Welcome to the weekly news dump….all the news you cannot use….
Local–We had 2 days of 30s and now it is 75….if you do not like the weather just wait a day or two….we have a week of high 70s to low 60s coming….so there should not be much to bitch about.
Personal–Another fairly calm week with my break from chemo ending soon and then all the crap starts all over again.
As usual I will begin with health news….
If you drink those ‘sugar free’ drinks you might want to pay attention to this story….
Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar.
But research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers – with potentially serious consequences for heart health and stroke risk.
A study from the University of Colorado suggests erythritol may damage cells in the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s security system that keeps out harmful substances while letting in nutrients.
The findings add troubling new detail to previous observational studies that have linked erythritol consumption to increased rates of heart attack and stroke.
https://www.sciencealert.com/erythritol-sweetener-blood-brain-barrier-study
The whole plant-based fad is slowing dying but yet those damn vegan want to keep the farce going…..
Scientists in Brazil and Germany have turned sunflower seeds into a promising new meat substitute. The project, a collaboration between Brazil’s Institute of Food Technology (ITAL), the University of Campinas, and Germany’s Fraunhofer IVV Institute, saw the researchers first extract the seeds’ oil then remove their husks and specific phenolic compounds to make the resulting flour more palatable and easier to digest. The textured sunflower protein they ended up with “has a very neutral taste and aroma, especially compared to the various vegetable proteins on the market,” says lead author Maria Teresa Bertoldo Pacheco, per Science Daily.
Two burger prototypes were tested: One using flour made from roasted sunflower grains, the other with the aforementioned sunflower protein. Both were flavored with tomato powder, spices, and a mix of oils, then baked into small patties. Tests showed the textured protein version had a superior “meat-like” consistency and packed a greater nutritional punch—more protein, nearly half the daily iron requirement, and substantial amounts of zinc, magnesium, and manganese.
Indeed, as VegOut reports, “Strip away the oil (sunflower seeds are about 45% fat) and you’re left with a defatted press cake that clocks in at nearly 50% protein—higher than chickpeas and only a shade below soy.” The researchers point out that sunflowers aren’t genetically modified, making the resulting protein attractive to GMO-averse consumers. Sunflower meals’ “absence of common allergens,” makes it doubly attractive, the researchers say in their study. Still, it wasn’t a breeze: They note “significant challenges were encountered in harmonizing nutritional, technological, and sensory aspects.”
Sorry I will stick with meat.
It seems that anxiety disorders are on the rise these days…..could there be a common cause?
People with anxiety disorders have lower levels of choline in their brains, according to research from UC Davis Health.
The study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, analyzed data from 25 studies. The researchers compared the levels of neurometabolites—chemicals produced during brain metabolism—in 370 people with anxiety disorders to 342 people without anxiety.
They found the level of choline—an essential nutrient—was about 8% lower in those with anxiety disorders. The evidence for low choline was especially consistent in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps control thinking, emotions and behavior.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-anxiety-disorders-essential-nutrient-brain.html
The major killers in our society are heart attacks and stroke and now there maybe some help on that front….
A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham has brought encouraging news for people at high risk of heart disease.
The large clinical trial found that adding a drug called evolocumab to standard treatment can significantly reduce the risk of major heart-related problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, even in people who have never had one before.
The results were shared at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in *The New England Journal of Medicine*, one of the most respected medical journals in the world.
https://knowridge.com/2025/11/new-drug-effectively-prevents-first-heart-attacks-and-strokes/
Humanity has lived through so many ‘ages’….Stone Age, Bronze Age, etc….but what age are we living now?
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was born in the “Cold War” era and has lived much of his life in the not-so-imaginatively-named “Post-Cold War” era. But what to call the era we’re living through now? It’s a tough question, he writes, because so much is happening in so many arenas: artificial intelligence, climate concerns, geopolitics, etc., much of it interconnected. In talking about this with Craig Mundie, former head of research and strategy at Microsoft, Mundie came up with the “Polycene.” And Friedman was instantly sold:
- “It was a neologism—a word he just made up on the spot and not in the dictionary. Admittedly wonky, it is derived from the Greek ‘poly,’ meaning ‘many.’ But it immediately struck me as the right name for this new epoch, where—thanks to smartphones, computers and ubiquitous connectivity—every person and every machine increasingly has a voice to be heard and a lever to impact one another, and the planet, at a previously unimaginable speed and scale.”
- “So, welcome to the Polycene. It’s been an interesting ride getting here.” Read the full column, in which Friedman documents that ride and asserts that the Polycene is “the first era in which humanity must govern, innovate, collaborate and coexist at a planetary scale in order to thrive.”
Have you ever wondered why birds make so much damn noise in the mornings?
If you’ve ever been jolted awake by a noisy flock of birds at dawn, you’re not alone in wondering what all the fuss is about. Every morning, before the sun is fully up and long before most people are ready to face the day, birds fill the air with chatter. It may sound like chaos, but researchers say there’s a clear purpose behind all that early morning noise, and it’s rooted in fascinating science.
Researchers studying zebra finches discovered that birds sing most energetically once the first light hits. Their sunrise soundtrack comes from a rush of built-up energy that gathers overnight. During the dark hours, the instinct to sing builds, waiting for release. When dawn arrives, the tension breaks in a burst of sound. The longer the night, the stronger the song.
This “rebound effect” has a biological root. Light lowers melatonin, the hormone that manages sleep and activity. As melatonin drops before sunrise, the body gets ready for the day ahead. By the time light appears, birds are primed to move and vocalize. Singing becomes their way of stretching after hours of stillness.
https://www.aol.com/articles/scientists-finally-figured-why-birds-154046244.html
Last week I wrote about the sixth sense…..this week there is a seventh sense…..
Scientists have discovered that humans may possess a surprising ability — a kind of “remote touch” that allows us to sense objects buried beneath materials like sand before we actually touch them.
The finding, made by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and University College London, reveals that our sense of touch is far more powerful and complex than we ever realized.
Traditionally, touch has been considered a “close-range” sense, limited to what we can physically contact.
Finally from the “Nutters Collective”
A woman has explained how she found ‘sudden clarity’ that she’s actually an alien from 400 light years away, along with the ‘proof’ of her extraterrestrial origins.
When it comes to proving the existence of aliens most people look to the skies in search of UFOs, flying saucers or even badly behaving comets. However, one woman believes that proof of extraterrestrial life lies much closer to home.
More specifically, inside herself.
For Brighton-based Rosanna Hanness, she says she has evidence aliens exist as she herself is a visitor from the outer cosmos who is living on Earth in human form.
And her mission? To help people.
https://www.ladbible.com/community/weird/woman-claims-alien-proof-rosanna-hanness-198015-20251107
I warned you that it was going to be useless news…..
That does it for this Saturday…..try to enjoy the day and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
I find it interesting the vegans feel the necessity of finding a “substitute” for meat. Think about it.
I would agree that woman is probably an alien … as one definition puts it: “often referring to something foreign or strange.”
If I want a burger to taste like a burger then I will eat meat….she is one in my Nutters Collective….LOL chuq
I want the Brighton woman to show us something ‘alien’. Then I might believe her…
Sweetners? I have used them in tea and coffee since 1977, and also drink diet drinks like Pepsi Max. I have made it to 73 years of age, so won’t be bothering to change now.
The birds wake me up every morning, and now I know why. Still better than an alarm clock. We have had unseasonal 16C temperatures and three solid days of torrential rain. Some parts of the country are under water. I would sooner have cold and dry.
Good luck when you resume the treatments, chuq.
Best wishes, Pete.
I use only honey as a sweetener…..never like the fake sugar…..like I said she belongs in my Nutters Collective. Nice to see you back chuq
As for fake meat… When is this nonsense going to stop? You’d think that by now they’d have figured out that vegetarians and vegans aren’t interested in their fake meat at all, and actual meat eaters will thoroughly and justifiably mock anyone who turns up at a BBQ with fake burgers.
Im any case, there is more and more evidence piling up almost every day about how bad ultra processed foods are for us. that this fake meat is about as ultra processed as it gets.
The birds at dawn? that’s one of the reasons why I get up early in the morning during the spring and summer, just so I can revel in the dawn chorus. There’s nothing quite like being out on the bike on one of the trails, away from all the traffic noise, and just stopping and watching and listening.
as for the alien lady…. Oh, dear… Back when I worked for the fringe science research people we had a technical term for people like her: Loonies. This lady isn’t too bad. We had some pop out of the woodwork that were probably certifiably insane and should have been in an institution. But mostly they’re harmless. Worst thing you can do is give them attention.
Loonies….LOL I like ti. The birds in my property start bitching at daylight and calm down once I put out the food…..That whole fad needs to disappear but thankfully it is not as common any more……have a good day chuq
So many foods are artificial, or processed out of any sense of nutritional value…as someone who never had sugar-free drinks – really no soda of any kind once I became a teenager, I see the consumption of so much sugar and chemicals as so dangerous to our health…a great list once again!
Thanx John…..I gave up sugar many years ago. chuq