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☆ Why Human-Animal Hybrid Brains Hold Promise for Neurological Disease
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E35What Science Tells Us About the Surge in Strep and Flu This Season Getting the flu can increase the risk of getting a second infection, including strep throat. WSJ’S Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind that, plus what it means for the rest of the winter and how we can protect ourselves from the tripledemic. Illustration: David Fang

☆ UK's FTSE 100 flat on caution ahead of long holiday weekend
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 flat, and 250 rises 0.1%Hurricane Energy gainsDec 23 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 was flat on Friday, with investors cautious ahead of the long holiday weekend after unexpectedly strong U.S. economic data fanned fears of interest rates staying higher for longer. The export-oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE) shed 0.2%, while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 added 0.1% by 0924 GMT. Gains of 0.2% in miners (.FTNMX551020) were overshadowed by losses of 0.3% in healthcare firms such as GSK (GSK.L). The blue-chip FTSE 100 is currently trading above its 200-day moving average, an indicator used by traders to determine if the market is trading at a bullish or bearish pace. Meanwhile, data showed UK car production rose 5.7% in November but remained below pre-pandemic levels as global chip shortages and supply-chain issues continued to hurt the sector.

☆ What Science Tells Us About the Surge in Strep and Flu This Season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E29Covid Variants Keep Getting More Infectious. Here’s Why. With each mutation, the Covid-19 virus is becoming more transmissible. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez breaks down the science of how Covid variants are getting better at infecting and spreading. Illustration: Rami Abukalam

☆ Drug Companies Join Medical Psychedelic Movement—but Without the High
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Psilocybin, found in mind-bending mushrooms, is one of the compounds researchers hope can be developed into drugs that are safe enough to be taken at home. Drug developers are designing new psychedelic compounds to treat depression and other mental-health conditions but skip the trip. Mind-bending psychedelics including MDMA (aka “ecstasy”), “magic mushrooms” and LSD are being studied as potential treatments for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. Dozens of companies and academic laboratories are also making changes to the structure of those drugs, or designing similar compounds, to take advantage of their therapeutic properties without the high.

☆ Strep Infections Join RSV and Flu in Intense Respiratory-Illness Season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Brianna Abbott | Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Health officials in the U.S. and abroad said they are exploring a possible increase in serious strep A bacterial infections among children, the latest respiratory infection to circulate broadly ahead of the holidays. An early surge in common respiratory viruses including respiratory syncytial virus or RSV and influenza has put pressure on families, schools and children’s hospitals in recent weeks. One reason is that more people are gathering indoors without precautions such as masking that they used earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, infectious-disease experts said.

☆ Strep A Infections Join RSV and Flu in Intense Respiratory-Illness Season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Brianna Abbott | Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A lesson Dr. Benson-Amram has learned: “Animals that try more things are more successful than the animals that try just a few things and then give up. But you can't just be persistent and not creative, right?” It’s an insight she said has resonated with her students.

☆ Elon Musk’s Neuralink Set to ‘Show and Tell’ Latest Brain-Computer Advances at Event
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk‘s neuroscience startup Neuralink Corp. is expected to give a progress report on its brain-implant technology in a highly anticipated streamed event Wednesday night. In a tweet last week, the company teased a demo for the event, which begins at 9 p.m. New York time, with a short video that slowly spelled out the message “please join us for a show and tell.” Some outside researchers said the video may indicate that a Neuralink device has been used to decode brain signals to type words on a screen, although they speculated that it would most likely be through a monkey or a wearable device.

☆ Elon Musk’s Neuralink Begins ‘Show and Tell’ Event About Brain-Computer Advances
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk‘s neuroscience startup Neuralink Corp. is expected to give a progress report on its brain-implant technology in a highly anticipated streamed event that began Wednesday night. In a tweet last week, the company teased a demo for the event with a short video that slowly spelled out the message “please join us for a show and tell.” Some outside researchers said the video may indicate that a Neuralink device has been used to decode brain signals to type words on a screen, although they cautioned that it would most likely be through a monkey or a wearable device.

Twitter did not immediately respond to request for comment on potential legal concerns. But they also cautioned that with many details still unknown, the full scope of legal consequences are as yet unclear. “We’re being flooded with inquiries from Twitter employees and are in the process of pursuing a variety of legal claims,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, a labor attorney who sued Twitter for violations of the WARN Act, told NBC News. “We are doing everything we can just to keep up with the new legal issues that he’s raising hour by hour,” Liss-Riordan said of Musk’s swift changes at Twitter. Twitter employees who do pursue legal action in California could benefit from "employee friendly protections" in that state, Nendel‑Flores said.

☆ Mass layoffs at Twitter, Meta and other companies spotlight a little-known U.S. law that protects employees
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Companies must have 100 full-time employeesThe federal WARN Act, which took effect in 1989, only covers workers who work for more sizeable employers. A mass layoff can occur when an employer lets go 500 or more full-time employees at a single employment site. The WARN Act might look different in different statesSome states have their own WARN Acts with slight modifications. California's WARN Act, for example, covers employers with 75 full-time employees, and New York's WARN Act covers private businesses of 50 or more full-time employees. In these instances, any additional stipulations to the federal WARN Act would apply, with workers being owed no less than what's federally mandated.

[1/2] A Wall Street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, New York, U.S., October 2, 2020. "In general we have seen stocks perform better after a split government, I expect that to continue." Economists expect the annual consumer prices inflation to slow to 8.0% and the core numbers to dip to 6.5%. Both the midterm elections and inflation are likely to provide major cues for Wall Street after a volatile week dominated by mixed jobs report and hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. All the three major U.S. stock indexes are in bear market territory, from their previous record closing highs.

☆ European shares gain ground on boost from travel stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/StaffSummarySummary Companies Flutter, Ryanair lead travel stocks higherTravel & leisure index hits near 3-month highsChina-exposed luxury companies declineIrish stocks rallyNov 7 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday, reversing declines from the opening bell, as a jump in travel stocks helped outweigh a drag from China-exposed luxury giants. The benchmark STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) added 0.6% by 0929 GMT, extending gains after its fourth straight weekly rise. Flutter Entertainment Plc rose 4.5%, boosting European travel & leisure stocks (.SXTP) by 2.3% and helping it touch a near three-month high. European luxury stocks, including LVMH (LVMH.PA), Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA) and Hermes International (HRMS.PA), dipped between 0.1% and 0.4%. Dutch fertiliser maker OCI (OCI.AS) fell 3.7% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after J.P. Morgan cut its rating on the stock on softer quarterly outlook.

☆ Miners lift FTSE 100 on China reopening optimism
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 up 0.9%, FTSE 250 adds 0.5%National World exploring Reach buyoutKuala Lumpur Kepong considers raising stake in SynthomerNov 4 (Reuters) - UK's export-oriented FTSE 100 rose on Friday as miners jumped on hopes that China would relax its COVID-19 restrictions, setting up the index for gains for the week that saw major central bank meetings dictating the market's moves. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) climbed 0.9%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTSE) added 0.5% 9:39 GMT. As the week of central bank tightening ends, investors are looking toward the new budget announcement on Nov. 17. National World Plc (NWOR.L) jumped 2.4% after it said it was exploring a cash offer for Daily Mirror-owner Reach Plc (RCH.L). Reach rose 4.3%.

"Brazil is ready to retake its leadership in the fight against the climate crisis," Lula told a crowd of supporters in Sao Paulo. Silva said that Brazil would demand rich countries provide financing to poor countries to respond to climate change and give compensation for permanent "loss and damage" from climate change. Under Lula, Brazil will also discuss expanding its national targets for cutting climate-related emissions, said Silva, his former environment minister from 2003 to 2008. The firm, with roughly 237 billion euros ($234 billion) in assets under management, only owned about 100 million euros in Brazilian sovereign bonds when the prohibition took effect. Environmental advocates also cheered Lula's proposals for the Amazon, but cautioned that his agenda would face enormous political resistance.

☆ Americans Take Ketamine at Home for Depression With Little Oversight
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Brianna Abbott | Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Startups are prescribing ketamine online to treat serious mental-health conditions, raising concern among psychiatrists about the safety of taking the mind-altering anesthetic without medical supervision, sometimes at high doses that raise risks of side effects. Ketamine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to anesthetize people and animals and has been used safely in hospitals for decades. The out-of-body, hallucinogenic sensations it produces made it popular as a party drug known as Special K. Some doctors prescribe ketamine off-label to treat patients with conditions including severe depression, suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder.

☆ Paraguay artist who painted boots for Messi looks to bring color to World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ASUNCIÓN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Lili Cantero, a 29-year-old Paraguayan artist famed for painting intricate and personal soccer boots for stars including Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho, is preparing a new colorful show of her work to take to the World Cup in Qatar. The Asuncion-born artist is painting some two dozen sets of boots, balls and canvases, many inspired by the Middle Eastern nation and its capital Doha, which will host national teams from around the world next month to compete for the World Cup crown. "Messi's boots marked a before and after," said Cantero, who wants to create her own sportswear brand and bring Paraguayan art to major global events. The boots will be presented within 3D structures that reproduce the eight stadiums that Qatar built for the World Cup in Doha, Lusail, Rayyan, Al Khor and Al Wakrah. "I have been working on this for three years and it is a great pride for me to represent my country at this World Cup," Cantero said.

At 27, Pierson has defied the odds that many entrepreneurs, especially Latinas, face. Latina founders run nearly 2 million businesses across the country, but receive less than 2% of venture capital funds. Pierson was one of several Latina entrepreneurs speaking in New York City on Friday at a breakfast for investors and members of the media (disclosure: This reporter was one of the moderators). Focused on funding opportunities for women of color, Pierson and others discussed their trajectories on raising capital, scaling up their businesses and achieving significant revenues. One of the other Latina entrepreneurs who discussed her experience starting a business was Karla Gallardo, the founder of Cuyana, a highly successful lifestyle brand known for its sustainably sourced and premium leather accessories and apparel.

☆ Scientists Transplant Human Tissue into Rat Brains, Opening Door to New Research
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bioengineered human tissue transplanted into rat brains generated hybrid neural circuits that affected the animals’ behavior, researchers said, expanding a pathway for exploring brain development and the mechanics of some diseases. Neuroscientists at Stanford University transplanted tiny blobs of neural tissue known as organoids into the brains of newborn rats. The human cells grew and made functional connections within the rat brain, generating hybrid neural circuits, the researchers said in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

☆ Scientists Grow Human Cells in Rat Brains to Study Autism, Schizophrenia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ UK pensions: There's no quick fix for the market mess
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Almost 20 days after Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled his much-criticized plan to jumpstart the economy, sparking an investor revolt, the UK bond market and the British pound remain under huge stress — despite three emergency interventions by the central bank. The country’s central bank is in a difficult position. It’s trying to restore the UK government’s lost credibility in markets, though its toolkit isn’t designed for this kind of effort. “Investment consultants are working feverishly.”Ongoing volatility in the bond market is further complicating those efforts, as rising yields once again put hedging strategies at risk. Yet as bond yields keep rallying, not everyone is convinced that approach makes sense.

☆ Oak HC/FT-backed Mexican buy now, pay later startup Aplazo expands customer data services with deal to buy Sensai Metrics
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mexican buy now, pay later startup Aplazo bought data platform Sensai Metrics for an undisclosed amount to improve its merchant network and help brands manage marketing to customers. Aplazo has integrated the Sensai data platform into its system, so merchants using Aplazo can directly access Sensai's machine learning-powered data services like sales figures, marketing performance, and customer demographics. Sensai cofounders Salo Dabbah and Daniela Gorra will join Aplazo as the company's head of growth and product manager, respectively. "Our intention is to help merchants connect to consumers better and have insights that they've never had before," Peña said. "The goal is to help merchants become better providers, which is one of the steps in improving financial literacy in the country," he said.

☆ UK gilts slump as government fails to woo investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The finance ministry also announced that a civil servant with extensive budgetary experience, James Bowler, will head its staff. The sharp rise in yields was specific to Britain, as French, German and Italian bonds showed much smaller increases in yields. "The gilts market may be vulnerable this week as the end date for the BoE interventions nears," Rabobank analysts said. In the index-linked market, yields were mostly up more than 60 bps on the day across all bonds with a maturity of 10 years or more. Total offers were far below the 10 billion pounds the BoE said it was open to buying.

☆ How a sleepy corner of the market nearly triggered a meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

London CNN Business —Pension funds are designed to be dull. The scale of the tumult put enormous pressure on many pension funds by upending an investing strategy that involves the use of derivatives to hedge their bets. “It started to feed itself,” said Ben Gold, head of investment at XPS Pensions Group, a UK pensions consultancy. Yields on longer-term bonds have dropped sharply, giving pension funds time to recoup — though they’ve recently started to rise again. Still, Kenneth is concerned that if the program ends next week as scheduled, the task won’t be complete given the complexity of many pension funds.

☆ In one North Carolina community, mental health workers respond to 911 calls
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Nadia Kounang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

As one recent caller to the 911 center in Durham, North Carolina, said: “I feel kind of dangerous to myself. It’s often linked to someone who is unhoused and dealing with substance use and mental health problems. The most significant concern: a lack of training and awareness from police on how to deal with mental health issues. The KFF CNN Mental Health Survey was conducted by SSRS from July 28 through August 9 among a random national sample of 2,004 adults. Mental health already carries a stigma, and the presence of law enforcement officers in marked cars can add to that.

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