Features

PARIS — The traces of genetic material that humans constantly shed wherever they go could soon be used to track individual people, or even whole ethnic groups, scientists said on Monday, warning of a looming “ethical quagmire”. 

A recently developed technique can glean a huge amount of information from tiny samples of genetic material called environmental DNA, or eDNA, that humans and animals leave behind everywhere — including in the air.

The tool could lead to a range of medical and scientific advances, and could even help track down criminals, according to the authors of a new study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

But it also poses a vast range of concerns around consent, privacy and surveillance, they added.

Humans spread their DNA — which carries genetic information specific to each person — everywhere, by shedding skin or hair cells, coughing out droplets, or in wastewater flushed down toilets.

In recent years, scientists have been increasingly collecting the eDNA of wild animals, in the hopes of helping threatened species.

For the new research, scientists at the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience had been focused on collecting the eDNA of endangered sea turtles.

‘Human genetic bycatch’

But the international team of researchers inadvertently collected a massive amount of human eDNA, which they called “human genetic bycatch”.

David Duffy, a wildlife disease genomic professor at the Whitney Laboratory who led the project, said they were “consistently surprised” by the amount and quality of the human eDNA they collected.

“In most cases the quality is almost equivalent to if you took a sample from a person,” he said.

The scientists collected human eDNA from nearby oceans, rivers and towns, as well as from areas far from human settlements. 

Struggling to find a sample not tainted by humans, they went to a section of a remote Florida island inaccessible to the public.

It was free of human DNA — at least until a member of the team walked barefoot along the beach. They were then able to detect eDNA from a single footprint in the sand.

In Duffy’s native Ireland, the team found human DNA all along a river, with the exception of the remote mountain stream at its source.

Taking samples from the air of a veterinary hospital, the team captured eDNA that matched the staff, their animal patient and viruses common in animals. 

‘Perpetual genetic surveillance’?

One of the study’s authors, Mark McCauley of the Whitney Laboratory, said that by sequencing the DNA samples, the team was able to identify if a person had a greater risk of diseases such as autism and diabetes.

“All of this very personal, ancestral and health-related data is freely available in the environment, and it’s simply floating around us in the air right now,” McCauley told an online press conference.

“We specifically did not examine our sequences in a way that we would be able to pick out specific individuals because of the ethical issues,” he said.

But that would “definitely” be possible in the future, he added.

“The question is how long it takes until we’re at that stage.”

The researchers emphasised the potential benefits of collecting human eDNA, such as tracking cancer mutations in wastewater, discovering long-hidden archaeological sites or revealing the true culprit of a crime using only the DNA they left in a room.

Natalie Ram, a law professor at the University of Maryland not involved in the research, said the findings “should raise serious concern about genetic privacy and the appropriate limits of policing”.

“Exploiting involuntarily shed genetic information for investigative aims risks putting all of us under perpetual genetic surveillance,” she wrote in a commentary on the study. 

The authors of the study shared her concerns.

McCauley warned harvesting human eDNA without consent could be used to track individual people or even target “vulnerable populations or ethnic minorities”.

It is why the team decided to sound the alarm, they said in a statement, calling for policymakers and scientists to start working on regulation that could address the “ethical quagmire”.

An electric-powered compact crossover that has taken the Jordanian market by storm, the Volkswagen ID.4 was launched in 2020 at the vanguard of the German brand’s drive towards electrification. 

A global car sold in Europe, the US and China, but not officially offered in the Middle East, the ID.4’s huge popularity in Jordan through independent grey market importers starkly highlights the chasm between Jordanian market needs and the GCC market, to which most global manufacturers’ regional operations and products are geared towards.

The Chinese connection

Another case that underlines the shortcomings of lumping Jordan and other non-GCC nations with different economic and import duty regimes in a broad Middle East sales region, the popularity of Chinese-built ID.4 variants quite visibly and significantly outstrip those of its closest officially-imported Tiguan model in Jordan. Widely available in two guises, Chinese ID.4s are produced in collaboration with two different manufacturing partners, and include the featured ID.4 Crozz, built by FAW-Volkswagen and the ID.4 X, built by SAIC-Volkswagen, bearing a slightly longer and more jutting horizontally-oriented bumper design.

Engineered as a purpose-built EV, the ID.4 Crozz’s design is sharp, sleek and flowingly curvy in its lines and extremities, but is nevertheless bulky with its high flanks necessitated by its big underbody battery pack. That said, the ID.4 use black lower cladding and massive alloy wheels starting from 19-inches and going up to 21-inches, to reduce its visual height and distance between wheel-arch apex to bonnet surface. Faux side intakes and slim squinting headlights meanwhile lend its fascia a more muscular appearance in the absence of a functional grille.

Classic configuration

Something of a cross between a modern Tiguan and Volkswagen’s defining classic Beetle, the ID.4’s body style and size may owe more to former, but its rear-motor layout harks back to the latter. Powered by an 84.8kWh battery pack, the more powerful higher spec Crozz Pure+ and Pro versions feature a compact electric motor producing 201BHP and 228lb/ft torque. Driving the rear wheels through a single-speed automatic gearbox, the ID.4 Crozz Pure+ is estimated to carry its hefty estimated 2.1-tonne mass through 0-100km/h in around 8.5-second and onto a 160km/h maximum.

More balance in output than most EVs, the ID.4’s motor still delivers a near instant and muscular burst of torque from standstill, but this is not so much as to as easily overpower its driven rear wheels. The ID.4 instead delivers a similar level of power, which makes it drive with a more progressive and linear fashion. Responsive at low speed and versatile in accumulating speed when cruising, the ID.4’s best work — like most single-speed EVs — is accomplished at moderate velocities, with its rate of acceleration dropping off somewhat past highway speeds.

Comfortable commuter

With a claimed 550km single charge driving range, the ID.4 would be expected to deliver somewhat less range in rear world conditions, topography and driving style. Charging time using a fast non-domestic DC charger is as short as 30-minutes for a 30-80 per cent charge. Even if quick to charge using such a charger when available, the ID.4, or any EV, however, fail to provide the quick convenience of re-fuelling a combustion engine vehicle. Meanwhile, AC charging is estimated at between around 7 to 11 hours, depending on type of charger and electricity supply.

Quiet and smooth in operation, the ID.4 is a relaxed cruiser that is at its most efficient in a stop/start urban environment, where its generous torque comes in handy and doesn’t require additional gears, while regenerative brakes can more often recoup energy. An accomplished commuter vehicle that can be recharged between long stop destinations, the ID.4 is a decidedly dedicated on-road vehicle, with no off-road pretensions owing to its low battery pack, two-wheel drive, lack of low-range gears, long low front bumper, and ground clearance only moderately better than a saloon car.

Subtly sporty

Easy to manoeuvre in town with its light electric-powered steering, reversing camera and parking sensors, the ID.4 Crozz’ rear-motor, rear-drive configuration meanwhile develops plenty of traction when launching from standstill, in addition subtly sport dynamic characteristics, vaguely reminiscent of exotic rear engine sports cars. Tidy and comparatively eager on turn-in with its somewhat rear-biased weighting and low centre of gravity, the ID.4 feels grounded and well controls body lean, while its wide 255/50R19 rear tires dig in to tarmac as one comes back on the accelerator to power out by mid-corner.

Comfortable and well insulated when cruising and pleasantly refined, the ID.4 well absorbs most road imperfections, but can feel slightly firm over more jagged bumps and potholes. Uncluttered inside with its horizontally-oriented design, digital instrumentation and large tablet-style infotainment screen, it has fresh ambiance that is somewhat up-market, but not precious or overstated. Driving position is supportive, well adjustable and comfortable with good front views, while rear space is reasonably good. Well equipped with safety convenience, assistance and infotainment features including lane departure assistance, all but top spec Pro models but lack a rear armrest.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: Rear-mounted permanent magnet synchronous electric motor
• Battery: Lithium, 84.8kWh
• Gearbox: 1-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 201 (204) [150]
• Power-to-weight: 94.3BHP/tonne (estimate)
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 228 (310)
• Torque-to-weight: 145.5Nm/tonne (estimate)
• 0-100km/h: 8.5-seconds (estimate)
• Top speed: 160km/h
• Range, NEDC: 550km
• Charging time, DC fast charger, 30-80 per cent/AC slow charging: 30-minutes/11-hours
• Length: 4,592mm
• Width: 1,852mm
• Height: 1,629mm
• Wheelbase: 2,765mm
• Luggage volume, minimum: 512-litres
• Kerb weight: 2,130kg (estimate)
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Suspension: MacPherson struts/five-link
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/drums, regenerative
• Tyres, F/R: 235/55R19/255/50R19

By Rania Sa’adi
Licensed Rapid Transformational Therapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist

Many people struggle through life because of financial difficulties. The race to make ends meet, goes on endlessly, and the finish line becomes a mirage. When does is it stop? And how can we achieve our goals?

What most people don’t realise is that we start formulating our beliefs about money as early as our early childhood. Growing up, we pick up those beliefs from our parents, environment and experiences. And once we do, these beliefs become part of our identity and lifestyle, affecting our financial decisions and choices and therefore the results we are getting.

Changing beliefs

So, the first step to change your financial situation is to change your beliefs about money. To change your beliefs, you must dig deeper and examine what they really are. Some of the most common beliefs about money are:

• Money is the root of all evil

• Money is scarce and I need to always to fight for it 

• Only bad people make good money

• No one in my family has money, why should I?

• If I make money, I’ll lose all my friends

• If I make money, people will take advantage of me

• If I make money, I will get robbed; I am not safe

We all know by now that most of our choices, behaviours and decisions come from the subconscious mind. If we subconsciously believe that having money will leave us friendless and unsafe, the subconscious mind will do its best to keep us away from having it!

The subconscious mind

Studies have shown that 70 per cent of lottery winners end up bankrupt within five years after receiving a large financial windfall. The reason behind it is that the subconscious mind always takes you towards the “familiar” and rejects the “unfamiliar” because it is “unsafe”; that includes having that big amount of money.

The first and foremost function of your mind is to protect you from the unfamiliar. Therefore, your subconscious mind will make you do whatever it takes to help you lose that money, be it by making bad investments or simply spending it all. It will make you go back to what you are used to, even a bad financial situation, which feels comfortable because that’s what you know.

All this shows us how powerful our beliefs and our subconscious mind are, when it comes to making or losing money. So, by knowing this, we can start by examining our beliefs more deeply. Once we figure them out, to take note if any of them are limiting or hindering we from reaching the financial status that we seek. Once we recognise those limiting beliefs, it becomes easier to change them.

Challenging your beliefs

The way to change your beliefs is quite simple: You just challenge them and you do that by simply finding just one example to counter it. Here are a few examples:

• Money is the root of all evil: Ask yourself, do you know anyone who has used their money for a good cause? The answer is probably “Yes”

• Only bad people and frauds make good money: Ask yourself, are there good people in the world who make money in decent ways? The answer is probably “Yes”

• If I make money, I will get robbed; I am not safe: Ask yourself, have you heard of any middle-class person with a decent amount of money who got robbed as well? “Yes”

Changing your beliefs means changing your mindset, and when you do that, you start behaving and acting in a way that brings you more money because now you accept it into your life.

Make the unfamiliar familiar by challenging your limiting beliefs and telling yourself that you deserve it and are worthy of it.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

PARIS — Scientists on Wednesday unveiled the first draft of a human “pangenome”, a more diverse and accurate DNA blueprint for our species that they hope will help shed light on a range of diseases.

The announcement was hailed by researchers as a major scientific milestone that “heralds a new age of genetic diagnosis”. 

The first human genome was sequenced in 2003, providing a reference point for all other human sequences to be compared to.

The breakthrough allowed scientists to identify genes that cause specific diseases, paved the way for the still growing field of personalised medicine, and shed new light on human evolution.

However 70 per cent of the genetic data for this original genome reference came from a single person — a man who answered a newspaper advert in Buffalo, New York, in 1997 — with snippets from 20 others.

This meant it had many gaps and did not work as well as a reference for people from other ethnicities and races, prompting concerns about bias and inequality.

In a series of papers published in the journal Nature, a large team of international researchers described the first draft of a more inclusive “pangenome” reference that they say more accurately reflects humanity.

The group, called the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium, said they have now compiled the genomes of 47 people from different backgrounds — and plan to increase that number to 350 by the middle of next year.

The 47 people are anonymous, having consented for their genomes to be used as part of a previous project.

More than half came from Africa, 34 per cent from the Americas, with six people from Asia and one, an Ashkenazi Jew, from Europe. Oceania was not represented.

The researchers said that they were looking into how best to include people from other areas and backgrounds as the project continues.

The genome is the genetic blueprint of every organism — the complete set of DNA containing the instructions it needs to survive and thrive.

Any two people’s genomes are more than 99 per cent identical — but the tiny differences can point towards an individual’s potential to develop particular diseases.

So the pangenome reference could have a vast — and difficult to predict — range of future applications for health, the researchers said.

One of the study co-authors, Benedict Paten of the University of California, said it would make it easier to spot small differences in new genetic samples.

“This will ultimately help improve genetic testing and simultaneously give us a clearer understanding of the contribution of all types of genetic variation to health and disease,” he told an online press conference.

Another study co-author, Erich Jarvis of Rockefeller University, said just one example was gene clusters known as major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which are involved in the body’s immune system.

“It was impossible to study MHC diversity” previously because it differs so much between every person, Jarvis said.

But the pangenome reference “will help us understand how immune responses against specific pathogens vary among people”, he said. 

It could also help better match organ transplant donors with patients, he added in a statement.

David Adelson, an expert in genetics at Australia’s University of Adelaide who was not involved in the research, said that even in the draft phase, the pangenome had already increased the accuracy of detecting genetic changes by 34 per cent.

“This paper heralds a new age of genetic diagnosis, that will benefit people from all ancestries, unlike our current reference genome that does not reflect all the diversity of humanity,” he said.

The pangenome represents “a milestone in human genetics”, but challenges remain, two US experts, Arya Massarat and Melissa Gymrek, warned in Nature.

As well as including more samples from currently under-represented groups, adoption will take time as scientists need to be trained how to use the new reference, they said.

Nonetheless, “this will ultimately make it easier to discover genetic variants that mediate physical and clinical traits and — it is to be hoped — will eventually lead to better health outcomes for many people,” they added.

TOKYO/PARIS — Japanese video game giant Nintendo is banking on the latest instalment of its 40-year-old saga “Zelda” to breathe life into its business, after forecasting a drop in profits this year.

The firm will release “Tears of the Kingdom” on Friday, with clips circulating on the Internet already racking up millions of views and generating feverish excitement among fans.

The saga of Princess Zelda and the elf-like warrior Link has shifted 125 million copies worldwide since its first edition in 1986.

It helped to forge “open world” games where the player is free to roam in virtual landscapes — an idea later taken up by games from “Grand Theft Auto” to “Skyrim”.

But its main challenge this year will be to boost the figures for the Japanese studio and prolong the life of its Switch console, which experts say is in its dotage after seven years on the shelves.

The game “will be by far the biggest contributor to Nintendo’s sales this year”, said Serkan Toto, an analyst at Kantan Games.

Yet, the franchise was something of a risk during the 1980s for a company that also boasts the “Super Mario” series as part of its stable.

‘Pioneer’

The first episode, “The Legend of Zelda”, plunged gamers into an unknown universe largely without instructions.

Creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who also gave life to Mario, was inspired by his childhood explorations of the Japanese countryside to offer a landscape of forests, lakes, caves and mountains.

“The scale of the game was huge at a time when most games were finished in an hour or two,” said Kiyoshi Tane, an author specialising in the history of video games.

“The map was designed with a real emphasis on exploration, so it was something of a pioneer of what open-world games would become.”

The first Zelda hit the market only a few months after “Super Mario Bros”, but the two games were far apart on the gaming spectrum.

While Mario runs from left to right through various platforms, Zelda “encouraged the player to explore, discover and map its world and take on its challenges”, said Mark Brown, who analyses game design on his YouTube channel.

The game was a smash hit from the off, and for the next two decades it pushed the boundaries of game design.

The 1998 edition “Ocarina of Time” pioneered a system to allow gamers to aim properly in 3D.

Yet, the game eventually hit the skids at the turn of the 2010s.

‘High bar’

Nintendo wanted to expand the game’s appeal but only managed to create editions that satisfied nobody.

Hardcore fans drifted away and sales suffered. 

“The development team had a sense of crisis,” Katsuhiko Hayashi of trade magazine Famitsu told AFP.

The designers rethought the basics of the game, eventually creating 2017’s “Breath of the Wild”.

It was launched alongside the Switch console and has since become the best-selling edition of Zelda.

“This game set a high bar for the open-world action-adventure genre, and Zelda is still at the top,” said Hayashi.

Zelda has become something of a “bible” for other developers, he added.

But despite this success and the enduring popularity of Nintendo’s other franchises — demonstrated by this year’s smash hit “Super Mario Bros. Movie” — the firm released a gloomy outlook on Tuesday.

The company forecast a drop in net profit by 21 per cent this year compared with last year.

The prediction makes the Zelda release vital for the company.

Charles-Louis Planade, an analyst at Midcap Partners, reckons it could become “the best-selling game in history”. 

“It’s a game that can approach $1 billion in revenue, which is very significant for a company that makes a turnover of just over $10 billion per year,” he told AFP.

LIVERPOOL/LONDON — The English city of Liverpool hosts the musical extravaganza that is Eurovision on Saturday after the UK agreed to host the song contest instead of 2022 winner Ukraine due to the war.

With songs of love, torment, peace and likely sequins aplenty on eye-popping costumes, performers representing 37 nations battle it out in a city synonymous with pop royalty.

The hometown of The Beatles and other big names in music in northwestern England stepped in after the UK came second to embattled Ukraine at last year’s contest.

Just months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kalush Orchestra won the world’s biggest live music event with “Stefania”, a rap lullaby combining Ukrainian folk and modern hip-hop rhythms. 

Carrying the hopes of Ukraine at the 2023 event is electronic music group Tvorchi, with the song “Heart of Steel”.

Inspired by the nearly month-long resistance put up by Ukrainian fighters at Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steelworks, singer Jeffery Kenny said the song “symbolises strength... courage”.

Even as it geared up for Eurovision in recent weeks, the group had to contend with shelling and air-raid sirens at home as it tried to perform.

Despite huge sympathy for the group at Eurovision, observers and bookmakers agree a second win for Ukraine in a row is unlikely.

Sweden, again being represented by 2012 Eurovision winner Loreen, is the favourite to take home the crown, with the love song “Tattoo”, ahead of Finland’s energetic “Cha Cha Cha” by Kaarija in his signature neon green bolero jacket.

The UK last year had hoped to end a quarter-century of being shut out from the top spot with “Space Man” and its high notes belted out by the affable, long-haired Sam Ryder.

In the end, it had to keep its feet on the ground with second place. 

This year’s UK contender Mae Muller hopes to win over the judges and viewers with “I Wrote a Song” about getting over a broken heart.

France, which has not won a Eurovision contest since 1977, is placing its hopes in Canadian singer La Zarra and her electro-disco number “Evidemment” (“Obviously”).

Despite having cancelled two concerts recently in Amsterdam and London for personal reasons, the singer has said on social media that she is “more than ever determined to carry with pride and love the colours of France”.

But politics is often not far from the surface at Eurovision.

Croatia’s song, “Mama SC!” by the mustachioed Let 3, is a thinly veiled attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Switzerland’s singer Remo Forrer has opted for a more traditional message of peace with his entry “Watergun”.

Performing for the 6,000-strong audience, the entrants take the spotlight on a stage designed by Julio Himede, who has said the idea behind it is “a wide hug, opening its arms to Ukraine, the show’s performers and guests from across the world”.

Ahead of Saturday’s Eurovision 2023 crowning, the stage — which boasts 700 video tiles and 1,500 metres of LED lights — has already received a royal seal of approval.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the site shortly before their coronation.

Eurovision takes in performers from across Europe and Central Asia, as well as Israel and Australia.

Two semifinals are scheduled to whittle the field down to 26 countries for Saturday evening’s big final.

The so-called Big Five main financial backers — Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain — as well as the previous year’s winner automatically qualify.

NEW YORK — British pop phenom Ed Sheeran expressed joy and relief on May 4 after a US jury found he did not plagiarise Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” in composing his hit “Thinking Out Loud”, calling the ruling a win for creative freedom.

The English musician hugged his team inside a Manhattan federal courtroom after jurors ruled that he had “independently” created his 2014 song.

Outside, he told reporters he was “very happy” but “unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this” even make it to trial.

The civil lawsuit was filed by heirs of Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend, who alleged that harmonic progressions and rhythmic elements of Sheeran’s song were lifted without permission from the classic made famous by Gaye.

The heirs sought a share of the profits from Sheeran’s hit.

“If the jury had decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters,” Sheeran told reporters.

“It is devastating and also insulting to be accused of stealing other people’s songs when we put so much into our livelihoods,” he added. “I am just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy.”

“I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake.”

‘Songwriter’s alphabet’ 

The jurors spent some three hours deliberating whether Sheeran’s song and Gaye’s classic are substantially similar and if their common elements are protected by copyright law.

Sheeran spent days testifying with guitar in hand, playing demos for the court to prove the 1-3-4-5 chord progression in question is a basic building block of pop music that can’t be owned.

The 32-year-old said he writes most of his songs in a day, and said he co-wrote “Thinking Out Loud” with singer-songwriter Amy Wadge, a regular creative collaborator.

A musicologist retained by the defence told the court the four-chord sequence was used in a number of songs before Gaye’s hit came out in 1973.

“These chords are common building blocks,” Sheeran said Thursday. “They are a songwriter’s ‘alphabet’, our tool kit.”

“No one owns them, or the way they are played, in the same way nobody owns the colour blue.”

Plaintiff Kathryn Townsend Griffin left court and breezed by reporters smoking what appeared to be a cigarillo, saying only: “God is good all the time, all the time God is good”.

‘Sense of relief’

Industry insiders closely followed the copyright lawsuit as some feared it could chill songwriters’ creativity and open the door to future litigation.

It was the second trial in a year for Sheeran, who successfully testified at a London court last April in a case over his song “Shape Of You”, saying the lawsuit was emblematic of copyright litigation going too far. 

The judge also ruled in his favour in that case.

Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” shot up America’s Billboard Hot 100 charts upon release, and won Sheeran a 2016 Song of the Year Grammy.

There have been a handful of landmark music copyright cases in recent years, notably when Gaye’s family — who was not part of the New York lawsuit against Sheeran — successfully sued the artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over similarities between the song “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up”.

That result in 2015 surprised many in the industry, including legal experts, who considered many of the musical components cited as foundational, and existing largely in the public domain.

Then an appeals court decision confirmed Led Zeppelin’s victory over a similar case focused on the classic “Stairway to Heaven” — a victory for songwriters that Sheeran’s case should bolster.

“I hope that the verdict gives songwriters and publishers some sense of relief that they don’t need to be looking over their shoulders quite so much,” said Joseph Fishman, a law professor specialised in intellectual property at Vanderbilt University. 

“That would be a big shift from the mood following the ‘Blurred Lines’ verdict.”

‘Sanity prevailed’

The swinging pendulum has nevertheless left some songwriters fearful of the volatility of opinions from jurors who almost certainly do not have a background in musicology and must rely on expert witnesses for context.

After delivering the verdict, juror Sophia Neis told journalists it took a beat for all seven members to find common ground.

“There was a lot of back and forth” with advocates on both sides, the 23-year-old said.

Joe Bennett, a forensic musicologist at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, told AFP he was “delighted” that “sanity prevailed” in the case.

“In music copyright litigation cases involving one or two bars of music, the plaintiff’s allegation of plagiarism is almost always wrong,” he said. “Coincidental similarity happens all the time, particularly with chords and short melodic fragments.”

“Hopefully this sensible verdict will discourage other spurious complaints.”

First introduced in its modern iteration in 2006 as a more sophisticated interpretation of the American saloon, with its combination of aggressive styling, big displacement power plant and more contemporary Mercedes-Benz derived unibody platform, the Dodge Charger now stands as one of the most traditional cars on the market. 

Set to cease production by the end of the year, and most likely to be replaced by yet another uncharismatic EV, the Charger’s visceral combustion engine recipe of generous dimensions, comfort, performance and attainability will be missed.

Brawny aesthetic

As a sporting non-premium V8-powered saloon, the Charger may be thoroughly steeped in automotive Americana, but as a four-door muscle car, it conceptually owes more to the Australian interpretation of the genre, and shares more with long retired would-be down under rivals like the Holden Commodoure and Ford Falcon, that the iconic original 1960s Charger coupe. Little changed in its basic recipe, the modern Charger gained a significant aesthetic refresh and evolved from sixth ‘LX’ to seventh ‘LD’ generation by 2015, and was again subtly updated in 2019.

With its bulbous, browed and squinting headlights, slim deep-set grille, and retro-style full-width rear lights, the LD Charger is distinctly more modern looking than its overtly retro-influenced predecessor. Subtly influenced by the classic and dramatic 1969 Charger, nonetheless, the long, wide and low LD’s discretely scalloped bonnet, sculpted surfacing and deeply ridged side creases accentuate its moodily aggressive presence. With its rakish roofline and sense of momentum, the lightly revised 2019 model adopts a snoutier and hungrier fascia, with a slimmer grille, deeper side and broader lower intakes.

Rumbling and robust

Bowing out with a slew of ever more aggressive and powerful variants including Last Call and muscular Widebody editions, and offered with engine options ranging from 292BHP entry-level 3.6-litre V6 SXT to brutal 797BHP supercharged 6.2-litre V8 SRT Hellcat Redey, the defining Charger model, however, remains the more mid-tier R/T. Powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.7-litre HEMI V8 nestled under its bonnet scoop, the R/T’s engine is quintessentially American. Muscularly languid and low-revving in character, its compact old school 16-valve pushrod OHV engine redlines at just 5,800rpm.

Responsive from standstill, if not with the same relentless urgency of Charger SRT variants, the charismatically rumbling R/T is nevertheless robust and progressive, with ample torque on tap throughout its rev range. Best in its abundant mid-range, the R/T’s delivery is characterised by muscular versatility rather than peaky punch. Producing 370BHP at 5,250rpm and 395lb/ft at 4,200rpm, the R/T is ever-confident, capable and quick, and is estimated to haul its hefty 1,938 mass through 0-100km/h in around 5.5-seconds and onto an estimated 235km/h top speed.

Quick and compliant

Effectively putting power down, the Charger R/T delivers brisk performance without being overly aggressive or too eager to un-stick its driven rear wheels and set off stability control interventions than powerful Hellcat versions. The R/T’s smooth and slick shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox meanwhile features a broad range of ratios including aggressive lower gears and relaxed higher gears, to make full use of available output for performance, versatility, refinement and efficiency. Capable of running on mid-grade 91RON fuel, the R/T returns comparatively moderate 12.4l/100km combined fuel consumption.

Though big and heavy, the Charger R/T is well-balanced with its slight front weight bias. Planted and stable at speed, it is meanwhile confident through corners, and features good throttle response and linear delivery to smoothly feed power when muscling out of bends. Featuring standard fixed rate ‘performance’ suspension, the R/T comparatively well controls body lean through corners for its size and weight, but is nevertheless tuned set-up for a more comfortably compliant ride quality than firmer riding, flatter cornering and more buttoned down high performance SRT versions.

Composed and comfortable

Composed through fast sweeping bends and at speed on straights, the R/T is also more agile than its size suggests. Tidy and accurate into corners with its quick electric-assisted 2.6-turns lock-to-lock steering, the R/T is, however, not as crisp, composed or focused as the naturally-aspirated SRT 392 high performance variant, which is next up in the model range, and the best resolved Charger. Confident and balanced through corner, the R/T can understeer slightly if entering too hard, but is easily adjustable with its long wheelbase and progressive weight shifts.

Forgiving over imperfections despite firm and grippy low profile 245/45R20 tyres, the R/T is highly refined and well-insulated inside. Large and spacious, the R/T’s cabin has a hunkered down ambiance with comfortable seats, good front visibility and generous rear width and legroom, if only adequate headroom, owing to a sharply descending roofline and high-set rear bench. Well-finished with good quality materials, driver-oriented controls and instruments, the Charger is thoroughly well equipped with convenience, comfort, safety and assistance features, including an intuitive and versatile Uconnect infotainment system.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 5.7-litre, cast-iron block/aluminium head, in-line V8-cylinders

Bore x Stroke: 99.5 x 90.9mm

Compression ratio: 10.5:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, Pushrod OHV

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive

Gear ratios: 1st 4.71 2nd 3.14 3rd 2.10 4th 1.67 5th 1.29 6th 1.0 7th 0.84 8th 0.67

Reverse/final drive ratios: 3.32/2.62

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 370 (375) [276] @5,250rpm

Specific power: 65.4BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 191BHP/ton

Torque lb/ft (Nm): 395 (536) @4,200rpm

Specific torque: 94.8Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 276.5Nm/ton

Rev limit: 5,800rpm

0-100km/h: 5.5-seconds (estimate)

Top speed: 235km/h (estimate)

Fuel consumption, city/highway/combined: 14.7-/9.4/12.4-litres/100km

Fuel capacity: 70-litres

Fuel requirement, recommended (minimum): 93(91)RON

Track, F/R: 1,611/1,620mm

Weight distribution, F/R: 55 per cent/45 per cent

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.335

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning circle: 11.49-metres

Lock-to-lock: 2.6-turns

Suspension F/R: Unequal double wishbones/five-link, anti-roll bars

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs 345 x 28mm/320 x 22mm

Brake callipers, F/R: 2-/1-pistons

Tyres: 245/45R20

By Dina Halaseh
Educational Psychologist

As parents, we all aim to provide our children with an optimal experience and environment in their developmental stages; all in the hope of ensuring the best possible brain development. This is why it is important to understand what the main component is for the brain to develop properly.

A child going through trauma of any kind may need professional help. Understanding how the brain responds to traumatic experiences and stress is a vital part in understanding brain development. This helps parents deal with their child’s behaviour if their child has undergone trauma.

What is trauma

In order to understand the impact of trauma on the brain, we need to understand what trauma is. Trauma is a psychological reaction to a horrific incident, not just a stressful situation. These incidents might include accidents, death, sexual assault, war, natural disasters and much more.

People who go through a traumatic experience often suffer shock and denial at first; while other symptoms may appear at a later stage. These include erratic emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical discomfort like headaches or nausea.

There are three types of trauma:

• Acute trauma, which usually results from a single traumatic event

• Chronic trauma happens frequently, for a continuous period, such as domestic abuse

• Complex trauma: is caused by being exposed to more than one traumatic event over an extended period

The Three R’s

Unfortunately, a brain suffering a traumatic experience will not develop as other brains. Traumatic stress can have a range of negative consequences on memory-related processes as well as an impact on structure and function.

So how do we deal with children who go through trauma? We regulate, relate, reason!

The three R’s are described by Bruce Perry, a famous psychiatrist and the director of the Child Trauma Academy. This is usually different to how parents approach any scenario; parents tend to try to reason on the spot!

If we simplify the brain to three parts, we will have: our guarding brain, feeling brain and thinking brain. Trauma and stress cause us to use our guarding and feeling brain only. It’s hard to access our thinking brain when things are too hard, because the feeling and guarding parts of the brain take over — as they are the ones involved in the fight or flight response.

As soon as things calm down, we can go back to reasoning and thinking. This occurs in the frontal area of the brain, otherwise known as the pre-frontal cortex, responsible for rationalising the experiences we undergo through logical thought.

Regulating, relating and reasoning

When we regulate, we simply help our children to calm down, relating is showing understanding instead of dismissing them or their feelings. After that, we can start to reason with them once their stress hormones are down and they feel calm enough to accept our advice.

This is why our first step is to regulate and relate. We need to help children feel safe and understood so they can lower their guard and access their thinking brain, thus becoming more receptive to our advice and help.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine