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Readers response: How do you handle changes in energy levels as you age?

<p>As we get older, our levels of energy, ability and agility can slowly start to decrease, making us change our day-to-day lifestyles. </p> <p>We asked our readers how they handle these changes, and the response was overwhelming. Here's what they said. </p> <p><strong>Margo Courtney</strong> - Eat clean and healthy and your body will reward you with heaps of energy and vitality. I have a very big green smoothie most days as one of my 2 meals, along with 2 litres of water a day, and I don't even need much sleep.</p> <p><strong>Ron Stubbs</strong> - Up at 8am, can’t be late for my walk in the sun, and feeling great. Don’t need afternoon snooze then. I’m 77.</p> <p><strong>Kristeen Bon</strong> - I don’t handle them. I flop on the couch most afternoons for a quick five minute interior eye check!</p> <p><strong>Sylvia Brice</strong> - I have an autoimmune disease so my levels of energy are way down. I do what l can in small bursts and rest when l need to. Luckily l read and craft so can always do them. It's very hard to adapt but that's life and l am so much better for off than younger people with my disease. Think positive.</p> <p><strong>Judie Fisher</strong> - Do chores in small stretches, and have regular breaks.</p> <p><strong>Diane Green</strong> - Adjust. I do what I can, and what I can't just has to wait.</p> <p><strong>Raymond Richards</strong> - As they told us at the heart clinic, if you have something you HAVE to do - do it first.</p> <p><strong>Janis St George</strong> - Listen to your body - rest awhile when you need to.</p> <p><strong>Kaylene Samuels</strong> - Have a SCAN..... Seniors Compulsory Afternoon Nap.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Body

I’m iron deficient. Which supplements will work best for me and how should I take them?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alannah-mckay-1548258">Alannah McKay</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a></em></p> <p>Iron deficiency is common and can be debilitating. It mainly affects women. One in three premenopausal women <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57bfc0498419c24a01318ae2/t/607fc2e06ace2f22d5ca9a43/1618985699483/20210421+-+IDC+-+economic+impact+of+iron+deficiency+-+FINAL.pdf">are low in iron</a> compared to just 5% of Australian men. Iron deficiency particularly affects teenage girls, women who do a lot of exercise and those who are pregnant.</p> <p>The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11160590/">body needs iron</a> to make new red blood cells, and to support energy production, the immune system and cognitive function. If you’re low, you may experience a range of symptoms including fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, headache, irregular heartbeat and reduced concentration.</p> <p>If a blood test shows you’re iron deficient, your doctor may recommend you start taking an oral iron supplement. But should you take a tablet or a liquid? With food or not? And when is the best time of day?</p> <p>Here are some tips to help you work out how, when and what iron supplement to take.</p> <h2>How do I pick the right iron supplement?</h2> <p>The iron in your body is called “elemental iron”. Choosing the right oral supplement and dose will depend on how much elemental iron it has – your doctor will advise exactly how much you need.</p> <p>The sweet spot is between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098299720300364?via%3Dihub">60-120 mg of elemental iron</a>. Any less and the supplement won’t be effective in topping up your iron levels. Any higher and you risk gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea, cramping and stomach pain.</p> <p>In Australia, iron salts are the most common oral supplements because they are cheap, effective and come in different delivery methods (tablets, capsules, liquid formulas). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557376/">The iron salts</a> you are most likely to find in your local chemist are ferrous sulfate (~20% elemental iron), ferrous gluconate (~12%) and ferrous fumarate (~33%).</p> <p>These formulations <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3867244/">all work similarly</a>, so your choice should come down to dose and cost.</p> <p>Many multivitamins may look like an iron supplement, but it’s important to note they usually have too little iron – usually less than 20 mg – to correct an iron deficiency.</p> <h2>Should I take tablets or liquid formulas?</h2> <p>Iron contained within a tablet is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3867244/">just as well absorbed</a> as iron found in a liquid supplement. Choosing the right one usually comes down to personal preference.</p> <p>The main difference is that liquid formulas tend to contain less iron than tablets. That means you might need to take more of the product to get the right dose, so using a liquid supplement could work out to be more expensive in the long term.</p> <h2>What should I eat with my iron supplement?</h2> <p>Research <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajh.26987">has shown</a> you will absorb more of the iron in your supplement if you take it on an empty stomach. But this can cause more gastrointestinal issues, so might not be practical for everyone.</p> <p>If you do take your supplement with meals, it’s important to think about what types of food will boost – rather than limit – iron absorption. For example, taking the supplement alongside vitamin C improves your body’s ability to absorb it.</p> <p>Some supplements already contain vitamin C. Otherwise you could take the supplement along with a glass of orange juice, or other <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/">vitamin C-rich foods</a>.</p> <p>On the other hand, tea, coffee and calcium all <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajh.26987">decrease the body’s ability to absorb iron</a>. So you should try to limit these close to the time you take your supplement.</p> <h2>Should I take my supplement in the morning or evening?</h2> <p>The best time of day to take your supplement is in the morning. The body can <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2019/10000/the_impact_of_morning_versus_afternoon_exercise_on.20.aspx">absorb significantly more</a> iron earlier in the day, when concentrations of hepcidin (the main hormone that regulates iron) are at their lowest.</p> <p>Exercise also affects the hormone that regulates iron. That means taking your iron supplement after exercising can <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/32/5/article-p359.xml">limit your ability to absorb it</a>. Taking your supplement in the hours following exercise will mean significantly poorer absorption, especially if you take it between two and five hours after you stop.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2024/01000/iron_absorption_in_highly_trained_male_runners_.14.aspx">Our research</a> has shown if you exercise every day, the best time to take your supplement is in the morning before training, or immediately after (within 30 minutes).</p> <h2>My supplements are upsetting my stomach. What should I do?</h2> <p>If you experience gastrointestinal side effects such as diarrhoea or cramps when you take iron supplements, you may want to consider taking your supplement every second day, rather than daily.</p> <p>Taking a supplement every day is still the fastest way to restore your iron levels. But a recent study <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00463-7/fulltext#%20">has shown</a> taking the same total dose can be just as effective when it’s taken on alternate days. For example, taking a supplement every day for three months works as well as every second day for six months. This results in fewer side effects.</p> <p>Oral iron supplements can be a cheap and easy way to correct an iron deficiency. But ensuring you are taking the right product, under the right conditions, is crucial for their success.</p> <p>It’s also important to check your iron levels prior to commencing iron supplementation and do so only under medical advice. In large amounts, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430862/">iron can be toxic</a>, so you don’t want to be consuming additional iron if your body doesn’t need it.</p> <p>If you think you may be low on iron, talk to your GP to find out your best options.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/235315/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alannah-mckay-1548258">Alannah McKay</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Sports Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-iron-deficient-which-supplements-will-work-best-for-me-and-how-should-i-take-them-235315">original article</a>.</em></p>

Body

Menopause can bring increased cholesterol levels and other heart risks. Here’s why and what to do about it

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/treasure-mcguire-135225">Treasure McGuire</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p>Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years, typically between 45 and 55. As women approach or experience menopause, common “change of life” <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9244939/">concerns</a> include hot flushes, sweats and mood swings, brain fog and fatigue.</p> <p>But many women may not be aware of the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32705886/">long-term effects</a> of menopause on the heart and blood vessels that make up the cardiovascular system. Heart disease accounts for <a href="http://world-heart-federation.org/what-we-do/women-cvd/">35% of deaths</a> in women each year – more than all cancers combined.</p> <p>What should women – and their doctors – know about these risks?</p> <h2>Hormones protect hearts – until they don’t</h2> <p>As early as 1976, the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/970770/">Framingham Heart Study</a> reported more than twice the rates of cardiovascular events in postmenopausal than pre-menopausal women of the same age. Early menopause (younger than age 40) also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25331207/">increases heart risk</a>.</p> <p>Before menopause, women tend to be protected by their circulating hormones: oestrogen, to a lesser extent progesterone and low levels of testosterone.</p> <p>These sex hormones help to relax and dilate blood vessels, reduce inflammation and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10503403/">improve lipid (cholesterol) levels</a>. From the mid-40s, a decline in these hormone levels can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10362825/">contribute to unfavourable changes</a> in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and weight gain – all risk factors for heart disease.</p> <h2>4 ways hormone changes impact heart risk</h2> <p><strong>1. Dyslipidaemia</strong>– Menopause often involves <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38002671/">atherogenic changes</a> – an unhealthy imbalance of lipids in the blood, with higher levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), dubbed the “bad” cholesterol. There are also reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) – the “good” cholesterol that helps remove LDL-C from blood. These changes are a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10503403/">major risk factor for heart attack or stroke</a>.</p> <p><strong>2. Hypertension</strong> – Declines in oestrogen and progesterone levels during menopause contribute to narrowing of the large blood vessels on the heart’s surface, arterial stiffness and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35722103/">raise blood pressure</a>.</p> <p><strong>3. Weight gain</strong> – Females are born with one to two million eggs, which develop in follicles. By the time they <a href="https://www.thewomens.org.au/health-information/fertility-information/getting-pregnant/ovulation-and-conception">stop ovulating</a> in midlife, fewer than 1,000 remain. This depletion progressively changes fat distribution and storage, from the hips to the waist and abdomen. Increased waist circumference (greater than 80–88 cm) has been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18359190/">reported to contribute to heart risk</a> – though it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-news-midlife-health-is-about-more-than-a-waist-measurement-heres-why-226019">not the only factor to consider</a>.</p> <p><strong>4. Comorbidities</strong> – Changes in body composition, sex hormone decline, increased food consumption, weight gain and sedentary lifestyles impair the body’s ability to effectively use insulin. This <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11133069/">increases the risk</a> of developing metabolic syndromes such as type 2 diabetes.</p> <p>While risk factors apply to both genders, hypertension, smoking, obesity and type 2 diabetes confer a greater relative risk for heart disease in women.</p> <h2>So, what can women do?</h2> <p>Every woman has a different level of baseline cardiovascular and metabolic risk pre-menopause. This is based on their genetics and family history, diet, and lifestyle. But all women can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8351755/">reduce their post-menopause heart risk with</a>:</p> <ul> <li>regular moderate intensity exercise such as brisk walking, pushing a lawn mower, riding a bike or water aerobics for 30 minutes, four or five times every week</li> <li>a healthy heart diet with smaller portion sizes (try using a smaller plate or bowl) and more low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods such as vegetables, fruit and whole grains</li> <li>plant sterols (unrefined vegetable oil spreads, nuts, seeds and grains) each day. A review of 14 clinical trials found plant sterols, at doses of at least 2 grams a day, produced an average reduction in serum LDL-C (bad cholesterol) of about 9–14%. This could reduce the risk of heart disease by <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10731187/">25% in two years</a></li> <li>less unhealthy (saturated or trans) fats and more low-fat protein sources (lean meat, poultry, fish – especially oily fish high in omega-3 fatty acids), legumes and low-fat dairy</li> <li>less high-calorie, high-sodium foods such as processed or fast foods</li> <li>a reduction or cessation of smoking (nicotine or cannabis) and alcohol</li> <li>weight-gain management or prevention.</li> </ul> <h2>What about hormone therapy medications?</h2> <p>Hormone therapy remains the most effective means of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15495039/">managing hot flushes and night sweats</a> and is beneficial for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18418063/">slowing the loss of bone mineral density</a>.</p> <p>The decision to recommend oestrogen alone or a combination of oestrogen plus progesterone hormone therapy depends on whether a woman has had a hysterectomy or not. The choice also depends on whether the hormone therapy benefit outweighs the woman’s disease risks. Where symptoms are bothersome, hormone therapy has <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33841322/">favourable or neutral effects on coronary heart disease risk</a> and medication risks are low for healthy women younger than 60 or within ten years of menopause.</p> <p>Depending on the level of stroke or heart risk and the response to lifestyle strategies, some women may also require medication management to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8351755/">control high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol levels</a>. Up until the early 2000s, women were underrepresented in most outcome trials with lipid-lowering medicines.</p> <p>The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25579834/">Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration</a> analysed 27 clinical trials of statins (medications commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol) with a total of 174,000 participants, of whom 27% were women. Statins were about as effective in women and men who had similar risk of heart disease in preventing events such as stroke and heart attack.</p> <p>Every woman approaching menopause should ask their GP for a 20-minute <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/heart-health">Heart Health Check</a> to help better understand their risk of a heart attack or stroke and get tailored strategies to reduce it.</p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/treasure-mcguire-135225">Treasure McGuire</a>, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Mater Health SEQ in conjoint appointment as Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Bond University and as Associate Professor (Clinical), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/menopause-can-bring-increased-cholesterol-levels-and-other-heart-risks-heres-why-and-what-to-do-about-it-228010">original article</a>.</em></p>

Body

Passenger slammed as he takes "manspreading to ANOTHER LEVEL"

<p>A frequent flyer has sparked outrage online after posting a video of one man's poor plane etiquette. </p> <p>Claire Zhu, 27, who has gained a following while documenting her travels with boyfriend Peter Ovendorf, 29, after quitting their nine-to-five in what they call their "corporate gap year", shared the video on TikTok. </p> <p>"Goodbye," she captioned the clip, with a text overlay that read: "The way this man took manspreading to ANOTHER LEVEL on my flight." </p> <p>At the start of the clip, Claire showed herself covering her mouth in shock, before panning over to the man sitting across from her, with his legs spread so wide that it crossed the aisle and reached her seat. </p> <p>His other foot was sitting so close to the passenger next to him, that even they could barely move. </p> <div class="embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Figtree, Roboto, 'Noto Sans Hebrew', 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; vertical-align: baseline; width: 580px; max-width: 100%; outline: none !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7307690077772172587&display_name=tiktok&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40claireandpeter%2Fvideo%2F7307690077772172587&image=https%3A%2F%2Fp19-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2FoovOIIFx0GSNezDUDCDAQEa7R5lgQBDEliE7fV%3Fx-expires%3D1701982800%26x-signature%3DNXp8xnv9BnN83wAEogQY%252BWxMv3Q%253D&key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>People flooded to the comments to express their anger. </p> <p>"I would lose my mind," wrote one person. </p> <p>"That isn't man spreading, that's literally splitting," another quipped. </p> <p>"Absolutely not," added another. </p> <p>"Bestie you got to step on his foot. This is the final straw," commented a fourth. </p> <p>A few others were concerned that his actions might be hazardous. </p> <p>"He will trip someone!" one wrote. </p> <p>"Not only across the aisle but made it into your floor space..." another added. </p> <p>One commenter even shared their own horrific experience with another passenger taking over their space. </p> <p>"A lady did this to me on a long haul flight except I felt something on my thigh AND IT WAS HER FOOT," they said. </p> <p><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Travel Trouble

"Matthew would enjoy the humour of it": Ironic detail spotted in Friends tribute

<p>While many fans of the long-running sitcom <em>Friends</em> are in mourning over the <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/you-were-loved-tributes-flow-over-tragic-passing-of-matthew-perry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sudden death</a> of Matthew Perry, others have delighted in an ironic detail surrounding the Friends apartment in New York. </p> <p>Since the announcement of Perry's death on Sunday, thousands of fans of the show has flocked to the apartment building in New York City's West Village, where the external shots of the gang's apartment was filmed, to pay their respects. </p> <p>While the sitcom, which ran for ten years from 1994, was actually filmed in Los Angeles, the Bedford Street address was used for the external shots of the New York-based show, with the humble apartment being home to each of the cast members during the show. </p> <p>Fans of the show have left notes, flowers, Central Perk memorabilia, and other sentimental items to pay tribute to the late actor. </p> <p>However, one eagle-eyed fan spotted a quirky detail hovering around the building, as Perry's death coincided with Halloween. </p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKidspotAustralia%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02xSVyrpRthTeLeBNqtvHKWUB36us5bVB5vKCW1R9DYgF66kBWqnsSYarY2kDFfCT3l&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="581" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Part of the building's Halloween decorations included a large ghost hovering near the iconic apartment, with many quick to point out the hilarious irony of the figure floating above the makeshift memorial. </p> <p>“That Halloween ghost is kinda fitting for the photo/mood and I think Matthew would enjoy the humour of it,” fan Holly astutely pointed out, sharing photos of the ghost on Facebook. </p> <p>The ironic decorations emerged shortly after Perry's <em>Friends</em> co-stars have <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/health/caring/so-utterly-devastated-friends-cast-break-silence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broken their silence</a> over his sudden death in a group statement to People magazine. </p> <p>Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer said on Tuesday, "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family."</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>"There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><em>Image credits: Facebook / Kidspot</em></p> <div id="fuse-injected-22953829264-1" class="fuse-slot-dynamic publift-video-ad" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 24px; padding-bottom: 24px; display: flex; justify-content: center;" data-fuse="22953829264" data-fuse-injected-at="1698722632652" data-fuse-code="fuse-slot-22953829264-1" data-fuse-zone-instance="zone-instance-22953829264-1" data-fuse-slot="fuse-slot-22953829264-1" data-fuse-processed-at="1440"> <div id="fuse-slot-22953829264-1" class="fuse-slot" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: inherit; max-height: inherit;"></div> <div id="bb-iawr-over60au-1692594483990158" class="bb_iawr" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; overflow: hidden; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; width: 730px; height: 0px; opacity: 0.01;"> <div id="bb-wr-over60au-1692594483990158" class="bb-media bb_wrapper bb-muted bb-phase-init bb-mode-video bb-state-loading" style="box-sizing: content-box; cursor: auto; margin: 0px auto; position: relative; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; width: 730px; height: 411px;" data-softembargoremainingtime="0" data-sid="vFJ5s4ZTs5TI" data-currenttime="0" data-duration="91" data-isready="true"> <div class="bb-layer bb-content-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px; pointer-events: none !important;"> <div class="bb-fitme bb-head-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; z-index: 0; width: 731px; height: 411px; position: absolute; left: -1px; top: 0px; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; pointer-events: none !important;"> <div class="bb-head bb-head-html5-video" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; width: 731px; height: 411px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px;" data-usemediamanager="true" data-retryonplayfailed="false" data-shouldplayinline="false"><em><video style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; max-height: none; width: 731px; height: 411px; display: block; top: 0px; left: 0px; position: absolute; object-fit: fill; visibility: hidden; transform: scale(1, 1); transform-origin: 0px 0px;" src="https://dv8e3oz4405eb.cloudfront.net/publift/media/2022/07/21/asset-4874440-1658370239500173.mp4" preload="none" muted="" aria-hidden="true"></p> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; width: 731px; height: 411px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px;"></div> <p></video></em></div> </div> <div class="bb-fitme bb-poster-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; width: 731px; height: 411px; z-index: 0; position: absolute; left: -1px; top: 0px; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; pointer-events: none !important;" aria-hidden="true"><img style="box-sizing: border-box; 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font-size: 16px; pointer-events: none !important;"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="bb-layer bb-commercial-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px; pointer-events: none !important;"> <div class="bb-fitme bb-head-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; z-index: 0; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; pointer-events: none !important;"> </div> <div class="bb-layer bb-error-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px; pointer-events: none !important;"> </div> <div class="bb-layer bb-skin-layer bb-muted bb-phase-init bb-mode-video bb-state-loading" style="--primary-color: #3578BB; --element-background-color: #4E4E4E; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px; 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-webkit-text-combine: initial; --transform-animation: transform 0.15s ease-in-out, visibility 0.15s ease-in-out; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; color: var(--foreground-color); -webkit-user-select: none; pointer-events: none; font-family: Lato, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size); isolation: isolate; overflow: hidden; --accent-color: #3578bb; --foreground-color: #ffffff; --background-gray: #2b2b2b; --bar-button-size: 38px; --bar-icon-size: 16px; --big-icon-size: 54px; --font-size: 14px; --margin-size: 20px; --cancel-button-right: 0em; --related-desired-height-img: 110px; --height-progress-bar: 6px; --bg-color-highlight-pane: rgba(33, 33, 33, 0.75); --bg-color-pane: rgba(33, 33, 33, 0.9); --bg-color-pane-hover: rgba(45, 45, 45, 0.9); --bg-color-button: rgba(33, 33, 33, 0.75); --bg-color-button-hover: rgba(33, 33, 33, 0.9); --color-blue: #649BD2; --aria-focus-color: -webkit-focus-ring-color; --bar-height: var(--margin-size); --border-radius-skin: 10px; --header-area-height: 17px; --player-width: 730px; --player-height: 411px;" tabindex="0"> <div class="overlays svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: absolute; inset: 0px;"> <div class="loading-overlay no-padding svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: absolute; width: 730px; height: 411px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center;"> </div> </div> <div class="keyboard-feedback no-padding svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; position: absolute; inset: 0px;"> <div class="center-controls skinsize-S svelte-y9heg7" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--gap-size); --gap-size: 37px; --icon-height: 32px;"> <div class="left-right-button-container left svelte-y9heg7" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: calc(var(--icon-height) + 2.25em); height: calc(var(--icon-height) + 2.25em);"> </div> <div class="left-right-spacer-container svelte-y9heg7" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: 2.4em; height: 2.4em;"> </div> <div class="center-button-container svelte-y9heg7" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--size); height: var(--size); --size: 54px;"> </div> <div class="left-right-spacer-container svelte-y9heg7" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: 2.4em; height: 2.4em;"> </div> <div class="left-right-button-container right svelte-y9heg7" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: calc(var(--icon-height) + 2.25em); height: calc(var(--icon-height) + 2.25em);"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="logo-overlay svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: absolute; top: var(--margin-size); right: var(--margin-size); bottom: var(--margin-size); left: var(--margin-size); display: flex; z-index: 2;"> </div> <div class="chrome svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: 730px; height: 411px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; transition: opacity 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 1; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15);"> <div class="top-container svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%); height: 85px; transition: var(--transform-animation), opacity 0.15s ease-in-out; transform: translateY(0px); z-index: 1;"> <div class="header-area svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); margin: var(--margin-size);"> <div class="top-bar svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; align-items: flex-start; gap: var(--margin-size);"> <div class="metadata-wrapper svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); flex-grow: 1; position: relative;"> <div class="metadata svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: absolute; width: 632px; display: inline-flex; flex-direction: column; row-gap: 0.3em; column-gap: 0.3em;" role="contentinfo"> <h1 class="title svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 1.1em;">Rupert Friend Spills Secrets of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' at Star Wars Celebrations</h1> <div class="share-button bar-button svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--bar-button-size); height: var(--bar-button-size); margin-top: calc(-0.25 * var(--bar-button-size));"> <div class="button-element svelte-1eoizxx no-toggle-transform no-hover-transform" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); box-sizing: border-box; width: 38px; height: 38px; position: relative; cursor: pointer; pointer-events: initial; border-radius: var(--border-radius); --foreground-color: #ffffff; --border-radius: 50%; --icon-height: 16px; --bg-height: 100%; --bg-width: 100%; --button-position: absolute;"> <div class="button-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--bg-width); height: var(--bg-height); transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; border-radius: 50%;" tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="Share"> <div class="normal slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 38px; height: 38px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 1;"> <div style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); min-height: 12px; height: var(--icon-height); line-height: var(--icon-height); min-width: var(--icon-height); display: inline-flex; justify-content: center;"> </div> <div class="toggled slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 38px; height: 38px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 0;"> </div> </div> <div class="button-tooltip svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); pointer-events: none; opacity: 0; transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; height: 0px;"> <div class="tooltip svelte-1bd19u8" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: inline-block;"> <div class="tooltip-content center svelte-1bd19u8" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; padding: 6px 10px; background-color: var(--bg-color-pane); border-radius: 5px; font-size: 0.75em; row-gap: 6px; column-gap: 6px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap; position: absolute; left: 19px; transform: translate(-50%); top: 4em;"> <div class="text svelte-1bd19u8" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: inline-block;">Share</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="center-controls-layer svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; transition: opacity 0.15s ease-in-out 0s;"> <div class="center-controls skinsize-S svelte-fllze1" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--gap-size); --gap-size: 37px;"> <div class="big-button big-play-pause-button svelte-fllze1" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: relative; transition: opacity 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;"> <div class="button-element svelte-1eoizxx no-toggle-transform" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); box-sizing: border-box; width: 54px; height: 54px; position: relative; cursor: pointer; pointer-events: initial; border-radius: var(--border-radius); --foreground-color: #ffffff; --border-radius: 50%; --hover-transform: scale(1.2); --icon-height: 54px; --bg-height: 54px; --bg-width: 54px; --button-position: absolute;"> <div class="button-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--bg-width); height: var(--bg-height); transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; border-radius: 50%;" tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="Play"> <div class="normal slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 54px; height: 54px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 1;"> <div style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); min-height: 12px; height: var(--icon-height); line-height: var(--icon-height); min-width: var(--icon-height); display: inline-flex; justify-content: center;"> </div> <div class="toggled slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 54px; height: 54px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 0;"> <div style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); min-height: 12px; height: var(--icon-height); line-height: var(--icon-height); min-width: var(--icon-height); display: inline-flex; justify-content: center;"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="start-time svelte-fllze1" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); top: calc(8px + var(--size-big-button)); position: absolute; left: 27px; transform: translate(-50%); background-color: var(--bg-color-pane); padding: 8px 16px; border-radius: 32px; font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: var(--margin-size); margin-left: 2px;" data-cy="start-screen-duration">01:31</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="center-area svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); flex-grow: 1;"> </div> </div> <div class="chrome-bottom-shadow svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); transition: opacity 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 0; position: absolute; inset: 0px;"> </div> </div> <div class="bb-layer bb-context-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px; pointer-events: none !important;"> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem;">"For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

6 signs you’re low in iron

<p>Feeling constantly tired, looking pale and having heart palpitations? Well you could be one of the two billion people thought to suffer from some degree of iron deficiency.</p> <p>Low iron is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world, and is the only nutrient deficiency that is significantly prevalent in the western world, according to the World Health Organization. </p> <p>Here's how to know, and what to do if you tick all the low iron boxes</p> <p><strong>1. You suffer from fatigue (aka feel tired ALL of the time)</strong></p> <p>The body uses iron to make haemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body. When you don't have enough healthy red blood cells, you start to feel pretty exhausted. </p> <p><strong>2. You seem to get out of breath easily – even if you’re fit</strong></p> <p>When the body is not efficiently transporting oxygen to the lungs, you can feel breathlessness after minimal exertion. Low iron levels can also cause your endurance to suffer too.</p> <p><strong>3. You look pale and washed out</strong></p> <p>In addition to looking pale, if the inside of your lips, your gums, and the inside of your bottom eyelids are less red than usual, low iron may be the reason behind this. </p> <p><strong>4. You get sick often</strong></p> <p>Ever felt like you’re fighting an endless cold? Research has shown iron deficiency can affect the immune system, making you more likely to pick up infections and viruses.</p> <p><strong>5. You experience heart palpitations</strong></p> <p>Your heart may feel like it's pounding, fluttering or beating irregularly, often for just a few seconds or minutes. </p> <p><strong>6. You get unusual cravings for non-food substances such as dirt, ice, paint, or clay</strong></p> <p>Yes, this does sound very strange, but it's a real symptom that can occur when your body is low in iron – it's called pica. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Body

Should I be getting my vitamin D levels checked?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elina-hypponen-108811">Elina Hypponen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p>Australia has seen a <a href="https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2023/29/gps-urged-not-to-routinely-test-children-for-vitamin-d/">surge in vitamin D testing</a> of children, with similar trends reported for adults around the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29659534/">world</a>. GPs are now <a href="https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2023/29/gps-urged-not-to-routinely-test-children-for-vitamin-d/">being urged</a> not to test for vitamin D unnecessarily.</p> <p>So when is low vitamin D a potential concern? And when might you need to get your levels tested?</p> <h2>How much vitamin D do we need?</h2> <p>Vitamin D is not only a nutrient – when metabolised in the body it acts as a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29080638/">hormone</a>. We have receptors for this hormone all around our body and it helps regulate the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus.</p> <p>Vitamin D also has many other roles, including helping our immune defences and contributing to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11295155/">DNA repair</a> and cell differentiation.</p> <p>We can thank the sun for most of our vitamin D. A chemical in our skin called 7-dehydrocholesterol is converted to vitamin D after contact with UVB radiation from the sun.</p> <p>While we get some vitamin D also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253289/">through our diet</a>, this makes a relatively small contribution. It’s difficult to get much more than one-third of our daily vitamin D requirement from diet without supplementation.</p> <p>Nutritional vitamin D status is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcifediol">typically measured</a> via a blood test. This checks the calcidiol (calcifediol, 25-hydroxyvitamin D) concentrations, which reflect the average intakes from the sun and diet over the past three to four weeks.</p> <p>The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22708765/">current recommendation</a> is that we should all aim to have at least 50nmol/L (20ng/mL) at the end of winter.</p> <p>However, one problem with vitamin D tests is that there is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37182753/">variation</a> in measured concentrations between the laboratories and between the assays, and whether you’re deemed to have a deficiency can depend on the testing method used.</p> <p>Doctors do not always agree with what is deficiency. While very low concentrations are likely to prompt doctors to recommend a supplement (and, potentially, follow-up testing), some may consider even relatively high concentrations as inadequate.</p> <p>This is all understandable as research in this space is still evolving, and we know low concentrations do not always cause any symptoms.</p> <h2>Why avoid vitamin D deficiency?</h2> <p>Prolonged, severe vitamin D deficiency will lead to softening of bone tissue and cause diseases such as rickets (children) and osteomalacia (adults).</p> <p>However, avoiding low concentrations is likely to be good for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37483080/">many aspects of health</a>, with consistent evidence suggesting benefits for <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.i6583">infectious diseases</a> and autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis.</p> <p>Randomised trials have also provided evidence for lower <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35676320/">cancer</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24414552/">all cause mortality</a> by daily supplementation, although any benefit is likely to be restricted to those who otherwise have insufficient intakes.</p> <h2>Who is at risk of deficiency?</h2> <p>Most of us do not need tests to have a relatively good idea whether we might be at risk of a clinically important deficiency.</p> <p>If it’s not late winter, we spend regularly at least some time outside with skin exposed to the sun, and we do not belong to a specific high-risk group, it is unlikely that our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22168576/">levels would be very low</a>.</p> <p>The two main reasons for vitamin D deficiency typically relate to:</p> <p><strong>1. not getting (enough) vitamin D through sun exposure.</strong> Deficiency risk <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/vitamin-d-deficiency">can be high</a> for anyone who is housebound, such as older or disabled people in residential care. The risk of deficiency increases if we always cover our skin carefully by <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19211395/">modest cultural dress,</a> and also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6119494/">dark skin pigmentation</a> is known to reduce vitamin D synthesis.</p> <p><strong>2. having a chronic disease that alters your requirement.</strong> Medications such as anticonvulsants used to treat epilepsy, and conditions such as <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15050-vitamin-d-vitamin-d-deficiency">liver and kidney diseases</a> can interfere with vitamin D metabolism. Some <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15050-vitamin-d-vitamin-d-deficiency">digestive diseases</a> can reduce vitamin D absorption from your diet, while <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30020507">obesity</a> will increase your vitamin D requirement and make it more difficult to raise your blood levels.</p> <h2>Am I getting enough sun exposure?</h2> <p>In Australia, it is possible to get enough vitamin D from the sun <a href="https://healthybonesaustralia.org.au/your-bone-health/vitamin-d-bone-health">throughout the year</a>. This isn’t so for many people living in the northern hemisphere.</p> <p>For those who live in the top half of Australia – and for all of us during summer – we <a href="https://healthybonesaustralia.org.au/your-bone-health/vitamin-d-bone-health">only need</a> to have skin exposed to the sun a few minutes on most days.</p> <p>The body can only produce a certain amount of vitamin D at the time, so staying in the sun any longer than needed is not going to help increase your vitamin D levels, while it will increase your risk of skin cancer.</p> <p>During winter, catching enough sun can be difficult, especially if you spend your days confined indoors. Typically, the required exposure increases to two to three hours per week in winter. This is because sunlight exposure can only help produce vitamin D if the UVB rays reach us at the correct angle. So in winter we should regularly spend time outside in the middle of the day to get our dose of vitamin D.</p> <p>If you are concerned, you have very dark skin, or are otherwise in a high-risk group, you may want to talk to your GP.</p> <p>In any case, taking a modest daily dose of vitamin D (1,000-2,000 IU) during the darker winter months is unlikely to cause harm and it <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37483080/">may be beneficial</a>.</p> <h2>Why does excess vitamin D testing matter?</h2> <p>When not indicated, testing can cause unnecessary worry and promote a cascade of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32675268/">laboratory, prescription and imaging services</a> that are of low value.</p> <p>Excessive testing is also a waste of health-care resources, with one <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.5694/mja2.50619">single test</a> costing about the same as a years’ worth of vitamin D supplementation.</p> <p>Very often, we can make relatively small changes to our lifestyles to reduce the risks of vitamin D deficiency. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211268/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elina-hypponen-108811">Elina Hypponen</a>, Professor of Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-i-be-getting-my-vitamin-d-levels-checked-211268">original article</a>.</em></p>

Body

Don’t believe the hype. Menopausal women don’t all need to check – or increase – their testosterone levels

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susan-davis-10376">Susan Davis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>Ever heard “low testosterone” blamed for low mood, brain fog and loss of vitality? Despite all evidence to the contrary, social media influencers are increasingly promoting testosterone therapy as an elixir for women experiencing troubling symptoms of menopause.</p> <p>In a series of documentaries and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11792553/Davina-McCall-effect-sparks-menopause-testosterone-treatment-rush-putting-women-risk.html">social media posts</a> about menopause in 2021 and 2022, British TV presenter Davina McCall promoted the use of testosterone therapy in addition to standard <a href="https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/combined-menopausal-hormone-therapy-mht">menopausal hormone therapy</a>. The “<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/davina-effect-fuels-surge-menopausal-women-using-testosterone/#:%7E:text=Chelsea%20Magazine%20Company-,'Davina%20effect'%20fuels%20surge%20in%20menopausal%20women%20using%20testosterone,NHS%20prescriptions%20for%20the%20hormone">Davina effect</a>” has helped fuel a <a href="https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/nhs-testosterone-prescribing-in-women-rises-ten-fold-in-seven-years#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20women%20in,The%20Pharmaceutical%20Journal%20has%20revealed">ten-fold increase</a> in prescribing of testosterone for women in the United Kingdom since 2015.</p> <p>Data isn’t available for Australia, but in my clinical practice, women are increasingly asking to have their testosterone level checked, and seeking testosterone to treat fatigue and brain fog.</p> <p>But while testosterone continues to be an important hormone before and after menopause, this doesn’t mean women should be having a blood test to get their testosterone levels checked – or taking testosterone therapy.</p> <h2>What does testosterone do?</h2> <p>Testosterone is an important hormone in women’s bodies, affecting the blood vessels, skin, muscle and bone, breast tissue and the brain. In both women and men, testosterone can act on its own or be converted into estrogen.</p> <p>Before menopause, testosterone is made in the ovaries, where it helps developing eggs grow and aids in estrogen production.</p> <p>The ovaries release both testosterone and estrogen into the bloodstream, and the levels of the two hormones in the blood peak around ovulation.</p> <p>Some of the testosterone measured in blood is also produced outside the ovaries, such as in fat, where it is made from “pre-hormones” secreted by the adrenal glands. This source of production of testosterone takes over after menopause.</p> <h2>Do we have more testosterone before menopause?</h2> <p>The claim is often made that pre-menopausal women have more testosterone in their bloodstream than estrogen, to justify the need for testosterone replacement after menopause.</p> <p>But, when sex hormones have been measured with precision, studies have shown this is not true. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31390028/">Our research</a> found estrogen levels are higher than testosterone levels at all stages of the menstrual cycle.</p> <p>Blood testosterone levels <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31390028/">fall</a> by about 25% between the ages of 18 and 40 years in healthy women. The fall in testosterone coincides with the decline in eggs in the ovaries but whether this is a marker of the decline, a consequence, or a cause of the decline is not known.</p> <p>From around 40, the rate of decline slows and blood testosterone levels don’t change when <a href="https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/what-is-menopause">menopause</a> occurs naturally. Studies have not shown testosterone levels change meaningfully during the menopause transition.</p> <h2>Can blood tests detect ‘low testosterone’?</h2> <p>Some influencers claim to have a condition called “testosterone deficiency syndrome” or low levels of testosterone detected in blood tests.</p> <p>But there is no “normal” blood level below which a woman can be diagnosed as having “testosterone deficiency”. So there’s no such thing as having a testosterone deficiency or testosterone deficiency syndrome.</p> <p>This is also in part, because women have very low testosterone concentrations compared with men, and most commercial methods used to measure testosterone cannot separate normal from low levels in women with any certainty.</p> <p>Pre-menopausal women might also be told they have “low” testosterone if blood is drawn early in the menstrual cycle when it is normal for testosterone to be low. (However, it would only be clinically necessary to do this type of blood test to look for <em>high</em> testosterone, in someone with with excessive hair growth or severe acne, for example, not for <em>low</em> testosterone.)</p> <p>In post-menopausal women, much of the action of testosterone occurs in the tissues where it is made, after which testosterone is either converted to estrogen or broken down before it leaks back into the circulation. So blood testosterone concentrations are not a true reflection of tissue concentrations.</p> <p>Further complicating the picture is the enormous variability in the effects of testosterone. At a given blood level of testosterone, some women might have oily skin, acne, increased body hair growth or balding, while others will have no such effects.</p> <p>So, looking for a “low” blood testosterone in women is not helpful.</p> <h2>Can testosterone improve sexual desire? What about other conditions?</h2> <p>There is sound evidence that testosterone therapy may improve sexual desire in post-menopausal women who have developed low sexual desire that bothers them.</p> <p>This was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13697137.2019.1637079">confirmed by</a> a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31353194/">systematic review</a> of clinical trials comparing testosterone with a placebo or an alternative. These trials, all of which involved a treatment time of at least 12 weeks, showed testosterone therapy, overall, improved desire, arousal, orgasm and sexual satisfaction in post-menopausal women with low desire that caused them distress.</p> <p>Treatment is only indicated for women who want an improvement in sexual desire (after excluding other factors such as depression or medication side effects) and its success can only be determined by each woman’s personal self-reported response.</p> <p>But there is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13697137.2019.1637079">not enough evidence</a> to show testosterone is beneficial for any other symptom or medical condition. The overall available data has shown no effect of testosterone on mood or cognition.</p> <p>As such, testosterone therapy <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13697137.2019.1637079">should not be used</a> to treat symptoms such as fatigue, low mood, muscle weakness and poor memory, or to prevent bone loss, dementia or breast cancer.</p> <p>However research continues to investigate these potential uses, including from my <a href="https://www.monash.edu/medicine/sphpm/units/womenshealth">research team</a>, which is investigating whether testosterone therapy can <a href="https://asbmr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbmr.534">protect against bone density loss and muscle loss after menopause</a>.</p> <p><em>You can learn more about participating in one of our studies <a href="https://www.monash.edu/medicine/sphpm/units/womenshealth/join-a-study">here</a>.</em> <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209516/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susan-davis-10376">Susan Davis</a>, Chair of Women's Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-believe-the-hype-menopausal-women-dont-all-need-to-check-or-increase-their-testosterone-levels-209516">original article</a></em>.</p>

Body

Murder charge levelled at children's book author

<p>Author Kouri Richins wrote a children’s book on grief following the death of her husband in 2022. She is now being charged with his murder.</p> <p>Richins was arrested on May 7 in Utah and is accused of charging documents of poisoning her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in Kamas, a small mountain town near Park City.</p> <p>Prosecutors allege Richins called authorities in the middle of the night in March 2022 to report that her husband, Eric Richins, was “cold to the touch”.</p> <p>The mum-of-three told authorities she had made her husband a mixed vodka drink to celebrate him selling a home and then went to soothe one of their children in their bedroom. She later returned and found her husband unresponsive, which prompted her to call 911.</p> <p>A medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.</p> <p>Additionally, Richins is facing charges involving the alleged possession of GHB - a narcolepsy drug typically used in recreational settings, including at dance clubs.</p> <p>The charges, which are based on officers’ interactions with Richins that evening and the account of an “unnamed acquaintance” who claimed to have sold her the fentanyl, come two months after Richins appeared on local television to promote Are You With Me, a picture book she wrote to help children cope with the death of a loved one.</p> <p>For a segment called Good Things Utah, Richins referred to her husband’s death as unexpected and explained how it sent her and her three boys spiralling. In terms of children, she said, grieving was about “making sure that their spirit is always alive in your home”.</p> <p>“It’s ... explaining to my kid just because he’s not present here with us physically, doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” she told the reporters, who commended her for being an amazing mother.</p> <p>Richins’ lawyer, Sky Lazaro, declined to comment on the charges.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Legal

Will AI ever reach human-level intelligence? We asked 5 experts

<p>Artificial intelligence has changed form in recent years.</p> <p>What started in the public eye as a burgeoning field with promising (yet largely benign) applications, has snowballed into a <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-ai-market">more than US$100 billion</a> industry where the heavy hitters – Microsoft, Google and OpenAI, to name a few – seem <a href="https://theconversation.com/bard-bing-and-baidu-how-big-techs-ai-race-will-transform-search-and-all-of-computing-199501">intent on out-competing</a> one another.</p> <p>The result has been increasingly sophisticated large language models, often <a href="https://theconversation.com/everyones-having-a-field-day-with-chatgpt-but-nobody-knows-how-it-actually-works-196378">released in haste</a> and without adequate testing and oversight. </p> <p>These models can do much of what a human can, and in many cases do it better. They can beat us at <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-ai-named-cicero-can-beat-humans-in-diplomacy-a-complex-alliance-building-game-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal-195208">advanced strategy games</a>, generate <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-art-is-everywhere-right-now-even-experts-dont-know-what-it-will-mean-189800">incredible art</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/breast-cancer-diagnosis-by-ai-now-as-good-as-human-experts-115487">diagnose cancers</a> and compose music.</p> <p>There’s no doubt AI systems appear to be “intelligent” to some extent. But could they ever be as intelligent as humans? </p> <p>There’s a term for this: artificial general intelligence (AGI). Although it’s a broad concept, for simplicity you can think of AGI as the point at which AI acquires human-like generalised cognitive capabilities. In other words, it’s the point where AI can tackle any intellectual task a human can.</p> <p>AGI isn’t here yet; current AI models are held back by a lack of certain human traits such as true creativity and emotional awareness. </p> <p>We asked five experts if they think AI will ever reach AGI, and five out of five said yes.</p> <p>But there are subtle differences in how they approach the question. From their responses, more questions emerge. When might we achieve AGI? Will it go on to surpass humans? And what constitutes “intelligence”, anyway? </p> <p>Here are their detailed responses. </p> <p><strong>Paul Formosa: AI and Philosophy of Technology</strong></p> <p>AI has already achieved and surpassed human intelligence in many tasks. It can beat us at strategy games such as Go, chess, StarCraft and Diplomacy, outperform us on many <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34591-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">language performance</a>benchmarks, and write <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-ai-writing-college-student-essays/672371/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passable undergraduate</a> university essays. </p> <p>Of course, it can also make things up, or “hallucinate”, and get things wrong – but so can humans (although not in the same ways). </p> <p>Given a long enough timescale, it seems likely AI will achieve AGI, or “human-level intelligence”. That is, it will have achieved proficiency across enough of the interconnected domains of intelligence humans possess. Still, some may worry that – despite AI achievements so far – AI will not really be “intelligent” because it doesn’t (or can’t) understand what it’s doing, since it isn’t conscious. </p> <p>However, the rise of AI suggests we can have intelligence without consciousness, because intelligence can be understood in functional terms. An intelligent entity can do intelligent things such as learn, reason, write essays, or use tools. </p> <p>The AIs we create may never have consciousness, but they are increasingly able to do intelligent things. In some cases, they already do them at a level beyond us, which is a trend that will likely continue.</p> <p><strong>Christina Maher: Computational Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering</strong></p> <p>AI will achieve human-level intelligence, but perhaps not anytime soon. Human-level intelligence allows us to reason, solve problems and make decisions. It requires many cognitive abilities including adaptability, social intelligence and learning from experience. </p> <p>AI already ticks many of these boxes. What’s left is for AI models to learn inherent human traits such as critical reasoning, and understanding what emotion is and which events might prompt it. </p> <p>As humans, we learn and experience these traits from the moment we’re born. Our first experience of “happiness” is too early for us to even remember. We also learn critical reasoning and emotional regulation throughout childhood, and develop a sense of our “emotions” as we interact with and experience the world around us. Importantly, it can take many years for the human brain to develop such intelligence. </p> <p>AI hasn’t acquired these capabilities yet. But if humans can learn these traits, AI probably can too – and maybe at an even faster rate. We are still discovering how AI models should be built, trained, and interacted with in order to develop such traits in them. Really, the big question is not if AI will achieve human-level intelligence, but when – and how.</p> <p><strong>Seyedali Mirjalili: AI and Swarm Intelligence</strong></p> <p>I believe AI will surpass human intelligence. Why? The past offers insights we can't ignore. A lot of people believed tasks such as playing computer games, image recognition and content creation (among others) could only be done by humans – but technological advancement proved otherwise. </p> <p>Today the rapid advancement and adoption of AI algorithms, in conjunction with an abundance of data and computational resources, has led to a level of intelligence and automation previously unimaginable. If we follow the same trajectory, having more generalised AI is no longer a possibility, but a certainty of the future. </p> <p>It is just a matter of time. AI has advanced significantly, but not yet in tasks requiring intuition, empathy and creativity, for example. But breakthroughs in algorithms will allow this. </p> <p>Moreover, once AI systems achieve such human-like cognitive abilities, there will be a snowball effect and AI systems will be able to improve themselves with minimal to no human involvement. This kind of “automation of intelligence” will profoundly change the world. </p> <p>Artificial general intelligence remains a significant challenge, and there are ethical and societal implications that must be addressed very carefully as we continue to advance towards it.</p> <p><strong>Dana Rezazadegan: AI and Data Science</strong></p> <p>Yes, AI is going to get as smart as humans in many ways – but exactly how smart it gets will be decided largely by advancements in <a href="https://thequantuminsider.com/2020/01/23/four-ways-quantum-computing-will-change-artificial-intelligence-forever/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quantum computing</a>. </p> <p>Human intelligence isn’t as simple as knowing facts. It has several aspects such as creativity, emotional intelligence and intuition, which current AI models can mimic, but can’t match. That said, AI has advanced massively and this trend will continue. </p> <p>Current models are limited by relatively small and biased training datasets, as well as limited computational power. The emergence of quantum computing will transform AI’s capabilities. With quantum-enhanced AI, we’ll be able to feed AI models multiple massive datasets that are comparable to humans’ natural multi-modal data collection achieved through interacting with the world. These models will be able to maintain fast and accurate analyses. </p> <p>Having an advanced version of continual learning should lead to the development of highly sophisticated AI systems which, after a certain point, will be able to improve themselves without human input. </p> <p>As such, AI algorithms running on stable quantum computers have a high chance of reaching something similar to generalised human intelligence – even if they don’t necessarily match every aspect of human intelligence as we know it.</p> <p><strong>Marcel Scharth: Machine Learning and AI Alignment</strong></p> <p>I think it’s likely AGI will one day become a reality, although the timeline remains highly uncertain. If AGI is developed, then surpassing human-level intelligence seems inevitable. </p> <p>Humans themselves are proof that highly flexible and adaptable intelligence is allowed by the laws of physics. There’s no <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church%E2%80%93Turing_thesis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundamental reason</a> we should believe that machines are, in principle, incapable of performing the computations necessary to achieve human-like problem solving abilities. </p> <p>Furthermore, AI has <a href="https://philarchive.org/rec/SOTAOA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distinct advantages</a> over humans, such as better speed and memory capacity, fewer physical constraints, and the potential for more rationality and recursive self-improvement. As computational power grows, AI systems will eventually surpass the human brain’s computational capacity. </p> <p>Our primary challenge then is to gain a better understanding of intelligence itself, and knowledge on how to build AGI. Present-day AI systems have many limitations and are nowhere near being able to master the different domains that would characterise AGI. The path to AGI will likely require unpredictable breakthroughs and innovations. </p> <p>The median predicted date for AGI on <a href="https://www.metaculus.com/questions/5121/date-of-artificial-general-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Metaculus</a>, a well-regarded forecasting platform, is 2032. To me, this seems too optimistic. A 2022 <a href="https://aiimpacts.org/2022-expert-survey-on-progress-in-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expert survey</a> estimated a 50% chance of us achieving human-level AI by 2059. I find this plausible.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-ai-ever-reach-human-level-intelligence-we-asked-5-experts-202515" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Technology

10 ways you’re doing your ironing wrong

<p>Some people like ironing, stopping at nothing but pressing their underwear. These individuals usually love their Sunday ritual of tackling four piles of laundry with a cup of tea and a midday movie for company.</p> <p>There’s even a group of extreme ironing enthusiasts, who’ve combined their love for action sports with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt. They swear by its meditative qualities: the repetitive movement; the hiss of the steam; the elimination of creases, one by one.</p> <p>Then there’s the rest of the population, who’ll do everything they can to avoid it: from only buying wrinkle-free fabrics to hanging garments in the bathroom for the shower steam to work its magic. They don’t call it a “chore” for nothing, people.</p> <p>Unfortunately, life thrusts at us many occasions that require whatever we’re wearing to receive a good press. Whichever camp you fall in – seasoned or sporadic – you’re poised to benefit from these practical tips.</p> <p><strong>1. Over-drying your clothes</strong></p> <p>Having them hang for too long, frying in the sun or on the heater, can over-dry clothes, leaving them stiff as cardboard and crispy in texture. They become difficult to reshape and harder to iron. Also, be wary of how long they’re in the dryer, especially if you don’t have one of the more advanced “moisture-sensing” models.</p> <p><strong>2. Not shaking clothes out</strong></p> <p>As you’re taking your clothes off the line and out of the dryer, don’t forget to shake them out. This smooths seams and pleats, making them easier to iron later down the line.</p> <p><strong>3. Not protecting delicates</strong></p> <p>Placing a hot iron directly on sensitive fabrics can ruin garments, branding them with an unsightly singed and shiny mark. Protect them by ironing fabrics inside-out and with a pressing cloth as a buffer. A handkerchief or napkin will do.</p> <p><strong>4. Not misting clothes</strong></p> <p>This makes creases easier to eliminate. Many irons have an in-built spray function so you can lightly mist your clothes at the touch of a button. Alternatively, keep a water spray bottle handy.</p> <p><strong>5. Not using a starch spray</strong></p> <p>Starch sprays can speed up ironing and leave your clothes looking extra pristine – if you use them correctly. Spray the area right before you iron and leave it to penetrate for a few seconds. This will also save your iron’s base plate from a build-up of product residue. (You can make your own starch spray by dissolving one tablespoon of corn-flour in two cups of water.)</p> <p><strong>6. Not adjusting the temperature</strong></p> <p>If you have a large pile to tackle, start with your lightest silk, synthetic and delicate fabrics, as these need to be ironed on lower temperatures. Then, as your iron begins to heat up, iron your woollens on medium heat, and then cottons and linens that require a higher heat. Always let the iron sit for a few minutes after you adjust the temperature setting. Want to cut your ironing time in half? Place a sheet of aluminium foil underneath the ironing board cover. The reflected heat from the foil means you don’t have to flip over the garment and iron the other side.</p> <p><strong>7. Not paying attention to the form of the garment</strong></p> <p>For shirts, start with the sleeves (cuffs always open) and lay the collar flat (even though that’s not how you usually wear it), then let the shirt hang for a few minutes before putting it on. For trousers, iron along the main crease, stopping six inches below the waist, then hang by the waistband. And always iron skirts from the top down, unless there’s a flounce or flare, in which case, start from the bottom and work up. If you’re having to iron pleats, start from the bottom, working from the inside of the pleat to the outside. Then set it with a shot of steam.</p> <p><strong>8. Using circular strokes</strong></p> <p>Ironing in circles stretches the fabric. Always iron lengthwise.</p> <p><strong>9. Making a mess of sheets</strong></p> <p>Is there anything more annoying than ironing sheets, tablecloths and curtains? The trick is to set up two chairs next to the ironing board. Fold the piece onto the chairs as you work on it. You could also iron them on a tabletop you’re not too precious about, provided you protect the surface with a bath towel.</p> <p><strong>10. Not hanging up or folding as soon as you’re done</strong></p> <p>But make sure you wait five minutes before putting them on. You need to let the press set, otherwise you’ll be undoing all your hard work.</p> <p>Do you have any ironing secrets to share with us? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Written by Kathleen Lee-Jo. First appeared on <a href="http://www.domain.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Domain.com.au</span></strong></a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="../lifestyle/home-garden/2016/06/best-way-to-fold-fitted-sheet-video/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Best way to fold fitted sheet</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="../lifestyle/home-garden/2016/06/5-foods-you-should-never-reheat/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">5 foods you should never reheat</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="../lifestyle/home-garden/2016/06/the-secret-to-keeping-your-whites-white/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The secret to keeping your whites white</span></strong></em></a></p>

Home Hints & Tips

Building and construction emissions and energy use reaches record levels

<p>Despite improvements in energy efficiency, greenhouse pollution levels from the building and construction sector reached an all-time high in 2021.</p> <p>A new report on the building and construction sector by the United Nations Environment Programme released for COP27 found energy demand in buildings – for heating, cooling, lighting and equipment – increased by 4% from 2020 levels. As a result, the sector’s emissions increased 5% compared to 2020.</p> <p>While the increase partly reflects a re-bound in building and construction activities after the pandemic, energy and emissions levels were also above 2019 levels.</p> <p>This is significant because the sector accounts for around a third of total energy demand, the report says.</p> <p>The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the opening forum of COP27 that the future of the planet is in our hands. “…and the clock is ticking. We are in the fight of our lives. And we are losing. Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible.</p> <p>“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator. “</p> <p>With the release of the report, UNEP executive director, Inger Andersen added: “If we do not rapidly cut emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, we will be in deeper trouble.”</p> <p>The UNEP report argues investments in energy efficiency must be sustained in the face of growing crises – such as the war in Ukraine and rising energy and living costs – to help with reducing energy demand, avoiding greenhouse gas pollution and reducing energy cost volatility.</p> <p>“The solution may lie in governments directing relief towards low and zero-carbon building investment activities through financial and non-financial incentives,” Andersen says.</p> <p>Also critical to reducing the sector’s emissions are including buildings in climate pledges under the Paris Agreement – known as Nationally Determined Contributions – and mandatory building energy codes.</p> <p>The report’s recommendations include: building coalitions of stakeholders in support of sustainable buildings, governments introducing mandatory building energy codes and government policies, increasing investment in energy efficiency and commitments from industry.</p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=222598&title=Building+and+construction+emissions+and+energy+use+reaches+record+levels" width="1" height="1" /></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/building-emissions-reach-record-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Petra Stock. </em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

Real Estate

Drop that bass (below the level of human hearing) to get bodies on the dance floor moving

<p>People dance nearly 12% more when music includes very low frequency bass but researchers have found that it may be the sounds we don’t hear that gets our toes tapping.</p> <p>This is interesting news for those who’ve had an experience at a party, celebration or club when the music’s groove just isn’t making your body move and who might be tempted to reach for the nearest beverage to lubricate our joints.</p> <p>But maybe there’s a solution which is more subtle – and less liable to cause headaches the next day…</p> <p>It seems, as Meghan Trainor correctly observed in 2014, that it really is “All About That Bass.”</p> <p>Now, it is no revelation that bass-driven music is good for a boogie. Trainor certainly wasn’t the first to discover this critical component of the rhythm section.</p> <p>Researchers from Canada and Germany turned a live electronic music concert into a lab study, to find out how different qualities of music influence the body. Their results are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.035%20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in <em>Current Biology</em>.</p> <p>The researchers introduced over speakers levels of bass below human hearing levels. This super low pitch infrasound is made up of wavelengths of sound too long for our ears to pick up. Infrasound is common in whale song and other parts of the animal and natural world.</p> <p>Monitoring the crowd’s movements, the scientists found that people danced 11.8% more when the very low frequency bass was present.</p> <p>“I’m trained as a drummer, and most of my research career has been focused on the rhythmic aspects of music and how they make us move,” says first author Daniel Cameron, a neuroscientist from Canada’s McMaster University. “Music is a biological curiosity – it doesn’t reproduce us, it doesn’t feed us, and it doesn’t shelter us, so why do humans like it and why do they like to move to it?”</p> <p>Cameron and colleagues treated participants in the study to a 45-minute live set by electronic musical duo Orphx at LIVELab, a research theatre at the University.</p> <p>Donning motion-sensing headbands, the concert-goers’ dance moves were monitored. They were also asked to fill out survey forms before and after to ensure they didn’t detect the infrasound, to measure their enjoyment, and examine how the music felt physically.</p> <p>Turning the ultra-low bass playing speakers on and off every two minutes, the researchers found movement increased by 12% when the speakers were on.</p> <p>Vibrations experienced through touch and interactions between the inner ear and brain are closely linked to the motor system.</p> <p>The researchers theorise that there is a neurological link between these physiological processes and music. They believe that our anatomy can pick up on low frequencies, affecting our perception of “groove”, spontaneous movement and rhythm.</p> <p>Cameron suggests that the super-low frequencies may influence the vestibular system which controls body position and movement through the inner ear.</p> <p>“Very low frequencies may also affect vestibular sensitivity, adding to people’s experience of movement. Nailing down the brain mechanisms involved will require looking the effects of low frequencies on the vestibular, tactile, and auditory pathways,” says Cameron.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em> <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=222462&title=Drop+that+bass+%28below+the+level+of+human+hearing%29+to+get+bodies+on+the+dance+floor+moving" width="1" height="1" /> </em></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/bass-dance-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Evrim Yazgin. </em></p> </div>

Music

What your fitness level says about your lifespan

<p>Ever wish you had a crystal ball that could show you the future of your health? While the magic side of things might not be possible, recent research has found that there is a reliable indicator that can shed light on how you’ll be feeling as you enter your twilight years. That indicator? Physical activity, namely how much of it you’re doing during midlife.</p> <p>A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at almost 20,000 healthy men and women with a median age of 49 all of whom received a fitness rating between one and five (with one indicating very low levels of activity and five indicating very high levels). Twenty-six years later, the researchers followed up participants and found conclusively that the fitter they were in midlife, the lower their incidence of chronic conditions decades later.</p> <p>While the findings themselves weren’t hugely surprising, researchers were amazed at the impact cardio-respiratory fitness can have on preventing a large variety of illnesses, even those you wouldn’t usually associate with fitness.</p> <p>While maintaining a good level of fitness throughout your life is important, it’s never too late to make a change for the better. Improving your physical fitness is beneficial at any point in your life and there’s never been a better time to jump in. Here’s how!</p> <ol> <li>Make time for cardio – The general recommendation is that you integrate around 150 minutes of aerobic exercise into your week. That equates to around 20 to 30 minutes a day, five days per week. Walking, swimming, tennis, golf, Pilates and cycling are all great, low impact options.</li> <li>Build up – While it can be tempting to dive right in, starting slow and easing into a new program will help prevent injury and burn out from occurring. High intensity exercise after a period of inactivity won’t do your body any good and may scare you off for good. Start out steady and gradually increase over a period of weeks.</li> <li>Don’t forget to stretch – Yoga, Pilates and stretch classes are a fantastic way to integrate movement into your week while also keeping joints supple. Increasing your flexibility will also make other forms of exercise easier and lower your chances of injury.</li> </ol> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Body

Low iron is a health risk made worse by COVID

<p>“Beauty is an iron mine,” once remarked the Australian mining magnate, Gina Reinhart. She was talking about a precious resource, but iron is also profoundly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4464783/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">important to living organisms</a>: from bacteria and fungi, to mammals like us.</p> <p>Iron acts as a key to numerous metabolic functions within our bodies. But iron deficiency remains as <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/nutritionlibrary/focusing-on-anaemia_970a28fe-a055-4e63-b3ba-11be7b940b16.pdf?sfvrsn=9ab36bdb_6&download=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the top global health risks</a> recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).</p> <p>Iron deficiency has become the most prevalent micronutrient disorder worldwide, and COVID may be worsening the problem.</p> <h2>Iron is hard to get</h2> <p>The type of iron we mine is different from the “free-form” iron that can be used biologically. Free-form iron has a propensity to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842161/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jump between two chemical states</a>, allowing it to bind to various molecules, and participate in all sorts of essential reactions within our bodies.</p> <p>But we see a different story again during food digestion. Inside our upper small intestine where iron is most effectively absorbed, free-form iron tends to bind to oxygen, other minerals and food components. This often results in rock-like, insoluble clumps (which are like the ones we mine!). These are too big to pass through or between our cells.</p> <p>This means that even when we consume enough iron, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448204/#:%7E:text=Heme%20iron%2C%20derived%20from%20hemoglobin,and%20is%20less%20well%20absorbed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">typically only ~15–35% of it is absorbed</a>. It also means iron availability can be <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.12669" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improved, or inhibited</a> depending on how we eat it or what we eat it with.</p> <p>For example, heme iron from animal flesh has a <a href="https://omlc.org/spectra/hemoglobin/hemestruct/heme-struct.gif" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cage-like structure</a>, which carries the iron in a soluble form that prevents it from clumping during absorption. In many Western countries, heme iron only accounts for <a href="https://academic.oup.com/metallomics/article/3/2/103/6016197?login=true#219037456" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10% of the iron eaten, but two thirds</a> of the total iron absorbed.</p> <h2>More of us are at risk of deficiency</h2> <p>Getting sufficient iron sounds like simple maths: we want to add enough to our dietary intake to make up for the iron being lost from the body, such as through faeces, skin shedding, menstruation (for women) and sweat. But the two sides of the equation can change depending on who and where we are throughout our lifetime.</p> <p>Generally, iron deficiency occurs when our body’s stores of iron are depleted from not having consumed or absorbed enough iron to meet our needs.</p> <p>This can happen when people restrict their diets, such as for religious, social or medical reasons. Some people also have a tough time keeping up when their iron needs increase, such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-019-0400-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pregnant women</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/106/suppl_6/1681S/4823199" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing children</a>.</p> <p>But iron deficiency can also happen when the body has enough iron, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjh.12311" target="_blank" rel="noopener">but can’t effectively transport it into cells</a>. This is common in those with both acute and chronic infections, heart and autoimmune conditions, and cancers. In these cases, the underlying disease needs to be treated first, rather than improving iron intake.</p> <p>The table below summarises some common causes of iron deficiency. Sometimes multiple causes may occur simultaneously – for example, for many elite athletes (<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-019-04157-y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">35% of women and 11% of men</a>), iron deficiency results from reduced absorption due to inflammation, on top of increased loss through sweat and breakdown of blood cells.</p> <h2>COVID hasn’t helped</h2> <p>The ongoing COVID epidemic has also introduced multiple risk factors for iron deficiency.</p> <p>We know severe infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) may change the way some people <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8305218/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">metabolise iron</a>, leading to lower iron levels up to two months after infection. This <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.26774" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contributes to symptoms</a> commonly reported after infection, such as fatigue and lethargy.</p> <p>Recovery from the pandemic itself has also exacerbated <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/food-supply-chains-and-covid-19-impacts-and-policy-lessons-71b57aea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">food supply issues</a>, as well as the <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/global-income-inequality-and-covid-19-pandemic-three-charts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rising global income inequality</a>.</p> <p>This means more people face barriers to food security – and the nutrient-dense foods that help boost our iron intake like red meat or leafy greens may be unavailable or unaffordable for them.</p> <h2>Before you pick up a pill</h2> <p>It may be tempting to pick up one of the many widely available iron supplements to attempt to boost your intake. However, we have to keep in mind that conventional iron supplementation is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1185/03007995.2012.761599" target="_blank" rel="noopener">associated with some negative side effects</a>.</p> <p>These include damage to our gut lining, nausea, diarrhoea and constipation. Iron supplementation has also been linked to changes in the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7400826/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gut microbiome</a>, a critical determinant of health.</p> <p>The WHO has recommended <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/micronutrients/gff-part-1-en.pdf?sfvrsn=afc1c426_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two other approaches</a>: diet diversification and food fortification.</p> <p><a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/anaemia/areacop-webinar---24-september-2020/areacop-webinar-nancyaburto-presentation.pdf?sfvrsn=7abd1427_4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Diet diversification</a> is exactly as it sounds: having a diet with a variety of wholefoods such as fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, meat, dairy, and nuts and seeds.</p> <p>This approach not only ensures sufficient levels of iron are found in the foods we eat, but also that they come with different forms or “vehicles” to improve absorption. This approach works <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349086/WHO-EURO-2021-4007-43766-61591-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even with plant-based foods</a>.</p> <p>Food fortification, where iron is added to processed foods, is also a fairly safe yet accessible option due to its lower dose. In Australia, iron is commonly fortified in products such as bread, cereals and ready-to-drink mixes.</p> <p>It can be challenging to get the iron into our body and where it’s needed. But before turning to supplements, we must remind ourselves that food sources should always be first-in-line. In cases of diagnosed deficiencies, your healthcare professional will provide you with further information where supplements are necessary.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-iron-is-a-health-risk-made-worse-by-covid-how-to-get-more-without-reaching-for-supplements-185020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Body

Why the "just one drink a day" excuse no longer cuts it

<p dir="ltr">According to a new study, those who have one standard drink a day are putting themselves at risk of permanent brain damage.</p> <p dir="ltr">The study of almost 21,000 people, published in the PLOS Medicine journal, found that consumption of seven or more units of alcohol per week is associated with higher iron levels in the brain.</p> <p dir="ltr">More iron in the brain is also linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and is a potential mechanism for alcohol-related cognitive decline.</p> <p dir="ltr">The participants reported their own alcohol consumption, and their brains were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).</p> <p dir="ltr">Of those participants, 7,000 of them also had MRIs on their livers imaged to see the levels of systemic iron.</p> <p dir="ltr">They were also required to complete a few tasks to assess their cognitive and motor function.</p> <p dir="ltr">The participants' average age was 55 years old and 48.6 per cent were female.</p> <p dir="ltr">Anya Topiwala of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and her colleagues found that alcohol consumption above seven units per week led to higher iron levels in basal ganglia - the part of the brain that helps with movement.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Markers of higher basal ganglia iron associated with slower executive function, lower fluid intelligence, and slower reaction times,” the study reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Iron accumulation in some brain regions was associated with worse cognitive function.”</p> <p dir="ltr">They concluded that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with higher iron levels in the brain.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Caring

Unlikely hack makes ironing a thing of the past

<p>Wishing you could find a way to make ironing a thing of the past?</p> <p>Well, you’re in luck. This clever grandma has come up with a genius hack for crease-free clothing – and best of all, there is no iron in sight.</p> <p>The savvy nan called Babs, also known as brunchwithbabs on Instagram, shared the hack on her page and she’s gone viral.</p> <p>The US-based grandmother who calls herself the “internet mom/grandma you didn’t know you needed” shares all kinds of advice on her page gaining her quite the following.</p> <p>Captioning the video showing how to remove creases from clothes without an iron, Babs writes:</p> <p>“Babs Hack *tip: high heat, works great on cotton and another option is throwing in a damp rag which also works like a charm.”</p> <p>In the footage, Babs asks viewers, ”Do you like to iron on a beautiful sunny day? Me neither.</p> <p>”Try ice cubes instead.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cdalnisloi4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cdalnisloi4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Babs (@brunchwithbabs)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“Four to five ice cubes right in,” she revealed, before adding that you should let the ice cubes do their magic for 10 to 15 minutes.</p> <p>At the end of the video, Babs can be seen removing the dresses and showing they are wrinkle-free.</p> <p>The video has been viewed more than 50,000 times and her fans are impressed. Let us know if you've tried this genius hack.</p>

Home Hints & Tips

Olympic-level tips to make the most of the snow

<p>With the sudden plunge in temperature, it’s safe to say winter has well and truly started - making it the perfect time to book your next winter getaway.</p> <p dir="ltr">Having recently enjoyed a trip to the slopes in eastern Victoria’s Mt Buller, Winter Olympian and Toyota ambassador Belle Brockhoff has shared ten tips for making the most out of your next winter trip.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Wear sunscreen</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The cold doesn’t stop the UV rays – in fact, the snow actually reflects the sun’s rays, meaning double exposure when on the slopes. Using a sunscreen that’s designed for exercise will keep you protected while you master the snow.   </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Nappy protection</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">For beginner snowboarders who are more likely to fall back onto the snow, duct tape a couple of nappies down the backside of your pants. If you’ve ever been hit in the tailbone, you’ll know why this might be a good idea.   </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Road to the Snow </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Consider the type of vehicle you’ll need to travel to the slopes. We might forget being in warmer climates for a majority of the year that the roads can get icy with snow settling, making it harder to drive. It’s best to drive a 4x4 vehicle, I always drive my Toyota Kluger up to the slopes – it fits all my friends and all our snow gear too.  </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Don’t forget the snacks!</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Pack snacks in your jacket pockets. Time flies when you’re having fun, which is inevitable in the snow and hitting the slopes so make sure you’re stocked up for any emergency hunger situations.   </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Early Birds catch the fresh snow </strong></p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d634579e-7fff-5f56-af3c-623f0a201372"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">It’s best to set the alarm as early as possible, this way there will be fresher snow and minimal queues for equipment hire and ski lifts.  </p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/06/brooke15.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Snowboarder and three-time Olympian Belle Brockhoff has shared some tips after taking her own trip to the slopes. Image: Supplied</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Snap the Stacks </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The funniest moments are the unexpected moments, and when mates (or you) have a blackmail-worthy stack on the slopes it’s a must to document the footage for eternity (or at least submitted to Jerry of the Day and/or Slalom Tokyo drift.) Or simply just take photos to remember the experience.  </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Mid-week tricks</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">While the slopes are fun at the weekend, travelling up and practising tricks during the week is even better. It’s the perfect time to grab a bunch of friends, hit the quiet slopes and enjoy fewer queues and wait times.  </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Remote access </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Now that majority of workplaces are allowing a ‘work from anywhere’ policy, pack up the laptop and head to the snow. Most resorts have great Wi-Fi access and multiple quiet places to take meetings and calls.  </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Invest in (or borrow) a pair of waterproof snowboarding/skiing pants</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">This means your bum will stay dry and therefore a LOT warmer.   </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Keep an eye out for a clear night</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Away from the metro city lights, there’s less light pollution, especially on the hill. There’s always a beautiful sunset to keep an eye out for and an amazing view of the stars. Always look up to admire our starry night sky when it’s a clear night.    </p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a29afed6-7fff-a4ae-4af7-2c50d49c8974"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Supplied</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Move over, Iron Chef, this metallic cook has just learned how to taste

<p>In an episode of <em>Futurama</em>, robot Bender wants to be a chef, but has to overcome the not inconsiderable hurdle of being incapable of taste. It was beautiful.</p> <p>Move over, Bender. A new robot has not only been programmed to taste, it has been trained to taste food at different stages of the cooking process to check for seasoning. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, working with domestic appliances manufacturer Beko, hope the new robot will be useful in the development of automated food preparation.</p> <p>It’s a cliché of cooking that you must “taste as you go”. But tasting isn’t as simple as it may seem. There are different stages of the chewing process in which the release of saliva and digestive enzymes change our perception of flavour while chewing.</p> <p>The robot chef had already mastered the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/a-good-egg-robot-chef-trained-to-make-omelettes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">omelette</a> based on human tasters’ feedback. Now, results <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2022.886074" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in the <em>Frontiers in Robotics & AI</em> journal show the robot tasting nine different variations of scrambled eggs and tomatoes at three different stages of the chewing process to produce a “taste map”.</p> <p>Using machine-learning algorithms and the “taste as you go” approach, the robot was able to quickly and accurately judge the saltiness of the simple scrambled egg dish. The new method was a significant improvement over other tasting tech based on only a single sample.</p> <p>Saltiness was measured by a conductance probe attached to the robot’s arm. They prepared the dish, varying the number of tomatoes and amount of salt. “Chewed” food was passed through a blender, then tested for saltiness again.</p> <figure class="wp-block-video"><video src="../wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Unchewed-sampling-short.mp4" controls="controls" width="300" height="150"></video><figcaption>This robot ‘chef’ is learning to be a better cook by ‘tasting’ the saltiness of a simple dish of eggs and tomatoes at different stages of the cooking process, imitating a similar process in humans. Credit: Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory, University of Cambridge.</figcaption></figure> <p>“Most home cooks will be familiar with the concept of tasting as you go – checking a dish throughout the cooking process to check whether the balance of flavours is right,” said lead author Grzegorz Sochacki from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “If robots are to be used for certain aspects of food preparation, it’s important that they are able to ‘taste’ what they’re cooking.”</p> <p>The new approach aims to mimic the continuous feedback provided to the human brain in the process of chewing, says Dr Arsen Abdulali, also from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “Current methods of electronic testing only take a single snapshot from a homogenised sample, so we wanted to replicate a more realistic process of chewing and tasting in a robotic system, which should result in a tastier end product.”</p> <p>“When a robot is learning how to cook, like any other cook, it needs indications of how well it did,” said Abdulali. “We want the robots to understand the concept of taste, which will make them better cooks. In our experiment, the robot can ‘see’ the difference in the food as it’s chewed, which improves its ability to taste.”</p> <p> “We believe that the development of robotic chefs will play a major role in busy households and assisted living homes in the future,” said senior Beko scientist Dr Muhammad W. Chugtai. “This result is a leap forward in robotic cooking, and by using machine and deep-learning algorithms, mastication will help robot chefs adjust taste for different dishes and users.” Next on the menu will be training robots to improve and expand the tasting abilities to oily or sweet food, for example. Sounds pretty sweet.</p> <p></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=190155&title=Move+over%2C+Iron+Chef%2C+this+metallic+cook+has+just+learned+how+to+taste" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" /></p> <p></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/robot-machine-learning-taste/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/evrim-yazgin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evrim Yazgin</a>. Evrim Yazgin has a Bachelor of Science majoring in mathematical physics and a Master of Science in physics, both from the University of Melbourne.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> </div>

Technology

Global emissions almost back to pre-pandemic levels after unprecedented drop in 2020, new analysis shows

<p>Global carbon dioxide emissions have bounced back after COVID-19 restrictions and are likely to reach close to pre-pandemic levels this year, <a href="https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2021-386/">our analysis</a> released today has found.</p> <p>The troubling finding comes as world leaders meet at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in a last-ditch bid to keep dangerous global warming at bay. The analysis was undertaken by the <a href="https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget">Global Carbon Project</a>, a consortium of scientists from around the world who produce, collect and analyse global greenhouse gas information.</p> <p>The fast recovery in CO₂ emissions, following last year’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-emissions-are-down-by-an-unprecedented-7-but-dont-start-celebrating-just-yet-151757">sharp drop</a>, should come as no surprise. The world’s strong economic rebound has created a surge in demand for energy, and the global energy system is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels.</p> <p>Most concerning is the long-term upward trends of CO₂ emissions from oil and gas, and this year’s growth in coal emissions, which together are far from trending towards net-zero by 2050.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429724/original/file-20211102-28770-1s1j889.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="people seated around U-shaped table" /> <span class="caption">The troubling findings come as world leaders meet at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Evan Vucci/AP</span></span></p> <h2>The global emissions picture</h2> <p>Global CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels dropped by 5.4% in 2020, compared to the previous year. But they are set to increase by about 4.9% above 2020 levels this year, reaching 36.4 billion tonnes. This brings them almost back to 2019 levels.</p> <p>We can expect another 2.9 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions this year from the net effect of everything we do to the land, including deforestation, degradation and re-vegetation.</p> <p>This brings us to a total of 39.4 billion tonnes of CO₂ to be emitted by the end of this year.</p> <p>The fast growth in emissions matches the corresponding large increase in energy demand as the global economy opens up, with the help of <a href="https://www.f4b-initiative.net/post/majority-of-17-2-trillion-covid-stimulus-packages-doing-more-harm-than-good-to-environment">US$17.2 trillion</a> in economic stimulus packages around the world.</p> <p>CO₂ emissions from all fossil fuel types (coal, oil and natural gas) grew this year, with emissions from coal and natural gas set to grow more in 2021 than they fell in 2020.</p> <p>Emissions from global coal use were declining before the pandemic hit in early 2020 but they surged back this year. Emissions from global gas use have returned to the rising trend seen before the pandemic.</p> <p>CO₂ emissions from global oil use remain well below pre-pandemic levels but are expected to increase in coming years as road transport and aviation recover from COVID-related restrictions.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429469/original/file-20211031-17-1pa5f0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429469/original/file-20211031-17-1pa5f0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Global fossil CO₂ emissions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Global Carbon Project, https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget</span></span></p> <h2>Nations leading the emissions charge</h2> <p>Emissions from China have recovered faster than other countries. It’s among the few countries where emissions grew in 2020 (by 1.4%) followed by a projected growth of 4% this year.</p> <p>Taking these two years together, CO₂ emissions from China in 2021 are projected to be 5.5% above 2019 levels, reaching 11.1 billion tonnes. China accounted for 31% of global emissions in 2020.</p> <p>Coal emissions in China are estimated to grow by 2.4% this year. If realised, it would match what was thought to be China’s peak coal emissions in 2013.</p> <p>India’s CO₂ emissions are projected to grow even faster than China’s this year at 12.6%, after a 7.3% fall last year. Emissions this year are set to be 4.4% above 2019 levels – reaching 2.7 billion tonnes. India accounted for 7% of global emissions in 2020.</p> <p>Emissions from both the US and European Union are projected to rise 7.6% this year. It would lead to emissions that are, respectively, 3.7% and 4.2% below 2019 levels.</p> <p>US and EU, respectively, accounted for 14% and 7% of global emissions in 2020.</p> <p>Emissions in the rest of the world (including all international transport, particularly aviation) are projected to rise 2.9% this year, but remain 4.2% below 2019 levels. Together, these countries represent 59% of global emissions.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429471/original/file-20211031-75805-1jh07jf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429471/original/file-20211031-75805-1jh07jf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Regional fossil CO₂ emissions 2019-2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Global Carbon Project, https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget</span></span></p> <h2>The remaining carbon budget</h2> <p>The relatively large changes in annual emissions over the past two years have had no discernible effect in the speed at which CO₂ accumulates in the atmosphere.</p> <p>CO₂ concentrations, and associated global warming, are driven by the accumulation of greenhouse gases – particularly CO₂ – since the beginning of the industrial era. This accumulation has accelerated in recent decades.</p> <p>To stop further global warming, global CO₂ emissions must stop or reach net-zero – the latter meaning that any remaining CO₂ emissions would have to be compensated for by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere.</p> <p>Carbon budgets are a useful way of measuring how much CO₂ can be emitted for a given level of global warming. In our latest analysis, we updated the carbon budget outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<a href="https://templatelab.com/climate-change-report-2021/">IPCC</a>) in August this year.</p> <p>From the beginning of 2022, the world can emit an additional 420 billion tonnes of CO₂ to limit global warming to 1.5℃, or 11 years of emissions at this year’s rate.</p> <p>To limit global warming to 2℃, the world can emit an additional 1,270 billion tonnes of CO₂ – or 32 years of emissions at the current rate.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429886/original/file-20211103-19-fl69o8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429886/original/file-20211103-19-fl69o8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">The remaining carbon budgets to limit warming to 1.5℃ and 2℃. Updated from IPCC 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Global Carbon Project, https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget</span></span></p> <p>These budgets are the compass to net-zero emissions. Consistent with the pledge by <a href="https://eciu.net/netzerotracker">many countries</a> to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, CO₂ emissions need to decline by 1.4 billion tonnes each year, on average.</p> <p>This is an amount comparable to the drop during 2020, of 1.9 billion tonnes. This fact highlights the extraordinary challenge ahead and the need to increase short- and long-term commitments to drive down global emissions.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170866/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/pep-canadell-16541">Pep Canadell</a>, Chief research scientist, Climate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; and Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/corinne-le-quere-315624">Corinne Le Quéré</a>, Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-east-anglia-1268">University of East Anglia</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/glen-peters-114835">Glen Peters</a>, Research Director, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/center-for-international-climate-and-environment-research-oslo-707">Center for International Climate and Environment Research - Oslo</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/pierre-friedlingstein-903247">Pierre Friedlingstein</a>, Chair, Mathematical Modelling of Climate, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-exeter-1190">University of Exeter</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robbie-andrew-422668">Robbie Andrew</a>, Senior Researcher, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/center-for-international-climate-and-environment-research-oslo-707">Center for International Climate and Environment Research - Oslo</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rob-jackson-213135">Rob Jackson</a>, Professor, Department of Earth System Science, and Chair of the Global Carbon Project, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/stanford-university-890">Stanford University</a></em></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-emissions-almost-back-to-pre-pandemic-levels-after-unprecedented-drop-in-2020-new-analysis-shows-170866">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

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