Daily Archives: August 22, 2024

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show

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[…] The paper also found the quantity of microplastics in brain samples from 2024 was about 50% higher from the total in samples that date to 2016, suggesting the concentration of microplastics found in human brains is rising at a similar rate to that found in the environment. Most of the organs came from the office of the medical investigator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which investigates untimely or violent deaths.

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Many other papers have found microplastics in the brains of other animal species, so it’s not entirely surprising the same could be true for humans

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When it comes to these insidious particles, “the blood-brain barrier is not as protective as we’d like to think”

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researchers say that individuals should try to reduce their exposure by avoiding the use of plastic in preparing food, especially when microwaving; drinking tap water instead of bottled water; and trying to prevent the accumulation of dust, which is contaminated with plastics. Some researchers advise eating less meat, especially processed products.

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Source: Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’ | Pollution | The Guardian

Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

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Peloton on Thursday said it will start charging new subscribers a one-time $95 activation fee if they bought their hardware on the secondary market as more consumers snag lightly used equipment for a fraction of the typical retail price.

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During its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30, Peloton said it saw a “steady stream of paid connected fitness subscribers” who bought hardware on the secondary market. The company said the segment grew 16% year over year.

“We believe a meaningful share of these subscribers are incremental, and they exhibit lower net churn rates than rental subscribers,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.

“It’s also worth highlighting that this activation fee will be a source of incremental revenue and gross profit for us, helping to support our investments in improving the fitness experience for our members,” interim co-CEO Christopher Bruzzo later added on a call with analysts.

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Bruzzo said that those who buy a used Bike or Bike+ have access to a virtual custom fitting ahead of their first ride, as well as a history summary that shows how many rides those bikes had before they were resold.

“We’re also offering these new members discounts on accessories such as bike shoes, bike mats and spare parts,”

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Source: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

corporate greed at its best – notice that what you get for this extra fee is basically nothing or the ability to buy more stuff.

Study of 18 million people finds increased mental illnesses incidence following severe COVID-19, especially in unvaccinated people

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A new study that examined health data on 18 million people reveals higher incidence of mental illnesses for up to a year following severe COVID-19 in unvaccinated people. Vaccination appeared to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on mental illnesses. The University of Bristol-led study, published in JAMA Psychiatry today [21 August], investigated associations of COVID-19 with mental illnesses according to time since diagnosis and vaccination status.

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Among the 18,648,606 adults in the cohort studied during the period before vaccination was available, the average age was 49 years, 50.2 per cent were female (9,363,710) and 1,012,335 adults had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (recorded in testing data, by a GP, in hospital or in their death record).

The authors also studied a vaccinated cohort including 14,035,286 adults, of whom 866,469 had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, with an average age of 53 years and 52.1 per cent female (7,308,556), and an unvaccinated cohort including 3,242,215 adults, of whom 149,745 had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, with an average age of 35 years and 42.1 per cent female (1,363,401).

Using these data, the researchers compared the incidence of mental illnesses in people before and after a COVID-19 diagnosis, in each cohort. Mental illnesses included in this study comprised depression, serious mental illness, general anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, addiction, self-harm, and suicide.

The team found that the incidence of most of these conditions was higher one to four weeks after COVID-19 diagnosis, compared to the incidence before or without COVID-19. This elevation in the incidence of mental illnesses, was mainly seen after severe COVID-19 that led to hospitalisation and remained higher for up to a year following severe COVID-19 in unvaccinated people.

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Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Bristol. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Source: Study of 18 million people finds increased mental illnesses incidence following severe COVID-19, especially in unvaccinated people | ScienceDaily

For first time, DNA tech offers both data storage and computing functions

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Researchers from North Carolina State University and Johns Hopkins University have demonstrated a technology capable of a suite of data storage and computing functions—repeatedly storing, retrieving, computing, erasing or rewriting data—that uses DNA rather than conventional electronics. Previous DNA data storage and computing technologies could complete some but not all of these tasks.

The paper, titled “A Primordial DNA Store and Compute Engine,” appears in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

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“DNA computing has been grappling with the challenge of how to store, retrieve and compute when the data is being stored in the form of nucleic acids,”

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we have created polymer structures that we call dendricolloids—they start at the microscale, but branch off from each other in a hierarchical way to create a network of nanoscale fibers,

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“This morphology creates a structure with a , which allows us to deposit DNA among the nanofibrils without sacrificing the data density that makes DNA attractive for data storage in the first place.”

“You could put a thousand laptops’ worth of data into DNA-based storage that’s the same size as a pencil eraser,” Keung says.

“The ability to distinguish DNA information from the nanofibers it’s stored on allows us to perform many of the same functions you can do with electronic devices,”

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“We can copy DNA information directly from the material’s surface without harming the DNA. We can also erase targeted pieces of DNA and then rewrite to the same surface, like deleting and rewriting information stored on the hard drive. It essentially allows us to conduct the full range of DNA data storage and computing functions. In addition, we found that when we deposit DNA on the dendricolloid material, the material helps to preserve the DNA.”

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Source: For first time, DNA tech offers both data storage and computing functions