As enterprise AI reshapes workplace efficiency, there are key risks executives need to address.

Oregon' State University's proposed 'Vibrant Ocean' license plate would support shark research. Natalie Donato/OSU Big Fish LabOregons coastal waters are home to at least 15 species of sharks, yet surprisingly little is known about their role in the local marine ecosystem. That could change thanks to a new initiative that brings shark conservation to an unexpected place: the back of your car. The Big Fish Lab at Oregon State University, the states only facility dedicated to shark research, is spearheading an effort to fund shark science through a specialty license plate. Designed by OSU marine biology student Natalie Donato, the plate features a striking image of a salmon shark in the center, flanked by a blue shark and a common thresher. More than just a cool design to sandwich your car, the plate is a direct way for Oregonians to contribute to shark research, public education, and conservation outreach.Assistant Professor Dr. Taylor Chapple, founder of the Big Fish Lab, hopes the initiative will help shift public perception of sharks from fear to fascination. Funding shark research is hard. Sharks are not delicious or cuddly but theyre critically important, said Chapple. Our mission in the Big Fish Lab is to better understand the importance of sharks and to share their story broadly. This license plate will help us do that. Our hope is that with every plate, we get closer to appreciating that sharks arent the mindless killers of Hollywood, but dynamic and important actors in our vibrant oceans.While salmon sharks, blue sharks, and thresher sharks are some of the more recognizable species in Oregons waters, the state is also home to lesser-known sharks like the broadnose sevengill and the Pacific sleeper shark. Many of these species remain a mystery, with limited data on their population trends, migration patterns, and ecological impact. The 15 species of sharks off our shores help keep Oregons coastal ecosystems and the economies dependent on them vibrant and productive, from the crab in your pot to the salmon on your grill. Oregon's ocean abundance is largely thanks to our sharks, he said. The publics support helps us better understand these critical predators and insure the continued vibrant oceans that define Oregon.To make the plate a reality, the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles requires at least 3,000 ... More pre-orders before manufacturing can begin. Each plate costs $40, with roughly $35 going directly to support the Big Fish Labs work.Natalie Donato/OSU Big Fish LabFor Oregonians who want to help but dont necessarily see themselves as marine conservationists, the license plate offers a simple way to contribute. Every car on the road with the shark plate becomes a rolling billboard for shark awareness, sparking conversations and reinforcing the idea that these animals are vital to ocean health. While it may seem like a small gesture, the cumulative impact of thousands of plates could make a significant difference in how shark research is funded and perceived in Oregon.But first, the plates need to become a reality. The Big Fish Lab must sell 3,000 vouchers before the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles will begin manufacturing the plates. The vouchers cost $40, with about $35 going directly to the lab; that funding will help expand training opportunities for students, improve outreach efforts, and support field research on Oregons sharks. Compared to traditional funding sources, which often come with long approval processes and limited flexibility, the revenue from the license plate could provide a more consistent and accessible stream of financial support.If the Big Fish Lab meets the pre-order goal, Oregon will join other states that have successfully used license plates to support wildlife conservation. Florida, for example, has raised millions of dollars for sea turtle research through its specialty plate program, and Californias whale tail plate has supported coastal conservation initiatives for years. Shark research often struggles to attract funding compared to more charismatic marine animals like whales or sea otters, but this initiative could help level the playing field. By turning something as routine as a license plate into a tool for science, the Big Fish Lab is giving Oregonians a new way to support ocean conservation, one car at a time.

The Dell Alienware AW2725Q is currently the most affordable 27-inch 4K 240Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor on the market. While competing brands like Asus and MSI are selling their models for $1,100, this brand-new Alienware is making its debut at just $900 a sizable 18% savings.Are you getting less at this lower price point, or is Dell simply undercutting the competition and offering better value? Let's find out.One of the key things to note about these 27-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors is that all brands use the same panel from Samsung. This means many fundamental aspects, such as response times, contrast ratio, and brightness, remain consistent across models. Differences do exist in features, calibration, and certain performance aspects, but nothing hugely substantial at least not on the level we see from monitors using different panels.We really like the design Dell has chosen for the AW2725Q. The 2025 Alienware lineup features what Dell calls the "AW30" industrial design, celebrating the brand's 30th anniversary. It's a rounded, sleek, minimalist aesthetic that looks fantastic. The build quality is excellent, with high-quality materials and a refined finish on the plastic panels, giving the monitor a premium look that surpasses what is typically found in gaming displays.What surprised us the most when unboxing the AW2725Q was that the monitor isn't black. Product images made it appear to have a standard black-gray finish, but in reality, it's a deep blue color that Dell calls "Interstellar Indigo."We actually think this finish looks great, but if you were expecting a neutral black to match an all-black setup, this has more of a blue-tinted black appearance. The product images could do a better job of showcasing this blue-black-indigo finish so buyers have a clearer expectation of the color.From the front, this monitor looks fantastic, partly due to its small, squarish stand base and sleek pillar. The compact base allows for a wide variety of keyboard positions, and since it's flat, you can still place items on top of it, maximizing desk space. It's also a sturdy stand, offering height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments with a reasonable maximum height.The port selection is good but not quite on the level of MSI and Asus models. While those variants include DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20, the AW2725Q uses DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC.Both support the full 240Hz refresh rate over DisplayPort, but the DP 2.1 configuration on competing models does so without DSC. This difference likely won't matter much, especially since the latest GeForce 50 series GPUs provide full feature support regardless of whether you use DP 2.1 or DP 1.4 with DSC. There's no noticeable visual difference.Additionally, the Alienware includes HDMI 2.1 with DSC and eARC support, along with a four-port USB 5 Gbps hub consisting of three Type-A and one Type-C ports. Unfortunately, the USB-C port is mostly just a data port it doesn't support DP-Alt mode for video input, and power delivery is limited to 15W. This monitor also lacks KVM switch functionality, meaning it offers less connectivity and overall functionality in this area compared to the Asus and MSI models.The OSD is controlled via a directional toggle on the bottom edge of the display, just below the Alienware logo. It includes standard gaming features, most of which are found within the AlienVision settings, allowing users to combine crosshairs, shadow boosting, sniper mode zooming, and more. There are also features like a refresh rate counter and various color controls.However, the AW2725Q lacks some of the more advanced features found in competing models, particularly the Asus PG27UCDM. There's no OLED Anti-Flicker equivalent, no proximity sensor, and the burn-in protection features are not user-customizable. For example, on the 272URX, users can adjust the aggressiveness of screen dimming and disable certain OLED care features if they find them bothersome. On the AW2725Q, no such controls exist, making it a more basic setup.Also, the Dell AW2725Q uses active cooling, meaning there's a fan inside the monitor. We found the fan to be completely inaudible under normal usage conditions, but unlike the other variants, it's not a passive cooling design.Screen Coating, Subpixel Layout and Burn InOne of the best aspects of this new 27-inch 4K QD-OLED panel is its pixel density and resulting text quality. We go from 140 PPI with 32-inch 4K panels to 166 PPI at 27 inches, representing a 19% increase in density. Compared to 27-inch 1440p QD-OLEDs, it's a massive 50% increase, which is very noticeable yes, a 4K resolution makes a difference at this panel size, especially with an OLED.The pixel structure is essentially identical to what we saw with the 32-inch panels. It still features a triangle RGB layout, with green on top and red and blue below, maintaining similar proportions for each subpixel. The key difference is that this subpixel structure has been scaled down to achieve 166 PPI.This effectively eliminates the slight text artifacts seen in 32-inch QD-OLED panels and delivers text clarity identical to a 27-inch 4K LCD. With the 32-inch 4K QD-OLEDs, we found text clarity to be very good, though not quite on par with 32-inch 4K LCDs. However, the 27-inch 4K QD-OLED is a step better, and we're comfortable calling it identical to LCD.We couldn't detect any color fringing around text, even at a very close distance with 100% display scaling. This issue is now fully resolved, and the improvement over 1440p QD-OLED is significant in terms of reducing and eliminating text artifacts. This new panel is excellent for rendering text.What hasn't been improved at least as far as we can tell is the screen coating and panel composition. The way this panel handles reflections and appears slightly gray in brighter environments seems unchanged from the 32-inch QD-OLEDs. So, the same issues from previous reviews remain with the 27-inch 4K variant.In bright environments with light sources in front of the display, the panel tends to reflect ambient light, raising black levels to the point where they appear somewhat gray. This impacts one of the key selling points of OLED technology its deep blacks since they won't look as rich or deep in bright conditions, especially compared to glossy WOLED panels.However, general reflection handling is decent, so mirror-like reflections aren't too severe. That said, as with any glossy panel, some defined reflections will always be visible, worsening in brighter conditions.These issues with the coating can be minimized by optimizing the placement of light sources in the room, ideally keeping them behind the display. The darker the environment such as gaming in a dim or fully dark room the better this QD-OLED panel looks.Under dim conditions, you'll typically get the rich, deep blacks that OLED is known for. Whether this will be an issue for you depends on your setup and preferences. We do find it frustrating and consider it one of the bigger drawbacks of QD-OLED panels, but if you primarily game at night, it's far less of a concern. At the very least, it's something to be aware of.Another important factor to consider is that OLEDs generally aren't ideal for desktop use, productivity apps, and web browsing due to their susceptibility to permanent burn-in. While it's great that this 27-inch 4K OLED offers excellent text quality for desktop work, it is not immune to burn-in. Static content, such as toolbars or icons that remain on screen for long periods common in most desktop applications is at risk.On the other hand, dynamic content like gaming or video playback poses virtually no burn-in risk, so there's no need to worry if gaming is your primary use case. Even occasional desktop use is fine, but prolonged productivity work around eight hours a day may lead to burn-in, as we've observed in our ongoing burn-in testing series. Dell offers a three-year burn-in warranty.Response Time PerformanceResponse time performance is excellent on this 4K QD-OLED monitor, as it is for other OLED displays we've tested so far. OLED offers lightning-fast response times, around the 0.3ms mark at its maximum 240Hz refresh rate, leading to fantastic motion clarity.Dell Alienware AW2725Q - 240Hz, 120Hz, 60HzOLEDs also maintain the same performance at all refresh rates, so even when testing at 120Hz or 60Hz, we see similar results in the 0.3ms range. This is a nice benefit for variable refresh rate gamers, resulting in a single overdrive mode experience; in contrast, many LCDs typically perform worse at lower refresh rates relative to their maximum refresh.On OLED monitors, the main limiting factor is the refresh rate itself. This means that on two OLEDs running at the same refresh rate, you'll get the same level of motion clarity, which is important when comparing across models.For example, if you have a 240Hz 4K QD-OLED running at 120Hz and a 360Hz 1440p QD-OLED running at 120Hz, both will produce the same motion clarity. You'll only see better motion clarity on higher refresh rate OLEDs when gaming at frame rates above 240 FPS the maximum refresh the AW2725Q supports. If you don't expect to be playing games above 240 FPS, then there is no practical advantage to a higher refresh rate OLED in terms of motion performance.There is effectively no difference in response time performance between this QD-OLED and other OLED monitors, including WOLED variants. OLEDs are much faster than even the fastest LCDs we've tested, and this is true whether we look at the best performance or average performance across the refresh rate range. Not only are OLEDs fast, but they also have no overshoot artifacts, which can be an issue with some LCD models.When viewing cumulative deviation results, we can see that OLEDs get much closer to ideal response time behavior and, in most cases, offer performance an order of magnitude better in this metric than LCDs. In practice, this leads to around a 1.5x advantage in clarity at a given refresh rate, so 240Hz QD-OLEDs like the AW2725Q offer a similar experience to 360Hz LCDs speed that isn't currently available from an LCD at this resolution.Input latency is excellent, offering a 0.1ms processing delay in both the SDR and HDR modes. Combined with fast response times and a decent refresh rate, this OLED feels very snappy to use, only beaten by the absolute highest refresh rate models on the market.Despite its high resolution, we think this is still a great option for multiplayer gaming because the refresh rate is high and total lag is low. Also, unlike the MSI and Asus variants, the Dell model has a 1ms processing delay at 60Hz, making it a great option for fixed refresh 60Hz as well.The AW2725Q uses slightly more power than the MSI and Asus variants, at 80 watts for a 200-nit full-screen white image. That's about 8% more than the PG27UCDM, which is an interesting difference but not especially meaningful. QD-OLEDs are still relatively power-hungry compared to LCDs in particular, where even in the best-case scenario for an OLED, something like an LG 27GR93U will consume less power. So if you're switching from an efficient LCD to an OLED, you can expect higher power consumption.Color PerformanceColor Space: Dell Alienware AW2725Q - D65-P3All QD-OLEDs that we've tested so far offer a similar color space. In the case of the AW2725Q, we're looking at 98.6% DCI-P3 coverage, as well as 96% Adobe RGB coverage strong results for viewing HDR content or working in those color spaces. In total, we saw 76.1% coverage of Rec. 2020, which is slightly lower than some of the other QD-OLEDs we've tested but still great for a gaming monitor.Default Color PerformanceDell Alienware AW2725Q - D65-P3, tested at native resolution, highest refresh ratePortrait CALMAN Ultimate, DeltaE Value Target: Below 2.0, CCT Target: 6500KGrayscale, Saturation and ColorCheckerFactory color performance is decent. The grayscale results were quite accurate out of the box, with a near-perfect CCT and gamma, leading to a deltaE ITP average of just 4. There are the usual concerns around oversaturation, as this display does not use an sRGB gamut clamp out of the box. The Alienware model comes out a little ahead of the MSI and Asus models in factory grayscale and ColorChecker testing.New for 2025, we'll be testing the performance of monitors when using Windows' Auto Color Management (ACM) feature, introduced in Windows 11 24H2. This feature color-manages the display at a system level by using the color data the monitor reports.On wide-gamut monitors, this allows SDR sRGB content to be displayed more accurately without the use of a monitor's sRGB mode, as the color space emulation is performed by Windows instead of the monitor. It also allows you to avoid any sRGB mode restrictions, like locked white balance, because the monitor remains in its standard configuration with full setting control.Default ACM Color PerformanceDell Alienware AW2725Q - D65-P3, tested at native resolution, highest refresh ratePortrait CALMAN Ultimate, DeltaE Value Target: Below 2.0, CCT Target: 6500KGrayscale, Saturation and ColorCheckerWhen enabling ACM, the AW2725Q continues to offer great grayscale performance, but now color performance is also improved to a deltaE average below 5.0. This is a decent outcome and still allows full setting control via the monitor's OSD if you want to tweak things further. For Windows SDR use, this is probably the best configuration.sRGB Mode Color PerformanceDell Alienware AW2725Q - D65-P3, tested at native resolution, highest refresh ratePortrait CALMAN Ultimate, DeltaE Value Target: Below 2.0, CCT Target: 6500KGrayscale, Saturation and ColorCheckerFor inputs that don't support color management, Dell provides an sRGB mode, but we found it a bit disappointing. Color temperature and gamma are both worse than the default mode, which hurts accuracy. The actual gamut clamp is still effective at reducing saturation and ColorChecker deltaEs relative to the out-of-the-box configuration, but we wouldn't say the results are amazing.Specifically, if you compare this sRGB mode to the other options, it falls down the chart to a less desirable position. A lot of QD-OLEDs are shipping with very accurate sRGB modes, but we wouldn't say this is one of them, so the ACM configuration is preferable.Calibrated Color PerformanceDell Alienware AW2725Q - D65-P3, tested at native resolution, highest refresh ratePortrait CALMAN Ultimate, DeltaE Value Target: Below 2.0, CCT Target: 6500KGrayscale, Saturation and ColorCheckerA full calibration can improve performance further, and we used Calman for that. This panel is well suited to multiple color spaces, including DCI-P3 when fully calibrated.Brightness, Contrast, UniformityPeak SDR brightness on the AW2725Q is the same as other OLEDs, at around 250 nits. However, due to the way Dell configures the OLED care features, you're less likely to see 250 nits in practice compared to other monitors.Real-world peak brightness is typically around 30 nits lower than this, at around 220 nits, whereas on other monitors, you can disable the "multi-logo detection" feature and more consistently push the panel up to 250 nits.This feature can't be disabled on the Alienware. That said, brightness is still sufficient, and the SDR mode enables uniform brightness at all times. A minimum brightness of 30 nits is very good.We were very impressed with the viewing angles of this panel. They are very wide, making it easy to view the display even at quite extreme angles it really looks excellent. This also means there is a large sweet spot for viewing this QD-OLED, and you won't notice issues like the edges being slightly lower contrast or a bit washed out, which can be a problem with some flat LCD panels, particularly VAs.Uniformity was also very good with our unit nice and even when viewing full white and no dirty screen effect when viewing dark greys. This keeps QD-OLED in the leadership position for display uniformity among OLEDs.HDR Hardware PerformanceThe Alienware AW2725Q is well suited to HDR from a hardware perspective. OLED panels, including QD-OLED, directly emit light and have individual pixel control, making them ideal for displaying HDR content.This feature allows each pixel to independently vary from fully switching off to displaying bright highlights, giving us deep, zero-level blacks and per-pixel local dimming. The level of control OLEDs provide minimizes blooming in high-contrast scenarios and allows for a clean distinction between bright and dark areas that are close together.Compared to LCDs with a multi-zone backlight, OLEDs have far fewer ugly illumination artifacts, which are most noticeable when displaying difficult scenarios like star fields or subtitles, and there are no zone transitions as bright objects move around the display.With per-pixel control as its main advantage, OLEDs are best at displaying high-contrast scenes with rich shadow detail, which is a key aspect of a good HDR presentation. Darker content interspersed with dazzling bright highlights brings out the best in OLED displays, as does HDR content with fast motion. For gamers especially, input latency on most OLEDs is low in HDR mode.The weakness of the HDR presentation on an OLED is overall brightness. While peak brightness can be high in the best cases, full-screen brightness is low, limiting the punch in bright daytime scenes. LCDs may not have per-pixel control, but zoned backlights can simply get significantly brighter in bright scenes. Depending on what you want out of an HDR monitor, your preference could swing more toward LCDs or more toward OLEDs but typically, OLEDs are a great choice that deliver a fantastic HDR presentation.HDR Configurations and AccuracyDell offers many different HDR configurations, but most of them only have slight differences. The two we'll be focusing on are the usual QD-OLED configurations we've seen for a while now: the DisplayHDR True Black mode and the HDR Peak 1000 mode. In both of these configurations, we recommend enabling the Console HDR mode and turning Source Tone Mapping on.This improves accuracy and reduces roll-off relative to the standard configuration without Console HDR enabled. If you prefer a more gentle roll-off, disable Source Tone Mapping.The two main modes True Black and Peak 1000 operate in the same way as other QD-OLED monitors. The True Black 400 mode is the most accurate and doesn't have panel dimming in brighter scenes, but peak brightness is capped at 450 nits.The Peak 1000 nit mode removes the brightness cap, allowing peak brightness to hit 1,000 nits, but panel dimming occurs in brighter, higher APL scenes, impacting accuracy. Dell does not offer a boosted brightness configuration like we see on some QD-OLEDs, such as the Gigabyte FO32U2P.The accuracy of these modes isn't as good as the Asus model, which remains the best option for HDR. The True Black configuration has great roll-off, but brightness is slightly elevated, particularly for mid-to-dark tones. This display still looks great in HDR scenes when using the True Black mode, so this brightness elevation doesn't ruin image quality, but it's not as accurate as the PG27UCDM.This elevated mid-to-dark tone brightness is also present in the Peak 1000 mode, and there's no configuration of settings that prevents this. Naturally, this mode offers a higher level of brightness overall, though Dell hasn't solved or attempted to solve the panel dimming issue in this configuration when viewing brighter scenes.To be fair, no other manufacturer has fixed this issue either, so it remains a flaw with QD-OLED panels. Basically, we're still in a position where you can't achieve the highest peak brightness in darker scenes without bizarrely dimming brighter scenes. For the best experience, you'll need to change HDR modes depending on whether you're playing mostly brighter or mostly darker content or if you want to optimize for either of those conditions.HDR BrightnessHDR brightness is identical to other QD-OLED monitors. In these charts, other monitors are listed using their brightest configuration that preserves accuracy, and you'll see basically no difference at various window sizes. Right now, the best WOLED panels get around 15% brighter at a 2% window, which is not a significant difference. And in this chart, we can confirm that brightness vs. window size performance is the same as other OLEDs.In real-scene brightness, the results are close to what we usually see. The True Black mode has no panel dimming, while the Peak 1000 mode does. The True Black mode has higher brightness in mid-to-high APL content but is capped at 450 nits. The Peak 1000 mode can reach over 900 nits in real-world scenes but isn't as bright in higher APL scenes.The only real difference between the AW2725Q and other models is that some scenes aren't quite as bright as on other models. But the MSI 272URX, for example, is just 13% brighter on average, which isn't a large difference. It's only when compared to WOLEDs that the brightness experience becomes notably better, and right now, there is no 27-inch 4K WOLED alternative.In HDR calibration, due to the EOTF tracking results we saw earlier, the AW2725Q isn't as accurate as models such as the PG27UCDM. The Alienware model doesn't perform badly it's just more of a mid-table performer. So if you're looking for the absolute best accuracy for HDR content, the Asus model would be the better choice. That said, the results are still usable and don't ruin the HDR experience. For HDR color volume, we see great results in line with other QD-OLED monitors, provided you use the settings that enable the highest brightness levels.We should also mention that the AW2725Q supports Dolby Vision, which can be enabled through a toggle in the OSD settings. Right now, this is mostly useful for source devices that aren't a Windows gaming PC, because Dolby Vision support on Windows is pretty bad. But if you're watching video content using a media player, Dolby Vision is a useful inclusion though at the moment, we don't have solid tools to test Dolby Vision performance on monitors like this.HUB Essentials ChecklistThe final section of the review is the HUB Essentials Checklist. Dell largely does a good job of advertising this monitor, with the usual exception of response time numbers. Dell claims the display is factory calibrated, though we've given it a borderline result here, as that is possible through ACM in Windows but not necessarily with the built-in modes.As for the feature support matrix, we see strong results in contrast and motion performance, as is typical for an OLED, along with low input lag. Where the AW2725Q falls a bit short is in certain features, such as the lack of a USB-C display input and power delivery, the absence of DisplayPort 2.1, and the ongoing issue of panel dimming. However, it does support Dolby Vision, which is not available on the MSI variant.What We LearnedThe Dell Alienware AW2725Q is another impressive QD-OLED gaming monitor, delivering a similar experience to other high-end models we've come to love. This new 27-inch 4K 240Hz panel for 2025 isn't a revolutionary step for OLED gaming, but it successfully shrinks all the benefits of the larger 32-inch models into a smaller, sharper screen. Having quality options at this size is important, given the popularity of the 27-inch category.The increased pixel density of the 27-inch 4K OLED effectively eliminates any lingering artifacts related to the subpixel structure and text rendering, delivering the best text quality we've seen from a desktop OLED so far.This is truly equivalent to a 27-inch 4K LCD. Of course, with the panel being smaller than the 32-inch models, it's not quite as immersive for gaming, so we still prefer the 32-inch size. However, this 27-inch panel looks incredibly sharp and clear.In addition, we get all the usual benefits of OLED technology. The combination of a 240Hz refresh rate and ultra-fast response times results in excellent motion clarity. Deep blacks, per-pixel dimming, and bright highlights create a stunning visual experience in many titles.Unfortunately, this new 27-inch panel doesn't resolve some of the existing issues with QD-OLEDs, such as raised blacks in brighter environments due to the panel composition and panel dimming in brighter HDR scenes. And, of course, there's the risk of permanent burn-in, which limits this monitor's usability for desktop productivity, despite its excellent pixel density and three-year burn-in warranty. Improvements in these areas will have to wait for a future OLED generation.Having now reviewed three of these 27-inch 4K OLEDs, the big question is: which model should you buy? The Alienware AW2725Q, the MSI MPG 272URX, or the Asus PG27UCDM?Comparing all the test results and features, the Asus PG27UCDM remains the best model overall. It shares similar panel characteristics such as contrast, speed, and brightness but is better calibrated in both SDR and HDR modes. Additionally, it has a stronger feature set, including DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20, improved USB-C functionality, OLED anti-flicker mode, a proximity sensor, and black frame insertion. It also retains Dolby Vision support. If you want the best, the PG27UCDM is the model to get, but it comes at about a 20% premium.The AW2725Q is still an excellent monitor, and we prefer the Alienware design. However, there are few standout features or performance advantages that set it apart. It does support eARC, which the Asus model lacks, but beyond that, it offers fewer features. Fortunately, the QD-OLED panel does a lot of the heavy lifting, so in key areas like motion clarity and per-pixel control, it performs the same as the Asus.Ultimately, the choice between the Asus and Alienware models comes down to how much you value the Asus' expanded feature set. Both of these are clearly ahead of the MSI which doesn't fully justify its $1,100 price tag. If you're simply looking for a high-performance 27-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor, saving $200 and going with the Alienware model is absolutely worth it.For most gamers, it's likely the better value. However, if you're willing to spend around $1,000 to get the best of the best, the Asus PG27UCDM does offers enough extras to justify the higher price.What we're also likely to see is the Alienware model providing even better value outside North America. In Australia, the 32-inch Alienware AW3225QF was often much cheaper than other 32-inch 4K QD-OLEDs, so hopefully, that will also be the case for the 27-inch model.Shopping Shortcuts:Alienware AW2725Q on DellMSI MPG 272URX on NeweggAsus ROG Swift PG27UCDM on NeweggGigabyte M32UP on AmazonLG 32GR93U on B&H, LGMSI MPG321UR-QD on AmazonAlienware AW3423DW 34" QD-OLED on Amazon

There have been a ton of leaks about upcoming Motorola Razr phones recently, from information about the planned Razr 60 to details on the Razr Plus (2025). Previous leaks suggested that the new Razr Plus would come in several color choices, and now weve got a look at one of the new options: a handsome wood backing.Leaked by trusted insider source Evan Blass, who has previously leaked accurate information about Razr colorways, the new wood look is shown off in an image:Motorola Razr+ 2025 in wood @evleaksIts not clear if that backing is real wood or some kind of faux wood, but the image does seem to show a matching edge in light brown to complement the backing. If it were real wood, that could be a nice material to feel in the hand as youre using the phone, and as an unusual choice it would make this device stand out from the crowd.Recommended VideosThat distinction might be necessary because although this phone will likely be well stocked with the high-end hardware that youd expect from a flagship device, like a 6.9-inch pOLED display and a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the upgrade from the previous generation is not exactly exciting. Previous color variants came with a faux leather back, and leaks have shown that the new series will include a darker green finish than was available before.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThose who love the aesthetics of their phones might be happy though, as Motorola have previously impressed the design-minded with choices like its Mocha Mousse colorway for the Razr Plus, which gave a familiar device a new lease of life with its sophisticated and on-trend looks.We should be able to see the new wood look for ourselves soon enough, as the Motorola Razr Plus (2025) is expected to be official launched with the next few weeks or months, with information predicting that it will arrive this spring.Editors Recommendations

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsSmaller, but sturdierA weird downgradeMotorolas upcoming clamshell-style foldable phones keep popping up in leaks. The latest one spills the beans on the whole package, including the design and its internal hardware. The entire Razr 60 kit, which might launch in the US as the Razr (2026), is a familiar affair but with a weird set of upgrades and downgrades.The latest leak comes courtesy of XpertPick and suggests the phone will come in three color options, each with a unique surface finish on the rear shell. The Pantone Gibraltar Sea version offers a rough nylon-inspired finish, while the Pantone Lightest Sky shade comes with a bright acetate finish.Recommended VideosThe core design language remains identical to the Razr 50, but there is a notable durability upgrade this time around. The Razr 50 offered only IPX8-rated protection, while the Razr 60 will reportedly serve a stronger IP48 clearance for dust and water resistance.XpertPickAnother interesting change is an apparent reduction in the screen size. The inner foldable display on the Razr 60 is said to be a 6.7-inch pOLED HDR10+ unit. For comparison, its predecessor offered a larger 6.9-inch screen.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThough the inner display gets a reduction in size, it purportedly lands a neat upgrade. The leak mentions support for wet touch functionality. Users will supposedly be able to use the screen even when its wet, a convenience we recently saw on the OnePlus 13, as well.On the Razr 60, the RAM and storage have been upgraded to 12GB and 512GB respectively, up from the 8GB memory and 266GB onboard storage on the Razr 50. Ticking under the hood is MediaTeks new Dimensity 7400X silicon, while the battery size remains identical at 4,200mAh.XpertPickCuriously, the leak mentions a step-down in the peak wired charging speed, trickling down from 33W on the Razr 50 to 30W on the Razr 60. The imaging hardware includes a 50-megapixel rear camera sitting alongside an ultrawide snapper and a 32-megapixel front camera.Details about the sticker price are still under wraps, and Motorola hasnt said anything about an official launch either. Leaks, however, have also given us an alleged look at the more powerful Razr 60 Plus variant.This one also plays it safe with the aesthetic language but adds a dedicated multifunctional button on the side. It is expected to draw power from Qualcomms Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and has already been spotted on multiple regulatory databases, hinting that a market arrival is right around the corner.Editors Recommendations

Over the past couple of weeks, Ive been following news of the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa. It was heartbreaking to hear how Arakawa appeared to have died from a rare infection days before her husband, who had advanced Alzheimers disease and may have struggled to understand what had happened. But as I watched the medical examiner reveal details of the couples health, I couldnt help feeling a little uncomfortable. Media reports claim that the couple liked their privacy and had been out of the spotlight for decades. But here I was, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, being told what pills Arakawa had in her medicine cabinet, and that Hackman had undergone multiple surgeries. It made me wonder: Should autopsy reports be kept private? A persons cause of death is public information. But what about other intimate health details that might be revealed in a postmortem examination? The processes and regulations surrounding autopsies vary by country, so well focus on the US, where Hackman and Arakawa died. Here, a medico-legal autopsy may be organized by law enforcement agencies and handled through courts, while a clinical autopsy may be carried out at the request of family members. And there are different levels of autopsysome might involve examining specific organs or tissues, while more thorough examinations would involve looking at every organ and studying tissues in the lab. The goal of an autopsy is to discover the cause of a persons death. Autopsy reports, especially those resulting from detailed investigations, often reveal health conditionsconditions that might have been kept private while the person was alive. There are multiple federal and state laws designed to protect individuals health information. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects individually identifiable health information up to 50 years after a persons death. But some things change when a person dies. For a start, the cause of death will end up on the death certificate. That is public information. The public nature of causes of death is taken for granted these days, says Lauren Solberg, a bioethicist at the University of Florida College of Medicine. It has become a public health statistic. She and her student Brooke Ortiz, who have been researching this topic, are more concerned about other aspects of autopsy results. The thing is, autopsies can sometimes reveal more than what a person died from. They can also pick up what are known as incidental findings. An examiner might find that a person who died following a covid-19 infection also had another condition. Perhaps that condition was undiagnosed. Maybe it was asymptomatic. That finding wouldnt appear on a death certificate. So who should have access to it? The laws over who should have access to a persons autopsy report vary by state, and even between counties within a state. Clinical autopsy results will always be made available to family members, but local laws dictate which family members have access, says Ortiz. Genetic testing further complicates things. Sometimes the people performing autopsies will run genetic tests to help confirm the cause of death. These tests might reveal what the person died from. But they might also flag genetic factors unrelated to the cause of death that might increase the risk of other diseases. In those cases, the persons family members might stand to benefit from accessing that information. My health information is my health informationuntil it comes to my genetic health information, says Solberg. Genes are shared by relatives. Should they have the opportunity to learn about potential risks to their own health? This is where things get really complicated. Ethically speaking, we should consider the wishes of the deceased. Would that person have wanted to share this information with relatives? Its also worth bearing in mind that a genetic risk factor is often just that; theres often no way to know whether a person will develop a disease, or how severe the symptoms would be. And if the genetic risk is for a disease that has no treatment or cure, will telling the persons relatives just cause them a lot of stress? One 27-year-old experienced this when a 23&Me genetic test told her she had a 28% chance of developing late-onset Alzheimers disease by age 75 and a 60% chance by age 85. Im suddenly overwhelmed by this information, she posted on a dementia forum. I cant help feeling this overwhelming sense of dread and sadness that Ill never be able to un-know this information. In their research, Solberg and Ortiz came across cases in which individuals who had died in motor vehicle accidents underwent autopsies that revealed other, asymptomatic conditions. One man in his 40s who died in such an accident was found to have a genetic kidney disease. A 23-year-old was found to have had kidney cancer. Ideally, both medical teams and family members should know ahead of time what a person would have wantedwhether thats an autopsy, genetic testing, or health privacy. Advance directives allow people to clarify their wishes for end-of-life care. But only around a third of people in the US have completed one. And they tend to focus on care before death, not after. Solberg and Ortiz think they should be expanded. An advance directive could specify how people want to share their health information after theyve died. Talking about death is difficult, says Solberg. For physicians, for patients, for familiesit can be uncomfortable. But it is important. On March 17, a New Mexico judge granted a request from a representative of Hackmans estate to seal police photos and bodycam footage as well as the medical records of Hackman and Arakawa. The medical investigator is temporarily restrained from disclosing the Autopsy Reports and/or Death Investigation Reports for Mr. and Mrs. Hackman, according to Deadline. This article first appeared in The Checkup,MIT Technology Reviewsweekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,sign up here.

The Thwaites glacier is a fortress larger than Florida, a wall of ice that reaches nearly 4,000 feet above the bedrock of West Antarctica, guarding the low-lying ice sheet behind it. But a strong, warm ocean current is weakening its foundations and accelerating its slide into the Amundsen Sea. Scientists fear the waters could topple the walls in the coming decades, kick-starting a runaway process that would crack up the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. That would mark the start of a global climate disaster. The glacier itself holds enough ice to raise ocean levels by more than two feet, which could flood coastlines and force tens of millions of people living in low-lying areas to abandon their homes. The loss of the entire ice sheetwhich could still take centuries to unfoldwould push up sea levels by 11 feet and redraw the contours of the continents. This is why Thwaites is known as the doomsday glacierand why scientists are eager to understand just how likely such a collapse is, when it could happen, and if we have the power to stop it. Scientists at MIT and Dartmouth College founded Arte Glacier Initiative last year in the hope of providing clearer answers to these questions. The nonprofit research organization will officially unveil itself, launch its website, and post requests for research proposals today, March 21, timed to coincide with the UNs inaugural World Day for Glaciers, MIT Technology Review can report exclusively. Arte will also announce it is issuing its first grants, each for around $200,000 over two years, to a pair of glacier researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One of the organizations main goals is to study the possibility of preventing the loss of giant glaciers, Thwaites in particular, by refreezing them to the bedrock. It would represent a radical intervention into the natural world, requiring a massive, expensive engineering project in a remote, treacherous environment. But the hope is that such a mega-adaptation project could minimize the mass relocation of climate refugees, prevent much of the suffering and violence that would almost certainly accompany it, and help nations preserve trillions of dollars invested in high-rises, roads, homes, ports, and airports around the globe. About a million people are displaced per centimeter of sea-level rise, says Brent Minchew, an associate professor of geophysics at MIT, who cofounded Arte Glacier Initiative and will serve as its chief scientist. If were able to bring that down, even by a few centimeters, then we would safeguard the homes of millions. But some scientists believe the idea is an implausible, wildly expensive distraction, drawing money, expertise, time, and resources away from more essential polar research efforts. Sometimes we can get a little over-optimistic about what engineering can do, says Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. Two possible futures Minchew, who earned his PhD in geophysics at Caltech, says he was drawn to studying glaciers because they are rapidly transforming as the world warms, increasing the dangers of sea-level rise. But over the years, I became less content with simply telling a more dramatic story about how things were going and more open to asking the question of what can we do about it, says Minchew, who will return to Caltech as a professor this summer. Last March, he cofounded Arte Glacier Initiative with Colin Meyer, an assistant professor of engineering at Dartmouth, in the hope of funding and directing research to improve scientific understanding of two big questions: How big a risk does sea-level rise pose in the coming decades, and can we minimize that risk? Brent Minchew, an MIT professor of geophysics, co-founded Arte Glacier Initiative and will serve as its chief scientist.COURTESY: BRENT MINCHEW Philanthropic funding is needed to address both of these challenges, because theres no private-sector funding for this kind of research and government funding is minuscule, says Mike Schroepfer, the former Meta chief technology officer turned climate philanthropist, who provided funding to Arte through his new organization, Outlier Projects. The nonprofit has now raised about $5 million from Outlier and other donors, including the Navigation Fund, the Kissick Family Foundation, the Sky Foundation, the Wedner Family Foundation, and the Grantham Foundation. Minchew says they named the organization Arte, mainly because its the sharp mountain ridge between two valleys, generally left behind when a glacier carves out the cirques on either side. It directs the movement of the glacier and is shaped by it. Its meant to symbolize two possible futures, he says. One where we do something; one where we do nothing. Improving forecasts The somewhat reassuring news is that, even with rising global temperatures, it may still take thousands of years for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to completely melt. In addition, sea-level rise forecasts for this century generally range from as little as 0.28 meters (11 inches) to 1.10 meters (about three and a half feet), according to the latest UN climate panel report. The latter only occurs under a scenario with very high greenhouse gas emissions (SSP5-8.5), which significantly exceeds the pathway the world is now on. But theres still a low-likelihood that ocean levels could surge nearly two meters (about six and a half feet) by 2100 that cannot be excluded, given deep uncertainty linked to ice-sheet processes, the report adds. Two meters of sea-level rise could force nearly 190 million people to migrate away from the coasts, unless regions build dikes or other shoreline protections, according to some models. Many more people, mainly in the tropics, would face heightened flooding dangers. Much of the uncertainty over what will happen this century comes down to scientists' limited understanding of how Antarctic ice sheets will respond to growing climate pressures. The initial goal of Arte Glacier Initiative is to help narrow the forecast ranges by improving our grasp of how Thwaites and other glaciers move, melt, and break apart. Gravity is the driving force nudging glaciers along the bedrock and reshaping them as they flow. But many of the variables that determine how fast they slide lie at the base. That includes the type of sediment the river of ice slides along; the size of the boulders and outcroppings it contorts around; and the warmth and strength of the ocean waters that lap at its face. In addition, heat rising from deep in the earth warms the ice closest to the ground, creating a lubricating layer of water that hastens the glaciers slide. That acceleration, in turn, generates more frictional heat that melts still more of the ice, creating a self-reinforcing feedback effect. Minchew and Meyer are confident that the glaciology field is at a point where it could speed up progress in sea-level rise forecasting, thanks largely to improving observational tools that are producing more and better data. That includes a new generation of satellites orbiting the planet that can track the shifting shape of ice at the poles at far higher resolutions than in the recent past. Computer simulations of ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice are improving as well, thanks to growing computational resources and advancing machine learning techniques. On March 21, Arte will issue a request for proposals from research teams to contribute to an effort to collect, organize, and openly publish existing observational glacier data. Much of that expensively gathered information is currently inaccessible to researchers around the world, Minchew says. Colin Meyer, an assistant professor of engineering at Dartmouth, co-founded Arte Glacier Initiative.ELI BURAK By funding teams working across these areas, Artes founders hope to help produce more refined ice-sheet models and narrower projections of sea-level rise. This improved understanding would help cities plan where to build new bridges, buildings, and homes, and to determine whether theyll need to erect higher seawalls or raise their roads, Meyer says. It could also provide communities with more advance notice of the coming dangers, allowing them to relocate people and infrastructure to safer places through an organized process known as managed retreat. A radical intervention But the improved forecasts might also tell us that Thwaites is closer to tumbling into the ocean than we think, underscoring the importance of considering more drastic measures. One idea is to build berms or artificial islands to prop up fragile parts of glaciers, and to block the warm waters that rise from the deep ocean and melt them from below. Some researchers have also considered erecting giant, flexible curtains anchored to the seabed to achieve the latter effect. Others have looked at scattering highly reflective beads or other materials across ice sheets, or pumping ocean water onto them in the hopes it would freeze during the winter and reinforce the headwalls of the glaciers. But the concept of refreezing glaciers in place, know as a basal intervention, is gaining traction in scientific circles, in part because theres a natural analogue for it. The glacier that stalled About 200 years ago, the Kamb Ice Stream, another glacier in West Antarctica that had been sliding about 350 meters (1,150 feet) per year, suddenly stalled. Glaciologists believe an adjacent ice stream intersected with the catchment area under the glacier, providing a path for the water running below it to flow out along the edge instead. That loss of fluid likely slowed down the Kamb Ice Stream, reduced the heat produced through friction, and allowed water at the surface to refreeze. The deceleration of the glacier sparked the idea that humans might be able to bring about that same phenomenon deliberately, perhaps by drilling a series of boreholes down to the bedrock and pumping up water from the bottom. Minchew himself has focused on a variation he believes could avoid much of the power use and heavy operating machinery hassles of that approach: slipping long tubular devices, known as thermosyphons, down nearly to the bottom of the boreholes. These passive heat exchangers, which are powered only by the temperature differential between two areas, are commonly used to keep permafrost cold around homes, buildings and pipelines in Arctic regions. The hope is that we could deploy extremely long ones, stretching up to two kilometers and encased in steel pipe, to draw warm temperatures away from the bottom of the glacier, allowing the water below to freeze. Minchew says hes in the process of producing refined calculations, but estimates that halting Thwaites could require drilling as many as 10,000 boreholes over a 100-square-kilometer area. He readily acknowledges that would be a huge undertaking, but provides two points of comparison to put such a project into context: Melting the necessary ice to create those holes would require roughly the amount of energy all US domestic flights consume from jet fuel in about two and a half hours. Or, it would produce about the same level of greenhouse gas emissions as constructing 10 kilometers of seawalls, a small fraction of the length the world would need to build if it cant slow down the collapse of the ice sheets, he says. "Kick the system" One of Artes initial grantees is Marianne Haseloff, an assistant professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She studies the physical processes that govern the behavior of glaciers and is striving to more faithfully represent them in ice sheet models. Haseloff says she will use those funds to develop mathematical methods that could more accurately determine whats known as basal shear stress, or the resistance of the bed to sliding glaciers, based on satellite observations. That could help refine forecasts of how rapidly glaciers will slide into the ocean, in varying settings and climate conditions. Artes other initial grant will go to Lucas Zoet, an associate professor in the same department as Haseloff and the principal investigator with the Surface Processes group. He intends to use the funds to build the labs second ring shear device, the technical term for a simulated glacier. The existing device, which is the only one operating in the world, stands about eight feet tall and fills the better part of a walk-in freezer on campus. The core of the machine is a transparent drum filled with a ring of ice, sitting under pressure and atop a layer of sediment. It slowly spins for weeks at a time as sensors and cameras capture how the ice and earth move and deform. Lucas Zoet, an associate professor at the University of WisconsinMadison, stands in front of his lab's ring shear device, a simulated glacier.ETHAN PARRISH The research team can select the sediment, topography, water pressure, temperature, and other conditions to match the environment of a real-world glacier of interest, be it Thwaites todayor Thwaites in 2100, under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario. Zoet says these experiments promise to improve our understanding of how glaciers move over different types of beds, and to refine an equation known as the slip law, which represents these glacier dynamics mathematically in computer models. The second machine will enable them to run more experiments and to conduct a specific kind that the current device cant: a scaled-down, controlled version of the basal intervention. Zoet says the team will be able to drill tiny holes through the ice, then pump out water or transfer heat away from the bed. They can then observe whether the simulated glacier freezes to the base at those points and experiment with how many interventions, across how much space, are required to slow down its movement. It offers a way to test out different varieties of the basal intervention that is far easier and cheaper than using water drills to bore to the bottom of an actual glacier in Antarctica, Zoet says. The funding will allow the lab to explore a wide range of experiments, enabling them to kick the system in a way we wouldnt have before, he adds. Virtually impossible The concept of glacier interventions is in its infancy. There are still considerable unknowns and uncertainties, including how much it would cost, how arduous the undertaking would be, and which approach would be most likely to work, or if any of them are feasible. This is mostly a theoretical idea at this point, says Katharine Ricke, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego, who researches the international relations implications of geoengineering, among other topics. Conducting extensive field trials or moving forward with full-scale interventions may also require surmounting complex legal questions, she says. Antarctica isnt owned by any nation, but its the subject of competing territorial claims among a number of countries and governed under a decades-old treaty to which dozens are a party. The basal interventionrefreezing the glacier to its bedfaces numerous technical hurdles that would make it virtually impossible to execute, Moon and dozens of other researchers argued in a recent preprint paper, Safeguarding the polar regions from dangerous geoengineering. Among other critiques, they stress that subglacial water systems are complex, dynamic, and interconnected, making it highly difficult to precisely identify and drill down to all the points that would be necessary to remove enough water or add enough heat to substantially slow down a massive glacier. Further, they argue that the interventions could harm polar ecosystems by adding contaminants, producing greenhouse gases, or altering the structure of the ice in ways that may even increase sea-level rise. Overwhelmingly, glacial and polar geoengineering ideas do not make sense to pursue, in terms of the finances, the governance challenges, the impacts, and the possibility of making matters worse, Moon says. No easy path forward But Douglas MacAyeal, professor emeritus of glaciology at the University of Chicago, says the basal intervention would have the lightest environmental impact among the competing ideas. He adds that nature has already provided an example of it working, and that much of the needed drilling and pumping technology is already in use in the oil industry. I would say its the strongest approach at the starting gate, he says, but we dont really know anything about it yet. The research still has to be done. Its very cutting-edge. Minchew readily acknowledges that there are big challenges and significant unknownsand that some of these ideas may not work. But he says its well worth the effort to study the possibilities, in part because much of the research will also improve our understanding of glacier dynamics and the risks of sea-level riseand in part because its only a question of when, not if, Thwaites will collapse. Even if the world somehow halted all greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, the forces melting that fortress of ice will continue to do so. So one way or another, the world will eventually need to make big, expensive, difficult interventions to protect people and infrastructure. The cost and effort of doing one project in Antarctica, he says, would be small compared to the global effort required to erect thousands of miles of seawalls, ratchet up homes, buildings, and roads, and relocate hundreds of millions of people. One thing is challengingand the other is even more challenging, Minchew says. Theres no easy path forward.

2025-03-21T10:32:01Z Read in app Rangers with the 4th Regiment of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces holding DDM4 rifles. Courtesy of the 4th Ranger Regiment This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Ukrainian soldiers have received a number of Western arms seen as upgrades to their Soviet-era weapons.For its Special Operations Forces, one upgrade was when they got American M4s.A soldier told BI that it was a tough transition for some, but they eventually got the hang of it.Ukrainian special operators needed a minute to get the hang of M4 carbines when they traded their classic Soviet-era rifles for the American weapon, a Ranger recently told Business Insider. A lack of ammo didn't help.The soldier goes by the call sign Harley and is with the 4th Ranger Regiment, a Ukrainian special operations unit patterned after its US Army counterparts. He said that SOF units started the war in February 2022 with Soviet-designed Kalashnikovs. After a few weeks, they received US-made M4A1s, changing both the training and combat.Harley, who spoke to BI through a translator, said that he had previous experience with the M4 before the Russians invaded, so it wasn't a big deal for him to make the transition away from the Kalashnikov rifles.However, he said, the switch was a bit of a problem for many of his fellow soldiers at first. The Ukrainians weren't used to the M4, so they had to overcome some psychological barriers and past habits."But when a rifle shows results, it quickly changes your mind to it," he said. A Ukrainian soldier holding an AK-47 in the direction of Kurakhove in December 2024. Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images The M4 carbine is a widely popular weapon developed in the 1980s by the American gun maker Colt's Manufacturing Company. It's a shorter version of the M16 used by the US military and dozens of other countries, and it fires 5.5645 mm NATO rounds. This is a change from the Soviet Kalashnikovs, also widely used, which fire 7.62x39 mm ammunition.The Kalashnikov, represented by firearms like the AK-47 and AK-74, is a very recognizable collection of assault rifles that were originally designed and produced in the Soviet Union. Given Ukraine's history with Soviet weaponry, the country is more accustomed to these rifles.One of the biggest issues during the transition, Harley said, was that the Ukrainian soldiers didn't receive enough M4 bullets only around 100 per soldier each day for training at the start of the war. They did, however, have plenty of rounds for the Kalashnikovs.An American sniper previously told BI that he prefers the Soviet weapons because the ammunition is easier to come by. The Ukrainians have a lot of it, and they can always take bullets off the Russians, too."When you don't train well, it's difficult for you in operations," Harley said. "Of course, in operations, no one limited us to ammunition, and we had as much ammunition as we wanted. But it was during training that, at first, we did not have enough ammunition to prepare properly and raise our hits to the level required."Harley said that once the Ukrainian soldiers started using the M4 in combat missions, they became comfortable with the rifles. A US Army Reserve drill sergeant fires an M4 rifle at a training range in Germany in February 2024. US Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kevin A. D. Spence Beyond the ammunition and psychological barriers, the upgrade had only advantages. They eventually received enough bullets for extensive training."Now this situation has changed, we have everything available," he told BI earlier this month. "We have raised our level of proficiency with this weapon."The switch from the Kalashnikovs to the M4 is one of many examples where, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukrainian troops traded Soviet-designed weaponry for Western-made combat equipment. Ukrainian soldiers are fighting in American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles instead of BMPs, F-16 fighter jets instead of old MiGs and Sukhois, and Abrams tanks instead of T-72 tanks.Harley said that later in the war, the SOF received and started using the DDM4 rifle, which is similar to the M4A1. He said this weapon combines some of the characteristics of an assault rifle and a sniper rifle, allowing for flexibility in missions.Since Russia invaded, Ukraine's Western backers have given it weapons to boost its defensive capabilities. Beyond tanks, armored vehicles, and fighters, the war-torn country has also received artillery, air defenses, and long-range missiles.It hasn't always been the smoothest process, with Western indecision and delays at times causing Ukraine to miss critical windows of opportunity. It continues to be a challenge even now as Ukraine is in negotiations to potentially end the war.

2025-03-21T10:18:21Z Read in app Erin Kennedy (not pictured) said her team has spoken to dozens of federal employees who want to switch to the private sector. AnnaStills/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Elon Musk's DOGE has been laying off federal workers and canceling government contracts.Erin Kennedy runs a rsum-writing business and said federal workers are contacting them in a panic.Those who want to leave federal work should tweak their rsums and embrace LinkedIn, she said.This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Erin Kennedy from Michigan, CEO of Professional Resume Services, Inc. The following has been edited for length and clarity.Things at my business have gotten really busy as far as the federal sector is concerned.Government workers finding us are panicked and bewildered.I've been running Professional Resume Services, Inc. since 2001. We offer rsum-writing services working 1-1 with clients to weave together a dynamic story about their work experience. We also help clients write their LinkedIn profiles and offer career coaching.We have team members who specialize in rsums for those looking to switch from military to civilian jobs or who want a rsum for a federal job which can look very different from corporate rsums.Here's how recent changes to the federal government and government contracts have impacted people I'm speaking to in my line of work as well as my tips for those who are thinking of leaving the federal sector or who are fearful about losing their government jobs.We're seeing a wave of interest from federal employees and government contractorsWe always get a huge influx of interest in our services when there are mass layoffs like at Tesla and Microsoft.We recently started getting calls from job seekers in the federal sector. In February, I shared a post on LinkedIn telling laid-off federal workers about our services which led to increased interest in our business.Over the past few weeks, two private companies that are government contractors have asked us to rewrite rsums for their employees because their contracts have been terminated or aren't up for renewal. Another company asked us to do a webinar about rsum-writing.One person at a contractor company told me, "Nothing is normal." They're experiencing sudden chaos and want to be prepared.Some federal workers are looking to switch to the private sectorI've been contacted by federal employees who've been laid off and those who are still employed but are looking to leave the government.I've spoken to federal employees who say they received DOGE's email requesting their accomplishments for the week. They reached out to me because they're unsure about the future of federal employment.A senior employee who had to figure out what to tell their staff about how to respond to the email reached out. She said it's total chaos. She's still employed but said she and some of her colleagues are looking to leave the federal sector. She said everyone is on edge and feels like their employment may be terminated at any moment.We've spoken to dozens of employees who want to switch from federal to corporate jobs, which is unusual because federal employees we work with typically want another federal role.Here are my top job seeking tips for federal employeesWhen it comes to transitioning out of a federal career, I'd advise removing things like a veteran preference statement, citizenship status, salary, and the hours you've worked from your rsum.Many of these can be required on a federal rsum, but you don't want them on a corporate one. Divulging too much personal information may expose you to bias, unconscious or otherwise. I notice a lot of federal rsums list every course the person has taken in college, but you need your degree. I've also noticed federal rsums including objective statements, a sentence focusing on what kind of role you want. However, I think it's better to include a career summary a paragraph that highlights your skillset and what you bring to the company instead.We advise employees who have been laid off to say on their rsum that the company downsized, hence the layoffs. For laid-off federal workers, saying that they have been affected by the widespread cuts is enough. I don't think they should go into the whole story.For those who are scared about losing their jobs, my first piece of advice is to think about what you want to do next. Ask yourself if you like your role and if you want your next job to be similar.I'd also encourage you to start using LinkedIn. Comment and engage with other people's posts, like the pages of companies you want to work for and connect with people who work at those companies.Once you've developed a relationship with contacts at a company, you can say you're looking for a role and ask about openings. Warming up your network is the best way to go.That said, you still need to have your rsum ready. If someone does reach out to you about an opportunity on LinkedIn, they're probably going to ask for your rsum. Or, if someone has your rsum and looks you up on LinkedIn but sees your profile is really sparse and lacking detail, that's not helping them either. You can't have one without the other.The job market's especially competitive right now, so all of this couldn't have happened at a worse time. We're just trying to help as many people as we can.Responding to a request for comment from Business Insider, a representative from the White House said: "President Trump returned to Washington with a mandate from the American people to bring about unprecedented change in our federal government to uproot waste, fraud, and abuse. This isn't easy to do in a broken system entrenched in bureaucracy and bloat, but it's a task long overdue. The personal financial situation of every American is top of mind for the President, which is why he's working to cut regulations, reshore jobs, lower taxes, and make government more efficient."Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at ccheong@businessinsider.com or Signal at charissacheong.95Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

If you have any say, you might want to avoid scheduling your next surgery on a Friday.The most comprehensive analysis of what happens to patients who have surgery on Fridays versus Mondays, published this month in JAMA by more than a dozen US and Canadian researchers, is unequivocal: The people who underwent all kinds of procedures before the weekend suffered on average more short-term, medium-term, and long-term complications than people who went under the knife after the weekend was over.The study was based in Ontario and included more than 450,000 patients who received one of the 25 most common surgeries between 2007 and 2019. Canadas universal health care program allowed the researchers to more easily track patients over time and it eliminated finances as a variable in how patients fared. Previous studies have generally found the same effects across different types of health systems: One UK-based study had reported better outcomes for Monday surgeries after 30 days. A paper looking at Dutch patients detected higher mortality rates after one month for patients who had Friday surgeries compared to Monday. This appears to be a phenomenon no matter the country, as prior US-based research also attests.The new study covered all surgery specialties including orthopedic surgery, vascular surgery, and obstetrics and followed patients outcomes at 30 days, 90 days and one year. The study tracked whether patients died, were readmitted to the hospital, or experienced any other complications, like an infection, for example, during their hospital stay.People who received pre-weekend surgeries defined as a Friday or a Thursday before a long weekend were overall about 5 percent more likely to experience one of those complications within a year of their surgery than people who got post-weekend procedures (on Monday or the Tuesday after a long weekend). The effect was stronger for heart and vascular surgeries; it was negligible for obstetric and plastic surgeries.There could be a few things going on here, according to the researchers analysis.Researchers found Friday surgeries were more likely to be performed by junior surgeons when compared to Monday surgeries. This difference in expertise may play a role in the observed differences in outcomes, they wrote, based on a statistical analysis that controlled for other factors. There could also be fewer senior colleagues on the hospital campus for the junior physicians to consult with, the authors said. In addition, the weekend doctors and nurses may be less familiar with the patients case, raising the risk that complications will be caught later and therefore lead to worse outcomes.It is common for hospitals to have fewer doctors and nurses working the weekends and those who do work tend to be less experienced, which could likewise help explain the studys findings, said Betty Rumbur, a nursing professor at the University of Rhode Island.The combination of fewer staff and less experienced staff certainly can contribute to poor patient outcomes, she said. The findings should motivate hospital executives to rethink how they are staffing their wards on Fridays and over the weekend, to avoid complications that put surgery patients in danger. Of course, this is also useful information for any of us who need elective surgery at any point in the future. When were able to plan ahead for a procedure whether a vasectomy carefully timed to coincide with March Madness or a knee replacement or whatever its worth trying to find a time slot earlier in the week.See More: