Another weekend begins and so much is happening that it is hard to keep up for most people trying to make sense of their existence these days….and what better time than an IST News Dump?
Locally–it is 3am as I write this post…..temps are 75 with 98% humidity….feels like Summer not early spring…..it is ugly and f*cking miserable….the promise is the cooler weather is due on Sunday night and should keep it cooler for at least a week.
Personal–My chemo and radiation has been kicking my old butt this past week….the loss of Sue, less than a month, is not going well I keep putting back the settling of her estate I just cannot deal with it right now.
The ‘Dump’ begins….
Were you a sucker and joined 23andMe?
Then your problems may have just begun….
The DNA of more than 15 million people who used 23andMe’s genetic tests is up for sale. With the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and courting a buyer, its database of genetic information is set to be sold off, leaving users concerned about the fate of their very personal data. “Folks have absolutely no say in where their data is going to go,” Tazin Kahn, CEO of Cyber Collective, a nonprofit that advocates for privacy rights, tells NBC News. After 6.9 million users’ data was hacked in 2023, people with Ashkenazi Jewish heritage were named on a dark web hacker forum, the outlet notes.
The company says it will not change how it stores customers’ data and that any new owner would have to abide by “applicable law,” per NPR. But there’s almost no federal regulation on lawfully acquired genetic data held by a tech company, experts warn, noting the law tends to regulate only data held by a medical professional or insurance company. When a person gives genetic data to a corporation, “the DNA data could be used to discern your relatives and ancestry, unearth family secrets, and reveal clues about diseases you have or could be predisposed to,” Ginny Fahs of Consumer Reports’ Innovation Lab tells the Washington Post.
University of Iowa law professor Anya Prince notes some customers will be shocked to learn 23andMe already shares anonymized data with third-party researchers, including pharmaceutical giant GSK to help it develop new drugs. Users can take steps to protect their data, asking 23andMe to delete their genetic information and destroy saliva samples, as California Attorney General Rob Bonta recommended Friday. But even when an account is deleted, “23andMe and/or our contracted genotyping laboratory will retain your Genetic Information, date of birth and sex as required for compliance with applicable legal obligations,” a privacy statement reads, per USA Today.
But the really bad news is that health and insurance companies are the high bidder for now.
They want your DNA so they can use it against you….like pre-existing conditions so they can deny you coverage.
So yes it was a dumbass move getting involved with this con.
One of Elmo’s desires….the colonization of Mars…..
Just was a problem for astronauts during the Apollo missions, causing coughing and runny eyes while getting into the lunar landers. It could complicate any visits to Mars, as well, a study published in GeoHealth says while outlining the risks for crews and their equipment. Martian dust contains toxic substances including silica, gypsum, and metals. It’s less abrasive than lunar dust, the Guardian reports, but so fine that it can get into a person’s lungs and bloodstream. Studies at the time of the lunar landings also showed that prolonged exposure to the moon’s dust could cause chronic health effects.
Then there’s the equipment. Major dust storms can blanket the planet, knocking solar panels out of commission, for example. Sensitive scientific instruments can be affected, per Interesting Engineering. One study co-author told CNN that spacecraft, vehicles, and other equipment “will need constant attention to keep functioning.” Much filtering of air would have to take place. Engineers also are looking into developing self-cleaning suits and electrostatic repulsion technologies. Natalya Zavina-James of the UK Space Agency said the study “illustrates the breadth of considerations needed to protect astronauts’ health.”
The impossibility of a quick trip back to Earth for treatment means the crew would have to have a substantial medical infrastructure on Mars, experts said, per Interesting Engineering. The dust doesn’t mean a visit is out of reach, said co-author Justin Wang. “Mars dust won’t be the most dangerous aspect of the mission, but it’s a real hazard,” Wang said. “With the right preparation, it’s something we can manage effectively.”
None of the problems can be seen by Elmo….all he sees is the big bucks that he will make off his hair-brain idea.
The scenario for many SciFi films and shows….time travel….
If you have ever wanted to be the first person to travel to the future, tough luck- according to scientists, some people have already achieved it.
We all sat and watched Back to The Future as kids and wanted to be like Marty McFly, but little did we know that some people would go on to do exactly that. And while it’s not as cool as with Doc and a futuristic car speeding before popping into another timeline, scientists think time travel does in fact exist.
It’s been something that everyone has wanted to be developed, and it’s a shock to many that we’ve already been able to come up with a way to do that.
Now, you’re probably thinking that if time travel was real, then people would be all over this, and the news would be buzzing.
https://www.unilad.com/technology/space/time-travel-real-proof-scientists-749271-20250331
There are so many other problems on this planet I think this is just a waste.
On to some sciencey stuff….
When you hear “biology” you probably think something like “nature” or “natural”, but humankind has been interfering with biology for thousands of years, and now in the 21st century our tools are more powerful than ever.
We’ve gone from crudely breeding plants and animals over generations to meet our needs, to simply creating the biology we need from scratch. You may not be aware of it, but our mastery of biology has been quietly exploding, and it won’t be long before the fruits of this labor become apparent.
While the concept of modifying living organisms has existed for centuries, the term “synthetic biology” was first coined in the 1910s. It was used by a French biologist named Stéphane Leduc in a publication titled Théorie physico-chimique de la vie et générations spontanées and again two years later in La Biologie Synthétique.
Later, Wacław Szybalski popularized the term in 1974 in reference to genetic engineering, but little did he know that one day synthetic biology would be about more than simply manipulating life that already exists.
https://www.howtogeek.com/the-quiet-revolution-of-synthetic-biology/
Dicking with Mother Nature can be hazardous to our health.
The idea of a new natural anti-biotic in your backyard….
Beneath a patch of soil in Hamilton, Ontario, scientists may have found a long-awaited answer to one of medicine’s most pressing problems.
They found a new molecule named lariocidin—a potential new antibiotic with the power to kill some of the world’s most drug-resistant bacteria. The molecule belongs to a rare class called lasso peptides, and its discovery marks what scientists are calling a major step forward in the decades-long stagnation of antibiotic innovation.
“This is a new molecule with a new mode of action,” said Gerard Wright, senior author of the study and a professor at McMaster University. “It’s a big leap forward for us.”
Remember back in the day when there was panic buying of TP? Well that got me to thinking about the history of TP…..and I found this….
…despite all of their accomplishments, ancient Romans engaged in some practices that many people today would find thoroughly revolting. Take a minute to consider, for example, what many of those supposedly “civilized” people did when they had to go to the bathroom.
In the same way that we use an American-style toilet, a Roman user would sit down, take care of business, and watch number two float blissfully away down the sewer system. But instead of reaching for a roll of toilet paper, an ancient Roman would often grab a tersorium (or, in my technical terms, a “toilet brush for your butt”). A tersorium is an ingenious little device made by attaching a natural sponge (from the Mediterranean Sea, of course) to the end of a stick. Our ancient Roman would simply wipe him- or herself, rinse the tersorium in whatever was available (running water and/or a bucket of vinegar or salt water), and leave it for the next person to use. That’s right, it was a shared butt cleaner. (And of course, there were other means of wiping as well, such as the use of abrasive ceramic discs called pessoi.)
As peculiar as personal hygiene practices in ancient Rome may seem to us, the historical fact is that many Romans successfully and sustainably used tersoria and washed their clothes in pee for several centuries—far longer than we’ve used toilet paper. Indeed, toilet paper is not a universal technology even today, as any trip to India, rural Ethiopia, or remote areas of China will make abundantly clear.
Makes me think of the old corn cob myth…..how about you?
I saved the best story for last….buttholes….(No this is not some belated April Fool’s joke)
If the genes of a tiny, bumless invertebrate are anything to go by, our anuses might be repurposed sperm chutes.
A new study suggests instead of releasing waste, the first anal orifice was an exit hatch for male sex cells which was given a new task.
Researchers from the University of Bergen in Norway investigated the genetics of xenacoelomorphs; distant relatives of flatworms that have a cul-de-sac for a gut. Despite this lack of a dedicated poop-hole, xenacoelomorphs use some of the same genes we use to turn our digestive system into a tube, only to create a genital opening known as a gonadopore instead.
“Once a hole is there, you can use it for other things,” zoologist Andreas Hejnol told Michael Le Page at New Scientist.
Animal anuses exist in an unexpected variety of forms, from myriad waste-releasing pores on flatworm backs to jellyfish that don’t bother with a dedicated channel for rubbish at all.
https://www.sciencealert.com/wild-new-study-suggests-buttholes-once-had-a-very-different-purpose
If interested….more here….
Sorry this week’s ‘News Dump’ is a bit thin….I hope more uninteresting stuff will happen next week.
Have a wonderful Saturday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”