The relatively prosaic world of import duties has become a surprise social-media hit, driving millions of views for some internet personalities and trade experts.

A rock and a hard place Tuesday Telescope: A close-up of the magical camera at the end of a robotic arm Wait, the Daily Telescope is back? Sort of. Eric Berger Apr 1, 2025 8:00 am | 5 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWelcome to the Tuesday Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough lighta little too much pseudoscience and not enough science. Well let other publications offer you a daily horoscope. At Ars Technica, well take a different route, finding inspiration from very real images of a universe that is filled with stars and wonder.We're back! A long-time reader and subscriber recently mentioned in the Ars Forums that they "kind of" missed the Daily Telescope posts that I used to write in 2023 and 2024. Although I would have preferred that everyone desperately missed the Daily Telescope, I appreciate the sentiment. I really do.I initially stopped writing these posts about a year ago because it just became too much to commit to writing one thing every day. I mean, I could have done it. But doing so on the daily crossed over the line from enjoyable to drudgery, and one of the best things about working for Ars is that it tends very much toward the enjoyable side. Anyway, writing one of these posts on a weekly basis feels more sustainable. I guess we'll find out!Today's image comes to you all the way from Mars. One of the most powerful tools on NASA's Perseverance rover is the WATSON camera attached to the end of the rover's robotic arm. In the fine tradition of tortured acronyms at the space agency, WATSON stands for Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering. And because of course it is, WATSON is located on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument. Seriously, NASA must stand for Not Another Screwball Acronym.This photograph shows the WATSON camera taking a close-up image of a rock on Mars (here's the rock, by the way). The raw image from NASA was processed by Kevin M. Gill, who runs an exceptional Bluesky account and has a great Flickr page worth checking out. The detail is excellent.Speaking of Perseverance, the rover has now been operating on the surface of Mars for more than four years. It's a reminder that although things may seem pretty messed up here on Earth, there's some rad stuff going on elsewhere in the Solar System.Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. GillDo you want to submit a photo for the Daily Telescope?Reach out and say hello.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 5 Comments

surfing the infoscape MCP: The new USB-C for AI thats bringing fierce rivals together Model context protocol standardizes how AI uses data sources, supported by OpenAI and Anthropic. Benj Edwards Apr 1, 2025 7:30 am | 11 Credit: NanoStockk Credit: NanoStockk Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWhat does it take to get OpenAI and Anthropictwo competitors in the AI assistant marketto get along? Despite a fundamental difference in direction that led Anthropic's founders to quit OpenAI in 2020 and later create the Claude AI assistant, a shared technical hurdle has now brought them together: How to easily connect their AI models to external data sources.The solution comes from Anthropic, which developed and released an open specification called Model Context Protocol (MCP) in November 2024. MCP establishes a royalty-free protocol that allows AI models to connect with outside data sources and services without requiring unique integrations for each service."Think of MCP as a USB-C port for AI applications," wrote Anthropic in MCP's documentation. The analogy is imperfect, but it represents the idea that, similar to how USB-C unified various cables and ports (with admittedly a debatable level of success), MCP aims to standardize how AI models connect to the infoscape around them.So far, MCP has also garnered interest from multiple tech companies in a rare show of cross-platform collaboration. For example, Microsoft has integrated MCP into its Azure OpenAI service, and as we mentioned above, Anthropic competitor OpenAI is on board. Last week, OpenAI acknowledged MCP in its Agents API documentation, with vocal support from the boss upstairs."People love MCP and we are excited to add support across our products," wrote OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on X last Wednesday.MCP has also rapidly begun to gain community support in recent months. For example, just browsing this list of over 300 open source servers shared on GitHub reveals growing interest in standardizing AI-to-tool connections. The collection spans diverse domains, including database connectors like PostgreSQL, MySQL, and vector databases; development tools that integrate with Git repositories and code editors; file system access for various storage platforms; knowledge retrieval systems for documents and websites; and specialized tools for finance, health care, and creative applications.Other notable examples include servers that connect AI models to home automation systems, real-time weather data, e-commerce platforms, and music streaming services. Some implementations allow AI assistants to interact with gaming engines, 3D modeling software, and IoT devices.What is context anyway?To fully appreciate why a universal AI standard for external data sources is useful, you'll need to understand what "context" means in the AI field.With current AI model architecture, what an AI model "knows" about the world is baked into its neural network in a largely unchangeable form, placed there by either an initial procedure called "pre-training," which calculates statistical relationships between vast quantities of input data ("training data"like books, articles, and images) and feeds it into the network as numerical values called "weights." Later, a process called "fine-tuning" might adjust those weights to alter behavior (such as through reinforcement learning like RLHF) or provide examples of new concepts.Typically, the training phase is very expensive computationally and happens either only once in the case of a base model, or infrequently with periodic model updates and fine-tunings. That means AI models only have internal neural network representations of events prior to a "cutoff date" when the training dataset was finalized.After that, the AI model is run in a kind of read-only mode called "inference," where users feed inputs into the neural network to produce outputs, which are called "predictions." They're called predictions because the systems are tuned to predict the most likely next token (a chunk of data, such as portions of a word) in a user-provided sequence.In the AI field, context is the user-provided sequenceall the data fed into an AI model that guides the model to produce a response output. This context includes the user's input (the "prompt"), the running conversation history (in the case of chatbots), and any external information sources pulled into the conversation, including a "system prompt" that defines model behavior and "memory" systems that recall portions of past conversations. The limit on the amount of context a model can ingest at once is often called a "context window," "context length, " or "context limit," depending on personal preference.While the prompt provides important information for the model to operate upon, accessing external information sources has traditionally been cumbersome. Before MCP, AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude could access external data (a process often called retrieval augmented generation, or RAG), but doing so required custom integrations for each serviceplugins, APIs, and proprietary connectors that didn't work across different AI models. Each new data source demanded unique code, creating maintenance challenges and compatibility issues.MCP addresses these problems by providing a standardized method or set of rules (a "protocol") that allows any supporting AI model framework to connect with external tools and information sources.How does MCP work?To make the connections behind the scenes between AI models and data sources, MCP uses a client-server model. An AI model (or its host application) acts as an MCP client that connects to one or more MCP servers. Each server provides access to a specific resource or capability, such as a database, search engine, or file system. When the AI needs information beyond its training data, it sends a request to the appropriate server, which performs the action and returns the result.To illustrate how the client-server model works in practice, consider a customer support chatbot using MCP that could check shipping details in real time from a company database. "What's the status of order #12345?" would trigger the AI to query an order database MCP server, which would look up the information and pass it back to the model. The model could then incorporate that data into its response: "Your order shipped on March 30 and should arrive April 2."Beyond specific use cases like customer support, the potential scope is very broad. Early developers have already built MCP servers for services likeGoogle Drive, Slack, GitHub, and Postgres databases. This means AI assistants could potentially search documents in a company Drive, review recent Slack messages, examine code in a repository, or analyze data in a databaseall through a standard interface.From a technical implementation perspective, Anthropic designed the standard for flexibility by running in two main modes: Some MCP servers operate locally on the same machine as the client (communicating via standard input-output streams), while others run remotely and stream responses over HTTP. In both cases, the model works with a list of available tools and calls them as needed.A work in progressDespite the growing ecosystem around MCP, the protocol remains an early-stage project. The limited announcements of support from major companies are promising first steps, but MCP's future as an industry standard may depend on broader acceptance, although the number of MCP servers seems to be growing at a rapid pace.Regardless of its ultimate adoption rate, MCP may have some interesting second-order effects. For example, MCP also has the potential to reduce vendor lock-in. Because the protocol is model-agnostic, a company could switch from one AI provider to another while keeping the same tools and data connections intact.MCP may also allow a shift toward smaller and more efficient AI systems that can interact more fluidly with external resources without the need for customized fine-tuning. Also, rather than building increasingly massive models with all knowledge baked in, companies may instead be able to use smaller models with large context windows.For now, the future of MCP is wide open. Anthropic maintains MCP as an open source initiative on GitHub, where interested developers can either contribute to the code or find specifications about how it works. Anthropic has also provided extensive documentation about how to connect Claude to various services. OpenAI maintains its own API documentation for MCP on its website.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 11 Comments

Lisa Morgan, Freelance WriterApril 1, 20255 Min ReadDave Meyer, Chief AI Officer, ReveleerIn the healthcare industry, compliance falls short as an AI strategy. Chief AI officers, CIOs, and CISOs need to prioritize responsible AI usage to minimize potential data breaches that could not only lead to fines and litigation, but also reputational damage.Its really a trust factor, says Dave Meyer, chief data and AI officer at value-based care platform Reveleer. [Public healthcare information or] PHI is paramount in healthcare, so we have to treat it responsibly. No one in our organization, including data scientists, has access to anything they dont need to access. Data access needs to be strictly governed.Transparency is also critical because it reduces the risk of relying on what could be a hallucination.When we give AI results, or when we go through our data models, we support it with monitoring, evaluation, assessment and treatment (MEAT). So, for example, not only did we find the term, diabetes, in a patients chart, theres also an explanation of why we suggested this particular ICD [internal classification of diseases] code, says Meyer. That way, when AI provides suggestions, the human still decides whether the suggestion is valid or invalid. We're not trying to [replace] humans. We're trying to make their job easier and more accurate.Related:AI as a Problem-Solving ToolWhile the ability to quickly identify health conditions and find correlations is powerful, its considerably less helpful if users must then manually wade through volumes of information, which could be several hundred or more pages, to locate the references. Instead, AI can surface the references quickly, such as by identifying on what pages of a document, or pages within a set of documents, those references can be found.That sort of use case opens the door to GenAI, however, like in many other industry sectors, GenAI tends to be misunderstood. People who lack a foundational understanding of AI tend to believe that GenAI is the latest and greatest version of single technology called, AI versus another AI technique.I think people view GenAI as a panacea, and it is not a panacea, especially in the healthcare industry where you cannot just have a black box that says, Heres the answer, but were not going to tell you how we got there,' says Meyer. Were using it for evidence extraction from the chart which we can then double check for hallucinations. We take that evidence and run it through our models.However, Reveleer also uses AI for other techniques, such as rules, to pull evidence.Related:A lot of people think they can upload a chart and then ask GenAI for the answer. It will give you an answer that looks okay on the surface, but they are not production level, customer trustworthy answers that are in the percentile of accuracy that [is necessary] in the healthcare industry, says Meyer. Healthcare is a high stakes industry where youre trying to drive patient outcomes, and I dont think that GenAI can be trusted on its own to provide that answer.Some Healthcares Challenges and How to Address ThemOne of healthcares biggest challenges is failing to understand that the accuracy of a prediction can, and often does, vary with use cases. Since healthcare organizations need highly sensitive patient information to provide diagnoses and treatment, the confidence level matters greatly.Trust is a big factor, so being given a suggestion that is 70% accurate isnt good enough. The stakes are too high. You have to balance the sensitivity and security of the data with who has access to it, says Meyer.Of course, trust must be earned by a vendor, particularly when patient records are involved. In Reveleers case, customer trust in its AI capabilities has been earned in a stair-step fashion over time. Specifically, the company began by automatically routing patient charts, then later NLP techniques were added so patient information could be surfaced faster and validated. Now its AI provides automatic pointers to where critical information can be located.Related:One of the biggest challenges is getting the data in an organized format that is usable, says Meyer. In order to build any AI model, you need to have a large quantity of data, and you need to govern that data appropriately. Managing your data is really the foundation of everything before you start building models. You also need to make sure that you know how to handle the data well.In addition to getting the foundational elements right, its important to choose the right tool for the right job.Data science still is a good method for solving a lot of these problems. Everybody's trying to jump to GenAI as the solution. Don't force that if youre getting good results from data science, says Meyer. The same is true for rules-based systems. For example, if you see the word, blood pressure and the reading next to it says 120 over 80, you don't need a GenAI model to pull that out for you. Or, if the data is in a structured format, and you can pull it out without any AI.However, dont overlook the need for a human in the loop when it comes to AI.In the healthcare industry, machines need to be partnered with humans, because healthcare is too high stakes for a lack of human oversight. One suggestion may have a better than 90% confidence score while another only has a 50% conference score, says Meyer. AI can help you cut through the noise and surface the good stuff quickly, but its always going to need the human element. Were not trying to replace humans; were just trying to make them more efficient.About the AuthorLisa MorganFreelance WriterLisa Morgan is a freelance writer who covers business and IT strategy and emergingtechnology for InformationWeek. She has contributed articles, reports, and other types of content to many technology, business, and mainstream publications and sites including tech pubs, The Washington Post and The Economist Intelligence Unit. Frequent areas of coverage include AI, analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, mobility, software development, and emerging cultural issues affecting the C-suite.See more from Lisa MorganWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

IT executives are under ever-increasing levels of strain. Chief information officers, chief information security officers, and chief technology officers are responsible for managing growing threat levels while juggling skill gaps and talent shortages. Even as awareness of the very real threats cyberattacks pose grows, the average C-suite remains indifferent until a crisis occurs.Studies indicate that people in leadership positions are expected to be more resistant -- perhaps even immune -- to the stressors that result in mental health problems. But IT execs appear to be particularly vulnerable given the novel and tenuous nature of their roles.The narrative emerging from both academic research and media reports suggests that they are being crushed by unrealistic job expectations.According to one report, 78% of CISOs were seeking a new role due to the stresses of their job. Depression, anxiety, substance abuse and even suicidality are rampant at both the executive level and among their subordinates.Industry leaders and external observers are now looking at how to address these issues -- through both systemic change and individual effort. Here, InformationWeek investigates the state of mental health among IT execs and their teams. Andrew Shatt, chief knowledge officer and co-founder of meQuilibrium; and Lincoln Stoller, a software company founder and psychotherapist, offer their insights on the nature of the problem and how to address it.Related:The State of IT Exec Mental healthIT execs have begun to raise the alarm -- they are not OK. A toxic conflagration of factors has resulted in a typical work environment that frequently results in severe mental strain.An onslaught of cyberattacks, severe staffing, and skills shortages combined with indifferent C-suites have created a set of stressors that are nearly impossible to cope with.A 2024 report on CISO burnout released by Vendict found that 80% of CISOs were highly stressed and 61% felt overwhelmed by the expectations placed on them. The problem has been brewing for some time -- even a 2020 report by Nominet found that 91% of CISOs were suffering from moderate to severe job stress.These problems run downhill -- 50% of respondents in the Vendict report said that team members had left due to stress. A 2024 Hack the Box report found that 90% of CISOs were concerned about stress affecting their teams. Per a report by Yerbo, 42% of IT professionals are burning out and considering quitting their jobs.Causes of Mental Health DeclineRelated:An enormous suite of issues have contributed to the mental health crisis among IT execs.Working conditions are of course a major factor. Their leadership positions are often lonely. They are part of the C-suite but often have little in common with their executive peers -- who are more likely than not to dismiss their concerns. And they are responsible for hugely consequential aspects of the business, keeping it secure from threats and managing highly technical projects with little support.We may understand that theyre more important than we thought they were, Shatt says. But the distance between them and the rest of the organization creates a greater mental health risk.Their personalities also play into the equation. CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs are highly independent people -- and some lack interpersonal skills. And they may view their ability to meet punishing deadlines and crushing workloads as a badge of honor.I see the CIO -- and the whole tech department -- as needing to become more personally capable in dealing with people, because theyre not really able to be isolated behind a computer anymore, Stoller says. Too many people are involved. If you go to school to be a computer engineer, they dont teach you about mental health, they dont teach you about management.Related:Theyre probably less people people than most others in the organization. Theyre more perfectionistic. They have to be very precise in what they do, Shatt adds. That can put them at greater risk of burnout, because theyre really giving more resources than they have.Vendicts report suggests that funding and staffing difficulties play a huge role in driving mental health decline -- both for these execs and their subordinates. The challenges of maintaining functional technological ecosystems are complicated by resource shortages, leading to long hours and an increased likelihood of errors.Easy solutions are in short supply, but a number of steps can be taken to address this crisis.Increased Funding and StaffingWhile it is likely the most challenging ask for current CIOs, CISOs and CTOs, increasing their funding and staff resources would likely go the furthest in mitigating the factors afflicting their mental health. According to Vendict's report, 45% of respondents said that increasing their resources would alleviate some of their stress.Funding for parsimonious solutions, such as AI programs that might be able to automate tasks that must be done manually by analysts, might serve as a compromise. If AI programs are able to eliminate the need to analyze every report manually, cyber teams are then able to turn their attention to the most pressing issues.Investment in both technological and human resources has a cascading effect. Alleviating strain on staff by improving the tools they have to execute their tasks and compensating them at fair rates reduces turnover rate. Encouraging them to stay through regular training opportunities can further facilitate a cooperative and enthusiastic workforce.Their bosses can then concentrate on big-picture issues.Open DiscussionIT execs can start the conversation themselves -- encouraging the discussion of mental health issues among their peers and subordinates. By sharing their own struggles, they can create an atmosphere where others can do the same.A CIO at a Minnesota insurance company shared a video describing his mental health challenges and found that his colleagues began sharing theirs as well.These discussions need not be limited to mental health -- dialogue about working conditions, conflicts and management of projects is also helpful. These conversations are unlikely to be easy and result in immediate solutions, though, Stoller is quick to note.Were in the stage where were moving toward manifest failure. In that process, there will be some people who will be raising their hands and saying, We have a better way. But most people wont be listening to them, because they haven't gotten to the point of giving up their authoritative roles, he says.Still, attempting to dissolve top-down methodologies is likely a good starting point for addressing pain points for both execs and their staff.Encouragement of Healthy HabitsAs IT ecosystems adjust to the increasing strain, it is incumbent upon leaders to both adopt mindfulness in their work and encourage it among their subordinates. According to the Splunk report, only 36% of UK businesses provide mental health support to their cyber teams.In the absence of formal programs, IT leaders can facilitate discussions about proper sleep habits, taking breaks when needed, and awareness of symptoms of stress. Organizing workshops to discuss these approaches -- and what additional steps may be needed -- can create space for employees at all levels to figure out what works best on both the individual and team level.This should be approached carefully, though, Shatt cautions. If anyone is going to get turned off by the concept of self-care, its going to be people in an IT role, he says. He suggests framing advice in terms of lifts and drags: what reduces their working capabilities and what increases them.I would encourage people to engage with disorder, because thats where things are happening that you dont understand, and thats where you need to be involved, Stoller adds.

The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Tech companies are warning their immigrant workers not to leave the US Employees on high-skilled visas could be denied entry back into the States. (WP $)+ Officials are considering collecting citizenship applicants social media data. (Associated Press)2 OpenAI has closed one of the largest private funding rounds in historyIt plans to put the $40 billion cash injection towards building AGI. (The Guardian)+ The deal values OpenAI at a whopping $300 billion. (CNBC)+ The company also teased its first open-weight model in years. (Insider $)3 SpaceX has launched a mission thats never been attempted before Its taking private customers on an orbit between Earths North and South poles. (CNN)+ Crypto billionaire Chun Wang is footing the bill for the mission. (Reuters)+ Europe is finally getting serious about commercial rockets. (MIT Technology Review)4 Some DOGE workers are returning to their old jobsTheyre quietly heading back to their roles at X and SpaceX. (The Information $)+ Top staff were placed on leave after denying DOGE access to their systems. (Wired $) + Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? Its complex. (MIT Technology Review)5 Amazon is going all-in on AI agents Its new AI model Nova Act is designed to complete tasks such as online shopping. (The Verge)+ Why handing over total control to AI agents would be a huge mistake. (MIT Technology Review)6 DeepMind is making it harder for its researchers to publish studies Its reluctant to share innovations that rivals could capitalize on. (FT $)7 Meet the protestors staking out Tesla dealershipsProfessors and attorneys have taken to the streets to fight back. (New Yorker $) + Far-right extremists are turning up to defend the company. (Wired $)

Courtesy of Kylie Sakaiada 2025-04-01T12:41:57Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Dietitian Kylie Sakaida said healthy eating is all about using simple recipes and accessible ingredients.Her favorite ways to eat more protein and fiber include grocery store staples like beans and tofu.Save time and money with strategies like blending frozen produce into a high-protein smoothie.You don't have to overhaul your diet or break the bank to eat healthier.Simple recipes and cheap grocery staples can make it easy to add more protein and fiber to your diet, Kylie Sakaida, registered dietitian and author of the upcoming cookbook "So Easy So Good," told Business Insider.Sakaida, whose accessible cooking tips have earned her more than 6 million followers across her social media pages, said she often hears from fans who have been intimidated by complex or conflicting nutrition advice. She once felt that way herself.Learning to cook taught Sakaida and, in turn, her followers new techniques to be healthy without being restrictive, deprived, or stressed."It's about what you add, not what you cut out, and, at the end of the day, food should be enjoyable, effortless, and fit into real life," she told Business Insider.To eat healthier without the hassle, try three of her top picks for high-protein, high-fiber ingredients.Tofu is an easy, cheap source of heart-healthy proteinDon't be intimidated by tofu's blocky shape or bland flavor; it's a great blank canvas to add plant-based protein to a variety of dishes, according to Sakaida."People who aren't familiar with tofu don't realize how versatile it is," Sakaida said. "It just soaks up flavor."One of her favorite recipes is sriracha honey tofu, which uses key cooking hacks like coating the tofu in cornstarch to make it crispy and using a bold sauce to make it tasty.Soy proteins like tofu are complete protein, which means they contain all the essential amino acids needed for health, and can help lower cholesterol for better heart health.Canned beans can add protein and fiber to tons of meals Legumes like beans and chickpeas are one of the healthiest foods you can eat, and also among the cheapest and easiest groceries to find at the store.Canned beans are a staple for Sakaida because they're versatile, affordable, and packed with nutrients."It's the ultimate source of fiber and plant-based protein," she said.Sakaida incorporates canned beans in recipes ranging from salads to soups to breakfast.Beans are also a star ingredient in recipes like her tahini chickpea and sweet potato bowl, which Sakaida said she makes on repeat as a quick, healthy meal.Frozen fruit and veggies are great for smoothies and shakesSakaida said one of her biggest healthy eating hacks as a dietitian is stocking her freezer with produce, which can save money, reduce food waste, and make it convenient to eat more fruits and vegetables.Frozen produce is just as healthy as fresh, and options like berries and spinach are often cheaper and longer-lasting from the freezer aisle."Even if I don't eat it this week, I can use it later. The nutrition value is still there," she said.One of her go-to ways to enjoy frozen fruit and veggies is a high-fiber, high-protein shake.Try Sakaida's recipe for a "peanut butter and jelly" smoothie.To make it, blend together:your favorite frozen fruit (like strawberries or blueberries)vanilla Greek yogurtpeanut butterprotein powderspinach (frozen or fresh)You can customize the recipe with whatever you happen to have on hand or to match your preferences or unique dietary needs.Sakaida said these strategies for quick, nutritious snacks and meals are part of her overall approach to making healthy eating more accessible."The biggest takeaway from nutrition is that it doesn't have to be all or nothing," Sakaida said. "Small, realistic changes like adding more fiber, protein, and bold flavors can make meals both satisfying and nourishing without feeling restrictive.""So Easy, So Good" is out April 8Recommended video

My family moved from the US to the Netherlands and has experienced so many wonderful life changes and new societal norms. serts/Getty Images 2025-04-01T11:42:01Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? My family moved from the US to the Netherlands last year and has experienced great cultural shifts.I don't worry as much about healthcare, and I've been able to cut back to a 32-hour workweek.My family loves living in a walkable place and in a country that seems to value its people so much.The morning the lift on my storage bed knocked out my front tooth in Utrecht, my Dutch neighbor didn't hesitate to help me.She walked me straight to her dentist's office, where they immediately took me in no questions about insurance, no forms to fill out, no panic about payment plans.They simply treated me because I needed help.That's when I knew our 2024 move to the Netherlands wasn't just a change of scenery it was a reset of what "quality of life" meant for our family.In Atlanta, this same emergency would have involved frantic questions about insurance coverage and, most likely, thousands in out-of-pocket expenses. Instead, I experienced firsthand how the Dutch healthcare system prioritizes people over paperwork.I went from experiencing healthcare anxiety to having peace of mindThe stark reality of American healthcare hit home every month in Atlanta: $800 a month for family coverage with a crushing $6,000 deductible.Our premiums and deductibles were higher than the norm because of our blended-family situation. Every doctor's visit began with mental calculations about deductibles and coverage rather than focusing on health.Here in the Netherlands, we pay 140 euros monthly for comprehensive coverage with a mere 385 euro yearly deductible.Our routine checkups are free, our prescriptions rarely exceed 5 euros, and the system actually works proactively to keep us healthy.Instead of struggling to remember when our kids need vaccines or dental checkups, the Dutch healthcare system automatically schedules these appointments for us and sends reminders.It's refreshing to live in a society where our health doesn't feel held hostage by financial fears.A 32-hour workweek is actually possible for me here I've found it easier to take breaks and work fewer hours in my new home. Amith Nag Photography/Getty Images Running my US-based business from Utrecht has revealed a startling truth: Europeans aren't just talking about work-life balance they're living it.While my Atlanta colleagues often pulled 50-plus-hour weeks, my Dutch neighbors consistently work 32 hours or less.This culture has transformed the way I structure my workday, leading to increased productivity and, surprisingly, better business results.We're excited about our son's education and it comes with fewer hidden costsIn Atlanta, our kid's "free" public education came with hidden costs throughout the year: classroom supplies, technology fees, fundraisers, and endless "voluntary" contributions.Here in Utrecht, our sons' education is genuinely free, with only modest contributions expected for special activities like field trips.I've found the Dutch approach to education prioritizes student well-being and practical life skills over standardized testing, creating an environment where learning feels natural, not forced.The walkability and transportation options have given us so much freedom Many people ride bicycles around our town. George Pachantouris/Getty Images We traded our $800 monthly two-car expense (car payments, insurance, maintenance) in Atlanta for a 75 euro monthly investment in public transport passes and bicycle maintenance in Utrecht.The robust infrastructure here makes car-free living not just possible but preferable, eliminating the stress of traffic, parking, and vehicle maintenance.Living in a walkable city has also played a huge role in this perk.We spend 2,500 euros a month on our rental in Utrecht. Though our living space is smaller than it was in Atlanta, the lifestyle upgrade is immeasurable.Everything we need lies within a 15-minute walk or bike ride including groceries, schools, and parks eliminating the car-dependent stress of suburban Atlanta life.Above all, I've felt the hidden savings of social infrastructureMy healthcare costs less and our kid's education is more affordable, but our real transformation has come from living in a society that feels designed around resident well-being rather than maximum productivity.Running my business from the Netherlands has taught me that success doesn't require sacrificing life quality. In fact, reduced stress and improved work-life balance have enhanced my business performance.Though the move required careful planning and adjustment, the rewards have far exceeded our expectations.We learned that, sometimes, upgrading your quality of life means being willing to change your perspective on what's possible.For our family, that meant looking beyond US borders to find a lifestyle that aligns with our values. The Netherlands didn't just offer us access to Europe it offered us a fundamental reset on what it means to truly thrive.Recommended video

Each year, in late spring and early summer, female sea turtles will crawl out of the ocean under moonlight to lay their eggs in the sand, often returning to the same beach on which they were born many years earlier.Sometimes when the turtles emerge to nest, researchers like Julianna Martin are watching patiently from the shadows.Julianna Martin collecting tears from a female sea turtle on a beach in Florida. Her research was carried out in accordance with UCF Marine Turtle Research Group permit MTP-171. Courtesy of Julianna MartinFor her doctoral research, Martin, a PhD student at the University of Central Florida, has been analyzing sea turtle tears. Yes, the tears of sea turtles. So on several summer nights in 2023 and 2024, shed stake out beaches and wait for the turtles to start laying eggs. At that point, the reptiles enter a sort of trance, she said, allowing scientists like her to collect samples, including tears. Martin told me she would army crawl up to the turtles on the sand and dab around their eyes with a foam swab, soaking up the goopy tears they exude. Sea turtles regularly shed tears as a way to expel excess salt from their bodies. (As far as we know, they are not sad.)Martin would then take those tears back to her lab for analysis. This odd work serves a purpose. Martin is examining sea turtle tears to see if they contain a specific kind of bacteria. Such a discovery, she said, could help unlock one of biologys biggest and most awe-inspiring mysteries: how animals navigate using Earths invisible magnetic field.The holy grail of sensory biologyAfter baby turtles hatch, they dig their way out of the sand and crawl into the ocean, where they embark on an epic journey that can take them thousands of miles across the open sea. Loggerheads that hatch in Florida, for example, swim across the Atlantic and reach islands off the coast of Portugal, before eventually returning to Floridas beaches as adults to nest. Remarkably, the turtles typically return to the same region of Florida or even to the same beach. These young turtles can guide themselves along that 10,000-mile migratory path despite never having been in the ocean before and despite traveling on their own, said Kenneth Lohmann, a biologist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies sea turtle navigation.A green sea turtle with visible tears covered in sand nesting on a beach. Getty Images/iStockphotoResearchers like Lohmann have learned that sea turtles, like many other species, seem to navigate using Earths magnetic field. Thats the subtle magnetic force generated by the planets molten metal core that surrounds Earth, not unlike the force around a bar magnet. The intensity and direction of the field vary across Earths surface, making it useful for navigation. Plus, the magnetic field is present even when other spatial cues, like light, are not. What remains a mystery, however, is how animals sense these magnetic forces. Decades of research have failed to turn up a mechanism for so-called magnetoreception or any kind of specialized organ that can sense magnetic force. As Martins adviser Robert Fitak has written, its like knowing an animal can respond to something visual but not finding any eyes. Its the last sense we effectively know nothing about, sensory biologist Eric Warrant has said about magnetoreception. The solution of this problem I would say is the greatest holy grail in sensory biology.Scientists have proposed a number of theories for how this might work. And all of them are totally bonkers. The prevailing theory is rooted in quantum mechanics, and it is extremely complicated. The theory posits that when certain light-sensitive molecules known as cryptochromes absorb light, they produce something called radical pairs two separate molecules each with one unpaired electron. Those two unpaired electrons are quantumly entangled, which essentially means that their spin states are interdependent: They either point in the same direction or opposite directions, and they ping-pong between the two. This theory suggests that Earths magnetic field influences the spin states of those radical pairs, and that, in turn, affects the outcome of chemical reactions in the body of animals. Those chemical reactions which animals can theoretically interpret, as they might, for example, smells or visuals encode information about Earths magnetic field. (If you want to dive deeper, I suggest watching this lecture or reading this paper.) Another theory suggests that animals have bits of magnetic material in their bodies, such as the mineral magnetite. According to this theory, those magnetic bits are influenced by Earths magnetic field just like a compass and animals can sense those influences to figure out where theyre going. Martin and Fitaks research is exploring this latter theory, but with an important twist. They suspect that sea turtles and other animals might rely on magnetite to sense Earths magnetic field but may not produce the magnetite themselves. Instead, they suggest, sea turtles may have a symbiotic relationship with magnetite-producing bacteria literally living compasses that sense the magnetic field and somehow communicate information back to the turtle. This isnt an outrageous idea. Magnetic bacteria more technically, magnetotactic bacteria is real, and quite common in aquatic environments around the world. Plus, theres evidence that magnetotactic bacteria help another microscopic organism, known as a protist, navigate. The question is, could they help turtles navigate, too?Magnetic bacteria is a thing Magnetotactic bacteria are extremely cool. These microscopic organisms have what are essentially built-in compass needles, said Caroline Monteil, a microbial ecologist at the French research institute CEA. The needles comprise chains of magnetic particles produced by the microbes, which you can see under a microscope (shown in images below). Remarkably, those needles align the bacteria with Earths magnetic field lines, just like a real compass needle does. As the bacteria roam about, they move in line with the direction of the planets magnetic force. Magnetotactic bacteria under a microscope. The black arrows point to chains of structures that contain tiny magnetic particles. NPJ Biofilms and MicrobiomesMagnetic sensing is useful for the bacteria, said Fitak, an assistant professor at UCF. Magnetotactic bacteria need specific levels of oxygen to survive, and those levels tend to vary with depth. Deeper levels of sediment in a stream, for example, might have less oxygen. In most of the world, the direction of the magnetic field is at least somewhat perpendicular to Earths surface meaning, up and down allowing the bacteria to move vertically through their environment to find the optimal habitat, as if theyre on a fixed track. In at least one case, magnetic bacteria team up with other organisms to help them find their way. A remarkable study published in 2019 found that microscopic organisms in the Mediterranean Sea called protists were able to sense magnetic forces because their bodies were covered in magnetic bacteria. When the authors put the north pole of a bar magnet next to a water droplet full of protists, they swam toward it. When they flipped the magnet, the protists swam away. (Different magnetic microbes are attracted to either north or south poles, often depending on where on Earth they live.)You can actually see this in the video below. Its not clear how the magnetic bacteria are actually guiding the protist, said Monteil, the studys lead author. Now, returning to the turtles: The theory that Fitak and Martin are exploring is that sea turtles, like protists, might also have magnetotactic bacteria those living compasses in their bodies, and somehow be able to read them. Some microbes in the microbiome aid in digestion. Others provide directions. Maybe. One idea, Martin says, is that the bacteria could aggregate near nerves in the turtles that provide information about their position in space. Some of those nerves are near the tear ducts, she said which is ultimately why she was army crawling on the beach to collect turtle tears. The goal, she said, is to figure out if those tears contain magnetotactic bacteria. That would be one indication that these animals might be using bacteria for navigation. Were not entirely sure how magnetotactic bacteria could be facilitating a magnetic sense, but that seemed like a good place to start, Martin said. Martin swabs a green sea turtle on a boat in Floridas Indian River Lagoon. Her research was carried out in accordance with UCF Marine Turtle Research Group permits MTP-231 and NMFS 26268. Courtesy of Julianna MartinWhile her research is still underway, Martin has yet to find evidence of magnetotactic bacteria in the tears of the 30 or so turtles shes analyzed so far. Thats disappointing, she said, but it doesnt rule out the possibility that these bacteria exist somewhere in the body of a turtle and help them navigate. There are so many other ideas about ways that magnetotactic bacteria could provide information to an organism about Earths magnetic field, she said. Theres a variety of other locations and other taxa that might be better for studying this theory. Other scientists who study animal navigation are skeptical. Its unlikely that symbiosis with magnetotactic bacteria is what enables sea turtle navigation, said Monteil. Part of the problem is that theres no known mechanism through which the bacteria would communicate with the turtle. Its also not clear what magnetotactic bacteria would get out of this relationship, if it is indeed symbiotic could sea turtles provide the conditions bacteria need to survive? Maybe. Maybe not.Whats more, Monteil said, is that magnetotactic bacteria are widespread in the environment, so even if Martin did find them in sea turtle tears, it would do little to prove the theory. Just because magnetic bacteria are present doesnt mean theyre helping the animal navigate.But then again, other theories are still entirely unproven, too and some of them are a lot weirder.I dont think it is impossible, Monteil said of sea turtles and other organisms using magnetic bacteria to navigate. Nothing is impossible. Life is amazing and has found ways to do things that we couldnt imagine centuries before.We dont know until we know.See More:

Donkey Kong record holder owed 270,000 by YouTuber after lawsuitMichael BeckwithPublished April 1, 2025 12:34pmUpdated April 1, 2025 1:34pm Mitchell was accused of cheating back in 2018 (YouTube)After getting his gaming world records reinstated after cheating allegations, Billy Mitchell has now won another defamation lawsuit.To many, the name Billy Mitchell will just make you think of the EastEnders character. But those intimately familiar with the world of video game speedruns and high scores will recognise him as the pro gamer who earned the highest score ever in the Donkey Kong arcade game by Nintendo.Theyll also be aware of the scandals surrounding him, particularly how he was accused of cheating and had his world record for Donkey Kong (alongside his perfect Pac-Man score) redacted by Guinness World Records and Twin Galaxies, prompting Mitchell to accuse both organisations of defamation.Those issues have long since been cleared up, but Mitchell is also at the centre of another lawsuit involving an Australian YouTuber, and the court case has ended in Mitchells favour.As reported by The Guardian, a Brisbane court concurred that YouTuber and speedrunner Karl Jobst had defamed Mitchell in a 2021 video titled The Biggest Conmen In Video Game History Strike Again! and so has to pay him over $350,000 (around 271,000) in damages.For context, Jobsts video alleged that Mitchell had cheated to obtain his high scores and had pursuing unmeritorious litigation against other individuals over the same cheating allegations.This included a YouTuber by the name of Benjamin Apollo Legend Smith, who committed suicide in December 2020. Jobst made the damning accusation that Mitchells lawsuit contributed to this, going as far to say that Mitchell hounded Apollo Legend to death.The video was later taken down and reuploaded with alterations to Jobsts allegations against Mitchell. However, judge Ken Barlow still ruled that Jobst had made five defamatory imputations about Mitchell, which included a false assertion that Smith had to pay Mitchell a large sum of money.More TrendingWhile Barlow did acknowledge that Mitchell had a reputation for suing those who called him a cheater, the point of the case wasnt to determine if Mitchell was guilty of cheating or not.In the end, it was determined Jobst had damaged Mitchells reputation and caused distress. As such, the court awarded Mitchell $350,000 in damages, with Jobst needing to pay a further $40,000 in interest.This comes more than a year after Mitchell reached a settlement with speedrunning website Twin Galaxies. Mitchell had sued it and Guinness World Records for defamation, after his records were rescinded.While Guinness restored the records, Twin Galaxies countersued. A settlement was reached in January 2024, with Twin Galaxies restoring Mitchells scores to a historical database that serves as an archive, but not on the sites main pages (per Ars Technica). Mitchells critics say he used an emulator to land his high scores (Nintendo)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy