AH finally the weekend begins and we can all take a much needed rest…..and turn my analytical brain down a notch.

National news…..Taylor Swift did something….Tesla cars recalled….

News on the home front….Sue had her appointment in Houston with the cancer doctor and good news is the tumor is smaller….bad news she must go through 8 more weeks of the chemo that absolutely kicks her ass.

Now for the news no one could ever use….

Recently my friend John over at John’s web Space and I have written posts about the amount of micro-plastics in our bottled water and in our food and now it is in our bodies from many sources.

Plastic has been found in the deepest parts of the ocean, the air, and our brains—and now researchers have put a number to how much its prevalence is costing us in health care. A group of physicians, epidemiologists, and endocrinologists worked together to itemize the “disease burden” that chemical additives in plastics cause— and they estimate $249 billion in 2018 alone is a conservative number, reports the Los Angeles Times. While research into micro- and nanoplastics is nascent, years of studies have connected these chemical additives to different types of cancers, diabetes, obesity, decreased fertility, and issues with child brain development, per CNN.

“Fundamentally, we’re talking about effects that run the entire lifespan study, from brain development in young children, to cancer,” says Leo Trasande, an author on the study. He calls the findings “a bright, bold line underneath” plastic’s role in human health issues. The study, published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, makes note of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs—which can confuse hormone signaling) used in plastics. These include the usual suspects in health warnings: BPAs, phthalates, PFOAs (also known as forever chemicals), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (or PBDEs, which are a class of flame retardants). PBDEs comprised most of the cost burden, writes the Endocrine Society, and are linked to increased risks of cancer.

Experts say this financial estimate does not begin to show the full story of plastic’s impact on human health. “In addition to the costs associated with the chemicals and plastics,” says Avi Kar of the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Health and Food, People & Communities Program, “there are health costs associated with exposures to the macro- and microplastics, as well as the pollution associated with their production and disposal.” The findings put a new perspective on recent research that showed hundreds of thousands of nanoplastics shed into bottled water. Trasande likens those fragments of plastic to “a passenger pigeon” for the chemicals, allowing them direct access to vital organs like the brain.

Let’s go to space….this is not about the flub-up by the Japanese and their lunar explorer….it is about water on Mars.

New data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter suggests a massive deposit called the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) holds enough water ice to cover the entire planet in an ocean that’s anywhere from five to 8.8 feet deep — if it were somehow melted, that is.

Scientists had previously held that there was still a chance the deposit was largely made of volcanic ash. But given the latest findings, it’s far more likely to be made of water ice, especially given its geographical features that resemble those found at the planet’s polar ice caps.

https://futurism.com/scientists-discover-mars-ice-cover-planet-water

Did you see the Matrix trilogy….then this may interest you….

“The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room.“

So says Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus in sci-fi classic ‘The Matrix’ as he offers Keanu Reeves’s Neo the choice to find out just how “deep the rabbit hole goes”.

Now, just as Neo discovered that the “life” he’d been living was little more than an algorithmic construct, scientists and philosophers are arguing that we could be stuck inside a simulation ourselves.

In a paper published earlier this month, physicist Melvin Vopson, of the University of Portsmouth, offered scientific evidence for a philosophical theory known as the simulation hypothesis.

https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/simulation-theory-evidence-proven-2667107019

Ever heard someone say “I would die for a butt like that”?

It is a more accurate statement than you may think.

US health officials say 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009, with many of the recent deaths involving a procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift. The operation has grown in popularity recently and has led to deaths in other countries as well, including the United States. A report issued Thursday by the CDC couldn’t say how common these deaths are or whether they’re more common in the Dominican Republic, per the AP. The Dominican Republic is known as a friendly island vacation spot, and some doctors there advertise in the US, offering breast implants, liposuction, and other operations at lower prices. After an increase in US deaths in 2019 and 2020, the US Embassy contacted the CDC, which investigated along with the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Health.

They tallied 93 cosmetic surgery-related deaths of US citizens in the Dominican Republic from 2009 to 2022, or an average of about seven a year; all but one were women. More than half of the deaths occurred since 2019, coinciding with the increasing popularity of Brazilian butt lifts. In the US, nearly 29,000 of those procedures were done in 2022, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The procedure commonly involves liposuction of fat from the hips, lower back, thighs, or other areas. The fat is then injected in the buttocks to change the shape or size. Risks include fat being injected too deeply, making its way into the bloodstream and blocking key arteries or veins. Autopsy records show that was the cause of death for 11 of 20 deaths, says Dr. Matthew Hudson, the study’s lead author.

Cosmetic surgery complications aren’t unique to the DR. Reports of deaths after cosmetic surgeries have repeatedly surfaced in the US, perhaps most often in Florida. On Thursday, the CDC issued a separate report on 15 cases of bacterial infections in women who went to a Florida cosmetic surgery center in 2022. Sporadic reports also have come out of Mexico, including last year when US patients were stricken with fungal meningitis after undergoing cosmetic procedures in the border city of Matamoros. Two clinics were closed and a dozen deaths reported. The report suggests steps that medical tourists should consider before traveling to get work done. “Be informed about who is doing your surgery, the qualifications of the person doing your surgery, and whether or not the facility is capable of doing the surgery and … providing adequate post-operative care, which is crucial,” says Hudson.

How bad do you want that ‘perfect’ butt?

Would you like to go on vacation to Jamaica?

Maybe check with the State Department first…..

Americans considering getaways to Jamaica should reconsider their plans because of crime rates so high that US government personnel are banned from visiting many areas, the State Department warns in a travel advisory. The department has raised the alert level for the Caribbean island country to a Level 3 “Reconsider travel” alert, one below the Level 4 “Do not travel” alert, CBS News reports. “Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common. Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts,” the advisory states. “Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.”

The homicide rate in Jamaica “has for several years been among the highest in the Western Hemisphere,” the advisory states. The State Department listed problems with medical care as another reason to reconsider travel to Jamaica, warning that “high level or specialized” medical care may be unavailable and private hospitals generally require payment up front, USA Today reports.

According to government statistics, there were 65 homicides in Jamaica, which has a population of 2.8 million, between Jan. 1 and Jan. 27 this year, down from 81 in the same period last year, though the number of shootings and injuries was up, per CBS. The State Department has also issued a travel advisory for the Bahamas after a surge in murders, though the alert level for the country remains at Level 2, “Exercise increased caution.”

Now you know more than the average American…..aren’t you glad you stopped by?

Have a great day and as always….Be Well and Be Safe.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”