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By Keerthi Ramesh China’s record-low birth rate has renewed global concern about demographic decline, prompting renewed warnings from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who says restoring population growth should be a top priority for governments worldwide. China reported its lowest number of births since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, with deaths again outpacing births in 2025. The country’s population declined for the fourth consecutive year, underscoring the scale of a demographic shift that experts say will reshape China’s economy, labour force and social systems for decades. The drop reflects years of declining fertility following the now-ended one-child policy, rising living costs, delayed marriages and changing attitudes toward parenthood. Despite government incentives, including tax breaks, extended parental leave and housing subsidies, fewer couples are choosing to have children. Read: China advances space ambitions to rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX(December 29, 2025) Musk, reacting to the data in a post on X, wrote “restoring birth rates to replacement level should be top priority for all countries,” reinforcing his long-held belief that population decline poses a serious threat to civilization. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has repeatedly argued that shrinking populations could weaken economies, strain social welfare systems and erode long-term innovation. China’s fertility rate now sits well below the replacement level of about 2.1 births per woman, placing it among the fastest-aging societies in the world. The country faces a shrinking workforce and a rapidly expanding elderly population, creating challenges for pension systems and healthcare infrastructure. While China’s decline is among the most dramatic, it is not alone. Birth rates have fallen across much of East Asia and Europe, and the trend is increasingly visible in developed economies globally. Read: Elon Musk calls Ryanair CEO ‘utter idiot’; Hints at buying airline (January 17, 2026) The United States, by contrast, remains in a comparatively stronger position. Though U.S. fertility rates are also below replacement level, population growth continues due to higher birth totals than deaths and sustained immigration. The U.S. ranks above countries like China, Japan and South Korea in demographic stability, though analysts warn it is not immune to long-term decline if current trends persist. Musk’s comments reflect both his public advocacy and personal life. The billionaire, who has fathered multiple children with different partners, has spoken openly about encouraging larger families and has framed parenthood as a societal responsibility. He has often criticized narratives warning about overpopulation, calling them misguided in an era of falling birth rates. Demographers caution that reversing fertility decline is complex. Economic pressure, urbanization, career priorities and cultural change all influence family planning decisions, and policy incentives alone rarely deliver quick results. Still, China’s latest population figures, and Musk’s blunt response, highlight a growing global anxiety: whether modern societies can sustain themselves as fewer people are born to replace the generations before them. The post Elon Musk warns of declining birthrates in China and worldwide appeared first on The American Bazaar.

A team of Harvard and MIT scientists led by Indian American researcher Aravinthan Samuel is developing a new AI-enhanced scanning method to get a better look at brains with microscopes that work more like human eyes. Until recently, the quest to build high-resolution maps of brains — otherwise known as “connectomes” — was stymied by the slow pace and cost of powerful electron microscopes capable of systematically capturing neuroanatomy down to billionths of a meter. But now Samuel’s team has found a way to bypass that bottleneck: using machine learning to guide a simpler, less-expensive variety of microscope in real time, according to Harvard News. The idea is to home in on key details first and minimize time spent on areas of lesser interest — the same way we might zero in on words on a page instead of margins. Researchers say the innovation, known as SmartEM, will speed scanning sevenfold and open the field of connectomics to a broader research community, boosting our understanding of brain function and behavior. “SmartEM has the potential to turn connectomics into a benchtop tool,” said Samuel, a researcher in the Department of Physics and Center for Brain Science and one of the senior authors of a new paper published in Nature Methods. READ: India-born Henna Karna selected to Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative (September 5, 2025) “Our goal is to democratize connectomics,” he says. “If you can make the relatively common single-beam scanning electron microscope more intelligent, it can run an order of magnitude faster. With foreseeable improvements, a single-beam microscope with SmartEM capability can reach the performance of a very expensive and rare machine.” The method is the product of a five-year collaboration between researchers at Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and microscope manufacturer Thermo Fisher Scientific. In December, the same journal proclaimed electron microscopy-based connectomics its “Method of the Year” for 2025 and cited SmartEM an example of cutting-edge innovation. SmartEM marks a new advance in the decades-long quest to create “wiring diagrams” of brains from across the animal kingdom, from worms to fruit flies to humans. Two years ago Harvard researchers published the first nanoscale map of one cubic millimeter of human brain, according to Harvard News. Packed into that poppy-seed-sized sample were 150 million synapses, 57,000 cells, 230 millimeters of blood vessels, and a wondrous diversity of structures never seen before. Researchers elsewhere have completed connectomes for the fruit fly and zebrafish. The next grand challenge is one for the mouse, according to Harvard News. To build these maps, scientists have relied on a technique known as serial-section electron microscopy It entails shaving samples of brain tissue into thousands of ultra-thin sections, which are then scanned and imaged by powerful electron microscopes. Next the images are stacked on top of each other to create 3D digital replicas. For example, that one cubic millimeter of human brain tissue published in 2023 was sliced into more than 5,000 sections, each thinner than one-thousandth of a human hair. These endeavors pose monumental technical hurdles for both capturing the images and processing the data. Until recently, connectomics had been the exclusive purview of a small number of researchers and institutions that can afford multimillion-dollar hardware such as high-throughput electron microscopes with up to 91 beams. With growing demand to generate brain maps of many species, one obvious way to push forward connectomics is to recruit more microscopes — particularly single-beam electron microscopes, which are widely available at research institutions around the world. READ: Harvard students to host India Conference in Feb. 2026 (December 1, 2025) Their speed largely is a function of the “dwell time” that the beam devotes to each pixel. In the standard approach, specimens are scanned with the…

By Keerthi Ramesh European leaders are preparing a strong response after President Donald Trump disclosed new tariff threats against several European countries tied to his controversial efforts to gain control of Greenland. Trump announced last weekend that starting from Feb. 1 the United States would impose 10% tariffs on goods from eight European nations, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherland and Finland, until he finalizes a deal to buy Greenland or otherwise resolves a dispute over the island’s future. If no agreement is reached by June 1, he said the duties could rise to 25% The move stems from Trump’s assertion that Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is strategically vital to U.S. security. Drawing criticism at home and abroad, Trump wrote on social media that other global powers such as China and Russia “want Greenland,” and only the United States can secure it effectively. European capitals reacted with alarm. Leaders from the eight targeted nations issued a joint statement on Sunday saying the planned tariffs would undermine translantic ties and risk a dangerous downward spiral for economic and diplomatic cooperation. Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, used forceful language to describe the situation, declaring that “Europe will not be blackmailed” in response to the U.S. pressure. Her remarks were echoed by senior officials in Germany and Sweden, emphasizing a shared stance against what they describe as coercive tactics. READ: US ‘disrespectful’ stance on Greenland alarms NATO allies (January 7, 2026) Trump’s tariff plans also featured in the U.S. political discussions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appearing on the television program “Meet the Press,” suggested the president sees strength in his approach, asserting that Europeans “project weakness” while the United States signals resolve. In Greenland and Denmark, public protests broke out over the tariff threat and the broader push to influence Greenland’s governance. Thousands marched in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, chanting the island’s native name, “Kalaallit Nunaat,” and demonstrating against outside pressure on their homeland. READ: Greenland and Denmark to meet JD Vance to discuss Trump takeover threats (January 13, 2026) European Union officials have signaled that discussions are underway in Brussels about possible retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports, with figures mentioned at around $107 billion in goods. Emergency meetings among EU members are planned to assess options, balancing the need to defend economic interests with a desire to avoid an all-out trade war. For now, both sides face heightened uncertainty in relations between long-standing allies. European leaders continue to insist diplomacy should guide the path forward, while the Trump administration appears prepared to use tariffs as leverage in its broader strategic aims. The post Europe pushes back as Trump threatens new tariffs over Greenland appeared first on The American Bazaar.

<p id="par-1_63">Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds filmed <em><a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-felt-moral-majority-needed-the-best-little-whorehouse-in-texas-prostitutes-sweetest-people-ever-known.html/">The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas</a></em> in 1980. Reynolds had long been <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/burt-reynolds-spent-years-trying-dolly-parton-movie.html/">angling to work on a project</a> with Parton. When he finally did, though, he was at an especially low point. People on set wanted to rely on Parton to cheer him up, but she said that this was nearly impossible for her at the time.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dolly-parton-said-she-and-burt-reynolds-commiserated-together-on-set">Dolly Parton said she and Burt Reynolds commiserated together on set</h2> <p id="par-2_44">While filming <em>The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas</em>, Reynolds was going through a breakup with Sally Field. Parton said that because of this he was “not in a particularly good mood.” Morale on set was already low, and Reynolds’ mood did not help things.</p> <p id="par-3_52">“Burt was in pretty bad shape, emotionally and physically,” Parton wrote in her book <em>Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business</em>. “Sometimes, he would just walk off the set, unable to deal with things, and I would be called upon to go to his dressing room and try to cheer him up.”</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio" id="emb-1"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe title="The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Official Trailer #1 - Burt Reynolds Movie (1982)" width="925" height="520" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2BE3NqTRfLc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p id="par-4_20">Unfortunately, Parton wasn’t in much of a position to help him. She was also going <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-felt-temporarily-broken-last-time-career-hold-illness.html/">through a difficult time</a> emotionally.</p> <p id="par-5_83">“That was a little like the blind leading the blind, since I was in an emotional and physical turmoil of my own,” she wrote. “We had come to love each other dearly, but neither of us was able to give the other much real support. Usually, he’d begin blubbering about his woes, and I’d just join in. We’d sit and b**** and moan and sling snot until we each felt so sorry for the other that our own troubles didn’t seem so bad.”</p> <p id="par-6_20">After crying together, they would go back to set and try to get work done before the cycle began again.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-she-said-she-did-not-like-the-experience-of-working-on-the-film">She said she did not like the experience of working on the film</h2> <p id="par-7_26">Given the pain she was experiencing at the time, it’s not surprising that Parton didn’t <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-filming-best-little-whorehouse-texas-near-killed-whorehouse-bloodbath.html/">enjoy her experience</a> of making <em>The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas</em>.</p> <p id="par-8_39">“<em>Whorehouse</em> was <em>not</em> fun,” she told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/new-again-dolly-parton" rel="noreferrer noopener">Interview Magazine</a>. “I loved Burt Reynolds and Jim Nabors and all those people, but at that particular time I was ill, and coming from a Broadway play, we already had everything against us.”</p> <p…