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☆ Climate Change Is Making Allergies Worse - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s spring, and I love spring more than I love almost anything else about the natural world, but I don’t love the pollen. My husband turns away from me to sleep because the pollen grains clinging to my hair make him sneeze, too. I was never prone to seasonal allergies before I moved to Middle Tennessee, which is not even one of the 10 most challenging places for allergy sufferers in this country. I also drink gallons of an herbal tea labeled “congestion relief,” though I no longer believe that relief is possible. In spring, my little red Nissan Leaf looks like a little orange Leaf, and the gray boards of our back deck look as though they’ve grown a coating of new moss.

Persons: lozenges, Wanda Sykes, doesn’t Locations: Middle Tennessee, North, Northwest, ”

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says he's committed to cost cutting while investing in AI in shareholder letter
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +41 min

This work diminished short-term revenue, but was best for customers, much appreciated, and should bode well for customers and AWS longer-term. We're also making progress on many of our newer business investments that have the potential to be important to customers and Amazon long-term. Being intentional about building primitives requires patience. Customers building their own FM must tackle several challenges in getting a model into production. Customers' AI models contain some of their most sensitive data.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, Jeff Bezos, he's, we've, Martha Stewart, Clinique, we're, We've, bode, We're, I've, iterating, We'd, we'd, Fox, affordably, you've, They're, Anthropic, that's, Claude, Dana, debugs, Slack Organizations: Amazon, Services, AWS, Deal, Prime, MGM, Savings, Regions, Citadel, Target, Storage Service, Netflix, Disney, Max, Paramount, CIA, . Intelligence, Amazon Freight, Carrier, Amazon Shipping, Foods, Drones, Amazon Pharmacy, Amazon Clinic, Robotics, Nvidia, Ricoh, NatWest, FMs, Meta, Bridgewater Associates, Farber Cancer Institute, Delta Air Lines, Intuit, KT, Lonely, LexisNexis, Netsmart, Pfizer, PGA, Rocket Companies, Siemens, Media, Inc Locations: North America, U.S, Europe, India, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Middle East, Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Berlin, Hulu, Amdocs, Genomics England, GoDaddy, GenAI

☆ Matthew Perry's death means hard questions for the ketamine movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-20 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

AdvertisementWhen Charles Patti read that ketamine had been a major factor in the "Friends" star Matthew Perry's death, his heart sank. AdvertisementMultiple researchers told Business Insider that labeling ketamine as the sole cause of Perry's death is misleading. "Matthew Perry's ketamine overdose should be a lesson in expanded use of the dangerous drug," declared The New York Post. There's no data on how many people go from receiving ketamine treatment in clinics to using it without a prescription. Herzberg, the historian, said he's not particularly worried about Perry's death causing a moral panic.

Persons: Matthew Perry, —, Charles Patti, Matthew Perry's, Patti, Perry, Matthew, Joanna Moncrieff, Ryan Marino, Marilyn Monroe's, David Herzberg, Len Bias, Gerard Sanacora, it's, Chrissy Teigen, Elon Musk, We've, Herzberg, wasn't, Sanacora, I've, Sandhya Prashad, wouldn't, Keith Trujillo, Trujillo, he's Organizations: Service, Los, Business, New York, University of Buffalo, Yale, FDA, American Society, Physicians, Psychotherapists Locations: Florida, Los Angeles County, British, Swiss

Prescriptions for ketamine have soared in recent years, driven by for-profit clinics and telehealth services offering the medication as a treatment for pain, depression, anxiety and other conditions. With its recent adoption for pain, patients are increasingly encountering those same effects. Ketamine targets a brain chemical messenger called glutamate, which is thought to play a role in both pain and depression. “We want patients to disassociate or feel separate from their pain, depression or anxiety,” said Dr. David Mahjoubi, owner of Ketamine Healing Clinic in Los Angeles. But the experts found “weak or no evidence” for ketamine in many more conditions, including back pain, migraines, fibromyalgia and cancer pain.

Persons: “, ”, Padma Gulur, Gulur, Daniel Bass, Bass, ” Bass, David Mahjoubi, they’re, Eric Schwenk, Thomas, “ There’s, Johnson, Samuel Wilkinson, Caleb Alexander, Matthew Perrone Organizations: WASHINGTON, Duke University, Duke, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Thomas Jefferson University, Epic Research, Johnson, Drug Enforcement, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Twitter, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: As, U.S, Southgate , Kentucky, Los Angeles, anesthesiology, Massachusetts

☆ Georgia will be first US state where pharmacies sell medical cannabis
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For the past year and a half, medical cannabis company CEO Gary Long has spent a lot of his time reassuring Georgia’s small-town mayors about what will soon be coming to their local pharmacy: medical marijuana. The Georgia Board of Pharmacy is currently processing applications from pharmacies around the state that want to sell low-dose THC products. National chains such as CVS and Walmart won’t be selling THC products in Georgia, but Long said 130 local pharmacies have already agreed to sell his product exclusively. Making medical cannabis so accessible in such a traditionally conservative Deep South state like Georgia caught some by surprise. Californians have been able to buy medical cannabis since 1996 and adults there got the right to use it recreationally in 2016.

Persons: Gary Long, that’s, ”, Long, Coke, Andrew Turnage, Jimmy Kimmel, “ I’ve, ” Long, Jonathan Marquess, ” Marquess, it’s, Jay Wexler, “, Brian Kemp, Marquess ’, Marquess, there’s, ” Turnage, Aaron Smith, ” Smith, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Turnage, I’ve Organizations: CNN, Botanical Sciences, Georgia, of Pharmacy, CVS, Walmart, Medical Cannabis Commission, Georgia General Assembly, US Drug Enforcement, Boston University School of Law, Justice, Gov, Pharmacy, Georgia Pharmacy Association’s Academy of Independent Pharmacy, National Cannabis Industry Association, Get CNN, CNN Health Locations: Georgia, United States, Connecticut, Massachusetts

☆ The Magician of Milan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

House Building“I said I wanted to go against the stream of the monovision,” Mr. Blazy said, talking about his initial pitch to Mr. Pinault. He was in his office in the Bottega Veneta headquarters in Milan, wearing a white Patagonia T-shirt and faded jeans. It also explains a lot about how Mr. Blazy approaches not his job, but the world. “I did not open a computer for the last six months,” Mr. Blazy said. Mr. Blazy collects first drafts.

Persons: Blazy, ”, Henri Pinault, Mr, Pinault, Lee, Isa Genzken, “, ” Mr, Hussein Chalayan, Chalayan, Blazy’s Organizations: Kering, Bottega Locations: Bottega, Milan, Patagonia, Chamonix, ”, British

☆ Reckitt's sales volume dip takes shine off like-for-like sales beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Reckitt Benckiser's (RKT.L) sales volume fell in the second quarter as the Dettol and Lysol cleaning products maker increased its price mix to tame soaring raw material costs, sending its shares down more than 2%. Reckitt said on Wednesday sales volume for the second quarter was down 7.3% and its price mix rose 5.5% on a like-for-like basis to combat higher expenses. Rival Unilever (ULVR.L) on Tuesday also smashed underlying sales growth forecasts after again raising prices to offset higher costs. Reckitt on Wednesday raised its dividend to 76.6 pence for the first half, from 73 pence in the year-ago period. Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Reckitt, Chandini, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Jane Merriman Organizations: Rival Unilever, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, U.S, Bengaluru

I got COVID-19 halfway through a two-month trip that I'd carefully budgeted in advance. I had to find a hotel where I could quarantine and had to get all my meals and supplies delivered. The hotel had standard hotel rooms, which meant that I had access to a microwave, refrigerator, and sink, but no kitchen. Getting COVID-19 was inconvenient and stressful, but it didn't have any impact on my overall financial health going forward. There are many options when you travel, such as having a travel emergency fund or paying for travel insurance.

Persons: vising, COVID Organizations: Service, FAA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Philadelphia, West Virginia, Washington

☆ The Artists Depicting the Power and Strangeness of Breasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Zoë Lescaze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Not all artists painting breasts are interested in them as sexual objects, but their erotic associations can be difficult to shake. “Or people just like sex.” Frustrated, she took a temporary break from breasts to focus on ankles and hands. Image In oil paintings such as “Figure and Monstera” (2022), Somaya Critchlow imbues her subjects with a sense of interiority and unapologetic sensuality. Credit... © Somaya Critchlow. Endowing them with exaggerated breasts is a provocation to the viewer to move past the obvious.

Cloetta AB, (CLOEb.ST) a Swedish confectioner which makes Lakerol lozenges that use gum arabic, has "ample" stock of the ingredient, a spokesperson said in an email. Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1 billion, according to estimates cited by Kerry Group. "Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise.”Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to source gum arabic. It accounts for the livelihoods of thousands of people and the more expensive variety can cost about $3,000 a tonne, according to Gum Sudan. There is a poorer quality, cheaper gum from outside of Sudan, but the preferred ingredient is only found in acacia trees in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, Alnoor said.

☆ Ketamine is being sold as a depression wonder drug. For some, it's making everything worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +42 min

The infusions at the ketamine clinic in his West Texas hometown were a Christmas gift from his grandmother. About five years ago, more and more of my friends started using ketamine recreationally. IV ketamine treatment centers charging $400 to $2,000 an infusion popped up all over the country. "Ketamine used as directed in an appropriate clinical setting very rarely leads to any dependence," Mindbloom says on its website. Like Nadia, most of the people I interviewed said when they started using ketamine, they didn't think it was possible to become dependent on it.

☆ In the largest-ever experiment of its kind, 33 companies adopted a four-day workweek. The results were conclusive: It's time for everyone to take Fridays off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Molly Lipson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The results of the new report were unequivocal: The four-day workweek was better for everyone. And nearly all of the 495 employees involved in the trial wanted to maintain the four-day working week. The 4 Day Week trial found that participants spent an hour less time commuting than before the trial. A four-day week also provides vast improvements in well-being, life satisfaction, and sleep for women. As companies continue to grapple with attracting and retaining staff, the four-day week could be a relatively simple solution.

☆ Smart thermometers are tracking data on your fevers — and it’s helping stores keep medicine shelves stocked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The company's data can be used to tell retailers and brands where medicine will be in high demand. Now the company is helping to direct inventory management for major brands like Johnson & Johnson and Mucinex, as well as an unnamed retailer. Fever data is heating upKinsa's smart thermometers cost between $24 and $40, and are sold by major retailers and pharmacies. For cold medicine brands like Mucinex, the very act of turning the thermometer on is a fairly solid demand signal. In past years, earlier iterations of Kinsa's data has been used by companies like Clorox to better place advertisements for cleaning products when germs are clearly about.

☆ Mucinex is banking on smart thermometer data to keep pharmacy shelves stocked by tracking where people are getting sick
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"The peak of pricing and commodities will be the second half of this year," he added, saying supply chain cost inflation is starting to come down. Despite those pressures, Reckitt now expects like-for-like sales growth of 6%-8% in 2022, compared with its previous guidance of 5%-8%. "Clearly consumers are buying a little less in more discretionary categories," Carr said, flagging that sales volumes had declined in the supplements, vitamins and air freshener categories. Sales volumes declined 4.6%. Once all these one-offs are excluded, some sell-side analysts believe underlying sales growth is far more modest and close to the bottom end of medium-term sales growth guidance."

☆ Reckitt upbeat on sales outlook as prices rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The higher prices, which are contributing to a global cost-of-living crisis, are denting sales volumes as many people turn to cheaper or private label products. The company's third-quarter like-for-like revenue rose 7.4%, above the 6.1% growth analysts had expected in a company-supplied poll. Sales volumes declined 4.6%. Prices for the company's products rose 12% in the quarter. Reckitt, which has held off on price increases in this category, said it estimated this benefit to have added about 3% to net revenue growth in the third quarter.

☆ What is rainbow fentanyl? Colorful pills drive new warnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

"Colored fentanyl pills have been around for a few years. At the time, the agency said that it and its law enforcement partners seized the brightly colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills across 18 states. While he and his colleagues are aware of rainbow fentanyl warnings, he hasn't heard any patients or parents mention it. When it comes to rainbow fentanyl, "the fentanyl itself is going to be the same issue as the counterfeit pharmaceutical fentanyl. The only difference between rainbow fentanyl and the fentanyl products of the past appears to be the coloring.

☆ How this high school dropout went from $100K in debt to bringing in $18M selling stuff on Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2018-12-19 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Seven years ago, Larry Lubarsky was a 31-year-old high school dropout who had no money saved and was $100,000 in debt. Lubarsky buys products — like electronics, beauty supplies or toys — in bulk and then re-sells them on Amazon for a profit. "I had no idea that selling on Amazon was even a thing," Lubarsky says of his first brush with the business. Starting his own businessThe windfall from his cut of that Amazon business got Lubarsky back on his feet. He rented his own apartment in Brooklyn and in 2014, used his newly acquired expertise to launch his own Amazon business.

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