Harris Intensifies Pitch to Disaffected Republicans

With less than three weeks until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is ramping up her pitch to a core group of voters who could help flip a coin-toss election: anti-Trump Republicans.

In a speech backed by Republican supporters on Wednesday and an interview on Fox News that evening, Harris made a bid to invite disaffected conservatives into her coalition. Speaking in Bucks County, Penn., not far from where George Washington crossed the Delaware River, the Democratic nominee urged them to put country over party, and to unify against an opponent who has demonstrated a disregard for the U.S. Constitution.

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“At stake in this race are the democratic ideals that our founders, and generations of Americans, have fought for. At stake in this election is the Constitution itself,” Harris said, joined by more than 100 Republicans from Pennsylvania and other swing states.

Donald Trump “considers any American who doesn’t support him, or bend to this will, an enemy of our country,” Harris said. “It is clear: Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged and seeking unchecked power.”

Ever since Trump was elected in 2016, Democrats have hoped that Republicans would abandon a politician who has trampled many of their party’s core ideals. It hasn’t happened—at least not in significant numbers. Yet Harris believes there are enough conservatives who have serious doubts about Trump that winning them over could be enough to swing a tight election.

Read More: What Kind of President Would Kamala Harris Be?

There’s some evidence the strategy could work. More than 150,000 Republican voters voted for Nikki Haley in the Pennsylvania GOP primary, weeks after she dropped out of the race. President Biden won the state in 2020 by only about half that number. According to Haley Voters for Harris, a SuperPAC that is seeking to convince center-right voters to vote for Harris, the number of people who voted for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP primary, both before and after she exited the race, is enough to swing battleground states like North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona. “The number of folks who voted for Haley after she dropped out of the primaries, particularly in places like Pennsylvania, is a potentially decisive number of votes,” says Craig Snyder, a former GOP Congressional Chief of Staff who now runs Haley Voters for Harris.

Haley herself has since endorsed Trump. But according to a poll conducted by Haley Voters for Harris, a significant portion of her voters are holding out against him: only 45% of Haley voters now say they’ll vote for Trump, while 36% say they’ll vote for Harris. Nearly 20% remain undecided, and those are the voters Harris appears to be speaking to now. “This is real erosion of Trump’s support within the party,” Snyder says. According to a recent New York Times/Siena poll, Harris is winning 9% of Republican voters; Snyder says he thinks if she can crack 10%, it would win her the electoral college.

To reach those voters, Harris is also going to Trump’s home turf: Fox News. She sat for a 25-minute interview with Fox’s Bret Baier on Wednesday evening, during which she emphasized the number of Republicans who are supporting her. “It is clear to me, and certainly the Republicans who were on stage with me,” she said, “that he is unfit to serve, that he is unstable, that he is dangerous, and that people are exhausted.”

Harris again brought up Trump’s use of the phrase “enemy within” to refer to his opponents. “This is a democracy, and in a democracy, the President of the United States, in the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he’d lock people up,” she said.

The escalating pitch to waffling conservatives comes after stints of campaigning with Trump’s Republican critics. Former Rep. Liz Cheney endorsed Harris at an event earlier this month. Some former Trump officials have come out in support of Harris. One Harris-Walz ad uses the words of Trump’s own Vice President, Defense Secretary, National Security Adviser, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to argue that Trump is not fit to be President again.

Read More: The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris.

Rob Gleason, who was the Republican state party chair in Pennsylvania when Trump won it in 2016, said that Harris appears to be trying to grow her vote share in the suburbs to counteract large expected losses in rural areas. “At the end of the day, what’s this election about: Do you like Trump or not?” says Gleason. “It’s not about Kamala Harris.”

On Thursday, Republican Voters Against Trump will start a swing-state bus tour throughout Pennsylvania and Michigan, designed to create a so-called “permission structure” for Republicans to break from the former President. Each stop—in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Detroit—will feature former Trump voters who are now supporting Harris. The group will also be spending more than $4 million in a new Pennsylvania ad campaign, including 55 new billboards featuring erstwhile Trump supporters explaining why they can’t support him anymore. Republican Voters Against Trump is on track to spend a total of $32 million on ads featuring former Trump supporters.

While it’s nearly certain that the vast majority of Republicans will support their nominee, in a razor-thin race, even small defections can make the difference. “When it’s as close as it is here,” says Gleason, “every vote counts.”

source https://time.com/7093796/harris-republican-outreach/

What We Know—and Don’t Know—About the Possible Death of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar

On Thursday, the Israeli army stated that it is “checking the possibility” that they killed Hamas top leader Yahya Sinwar, who is said to have orchestrated the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel, in the Gaza Strip. 

Three militants were killed during an exchange of fire between the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and soldiers in Gaza on Wednesday, but Sinwar’s death hasn’t been confirmed.  

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“During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated,” The IDF said in a statement Thursday. “The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar.”

The statement also said that there were “no signs of the presence of hostages in the area,” though it has often been believed that Sinwar surrounds himself with hostages in order to lessen the likelihood of being killed.

Who is Yahya Sinwar?

Sinwar, 62, was raised to the role of Hamas’ top leader following the assassination of previous Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in July in Tehran, Iran, by a strike that Iran and Hamas say was carried out by Israel. Since then, Sinwar has been regarded as by far the most influential leader in power in Gaza and has been called the “mastermind” behind the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that left 1,200 people dead and saw more than 250 people taken as hostages, marking the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

Sinwar was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southwestern Gaza, and joined Hamas at a young age. In 1989, he was convicted of abducting and killing two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians he suspected were in cahoots, and served 22 years. The Times reports that the DNA of the bodies killed in Gaza will be compared to the DNA collected during his time incarcerated.

Sinwar was eventually released in a 2011 prisoner exchange that freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, at which point Sinwar returned to his role with Hamas. He then ascended to a leadership position in Gaza in 2017.

Sinwar’s death is a main objective for Israel

After prisoner and hostage exchange deals have fallen apart multiple times since Oct.7, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and his office have stated that the search for Hamas leaders and ending their “governing capabilities” have been at the forefront of their operations in Gaza—operations which, according to Gaza health officials, have killed 41,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the war began. Further, Israeli attacks have driven 90 percent of the Palestinian population from their homes and brought over 1.8 million people to crisis levels of hunger, according to the Integrated Food Security Classification.

Sinwar specifically has been at the center of Israel’s hunt, though his elusive whereabouts have been a secret well-kept; still both the United States and Israel have been pouring resources into finding the Hamas leader.

Though Sinwar’s death is not confirmed, Israeli Defense Minister Yael Gallant took to X to provide a vague, but pointed, post in the immediate aftermath of the news, quoting Leviticus, the third book in the Torah: “You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.”

“Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them,” Gallant wrote. 

source https://time.com/7094047/yahya-sinwar-possibly-killed/

9 Things You Should Do for Your Brain Health Every Day, According to Neurologists

Taking care of your cognitive health ought to be—well, a no-brainer. According to a survey published in March, 87% of Americans are concerned about age-related memory loss and a decline in brain function as they grow older, yet only 32% believe they can take action to help control that trajectory.

“All of us want to be cognitively intact for as long as possible,” says Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi, a neurologist and stroke specialist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The good news, he adds, is that “there are definitely risk factors that can be modified.” Prioritizing healthy behaviors can increase the likelihood that, when we reach our 70s and 80s, we’re still able to summon important memories, drive a car, and engage in a wide variety of activities, Chaturvedi says. And there’s no such thing as “too young” to start taking these steps.

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With that in mind, we asked four neurologists what we should all do every day for better brain health.

Manage your chronic illnesses

If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, it’s essential to make sure it’s under control. Each condition can “damage the blood vessels in the brain and increase the risk of stroke and dementia,” while diminishing cognitive function, Chaturvedi says. In one study, for example, people who had hypertension in their 40s to early 60s had a 6.5% steeper decline in cognitive skills—including mental processing speed and executive function—in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, compared to those with normal blood pressure. Other research has found that people with higher levels of LDL cholesterol and lower levels of HDL cholesterol tend to have more amyloid plaque in their brain, which is linked with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Read More: 7 Metrics Everyone Should Know About Their Own Health

That’s why it’s important to get your numbers checked regularly, and to work with your doctor to establish a treatment regimen, Chaturvedi says. The sooner you do that, the better: “If you’re 35 or 40 and have high cholesterol, the current belief is that it’s better to start treatment early,” rather than waiting until you’re 65 or 70 and have a heart attack, he says. “If you get started early, maybe you could either postpone or never even have the heart attack,” which would be doing your brain a big favor.

Exercise for 30 minutes

Your entire body will benefit if you work out at least a few days a week—and that includes your brain. Research suggests that exercising improves cognitive processes and memory, while increasing the thickness of your cerebral cortex, which is responsible for tasks like language, thinking, and emotions. “We’re learning more and more about the benefits of regular exercise for brain health,” Chaturvedi says. “Even in patients who have mild dementia, it’s recommended they engage in exercise three to five times a week.”

Whatever activity you choose—walking, biking, swimming—make sure you’re operating at a moderate intensity, or about 50% to 80% of your maximum heart rate. “A rule of thumb I give my patients is that if you and I were going for a walk, we’d want to be walking at a pace where we’d be pretty out of breath, but we’d still be able to have a conversation,” says Dr. Carolyn Fredericks, an assistant professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine. One type of cardiovascular exercise doesn’t appear to be better than any other, she adds: “It’s just getting your heart into that range and keeping it there for a while.”

Rest up

Not getting enough sleep is a key risk factor for dementia, says Dr. Augusto Miravalle, a neurologist and multiple sclerosis specialist at Rush University Medical Center. Research suggests that people in their 50s and 60s who get six hours of sleep or less per night are 30% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than those who log at least seven hours of Z’s. Another study found that sleep-initiation insomnia, or trouble falling asleep, is associated with a 51% increased dementia risk. 

Read More: The Best Way to Treat Insomnia

What should you do if you lie awake at night counting sheep? Invest time in improving your sleep hygiene, which means taking steps like avoiding caffeine and alcohol in the evening, limiting naps, and putting away electronics before bed, Miravalle advises. If that doesn’t work, schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist to figure out if you need a more aggressive approach. Options like cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia can help some people achieve more restful slumber.

Eat like you’re vacationing on the Italian coast

Fredericks always recommends her patients follow a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, veggies, whole grains, fish, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats. “We’ve tried over the years to find the secret ingredient that makes the Mediterranean diet work,” she says. “Like, could it be the omega-3’s in the fish, or the vitamin E in the nuts? But every time we try to study an individual ingredient, we don’t actually see that big of a difference at a large group level.” What appears to be most impactful, she adds, is the style of eating and emphasis on whole foods.

In addition to prioritizing certain ingredients, Miravaelle recommends avoiding those that negatively impact brain health, like trans fats and too much salt. In one study, young and middle-aged men who followed a diet heavy in trans fat remembered 11 fewer words out of 104 than those who didn’t consume as much. And excessive salt intake is linked with stroke, cognitive impairment, and cerebrovascular disease, which affects the brain’s blood vessels and circulation.

Challenge your mind

People often ask Dr. Roy Hamilton what kind of intellectual stimulation is best: Should they put together puzzles or play Sudoku every day? What about video games? He tries not to be overly prescriptive, but offers a few guidelines. Brain-boosting activities should be “mildly challenging,” says Hamilton, who’s a professor of neurology, psychiatry, and physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. If they’re too easy, your return-on-investment will shrink; too hard, and you might give up before benefitting. “It’s got to be somewhere in the sweet zone, and it has to be something that you want to do,” he says. 

Read More: How to Make Friends as an Adult—at Every Life Stage

Rather than focusing on one pursuit—playing games, learning a new language, reading classic literature—Hamilton recommends curating a “diet of intellectual activities.” “You’re probably not going to get optimal effects just by picking Wordle and being like, ‘I do Wordle every day, and that’s how I maintain my cognition,’” he says. “The brain’s a lot more complicated than that.” He compares it to asking a nutritionist what you should eat for a healthy diet: The answer wouldn’t be carrots, more carrots, and only carrots. Make it a point to exercise your brain in a variety of ways, he encourages, just like you feast on lots of different snacks and meals every day.

Chat with a friend (or two)

There’s no single metric for how much time we should spend around other people. Yet research is clear that social engagement strengthens the neural networks involved with attention and memory. In one study, adults ages 70 to 90 who said they had pleasant social interactions on a given day had better cognitive performance on that day and the following two, compared to when they didn’t have any such encounters. “Our brains aren’t meant to exist in isolation,” Fredericks says. “I think COVID drove home to all of us that we’re not meant to be alone in our apartments or houses—it just doesn’t feel good.” To boost your social life, consider reaching out to old friends, joining a birdwatching club or another group, volunteering, or video-chatting with a long-distance family member.

Skip the beer and cigarettes

Drinking excessively isn’t good for brain health. Research suggests it can damage the parts of the brain involved in important functions like memory, decision-making, impulse control, and attention. “The more you drink, and the longer period of time over which you’re doing that volume of drinking, the worse it is for your brain,” says Hamilton, who’s on the board of trustees of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation. Think about it: When you overimbibe, you lose your inhibitions because the circuits that control your behavior go offline. “You’re literally causing temporary brain dysfunction,” Hamilton says, and over the long term, that damage takes a toll.

Smoking is similarly perilous: It can lead to cognitive decline and dementia, while increasing the risk of stroke. If you’ve already tried to quit and failed, don’t let that dissuade future attempts. “Just keep going, because there’s no healthy amount of smoking,” Hamilton says. “It’s terrible for your cardiovascular health and, therefore, your brain vascular health, too.”

Wear a mask on bad air-quality days

You already know air pollution can make your eyes sting and trigger a coughing attack. Perhaps more surprising: It’s linked to an increased likelihood of developing dementia. “Dementia in this country is pretty much following the map of air pollution,” Miravalle says. One way to protect yourself: Check daily air quality reports for your town, and if pollution is particularly high, wear a reusable face mask outside, like an N95 or KN95. As Miravalle puts it, “Anything you can do to decrease exposure to certain environmental toxins is a good, common-sense strategy.”

Lower your stress 

Minimizing stress can be an effective way to protect your brain health—but Hamilton acknowledges it’s no easy feat. “In my opinion, in the 21st century, maybe this is the hardest thing to do,” he says. “But there’s evidence that chronic stress is not great for cognition.” In one study, for example, people with elevated stress levels had a 37% higher risk of experiencing cognitive issues, including trouble with memory and thinking.

Some people find that meditation or mindfulness help tame stress; others like doing yoga or booking a massage. Hamilton gets up at 5 a.m. every day to squeeze in a trip to the gym before his work day. “It’s not about my body so much as it is about my stress,” he says. Spend some time brainstorming what relaxes you, and after putting those strategies into action, you’ll likely benefit from head to toe.

source https://time.com/7081407/brain-health-neurologist-tips/

Should You Use Retinol and Retinoids?

It’s no surprise that the skin care industry is having a moment. Instagram influencers are hawking expensive products left and right, and young TikTok users are continuously sharing their latest “must-have” products from Sephora.

Two terms that consistently get mentioned when people talk about their skin care routines online are “retinoids” and “retinol.” These products are touted for their ability to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and stimulate collagen production for younger looking skin. But are they as effective as everyone says? 

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Below, we cover everything you need to know about retinoids and retinol so you can figure out if they’re a good addition to your skin care routine. 

What are retinoids and retinol?

Retinoids are a class of prescription medications that are derived from vitamin A, says Dr. Alexis Livingston Young, a dermatologist at Hackensack University Medical Center. Retinol is a type of retinoid that is available over the counter. 

The main difference between the two is that prescription retinoids are already active, whereas over-the-counter retinol has to be converted by the body into the active form. Because prescription retinoids are already in their active form, they likely work faster and better, Young says. She notes that the actual effectiveness of retinol is hard to assess since it isn’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Read More: Do At-Home Red Light Masks Really Work?

Retinoids are the gold standard product for anti-aging, Young says. There is decades of academic research supporting its ability to stimulate collagen production, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, diminish hyperpigmentation, and unclog pores. “Of all the anti-aging products that have ever been talked about, we have the most data for retinoids—really solid, decades-long data to back up the claims,” Young says.

After sunscreen use, many dermatologists actually recommend retinoids as the best thing adults can use every day for their skin health. “I think of sunscreen as brushing your teeth, and retinoid use as flossing your teeth,” says Dr. Heather Goff, director of cosmetic dermatology and associate professor of dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. 

Beware of side effects

Retinoids can be very effective, but they can also come with side effects like irritation, redness, peeling, and dry, flaky skin. “The stronger the retinoid is, the more likely it is to cause that sort of initial irritation,” says Dr. Shayan Cheraghlou, a dermatologist at Zitelli and Brodland Skin Cancer Center in Pittsburgh. This means that, for example, the prescription retinoid tretinoin could lead to more intense side effects than an over-the-counter retinol product. These side effects are typically temporary, Young says, and tend to improve after about three months of use.

Read More: Why Do Some People Need More Sleep Than Others?

People with darker skin tones might also experience a temporary increase in pigmentation with retinoid use, says Dr. Asmi Sanghvi, a dermatologist at Bethany Medical Clinic in New York City and a clinical instructor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Eventually, she says, this side effect will go away and the skin will improve.

Irritation from retinoids happens because the skin is changing on a cellular level, Goff says. Retinoids thin out the stratum corneum, which is the outermost layer of the skin that’s composed of dead skin cells. This can cause a lot of exfoliation in the early stages of use, Goff says. 

If the side effects you experience are mild, you don’t have to give up: it can take up to 12 weeks to see an improvement in hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and wrinkles with retinoid use, Cheraghlou says. “You don’t necessarily need to stop when that happens,” he says. “Obviously if it’s too much then you should, but you can usually get over that hump.”

Young adds that although patients with rosacea, eczema, and atopic dermatitis can use retinoids, they might not be able to break through the initial irritation phase. “It might just be too much for them,” she says. 

You should exercise caution if you use chemical exfoliants, like AHAs and BHAs, in your skin care routine. “Those are peeling agents so they can make the irritation even worse,” Cheraghlou says. And if you’re pregnant or trying to conceive, you should stay away from using both prescription retinoids and over-the-counter retinol, Sanghvi says. 

Age matters

Experts are concerned about a recent uptick in teenagers and children having elaborate skin care routines that include products with retinol. In fact, there was a proposed California bill that would have prevented the sale of products with retinol to children under 13, though it failed to advance as of June 2024.

There is no reason for children and teenagers to use over-the-counter products with retinol, Cheraghlou says. Retinoids protect our collagen and stimulate new collagen production, he says, but “teenagers don’t need to use it cosmetically for the collagen effects because we don’t start losing collagen in our skin until our mid- to late 20s.”

Read More: What’s the Best Skin-Care Routine?

Although kids should not use over-the-counter beauty products with retinol for cosmetic purposes, prescription retinoids are used in teenagers and pre-teens with acne, Sanghvi says. (The well-known medication Accutane is a retinoid.) But children and teenagers should only be using retinoids if they’re prescribed by a dermatologist to treat acne. 

Most people can begin using a retinoid or retinol around age 25 or 30, Young says. Goff adds that it’s safe to use retinoids consistently over the course of one’s life. 

Keep these best practices in mind

If you plan on adding a retinoid or retinol to your skin care routine, here are a few things you should keep in mind. 

• Consider your skin type. If you have sensitive skin or conditions like eczema or rosacea, Young recommends beginning with a topical retinol product. If your skin tolerates it well, then you can switch to a prescription retinoid down the road. If you don’t have particularly sensitive skin, she recommends beginning with a prescription retinoid since they’re typically more effective. 
• Ease in. Because of the side effects of retinoids, start slowly. Sanghvi recommends using a product twice a week for a couple of weeks to start, then increasing to three times a week and gradually using it more as your skin tolerates the medication. 
• Apply products at night. The stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin) helps protect our skin from the sun’s UV rays. “But when you thin that out [with retinoid use], the skin is more sensitive to UV light,” Goff says. Because of this, you should always apply retinoids and retinol at night. 
• Wear sunscreen daily. When you wake up in the morning, you should always wash your face to get rid of any product that’s still on the skin and then moisturize and apply sunscreen, Sanghvi says.  

• Apply using the sandwich method. Moisturizing is a key component of retinoid use. Cheraghlou recommends the sandwich method: apply a layer of moisturizer, then the retinoid or retinol product, and then another layer of moisturizer. “This can help with some of that retinoid irritation,” he says. 
• Use caution in cold climates. It’s not unusual for retinoid irritation to improve in the summertime and then worsen in the wintertime, even after the initial three-month adjustment period. If you develop sudden irritation, Young recommends taking a break from the retinoid or retinol and using a gentle moisturizer and cleanser. “Give it a few days to calm down, and then slowly reintroduce the product,” she says. “I’m in the northeast, and some patients in the winter can only [use retinoids] twice a week, and that’s fine. It’s better than nothing.”

source https://time.com/7086203/should-you-use-retinol-retinoids-skin-care/

‘American Malaria’ Is on the Rise

Few things will leave you feeling quite so grossed out as returning from a jaunt outside and finding a tick clinging to your skin. Not only is the unwelcome parasite sucking the blood from your body, but it may also be leaving something behind: bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can cause at least 15 different diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Lyme disease, Powassan virus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Heartland virus are just a few of them.

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Another, babesiosis, is causing particular concern. The disease is colloquially known as “American malaria,” partly because of its ever-widening spread and partly because of its clinical profile. Like malaria, the disease is caused by a parasite (carried by ticks instead of mosquitoes) that infects red blood cells. And like malaria, it can lead to headache, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, altered mental state, anemia, low blood pressure, respiratory distress, and more. 

Now, a new paper published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases found that more Americans are getting babesiosis—often alongside other tick-related infections.

Paddy Ssentongo, an infection disease fellow at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and his colleagues studied more than 3,500 Americans with babesiosis from 2015 to 2022. Their first striking finding is how fast the disease is exploding across the U.S. population. In the seven-year span of the survey, cases of babesiosis increased an average of 9% per year—due, the researchers concluded, to a warming world which is expanding the range of the black-legged tick, the principal babesiosis vector. In the Northeast, the spread has been astronomical: babesiosis grew by 1,422% in Maine from 2011 to 2019, and 1,602% in Vermont during the same period, for example.

Read More: We Used to Have a Lyme Disease Vaccine. Are We Ready to Bring One Back?

The ticks are not making their way to new habitats on their own, but rather are hitching rides aboard one of their principal hosts—the white-tailed deer, who are expanding their own range, drawn by warmer temperatures and reduced snowpack.

Geography isn’t the only problem. Ticks are also carrying more pathogens. The ticks may travel on deer, but they pick up disease by feeding on mice and other small mammals; if those hosts are carrying Lyme disease or babesiosis or other infectious agents, the parasite will pick them up too—and pass them on to a human it bites. That’s a big problem, as the researchers found.

Of the people in the sample group who were found to be carrying babesiosis, 42% were also infected with one or more tick-borne diseases. Of those, 41% also had Lyme disease; 3.7% had ehrlichiosis; and 0.3% had anaplasmosis.

On its face, that seems like bad news. The wide-ranging symptoms of babesiosis can be especially dangerous in people with compromised immune systems or those who have had their spleen removed during treatment for some cancers, blood diseases, or cirrhosis of the liver. Ehrlichiosis also leads to fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and confusion, and in later stages can cause brain damage, uncontrolled bleeding, respiratory failure, and death. Anaplasmosis can lead to similar symptoms and potentially fatal breakdowns, including respiratory failure and bleeding problems.

Paradoxically, however, the researchers found that infection with more than one of these pathogens at the same time may actually have something of a protective effect. The risk of death from babesiosis turned out to be higher among the people who were infected with that disease alone, as opposed to those who had coinfections.

Read More: Here’s Exactly What to Do If You Find a Tick on You

“Having both babesiosis and Lyme disease seemed not to be associated with worse mortality,” Ssentongo said in a statement accompanying the release of the study. “It’s speculated that the concurrent presence of other tick-borne infections in the blood could alter the immune response by possibly ‘boosting’ it to effectively fight infections.”

That’s not the only reason people with co-infections may do better than those with babesiosis alone. The typical treatment for babesiosis is a combination dose of the antibiotics azithromycin and atovaquone. The front-line treatment for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis is a different antibiotic, doxycycline. People who are co-infected with one or more of those diseases along with babesiosis are more likely to be treated with doxycycline as well. That, says Ssentongo, raises the question as to whether that antibiotic is effective against the babesia parasite—a question that requires more research.

Of course, the best way to deal with any of these tick-borne diseases is not to get infected with them in the first place. Wearing long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants, tucking pant cuffs into socks, wearing insect repellant, showering after coming inside, and running a full-body check for ticks are all proven infection preventives. 

source https://time.com/7086273/american-malaria-babesiosis-ticks-lyme-disease/

Why Youth Entrepreneurs Are Key To Tackling Climate Change in Africa

I am a proud Nigerian and a proud African. I am also a philanthropist and entrepreneur—and I have seen firsthand that to effectively tackle climate change within the African context, from Egypt to Nigeria to South Africa, we must look to the people it impacts.

Too often our businesses have not created value on our continent or traded commodities for short-term profit, not long-term investment. Fostering entrepreneurship, sustaining young entrepreneurs, who will grow businesses and create sustainable employment, is a crucial pathway to achieving long-term climate solutions. 

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In 2010, my wife and I had an idea. Concerned with escalating poverty, we founded the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) and committed $100 million to identify, mentor, and fund young African entrepreneurs—young people with brilliant ideas and the drive to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges. They lacked capital, connections, and mentors. They lacked luck. We wanted to change that. It was a bold bet aimed at empowering Africa’s most vulnerable and populous demographic, encouraging them to create their own wealth, rather than relying on aid. And the bet paid off.

Since its inception, the foundation has empowered 20,000 entrepreneurs across 54 African countries, who have created 400,000 direct and indirect jobs and generated over $2.3 billion in revenue. We have provided access to business training to more than 1.5 million young people. 

Given the scale of the task, we partner with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the European Union (EU), and other partners to deepen our reach and impact. We provide funding, mentorship, business training, and advocacy support to entrepreneurs—specifically, in fragile regions, conflict zones, and underserved communities. 

Together, we address challenges like youth unemployment, poverty, and insurgency through entrepreneurship. In 2022, we partnered with UNICEF Generation Unlimited (GenU) and IKEA Foundation, to launch a Green Entrepreneurship Program that empowers youth whose businesses address the triple planetary crisis. Of the 20,000 young men and women entrepreneurs that TEF has empowered, more than 500 are directly or indirectly solving challenges related to climate change, and over a third (35%) working in the agricultural sector.

Watch: Farmers Could Be Key To Restoring Brazil’s Forests

By empowering young people, we are establishing a dynamic engine that drives economic growth and development across the continent. These entrepreneurs also become vital pillars of support within their communities. They are not only creating essential jobs and income, but also uplifting families and breaking the cycle of poverty. And now, more than ever, is the time to bring a climate-lens to this entrepreneurship.

Africa is warming more quickly than the rest of the world. By 2030, an estimated 118 million Africans are projected to face drought, and rising sea levels threaten coastal regions, potentially displacing millions. Climate change is impeding access to basic necessities: water, power, food, and education. But these challenges also offer extraordinary opportunities for those with an entrepreneurial mindset to tackle climate change, while simultaneously creating significant economic value. 

For instance, how can we enhance the sustainability of smallholder farmers, which comprise 80% of all farms in sub-Saharan Africa and employ 60% of the continent’s workforce? What strategies can be employed by African nations with vast forests—such as Gabon, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Congo—to effectively leverage these critical carbon sinks? 

To unlock the full potential of green solutions in Africa, we must nurture entrepreneurship—and this cannot be achieved by governments alone. We need to integrate government incentive schemes, with the opportunities presented by the private sector. It is imperative that we unite philanthropies, policymakers, and businesses. I refer to this movement as “Africapitalism”—a call for partnership led by the private sector, focused on fostering prosperity for all. 

Global warming is not an inevitable fate. Entrepreneurs are inherently problem solvers; they possess the curiosity to explore opportunities and challenges, the creativity to devise innovative solutions, and the determination to transform obstacles into successes. Youth entrepreneurship can be a solution to averting the looming crisis of climate impact. It’s time to harness this power.

source https://time.com/7093611/youth-entrepreneurs-climate-action-africa/

Fighting Florida’s Invasive Python Problem One Step at a Time

Despite miles of ground covered as we drove through the Everglades under the cover of darkness, it was impossible to ignore the fact that we hadn’t spotted a single mammal. The expansive wetlands in South Florida have long had a reputation for being rich in biodiversity and brimming with wildlife. But the sad reality today is that native species like mammals, birds, and reptiles that call the region home are now in perilously short supply. The culprit behind the ecological upheaval is a destructive and unyielding foe—an invasive species that doesn’t belong in the Everglades, but whose successful adaptation to its new environment has had a devastating impact: the Burmese python.

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Invasive species pose a severe global threat that is underappreciated, underestimated, and often unacknowledged, according to a 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). They are considered one of the five most-critical direct drivers of biodiversity loss, according to the report, yet the threat they pose is “too often ignored until it is too late.” Such is the case in South Florida, with the spread of invasive pythons that is proving challenging to contain.

Accompanied by a professional python hunter, I scoured the glades for the snakes with two representatives of innovative footwear brand P448. The company has emerged as an unlikely ally in the battle to control these invasive creatures. Over the past year, it has been working to shed light on the pervasive problem and design a more sustainable shoe—one made with invasive python skin. 

Florida’s new apex predator

Native to Southeast Asia, the Burmese python found its way into the Everglades in the 1980s through the exotic pet trade and irresponsible pet owners releasing them into the wild. This human error, coupled with the snake’s ability to grow rapidly, and lay as many as 100 eggs at a time, is the reason the Everglades is now overrun by the opportunistic creature. Today, conservative estimates from experts suggest there are likely tens of thousands of them out there.

These invasive pythons, capable of reaching over 20 ft. long and weighing as much as 200 lbs., are now the apex predator at the top of the food chain. They have disrupted the local ecosystem by both preying on an array of native species and outcompeting them for food and resources. The U.S. Geological Survey has reported near 100% reductions in small mammal populations like raccoons and opossums since 1997, and some, such as rabbits and foxes have “effectively disappeared” as a result.

On our drive we spotted the odd wading bird or baby alligator—and you can’t help but think that it’s just a matter of time before it falls prey to the generalist predator. Working on the front lines of the battle to remove invasive pythons, Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, has seen first-hand what the pythons are consuming to reach incredible sizes: they have been documented eating over 84 species of animals in Florida, even large ones like deer and alligators.

Kristen Hart, Ph.D. and research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, has been researching invasive Burmese pythons since 2008. As part of this work, she has helped design field studies to better understand the python’s capabilities—and she is quick to highlight just how successfully they have adapted to their new environment. She points to studies that have revealed evolved characteristics such as cold tolerance, and the ability to withstand salt water and extend their habitat beyond freshwater to coastal environments: Pythons have been discovered in marine environments in Naples and the Florida Keys, and have been documented as far as 15.5 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recent report. The snakes even have an “alien-like” capacity to regenerate their own organs and tissues, and are able to adapt their feeding strategies, going as long as six months without food if necessary, though they are not prey-limited at this time, according to Hart. “These abilities show that they’re evolving really quickly, and that this environment is a great fit for them,” says Hart. “But they’re not supposed to be here and are a huge pressure on a system that’s already stressed in many other ways.”

But the python’s impact may not be limited to the Everglades. As the snake’s population spreads northward from where it first established itself in Florida, climate change will likely impact their spread, according to David Lodge, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability at Cornell University. As temperatures increase, so too does the potential range for pythons. Lodge, who has over 40 years researching invasive species under his belt, adds that the full extent of the species’ ecosystem disruption may not be clear. “The impacts are likely to become greater as we see and understand the consequences of losing so many small mammal species.”

Not just that, but invasive species can also contribute to the emergence and spread of zoonotic disease. Helen Roy, a professor at the U.K. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and University of Exeter with over 20 years of experience studying invasive alien species, including as a former co-chair of the IPBES global assessment on invasive alien species, believes “there is an urgent need to raise awareness of the potential risks posed to human health by the transmission of zoonotic diseases by invasive alien species.” The introduction of the Burmese python in South Florida has greatly disrupted the ecosystem there. Because the snakes eat small mammals—which are also the normal host animals for mosquitoes—a recent study found that the insects have had to find a new host: rodents. Rodents seem to provide more fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes, so populations have thrived—and so has mosquito-borne Everglades virus (EVEV). That increases the risk for humans, too. “It is critical that we increase awareness of the often-underestimated magnitude of future impacts of invasive alien species on human health,” says Roy, “and prioritize the implementation of collaborative initiatives to address them.”

Wearable advocacy

In order to control the invasive python population and safeguard the Everglades, the animals must be captured and humanely killed. It can be a difficult concept to wrap your head around, given that the Burmese python is endangered in Southeast Asia. “We have a lot of respect for the Burmese python, a species that is here through no fault of their own and vulnerable in their native range,” says Bartoszek. “But unfortunately, invasive species management does not always have a happy ending.”

It was our expedition guide, Federico Arrosa, a python removal contractor working for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), who originally contacted P448 on Instagram after he heard about their latest shoe collection using the skins of invasive lionfish. The company had already been looking into the idea generally when Arrosa reached out with the idea of where to source invasive snake skin for shoes. “I’ve seen first-hand how some of these beautiful skins of these remarkable animals end up going to waste,” says Arrosa, “so when I discovered P448 it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do right by the planet and the animal.”

The invasive species is known to have high levels of mercury and harbor parasites, so it’s not advisable to consume python meat. Meaning the snakes are often thrown out after they’re killed. As part of their Project Sustainability program, P448 tries to find creative sustainability solutions that remove something harmful to the environment and put it to better use. According to Sabrina Cohen, chief product and sustainability officer at P448, waste management is a key sustainability pillar of their Burmese python program, a collection they began producing in 2023 with a focus on replacing higher-impact materials such as those made from petroleum-based plastics with an existing resource. This new take on sustainability sees the skins of Florida’s invasive pythons, a material that would otherwise be discarded as waste, repurposed and given a second life as footwear, complementing other recycled materials such as Global Recycled Standard-certified leather and fabric, recycled thermoplastic rubber, organic cotton laces, and recycled eyelets used in the design of their shoes.

The Burmese python isn’t P448’s first foray into the use of invasive leathers; in addition to their sneakers made with the skins of Lionfish, invasive to the Florida Keys, they have also used Carp, an invasive freshwater species in North America. And a new project is on the horizon using the skins of Ta’ape (Bluestripe Snapper), an invasive species in Hawaii that is outcompeting native fish for food and disrupting the local fishing industry. “P448 challenges itself to look at sustainability in a different way,” says Cohen, noting the curiosity they possess as a brand as they chart new paths in sustainable applications.

With the snakeskin sneakers, the eco-minded brand also saw an opportunity to cast an educational spotlight on the Everglades’ vulnerable ecosystem. Public awareness plays an important role in contributing to the effective management of biological invasions, according to the IPBES, by enhancing peoples’ understanding of the risks associated with invasive alien species in order to prevent new introductions. With their sneakers, P448 aims to do just that, raising awareness for a critical environmental concern among their consumer base and the fashion industry at large, blazing a trail with a new trend in wearable advocacy. One way P448 has been effectively reaching audiences is through their documentary-style film series on invasive species, which have been making their way through the global film festival circuit, allowing viewers to experience the issues through the eyes of environmentalists and hunters at the forefront. Their film on lionfish was recognized as “best technical achievement” at the Seattle International Fashion Film Festival in 2023, and won “best documentary” at the Coupe D’Or Fashion Film Festival Chicago 2023. The brand’s Burmese python film is following in its footsteps as an official selection for the 2024 London Fashion Film Festival.

Lodge believes there is great benefit to making snakeskin apparel such as footwear out of invasive Burmese pythons, particularly if the marketing raises awareness of the source of the skins, and the harm the snakes are doing in Florida. He does, however, caution against scenarios where such a strategy could backfire, noting the potential risk that endangered native populations of Burmese pythons in Asia may be exploited illegally if the trade in skins were to become lucrative. Furthermore, the development of a market in skins could incentivize the further introduction and spread of pythons to establish additional populations to exploit. For P448, this is why global trade compliance is so important. Cohen highlights Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) management as a critical part of their journey, ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants is sustainable and does not endanger their survival. This essentially means prohibiting trade in endangered species and regulating trade in threatened or endangered species. P448’s marketing message emphasizes the critical environmental issue by presenting the facts and spotlighting the direct action they are taking to help drive positive change.

A needle in a haystack

Pythons are elusive creatures that can swim, climb, and burrow underground, making hunting them a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. According to Arrosa, it can be laborious work scanning thick vegetation for any tiny square inch of the distinctive pattern of the python’s skin. “But you generate a ‘snake eye’ almost over time that picks up the shape of a snake or the shiny scales,” he says.

Biologists like Bartoszek, meanwhile, use a slew of tools to track down the species, including using male “scout snakes” to locate breeding female pythons before they have a chance to lay a clutch of eggs. Another tool that Lodge and his collaborators are spearheading is Environmental DNA (or eDNA)—a method that uses water, air, or soil samples to detect the presence and abundance of a species without seeing them, based on the trail of DNA left behind. 

Any willing individual can take to the wetlands to support the cause; the SFWMD accepts applications to become python removal agents through their Python Elimination Program. Nearly 20,000 pythons have been caught in Florida in the last 20 years, and in 2022, 538 pythons were collected for P448’s production purposes, representing a quarter of the total catch for that year. Across three different shoe styles in their collection, those 538 skins produced almost 1,500 pairs. On average, three pairs of shoes can be made from a single skin, depending on its size and pattern.

One step at a time

While the large skins of pythons lend themselves well to engineering a shoe, it isn’t quite as simple as going directly from snake to shoe. According to Cohen, it takes months of research, tannery testing, and trial samples before the python skin is incorporated into a pair of P448 sneakers. Untreated python skin, while delicate, can be quite rigid, requiring that it go through a tanning process combining vegetable tanning with a chrome bath (using chromium) to enhance the snakekin’s pliability and ensure it can withstand the daily wear and tear of a sneaker. This tanning process, which can be water and energy-intensive, presents a challenge for the brand, according to Cohen, as they worked to strike a balance between being as sustainable as possible, without compromising the beauty and durability of the skin. “Sustainability is a conviction, but also a learning journey with its undefined path,” says Cohen.

Curbing the python population, however, is a herculean task. P448 recognizes that the issue is bigger than any one person, company, or group can solve. Its mission is to educate their consumers, and influence the fashion world to follow some of their cues by showcasing their regenerative sustainability practices. 

Given that they are reproducing faster than they can be removed, eradication is currently a pipe dream according to Lodge, who stresses that without greatly increased investments to improve detection technologies, discover more effective control interventions, and support the labor and infrastructure needed, there is little hope of slowing their spread.

After several hours of driving we finally found a 7 ft. python. Arrosa hopped out of the car and wrangled it. Putting my ophidiophobia aside, I gripped its head. I was surprised by how something I long considered so menacing can so quickly relinquish its power and be so submissive in my hand. I forgot for a moment just how skillful a creature it can be and the damage it’s capable of inflicting. I felt a deep respect for the animal as I attempted to reconcile the fact that it must be killed for the greater good. I did, however, take comfort knowing the snake’s stunning scaled hide—with its intricate brown-toned camouflage—could be given a second life in a pair of sneakers that make a strong statement about environmental stewardship.

source https://time.com/7086199/florida-invasive-python-problem-p448-shoes/