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HKBU biologists discover two new windowpane shell species

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HONG KONG, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Biologists from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) have discovered two new species of windowpane shell at Mai Po, Hong Kong and in the South China Sea. Also known as the windowpane oyster or capiz shell, the windowpane shell is a small group of saltwater bivalves belonging to the genus Placuna under the family Placunidae. Their discovery brings the total number of species in this genus from five to seven worldwide.

The HKBU research team, led by Professor Qiu Jianwen, Professor of the Department of Biology at HKBU, has named the new species Placuna aestuaria and Placuna vitream. Their findings have been published in the academic journal Ecology and Evolution. This study was supported by the Lantau Conservation Fund.

Translucent silvery windowpane shells

Windowpane shells are edible but valued more for their shells which have been used for thousands of years as a substitute for glass. These beautiful translucent shells have been widely used in making windows, jewellery and decorative items such as lampshades and chandeliers.

The HKBU biologists discovered the new species Placuna aestuaria from Hong Kong. The name “aestuaria” is derived from the Latin word for “estuarial”, highlighting this species’ habitat – the estuarine waters of the Pearl River Estuary.

New windowpane shell species discovered in Hong Kong

The HKBU team surveyed the epibenthic fauna in the waters of Lantau Island in April 2022 and studied a box jellyfish, which was later confirmed to be a new species, in the Mai Po Nature Reserve in July 2023. During these studies, the team collected several subfossils of the genus Placuna.

According to the literature, the only recorded species of the genus Placuna in Hong Kong is the tropical species Placuna placenta. After careful comparison, the biologists at HKBU found that the specimens collected from Hong Kong differed in features such as the hinge and auricle structure from the Placuna placenta. This led them to confirm that it is a new species, which they named Placuna aestuaria. The team believes that the previous records of Placuna placenta in Hong Kong were due to misidentification, and that Placuna aestuaria may have migrated to other coastal areas of China due to climate change.

The other new windowpane shell species sold in the market

The other new species, named “vitream”, is celebrated for its “glassy”, pearl-like appearance. HKBU biologists purchased live specimens of Placuna vitream from the local fishermen at the Haikou Dongmen Market in May 2023. Then they found more wild specimens in the intertidal zone of Xincun Port located in Sanya, Hainan, as well as specimens collected from Xiajin Bay in Xiamen, indicating its potential wide distribution around the South China Sea including Hong Kong.

Placuna vitream has been erroneously identified as Placuna placenta in the literature due to their similarities in shell shape, outline, and hinge structure. The HKBU team compared Placuna vitream to Placuna placenta from Singapore, which revealed a genetic difference of 11.43%–11.82% between their cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene, being several times the corresponding genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees.

Professor Qiu said, “Identifying the Placuna species poses distinct challenges due to the variability in shell size, shape, and even the color of the inner surface, which can exhibit a wide range of variations. Our discovery of two new species not only broadens the diversity of windowpane shells but also suggests that this group may be more diverse than previously recognised. This finding calls for a reassessment of other marine species in Asia that are presumed to be widely distributed.”

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SOURCE Hong Kong Baptist University

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Yon Raz-Fridman Joins Intrinsic Labs as Co-Founder and Partner

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Most AI companies are selling software. Intrinsic is deploying AI workers into the core operations of mid-market companies – and just brought in a serial tech entrepreneur to help the firm scale across the Heartland.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Intrinsic Labs today announced that Yon Raz-Fridman has joined the firm as a Co-Founder and Partner.

Raz-Fridman has spent nearly two decades building across software, hardware, and platform businesses. Early in his career, he served as Chief of Staff to the President of Keter Group, a $1 billion-plus global consumer products manufacturer. He went on to co-found Kano, the award-winning educational computing company, and later founded Supersocial, the immersive gaming studio acquired by Super League Enterprises in 2025. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Convergence Council.

He joins Intrinsic at a moment when mid-market companies are moving from AI experimentation to deployment. Intrinsic works with operators in logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets to deploy AI workers into the workflows that run the business – increasing throughput, reducing manual work, and expanding capacity without adding headcount.

The firm has built its reputation on practical deployments tied to real operating metrics. In one engagement with a national real estate brokerage, Intrinsic’s AI Accounting Agents reached 97% invoice coding accuracy, automated 90% of the AP workflow, and fully removed FTEs from the review flow.

“Yon understands what it takes to build and scale in the real world,” said Jon Slemp, Managing Partner at Intrinsic Labs. “Our clients aren’t buying flashy agents, they’re buying outcomes and reliable labor. They need agentic systems that take work off their teams, perform reliably, and produce measurable gains in throughput and capacity. That’s what we build.”

As Co-Founder, Raz-Fridman will oversee Intrinsic’s expansion – designing the channel relationships, institutional partnerships, and market positioning that take the firm from a proven Ohio model to the defining AI workforce platform for America’s industrial middle market.

“The companies that win over the next decade will be the ones that figure out how to staff AI into their operations and manage it like a workforce. Intrinsic is doing that work now, inside real businesses, tied to real outputs. The Heartland is exactly the right place to prove this model, and Intrinsic is exactly the right team to do it.” — Yon Raz-Fridman

About Intrinsic Labs LLC
Intrinsic Labs helps mid-market companies deploy AI workers into the workflows that run their business. The firm focuses on logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets, where manual work, fragmented systems, and labor constraints create clear opportunities for leverage. Intrinsic works with clients to put AI workers into production, tie them to operating KPIs, and help teams scale output without scaling headcount. https://www.intrinsic-labs.ai/  

About Team Yon LLC
Team Yon LLC is a management company founded by Yon Raz-Fridman that incubates new ventures, provides executive leadership, and makes strategic investments at the intersection of emerging technology and human advancement. Through Team Yon LLC, Raz-Fridman partners with founders and operators across healthcare, AI, and frontier technology – including his role as co-founder and Partner at Intrinsic Labs. https://teamyon.org

Media Contact:hello@intrinsic-labs.ai

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SOURCE Team Yon LLC

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Wipfli to complete CompliancePoint transaction and add associates, expanding capabilities

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MILWAUKEE, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wipfli, a top 25 national advisory and accounting firm, announced today it has entered into an agreement with CompliancePoint Inc., a provider of risk management services focused on information security, data privacy and regulatory compliance. 2 partners and 52 associates will join the firm as a result of the transaction.

Based in Duluth, Georgia, CompliancePoint brings specialization across cybersecurity, privacy and compliance, serving clients across a wide variety of industries. The addition strengthens Wipfli’s risk management offerings and expands its ability to help organizations navigate regulatory scrutiny, evolving cybersecurity threats and complex data protection requirements.

“Organizations today are under more pressure than ever to protect sensitive information and operate responsibly in an evolving regulatory environment,” said Kurt Gresens, CEO at Wipfli Advisory, LLC. “The team at CompliancePoint brings specialized experience and a strong, people-first approach that enhances how we support clients navigating today’s risk landscape.”

CompliancePoint has built its reputation on helping organizations manage risk across the full data lifecycle, with a holistic approach that recognizes how privacy, security and compliance intersect. The combined professional teams from CompliancePoint and Wipfli will deliver expanded, integrated advisory solutions designed to help clients proactively manage risk while supporting long-term growth and operational resilience.

“Wipfli shares our commitment to practical, client-focused solutions and long-term relationships,” said Greg Sparrow, CompliancePoint president. “Together, we’re expanding the resources available to our clients while continuing to deliver the specialized experience and trusted relationships they rely on.”

The addition of the CompliancePoint team also supports Wipfli’s continued investment in talent and innovation. CompliancePoint associates will join a national firm that emphasizes collaboration, professional development and meaningful client impact, while maintaining the specialized focus that has defined their work.

The transaction is expected to become effective on May 1st, 2026

About Wipfli

Wipfli is a leading national advisory and accounting firm with nearly 100 years of experience serving ambitious middle-market organizations. We understand our clients’ unique challenges and help them succeed on their terms through assurance, tax, advisory, outsourcing and technology services. With 3,000+ associates and global alliances, we combine national capabilities with local relationships. Wipfli operates under an alternative practice structure: Wipfli LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides attest services, while Wipfli Advisory LLC, a non-CPA firm, delivers business advisory and non-attest services. Learn more at wipfli.com or contact Alicia O’Connell at alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com.

Media Contact

Alicia O’Connell
Wipfli
alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com

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SOURCE Wipfli

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Ginkgo Bioworks Announces Date of First Quarter 2026 Results Presentation

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Presentation and Q&A session scheduled for post-market on Thursday, May 7, 2026

BOSTON, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA, “Ginkgo”) today announced that it plans to host a presentation and Q&A session reviewing business performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, on Thursday, May 7, 2026, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The presentation details and webcast link will be available on Ginkgo’s investor relations website at https://investors.ginkgobioworks.com, and a replay will be made available.

To ask a question ahead of the presentation, please submit them to @Ginkgo on X (hashtag #GinkgoResults) or by sending an e-mail to investors@ginkgobioworks.com.

About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone. The company offers autonomous laboratories that replace manual laboratory work with robotics in the lab, greatly improving the productivity of scientists. Ginkgo’s in-house autonomous lab is also available as a “cloud lab” through our Datapoints and Solutions contract research services. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

Ginkgo Bioworks Contacts:

INVESTOR CONTACT:

investors@ginkgobioworks.com 

MEDIA CONTACT:

press@ginkgobioworks.com

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks

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