Augusteo.com Weekly Digest #16

Analyzing 350 seizure cases that spanned a four-year period, the researchers determined that 15.7%, or the seizures of 55 patients, may have been induced by the inhalation, ingestion or topical use of essential oils. After advising the patients to discontinue their use of the oils, they found that the vast majority of those patients did not experience another seizure during a follow-up period. By cutting out the exposure to camphor and eucalyptus oils in any form, the researchers said they were able to reduce the number and dosage of antiepileptic medications for those with epilepsy.

The yeast that people have used for millennia to brew alcoholic drinks has now been engineered to produce cannabinoids — chemicals with medicinal and sometimes mind-altering properties found in cannabis. The researchers turns a sugar in brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) called galactose into tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis (Cannabis sativa). The altered yeast can also produce cannabidiol (CBD)

Having children will cause you to happier than staying childless, consistent with a replacement study, but not until later in life, once they have flown the nest. This may be because when children grow old and move out, they provide social enrichment to their parents minus the day-to-day stress of taking care of them.

“All forms of physical punishment even if perceived to be mild are associated with an increased likelihood for poor outcomes for adolescents including physical health problems, mental disorders, and defiant behaviors. Together with other research, the current study provides further evidence that spanking/slapping should not be used on children and adolescents.“

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have designed an experimental drug that reversed key symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. The drug works by reinvigorating a cellular cleaning mechanism—chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA)—that gets rid of unwanted proteins by digesting and recycling them.

This year Impossible cut its prices for restaurants and grocery stores, undercutting Beyond and edging closer to the cost of beef. Beyond, in turn, offered its most aggressive promotional pricing at retail so far. Retailers are also moving into plant-based substitutes in their private-label products, which often have lower prices than brand-name goods and benefit from guaranteed shelf space. Sales of plant-based meats are only 2.7% of packaged meat sales in the U.S.

Lichess had gone more than a decade safely paying their bills with money from donations and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue. Just like not having adverts, they also have no incentive to hide features, or to sell user data - Lichess exists to be used by you, not to use you. Anyone is free to use Lichess code for their own project with no cost.

A fight over the name of Josh drew a crowd from around the country to a Nebraska park Saturday for a heated pool-noodle brawl.

Funky simulator to teach people about personal finance. The Windows XP interface will bring a dose of nostalgia.

Science books recommendation from Nature.

Today, after spending almost four years on board stranded off the Egyptian coast, he was freed and flown home to Syria. For four years, life - and death - passed Mohammed by. He watched as ships sailed past, in and out of the nearby Suez Canal. Astonishing as Mohammed’s story is, his experience is not unique. In fact, seafarer abandonment is on the rise. According to the International Labour Organization, there are more than 250 active cases around the world where crews are simply left to fend for themselves. It says 85 new cases were reported in 2020, which is twice as many as in the previous year.

They called it the Alexandra Limp and it was quite possibly the only fad to be born in a sick bed. At first, it was a DIY affair. Women would simply grab odd shoes to help them totter effectively. But canny shopkeepers soon realised there was a pretty penny to be made from what otherwise would be retail’s most unshiftable line - wildly mismatched footwear, with one high heel, and one low.

Amazing website with 3D scrolling. I’ve never seen anything like this before!