The cells are “neither embryonic nor adult. They’re somewhere in between,” says Dr. Anthony Atala, a tissue-engineering specialist at Wake Forest University, who led a team that published the findings last week in the journal Nature Biotechnology. The “AFS cells” rival embryonic stem cells in their ability to multiply and transform into many different cell types, and they eventually could be hugely helpful to doctors in treating diseases throughout the body and building new organs in the lab....

It’s about the only place on the island where that’s still true. Taiwan is racing away from its history, and hence its connections to mainland China. That’s a potentially dangerous sprint: the Communists in Beijing and the Nationalists in Taipei have always agreed that there is one China, even if it appears to be divided in two. But in Taiwan, now a vibrant democracy, the connection to China is looking less and less appealing....

The Disney-owned sports behemoth said Monday that it has pulled a charity golf event from a Trump-owned course in New Jersey because of “deep feelings” over Trump’s assertion that Mexican immigrants are criminals, drug dealers, rapists and bring “tremendous infectious disease” to the United States. MORE: ESPN reveals all six covers for 2015 Body Issue | John Deere Classic preview “Our decision reflects our deep feelings for our former colleague (Stuart Scott) and support for inclusion of all sports fans,” an ESPN representative said, via The Guardian....

Things got testy in the morning when Magnus, ESPN’s executive vice president of programming, was asked about Horowitz’s observation that ESPN should be “worried” about its flagship “SportsCenter” franchise. “SportsCenter” had lost 30 percent of its audience over the previous five years, and 40 percent among younger viewers, Horowitz noted at last year’s conference. “That’s a staggering fall,” he said at the time. MORE: ESPN to give Sage Steele morning role, perhaps with Greeny...

But how safe and effective are they? This article weighs the benefits and risks of using essential oils for ear infections. It also looks at the different oils that may be useful in treating ear infections and offers tips on how to choose and use essential oils safely. How Do Essential Oils Work for Ear Infections? Ear infection, or acute otitis media, is an infection in the middle ear. The middle ear is the empty space behind the eardrum that contains the hearing bones which transmit sound vibrations to the inner ear....

Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, tweeted out a message to Musk and also spoke with the Financial Times. His comments came it was announced that Twitter had accepted Musk’s $44 billion offer. In a statement after the deal was announced, Musk said that “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy” and called Twitter a “digital town square.” He has been a vocal critic of the platform, particularly its content moderation, and said last week that Twitter “needs to be transformed as a private company....

While alternative medicine practitioners turn to eucommia to increase vitality and promote longevity, in the West, it is mostly known as a supplement to lower blood pressure. In addition to capsules, eucommia is also sold in extract, tea, and dry forms. What Is Eucommia Used For? The herb, also known as du zhong, is a rich source of antioxidants, lignans, and isoflavonoids—naturally occurring chemicals with hormone-like effects. Eucommia has been used and studied for a variety of uses including sexual dysfunction, cancer, metabolic syndrome, neurological diseases, and more....

The world’s eight best women’s tennis players will take part in the season-ending tournament. A champion will emerge in Oct. 26’s final. Bouchard, No. 7 in world rankings, will complete a breakout season in Singapore. She was a runner-up at Wimbledon and reached the semifinals in the Australian and French opens. The field of eight: Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic....

Bouchard, 20, played her first Grand Slam final. She was unable to cope with Kvitova’s power and accuracy, losing in less than an hour. It has been a breakthrough year for Bouchard, a Canadian who reached the semifinals at both the Australian Open and French Open. Bouchard reached Saturday’s final on Centre Court without losing a set. Once there, she was blown away by Kvitova, who won her second Wimbledon title in four years....

He flashed it at me good-naturedly one afternoon on the hotel rooftop, where I had retreated to take in the view of the golden-domed shrine of Imam Ali while making calls on my Thuraya satellite phone in privacy. Safeer wanted to borrow the phone to contact far-flung relatives, and his pistol combined with his body mass made him difficult to turn down. Snatching the Thuraya out of my hands, he dialed a number in Dubai....

The Azzurri and La Roja have met in the knockout stages of the last three European championships, with Spain prevailing in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals in 2008 en route to its second continental triumph, before thrashing Italy 4-0 in the final four years later to defend its title. Five years ago, however, it was Italy who came out on top, winning 2-0 in the Round of 16 to end effectively end the era of Spanish domination that had begun eight years earlier....

After three weeks of hopping across Europe like an American tourist on vacation, the tournament waves goodbye to its nomadic nature this week, as both the semifinals and the final will be held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The chances of it being a triumphal homecoming for the Three Lions rose exponentially after England defeated Germany 2-0 in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, beating its arch-rivals in the knockout stage of a major tournament for the first time since the 1966 World Cup final....

The agency reports that cases of COVID-19 across Europe have increased for the fifth consecutive week. New cases of the virus have jumped 6 percent in Europe, while the weekly number of infections in other regions around the world either fell or remained stagnant. For example, the Middle East saw a 12 percent decrease in infections while Southeast Asia and Africa’s infections fell by 9 percent. Europe has seen about 192 new cases per 100,000 people in the past week....

EU approves new sanctions package against Russia This will be the seventh sanctions package. The measures will come into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Brussels promised that all the details will become known. But there are already some leaks in the press. According to European sources, the new package includes a partial ban on the purchase of Russian gold in the form of scrap and semi-finished products....

Many Christian leaders—particularly within the white evangelical community—have been vocal supporters of former President Donald Trump and backed his false claims of widespread voter fraud leading to Biden’s election. A number of self-described evangelical “prophets”—like Bullock—predicted that Trump would win reelection in 2020. When those predictions proved to be inaccurate, some have apologized. But Bullock, who co-founded the Youth Force Ministries Church International, and others have suggested that Biden is not actually the legitimate president....

“My response is that I see nothing wrong with the president doing things that will bring him personal political benefit,” Grudem, a professor of theology and biblical studies at the Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Arizona, wrote in his column for Townhall, a conservative news site. “In fact, I expect that every president in the history of the United States has done things that bring him personal political benefit every day of his term....

The conference, which took place on November 1-2 was arranged by Neighborly Faith, an organization that bills itself as “a nationwide movement bringing Christians and Muslims together.” The conference resulted from a partnership between Neighborly Faith and various groups evangelical college, according to a press release from the organization. If past polling results are any indicator, the folks at Neighborly Faith are right to think that there is room for improvement in evangelical-Muslim relations, especially on the part of the Christians....

Surveying the crowded GOP field, many evangelicals are feeling unloved, and unsettled. Conservative Christians were crucial in sending George W. Bush to the White House—and were even more important to his narrow re-election in 2004—but many evangelical leaders complain that he hasn’t shown much thanks, and their devotion to the born-again president is waning. They are disappointed that he has abandoned his election-year promise to push for an anti-gay-marriage amendment, even as Dick Cheney is posing for pictures with the newborn son of his lesbian daughter and her partner....

Don’t be fooled, though. He was there. In fact, Kaepernick is everywhere throughout the league — except on a football team. His specter still looms just as large as it did when Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality because, as he told NFL Network in August 2016, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color....

The 28-year-old’s last outing for the Leopards was in a World Cup qualifying fixture against Guinea on November 13, 2016. The Everton winger scored a goal to help his side to a 2-1 victory in the tie. A knee ligament injury suffered against Manchester United in December 2016 has kept the player out of the national team fold. Bolasie marked his return to first-team action against West Bromwich Albion in December 2017 and he has chalked 516 minutes of action in 10 league appearances so far this season....