Podcasts about Nature Communications

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Best podcasts about Nature Communications

Latest podcast episodes about Nature Communications

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast
Eclipse 2026: Where, When & How to Watch (Both Hemispheres)

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 16:18 Transcription Available


In this episode •      Shadow Day: the only total solar eclipse of 2026 crosses Arctic Russia, Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain today — the first total eclipse over western mainland Europe since 1999 (Spain's first since 1905, Iceland's since 1954). Max totality ~2 min 18 s. Reykjavík ~17:48 UT; northern Spain ~18:27–18:33 UT (Sun very low, ~4–10° up). Live via NASA, timeanddate and the Exploratorium. •      Where you are: North America gets an afternoon partial (Nova Scotia ~33%, N. Maine ~28%, Montreal ~18%, Boston ~16%, NYC ~9–10%, Toronto ~8%, DC ~10%; Fairbanks ~37% in the morning) — no totality anywhere on the continent, glasses on throughout. Europe outside the path sees a deep evening partial (London ~91%). Australia/SH: not visible directly — watch the streams (~1:30–6:00 am AEST Thu). •      Chasing the shadow: NASA's WB-57 jet flies the path at ~50,000 ft (~740 km/h), extending totality to nearly 3 minutes with four visible/IR cameras (SCIFI) to probe coronal heating, prominences and the solar wind (PI Amir Caspi, SwRI). The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (A. Des Jardins, Montana State) launches ~86 balloons from Iceland and Spain to measure atmospheric changes. •      A star-building magnetic field: ALMA captures the first direct high-resolution image of a twisted, toroidal magnetic field wrapped around a protostellar jet in NGC 1333 IRAS 4A (~960 ly, Perseus cloud), confirming a decades-old prediction of how young stars launch jets and shed spin — the same physics that scales up to black-hole jets (Ching et al., Nature Communications 2026; NSF NRAO/ALMA). •      Why worlds turn hellish: UC Riverside's Stephen Kane argues planetary rotation is an overlooked driver of climate and habitability — slow spin may help tip a world into a Venus-style runaway greenhouse. Measuring true spin is hard because winds can masquerade as rotation; ESA's PLATO (launch March 2027) could test the idea across hundreds of Venus-like planets (Astronomical Journal, accepted). •      Skywatch — both hemispheres: the Perseids peak overnight 12–13 Aug under a genuinely moonless sky (best midnight–dawn; NH-favoured). Southern Hemisphere: evening Venus (mag −4.4, just past dichotomy), the pre-dawn planet line-up, and Comet 10P/Tempel 2. ISO 12312-2 eye-safety line included.   Sources •      NASA Science — Total Solar Eclipse on August 12, 2026; “NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse” •      timeanddate; Eclipsophile; NationalEclipse.com; azmth.space — path, contact times, magnitudes •      Astronomy.com; Forbes; CBS News — North American partial times & percentages •      Space.com; Smithsonian — WB-57 SCIFI campaign & Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project •      NSF NRAO / phys.org — Ching et al., “Unveiling dominant toroidal magnetic fields in a protostellar outflow,” Nature Communications (2026) •      UC Riverside (news.ucr.edu) / phys.org — S. Kane, planetary rotation & runaway greenhouse (Astronomical Journal, accepted) •      EarthSky; Astronomy.com — Perseid peak (moonless), Venus dichotomyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-latest-space-news--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.astronomydaily.io/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Get the best secure and private email on the planet. Stop your Government, google and who knows who else spying on every email you write. Do what we did and use ProtonMail. They beleive in privacy and there are no ads in their business model...yet they still provide a free forever service. Check them out and get out special deal at www.astronomydaily.io/protonmailBecome a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Scientificast
Bombe nucleari su esopianeti con virus

Scientificast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2026 55:16


Puntata 627 con Andera a Marco ai microfoini e Valeria in esterna. Andrea parla di tre recenti articoli sulla ricerca di esopianeti, Marco dei bombardamenti di Hiroshima e Nagasaki di cui  in questi giorni ricorre il triste anniversario.Valeria intervista Ilaria Carli ed Esther Torrente di IRBM per parlare di una nuova molecola antivirale attiva contro il virus Zika, la cui scoperta è stata recentemente pubblicata su Nature Communications. Come si scopre una nuova molecola in un'azienda farmaceutica? Quali sono i parametri da valutare? E quali sono i prossimi passi?  Riferimenti esopianeti:https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2026/06/famous-pink-planet-harbors-a-salty-surprisehttps://news.uchicago.edu/story/distant-exoplanets-may-be-hiding-water-beyond-webb-telescopes-reach-study-findshttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4kdd1e0ejo?at_campaign=rss&at_medium=RSSDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/scientificast-la-scienza-come-non-l-hai-mai-sentita--1762253/support.

Modern Healthspan
How This Peptide Drives Fat Loss & Preserves Muscle | Dr David Lee

Modern Healthspan

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2026 68:14


USC Gerontology Professor Dr. Changhan David Lee breaks down the discovery of MOTS-c, a novel mitochondrial-derived peptide that functions as an exercise mimetic, cellular stress responder, and immunomodulator.Are mitochondria more than just cellular powerhouses? In this episode of Modern Healthspan, Dr David Lee, Associate Professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and co-discoverer of MOTS-c, joins us for a deep dive into the emerging world of mitochondrial-derived peptides (MDPs). Dr. Lee explains how these small microproteins, encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA locus, act as critical retrograde signaling molecules. We explore how MOTS-c translocates to the nucleus during metabolic stress, coordinates with AMPK and hypothalamic POMC neurons, and functions as an interferon-responsive host defense peptide. Additionally, Dr. Lee shares findings from preclinical models examining sarcopenia, muscle homeostasis, and age-related physical capacity, while providing an update on the current regulatory state, WADA anti-doping classification, and human translational pipeline of MDP research.

Viewpoints
Are Gel Nail Lamps Putting Your Skin At Risk? | Viewpoints Explained

Viewpoints

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2026 1:42


Viewpoints Explained: Are Gel Nail Lamps Putting Your Skin At Risk? A study published in the scientific journal, Nature Communications, has found a potential link between gel nail treatments and skin cancer. We cover the latest research and what services you should opt for next time you're at the nail salon.   Linktr.ee | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | SpotifyFacebook: @ViewpointsOnlineX: @viewpointsradioInstagram: @viewpointsradioFull ArchiveContact UsAffiliates & National Syndication Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes
In the News... Lantus Shortage, Pill for T1D Studied, Ring Measures Glucose in Sweat, Call Her Daddy Host Shares Diabetes Diagnosis, Cookie Queens Movie and more!

Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2026 13:54


On this episode of Diabetes Connections In the news… Sanofi acknowledges an insulin shortage, a new oral therapy for type 1 moves along in research, could there be an actual, accurate, non-invasive CGM in the works, ADA conflict continues and a new documentary about Girl Scout cookies shines a spotlight on T1D. Don't miss our upcoming events! Moms' Night Out in Detroit and Seattle, Club 1921 in Charlotte and Phoenix: https://diabetes-connections.com/events/   Announcing Community Commericals! Learn how to get your message on the show here. Learn more about studies and research at Thrivable here Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Omnipod - Simplify Life All about Dexcom  All about VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com   Transcript:  (Stacey Track) On this episode of Diabetes Connections In the news… Sanofi acknowledges an insulin shortage, a new oral therapy for type 1 moves along in research, could there be an actual, accurate, non-invasive CGM in the works, ADA conflict continues and I can't wait to tell you about Cookie Queens.. that's coming up right after this. (AD BREAK) Welcome! I'm your host Stacey Simms and this is an In The News episode.. where we bring you the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. A reminder that you can find the sources and links and a transcript and more info for every story mentioned here in the show notes. We are still looking for your community commercials. These are 30–60 second audio spots created by members of the diabetes community to share: Events you're organizing: a fundraiser, walk, or local meetup Products you've created: maybe you've written a book, have a Substack, designed a T1D-friendly gadget, or launched a small business Helpful projects or resources: things you think others in our community should know about It's your chance to share what you're doing and help others get connected! Full instructions are on the website. While you're there please check out our events. We're turning toward fall and we have a lot going on – MNO and Club 1921.   Okay.. our top story this week: XX I want to talk about Cookie Queens! It might not sound like a hard news story.. but It's my show and I can't wait to watch this. This move follows four Girl Scouts ages 5-12 during cookie season. One of the girls has type 1 – they don't mention it in the trailer, but you can see her omnipod. Here's a clip:   Start the very beginning and stop after "I want to be a supreme court justice." (stop after the "oh..laughter" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnSQS43Eil8   Viewers meet Ara from San Diego, CA (5), Shannon Elizabeth from El Paso, TX (8), Nikki from Chino, CA (9), and Olive from Charlotte, NC (12). Ara has Type 1 diabetes and is shown taking insulin, refilling her pump before bed, and determining with her dad how to sample the cookies she's selling while keeping her blood sugar levels safe. Thumbs down to the Hollywood reporter dot com. In their review they say.. "if this film were itself a baked good, Ara would need to be careful because one bite could cause hyperglycemia or even diabetic ketoacidosis. It's just that sweet." Cookie Queens comes out this month. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/cookie-queens-review-prince-harry-meghan-markle-girl-scouts-1236484555/ trailer:   XX Supply issues for Lantus SoloStar pens being acknowledged by Sanofi. The company says it's experiencing "a period of intermittent supply due to increased demand. The company said the increase in demand is being driven by "broader market dynamics," but did not provide additional details. Sanofi said the situation is temporary and is expected to improve over the coming weeks. The company said Lantus U-100 vials and Toujeo U-300, which contain the same active ingredient, remain available. https://www.wral.com/news/local/common-insulin-pen-faces-supply-issues-amid-rising-demand-july-23-2026/ XX The University of Alabama at Birmingham startup TIXiMED Inc. has launched the next phase of clinical testing for a novel oral therapy for Type 1. For now called TIX100, a small-molecule drug designed to inhibit a protein linked to pancreatic beta-cell loss and diabetes progression. The new double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will evaluate the drug's safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. Researchers will enroll 18 healthy participants across three dose cohorts at a single United States study site. Participants will receive either TIX100 or a placebo twice daily for 28 days, followed by a seven-day follow-up period. Six participants making up the first cohort have been successfully enrolled thus far. In addition to its potential use in Type 1 diabetes, TIX100 may have applications in Type 2 diabetes and obesity. A recent study found that the drug prevented weight regain and preserved lean muscle mass after discontinuation of GLP-1 therapies in preclinical models. https://www.uab.edu/news/research-innovation/startup-advances-novel-oral-type-1-diabetes-therapy-to-next-phase-of-human-testing XX Researchers at the University of California San Diego say they have developed and validated a Continuous Health Analyzing Ring Module (CHARM), a compact, fully integrated wearable smart ring capable of continuous real-time monitoring of multiple biomarkers in sweat. The wearable device can simultaneously measure up to four biomarkers, including glucose, ketone, uric acid, lactate, ascorbic acid, and alcohol, to provide real-time insights into metabolic health. The study is published in Nature Communications. They say CHARM device contains all necessary biomarker sensors, low-power electronics, and a flexible battery. The left compartment of the device is designed to draw sweat passively using an osmotic hydrogel, a soft polymer that creates a pressure gradient to pull fluid from the skin painlessly. The sweat is then analyzed by multiplexed electrochemical sensor arrays within the same compartment, leading to simultaneous and real-time tracking of four biomarkers at a time.   The right compartment of the device contains a flexible zinc-silver oxide rechargeable battery that supplies power for up to 12 hours of operation between charges. Biomarker information generated through sensors is wirelessly transferred to a connected Bluetooth-enabled device for real-time display The findings indicated that the device performed well in initial temperature, cytotoxicity, and on-body compatibility tests. It also demonstrated high analytical accuracy in preliminary studies involving healthy participants and individuals with type 1 diabetes, highlighting its potential for non-invasive metabolic monitoring. The calculated estimated sweat-based blood glucose concentration showed a mean absolute relative difference of approximately 13.7% against its corresponding blood concentration values.   The device needs further validation in diverse clinical settings and across large diabetic cohorts.   https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260727/Prototype-smart-ring-tracks-multiple-sweat-biomarkers.aspx   XX Hotter weather and rising temps appear to increase the short term risk for low blood sugar in adults with type 1. An analysis of more than 32 million continuous glucose monitor (CGM) readings from nearly 700 adults with T1D in the UK showed a 26% greater risk for hypoglycemia at a temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) than at 13 °C (55.4 °F). Hypoglycemia was defined as a glucose level < 3.9 mmol/L (70 mg/dL). The study included 679 individuals with T1D and 32,966,282 CGM readings collected between February 23, 2017, and August 8, 2024. Participants had a mean age of 46.4 years and a mean T1D duration of 23.7 years. The researchers observed strong seasonal patterns, with lower odds of hypoglycemia in late winter and early spring, followed by a peak during the summer. The lowest risk occurred on Mondays. The odds then increased over the course of the week and peaked toward the weekend, with a significant odds ratio of 1.14 on Saturdays compared with Mondays. Increases in hypoglycemia were observed during both hot and cold weather, but the association was stronger for heat. The net odds ratio was 1.26 at 25 °C compared with 13 °C.   https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/when-temperatures-climb-hypoglycemia-risk-rises-type-1-2026a1000q4r XX Seven weeks after the expulsion of five diabetes experts from the American Diabetes Association conference, controversy continues. More than 200 members now calling for two ADA leaders to resign. In response, the ADA delivered its own message Tuesday, expressing appreciation for members' patience while a report is prepared.   The resignation demand, sent last week in an open letter to the ADA board of directors, calls for the removal of CEO Charles Henderson and chief scientific and medical officer Rita Kalyani. It also urges "an independent investigation into the events of the 2026 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, a full apology to the five colleagues removed from the meeting, and the restoration of editorial independence at Diabetes Care," an ADA scientific journal.   https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/28/american-diabetes-association-fallout-researchers-expulsion/ XX XX Still to come, , a new link between diabetes and dementia, device updates, and why you might want to start rooting for the Red Sox..   XX New study says that people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) before the age of 10 years had a 37% higher risk of developing all-cause dementia later in life than those diagnosed between ages of 18 and 30 years. These researchers used a Swedish national register of 43,440 individuals with T1D (mean age at cohort entry, 33 years; 44% women) Worth noting a couple of things.. the mean age in this study was 33 – so the people who were diagnosed under the age of ten would not have had access to current technology – no CGMs or AID systems. And while the study says it's 37% higher for the younger group, the actual rate was still very low. As always, I'll link to the study so you can learn more. My obvious bias here to look for a silver lining because I have a son who diagnosed with T1D at age 2.   https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/type-1-diabetes-onset-before-age-10-tied-higher-risk-2026a1000pir XX Researchers have developed a machine learning model that uses routine clinical information to detect diabetes and distinguish between type 1, type 2, prediabetes, and diabetes caused by pancreatic disease. The model performed well in early testing, but researchers say it still needs to be validated in independent patient groups before it could be considered for use in diabetes screening or clinical care. It did not assess clinical utility, patient outcomes, or quality of life. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260729/Researchers-train-AI-to-detect-diabetes-and-assign-four-diagnostic-labels.aspx XX Trinity Biotech and Latch Medical are teaming up to explore combining CGM with precision drug delivery technology for diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic conditions. The companies hope real-time glucose data from Trinity's CGM+ sensor could eventually help guide more personalized treatment decisions and medication delivery. Trinity's CGM+ is still in development, with a pivotal clinical trial planned for later this year. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/trinity-biotech-collab-cgm-drug-delivery/ XX The FDA selects Dexcom as the first participant in a new digital health pilot that will exempt certain digital health devices from FDA premarket authorization requirements while collecting real world data through a complementary Medicare program. Dexcom, plans to implement an artificial intelligence-enabled glucose health program through the pilot. The program is intended to help screen for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. The company plans to integrate data from its sensors, including its prescription G7 CGM and its over-the-counter Stelo device, along with contextual health information such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep and stress. The FDA announced plans for the Technology-Enabled Meaningful Patient Outcomes, or TEMPO, pilot last year amid a broader push for adoption of digital health and wearables. It coincides with a new program by the CMS to fund the use of digital technologies for managing chronic conditions. https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/fda-names-dexcom-as-first-participant-in-digital-health-pilot/826215/ XX Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries now have access to the new MiniMed Flex insulin pump. Beneficiaries can now access the MiniMed Flex and its latest sensor portfolio, which currently includes the Simplera Sync sensor, a disposable, all-in-one sensor with easy two-step insertion. The company plans to roll it out with the Instinct sensor, made by Abbott, later this summer. It also added Abbott's dual glucose-ketone sensor (still investigational in the U.S.) to its portfolio this year. Flex picked up FDA clearance in March and the company announced the initial commercial rollout of the pump last month. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/minimed-flex-pump-now-available-medicare/ XX Eli Lilly expands it's partnership with Resilience – the makers of the KwikPen device. Through the investment, Resilience will significantly increase U.S. production of Lilly's KwikPen injectable device for diabetes and obesity medicines. In February, Lilly won FDA approval for Zepbound in a multidose KwikPen device. The product includes four doses of the GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, providing a month of treatment for obesity or overweight in one device. Resilience expects the KwikPen capacity expansion to create at least 400 jobs in the Cincinnati area. https://www.biospace.com/deals/lilly-and-resilience-invest-750m-in-diabetes-and-obesity-drug-device-supply XX Alex Cooper – the host of the top podcast Call her Daddy – announced she's been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.   "When I got this diagnosis, the first couple days, I was really hard on myself," the 31-year-old admitted. "It felt very isolating, like, as much as my family and my husband and everyone was there for me I just felt like, it's me on an island." She says she found an online community that's been helping. In sharing her experience, she hoped it would alleviate the stress. https://www.eonline.com/news/1434556/pregnant-alex-cooper-shares-isolating-gestational-diabetes-diagnosis XX Several amazing diabetes non profits are vying for big charity dollars from the Boston Red Sox. The IMPACT Awards provide Red Sox fans with the chance to nominate their favorite, most impactful nonprofit organization serving New England for their opportunity to win a grant from the Red Sox Foundation. In 2026, the IMPACT Awards will focus on organizations that are supporting research and providing awareness, advocacy, and services to people with diabetes. Check out all the charities and vote for your favorites – you've heard of so many of these I promise – at the link in the episode show notes, . https://www.mlb.com/redsox/community/red-sox-foundation/impact-awards?partnerId=redirect-bos-impact

The Science of Motherhood
Ep 237. Pregnancy Rewires Your Brain. Here's What You Gain

The Science of Motherhood

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 41:37


That feeling of not quite recognising yourself after your baby arrives has a biological explanation. Pregnancy reshapes the structure of the brain, and those changes can still be measured years down the track. What you're experiencing is your brain doing exactly what it's built to do.If you've ever said out loud that you feel like a different person since becoming a mum, you're describing something researchers can now see on a scan. Understanding what's happening in there changes how the whole experience feels.In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Dr Elseline Hoekzema, neuroscientist and head of the Pregnancy Brain Lab at Amsterdam University Medical Center, to unpack what pregnancy does to the maternal brain. Together they explore the changes to brain tissue first mapped in 2017, what those changes mean for how you think and feel, and what shifts differently the second time around.Elseline also works through the questions that flooded in after Renee shared her research on Instagram, covering what might happen with a third or fourth baby, spacing between siblings, pregnancy loss, and what changes for fathers and adoptive parents. She's honest about how much this field still has left to uncover.You'll Hear About:What happens to grey matter during pregnancyWhy the changes peak in the third trimesterHow a second pregnancy rewires different brain networksWhat the research shows about perinatal depressionWhy your instincts are worth listening toYour brain has been quietly reorganising itself to meet the exact demands of the life you're now living. Knowing that gives you something solid to hold onto on the days you feel furthest from yourself.Share this with a friend who's been saying she doesn't feel like herself since having her baby. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.Resources & Links

Scientificast
Traffico di radiografie sinciziali

Scientificast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 54:44


Giorgio e Valeria sono ai microfoni di questa puntata, che si apre parlando di velocità e di traffico. Come fare a risparmiare tempo se siete in ritardo? E possiamo evitare la formazione delle code fantasma?Giorgio ci racconta i risultati di uno studio in cui è stato analizzato questo fenomeno:https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/10/3/033001Nell'esterna, Ian e Andrea ci portano in un nuovo episodio di ScientificHiFi, parlandoci della bone music: la musica che veniva contrabbandata su vecchie lastre a raggi X tra la fine degli anni Quaranta e l'inizio degli anni Sessanta nell'ex Unione Sovietica. Tra censura, mercato nero e ingegno tecnico, scopriremo come la musica proibita venisse copiata clandestinamente su immagini di ossa e polmoni, dando vita a uno dei supporti musicali più strani e affascinanti della storia.Reference book:Stephen Coates, X-Ray Audio: The Strange Story of Soviet Music on the Bone (London: Strange Attractor Press, 2015).https://mitpress.mit.edu/9781913689476/bone-music/Website:https://www.x-rayaudio.com/Documentari:X-Ray Audio: The Documentaryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMCCYnDvpJQhttps://vimeo.com/188163905?fl=pl&fe=vlTEDxKraków:The Story of X-Ray Audio: What Would You Risk for the Sake of Music? | Stephen Coateshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49aWAHqi200Radio Magazine (per i diagrammi, guardate i numeri del 1937):https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Radio_Magazine_Guide.htmTornati in studio, dopo non una ma ben due barze brutte (così ne avete di riserva sotto l'ombrellone), parliamo di virus. In un recente articolo pubblicato su Nature Communications è stato dimostrato che il SARS-CoV-2 sembrerebbe evolvere la capacità di passare da una cellula all'altra per eludere la risposta antivirale mediata dall'interferone e il riconoscimento da parte degli anticorpi.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74676-8Diventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/scientificast-la-scienza-come-non-l-hai-mai-sentita--1762253/support.

Triple Play Performance Podcast
EP 126: A Routine Scan Found His Cancer. It Also Ruined His Life.

Triple Play Performance Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 27:27


Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Talk to your own physician before making decisions about cancer screening, testing, or treatment.TL;DR* A healthy 58-year-old gets a routine full-body scan, finds a “cancer” that would never have hurt him, and ends up with permanent incontinence from unnecessary treatment. This is more common than most people realize.* Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a Dartmouth-trained cancer epidemiologist, spent 30 years documenting overdiagnosis — the discovery of cancers that meet the technical definition but would never have caused harm. His estimate: roughly 60% of PSA-detected prostate cancers and 25% of mammography-detected breast cancers fall into this category.* The “5-year survival rate” you hear cited as proof screening saves lives is often distorted by lead-time bias — finding a cancer earlier can make survival numbers look better without adding a single day to anyone's life.* Not all screening is suspect. Colonoscopy, low-dose CT for high-risk smokers, and cervical cancer screening (Pap/HPV) have strong randomized-trial evidence behind them.* The piece conventional screening misses: metabolic health. A 2026 Nature Communications study using machine learning on UK biobank data linked insulin resistance to increased risk across at least 12 cancer types — independent of body weight — and standard checkups rarely test for it.* Want a personalized look at your own metabolic terrain? Book a Metabolic Audit Call — link in show notes, spots limited weekly.The Test That Didn't Save His LifePicture a 58-year-old man. Healthy weight, active, doesn't smoke, feels completely fine. He goes in for a routine total-body scan — the kind now available at imaging centers with no doctor's referral required. Two hours later, a radiologist flags a small spot on his prostate.Six months, two biopsies, and one surgery later, he has a diagnosis: permanent incontinence. And the cancer itself? “Clinically insignificant.” It almost certainly would never have caused him harm. He would have lived out a full life and died of something else entirely, never knowing it was there.The test didn't save his life. It changed it — for the worse.This scenario happens thousands of times a year, and it's exactly what Dr. H. Gilbert Welch — a general internist, cancer epidemiologist, and senior researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital — spent his career warning about. His book, Should I Be Tested for Cancer?, makes a case that runs against decades of public health messaging: more testing is not automatically better testing, and early detection does not automatically mean lives saved.This article unpacks what Welch got right, where his argument leaves a gap, and what a more complete, proactive approach to cancer risk actually looks like.The Cancer Reservoir: Why Finding More Doesn't Mean Saving MoreFor decades, the operating assumption in medicine has been simple: catch cancer early, save the life. No asterisk, no nuance.Welch's research complicates that. His central idea is the cancer reservoir — the observation that most people carry small clusters of abnormal cells somewhere in their bodies right now. In the prostate, thyroid, breast, or lung. Under a microscope, these cells look like cancer. But many of them will never grow, never spread, and never threaten a life. A person could carry one for thirty years and die at 87 of heart disease, never knowing it existed.The problem is that increasingly sensitive tools — full-body scans, PSA tests, low-dose CT — are very good at finding these dormant clusters. And once something is found and labeled “cancer,” the medical system is built to treat it.Welch's numbers, drawn from randomized trial data, are striking: approximately 60% of PSA-detected prostate cancers are overdiagnosed, meaning they meet the technical definition of cancer but would never have caused symptoms or death. For mammography-detected breast cancers, the estimate is around 25% — meaning roughly one in four women treated for a screen-detected breast cancer may never have needed that treatment: the chemotherapy, the radiation, the surgery, the fear, the financial cost.This isn't an anti-medicine argument. It's a call for a conversation that rarely happens: here's the case for this test, and here's the case against it — here's what we might find that helps you, and here's what we might find that sets off a chain reaction you'll spend years managing. For most patients, that conversation never occurs.The 5-Year Survival Stat Is Misleading YouFive-year survival rates for cancer are often cited as evidence that screening works — and they sound like exactly that. But Welch shows why the number can be deceptive, and it comes down to lead-time bias.Here's the mechanism. Imagine a woman whose cancer will kill her at 65, regardless of when it's found. If screening catches it at 62, she lives three years with the diagnosis before dying at 65 — a five-year survival rate under five years. But if that same cancer isn't found until symptoms appear at 64, she lives one year with the diagnosis and dies at 65 — a five-year survival rate of zero.Same woman. Same cancer. Same date of death. But the version of her found earlier through screening appears, statistically, to have “survived longer.” Screening didn't add a single day to her life — it just moved up the start date of her diagnosis. It's the equivalent of claiming a win in a race because someone moved your starting line 200 meters ahead of everyone else's: you didn't run faster, you just started earlier. The finish line never moved.Now layer in overdiagnosis. If 1,000 people are diagnosed with cancers that would never have hurt them, and all 1,000 are alive five years later — which they would have been regardless — the survival statistics look dramatically better without a single life actually being saved. Welch's research shows that 5-year survival rates can climb while actual cancer death rates stay flat. More survivors on paper. Same number of people dying.None of this means medicine isn't making genuine progress in some cancers — colon cancer being a clear example, discussed below. It does mean that 5-year survival statistics, on their own, are not proof that a screening program is saving lives.Where the Evidence for Screening Is Actually StrongIt would be a mistake to leave this discussion thinking all screening is suspect. Welch himself is careful to draw a distinction, and there are tests with solid, randomized-trial evidence behind them.Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer is arguably the strongest case for screening that exists. It's unique because it doesn't just detect cancer — it can prevent it, by removing precancerous polyps before they ever become malignant. Colon cancer incidence and mortality have both dropped measurably in populations with high screening rates. If you're 45 or older, or have a family history, this is worth a serious conversation with your doctor.Low-dose CT for lung cancer, in high-risk individuals specifically, showed a 15–20% reduction in lung cancer deaths in the National Lung Screening Trial — but only among heavy smokers (roughly a pack a day for 20+ years). The risk-benefit math works because the baseline risk in that population is high.Cervical cancer screening — Pap smears and HPV testing — is a genuine public health success story. Rates have dropped dramatically since routine screening began, because cervical cancer has a long, slow, detectable precancerous stage that can be caught before it turns invasive.The common thread: these screenings either catch a long, slow precancerous process, or they target a population where the risk is already high enough that the math clearly favors testing. That's the question worth bringing to your doctor: given my specific risk factors, does the math on this test work in my favor?By contrast, the evidence is much weaker for consumer-marketed total-body scans, full-body MRI as a general “optimization” tool, universal PSA screening in all men over 50, and mammography in average-risk women in their 40s. These aren't mandates — they're conversations, and informed consent means understanding both sides before deciding.The Harms Nobody Talks AboutHealthcare marketing tends to present testing as one-sided: test early, catch it early, save your life. Welch's research catalogs the costs that rarely make it into that pitch.False positives. A mammogram flags a shadow. It isn't cancer — but you don't know that yet. Six weeks of follow-up imaging, maybe a biopsy, and the stress hormones flooding your body during that stretch are a real physiological cost, even when the final answer is “you're fine.”Unnecessary treatment. When a cancer that would never have caused harm is treated anyway — with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy — the harm is real and the benefit is zero.The cancer label itself. Research shows that being labeled a cancer patient, even for a cancer that's never actively treated, changes a person's psychology, relationships, insurability, and life trajectory. Welch identifies this as a form of harm medicine rarely accounts for.Radiation exposure. Repeated CT scans carry cumulative radiation risk. A full-body scan can expose a person to the radiation equivalent of hundreds of chest X-rays — a real risk added to the body in pursuit of a cancer that may never develop.Welch's central reframe: the question isn't “should I get tested,” it's “given my risk factors, my age, my family history, and my values, does the math on this specific test work in my favor?” That's informed consent — and most people never get that conversation.The Missing Piece: Your Metabolism Is an Early Warning SystemWelch's work is thorough on what not to do. Where it leaves a gap is the proactive question: if blanket screening of healthy people isn't the answer, what is?The answer lies in the years — sometimes decades — before a tumor ever forms. Cancer doesn't appear overnight. The cellular environment that allows it to take root and grow develops gradually, and it leaves metabolic fingerprints long before any scan could detect a tumor.The clearest evidence for this comes from a 2026 study published in Nature Communications, which used machine learning on a massive UK database and linked insulin resistance to a significantly increased risk of at least 12 types of cancer. Pancreatic cancer risk was elevated by roughly 29%, colon cancer by 18%, and breast cancer by 13% — and critically, this risk showed up independent of body weight. A person at a healthy weight can still be carrying the metabolic dysfunction that drives cancer risk, and a standard annual physical would miss it entirely, because most doctors check fasting glucose, not fasting insulin. By the time glucose is elevated, insulin regulation has often been off for years.Layer in chronic inflammation (measured by hs-CRP), elevated ferritin, low vitamin D, rising homocysteine, and a poor triglyceride-to-HDL ratio, and what emerges is a picture of a metabolic environment that is increasingly hospitable to cancer. Think of it as soil: a healthy garden doesn't grow weeds easily, but depleted, imbalanced soil invites them. Cancer is the weed. Metabolic dysfunction is the depleted soil. The strategy, then, is to work on the soil rather than wait to spot the weed.What to Actually Do About ItPath A: Testing to ask your provider forThese tests build a real metabolic picture — the kind that shows soil quality before any weed appears.* Fasting insulin + HOMA-IR — not just fasting glucose. This is likely the single most important test most doctors aren't ordering.* Hemoglobin A1c — your 3-month blood sugar average.* hs-CRP — a high-sensitivity marker of systemic inflammation.* Full lipid panel, including TG/HDL ratio — a ratio above 3 is a strong metabolic red flag.* Ferritin — elevated levels are increasingly linked to inflammatory cancer environments.* Vitamin D (25-OH) — low levels are associated with higher cancer risk across multiple types; optimal is 60–80 ng/mL, not just “in range.”* Homocysteine — a methylation marker that, when elevated, signals oxidative stress.* LDH (Lactate Dehydrogenase) — rises when cells are under metabolic stress.For a deeper look, consider a comprehensive nutrient and organic acids panel (NutrEval), a gut microbiome panel (GI-MAP) — the gut-cancer connection is real — and a full hormone panel including cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, and SHBG.Path B: Lifestyle changes to start today* Eat in this order: protein and fat first, vegetables second, starches last. This alone can meaningfully blunt post-meal blood sugar spikes.* Cut refined sugars and seed oils — the two most direct dietary drivers of insulin resistance and inflammation.* Move daily. At minimum, 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, resistance training twice a week, and even a 10-minute walk after meals to improve glucose metabolism.* Prioritize sleep. Poor sleep disrupts glucose metabolism after a single bad night. Seven to nine hours is non-negotiable for metabolic health.* Manage stress. Chronic cortisol elevation drives insulin resistance — this is biochemistry, not soft advice.You don't need to do all of this at once. Pick one test to ask for at your next appointment, and one lifestyle change to start this week.Summary & Next StepDr. Welch's research makes an uncomfortable but important case: early detection is not automatically synonymous with lives saved, the 5-year survival statistic can be misleading, and testing healthy people carries real costs — false positives, unnecessary treatment, radiation exposure, and the psychological weight of a cancer label. At the same time, some screenings — colonoscopy, cervical cancer screening, low-dose CT for high-risk smokers — have strong evidence behind them and are worth pursuing for the right person.What's missing from that picture is a proactive strategy, and that's where metabolic health comes in. Insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and blood sugar dysregulation show up years before cancer does, and unlike a full-body scan, they're both measurable and fixable.If you want a clear picture of where your own metabolic terrain stands — and what your highest-leverage next steps are — book a Metabolic Audit Call. It's a complementary 45-minute session where we review your current labs, symptoms, health history, and goals together. Spots are limited each week; the link is in the show notes.References* Welch, H.G. Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here's Why. University of California Press.* National Lung Screening Trial Research Team. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening.* Nature Communications (2026). Machine learning analysis of UK biobank data linking insulin resistance to increased risk across 12 cancer types, independent of body weight.* Thrive 120 Podcast, Episode 126: “Should I Be Tested for Cancer? What Dr. Welch Got Right — And What He Missed,” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tripleplaydoc.substack.com/subscribe

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast
Space Mechanic | Today's Space News

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 32:16 Transcription Available


Astronomy Daily — S05E147: "Space Mechanic" Wednesday 22 July 2026 A spacecraft with robotic arms is on its way to geostationary orbit to keep other satellites alive. A discarded rocket stage is two weeks out from hitting the Moon, and twenty-three astronomers have just asked the world to watch. Plus the first binary star system where both stars exploded, the first complete magnetic map of a galaxy cluster, and the asteroid breakup that may have bombarded three worlds while Earth froze. In This Episode ●      The Space Mechanic Launches — Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral on 21 July carrying three Mission Extension Pods. With two 3-metre robotic arms built by the US Naval Research Laboratory, it is designed to inspect, relocate, repair and refuel satellites in geostationary orbit. Each pod can give a 2,000 kg satellite up to eight more years of life. ●      UPDATE — The Rocket Aimed at the Moon — A new arXiv preprint signed by 23 astronomers calls for a coordinated observing campaign when Falcon 9 upper stage 2025-010D strikes the Moon near Einstein crater on 5 August. North America has the best seat: 2:34am EDT, with the paper naming observers in the Americas as the ideal group. Refined impact time, predicted crater size, and why the ejecta plume may be visible even if the flash is not. ●      Sibling Supernovae — Sixteen years of Fermi data reveal a faint supernova remnant hiding in the glare of the Jellyfish Nebula. The two may be the first known pair of remnants traced back to a single binary star system. ●      Mapping a Cluster's Magnetic Field — Using the deepest radio observations ever made with LOFAR, astronomers have reconstructed the magnetic field of galaxy cluster Abell 2255 from nucleus to outer edge for the first time. ●      The Eulalia Bombardment — A new Planetary Science Journal paper links the breakup of a main-belt asteroid to an impact shower that battered the Moon, Earth and Mars 800 million years ago — and may connect to a global freeze. ●      Skywatch, Both Hemispheres — Why this week beats peak night for the Delta Aquariids wherever you are, how to catch them from the southern US and Mediterranean, and what's coming on 12 August: a total solar eclipse across Iceland and Spain, a North American partial, and the best Perseid peak in years on a new Moon.Sources & Further Reading ●      Space.com — SpaceX launches satellite repair drone with 10-foot robotic arms to Earth orbit ●      NASASpaceflight.com — Falcon 9 to launch MRV-1 robotic servicing spacecraft for Northrop Grumman ●      Northrop Grumman SpaceLogistics — Mission Robotic Vehicle and Mission Extension Pod fact sheets ●      Scientific American — A SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the moon; scientists will be watching ●      Phys.org — When a SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon, scientists will be watching (arXiv preprint) ●      Project Pluto (Bill Gray) — Upper stage impacting the moon on 2026 August 5 ●      Stanford University — Researchers uncover evidence for sibling supernovas (Michailidis et al., Nature Communications) ●      Reuters — Scientists spot evidence of two huge companion stars that blew up ●      Space.com — Galaxy cluster's magnetic field reconstructed for 1st time with record-breaking astronomy map (Botteon et al., INAF, A&A) ●      Southwest Research Institute — SwRI-led research connects asteroid collision to impact showers 800 million years ago ●      The Planetary Science Journal — Bottke, Vokrouhlický, Dykhuis & Zellner, "An 800 Myr-old Impact Shower on the Terrestrial Planets from the Breakup of the Eulalia Parent Body" ●      EarthSky — Delta Aquariid meteor shower: all you need to know in 2026 ●      NASA Science — Total Solar Eclipse on August 12, 2026 (path, partial visibility and safety guidance) ●      BBC Sky at Night Magazine — August 12, 2026 solar eclipse: USA and Canada guide   Connect ●      Website: astronomydaily.io ●      Socials: @AstroDailyPod ●      Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast NetworkBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-latest-space-news--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.astronomydaily.io/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Get the best secure and private email on the planet. Stop your Government, google and who knows who else spying on every email you write. Do what we did and use ProtonMail. They beleive in privacy and there are no ads in their business model...yet they still provide a free forever service. Check them out and get out special deal at www.astronomydaily.io/protonmailBecome a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast
Journal Review in Colorectal Surgery: ctDNA in Colorectal Cancer and Anal Squamous Cell Cancer

Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2026 41:33


Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), a minimally invasive blood-based biomarker, has emerged as one of the most promising advances in cancer surveillance. Today, we will explore how ctDNA is transforming the management of colorectal cancer and anal squamous cell cancer across the disease continuum—from risk stratification and adjuvant therapy decision-making to surveillance and early detection of recurrence. Through landmark clinical trials, real-world applications, and emerging research, we will examine how ctDNA is helping move cancer care closer to the goal of truly personalized medicine.Hosts: ·       Dr. Janet Alvarez - General Surgery Resident at New York Medical College/Metropolitan Hospital Center·       Dr. Wini Zambare – General Surgery Resident at Weill Cornell Medical Center/New York Presbyterian·       Dr. Philip Bauer, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital·       Dr. J. Joshua Smith MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer CenterGuests:Dr. Paul Romessor ·      Director of Colorectal and Anal Cancer, Department of Radiation Oncology·      Associate Attending Radiation OncologistMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterDr. Jeanne Tie ·      Medical Oncologist | Lower GI Unit ·      Lower GI Research Lead ·      Chair | Lower GI Working Party | GI Cancer TrialsPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre Dr. Takayuki Yoshino·      Professor, Global Center of Research Excellence for Advanced Medicine (G-CORE),Keio University School of Medicine·      Executive Advisor to Hospital East Director·      Director, Department of Global Oncology·      Chief, Department of Gastrointestinal OncologyNational Cancer Center Hospital EastLearning Objectives:·      Describe the biological basis and clinical applications of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a biomarker of minimal residual disease (MRD) in colorectal cancer.·      Interpret the prognostic significance of postoperative and longitudinal ctDNA testing and its role in predicting recurrence risk across stages of colorectal cancer.·      Evaluate evidence from landmark clinical trials, including DYNAMIC and GALAXY, supporting ctDNA-guided treatment de-escalation and escalation strategies in colorectal cancer.·      Discuss emerging applications of ctDNA monitoring in personalized cancer care, including surveillance, treatment response assessment, and future clinical trial directions. References:·      Ando, K. et al. (2026). Molecular Residual Disease and Recurrence in Rectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Upfront Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study. Annals of Surgery. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39854721/ (Note: If direct access is limited, the article is available via PMC: PMC12695342)·      Romesser, P. B. et al. (2026). Tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA stratifies recurrence risk and survival in anal squamous cell carcinoma. Nature Communications. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38347209/·      Tie, J. et al. (2025). Circulating tumor DNA analysis guiding adjuvant therapy in stage II colon cancer: 5-year outcomes of the randomized DYNAMIC trial. Nature Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39943485/·      Tie, J. et al. (2025). Circulating tumor DNA-guided adjuvant therapy in locally advanced colon cancer: the randomized phase 2/3 DYNAMIC-III trial. Nature Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39974258/Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.  If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://behindtheknife.org/listenBehind the Knife Premium: https://behindtheknife.org/premiumOral Board Review: https://behindtheknife.org/oral-boardOral Board Simulator: https://behindtheknife.org/oral-board/simulatorGeneral Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/general-surgery-oral-board-reviewTrauma Surgery Video Atlas: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/trauma-surgery-video-atlasDominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-clerkshipDominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-for-apps-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-rotationVascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/vascular-surgery-oral-board-reviewColorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/colorectal-surgery-oral-board-reviewSurgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-oncology-oral-board-reviewCardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/cardiothoracic-surgery-oral-board-reviewDownload our App:Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/behind-the-knife/id1672420049Android/Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.btk.app&hl=en_US

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2026 is: loquacious • loh-KWAY-shus • adjective Loquacious means “liking to talk and talking smoothly and easily.” Someone described as loquacious might also be called wordy (prone to using more words than necessary) or garrulous (tending to talk a lot). // We were entertained all afternoon by our host's loquacious parrot and its nonstop script of favored phrases. See the entry > Examples: “Due to their loquacious nature, marmosets have recently become a focus of studies on the evolutionary origin of human speech and language.” — Tobias Kahland et al., Nature Communications, 28 Mar. 2026 Did you know? Loquacious undeniably has a poetic ring to it. It's been a favorite of the writerly sort since it made its first appearance in English in the 17th century and, with poetic license, writers stretched its meaning beyond “talkative,” and especially “excessively talkative,” to describe such things as the chattering of birds and the babbling of brooks. The ultimate source of all this chattiness is loquī, a Latin verb meaning “to talk, speak.” Other words descended from loquī include colloquial, eloquent, soliloquy, and ventriloquism.

Geek News Central
AI Distillation: How Frontier Models Teach Each Other #1870

Geek News Central

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2026 45:43 Transcription Available


In this episode, Ray Cochrane breaks down AI distillation, the teacher-student technique frontier labs now lean on to train smaller, cheaper models. He also covers GPT-5.6’s government-vetted rollout, Claude Sonnet 5 landing on AWS, Maryland’s two-year data center pause, and Microsoft’s climbing carbon numbers. Finally, he wraps with Apple’s $30 billion Broadcom deal, Meta’s tamper-proof recording light, Michigan’s parasite outbreak, and a simulation that erased a super El Niño. – Want to start a podcast? Its easy to get started! Sign-up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Ray if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Full Summary Cochrane opens with a quick personal update. Longer days have him outdoors, including a float trip on the Sandy River at Dabney State Park, where he found clearer water, clay-like sand, and easy footing. Next week brings both a move and a trip home, so he is stocking up on Trader Joe’s “Power Berries” and IKEA bags at his mom’s request. Then he turns to the lead story. AI Distillation Explained: How Frontier Models Teach Each Other Cochrane’s featured story comes from Hugging Face engineer Sergio Paniego. Distillation is teacher-student training for AI: a capable model generates the training signal, and a smaller student learns to match it. The classic off-policy version compresses giant models into cheap students, either through soft labels or piles of worked answers. Google’s Gemma models and DeepSeek’s R1-Distill line were built exactly this way. However, the industry is now converging on multi-teacher on-policy distillation, or MOPD. Labs build reinforcement-learning specialists for math, coding, and agentic work, then have them grade a single student, word by word, as the student generates its own answers. DeepSeek-V4, MiMo-V2-Flash, and NVIDIA’s Nemotron 3 Ultra all run versions of the recipe, and the Qwen3 team reported better results at roughly a tenth of the GPU hours of raw reinforcement learning. Finally, self-distillation lets models like Cursor’s Composer 2.5 learn from better-prompted versions of themselves. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. GPT-5.6 Arrives With a Government-Vetted Rollout OpenAI shipped GPT-5.6 as a three-tier family: Sol, Terra, and Luna. Sol costs five dollars in and thirty dollars out per million tokens, half of Claude Fable 5’s rate. The benchmarks split: Sol Ultra wins Terminal-Bench at 91.9 percent, while Claude Fable 5 still leads SWE-Bench Pro. Notably, the API launched in limited preview to roughly 20 partners vetted by the U.S. government, though the model went live in Microsoft 365 Copilot on day one. Claude Sonnet 5 Lands on AWS, Plus Quick AWS Wins Claude Sonnet 5 arrived on AWS through Bedrock, pitched as top-tier intelligence at Sonnet pricing. Additionally, Amazon WorkSpaces for AI agents reached general availability, enabling agents to drive full desktop applications securely. OpenSearch gained a log-analytics engine claiming four times the price-performance, and SageMaker now scales inference about twice as fast. Cochrane also flags that Kendra and Q Business move to maintenance mode at the end of July. Anthropic Wants You to Reflect on Your Claude Habits Anthropic launched Reflect, a beta feature that analyzes your past Claude conversations and visualizes how you actually use the assistant. It requires Memory, excludes incognito and health-related chats, and keeps its insights inside the tool. Cochrane loves the idea. He reviews his own transcripts to extract prompt patterns and turn them into reusable skills, and he suggests listeners simply ask their AI to do the same. AlphaEvolve Goes GA on Google Cloud Google made AlphaEvolve generally available to Google Cloud customers on the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The agent acts as an evolutionary collaborator: provide a baseline algorithm and your goals, and it searches for better, human-readable code. BASF, JetBrains, and Kinaxis are the named early adopters. Meanwhile, Cochrane renews his standing wish that DeepMind release AlphaGo as a playable teacher. Google Adds “How This Ad Was Made” AI Labels Google is adding a “How this ad was made” section to My Ad Center across Search, YouTube, and Discover. Ads built with Google’s own AI tools automatically get the disclosure, backed by invisible watermarks. However, ads made with outside tools rely on advertiser self-declaration. Cochrane points out the limits of voluntary disclosure in an AI-flooded content economy. Microsoft’s Carbon Emissions Climb 25 Percent Microsoft’s new sustainability report shows emissions up 25% in 2025, driven by a data center construction spree. The gross figure is 34 million metric tons before offsets, while other coverage puts the net figure at around 20 million. Water consumption also jumped thirty-four percent, even as Microsoft claims its first water-positive year. Cochrane argues regulation needs to catch up, since Google and Amazon report similar increases. Prince George’s County Pauses Data Centers for Two Years Prince George’s County adopted a two-year moratorium on new data center development, the longest pause in Maryland so far. The resolution blocks new applications, including hyperscale projects, until the council passes real regulations. Water and energy impacts remain open questions the county intends to study. Cochrane gives kudos to residents for making their voices heard. Apple and Broadcom Ink a $30 Billion U.S. Chip Deal Apple is expanding its partnership with Broadcom with a multiyear agreement expected to exceed $30 billion. The deal covers custom silicon and wireless components, with more than fifteen billion chips to be made on American soil. Broadcom’s Fort Collins, Colorado plant anchors the work with a $1.5 billion equipment expansion. Tim Cook framed the deal as accelerating Apple’s commitment to American manufacturing. MSI and Intel Ship the First Arc G3 Extreme Handheld Intel detailed how it co-engineered the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, the first handheld on the Arc G3 Extreme processor. Highlights include a heat-spreading board layout and game-tuning loops that Intel says run Cyberpunk 2077 up to thirty-seven percent faster. The device is on sale now in void purple for around $1,500. At that price, Cochrane jokes he would rather buy a computer. Meta’s Glasses Get a Tamper-Proof Recording Light Meta answered the most common privacy questions about its AI glasses. Photos stay private on the device until the wearer imports or shares them, and a white capture LED blinks during any recording with no off switch. Moreover, newer glasses disable the camera if the LED is blocked, tampered with, or destroyed. Cochrane reminds listeners these claims are Meta grading its own homework, but the blink signal is worth recognizing in public. Michigan’s Parasite Outbreak Tops 1,200 Cases Michigan’s cyclosporiasis outbreak reached 1,251 cases since June 22, with roughly forty hospitalizations along the way. Northwest Ohio adds more than five hundred cases. The parasite typically spreads through contaminated fresh produce, and investigators still have not found the source. Cochrane’s advice: wash your produce, and get tested if your symptoms fit. AI Finds the San Andreas Fault’s Silent Slips Researchers paired AI with borehole strainmeters to detect dozens of hidden slow-slip events beneath the San Andreas Fault’s Parkfield section. Each silent slip releases stress within hours and is reliably followed by low-frequency earthquakes. Together, the findings support a continuous spectrum from silent creep to destructive quakes. The study appears in Nature Communications, and Cochrane hopes it will lead to better earthquake prediction. Cloud Brightening Erased a Super El Niño, in a Simulation Finally, a Science Advances study simulated marine cloud brightening in response to the 1997 and 2015 super El Niño events. Seeding clouds over the eastern Pacific erased the events entirely inside the model. Real deployment would take roughly 2,400 ships spraying continuously, and the simulations showed side effects like extra warming over Europe and Asia. Cochrane finds the weather-machine concept fascinating, yet he questions the consequences of altering cycles the planet runs for a reason. The post AI Distillation: How Frontier Models Teach Each Other #1870 appeared first on Geek News Central.

International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP)
The early life gut microbiota in the developmental origins of health & disease, with Dr. Anne Salonen PhD

International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP)

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2026 29:45


This episode features Dr. Anne Salonen PhD from University of Helsinki (Finland) speaking about her studies on the gut microbiota in early life and how it relates to health and disease. She noted that while mode of delivery (C-section or vaginal birth) is the largest factor affecting microbiota composition for the first weeks and months of life, the immunological and functional microbiota consequences of this are still unknown. However, there appear to be ‘windows of opportunity' in which microorganisms can influence the development of the immune system, which have lasting consequences for health. Dr. Salonen describes her Finnish HELMi birth cohort, a longitudinal, prospective general population birth cohort, set up to identify factors that modify the gut microbiota and how they relate to child health and wellbeing. Children from 1055 families were sampled frequently in the first 2 years of life and followed as they grew older. The findings confirmed that early-life microbiota composition was a risk factor (among others) for certain diseases as the children developed. Prof. Salonen also described her study on inoculating the infant gut with maternal gut microbiota via milk feeding after C-section birth. They found, in an initial small study, that the gut microbiota of the infants became similar to vaginally born infants. She sees this type of inoculation as a research tool, and says the field will progress toward standardized, reproducible interventions in this area. Episode abbreviations and links: Nature Communications paper showing gut microbiota wellbeing index: Gut microbiota wellbeing index predicts overall health in a cohort of 1000 infants Paper on HELMi birth cohort showing factors affecting gut microbiota in early life: Sources of gut microbiota variation in a large longitudinal Finnish infant cohort Study of maternal fecal microbiota transplantation in infants born by C-section: Maternal Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Cesarean-Born Infants Rapidly Restores Normal Gut Microbial Development: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Microbes inside (Salonen lab website) About Dr. Anne Salonen: Dr. Anne Salonen is a principal investigator and director of the Human Microbiome Research Program at the Medical Faculty, University of Helsinki. Her research is focused on the intestinal microbiota in health and disease, especially in early life and in relation to diet. Dr. Salonen is a PI of the Finnish Health and Early Life Microbiota (HELMI) birth cohort and involved in maternal fecal microbiota transplantation studies in C-section infants. She is the coordinator of the European Innovation Council Pathfinder project on gut microbiota in precision nutrition (fibrematch.eu). Dr. Salonen's research also entails female reproductive tract microbiota in relation to reproductive outcomes and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection. Research methodology in Salonen laboratory ranges from NGS and other omics technologies to culture-based microbiology of anaerobes, including application and development of bioinformatic tools for microbiome research. More on our research at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/microbes-inside.

Fitness mit M.A.R.K. — Dein Nackt Gut Aussehen Podcast übers Abnehmen, Muskelaufbau und Motivation
Dein Gehirn ist gegen Dich verdrahtet – so drehst Du den Spieß um (#579)

Fitness mit M.A.R.K. — Dein Nackt Gut Aussehen Podcast übers Abnehmen, Muskelaufbau und Motivation

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2026 36:36


Weniger als vier von 100. So wenige gingen ein Jahr später noch ins Fitnessstudio. Und das lag nicht daran, dass sie nicht wollten.Fitness-Gewohnheiten – ob gesundes Essen, Supplement-Einnahme oder regelmäßiges Training – spielen neurobiologisch in einer eigenen Liga. Am Anfang arbeitet Dein Gehirn gegen Dich. Am Ende dieser Folge weißt Du, warum, und mit welchen drei Strategien Du trotzdem dranbleibst.Du erfährst:Warum sich die ersten Wochen wie ein Kampf anfühlen, und wann sich das drehtWarum die „21-Tage-Regel“ nicht funktioniert – und wie lange Du wirklich brauchst3 simple Strategien, die in Studien zu >50% häufigerem Training führen.Los geht's. Und dann: dranbleiben.____________*WERBUNG: Infos zum Werbepartner dieser Folge und allen weiteren Werbepartnern findest Du hier.

The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey
Organic Produce, Exercise vs Income, Cat Parasite, Thorne, Loss of Taste, and more... : 1495

The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2026 10:45


GLP-1 Side Effects, Gut Microbiome & Brain Health, Toxoplasmosis Risks, and the Dirty Dozen Explained Plasma Acetate Emerges As Key Gut-Brain Messenger In Older Adults A study published in Nature Communications examined how gut bacteria relate to plasma acetic acid, a short-chain fatty acid produced when gut microbes ferment fiber, and found that higher acetate levels tracked with lower triglycerides, higher HDL cholesterol, lower body fat, larger thalamic brain volume, and stronger performance on judgment-related cognitive tasks. Mediation analysis showed acetate acts as a direct link between specific gut bacteria, including Oscillibacter and Coprococcus, and these health outcomes. Host Dave Asprey breaks down why this elevates fiber fermentation, not fermented beverages, as the real lever for gut-brain health, and separates the evidence-backed mechanism from the kombucha-as-shortcut assumption. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-026-01566-x ~~ GLP-1 Drugs Linked To Sharp Rise In Smell And Taste Disturbances A JAMA Otolaryngology cohort study tracking over 438,000 GLP-1 users against matched controls found a 48% higher risk of new smell or taste disturbances over two years, with smell disturbances up 81% and taste disturbances up 52%. Diagnoses included anosmia, parosmia, and parageusia, with researchers pointing to GLP-1 receptor activity in the olfactory bulb and other chemosensory pathways as a possible mechanism. Host Dave Asprey unpacks why this signal got buried under muscle loss and gut motility headlines, and what it means for anyone currently on or considering GLP-1 therapy. Sources: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2850571 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/10.1001/jamaoto.2026.1498 https://trial.medpath.com/news/glp-1-receptor-agonists-linked-to-increased-risk-of-smell-and-taste-disturbances-study-finds ~~ Scientists Push For Toxoplasmosis To Be Recognized As A Neglected Tropical Disease A viewpoint paper in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases argues that toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection carried by roughly one in three people globally, deserves WHO neglected tropical disease status given its outsized impact on vision and maternal-child health. Ocular toxoplasmosis is the most common intra-ocular infection worldwide, and an estimated 190,000 babies are born with congenital toxoplasmosis each year, concentrated in low-resource regions. Despite the scale, there is still no vaccine and no standard global treatment protocol. Host Dave Asprey explains why common, quiet health threats get chronically underfunded compared to dramatic outbreaks, and what pregnant listeners specifically should know about exposure risk. Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/parasite-affecting-1-in-3-people-is-a-serious-risk-to-human-health-scientists-warn ~~ Yale-Oxford Data Shows Exercise May Boost Mental Health More Than A Raise An analysis of CDC survey data from over 1.2 million U.S. adults found that people who exercise regularly report 1.5 to 2 fewer poor mental health days per month than non-exercisers, a benefit comparable to earning about $25,000 more per year. The data also revealed an inverted-U relationship, with optimal benefits at three to five sessions a week and diminishing or reversed returns at extreme volumes. Host Dave Asprey breaks down why moderate, consistent movement outperforms income as a mental health lever, and why overtraining carries its own psychological cost. Sources: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/04/exercise-officially-makes-you-happier-than-money-according-to-yale-and-oxford-research/ https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/exercise-linked-to-improved-mental-health-but-more-may-not-always-be-better/ ~~ Unilever Reportedly Exploring $4 Billion Bid For Supplement Brand Thorne Unilever is said to be evaluating a bid for Thorne, the clinical-grade supplement brand currently owned by private equity firm L Catterton, in a deal that could value the company at up to $4 billion, with Haleon also reportedly circling. The move reflects a broader trend of major consumer-health conglomerates acquiring practitioner-trusted, lab-forward wellness brands. Host Dave Asprey weighs in on what happens to product quality and innovation when founder-led, science-first supplement companies get absorbed into shareholder-first parent corporations. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/unilever-explores-bid-supplements-maker-thorne-ft-reports-2026-06-26/ ~~ New Research Maps How Your Microbiome Processes Plant Compounds, And What It Means For Your Produce Aisle Choices Researchers mapped 775 phytonutrients from over 1,100 edible plants against nearly 2,000 gut bacterial enzymes across thousands of human microbiomes, linking that enzyme activity to outcomes in IBD, colorectal cancer, and fatty liver disease. Individuals varied widely in how many of these compounds their gut could actually process, and in mouse studies, strawberries reduced colitis activity only in mice with an intact microbiome. Host Dave Asprey explains why the plant itself isn't the active ingredient, your bacteria are, and connects the findings to this year's Environmental Working Group Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists to help listeners decide where organic actually matters. Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12768975/ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1108351 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02197-z ~~ This episode is designed for biohackers, longevity enthusiasts, and high-performance listeners who want mechanism-level insights into the gut-brain axis, an underreported GLP-1 side effect, a global parasite hiding in plain sight, the real ROI of exercise on mental health, consolidation in the supplement industry, and how your microbiome determines what your produce actually does for you. Host Dave Asprey connects clinical research, large cohort studies, mechanistic biology, and industry news into practical frameworks for improving gut health, brain performance, and long-term resilience. New episodes every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Keywords: plasma acetate gut brain axis, short chain fatty acids, gut microbiome cognition, GLP-1 smell taste disturbances, anosmia parosmia GLP-1, semaglutide side effects, toxoplasmosis neglected tropical disease, Toxoplasma gondii health risks, congenital toxoplasmosis, exercise mental health study, exercise versus income happiness, overtraining mental health, Unilever Thorne acquisition, supplement industry consolidation, phytonutrient gut bacteria enzymes, polyphenol metabolism microbiome, Dirty Dozen Clean Fifteen 2026, pesticide residue produce, biohacking news 2026, Dave Asprey, The Human Upgrade Thank you to our sponsors! - PredictiveMind™ | Get your Brain Pattern Mapping report at predictivemind.io/dave and use code DAVE for 10% off. - Viome | Check it out at viome.com and use code 10DAVE for 10% off. It's time to stop guessing and start knowing your body. - iRestore | Reverse hair loss at www.irestore.com/DAVE and get exclusive savings on the iRestore Elite, use code DAVE Resources: • Get My 2026 Clean Nicotine Roadmap | Enroll for free at https://daveasprey.com/2026-clean-nicotine-roadmap/ • Get My 2026 Biohacking Trends Report: https://daveasprey.com/2026-biohacking-trends-report/ • Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today. • Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15 • My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off) • Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off) • Dave Asprey's BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com • Dave Asprey's New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated • Join My Substack (Live Access To Podcast Recordings): https://substack.daveasprey.com/ • Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com Timestamps: 00:00 – Story #1: Acetate & Gut-Brain Health 01:57 – Story #2: GLP-1s & Smell/Taste Loss 03:22 – Story #3: Toxoplasmosis Risks 04:33 – Story #4: Exercise vs Income 05:53 – Story #5: Phytonutrients & Gut Enzymes 07:45 – Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen 08:46 – Story #6: Thorne Acquisition 09:49 – Takeaway See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Interplace
Burning Through 250 Years

Interplace

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2026 22:25


Hello Interactors,Welcome to summer where Interplace turns its attention to physical geography and the environment. It's already a crazy El Niño — thanks in large part to global warming — and the United States is having a big birthday. How might these be related and what to do about it?What follows is not a celebration or a condemnation, but more of a reckoning. I look at what was built, what was deliberately forgotten, and what is now continually arriving, season by season, in forms of weather the founders could not have imagined.Although Alexander Humboldt — one of the world's most famous scientists at the time — did warn Jefferson of the effects of human-induced climate change in 1804. He based his prediction on changes he observed in forests and water systems as a result of mono-crops and industrial “steam and gas”. Jefferson ignored him.BUILDING, BURNING, BILLOWING BACKOn this momentous 250th Fourth of July, when the world is experiencing record level extreme weather events, let's reflect on how over the last 250 years the United States helped build, extract, and then burn the material and political conditions that made climate change possible. From the beginning, it tied itself to land, extraction, mobility, and expansion. Over time those commitments became an energy system built on coal, oil, gas, highways, suburbs, industrial agriculture, and a development model that treated nature as an inexhaustible storehouse. That legacy is now legible in the atmosphere itself. Let's light a Roman Candle in celebration!Even before the 4th of July fireworks celebrations create another nationwide 42% average increase in fine particulate matter (Seidel, et al., 2015), the United States bears the single largest share of cumulative historical CO₂ emissions of any nation . We represent roughly 20 percent of the global total since 1850 contributing approximately 0.2°C of warming to date (Carbon Brief, 2021; UNEP, 2023). To represent four percent of the world's current population and be responsible for nearly a fifth of its cumulative warming is not a coincidence of geography or fake news. It is the outcome of deliberate choices about how a republic would be organized, energized, and expanded across two and a half centuries.The United States has long imagined freedom in spatial terms: movement, property, settlement, mastery, frontier, and circulation. Those abstract ideals were made real through land theft and remade landscapes, as well as through infrastructure built in significant part by African and African American enslaved labor. Each step along the way depended on ever-greater throughput of energy, labor, and material. In that sense, the country's history is also a history of how thought became organized around extraction and exploitation, until those thoughts and actions themselves became a kind of common sense. But by the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries increased industrialization meant emissions grew. They surged during the postwar era and peaked in the early 2000s — a trajectory that maps almost exactly onto the spatial project of suburban expansion, highway construction, and fossil-fuel-dependent agriculture (Climate Change Tracker, 2024). Two-thirds of the country's cumulative warming impact derives from fossil CO₂ alone. The built environment of American freedom is as inseparable from the chemical footprint it left behind as a firecracker's scattered debris and carbon residue.This leaves us with a climate crisis that is not just the result of a few bad policy choices in the late twentieth century. We exist in a cumulative outcome of a long national project that normalized combustion as prosperity and treated atmospheric consequence as some distant abstraction. Kind of like turning up the radio to drowned out the sound of your car making a funny noise. The federal state government played a central role in this process. Not only through direct policy and subsidies, but through the development of roads, ports, power systems, agricultural regimes, and military logistics that expanded the scale of fossil dependence at every scale of national life.The fossil fuel industry understood this trajectory earlier than the public was permitted to know. A systematic analysis published in Science found that ExxonMobil's own scientists accurately projected and skillfully modeled global warming due to fossil fuel burning from as early as 1977. These projections are consistent with subsequent observations. And yet, for decades, the company publicly pushed doubt and denial (Supran, Rahmstorf, & Oreskes, 2023). Consequently, what America projects as “economic growth”, fueled enormously by the fossil fuel industry, is embedded not only in a collective national memory but in the scientific record.The irony is that America's confidence in its own permanence rested on a false sense of geography. The landscape seemed stable because the costs were displaced in the form of upstream mining, downstream pollution, hidden emissions, imported and exported harm, and deferred climate effects. The effects on the atmosphere made that displacement impossible to sustain. The ‘progress' that had been scattered across space and time returns as heat, drought, fire, flood, and increasingly volatile weather. We built a world in which the rewards of extraction were immediate while the penalties were delayed. Call it what you will — the climate crisis is just the debt of delay, dressed as disaster.KNOWING, NEGLECTING, NEUTERING KNOWLEDGEThe USA did not simply keep burning and expanding on autopilot. By the late twentieth century, it had also begun to lose the institutional capacity to understand what its own trajectory meant. The problem was no longer that the 1970's scientific picture Exxon had already portrayed was absent. The evidence was clear. By the early 1990s the United States had ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and formally accepted the goal of returning greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by the end of the decade.The barrier to progress was not ignorance, but a degraded relationship between knowledge and power. This was engineered in part by more fossil fuel industry campaigns to sow doubt about science it privately accepted. Historians of science Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway documented how a loose-knit network of industry-connected scientists ran effective campaigns to mislead the public on issues from tobacco to climate change. They exploited the media's tendency toward false balance and keeping controversy alive long after scientific consensus had been reached (Oreskes & Conway, 2010). The strategy was to make certainty seem uncertain, and it worked. For decades, political inaction persisted through every window of action that may have helped.By the mid-1990s, climate change had become legible enough for federal institutions to name, study, and plan around, but the machinery of governance was being bent in the opposite direction. Newt Gingrich and the Republicans who rose with him may not have invented anti-government politics, but they weaponized it. Curiously, through pro-governmental politics. While their rhetoric promised efficiency and modernization, in practice it often meant cutting staffs, weakening committees, abolishing subcommittees, and treating the legislature less as a site of deliberation than as a theater of permanent combat. After all, their own staffers affectionately referred to Gingrich and his wrecking crew as ‘jihadists' — even as those same politicians promulgated and attached that term as a slur toward Muslims. One of the most consequential acts of this period was the 1995 defunding of the Office of Technology Assessment. This was a bipartisan, independent body that had produced over 750 reports on complex scientific and technical questions since 1974, including major studies on energy policy, environmental risk, and the long-range consequences of atmospheric change. Gingrich had vowed to kill the OTA during his 1994 election campaign. He kept his promise, and with it eliminated one of Congress's primary mechanisms for converting scientific knowledge into durable legislative capacity (Wikipedia, Office of Technology Assessment; AAAS Science, 2019).A legislature cannot respond intelligently to a long-range atmospheric crisis if it has stripped away the very mechanisms designed to synthesize evidence, test assumptions, and tackle complex questions over time. What replaced deliberations mediated by experts was a vacuum quickly filled by industry lobbyists — the same industry that, amongst themselves, knew exactly what Gingrich was doing. Research on institutional dynamics in climate governance consistently finds that fragmented policy, weak intergovernmental coordination, and the erosion of technical capacity are among the most significant barriers to effective long-range climate action (Jaisridhar et al., 2025; Birchall, Bonnett, & Kehler, 2023).The thinning of Congress's own cognitive infrastructure in 1995 was a bureaucratic adjustment that disabled the country's capacity to govern on topics beyond the timescales and dimensions of a single administration. The political system was becoming less capable of converting recognition into sustained action precisely as the need for that conversion became most urgent. The United States not only helped create the conditions for warming but undermined its own capacity to govern the effects warming created. The atmosphere was warming and so was the willful weakening of the world's most powerful potential partner in planetary protection.CASCADES, CRISES, AND COMING TO TERMSWhat follows is not simply a warmer world, but a less legible and actionable one. Once a political system weakens its own capacity to think long-term, it becomes ill-equipped to face a future that arrives not as a single rupture but as a cascade of self-reinforcing disruptions. We've all experienced or read about hotter summers, fire, more erratic rainfall, stressed coasts, shifting storm tracks, and weather that no longer behaves as the old seasonal calendar once did. Anthropogenic warming is already increasing variability in frequency and severity of weather systems. This in turn can alter local precipitation variability, storm behavior, and the climatic conditions on which seasonal expectations have long depended (Robinson, 2021; Wang et al., 2017; Scher & Messori, 2019). In several regions, climate change is expected not only to shift average conditions but to change seasonal predictability itself — especially for rainfall — making the future harder to read through the calendars and risk assumptions modeled and built from the past (Le et al., 2023; Delsole et al., 2014).Even now, the atmosphere offers a live demonstration of this instability. On June 11, 2026, NOAA officially declared that El Niño has arrived — with a 63 percent probability of reaching “very strong” intensity, defined as sea surface temperature anomalies of at least +2°C in the equatorial Pacific. This would rank it among the largest events in the historical record (NOAA, 2026). What makes 2026 categorically different from prior super events is not just its projected intensity but its baseline. This El Niño begins from the warmest ocean temperatures in human history, layered onto anthropogenic warming that has already pushed the planet to 1.55°C above preindustrial levels.As one paper argued in April, the El Niño is the accelerant; the fuel was already stacked (Hansen et al., 2026). The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has placed an 86 percent probability on at least one year between 2026 and 2030 surpassing 2024 as the warmest on record, with 2027 — when El Niño's thermal lag typically produces its most extreme global signals — as the most likely candidate (WMO, 2026).When that variability is layered onto long-term warming, the result is not just discomfort but a deeper erosion of climatic predictability. ENSO — the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the coupled ocean-atmosphere system that drives El Niño's periodic warming and its counterpart La Niña's cooling across the tropical Pacific — is not a new phenomenon, but its behavior is changing. Model evidence indicates that ENSO-related rainfall variability is likely to intensify and shift eastward under greenhouse warming, creating more severe and sometimes novel climate conditions across the terrestrial tropics (Cai et al., 2021; Rifai, Li, & Malhi, 2019). The question is no longer whether the climate will change, but how many of the social and political structures built on climatic regularity can survive that change.Climate change is often presented as a technical or environmental problem to be solved. Especially amidst a culture of pervasive techno-optimism. But climate change is way more fundamental than this. It's a reordering of the relationship between how we need to think and the geography in which we exist. This includes political geography and a reordering of political imagination as it relates to physical geography. The old originally envisioned republic of the USA assumed that land could be mastered, seasons could be predicted, and institutions could absorb shock without losing coherence. Those assumptions no longer hold.The old assumption that infrastructure could be planned around stationary baselines is increasingly at odds with the evidence. We can already see how energy systems show measurable vulnerability to climatic uncertainty and extremes. Modeled systems evidence declines in reliability and large performance gaps when future weather variation is not adequately incorporated into planning (Perera et al., 2020; Ouyang et al., 2023).As a result, the challenge ahead is not adaptation to these changes in the narrow sense, but reconstruction of our relationship to them in the broad sense. This may seem impossible in today's American political system, but truly Democratic societies will need stronger scientific institutions, more durable legislative capacity, and trustworthy public agencies able to interpret risk before disaster becomes routine. They will need not only infrastructure, but intelligence. Embodied intelligence — embodied engagement with physical and social environments rather than as a purely singular-brain augmented by LLM computation. This includes a renewed ability to gather, preserve, and act on knowledge over long horizons.The literature on adaptation governance is clear that resilience depends on organizational learning, intergovernmental collaboration, inclusive planning, and long-term institutional capacity. Short-term, reactive, market or donor-driven interventions that respond to emergencies without building the durable frameworks that prevent them won't work (Birchall et al., 2026; Rahman & Islam, 2024). What this means practically is the reconstitution of the kind of congressional expertise that was dismantled in 1995. We need not merely revive the OTA but to imagine a broader democratic intelligence infrastructure capable of thinking on the timescales that climate change demands — decades, generations, and centuries. Without that, climate change will continue to be experienced as a succession of emergency, political, or market conditions rather than as a governable transformation.We can do this. After all, a country that once imagined itself through movement, expansion, and mastery made a certain kind of freedom seem natural. A new kind of freedom can be made to seem natural too. But right now our current system returns prosperity for many — but heat, flood, instability, and constraint for all. What was built now must be lived within — good and bad — while what was extracted must now live in the atmosphere — all bad. What gets burned today, will burn more later. The political order that was built through extraction, combustion, and territorial expansion must confront the atmospheric and hydrological consequences of those choices.That confrontation will only intensify. Past century's cumulative emissions have already committed the planet to changes that will outlast any government, living generation, or institution that exists. Including you and me. The next 250 years will belong less to societies that imagine escape than to those that can build the institutional intelligence, infrastructural redundancy, and long-term public capacity required to inhabit a less legible and hospitable climate (Ouyang et al., 2023; Jaisridhar et al., 2025).So, as you watch the rocket's red glare and bombs bursting in air — sending even more smoke, chemicals and debris everywhere — know the flag will still be there. But to endure, it must repair an institution to be once again knowledgeable and fair.ReferencesBirchall, S. J., Villeneuve, K., Rose, D., Baran, N. N., & Adams, S. (2026). Exploring the modifying effects of adaptive capacity on resilience to climate change across 4 coastal cities in British Columbia, Canada. Cities.Birchall, S. J., Bonnett, N. L., & Kehler, S. (2023). The influence of governance structure on local resilience: Enabling and constraining factors for climate change adaptation in practice. Urban Climate.Cai, W., McPhaden, M., Grimm, A., Rodrigues, R., Taschetto, A., Garreaud, R., … Vera, C. (2020). Climate impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on South America. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.Cai, W., Santoso, A., Collins, M., Dewitte, B., Karamperidou, C., Kug, J., … Zhong, W. (2021). Changing El Niño–Southern Oscillation in a warming climate. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.Carbon Brief. (2021). Analysis: Which countries are historically responsible for climate change?Climate Change Tracker. (2024). United States of America: Historic contribution to global warming since 1850.Delsole, T., Yan, X., Dirmeyer, P., Fennessy, M., & Altshuler, E. (2014). Changes in seasonal predictability due to global warming. Journal of Climate.Holgate, C., Evans, J., Taschetto, A., Gupta, S. A., & Santoso, A. (2022). The impact of interacting climate modes on east Australian precipitation moisture sources. Journal of Climate.Jaisridhar, P., Nirosha, R., Jasimudeen, S., Senthilkumar, M., Ponsneka, I., & Raja, P. (2025). Institutional dynamics in climate change adaptation: A bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Environmental Science.Le, P., Randerson, J., Willett, R., Wright, S., Smyth, P., Guilloteau, C., Mamalakis, A., & Foufoula-Georgiou, E. (2023). Climate-driven changes in the predictability of seasonal precipitation. Nature Communications.Oreskes, N., & Conway, E. M. (2010). Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Bloomsbury Press.Ouyang, H., Tang, X., Zhang, R., Baklanov, A., Brasseur, G., Kumar, R., Han, Q., & Luo, Y. (2023). Resilience building and collaborative governance for climate change adaptation in response to a new state of more frequent and intense extreme weather events. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science.Perera, A., Nik, V., Chen, D., Scartezzini, J., & Hong, T. (2020). Quantifying the impacts of climate change and extreme climate events on energy systems.Rahman, M. M., & Islam, M. S. (2024). Institutional dynamics and climate adaptation: Unveiling the challenges and opportunities in coastal Bangladesh.Rifai, S., Li, S., & Malhi, Y. (2019). Coupling of El Niño events and long-term warming leads to pervasive climate extremes in the terrestrial tropics.Robinson, W. (2021). Climate change and extreme weather: A review focusing on the continental United States.Scher, S., & Messori, G. (2019). How global warming changes the difficulty of synoptic weather forecasting.Supran, G., Rahmstorf, S., & Oreskes, N. (2023). Assessing ExxonMobil's global warming projections.UNEP. (2023). Current and historic contributions to global warming and emissions in the United States from 1850 to 2021. Statista.Wang, X., Jiang, D., & Lang, X. (2017). Future extreme climate changes linked to global warming intensity. Science Bulletin.Hansen, J., Kharecha, P., Morgan, D., & Vest, J. (2026, April 15). Super-Duper El Niño. Columbia University Earth Institute.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2026, June 11). El Niño forms, expected to strengthen, say NOAA forecasters [Press release].NOAA Climate Prediction Center. (2026, June 11). ENSO diagnostic discussion. National Weather Service.Seidel, D. J., & Birnbaum, A. N. (2015). Effects of Independence Day fireworks on atmospheric concentrations of fine particulate matter in the United States. Atmospheric Environment.World Meteorological Organization. (2026). Global annual-to-decadal climate update 2026–2035. WMO. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

Zināmais nezināmajā
Jauna RTU laboratorija pēta cilvēka uzvedību, emocijas un izvēles

Zināmais nezināmajā

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2026 51:31


Rīgas Tehniskajā universitātē darbu uzsākusi jauna laboratorija, kas pētīs to, ko ir visai grūti nomērīt, cilvēka uzvedību, lēmumu pieņemšanu un tehnoloģiju ietekmi, jeb mūsu attieksmi, emocijas un reakcijas uz dažādiem ārējiem stimuliem, piemēram, reklāmām vai dezinformāciju. Veicot fizioloģiskus ķermeņa mērījumus, piemēram, sirds darbību vai acu skatienu, laboratoriskais aprīkojums ļaus iegūt objektīvu informāciju par cilvēka reakciju uz informāciju, pakalpojumu, preci vai rīcību. Raidījumā Zināmais nezināmajā plašāk stāsta RTU Inženierekonomikas un vadības fakultātes tenūrprofesors, „HyperLab” dibinātājs un līdzvadītājs Agnis Stibe. Ierakstā uzklausām Latvijas Universitātes profesoru Uztveres un kognitīvo sistēmu laboratorijas vadītāju Jurģi Šķilteru. Zinātnes ziņās par to, kā bites tiek galā ar karstumu Vēstis par karstuma rekordiem mūsu platuma grādos un cilvēku centieniem atvēsināties dzirdam ne pirmo gadu. Bet pētnieki Austrālijā pievērsušies tam, cik lielā mērā karstums skar bites. Plaša mēroga pētījumā, kas publicēts žurnālā "Nature Communications", apsekota 95 vietējo bišu sugu karstuma tolerance. Dati liecina, ka bišu sugas, kas ligzdo augu stublājos, varētu saskarties ar vislielākajiem draudiem no temperatūras paaugstināšanās, kas saistīta ar klimata pārmaiņām. Turpretī bites, kas ligzdo pazemē, šķiet labāk sagatavotas, lai izvairītos no bīstamā karstuma. Cik lielu karstumu bites var izturēt un vai draudi Austrālijas bitēm būtu attiecināmi arī uz mums? To šoreiz skaidro vienīgā bišu veterinārārste Latvijā, kā arī Latvijas Biškopības biedrības pētniece un konsultante Ineta Eglīte.

Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes
In the News... Tzield, Retatrutide, New Clues About Type 1 and more!

Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2026 15:02


It's In the News - a look at the top diabetes headlines and stories happening now. Our top stories: More information about type 1 and COVID, including the vaccine, why is the latest GLP-1 medication, not yet FDA approved, showing up all over the place, what table sugar and vinegar could mean for drug costs, a new inhaled insulin study and much more  I'll see you at Friends for Life next week. Come find me at Table T18 Learn more about our in-person events here: https://diabetes-connections.com/events/ Announcing Community Commericals! Learn how to get your message on the show here. Learn more about studies and research at Thrivable here Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Omnipod - Simplify Life All about Dexcom  All about VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com  Transcript & links:    Okay.. our top story this week: XX A large Swedish study found that the increased risk of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after COVID-19 infection is mostly limited to the first 30 days after infection and does not continue long term. Researchers followed nearly the entire Swedish population under age 80 from 2020 through 2023 and found that while SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to a temporary rise in new type 1 diabetes diagnoses, the risk declined over time. The study also found no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination increases the long-term risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Vaccination did not significantly change the relationship between COVID-19 infection and diabetes risk, and any small increase in diagnoses seen among adults shortly after a first vaccine dose was not seen after later doses or during longer follow-up. The researchers concluded that their findings do not support changing current COVID-19 vaccination recommendations because of concerns about type 1 diabetes risk. https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/news/covid19-infection-may-increase-short-term-type-1-diabetes-risk/ XX Two new studies are challenging the traditional view that type 1 diabetes develops solely because the immune system attacks insulin-producing beta cells. Researchers from Indiana University found evidence that beta cells themselves may play an active role in determining whether they survive or succumb to the stresses that lead to type 1 diabetes. In the first study, scientists discovered that some healthy human beta cells can quickly activate an antiviral defense system when exposed to interferon-alpha, an immune signal often produced during viral infections. This response relies on molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are usually associated with cell damage but, in this case, appeared to help switch on protective antiviral genes. Researchers found this defense program in healthy cells and in people at risk for type 1 diabetes, but not in beta cells from people who already had the disease. The findings suggest that losing this built-in defense mechanism may make beta cells more vulnerable during the development of type 1 diabetes. The second study focused on autophagy, the process cells use to recycle damaged or worn-out components. Using a new imaging technique, researchers observed that beta cells in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes showed defects in autophagy before blood sugar levels began to rise and even before a full immune attack was underway. This suggests that problems inside the beta cells may occur early in the disease process rather than being caused entirely by the immune system. Together, the studies point to a more complex picture of type 1 diabetes. While they do not show that beta-cell defects cause the disease, they suggest that differences in how beta cells respond to stress, viral signals, and cellular damage may influence who develops type 1 diabetes and how the disease progresses. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-beta-cells-players-diabetes.html XX Researchers have created the most detailed map yet of how the human pancreas develops during childhood, offering new clues about why children are especially vulnerable to developing diabetes. The study, published in Nature Communications, examined pancreatic tissue from 123 children without diabetes, ranging from newborns through age 10. Using advanced imaging techniques, scientists tracked how insulin-producing islet cells grow and mature during the first decade of life. The researchers found that pancreas size varies dramatically at birth, with some infants having pancreases nearly four times larger than others. They also discovered that insulin-producing beta cells grow more slowly after birth than previously thought, suggesting that much of a person's lifelong beta cell capacity may be established before birth and during early childhood. Other findings showed that insulin-producing cells mature earlier than glucagon-producing cells and that new hormone-producing cells may continue to form after birth. The researchers hope this new understanding of pancreas development will help scientists identify diabetes risk earlier and develop better strategies for prevention and treatment in children. https://news.vumc.org/2026/06/29/unlocking-diabetes-secrets-pediatric-organ-donors-help-map-a-path-to-a-cure-and-prevention/   XX At the American Diabetes Association annual meeting, 2-year results from the SUPPRESS-EARLY trial showed that initiating tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) early in the course of type 2 diabetes led to substantially higher rates of near-normal glycemic control and also led to broader metabolic improvements compared with intensive conventional therapy.   In this MedPage Today video, investigator Stefano Del Prato, MD, of the University of Pisa in Italy, discusses the findings.     Following is a transcript of his remarks:   What happened is that in the tirzepatide-treated arm, 85% of the population at the end of the second year was on the maximum dose of tirzepatide 15 mg. And then the remaining 15 with the different doses.   Interestingly, in the population that had been treated with the intensive conventional approach, 85% of them ended up to have, on top of metformin, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, mainly represented by subcutaneous semaglutide [Ozempic, Wegovy], 60+%, another 15% on oral semaglutide [Rybelsus], and the remaining on dulaglutide [Trulicity].   And I have to say that maybe the recommendation to really push along the line to try to achieve and to strive to achieve [glycemic] control was successful in these individuals. Because the population that had been recruited in the study started off with a baseline A1C of 7.8% and it went down to 6.3% in the conventionally intensive treatment, which is not bad at all, on average is below the target of 6.5%.     However, when we look at the effect of tirzepatide, the final level of A1C at the end of the second year was 5.6%, which is on average below the upper limit of the normal range for A1C, 5.7%. This also translates into more people not only achieving normal glycemia, if we can define normal glycemia as A1C below 5.7%, greater than what we observed in conventionally treated individuals. So it was around three times more people achieving an A1C of 5.7%, in the range of around 65%, as compared to 28% with people on a conventional optimized treatment.   Now, this is not surprising knowing the potency of tirzepatide. But again, going back to the rationale of the design, can we change what is the natural history of the disease? This seems to be at least of interest and it's possibly changing the trajectory of the disease for glycemic control, as I mentioned, but also in terms of the body weight and waist circumference because both body weight and waist circumference went much lower with tirzepatide compared to the conventional treatment.   Tirzepatide also was associated with an improvement in the lipid profile, in particular with the LDL, triglycerides, and the triglyceride concentration and non-HDL cholesterol, and also with a statistically significantly lower systolic blood pressure with a numerical reduction in the diastolic blood pressure.   And also the other thing that probably will ... become more apparent with the study continuing is that the investigators were allowed to add on any other treatment ... needed to achieve their target. So tirzepatide was just metformin and tirzepatide. In the control group, there was already 10% of people who were receiving two drugs on top of the metformin.   So another potential result of the trial is that it's possible to achieve and maintain better glycemic or better metabolic control over the time without really needing to increase the number of medications in order to achieve that goal. And we know that type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition often requiring intensification of the treatment.   So these initial results really stand for a great opportunity with tirzepatide. Of course, we need to wait for the 4 years just to confirm that this is indeed the case, but the initial result seems to point along that line. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/adavideopearls/121967 XX A study from the University of Virginia found that high blood pressure is extremely common among people with diabetes, even among those who believe their blood pressure is under control. Researchers measured blood pressure in 172 adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes during routine eye clinic visits and found that only 8% had normal readings. About half had stage 2 hypertension, and more than 10% had blood pressure levels high enough to be considered a medical emergency. The study also revealed that many patients were unaware of how serious their blood pressure problems were. Among those who thought their hypertension was well controlled, more than half still had stage 2 hypertension. Nearly 60% of participants were advised to contact their primary care provider, and one patient required an emergency department referral. Most patients supported blood pressure screening during eye exams, leading researchers to suggest that routine blood pressure checks in ophthalmology clinics could help identify undiagnosed or poorly controlled hypertension before it leads to serious complications such as heart attack, stroke, or worsening diabetic eye disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-routine-eye-exams-reveal-stage.html XX What is going on with retatrutide? This is the next generation GLP-1 but it's not authorized outside of clinical trials. Big investigation by CBS shows retatrutide is for sale all over the internet, a phenomenon they say has no modern precedent. CBS News identified more than 120 websites selling or promoting retatrutide, including more than 50 clinics staffed by licensed medical professionals. After being contacted by CBS News, at least 21 clinics abruptly removed retatrutide from their websites or changed the language to state they don't offer it. Others defended prescribing it, saying they're confident enough in results from clinical trials sponsored by drugmaker Eli Lilly that they didn't need to wait for the FDA's independent, rigorous review. An FDA spokesperson said retatrutide "has not been found safe or effective for any condition," adding that it "cannot be manufactured or distributed except for investigational use." The Justice Department is prosecuting two cases – in Utah and Florida – involving the sale and prescription of retatrutide. But the first line of enforcement is often at the state level. Ohio's Board of Pharmacy has taken action against several pharmacies and clinics providing retatrutide, and just last month, Alabama's Medical Board warned physicians against prescribing research-grade medications. The FDA has sent 14 warning letters to companies that have advertised retatrutide since 2024. Of these, at least six have continued to offer it online, including a business called Pink Pony Peptides. A TikTok account associated with the firm responded to the warning in April by taunting the FDA, boasting that the business "just had the best 24 hours ever." In May, Eli Lilly announced that participants in a large clinical trial taking the highest dose of retatrutide lost an average of 28% of their body weight over 80 weeks. Side effects – including nausea, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting – were comparable to similar therapies, the company said. "Anyone purporting to sell retatrutide to consumers is breaking the law," an Eli Lilly spokesperson said https://www.cbsnews.com/projects/2026/experimental-weight-loss-drug/ XX Pioneering research has developed a new way of creating carbohydrate-based medicines, which could ultimately replace costly drugs for common health conditions, using two cheap basic ingredients – table sugar and vinegar. These medications include SGLT2 inhibitors, widely prescribed drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease. Co-lead author Professor Phil Baran, Dr. Richard A. Lerner Endowed Chair at Scripps Research, in San Diego, California, said: "The point of this is to show that anyone in a garage can make an SGLT2 inhibitor with reagents that are widely available. We have not patented this method, so we welcome any generic drug company – or anyone else – who wants to use it to help bring costs down for patients." https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-study-shows-table-sugar-could-hold-a-cheaper-quicker-key-to-making-vital-drugs-for-diabetes-heart-failure-and-chronic-kidney-disease XX England and Wales approve teplizumab to slow progression of T1D. At the moment, the Scottish Medicines Consortium does not have an appraisal of Tzield on the go, so, there is likely to be a disparity in access within the UK for the time being. In Northern Ireland, access will depend on a review and adoption of NICE guidance.  Sanofi is expecting to see an uptick in momentum thanks to two subsequent FDA approvals, one in children as young as one with stage 2 T1D, and a second to delay the decline in endogenous insulin production in children aged eight to 17 years recently diagnosed with stage 3 T1D. btw you might here more people referring to stage 4 diabetes. They've added that to include people diagnosed with type 1 who've been on insulin for a longer period of time – basically long enough to not be eligible for the current guidelines for Tzield. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8mzd94r76oXX XX Obesity Association, a division of the American Diabetes Association® (the association), announced the next section in the Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity, "Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults," published in Diabetes, Obesity, and CardioMetabolic CARE® and BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.  Key highlights of the guidance: Early screening: Annual BMI screening with emphasis on tracking weight trends to identify risk earlier, including a longitudinal life-event weight graph tool for standardized assessment. Enhanced diagnosis: Combines BMI with waist measurements and population-specific thresholds to improve accuracy. Notably, the guidelines recommend that BMI in the overweight range together with central adiposity measurements warrant a formal obesity diagnosis. Comprehensive evaluation: Holistic assessment including medical, behavioral, and social factors. Offers a fully integrated obesity diagnostic algorithm. Risk stratification: Use of tools like the Edmonton Obesity Staging System to guide care. Chronic care approach: Ongoing monitoring and follow-up to support long-term management. Reducing bias: Promotes person-centered, non-stigmatizing care and system-level improvements at the clinical workflow level and encourages screening for prior weight bias/stigma experiences. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-standards-of-care-in-overweight-and-obesity-section-screening-diagnosis-evaluation-and-staging-of-obesity-in-adults-302809670.html XX Dexcom (Nadsaq:DXCM) today announced the launch of its fully reimagined Stelo over-the-counter (OTC) sensor app experience. San Diego-based Dexcom plans to formally begin the new app rollout in July for Apple iPhone and Android users in the U.S. Dexcom said its reimagined app aims to make glucose insights easier to understand and act on. It hopes to help build awareness of how food, activity, sleep and stress influence overall wellbeing.   The company also reiterated plans to launch Stelo internationally. It expects to bring the sensor to the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea later this year, continuing into 2027. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/dexcom-launches-enhanced-stelo-app/ XX MannKind Corporation recently announced it received a grant from Breakthrough T1D to support the INHALE-1 clinical study of Afrezza, its ultra rapid-acting inhaled insulin, in newly diagnosed pediatric type 1 diabetes patients aged 10 to under 18 years. This external funding for a trial focused on early use of Afrezza in children highlights growing third-party support for inhaled insulin in pediatric diabetes care. https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/pharmaceuticals-biotech/nasdaq-mnkd/mannkind/news/afrezza-pediatric-trial-grant-might-change-the-case-for-inve XX Alexander Zverev heads into Wimbledon with plenty of momentum. The French Open champion returns to the All England Club looking to build on his first Grand Slam title and gain ground on Carlos Alcaraz in the race for the No. 2 spot in the ATP rankings. Zverev has an opportunity to make up points quickly after a first-round exit at Wimbledon last year. But his final tune-up before Wimbledon came with an unexpected challenge. During his semifinal loss to Taylor Fritz at the Halle Open, Zverev said a malfunctioning glucose sensor led to serious diabetes management issues on court. The sensor incorrectly showed his blood sugar was high when it was actually low, causing him to take more insulin than needed. "I had huge problems with the sugar because the sensor I use gave me a completely incorrect reading," Zverev said after the match. "During the match, or rather during the first 45 minutes, I had to consume about 350 grams of sugar. I felt absolutely terrible." Despite feeling unwell, Zverev pushed the match to three sets before falling 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 to Fritz. He credited his opponent with playing the better match and said the diabetes-related issue was not an excuse for the result. Zverev, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 4, uses Medtronic diabetes technology to help manage his glucose levels while competing on the ATP Tour. He said the sensor error was the first major problem he has experienced after nearly a decade of using the technology. The German said the incident should not affect his Wimbledon preparations. With the sensor issue behind him, Zverev will begin his Wimbledon campaign focused on adding another strong result to what has already been a breakthrough season.   https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/zverev-says-glucose-sensor-malfunction-affected-halle-semi-final-loss-fritz-2026-06-21/

The Economy, Land & Climate Podcast
Can ocean technologies combat climate change?

The Economy, Land & Climate Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2026 31:23


Most net zero policies and major scientific models rely on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to limit global heating to 2℃. The most commonly known methods include afforestation, bioenergy with carbon capture, and direct air capture - but various proposals are emerging for ocean-based CDR technologies. Could marine CDR offset emissions from sectors that cannot easily decarbonise, or are the costs and risks too great? Bertie sat down with oceanographer David Ho to discuss these questions, shortly after he returned from the 4th International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Removal in Milan. David Ho is a professor at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a lead author on the upcoming IPCC methodology report on carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture, utilisation and storage. His 2023 article for Nature criticising overreliance on CDR has been downloaded more than 100,000 times.Further reading: 'Three challenges to marine carbon dioxide removal', npj Ocean Sustainability, November 2025Principles for responsible and effective marine carbon dioxide removal development and governance, 2025'Marine carbon dioxide removal may be a future climate solution', Dialogues on Climate Change, November 2024'Can coastal and marine carbon dioxide removal help to close the emissions gap? Scientific, legal, economic, and governance considerations',  Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, August 2024'Deployment expectations of multi-gigatonne scale carbon removal could have adverse impacts on Asia's energy-water-land nexus', Nature Communications, July 2024'Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative', Nature, April 2023Send us Fan MailFind all our latest investigations, features and interviews at www.landclimate.org

MRS Bulletin Materials News Podcast
Episode 9: Framework designed for programmable 3D woven metamaterials

MRS Bulletin Materials News Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2026 4:19 Transcription Available


In this podcast episode, MRS Bulletin's Laura Leay interviews Carlos Portela from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about his research group's design and modeling framework for 3D woven metamaterials. The design framework utilizes a graph structure which allows the woven architecture to be tuned, and it is computationally inexpensive so that it can run on a desktop computer. The outputs include files for finite element modeling to test the metamaterial for large deformations, and for 3D printing of the structure. This work was published in a recent issue of Nature Communications.

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast
A Milky Way Fossil Unearthed, Extreme Weather on a Roasted Planet, and a Space Telescope's Last Chance

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2026 21:09 Transcription Available


A landmark episode packed with discoveries at the cutting edge of space and astronomy. Webb and Hubble redefine a category of stellar object, JWST delivers unprecedented chemistry data from an extreme exoplanet, a 21-year-old NASA observatory faces a daring robotic rescue, a multi-telescope image reveals an ancient galactic supernova, China's Tianwen-2 zeroes in on a possible fragment of our own Moon, and astronomers detect the chemical fingerprint of a planet swallowed by its star.   Story 1: Webb & Hubble Rewrite History: Terzan 5 Is a 'Bulge Fossil Fragment' Using the James Webb Space Telescope and archival data from Hubble spanning 12 years, researchers have definitively reclassified Terzan 5 — a stellar system 22,000 light-years away in Sagittarius — from a globular cluster to an entirely new class of object: a 'bulge fossil fragment.' Four distinct generations of stars have been identified within Terzan 5, formed 12.5 billion, 4.7 billion, 3.8 billion, and 2.5 billion years ago. Unlike a typical globular cluster with a single ancient stellar population, Terzan 5 repeatedly formed new stars by retaining the gas and heavy elements expelled by its own supernovae. Astronomers believe Terzan 5 is a surviving relic of the primordial clumps that merged to form the Milky Way's central bulge billions of years ago — a living fossil of galaxy formation. Results were presented at the 248th American Astronomical Society meeting and published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Source: NASA / ESA / STScI press release, 16–17 June 2026   Story 2: JWST Catches the 'Roasted Exoplanet' HD 80606 b in the Act Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI instrument have observed the extreme exoplanet HD 80606 b experiencing a temperature increase of 1,100°F (600°C) during its close approach to its host star. HD 80606 b is a gas giant four times the mass of Jupiter on a highly elliptical 111-day orbit. The JWST study — led by Tiffany Kataria of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory — also detected specific atmospheric chemical signatures including methane and carbon dioxide, enabling detailed study of how the planet's chemistry shifts under extreme heating. This is the most detailed look yet at an atmospheric response to a rapid, intense heating event. Results were presented at the 248th AAS meeting in Pasadena, California. Source: NASA / JPL press release, 16–17 June 2026   Story 3: Swift's Rescue Mission Cleared for Launch: LINK on the Pad NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which has studied gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy cosmic events since 2004, is facing re-entry as its orbit decays under increased solar activity. NASA contracted Katalyst Space Technologies in September 2025 to build and launch a robotic servicing spacecraft — called LINK — to boost Swift to a higher orbit. LINK is now encapsulated inside a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which has been attached to the Stargazer L-1011 carrier aircraft and is en route to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands for launch later in June 2026. This will be the final flight of the Pegasus XL — the world's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle, which first flew in 1990. Its air-launch capability is uniquely suited to reaching Swift's unusual low-inclination orbit. Source: NASA press release and media teleconference, 17 June 2026   Story 4: Possible Supernova Remnant at the Galactic Centre A striking multi-telescope composite image released as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on 18 June 2026 reveals a possible supernova remnant near the galactic centre — a blue X-ray-emitting structure whose light is estimated to have reached Earth approximately 1,700 years ago, in the third century CE. The image combines X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton (the blue structure), radio data from the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa (the large red cloud), and optical background star data from the PanSTARRS telescopes in Hawaii. Source: NASA APOD, 18 June 2026. Image credit: NASA/CXC/UCLA/Z. Zhu et al.; ESA/XMM-Newton; MeerKAT; PanSTARRS   Story 5: China's Tianwen-2 Closes In on Earth's 'Quasi-Moon' China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft — launched in May 2025 — performed its primary orbit insertion burn at asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa on June 7, 2026, and has since been performing fine adjustment burns tracked by amateur radio astronomers in Germany and the Netherlands. China's space agency has released no official updates. Kamoʻoalewa is a 40–100 metre quasi-satellite of Earth, orbiting the Sun in a path that keeps it perpetually near our planet. Its reflectance spectrum resembles weathered lunar rock, fuelling a theory that it is a fragment blasted from the Moon by an ancient impact — though a competing theory holds that it is an ordinary inner asteroid belt migrant. Sample collection is scheduled to begin July 4, 2026. Tianwen-2 will depart Kamoʻoalewa in April 2027, with the sample return capsule landing in Inner Mongolia in late November 2027. A new paper in Nature Communications (June 2026) challenges the lunar-origin theory, suggesting Kamoʻoalewa may instead originate from the Flora asteroid family. Source: SpaceNews, Scientific American, Nature Communications, June 2026   Story 6: A Star That Ate a Planet: TOI-5882's Chemical Fingerprint Astronomers led by Brooke Kotten of the University of Michigan have identified a chemical imbalance between the two stars of binary system TOI-5882, located approximately 1,300 light-years away. One star is enriched in elements characteristic of rocky planetary material — including iron, silicon, and magnesium — while its companion is not. Because binary stars form from the same gas cloud and should have identical initial compositions, this difference is interpreted as evidence that one star subsequently ingested at least one planet. The amount of enrichment suggests the equivalent of several Earth masses of rocky material was consumed. Source: Phys.org / University of Michigan, June 15, 2026       Connect With Us Website: astronomydaily.io Social: @AstroDailyPod (X / Instagram / TikTok / Tumblr) Network: Bitesz.com Podcast NetworkBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Crazy Town
What Lies Beneath: AMOC, El Niño, & Climate Chaos with Emily Schoerning

Crazy Town

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2026 58:36


It'd be easy, with the clusterf**k of crazy-making economic, geopolitical, and democracy-in-decline news dominating the scene, to forget that the unraveling of environmental systems waits for no person. That's why we've asked Emily Schoerning to return to Crazy Town. Asher and Emily sit down together (uh, virtually) to discuss the oceanic dynamics – from worrisome to downright apocalyptic – that could make the Strait of Hormuz disruption look like a five-minute wait at the Starbucks drive-thru. In this episode they discuss the possibility of a 2026-2027 Super El Niño, the growing risks of an AMOC collapse, and how each of us can approach near- and longer-term resilience.Originally recorded on 5/20/26.Sources & LinksAmerican ResiliencyLinks to graphs/resources that Emily mentioned:NOAA ENSO Update (see page 23) Columbia El Nino UpdateClimate Reanalyzer (to visualize average SST changes as a graph)Zach Labe's visualizations (to visualize currently non-apocalyptic Antarctic sea ice)Copernicus (to visualize SST anomalies on world map)Atlantic meridional overturning circulation slowdown modulates atmospheric rivers in a warmer climate by Mimi, M. S., Liu, W., Ma, W., & Chen, G. Nature Communications, 2026 Articles/papers related to AMOC and El Nino:Observational constraints project a ~50% AMOC weakening by the end of this century by Portmann, V., Swingedouw, D., Khattab, O., & Chavent, M. Science Advances, 2026Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought by Carrington, D. The Guardian, April 15, 2026 El Niño/Southern Oscillation (Enso) Diagnostic Discussion, Climate Prediction Center, 14 May 2026A'super El Niño?‘ The Conversation, May 14, 2026Related EpisodesEpisode 119, “Getting Real about Resiliency with Emily Schoerning”CreditsProduction and editing by Alex Leff. Editorial assistance and transcripts by Taylor Antal.Theme music is “Way Huge” and “Don't Give Up” by Midnight Shipwrecks, used with permission.Thanks to all the Crazy Townies, our listeners who are trying to understand humanity's overshoot predicament and do something about it.

The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey
World Cup, Sunscreen, Hair Regrowth, Caffeine Chewing Gum, and more... : 1483

The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 11:03


Semaglutide Slows Biological Aging A randomized, placebo-controlled study published in Nature Communications found semaglutide slowed biological aging markers by nine percent on the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock in adults living with HIV-associated metabolic disease, with simultaneous improvements across inflammation, heart, kidney, liver, and brain markers. Host Dave Asprey breaks down why this isn't a weight loss story. It's a metabolic inflammation story. He explains why the GLP-1 mechanism hitting insulin signaling, oxidative stress, and inflammatory pathways simultaneously is the real finding, and makes the case that your metabolic markers and your aging markers are the same numbers. Sources: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/glp-1-drugs-ozempic-wegovy-may-slow-biological-aging https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72861-3 https://today.ucsd.edu/story/study-popular-glp-1-drug-may-slow-down-biological-aging FDA Approves First New Sunscreen Ingredient in 20 Years The FDA approved bemotrizinol as a permitted OTC sunscreen active ingredient, the first new approval in roughly two decades, clearing it for adults and children six months and older with broad UVA and UVB coverage and low skin absorption. Host Dave Asprey explains why twenty years of regulatory lag left American consumers with inferior chemistry while Europe moved on, why he's watching independent absorption data before updating his own stack, and why consistency of use matters more than perfect formulation when sun protection remains one of the most evidence-backed longevity interventions available. Sources: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-newsroom/press-announcements/fda-expands-sunscreen-options-first-time-20-years https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/omuf/index.cfm?event=OrderDetail&orderid=OTC000039 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/06/09/new-sunscreen-ingredient-bemotrizinol/90477659007/ Deoxyribose Gel Matches Minoxidil in Hair Regrowth Study Researchers testing a topical gel made from deoxyribose, the sugar backbone of DNA, saw roughly 80 to 90 percent hair regrowth in a mouse model of male-pattern baldness, matching minoxidil results and showing new follicle formation and increased blood vessel activity in treated areas. Host Dave Asprey breaks down why mouse hair regrowth studies have a long history of failing to translate to humans, what a plausible circulation-based mechanism would actually need to show in human trial data before it's worth acting on, and why the molecule itself is interesting enough to keep watching. Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohackers/comments/1tyt87w/researchers_found_that_a_gel_made_from/ https://www.sciencealert.com/surprise-hair-loss-breakthrough-a-dna-sugar-gel-sparks-robust-regrowth Caffeinated Chewing Gum and Exercise Performance A systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 studies found caffeinated chewing gum produces a small but real ergogenic effect for muscular strength and countermovement jump height, with buccal absorption delivering caffeine faster than capsules or drinks in a five to twenty-five minute pre-training window. Host Dave Asprey breaks down why delivery mechanism is an underrated variable in caffeine optimization, why timing matters as much as dose, and why a modest but measurable edge on a cheap and accessible tool is exactly the kind of practical biohack worth understanding. Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42228847/ https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000005530 https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohackers/comments/1u0acgc/fastacting_caffeine_does_caffeinated_chewing_gum/ Vitamin A Overdoses Surge Nearly 40 Percent Medical News Today reported a 38.7 percent spike in vitamin A overdoses in early 2025, driven by online misinformation claiming high-dose vitamin A treats or prevents measles, a claim with no clinical support and real toxicity risk from fat-soluble accumulation in the liver. Host Dave Asprey explains the actual hepatotoxicity and bone demineralization risks of preformed retinol excess, draws the critical distinction between preformed retinol and beta-carotene that got lost in the misinformation cycle, and makes the case that mechanism is not a dosing protocol and confusing the two is how people get hurt. Sources: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/amp/articles/vitamin-a-overdoses-rose-by-38-7-2025-how-to-get-right-amount World Cup 2026 and Mass Gathering Health Risk With the 2026 FIFA World Cup underway, public health researchers are flagging dense international crowds, high-volume travel, and shared indoor and outdoor spaces as an elevated transmission environment for respiratory illness. Host Dave Asprey reframes the conversation away from germ exposure and toward immune terrain, explains why your resilience going into a high-contact environment is a variable you actually control, and lays out the pre-exposure preparation window that matters most for anyone traveling or attending large events this summer. Sources: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/2026-fifa-world-cup-health-risks-protect-yourself This episode is designed for biohackers, longevity seekers, and high-performance listeners who want mechanism-level clarity on GLP-1 aging biology, sunscreen chemistry and regulatory science, emerging hair regrowth research, caffeine delivery optimization, supplement toxicity risk, and immune terrain preparation for mass gathering events. Host Dave Asprey connects randomized clinical data, epigenetic clock research, consumer health regulation, and real-world optimization protocols into actionable frameworks for extending healthspan, sharpening performance, and staying ahead of the science. New episodes every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Keywords: semaglutide biological aging, GLP-1 epigenetic clock, DunedinPACE aging marker, PCGrimAge mortality risk, bemotrizinol FDA approval, new sunscreen ingredient 2026, UVA UVB broad spectrum sunscreen, deoxyribose hair gel, minoxidil alternative hair regrowth, caffeinated chewing gum performance, buccal caffeine absorption, pre-workout caffeine timing, vitamin A overdose toxicity, preformed retinol hypervitaminosis, fat-soluble vitamin accumulation, World Cup 2026 health risk, immune terrain optimization, mass gathering respiratory illness, biohacking news 2026, longevity research, Dave Asprey, The Human Upgrade Thank you to our sponsors! - Viome | Check it out at viome.com and use code 10DAVE for 10% off. It's time to stop guessing and start knowing your body. - Beyond Wonderland Conference | Oct 13 - 14, 2026. Get your ticket now at wonderlandconference.com. - iRestore | Reverse hair loss at www.irestore.com/DAVE and get exclusive savings on the iRestore Elite, use code DAVE Resources: • Get My 2026 Clean Nicotine Roadmap | Enroll for free at https://daveasprey.com/2026-clean-nicotine-roadmap/ • Get My 2026 Biohacking Trends Report: https://daveasprey.com/2026-biohacking-trends-report/ • Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today. • Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15 • My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off) • Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off) • Dave Asprey's BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com • Dave Asprey's New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated • Join My Substack (Live Access To Podcast Recordings): https://substack.daveasprey.com/ • Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 00:41 – Story 1: Ozempic Slows Aging Clocks 01:53 – Story 2: New Sunscreen Approved 03:12 – Story 3: DNA Sugar & Hair Regrowth 04:38 – Story 4: Caffeine Gum & Performance 06:13 – Story 5: Vitamin A Overdose Spike 07:59 – Story 6: World Cup & Immune Prep 09:34 – Outro See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SynGAP10 weekly 10 minute updates on SYNGAP1 (video)
#NightOfImpact a huge success & we are lucky to have Dr. Helen R Willsey. #S10e209

SynGAP10 weekly 10 minute updates on SYNGAP1 (video)

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 9:56


Wednesday, June 10, 2026 - Week 24   #NightOfImpact was 15 Days ago! Photos: https://jeaniehorton.pixieset.com/curesyngap1nightofimpact2026/ Impact: $800k+, of which $300 was our match.  Industry: Multiple Academics & Clinicians: Stanford, Berkeley & UCSF.  Cross-pollination is always good. Speakers: Ash, John, Kathryn, Helen Willsey & Me.  Only got a video of John, which was a mistake. If you took one, please share.  Here is John: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/graglia_still-reflecting-on-our-inaugural-cure-syngap1-ugcPost-7467439971294048256-cUf9/    Dr. Willsey Rocks. Willsey Press Release https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130924 (both were at NoI). A few other points on HRW, as we call her.  Simons: https://curesyngap1.org/blog/future-research-for-syngap1-how-helen-willsey-broke-new-ground-frogs-in-hand/ Willsey in Neuron 2021: https://www.cell.com/neuron/pdf/S0896-6273(21)00002-7.pdf (Frogs) Birtele in Nature Neuroscience 2023: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01477-3 (Confirms) McCluskey in Nature Communications 2025: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57342-3 (GI) Kostyanovskaya in BioRxiv 2025: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39677731 (cilium)   5TH SCRAMBLE FOR SYNGAP, SC – 114 days Classic case of a small event becoming an institution! cureSYNGAP1.org/Scramble26   CURE SYNGAP1 CONFERENCE - 175 days cureSYNGAP1.org/Pre    USA: use your ICD-10, F78.A1: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/epi.70142   PUBMED Pubmed 2026 is at 35. +11 vs the week. (61 last year was +9) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=syngap1&filter=years.2026-2026&sort=date   SOCIAL MATTERS 5,045 LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/company/curesyngap1 1.58k YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/@CureSYNGAP1 11.1k Twitter https://twitter.com/cureSYNGAP1 45k Insta https://www.instagram.com/curesyngap1   $CAMP closed at $4.34 today. https://www.google.com/finance/beta/quote/CAMP:NASDAQ   Like and subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen. https://curesyngap1.org/podcasts/syngap10 Episode 209 of #Syngap10 #SYNGAP1 #CureSYNGAP1 #Podcast #PatientAdvocacy

The Future of Dermatology
Episode 133: HS Treatment Pipeline Explosion: What's New & What's Next | The Future of Dermatology Podcast

The Future of Dermatology

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2026 23:18


Summary: Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is one of dermatology's most complex and underrecognized conditions and the treatment landscape is changing fast. In this episode, Dr. Faranak Kamangar sits down with Dr. Hadar Lev-tov, Associate Professor at the University of Miami, Director of the Wound Healing Fellowship, and Immediate Past President of the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation, for a rapid-fire review of everything happening in the HS world right now. Dr. Lev-tov covers the currently approved therapies, the exciting drugs moving through Phase 3 trials, and the groundbreaking science linking microplastics to HS inflammation. He also shares his candid take on GLP-1s in HS management and what the future of dermatology looks like when treatments work so well that doctors can finally focus on the whole patient. Whether you're a resident just learning HS or a seasoned dermatologist trying to keep up with a fire-hose pipeline, this one is for you. Topics Covered: - Approved HS biologics: bimekizumab, secukinumab, adalimumab & biosimilars - Off-label use of infliximab (IV and subcutaneous) in severe HS - Phase 3 pipeline: remibrutinib, povorcitinib, sonelokimab (nanobodies) - CAR T-cell therapy and the possibility of curing inflammatory skin disease - Microplastics, nicastrin, and a landmark Nature Communications paper on HS - GLP-1s in HS: what we know, what we don't, and Dr. Levtov's clinical approach - The HS Foundation's research grants, HS Academy, wound care referral tool, and prior authorization templates - The future of dermatology as lifestyle medicine Resources Mentioned: - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65789-7  - HS Foundation website & prior authorization templates: https://www.hs-foundation.org/ - HS Academy (free weekend for residents): https://www.hs-foundation.org/hs-academy - Integrative Dermatology Symposium: integrativedermatologysymposium.com - LearnSkin: learnskin.com This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. Key Takeaways: 1. Validate HS patients the moment they walk in. They've often been dismissed or bounced between providers for years. Simply saying "I understand what you're going through" builds trust immediately and makes the visit more productive. 2. The approved HS treatment arsenal is growing. Bimekizumab and secukinumab (IL-17 inhibitors) are now approved, and adalimumab — including biosimilars — remains a valuable option. Clinical experts are using biosimilars with confidence. 3. Subcutaneous infliximab is an emerging option. Available off-label in the US, new data from French centers shows a protocol: standard IV induction at weeks 0, 2, and 6, then switching to subcutaneous injections every two weeks at week 10 — but only once the patient is in strong remission. 4. Three major drugs are in or completing Phase 3 trials. Remibrutinib (BTK inhibitor, already approved for chronic spontaneous urticaria), povorcitinib (JAK1 inhibitor), and sonelokimab (a nanobody targeting IL-17A and IL-17F) are all reporting promising results and moving toward FDA application. 5. Nanobodies are a technology to watch. Derived from camelid antibody fragments, nanobodies like sonelokimab can be engineered to target multiple pathways simultaneously in a smaller, more modular molecule — expect to see them across dermatology. 6. Half-life extenders could mean one injection per year. Already emerging in psoriasis, these extended-dosing biologics are heading toward HS — a potential game-changer for patient adherence. 7. CAR T-cell therapy may one day cure inflammatory skin disease. Currently being studied in lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the protocols are becoming more practical, and the technology is edging toward dermatology. 8. Microplastics may potentiate HS inflammation. A Nature Communications paper by Dr. Luis Garza (Hopkins) found that plastic-associated endocrine disruptors block nicastrin in fibroblasts, amplifying HS-related inflammation. This doesn't prove causation, but it reveals a meaningful environmental link — and highlights the underappreciated role of fibroblasts in HS scarring. 9. GLP-1s in HS: promising but not proven as monotherapy. There's no RCT yet. Dr. Levtov's clinical approach: stabilize HS with a biologic first, then consider adding a GLP-1 as part of a comprehensive plan that includes diet and resistance training. He has seen outcomes go both ways. 10. The HS Foundation is an underutilized resource. Their website offers a clinic finder, wound care referral service, prior authorization templates (one-click Word documents), research grants, the HS Academy (free, all-expenses-paid weekend for residents), and career development awards in partnership with the Dermatology Foundation. Chapters: 0:00 – Introduction & Dr. Lev-tov's Background 0:49 – The #1 Clinical Tip for Seeing HS Patients 1:44 – Approved HS Treatments: IL-17 Inhibitors, Adalimumab & Biosimilars 2:40 – Off-Label Infliximab: IV and the New Subcutaneous Protocol 4:21 – Phase 3 Pipeline: Remibrutinib, Povorcitinib & Sonelokimab (Nanobodies) 6:00 – Half-Life Extenders & One-Injection-Per-Year Future 7:01 – CAR T-Cell Therapy: Could We Cure Inflammatory Skin Disease? 7:36 – Research Funding & HS Foundation Grants 8:43 – HS Foundation Tools: Prior Auth Templates, Clinic Finder & HS Academy 10:15 – Microplastics, Nicastrin & the Nature Communications Paper 13:22 – What This Means for Fibroblasts and HS Scarring 14:20 – Celebrating Dermatology Science & Clinician-Scientists 15:32 – GLP-1s & HS: What's the Evidence? 17:18 – Dr. Lev-tov's Clinical Approach to GLP-1 Requests 19:06 – The Future of Dermatology: Becoming Lifestyle Doctors 21:28 – The Integrative Dermatology Symposium & LearnSkin Certificate Program 22:50 – Closing Remarks

Authentic Biochemistry
Cardiometabolic Disease Emphasis :Women XXVIII. 29May26 Authentic Biochemistry Podcast Dr. Daniel J Guerra

Authentic Biochemistry

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2026 65:58


ReferencesCell Metabolism 2024. Volume 36, Issue 4p839-856.e8April 02,JNeurosci.2012Dec 5;32(49):17909–17920.JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2025 Apr 28;18(8):963-971Genes Dev. 2012 May 15;26(10):1070–1085.Nature Communications 2018. V 9, Article number: 1479 Guerra, DJ. 2026. Unpublished LecturesAnderson/Howe/Squire/Offord/Bruford/Wakeman. 1972.. You and I. Yeshttps://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HfssvCECiaA&si=48Gs_iJC5x3t8evF

The Keto Kamp Podcast With Ben Azadi
The 7 Silent Habits Destroying Your Kidneys Before Any Doctor Can Catch It With Ben Azadi | #1322

The Keto Kamp Podcast With Ben Azadi

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2026 22:44


Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club (buy 2 bottles, get 1 free for Ben's community): https://freshpressolive.com/3RBPwdG  Pre-order Ben's new book KetoFlex Revised — Pre-order now and get free bonus chapters:  https://bit.ly/4wKG1sM  Kidney disease doesn't start with pain. It starts with nothing. By the time you feel it, you may have already lost half your kidney function. The National Kidney Foundation reports 90% of people with chronic kidney disease don't know they have it. In most cases, the damage begins 10 to 15 years before any diagnosis — while labs still look normal. THE 7 HABITS Blood Sugar Spikes. Post-meal glucose spikes damage the hair-thin filtration vessels inside the kidneys over time. A 2024 Nature Communications paper found cellular insulin resistance drives kidney damage before diabetes ever appears. Chronic Dehydration. Your kidneys filter 180 liters of plasma daily. Less water means concentrated waste and a higher workload. Coffee, soda, and energy drinks don't count. Drink clean spring water. Processed Food. Phosphate additives and industrial seed oils (soybean, corn, canola) create ongoing inflammation in the blood vessels kidneys depend on. Swap to butter, ghee, tallow, coconut oil, and high-quality olive oil.  Sugar and Fructose. Fructose overwhelms the liver, converts to uric acid, and lands on the kidneys. A 2024 UK Biobank study of 127,000+ adults found even one sugar-sweetened beverage daily significantly raises kidney disease risk. Diet soda is not a safe swap. Ignoring Blood Pressure. No symptoms doesn't mean no damage. Every heartbeat sends pressure through delicate kidney capillaries. Damaged kidneys then lose their ability to regulate pressure — creating a worsening feedback loop. Chronic Stress and Poor Sleep. Cortisol raises blood sugar, blood pressure, and insulin resistance. Sleeping under four hours raises kidney disease risk by 45%. Kidney repair happens at night. Ignoring Insulin Resistance. The root of everything. By the time labs flag it, you've likely been insulin resistant for 6 to 14 years. About 93% of American adults have some form of it. Find All The Ben Azadi Show Sponsorship Deals ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ketokamp.com/sponsorship-deals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health Longevity Secrets
EXPLAINER: 5 Longevity Myths the Latest Science Has Debunked

Health Longevity Secrets

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 9:25 Transcription Available


Five longevity beliefs that millions have followed for decades have just been overturned by the latest research. Some of these will surprise you.In this explainer, Robert Lufkin MD walks through five of the most widely believed longevity myths — and what the most recent science actually says about each one. From genetics and middle age to antioxidants, alcohol, and caloric restriction, the evidence has shifted dramatically.CHAPTERS:00:00 — Introduction00:32 — Myth 1: Your Genes Determine How Long You Live01:51 — Myth 2: It's Too Late to Change After Middle Age03:24 — Myth 3: Antioxidant Supplements Prevent Disease05:22 — Myth 4: Moderate Alcohol Is Good for You07:04 — Myth 5: Caloric Restriction Is King08:50 — The Real Framework: Quality Beats Quantity09:18 — Final TakeawayKEY TAKEAWAYS:• Genetics accounts for at most 25–50% of how long you live• Quitting smoking before 40 eliminates ~90% of excess mortality risk• Antioxidant supplements have no benefit and may increase mortality• The protective J-curve for moderate alcohol disappears once you correct for the "sick quitter" effect• Caloric restriction's primate magic was rescuing animals from a high-sugar control diet• Diet quality matters more than diet quantitySTUDIES & SOURCES MENTIONED:• Herskind et al., Human Genetics 1996 — 2,872 Danish twin pairs heritability of longevity• Jha et al., NEJM 2013 — 21st-century smoking cessation and life expectancy• Saint-Maurice et al., JAMA Network Open 2019 — Adult life-course physical activity and mortality• Bjelakovic et al., Cochrane 2012 — Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality• Zhao et al., JAMA Network Open 2023 — Daily alcohol intake and all-cause mortality meta-analysis• Mattison et al., Nature Communications 2017 — Caloric restriction in rhesus monkeys (NIA / Wisconsin reconciliation)⭐ Enjoying the show? Please leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 30 seconds and helps more people discover the science of health and longevity. Thank you!New episodes every Tuesday & Thursday. Subscribe so you don't miss one.Continue this conversation on Substack: https://robertlufkinmd.substack.comLies I Taught In Medical School — Free sample chapter: https://www.robertlufkinmd.com/lies/Web: https://www.robertlufkinmd.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/robertlufkinmdX: https://x.com/robertlufkinmdInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertlufkinmd/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@robertlufkinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertlufkinmd/

Choses à Savoir SANTE
Pourquoi un simple bourrelet pourrait accélérer le vieillissement du cerveau ?

Choses à Savoir SANTE

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2026 2:17


Pendant longtemps, les chercheurs ont pensé que le surpoids, en général, augmentait le risque de déclin cognitif et de vieillissement du cerveau. Mais une nouvelle étude internationale pré-publiée dans Nature Communications apporte une vision beaucoup plus précise : ce ne serait pas tant le poids total qui poserait problème, mais l'emplacement exact de certaines graisses dans le corps.Les travaux ont été menés par des chercheurs de Université Ben-Gourion du Néguev, en collaboration avec Université Harvard, Université de Leipzig et Université Tulane. Leur conclusion est frappante : la graisse viscérale, c'est-à-dire celle qui s'accumule profondément autour des organes abdominaux, semble associée à une accélération du vieillissement cérébral.Contrairement à la graisse située juste sous la peau, la graisse viscérale est biologiquement très active. Elle ne sert pas seulement de réserve énergétique : elle produit aussi des molécules inflammatoires, des hormones et divers composés chimiques capables d'affecter l'ensemble du corps. Or, le cerveau est particulièrement sensible à l'inflammation chronique.Les chercheurs ont utilisé des techniques avancées d'imagerie médicale pour mesurer précisément la répartition des graisses chez les participants. Ils ont ensuite comparé ces données avec des marqueurs du vieillissement cérébral observés grâce à des IRM du cerveau. Résultat : les personnes présentant davantage de graisse viscérale montraient des signes plus importants de vieillissement du tissu cérébral, parfois même indépendamment de leur poids total.Autrement dit, deux personnes ayant le même indice de masse corporelle peuvent avoir des risques neurologiques très différents selon la manière dont leur graisse est répartie.Pourquoi cette graisse abdominale est-elle si problématique ? Plusieurs mécanismes sont envisagés. D'abord, elle favorise une inflammation de bas niveau mais permanente dans l'organisme. Ensuite, elle augmente les risques de diabète, d'hypertension et de troubles vasculaires, qui affectent directement les petits vaisseaux sanguins du cerveau. Enfin, certaines molécules produites par la graisse viscérale pourraient perturber directement le fonctionnement des neurones.Cette découverte pourrait modifier la manière dont les médecins évaluent les risques liés au vieillissement cérébral. Jusqu'ici, le poids ou l'IMC étaient souvent utilisés comme indicateurs principaux. Mais cette étude suggère qu'il faut regarder plus précisément où se situe la graisse.Le fameux “bourrelet abdominal” n'est donc pas seulement une question esthétique ou cardiovasculaire. Il pourrait aussi représenter un marqueur important de la santé du cerveau et de son vieillissement futur. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Geek News Central
A Reversible Glue that could Replace Solder #1865

Geek News Central

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2026 43:55 Transcription Available


In this episode, Ray Cochrane breaks down a reversible conductive glue from Newcastle University that could replace solder and finally make electronics recycling work. Additional stories cover China widening its clean energy lead, DeepMind’s AlphaEvolve scoring wins from genomics to Google’s database, Anthropic’s $200 million partnership with the Gates Foundation, Intel teaming up with McLaren Racing, and end-to-end encrypted RCS rolling out in beta. – Want to start a podcast? Its easy to get started! Sign-up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Ray if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Full Summary Cochrane opens the show with a deep dive into Newcastle University’s reversible conductive glue, a water-based adhesive that could finally make electronics recycling economically viable. He frames the e-waste problem first: 62 billion kilos a year, with less than a quarter ever recycled. Then he walks through the silver nanoparticle chemistry, the lead-free angle on traditional solder, and the geopolitical stakes of critical mineral recovery. From there the episode pivots through energy, AI, hardware, open source, data research, space, science, and consumer privacy. A Reversible Conductive Glue That Could Replace Solder A team at Newcastle University has developed a water-based glue that conducts electricity well enough to replace solder. Unlike solder, however, the glue releases cleanly with a quick rinse of acetone or an alkaline bath. The breakthrough relies on silver nanoparticles suspended in a water-based binder. Consequently, components can be recovered intact, opening a viable path to electronics recycling at scale. Co-investigator Volker Pickert framed the second prize directly: solder has the best conductivity, but the best formulations contain lead. China Widens Its Clean Energy Lead A new Atlas Public Policy report shows Chinese firms accounted for 55 percent of $1.1 trillion in global clean energy manufacturing investment between 2019 and 2025. Battery manufacturing alone pulled in nearly half of that money. Meanwhile, U.S. companies have actively retreated from those same industries. With the Strait of Hormuz currently closed, supply chain ownership in solar, wind, and batteries matters more than ever. A separate Ember analysis showed Chinese solar panel exports doubled in March alone. DeepMind’s AlphaEvolve Scores Real Wins DeepMind published an update on AlphaEvolve, its Gemini-powered AI coding agent. The system cut genomic variant detection errors by 30 percent. Additionally, it lifted AC Optimal Power Flow feasibility from 14 to over 88 percent on the electrical grid. AlphaEvolve also found a better cache replacement policy in two days that would have taken human engineers months. Furthermore, it reduced write amplification in Google’s Spanner database by 20 percent. The pattern shows applied AI sticking, not as a chatbot but as a quiet optimizer. Anthropic and Gates Foundation Commit $200 Million Anthropic announced a four-year, $200 million partnership with the Gates Foundation across three pillars. The biggest pillar targets global health and life sciences in low and middle-income countries. Notably, the research scope includes polio, HPV, and preeclampsia. A second pillar covers AI in education across the U.S., sub-Saharan Africa, and India, in partnership with the Global AI for Learning Alliance. Finally, an economic mobility pillar focuses on agricultural productivity and crop benchmarks. Google’s AI Educator Series Launches Free Google rolled out the first 20-plus sessions of its AI Educator Series this week. The free AI literacy training targets the roughly 6 million K-12 and higher education teachers across the U.S. Modules are designed as short, snackable trainings teachers can finish in a prep period or a lunch break. Additionally, stackable workshops let educators build credentials over time. Importantly, the program requires no institutional subscription. Amazon Bedrock Prompt Optimization Goes GA Amazon Bedrock dropped its Advanced Prompt Optimization tool, now generally available across most major regions. The feature rewrites prompts to perform better on specific models and automates prompt migration when switching between models. Furthermore, a built-in evaluation feedback loop lets users benchmark against up to five models side by side. The default judge model is Claude Sonnet 4.6. Consequently, teams can stop hand-tuning string templates and focus on product work. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. Arm AGI CPU and Red Hat Go Production-Ready on Agentic AI Arm and Red Hat expanded their collaboration around Arm’s AGI CPU, which is Arm’s branding for its agentic AI chip family. The deal brings Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenShift to the chip as a production-ready stack. Hardware specifications include 136 Neoverse V3 cores, 96 PCIe Gen6 lanes, and 12 channels of DDR5-8800 memory in a 300-watt thermal envelope. Availability lands in Q4 through Supermicro, Lenovo, and ASRock Rack. Intel Becomes McLaren Racing’s Official Compute Partner Intel announced a multi-year deal as the official compute partner for McLaren Racing. The agreement covers the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 team, Arrow McLaren IndyCar, and McLaren F1 Sim Racing. Trackside edge compute will power real-time race decisions, while Xeon and Core Ultra silicon drive Computational Fluid Dynamics and digital twin work. Consequently, design iterations that once took weeks now collapse to days. The deal puts Intel silicon in front of every CTO watching a Grand Prix. Rust Lands 13 Google Summer of Code Projects The Rust Project landed 13 accepted projects in Google Summer of Code 2026. Out of 96 proposals, a 50 percent jump from last year, the project selected 13. Notably, three returning contributors from prior years are back. Mentors flagged a noticeable share of AI-generated submissions as a growing challenge. Furthermore, the real bottleneck remains mentor capacity rather than funding. GitHub Innovation Graph Maps Digital Complexity Researchers used GitHub Innovation Graph data to predict GDP, inequality, and emissions through the Economic Complexity Index, or ECI. Countries are compared to kitchens; the more variety and sophistication in software output, the higher the score. Germany ranks first, followed by Australia and Canada. The U.S. lands at sixth. However, the dataset only captures public GitHub activity, leaving most proprietary software invisible. NASA and Eta Space Prepare Cryogenic Fuel Demo NASA is teaming with Eta Space on an in-orbit demonstration called LOXSAT, short for Liquid Oxygen Flight Demonstration. The nine-month mission tests cryogenic fluid management techniques required for in-space propellant depots. Launch is no earlier than July 17 aboard a Rocket Lab Electron from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Successful refueling in orbit could reshape what is possible for deep-space missions to the Moon and Mars. Stealth Magma Surge Under São Jorge Surprises Researchers Researchers in the UK and Spain published in Nature Communications on a 2022 magma surge under São Jorge Island in the Azores. The surge climbed from more than 20 kilometers underground to 1.6 kilometers below the surface. Surprisingly, most of the thousands of earthquakes happened after the magma stalled, not during the climb. Consequently, scientists are calling it a stealth surge and a failed eruption. A primed magma chamber now sits closer to the surface than before. End-to-End Encrypted RCS Begins Rolling Out Apple and Google led a cross-industry effort to roll out end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging. As of May 11, the feature is rolling out in beta on both platforms. Importantly, encryption is on by default and auto-applies to new and existing conversations. A lock icon in the chat indicates active end-to-end encryption. This quietly raises baseline privacy for billions of cross-platform messages. Cochrane signs off with the usual ecosystem mentions: GNC Insider at geeknewscentral.com/insider, the show newsletter, and modern podcast app recommendations at podcastapps.com. The post A Reversible Glue that could Replace Solder #1865 appeared first on Geek News Central.

Astrophiz Podcasts
Astrophiz 234: Hacking Mars Satellites to Watch a Solar Superstorm with Dr Jacob Parrott

Astrophiz Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2026 69:49


In May 2024, the "Mother's Day Superstorm" slammed into Mars with a force Earth didn't experience. But how do we see a storm on a planet without a magnetic field? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Jacob Parrott from the European Space Agency (ESA) to discuss his groundbreaking research recently published in Nature Communications. Jacob explains how he and his team "hacked" veteran satellites—the Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter—to perform an unintended dance known as "mutual radio occultation." Discover how redundant hardware from failed landers became a cutting-edge sensor for Martian aeronomy, revealing how solar flares strip the atmosphere from the Red Planet. In this episode: • From biology and media internships to ESA's grad scheme. • The physics of radio occultation: Using signal "bending" to measure atmospheric density. • Retasking the Melacom and Electra antennas for deep-space science. • Processing the data: From raw waveforms to Python and SPICE simulations. Read the full transcript and see the images at: https://www.Astrophiz.com

Choses à Savoir SCIENCES
Pourquoi les insectes foncent-ils dans la lumière ?

Choses à Savoir SCIENCES

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2026 2:26


Par une chaude soirée d'été, il suffit d'allumer une lampe pour voir apparaître le même étrange ballet : des insectes tournent frénétiquement autour de la lumière, jusqu'à parfois s'y brûler les ailes. Papillons de nuit, moustiques ou scarabées semblent littéralement hypnotisés. Mais pourquoi les insectes foncent-ils dans la lumière ?Pendant longtemps, les scientifiques ont pensé connaître la réponse. L'explication classique reposait sur la navigation. De nombreux insectes nocturnes utilisent en effet les sources lumineuses naturelles, comme la Lune ou les étoiles, pour se repérer. Ces astres étant extrêmement éloignés, leur lumière arrive presque parallèlement sur Terre. Les insectes garderaient donc un angle constant avec cette lumière pour voler en ligne droite.Le problème, c'est qu'une ampoule ou une bougie se trouve tout près. Si l'insecte tente de conserver le même angle avec une source lumineuse proche, sa trajectoire se transforme en spirale. Résultat : il tourne autour de la lampe sans parvenir à s'en éloigner.Cette théorie était séduisante… mais incomplète. Car certaines observations ne collaient pas vraiment. Pourquoi certains insectes semblent-ils totalement perdre le contrôle de leur vol près d'une lumière artificielle ? Pourquoi se retournent-ils parfois brutalement ou plongent-ils directement vers l'ampoule ?En 2024, une étude très remarquée publiée dans la revue Nature Communications a apporté un nouvel éclairage sur ce mystère. Grâce à des caméras ultra-rapides, des chercheurs ont observé précisément le comportement d'insectes en vol autour de différentes sources lumineuses.Et ils ont découvert quelque chose d'étonnant : les insectes ne sont pas réellement “attirés” par la lumière. En réalité, ils sont désorientés.Leur cerveau utilise naturellement la lumière du ciel comme repère pour savoir où se trouve le haut. Dans la nature, le ciel est presque toujours plus lumineux que le sol. Les insectes ont donc évolué pour garder leur dos orienté vers la lumière afin de maintenir leur équilibre en vol.Mais une lampe artificielle bouleverse complètement ce système. Lorsqu'un insecte passe près d'une ampoule, il interprète cette lumière intense comme… le ciel. Il tente alors de réorienter son corps pour garder son dos face à la source lumineuse. Cela provoque des virages absurdes, des retournements et parfois une perte totale de contrôle.Autrement dit, l'insecte ne cherche pas la lumière : il essaie simplement de ne pas tomber.Cette découverte est importante car la pollution lumineuse représente aujourd'hui un immense problème écologique. Des milliards d'insectes meurent chaque année à cause des éclairages artificiels. Or les insectes jouent un rôle fondamental dans les écosystèmes : pollinisation, alimentation des oiseaux, recyclage des matières organiques…Les scientifiques recommandent donc de réduire les lumières inutiles la nuit, d'utiliser des éclairages moins agressifs et de privilégier certaines couleurs moins perturbantes pour les insectes.Car derrière ce petit ballet nocturne autour des lampes se cache en réalité un gigantesque piège créé par l'être humain. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Philosophy for our times
Human perception is imagination | Nadine Dijkstra

Philosophy for our times

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 14:22


Nadine Dijkstra is a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Neurology at UCL. Her research in Imaging Neuroscience explores how the brain generates mental images and differentiates them from actual perception. Utilizing neuroimaging, psychophysics, machine learning, and computational modeling, Dijkstra addresses fundamental questions about the overlap between perception and imagery.Recently, Dijkstra has been leading the Imagine Reality Lab at UCL's Department of Imaging Neuroscience, focusing on the intersection of imagination and reality. Dijkstra's 2023 paper in Nature Communications showed the brain evaluates images against a 'reality threshold' to distinguish between images and perception. Her work also investigates how changes in these neural processes could impact mental health.Check out our new series, Ideas for Our Time: https://youtu.be/nYS4FylZJ2QDon't hesitate to email us at podcast@iai.tv with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such debates live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TheOccultRejects
The Mechanics of Magick- Breath as the Threshold: Religion, Occult Discipline, and the Brain on Altered States

TheOccultRejects

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2026 73:18 Transcription Available


If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPrimary / traditional texts and core religious sourcesĀnāpānasati Sutta (MN 118), translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Access to Insight. Best primary source for Buddhist mindfulness of breathing.“Ḏekr / Dhikr,” Encyclopaedia Iranica. Strong source for Sufi remembrance, rhythmic repetition, posture, and breathing-linked practice.“Hesychasm,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Good general source for the Christian contemplative tradition of stillness, uninterrupted prayer, and the Jesus Prayer.“Saint Gregory Palamas,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Useful for the role of bodily posture and controlled breathing in Hesychast prayer.Crowley, Aleister. Liber E vel Exercitiorum. Primary text for Crowley's explicit inclusion of “Pranayama – Regularisation of the Breathing” in occult training.Crowley, Aleister. Book Four, Part 1. Useful for Crowley's statement that pranayama is useful in “quieting the emotions and appetites.”Historical / religious context“Prana,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Best short source for the deep Indian background: prāṇa, the five prāṇas, and breath as vital force.“Pranayama,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Best short source for classical Yoga: pranayama as the fourth limb aimed toward samādhi.“Hatha Yoga,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Useful for the force-oriented turn: bodily mastery, purification, and regulation of breathing.“Qi,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Good for Daoist and Chinese background: qi as psychophysical energy and breath-linked vital force.“Qigong,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Useful for qigong as a discipline combining movement, breathing, and mental concentration.“Are Kabbalistic Meditations all about Ecstasy?” in Hermes Explains (Cambridge). Strong academic source for Abraham Abulafia and ecstatic Kabbalah.“Classical Kabbalah, Its History and Symbolic Universe.” Useful academic source noting ecstatic Kabbalah's breathing exercises, postures, and developed techniques.Neuroscience / physiology / altered statesAshhad, Kam, Del Negro, and Feldman. “Breathing Rhythm and Pattern and Their Influence on Emotion.” Annual Review of Neuroscience (2022). One of the best overview papers for the whole episode.Yackle et al. “Breathing control center neurons that promote arousal in mice.” Science (2017). Key source for the preBötzinger complex / calm-vs-arousal section.Schottelkotte and Dutschmann. “Forebrain control of breathing: Anatomy and potential functions.” Frontiers in Neurology (2022). Best source for cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and thalamus in breathing control.Krohn et al. “The integrated brain network that controls respiration.” eLife (2023). Strong review for respiration as part of a larger integrated brain network.Heck et al. “Breathing as a fundamental rhythm of brain function.” Human MEG work on respiration-modulated brain oscillations across frequency bands and brain regions.(Note: the specific MEG paper surfaced in earlier research as the respiration-modulated oscillations study; the review sources above are the strongest anchors for that section.)Zelano et al. “Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function.” Journal of Neuroscience (2016). One of the most important human papers in the whole script.Schreiner et al. “Respiration modulates sleep oscillations and memory reactivation in humans.” Nature Communications (2023). Best source for the sleep-spindle / memory-reactivation section.Zaccaro et al. “How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psychophysiological Correlates of Slow Breathing.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience / PMC version (2018). Best broad source for slow breathing under 10 breaths per minute.Shao, Man, and Lee. “The Effect of Slow-Paced Breathing on Cardiovascular and Emotion Functions: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.” Mindfulness (2024). Useful for the stabilizing-road section.Kozhevnikov et al. “Neurocognitive and Somatic Components of Temperature Increases during g-Tummo Meditation.” PLoS ONE (2013). Best source for vase breathing and inner-heat claims.Zhang et al. “Hyperventilation in neurological patients: from physiology to outcome evidence.” Useful source for hypocapnia, cerebral vasoconstriction, and reduced cerebral blood flow.Havenith et al. “Decreased CO2 saturation during circular breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness.” Communications Psychology (2025). The key modern paper for circular breathwork and altered-state onset. Also want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. Now let me introduce the rest of the panel and guests.

Geek News Central
Mozilla Meets Mythos #1864

Geek News Central

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2026 49:34 Transcription Available


  In this episode, Ray Cochrane leads with Mozilla shipping Firefox 150 with 271 patched bugs found by Anthropic’s Mythos system, the first major real-world deployment of the AlphaGo-Moment cybersecurity tooling. He also covers a 9-year dormant Linux kernel root, a college student stopping Taiwan’s high-speed rail with a software-defined radio, GitHub MCP secret scanning going GA, the NVIDIA NeMo lawsuit surviving its motion to dismiss, the Hugging Face Reachy Mini app store, Anthropic’s Auto Mode for Claude Code, and the 4-gigabyte AI model Chrome silently installed on your computer. – Want to start a podcast? Its easy to get started! Sign-up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Ray if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Full Summary Cochrane opens the show with the AlphaGo Moment moving from theory into production. Mozilla shipped Firefox 150 this week with 271 patched bugs that Anthropic’s Mythos system found. Furthermore, the broader episode threads a clear pattern: AI tooling is reshaping security, developer workflows, and consumer software faster than the surrounding ecosystem can absorb it. The show closes on the four-gigabyte AI model Chrome installed on a billion machines without explicit consent. Mozilla Ships 271 Mythos Bugs in Firefox 150 Mozilla ran Anthropic’s restricted Mythos system against the Firefox 150 codebase before shipping. The result: 271 found bugs (180 high severity, 80 moderate, 11 low) baked into the release. However, the bigger number is the year-over-year jump. April 2026 shipped 423 total Firefox security fixes versus 31 a year prior. The breakdown for April: 271 from Mythos, 41 from external researchers, and 111 from other internal sources. Cochrane is sticking to his guns on calling this the AlphaGo Moment for cybersecurity. Skeptics argue Mythos is industrial-scale fuzzing because most found bugs sit in memory-safety territory. However, his counter is the velocity itself. Furthermore, he frames the resistance as carriage-versus-cars: humans-first research still grounds the tool, but throughput is the win. The Firefox CTO put it directly: defenders finally have a chance to win, decisively. For developers asking whether Mythos changes anything if they already run fuzzers, Cochrane’s answer is yes, and not even close. Additionally, he notes Mythos is restricted-access. The broadly available tier is Claude Opus 4.7, which Mozilla used since February before getting onto the restricted program for the Firefox 150 cycle. Run Opus 4.7 first. Sponsor: GoDaddy GoDaddy has been sponsoring this show for over twenty years. Economy hosting starts at $6.99/month, WordPress hosting at $12.99/month, and domains at $11.99. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy for exclusive deals and to directly support the show. Copy Fail: 9-Year Linux Kernel Bug, 732 Bytes to Root A 9-year-old dormant Linux kernel bug got disclosed April 29 as CVE-2026-31431. Researchers published a 732-byte Python script that roots every major Linux distribution shipped since 2017. Additionally, CISA added the CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on May 1 with a May 15 federal deadline. The bug lives in the kernel’s crypto socket layer through the AF_ALG AEAD interface, originating in a 2017 in-place crypto optimization that lacked bounds checking. Cloudflare published their post-mortem this week. Their first instinct was to remove the kernel module entirely. However, service dependencies forced a workaround instead. Cloudflare resumed normal patched-kernel reboot automation across their 330-city fleet on May 4, with manual reboots and rollouts continuing after. Taiwan Rail Stopped by a 23-Year-Old With a Software-Defined Radio A 23-year-old Taiwanese university student with the surname Lin spoofed a TETRA general alarm signal on April 5, stopping trains on Taiwan’s high-speed rail. The accomplice supplied the radio parameters. Both were arrested by month-end. Lin posted NT$100,000 bail; the accomplice posted NT$80,000. The incident hit at 11:23 PM during the Qingming holiday weekend, stopping three revenue passenger trains plus one deadhead. Furthermore, the system has been in service for 19 years without rotating its cryptographic parameters once. Cochrane notes this is exactly the type of long-dormant infrastructure flaw that Mythos-class tooling catches, if anyone bothers to point it at the wires we already have. GitHub MCP Secret Scanning Goes GA GitHub’s secret scanning in the MCP server hit GA on May 5, with dependency scanning entering public preview the same day. Both released after a seven-week public preview run starting March 17. Additionally, the feature lets MCP-compatible coding agents (Copilot CLI, VS Code, JetBrains, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf) detect exposed secrets before commits or pull requests. Findings are ephemeral. They surface only in the current chat session and don’t persist as GitHub alerts. Sources disagree on scope: GitHub’s GA changelog says repo-level or org-level settings work, while the docs say only org-level applies. Cochrane flags the open question of whether MCP prompt injections could be exploited to send discovered secrets elsewhere. Subquadratic Debuts a 12-Million-Token Context Window Miami-based Subquadratic emerged from stealth on May 5 with a $29 million seed round and a reported $500 million valuation. Their model, SubQ 1M-Preview, runs on a new Subquadratic Sparse Attention architecture (their technical writeup calls it Selective Attention; same acronym, different second word). The headline claim: a thousand-times reduction in attention compute at 12 million tokens versus frontier models. However, that figure is vendor marketing math. There is no peer-reviewed paper, no public weights, and no independent benchmark replication. Researchers are demanding independent proof. Furthermore, CTO Alex Whedon’s pull line, “Retrieval / RAG plumbing is a waste of human intelligence,” signals how aggressively they want to position against retrieval-augmented architectures. ChatGPT Goblins, China’s “Catch You Steadily”: Sycophancy Is Universal Last week’s ChatGPT goblin obsession has a Chinese-language twin. The model overuses a phrase translating as “I will steadily catch you.” Additionally, a new Stanford and CMU study called ELEPHANT shows social sycophancy is universal across all 11 LLMs tested with 2,400-plus participants. Models endorsed users 49 percent more than humans did, and 47 percent even on harmful prompts. Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek topped the rankings. Cochrane notes sycophancy is obvious once you’re aware of it but tricky to dissuade. Even with explicit instructions, longer context windows can reintroduce the behavior as the instructions get diluted. Furthermore, the trap is believing you’ve handled it. Once you think you’ve got it under control, you’re more prone to being influenced because you stopped watching for it. NVIDIA NeMo Lawsuit: Judge Tigar Denies Motion to Dismiss Three authors filed Nazemian v. NVIDIA in March 2024, alleging NVIDIA used The Pile and Books3 (approximately 196,640 pirated books) to train its NeMo AI framework. NVIDIA’s defense relied on the Sony v. Universal Betamax doctrine, arguing NeMo’s training scripts are general-purpose tools like a VCR. This week, Judge Tigar denied NVIDIA’s motion to dismiss in the Northern District of California. The headline quote: NeMo’s training scripts “have no other purpose than to speed up the process of infringement.” Furthermore, the judge rejected the VCR analogy outright. NeMo’s scripts are not general-purpose tools; they were allegedly purpose-built to ingest pirated material. Cochrane reads the Betamax framing as legal-jargon arbitrage rather than honest defense. The Humanoid Robot Market Is Smaller Than the Hype Michael Barnard at CleanTechnica argues that scenario-math against the global labor market puts realistic humanoid TAM at $200 billion to $1 trillion, not $20 trillion. Near-term wins cluster in warehouses, not homes. Additionally, the framework weighs dexterity burden against human-proximity safety burden. Real opportunities cluster where both burdens are low. Cochrane connects this to last week’s reservations about humanoids in the household. Furthermore, the risk profile is the issue: these robots aren’t prepared for every scenario, can’t make dynamic decisions, and one software update can change the definition of “safe.” Hugging Face Launches Reachy Mini App Store Hugging Face launched an open-source app store for the Reachy Mini robot this week, $299 for the Lite tethered version and $449 wireless. There are 200-plus community-built apps at launch from over 150 creators, with nearly 10,000 Reachy Minis cumulative shipped. Additionally, apps are forkable, with the default agent (ML Intern) able to modify, write, test, and ship code on any existing app. Examples at launch include an office receptionist built in under two hours, a Reachy Phone Home anti-procrastination app, baby-monitor-style apps, a cooking assistant, and a 78-year-old Joel Cohen’s voice-controlled CEO peer-group app. Pollen Robotics, the company behind Reachy, was acquired by Hugging Face on April 14, 2025. Bebop the Humanoid Robot Delays Southwest Flight 1568 A 4-foot, 70-pound humanoid robot named Bebop delayed Southwest flight 1568 from Oakland to San Diego by more than 73 minutes on April 30. The crew flagged the lithium battery as oversized. Furthermore, the battery was reportedly four times the cabin limit. Bebop belongs to Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics, which bought a full-price cabin ticket because the robot exceeded checked-baggage weight. Bebop danced for passengers at the gate before boarding. However, Southwest had Elite remove the batteries before departure, and replacements were overnighted to Chicago for the next event. Cochrane flags the obvious: batteries have always been flagged in aviation, so forgetting that with a humanoid robot in tow is a strange miss. Ouster Rev8: Native Color Lidar With Google, Volvo, Skydio Stating Intent Ouster announced the Rev8 OS Family on May 4 in San Francisco. The sensors fuse depth and color via SPAD detectors (single photon avalanche diodes) on Ouster’s custom L4 and L4 Max chips. Google, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, Skydio, Liebherr, Epiroc, and PlusAI have stated intent to adopt, though nothing is formally signed. Specs include 48-bit color, 116 dB dynamic range, and pre-fused 3D colorized point clouds. The OS1 Max gets 500-meter max detection. Available to order today and shipping this quarter, with no pricing disclosed. CEO Angus Pacala in his TechCrunch interview: “The goal is to obviate cameras. There’s no reason that one sensor can’t do both.” TagTinker Lets a Flipper Zero Mess With Electronic Shelf Labels A new Flipper Zero app called TagTinker uses infrared signals to push images and text to electronic shelf labels. Additionally, these are the same kind of price tags grocery chains are starting to use for surveillance pricing. The app and GitHub repo went public this week. Maryland’s HB 895, signed by Governor Wes Moore, takes effect October 1 as the first-in-nation surveillance pricing law. It covers food retailers and third-party food delivery service providers. Furthermore, ESLs use the same IR signaling as TV remotes with weak security. The dev’s disclaimer states it’s strictly for educational research, security curiosity, and displaying digital art on hardware you legally own. Fitbit App Becomes Google Health, Plus Fitbit Air, Plus Google Fit Sunset Google announced May 7 that the Fitbit app becomes Google Health on May 19, rolling through May 26. The launch ships with the new $99.99 Fitbit Air screenless tracker and the long-rumored Google Fit shutdown. Additionally, the four-tab interface (Today, Fitness, Sleep, Health) bundles a Gemini-powered AI Health Coach. Coach is premium-gated at $9.99/month or $99/year. Medical records integration is US-only at launch. The Fitbit Air gets up to one week of battery life and 50-meter water resistance. However, Cochrane flags conflicting privacy framing: Google’s AI summary bullets say “your data stays private,” but the actual document copy says only “committed to not using Fitbit user health and wellness data for Google Ads.” Those are not the same statement. Russinovich on Why Win32 Won and WinRT Didn’t Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich said via Microsoft Dev Docs video that Win32, the 1995 API, is still foundational to Windows 11. WinRT, the modernization replacement, “didn’t play out the way a lot of people expected.” Mostly clickbait framing per Windows Latest, but the substantive angle is real. Microsoft is pivoting back to native WinUI 3 development after years of pushing developers toward WebView2 and Electron. Additionally, Electron-based apps are known for insane RAM usage, and everyone is hurting for RAM right now. Furthermore, the bigger open question is whether Electron survives the test of time, especially with the React engine reportedly being rewritten in Rust. “Tabula Plena”: The Brain Starts Full, Not Blank A Nature Communications study from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria found that the mouse hippocampal CA3 recurrent network begins densely connected and refines through pruning. ISTA’s press release frames this as “tabula plena,” meaning full slate, counter to tabula rasa. The paper published April 21. First author Victor Vargas-Barroso and senior author Professor Peter Jonas studied mice at three developmental stages. Furthermore, the “starting overloaded enables faster sensory integration” framing is Jonas’s hypothesis from the press release, not a paper conclusion. Cochrane closes on the bigger question: did we have human growth and experience mapped wrong from the start? The Aqueous Battery You Can Pour Down the Drain A Chinese research team led by Professor Chunyi Zhi at City University of Hong Kong built an aqueous battery using a custom organic polymer electrode plus neutral magnesium and calcium salts (food-grade tofu coagulants) as electrolyte. Published in Nature Communications on February 18. Numbers to know: 120,000-plus charge cycles, full-cell energy density of 48.3 watt-hours per kilogram. That’s well below typical lithium-ion. However, post-cycling analysis showed only magnesium, calcium, chlorine, carbon, and copper, with no heavy metals. The cell complies with US RCRA, ISO 14001, and China’s GB 18599-2020 for direct environmental disposal. Additionally, the “300-plus years” framing is journalists extrapolating from the 120,000 cycles, not a paper claim. ResoNix Klippel Tests Expose Car-Audio Spec Lies Nick Apicella, founder of ResoNix Sound Solutions in Stony Point, New York, spent around $23,000 on independent Klippel LSI and TRF testing of 40 subwoofers. He published 21 results showing widespread misrepresentation of Xmax (excursion) and thermal/power-handling claims. Test data published in three batches between December 2025 and January 2026. Specifics: Wavtech thinPRO12 claimed 20 mm of excursion but delivered 8.85 mm, scoring 15 out of 100 on marketing accuracy. One driver hit 44 percent of advertised excursion. Another tripped thermal protection at half its rated power. Additionally, nine of 21 drivers scored below 50 out of 100. Brands tested include JL Audio, Sundown, Focal, Morel, Audiofrog, Adire, Stereo Integrity, and Dynaudio. Conflict-of-interest flag: ResoNix’s own GUS-15, 12, and 10 prototypes conveniently rank one, two, three. JetBrains Opens 2026 Developer Ecosystem Survey JetBrains opened the 10th annual Developer Ecosystem Survey this week. It takes about 30 minutes, with prizes including a MacBook Pro 16-inch and a $1,000 Amazon gift card. Anonymized raw data is published publicly, and cumulative scale is 100,000-plus developers across recent years. Additionally, the survey is going fully anti-AI: “evil bots, dishonest respondents, and AI agents will be excluded from prize distribution.” Cochrane is curious whether TypeScript holds its 2025 crown after knocking Python off, and whether Rust shows real growth given the wave of LLM-driven Rust rewrites in the past few months. Anthropic’s Claude Code Auto Mode Goes Live Anthropic launched Auto Mode for Claude Code roughly six weeks ago. Claude Code’s previous behavior required user approval for most file modifications and command executions, generating heavy approval-fatigue complaints during longer sessions. Auto Mode is the answer: Claude can run multi-step development tasks without per-action approval. Additionally, the architecture is a two-stage classifier, with stage one a fast yes/no filter and stage two doing chain-of-thought on flagged actions. Cochrane runs his own Claude Code in YOLO mode but with custom rejection rules baked into settings to block commands he doesn’t want, even with skip-permissions on. He recommends configuring settings as the actual policy layer rather than relying on classifier judgment alone. Furthermore, recent posts about Claude deleting websites or wiping production databases reinforce why the settings layer matters more than the auto-mode toggle. Chrome Quietly Installed a 4GB AI Model on Your Computer Google Chrome silently downloads on-device AI model weights (Gemini Nano family) to a `weights.bin` file in the OptGuideOnDeviceModel directory, around four gigabytes in Alexander Hanff’s audit. Furthermore, the model re-downloads if you delete it. Hanff timed his own install at 14 minutes 28 seconds on macOS. Affected platforms include Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux. Hanff frames this as a multi-front legal violation: a direct breach of Europe’s ePrivacy Directive, two articles of GDPR, and an environmental harm of a magnitude that would be notifiable under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. At one billion users, the four-gigabyte distribution represents roughly 240 gigawatt-hours of network and storage energy paired with about 60,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions. However, no EU regulator action or formal complaint has surfaced as of this episode. The model powers on-device features (email writing, scam detection, summarization, smart paste, tab grouping) but not the visible AI Mode button, which routes to the cloud. To disable, Cochrane recommends Chrome Settings, then System, then On-device AI, toggle to off. Two more paths exist via `chrome://flags` or a Windows registry edit. Cochrane closes the show with show housekeeping: GNC Insider at geeknewscentral.com/insider, email at geeknews@gmail.com, newsletter signup at geeknewscentral.com, and Pocket Casts as a solid modern podcast app pick. Have a wonderful night. The post Mozilla Meets Mythos #1864 appeared first on Geek News Central.

Intelligent Medicine
Leyla Weighs In: Exploring the Link Between Food Additives and Type 2 Diabetes

Intelligent Medicine

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2026 23:11


Registered dietitian nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses a Nature Communications study of 108,723 French adults in the NutriNet-Santé cohort (2009–2023) examining long-term exposure to food preservatives and type 2 diabetes. Using detailed dietary records cross-referenced with product/additive databases, researchers identified 58 preservative-related additives and analyzed 17 consumed by at least 10% of participants; 1,131 diabetes cases occurred. Higher overall preservative intake was associated with a 47% increased diabetes risk (49% for non-antioxidant preservatives; 40% for antioxidant additives), with several specific additives linked to higher risk. Leyla questions whether the findings reflect preservatives themselves or the ultra-processed, refined-carbohydrate foods that contain them, emphasizing recommendations to favor fresh, minimally processed foods and limit refined carbs and processed foods.

Conversations with scientists
Sneak-peek of the 2026 annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research

Conversations with scientists

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2026 50:54


The two program chairs of the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research talk about the meeting and some trends they see. They are Dr Fiona Doetsch from the University of Basel and Dr Nozomu Yachie from the University of British Columbia who has a lab at the University of Osaka too. They talk about the promise of stem cell biology and stem cell therapy. About how malleable the human brain is, the role of AI and 'in vivo veritas. There's also a word association game. My co-moderator is: Dr. Angela Parrish from Nature Communications who has also worked at Nature Cell Biology. 

Fitness mit M.A.R.K. — Dein Nackt Gut Aussehen Podcast übers Abnehmen, Muskelaufbau und Motivation
Bewegungsintelligenz: Was Dein Körper vergessen hat (und wie Du es zurückholst) (#569)

Fitness mit M.A.R.K. — Dein Nackt Gut Aussehen Podcast übers Abnehmen, Muskelaufbau und Motivation

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2026 32:33


Wann hast Du das letzte Mal körperlich auf etwas reagiert? Nicht auf eine Nachricht – sondern auf etwas, das fiel, flog oder plötzlich da war?Falls Dir spontan nichts einfällt: Diese Folge ist für Dich.Du erfährst, warum klassisches Dehnen meistens scheitert – und was stattdessen funktioniert („Unlock statt Stretch“). Du lernst die zwei Bewegungsmuster kennen, die über Deine Koordination entscheiden. Und Du bekommst vier Werkzeuge, die Du ab morgen nutzen kannst – darunter ein 5-Minuten-Morgenritual und ein Besenstiel-Spiel, das Deine Ausdauer mindestens so gut fordert wie eine Runde Joggen.In dieser Folge: Warum Dein Nervensystem „einrostet“, wenn Du es nicht überraschstDie 85-Prozent-Regel: der Sweetspot für motorisches LernenVier sofort umsetzbare Übungen (kein Equipment, kein Studio)Warum Geräusche beim Training ein Warnsignal sind____________*WERBUNG: Infos zum Werbepartner dieser Folge und allen weiteren Werbepartnern findest Du hier.____________► Video zum Morgen-Unlock: Die meistgefragte Übung aus dieser Folge als kurzes Anleitungsvideo – hier im Blogartikel.► Erwähnte Studie: Wilson, R. C., Shenhav, A., Straccia, M., & Cohen, J. D. (2019). The Eighty Five Percent Rule for optimal learning. Nature Communications, 10, 4646.____________Shownotes und Übersicht aller Folgen.Trag Dich in Marks Dranbleiber Newsletter ein.Entdecke Marks Bücher.Folge Mark auf Instagram, Facebook, Strava, LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast
Voyager 1 Dying? NASA Powers Down Science Instrument + Life Clues on Mars & Artemis Suit Crisis

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2026 19:59 Transcription Available


Sponsor LinkTo check out our special NordVPN offer for Astronomy Daily listeners: Click HereAstronomy Daily — S05E90 | Wednesday, April 22, 2026 In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover six stories spanning the fading power of humanity's most distant probe, fresh evidence for ancient life on Mars, a landmark black hole measurement, a SpaceX reusability milestone, a sobering assessment of the Artemis spacesuit programme, and tonight's moon and Jupiter conjunction.   Story 1 — Voyager 1 Powers Down the LECP Instrument •       NASA's JPL shut down Voyager 1's Low-energy Charged Particles experiment (LECP) on April 17, 2026, to conserve dwindling power. •       The decision followed an unexpected power drop during a routine roll manoeuvre in late February that nearly triggered an automatic emergency shutdown. •       Seven of Voyager 1's ten original instrument sets are now offline. Only the magnetometer and plasma wave subsystem remain active. •       Engineers are developing 'the Big Bang' — a plan to swap older components with lower-power alternatives — to extend operations into the 2030s. Testing on Voyager 2 is planned for May/June 2026; Voyager 1 to follow no sooner than July. •       Source: NASA JPL — https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/   Story 2 — Curiosity Rover Finds Organic Molecules on Mars •       Published April 21 in Nature Communications, the study describes the first use of the TMAH chemical experiment on another planet. •       More than 20 organic molecules were detected in clay-rich sandstone from the Glen Torridon region of Gale Crater, preserved for over 3.5 billion years. •       Discoveries include a nitrogen-bearing molecule structurally similar to DNA precursors — never before confirmed on Mars — and benzothiophene. •       The experiment cannot determine whether molecules are biological, geological, or meteoritic in origin. Future missions including Rosalind Franklin and Dragonfly will build on the technique. •       Source: phys.org — https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mars-rover-compounds.html   Story 3 — Black Hole Jets in Cygnus X-1 •       Curtin University-led study published April 16 in Nature Astronomy directly measures the instantaneous power of black hole jets for the first time. •       The jets in the Cygnus X-1 system carry energy equivalent to 10,000 suns and travel at approximately half the speed of light (150,000 km/s). •       Researchers used the companion star's stellar winds to 'bend' the jets, allowing calculation of their real-time power — a technique compared to watching wind deflect a fountain. •       About 10% of the energy released as matter falls into the black hole is carried away by the jets — confirming a long-held theoretical assumption. •       The measurement will help calibrate future observations from the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, currently under construction in WA. •       Source: ScienceDaily — https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260416071949.htm   Story 4 — SpaceX 600th Rocket Landing •       SpaceX completed its 600th successful Falcon booster landing on April 19, 2026, during the Starlink 17-22 mission from Vandenberg SFB. •       Booster B1097 landed on drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' for its eighth successful recovery. The milestone arrived just 7 months after the 500th landing. •       The tally includes 496 drone ship landings and 104 ground landings, per SpaceX VP Kiko Dontchev. •       SpaceX's Starlink constellation now numbers over 10,275 satellites in orbit. •       Source: Space.com — https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starlink-17-22-b1097-vsfb-ofisly-600th-falcon-landing   Story 5 — Artemis Spacesuit Crisis •       NASA's Office of Inspector General report (released April 20) warns that next-generation Artemis spacesuits may not be ready until 2031 — three years after the stated 2028 target. •       The xEVAS programme began as a two-company competition (Axiom Space + Collins Aerospace). Collins has effectively been removed after missing milestones. Axiom is now the sole contractor for the lunar surface suit. •       OIG analysis: based on an 8.7-year historical average from contract award to first flight for comparable NASA programmes, Axiom's 2022 award points to a 2031 delivery. •       NASA Administrator Isaacman has publicly maintained confidence in the 2028 date. Axiom plans a suit demonstration in 2026 on the ISS or during an Artemis mission. •       A separate risk: if the ISS variant of the suit slips past 2030, the Station could run out of operational EVA suits before decommissioning. •       Additional Artemis delays: SpaceX lunar Starship at least 2 years late; Blue Origin Blue Moon at least 8 months late (per separate March OIG report). •       Source: SpaceDaily — https://spacedaily.com/sd-n-the-spacesuit-gap-why-artemis-iiis-2028-landing-date-is-already-slipping/   Story 6 — Skywatching: Moon & Jupiter Conjunction •       Tonight (April 22), the half moon sits approximately 3 degrees from Jupiter in the constellation Gemini, near the stars Castor and Pollux. •       Visible to the naked eye in the western/northwestern sky after sunset. Binoculars will reveal Jupiter's four Galilean moons. •       Southern Hemisphere viewers: look northwest after dark; viewing window narrows the further south you are. •       Source: Space.com — https://www.space.com/stargazing/the-moon-and-jupiter-steal-the-show-after-sunset-on-april-22Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Finding Genius Podcast
Can AI Unearth New Antibiotics From Ancient DNA? | A Conversation With Prof. César De La Fuente

Finding Genius Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2026 23:11


What can the DNA of Neanderthals, woolly mammoths, and ancient proteins tell us about the future of medicine? In this episode, Professor César de la Fuente sits down to discuss his fascinating research goal: using the power of machines to accelerate discoveries in biology and medicine… This conversation explores: The growing global health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Why ancient DNA and extinct organisms may hold clues for next-generation antibiotics. The role that AI plays in uncovering the genetic data of extinct organisms. What the future of machine biology could mean for human health. Prof. de la Fuente is Presidential Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group. He is one of the youngest tenured professors in the history of Penn Medicine. He completed postdoctoral research at MIT and earned his PhD from the University of British Columbia. He is widely recognized for pioneering the first computer-designed antibiotic shown to be effective in animal models, which is an achievement that helped launch the emerging field of AI-driven antibiotic discovery. His lab has since identified more than one million potential antimicrobial compounds through computational biology. In addition, Prof. de la Fuente has delivered over 350 invited lectures worldwide, co-authored an influential book on machine learning for drug discovery, secured multiple patents, and published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals, including Cell, Science, Nature Communications, PNAS, and Advanced Materials. You can follow Prof. de la Fuente's latest discoveries and research here!

Historia de Aragón
Los efectos en la vida marina de un cambio climático con el que el planeta experimentó un enfriamiento hace 34 millones de años

Historia de Aragón

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2026 29:45


Hoy vivimos en un planeta relativamente frío, con grandes masas de hielo permanentes en los polos. Sin embargo, durante la era de los dinosaurios y hasta hace unos 34 millones de años, la Tierra era muy diferente: predominaba un mundo “invernadero”, con temperaturas globales más cálidas y sin glaciares permanentes. Un nuevo estudio internacional, publicado en Nature Communications y en el que participa la investigadora de la Universidad de Zaragoza y del Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA) Laia Alegret, catedrática de Paleontología, analiza cómo reaccionó la vida marina ante uno de los grandes cambios climáticos de la historia de la Tierra: el paso de ese planeta cálido a otro más frío., hace 34 millones de años. Tal y como explica Alegret en Ágora, este estudio analiza más de 40.000 registros de microfósiles procedentes de 161 localidades de todo el mundo. Su complejidad ha impulsado el desarrollo de un nuevo método analítico basado en inteligencia artificial, por parte de la Universidad de Nanjing. Los resultados indican que las aguas profundas – y la vida que habitaba en ellas- se vieron menos afectadas por los cambios climáticos que las aguas someras durante este periodo.

NeuroNoodle Neurofeedback and Neuropsychology
BPA, Autism & the Developing Brain | NeuroNoodle Neurofeedback Therapy Podcast

NeuroNoodle Neurofeedback and Neuropsychology

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2026 83:23


Jay Gunkelman, Joy Lunt, John Mekrut, Anthony Ramos, and Santiago Brand go live for a Brain Bar panel that pulls no punches — and Anthony drops a Nature Communications study mid-show that stops everyone cold. Boys born to mothers with high BPA levels are 3.5x more likely to show autism symptoms by age two and 6x more likely to be diagnosed by age eleven.The panel also takes on the DSM, photobiomodulation, and the single most important distinction in the field — we train brains, we don't treat them.

The New Quantum Era
Quantum Advantage Achieved with Dominik Hangleiter

The New Quantum Era

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2026 37:02


Has quantum advantage actually been achieved — or is the field still arguing over its own milestones? Dominik Hangleiter, one of the leading theorists working on quantum computational advantage, joins the podcast to make the case that it has, explain why so many physicists remain unconvinced, and map the path toward fault-tolerant, verifiable quantum advantage.Why This Episode MattersIf you follow quantum computing and want to cut through the noise around quantum advantage claims, this episode is for you. Dominik Hangleiter — an Ambizione Fellow at ETH Zürich and postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley's Simons Institute — has spent over a decade studying the boundary between what quantum and classical computers can do. His March 2026 paper "Has quantum advantage been achieved?" synthesizes years of experiments, classical simulation attacks, and complexity theory into a clear-eyed assessment. Whether you're an experimentalist, a theorist, or simply quantum-curious, you'll come away with a sharper understanding of what's been demonstrated, what hasn't, and what comes next.What You'll LearnWhy random circuit sampling became the primary arena for proving quantum advantage — and why the task's "uselessness" is a feature, not a bugHow the linear cross-entropy benchmark (XEB) works as a statistical proxy for verifying classically intractable quantum computationWhy audiences of physicists are still split on whether quantum advantage has been demonstrated, despite multiple experiments since 2019What "peaked circuits" are and how they interpolate between random sampling and structured computationHow post-quantum cryptography (learning with errors) exploits problems that quantum computers can't solve — and what that reveals about quantum computation's limitsWhy basic arithmetic is surprisingly hard for fault-tolerant quantum computers, and how that bottlenecks algorithms like Shor'sHow fault-tolerant compilation co-designs quantum circuits with error-correcting codes to make advantage experiments scalableThe difference between "native" quantum operations and the overhead required for universal fault-tolerant computationWhy the interplay between quantum and classical computing strengths — not quantum dominance — may define the field's futureResources & LinksPapers & ArticlesHas quantum advantage been achieved? — Hangleiter's March 2026 paper synthesizing the quantum advantage debateComputational Advantage of Quantum Random Sampling — Hangleiter & Eisert's comprehensive review in Reviews of Modern Physics (2023)Fault-Tolerant Compiling of Classically Hard IQP Circuits on Hypercubes — The Harvard/ETH collaboration on fault-tolerant IQP circuits (PRX Quantum 2025)Secret-Extraction Attacks against Obfuscated IQP Circuits — Hangleiter & Gross's attack paper breaking proposed verification protocols (PRX Quantum 2025)Verifiable Measurement-Based Quantum Random Sampling with Trapped Ions — Experimental realization with the Innsbruck trapped-ion group (Nature Communications 2025)Blog Series & CommentaryHas quantum advantage been achieved? (Quantum Frontiers blog series) — The three-part mini-series on the Caltech IQIM blog that grew into the paperScott Aaronson's reaction — Endorsement on Shtetl-Optimized: "quantum supremacy on contrived benchmark problems has almost certainly been achieved by now"Guest LinksDominik Hangleiter — personal website & publicationsGoogle Scholar profile (4,372 citations)QuICS profile (University of Maryland)Key Quotes & Insights"Really what sets random circuit sampling apart is that it's really programmable. I give an input to the device, I design a circuit — I draw it randomly, yes — but then I give the circuit to the device, and whoever controls the device runs the circuit and gives me back the samples." — On why RCS qualifies as genuine computation"We typically do in physics experiments a lot of extrapolation, a lot of circumstantial experiments that validate that the experiment you really care about is actually what you want to probe. And that's the sense in which I think these random circuit sampling experiments have been verified." — On the physics-style epistemology of quantum advantage"Classical computers are really good at doing basic arithmetic, but quantum computers — it's really hard to do basic arithmetic. And that's for the reason that fault tolerance is very restrictive in terms of the operations that you can do on encoded information." — On the surprising asymmetry between quantum and classical capabilities"I can't just tell the quantum computer to give me the outcome I want. There's rules to it. And how those rules apply to computational problems that we face in the real world beyond quantum simulation is, I think, a really intriguing challenge." — On the structured nature of quantum interference"Maybe there's a world where we can stitch together different hardware systems and won't have a single platform that wins the race." — On heterogeneous quantum architecturesRelated EpisodesEp 35: Quantum Benchmarking with Jens Eisert — Hangleiter's PhD advisor discusses benchmarking quantum devices — essential context for understanding how we measure quantum performance.Ep 12: Quantum Supremacy to Generative AI and Back with Scott Aaronson — Aaronson's perspective on quantum supremacy and computational complexity — directly relevant to the advantage debate.Ep 73: Peaked quantum circuits with Hrant Gharibyan — The peaked circuits approach discussed in this episode, explained in depth.Ep 47: Megaquop with John Preskill and Rob Schoelkopf — The road to a million quantum operations — the scale needed for the fault-tolerant advantage Hangleiter envisions.Ep 74: Majorana qubits with Chetan Nayak — Another approach to fault tolerance with different native capabilities — relevant to Hangleiter's point about modality-specific strengths.Calls to ActionDominik's Quantum Frontiers blog series is one of the most accessible deep dives on quantum advantage available anywhere — start there if you want to explore beyond this conversation. Links in the show notes.Subscribe: ...

Just the Zoo of Us
329: Coelacanth

Just the Zoo of Us

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2026 75:13


Don't call it a comeback, coelacanth's been here for years. We discuss life on Earth 400 million years ago, a military escort mission, our own fish ancestors, five year pregnancies, underwater handstands, an unnecessarily complicated puzzle in the third generation Pokémon games, and so much more. Works Cited: “The Coelacanth” - Knysna Museum “The Discovery” - UC Museum of Paleontology's website “Earliest known coelacanth skull extends the range of anatomically modern coelacanths to the Early Devonian” - Min Zhu et al., Nature Communications, April 2012 “Animated Life: The Living Fossil Fish | HHMI BioInteractive Video”  “The coelacanth rostral organ is a unique low-resolution electro-detector that facilitates the feeding strike” - Rachel M. Berquist et al., Scientific Reports, March 2015 “New scale analyses reveal centenarian African coelacanths” - Kélig Mahé et al., Current Biology, August 2021 “Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head” - Hugo Dutel et al., Nature, May 2019 “Buoyancy and hydrostatic balance in a West Indian Ocean coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae” - Henrik Lauridsen et al., BMC Biology, August 2022 Links: Come hear Ellen talk about dragons LIVE at Nerd Nite Seattle! https://seattle.nerdnite.com/ For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website! Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord! Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Just the Zoo of Us
329: Coelacanth

Just the Zoo of Us

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2026 75:13


Don't call it a comeback, coelacanth's been here for years. We discuss life on Earth 400 million years ago, a military escort mission, our own fish ancestors, five year pregnancies, underwater handstands, an unnecessarily complicated puzzle in the third generation Pokémon games, and so much more. Works Cited: “The Coelacanth” - Knysna Museum “The Discovery” - UC Museum of Paleontology's website “Earliest known coelacanth skull extends the range of anatomically modern coelacanths to the Early Devonian” - Min Zhu et al., Nature Communications, April 2012 “Animated Life: The Living Fossil Fish | HHMI BioInteractive Video”  “The coelacanth rostral organ is a unique low-resolution electro-detector that facilitates the feeding strike” - Rachel M. Berquist et al., Scientific Reports, March 2015 “New scale analyses reveal centenarian African coelacanths” - Kélig Mahé et al., Current Biology, August 2021 “Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head” - Hugo Dutel et al., Nature, May 2019 “Buoyancy and hydrostatic balance in a West Indian Ocean coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae” - Henrik Lauridsen et al., BMC Biology, August 2022 Links: Come hear Ellen talk about dragons LIVE at Nerd Nite Seattle! https://seattle.nerdnite.com/ For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website! Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord! Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

The Egg Whisperer Show
Sperm Health: A New Test from PS Fertility with guest Jeff Lysiak (PS Detect)

The Egg Whisperer Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2026 19:25


I'm thrilled to bring you this conversation about a breakthrough in male fertility diagnostics that's been literally hiding in plain site. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jeff Lysiak, PhD, co-founder and Chief Science Officer at PS Fertility, to discuss phosphatidylserine (PS) and how this critical molecule on sperm is revolutionizing how we diagnose male infertility. Jeff shares the fascinating story of how his research at the University of Virginia led to discovering that PS on the surface of sperm is essential for fertilization and how traditional semen analysis completely misses this vital piece of the puzzle. Read the full show notes on my website.  This episode addresses a frustration I've experienced for years in my practice: couples with "normal" semen analysis results who still have trouble when it comes to trying to conceive. Research shows that 20-30% of men with normal basic semen analysis could still be infertile, and we've had no way to identify them, until now.  In this episode, we cover: What phosphatidylserine (PS) is and why it's critical for sperm to fuse with and fertilize an egg The major limitations of standard semen analysis (count, motility, morphology) and why 20-30% of men with "normal" results may still be infertile How the PS Detect test works using flow cytometry to assess over 10,000 sperm per sample The connection between varicocele and low PS scores—and how varicocelectomy surgery can restore PS levels to normal ranges When the PS test should be ordered in a fertility workup and what to do if scores are low Early data showing over 30% of men seeking fertility treatment have low PS scores, including those with normal semen analysis How this test can prevent women from undergoing unnecessary treatments when the male factor is undiagnosed Resources: PS Fertility website: psfertility.com PS Detect at-home test kit Nature Communications publication on phosphatidylserine and fertilization Dr. Aimee's Supplement Stack The TUSHY Method OVANAD+ by Theralogix. Use code EGG. Would you like to learn more about IVF?Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, April 20, 2026 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America's most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org. Other ways to connect: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates   Keywords: male infertility, phosphatidylserine, PS score, PS Detect, male fertility testing, semen analysis limitations, sperm function, fertilization competence, varicocele, unexplained infertility, IUI success rates, male factor infertility, reproductive urology, Jeff Lysiak, PS Fertility, sperm egg fusion, fertility diagnostics, at-home sperm test, idiopathic male infertility, fertility workup, egg whisperer show, Dr. Aimee

Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes
In the News… $3 Semaglutide?, New Stem Cell Partnership, "Lyla's Law" Debate, Patient-Led Insulin Dosing in Pregnancy, FDA GLP-1 Crackdown, and more!

Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2026 11:49


It's In the News, a look at the top headlines and stories in the diabetes community. This week's top stories: Stem Cell Islet Therapy Partnership, "Lyla's Law" Type 1 Testing Debate, Patient-Led Insulin Dosing for Gestational Diabetes, $3 Semaglutide Manufacturing, FDA GLP-1 Compounding Crackdown Announcing Community Commericals! Learn how to get your message on the show here. Learn more about studies and research at Thrivable here Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Omnipod - Simplify Life All about Dexcom  All about VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com  transcript with links:  Welcome! I'm your host Stacey Simms and this is an In The News episode.. where we bringing you the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. A reminder that you can find the sources and links and a transcript and more info for every story mentioned here in the show notes. I am definitely feeling better – that lingering cold is gone – but whew still recovering from non stop travel for the past five weeks. I have a great strech of time her at home, then going to Vegas for Brekathorugh T1D at the end of the month and we have two club 1921 events in April – Atlanta and Philly. Before we jump into the news – I need your community commercials! These have been a lot of fun, I announced them late last year – your voice on the show. All the instructions it's very easy in the show notes. Okay.. our top story this week: XX A biotech company developing stem-cell treatments for type 1 diabetes has announced a new research partnership aimed at improving the survival of transplanted insulin-producing cells. NewcelX, a clinical-stage company based in Switzerland, said it will work with Eledon Pharmaceuticals to study a combination approach. The goal is to help transplanted cells survive longer in the body by reducing the immune response that often leads to transplant rejection. If successful, the strategy could support longer-lasting islet cell replacement and move the therapy closer to becoming a functional treatment for people with type 1 diabetes. However, the companies have not yet released any safety or effectiveness data on the combination treatment, and financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The research agreement is focused on exploring whether combining stem-cell-derived islets with targeted immune therapy can lead to longer-lasting cell transplants and improved outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes. https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ELDN/newcel-x-announces-strategic-collaboration-with-eledon-d10l1vqdofls.html XX Debate this week in the UK on whether testing for type 1 diabetes should become mandatory when children present with symptoms. The Westminster Hall debate, scheduled for 9 March, will consider calls for routine testing of babies, toddlers and young children who show signs associated with the condition. It follows a petition backing the move, dubbed 'Lyla's Law', which passed 121,000 signatures in December 2025. The campaign was launched by John Story after his two-year-old daughter, Lyla, died from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) on 3 May 2025, 16 hours after being diagnosed with tonsillitis. https://www.nursinginpractice.com/clinical/diabetes-and-endocrinology/diabetes-community-urged-to-call-on-mps-to-attend-lylas-law-debate/ XX     A new study suggests that people with gestational diabetes who adjust their own insulin doses may reach healthy blood sugar levels faster than those whose doses are adjusted by clinicians. Half of the participants were assigned to adjust their own insulin doses using a simple rule: increase the dose by two units if fasting blood glucose was above 95 mg/dL, decrease it by two units if it dropped below 70 mg/dL, and keep the same dose if levels fell in between. The other half had their insulin adjusted by clinicians through weekly reviews. By the end of pregnancy, both groups had similar average fasting glucose levels before delivery: about 89 mg/dL in the patient-led group and 90 mg/dL in the clinician-led group. However, those adjusting their own insulin reached their blood sugar targets more quickly, averaging 1.8 weeks compared with 2.5 weeks for those managed by clinicians. The study also found lower risks of certain complications among the patient-led group. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/self-insulin-dosing-leads-control-gestational-diabetes-2026a1000729 XX   A blockbuster anti-obesity and diabetes drug could cost as little as $3 per month to manufacture once it goes off patent later this month, researchers said Friday, providing a major opportunity to boost health in low and middle-income countries.   Semaglutide, the active molecule in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy will lose patent protection in countries such as Brazil, China, and India later this month, and researchers identified 150 countries where it was never patented. These researchers estimated it will cost as little as $3 to produce a month's supply of semaglutide, which in its branded form sells for around $200 a month in the United States. Another of the study's authors, Professor Francois Venter at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, said drugs to treat HIV, TB, malaria, and hepatitis are now available at prices close to production costs but still sufficient for generic manufacturers to operate. https://www.sciencealert.com/weight-loss-drugs-could-cost-just-3-a-month-to-make-as-patents-end XX Here in the US the FDA is stepping up its efforts to combat widespread GLP-1 drug compounding. In its latest offensive, the agency has unleashed a fresh set of 30 warning letters targeting telehealth companies it says make "false or misleading" claims about compounded versions of popular obesity drugs. The FDA says Compounded drugs can be important for overcoming shortages or meeting unique patient needs—but compounders should not try to compound drugs in a way that circumvents FDA's approval process." https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/fda-ramps-crackdown-glp-1-drug-compounders-fresh-batch-30-warning-letters XX   Check your infusion sets for an issue: Unomedical, a subsidiary of Convatec and a supplier of insulin infusion sets to diabetes tech firms, has received a warning letter from the FDA. Inspectors raised concerns with leaking infusion sets, following a regulatory assessment of Unomedical's facility in Reynosa, Mexico, last summer. Unomedical supplies infusion sets to insulin pump makers including Medtronic, Tandem Diabetes Care and Beta Bionics. In a Feb. 3 statement, Convatec said the letter focuses on reporting procedures and quality protocols and does not place restrictions on producing, marketing or distributing any of Unomedical's products.  Unomedical told the FDA in its responses that it plans to conduct a retrospective review of complaints involving serious injury or death by January and conduct additional training on complaint handling by May.   https://www.medtechdive.com/news/fda-warns-insulin-infusion-set-maker-unomedical-over-leaks-mishandled-comp/813503/ XX Nearly four in ten people with type 2 diabetes do not take their medications as prescribed, according to a new research review published in Diabetologia in November 2025.   Researchers examined existing studies on medication adherence, including how often patients miss doses, why it happens, and what strategies may help. They estimated that about 38% of patients with type 2 diabetes are not fully adherent to their medications.   Adherence rates vary depending on the type of medication. About 63% to 68% of patients take oral glucose-lowering drugs as directed, while adherence drops to 43% to 54% for injectable GLP-1 medications and 41% to 64% for insulin.   Poor adherence can lead to serious consequences. One retrospective study cited in the review found that patients who consistently took their glucose-lowering medications had a 31% lower risk of hospitalization or emergency department visits.   The review also highlighted ways to improve adherence. Simplifying medication routines can help, such as using fixed-dose combination pills, which combine multiple drugs into a single tablet. Studies show these combinations are linked to better adherence and improved blood sugar control.   Pharmacists can also play an important role by providing education, reviewing medications, setting up reminders, and helping patients organize their treatment plans. The researchers noted that support should be tailored to each patient. Older adults may benefit from simpler systems and caregiver support, while younger patients may respond better to digital tools like app-based reminders.   The authors also found that measuring adherence is challenging and recommend using multiple methods, such as pharmacy records, patient interviews, and objective tests when possible.   Overall, the review concludes that personalized, multi-step approaches lasting at least three months are most effective in helping people with type 2 diabetes stay on track with their medications. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/type-2-diabetes-medication-adherence-rates-remain-low-and-pharmacists-can-help XX New clinical trial shows metformin does not directly reverse insulin resistance in people with type 1 diabetes. Instead, it lowers the total amount of insulin required to keep blood glucose levels within the recommended range. The findings, published in Nature Communications, challenge long-held assumptions about how metformin works in type 1 diabetes. The results may help physicians refine treatment strategies and reduce the daily demands placed on people who rely solely on insulin therapy. "Insulin resistance is a growing problem in type 1 diabetes. Not only does it make regulating blood sugar levels difficult, but it is an underappreciated risk factor for heart disease, which is one of the biggest causes of health complications and deaths in those with type 1 diabetes," says Dr. Jennifer Snaith, endocrinologist and co-lead of the study.   https://scitechdaily.com/groundbreaking-trial-reveals-unexpected-benefit-of-metformin-in-type-1-diabetes/   Tech news ahead, including updates from Sensonics, Dexcom & Tandem.. right after this…. Back ot the wnews.. XX Sensonics shares that it's secured FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) for its self-powered, battery-enabled Gemini sensor. It enrolled the first patients in the IDE trial and expects to complete that in the second half of 2026. Gemini builds on the implanted CGM to put the transmitter under the skin as well as the sensor. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/senseonics-q4-2025-ide-gemini-cgm/ XX Medtronic Diabetes is now officially MiniMid, a stand alone public company. Medtronic  acquired MiniMed 25 years ago announed last May that it would spin its diabetes business off. In their statement the company points out that MiniMed is the only diabetes tech company to sell both insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors.   https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/medtronics-diabetes-unit-minimed-valued-at-53-billion-as-shares-fall-in-nasdaq-debut-4547518 XX Kevin Sayer heads back to Dexcom.. The former CEO is back in his position as executive chair of the Board, he'd stepped away for a medical leave. Dexcom (Nasdaq:DXCM) announced today in an SEC filing that former CEO Kevin Sayer has returned from his leave of absence. Sayer's return to the board comes just days after Dexcom announced a new board member. Last week, the company announced that it added Google SVP, Platforms and Devices, Rick Osterloh, to its board as well.     https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/kevin-sayer-returns-dexcom-board-chair/ SAN DIEGO - DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM) announced the appointment of Rick Osterloh to its Board of Directors, effective today, according to a press release statement.   Osterloh serves as Senior Vice President, Platforms & Devices at Google, where he oversees Android, Google Play, Chrome, and Google's hardware portfolio including Pixel phones, Google Nest devices, and Fitbit wearables. He has held this position since 2016.   https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/dexcom-appoints-google-executive-rick-osterloh-to-board-93CH-4529662 XX Sequel Med Tech announced broad national availability of its twiist™ Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) System powered by Tidepool. After U.S. FDA clearance in 2024 and a controlled launch to optimize the twiist experience, the system is now fully available nationwide. The release says: Built on Sequel's proprietary iiSure™ Technology, the system enables earlier detection of delivery issues, alerting users to blockages up to nine times faster than other AID systems1, potentially reducing the risk of unexplained high glucose and giving you time to take action before experiencing severe high blood sugar or DKA2. Designed to expand access to automated insulin delivery, twiist is available through pharmacy channels with a flexible access model, XX Tandem Diabetes Care's Mobi automated insulin delivery system is now available with Android devices. In November, Tandem announced that it received FDA approval for the Android version of its Mobi mobile app. The pump, which pairs with Tandem's Control-IQ+ algorithm, previously worked with iOS software. At the time of the clearance, it said it would commence a limited rollout before the full launch — now underway — this year.   Tandem launched Mobi in the U.S. in February 2024. It initially received FDA clearance for people with diabetes ages six and up in July 2023. The system then received expanded clearance for pediatric indications in April 2024, then later won CE mark in May 2025.   Mobi features a 200-unit insulin cartridge and an on-pump button to provide an alternative to phone control for insulin boluses. It comes in at less than half the size of the flagship Tandem pump system, the t:slim X2 pump. Mobi can fit in a coin pocket, clip to clothing or go on the body with an adhesive sleeve. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/tandem-diabetes-care-launches-mobi-android/

Dr. Chapa’s Clinical Pearls.
Pregnancy and the Brain

Dr. Chapa’s Clinical Pearls.

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 23:15


A study published in Nature Communications, published Feb 19, 2026, found that “pregnancy physically alters a woman's brain, with a second pregnancy bringing even more profound effects.” The researchers “performed brain scans on 110 women. Some were first-time mothers, others second-time moms, and some nulliparous women. Results showed that during a first pregnancy, the greatest changes occur in the structure and activity of the ‘default mode network' – the brain system responsible for self-reflection and mind wandering. Are these changes bad? Are they associated with long term hard? Are they adaptive? It's a complex question, with real answers. Listen in for details.1. Straathof, M., Halmans, S., Pouwels, P.J.W. et al. The effects of a second pregnancy on women's brain structure and function. Nat Commun 17, 1495 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69370-82. de Lange AG, Kaufmann T, van der Meer D, et al. Population-Based Neuroimaging Reveals Traces of Childbirth in the Maternal Brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019.3. Aleknaviciute J, Evans TE, Aribas E, et al.)Long-Term Association of Pregnancy and Maternal Brain Structure: The Rotterdam Study. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2022.4. Jung JH, Lee GW, Lee JH, et al. Multiparity, Brain Atrophy, and Cognitive Decline. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 2020.5. Hu A, Xiong L, Wei H, et al. Association of Menarche, Menopause, and Reproductive History With Cognitive Performance in Older US Women: A Cross-Sectional Study From NHANES 2011-2014. BMC Public Health. 2025.6. Orchard ER, Ward PGD, Sforazzini F, et al. Relationship Between Parenthood and Cortical Thickness in Late Adulthood. PloS One. 20207. Hoekzema E, Barba-Müller E, Pozzobon C, et al. Pregnancy Leads to Long-Lasting Changes in Human Brain Structure. Nature Neuroscience. 2017.8. de Lange AG, Barth C, Kaufmann T, et al. Women's Brain Aging: Effects of Sex-Hormone Exposure, Pregnancies, and Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease. Human Brain Mapping. 2020.Visit our SPONSOR's LINK to learn more about the Hemorrhage view CS Drape: https://www.perspectivemedical.org/

SpaceTime with Stuart Gary | Astronomy, Space & Science News
Earth's Core Secrets and Solar Neutrinos: Unveiling the Mysteries of Our Planet and the Sun

SpaceTime with Stuart Gary | Astronomy, Space & Science News

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 32:14


In this episode of SpaceTime, we dive into groundbreaking research revealing the true composition of the Earth's core, explore new insights into solar neutrinos, and uncover the complexities of Martian volcanoes.Earth's Core Contains Vast Hydrogen ReservoirA recent study published in Nature Communications indicates that Earth's core may hold up to 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen, challenging the long-held belief that water on our planet primarily came from asteroids and comets. Utilizing advanced laboratory techniques, researchers simulated the extreme conditions of the core to uncover its surprising hydrogen content, suggesting a significant internal source of water far beyond previous estimates.Neutrinos from the Sun's CoreA new dark matter experiment has successfully detected neutrinos originating from the Sun's core, marking a significant milestone in our understanding of these elusive particles. The LZ experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility captured signals from Brian 8 solar neutrinos, providing valuable data on solar processes and setting new limits for dark matter research. This breakthrough highlights the potential of neutrino studies in unraveling the mysteries of both dark matter and stellar dynamics.Complexity of Martian VolcanoesNew findings published in Geology reveal that young Martian volcanoes are far more complex than previously thought. Researchers have discovered that these volcanoes were shaped by long-lasting and evolving magma systems rather than single eruptions. By analyzing surface features and mineral compositions from orbit, scientists have reconstructed the intricate eruptive history of these volcanic systems, shedding light on the Red Planet's geological past.www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com✍️ Episode ReferencesNature Communications, GeologyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-with-stuart-gary--2458531/support.(00:00:00) New study reveals Earth's core may contain vast amounts of hydrogen(00:08:30) Breakthrough in solar neutrino detection from the Sun's core(00:16:45) Insights into the complex eruptive history of Martian volcanoes(00:25:00) Science report: The link between caffeine consumption and reduced dementia risk(00:32:15) Study on the frequency of passionate love experiences in humans

FoundMyFitness
#108 The Best Type of Exercise for Longevity

FoundMyFitness

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2025 138:49


Get access to more than 200 episodes of my premium podcast (The Aliquot) when you sign up as a FoundMyFitness Premium Member Download my "How to Train According to the Experts" guide One minute of vigorous exercise may be worth up to ten minutes of "moderate" cardio for extending lifespan and preventing chronic disease. In this Journal Club episode, Rhonda Patrick, PhD and endurance athlete Brady Holmer dissect a new Nature Communications study of more than 70,000 adults showing that vigorous intensity is roughly 4–10x more potent than moderate activity for reducing all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, type 2 diabetes, and cancer outcomes—far beyond the long-standing 1:2 rule embedded in global exercise guidelines. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (07:01) What exactly is the 1:2 rule for exercise intensity? (08:18) Calorie burn vs. longevity—origins of the 1:2 rule (11:15) What counts as 'vigorous' exercise, really? (13:35) Where the exercise guidelines fall short (14:19) Can your wearable predict disease risk years in advance? (20:11) Is vigorous activity easier to achieve than people think? (22:47) How researchers avoided the 'healthy user bias' (23:59) Health equivalence ratio—a better way to measure exercise benefits? (25:45) Is vigorous exercise truly 4–10x more effective? (29:55) Can one vigorous minute match an hour of gentle walking? (32:02) Why vigorous activity—not gentle—offers dose-dependent benefits (33:50) Is vigorous exercise 5x better at preventing heart attacks & strokes? (34:24) Why vigorous activity stands out for cancer prevention (34:59) Does zone 2 qualify as vigorous exercise? (36:11) Dose-response comparison—vigorous vs. moderate vs. light activity (37:22) Is vigorous exercise the secret to younger arteries? (43:15) Why aging hearts need intensity (46:09) Can vigorous exercise halt your VO₂ max decline? (47:26) Why moderate exercise alone might not improve VO₂ max (49:21) Is vigorous exercise 10x more powerful at preventing diabetes? (55:48) Mitochondrial biogenesis—why intensity is essential (58:40) Can you directly measure mitochondrial health? (1:00:57) Does vigorous exercise kill circulating tumor cells? (1:07:15) Why vigorous intensity triggers beneficial hormone changes (1:08:05) Can vigorous activity protect older adults from falls? (1:12:36) Does vigorous exercise combat inflammation? (1:14:29) Is high-intensity training the key to a younger brain? (1:16:01) Is vigorous exercise more powerful than we realized? (1:17:50) Can the benefits of vigorous exercise fit into a pill? (1:19:08) How small doses of intensity might extend your lifespan (1:23:15) Do short bursts of vigorous movement match full workouts? (1:27:26) Why your wearable might undervalue short vigorous bouts (1:30:06) Can planned micro-workouts replace traditional gym sessions? (1:35:10) Why exercise guidelines urgently need updating (1:46:35) Does light activity still offer real benefits? (1:49:04) Is vigorous exercise safe for older adults? (1:53:28) Are high-intensity workouts detrimental to female hormones? (1:58:02) Safe vigorous exercise options—even with chronic illness (1:59:05) The 80/20 rule for balancing intensity and recovery (2:01:30) Inside Brady's routine—how much vigorous exercise is optimal? (2:05:17) Can vigorous activity boost kids' brainpower (and grades)? (2:08:14) Are we significantly underestimating vigorous exercise benefits? (2:10:03) Why chasing steps isn't the answer Show notes are available by clicking here Watch this episode on YouTube