According to a new research paper, the sugar industry has known that sucrose may lead to disease including cancer for 50 years. But a trade group swept under the rug the findings and the mouse study behind them.

In the study, the group of researchers from the University of California at San Francisco reviewed historical data and internal documents provided by the sugar industry. The team found that the Sugar Research Foundation was behind a comprehensive study about sucrose impact on heart’s health more than 50 years ago.

When the animal research revealed a link between sucrose and bladder cancer and heart disease, SRF stopped the study and refused to submit the findings to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

California researchers also found that the organization had poured money into a study in 1967 that tried to discredit the link between sucrose and cardiovascular disease. That phony research suggested that gut microbes may be at fault for the high cholesterol levels seen in rodents fed sugar and assured the population there is no risk for human health.

Industry Funded Secret Study on Sugar

The latest review of those studies revealed that SRF which is now known as the International Sugar Research Foundation had funded a secret mouse study to assess the nutritional effects of gut microbes when coming in contact with sucrose.

That study too placed the blame on microbes in the gut for sugar’s adverse effects on cardiovascular health. The SRF found once more that starch and sugar lead to two different metabolic effects and that the high levels of beta-glucuronidase spurred by sugar consumption are mainly to blame for bladder cancer.

In an internal document, the organization described the secret study’s findings as one of the first evidence that sucrose can lead to biological differences in mice when compared with animals fed starch.

Shortly after, the group stopped funding for the research and failed to publish the results.
Image Source: Wikimedia

Former Vice- President, Joe Biden, said he had no intentions of replacing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016. He isn’t ruling out a potential 2020 run, however.

Biden detailed his would-be presidential run in his new memoir Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose, a book in which the former vice president talks about the ways he coped after his son Beau, was diagnosed and later died of cancer.

The politician wanted his campaign to reflect on the future of America, criticising the 2016 campaign as being „locked in the past”. He also stated he was for Hillary yet he realized later on that her prospects did not align with his.

„It hit me like a ton of bricks, there was no discussion of Issues,” he said.

He also pointed out how the current social environment would have allowed him to reach the American people. Biden notes his campaign would have focused on the middle-class American. His advisors believed Biden was the closest politician to have identified with the middle class had he ran.

After his son, Beau, died, Biden was reportedly called by high-ranking Democrats that were urging him to run for President. According to NBC News, Biden’s biggest obstacle was himself. The campaign would have tackled the ever-present issues surrounding Wall Street and a possible way of ending cancer.

However, the politician decided that he would not be able to run a healthy platform. He later realized that the situation he was in would not really allow him that.

„I knew I’d made the right decision when I walked into the Rose Garden with Jill on one side and Barack on the other” the former vice-president wrote.

Rumors of a 2020 presidential run have been picking up steam as of late with Politico reporting last Friday that Biden is considering the idea.

Image Source: WikipediaCommons

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on October 4 to three European scientists. These are pioneers in the field of cryo-electron microscopy which allows for the three-dimensional representations of DNA, RNA, and other biological molecules.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry and its Three Winners

In announcing the award, The Royal Academy of Sciences said that the cryo-electron microscopy work of Swiss-born Jacques Dubochet of the University of Lausanne, Joachim Frank, a German-born United States citizen who teaches at Columbia University and Richard Henderson of Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, allows molecules to be observed and analyzed to the level of the atoms of which they are composed. The technology they invented can snap pictures of the particles even as they are moving.

Researchers are just now becoming aware of this method and are beginning to utilize it in their efforts to unlock the mysteries of molecular structures.

The razor-sharp images of the molecules have helped scientists and medical researchers understand the processes that occur inside molecules. Many of them had previously been invisible, for example, those responsible for the Zika virus. The discovery could lead to the development of new drugs, vaccines, and industrial chemicals in the future.

Likening the discovery to “Google Earth for molecules,” the process allows scientists to map out the shape of a molecular protein, which is critical in understanding how it functions and attacks other cells.

In the past, the protein structure of biological molecules was determined by stacking dozens of them into crystals. X-ray images were then used to figure out the shape of the molecules. This method was often unsuccessful because numerous proteins are just too fragile and unorganized to crystallize.

The $1.1 million Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be split among the three winners. Also announced last week were the Nobel winners in medicine, physics, literature, and peace.

Image Source: Flickr

In the wake of a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one dead, a doctor of Chinese descent says that in her 10-plus years of practice, many patients have refused to let her treat them because of her race.

Dr. Esther Choo, an emergency room specialist in Oregon, related her experiences attempting to treat white supremacists in a Twitter post on Sunday that has since gone viral.

All in a day’s work

Choo said that even after explaining her training and experience, and expressing confidence in her ability to treat them, racially biased patients typically chose to be treated by a less-qualified white intern, or they simply got up and left.

1/ We’ve got a lot of white nationalists in Oregon. So a few times a year, a patient in the ER refuses treatment from me because of my race.

— Esther Choo (@choo_ek) August 13, 2017

In subsequent interviews, Choo noted the presence of “a lot of white nationalists in Oregon.” She also doesn’t believe her problems dealing with prejudicial patients are unique to her. She’s heard from many health professionals who say it happens so frequently they now just consider it part of the job. There were times she felt disbelief, then shame, then anger. Now, she says:

“I just show compassion and move on.”

When asked if she’d ever had success changing the mind of a patient who initially refused treatment because of her race, Choo said she had, but that it was very rare. On occasion, she was able to negotiate a compromise by having a white intern see the patient while retaining responsibility for recommending treatment. While the patient was technically still hers, she wouldn’t actually enter the examining room.

The Hate Is Spreading

In its annual report on U.S. extremist groups, the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center pegged the number of hate groups at 917 last year, up from 892 in 2015. The number of anti-Muslim groups rose from 34 to 101 during that time.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Even though no human has ever stepped on the surface of the Red Planet, the scientific world became closely acquainted with this distant world. This long distance relationship was possible thanks to rovers. These robots on wheels have searched the planet for signs of a past or present habitable environment for 20 years nonstop. Let’s see how NASA managed a Mars conquest in retrospect.

The Mars Conquest Began with Pathfinder Mission in 1997

On July 4, 1997, the first unmanned mission reached the surface of Mars. Aboard was the Pathfinder robotic spacecraft through which NASA managed to gather vital data about this distant planet for the first time from the sight. However, this was just the beginning of a large series of robotic missions to study this world.

This first step also served a second yet equally important purpose. The success of this mission proved that space exploration could be cheaper and faster than one imagines. The operation cost $150 million and took three years for development. Such indices are considered competitive in this industry of space.

Curiosity Remains the Most Comprehensive Rover Ever Sent on Mars

The space agency sent other eight robots to uncover more secrets about Mars. The most notorious rovers are Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. All these missions contributed to an increased body of knowledge that might help settle a Martian colony.

Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004, each with their own three-month mission to deepen Mars conquest. Both of them found solid evidence of liquid water that used to be on Mars. While Spirit went out of order in 2010, its colleague is still roaming the planet.

However, Curiosity rover is by far the boldest Mars conquistador. The rover is the size of a car and has covered so far 95 mile-wide Gale Crater since August 2012. Its work was extremely insightful as it delivered more reasons to believe that this location used to be a standalone habitat with its own source of water.

Image source: 1

Some innovative Australian scientists gathered together to invent a new brick for a brighter, cleaner future. They managed to streamline an industry based on coal and present it with a green replacement for fossil emissions at the same time. Their project stands on a new, cutting-edge product, namely solar paint. People can apply it on walls, cars, and others and the substance will act as solar panels.

The Solar Paint Is Based on a Toothpaste Compound and a Cathalyst

Torben Daeneke is the lead author of this invention. The scientist hopes that their idea would help the entire globe step into a future with affordable and clean sources of energy. Their new experiment could power up cars just by absorbing energy on the go through its coat of paint.

The concept that empowers this novel type of technology is actually simple. The team of scientists combined a special type of white color that is usually employed in toothpaste with a catalyst. The result represents an ideal synergy that can capture sunlight. The hot source is then activating a natural reaction that turns water into hydrogen. This chemical element is actually the most abundant such substance in the Universe. Therefore, it is a ubiquitous fuel that can power up even a car.

The Invention Might Appear on the Market in Five Years

However, consumers will not be able to choose another color for their coating other than white. This is the only color that can draw in light. The catalyst works as both a lubricant to avoid the oxidation of metals and as an electricity conductor as well.

Once the water in the tank is turned into energy, it will be transported to the engine. There is not quite a final decision on the method of performing this transfer. However, this is because there are several ways to accomplish this stage.

The team of scientists behind this idea believes that it would take five years for this special solar paint to reach the market. However, Daeneke sees this product as a cheaper and more effective alternative than today’s technology.

Image source: 1

A woman in London bought 30 years ago a diamond ring from car boot sale. Based on the small price tag at which she found the jewel, the new owner thought it was a costume piece. However, the main rock of the ring was of an exceptional size, and it resembled a real diamond too much. After decades of taking the jewel with her daily, the woman put her possession to auction at the Sotheby’s auction in London. This is how she discovered that the true value of the jewel was of $848,000.

The Discovered 26-Carat Diamond Ring Goes Now by the Name of “Tenner”

Experts classified the car boot sale asset as a 26-carat ring. They tracked down its path through history all the way to the 1980s. This was when an anonymous person purchased the stone for $13 under the assumption that it was a fake piece of jewelry used as a costume piece. The possessor of such a beauty came to the realization of its true value after decades of wearing it. The woman appealed to a local jeweler to appraise her ring.

As a consequence, the woman realized that she was in possession of a 19^th century mount with a diamond in cushion shape. The gem received the name of “Tenner” and was sold double its value at the Sotheby’s auction for $848,000. Even though the value was much smaller than the largest diamonds in the world, it is still a considerable fortune. The head of the jewelry department in London, Jessica Wyndham, described this fortunate event as a life-changing situation for the owner.

“…it’s going to revolutionize someone’s life.”

The Diamond Was Cut in a Different Manner than It Is Common Today

The confusion that led to the woman believing that she purchased a trifle was actually a result of today’s fashion. The diamond ring did not have the usual icy sparkle that we see today in shop windows.

On the contrary, the stone was cut in a pretty dull angle that didn’t align with other world renowned designs. This is because in the past, specialists were more preoccupied with conserving as much weight of the uncut gem as possible and less about its brilliance.

Image source: 1

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is the largest generic drug company in the entire world, and it has its headquarters in Israel, Europe, South Africa, and North America. As of February 2017, Yitzhak Peterburg became the chief executive officer who previously was a chairman of the board since 2015. The company has just published its financial report for the earnings during the fourth quarter of the year which brought good news for the investors.

On Monday, Teva made public its fourth-quarter earnings. The revealed results are in tune with the positive projections for last year. As a consequence of this, the shares of the Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have increased by 4%. The good news contradicted some of the investors. They weren’t hopeful about good results in light of the fact that in January there were many discussions about changing the leadership of the organization. This decision was sparked by a U.S. court ruling. As a consequence, Teva lost its patent on Copaxone, which was the best-selling product within the company. After this event, Teva expects to have a tighter competition within the generic drug market.

On the other hand, the new decisions of the latest CEO of the company have doubtful chances of success. Thus, Teva is going to maintain the same core guidance as before the negative ruling. Some experts are calling this an ignorance of the past and also strong signs of overconfidence. Investors are not happy without a proactive plan. If there is no safety measure taken and with their best asset dwindling, the sales of Copaxone only are possibly going to fall to $1.2 billion. This is a major difference of $1 billion from its precedent value.

In light of these recent events, analysts have just changed their estimations regarding the performance of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries for the course of this year. These expectations are much lower from two years ago when the earnings were measured at 26 billion, yet February 2017 is expected to reach one of the lowest thresholds of 23.5 billion. On the other hand, all the revenue revolves around Copaxone. If the drug is going to suffer 20% decrease in terms of volume and a 25% drop in price, the impact on the company could be even larger than analysts predicted

Image source: 1

Facebook invested a lot of efforts and funds in one of its largest projects, the Oculus Rift. The gadget uses virtual reality to immerse users into a 3D digital world. It came to play a really important role in the vision of the future of the social media platform. During a 2016 public VR demo, Mark Zuckerberg held with two of his colleagues a presentation where they can interact with one another from afar and use all sorts of digital items just by using Oculus Rift. However, despite this ambitious project, 200 out of a total of 500 of VR demo stations from Best Buy locations will be closed.

An internal memo from Facebook was recently sent to all employees. According to this statement, the management announced all concerning teams that some of the VR demo stations that are active at various Best Buy stores across the U.S. will be closed. This decision comes as a result of a recent report according to which Oculus generated a low store performance. There were several comments from Best Buy employees that revealed the fact that it was common for consumers to ask for one demonstration only sporadically. It was common for several days to pass without a single activity within the VR demo stations.

Andrea Schubert, the representative of the Oculus Rift, was quick to confirm these rumors and explain them as an effect of seasonal changes. She told mass media that from then on the company will focus only on its strongest demo stations within larger markets. There are still hundreds of points across U.S. and Canada where consumers can ask to try their latest technology. This way, Facebook will continue to follow its belief that only by experiencing the potential of VR will the customers be convinced of its great potential.

On the other hand, Carly Charlson who is the spokeswoman for Best Buy assured the public that they are still going to have stocks of Oculus Rift for sale. Even though 200 of their stores will no longer hold VR demonstrations, interested clients will still be able to buy headsets for $600 a piece and their touch controllers that cost $200. However, even though Best Buy employees confessed that the public is not so enthusiastic about this VR product, Mark Zuckerberg cannot see another future of social media than the one with a pair of virtual reality headset in it.

Image source: 1

The theory regarding a structure that respects four dimensions exactly like a crystal has been fascinating the scientific world since 2012. It was Frank Anthony Wilczek, a Professor of Physics and a Nobel laureate, who first came up with this idea. To his theory, a time crystal could be a system of particles that are moving through time and space, but they always come back to the original state. It was only recently when scientists from the University of California might have finally made this theory a reality.

People see crystals as a noble object not only for its mesmerizing show of lights but also for its perfect symmetry. They are the symbol of the laws of physics that apply in all possible directions. Time crystals are yet a more exciting idea as they respect not only spatial symmetry but also the temporal one. As of recently, a team of scientists from the University of California has come up with the blueprint of such matter for the first time in history. Other two independent teams have replicated the experiment with great success. This chain of events might mark the birth of a new era in quantum physics.

For decades, scientists have managed to understand everything there is under the hood of materials that are in equilibrium. These are something humanity is familiar with, like metals and insulators. However, now the scientists shift their focus towards a virgin territory, that of matter that is not in equilibrium. Time crystals are one such fascinated subject, and now we have proof that they are real.

The existence of non-equilibrium matter will encourage researchers to study the surrounding world from a new, different perspective. Such knowledge can pioneer quantum computing and other novel technologies alike. The matter that is in equilibrium has a fixed form and cannot move as this would imply to expend energy.

Usually, common crystals have a structure that repeats in space only. However, they are not capable of movement, because they are in equilibrium. On the other hand, time crystals can repeat its structure in time and space alike without the pressure of a source of energy. The lead author of the paper, Norman Yao, has not only figured out how to create such a concept but also how to predict its changing shapes.

The other two independent teams from Harvard and Maryland University are waiting for approval to publish their papers on how they replicated time crystals. Until their research confirms the existence of such a new matter, the world can dream of creating a strong quantum memory for the first time.

Image source: 1