Latest news with #Kerrigan
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Giant Dinosaurs Take Over Peoria Riverfront Museum
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — The Peoria Riverfront Museum has officially gone prehistoric. Thursday, it roared to life with the opening of a brand-new exhibition: 'The World's Largest Dinosaur.' This immersive display brings visitors face-to-face with some of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth, sauropods. Some of them grew up to 150 feet or the length of four city buses. The museum's exhibit will feature a life-sized 60-foot-long Mamenchisaurus, with one of the longest necks of any dinosaur. Those long-necked giants are childhood favorites. They were featured in cartoons and the groups features one of the most famous dinos of all time: the Brontosaurus, the 'Thunder Lizard.' The gentle giants — they were plant-eaters unlike their cousins, Tyrannosaurus Rex — are the focus of the new exhibit, which started Thursday and lasts through Sept. 1. 'The World's Largest Dinosaurs,' presented by the Gilmore Foundation, made its Midwest debut from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Along with life-size models, the experience digs deep into the science behind sauropods, exploring everything from how they grew to such enormous sizes to the biology required to keep their massive bodies functioning. Renae Kerrigan, the museum's curator of science, hopes the exhibit does more than just impress with its scale. 'Maybe it makes somebody think about, 'I want to learn more about the other types of dinosaurs that lived on the planet,'' she said. 'Or maybe, 'Well, why aren't there dinosaurs here today? What happened to dinosaurs?' You might start to learn about how birds are actually the descendants of dinosaurs. 'I just hope it inspires people to continue learning more about something that piques their curiosity here at the museum,' Kerrigan said. In addition to the jaw-dropping scale of the displays, the exhibition also delves into the fascinating world of dinosaur eggs, growth patterns, and the biomechanics of how these giants might have pumped blood through their enormous bodies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
‘We are living through a Sepsis pandemic, but no one is talking about it'
But there's another condition that silently yet aggressively takes lives, often without being spotted in time – it's called sepsis. Since the Covid pandemic was declared in 2020, the world recorded 7.1 million deaths linked to the disease. But during that same period, sepsis caused around 11 million deaths globally each year. According to Professor Steve Kerrigan of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), this lack of attention is deeply alarming and awareness of sepsis remains dangerously low. 'That's not a pandemic?' he said. 'Sepsis is a pandemic.' Tonight, Professor Kerrigan, who is head of the Cardiovascular Infection Research Group and co-founder/Chief Scientific Officer at Inthelia Therapeutics, will host a talk on the dangers of sepsis as part of the Pint of Science festival. He'll be sharing the stage at The Waterloo Bar on Baggot Street with a sepsis survivor and the relative of a woman who died from the condition. In February 2018, Professor Kerrigan and his team carried out a survey and found that only 28pc of the population could define sepsis, which is considered a 'silent killer' both in Ireland and around the world. He aims to increase public awareness on how to recognise sepsis and understand why early detection is critical. 'It's not like cancer or stroke, where there are widely known signs. Sepsis is very non-specific,' he said. 'That's where the big problem is.' Professor Kerrigan said sepsis can kill in as little as 12 hours. Even in hospitals, there is no definitive test or biomarker for sepsis, unlike other diseases like cancer. ADVERTISEMENT 'Sepsis is an exaggerated, sudden, overwhelming reaction to an infection by the body,' he said. 'We really need to get people to be able to spot the signs and symptoms because it happens so fast.' If caught early, the only effective treatment available is antibiotics. 'If we catch the patient early enough, sepsis is fully curable,' Professor Kerrigan said. 'But for every hour you delay treatment, the risk of death increases by 8pc.' Sepsis remains difficult to spot. Its symptoms often resemble the flu or a cold: fever, chills, fast heartbeat, rapid breathing, disorientation, extreme fatigue. 'The big problem is that the signs and symptoms of sepsis are non-specific. That's why many people ignore them – they think it's just the flu,' Professor Kerrigan said. 'You need to get to the hospital as fast as possible and ask the question: Could this be sepsis? That one question can trigger the right treatment protocol and save a life.' However, raising awareness is only the beginning. Professor Kerrigan said that healthcare worker training is equally important. 'We need to ensure that all of our health care workers, all of them, need to be trained in understanding what sepsis is and how to spot signs and symptoms,' he said. Professor Kerrigan also highlighted the urgent need for government-backed research to fight against sepsis and antibiotic resistance. 'We are heading back to the pre-penicillin era, where infections and sepsis could not be effectively treated. If antibiotics fail, we have nothing else to rely on,' he said. 'We're hoping we can develop some tests to see if a person has sepsis, because we have identified a potential biomarker we think is playing a really important role. 'That might be the new diagnostic and the reason why you would give a drug and start initiating antibiotics.' Professor Kerrigan's talk takes place on Thursday, May 21, at The Waterloo Bar, 36 Baggot Street Upper. Doors open at 6.30pm, with the event set to begin at 7pm. Tickets can be obtained for free on the Pint of Science website
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Automaker executives expect Chinese carmakers to enter U.S. market, Kerrigan Advisors survey finds
Most automaker executives who participated in Kerrigan Advisors' 2025 OEM Survey said they think Chinese carmakers eventually will enter the U.S. market. And 70 percent of respondents also said they are concerned about the financial implications of Chinese automakers' rising global market share. Kerrigan Advisors' annual automaker survey, in its third year, collected responses from more than 100 U.S. automaker executives from December through March, mostly before the Trump administration announced auto tariffs. The survey also asked participants about electric vehicle sales, dealer profitability and the franchise system. Erin Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, a dealership sell-side firm in Incline Village, Nev., said the questions about Chinese automakers were added to this year's survey given their growing dominance globally and in their home market. 'These are considered real threats by the OEMs,' Kerrigan said. Another new question on this year's survey found a third of automaker executives expect to have fewer dealers in their network in the next five years; just 14 percent expect to have more. And in another new question, 28 percent said they will exercise a right of first refusal — a tool that allows an automaker to refuse a potential store buyer and replace them with a buyer of their choice — more than a quarter of the time in the buy-sell deals they receive. New questions added to Kerrigan Advisors' annual survey of automaker executives reveal most respondents see the rise of Chinese carmakers as a threat. Question: Are you concerned about the financial impact of the rising global market share of Chinese automakers on your OEM? Question: Do you think Chinese OEMs will eventually enter the U.S. market? Source: 2025 Kerrigan OEM Survey 'It's certainly consistent with what we have observed in the buy-sell market and in our conversations with OEMs where certain OEMs are vocally saying 'We want fewer, larger dealers,'' Kerrigan said. 'As we see it, the OEMs are retreating from the idea that they will be the direct-to-consumer seller.' The number of auto executives who believe an agency model — used by some brands now in the U.K. where the retailer is the customer's contact point — will be implemented in the U.S. in the next five years dropped to 8 percent from 12 percent in last year's survey and 22 percent in the 2023 survey. Compared with the last two surveys, a greater number of respondents this year, 74 percent, said the dealer and automaker together will own the primary customer relationship and most customer data in five years. In 2024, that number was 67 percent and it was 66 percent in 2023. Sign up to get the Automotive News Service & Parts weekly newsletter covering the world of dealership parts, service and collision departments. Participants were also asked about dealership blue sky values, the intangible value of a store including goodwill. Seventy-eight percent of auto executives surveyed expect blue sky values to remain flat or increase this year. That compares to 68 percent of dealers who said such values would remain flat or increase this year in Kerrigan Advisors' dealer survey released in January. 'What's very interesting to me is that effectively, the OEMs were more positive than the dealers on their profit expectations for the dealer and the valuation expectations for the dealerships,' Kerrigan said. 'If you think of it from a tariff standpoint, the dealer is probably in the best spot of anyone.' Sixty-six percent of respondents said they expect dealership profits to increase this year, also a higher number than the 57 percent who said that in Kerrigan's dealer survey. The survey also showed most automakers plan to keep their facility requirements at current levels or increase them. 'Last year, 22 percent said we'll probably reduce the amount that we're asking dealers,' Kerrigan said. 'Now 8 percent say that. And 25 percent expect an increase and 67 percent think it will stay at the same level, which is not small.' Kerrigan said those significant capital investments for facility requirements are 'too big of a financial risk for some,' noting many of her clients decided to sell because of them or because of how close they were to retirement. Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Australia's housing crisis needs a deeper fix
PERHAPS, no other movie depicts the Australian dream of owning a home more than the 1997 classic comedy The Castle, in which the Kerrigan family takes on developers to save their house. Fast-forward 28 years and nobody is laughing. For the first time, Millennial and Gen Z voters will outnumber those aged over 60 at polling stations on Saturday. Housing is a – if not the – top concern in this federal election. Most are resigned to never being able to get into one of the world's most unaffordable markets. Policies put forward by the two major parties are unlikely to make things better. If re-elected, the ruling Labor Party promises to allow all first-time buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit. It is committed to building 1.2 million homes by 2029 but, at the current rate, could fall short by as many as 400,000 dwellings. The opposition Liberal-National coalition wants to allow first-time buyers to deduct some mortgage interest payments from their taxes and tap pensions for initial deposits. Economists believe that both policies will drive prices higher because they are skewed toward demand. That is why more ambitious reforms need to be part of the discussion to add to supply and improve affordability. Revamping a tax system largely seen as favouring speculators and investing in regional centres to ease the strain on the major cities should be among policies on the table. This is now even more crucial. Labor shortages, increasing costs, complex approval processes, and land availability around transport hubs and essential services mean Australia can't build homes fast enough to satisfy demand amid record numbers of migrants. Rents are also soaring. To demonstrate a genuine commitment to reform, making longer-term rentals viable now that people are being priced out of ownership should be considered as part of any housing policy. Renting has been seen as a transitional stop to owning. Australia could explore arrangements similar to what is available in Scandinavian countries, which have also experienced rapid population growth and increased demand for homes, Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration, told the Bloomberg Australia Podcast. Long-term rental is a more natural approach for most of Europe. 'In Australia, owning your home is the big deal,' Rizvi said. Australia is not alone in dealing with a housing crisis. But owning a house (or more) is so embedded in the national psyche that it's even been called pathological. It has stood as a symbol of stability for a young, migrant country. My first memory of Australia as my family drove out of Adelaide airport in 1982 is of stand-alone houses. I was mesmerised. I had grown up in a Soviet-era apartment block in Bucharest; as an adult I lived in high-rise apartments in Hong Kong before finally returning to Sydney and purchasing that quarter-acre block. One of the most contentious debates is about what is known as negative gearing, a popular way for property investors who borrow to reduce their taxable income. While some argue that it has added stock to the rental market, it's also seen as driving up prices by fuelling demand for investment properties, pricing out first-time buyers. The Melbourne-based think tank Grattan Institute said this kind of financial leverage goes 'beyond the broadly accepted principle of offsetting investment losses against investment gains'. More than 65% of household wealth – which stood at A$17 trillion in the December quarter – is tied to property due to the rising value of land and homes, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. And politicians have skin in the game, including the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. More than half of members of parliament are property investors. It's no surprise that nobody wants to see values decline. Negative gearing is such a hot topic that any suggestions it should be tweaked generate frenzied debate. It has been a poisoned chalice, costing elections. The question is, are Australians ready to accept that to tackle affordability from every possible angle, a generous perk in its current form has had its day? As more people will likely live in apartments, minimum quality standards need to be enforced. Examples of poorly built homes abound. Better, smarter and more functional units should be built for those who may never be able to afford stand-alone homes, families and downsizers. Australian house prices have been defying gravity as long as I can remember, despite predictions of a crash. Sydney's median house price is at a record A$1.19mil (US$760,000), and the average home costs almost 14 times the annual disposable income. This has made it the world's second-most expensive city to buy property after Hong Kong. — Bloomberg Andreea Papuc is a Bloomberg columnist. The views expressed here are the writer's own.
Agriland
26-04-2025
- General
- Agriland
‘The stories of those who dare to touch a fairy fort are frightening'
Folklorist and author, Jo Kerrigan, has urged farmers to steer clear of fairy forts where possible, to avoid evoking the notorious wrath of their other-worldly occupants. Kerrigan has become an expert on the mystical fairy fort after researching the subject and its corresponding myths and customs for her new book, Irish Fairy Forts: Portals to the Past, which is now available in all good book stores. Alongside her husband and photographer, Richard Mills, Kerrigan spent the last couple of months tracking down as many fairy forts as possible to include in the book, which serves as an ode to the some 45,000-60,000 of these iconic structures found dotted across the landscape. While varying in size and formation, Kerrigan said that fairy forts are always circular, and often flanked with indigenous flora, such as the hawthorn tree, which Kerrigan said has mythical properties in Irish folklore. Examples of fairy forts. Image source: Richard Mills As a long-time believer in fairy forts, Kerrigan has advised people to treat fairies – or the 'good people' as she likes to call them, and who she views as the true custodians of the countryside – with the reverence they deserve. Calling out to farmers, Kerrigan said: 'Please leave them alone. You don't need that small circle of land all that much. You don't need to build your calf shed or your son's house immediately on that spot. Try to avoid damaging them. 'If interfering with a fairy fort on your land is truly unavoidable, go to the fort, explain to the good people what you have to do and try to make amends. Seek their forgiveness. 'We need to realize that they've been here a lot longer than we have. They are the nature, they're the whole power of the landscape world around us, and we need to respect them and treat the countryside they're looking after with respect.' Fairy forts Kerrigan has heard of countless tales of misfortune and adversity from individuals and farmers alike who have made the mistake of damaging a fairy fort, branding the implications of doing so as 'frightening'. 'The stories of those who dare to touch a fairy fort are frightening,' she added. In her book, she recounts the story of Richard Lundy, a wealthy man who lived in Ardanagh, Co. Monaghan, who allegedly experienced considerable personal and professional woes after knocking down a large fairy fort on his land. Kerrigan explained that, while deconstructing the fort, two horses of Lundy's died, his workmen became ill or injured, his daughter lost her sight and, within a year, all of his livestock died. Subsequently, the surname Lundy became obsolete in the area. This was just one of the stories commemorated in the School's Collection, a compilation of folklore compiled by Irish schoolchildren in the 1930s and assembled by the Irish Folklore Commission to preserve Ireland's oral tradition and material culture. According to Kerrigan, the collection contains many references to fairy forts and served as an important primary source for her research. Jo Kerrigan and Richard Mills outside a fairy fort. Source:'Irish Fairy Forts: Portals to the Past' The husband and wife duo allegedly experienced their own series of unfortunate events while attempting to photograph a fairy fort in west Cork last summer. Kerrigan told Agriland that on arriving at the site of the fairy fort, Mills discovered that both his camera battery and spare battery were dead, despite the fact that both were charged beforehand. Dumbstruck, the two returned to the car to make the trip back home empty-handed, but found the car would not start. 'We tried everything but the car wouldn't start. So we rang the AA and they said it could be at least two hours before they got to us,' she said. 'In the meantime. while we were waiting, several farmers passing by in their tractors stopped to ask us if we needed any help, 'When we explained what had happened, they all said the same thing – 'What do you expect when you're interfering with themselves?'' The folklorist explained the earliest records of fairy forts in Ireland date back to pre-Christian Ireland, when they were perceived as portals to 'the other world'. According to legend, fairies derive from the 'Tuatha Dé Danann', meaning the folk of the goddess Danu, a supernatural race featured in Irish mythology who were allegedly driven underground after they were tricked by the Celts upon their arrival on Irish shores. Ironically, Kerrigan believes we have the British to thank for the preservation of fairy forts across the Irish countryside and that our lack of industrialisation can account for their abundance. 'The English colonists wanted to make sure that we [the Irish] didn't get in the way of their development and so they squashed any signs of industrialisation in the south, which helped preserve the fairy forts.' Kerrigan claimed. She explained that the prohibition of Irish language and culture also made the Irish more protective of their customs and heritage. When the Free State emerged, Kerrigan said the fledgling Irish government undertook several initiatives to salvage our cultural heritage, including the Schools Collection, as a means of distinguishing Ireland from our former rulers. In a world increasingly dominated by science and logic, Kerrigan fears we are losing touch with the natural world and has called on the youth to put down their phones and embrace the beauty and intrique that lies in abundance in the Irish countryside. Her new book serves as a rallying cry to this effect.
