Mastodawn

Cumulative lead exposure linked to increased Alzheimer's and dementia risk

Cumulative lead exposure linked to increased Alzheimer's and dementia risk - Lemmy.World

As dementia cases continue to rise in the United States, new research from the University of Michigan School of Public Health reveals that older Americans with cumulative lead exposure face a substantially higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. “This is the first empirical study to demonstrate that 18% of new dementia cases in the United States each year may be linked to cumulative lead exposure,” said Kelly Bakulski, associate professor of Epidemiology at Michigan Public Health and one of the study’s senior authors. “With approximately half a million Americans diagnosed with dementia annually, this translates to nearly 90,000 cases that could potentially be prevented—a truly significant figure.” The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, found that individuals with the highest quarter of bone lead levels had nearly three times (2.96) the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and more than twice (2.15) the risk of all-cause dementia compared to those in the lowest quarter. The findings highlight cumulative lead exposure as an important, and often overlooked, environmental risk factor for dementia. … https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.71075 [https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.71075]

Dr. Moose Feb 20

Red blood cells soak up sugar at high altitude, protecting against diabetes

https://lemmy.world/post/43356393

Red blood cells soak up sugar at high altitude, protecting against diabetes - Lemmy.World

Scientists have long known that people living at high altitudes, where oxygen levels are low, have lower rates of diabetes than people living closer to sea level. But the mechanism of this protection has remained a mystery. Now, researchers at Gladstone Institutes have explained the roots of the phenomenon, discovering that red blood cells act as glucose sponges in low-oxygen conditions like those found on the world’s highest mountaintops. In a study in the journal Cell Metabolism, the team has shown how red blood cells can shift their metabolism to soak up sugar from the bloodstream. At high altitude, this adaptation fuels the cells’ ability to more efficiently deliver oxygen to tissues throughout the body, but it also has the beneficial side effect of lowering blood sugar levels. … https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(26)00018-5 [https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(26)00018-5]

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Dr. Moose Feb 13

We’ve seen stars disappear before (presumably forming black holes), but this is by far the clearest and most detailed observed example. It strongly confirms the theory of “failed supernovae,” where sufficiently massive stars collapse directly into black holes without a bright explosion. This implies the universe likely contains far more stellar-mass black holes than previously estimated.

As an amateur, I briefly thought that this could help us address the issue of dark matter but from what I gather - no. Even with this increase of black holes the new matter would not be even close to addressing the dark matter gap (like orders of magnitute off still)

TL;DR: confirms that universe has more stellar-mass black holes than thought but nothing major of it.

Dr. Moose Feb 13

Astronomers witness vanishing star collapse into a black hole in Andromeda galaxy

https://lemmy.world/post/43082511

Astronomers witness vanishing star collapse into a black hole in Andromeda galaxy - Lemmy.World

Astronomers may have witnessed the birth of a brand-new black hole in our neighboring galaxy, offering one of the clearest glimpses yet of how some stars quietly collapse into these cosmic abysses without the usual fireworks of an explosion. While scouring archival data from NASA’s NEOWISE mission, a team led by Columbia University astronomer Kishalay De discovered that one of the brightest stars in the Andromeda Galaxy mysteriously brightened over a decade ago, faded dramatically and then vanished from view. The star, labeled M31-2014-DS1, lay about 2.5 million light-years from Earth and weighed just 13 times the mass of our sun — relatively lightweight by typical black hole-forming standards, according to De and colleagues’ research. …

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Dr. Moose Feb 12

I’ve been scuba diving for almost 20 years now and every year it feels like we’re closer and closer to a complete ecosystem collapse. This might not be all life ending event but just as global warming it’ll be extremely bad if not civilization ending catastrophe. Coincidentally ocean collapse would greatly contribute to global warming as most carbon->oxygen conversion is done by the ocean, not the trees as pop culture often portrays.

Dr. Moose Feb 12

Severe and widespread coral reef damage during the 2014-2017 Global Coral Bleaching Event

https://lemmy.world/post/43032690

Severe and widespread coral reef damage during the 2014-2017 Global Coral Bleaching Event - Lemmy.World

Ocean warming is increasing the frequency, extent, and severity of tropical-coral bleaching and mortality. During 2014–2017, marine heatwaves caused the Third Global Coral Bleaching Event. We analyze data from 15,066 reef surveys globally during 2014–2017. Across all surveyed reefs, 80% and 35% experienced moderate or greater (affecting >10% of corals) bleaching and mortality, respectively. We assess the global extent of coral bleaching and mortality by applying bleaching response curves calibrated from surveyed reefs to predict bleaching globally, based on comprehensive remote-sensing of heat stress. These models predict that 51% and 15% of the world’s coral reefs suffered moderate or greater bleaching and mortality, respectively, during one or multiple years, surpassing damage from any prior global coral bleaching event. Our findings demonstrate that the impacts of ocean warming on coral reefs are accelerating, with the near certainty that ongoing warming will cause large-scale, possibly irreversible, degradation of these essential ecosystems. With heat stress levels during this event surpassing those observed previously, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration developed more extreme Bleaching Alert levels that are now being used during the ongoing Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event.

Dr. Moose Jan 2

LG Electronics unveils 2026 Gram Laptop line with aerospace composite - up to 50% lighter than macbooks

https://lemmy.world/post/41033577

LG Electronics unveils 2026 Gram Laptop line with aerospace composite - up to 50% lighter than macbooks - Lemmy.World

## Weight Comparison | Model | Weight (grams) | Screen Size | |------------------------|----------------|-------------| | LG Gram Pro 16 (2026) | 1,199 | 16-inch | | MacBook Air 15 (M4/M3)| 1,510 | 15-inch | | MacBook Pro 14 (M5/M3)| 1,550-1,600 | 14-inch | | MacBook Pro 16 (M3+) | 2,140-2,200 | 16-inch |

Dr. Moose Dec 30

Coupang e-commerece announces $1.18 billion compensation to South Korean users for data leak

https://lemmy.world/post/40894206

Coupang e-commerece announces $1.18 billion compensation to South Korean users for data leak - Lemmy.World

South Korean e-commerce company Coupang (CPNG.N), opens new tab announced on Monday a compensation deal worth 1.69 trillion won ($1.18 billion) to holders of 33.7 million accounts for a massive data leak that triggered a backlash from users and lawmakers. Coupang said customers will get company vouchers of 50,000 won (35 usd) each.

Dr. Moose Dec 16

Meta tolerates rampant ad fraud from China to safeguard billions in revenue

https://lemmy.world/post/40269083

Meta tolerates rampant ad fraud from China to safeguard billions in revenue - Lemmy.World

> Last year, Meta had to reckon with an ugly conclusion about its Chinese advertising customers: They were defrauding Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users worldwide. > Though China’s authoritarian government bans use of Meta social media by its citizens, Beijing lets Chinese companies advertise to foreign consumers on the globe-spanning platforms. As a result, Meta’s advertising business was thriving in China, ultimately reaching over $18 billion in annual sales in 2024, more than a tenth of the company’s global revenue. > But Meta calculated that about 19% of that money – more than $3 billion – was coming from ads for scams, illegal gambling, pornography and other banned content, according to internal Meta documents reviewed by Reuters.

Dr. Moose Nov 30

Israeli Raid in Southern Syria Kills at Least 13, Syrian Officials Say

https://lemmy.world/post/39516346

Israeli Raid in Southern Syria Kills at Least 13, Syrian Officials Say - Lemmy.World

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