Our Experts Written by Caroline Igo Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement What to consider Firmness A firm mattress will offer more support while a soft mattress will be more pressure-relieving. Medium mattresses fall in the sweet spot right in between. The right firmness level for you depends on your sleeping position. Sleeping position Side sleepers should consider a medium to soft mattress that cradles the hips and shoulders. Back and stomach sleepers should consider a medium to firm mattress that keeps the spine in a straight alignment. Switch between positions? A medium firmness level can accommodate all sleeping positions. Feel Coils and latex foam give a bed more bounce, while memory foam and poly foam make a bed feel more cushy and pressure-relieving. The feel of your mattress will depend on the types of materials it has on the inside. Construction There are essentially two mattress types, hybrid and all-foam. Hybrid mattresses are constructed with steel coils and foam, but all-foam mattresses are just as their name implies. Body Type Hybrid mattresses tend to be best for people who want extra support and durability. Sleepers over 230 pounds in particular should consider a hybrid over an all-foam mattress because its more supportive, durable and long-lasting. Performance Motion isolation, edge support and temperature are important features for couples or people who sleep hot to consider. Hot sleepers should consider a mattress that boasts special cooling features. Couples want minimal motion transfer and a strong, supportive bed perimeter. Company Policies All online brands offer a free trial, free shipping and a warranty, but some brands are more generous with their policies than others. Why You Can Trust CNET 210220230240250260270280290300 Mattresses tested123456789 Testers5706707708709701,0701,1701,2701,3701,470 Hours Tested How we test With five-plus years of mattress testing experience, we use our different sleeping position and body type perspectives to offer well-rounded, honest reviews.Table of Contents Back to selection

December 29, 20245 min readJimmy Carter, Who Has Died at Age 100, Spared Millions of People from Guinea WormFormer president Jimmy Carters charity has helped transform Guinea worm from a disease that used to infect millions to one that infects fewer than a dozenBy Charles Schmidt edited by Tanya Lewis Photo by John Angelillo/UPI/Alamy Stock PhotoFormer president Jimmy Carter was touring villages in Ghana during the late 1980s when he first encountered people with Guinea worm disease. This tropical disease involves an infection with parasitic worms that eventually emerge through a persons skin, and the 39th U.S. president was shocked by the plight of people infected by them. Once youve seen a small child with a two- or three-foot-long live Guinea worm protruding from her body, right through her skin, you never forget it..., he later wrote. In just a few minutes, [former first lady] Rosalynn and I saw more than 100 victims, including people with worms coming out of their ankles, knees, groins, legs, arms and other parts of their bodies.Carter died Sunday, December 29, in Plains, Ga., after entering hospice care in mid-February 2023. His efforts to eradicate this horrific disease improved the lives and well-being of many of the worlds poorest people. Guinea worm cases were averaging 3.5 million per year globally around the time Carter first toured Ghana. But thanks in large part to the efforts of the Carter Center, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) founded by the former president and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023, the disease has been nearly stamped out. Surveillance data put the global tally at just 13 cases in 2022 spread across Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, according to Sharon Roy and Vitaliano Cama, scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who work with the Carter Center. Should caseloads dwindle to zero, Guinea worm will become only the second human disease in history (after smallpox) to be eradicated. These efforts are a credit to Carters bold vision, leadership and ability to create political will for supporting Guinea worm eradication in affected countries, Cama says.The Carter Center set out to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986, shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) targeted it for global elimination and five years after Carter left office. The disease is spread by drinking stagnant water infested with tiny fleas called copepods that contain Guinea worm larvae. While the fleas die in the human gut, Guinea wormswhich are impervious to stomach acidsurvive and start mating. Over the course of a year, a pregnant female worm will grow into an adult that migrates toward the hosts skin. A blister soon forms, and when it bursts, the worm begins to slither its way out of the body. To relieve the burning pain this causes, infected victims will often dunk their affected body parts into waterin some cases, the same ponds or lakes that other people drink from. The submerged worms respond by releasing eggs that hatch into larvae, which are consumed by copepods, and the parasitic life cycle starts anew.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Zane Wolf; Source: The Carter CenterThere arent any vaccines or treatments for Guinea worm disease, and people cannot develop immunity against it. The traditional strategy for extracting an emerging worm has been to wind it around a stick, tugging on it a few centimeters per day. Its important not to pull too fast, because if the worm breaks apart, remnants in the body can cause secondary infections. But the best defense is prevention.To move toward eradication, the Carter Center organized NGOs, national health ministries and donors around a single overarching goal: to provide affected villages with clean drinking water. A few simple interventions proved highly effective. Village-based volunteers and supervisory health staff built protective walls around wells and other water sources to block people from wading in and seeding new infections. The Carter Center supplied villages with fine-mesh cloths that strain fleas out of drinking water, as well as filtered straws for personal use. Stagnant water was treated with a larvicide called temephos (which the WHO considers acceptable for use in drinking water), and rumored infections were tracked down and investigated.Over time, more and more countries joined the effort. Meanwhile former president Carter personally met with leaders in the nations where Guinea worm was endemic, says Kashef Ijaz, the Carter Centers vice president for health programs. In 1995 Carter brokered a four-month Guinea worm cease-fire during Sudans civil war. The pause in fighting allowed health workers to distribute 200,000 cloth filters to impoverished areas, along with vaccines and drugs for other diseases such as river blindness, measles and polio.Sometimes the Guinea Worm Eradication Program provides the only touch point local people have with any sort of public health system, says Jordan Schermerhorn, a global health specialist based in Austin, Tex. Schermerhorn spent more than a year between 2016 and 2017 working as a technical adviser to the Carter Center in southern Chad, often traveling by motorcycle to remote areas where people live in mud huts spread across a barren landscape. She and her colleagues would visit each of the villages within their purview roughly once a week to check for new cases and educate people on how to protect themselves from infection.By this time, the eradication program was highly successful: only 25 human cases were documented worldwide in 2016. Yet the program has also been confronting an emerging problem: scientists, who once assumed Guinea worms only infect people, have been finding them in other species. The worms were discovered in dogs first and then later in cats and baboons. More recent evidence suggests frogs and fish may also carry the worms, although its not clear if these animals transmit them. Carter Center staff have responded by urging villagers to report and tether infected dogs and to avoid eating inadequately cooked fish. They hypothesize that these are the routes through which most people and animals are becoming infected today.Matthew Boyce, an assistant professor of health policy and management at Texas A&M University, says its unclear if the Guinea worm is broadening its range or if its discovery in other animals merely reflects expanded disease surveillance. It could be a classic case of the more you look, the more you find, he says. Theres still no definitive evidence that these animals can transmit the disease in the absence of human hosts, something that could make it difficult to fully eradicate. Nevertheless, the WHO has pushed the target date for eradicating Guinea worm disease from 2020 to 2030. During a press conference in 2015, Carter said that he hoped the last Guinea worm would die before he did. While that didnt happen, Ijaz remains confident that eradication is still an achievable goal. The last mile is the hardest, he says. We have to stay committed and remain more focused than ever before.

AI and societyDec 28, 2024Dec 28, 2024UpdateChinese ebook reader Boox ditches GPT for state-censored China LLM pushing propagandaMidjourney prompted by THE DECODEROnline journalist Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER. He believes that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the relationship between humans and computers.ProfileE-Mail Update: December 28, 2024AdFollowing user backlash, Boox has reportedly switched back to an OpenAI model. The company hasn't yet released an official statement.Original Article: December 26, 2024A recent AI model switch at Chinese e-reader company Boox has raised concerns about censorship and propaganda.AdAdTHE DECODER NewsletterThe most important AI news straight to your inbox. Weekly Free Cancel at any timeBoox recently switched its AI assistant from Microsoft Azure GPT-3 to a language model created by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, according to findings shared by Reddit user HIVVIH.Testing shows the new AI assistant heavily censors certain topics. It refuses to criticize China or its allies, including Russia, Syria's Assad regime, and North Korea. The system even blocks references to "Winnie the Pooh" - a term that's banned in China because it's used to mock President Xi Jinping.When asked about sensitive topics, the assistant either dodges questions or promotes state narratives. For example, when discussing Russia's role in Ukraine, it frames the conflict as a "complex geopolitical situation" triggered by NATO expansion concerns. The system also spreads Chinese state messaging about Tiananmen Square instead of addressing historical facts.The new Boox assistant does not comment on Tiananmen Square, but instead spreads Chinese state propaganda. | Image: HIVVIH via RedditShareRecommend our articleWhen users tried to bring attention to the censorship on Boox's Reddit forum, their posts were removed. The company hasn't made any official statement about the situation, but users are reporting that the AI assistant is currently unavailable.France bad, North Korea good. | Image: HIVVIH via RedditNo one knows exactly why Boox made the switch. The company might have faced political pressure, been unaware of how heavily censored the Chinese model was, or simply failed to consider how Western users would react to the censorship.RecommendationImporting AI means importing its values tooThe Boox case raises bigger questions about using AI from other cultures. As OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently warned, when companies bring in foreign language models, they're not just getting new technology - they're importing all the values and viewpoints baked into these systems.The word "genocide" triggers the new Boox assistant to deny that the Chinese government is committing genocide against the Uyghurs. | Image: HIVVIH via RedditIn China, every AI model has to pass a government review to make sure it follows "socialist values" before it can launch. These systems aren't allowed to create any content that goes against official government positions.We've already seen what this means in practice: Baidu's ERNIE-ViLG image AI won't process any requests about Tiananmen Square, and while Kling's video generator refuses to show Tiananmen Square protests, it has no problem creating videos of a burning White House.Some countries are already taking steps to address these concerns. Taiwan, for example, is developing its own language model called "Taide" to give companies and government agencies an AI option that's free from Chinese influence.AdAdJoin our communityJoin the DECODER community on Discord, Reddit or Twitter - we can't wait to meet you. Support our independent, free-access reporting. Any contribution helps and secures our future. Support now:Bank transfer SummaryChinese e-book reader manufacturer Boox has replaced the Microsoft Azure GPT-3 language model in its AI assistant with a new model that exhibits clear signs of state censorship.The new model blocks critical questions about China and its allies, such as Russia, Syria, and North Korea, and refuses to make statements about sensitive topics like Tiananmen Square, instead promoting state-approved narratives.This case illustrates that imported AI models not only transport technology but also carry with them the values and attitudes embedded in their training data, potentially spreading the influence of the originating country's ideology and propaganda.Sourcesvia Reddit Online journalist Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER. He believes that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the relationship between humans and computers.ProfileE-Mail ShareAI and societyDec 29, 2024Dec 29, 2024UpdateDeepseek's V3 is the latest example of state-controlled censorship in Chinese LLMsAI in practiceNov 12, 2024Nov 12, 2024Baidu unveils LLM smart glasses and new image generatorGoogle NewsJoin our communityJoin the DECODER community on Discord, Reddit or Twitter - we can't wait to meet you.

In BriefPosted:4:15 PM PST December 29, 2024Image Credits:Tesla /Nvidias next move: powering humanoid robotsThe chipmaking giant Nvidia is leaning more heavily into robotics in 2025. More specifically, its launching a new generation of compact computers for humanoid robots, called Jetson Thor, in the first half of the new year, confims the Financial Times.The move, which was expected, is part of an evolving, years-long strategy. Back in March, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed off a range of robots powered by Nvidias chips at the companys annual conference. Nvidia doesnt plan to compete directly with manufacturers like Tesla, but rather provide the hundreds of thousands of robot makers in the world with a kind of underlying OEM, as its vice president of robotics, Deepu Talla, told reporters last month in Tokyo.As for why now, Talla tells the FT that the shift owes to two technological breakthroughs: the explosion of generative AI models, and the ability to train robots on them using simulated environments.What Nvidia isnt saying but is also plainly the case: its push into AI-powered robots comes as major customers like Amazon and Google work to lessen their dependence on the outfits AI chips by developing their own.Above: Teslas humanoid robot, Optimus; Nvidia has said it supplies Tesla with tech to build the machines.Topics

In BriefPosted:2:34 PM PST December 29, 2024Image Credits:Daniel Balakov (opens in a new window) / Getty ImagesAI data centers could be distorting the US power gridThe proliferation of data centers aiming to meet the computational needs of AI could be bad news for the US power grid, according to a new report in Bloomberg.Using the 1 million residential sensors tracked by Whisker Labs, along with market intelligence data from DC Byte, Bloomberg found that more than half of the households showing the worst power distortions live within 20 miles of significant data center activity.In other words, there appears to be a link between data center proximity and bad harmonics a term for the less-than-ideal flow of electrical power into homes.Bloomberg says this distorted power could eventually destroy plugged-in appliances, increase vulnerability to electrical fires, and even lead to brownouts and blackouts. And AI data centers could be even more problematic because of their volatile energy requirements.No grid is designed to be able to handle that kind of load fluctuation not only for one data center but for multiple data centers at the same time, said Bloom Energys chief commercial officer Aman Joshi.A spokesperson for Chicagos Commonwealth Edison told Bloomberg the utility strongly questions the accuracy and underlying assumptions of Whisker Labs claims.Topics

Road 2025 to 2032 new year direction concept and sustainable development concept Evening sunset time ... [+] at destinationgettyThe year ahead looks set to become one of tremendous change. As a consequence of progress in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, and space exploration, economies will see constant transformation. These innovations will create significant opportunities and threats. In 2025, we will need to focus on welcoming amazing innovation and progress while keeping these advancements on the rails of ethical implementation and use.Global Economic ShiftsThe consequences of the growth of automation and trends toward the decarbonization of industries ... [+] will act as catalysts for changes in the distribution of power in the international arena.gettyAdvancements in technology will shape economic growth. There will be an apparent dichotomy between countries that participate in the innovative economy and those that lack the ability or infrastructure to do so. The consequences of the growth of automation and trends toward the decarbonization of industries will act as catalysts for changes in the distribution of power in the international arena. Those failing to do so will lag behind, while others, such as the BRICS group, will continue to seek a shift from the U.S. dollar.However, the U.S. economy is expected to grow, decrease inflation, increase employment, and lower interest rates. These changes underscore the need to complement investment in innovation and change or reskill the workforce to compete globally.Stock Market Shifts and AI DominanceWall Street is expecting a great year. The U.S. equities index is expected to reach at least 6,500 by the close of 2025, representing a 9% increase in price from its present value and a 10% total return when factoring in dividends. A good deal of these gains will be courtesy of the AI firms. Nvidia will be a valuation leader because of its strategic position in AI hardware; interesting IPOs will be launched from Stripe to Databricks. Robotics will also experience exponential; for instance, Boston Dynamics will start achieving major milestones after its humanoid robot sent notice to the entire industry in 2024. Even as AI keeps creating value in diverse industries, conventional fields will feel pressure to integrate these technologies into their systems, bringing added volatility to the market.MORE FOR YOUMultimodal AI and AI agents will transform Industries.gettyAI and Robotics TransformationMultimodal AI and AI agents will transform industries. Several recently developed methods for electronically interpreting and producing multiple forms of data (text, images, and audio) will allow sectors, including healthcare, education, and communication services, to innovate their processes significantly. Agentic AI agents will operate as a strategic workforce for complex work, including legal requirements, supply chain efficiency, product development and other fields to improve efficiency and productivity.Robotics will increase across domains. Applying robotics is going mainstream as socionic and anthropomorphic robots like Ameca and Digit go from being novelties to being essential in eldercare, warehousing, and retail. Ordinary multitasking robots will become the backbone of the healthcare and logistics industries. In households, inexpensive robotic appliances will prevail over conventional devices, providing greater protection, linking, and ease of use. In 2025, there will be confusion over what constitutes and does not constitute human effort, leading to profound debate over the topic of work, self, and meaning.Advancements in Space Exploration2025 will see the dawn of a sustainable economic presence on the moon. gettyIn 2025, humanity will continue experiments in deep space exploration and take a baby step toward the commercialization of outer space by forming permanent habitats on the moon through private business ventures and government initiatives. These are the early steps, but they will be the dawn of a sustainable economic presence on the moon.Asteroid mining will be a concept that turns into reality as firms such as AstroForge aim to launch a compact refinery into space, designed to extract minerals from asteroids and transport only the precious metals back to Earth. Improvements in technology will keep making space tourism easier, allowing the ultra-elite to go to space.Fueling this is the advancement of rocket reusability by SpaceX and Blue Origin, alongside the increasing interest of nations in attaining space assets for reasons of security and economic gain. Such advancements are likely to yield trillion-dollar industries.There is a massive shortage of new governance for the celestial region and conflict resolution. 2025 will mark the key year when humanity will experience the change of its goals and dream to start a new life on a new planet and move from being an earth-bound species to a multi-planetary species.Biotechnology RevolutionIn 2025, personalized medicine will be the norm for patient care due to innovations in AI for ... [+] chronic disease treatment.gettyIn 2025, personalized medicine will be the norm for patient care due to innovations in AI for chronic disease treatment. Anti-aging therapies that operate at the level of cells and genes will advance, and these technologies will become everyday practices.Significant funding for gene-editing tools such as CRISPR and the use of AI in new medicine development and clinical research are driving these advancements. These technologies are key to incremental advancement in medical treatments and techniques that will change the way healthcare is delivered and, especially, the intent of treatmentmoving from alleviating the discomfort of sicknesses to eradicating sick states at their root. Ethical concerns around genetic engineering must be addressed. These biotechnological advances will revolutionize healthcare and may drive us to rethink what being healthy, growing old, and being human means.Automotive and Transportation TransformationThe EV transition will start to upend the worlds oil consumption and needs, forcing the automotive ... [+] and oil industries to embrace green energy and other energy efficiencies.gettyWhile Gartner forecasts that 85 million EVs will be on our roads by the end of 2025, I predict that 1 in 4 cars sold will be electric. Self-driving vehicle fleets will begin appearing in large cities. The EV transition will start to upend the worlds oil consumption and needs, forcing the automotive and oil industries to embrace green energy and other energy efficiencies.Cybersecurity Spending Will Top $300 BillionWe will see a rise in AI-driven cyber threats targeting critical technology infrastructure. ... [+] AI-powered defense systems will be the key to combating and preventing these threats.gettyThe enterprise level's focus on cybersecurity will increase for any business reliant on technology. We will see a rise in AI-driven cyber threats targeting critical technology infrastructure. AI-powered defense systems will be the key to combating and preventing these threats. Spending on cyber security will top $300 billion. This focus cant be on just one country; governments must collaborate for the planet's greater good.Toward AGI and SuperintelligenceConceptual illustration of the advancement of AI, showing humanity creating general AI, which in ... [+] turn creates super AI. General AI, also known as strong AI, refers to AI that is designed to perform any intellectual task that a human can do. Super AI refers to AI that is capable of surpassing human intelligence in all areas. Super AI would be capable of solving complex problems that are beyond human capabilities and would be able to learn and adapt at a rate that far exceeds human intelligence. These are both hypothetical forms of AI that are not yet possible to achieve.getty2025 could be the year when we finally have machines capable of thinking like humans. This will, in turn, force us all to rethink what it is to be a creator of intelligent life. New problems will appear with the creation of AGI systems capable of solving multi-disciplinary problems. We will also need to create solutions for the coming concerns around safety in superintelligence, the ability to control and contain it, and how many and how intelligent an AI agent we should be allowed to develop. Neural architectures and quantum computing will be the drivers behind this innovation. This will lead to conversations of international regulation so that AGI will be oriented to fit societys ethical benchmarks and welfare.Legal precedents set in 2025 shape the Future of AIEthical AI, in terms of its use and accessibility, will stay at the forefront as interest and deployment continue to spread. Generative AI is increasingly used every day by industries and individuals, creating an increased focus on verifying human identity and identifying and preventing deepfakes. Leaders will increase their emphasis on the ethical use of AI or face internal and public backlash. Companies will ensure their use of AI matches what their workforce feels is fair and ethical.The legal community has never proven itself efficient or ahead of the curve, so we can expect courtroom battles to drag out. However, when settled, they will shape the course of AIs future, whether for the better or the worse.Economic Disruption through AIEconomic disruption caused by AI will only increase. From a people perspective, some middle managers, especially in large companies, will be made irrelevant by the adoption of new technologies. Due to the democratization of AI, it will be easier for small businesses to rival large-scale business organizations.Yes, these enhancements offer a lot of bang for the buck when it comes to enabling strategic change and gains, but they will also cause issues like displacing employees who must be re-skilled. The shift will require business as we know it to rethink the basic paradigms of business agility, with an emphasis on technology.AI Data Centers: The Backbone of AI ComputeASHBURN, VIRGINIA - JULY 17: In an aerial view, the IAD71 Amazon Web Services data center is shown ... [+] on July 17, 2024 in Ashburn, Virginia. Northern Virginia is the largest data center market in the world, according to a report this year cited in published accounts, but is facing headwinds from availability of land and electric power. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)Getty ImagesAs I wrote this past October, AI data centers are now the backbone of our compute-driven future. Massive investment will be made in hyper-efficient and liquid-cooled structures. This change will aid several industries, especially the healthcare and automotive industries. Governments will support changes in legislation that encourage investments in sustainable data center designs, opening many opportunities for green tech market players.To keep up with the demand AI will place on these centers, the focus will be sustainable and energy-efficient design. Many organizations may not consider this important now, which could set them behind their competition sooner than expected.Venture-Backed Titan StartupsElon Musk addresses participants via videoconference during the eight edition of the Vivatech ... [+] technology startups and innovation fair, at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, on May 23, 2024. (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesThe existence and diffusion of artificial intelligence in startups will bring a new breed of venture capital to the world, which will be characterized by higher and unparalleled efficiency and scalability. While powered by automation and other aspects of lean entrepreneurship, these new forms will disrupt traditional corporations, many of which will have a $100M ARR with fewer than 30 employees.Decentralized systems for secure information exchange will also appear, changing industries' views of data. This wave of innovation will redefine sectors, change competition patterns, and introduce new market players, underlining the transformation of AI-based schemes and initiatives.Final Words On 20252025 will be another year of massive change. AI, Robotics, space travel, and healthcare breakthroughs suggest that the possibilities of this new year are limitless. I expect actions and innovations to be carefully planned to extract maximum value. The next 12 months and beyond will allow us to envision a future filled with social progress and technological advancements.

Looking for help with today's NYT Mini Crossword puzzle? Here are some hints and answers for the ... [+] puzzle.Credit: NYTIn case you missed Sundays NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you can find the answers here:The end is nigh. The end of 2024, in any case. We have today and then Tuesday we celebrate New Years Eve. In years past, that meant a great deal of merrymaking with friends, which often resulted in a rather hungover New Years Day. Now that Im older and wiser, Ill likely just watch a movie or play some video games and turn in early. Well, maybe not early but gone are the days of partying until daybreak. In any case, this is one of the last Mini Crosswords of the year. Lets solve it!The NYT Mini is a smaller, quicker, more digestible, bite-sized version of the larger and more challenging NYT Crossword, and unlike its larger sibling, its free-to-play without a subscription to The New York Times. You can play it on the web or the app, though youll need the app to tackle the archive.Answers to todays Mini Crossword below . . . .Spoilers ahead!MORE FOR YOUACROSS1 Rudely straightforward BLUNT6 Where you might see half-inch ticks? RULER7 A little less than "mega" EXTRA8 Verbose WORDY9 Unit of sunshine RAYDOWN1 Steeped concoction BREW2 Swanky Vegas hotel resembling an Egyptian pyramid LUXOR3 A little more than "mega" ULTRA4 Quirkily enthusiastic about science, maybe NERDY5 Breakfast-in-bed convenience TRAYToday's NYT Mini CrosswordScreenshot: Erik KainSometimes two words can fit nicely in a crossword and I pick the wrong one and it throws off my entire game. Today, everything I guessed was right on the money, from BLUNT to LUXOR, ULTRA to EXTRA. Even NERDY turned out to be exactly what I thought, and this whole thing only took 52 seconds.How did you do? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.If you also play Wordle, I write guides about that as well. You can find those and all my TV guides, reviews and much more here on my blog. Thanks for reading!

A plane crashed at an airport in South Korea on Sunday, killing nearly all of its passengers.An aviation expert told BI that the pilots were possibly overwhelmed after a bird strike.South Korea has transformed its air travel industry from a 'pariah' to one of the world's safest.A plane crashed in South Korea, killing nearly all on board and surprising an industry that has come to view the nation as one of the world's safest for air travel.Flight 7C2216, a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 operated by the Korean budget airline Jeju Air, crashed while landing at Muan International Airport just after 9 a.m. local time on Sunday. Of the 181 people on board, there were just two survivors, both crew members. A Jeju Air plane crashed on Sunday, killing 179 people. Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images In recent years, South Korea has been considered among the safest for air travel, but it wasn't always that way."25 years ago, South Korea was a pariah in the aviation industry," Airline News editor and aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas told Business Insider. He said the nation's safety standards have since improved "dramatically."Sunday's crash marks the first fatal accident for Jeju Air, founded in 2005 and named one of the best low-cost airlines in the world in 2024 by aviation ranking website AirlineRatings.com.The airline was founded after decades of fatal crashes prompted the nation to rehabilitate its aviation safety culture.Years of deadly crashesSouth Korea had a decadeslong history of crashes due to pilot errors.Before 2000, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines were the two main airlines operating in South Korea. In mid-December, Korean Air completed a $1.3 billion acquisition of Asiana Airlines, marking a new era in the country's aviation industry.Korean Air the country's flag carrier and its biggest struggled with safety during the latter part of the 20th century. The airline had seven fatal passenger and cargo crashes between 1978 and 1999, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network.Pilot error was cited as a contributing factor in each. In 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 crashed in Guam due to a slew of factors, including pilot error. credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images Some 75 passengers and crew, plus four people on the ground, died in 1989 when Korean Air Flight 803 crashed while attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya.An Associated Press report published in 1990 said the Seoul Criminal Court sentenced the pilot, who cited poor visibility, to two years in prison for causing the crash.One of the worst incidents happened in 1997 when Korean Air Flight 801 flew from Seoul to Guam. The Boeing 747 plane attempted to land at the A.B. Won Guam International Airport when it crashed, resulting in the deaths of over 200 passengers.The National Transportation Safety Board published a report on Flight 801, which said the probable cause for the crash was the "captain's failure to adequately brief and execute" the approach, combined with the first officer and flight engineer's failure to monitor or challenge the captain.Two fatal Korean cargo flights in 1999 also pointed to serious safety problems, including failed crew communication and cooperation. Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 crashed in 1999 due to pilot error and a technical fault. In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images Founded nearly 20 years after Korean Air, Asiana only had one fatal crash before 2000, when a Boeing 737 landed short of Mokpo's airport in South Korea in 1993. Reuters reported that an inquiry found that pilot error was the cause of the crash, which killed over 60 people.The series of crashes made Korean Air a pariah in the aviation industry.In 1999, Delta and Air France suspended their code-share partnerships with Korean Air, temporarily severing their airline alliances.Around the same time, the US Department of Defense banned its employees from flying on Korean Air planes.In 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration downgraded South Korea's safety rating, citing its failure to meet international standards representing a particularly low point for the nation.From unreliable to the gold standardIn the late 1990s, South Korea embarked on an effort to rehabilitate its air safety reputation. It hired a retired Delta executive to help overhaul training and hiring practices.Investigations of several Korean Air crashes found that cultural issues in the cockpit wherein first officers and flight engineers didn't communicate effectively with the captains or hesitated to challenge them were partly to blame for the deadly accidents.According to a 2006 report from The Wall Street Journal, the airline shored up its training by increasing shared responsibilities among pilots and reducing its hiring of Korean Air Force veterans who struggled to collaborate with others who they considered inferior in rank.The cultural changes paid off in the years to come.In 2002, Delta and Air France resumed their partnerships with the airline. Likewise, the US Department of Defense lifted its ban on employees flying on the airline. Korean Air is part of the SkyTeam Alliance with Delta and Air France. AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images By 2008, Korean Air performed better than US airlines in the International Civil Aviation Organization's safety audit.Korean Air is today considered among the world's safest airlines, and is part of the international SkyTeam Alliance which requires strict high levels of safety to join."They certainly have cleaned up," Thomas, the editor from Airline News, told BI.He added that Jeju Air had an "excellent" record since its founding and that the 737-800 is "the workhorse of the world.""It is the most reliable aircraft out there, so everybody knows how it works," Thomas said.In the case of Sunday's crash, Thomas said the pilots were likely overwhelmed as they were dealing with "a disaster.""I think the issue is multiple bird strikes and then multiple failures resulting from that," Thomas said. "I would expect by the end of the week we will have critical information about exactly what went on, the multiple failures, and the cockpit discussion about what was going on."But some information may not be immediately available to the public, he said."As a responsible country, any safety learnings from this would come out immediately so this information could be passed on to other operators of the 737 model of aircraft," Thomas said. "It may not necessarily be transmitted to the general public, but it would be transmitted to airline operators to alert them to a particular failure to check their own aircraft."

A premium watch authenticator said there are telltale signs of fake watches.He said with counterfeiters getting more skilled, it is often difficult to tell the real from the fakes.From the paint on the hands to the magnification of the date window, here's how to check.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ng Yong Shen, a vice president with Re-Loved Luxury, a Dubai-based secondhand luxury retailer. It has been edited for length and clarity.My journey in watch authenticating started during the pandemic when I became a purchaser for Valuence, a secondhand luxury goods company.I went on to pursue similar roles, first as an authenticator for Carousell Group, an online marketplace, and later as a commercial manager at Luxehouze, a marketplace focused on pre-owned luxury goods.Now, afterThrough these roles, I have been exposed to a large volume of luxury items on a daily basis. In addition to watches, I can also detect fake bags and jewelry.The traditional way to authenticate a watch is to open the back case, check for movement, and check for the integrity of the movement.But the fakes have gotten better lately. I have had cases where the watch was opened by the watchmaker, approved, and then brought to me, when I realized it actually had a fake movement.Over the years, I've found some telltale signs of a fake watch across different brands. Here are some small things to look out for when checking for the real deal:1. Details in the date window The difference between the date windows in a fake (left) and a real (right) Rolex watch. Ng Yong Shen The first thing to look out for is the date window.These two photos compare two vintage Rolex two-tone Datejust watches.The one on the left is fake. Pay attention to the date window. The fonts and the spacing of the square are noticeably different.You can see they both have different fonts. The one that's fake, you can even see some "bleeding" in the lines of the number, while the number on the real deal has crisper edges.2. Cut and paintwork of the hands Paintwork on the hands of an authentic Audemars Piguet watch. Ng Yong Shen The hands feature some very fine details and can be good giveaways for counterfeits.They are supposed to have a very fine polish. For some fakes, you can see that at the edges, they look like they have been laser cut, snapped off, and stuck onto the watch.These are ways for counterfeiters to skimp on costs. The very good, authentic ones shouldn't have all of these traces.Another detail is the paintwork. If the hands have color or paintwork on them, the paint should be even and not bleed down the hand. This can be seen in the authentic Audemars Piguet watch shown above, with its hands painted in orange.If you see a teardrop or dip in the paint, something is not right. It's better if you have a loupe a magnifying glass 3. Construction quality The Rolex crown on the claps of two real watches that Ng owns. Ng Yong Shen Premium watchmakers take time and precision to craft these pieces, and this is reflected in the small details.For example, the lines of the embossed crown logo on the watch's clasp should look crisp and clean, and the area surrounding the crown should not be elevated.Better safe than sorryI advise that the best thing to do is to bring your watch to an experienced authenticator for a proper check.Counterfeiters are getting better, and there are a lot of "Frankenstein" watches with mixed parts.Sometimes, they use a real watch, meaning that 60% of the components are real. If you open up the watch, you can see the movement is real.They may just change the dial or maybe the bracelet. If they remove the bracelet swap the real bracelet with a fake one they can make thousands.So be careful and buy from a reputable seller, or get it checked by an experienced authenticator.

Nichole Wischoff worked at Citi for a year before leaving for the startup world.Wischoff said that even though she made a lot of money in banking, she didn't love her job.Working with startups was a better match for her personality, she says.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nichole Wischoff, 34, founder of Wischoff Ventures. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider previously published essays about her first recruit at Wischoff Ventures, Neal Mintz, and his hiring experience.I picked up running while on a high school student exchange in Belgium.Running taught me a lot. For one, there are no short-term wins in running. If you want to finish a marathon, you need to put in a lot of super-consistent work to build up your mileage.Running taught me to keep chipping away at the things that I really want. There's no such thing as short-term success when building your career. But one thing's for sure if you are willing to put in the work every day, you will see results over time.Getting into but not enjoying bankingBefore I entered the startup world, I worked on project finance at Citi Community Capital, an arm of Citi that deals with community development lending and investing.Even though I made a lot of money in banking, I didn't enjoy working there.To be sure, I loved the work itself. It was challenging and super interesting, but I felt suffocated in that environment. But I felt like I was chained to my desk for 14 to 16 hours a day, working continuously and skipping lunch breaks.Entering the world of startups and venture capitalFortunately, because I was based in the Bay Area, I was able to make friends in tech and learn more about their careers.My then-boyfriend, now husband, worked in tech and he encouraged me to give tech a shot.When I was recruited by my first tech company, a fintech company named Blend, he helped me negotiate the offer. I ended up getting roughly 40% more than what I was making in banking.After accumulating years of experience in the startup world, I started making angel investments in startups.Eventually, I started my early-stage venture capital firm, Wischoff Ventures.I know that I'm not meant for the boardroom Wischoff made angel investments before starting her own venture capital firm. Nichole Wischoff Looking back at my career, I would say that working with and in startups was a good match for my personality. Startups allow you to do as much as you possibly want until you can't take it anymore.In contrast, your role will be very structured and defined if you work in a big corporate company. There won't be a lot of flexibility. You will be given three to five objectives, and you need to hit them.In startups, you get to do a lot of things. You can dabble in business development, product management, and fundraising. I enjoy having variety in my work.I know, too, that I'm not meant for the boardroom. Even now, as a VC, I don't take board seats because I don't find them to be very interesting or useful. What I want is to help get companies off the ground. I don't want to manage hundreds of employees or report to tons of people.Of course, I do get really bad days in venture capital now and then. But I have stuck on it because I love the adrenaline of clinching a deal. It could be an addiction, but I love momentum and knowing that I'm making progress every single day.The truth is, you have to be crazy to raise a venture capital fund. You need to make hundreds of pitches and stomach the rejections.It is a lot like running a marathon. You have to put in the work every day, and it's not sexy. That's what it takes to make it as a VC. You have to like pain and doing hard things.