up. A Bank of America report predicts that the market will expand to $610 billion by 2025, from the currently estimated $110 billion. In secret government-financed facilities, university research centres and corporate-funded labs, the search has moved on from extending life to reversing ageing.

Findings of research published in May in the respected science journal Nature Communications reveal that humans can live up to somewhere between 120 and 150 years. The spirit of science is as much contradiction as it is discovery. In 2018, a study published in its prestigious rival, Science magazine, concluded that the chance of people dying rose when they neared 80, but slowed and plateaued at around 105, giving them a 50 per cent chance of reaching next year. The same was true at 106, 107, 108, and 109. The findings strongly suggest that longevity is continuing to increase over time, and that a limit, if any, has not been reached.

Creating a healthy long-living young person is the Holy Grail of biotechnology. And it doesnt come cheap. For example, Libella Gene Therapeutics charges $1 million to reverse what it claims ageing by up to 20 years. Dr Keshav K Singh, Scientific Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of US-based Yuva Biosciences, and Director of Cancer Genetics at the University of Alabama, Birmingham,US, believes that the cost attached to procedures and price of drugs will come down with ongoing research. Since there is a huge market, prices will come down eventually. Also, India needs to develop infrastructure and expand researchon ageing, he says.

Many life-extending products and procedures are being discovered, but most of them havent been tested on humans. The pill 516 can get you a fit body without a single pushupit tricks the brain into believing muscle has been exercised daily. It works by reprogramming the muscles and increases endurance by 70 per cent. Another tablet named Compound 14 deceives the bodys fat burning system into believing that the cells have depleted all their energy; it is still in animal trial stage.

At Northwestern University in the US, scientists managed to turn off the genetic switch that causes ageing in worms. American researchers revived old mice by infusing blood from young mice and believe the procedure will be successful in humans in three to five years. Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory, in collaboration with colleagues from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, California, and Nanjing University in China, haveidentified synergistic cellular pathways that can increase lifespan five timesthe equivalent of a human living for 400 or 500 years.

Age in the Cells: Famous British biogerontologist Andrew Steele lays down three hallmarks asthe root causes of ageing:

1. Genomic instability: Our genes get damaged as we age. If this can be stopped, the ageing process will slow down.

2. Cellular senescence: An ageing body accumulates senescent cellsan ageing non-cell that stops replicating it doesnt die, accumulating within the body and causing serious diseases like age-related cancer.

3. Mitochondrial dysfunction: Our cells get their energy from mitochondria, which generate the energy that powers cells. Mitochondrial dysfunctionspeeds up ageing.

A few years ago, hitting the 90s was as rare as an old man skydiving. Until the last century, a poor Indian was lucky to reach 30. China and India have caught up with Western nationsour average life expectancy is around 70 years now. The current life expectancy for India in 2021 is 69.96 years, a 0.33 percent increase from 2020. One of the big reasons for this is technological, surgical and cosmetic advancements, as well as an exponential growth in the health and fitness industry. The intake of nutritional supplements has also grown steadily in India. The Indian dietary supplement market, valued $3,924.44 million in FY2020, is predicted to grow at CAGR of 17.28 percent until FY2026, to reach $10,198.57 million, says Avni Kaul, Nutritionist and Wellness Coach and Founder, Nutri Activania.

The UN estimates that the number of centenarians on earth will rise to 3.7 million by 2025 from around 600,000 today. The math has method. From age zero to 21 meant living about 8,000 days. From 21 to midlife is another 8,000 days. From the mid-40s to 65 is again 8,000 days. With doctors giving a 50-50 chance for a 65-year-old person to live to 85, it is another 8,000 days. British Nobel laureate Peter Medawar proposed that the reason for ageing is decay in cellular replication after reaching reproducing age. Consideringthe theory that the purpose of evolution is reproduction and propagation of the species,cells without reward make mistakes while copying DNA, causing mutations.The Time of the Lookist: As the world gets richer and urban medical systems become more sophisticated, pushing back the biological clock is an international obsession, not just with the wealthy but also the well-heeled middle classes. To be a lookist is to be a realistcosmetics come first in the race for eternal youth. There is hardly an actor or public figure who hasnt gone under the knife or doesnt use youth boosting products. A decade or two back, hardly anyone thought of reversing age or going under the knife to look young. But now this segment is flourishing. And the first aspect is looks where the market is flooded with products that promise anti-ageing properties and also cosmetic procedures to make you look young, says Dr Syed Nazim Hussain, Aesthetic Surgeon and Consultant Dermatologist, Max Hospital, Gurgaon, who has treated several 70-year-olds for wrinkles in the last two years.

Technology and business call the shots since companies dealing in anti-ageing sciences are mopping up investors. In 2018, Google launched its new medical company Calico, whose mandate is to counter physical ageing. It claims that by 2029, an extra year would be tacked on every year to peoples life expectancy. Products and drugs are available on the market since decades, which claim to make you look younger, remove wrinkles and facial flaws. These do brisk business, moving up levels, competing with one another as if life itself is a beauty contest.

While quacks of antiquity advertised the elixir of youth derived from magic lizards and the nails of the True Cross, modern medical advances in vaccine research, new antibiotics and knowing whats good for the mind and body has made massive advances in ant-ageing, reverse-ageing and life extending therapies. Dehydroepiandrosterone is a steroid hormone precursor that is being sold under the table as an anti-ageing dietary supplement. Many medical entrepreneurs prescribe human growth hormone (HGH) for cell rejuvenation. HGH is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pituitary gland. While it helps repair brain and organ tissues, it is illegal, says Dr Praveen Bharadwaj, Consultant - Dermatology, Manipal Hospitals, Whitefield, Bengaluru.

Surgery for the youthful look has grown by leaps and bounds with platelet rich plasma combined with small amounts of neuromodulators and hyaluronic acid delivered to the skin using handheld needles. The result is the kind of improved complexion previously acquired using lasersa process called the vampire facial. In 2016, I might have done botox treatment on 10 patients, which has gone up to around 40 in the last one year, says Dr Hussain. The age of his botox patients is between 40 and 60 years. The over-60 population come for treatments against wrinkles and pigmentation, and for jaw tightening, face lifting and laughter lines. Theres a 60 percent rise in this age group,he adds.

Dr Singh, whose Yuva Biosciences is developing remedies, which can prevent, slow down or reverse skin ageing and hair loss, argues that even as anti-ageing is growing into a multi-billion dollar industry in the West, in India the cultural norms have made it into an ethical debate. Ageing is now considered as a disease. So the industry is developing drugs just like they did for diabetes, he maintains, stating that anti-ageing treatments in India should come under the purview of the age-old tradition of Kaya Kalpa.

Agrees Monimita Sarkar, Founder, Unmukt-The Senior Hub, a platform working in the senior care industry, Almost all of our members are financially independent and if they want to spend money to look good or stay healthy then there shouldnt be any ethical dilemma. We, Indians, need to come out of this mindset that once you are old, you dont need to worry about looks. We are trained to think that our consumption should go down as we age. However, nobody is challenging death.The paradigm has shifted from extending life to extending youth. And it seems to be working.

Eighty is new hundred.Dr Mukta Ahuja, Gurgaon-based biopsychologist, cautions: With a large community of biohackers promising that they can double your lifespan through stem cell therapy, gene hacking, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, blue light blockers etc, the obsession with longevity is taking a dangerous turn as there are hardly any credible clinical trials happening nor is there concrete evidence about their efficacy. The side-effects, on the other hand, could take whatever is left of your life rather than add to it.

Laboratories as Incubators of Youth: Genetic reengineering and advanced surgical procedures are leading the youth rush. The challenge as we age is to retain a sharp mind and healthy body. Some scientists treat aging as an illness. Steven Austad, a distinguished biology professor at the University of Alabama, says the key to a longer life is to prevent our molecules from ageing. A compound that reverses ageing, a drug cocktail that shaves years off your biological life, mixing chemicals with bakers yeast, nano robots that can be injected into the body to seek and destroy cancer cells by cutting off their blood supply are some of the hundreds of successful experiments in the quest for eternal youth. Said Austad in a TED talk, Can you imagine what you would do if you could live your peak yearsyour 20s and 30s, sayover and over? Maybe we use the [extra] years to reimagine the trajectory of life, just like we did 100 years ago, when we invented childhood and retirement.

Findings of a year-long experiment, published last month in Aging Cell, showed that participants shed 2.5 years of their biological ages by taking a carefully curated cocktail of a growth hormone and two diabetes medications. Their immune systems showed signs of rejuvenation. Their epigenetic clocks, based on the bodys epigenomemillions of chemical compounds and proteins that attach to DNA and basically direct the genes what to doslowed down. Chemical experiment nets are ongoing to leverage alpha-ketoglutarate, which extends life and health span in mice and slows ageing in humans. A compound, name withheld, that escalates physical fitness levels, prevents obesity and increases healthy life span in mice is on track to get FDA approval in four years. Cancer studies and research on Alzheimers have thrown up possible anti-ageing solutions. Cell rejuvenation is a prime segment of anti-ageing research. As Adam Gabbatt wrote in The Guardian, The aim, as many in the physical immortality community put it, is to: Live long enough to live forever.

Money for Life: The importance of unique age engineering therapies is revealed in the number of new companies receiving millions in funding. Billionaires Jeff Bezos and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel have invested in San Francisco-based Unity Biotechnology, which aims to extend human health spanthe period in life unburdened by the disease of aging. Obviously, Bezos, the second billionaire to travel to space, doesnt want to grow oldpreviously he had invested in the San Francisco-based Unity Technologies that is working on developing anti-ageing therapies. Life extension startup Juvenescence, founded by British billionaire Jim Mellon, has invested in the California-based AgeX Therapeutics, which is using stem cell therapy to regenerate aged tissues.

Another UK company, Altos Labs, has got $270 million to work on biological reprogramming technology to prolong human life. Russias Insilico, whose mission to apply AI to extend productive longevity, has raised $306.3 million. Neuraly, a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine spinoff whose aim is to invent the first, disease-modifying agent for neurodegenerative disorders and aging, has received $36 million. US biotech firm Elevian, which develops drugs that restore the bodys regenerative capacity for youth to treat and prevent age-related disease, has raised $29 million. There are a host of companies in the life extension business, all with different approaches. Elisium Wellness will produce the worlds first cellular health supplement. Edifice Health uses AI to change the course of the ageing process. Bioquark Inc will regenerate and repair damaged human organs and tissues by remodelling them. Singapore-based Gero reverse-engineers cells to extend a healthy lifespan and delay chronic age-related diseases. We are here to solve aging, is their motto. Ironically people with greater wealth, even siblings, live longer than their poorer counterparts.Beauty Goes Skin Deep: Aesthetic medicine is no longer just about botox injections and fillers. Lasers, micro-needles and unique fillers are minimally invasive treatments that rule the cosmetic medical space. Specialists are injecting PRP taken from the patients own body into the scalp to fix damaged hair follicles for a thicker fuller head. New soft tissue fillers popular in Europe are leading the fillers market. The versatile picosecond lasers have both wide and specific usethey aid overall skin rejuvenation and brightening as well as removing or reducing fine lines, brown spots, melasma, acne scars, and unwanted tattoos. Ultherapy uses microfocused ultrasound to stimulate collagen, thereby tightening the skin to prevent it from sagging.

The millennials have wised up to the fact that prevention is better than surgery and hence are choosing treatments that will delay the aged look by some years. Catch them early is the millennial beauty ethos. Early use of neuromodulators like botox and fillers in smaller quantities has been clinically proved to slow aging, but mildly and gradually. It also cuts down on future maintenance. The pout is still sexyaesthetic surgeons are asked to create couture lips for clients more than other procedures. Combining radiofrequency with microneedling is a blood-free process with fast recovery. Adding red and blue LED light to RF microneedling is an acne killer and enhances skin brightening.

Dr Singh of Yuva Biosciences has demonstrated that protecting and boosting the function of the mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells, make wrinkles disappear and restore hair growth. His study was published in the Nature journal a few years back.

A womans ovaries age much earlier than her actual age. So we are currently focusing on ovarian ageing with an eye on delaying menopause in women and extending reproductive longevity. Since mitochondria dysfunction is one of the hallmarks of ageing, our laboratory is utilising the mouse model on disrupting mitochondrial function in a tissue and investigating it for ageing, Dr Singh says.

The End of Liposuction? Botox is even used to relieve pain in people, whose jaws ache when chewing food, and who grind or clench their teeth, in one to two weeks. Body contouring has expanded to include non-surgical techniques. New technology has enabled people to opt for non-surgical body sculpting options to get six packs, well-defined buttocks, skin tightening and lymphatic drainage massages. A process pioneered by South Korean dermatologists, botulinum toxin injections are subcutaneously delivered to achieve slim necks and completely remove fat from thighs. The effects, visible in four to six weeks, can last up to six months. The effect of bespoke polylactic acid injections last two to five years, and fixes cellulite, stretch marks, and loose skin. Cosmetic surgeons are going beyond results that can be achieved in a gym by refining muscles using procedures that exercise key core muscle groups. No more liposuction even for people with BMIs under 25.

Perils of Immortality: However, living forever may not prolong the life of the planet. Further overpopulation will strain an already strained healthcare, necessitate creation of more jobs, food and housing that will lead to the over-exploitation of resources that has ignited climate change. It will cause deep divisions in society between the wealthy and the poor, eventually leading to a dystopian society. Ahuja says, This obsession with forever is nothing but humanitys failure to come to terms with dying. Even though eternal youth has been our preoccupation for millennia, we hardly talk about or understand death. Because we dont want to face death, we have tofind a way around it byprolonging life.

The benefits of ageing are ignored in the search for back to the future. Writes American author Ephrat Livni, For a personal sense of wellness, we may still be better off thinking of ageing as an inevitable process with certain positive aspectslike additional wisdom accumulated through experiencerather than a sickness we hope to eradicate. If the many startups working on extended youth and anti-ageing endeavours actually manage to create a magic potion that keeps us forever young, then someday we may get the chance to think about what, if anything, humanity loses when it finally finds the fountain of youth.

Immortality is the hazy twilight where myth and history overlap with bizarre consequences. The first emperor of China sent out explorers to look for the elixir of life. French aristocrats in the 16th century put gold in their drinks to prolong their life. Cleopatra bathed in assess milk. The Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory murdered young women and bathed intheir blood to live forever. A girl on MTV bathed in pig blood to stay young.

In the Sumerian poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, the eponymous Sumerian king who sought and found the magic herb of immortality is cheated by a serpent, which eats it. Challenging Nature is as old as prehistoric humans who hunted large animals with wooden spears. With the traps she lays for men, winning is another matter altogether.

Age extension therapies

Reprogramming Cells Ageing cells that stop copying themselves lead to growing old and eventually death. A research team led by prominent geneticist Dr David Sinclair successfully reprogrammed mice cells, thereby reviving old cells. This process is called REVIVER (recovery of information via epigenetic reprogramming), which proved that old cells store information that can be used to reverse age.

Regenerate and Revive Tissue and organ regeneration company LyGenesis has regrown functioning organs in a patients lymph nodes using cellular therapy. This means that tissue can be regrown from one organ, for example a liver, to grow multiple livers for patients waiting in line for a transplant. Organ regeneration is calculated to prolong life till to 200 years.

Mind Over Machine Rewire Neuralink, owned by Elon Musk, is working on mind control of computers and other machines. Beneficiaries will be Parkinsons patientshuman trials on paraplegics using their thoughts to make machines perform tasks will commence soon.

Taking Time Back Legendary scientist Steve Horvath visualised the epigenetic clock, which analyses the predictable changes in our genes to calculate our biological age. By using the clock and experimenting on the human organ system that includes the nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, skeletal system and more, researchers reversed the biological age of participants in an experiment by an average two-and-a-half years in a year. Their immune system showedsigns of renewal.

Editing the System A uniform cure for all diseases? A new generation of genome editing called Prime Editing could allow scientists to edit and correct many genetic mutations (89 percent) in its purview.

Bioscientists have arrived at the maximum human lifespan but billions are being spent on life extension projects. Experts estimate that the person who will live beyond150 years has already been born.

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The science of growing old and older - The New Indian Express

National 4-H Hall of Fame

William (Bill) Svendsgaard of St. Louis Park, Minnesota was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame on October 14 for his lifetime achievements and contributions to 4-H.

Honored by University of Minnesota and the Minnesota 4-H Youth Development Program, Svendsgaard was one of 16 people inducted during the ceremony held at the Kellogg Conference Hotel at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.

The National 4-H Hall of Fame honorees are nominated by their home states, National 4-H Council; the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP); or the Division of Youth and 4-H, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) based upon their exceptional leadership at the local, state, national and international levels.

Honorees were presented with a National 4-H Hall of Fame medallion, plaque, and memory book during the ceremony. The National 4-H Hall of Fame was established in 2002 as part of the Centennial Project of National Association of Extension 4-H Agents in partnership with National 4-H Council and National 4-H Headquarters at USDA.

We are proud to recognize the 2020 National 4-H Hall of Fame honorees for the passion, dedication, vision, and leadership they have shown toward young people during their many years of service to 4-H, says Jeannette Rea Keywood, National 4-H Hall of Fame Committee Chair.

William Svendsgaard has spent a lifetime contributing to the success of Minnesota's 4-H Youth Development program. With his creative genius, love of people and readiness to meet new challenges, he has empowered countless individuals, boosting self-worth and pride to strengthen communities.

Bill exemplifies concern for others, using his artistic talent to benefit diverse audiences by helping to develop life skills with historically underserved populations. He created the Minnesota 4-H American Variety Theater Company in Minneapolis to bring arts to heretofore unreached inner-city youth. By encouraging inherent talent and channeling constructive expression, his initiative was one of ten artistic programs recognized nationally for the prevention of adolescent drug use. Bill taught art classes in women's and men's prisons to help individuals express themselves confidently, a much-needed skill for reintegration into mainstream society. His volunteer work led to his selection as Volunteer of the Year by the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Bill led many efforts to infuse arts into the 4-H Youth Development program during his career and in retirement. He developed a Creative Arts Master 4-H adult leader program in nine metro counties; authored the Minnesota 4-H Craft & Fine Arts Guide; directed the 4-H visual arts program at the Minnesota State Fair; and taught summer Extension arts workshops on six Indian reservations. Bill has long been a leader in his profession. As a member of NAE4-HA and a state affiliate, Bill served as special activities co-chair for the 1988 NAE4-HA Conference hosted in Minnesota. Now a member of the National 4-H History Preservation Program's leadership team, he led the creation of a first-in-the-nation 4-H history webinar, "Preserving 4-H History." His authored supporting materials that were field-tested at a 2017 NAE4-HA seminar and are now available to all states. Bill is chair of the Minnesota 4-H History Team. He has also written the history of the Hennepin County, Minnesota, 4-H program. Bill has been recognized for his leadership with the Minnesota

Extension Diversity Award, the USDA Superior Service Award for creative leadership and collaborative work with diverse audiences, and the NAE4-HA Distinguished Service Award. He has been chair of Minnesota's Vintage 4-H Retirees for six years and is vice president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE).

Bill retired in 2002 as a University of Minnesota Extension Professor Emeritus after 26 years with 4-H Youth Development. Bill was an active 4-H'er. He started his Extension career as a summer intern and taught fourth grade for six years before joining Minnesota 4-H. While his work was based in Hennepin County (Minneapolis), his positive impact was felt across Minnesota, the US, and internationally. Throughout his career, Bill has been a mentor for domestic and international youth programs, drawing on the proven methodologies of 4-H. He was an International Farm Youth Exchange (IFYE) Representative to Switzerland, a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil, and developed 4-H type experiential learning models for youth in the Komi Region of Russia, for which he received the Minnesota 4-H Points of Light Award. After retirement, Bill was an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow, creating youth development programs for widely varied audiences.

Bill's character is best expressed in his words: "From all my 4-H work with youth, what I remember best are their footsteps and their heartbeats. The footsteps connect them to their cultural values. The heartbeats connect them with each other, to value one another. Art is one activity that opens the door, to provide the experiences for any child who walks in a newly created self, contributing to a better creative community." Bill Svendsgaard has woven this compassion and humility through his life's work in youth development.

Bill is a former Montevideo School teacher. Of his time in Montevideo, he says "My ties and memories to Monte have remained endearing over the years. I taught fourth grade in the Sibley Elementary School from 1962-1968. I then was a co-director of the Individualized Prescribed Instruction (IPI) and the Primary Education Project (PEP) programs in Sibley, Ramsey, and Sanford Elementary Schools from 1969-1973. My wife also taught musicfor the elementarygrades. We both have remained in close friendships with many Monte teachers and friends, including former fourth-grade students now raising their families in the Monte area. Through Roger Larson, a former Chippewa County Agent, I organized 4-H programs in my classroom."

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Former Montevideo teacher inducted into National 4-H Hall of Fame - Monte News