Sergio Parra

According to what we know today in science, and based on the results of clinical studies in this regard, physically, there is no reason that can explain possible harm from exposure to a mobile phone, a mobile phone antenna, or even , to the 5G WiFi.

If this type of radiation were really harmful through a physical principle unknown to date, there would be an uptick in tumors and cancers because we have been continuously exposed to these radiations everywhere for more than a century. Environmental movements and other related activists, however, They always refer to the same collections of studies (very few and generally with methodological flaws or only carried out on animals).

The 5G conspiracy

Radiation is the phenomenon of transporting energy in a vacuum or a material medium using particles or electromagnetic waves. Depending on how the radiation interacts with the matter that comes into its path, we can distinguish two types: ionizing and non-ionizing.

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No, Reiki cannot help you in any way against COVID-19 because it is a scam.

The first can break the chemical bonds of the living tissue with which it interacts. The second, on the contrary, He doesn't have enough energy to do it..

Most of the radiation around us is non-ionizing, from radio and television signals to visible light. So is radiation from mobile phones, as well as telephone antennas.

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If an intellectual embraces pseudoscience or nonsense, he is not an intellectual (and even less should he be a politician).

Despite this, there are many associations, political groups and even scientists who point out the opposite, violating the most basic principles of physics. There are even organizations that They begin to sabotage 5G telephone antennas because they are convinced that 5G networks act as a kind of catalyst, which amplifies and makes the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen more lethal.

The Stop 5G movement is led by Arthur Firstenberg, one of the main proponents of electrosensitivity and other invented pseudo-diseases related to electromagnetism. One of his star tips is: "turn off the Wi-Fi and your cell phone while you sleep."

nocebo effect

So? Why do some people seem to get sick when they are near cell towers or seem to suffer from electrosensitivity? Simple: because a correlation is not a cause. Just because something happens right after or at the moment we do something does not mean that it is a consequence of it. To find out if there is a cause and not a correlation, studies are done, and the studies have not found anything beyond the correlation.

Probably, in many cases the so-called nocebo effect, just the opposite of the placebo effect. If the placebo effect occurs when a person's body offers a positive response to a drug without any active ingredient (a simple sugar pill), as if it were really a medicine with an active ingredient (for example to reduce vomiting or relieve migraine), the nocebo effect would do just the opposite: the tendency for people to feel bad when they think they have been exposed to something dangerous.

The electrosensitivityTherefore, it would be a chronic manifestation of nocebo coexisting with an anxiety disorder.

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Should we invest resources in researching pseudosciences?

This fear seems to arise with greater or lesser virulence every time a new electronic device appears that the average citizen does not understand in depth. In the 1980s, for example, it happened with the use of the microwave oven. Now, it has simply been 5G's turn... until it goes out of style.

In conclusion, there are thousands of elements that interact with our body. We are matter and everything around us interacts with us in some way. For example, visible light, such as that emitted by a light bulb. Microwaves are still light, too, except that they are not visible to the human eye. So if we are afraid of WiFi or microwaves, by that same logic we should be afraid of oxygen or the light of a light bulb. But if we have to be afraid of something, let it be another much more dangerous source of visible light: Sun (either tanning booths), a great generator of mutations in our DNA as soon as we spend too much time exposed to it to tan.

A good example of how social paranoia and erroneous ideas or misinterpretations can lead us to absurd situations is the Seattle Dent Windshield Epidemic, which you can see in the following video, and which shows us that the value of an idea must be measured by a rule. That is to say, with objective experiments, with evidence:

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What science says about 5G and its effects on our health

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Sergio Parra

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According to a new longitudinal study conducted with almost 8,000 British adults followed for more than 25 years, sleeping six hours or less per night in their 50s and 60s is associated with an increased risk of dementia.

There was also a 30 percent increased risk of dementia in those with consistently short sleep patterns from age 50 to 70, regardless of cardiometabolic or mental health problems, which are known risk factors for dementia.

Correlation, not causation

The authors of the study from the French national health research institute INSERM analyzed data from a long-term study conducted by University College London, which has followed the health of 7,959 British individuals since 1985.

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Dementia and cognitive decline could be closer if you lose hearing and vision, according to new study

The participants self-reported their sleep duration, while around 3,900 of them also wore watch devices during the night to confirm their estimates.

However, as the researchers themselves clarify, We are dealing with a correlation, not a causality..

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The first gene therapy that manages to reverse Alzheimer's memory loss in mice

Additionally, while time spent sleeping is related to dementia risk in older adults, ages 65 and older, it is unclear whether this association is also true for younger age groups.

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Sleeping six hours or less per night between ages 50 and 60 is associated with increased risk of dementia

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With the vaccines that are already in place and those that will be given in these coming weeks, although there is no group immunity yet, the number of deaths will drop until it is almost residual.

In Spain, 44% of those over 60 years of age have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. And that is already having great beneficial effects.

From that age it has been produced:

• The 95% of deaths
• The 64% of ICU admissions
• The 65% of hospitalizations

Some optimism in sight

Although in the first phases of vaccination they were much slower because they were more complicated at a logistical level (among other things because they were more oriented towards residences), after starting to vaccinate health personnel and teachers, the rhythm has skyrocketed.

To carry out vaccination, the Ministry of Health has prepared a document called Vaccination strategy against Covid-19 in Spain. The fifth update of the Health vaccination plan included a new priority group to receive the vaccine: people with very high-risk conditions, such as those who suffer from oncohematological disease, cancer, some type of primary immunodeficiency or HIV, etc.

All this news invites optimism, but we have to continue considerably accelerating the pace of vaccination, especially in case unforeseen events appear, If what we want is to reach the expected goal of 70 % of the Spanish population immunized by the end of summer of this 2021.

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Leaving middle seats empty on a plane could give passengers more protection against coronavirus

According to the specialized data platform Time to Herd, Spain will reach 70% of vaccinated population within 187 days. However, this platform does not take into account some factors that could increase or decrease the pace of vaccine administration. As we increase the pace, well, The estimated day to reach that percentage will also be closer. And how has emphasized the Minister of Health herself, Carolina Darias: the key month of April will be decisive if we want to reach 70% of the vaccinated population in August (33 million people).

Without a doubt, further proof that, despite the attacks and uncertainty, we can prosper through science and technology. Definitely, be more morlocks than elois, more cornucopian than malthusian:

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Although herd immunity is still missing, vaccinating risk groups already has extraordinarily beneficial effects

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A new study suggests that the risk of passengers being exposed to the virus from an infected person on the plane could be reduced by between a 23% and a 57% if the middle seats are empty, compared to a full flight.

No masks

Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kansas State University have estimated the distance that airborne virus particles travel inside a plane. To do this, they used aerosol-emitting mannequins to measure the flow of virus particles through mock-ups of airplane cabins.

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Coronavirus RNA can persist for up to a month in room dust

However, the study did not take into account the use of masks because it was based on a previous study conducted in 2017, before the pandemic.

It also did not consider whether passengers are vaccinated against COVID-19. The CDC says vaccinated people can travel with low risk to themselves, although the agency still recommends against traveling unless it is for essential activities.

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Leaving middle seats empty on a plane could give passengers more protection against coronavirus

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A group of researchers have scanned a natural spider web with a laser to capture 2D cross sections and then used computer algorithms to reconstruct the 3D spider web network.

The project's principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented the work at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Translation to music

The team assigned different sound frequencies to the strands, creating "notes" that combined into patterns based on the 3D structure of the spider web to generate melodies.

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The largest spider in the world has a wingspan of up to 28 centimeters

Next, the researchers They created an instrument similar to a harp and played the spider web music at various live performances around the world.

The result can be heard here:

The team also made a virtual reality setup that allowed people to visually and audibly “enter” the spider web.

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The structure of a spider web has been translated into music and this is what it sounds like

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According to a new study published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, just left 3 percent of dry land.

Taking into account the loss of species from intact habitat, as well as the reduction in species populations, this percentage is drastically lower than previous assessments, which estimated it between 20% and 40%.

Intact habitat is increasingly being lost

As explained Andrew Plumptre from the Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat in Cambridge, lead author of the study:

We know that intact habitat is being increasingly lost and the values of intact habitat have been demonstrated for both biodiversity and people, but this study found that much of what we consider intact habitat are lost species that have been hunted by people or that have been lost due to invasive species or disease.

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As temperatures continue to rise, there will be more lightning in the Arctic

However, there is hope. The authors say that by 20% the planet's land surface could be restored to faunal integrity by reintroducing just a few species into the remaining intact habitat.

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Cornucopians VS Malthusians: how to face a finite world in which there are more and more people?

Intact habitat has been shown to have important benefits for both wildlife and people and, as a result, should be a critical objective of the ongoing negotiations of the Convention on Biological Diversity following the 2020 global biodiversity framework. needs recognition of these special places within intact habitat, where there is full functional integrity, and plans to focus restoration in areas where ecological integrity could be restored.

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Only between 2% and 3% of the Earth's emerged surface can it still be considered ecologically intact

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A new methodology, based on a subtle but significant increase in heat emissions over large areas of a volcano in the years before its eruption, can predict these events with enough margin in advance. This makes it possible to see that a volcano has reawakened, often long before the other signs appear.

The new method was developed using satellite data by scientists at NASA and the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

Satellite data

For several types of volcanoes that have erupted in the past two decades, the study team analyzed 16 and a half years of radiant heat data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS). aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites.

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We have the first evidence that there are not only volcanoes on Venus but that they are also active

Despite the differences between the volcanoes, the results were consistent: in the years before an eruption, the radiant surface temperature across much of the volcano rose about 1 degree Celsius above its normal state. It decreased after each eruption.

In particular, scientists believe that the increase in heat may result from the interaction between magma reservoirs and hydrothermal systems. As explained by the co-author from the study, Paul Lundgren from JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory):

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Books that inspire us: 'Disasters: How Catastrophes Shape History', by Lucy Jones

Volcanoes are like a box of mixed chocolates: they may look similar, but inside there is a lot of variety between them and sometimes even within the same one. On top of that, only a few volcanoes are well monitored, and some of the most potentially dangerous volcanoes are the ones that erupt the least frequently, meaning historical records cannot be strictly relied upon.

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This new method that detects signs of volcanic activity years before the eruptions

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A team of scientists led by Associate Professor Isao Shitanda of Tokyo University of Science has just published A study describing a novel design for a biofuel cell array that uses a chemical in sweat, lactic acid, to generate enough energy to power a biosensor and wireless communication devices for a short period of time.

More power than previous designs

Their new biofuel cell matrix looks like a paper bandage that can be worn, for example, on the arm or forearm. It essentially consists of a water-repellent paper substrate on which multiple biofuel cells are placed in series and parallel; The number of cells depends on the output voltage and the power required.

In each cell, electrochemical reactions between lactic acid and an enzyme present on the electrodes produce an electric current, which flows into a general current collector made of a conductive carbon paste.

This not the first lactic acid-based biofuel cell, but a few key differences make this new design stand out. One is the fact that the entire device can be manufactured using screen printing, a technique generally suitable for cheap mass production. This was made possible by careful selection of materials and ingenious design. For example, while previous similar cells used silver wires as conductive paths, today's biofuel cells employ porous carbon ink.

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The first wearable for babies that accurately monitors jaundice, something that affects the majority of newborns

Another advantage is the way lactic acid is delivered to the cells. The layers of paper are used to collect sweat and transport it to all cells simultaneously through the capillary effect, the same effect by which water travels quickly through a napkin when it comes into contact with a puddle of water.

They also transmit more energy: They could generate a voltage of 3.66 V and an output power of 4.3 mW.

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Portable biofuel cells now produce electricity from lactic acid in sweat

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Sergio Parra

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The virus's RNA, part of the genetic material within a virus, can persist up to a month in dust, according to a study carried out in rooms where patients with COVID-19 were isolated.

He study It did not evaluate whether the dust can transmit the virus to humans. However, it could offer another option for monitoring COVID-19 outbreaks in specific buildings.

Way to monitor buildings

For this study, the research team worked with teams responsible for room cleaning in the state of Ohio, where students who tested positive for COVID-19 were isolated.

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The nose is very vulnerable to COVID-19 infection: do not wear the mask halfway

The study, published in mSystems magazine, found that some of the genetic material at the heart of the virus persists in the dust, although the envelope around the virus is likely to break down sooner.

They found genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19, in 97% of the dust samples.

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The 76% of patients with COVID-19 still present symptoms six months after infection

The studio offers another non-invasive route to monitor buildings for COVID-19 outbreaks, especially as more people get vaccinated and return to common spaces.

Monitoring dust, then, could offer insight similar to that obtained when analyzing a city's wastewater.

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Coronavirus RNA can persist for up to a month in room dust

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Sergio Parra

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According to a new study published in the magazine PLOS Biology, human screams can transmit many more things than fear, and are more acoustically diverse than previously thought.

Functional MRI Imaging

In the study, twelve participants were asked to vocalize positive and negative cries that could be triggered by various situations. A different group of individuals rated the emotional nature of the screams, classified the screams into different categories, and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while listening to the screams.

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This is the loudest land animal of all

The results revealed six types of psychoacoustically distinct screams, indicating pain, anger, fear, pleasure, sadness, and joy.

Perhaps most surprising was that the listeners responded more quickly and accurately, and with greater neural sensitivity, to positive and non-alarming screams than to alarming screams. Specifically, the less alarming screams elicited more activity in many auditory and frontal brain regions.

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The biggest challenge if we find intelligent life on other planets will be understanding its language: Lincos could be a solution

According to the authors, these findings show that screams are more diverse in their communicative and signaling nature in humans than is often assumed.

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Human screams not only communicate fear, but at least six different emotions

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