Quote of the Day: “How do you know what’s going on in the world? Everything’s going on! A far better question is what do you want to focus on?” – Peter Sage (chooses not to look at any news from mainstream media)
Photo by: awar kurdish
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A German renovation firm is raising a lot of interest in their ability to make old buildings really energy efficient simply by putting a big ‘coat’ on them.
Taking a 3D scan of a house, they prefabricate wood panels of identical shape and scale to be attached to the outside, and have turned the most inefficient buildings in Germany into net-energy producers.
Called Ecoworks, the panels they make come with built in solar panels and insulation, meaning they can be installed on the host building in as little as 20 minutes.
They’re made from wood that’s been harvested after its achieved optimal carbon capture.
In a demonstration, an apartment block from 1930s that used 450 kilowatt-hours per square meter of space (catastrophically inefficient, even by American standards) was equipped with Ecoworks panels while the company monitored the changes in energy consumption.
It became so inexpensive to heat, cool, and power, that the solar panels in the roof made it a carbon-negative building, where before it was listed as one of the least efficient in the whole nation.
This summer the startup has another seven projects lined up, identifying which structures will be best suited for the technology by using AI.
Soulless apartment blocks work best, but they’re trying as fast as possible to adapt the panels for use in family homes, schools, and even buildings in other countries.
In Germany alone, writes Adele Peters at Fast Company, 30 million buildings are in need of renovation over the next five years to meet prescribed climate targets.
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A new study shows for the first time that the striking iridescent colours seen in some animals increase their chances of survival against predators by acting as a means of camouflage. Rather than reveal it seems these dynamically changing shades are used to conceal, according to a University of Bristol study.
Until now, it was assumed that the iridescent colours seen in nature have two main purposes: they can help animals find mates, or act as a warning to predators that a prey item may be poisonous.
Researchers at Bristol’s Camo Lab wanted to find out why this vivid metallic coloration has evolved in so many different species of animals by investigating its biological function.
They chose to test this theory on the vividly coloured jewel beetle (Sternocera aequisignata) because both sexes of this species are iridescent which makes sexual signalling somewhat less likely as a function of the colour.
They tested the idea of iridescence-as-camouflage by placing iridescent and non-iridescent beetle models on leaves in the forest and noted their survival against attacks by wild birds.
They found that the models with biological iridescence, survived best against birds, providing evidence that iridescence can increase prey survival and that these bright metallic colours could have evolved in beetles to confuse birds, their primary predator.
Dr Karin Kjernsmo, the study’s lead author at the University of Bristol School of Biological Sciences, said, “Iridescent colours are most likely familiar to you from everyday objects such as soap bubbles and CDs, but this striking form of structural colour is also very common in nature.
Iridescence has evolved independently in everything from jewel-like insects to shimmering birds and can even be spotted in your garden in insects such as Rose Chafers and Rosemary beetles.
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“Although an iridescent insect might be easy to spot in a well-lit museum case, these spectacular colours may not shine as brightly in the dappled light of a natural environment, and so an iridescent beetle on a shiny leaf could be much more difficult to detect. If iridescence is to work as a form of protective coloration, it needs to work against birds, because birds are likely to be the most important predators of many iridescent insects.”
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However, the team wanted to investigate why the birds didn’t attack the iridescent models and whether the increase in prey survival was due to camouflage or a warning colour effect.
To test this, the researchers conducted a final experiment in which they asked human participants to search for the beetle models in the same environment. Warning colours should be easy to see, whereas if the beetles survived due to camouflage, the humans would not be able to detect them.
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Dr Karin Kjernsmo said of the study, published in 2020 in Current Biology, “I think that the biggest surprise to us was that when we carried out the same experiment with humans even they really struggled to spot the iridescent beetles. Both birds and humans really do have difficulty spotting iridescent objects in a natural, complex, forest environment.
“While the idea of ‘iridescence as camouflage’ itself is not new, our study is the first solid evidence for the idea that iridescence can work as highly-effective form of camouflage, and ultimately this could explain why iridescence has evolved in so many different species of animals.”
Source: University of Bristol
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From now until early July, the five nearest planets to Earth will slowly join a celestial conga line across the pre-dawn sky.
These rare, but not once-in-a-lifetime conjunctions offer an excellent opportunity to learn what planets look like, find them with a telescope or binoculars, and introduce some children to stargazing.
In what was the fourth such conjunction this century, it all kicked off in late March, when Venus, Mars, and Saturn began to cluster in the southeast.
This Sunday, April 17th, Jupiter will move into position closest to the eastern horizon, and almost on top of Venus. A bit south and above will be Mars looking very red, and then Saturn further up and further south.
For most people in North America, the ideal time will be to go out and look southeast about 45 minutes before the sun begins to rise. On April 23rd, the Moon will appear in conjunction with the other spheres, appearing to the right and above Saturn, before moving off again by April 29th.
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In mid-June, due to its rapid orbiting around the Sun, Mercury will fall into position. Seeing all five of these together will depend on where one lives. With a long unobstructed view of the eastern horizon, Mercury will be visible as early as June 10th, but for those in hilly, urban, or mountainous areas, it will be better to wait until the beginning of July.
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A thin crescent moon, due on June 17th, will make Mercury easy to find by looking just below and to the right. Uranus and Neptune will also both be in the sky, but will require the use of binoculars or a telescope.
To know for sure you’re looking at a planet and not a star, look for constant light, which can be confirmed by any pair of binoculars and not just those used for stargazing. Stars twinkle, planets don’t.
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Three-fifths of Pink Floyd have reunited to release a protest song against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, their first new track in 28 years.
Entitled Hey Hey, Rise Up! David Gilmour described the track as a show of “anger at a superpower invading a peaceful nation,” and features a Ukrainian musician singing the chorus refrain.
David Gilmour is joined by drummer Nick Mason, long-time bassist Guy Pratt, and a new entry as Nitin Sahwney joins up with keyboard.
Work began on the song seven weeks ago, after Gilmour saw Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the band Boombox standing in Kyiv’s Sofia Square armed and dressed for battle against the Russian army. In an Instagram video Khlyvnyk was singing The Red Viburnum In The Meadow, a song from the First World War.
“It just struck me that, as it is a capella, one could turn this into a beautiful song,” Gilmour told BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt.
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In a strange coincidence, Gilmour had shared a stage many acts removed with Boombox when they played a London benefit gig for the Belarus Free Theatre. The great guitarist wanted to sample his singing in Hey Hey, Rise Up!
“I spoke to him, actually, from his hospital bed, where he had a pretty minor injury from a mortar,” the star said. “So he’s right there on the front line. I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing.”
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Protest is all well and good, but the band hopes it will also be a morale booster to the people of Ukraine, and a call to peace.
(LISTEN to the New Pink Floyd song below.)
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Quote of the Day: “I want you to have big dreams, big goals… But I don’t want to see you beating yourself up every time you make a mistake.” – Kelley Armstrong (The Gathering)
Photo by: @felipepelaquim
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Do you have the “ulti-mutt” tips for navigating travel with a pup? To celebrate your pets, Baymont by Wyndham has launched a nationwide search for the best pup-friendly travel tips.
In exchange, 10 pup parents will receive a free weekend hotel stay for two while their tips, and their pups, are featured in an upcoming travel planner helping first-time owners navigate the ins and outs of traveling with a pet.
According to a survey by the ASPCA, more than 23 million American households acquired a pet during the pandemic. Now, many first-time pet owners are figuring out how to travel with their furry friends on their next vacation. Lucky for them, Baymont is here to help make their travel planning experience a little less “ruff.”
“When planning a trip, there are number of things to consider. Add a pet to the mix, especially for the first time, and it may feel a little overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be,” said David Unger, brand leader and vice president of Operations, Baymont by Wyndham.
“At Baymont, we want to make travel easy, especially when our furry friends are involved. It’s why we offer no-cost perks like dog treats and water bowls at our front desks. This initiative builds on those efforts, helping ensure our guests—the two or four-legged kind—have a great trip, even before they arrive.”
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Amongst all the tips received, Baymont by Wyndham will select the 10 best and feature them in its upcoming pet-friendly travel planner, debuting later this year, alongside a corresponding photo of each winning pup.
In exchange for their help, each proud pup’s parent(s) will receive two free nights at the Wyndham Rewards hotel of their choosing, along with a complimentary one-year upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Diamond membership which includes perks like free WiFi, early check-in, late checkout, suite upgrades, rental car upgrades, and more.
Think you’ve got what it takes to lead the pack? Parents are invited to submit their best pup-friendly travel tip in 100 words or less, as well as two high-resolution photos of their pup—one headshot and one travel-themed photo—to [email protected].
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If you’re looking for ideas of the kinds of tips to send? GNN has been given word such a: What should you do before hitting the road with your pet; the one must-have item that no pet-parent should travel without; and which pet-friendly places should be on your itinerary.
You can also encourage contestants to check out tips from the ASPCA for inspiration.
with more than 500 hotels across North America, nearly two-thirds of which are pet friendly
Baymont has more than 500 hotels across North America—nearly two-thirds of which are pet-friendly—and they are committed to making travel easy for the entire family.
Pet-friendly hotels, along with their policies, are easily searchable on www.BaymontInns.com while the brand’s Baymont Buddy program—available at more than 300 locations—lets guests request a complementary water bowl and dog treats upon arrival.
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For more information about Baymont’s latest pup-centric program, including official rules, visit www.baymontinns.com/petfriendly.
Submissions will be accepted up until 11:59 PM ET on May 11, 2022. The winning candidates will be selected on or about June 7, 2022.
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A spray of common bacteria and fungi has been developed to rapidly biodegrade agricultural waste in the fields of India, enriching degraded soils and saving thousands in material and labor costs.
Furthermore, it’s eliminating the practice of burning post-harvest waste, a large contributor to one of India’s most infamous societal problems: smog.
Set amidst a sea of burning agricultural waste, New Delhi, has the most polluted air of any world city, while India has 26 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities measured by air quality.
This is in large part due to the richness of the farmland in the for north-Indian states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Producing rice and wheat for much of the country and the world, after harvest most farmers simply burn all the stalks and leaves left over to quickly clear the fields for the next planting.
This “stubble burning,” takes place on 5.7 million acres of rice paddy, and despite being illegal for decades, continues mostly unabated.
Nurture.farm is an ag-services company that’s pioneered a groundbreaking solution to the stubble burning/air pollution problem. Called the PUSA Decomposer, it’s nothing more than 7 species of fungi and bacteria present in India’s soils. Developed by the Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi, this microbial spray breakdowns all leftover stubble in just 3 weeks. After just 8 days, knee-high rice stalks simply disappear.
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Nurture works with mostly small farms, and the reduction of burning by their clients has prevented 141,000 tons of ash from entering India’s air, another 2,000 tons of other particulate matter, and 1 million tons of CO2.
The best part is all decomposed stubble is fully-reintegrated into the soil. Depletion of soil matter is a world-threatening problem, and so Nurture is just one of 12 ag-tech companies that have been licensed to try and integrate the PUSA decomposer into Indian society.
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The stubble represents the largest, and by far easiest ways of restoring soil nutrients; much cheaper than buying artificial fertilizer. One study from the International Maize and Wheat Center found that if rolled into bails and stacked atop one another, the stubble from India’s fields would arrive at the moon, and that if there could only be an alternative found for burning, India could reduce her ag-related emissions by 78%.
Farmers registered with Nurture can avail themselves of a totally free mechanized spraying service to apply the PUSA decomposer to their fields, removing most of the use barriers for the 25,000 farmers who use Nurture for their 5 million total acres.
Compared to burning, Nurture’s data on the initial harvests has been dramatic. There’s been a 25% reduction in costs from the need to buy artificial fertilizer, and a 20% increase in farmers’ income due to the ability to rotate in short term crops between the rice and wheat cycles.
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“It was exhilarating to see that in all the fields where the spraying protocol was followed, the stubble started to decompose within just eight days,” said COO Dhruv Sawhney. “This garnered the farmer’s trust and appreciation, which was highly motivating for us.”
“We’ve emerged more confident and determined post phase-1 of the initiative and will
continue our efforts to develop the product and our tech capabilities to eliminate the
environmental hazard of crop stubble burning in the coming three years.”
(WATCH the video for this story below.)
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People consistently underestimate others’ desire for constructive feedback and therefore don’t provide it, even when it could improve another person’s performance on a task, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“People often have opportunities to provide others with constructive feedback that could be immediately helpful, whether that’s letting someone know of a typo in their presentation before a client presentation, or telling a job candidate about a stained shirt before an interview,” said lead author Nicole Abi-Esber, a doctoral candidate at Harvard Business School. “Overall, our research found that people consistently underestimate others’ desire for feedback, which can have harmful results for would-be feedback recipients.”
Constructive feedback is instrumental for aiding learning and performance, and research has shown that people commonly report wanting this type of feedback, according to the researchers.
However, despite wanting constructive feedback themselves, people often avoid giving it to others. In a pilot study conducted by the researchers, only 2.6% of participants informed a tester of a visible smudge on his or her face (e.g., chocolate, lipstick or red marker) during a survey.
Previous research suggests that people avoid giving feedback for fear of negative outcomes, such as the other person’s becoming embarrassed or upset. Abi-Esber and her colleagues theorized there might be another reason people withhold feedback: They simply do not fully recognize the potential of their input to improve others’ outcomes, leading them to underestimate others’ desire for such feedback.
To test their theory, the researchers conducted a series of five experiments involving 1,984 participants to measure how much people underestimate others’ desire for constructive feedback.
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In one, participants were presented with 10 hypothetical awkward social situations at work, where they could either give or receive constructive feedback. In another experiment, participants were asked to recall a situation where they could either have given or received constructive feedback. In the final experiment, participants were paired, with one practicing a speech for a competition and the other assigned to listen and provide feedback.
Across all five experiments, people in a position to give feedback consistently underestimated potential receivers’ desire for it. The more consequential the feedback (e.g., telling someone they need to improve their presentation skills), the more likely participants were to underestimate the other’s need for feedback and the less likely they were to offer it. The gap was smaller in more everyday, less consequential scenarios, such as when the other person had food on their face or a rip in their pants.
The researchers were surprised to find that the simple intervention of perspective taking could increase the likelihood someone would recognize the need for and provide feedback. Simply asking people to quickly reflect, “If you were this person, would you want feedback?” helped participants recognize the value of feedback to the other person and helped close the giver-receiver gap.
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“Even if you feel hesitant to give feedback, we recommend that you give it,” said Abi-Esber. “Take a second and imagine you’re in the other person’s shoes and ask yourself if you would want feedback if you were them. Most likely you would, and this realization can help empower you to give them feedback.”
“Feedback is key to personal growth and improvement, and it can fix problems that are otherwise costly to the recipient,” said coauthor Francesca Gino, PhD, also of Harvard Business School. “The next time you hear someone mispronounce a word, see a stain on their shirt or notice a typo on their slide, we urge you to point it out to them—they probably want feedback more than you think.”
The research was published in APA’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Source: American Psychological Association
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Researchers in the UK have developed a method to ‘time jump’ human skin cells by 30 years, turning back the aging clock for cells without losing their specialized function.
The epigenetics research program has been able to partly restore the function of older cells, as well as rejuvenating the molecular measures of biological age in other cells.
While in the early stages of exploration, this breakthrough from the Babraham Institute could revolutionize regenerative medicine.
As we age, our cells’ ability to function declines and the genome accumulates marks of aging. Regenerative biology aims to repair or replace cells including old ones. One of the most important tools in regenerative biology is our ability to create ‘induced’ stem cells. The process is a result of several steps, each erasing some of the marks that make cells specialized. In theory, these stem cells have the potential to become any cell type, but scientists aren’t yet able to reliably recreate the conditions to re-differentiate stem cells into all cell types.
The new method, based on the Nobel Prize winning technique scientists use to make stem cells, overcomes the problem of entirely erasing cell identity by halting reprogramming part of the way through the process. This allowed researchers to find the precise balance between reprogramming cells, making them biologically younger, while still being able to regain their specialized cell function.
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In 2007, Shinya Yamanaka was the first scientist to turn normal cells, which have a specific function, into stem cells which have the special ability to develop into any cell type. The full process of stem cell reprogramming takes around 50 days using four key molecules called the Yamanaka factors. The new method, called ‘maturation phase transient reprogramming’, exposes cells to Yamanaka factors for just 13 days.
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At this point, age-related changes are removed and the cells have temporarily lost their identity. The partly reprogrammed cells were given time to grow under normal conditions, to observe whether their specific skin cell function returned. Genome analysis showed that cells had regained markers characteristic of skin cells (fibroblasts), and this was confirmed by observing collagen production in the reprogrammed cells.
To show that the cells had been rejuvenated, the researchers looked for changes in the hallmarks of aging. As explained by Dr Diljeet Gill, a postdoc in Wolf Reik’s lab at the Institute who conducted the work, “Our understanding of aging on a molecular level has progressed over the last decade, giving rise to techniques that allow researchers to measure age-related biological changes in human cells. We were able to apply this to our experiment to determine the extent of reprogramming our new method achieved.”
Researchers looked at multiple measures of cellular age. The first is the epigenetic clock, where chemical tags present throughout the genome indicate age. The second is the transcriptome, all the gene readouts produced by the cell. By these two measures, the reprogrammed cells matched the profile of cells that were 30 years younger compared to reference data sets.
RELATED: Resetting Clock on Aging Cells Safely Reversed Signs of Decline in Mice
The potential applications of this technique are dependent on the cells not only appearing younger, but functioning like young cells too. Fibroblasts produce collagen, a molecule found in bones, skin tendons and ligaments, helping provide structure to tissues and heal wounds.
The rejuvenated fibroblasts produced more collagen proteins compared to control cells that did not undergo the reprogramming process. Fibroblasts also move into areas that need repairing. Researchers tested the partially rejuvenated cells by creating an artificial cut in a layer of cells in a dish. They found that their treated fibroblasts moved into the gap faster than older cells. This is a promising sign that one day this research could eventually be used to create cells that are better at healing wounds.
In the future, this research, which was published in eLife, may also open up other therapeutic possibilities; the researchers observed that their method also had an effect on other genes linked to age-related diseases and symptoms. The APBA2 gene, associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and the MAF gene with a role in the development of cataracts, both showed changes towards youthful levels of transcription.
The mechanism behind the successful transient reprogramming is not yet fully understood, and is the next piece of the puzzle to explore. The researchers speculate that key areas of the genome involved in shaping cell identity might escape the reprogramming process.
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Diljeet concluded, “Our results represent a big step forward in our understanding of cell reprogramming. We have proved that cells can be rejuvenated without losing their function and that rejuvenation looks to restore some function to old cells. The fact that we also saw a reverse of aging indicators in genes associated with diseases is particularly promising for the future of this work.”
Professor Wolf Reik, a group leader in the Epigenetics research program who has recently moved to lead the Altos Labs Cambridge Institute, said, “This work has very exciting implications. Eventually, we may be able to identify genes that rejuvenate without reprogramming, and specifically target those to reduce the effects of aging. This approach holds promise for valuable discoveries that could open up an amazing therapeutic horizon.”
Source: Babraham Institute
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Quote of the Day: “Love alone is not enough. Without imagination, love stales into sentiment, duty, boredom.” – James Hillman
Photo by: Brett Meliti
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Quote of the Day: “Love alone is not enough. Without imagination, love stales into sentiment, duty, boredom.” – James Hillman
Photo by: Brett Meliti
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Ed Sheeran stunned pub-goers when he turned up at an inner-city Birmingham pub and started pulling pints and having a sing-a-long with customers.
The 31-year-old singer left revelers gobsmacked when he appeared without any security at The Roost in Small Heath, Birmingham on Sunday.
Punters said Ed happily joined in a game of pool as he mingled with the crowds and enjoyed a pint with rapper pal Jaykae.
Cell phone footage shows the Shape Of You star clutching a beer and enjoying a singalong around the pool table to No Games by Serani.
He can also be seen pulling pints behind the bar wearing a North Face jacket and joking with the manager, “You’re paying me.”
Pub manager Ian Connors, a dad-of-two, said, “It was a bit crazy.
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“He is good pals with Jaykae, who sometimes comes in here, and he called me up and said can I bring someone along.
“We were having a pool tournament last night and we had a DJ on so it was pretty busy and I said of course bring whoever you like.
“All of a sudden, this guy walks in and everybody starts going ‘Is that Ed Sheeran?’ We were thinking ‘surely not’.
“We couldn’t understand what a megastar like him would be doing in a pub in Small Heath.
“But he was brilliant, really laid-back and he mingled with customers. He was just a gentleman. Really down-to-earth and was having a good laugh.
“I’ve spoken to Jaykae to check they were happy with us sharing the videos because they turned up with no security.
“He checked with Ed and they were fine with it, so it shows what type of man he is that he’s happy to give our little pub in Brum some publicity.
“We’re still in a bit of shock to be honest, this is the last place you’d expect him to turn up.
“But he was fantastic with everybody and it was night everyone will certainly remember.”
(WATCH the video for this story below.)
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A Japanese-American interment camp from the Second World War in Colorado, preserved for years by local students, has been folded into the care of the National Park Service.
As a new National Historic Site, the Amache Internment Camp is now part of the Service’s commitment to tell the entire story of American history, good and bad.
But the real story lies in the work of the Amache Preservation Society (APS), a group of volunteer students from the local school district of Granada RE1, in southeast Colorado, led for 30 years by John Hopper.
A social studies teacher in 1993, Hopper, who doesn’t have Japanese ancestry, was teaching some “really bright students” who turned a one-time class project speaking with a survivor of the camp, whom Hopper’s family knew, into an-always operational preservation society, and focused on giving class presentations, operating a museum, and maintaining the site—a large collection of government-issue barracks where thousands of innocent Japanese Americans were detained.
“It is a heavy, heavy topic, especially when you talk about civil liberties,” Hopper told Christian Science Monitor. “But that’s part of my job I enjoy talking about—needs to be talked about.”
The APS works on presentations to other schools; in recent years it also began organizing trips to Japan to stay with host families and do their presentations in Japanese high schools.
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“I can’t think of any group that does more for Amache,” Calvin Taro Hada, an Amache descendant and Japanese community leader, told CS Monitor.
In 2006, Amache was designated a historic landmark, and last month, President Biden designated the camp a National Historic Site—announcing the intention to transfer responsibility and ownership of the town of Granada to the National Park Service.
MORE: Biden Restores National Monuments Shrunk Under Trump
Though Hopper is now Dean of Students and not in the classroom, students from the same school still run tours of the site, mow the lawns, and even pursue occasional excavations under the supervision of the University of Denver.
“It is our solemn responsibility as caretakers of America’s national treasures to tell the whole story of our nation’s heritage for the benefit of present and future generations,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “The National Park Service will continue working closely with key stakeholders dedicated to the preservation of Amache, [including the APS…] to preserve and interpret this significant historic site to the public.”
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A new Yale study shows that one in three patients with a severe skin disease were able to regrow hair after being treated with a common arthritis drug.
The study is based on Phase 3 clinical trials using baricitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, to treat alopecia areata, an often disfiguring skin disease characterized by rapid loss of scalp hair, and sometimes eyebrows and eyelashes.
Phase 3 clinical trials are the final testing hurdle before a new treatment can be considered for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
“This is so exciting, because the data clearly show how effective baricitinib is,” said Dr. Brett King, an associate professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the new study “These large, controlled trials tell us that we can alleviate some of the suffering from this awful disease.”
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles. More than 200,000 new cases emerge each year in the United States. Although alopecia areata can develop in patients of any age, it typically occurs in people under the age of 40.
There is currently no FDA-approved treatment for the disease.
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For the new study, King and his colleagues conducted two large, randomized trials involving a total of 1,200 people. The participants were adults with severe alopecia areata, who had lost at least half of their scalp hair; many had lost all of their scalp hair.
For 36 weeks, participants were given a daily dose of either 4 milligrams of baricitinib, 2 milligrams of baricitinib, or a placebo. One-third of the patients who received the larger dose grew hair back.
The researchers said baricitinib thwarts the disease by disrupting the communication of immune cells involved in harming hair follicles. Baricitinib and other JAK inhibitors are routinely used to treat autoimmune forms of joint disease.
“Alopecia areata is a crazy journey, marked by chaos, confusion, and profound sadness for many who suffer from it,” King said. “It will be incredible to have a medicine to help people emerge on the other side, normalcy restored, recognizable again to themselves and those around them.”
Co-authors of the study included researchers from the Kyorin University Faculty of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Stanford University, the University of California-Irvine, the University of Minnesota, Eli Lilly and Company, and Sinclair Dermatology.
The results of the study were made public during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. For the past decade, King has developed methods for using JAK inhibitors to treat a variety of skin diseases—including eczema, vitiligo, granuloma annulare, sarcoidosis, and erosive lichen planus.
King noted that the clinical trials involving baricitinib are ongoing, which will enable researchers to assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of the treatment.
This research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Source: YaleNews
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For people wanting their minds blown, the kingdom of fungi is a never-ending box of tricks.
Mycologists studying the underground filaments of fungi are observing electrical signals similar to a nervous system: a normal phenomenon, except that they found the signals were remarkably similar to human language.
When filaments called ‘hyphae’ of a wood-digesting fungal species discover a bit of wood to munch on underground, the hyphae begin to light up with “spikes” of electrical signals that reach out to the hyphae of other individuals, and even trees.
“Spikes of electrical potential are typically considered to be key attributes of neurons, and neuronal spiking activity is interpreted as a language of a nervous system,” wrote Professor Andrew Adamatzky from the University of the West of England, in a paper he published on the investigations. “However, almost all creatures without nervous system produce spikes of electrical potential.”
To see what characteristics these electrical impulse spikes share with nervous system language of other lifeforms, Adamatzky put tiny electrodes into pieces of material, feeding on which were four species: enoki, split gill, ghost, and caterpillar fungi.
The authors set the electrical spikes against a series of human linguistic phenomena that were used to successfully decode part of the carved language of the Picts, the Bronze Age people of Scotland. The average length of a human-expressed vowel is between 300 and 70 milliseconds, and so they assumed that if there was a 0 millisecond break between spikes, that was part of the same “word.”
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C. militaris fungi had trains of electrical spikes of an almost identical length to English words, while split gill fungi spikes were even more closely identical to the average word length in the Greek language. Around fifty ‘words’ could be identified based on repetition.
“Assuming that spikes of electrical activity are used by fungi to communicate and process information in mycelium networks, we group spikes into words and provide a linguistic and information complexity analysis of the fungal spiking activity,” writes Adamatzky. “We demonstrate that distributions of fungal word lengths match that of human languages.”
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The split gill fungus formed the most complex “sentence structures,” and Professor Adamatzky suggested that the most likely purpose for this electrical dialogue is to keep integrity between the parts of the mycelium. Mycelia makes up more than 90% of the total biomass of fungi, and the filaments can stretch for hundreds of feet, connecting trees, other plants, and other fungi, so keeping the mycelia integrated, Adamatzky said, could be similar to the way wolves howl to keep all members of the pack integrated.
Some scientists are skeptical that the research was done looking for ‘language’, suggesting that this puts a shroud of exaggeration and overexcitement about the findings.
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To his credit, Adamatzky explained to the Guardian that it could be simply that the electrically-charged tips of hyphae were just creating electromagnetic reactions as they explore the forest underground.
It’s not the first piece of science that suggests life outside Animalia communicate with language. Tree scientist Peter Wohlleben believes trees produce scents instead of words, and that soon a computer will be able to detect and attach purposes to the scents, and translate them into words.
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Among sparsely populated communities in Newfoundland, a landfill for the future—where every molecule is accounted for and reused—is steadily growing its portfolio of circularly produced goods that utilize waste from the island’s forests, farms, and fisheries.
For clients, it’s just like any other landfill. They can go and dump whatever amount of biological waste that they have from their operations, and then drive off without ever needing to think about it again.
But for investors, for consumers, and for the world, 3F Waste Recovery is anything but ordinary.
“3F is founded on the principle that every molecule that comes through our door, we want to have an application for it,” Founder Ben Wiper explains to Hakai Magazine. “My vision is the landfill of the future—where producers can take anything they haven’t processed, to break it down into a form that has a function.”
Science has moved us into an increasingly molecularized world. It’s common to hear businesses accounting for things like protein or CO2, as if they’re counting assets, expenditures, or cash flow.
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When a company has the technology to turn practically all kinds of biological waste into valuable consumer products, this accounting method becomes even more extreme. Every unit of lignin not burnt from a tree means one more unit of lignin needed from a tree that hasn’t been felled. Every unit of cod skin placed in a landfill is one more unit of cod skin needed from a living cod.
With the island’s natural refuse, 3F makes cod skin marine collagen supplements, processed cod pet treats, nitrogen-rich fish compost, processed cod cosmetic compounds, raw tallow from moose, cow, and sheep for candle and soap making, sheep wool insulation, sheep wool stuffing for duvets and beds, sheep wool/cardboard slug repellent for gardens, moose tallow soaps, smoked moose pet treats, moose and cow bone pet treats, and lanolin wool wax water repellent and lubricant.
From the island’s forestry sector come wood pellets for grills, and wood briquettes for charcoal grills. The pellets are a blend of sawdust and cardboard, and began the island’s first cardboard recycling program.
In 2021 alone the company debuted six new product lines.
Ever keen on expanding the list of products and materials produced from byproducts, 3F enjoys the support of dozens of scientists and other collaborators across the academic and private sectors.
In a special feature on 3F in Hakai, founder Ben Wiper explains he was pushed by investors into trying to focus on a few products first.
Wiper declined the advice, saying that unless he could act as landfill, suppliers wouldn’t utilize his services. Instead he flipped the script, encouraging investors to back aspects of the operation they were interested in, whether that be pet treats, wool products, pharmaceuticals, or anything else he’s producing.
In a collaborative report led by Smart Prosperity Institute, a thinktank embedded in the University of Ottawa, 3F was identified among 200 circular economy startups as one of the most promising, and the company is looking to close a multi-million dollar deal for its line of various pet treats, which will add 40 more rural full-time jobs in Newfoundland, and maybe allow Wiper and the other higher-ups in the company to finally stop having to go and collect the cod heads, sheep wool, sawdust, and composted animals themselves.
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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Build Back Better Act, which includes the most sweeping nationwide measure to date to limit out-of-pocket co-pays for insulin.
The national co-pay cap, which ADA has aggressively promoted, would apply to Medicare beneficiaries, individuals on commercial insurance, and those covered by other group health plans.
The House-passed legislation creates an out-of-pocket co-pay limit of $35 per month for insulin.
In the days before the House vote, nearly 15,000 American Diabetes Association advocates contacted their representatives through the ADA’s Engagement Platform to urge support for co-pay caps and for allowing the government to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers.
Until now, the diabetes community has felt the impact of the steep rise in the average cost of insulin, the price of which nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013. As a result of high costs, one in four insulin-dependent Americans reports needing to ration their insulin. “This vote is a victory for millions of Americans facing unaffordable insulin and hope for lowering other drug costs. House leaders have taken a bold and urgent step this week,” said Lisa Murdock, Chief Advocacy Officer for the ADA.
In the run-up to House consideration of the insulin co-pay cap, the ADA led efforts around the country to advocate for co-pay caps that have been enacted in 20 states and the District of Columbia. “These states paved the way for this week’s historic action in the House,” said Murdock. “We thank those members of the House of Representatives who supported a national insulin co-pay cap, building on the efforts of state leaders before them. Together, these leaders are working to ensure that millions of people with diabetes will be able to afford their insulin and will not have to skip doses or ration because they don’t have enough money to pay for this life-saving drug.”
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The bill provides other key benefits for people with diabetes. These include extending increased health insurance premium tax credits—which were created through the Affordable Care Act and increased through more recent COVID-19 relief legislation— as well as increased funding for states to offset the cost of running Medicaid programs.
ACA plans and Medicaid have become especially important to people with diabetes who have been disproportionately affected, economically and through adverse health impacts, by the COVID-19 pandemic. These gap coverage measures are critical for the diabetes community, who relies on these plans to afford their insulin, devices and supplies.
“We now urge the Senate, as it considers the Build Back Better legislation, to move forward with a measure that also adopts these critical provisions that can make insulin more affordable, and health coverage more accessible, to 34 million people living with diabetes today,” Murdock said.
The proposal is expected to be on the floor soon after Easter. According to ABC, “Republicans have largely opposed the measure and refer to the bill as ‘government priced fixing’ that could lead to higher premiums for customers and exorbitant costs for insurers.” However, the Senate is made up of a majority of Democrats, which could pass the Bill.
Source: American Diabetes Association
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On two leather and copper-bound field notebooks, Charles Darwin jotted down a variety of musings that formed his theory of evolution. Held at Cambridge University Library for decades, in the year 2000 they were stolen.
22 years later, as mysteriously as they disappeared, they were returned—bound in saran wrap in exactly the same condition as they left, and in the same archive box, though this time it was placed inside a pink gift bag and left outside the librarian’s office.
Inside, the box was wrapped in parcel paper with a note from the individual, uncaught by CCTV cameras. It read, “Librarian / Happy Easter / X.”
“My sense of relief at the notebooks’ safe return is profound and almost impossible to adequately express,” said Librarian Dr. Jessica Gardner, who found them outside her offices on the 4th floor landing of the university library building. “Along with so many others all across the world, I was heartbroken to learn of their loss and my joy at their return is immense.”
A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said, “We share the university’s delight that these priceless notebooks are now back where they belong. Our investigation remains open and we are following up some lines of inquiry. We also renew our appeal for anyone with information about the case to contact us.”
An intriguing, and now slightly less-tragic heist, the notebooks were lifted after an internal request to remove them from the Library’s strongroom for photographs. Two months later during routine inspections, they were found to be missing, and after combing through the 10 million unit-archive, the police concluded they had probably been stolen.
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The books essentially contain the thoughts and observations Darwin was making as he worked out his theory of evolution. One page includes the “Tree of life,” a spindly sketch of a tree with each branch marking different lineages of animals and plants that helped him visualize the concept he was formulating.
About 15 months ago, Gardner wrote an impassioned plea, widely shared on social media, for the notebooks to be returned. The short space of time between then and their recovery, she admits, could be related.
When they did arrive, Gardner was forced to wait an agonizing five days to remove them from the plastic wrap, during which police inspected them. After they were opened a team from the Library set out to verify their authenticity.
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“Darwin uses different types of ink in the notebooks,” explains Prof. Secord, Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project, and one of the on-hand academics with experience of the notebooks. “For example, on the famous tree of life page, there is both a brown ink and also a grey ink. Those kind of changes are quite difficult to forge convincingly.”
“You can see the tiny bits of copper that are coming off where the hinges are located,” he told the BBC. The paper type is the right sort of paper.”
They will be returned to the strongroom, hopefully with changed locks, and kept there until July 9th when they will be displayed as part of an exhibit called “Darwin in Conservation.”
(WATCH the BBC video for this story below.)
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