Taken during the Banpo fountain light show

A Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) surveys its surroundings from a vantage point at sunset, with the imposing Torres del Paine (Chile) in the background. Scouts like this individual keep an eye out for predators.

A banded anole from the Amazon rainforest, these lizards live in the trees and rely on their excellent camouflage to stay safe.

feeding baby 1

Hubbard's Sportive Lemurs are nocturnal. This one curiously peeked out of its hollow tree trunk bedroom when we made a bit of noise. We spotted it from a distance at Zombitse National Park in Madagascar.

Снимок сделан в марте 2019 года во время похода на коньках по озеру Байкал

During his 20-year professional career, his boisterous style endeared him to fans but rankled traditionalists

As Babe Ruth was emerging as baseball's great slugger in 1918, he fell sick with the flu

Alexander von Humboldt was intrigued by deadly electric eels. He was so determined to learn more about them, that in Los Llanos, he’d hold them in his hands to test the strength of their shock.

Alcohol industry groups were successful in getting the Yukon government to pull labels warning of the connection between alcohol and cancer from liquor store shelves, but the strategy may have ultimately backfired, researchers suggest.

A 19-year-old man was flown back to Ontario after he pleaded guilty to violating New Brunswick’s emergency measures order prohibiting visitors from entering the province.

Police used their conductive energy weapons four times during the arrest of a 31-year-old man who they say was smashing windows with a piece of rebar.

The premier’s office confirmed the news in an email statement, blaming visibility issues under "very specific lighting conditions."

A virus that spreads fear and stigma, as well as disease. It’s the story of HIV/AIDS as well as COVID-19. The former executive director of AIDS Thunder Bay reflects on the similarities he sees between HIV 35 years ago, and the coronavirus now.

A physiotherapist in Thunder Bay, Ont., has had his licence suspended until September, as part of a disciplinary hearing.

The tourism and hospitality industries, which play a large role in the economy of almost every community in northwestern Ontario, are taking a beating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the manager of Tourism Thunder Bay is figuring out how “dire” the situation is, and what could be done to help.

Police in Thunder Bay have arrested and charged a man from the northwestern Ontario city following an investigation into allegations of child luring.

The Northwoods League announced Thursday that its 2020 season will not begin on May 26, as originally scheduled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) confirmed one new case of COVID-19 in its catchment area Thursday, bringing the total in the area to 77, with 65 of those listed as resolved.

Changes are coming to Thunder Bay's popular Ribfest event because of the COVID-19 outbreak, organizers said.

Parents-to-be who will have their new child delivered at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre have to follow a different set of guidelines than found at many other hospitals across Ontario.

An industrial building in Thunder Bay was slightly damaged in a fire late Thursday afternoon.

Canada Day celebrations and Live on the Waterfront programming will be delivered virtually in response to Ontario government orders, and physical distancing mandates, the City of Thunder Bay announced in a written release Thursday.

A 40-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with two break-ins at the Thunder Bay District Health unit offices, the Thunder Bay Police Service announced in a written release Friday.

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Independent MHA Eddie Joyce is suing four people, including the premier, for defamation over the handling of a harassment complaint that saw him turfed from the Liberal cabinet and caucus in 2018.

Philip Pynn is being released from federal prison for a second time, after breaching conditions landed him back behind bars last year — but it's not clear where he can live.

The COVID-19 briefings started out as an urgent response to a public health crisis. As John Gushue writes, Premier Dwight Ball has grown comfortable in the role of hosting a program focused on government programs.

Staff halted $100 service over pandemic concerns, forcing homeowners to private plumbers much more, and Danny Breen is urging them to contact the city.

"It is unfortunate that it has come to pass that we have to collectively and overtly publicly declare that we are unified," says Alberta Medical Association president Christine Molnar.

Much like a prehistoric pest trapped in amber, our summer plans remain in suspended animation.

A longstanding battle between an Alberta entrepreneur and a $50-million lottery winner is still raging after a new legal judgment, a securities investigation, allegations of harassment and even duelling ebooks.

The following is a guest post by Hanna Soltys, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division. The post was written with the help of Sara W. Duke, Curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art.   While professional baseball’s Opening Day will take place at a later date, the spirit and excitement of the day still live […]

Successful modification of the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) after two-step BAC engineering is confirmed in two separate polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). The first reaction (5' co-integrate PCR) uses a forward 5' co-integrate primer (a sequence located upstream of the 5' end of the A-box) and a reverse 3' primer on the vector (175PA+50AT) or within the reporter sequence or mutated region as appropriate. The second reaction (3' co-integrate PCR) uses a forward 5' primer on the recA gene (RecA1300S) and a reverse 3' co-integrate primer (a sequence located downstream from the 3' end of the B-box). Those colonies shown to be positive in PCR analysis are further tested for sensitivity to UV light. After the resolution, colonies that have lost the excised recombination vector including sacB and recA genes become UV light sensitive.

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones are rendered electrocompetent and transformed with the recombinant shuttle vector, pLD53SCAB/AB-box. Cointegrates are selected by growth on chloramphenicol and ampicillin to ensure recombination of the shuttle vector into the BAC.

Plasmid DNA is prepared from the recombinant shuttle vector pLD53.SCAB/A-B created by cloning of the A and B homology arms for two-step bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) engineering. To confirm that the A-box and B-box arms have been successfully incorporated into pLD53.SCAB, the pattern of enzyme digestion of the modified plasmid is compared with that of the unmodified pLD53.SCAB. Once the shuttle vector is shown to carry the proper sequences, it is ready for transfer into the BAC host.

This protocol describes the preparation of the shuttle vector before its introduction into bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) host cells for BAC two-step engineering. The homology arm sequences, prepared previously, are introduced by ligation into the digested shuttle vector DNA to provide sites for recombination within the BAC clone. Crude lysates of individual bacterial transformants serve as templates in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to confirm the presence of the homology arms in the recombinant shuttle vector.

The 700-bp A homology arm (A-box) and the 700-bp B homology arm (B-box) are amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using purified bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) DNA as template for two-step BAC engineering. The resulting A-box PCR product contains an AscI site at its 5' end (the 5' primer incorporates an AscI site, and the 3' primer does not incorporate any restriction sites). The B-box PCR product contains an XmaI site at its 3' end (the 5' primer does not incorporate any restriction sites, and the 3' primer incorporates an XmaI site). The amplification products are then digested with the appropriate restriction endonucleases to render them suitable for cloning into the shuttle vector.

In two-step bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) engineering, a single plasmid is introduced into the BAC-carrying cell lines. The shuttle vector pLD53.SCAB (or pLD53.SCAEB) carries the recA gene and the R6K origin, which requires the protein to replicate. PIR2 cells, expressing , are typically used for the amplification of the vector and maintain about 15 copies/cell of the donor vector, which is relatively stable in this host.

Using a cross-country sample of bank-dependent public fi rms we study the international spillovers of a change in banking regulation on corporate borrowing. For identi cation we examine how US rms' liabilities vis-a-vis banks, non-bank lenders and bond markets evolve after an increase in capital requirements implemented by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in 2011. We find that US firms experience a reduction in credit lines but not in term loans from EU banks.

This paper studies the relationship between bank geographic complexity and risk. We use a unique dataset of 96 bank holding companies around the world to measure the geographic dispersion of their affiliates. We study how this dispersion interacts with economic and regulatory conditions to affect the riskiness of the bank.

FSI Briefs No 3, April 2020. In response to the 2007-09 Great Financial Crisis (GFC), accounting standard setters introduced a new methodology to value loans based on expected credit losses (ECL). The previous approach, based on incurred losses, was viewed as procyclical and inconsistent with prudential objectives. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, several prudential authorities and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), introduced a series of measures to clarify how banks should consider various public and private debt relief programmes in their ECL estimates and in their calculation of regulatory capital. These measures are intended to incentivise banks to continue supporting the real economy, while reducing pressure on banks' ECL provisions, earnings and regulatory capital. Supervisory initiatives that provide capital relief should be augmented by severe constraints on the payment of dividends, bonuses and share buybacks. These joint actions will simultaneously expand banks' lending capacity and enhance their ability to absorb losses. Prudential authorities face difficult trade-offs as they confront the most severe economic crisis in modern times. Encouraging the use of flexibility in applicable accounting standards, while preserving market trust and transparency in the reported financial statements of banks, will be key in fostering both economic and financial stability.

Recent literature has highlighted that international trade is mostly priced in a few key vehicle currencies, and is increasingly dominated by intermediate goods and global value chains (GVCs). Taking these features into account, this paper reexamines the business cycle dynamics of international trade and its relationship with monetary policy and exchange rates.

Our ongoing celebration of the Library of Congress National Book Festival continues with young adult and fantasy author Leigh Bardugo discussing "Crooked Kingdom" on the Genre Fiction stage at the 2018 Festival. This post includes prompts for writing and thinking that young readers, families and teachers can use to explore the author and the author’s work—recommended for ages 13+.

Press release about the Basel Committee publishing consultation paper on revisions to the credit valuation adjustment risk framework, 28 November 2019.

Press release: Basel Committee invites comments on the design of a prudential treatment for crypto-assets, 12 December 2019.

Press release about the Basel Committee launching the consolidated Basel Framework, 16 December 2019.

The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank, together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), have created a group to share experiences as they assess the potential case for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in their home jurisdictions. (Press release, 21 January 2020)