Some of the world’s largest companies are exploring hydrogen as a potential solution to growing energy needs. WSJ’s Neanda Salvaterra investigates whether harnessing the most abundant element in the universe can really mark the end of the fossil fuel era. Photo/Video: Jaden Urbi/The Wall Street Journal.
From a Wall Street Journal online article:
Researchers in Germany published a study in the journal Pain in December showing that open-label placebos can help relieve chronic lower-back pain, 
replicating a 2016 study. A similar study by University of Colorado, Boulder researchers found that placebo saline injections reduce chronic lower-back pain.
Two other recent studies showed placebos openly given to cancer patients helped relieve cancer-related fatigue. And a forthcoming study by German researchers found openly giving placebo to elderly patients helped improve knee pain.
More researchers are looking at the idea of placebos—substances that have no actual pharmaceutical effect—as an alternative to traditional pain medications, which can be ineffective and carry significant side effects. Placebos might have particular potential for difficult-to-treat conditions like chronic back pain, cancer-related fatigue and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, researchers hope.
As many as 30% to 50% of chronic pain patients will respond to placebos, research suggests. And new studies are helping to identify genetic and brain differences that make certain people more likely to respond.
With more and more people taking flight each year, there’s a lot that can go wrong. WSJ’s Scott McCartney tallies the data for a definitive look at which airlines performed best and worst in 2019 in key categories like on-time departures, baggage handling and flight cancellations.
More from the Wall Street Journal: Visit WSJ.com: http://www.wsj.com
From a Wall Street Journal online article (01/14/20):
Americans are dying of heart disease and strokes at a rising rate in middle age, normally considered the prime years of life. An analysis of U.S. mortality statistics by The Wall Street Journal shows the problem is geographically widespread.
Death rates from cardiovascular disease among people between the ages of 45 and 64 are rising in cities all across the country, including in some of the most unlikely places.
In the Journal’s analysis, three metro areas east of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains—Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Greeley—recorded some of the biggest increases. Death rates in each rose almost 25%. The three cities boast robust access to exercise and health care. There are bike trails, good heart-disease treatment-and-prevention programs and nearby skiing and hiking.
Two new smart systems use cameras, artificial intelligence and an assortment of sensors to keep watch over you—Patscan looks for threats in public spaces, while Eyeris monitors the driver and passengers in a car. WSJ’s Katherine Bindley visits CES to explores their advantages, as well as their privacy costs.
From a Wall Street Journal online article:
The jewel-box home—small, but loaded with amenities and costly finishes—is luring more home buyers. An analysis by Home Innovation Research Labs, a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders, found that the number of new-construction luxury homes at 3,000 square feet or less has increased nearly 20% since 2013—with a corresponding decline in larger-size, high-price homes.
Changing demographics might be driving the trend. More than half of all households now consist of single people or couples, U.S. Census Bureau data shows—with traditional nuclear families accounting for just 20%.
“Empty-nesters want to downsize, but they want luxury homes not starter homes—luxury kitchens, marble surfaces, all the latest and greatest,” said Tim Costello, CEO of Builder Homesite, a consortium whose New Home Source website—an online clearing house for new-construction homes—tracks home buyers’ preferences.
To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/luxury-homeowners-put-a-ring-on-jewel-box-homes-11576081060
Political advertising is flourishing online, but federal guidelines regulating those ads are virtually absent. WSJ’s Emily Glazer explains why Facebook, Twitter and Google are making their own rules.
Pet-supply stores had long withstood the threat posed by online shopping. That was until Chewy came along. WSJ’s Miriam Gottfried tells the story of how PetSmart responded to the new competition.
From a Wall Street Journal online article:
Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, he is out before dawn for a 1.5- to two-hour run with Abby and Finn on one of the many trails accessible from Tucson along the Catalina Highway. The dogs are disciplined enough to run off-leash in a pack with him. The farthest he has taken Abby is a 13-mile, three-hour run. “She came home quite tired, as did I,” he says. When training for a marathon or longer distances, he adds a solo run on Wednesdays. He’ll run up to 23 miles on a network of paths in Tucson called the Loop.
Mr. McLean has had Achilles tendon problems as the result of tight calf muscles, and says he stretches for 15 minutes every night and before his morning run.
Like many marathoners, John McLean trains with running buddies. But if he isn’t keeping pace, he gets barked out. Mr. McLean is a dog-lover who logs miles with four-legged friends, both his own and rescues.
For years Mr. McLean, 63, ran solo. He and his wife, Barbara McLean, live in Arizona. They worked in the aerospace industry and travel made it tough to look after a dog. The day after Mr. McLean retired in 2014, he came home with Abby, a 10-week-old Chocolate Labrador.
To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-marathoner-is-a-dogs-best-friend-11575201674
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