“Americans are having fewer children than ever before. In 2024 the fertility rate was just 1.6 babies per woman, down from 1.9 a decade ago. This is partly because people are becoming parents later in life; some may be discouraged by the costs of housing and child care. Whatever the cause, those who do have children are spending more time with them than previous generations did—and fathers account for much of the recent increase.

The trend is not new. One study found that between 1965 and 2012 the amount of time parents in rich countries spent with their children doubled. Data from the American Heritage Time Use Study, from 1975 to 2018, show that successive generations have devoted ever more time to their little ones. Millennial mothers (born between 1981 and 1996) spent 12% more time caring for children than Gen-X mums (1965-80) did at the same age. The difference between young Gen-X and baby-boomer mothers (1946-64) was 52%. Millennial fathers, meanwhile, spent 6% more time on child care than Gen-Xers did. The biggest jump was between boomer and Gen-X dads: young Gen-X fathers spent more than twice as much time with their kids as their predecessors did at the same age.

Since the pandemic the amount of time fathers spend with children has risen further. According to newer time-use data, men who lived with their partners spent 11% more time caring for children in 2024 than in 2019, and 30% more time doing household chores.”

From The Economist.

“In just a few short years, new diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have taken the world by storm. In the United States, one in eight adults say they’ve tried one of these medications, which are known as GLP-1 drugs, and that number seems sure to rise as prices fall and new oral formulations hit the market.

Fluffy and Fido could be next.

On Tuesday, Okava Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company based in San Francisco, is set to announce that it has officially begun a pilot study of a GLP-1 drug for cats with obesity. The company is testing a novel approach: Instead of receiving weekly injections of the drugs, as has been common in human patients, the cats will get small, injectable implants, slightly larger than a microchip, that will slowly release the drug for as long as six months…

Results are expected next summer. If they are promising, they could represent the next frontier for a class of drugs that has upended human medicine, and a potentially transformative treatment option for millions of pets.  Some veterinarians have already begun administering human GLP-1 drugs, off label, to diabetic cats.”

From New York Times.

Summary: Traditional architecture enjoys broad bipartisan support in the United States. A 2020 poll from National Civic Art Society showed over 70 percent approval across political affiliations. Modern technology, including AI and robotics, is making it easier to both preserve historical architecture and create buildings in traditional styles. Examples of traditional architectural styles thriving in modern times include restorations like the Notre Dame Cathedral and new constructions like the Poundbury community in the UK. While modern minimalist styles also have their place, the ability to revive and recreate ornate aesthetics from the past represents a unique architectural golden age.

Political commentator Tucker Carlson isn’t shy about expressing his opinions, whether the topic is building political coalitions or building buildings. He once bemoaned “the oppression of post-modern architecture, which is designed to … destroy your spirit.”

Carlson considered Moscow an exception − prompting one commenter to retort that Moscow is filled with “spirit-destroying architecture. … The vast majority of the city is Soviet-built grey cement rectangles as far as the eye can see.”

Carlson and his political foes seem to find rare common ground in viewing modern architecture as soul-crushing. Data shows more traditional designs are widely preferred on a bipartisan basis. Recent polling by the National Civic Art Society found that 72 percent of Americans across political, racial, gender and class lines prefer traditional architecture for U.S. courthouses and federal office buildings.

During his first administration, President Donald Trump even issued an executive order intended to “Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again.” (It was later overturned.)

Traditional architecture is really a broadly held preference. The aforementioned 2020 poll shows that support for traditional design crosses political lines, with large majorities of Democrats (70 percent), Republicans (73 percent) and independents (73 percent) all favoring it.

Modern Technology Makes Preservation Work Easier

I count myself among those who favor traditional architecture. There’s no shortage of fascinating contemporary work, from Zaha Hadid’s bold experimentation to curiosities like Switzerland’s recent 3D-printed tower. Yet for me, and for many others, the enduring beauty and detail of older architecture simply hold greater appeal.

There’s encouraging news for those of us who appreciate traditional architectural styles and rich ornamentation.

There has arguably never been a better time to indulge personal aesthetic tastes. Whether your preference leans toward minimalism or ornate detail, brutalism or baroque grandeur, modern technology has dramatically reduced the cost and complexity of building, restoration and renovation.

Artificial intelligence could be used as a tool to restore medieval European cathedrals while robotic arms could assist traditional Bhutanese craftsmen in carving intricate designs into wood.

At no point in history has it been easier or more accessible to customize one’s environment. Recently, a Danish man renovated his plain-looking home into a miniature medieval castle, complete with a functional drawbridge and a moat.

However, this trend extends well beyond eccentric personal projects.

Architectural Traditions Are Worth Preserving

Many large-scale structures also pay tribute to the past. A museum built in 1966 in California was designed in the style of an ancient Egyptian temple. Another Californian museum that opened in 1974 emulates a palatial ancient Roman villa.

The Wat Rong Khun, a Buddhist temple built in 1997, features intricate carving in the style of classic Thai architecture. An enormous church in Belgrade, Serbia, displays stunning and meticulously crafted Byzantine details.

Entire neighborhoods are embracing historic styles, too. Poundbury in the United Kingdom, a new take on traditional British architectural heritage championed by King Charles III, exemplifies this trend.

The riverside town of Occoquan, Virginia, features a district filled with newly constructed homes in a charming Victorian style. The homes’ paint colors were painstakingly sourced from historical period references. The result is indistinguishable (at least to my eyes) from a well-preserved genuine Victorian neighborhood.

Not only can modern people recreate traditional aesthetics, humanity is getting better at preserving the authentic architecture that has managed to survive from past eras.

The restoration of the medieval Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after it was partially destroyed in a fire in 2019 demonstrates how modern people can bring back ancient architectural majesty.

When Notre Dame reopened in December 2024, the cathedral had the same ornate Gothic beauty as before, in addition to newly installed cutting-edge fire prevention systems. News reports noted in awe how “concerns in the wake of the fire that the craftsmanship required to build the cathedral in the Middle Ages no longer existed in modern times” proved false.

Humanity has the means to revive the ornate aesthetics of the past, but of course some people prefer modern minimalism.

Notre Dame now features a bronze altar in a style labeled “noble simplicity,” in sharp contrast to the surrounding building with its Corinthian columns, stained glass windows, carved gargoyles, pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses.

This juxtaposition is telling. Ultimately, whether traditional architecture moves you or modern aesthetics inspire you, you are living in a remarkable era, a true golden age of architecture where every style thrives.

This article was published in USA TODAY on 7/29/2025.

“Researchers have now found a new class of origami that they call bloom patterns. Resembling idealized flowers, many bloom patterns are rotationally symmetric around the center.

The bloom patterns, with their set of attractive properties, appear promising for future engineering uses, especially for large structures that are sent to outer space. They fold up flat and compactly, they can be constructed out of one flat sheet, and they can be extended to ever larger shapes.

The discoveries originated from the paper-folding explorations of Zhongyuan Wang, a sophomore at Brigham Young University in Utah…

The bloom patterns can be broken down into repeating tiles of creased patterns, called wedges, around a central polygon. Larger structures, which can still be folded flat, are created by expanding the wedges into larger shapes with additional creases. When folded up, the wedges stack up in a helical shape.

Dr. Howell said that a search through the scientific literature turned up a few individual bloom patterns that had been folded previously, but the new paper provides a general mathematical framework that describes a new class of possible foldings…

Dr. Howell’s research group has made physical manifestations of the bloom patterns, not just out of paper but also from other materials like 3-D printed plastics.

Real-world applications, like solar panels, will not be as thin as paper, and the folds may need to be wider to accommodate the thickness of the tiles. Still, the fundamental flat-folding nature of bloom patterns means that it should be easier to pack a structure into the limited space of a rocket.”

From New York Times.