ISSUE #07

SPORT

Football: Champions League Drama

This week saw some exciting semifinal action in the UEFA Champions League. In the first leg to be held at Manchester City on Tuesday, the match ended in a tantalizing 2-2 draw against Real Madrid, leaving the tie perfectly poised on a knife-edge for the second leg. At the same time, Bayern Munich was having to really sweat out a 1-0 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain, thanks to a late goal scored by Robert Lewandowski, setting up an interesting return leg in Paris next week.

NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals Are Set

The NBA playoffs were at a heightened suspense level as conference finals match-ups were now set. Over in the East, the Milwaukee Bucks managed to withstand the Miami Heat in this cramp seven-game series. They will play the Boston Celtics, who swept the Shaq-O'Neals of Philadelphia. Over at the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets won their 16th-straight game series by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games; they are now to play the Phoenix Suns, who defeated the Golden State Warriors in a high-scoring series.

Formula 1 Preparations: Monaco Grand Prix

The big one next up on the calendar is the famously prestigious Monaco Grand Prix. But teams and drivers have been kept busy preparing. With Red Bull and Mercedes expected to be at the forefront of a battle for pole position and the win, Monegasque star Charles Leclerc will be keen to add a Ferrari win on Monaco streets after posting good performances in the early part of the season.

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs Heat Up

The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs continued toward the conference finals with a boiling temperature. In the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay squeezed past their nemesis, the Carolina Hurricanes. In the Western, the Avs played the Golden Knights in series that would hopefully produce the usual torrid action one has come to expect from this year's playoffs series.

Golf: Hopes High for the PGA Championship

Golf fans are looking forward to the start of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. The tournament features former winner Phil Mickelson as well Jon Rahm, currently ranked one in the world who hopes to vie for the championship, which is one of the highest-ranked in the game. The tournament will probably bear an engaging battle by the grounds- the conditions proving to be tough- based on the strength of the field.

MLB Highlights

Major League Baseball witnessed some stellar performances and surprise results for the week. It was only Thursday when New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge made his 20th home run of the season, but this statistic didn't stay long before it became a hot topic in circulation. The no-hitter was completed later in the day by the whole pitching staff of the Chicago Cubs versus the Cincinnati Reds. The San Diego Padres followed up their scorching start by continuing to be led by the amazing play of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado in the National League.

Boxing: Heavyweight Clash

Over In boxing, there was a heavyweight clash this week featuring Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder. The fight everyone had been waiting for did not leave anyone indifferent. In the 11th round, Fury stopped Wilder to retain his WBC heavyweight title by knockout. It was a truly epic battle, both fighters trying to show who had more resilience and power.

Ji Li

MEDICINE

Why are more young people getting colon cancer?

Colon cancer and how concered we should be about the near doubling of cases in recent years. The study identified four key symptoms linked to an increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer in younger adults. The symptoms included abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and iron deficiency anemia.

Recently statistics show there is a large increase in the proportion of colon and rectal cancer developing in people under the age of 55. As it has doubled over the past 20 years from 11% to 20%. Early onset cancer is defined as being diagnosed under the age of 50 and current recommendations for colorectal cancer screenings start at around age 45.

Symptoms of colon cancer:

Diarrhea is not uncommon. Iron deficiency anemia is not uncommon. And what was emphasized in the study was that having just one of these symptoms could almost double your risk of colon cancer.

What is the cause?

A multitude of factors can explain the rise of colon cancer rates. It may be due to how we live and work. Most of us engaged in any type of knowledge work where you’re sitting all day, there’s going to be health consequences. So lifestyle factors play a role, diet plays a role. Of course, a person’s health history, and even family history of colon cancer can also play a role.

By Tang Li

Can this newly discovered cause of chronic asthma transform its treatment?

Recent research has uncovered a hidden factor contributing to the persistent and often enervating symptoms of chronic asthma: cellular overcrowding in the airways. This discovery, detailed in a study published in Science News, sheds new light on the cellular dynamics at play in asthmatic lungs.

The study reveals that the overcrowding of certain cells, specifically airway smooth muscle cells, leads to the thickening of airway walls. This in turn, causes the airways to become more constricted and less capable of allowing efficient airflow. The resulting inflammation and difficulty in breathing are hallmarks of chronic asthma, affecting millions worldwide.

Researchers utilized advanced imaging techniques to observe the cellular architecture of asthmatic and non-asthmatic airways. They found that in asthma patients, these muscle cells proliferate excessively, crowding the airways and aggravating symptoms. This contrasts with the relatively orderly cellular arrangement seen in healthy lungs.

Understanding this mechanism opens new avenues for potential treatments. By targeting cellular overcrowding directly, future therapies could more effectively reduce airway constriction and improve the quality of life for asthmatic people. Current treatments focus mainly on reducing inflammation and relaxing airway muscles, but addressing the root cause of cellular proliferation could revolutionize asthma care.

This breakthrough highlights the importance of continued research into the cellular and molecular underpinnings of chronic diseases. As scientists delve deeper into these mechanisms, the hope for more effective, targeted therapies grows, offering new hope to those battling chronic asthma.

Jahnavi Baweja

ECONOMICS

Green private market investment by CALPERS

The California Public Empoyees’ Retirement System plans to invest over 25 billion US dollars into green private market investments that are relate to climate change. Being the largest public pension in the US, they are considering making thus investment in the private equity, real estate, and infrastructure market, with a strong interest in Asia and Europe. CALPERS believe that private market assets have climate investment opportunities. This is a very crucial step forward, as developments in renewable infrastructure will induce a clean energy transition. Moreover, such an investment can minimise the negative externalities of production in certain industries. Should governments look to subsidise such industries further?

Nickel price surge in New Caledonia

New Caledonia, previously the world’s third-biggest producer of electric vehicle battery metal, has been enduring protests due to a new establishment of voting rules. Due to this, detrimental effects on output have been suffered by French miner Eramet SA. This has led to the minder running its local unit at minimum capacity. The price of nickel has previously been reduced due to an increase in competition, but delays to mine licencing in those regions had led to New Caledonia charging higher prices again. These prices have further surged due to a shortage in supply. Could this add more disruption to the global nickel market?

Vihaan Poddar

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Indra Nooyi is a name synonymous with leadership, innovation, and resilience in the business world. Serving as the CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018, Nooyi not only broke the glass ceiling but also left an indelible mark on the corporate landscape.

*Credit : The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame*

Nooyi's journey is a testament to her exceptional vision and strategic acumen. Under her leadership, PepsiCo's revenues surged by more than 80%, showcasing her ability to drive growth in a highly competitive industry. Her strategic initiative, "Performance with Purpose," emphasized sustainable growth by integrating social and environmental considerations into the company's business model. This approach not only boosted PepsiCo's profitability but also set a new standard for corporate responsibility.

As a woman of Indian descent in a predominantly male-dominated arena, Nooyi faced and overcame numerous challenges. Her success has inspired countless women worldwide to aspire to leadership roles, proving that gender and ethnicity are not barriers to success. She has been a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion, underscoring the importance of varied perspectives in driving innovation and business success.

Indra Nooyi's legacy extends beyond her professional achievements. She is a role model for aspiring women leaders, demonstrating that with vision, hard work, and determination, the highest echelons of business are within reach.

Aishah Ahmad

TECHNOLOGY

China offers AI package to rival cloud computing

Chinese company Huawei recently released their “AI in a box” solutions to companies to comprehensively run their systems within the company, not relying on external sources. They have signed up over a dozen startups with the market expected to hit $2.3 billion according to Financial Times. This move is a threat to Western AI development and challenges companies offering SaaS-based AI solutions. It remains to be seen how these projects develop and what the response from Nvidia and other big tech companies will be.

Ayaan Cassim

GENERAL HEADLINES

Do it for the memes

GameStop is back baby, or at least it had a pretty meteoric rise. Yeah, it has risen from its grave. It literally had a 119% spike and 74% increase close. In layman terms, the number went big because people thought it would be funny if it did.

What do you mean by ‘risen?’

So, for a bit of backstory before I explain some stuff here. GameStop is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. Like it was also so popular that your journey as a gamer wasn’t complete if you didn’t make the pilgrimage. GameStop was a shrine for gamers, but as of late it has been on a decline and signs point to it being a dying company.

At least that’s what we thought before the infamous 2021 surge. More on that later, but this story mainly revolves around a subreddit known as r/wallstreetbets, one man known as Keith Gill, or better known as Roaring Kitty, and an army of people with Robinhood accounts.

GameStop will probably not fly to the moon, because it is kind of a bubble. But it is always nice to see a resurgence, and they gave a one billion dollar to short-selling hedge funds, the big guys that bet on a company’s downfall.

GameStop 2021: The story

A bandana-wearing day trader, Roaring Kitty led an army of redditors to invest in GME (ticker for GameStop) because he was pissed at hedge funds betting against everyone’s childhood favourite company.

He started a “diamond hands” movement, which refers to everyone holding onto the stock no matter what. Therefore, the term diamond hands. Most of these traders were on the platform Robinhood. Hilariously, this movement propelled the company into the Fortune 500. Yep, the thing that started as a meme ended up creating an insane resurgence for a company that was thought to be done for.

This also is a somewhat similar story to this surge. Our favourite trader gigachad, Roaring Kitty, came back on social media after a 3-year hiatus and simply posted a meme about a gamer just locking in. This then led to a whopping 175 million GameStop shares being exchanged.

There you have it folks, the power of memes. This is what “doing it for the meme” does. It creates a Fortune 500. By that logic, it would be really funny if y’all made us the most popular news outlet for the memes.

By Samar Shah