AS if by magic I return to the news dump for your entertainment pleasure…..or possibly in a nightmare.
Local–Last week NOLA had its annual French Quarter Fest with music and food……this past Thursday NOLA’s annual Jazz Fest began….if you like music then this is the place to be….here is what to expect….
Music
And if you want some of the best damn food you will ever eat then….check out the food section of the website….
As most of my regulars know I live on the Gulf Coast and we watch the hurricane season….more so since Katrina….and looks like we may have a bit of good news….
Meteorologists have forecasted a below-average hurricane season for 2026, suggesting fewer storms than usual. This prediction comes after analyzing various atmospheric conditions and oceanic patterns that typically influence hurricane activity. Factors such as cooler sea surface temperatures and a potential El Niño event are contributing to this outlook. Historically, these conditions have been associated with reduced hurricane formation in the Atlantic basin.
We can only hope.
Personal–Not much this past week…..I am still breathing and reading and ranting…..
Enough chit-chat…..time for the grits and gravy….
Since I am fighting cancer I always look for reports that might prov e helpful….
There is news about something called CAR-T therapy…..
A woman who had been sick for many years with three autoimmune conditions has experienced a remarkable recovery after being treated with CAR-T therapy. This revolutionary cell-based therapy has been making waves in cancer science, but this case marks the first time it’s been successfully used in someone with these three life-threatening disorders.
CAR-T therapy takes a patient’s own cells and essentially turns them into targeted, disease-fighting machines. It’s been particularly promising for blood cancers – last year, early results from a clinical trial of a treatment based on this technology showed its impressive effects in patients with an aggressive type of leukemia.
First approved in the US in 2017, these therapies start with the extraction of a patient’s T cells, which are a subset of white blood cells and “the body’s primary killer of infected and other diseased cells,” explains the National Cancer Institute.
https://www.iflscience.com/car-t-therapy-is-revolutionizing-cancer-treatment-next-on-the-list-autoimmune-disease-83144
Oh Damn! I do not east a lot of sweets but I do enjoy my fruits and vegetables…..could they be one of my problem s?
A diet packed with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is widely considered healthy and typically seen as a cornerstone of disease prevention.
But new research from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, suggests the relationship may be more complex.
Findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research indicate that non-smoking Americans under 50 who follow these diets may face a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
“Our research shows that younger non-smokers who eat a higher quantity of healthy foods than the general population are more likely to develop lung cancer,” said Jorge Nieva, MD, a medical oncologist and lung cancer specialist with USC Norris and lead investigator of the study. “These counterintuitive findings raise important questions about an unknown environmental risk factor for lung cancer related to otherwise beneficial food that needs to be addressed.”
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reveal-eating-fruits-and-vegetables-may-increase-your-risk-of-lung-cancer/
Sorry but this needs more clarification.
The older I get the more I worry about my mind failing me….I can handle my body aging out but my mind is something I must keep in good working order…..
Scientists have taken a significant step towards combating the inflammation responsible for brain aging and brain fog, which has traditionally been viewed as irreversible. What’s more, the solution, which has been tested on mice, doesn’t even involve invasive surgery but can be administered with a simple nasal spray.
Over the past century, advances in medicine, public health, and the overall standard of living (for many people) have led to increased life expectancy. But accompanying this extension in our years is a rise in age-related ailments, especially neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. One factor contributing to this is inflammation.
As we age, our brains start to experience a low-grade but chronic inflammatory process referred to as “neuro-inflammaging”. You can think of this like a small, ever-present “fire” that constantly smolders deep in the brain’s memory center. The metaphorical smoke from this fire creates brain fog that makes it difficult to think, form new memories, or adapt to new environments. At the same time, it increases the risk of a person developing disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
https://www.iflscience.com/nasal-spray-could-reverse-brain-aging-by-lowering-inflammation-and-re-energizing-brain-cells-83226
That is enough of the health stuff….let’s get to the weird stuff….
String theorists will be pouty…..they think the universe has an infinite amount of dimensions and now some guy says there are only 7….
It might sound like something from The Matrix, but scientists now say that our universe has seven dimensions.
In addition to the four dimensions we normally experience – height, length, depth, and time – physicists argue that there are three extra ‘folded’ layers of reality.
Far from being science fiction, researchers believe it could solve one of the most stubborn problems in the history of physics.
According to the researchers, this wild theory finally explains what happens to black holes when they die.
Scientists used to think that black holes were cosmic voids from which nothing could ever escape.
But in the 1970s, Stephen Hawking realised that black holes emit radiation, slowly evaporating away as time goes by.
The problem is that this appears to violate one of quantum physics’ most important rules, creating something called the information paradox.
A group of researchers now say they have found a solution to this 50–year–old conundrum – but it only works if the universe really has seven dimensions.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15741331/scientist-claims-universe-SEVEN-dimensions.html
That ought to get the name calling to a fevered pitch.
In 1960 a noted scientist predicted the end of the world (there is always one, huh?)
Predictions for the end of civilization come around fairly regularly. Many of us who were alive during 2012 can recall the misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar which suggested the end was nigh and led to a sense of impending doom. Just last year was spent dodging the rapture that had been forecasted by TikTok prophets. This year, the Doomsday Clock was set the closest to midnight it has ever been. So, it perhaps comes as no surprise that we’re hurtling towards another deadline for humanity on November 13, 2026, which is appropriately a Friday. What might be a bit more unsettling is that this prediction was made by a physicist using mathematical models and population data.
…
Von Foerster became interested in computational biology early on in his career, founding the Biological Computing Lab at the University of Illinois in 1958. This field brings computational and mathematical methodology into the study of biological systems. Employing such methods, von Foerster published his controversial doomsday prediction in the journal Science in 1960. In his model, “doomsday” occurred when the world’s human population grew to infinity, and we would be “squeezed to death.”
Prior to this paper’s publication, models of population growth (e.g., the model created by Thomas Malthus) were exponential. In other words, the population growth (i.e., birth rate) would be proportional to the existing population. Whereas von Foerster and his colleagues asserted that population growth is, in fact, hyperbolic. With this model, he argued that population growth actually accelerates as it grows due to communication and the human ability for cooperation. In such a model, the population approaches infinity: doomsday.
https://www.sciencing.com/2138206/how-1960-physicist-predicted-world-end-november-13-2026/
Damn! I think that is Thanksgiving Day….that could ruin a good meal.
If you have ever been on a road trip with the kids then you know that they have to pee every 20 miles…..well the Chinese may have solved that problem…..
Road trips in China may eventually come with a new kind of onboard convenience: a slide-out car toilet. Chinese EV maker Seres has secured a patent for an “in-vehicle toilet” that tucks beneath a passenger seat and can be deployed with a push or voice command, according to a filing with China’s intellectual property office seen by the BBC. The system includes a fan and exhaust pipe to vent smells outside, a waste tank that must be emptied by hand, and a heating element designed to evaporate urine and dry solid waste. In the patent filing, Seres said the system is designed to “satisfy users’ toilet needs on long journeys, while camping or while staying in the car.”
Seres hasn’t said if or when the feature will make it into a production model. The idea lands as Chinese electric-car makers race to differentiate in a crowded market by loading vehicles with extras like refrigerators, karaoke systems, and massage seats. Seres, which sells mainly in China but has expanded to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, is one of the few Chinese EV firms currently turning a profit in a sector many analysts say is ripe for consolidation.
Psychedelics may get easier to get…..
INTEREST IN research investigating psychedelic drugs including psilocybin, ketamine, ibogaine, and LSD and their potential role in improving mental health has been heating up for a while. Now, with the signing of an executive order for the FDA to fast track review of these drugs, interest is at a fever pitch. This order is expected to lower barriers to researching these drugs and may even make some drugs eligible for the Right to Try Act.
A decade ago, using drugs like magic mushrooms, especially in a therapist’s office, seemed cringey, extreme, and not helpful for what patients were there for. Today…it’s complicated.
Tech bros and CEOs have been trumpeting their use of mushrooms (psilocybin) to optimize performance and improve emotional well-being, and new science is probing the mental health benefits of these and other psychedelics. The conversation got louder as MAHA championed for them being outside of Big Pharma’s hands (largely) and being “suppressed by the FDA,” according to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Meanwhile, plenty of people aren’t waiting for government approval before experimenting: About 8 million US adults reported using psychedelics in 2023 (often for fun), according to a RAND corporation survey. Now there are psychedelic happy hours, ibogaine retreats abroad, and chocolate candies for microdosing.
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a71077196/psychedelics-fast-track
Leave it to the tech bros…….
That does it for me…..go out and enjoy your Saturday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
