All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Health: Caltech Scientists Develop “Wearable Sweat Sensor” To Detect Gout, Disease-Based Compounds

From a Caltech online news release:

Nature Biotechnolgy“Such wearable sweat sensors have the potential to rapidly, continuously, and noninvasively capture changes in health at molecular levels,” Gao says. “They could enable personalized monitoring, early diagnosis, and timely intervention.”

The development of such sensors would allow doctors to continuously monitor the condition of patients with illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or kidney disease, all of which result in abnormal levels of nutrients or metabolites in the bloodstream. Patients would benefit from having their physician better informed of their condition, while also avoiding invasive and painful encounters with hypodermic needles.

Caltech logoGao’s work is focused on developing devices based on microfluidics, a name for technologies that manipulate tiny amounts of liquids, usually through channels less than a quarter of a millimeter in width. Microfluidics are ideal for an application of this sort because they minimize the influence of sweat evaporation and skin contamination on the sensing accuracy. As freshly supplied sweat flows through the microchannels, the device can make more accurate measurements of sweat and can capture temporal changes in concentrations.

To read more: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/wearable-sweat-sensor-detects-gout-causing-compounds

 

New Photography Books: “France Around 1900 – A Portrait In Color” (Taschen)

france_1900_photochroms_xl_int_3d_01161_1910171136_id_1260558Between the Franco-Prussian War and WWI, France in the 1900s was a gilded moment of peace and prosperity. Critically acclaimed authors Sabine Arqué and Marc Walter curate this XXL collection of some 800 vintage photographs, postcards, posters, and photochromes. From the grand Paris World’s Fair to the honey light of the Côte d’Azur, it’s a glimpse into an era of rose-tinted optimism.

To read more and purchase: https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/photography/all/01161/facts.france_around_1900_a_portrait_in_color.htm

Health Studies: Lifelong Exercise Promotes “Anti-Inflammation” In Skeletal Muscle (Physiology.org)

From a Journal of Applied Physiology online abstract:

Journal of Applied PhysiologyThus, while aging led to a pro-inflammatory profile within blood and muscle, lifelong exercise partially prevented this and generally preserved the acute inflammatory response to exercise seen in young exercising men. Lifelong exercise may positively impact muscle health throughout aging by promoting anti-inflammation in skeletal muscle.

To read abstract: https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/japplphysiol.00495.2019?journalCode=jappl

From a New York Times article review of study:

Taken as a whole, these results suggest that long-term exercise may help aging muscles remain healthy in part by readying them to dissipate inflammation, Dr. Trappe says. But on the flip side, sedentary living seems to set up muscles to overreact to strain and remain inflamed, potentially leading to fewer muscular gains when someone does exercise.

To read NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/well/move/exercise-aging-inflammation-muscles-age-seniors-elderly-older.html?te=1&nl=well&emc=edit_hh_20191205?campaign_id=18&instance_id=14271&segment_id=19300&user_id=415092ec82728104b9ca7bbb44eeb7d3&regi_id=7441254120191205

 

Automobile Nostalgia: “1971 Jaguar E-Type SIII Roadster” (Classic Driver)

From a Classic Driver online article:

1971 Jaguar E-Type SIII Roadster interiorThe Type E Series III had the privilege of launching the new Jaguar V12 engine in 1971. This superb 5.3L engine with two overhead cams, derived from a prototype for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was powered by four carburettors. and developed 272CV DIN upon its release, it will give up to 700CV in competition versions.

The car shown is in Cotswolds blue with a light gray leather and a marine mohair top. It’s a rare combination of colors that gives it exclusivity and distinction. It was delivered new to Vancouver in Canada and was imported to France by its second owner in 1990. Its third and last owner, a well-known collector and driver emeritus has kept it nearly twenty years.

To read more: https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/jaguar/e-type-siii/1971/693936?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Classic%20Driver%20Daily%203402019&utm_content=Classic%20Driver%20Daily%203402019+CID_1858f011dbd95046af2a263d8ecb86da&utm_source=newsletter

European Food Review: Italian Restaurant Movement In Paris Has “Exploded” In Last 3 Years

From a New York Times online article:

Bijou Paris restaurant NY Times“There’s really an Italian movement that has exploded over the last three years,” Mr. Imbroisi said.

Thanks to that explosion, Paris might now be the best city outside of Italy for Italian eating and drinking. With a few Metro tickets, you can journey from Venetian aperitivo culture (Hostaria Urbana), then south to Sicilian home cooking (Pane e Olio), disembarking occasionally at cozy wine bars (Tappo), massive indoor food halls (La Felicità) and new Italian restaurants from French celebrity chefs (for example, Piero TT, by Pierre Gagnaire). Racines Paris restaurant Joann Pai NY TimesIn April, the Right Bank welcomed an outlet of Eataly with a glittery gala, and the Left Bank should soon see a luxury hotel from the Italian JK brand. The marquee attraction will be a restaurant by Miky Grendene, the Italian creator of the exclusive Casa Tua members’ club in Miami.

From experimental aperitivo bars to pizza labs to Michelin-starred bistros, cool Italian establishments are filling the French capital, and Parisians are flocking to them.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/travel/Italian-food-in-Paris.html

Artist Video Profiles: “Mark Acetelli – Modern Times” (EMS Legacy Films)

A film by Eric Minh Swenson.

My paintings are inspired by an intensely personal introspective journey of life, from the ever-changing complexities of love, loss, birth, and death. The context of my work is what I call, “Absence and Presence” pertaining to how someone or something can be physically gone, but the essence still remains. Capturing the physical mixed with spirituality on canvas. My application of paint is an extension of that thought process. Continuously building up and tearing down, layer upon layer, adding and subtracting. A visceral dance between the conscious and the unconscious until the emotion is expressed. Painting the essence of something rather than a depiction. My message is about the human condition, that joy is sweetened by the memory of the pain endured to reach it.

From a VoyageLA online article: http://voyagela.com/interview/art-life-mark-acetelli/

 

Top Science Podcasts: Sequencing Genomes, Genetic Surveillance And Solar Winds (Nature)

Nature PodcastHear the latest science news, brought to you by Benjamin Thompson and Shamini Bundell. This week, exploring two very different issues surrounding genomic sequencing, and the latest results from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.

In this episode:

00:45 The GenomeAsia 100k project

Researchers have released the first data from an ambitious project to sequence the genomes of 100,000 people from populations across Asia. Research Article: GenomeAsia100K Consortium

08:56 Research Highlights

Bare riverbanks make meanders move, and human activity affects picky penguins. Research Highlight: The meandering rivers that speed across barren landscapesResearch Highlight: Climate change splits two penguin species into winners and losers

11:18 Curbing the rise in genetic surveillance

Concerns are growing around the use of commercial DNA databases for state-level surveillance. Comment: Crack down on genomic surveillance

20:02 News Chat

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has sent back the most detailed information yet about the birthplace of solar wind. News: Sun-bombing spacecraft uncovers secrets of the solar wind

Best New Museum: “The Twist Gallery”, Kistefos Sculpture Park, Norway

From a DesignBoom online article:

https://vimeo.com/360835501

spanning the winding randselva river, a unique new building connects two forested riverbanks at kistefos — northern europe’s largest sculpture park. part museum, part bridge, and part sculpture, ‘the twist’ has been designed by bjarke ingels group (BIG) and represents the firm’s first project in norway. dramatically torqued at its center, the structure not only allows visitors to cross from one riverbank to the other, but is also capable of hosting an international program of contemporary art exhibitions.

To read more: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/twist-bjarke-ingels-group-kistefos-sculpture-park-norway-museum-09-18-2019/

New Movie Trailers: James Bond 007 “No Time To Die” Starring Daniel Craig

In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.