Science & Environment

[spaminator]

'Strangest' dinosaur covered in spiked armoury: scientists
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
Published Aug 28, 2025 • 1 minute read

A digital reconstruction of 'Spicomellus afer', an ankylosaur dinosaur with bone spikes fused to each rib. Photo by MATT DEMPSEY /NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/AFP
London (AFP) — A dinosaur dubbed one of the “strangest” ever boasted an elaborate armoury of long bony spikes and a tail weapon, according to findings published in the science journal Nature.


Spicomellus, which roamed the earth 165 million years ago, is the world’s oldest ankylosaur, a herbivorous group of dinosaurs known for their tank-like bodies.


Palaeontologists’ image of Spicomellus was based on a single rib bone found in Morocco in 2019.

But newly discovered remains have helped scientists form a clearer picture of the unusual dinosaur.

The fossils showed it had bony spikes fused onto all of its ribs — something never seen before in any other vertebrate species living or extinct, according to the research published Wednesday.

Richard Butler, a professor at the University of Birmingham and the project co-lead, called the fossils an “incredibly significant discovery”.

“Spicomellus is one of the strangest dinosaurs that we’ve ever discovered,” he said.

Professor Susannah Maidment of London’s Natural History Museum said the armour evolved initially for defence purposes but was probably used later to attract mates and show off to rivals.

“Spicomellus had a diversity of plates and spikes extending from all over its body, including metre-long neck spikes, huge upwards-projecting spikes over the hips, and a whole range of long, blade-like spikes, pieces of armour made up of two long spikes, and plates down the shoulder,” she said.

“We’ve never seen anything like this in any animal before.”

'Strangest' dinosaur covered in spiked armoury: scientists

"We've never seen anything like this in any animal before."

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

780,000 pressure washers recalled in U.S. and Canada after some consumers report explosions and impact injuries
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Aug 28, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

This image provided by Health Canada shows a model of the RYOBI pressure washer that is being recalled.
This image provided by Health Canada shows a model of the RYOBI pressure washer that is being recalled. Photo by Health Canada /supplied
NEW YORK — About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.


According to a Thursday recall notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, TTI Outdoor Power Equipment is recalling certain models of its Ryobi-branded electric pressure washers because the products’ capacitor can overheat and burst, “causing parts to be forcefully ejected.”


That poses serious impact risks to users or bystanders. To date, the CPSC notes, the power tool and equipment company has received 135 reports of capacitors overheating in the U.S. — including 41 reports of explosions that resulted in 32 injuries and/or fractures to consumers’ fingers, hands, face and eyes. A corresponding notice from Health Canada noted that no additional incidents were reported in Canada.


Consumers in possession of the now-recalled pressure washers are urged to stop using them immediately and visit Ryobi’s recall website to learn about how to receive a free repair kit, which includes a replacement capacitor.

The Ryobi washers under recall have model numbers RY142300 and RY142711VNM. About 764,000 were sold in the U.S., in addition to 16,000 in Canada.

In the U.S. these products were sold at Home Depot and Direct Tools Factory Outlet between July 2017 and June 2024, the CPSC notes, for about $300 to $400 in stores and online.

TTI Outdoor Power Equipment is a subsidary of Techtronic Industries (TTI). The Associated Press reached out to the company for further comments on Thursday.

Beyond Thursday’s pressure washer recall, TTI also recalled Ryobi-branded mowers and hedge trimmers earlier this year — due to fire and laceration hazards, respectively.

780,000 pressure washers recalled in U.S. and Canada after some consumers report explosions and impact injuries

About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

They better give Trump 10% of their company. That'll clear it up.

 

[spaminator]

GTA high schooler comes up with early Parkinson's detector
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Aug 30, 2025 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 3 minute read

Matthew Shen
Matthew Shen, a Vaughan-based high school student in Richmond Hill, presents his AI-driven early Parkinson's diagnostic tool at the Youth Science Canada. Photo by Matthew Shen (handout)
He’s only be 16, but Richmond Hill high school student Matthew Shen, who lives in Vaughan, has come up with an AI-driven diagnostic tool to detect early stage Parkinson’s disease using a three-second recording of a person’s voice.


Shen said he was inspired by a friend’s grandmother who was diagnosed with it in hospital when he was seven.


“I saw her struggling to speak with a speech therapist,” he said. “It was really impactful because Joseph’s grandmother tutored me for math. She played board games with me. And now watching her struggling to speak just kind of really pushed me to do this work.”

His research has already been published in the academic journal Nature Scientific Reports this past April, and he delivered a TEDX talk at Western University in February.

“I started this project in February 2024,” said Shen, who is a student at St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School.

“Initially, it was just for the purpose of publishing the paper but then as the school year (for Grade 11) rolled around, I realized I wanted to compete in science fairs and I used this project to do that,” he said.


Shen’s diagnostic tool, for which he spent over 1,000 hours working on, was offered to the York Region Science and Technology Fair in April, for which he was recognized with a gold medal, qualifying him for the 2025 Canada-Wide Science Fair, for which he won the silver medal and the Youth Can Innovate Award worth $8,000.

He gave half of the money to his high school’s science department and half to the regional science fair.

“Basically, the way it works is that in the user interface people input their voice and from that AI tool will extract vocal bio-markers,” Shen said.

“For example, deviations in your pitch or changes in your amplitude within your voice. With Parkinson’s disease, people have shaky hands but you also see little shakes in the voice. So I’m just analyzing those vocal changes to make a diagnosis. It achieved a 91.11% accuracy (amongst 81 vocal recordings) and it was validated across multiple statistical thresholds and it’s also been published in Nature Scientific Reports which means it has been peer-viewed by scientists and other professors within this field of expertise. So it has been cross-examined by other people.”


Turns out early diagnosis of Parkinson’s is crucial.

“If you can detect it early, you can treat it and mitigate the symptoms before it manifests into severe symptoms,” Shen said.

The next step for the tool is a practical application.

“Right now there’s no app or site to actually use it,” Shen said. “My next step is trying to make a website for people to actually use it for free.”

Shen said his TedX talk was about being taken seriously as a young inventor and he does feel that’s happening.

“The main idea was about breaking the boundaries of age, access, and expectation because as a 16-year-old you’re not expected to do undergrad or Master’s level research,” he said.

“But I ended up doing that. So I used my Parkinson’s tool as an end goal to talk about those boundaries. And I think the biggest takeaway from that is: no matter your age or where you come from or what people say, as long as you put your heart to something and you really work hard, you can achieve your goal.”



Shen, who will begin Grade 12 in September, is currently applying to several Canadian and American universities on the biology-life science track after he graduates.

As for his parents?

“I think they’re pretty proud of what I’ve done and no matter what they’ve always supported my endeavours whether that be financially or driving me places to present this work,” Shen said.

GTA high schooler comes up with early Parkinson's detector

He's only 16 but GTA high school student Matthew Shen has come up with an AI-driven diagnostic tool to detect early stage Parkinson’s.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

FAKE NEWS!

Nothing good ever comes from there.

 

[spaminator]

What you’re drinking may be causing hair loss: Study
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Sep 01, 2025 • 1 minute read

If you’re concerned about thinning hair, what you drink could be contributing to it.


According to a recent study published in the journal Nutrition and Health, sugary drinks, like pop, and alcoholic beverages have been linked to hair loss.


Researchers out of the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto in Portugal, looked at data from 61,332 participants (97% of which were women) in 17 previous studies and found that “a higher intake of alcoholic and sugary beverages was found to be positively correlated with hair loss.”

The study noted that diet and nutrition also play a “crucial role” in hair health, while supplementing with vitamin D and iron, and help with the chronic hair-loss disorder alopecia, “reducing its severity and promoting hair growth.”

The researchers noted that consuming processed food high in simple sugars may also be tied to hair loss, as the food can “stimulate the secretion of excess sebum, which promotes microbial growth on the scalp.”


They wrote: “A positive association was also observed between protein intake, the consumption of soy products, cruciferous vegetables and supplements, with improvements in hair parameters such as hair loss and hair density.”


They added: “This, in turn, exacerbates irritation and inflammation, contributing to hair loss.”

But the study authors acknowledged that few studies have examined the combined effects of foods, supplements, and nutrients on hair health, so further research is needed to confirm their findings.



“Hair is an important individual characteristic that plays a fundamental role in an individual’s self-esteem and identity,” they said, adding that hair loss has “a significant psychological and emotional impact on those affected,” and “limiting alcohol and soft drinks may be beneficial.”

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02601060251367206

What you’re drinking may be causing hair loss: Study

If you’re concerned about thinning hair, what you drink could be contributing to it.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Here’s what can happen if you clean your ears with a cotton swab
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Lindsey Bever, The Washington Post
Published Sep 02, 2025 • 5 minute read

Be careful when using a cotton swab to clean your ears.
Be careful when using a cotton swab to clean your ears.
Is it safe to use cotton swabs to remove earwax?


Most of us have seen or used the earwax-cleaning products all over social media – high-tech lavage kits, spoons equipped with smartphone cameras, suction devices, ear candles or even classic cotton swabs.


But many of these tools are not effective and can make certain earwax issues worse or cause injuries, particularly when not performed correctly and under the care of a professional, experts cautioned.

“While all of those technologies are nifty and cool to see, they’re not the safest,” said Ana H. Kim, a neurotologist and professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University.

Earwax, or cerumen – that yellow or light brown substance – is produced by glands in the outer one-third of the ear canal, where it mixes with sweat, dead skin cells and loose hair, among other substances. And the wax has a purpose. It is intended to moisturize the skin inside the ear canal, trap dirt and debris, and help protect against bacteria and fungi, research shows.


The inner two-thirds of the ear canal is composed of bone and thin skin and does not have earwax-producing capabilities. There should not be wax that far inside, experts said.

The ear is a self-cleaning organ. When you chew or talk, your jaw movement helps push the earwax to the opening of the outer ear canal, known as the meatal opening. From there, the wax usually falls out or, when stuck, can be gently encouraged to do so, Kim said.

“After showering, when everything is moist, you can use a towel or a Q-tip, and you can swab around the entry point, not going deeper into the ear canal,” she said.

When people insert earwax removal tools such as cotton swabs into the ear canal, it not only disrupts the natural cleaning process but also can reverse that process by pushing earwax deeper inside, potentially causing a wax buildup, or an impaction, Kim said. This can lead to muffled or reduced hearing, she said.


Also, because cotton swab heads have abrasive fibres, they can scratch the delicate ear canal skin, compromising the protective barrier against bacterial and fungal invasion, she added.

Cleaning with cotton swabs can lead to more severe injuries as well.

Kim, who specializes in the inner ear and the nerves connecting to the brain, said she has seen cotton swab heads retained inside the ear canal. One study reported that cotton swabs were among the most common foreign objects found in the ears of adults visiting emergency rooms.

In more serious cases, Kim said, she has seen a cotton swab get inserted too far into the ear canal or inadvertently shoved inside when someone unknowingly swings open a bathroom door or knocks into the arm of the person holding a swab. This can puncture the eardrum and even dislodge the hearing bones, known as the ossicles, which can cause hearing loss, among other issues, she said.


Technologies that use small spoonlike tools to scrape out earwax can cause similar issues; ear candles, which are hollow cones that are placed into the ear canal and then lit at the other end, do not work and can burn the skin inside the canal; and water irrigation, when not used correctly, can be uncomfortable and cause symptoms such as dizziness, experts said.

“If you stick a Q-tip in your ear, you’ll notice that the Q-tip has some wax on it, but it’s getting half of it out and then pushing the other half deeper,” said Tiffany Chao, an assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. “The safest thing to do is to leave the deeper cleaning to somebody who has specialized training.”


There are certain skin conditions, such as eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis, that may make it more challenging for the earwax to slide out on its own, leading it to potentially build up over time and cause an impaction, Kim said.

Similarly, she said, certain anatomical differences or devices such as hearing aids can impede the natural cleaning process.

In such cases, Kim said, routine cleaning by an otolaryngologist, also known as an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor, may be medically necessary.

What else you should know
If you want to self-clean your ears, first see a specialist such as an ENT to make sure you do not have anatomical issues or earwax impactions, experts said.

Then consider some of these home remedies that, when performed with care, come recommended by ear-care professionals:


-Use a damp towel or a cotton swab to carefully remove visible earwax. After showering – when the earwax is soft – dampen a cotton swab with mineral oil or baby oil and gently swab in a circular motion only at the meatal opening, which is the dark shadow at the entrance of the ear canal, Kim said. “But never go inside,” she said. When looking in the mirror, “if you can’t see the tip of your Q-tip head, that means you’ve gone in too far,” she said.

-Try mineral oil or baby oil, or a homemade remedy using hydrogen peroxide, to gently break up earwax impactions. Use an eyedropper to apply one to two drops of mineral oil or baby oil into the ear canal. Or mix small amounts of saline and hydrogen peroxide in a 1:1 ratio and use an eyedropper to apply about five drops into the ear canal. Then, with either method, place a cotton ball into the outer ear and wait about 10 minutes. Remove the cotton ball before showering, letting the warm water wash out the broken-up wax, Kim said. Alternatively, there are over-the-counter earwax removal drops. These methods can be used weekly or monthly depending on how much wax your ear produces, but too often “may result in a clogged sensation if the oil is retained in the canal,” Kim said.


-Take care when using ear lavage kits, which you can buy over the counter. Be gentle and use clean water – such as distilled water, or even sterile saline – that is warmed to body temperature. Water that is too cold can be uncomfortable and cause temporary, but sometimes severe, dizziness, Chao said. Also, when the water is pushed into the ear canal with too much force, it may cause injury to the ear canal or eardrum, she said.

The bottom line: While the ear is self-cleaning and does not typically require earwax removal, experts said it is generally safe to gently wipe the meatal opening of the ear canal with a damp towel or cotton swab but not to enter the ear canal.

Here’s what can happen if you clean your ears with a cotton swab

Is it safe to use cotton swabs to remove earwax?

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Study links microplastics to Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Shannon Osaka, The Washington Post
Published Sep 02, 2025 • 4 minute read

Microplastics as found in the Great Lakes. Postmedia File
A new study published by researchers at the University of Rhode Island suggests that the accumulation of microplastics in the brain could affect how it functions, finding that high amounts of microplastics could trigger Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice with a genetic predisposition to the disease.


There is no doubt that microplastics are in people’s brains. A study earlier this year found that an average human brain may contain about seven grams of tiny shards of plastic, or about the weight of a plastic spoon.


But researchers have been uncertain what effect – if any – those tiny particles are having on human cognition or on the advance of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

“I’m still really surprised by it,” said Jaime Ross, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island and one of the paper’s authors. “I just can’t believe that you are exposed to these particles and something like this can happen.”

About 1 in 9 people in the United States over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s disease. But the causes of the condition remain elusive, with researchers attributing it to a combination of genetic, environmental and other factors.


The paper, published last month in the journal Environmental Research Communications, examined mice that had been genetically modified to include the gene APOE4, one of the strongest risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. People with the APOE4 gene – which affects about 25 percent of the population – are 3½ times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those with the most common gene variant, APOE3. Scientists believe that APOE4 may combine with other environmental or genetic factors to cause the disease.

“If you are carrying APOE4, it doesn’t mean you’re going to develop Alzheimer’s disease,” said Ross. “I don’t want to scare anybody. But it is the largest known risk factor.”

Similar to humans, mice that have been modified to contain this gene don’t necessarily develop cognitive problems, unless they are exposed to some other compounding risk factor. In some previous studies, mice with a humanoid version of the gene that were fed a high-fat diet showed problems with cognition and memory.


In the new research, Ross and her colleagues exposed the mice to just three weeks of polystyrene microplastics – the same plastics that go into Styrofoam – mixed in with their drinking water. The plastics were 0.1 micrometres to 2 micrometres in diameter – a tiny fraction of the width of a human hair. (The researchers used a high dosage of microplastics, reasoning that the mice were exposed for only a short time, compared with many years of exposure in humans.)

What they found startled the scientists. In one portion of the study, mice were put in a square pen, and their movements were tracked by cameras. Normal, healthy mice will stay by the corners, avoiding open spaces for safety. But male mice that were exposed to microplastics and had the APOE4 allele spent much more time in the centre of the pen. Female mice with the gene exposed to microplastics, meanwhile, showed evidence of memory problems when navigating a Y-shaped maze – significantly more than mice who had the gene but weren’t exposed to minuscule plastics.


Ross said that these results match human symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Men with the disease are more likely to show apathy, while women display greater memory problems. “There were very similar sex differences in mice as what people experience,” Ross explained.

University of California at San Francisco neurology professor Yadong Huang, who studies the development of Alzheimer’s disease and was not involved in the paper, said that the memory aspects of the experiment jumped out at him. Patients with Alzheimer’s fall into two camps, generally: patients who struggle primarily with executive functioning like planning and organizing, and those who suffer mostly from memory loss. Women with APOE4 alleles are more likely to have the memory-loss version.


“The novelty here is that environmental factors can trigger a similar effect,” he said. “We shouldn’t ignore that.”

Researchers can’t say for certain the role that micro and nanoplastics – which are even smaller than microplastics, measuring less than 1 micrometre – play in Alzheimer’s. Mice brains are not a perfect model for human brains, and the current study didn’t take into account the effects of aging on the development of disease.

But scientists are beginning to look more deeply into how plastic affects our brains. Matthew Campen, a toxicology professor at the University of New Mexico who was one of the first scientists to discover plastics in the human brain, said the new study raised interesting questions about how those tiny pieces of plastic enter it.


APOE4, he pointed out, affects how a set of proteins transfer fat and other materials around the body. Food and water, meanwhile, are already riddled with microplastics. “What if APOE4 is just shuttling more plastic from the mouth into the brain?” he said. “Nobody’s really looked at this.”

Even as scientists continue to research the health effects of microplastics, efforts to curb production of plastics have failed. In August, a global meeting intended to develop a plastics treaty ended without an agreement, due in part to pushback from the U.S.

Ross says her lab is moving quickly to try to understand how microplastics could be triggering or contributing to Alzheimer’s and dementia – after all, it was only a few years ago that scientists first discovered plastic in human blood. “The field is so new,” she said. “Any information will help other people design their studies.”

Study links microplastics to Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice

A new study published suggests that the accumulation of microplastics in the brain could affect how it functions.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I have a mouse who couldn't handle matrix algebra.

I blame the plastics.

 

[spaminator]

5 warning signs of a heart attack, according to cardiologists
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Teddy Amenabar
Published Sep 04, 2025 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 5 minute read

Lindsay Shanks, seen here with her son, had a heart attack in 2022, when she was 37. Shanks said it never crossed her mind she was having a heart attack; she thought she had a pinched nerve.
One night, Lindsay Shanks sat up from bed and felt a sharp pain.


“It felt like someone stabbed me right between my shoulder blades,” said Shanks, who was 37 at the time. “My hands started tingling, and I got really nauseous.”


Shanks, who lives outside Detroit, assumed she was having a panic attack or had a pinched nerve. When she got to the hospital, a nurse looked at her test results and ran out of the room. Shanks was having a heart attack.

“I became very popular very quickly,” she said. “It was very hectic.”

Ben Rennert, 40, a small-business owner from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was picking up his children from school when he felt a tingle in his arms and “well over a hundred pounds of pressure” on his chest.

“I’ve never felt something that intense before,” he said about his heart attack in March. “It’s not pleasant, to say the least.”


Heart attacks occur when blood flow to the heart stops or slows, often because a plaque rupture causes a blood clot that blocks a coronary artery, cardiologists say.

The “vast majority of people” who have a heart attack will feel a tight, squeezing or aching chest pain, said William Brady, a professor of emergency and cardiovascular medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

But not all heart attacks are the same, and there are other warning signs people don’t typically think of, said Stacey Rosen, volunteer president of the American Heart Association and executive director at Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health. In particular, women are more likely to dismiss symptoms (or have them dismissed by others) as anxiety or stress.


The Washington Post asked cardiologists about the more surprising signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Their advice: If anything feels off, tell someone and call 911. Don’t delay a trip to the hospital because the pain isn’t what you’d expect a heart attack to feel like.

“Delay can lead to irreversible heart damage,” Rosen said. “So, really, listen to your body.”

1. Jaw pain
The aching discomfort or pain from a heart attack will often radiate to other parts of the body, said James de Lemos, chair of cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The symptoms can sometimes be subtle and “less impressive” than what you see on television, he said.

“Some people will tell you it’s just my forearm that hurt – or I had really intense jaw pain that came out of nowhere,” de Lemos said.


Rosen said one of her patients met with dentist after dentist because she thought her aching jaw was because of a tooth – until one dentist suggested it could be because of her heart.

“And, in fact, it was,” Rosen said. The patient probably avoided a heart attack because of “a very intelligent and holistically thinking dentist.”

Pain from a heart attack can – but not always – travel to the left side of the body, on the same side as the heart, the cardiologists said.

Women experience chest pain more often in combination with symptoms such as back pain, nausea, dizziness or shortness of breath, Rosen said. And instead of calling it “chest pain,” they are more likely to describe their symptoms as a discomfort or fatigue.

“When someone tells me their chest is aching, that elevates my concern,” said Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.


Ben Rennert, 40, had a heart attack in March while picking up his kids at school. He said that “the whole event lasted probably three to four minutes.”
2. Nausea and vomiting
Nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, belching and other forms of indigestion can be a sign of a heart attack, especially when the attack is affecting the lower portion – or inferior wall – of the heart, de Lemos said.

If the indigestion can’t be treated by an antacid, the gastrointestinal distress could be related to the heart, de Lemos said, particularly in a person who’s at risk for a heart attack.

3. A sense of impending doom
A heart attack can also cause someone to feel a sense of impending doom, cardiologists said. All of a sudden, “you feel like you’re going to die,” Brady said.

It’s different from “pure anxiety,” said Seth Martin, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine. It’s physical symptoms coupled with a persistent sense that “something is seriously wrong.”


“It can be just this awareness, just a sense that something doesn’t feel right,” Yancy said. “That’s sufficient to alert my senses that we need to evaluate the heart and blood vessels.”

4. Sweaty, cold and clammy skin
A blockage in a coronary artery is an extraordinary stress on the body, Rosen said. And, when it happens, your sympathetic nervous system is overloaded, causing you to feel cold, clammy and sweaty.

If you’re carrying groceries in and your chest is suddenly tight, you’re short of breath and you’re breaking out in a sweat, these are signs of an impending heart attack, Brady said. Especially on fair-weather days when there’s no reason to perspire.

And if you find the discomfort goes away when you sit down and rest, that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear, Brady said. You should still see a doctor, he said.


5. Fatigue
A heart attack limits the circulation of oxygen through the body and to the heart, which can cause you to feel fatigued or short of breath, Martin said.

You may feel foggy but can’t pinpoint why, Rosen said.

Some people think they’re just getting older and slowing down, said Anna Bortnick, an interventional cardiologist and associate professor of medicine at Montefiore Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx. Others delay going to the hospital because they’re taking care of kids or family members.

A person with early signs of heart problems may experience symptoms only when they’re walking or doing other forms of exercise. The heart requires more blood flow when we exert ourselves, but a blockage or a weakened heart muscle is preventing that from happening, Rosen said.


Sometimes, a heart attack is like a tree trunk falling across a river, blocking all blood flow to the heart, Rosen said.

Other times, “there can be stuttering symptoms that go on for days, that get worse when the artery is more blocked,” she said. “It’s really a dynamic process for many.”

How to reduce your risk of a heart attack
You can’t replace heart muscle cells once the organ is damaged, Rosen said. If you don’t get treatment quickly enough to restore blood flow, the heart attack can affect the organ’s ability to pump blood. This could lead to heart failure, which is a chronic condition where the heart doesn’t function as well as it did.

Instead, cardiologists recommend you take steps to reduce your risk of a heart attack in the first place. Try to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Exercise regularly for at least 150 minutes a week, don’t smoke, limit how much alcohol you drink and build healthy eating habits, they said.

Rennert, from Wisconsin, said he has physically recovered from his heart attack. Last week, he biked 15 miles around town with a friend.

“It was actually my first ride on this particular bike since the heart attack, and it felt good,” he said. “It was short – but it was still good to get out.”

5 warning signs of a heart attack, according to cardiologists

One night, Lindsay Shanks sat up from bed and felt a sharp pain.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Six. They left off "fall over and die."

 

[spaminator]

Quadruple amputee teen gets landmark $17M award in malpractice case
The Alberta Court of Kings Bench awarded a Grande Prairie teen and her care providers $17 million

Author of the article:Jackie Carmichael
Published Sep 03, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

On March 28, 2011, surgeons at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton saved KB's life by removing her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, her right hand and four of the fingers on her left hand.
On March 28, 2011, surgeons at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton saved KB's life by removing her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, her right hand and four of the fingers on her left hand. Photo by supplied
A photo of KB in full Oilers regalia and sporting Oilers face paint, with a smile that lights up her bright eyes, tells a world about the irrepressible young woman she has become.


If you look past the thumbs up, you’ll see traces of the grit and determination that have been her constant companions after a devastating bout with illness as a baby that left her a quadruple amputee.


In a landmark case, the Alberta Court of Kings Bench recently awarded the Grande Prairie teen and her care providers $17 million in damages in a medical malpractice case — one of the largest in Canadian history.

How it started
On February 19, 2011, KB had a fever, pain and difficulty breathing.

The emergency physician in Grande Prairie did the right things — he ordered blood cultures, a chest X-ray. He monitored her and admitted her into hospital.

Despite hospitalization, her condition worsened, but a bacterial infection revealed by blood cultures was left untreated.


Sepsis raged unchecked, leading to catastrophic limb ischemia.

On March 28, 2011, surgeons at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton saved the tot’s life by removing her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, her right hand and four of the fingers on her left hand.

Despite the life-altering losses, in the years since her catastrophic 2011 illness, KB has grown to become a resilient young woman.

Woven into her story are threads of inspiration and a devastating cautionary tale.

Impacts of calls not made
In KB v Guhle, 2025 ABKB 474, the court found when her doctor failed to attend to signs KB needed antibiotics for bacterial bronchopneumonia, breaches of the standard of care including failing to properly rule out a differential diagnosis, failing to properly document concerns, failing to act on abnormal test results and delaying the administration of IV antibiotics


A partner with Neinstein Law, Stacy Koumarelas, said KB will always bear the impact of those calls not made.

“The common thread is that when there are breaches of the standard of care, such as the ones that were found in this case, the results are catastrophic. They have lifelong implications.

“These results are preventable when the standards of care are adhered to and patient safety is prioritized,” Koumarelas said.

The court decision underscores how tragic the consequences can be when essential patient-safety measures are overlooked, she said.

“For KB and her family, the hardest truth is that these losses were preventable. If IV antibiotics had been started when the signs were clear, she would not have endured these life-altering amputations,” Koumarelas said.


As a result of the judge’s decision in this case, KB will be more able to have the necessary tools and resources she is going to need to be successful in life, she said.

“She’ll never be ‘fully restored’ to what a normal individual or a fully able-bodied individual will be, but with that decision, she will have access to tools to help her be more successful in life.

“KB’s a resilient young girl. I wish she didn’t have to be resilient,” Koumarelas said.

In KB v Guhle, 2025 the court awarded total damages of $15,671,272 for KB, $646,025 for her mother, DB, and $474,314.93 for the Crown’s past health services to KB.

The award was established by experts anticipating a life of prosthetics, modifications to home and car, personal support — all with the intent of allowing her to live as normal a life as possible.


Grit and determination
For the family, KB’s illness had a massive life impact over the years — relocations for hospitalization, separations from older children, continual travel for prosthetic adjustments times four, and life modifications.

Her mother became her caregiver.

It’s KB’s normal — all she’s ever known — but every day she sees around her a world full of those without her limitations.

Now 15, KB loves to swim. She rides a three-wheeled bike with modifications.

She boxes twice a week.

She has her learner’s driver’s licence — at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Centre, now a fixture in the family’s GPS, she will get adapted help to learn to drive.

KB plans to pursue secondary education. She’d like to become a prosthetist and help others.


“Some of (the challenges) are very evident, but I’m sure there’s internal challenges as well that she has to face, and she just continues to face grit and determination. There’s nothing that stops that girl,” DB told Postmedia.

“She tries everything. There’s nothing that she won’t try. She may find success that looks a little bit different than what someone who’s able-bodied does.

“The stuff she does may look different, but that doesn’t stop her,” DB said.

“Our message in all of this is that although her life is full of challenges, it’s also full of purpose.”

For KB’s family, every day is about the fulfillment of a promise first made when their baby lost her limbs.

“I promised myself that no matter what happened, if she survived, that we would just continue to find joy and thrive and always look at the positive and just provide her with where she can find success. Parenting her has been a pleasure, our joy. It has taught us a lot,” DB said.

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

Alberta quadruple amputee teen gets landmark $17-million award

Grande Prairie quadruple amputee teen wins multimillion-dollar settlement after court finds medical malpractice when she was a baby.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

Quadruple amputee teen gets landmark $17M award in malpractice case
The Alberta Court of Kings Bench awarded a Grande Prairie teen and her care providers $17 million

Author of the article:Jackie Carmichael
Published Sep 03, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

On March 28, 2011, surgeons at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton saved KB's life by removing her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, her right hand and four of the fingers on her left hand.
On March 28, 2011, surgeons at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton saved KB's life by removing her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, her right hand and four of the fingers on her left hand. Photo by supplied
A photo of KB in full Oilers regalia and sporting Oilers face paint, with a smile that lights up her bright eyes, tells a world about the irrepressible young woman she has become.


If you look past the thumbs up, you’ll see traces of the grit and determination that have been her constant companions after a devastating bout with illness as a baby that left her a quadruple amputee.


In a landmark case, the Alberta Court of Kings Bench recently awarded the Grande Prairie teen and her care providers $17 million in damages in a medical malpractice case — one of the largest in Canadian history.

How it started
On February 19, 2011, KB had a fever, pain and difficulty breathing.

The emergency physician in Grande Prairie did the right things — he ordered blood cultures, a chest X-ray. He monitored her and admitted her into hospital.

Despite hospitalization, her condition worsened, but a bacterial infection revealed by blood cultures was left untreated.


Sepsis raged unchecked, leading to catastrophic limb ischemia.

On March 28, 2011, surgeons at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton saved the tot’s life by removing her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, her right hand and four of the fingers on her left hand.

Despite the life-altering losses, in the years since her catastrophic 2011 illness, KB has grown to become a resilient young woman.

Woven into her story are threads of inspiration and a devastating cautionary tale.

Impacts of calls not made
In KB v Guhle, 2025 ABKB 474, the court found when her doctor failed to attend to signs KB needed antibiotics for bacterial bronchopneumonia, breaches of the standard of care including failing to properly rule out a differential diagnosis, failing to properly document concerns, failing to act on abnormal test results and delaying the administration of IV antibiotics


A partner with Neinstein Law, Stacy Koumarelas, said KB will always bear the impact of those calls not made.

“The common thread is that when there are breaches of the standard of care, such as the ones that were found in this case, the results are catastrophic. They have lifelong implications.

“These results are preventable when the standards of care are adhered to and patient safety is prioritized,” Koumarelas said.

The court decision underscores how tragic the consequences can be when essential patient-safety measures are overlooked, she said.

“For KB and her family, the hardest truth is that these losses were preventable. If IV antibiotics had been started when the signs were clear, she would not have endured these life-altering amputations,” Koumarelas said.


As a result of the judge’s decision in this case, KB will be more able to have the necessary tools and resources she is going to need to be successful in life, she said.

“She’ll never be ‘fully restored’ to what a normal individual or a fully able-bodied individual will be, but with that decision, she will have access to tools to help her be more successful in life.

“KB’s a resilient young girl. I wish she didn’t have to be resilient,” Koumarelas said.

In KB v Guhle, 2025 the court awarded total damages of $15,671,272 for KB, $646,025 for her mother, DB, and $474,314.93 for the Crown’s past health services to KB.

The award was established by experts anticipating a life of prosthetics, modifications to home and car, personal support — all with the intent of allowing her to live as normal a life as possible.


Grit and determination
For the family, KB’s illness had a massive life impact over the years — relocations for hospitalization, separations from older children, continual travel for prosthetic adjustments times four, and life modifications.

Her mother became her caregiver.

It’s KB’s normal — all she’s ever known — but every day she sees around her a world full of those without her limitations.

Now 15, KB loves to swim. She rides a three-wheeled bike with modifications.

She boxes twice a week.

She has her learner’s driver’s licence — at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Centre, now a fixture in the family’s GPS, she will get adapted help to learn to drive.

KB plans to pursue secondary education. She’d like to become a prosthetist and help others.


“Some of (the challenges) are very evident, but I’m sure there’s internal challenges as well that she has to face, and she just continues to face grit and determination. There’s nothing that stops that girl,” DB told Postmedia.

“She tries everything. There’s nothing that she won’t try. She may find success that looks a little bit different than what someone who’s able-bodied does.

“The stuff she does may look different, but that doesn’t stop her,” DB said.

“Our message in all of this is that although her life is full of challenges, it’s also full of purpose.”

For KB’s family, every day is about the fulfillment of a promise first made when their baby lost her limbs.

“I promised myself that no matter what happened, if she survived, that we would just continue to find joy and thrive and always look at the positive and just provide her with where she can find success. Parenting her has been a pleasure, our joy. It has taught us a lot,” DB said.

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

Alberta quadruple amputee teen gets landmark $17-million award

Grande Prairie quadruple amputee teen wins multimillion-dollar settlement after court finds medical malpractice when she was a baby.

torontosun.com

Bob.

 

[spaminator]

Open mic catches Putin, Xi discussing immortality
The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have not expressed any intention of stepping down

Author of the article:AFP
AFP
Published Sep 04, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, (L-R) Russia's President Vladimir Putin walks with China's President Xi Jinping and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025.
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, (L-R) Russia's President Vladimir Putin walks with China's President Xi Jinping and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. Photo by Sergey Bobylev /POOL/AFP
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin discussed life-prolonging organ transplants and immortality as they chatted before Beijing’s massive military parade this week, in comments picked up by state media microphones.

Historic images showed Xi shaking hands and speaking with Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they walked down a red carpet by Tiananmen Square, in scenes viewed as a challenge to US President Donald Trump.


“These days… 70 years old,” Xi said in Mandarin as he walked beside Putin and Kim, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.



Xi’s translator, conveying his remarks to Putin, is then heard in Russian quoting a line from a Tang dynasty poem: “In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days they say that at 70 one’s still a child.”

Putin then turned towards Xi, speaking while gesturing with his hands, though this is inaudible on the CCTV feed.

The same Chinese translator then relayed Putin’s remarks to Xi.

“With the… development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, people could get younger as they grow older, and may even become immortal,” Putin said, according to the translator.

Xi then spoke again in Mandarin as the camera cut away: “Predictions are, in this century, it may be… possible to live to 150 years old.”


Putin confirmed the exchange during a press briefing on Wednesday.

“Ah, I think it was when we were going to the parade that the Chairman spoke about this,” he told reporters, referring to Xi.

“Modern means — both health improvement and medical means, and then even all kinds of surgical ones related to organ replacement — allow humanity to hope that active life will continue not as it does today,” Putin added.

The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have not expressed any intention of stepping down.

While Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao relinquished power after 10 years in office, he abolished term limits in 2018 and in 2023 was handed a third term as Chinese president.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1963210782247661642

Open mic catches Putin, Xi discussing immortality

The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have not expressed any intention of stepping down.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Could humans become immortal, as Putin was heard telling Xi?
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Julien Dury and Daniel Lawler
Published Sep 04, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

A conversation between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about longevity was picked up on a hot mic.
A conversation between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about longevity was picked up on a hot mic. Photo by Jade Gao /AFP
Paris (AFP) — Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have been recorded on a hot mic discussing how organ transplants and other medical advances could let humans live past 150 years — or even become immortal.


But are these comments by the Russian and Chinese leaders, which were picked up during a Beijing summit on Wednesday, backed by scientific evidence?


Experts in human ageing told AFP that some of these ideas remain far-fetched, but serious research is also increasingly revealing more about why we age — and how we could try to stop it.

Is there a human lifespan limit?
The conversation suggested that fending off the ravages of age was on the minds of Putin and Xi, who are both 72 and have not expressed any desire to step down.

Thanks to the “development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, people could get younger as they grow older, and may even become immortal”, Putin told Xi.

The Chinese leader responded by saying there were predictions humans could “live to 150 years old” within this century.


France’s Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997, still holds the record for oldest confirmed age. (Georges GOBET/AFP/File)
France’s Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997, still holds the record for oldest confirmed age. (Georges GOBET/AFP/File) Photo by Georges GOBET /AFP/File
There is no scientific evidence to support the idea that a human could live forever.

Scientists have not even reached a consensus on whether there is a biological limit on human lifespan.

“The debate is not settled,” Ilaria Bellantuono, a researcher on the biology of ageing at the University of Sheffield, told AFP.

Indeed, despite massive progress in most areas of health in the last few decades, human longevity records have stopped being broken.

France’s Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997, still holds the record for oldest confirmed age.

This does not necessarily mean we have reached the limits of longevity.

According to 2018 research in the journal Science, mortality rates eventually level off, meaning a 115-year-old is no more at risk of dying than someone aged 105.


Other researchers have warned that data about extreme longevity could be misleading, citing numerous cases of people forging birth certificates to commit pension fraud.

What about replacing organs?
Putin’s comments went beyond simply fending off death, suggesting that by regularly replacing misfiring organs people could actually become younger.

A genetically altered pig bred for harvesting organs to be transplanted into humans. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/File)
A genetically altered pig bred for harvesting organs to be transplanted into humans. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/File) Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds /AFP/File
“It’s pure madness,” said Eric Boulanger, a professor of biology and ageing at France’s Lille University.

Boulanger listed a broad range of medical barriers and ethical concerns, including the constant need for fresh organs and the traumatic effect that repeated transplant surgeries would have on the body.

And our bodies are made up of more than just organs, he emphasized.


They also have fatty tissue, bones and more, all impacted by ageing in a complex and interconnected way that makes the concept of changing out organs like car parts unrealistic.

Money in long life?
Huge amounts of money have recently been invested in longevity efforts, which have also been the subject of a booming lifestyle and wellness industry.

Putin himself has shown interest, with Russia launching a 38-billion-ruble ($460-million) project last year focused on regenerative medicine and longevity.

Tech investor Bryan Johnson, pictured in 2017, has since become emblematic of the longevity movement. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/File)
Tech investor Bryan Johnson, pictured in 2017, has since become emblematic of the longevity movement. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/File) Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA /AFP/File
The subject is also a preoccupation of the Silicon Valley-led transhumanist movement, including billionaire Peter Thiel, a supporter of US President Donald Trump who has invested millions in longevity projects.


Fellow tech figure Bryan Johnson has become somewhat emblematic of the issue by setting himself the goal of eternal life — and testing many of the latest anti-ageing theories, techniques and trends on himself.

However, mainstream scientists have been critical of such efforts, warning they lack scientific rigour and could even be dangerous.

Realistic research?
Some recent scientific advances have raised hopes we could one day fight back against ageing.

The researchers interviewed by AFP in particular highlighted a field called epigenetics.

Changes to DNA have long been thought to be an important factor in why humans age.

However, epigenetics — which studies how genes can toggle on or off without altering DNA — has recently gained attention.


The researchers suggested people focus more on making sure they are healthy for however many years they have left. (Angela Weiss/AFP/File)
The researchers suggested people focus more on making sure they are healthy for however many years they have left. (Angela Weiss/AFP/File) Photo by Angela Weiss /AFP/File
Over time, this toggling seems to wear down in a process thought to be central to ageing.

Research published in the journal Aging Cell in June found that the drug rapamycin — which appears to affect epigenetic ageing — has helped extend the lifespan of several animals, including mice.

But there is no guarantee the drug will work in humans.

For now, the researchers suggested people worry less about hypothetical ways to increase how long they are alive and instead make sure the time they have left is lived well.

“The focus should be on extending the number of years in good health,” Bellantuono said.

Could humans become immortal, as Putin was heard telling Xi?

But serious research is also increasingly revealing more about why we age -- and how we could try to stop it.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Open mic catches Putin, Xi discussing immortality
The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have not expressed any intention of stepping down

Author of the article:AFP
AFP
Published Sep 04, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, (L-R) Russia's President Vladimir Putin walks with China's President Xi Jinping and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025.
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, (L-R) Russia's President Vladimir Putin walks with China's President Xi Jinping and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. Photo by Sergey Bobylev /POOL/AFP
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin discussed life-prolonging organ transplants and immortality as they chatted before Beijing’s massive military parade this week, in comments picked up by state media microphones.

Historic images showed Xi shaking hands and speaking with Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they walked down a red carpet by Tiananmen Square, in scenes viewed as a challenge to US President Donald Trump.


“These days… 70 years old,” Xi said in Mandarin as he walked beside Putin and Kim, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.



Xi’s translator, conveying his remarks to Putin, is then heard in Russian quoting a line from a Tang dynasty poem: “In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days they say that at 70 one’s still a child.”

Putin then turned towards Xi, speaking while gesturing with his hands, though this is inaudible on the CCTV feed.

The same Chinese translator then relayed Putin’s remarks to Xi.

“With the… development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, people could get younger as they grow older, and may even become immortal,” Putin said, according to the translator.

Xi then spoke again in Mandarin as the camera cut away: “Predictions are, in this century, it may be… possible to live to 150 years old.”


Putin confirmed the exchange during a press briefing on Wednesday.

“Ah, I think it was when we were going to the parade that the Chairman spoke about this,” he told reporters, referring to Xi.

“Modern means — both health improvement and medical means, and then even all kinds of surgical ones related to organ replacement — allow humanity to hope that active life will continue not as it does today,” Putin added.

The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have not expressed any intention of stepping down.

While Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao relinquished power after 10 years in office, he abolished term limits in 2018 and in 2023 was handed a third term as Chinese president.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1963210782247661642

Open mic catches Putin, Xi discussing immortality

The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have not expressed any intention of stepping down.

torontosun.com

Could humans become immortal, as Putin was heard telling Xi?
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Julien Dury and Daniel Lawler
Published Sep 04, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

A conversation between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about longevity was picked up on a hot mic.
A conversation between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about longevity was picked up on a hot mic. Photo by Jade Gao /AFP
Paris (AFP) — Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have been recorded on a hot mic discussing how organ transplants and other medical advances could let humans live past 150 years — or even become immortal.


But are these comments by the Russian and Chinese leaders, which were picked up during a Beijing summit on Wednesday, backed by scientific evidence?


Experts in human ageing told AFP that some of these ideas remain far-fetched, but serious research is also increasingly revealing more about why we age — and how we could try to stop it.

Is there a human lifespan limit?
The conversation suggested that fending off the ravages of age was on the minds of Putin and Xi, who are both 72 and have not expressed any desire to step down.

Thanks to the “development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, people could get younger as they grow older, and may even become immortal”, Putin told Xi.

The Chinese leader responded by saying there were predictions humans could “live to 150 years old” within this century.


France’s Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997, still holds the record for oldest confirmed age. (Georges GOBET/AFP/File)
France’s Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997, still holds the record for oldest confirmed age. (Georges GOBET/AFP/File) Photo by Georges GOBET /AFP/File
There is no scientific evidence to support the idea that a human could live forever.

Scientists have not even reached a consensus on whether there is a biological limit on human lifespan.

“The debate is not settled,” Ilaria Bellantuono, a researcher on the biology of ageing at the University of Sheffield, told AFP.

Indeed, despite massive progress in most areas of health in the last few decades, human longevity records have stopped being broken.

France’s Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997, still holds the record for oldest confirmed age.

This does not necessarily mean we have reached the limits of longevity.

According to 2018 research in the journal Science, mortality rates eventually level off, meaning a 115-year-old is no more at risk of dying than someone aged 105.


Other researchers have warned that data about extreme longevity could be misleading, citing numerous cases of people forging birth certificates to commit pension fraud.

What about replacing organs?
Putin’s comments went beyond simply fending off death, suggesting that by regularly replacing misfiring organs people could actually become younger.

A genetically altered pig bred for harvesting organs to be transplanted into humans. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/File)
A genetically altered pig bred for harvesting organs to be transplanted into humans. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/File) Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds /AFP/File
“It’s pure madness,” said Eric Boulanger, a professor of biology and ageing at France’s Lille University.

Boulanger listed a broad range of medical barriers and ethical concerns, including the constant need for fresh organs and the traumatic effect that repeated transplant surgeries would have on the body.

And our bodies are made up of more than just organs, he emphasized.


They also have fatty tissue, bones and more, all impacted by ageing in a complex and interconnected way that makes the concept of changing out organs like car parts unrealistic.

Money in long life?
Huge amounts of money have recently been invested in longevity efforts, which have also been the subject of a booming lifestyle and wellness industry.

Putin himself has shown interest, with Russia launching a 38-billion-ruble ($460-million) project last year focused on regenerative medicine and longevity.

Tech investor Bryan Johnson, pictured in 2017, has since become emblematic of the longevity movement. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/File)
Tech investor Bryan Johnson, pictured in 2017, has since become emblematic of the longevity movement. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/File) Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA /AFP/File
The subject is also a preoccupation of the Silicon Valley-led transhumanist movement, including billionaire Peter Thiel, a supporter of US President Donald Trump who has invested millions in longevity projects.


Fellow tech figure Bryan Johnson has become somewhat emblematic of the issue by setting himself the goal of eternal life — and testing many of the latest anti-ageing theories, techniques and trends on himself.

However, mainstream scientists have been critical of such efforts, warning they lack scientific rigour and could even be dangerous.

Realistic research?
Some recent scientific advances have raised hopes we could one day fight back against ageing.

The researchers interviewed by AFP in particular highlighted a field called epigenetics.

Changes to DNA have long been thought to be an important factor in why humans age.

However, epigenetics — which studies how genes can toggle on or off without altering DNA — has recently gained attention.


The researchers suggested people focus more on making sure they are healthy for however many years they have left. (Angela Weiss/AFP/File)
The researchers suggested people focus more on making sure they are healthy for however many years they have left. (Angela Weiss/AFP/File) Photo by Angela Weiss /AFP/File
Over time, this toggling seems to wear down in a process thought to be central to ageing.

Research published in the journal Aging Cell in June found that the drug rapamycin — which appears to affect epigenetic ageing — has helped extend the lifespan of several animals, including mice.

But there is no guarantee the drug will work in humans.

For now, the researchers suggested people worry less about hypothetical ways to increase how long they are alive and instead make sure the time they have left is lived well.

“The focus should be on extending the number of years in good health,” Bellantuono said.

Could humans become immortal, as Putin was heard telling Xi?

But serious research is also increasingly revealing more about why we age -- and how we could try to stop it.

torontosun.com

don't give the trumptychrist any ideas.

 

[spaminator]

Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip implanted into two quadriplegic Canadian patients
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Hannah Alberga
Published Sep 05, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

This video grab made from the online Neuralink livestream shows the Neuralink disk implant held by Elon Musk during the presentation on Aug. 28, 2020.
This video grab made from the online Neuralink livestream shows the Neuralink disk implant held by Elon Musk during the presentation on Aug. 28, 2020. Photo by Neuralink /AFP via Getty Images
Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants that have allowed them to control a computer with their thoughts.


They are part of the first clinical trial outside of the United States to test the safety and effectiveness of Elon Musk’s Neuralink wireless brain chip, which he introduced to the public in 2020, and was first implanted in a paralyzed American in 2024.


The Canadian men, both around 30 years old — one from Ontario, the other from Alberta — have limited or no ability to use their hands.

Dr. Andres Lozano, a neurosurgeon at University Health Network who led the surgical team at Toronto Western Hospital, said the patients could move a computer cursor almost immediately after the surgery. They were able to leave the hospital following their respective procedures on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 the next morning, he said.

Electrodes were implanted into the motor area of each patient’s brain to harness neuron signals and translate those signals into actions on an external device, skipping over the need to physically move, Lozano explained.


“The first patient was able to control a cursor by just thinking within minutes. It is extremely rapid. The signals are decoded and the artificial intelligence reads the signals and then translates them into movement on the cursor,” he said.

“They just think about it and it happens.”

Brain-computer interface (BCI) devices are not exclusive to Neuralink, and other companies like New-York based Synchron, are conducting their own clinical trials.

The promise of this technology is encouraging, but expectations should be tempered, said Barry Munro, chief development officer of the Canadian Spinal Research Organization.

Munro, who has been quadriplegic since a diving accident 38 years ago, said he has dedicated his life to spinal cord injury research, and helped with recruitment for Neuralink’s U.S. trial. The first person to receive the device last year has said publicly that it started slipping out of his brain weeks after the surgery, setting back his progress, but that he’s since stabilized and that it has still been worthwhile.


Munro said he has witnessed “false hope” time and again in this field and instead encourages “educated hope” — to learn and be excited without expecting an implant like this to be available within the next six months.

“We ain’t there yet, that’s all,” he said.

The Canadian patients will be monitored for at least a year, with the clinical research team permitted to enrol another four patients in the country who have either been paralyzed by a spinal cord injury or who have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

The clinical trial team will be evaluating if the technology is safe and if it adds value to the patient’s quality of life. Side effects they will be looking out for could include seizures, infections or strokes.

In the coming weeks and months, the patients will learn to type on a computer without touching a keyboard. Already, they are able to play video games.

“It’s really as a preliminary step to see whether this should be scaled and rolled out to a larger population,” Lozano said.

“The device right now is a cursor, but in the future you could drive a car, you could drive your wheelchair, you could drive a robot.”

Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip implanted into two quadriplegic Canadian patients

Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Those who scroll on phones while on toilet have increased chance of developing hemorrhoids: Study
Author of the article:Ian Shantz
Published Sep 07, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

Using your smartphone while you’re on the toilet could increase your chance of developing hemorrhoids, according to a new study.
Using your smartphone while you’re on the toilet could increase your chance of developing hemorrhoids, according to a new study.
Need another reason to scale back on the screen time?


Using your smartphone while you’re on the toilet could increase your chance of developing hemorrhoids, according to a new study.


Researchers behind the study published in PLOS One say those who used smartphones on the toilet were 46% more likely to have hemorrhoids, per people.com.

“We propose that sitting on a standard toilet seat, without any support to the pelvic floor,” such as by a seat or chair, the study authors wrote, “disproportionately increases pressure in the hemorrhoidal cushions. As this pressure persists over time, these cushions may become engorged and thereby develop into appreciable hemorrhoids.”

Hemorrhoids are swollen veins inside of your rectum or outside of your anus, the Cleveland Clinic explains. They can be painful or itchy, and sometimes bleed.


“When you’re sitting on an open toilet bowl, you have no pelvic floor support,” senior study author Dr. Trisha Pasricha, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, told CNN.

Those who scrolled while sitting were most likely to be reading “news” (54.3%), closely followed by “social media” (44.4%).


While previous guidance suggested that hemorrhoids were caused by straining while constipated, Pasricha told CNN “(Those who used smartphones) didn’t actually strain harder to have a bowel movement than the ones who didn’t. My hypothesis is that it’s passive smartphone use that causes these hemorrhoidal cushions to become engorged and bulge, and that’s what leads to hemorrhoids.”

Instead of sitting and scrolling, the study advises people to “restrict smartphone use while on the toilet to under five minutes.”

“The entire business model of these social media apps is to distract us, make us lose track of time and addict us to the algorithm,” Pasricha told CNN. “We’re just now understanding how much smartphones impact lots of other factors in our lives.”

You’re More Likely to Get Hemorrhoids If You Use Your Phone on the Toilet

A new study advises limited smartphone use to 5 minutes, as sitting on an 'open toilet bowl' provides no support to the pelvic floor, leading to hemorrhoids.

people.com

Those who scroll on phones while on toilet have increased chance of developing hemorrhoids: Study

Using your smartphone while you’re on the toilet could increase your chance of developing hemorrhoids, according to a new study.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Just one milkshake can mess with your brain: Study
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Sep 08, 2025 • Last updated 23 hours ago • 2 minute read

Chocolate milkshake topped with a rich chocolate drizzle and a generous dollop of fluffy whipped cream.
Chocolate milkshake topped with a rich chocolate drizzle and a generous dollop of fluffy whipped cream.
Milkshakes are known for bringing all the boys to the yard, but a new study finds that the drink can negatively impact brain health.


What you eat can have a crucial impact to your physical and mental health, and researchers found that consuming a high amount of fat, such as a milkshake, could impair blood flow to the brain and potentially increase the risk of stroke and dementia.


For the study, published in The Journal of Nutritional Physiology, two groups of men — 20 who were aged 18 to 35, and 21 others between the ages of 60 and 80 — consumed a milkshake high in fat.

The milkshakes had 1,362 calories, 48 grams of carbohydrates and 9 1/2 grams of protein, the study said.

The beverages also included some heavy whipping cream, chocolate-flavoured syrup, granulated sugar and non-fat dry milk.

Researchers — who dubbed the drink the “brain bomb” while discussing their research in The Conversation — conducted ultrasounds to test how the blood flowed before the men drank the shake, and then four hours later while they did squats.


“Our findings confirmed previous research that has shown that a high-fat meal impairs the ability of the blood vessels linked to heart health to open in both young and old participants,” the researchers said.

As a result, the study confirmed, the high-fat shake reduces the brain’s ability to “buffer changes in blood pressure.”


They added that the harmful impact was 10% more pronounced in the older group of men who participated, suggesting that older brains may be more vulnerable to the effects of a high-fat meal.

And while the scientists noted the “occasional” high-fat meal is “unlikely to cause harm,” they said it still does have a significant impact.

“Even one fatty meal has an immediate effect on the body,” the study noted.



The researchers emphasized the importance of consuming a diet that is low in saturated fat, which protects not only heart health but brain health as well.

“This is particularly important for older adults whose brains appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of such a meal and are already at increased risk of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases,” they said.

“Diet doesn’t just shape our long-term health,” the researchers added.

“It also affects our body and brain in real time. And as we’re learning, when it comes to protecting brain health, every meal may count.”

We fed people a milkshake with 130g of fat to see what it did to their brains – here’s what we learned

We fed people milkshakes containing 130g of fat to see what it did to their brains.

theconversation.com

http://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050624725000051#sec2

Just one milkshake can mess with your brain: Study

Milkshakes are known for bringing all the boys to the yard, but a study finds that the drink can negatively impact brain health.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Your breakfast time could be ‘early warning sign’ of earlier death
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Sep 09, 2025 • Last updated 23 hours ago • 2 minute read



Breakfast has long been considered the most important meal of the day but when you eat your first meal might matter more.


Researchers have found that older adults who eat breakfast later in the day are at risk of dying sooner.

“Meal timing, particularly later breakfast, shifts with age and may reflect broader health changes in older adults, with implications for morbidity and longevity,” researchers from Mass General Brigham said in a new study published in Communications Medicine.

Lead author Dr. Hassan Dashti, a nutrition scientist and circadian biologist, explained in a press release that the timing of breakfast “could serve as an easy-to-monitor marker of their overall health status.”

He suggested shifts in mealtimes could be used as an “early warning sign” to look into underlying physical and mental health issues.


The researchers looked at data from nearly 2,945 adults in the U.K. between the ages of 42 and 94 for a 20-plus-year period.

“We found that as people aged, they tended to eat breakfast and dinner later, and those with more health problems or a genetic tendency to stay up late also tended to eat later,” the study found.

“Importantly, eating breakfast later with aging was linked to a higher risk of death.”


A later breakfast was associated with physical and psychological illnesses, including fatigue, oral health problems, depression and anxiety.

It was also linked to a slightly higher chance of a person dying during a 10-year follow-up period.

After adjusting for other factors such as age, sex, education levels and lifestyle, the data showed that for every hour breakfast was delayed, it was associated with a 10 per cent higher risk of death.


However, study authors stressed that there is no direct cause and effect to eating breakfast later — only an association.



So while eating breakfast later may not shorten a person’s life, it could indicate underlying health problems, lifestyle patterns or biological differences that influence health, and that information could prove useful to an individual’s doctor.

“Up until now, we had a limited insight into how the timing of meals evolves later in life and how this shift relates to overall health and longevity,” Dashti said.

“Our findings help fill that gap by showing that later meal timing, especially delayed breakfast, is tied to both health challenges and increased mortality risk in older adults.”

Dashti noted that “encouraging older adults in having consistent meal schedules could become part of broader strategies to promoting healthy aging and longevity.”

http://nature.com/articles/s43856-025-01035-x

Your breakfast time could be ‘early warning sign’ of earlier death

Breakfast has long been considered the most important meal of the day but when you eat your first meal might matter more.

torontosun.com