Ukraine rejected a Russian ceasefire proposal that would require Kyiv to hand over territory to Moscow and drop its NATO membership goal, blasting Russian President Vladimir Putin for trying to cast himself as a peacemaker.  “It is absurd for Putin, who planned, prepared, and executed, together with his accomplices, the largest armed aggression in Europe since the Second World War, to present himself as a peacemaker and to put forward options for ending the war he started that...

Artificial intelligence may come for our jobs one day, but before that happens, the data centers it relies on are going to need a lot of electricity. So how do we power them and millions of U.S. homes and businesses without generating more climate-warming gases? Microsoft founder, billionaire philanthropist and investor Bill Gates is betting that nuclear power is key to meeting that need — and he’s digging into his own pockets to try and make it happen. Gates has invested $1 billion...

TOPLINE The arrests of two executives of a large telehealth medication company may worsen an almost two-year ADHD medication shortage and disrupt the care of upwards of 50,000 patients across the country, but the CDC warns against seeking treatment from the illegal drug market as an alternative. KEY FACTS Following the Thursday arrests of two telehealth executives who were working with the company Done Global Inc., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health...

The Biden administration announced sanctions on Friday against the Israeli right-wing organization "Tzav 9" for blocking humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza, two sources with knowledge of the decision told Axios. Why it matters: The flow of aid into Gaza has been hampered in recent weeks by numerous factors, including the closure of the Rafah corridor. Efforts by right-wing Israeli activists to block convoys coming from Jordan — with the apparent support of...

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, ruling that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its authority by determining that the gun attachments turn firearms into machine guns. The case was decided 6-3, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing the majority opinion and Justice Samuel Alito concurring. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, the courts three liberals, dissented. What are bump...

Back in the late '80s, NASA was looking for ways to detoxify the air in its space stations. So it conducted a study to determine the most effective plants for filtering the air of toxic agents and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen.In 1989, their results were published in a clean air study that provided a definitive list of the plants that are most effective at cleaning indoor air. The report also suggested having at least one plant per every hundred square feet of home or office space.1. Dwarf Date Palm2. Boston Fern3. Kimberly Queen Fern4. Spider Plant5. Chinese Evergreen6. Bamboo Palm7. Weeping Fig8. Devil's Ivy9. Flamingo Lily10. Lilyturf11. Broadleaf Lady Palm12. Barberton Daisy13. Cornstalk Dracena14. English Ivy15. Varigated Snake Plant16. Red-Edged Dracaena17. Peace Lily18. Florist's ChrysanthemumWhat's in our air?Trichloroethylene – Found in printing inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes, adhesives, and paint removers. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: excitement, dizziness, headache, nausea, and vomiting followed by drowsiness and coma.Formaldehyde – Found in paper bags, waxed papers, facial tissues, paper towels, plywood paneling, and synthetic fabrics. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: irritation to nose, mouth and throat, and in severe cases, swelling of the larynx and lungs.Benzene – Used to make plastics, resins, lubricants, detergents, and drugs. Also found in tobacco smoke, glue, and furniture wax. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: irritation to eyes, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, increase in heart rate, headaches, confusion and in some cases can result in unconsciousness.Xylene – Found in rubber, leather, tobacco smoke, and vehicle exhaust. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: irritation to mouth and throat, dizziness, headache, confusion, heart problems, liver and kidney damage and coma.Ammonia – Found in window cleaners, floor waxes, smelling salts, and fertilizers. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: eye irritation, coughing, sore throat.Please note: Some of these plants may be toxic for your pets, so please do your research to ensure your furry friends stay safe.This article originally appeared on 08.13.21

What can we learn from letting seventh graders take the SAT?In the 1960s, psychologist Julian Stanley realized that if you took the best-testing seventh graders from around the country and gave them standard college entry exams, those kids would score, on average, about as well as the typical college-bound high school senior. However, the seventh graders who scored as well or better than high schoolers, Stanley found, had off-the-charts aptitude in quantitative, logical, and spatial reasoning. In other words, they were gifted.In the 1970s, Stanley and his team launched a full-scale study, identifying many of America's gifted kids and tracking them throughout their lives.The study, called the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth never ended and is now nearly 45 years in the making. It has followed countless kids from middle school into their careers as some of America's top politicians, scientists, CEOs, engineers, and military leaders.Stanley passed away in the mid-2000s, but psychologist David Lubinski helped bring the study to Vanderbilt University in the 1990s, where he now co-directs it with Camilla P. Benhow.It's not a stretch to call this the biggest and most in-depth study on intellectual "precociousness." The results of the study thus far are equal parts fascinating and genuinely surprising — a deeply insightful look into the minds and lives of brilliant children.1. Some of what we used to think about gifted kids turned out to be wrong.Ever heard the saying "early to ripe, early to rot"? It basically means doing "too much" to foster a kid's special talents and abilities at too young an age could actually cause harm in the long term.That's not even remotely true, at least not according to Lubinski.That might be an outdated example. But Lubinksi says there are plenty of other misconceptions still alive today, like the idea that gifted kids are so smart that they'll "find a way" to excel even if those smarts aren't nurtured and developed.Not so fast. "They're kids," he explains. "They need guidance. We all need guidance."2. Intelligence is not the same as passion.Quick, what's the "smartest" career you can think of. Doctor? Scientist?While you do have to be pretty brilliant to work in medicine or science, those are far from the only career paths gifted kids choose later in life."Quantitatively, gifted people vary widely in their passions," Lubinski says. Many of the students in the study did end up pursuing medicine, but others went into fields like economics or engineering. Others still were more gifted in areas like logical or verbal reasoning, making them excellent lawyers and writers."There are all kinds of ways to express intellectual talent," Lubinski explains.When it comes to doing what's best for a gifted student, it's just as important for parents and educators to know what the student is passionate about rather than pigeonholing them in traditionally "smart" fields and registering them in a bunch of STEM courses.3. Hard work definitely still matters.Measuring a student's aptitude, their natural abilities, is only one part of the equation when it comes to determining how successful they'll be in life. Aptitude scores can identify a particularly strong natural skill set but tell us very little about how hard that person might work to excel in that field.Effort, Lubinski says, is a critical factor in determining how far someone's going to go in life. "If you look at exceptional performers in politics, science, music, and literature, they're working many, many hours," he says.(And for the record, there are a lot more important things in life than just career achievement, like family, friends, and overall happiness.)4. Regardless of aptitude, every kid deserves to be treated as though they were gifted.The study's focus is specifically on kids within a certain range of intellectual ability, but Lubinski is careful to note that many of its findings can and should be applied to all students.For example, the kids in the study who were given an opportunity to take more challenging courses that aligned with their skills and interests ultimately went on to accomplish more than the students who were not afforded the same opportunity."You have to find out where your child's development is, how fast they learn, what are their strengths and relative weaknesses and tailor the curriculum accordingly," Lubinski says. "It's what you would want for all kids."It may sound a bit like a pipe dream, but it's a great starting point for how we should be thinking about the future of education in America.If you'd like to learn more about the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, check out this short film on the project created by Vanderbilt University:Quick Learners; High Achievers: Study of Mathematically Precocious YouthThis article originally appeared on 09.22.17

"Seamlessly complex..." The post Neil Peart on the album Rush perfected: “We nailed it” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.