Talk talk today

"If you think research is expensive, try disease!" the late American health activist and philanthropist Mary Lasker once said. This has never been more true, as we witness the devastation caused by Covid-19. Research and innovation have played a very critical role in understanding and combating all kinds of diseases from measles, polio, Sars and Ebola to Covid-19. Think about all the tests, vaccines and therapeutics that have been rolled out to detect, protect and treat. During the current pandemic, diagnostics and vaccines have been developed at breakneck speed. In fact, over a hundred PCR (polymerase chain reaction) diagnostic tests - that pinpoint active infection; as well as serology or antibody rapid tests - which detect antibodies in people with past infection; have been approved for emergency use in the United States within the last year. Similarly, vaccines have been developed and rolled out in less than a year, a remarkable effort which could have otherwise ... » Learn More about Science Talk: Battling Covid-19 with Research and Innovation

Aquino (center) with Star Magic talents, from left: Matt Evans, Kitkat, Ejay Falcon, Jane Oineza, Ria Atayde, Hashtag Ryle Santiago and Alex Castro This much is true: Carlo Aquino is good even when some of his films don’t turn out to be as satisfying as his performances. Certainly, it would be foolhardy for his naysayers to throw shade at the seven-time Urian nominee’s skill as an actor, whose accomplishments include award-worthy portrayals in “Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?,” “Throwback Today,” “Dyamper,” “Porno” and “Bar Boys.” Ignore the romance-related intrigues thrown his way. After all, they’re par for the course in the life and career of the 33-year-old former child actor, who has lately been enjoying a career resurgence of sorts Carlo Aquino “Gallen” started the actor’s current run as one of mainstream cinema’s most in-demand screen consorts. “Sobrang nakaka-overwhelm,” Carlo said when we met him for this one-on-one interview. “It did start with ‘Gallen,’ followed ... » Learn More about The 2nd coming of Carlo Aquino

Mercedes-Benz has finally filled the gap between its super-fast and mainstream compact cars. And it works nicely. When Mercedes-Benz renewed its small car family with an unprecedented number of body styles to choose from in the last decade, it was pretty clear that the Stuttgart-based premium car maker wanted to attract everyone, so to speak. The five-door A-Class, for one, transformed itself into a proper hatch for the young. Then there’s the coupe-like CLA-Class for fashionistas, and its Shooting Brake sibling, if that’s not enough. Uncles and aunties even had the choice of the frumpy-looking B-Class MPV. The menu of engines was also decent, if not exactly widely served. You could get frugal petrol and diesel engines, with some whose wick has been tuned to be a little more aggressive for the wilder guns of buyers. And in the usual Mercedes fashion, there was fire-breathing AMG power to go for. But all along, there was a space left unfilled in the performance ranks, that ... » Learn More about Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 4MATIC (2020) review

Image: Instagram/@lizzzuy Celebrity stylist Liz Uy introduced her baby boy Xavi on social media three days ago, after months of guesswork from fans about her pregnancy. In Uy’s picture, she can be seen carrying a cute baby boy wearing a brown onesie. She only captioned it with “Xavi.” Actors and A-listers such as Raymond Gutierrez, Anne Curtis, Heart Evangelista and Marian Rivera, among others, were the first to express their love for Uy and her journey into motherhood. But while the big reveal initially seemed to be a happy occasion for all, it didn’t take long for it to turn into an opened can of worms. Image: Instagram/@lizzzuy Netizens on Twitter started to speculate about the details of Uy’s pregnancy. It was known in the past couple of months that Uy was not seen in a lot of events and missed Curtis’ wedding to Erwan Heussaff back in November last year. In January, however, Georgina Wilson posted a picture of her with fellow It Girls Isabelle Daza, Uy, Curtis and ... » Learn More about Liz Uy introduces baby Xavi to the world; netizens speculate if she’s ‘third party’ in a marriage

LOS ANGELES: The time has finally come for audiences to hear Meghan and Harry describe the backstory and effects of their tumultuous split from royal life. Sunday night’s airing of a two-hour special hosted by Oprah Winfrey will provide the first, and unprecedented, peek into the couple’s departure from royal duties and the strains it has placed on them. How it’s received is likely to depend on which side of the Atlantic Ocean viewers are on. The show, which includes Winfrey’s interviews with Meghan and Harry, will air first in the United States — Meghan’s home country — at 8 p.m. Eastern. Hours earlier, Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, will deliver a royal address before Commonwealth Day. British audiences will wake up Monday to headlines and social media posts about Winfrey’s special, but won’t be able to see the full interview until Monday night when it airs on ITV. Royal interviews that aren’t tied to a specific topic are rare, and prior televised sessions have ... » Learn More about Harry, Meghan to delve into tough royal split with Oprah

Without a shadow of a doubt, you have heard the saying that the hearing aids of today are not anything like the ones of days gone by. You may have also heard that hearing aids are light-years ahead of where they used to be. The case holds true even when compared to devices only as old as five or ten years old. That is how fast technology is moving in the world of hearing aids . You may then be thinking, what exactly is it that makes the hearing aids of today so much better? Which of these new features could the hearing aids of old not deliver? The very simple and short answer is this: hearing aids, like all other electronic gadgets and devices, have benefited a great deal because of the digital revolution. Hearing aids of today are basically just miniature computers that pack some serious computing power in them. It is important to note, albeit a bit obvious, that before becoming digital, hearing aids used to be analog. Let us take a closer look at the phenomenon and try to ... » Learn More about Digital Hearing Aids vs. Analog Hearing Aids: Why Digital is Better

SINGAPORE - In her early years of volunteering with families in crisis, mental health advocate Dr Sally Thio encountered a young girl in need of help. Separated from her father and sister, the girl was struggling, trying to cope with her parents' divorce and her upcoming exams. Dr Thio said: "One night she called me and said 'everything is better' and that she wanted to treat me to breakfast the next morning. She seemed so happy when we had that breakfast. "Unfortunately, that was the last time I would see her. The reason she felt better that morning was because she had decided to end her life." The traumatic episode led Dr Thio to devote over 30 years to improving the lives of persons with mental health issues, culminating in her setting up local charity Caring for Life (CFL) in April last year. The charity, which aims to establish a community approach to suicide prevention, was founded by Dr Thio and philanthropists Keith Chua and Hsieh Fu Hua. Since August last year, it ... » Learn More about Mental health advocate sets up charity to guide community in suicide prevention

Exactly eight months ago today, this column focused on decarbonization using the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2020 as a benchmark. The EPI 2020 posited that countries who exhibited long-standing commitments and carefully constructed programs to protect public health, conserve natural resources, and reduce global emissions, as part of their concerted efforts to decarbonize their economies, achieve the highest level of sustainability. Humanity recognizes that preventing dangerous climate change and its devastating consequences is one of our defining tasks. We have seen and experienced that global emissions have soared by two-thirds in the three decades since international climate talks began. An internationally-recognized scientist once said that limiting global warming to 1.5 degree-Celsius as stipulated in the Paris Climate Agreement scientifically implies complete net decarbonization of the world’s energy and transport systems, industrial production, and land use by the ... » Learn More about Decarbonization as a strategy to pursue sustainability, stabilize Earth’s climate

SEO is fascinating. It shifts and changes day by day. And with every shift, the difficulty of pursuing it becomes more and more challenging. Getting backlinks (quality backlinks to be precise) has become much more difficult. However, there are some useful services that can make the process of link-building much easier. The most difficult part is finding providers that know how to do the job well. By the same token, crucial SEO strategies like link building have evolved to become a larger part of ranking criteria. This article will give you an insight into what a quality backlink is. We’ll also talk about essential factors to check before getting backlinks from guest posting providers. What are Exactly Is a Backlink? Backlinks are links to your domain from other sites. Also known as inbound links or incoming links, they indicate that your site is trustworthy. This tells search engines that your domain has authority. The more quality backlinks you have, the better your ... » Learn More about What are Quality Backlinks and How Can You Get Them to Your Website?

Editor’s note: The following is a submission from one of our readers who offered to share his recent experiences of going through the alternative state quarantine process and other requirements to enter Thailand recently and is currently wrapping up his quarantine period. He shares this to hopefully give others an idea of the experience. His thoughts, photos, and opinions are his own. This is PART FIVE. Part one can be found here. Also, part two can be found here. And, here is part three . Finally, here is part four . This continues directly from part four, we suggest you read that first. I was all set to leave the Grand Bella on Saturday, January 30th, and today was Thursday, January 28th. Bo, a Scottish man from Glasgow, whom I met during my exercise hour, was leaving and along with Joe, A London man who lived in the room next to mine, discussed our travel plans. We were all fans of Pattaya and stayed many times before.  Quickly the talk turned to money. Joe had a ‘ ... » Learn More about Reader mailbag/submission: My experience going through quarantine and coming back to Thailand part five