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A mother’s body undergoes dynamic changes during pregnancy. Many changes prepare her body for birth and feeding an infant after it is born. And some changes are used directly by her body or the baby during pregnancy. For example, a mother-to-be grows an entirely new organ to support the growing child in her womb—the placenta. How did evolution figure that out?

Many today believe the world is at a critical “turning point”—a time in history when everything is changing and the days ahead are ominous and uncertain (The Guardian, January 28, 2025). The two decades since the 9-11 terrorist attacks have seen drastic changes in world governments, domestic policies, and international relations—changes that have facilitated the decline of democracies and rise of authoritarianism.

Germany recently added a fourth official division to its military ranks: the Homeland Security Division (German Foreign Policy, January 13, 2025). This new division will unite all reservists and agencies across the country and will be seen as an official division along with the three current combat divisions.

Fighting continues in the Congo over the control of resources. Recently, Rwanda-based M23 rebel forces captured Goma, Congo’s largest regional hub and home to about two million people. The city “is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province whose minerals are critical to much of the world’s technology.

Gold was once a stable backing for many world currencies. A little more than 50 years ago, the U.S. dollar itself was backed by gold and was fixed at a value of about $35 per troy ounce. In 1971, currency inflation, economic competitiveness, and other factors moved then-President Richard Nixon to decouple the U.S. dollar from gold, making the dollar a pure fiat currency. Today, one ounce of gold costs roughly $2,700, and gold is currently at or near its highest value ever in relation to most world currencies.