Features

By Andrew Marszal
Agence France-Presse

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood’s A-listers are staying home, but this Sunday’s Golden Globes could still offer plenty of reasons to party — from history-making female filmmakers to posthumous glory for a beloved Black film star. 

Second only to the Oscars, the season-opening Globes — which also honour the best in television — can massively boost or fatally dash the hopes of this year’s film awards frontrunners like “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Nomadland”.

Aaron Sorkin’s ensemble drama about anti-war riots in 1968, and Chloe Zhao’s paean to Americans roaming the West in vans, fuelled by their timely themes of protest and joblessness, are battling for the Globes’ top prize.

“If I had to guess... ‘Chicago 7’ is in good shape,” said Deadline awards columnist Pete Hammond. “It hits the zeitgeist... even though it takes place 50 years ago. And it’s got a big cast of stars.”

In contrast, “Nomadland” throws Oscar winner Frances McDormand in with a rag-tag bunch of non-actors who truly live on the open road — a “daring” move that may see it overtake its rivals, according to Variety awards editor Tim Gray.

“It’s the definition of a little film... a film that stays with you,” he said, adding he still tipped “Chicago 7” to win best drama film.

They will have to best Anthony Hopkins’ dementia drama “The Father”, #MeToo thriller “Promising Young Woman,” and “Mank”, David Fincher’s ode to “Citizen Kane”, which topped the overall nominations with six.

While the battle for best drama is tight, Zhao is seen as the clear favourite to scoop best director.

It would be a historic win, as she would be only the second female victor in the Globes’ long history, and the first woman of Asian descent.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association had nominated just five female directors in the last 77 years, but Zhao competes Sunday alongside Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) and Regina King (“One Night in Miami”).

“This is a year when women have strong movies... that is good news, and deserving,” said Hammond.

“But we’ll see how it goes — in the end, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin, two white guys, may win.”

‘Hard to resist’

Several movies with predominantly Black casts including “One Night in Miami” missed out on best film nominations from the HFPA’s mainly-white, 90-odd voters.

But one African American star is a strong bet for lead actor honours — the late Chadwick Boseman.

Boseman, who died last August from cancer after a string of seminal roles including “Black Panther”, put in an arguably career-best performance as a tragic young trumpet player in 1920s blues drama “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”.

“This is his best part, and the backstory is that he knew this might be his last performance — so that’s kind of hard to resist,” said Gray.

“But it’s not a guaranteed win,” he added, with Hopkins a formidable contender as well as Riz Ahmed as a musician going deaf in “Sound of Metal”.

On the actress side, Carey Mulligan’s “Promising Young Woman” — a revenge-seeker who lurks at bars, feigning drunkenness to lure men into revealing their own misogyny — leads a pack including McDormand and Viola Davis as legendary crooner Ma Rainey.

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes split most movie categories into drama and “musical or comedy”, with Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” sequel and the Disney+ film of hit musical “Hamilton” leading the latter fields.

Cohen also has a best supporting actor nod for “Chicago 7”, while the Globes offer “Hamilton” its best shot at film honours after the Oscars declared the taping of Broadway shows ineligible.

‘Subdued party’

In a Globes first, part of the show will take place down the road from Broadway at New York’s Rainbow Room, where Tina Fey will be joined by presenters including Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Amy Poehler will co-host a scaled-down remote broadcast from the Globes’ traditional base at a Beverly Hills hotel, as Globes organisers scramble to cope with California restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The A-list audience and nominees are expected to largely remain at home, accepting awards via videolink — similar to the format of September’s widely praised Emmys — although precise details remain under wraps.

While the Globes are typically known as a raucous, star-studded and champagne-soaked event, Hammond predicted a “subdued party atmosphere”.

That may not matter to the winners at Sunday’s ceremony, which due to pandemic-related delays is being held five days before voting begins for April’s Oscars.

“Those wins will be fresh,” said Gray. 

“If you win a Golden Globe... it’s a notice to Oscar voters — you’d better see this film before you vote, because it’s worth looking at.”

By Kelly Macnamara
Agence France-Presse

PARIS — The whimsical, wafting flight of butterflies may not give the impression of top aerodynamic performance, but recently published research suggests their large flexible wings could be perfectly designed to give them a burst of jet propulsion. 

Scientists at Lund University in Sweden set out to verify a decades-old theory that insects "clap" their wings together, squeezing out the air between with such force that it thrusts them forward. 

In their aerodynamic analysis of free-flying butterflies published in the journal Interface, they showed that the clap function does generate a jet of air propulsion. 

But they also found that the butterflies perform this move "in a far more advanced way than we ever realised", said co-author Per Henningsson, a professor in the department of biology at Lund University. 

At the moment the wings beat together they "were not just two flat surfaces slamming together", he told AFP.

Instead, they form a "pocket" shape believed to trap more air. 

When the researchers recreated this using mechanical wings, they found that those with butterfly-like flexibility that form this pocket at the moment of impact were 22 per cent more effective in the amount of force created and 28 per cent more efficient in the amount of energy used compared with rigid wings.

The team suggested that their findings could have uses for drones that use clapping wing propulsion. 

Predator evasion

Henningsson said the "dramatic improvement" in performance came as a surprise. 

"This is the type of finding that is the most exciting for a scientist — the ones you didn't really expect," he said. 

Butterfly wings "although conventionally considered aerodynamically inefficient" might be particularly good at forming this pocket shape, he added, suggesting they may have evolved enhance clap propulsion as a way to evade predators that might spot them as they take off. 

"To minimise the risk of capture, butterflies typically take off very fast and suddenly and many of them fly in an erratic and unpredictable manner," he said. 

"If indeed the clap is improved dramatically by the cupped shape of the wings this would allow a butterfly to take off faster and avoid being captured better, and hence you can imagine a strong selective pressure on this feature."

The study suggested other creatures — like fish or frogs — may also have developed clapping propulsion using cupped wings, fins or feet. 

Henningsson said while the theory of the wing clap has been around since the 1970s, studies on butterfly flight had often relied on tethered butterflies or used simulations. 

But improvements in technology to measure flow meant the authors were able to observe the creatures in natural flight.

NEW YORK — A new documentary series on the HBO network, “Allen vs Farrow”, paints a damning picture of Oscar-winning director Woody Allen, particularly regarding his alleged sexual abuse of young adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow.

Even if the four-part series contains no major revelations, it seems certain to further sully the already battered reputation of the ageing New York filmmaker.

Respected documentary directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering delve into Allen’s past, using testimony and legal documents — some not previously seen — to dig deeper than anyone before them.

Dylan Farrow has accused Allen of sexually abusing her in August 1992, when she was only seven years old — an allegation he has always denied. 

The documentary draws a line between the alleged abuse of Dylan and Allen’s relationship with the adoptive daughter of his then-partner Mia Farrow, Soon-Yi Previn, who is now his wife. 

More generally, the series examines his attraction to young girls. The documentary cites court documents and testimony indicating that Allen had sexual relations with Soon-Yi while she was a minor. 

Sixteen when they met, she is now 50; Allen is 35 years her senior.

On top of those disturbing elements, “Allen vs Farrow” details Allen’s supposed penchant for manipulation — in particular of the press — as he sought to undercut the damaging accusations and discredit Mia Farrow. 

The film strongly implies that he might have successfully derailed the two official investigations into the matter, neither of which resulted in charges being filed.

About complicity

More broadly, the documentary denounces the pre-#MeToo culture of male dominance, which allowed powerful men in show business and other fields to abuse their positions with impunity, sometimes with the full knowledge of others in their professional circles. 

“Allen vs Farrow” will have particular resonance in France, where it will be broadcast next month on the OCS network amid a recent series of allegations of incest involving several public figures.

The film also charts the way Allan Konigsberg — Woody Allen’s real name — continued to enjoy seemingly unshakable support from many in the cinema world even as Farrow lost out on roles and, she said, became persona non grata in Hollywood.

It was only in 2017, following the publication of an op-ed article by Dylan Farrow and with the very public support of her brother Ronan — a journalist and early hero of the #MeToo movement — that actors and actresses began to turn their backs on the octogenarian director, who remains isolated today. 

To filmmaker Dick, the message of the documentary reaches far beyond Allen, though it bears his name. “It’s really not about him,” Dick told the Washington Post. 

“It’s more about the systemic,” added Ziering. “This film is about complicity, the power of celebrity, the power of spin, how we all are viral and will believe something that’s repeated enough.”

“Allen vs Farrow” also examines Dylan Farrow, who opens up as never before and who, nearly 30 years later, still shows signs of deep trauma.

“There’s so much misinformation... so many lies,” she said. “I’ve been subjected to every kind of doubt, every kind of scrutiny and every kind of humiliation,” while her father “was able to just run amok.”

One major absence looms over the four hours of the series as it assembles its merciless indictment — that of Allen himself, though it does include extracts from his 2020 autobiography “Apropos of Nothing,” read by the director for the audiobook.

No one comes to Allen’s defence, not even wife Soon-Yi or adoptive son Moses, both of whom have defended him in the past but refused to take part in the documentary. 

Contacted by AFP for comment, Allen did not respond.

“I think a lot of people, when they see this — even people who right now are defending Woody Allen — I think they will either change their mind or examine things in a much different way,” said Dick.

PARIS — Several coronavirus variants with the potential to be more transmissible have caused global concern over whether existing vaccines will still protect the world from a virus that is constantly mutating. 

Here is what we know.

How many variants?

Viruses continually mutate as tiny errors are introduced each time they replicate. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is no different, and has already undergone several thousand mutations since it emerged in humans in late 2019.

Of the current known variants, three are particularly worrying: those initially detected in southeast England, South Africa and Brazil.

There is also another group of variant strains that are currently being studied in vitro, but aren’t yet circulating among the population.

“The coming weeks and months will tell us whether they fall into the worrying category of variants that spread rapidly, or if they will remain as variants that circulate weakly,” Etienne Simon-Loriere, head of viral evolution at France’s Institut Paster, told AFP.

All variants — more than 4,000 have been detected — are categorised according to the mutations they have acquired. Each occupies its own spot in the genetic family tree of SARS-CoV-2.

It’s a tree that is constantly growing branches.

One group named after the B.1.525 mutation has seen variants appear in Scotland, Nigeria, France and Australia. Others were recently detected in California, Zambia, Uganda and Finland.

Should we worry?

Very few mutations will materially alter the course of the pandemic. 

“Among the numerous SARS-CoV-2 variants that have been detected, only a very small proportion are of public health concern,” US government advisor Anthony Fauci wrote in an open letter published last week in the JAMA science journal.

The English, South African and Brazilian variants, however, all share a particular mutation — named N501Y — that is consequential.

The mutation occurs on the virus’ spike protein, which almost certainly makes it more effective at binding with human receptor cells. As a result, these strains are more infectious.

In addition, preliminary research has shown that the South African variant renders the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine significantly less effective.

More contagious?

“For the English variant, and increasingly the South African one, we are convinced that they have increased transmissibility,” said Simon-Loriere.

But given that infection rates depend on a variety of factors such as social distancing measures, it can be difficult to quantify the potential increase in transmissibility. 

British authorities have said since it was first identified that the English variant is 50-70 per cent more transmissible than original strains, based on local observations. 

But such an increased transmission rate hasn’t led to an explosion of new variant cases in all countries.

“There are several hypotheses to study. Perhaps the viral load is higher, or that the variant can enter more easily into human cells and multiply faster,” said Olivier Schwartz, head of the Pasteur Institut’s virus and immunity unit.

Researchers at Harvard University are investigating the idea that the English variant could lead to longer COVID-19 infections, making individuals more contagious for longer.

If that turns out to be the case, “a longer isolation period than the currently recommended 10 days after symptom onset may be needed”, the researchers concluded.

Are vaccines still effective?

Several studies have shown that vaccines may be less effective against the South African 501Y.V2 variant.

Two studies published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine conducted by principal vaccine manufacturers Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna showed that the presence of antibodies after vaccination was less pronounced in people exposed to the South African variant.

This would suggest diminished protection.

Schwartz’s team conducted a similar study and concluded that it was “far harder to protect someone against the South African variant”.

Despite the growing body of evidence, scientists warn against jumping to conclusions.

Even if vaccines are less effective against the South African variant, they point out, that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective at all.

In addition, studies have so far focused on neutralising antibodies from vaccinated or previously infected individuals. They do “not assess other types of potential immunity, such as memory T- and B-cell activity”, Fauci wrote.

What next?

One thing is certain: the SARS-CoV-2 virus will continue to mutate, and as long as case figures remain high globally, the chances of significant mutations will also increase.

This is why, experts say, it is crucial to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible in order to limit the risk of new variants emerging that will render current vaccines less effective.

The EU and US last week announced separate programmes aimed at speeding up genetic sequencing that should make it easier to identify new variants as they emerge.

And experts insist that measures such as distancing and mask wearing will continue to be vital, even as more and more people receive a vaccine.

Launched for 2021 in Middle East markets as a rugged and utilitarian mid-size SUV carrying the respected X-Terra nameplate after a 6-year hiatus, Nissan’s impressive gambit back into the off-road ready midsize SUV segment has otherwise been known as the Terra in eastern Asian market since 2018. 

Refreshingly unpretentious and authentic, yet well equipped and comfortable, the X-Terra however features slight aesthetic alterations and a single driveline option. Larger than its ostensible predecessor, it is however closer in size, concept and engineering to the previous generation Nissan Pathfinder SUV.

Ruggedly authentic

With body-on-chassis construction and longitudinal driveline, it is something of an off-road oriented alternative to the slightly larger, roomier and road-oriented modern transverse platform unibody Pathfinder. Alternatively viewed as a “junior” alternative to Nissan’s storied full-size Patrol SUV, the new X-Terra is more closely related to Nissan’s acclaimed Nissan Navara pick-up truck, albeit modified for SUV service. High-riding, with superb 243mm ground clearance, thee X-Terra competes with the truck-based Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Montero Sport.

Similar to European market Navara models, the X-Terra retains its rugged live-axle rear, but ditches the more commercial vehicle leaf spring rear suspension for a more sophisticated multi-link coil sprung live-axle set-up, with improved ride comfort and handling properties. Sitting off the ground with an inherently commanding stature underlined by its high waistline, rear lights and bonnet line, the X-terra is statuesque with its prominently ridged bonnet, bulging wheel-arches, muscular body surfacing and chunky take on the V-motion grille motif.

Off-road adventurer

Shorter than the Navara pick-up it is related to, the X-Terra’s proportions include short overhangs to help achieve its enviably generous 32.3° approach and 26.6° departure angles, while its equal width to height ratio lends it an underlying perception of assertiveness, hulking road presence and overt expression of its generous clearance and vertical wheel travel. Little altered over its Asian market Terra sister model, the Middle East X-Terra however features a more complex and vertically-oriented bumper design with a more prominent lower lip skid plate.

Positioned longitudinally and far back behind its wide-spaced chrome grille slats, the X-Terra is powered by Nissan’s familiar naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, mated to a smooth, succinct shifting and more conventional 7-speed torque converter gearbox rather than its Pathfinder stablemate’s continuously variable transmission. Livelier than expected given its substantial 1.9-tonne weight — even in more basic and lighter SE 4WD specification, as driven — the X-Terra however well utilises its output to best effect with somewhat aggressive gearing, in the absence of a more powerful V6 option.

Effective engineering

Developing 165BHP at 6,000rpm but more biased for torque output — with its “under-square” engine design — at 178lb/ft at 4,000rpm, the X-Terra is responsive from standstill and in urban traffic. Progressive, linear and eager from idling to rev limit, and with moderately high peak output points, the X-Terra nevertheless unleashes much of its torque early in the rev range and across the mid-range. Not exactly a fast car, the X-Terra is however certainly as quick as it need be, with smooth delivery and responsive throttle control.

Confident and capable at speed and even on steep inclines, one however needs to work its gears and rev hard and high to hustle it along at a brisk pace. Estimated to be capable of 0-100km/h in approximately 10.5-seconds and returning estimated 8.77l/100km fuel efficiency, the X-Terra drives the rear wheels under normal conditions, during which it is balanced and committed through corners for a vehicle of its height, weight and size. Meanwhile, a brake-based limited slip system enhances on-road agility and off-road traction.

Grounded composure

Driven in four-wheel-drive mode, the X-Terra makes short work of loose surfaces, while engaging low ratio four-wheel-drive mode further improves off-road ability in more extreme conditions calling for high power crawling pace. Higher specification Titanium and Platinum models meanwhile receive a locking rear differential — in addition other assistance equipment — to keep both wheels turning at the same rate for yet more effortless off-road prowess. Also included is electronic hill descent control, while its suspension design allows for plenty of wheel travel, axle articulation and surface contact.

A more rewarding drive than one would expect for its segment, one becomes accustomed to the X-Terra’s on-road characteristics, limits and nuances in short order once on brisk, open, rural switchbacks, where its tall geared hydraulic assisted steering lightens up and becomes second nature in the subtle but detailed information it relates in terms of road texture, car position and approaching grip limits. Turing in tidily and eagerly, the X-Terra remains committed through corners, with little body lean despite its height and weight.

Committed comfort

Finding a great compromise between road manners, ride comfort and rugged durability, the X-Terra’s sophisticated double wishbone front suspension is fluent and forgiving as it pounces from one corner to the next over poorly paved and winding mountain routes. Its coil sprung rear live axle suspension meanwhile dispatches potholes, bumps, lumps and assorted imperfections with unexpected poise and panache, transmitting discrete feedback but remaining settled and firmly fixed into the tarmac. Settled on rebound from sharp dips and large bumps alike, the X-Terra feels comfortably grounded.

Gripping hard through corners, one can however induce mild yet predictably balanced over-steer with a hint of wheel-spin, but not the axle hop of a leaf spring system. Taking punishing road textures in its stride with is tough high sidewall tyres, the X-Terra meanwhile has a high level of body rigidity, with scant little of the shudders associated with some lesser body-on-frame vehicles. Refined and confident, it is stable and well-insulated on highway, and with an 11.4 metre turning circle, is more manoeuvrable than its dimensions might suggest.

Unpretentiously pleasant

With its frame sitting high, the X-Terra has a commanding driving position with good long distance visibility, tilt/reach steering adjustability, and supportive, comfortable and ergonomic manually adjustable SE spec fabric seats. But with its bulging bodywork and high waistline, one does have to rely on its big side mirrors, rear sensor and intuition to manoeuvre in narrow confines. Titanium spec however introduces a reversing camera, while Platinum specs adds a roof rear display, blind spot warning and other assistance systems for added safety and manoeuvring confidence. 

Well-equipped even in SE trim, the X-Terra is pleasantly sporty, modern, uncomplicated and intuitive inside with good textures and materials, if not pretentious or too precious. Spacious inside, the X-Terra does however give away some cabin practicality to its Pathfinder sister, in terms of second and third row seating. That said, split tilt, slide and tumble second row seats are versatile for comfort, space and access to the smaller third row. Boot space is meanwhile generous, but third row seats don’t fold fully flush with the floor.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• EEngine: 2.5-litre, in-line 4-cylinders 
• Bore x stroke: 89 x 100mm
• Valve-train: 16-valve, variable valve timing, DOHC
• Gearbox: 7-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
• Drive-train: Low gear transfer case, optional locking rear differential 
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 165 (167) [123]@ 6,000rpm
• Specific power: 66.3BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 86BHP/tonne
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 178 (241) @ 4,000rpm
• Specific torque: 96.8Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 125.7Nm/tonne
• 0-100km/h: 10.5-seconds (estimate)
• Fuel consumption: 8.77-litres/100km (estimate)
• Fuel capacity: 78-litres
• Height: 1,865mm
• Width: 1,865mm
• Length: 4,900mm
• Wheelbase: 2,850mm
• Tread, F/R: 1,565/1,570mm
• Minimum Ground clearance: 243mm
• Approach/departure angles: 32.3°/26.6°
• Kerb weight: 1,917kg
• Gross vehicle weight: 2,600kg
• Seating capacity: 7
• Steering: Power-assisted rack and pinion
• Turning radius: 11.4-metres
• Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones/multi-link live axle, coil springs
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs
• Tyres: 255/65R17
• Warranty: 300,000km or 5-years
• Price, on-the-road, as driven in SE 4WD specification: JD37,900

By Dr Mona Choueiry
Paediatrician

Many people enjoy music, but did you know that it can be good for your physical, mental and emotional health? It can help improve medical outcomes, decrease stress levels and even increase blood supply to the brain, more than a physical workout or laugh!

Music has been a way of communicating feelings and thoughts across various cultures and historical eras and has proven to alter emotional states. Music is the language of love and romance, joy and sadness, reminiscence and memories.

Why is music in every aspect of our daily lives? 

•Music is played in hospital lobbies, dentists’ offices and operating rooms worldwide to decrease stress and pain in patients, especially for those with cancer. Musicians visit children in hospitals to bring enthusiasm, happiness and hope

•Music lifts the mood and relieves anxiety in new mothers and the elderly, especially in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients

•In malls, music is played to attract customers to stay, linger and shop

•Music brings enthusiasm to sporting events and enhances athletic performance

•Calming music decreases impulsivity and improves pro-social behaviour

•Music encourages optimistic attitudes in people who are withdrawn or struggle with depression; it pushes them to be more engaged with peers and family 

•Music, paired with pitch and rhythm, enhances learning and recall. For example, we learn our ABC’s better as a song

•Learning to play an instrument enhances memory, attention and the ability to master language skills

Music therapy

Music therapy can be helpful for patients with disabilities, certain illnesses, and injuries. It involves listening to music, creating and interpreting music, singing, improvisation, analysing lyrics and playing an instrument. Here are areas music therapy can aid in:

•Speech and communication with autism children 

•Sleep and weight gain in premature babies

•Asthma control in children

•Grief and bereavement

•Brain injury: speech repair, memory and motor skills improvement and mood lifting

•Substance abuse rehabilitation

•Mental health management of patients with depression and schizophrenia

•Pain alleviation

Different types of 

music and their effects

•The Mozart effect: Listening to a Mozart Piano Sonata can increase mathematical skills and spatial-visual abilities

•Binaural beats (when you hear two tones, one in each ear, that are slightly different in frequency): Sounds of nature, such as rainfall in the alpha, theta and delta waves are known as the happy waves. These have calming soothing effects, inducing less stress, more happiness, deeper sleep, better memory, more creativity and easy learning

•Grunge music: Heavy metal rock, for example, will induce sadness, hostility and fatigue, even in teenagers who like this kind of music

•Pop, rock, oldies and classical music: This genre of music makes adolescents more friendly, relaxed, optimistic and calm

•Instrumental Baroque music: Look up “Baroque Music for Studying and Brain Power” on YouTube since it can improve attention and reasoning in children

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

NEW YORK — Suits and tailored shirts are out, sweatpants and pyjamas are in: remote working is changing work clothes habits, and while vaccines may bring back some formality, old-school office attire should emerge from the pandemic far less starched and strict.

“For the last year, everybody has just been dressed from the waist up, wearing a nice short for Zoom calls,” quipped stylist Sascha Lilic.

Many workers who have already returned to offices notice a new relaxed vibe. 

“I saw someone wearing just their socks when they walked through to get something from another department,” recalled Deanna Narveson, a journalist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“I think I’ve been dressing slightly more casual myself,” added Narveson, who nevertheless makes sure she puts on “real clothes” when working from home.

According to employees at several companies, the casualness has happened by itself without management or HR teams intervening.

“Shorts and T-Shirts at the Pentagon was pretty new,” said Matt Triner, boss of IT consulting firm Hunter Strategy, which the US government has contracted to do several projects.

The relaxation of dress codes in the professional world was already under way long before the pandemic, with the tech sector and start-up generation leading the way.

It was even catching on at banks.

“We have had a ‘flexible’ dress code policy for almost two years now, which encourages our people to use their own judgment for what is appropriate to wear for their work day,” said a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs.

The pandemic has seen the trend toward comfort accelerate, though.

“Suits and ties were already going away in IT. The pandemic gave the last hangers-on an excuse to let go,” said Triner.

The trend has been catastrophic for formal menswear companies like Brooks Brothers and the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse, which both declared bankruptcy last year.

New York designer David Hart, a specialist in luxury men’s ready-to-wear items, has taken “a step back” from tailoring from the time being to focus on knitwear, masks, sweaters and polo shirts.

‘Disruptive’

The pandemic will have “lasting consequences” in the way people dress for work, particularly men, according to Lilic.

“The outfit will become more casual. It will still be a suit, but there might be a drawstring waist or elasticated waist,” he said.

Lilic, who has worked with several major fashion houses including Hugo Boss and Elie Saab, predicts more loafers and a lot fewer ties.

“The open collar shirt is going to be great,” he told AFP.

The shift is already visible among fashion brands, which are pushing more and more cotton and linen jackets as well as polo shirts and even simple sneakers.

Workplace looks will become more individualistic, but also respectful of the office environment, Lilic believes.

“It will respect more of your personality,” he said. “But I don’t think it is going to be so impactful on men’s fashion that everybody’s going to turn up in their banking office as a rapper.”

Appearance, and some formality are “still important to some customers,” said Triner, though “as customers get younger, this is changing rapidly,” he added.

“I think the suit will stay but it won’t have the blatant physical effect. It will less [be] something to hide behind,” said Lilic.

For American designer David Hart, “there will be a strong urge for men to start dressing up again” after the pandemic.

“I think that people will start dressing up for themselves and not because they are required to for work,” he said, confident that the rise of men’s fashion will continue.

Hart, whose brand was built on tailored jackets and trousers, even dreams of a post-pandemic world where “suits and ties will become disruptive.” 

“The man wearing a suit will be the new rebel,” he said.

By Marlowe Hood and  Eléonore Hughes

PARIS — A male Springbok praying mantis looking for a hook up doesn't have to worry about a female stealing his heart away. 

There is, however, a very good change she'll bite his head off, and he knows it.

Indeed, 60 per cent of sexual encounters between Springboks — one of nearly 2,000 mantis species across the globe — end in males being eaten as snack.

"Males play Russian roulette whenever they encounter cannibalistic females," explained Nathan Burke, an entomologist at the University of Auckland and an expert on mantis mating rituals.

All male mantises show extreme caution when approaching a prospective partner. Hard to blame them.

But whereas most will sneak up from behind or distract the female with a tasty morsel, the Springbok has an entirely different — and previously unreported — strategy for staying alive, according to findings published Wednesday in Biology Letters.

"Under threat of cannibalistic attack, males try to subdue females by pinning them down in violent struggles," said Burke, co-author with colleague Gregory Holwell of the study.

Males who win the lovers' tussle are far more likely to succeed in consumating the relationship, "which suggests that wrestling is both a mating tactic and a survival tactic," he added.

The key to victory, according to gladiatorial experiments with 52 pairs of mantises, was striking first.

If the male was quicker to the draw and grabbed the female with its serrated raptorial forelegs, he stood a 78 per cent chance of escaping unscathed. 

And when, in addition, the male inflicted a serious but non-fatal wound to the abdomen, he kept his head every time.

"I was very surprised to discover that males injure females while trying to subdue them for mating," said Burke. "Nothing like that has ever been observed in mantises before."

If the female grasped first, however, males were always killed and devoured. 

Asexual reproduction

Overall, males came out top more than half the time in these jousts, which lasted 13 seconds on average. 

Winning the match did not automatically lead to mating — coupling followed only two-thirds of the time, and even then the male wound up in the female's stomach half the time.

The bright green Springbok mantis, aka Miomantis caffra, is native to southern Africa, but has spread to New Zealand, southern Europe and California, probably through the pet trade. 

The nutrients gained when a female praying mantis eats her suitor benefit her offspring as they grow. 

Sexual cannibalism — when the female of a species consumes the male during or after mating — is also known among spiders, such as the black widow, and scorpions. 

Typically smaller males do what they can to avoid getting gobbled up, including playing dead. 

But female Springbok mantises have another trick up their spiky sleeve: the ability to reproduce asexually, or without any help from males.

"They can produce clones of themselves if they don't mate," said Burke. 

Having this Plan B fallback raises an interesting question: if females are so good at cannibalising males and can reproduce without sex, how do males continue to exist?

"That's what motivated me to look so closely at male mating tactics," Burke said.

Sexual conflict theory, he explained, tells us that males in this situation should evolve counter-measures to help them mate and stay relevant. 

And sure enough, that is what the researchers found.

"It's a fascinating example of how sexual conflict can lead to the evolution of mating tactics that help one sex but hinder the other."

WASHINGTON — Sixty-six million years ago, a huge celestial object struck off the coast of what is now Mexico, triggering a catastrophic “impact winter” that eventually wiped out three-quarters of life on Earth, including the dinosaurs.

A pair of astronomers at Harvard say they have now resolved long standing mysteries surrounding the nature and origin of the “Chicxulub impactor”. 

Their analysis suggests it was a comet that originated in a region of icy debris on the edge of the solar system, that Jupiter was responsible for it crashing into our planet, and that we can expect similar impacts every 250 million to 750 million years.

The duo’s paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports this week, pushes back against an older theory that claims the object was a fragment of an asteroid that came from our solar system’s Main Belt.

“Jupiter is so important because it’s the most massive planet in our solar system,” lead author Amir Siraj told AFP.

Jupiter ends up acting as a kind of “pinball machine” that “kicks these incoming long-period comets into orbits that bring them very close to the Sun”.

So-called “long-period comets” come from the Oort cloud, thought to be a giant spherical shell surrounding the solar system like a bubble that is made of icy pieces of debris the size of mountains or larger. 

The long-period comets take about 200 years to orbit the Sun, and are also called sungrazers because of how close they pass.

Because they come from the deep freeze of the outer solar system, comets are icier than asteroids, and are known for the stunning gas and dust trails that they produce as they melt.

But, said Siraj, the evaporative impact of the Sun’s heat on sungrazers is nothing compared to the massive tidal forces they experience when one side faces our star.

“As a result, these comets experience such a large tidal force that the most massive of them would shatter into about a thousand fragments, each of those fragments large enough to produce a Chicxulub size impactor, or dinosaur-killing event on Earth.”

Siraj and his co-author Avi Loeb, a professor of science, developed a statistical model that showed the probability that long-period comets would hit Earth that is consistent with the age of Chicxulub and other known impactors.

The previous theory about the object being an asteroid produces an expected rate of such events that was off by a factor of about ten compared to what has been observed, Loeb told AFP.

‘A beautiful sight’

Another line of evidence in favour of the comet origin is the composition of Chicxulub: only about a tenth of all asteroids from the Main Belt, which lies between Mars and Jupter, are made up of carbonaceous chondrite, while most comets have it.

Evidence suggests the Chicxulub crater and other similar craters, such as the Vredefort crater in South Africa that was struck about two billion years ago, and the million-year-old Zhamanshin crater in Kazakhstan, all had carbonaceous chondrite.

The hypothesis can be tested by further studying these craters, ones on the Moon, or even by sending out space probes to take samples from comets.

“It must have been a beautiful sight to see this rock approaching 66 million years ago, that was larger than the length of Manhattan Island,” said Loeb, though ideally we’d like to learn to track such objects and devise ways to deflect them if necessary.

Loeb added he was excited by the prospect of the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile becoming operational next year.

The telescope might be able to see tidal disruption of long-period comets “and will be extremely important in making forecasts for definitely the next 100 years, to know if anything bad could happen to us.”

Though Siraj and Loeb calculated Chicxulub-like impactors would occur once every few hundreds of millions of years, “it’s a statistical thing, you say, ‘on average, it’s every so often’ but you never know when the next one will come,” said Loeb.

“The best way to find out is to search the sky,” he concluded.