• I plan to retire in 2025. Am I financially prepared?
    www.vox.com
    On the Money is a monthly advice column. If you want advice on spending, saving, or investing or any of the complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions you can submit your question on this form. Here, we answer a question asked by a Vox reader, which has been edited and condensed.This falls into the category of complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions: I am 65 and thinking of retiring. I am working with an investment adviser. We have tentatively set the end of 2025 as my retirement date, and I can see on paper that this would be workable, but my two kids (in their mid-20s) will still need a lot of help financially beyond that more help than I can give them once Im no longer working. Knowing my own emotional tendencies, I would feel guilty and selfish to make my retirement a higher priority than continuing to help them as I am now doing, but I also think Id feel increasingly resentful the longer I worked past 2025. Can personal finance even provide an answer to this dilemma, assuming that wed all survive either way?Dear Thinking of Retiring,Its good that you wrote me when you did because weve just turned the page on a new year which means you can make a New Years resolution to solve this problem in a way that does not leave you feeling guilty and resentful. Start by talking to your investment adviser. When this person tells you that you can retire at the end of 2025, what do they specifically mean? You told me that you can give your children financial help while youre working but that you do not anticipate being able to provide help after you retire. Does this mean youll be starting your retirement on a minimal budget with very little wiggle room? This could be a problem in the long term, and not just for your children. Look carefully at how much income you might have as a retiree, and then ask yourself what you hope to do in your retirement. A life in which you do not have extra money to help your children may also be a life in which you do not have extra money to take a vacation or move into a new home or cover a significant unexpected expense. On that note, you should think carefully about the types of expenses you can reasonably expect over the next few decades. Your children may get married, for example. You may have grandchildren whom you want to visit regularly. Even if you arent the type of parent who decides to help your children with educational expenses or down payments and you dont have to be its reasonable to expect that youll put at least some money toward your continued relationship. Although you didnt mention any responsibilities toward the generation above you, its also reasonable for a retiree to anticipate putting both money and time toward the care of parents or in-laws. Should you combine finances with your partner?How to cope with inflation and lifestyle creepHow are you supposed to start investing?Do you have questions related to personal finance? Submit them here.With that in mind, take some time to talk to your children about their expectations and goals, both in terms of their own financial stability as well as any help they may be anticipating. If you have provided your children with large amounts of financial support in the past and/or bailed them out of various financial jams, they have a right to know that this support may change in the future. You may also feel better about your decision to retire if you know that your children have a plan that includes skill-building, career-building, and basic financial management. Can they make and stick to a budget? Can they save for the future? Do they have goals theyre working toward?If your children arent taking money seriously right now, dont worry and dont feel guilty. You all have a year to sort through this problem, which could include honest conversations about what each of you can afford and what types of expenses you might need to prepare for. A 20-something may need to be ready to move to a new city for a higher-paying job, for example and a 60-something may need to be ready to cover airfare for the holidays. The more you talk about what each of you want and need, the more you can prepare for your own retirement. I do not suggest continuing to work solely for the benefit of your adult children, since you already have mixed emotions about this idea and the last thing I want is for you to spend 2025 feeling miserable about the way you are earning and spending your money. But youve got a year to figure out whether you can actually retire on your current savings and investments and whether your children have enough knowledge and preparedness to handle the next phase of their lives without your immediate financial help. These conversations can give you a clearer picture of what the future might look like. Since everyone will survive either way, as you put it, theres an opportunity to make positive, productive choices without the pressures associated with scarcity. Use that privilege wisely.So thats your assignment for 2025 or, if you prefer, your New Years resolution. Get these issues resolved while youre still working so you know when you can retire without guilt.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:
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  • Bungies Gummy Bears game is League Of Legends crossed with Smash Bros.
    metro.co.uk
    Could this art from Bungies website be for Gummy Bears? (Bungie)A supposedly cancelled Bungie project is said to be alive and well, but Sony has taken direct control of it.Destiny 2 developer Bungie underwent some significant changes following the launch of The Final Shape expansion last year, with around 17% of the studio being laid off.Bungie also announced 12% of the workforce would be integrated into Sony Interactive Entertainment, with plans to form a new team within PlayStation Studios to continue work on one of Bungies incubation projects.A new report claims this incubation project is the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) Gummy Bears, which may come as a surprise since a separate report from March claimed it had been cancelled.What is Bungies Gummy Bears?Details on Gummy Bears first cropped up in 2023, courtesy of The Game Post, which said the project was still in the early stages and featured colourful and cute characters, making it a far cry from anything Bungie has previously made.For the record, Gummy Bears is only a codename for the project, so its unlikely to involve the Haribo sweet of the same name. (Or indeed the knock-off Disney cartoon Adventures Of The Gummi Bears.)Despite the internal crises Bungie has been facing lately, The Game Posts newest findings say Gummy Bears is still trucking along at an unnamed and newly formed studio. That said, around 40 Bungie developers are supposedly spearheading the project.Apparently, Gummy Bears more vibrant and colourful aesthetic (the words lo-fi and cozy has also been thrown around) is part of a ploy to appeal to younger players. Super Smash Bungie (Nintendo)Plus, while its a MOBA (think League Of Legends or Pokmon Unite), Gummy Bears wont have traditional health bars and instead use a percentage-based damage similar to the one seen in the Super Smash Bros. games.The more damage you take, the further youre knocked back when hit. You can even get knocked off the map. While plenty of Smash Bros. clones have borrowed the same system, Gummy Bears status as a MOBA is unusual.Gummy Bears has reportedly been in development for at least three years, but theres no telling when it could release. Sony could be prepping it as one of its upcoming live service games, but its hard to be optimistic about its future after Concords disastrous launch led to the game being pulled after two weeks and its developer being shut down.Bungie itself sounds optimistic about Gummy Bears, though. Back in 2023, while announcing it was hiring for new roles, the company teased a team-based action game inspired by fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and frog-type games, wrapped up in a lighthearted, comedic world.More Trending(We have no idea what a frog type game is supposed to be. Even if its related to Frogger, that doesnt seem to make sense in the context of a Smash Bros. inspired MOBA.)The description sounds very much like this Gummy Bears title, with Bungie even calling it one of our favourite incubation projects. The Game Posts report adds that its been receiving a lot of praise internally.Officially Bungies next game is supposed to be their multiplayer reboot of Marathon, but if Gummy Bears is being made by a different studio the two shouldnt interfere with each other.As for Destiny 2, while theres no word of it being replaced by a sequel, rumours suggest that future updates are being scaled down and players will only see two seasons a year going forward. This artwork also seems to be for Gummy Bears (Bungie)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy
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  • Amazon Finally Offers the Anker Portable MagSafe Charger for iPhone at an All-Time Low Price
    gizmodo.com
    Time is running of to find the right gifts for all your friends and family. Christmas is in less than two weeks, with the first night of Hanukah falling on the same day. If youve been letting the days get away from you and still have some gift shopping to wrap up, consider this. This deal on the Anker 633 magnetic battery could be your saving grace. If you or a loved one has a phone that supports magnetic wireless charging, the charging stand is down 27% right now so you can scoop it up for just $40.See at AmazonAnker is really firing on all cylinders with this one. This is a part-external phone battery, part-phone stand. Your phone, so long as you have an iPhone 12 or later or an Android with magnetic wireless charging support, this phone battery simple snaps onto the back of your phone and can be taken with you to give you that extra charge when you need it most.The pocket-sized power bank just locks into place and you can forget its there. Whats especially nice is it doesnt block the camera lenses at all so there is no need to remove the charger when taking photos or videos.The magnet ensures it stays perfectly aligned to provide an efficient charge and can really extend the battery life of your phone. The phone charger has a 10,000mAh cell capacity. That equates to nearly two entire iPhone 13s or iPhone 13 Pros charges. Thats hours more battery life than without. And if youre also someone who is embarrassed to say their daily screen time out loud like I am, this boost in battery life is a godsend.If you find yourself needing to charge up quickly right this second, you can plug in directly to the power bank and experience wired charging with speeds three times faster than when connected magnetically.Not Just a Phone ChargerWhile yes this magnetic portable phone charger does exactly that, it also doubles as a phone stand. It can fold outward to prop itself up, making for easy viewing when at at desk or table. It can hold the phone up either vertically or horizontally great for viewing videos the old fashioned way.The Anker 633 magnetic battery and foldable phone stand charger comes in a variety of colors including black, blue, and white. They are all part of a limited time deal at Amazon so you can grab it for the reduced price of $40 a 27% discount.See at Amazon
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  • Tarasana Healing Center / MA Estudio
    www.archdaily.com
    Tarasana Healing Center / MA EstudioSave this picture!Courtesy of Alberto Esponda, Mayra FloresHealthcare, Wellness InteriorsYelapa, MexicoArchitects: Rama EstudioAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:300 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 Lead Architects: Alberto Esponda, Mayra Flores More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Tarasana is situated within the Yelapa community, nestled amidst the lush jungle and alongside Mexico's western Sierra Madre mountains. As a holistic hub, Tarasana offers versatile amenities, including options for natural childbirth in water or on a bed. Additionally, it operates as a healing center that accommodates diverse activities. The project proposal aims to establish a comprehensive environment where babies, women, and men can reconnect with their inherent nature and the world around them. Inspired by Mathias Goeritz's Manifesto of Emotional Architecture, which advocates for elevating human spirituality through architectural design, the goal is to rescue architecture from its current state of purely material functionality.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Central to this endeavor is creating spaces that evoke a sense of security and well-being akin to the maternal womb. These spaces are intended for childbirth and nurturing the bond between parent and child, including the involvement of fathers. The overarching concept is to craft environments that harmonize with the human body, reminiscent of the womb, not as a regression but as a means of reconciliation.Named Centro TARSANA, this adaptable facility serves as a sanctuary for both physical and spiritual healing, while also fostering opportunities for diverse activities.Save this picture!Conceptualization and prototype. Based on the principles of bionics, derived from the Greek words bios (life) and ikos (unity), which encapsulate the concept of creating artificial constructs based on living systems, the term was first introduced by Jack E. Steele in 1958.Save this picture!Bionics strives to develop functionalities and forms that mimic the behavior of living organisms, achieved through meticulous observation, in-depth research, analysis, and synthesis. Rather than mere replication, bionics posits that any model can offer novel ideas for designing methods tailored to specific contexts and users. An exemplary instance is Paolo Soleri's urban system, Arcology (a blend of Architecture and Ecology), inspired by the cellular distribution in organisms (Jaivier Senosian, bioarchitecture, 2017, "In search of a space," p. 18).Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The structure and form of TARASANA are based on the archetype of the Toroid, characterized by an energy pattern resembling a doughnuta continuous surface with a central opening. This energy dynamic sustains itself in a primary pattern, with energy flowing through one end, circulating the center, and exiting through the other side.Save this picture!Save this picture!In the toroid, principles of Sacred Geometry such as the Great Void, the Law of Unity, the Law of Duality, and mathematical pillars like Phi, Pi, and Euler are found ( Psychogeometry 2021 Article #10 "Human Toroids and their Functioning").Save this picture!Save this picture!The function of cement, concrete, and steel in TARASANA embodies the convergence of seemingly irreconcilable opposites, akin to yin and yang, light and shadow, and feminine and masculine principles. Ferrocement, the precursor of reinforced concrete, offers high plasticity, enabling molding and sculpting. Its metallic skeleton directs vertical rods to a concentric ring, creating a monolithic form that aligns with the principles of the toroid. This ensures self-support, eliminating the need for independent vertical supportsSave this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Yelapa, MexicoLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeRama EstudioOfficePublished on January 13, 2025Cite: "Tarasana Healing Center / MA Estudio " 13 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025383/tarasana-healing-center-ma-estudio&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream
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  • The Coolest Stuff From CES 2025
    www.technewsworld.com
    CES has always been a place to find new cool toys and gadgets. Even though the timing of this show sucks because it comes so soon after the holidays and steals vacations from those that have to prepare for it, I have to admit I look forward to this event every year. This year was heavy in AI, exercise and health equipment, PCs, and robotics.I wont do a Product of the Week this week because each of the products Im going to list could easily qualify, and given how different they are from each other, picking a winner would be hard to defend.Lets start with the product I have the greatest lust for.Bodyfriend 733 Massage ChairImage Credit: BodyfriendI have a massage chair at home and even have massage seats in my car, so I love the concept, but neither of these solutions is close to a real massage. However, if you have a spare $20,000, consider the Bodyfriend 733 Massage Chair.It looks like the offspring of a Transformer and a yellow recliner. What makes this chair so expensive is that it will do physical therapy, which is huge when you get to be as ancient as I am. It forces stretching and mobility, and when used right, it could extend your mobility well into your later years, not to mention that it is less painful than sessions with human physical therapists.In effect, it blends massage functions with arm and leg exercises using heat and unique magnetic hand-like pressure to provide an experience that should be unmatched in this category. It is AI-driven, with 50 automatic programs to fully customize your experience. These features make it worth the massive $20,000 price point.The Bodyfriend 733 Massage Chair is definitely on my wish list of things Im lusting for.Lenovo Legion Go S 8-inch Gaming HandheldImage Credit: LenovoLenovo has been pushing the innovation button hard of late and has two new products that caught my eye. The first is the Legion Go S 8-inch gaming handheld a handheld gaming PC. Using AMDs Ryzen Z2 Go processor and integrated RDNA graphics.This product, currently available for $749 on pre-order at Best Buy, is one awesome little PC. It has dual USB C 4.0 ports (so you could turn it into a mini-PC), runs Windows 11, and has eGPU compatibility, so it will play high-end PC games. Theres no camera, but it does have built-in microphones and speakers, though Id suggest using headphones if you use this on a plane as they are likely to escort you off early if you dont.This device will also switch between PC, Xbox, and Steam games with one click. This device class has been underpowered in the past, but this new AMD unit appears to have power to spare. It is a testament to how far AMD has come over the last decade or so. A more affordable $599 version with less memory will be released in May, though I think $130 for the extra memory is more than worth the additional cost.Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 RollableImage Credit: LenovoFoldable displays have become common on smartphones but havent taken off on PCs yet. Lenovo has brought forward an even more interesting technology, rollable displays, and used it on an impressive little 14-inch laptop that will expand up to 16.7 inches, which is a more acceptable size for a monitor that grants substantially more real estate on an under-four-pound laptop (1.7 kg).I use a 49-inch Dell monitor on my desk, so switching to a 14-inch or smaller laptop screen is really annoying. Expanding that screen to nearly 17 inches would make a huge difference in my productivity, so I look forward to seeing this. It uses Intels Core Ultra processors for strong performance and has Microsoft Copilot+ compatibility.Granted, at around $3,500, this isnt a cheap date, but if you need the space like I do, this could be well worth the extra cost and the wow factor is off the charts. The only downside is that I dont think youll be able to use the screen expansion in a coach seat (it expands up). Otherwise, this is the PC I want in my computer bag in 2025.Nvidia Project Digits: Grace Blackwell Personal AI SupercomputerImage Credit: NvidiaI must admit Ive been expecting Nvidia to do this for some time now, and I wasnt disappointed at CES. The Nvidia keynote set the tone for the show with massive AI, robotics, and autonomous car elements.Still, what really knocked my socks off was the Nvidia Project Digits personal computer. This tiny machine has massive power, making it one of the worlds smallest and most powerful personal supercomputers. It has an Arm CPU and a special Blackwell GPU for incredible power (a full petaflop of FP4 performance), 128GB of unified, coherent memory, and up to 4TB of NVMe (non-volatile memory express) storage.It runs Nvidias Linux (Im guessing Microsoft missed a meeting) called DBX OS, and it provides server-level AI performance in a tiny desktop form factor. This machine is used for prototyping, fine-tuning, and testing AI models, making it critical for those learning how to or who are already developing AI models or running Nvidias Omniverse simulations.Sadly, this wont run PC games, but if you plan to make money on AI rather than spend it, this machine should probably be on your shortlist for 2025. The PC starts at around $3,000 and is about the size of one of the paperbacks of The Lord of the Rings books. I think they should have named it AWESOME (AI Workstation Engineering System Operative Manufacturing Engine), but it is code-named Digits.Tombot Jennie Robotic PuppyOne of the problems with getting older is that you get lonely and lose the ability to care for pets properly. You need companionship, but even if you can care for a pet, there is a real risk that the pet will be traumatized and left homeless if you die.Tombot has created a robotic dog named Jennie that looks and feels like a puppy. It has interactive sensors, responds to voice commands, and makes real puppy sounds, but it doesnt pee on your floor. Basically, it just sits on your lap and keeps you company.This product is for people who are hospitalized or mobility challenged and want the experience of a pet but lack the ability to care for one. This robotic Labrador puppy is expected to cost under $500, which is pretty cheap compared to a real dog.Studies have shown that a pet can significantly improve the quality of life for someone alone, lonely or unable to get out. Tombot Jennie could make a huge difference for someone who has lost their smile due to age or infirmity, so giving them their smile back would be invaluable.Roborock Saros Z70 Robot VacuumI have three robotic vacuum cleaners that are forever running into socks, pet toys, and anything left on the floor. Wouldnt it be great if a robotic vacuum could pick stuff up while it vacuumed? Well, the folks at Roborock must agree with me because they created the Roborock Saros Z70, a $1,000 robotic vacuum/mop with an arm that can pick up stuff off the floor.This robotic vacuum has a docking station where it can dump what it vacuums up, and it will automatically attach or remove the mops depending on need, which is unique to this class of robotic vacuums.The demos I saw of the device suggest the software still needs some work, so I wouldnt buy one of the first of these, but once they get the software sorted out, this would be a killer solution for those of us with pets and kids. Im just hoping it knows enough to identify dog poop before it drags it all over the house (a rather bad experience we had with an older robotic vacuum).Oh, and the vacuum has an interesting Call & Cruise video function that will allow it to roam around your house so you can check on the status of your home remotely and yell at your kids or pets if they are getting into trouble. It is due out around June of this year.OpenDroids R2D3 Ultimate Home RobotImage Credit: OpenDroidsAt $55,000, this is far from a cheap date and well over my budget, but darn if Im not intrigued.This rolling robot is designed to help you around the home, though stairs will be an issue. Fully AI-enabled and with dual lifting arms, the OpenDroids R2D3 is a pretty amazing showcase of just where we are with shipping personal robotics.OpenDroids also has a lower-cost R1D1 single-armed robot for around $18,500, which is showcased using a handheld vacuum cleaner that could do many of the same things.But its the R2D3 that comes closest to Rosie, the Jetsons robot maid we all wanted as kids when I was young. This robot would be particularly useful for someone who is disabled and needs help around the home, though given it is on wheels and not legs, getting up or down stairs would be problematic.The robots body raises and lowers based on need, suggesting it could reach things that would be out of reach unless we had a ladder handy. OpenDroids R2D3 was arguably the most impressive robot at CES this year.Amp Strength TrainerImage Credit: Amp FitIt is January, and like a lot of you, Im considering joining a gym again (I quit during the pandemic), but driving to the local gym early in the morning tends to get old, and often the equipment I want to use was being used by someone else. My final excuse is that viruses seem to be spreading again, making it likely I will want to avoid places where people congregate and spread bodily fluids (sweat).But home exercise equipment takes up a lot of space, and Ive had to get rid of a lot of it over the years. The Amp home fitness machine is AI-driven, has Peloton-like features that work through your phone or tablet, and is both small and simple, making it look good in the home and very easy to use.The equipment costs $1,795, and the subscription to the trainers is a reasonable $23 per month. The price includes delivery and setup. Strength training is increasingly important to maintain mobility, flexibility, and freedom as we age, making it critical that I find a solution like Amp to ensure my future physical well-being. Its due out in early 2025.Realbotix Full-Bodied RobotThe Realbotix full-bodied robot is close enough to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Data character to be scary. At $175,000 to $200,000 for the fully featured version (you can buy the AI bust for $10,000, but I expect it will nag you to buy the rest of her body), this is no cheap date, but it will pack into a suitcase.When unpacked, it will walk and act like a human, though I think it is on the wrong side of the uncanny valley. It comes close enough to what we believe an android will eventually become, but it is a bit freaky, and it makes me want to ensure my future robotic overlords wont be a problem.While Realbotix hasnt achieved its entire mission of making a robot indistinguishable from a human, Melody comes closer than I thought possible, given where we are with todays technology. Its the best showcase for how far we have come to creating our own Data android.Wrapping UpCES 2025 was an impressive show this year, and I didnt even cover flying and autonomous cars, although most of them arent due out until far later in the decade. From robots that will help you recover from an injury, help you work out, keep you company, or clean your house, CES had it all, including some fantastic PCs for gaming, productivity, and creating your own future AI. CES was the place to see the future that is coming at us amazingly rapidly.I can hardly wait until next year. Im kind of hoping Skynet wont be part of next years show, though if you know where John Connor is, you might want to tell him it is past time for him to begin preparing for the future.Happy New Year everyone. Heres hoping our AI and robotic future will be amazing!
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  • How to Make and Animate Curtains in Blender
    www.youtube.com
    Get Over 300 Blender Add-ons & more https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4-Q7MyUxdZEvTkrEyhzQIBCWrwtZoSmG Interior Design Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4-Q7MyUxdZFl_1YpXrDGoScl1kKua9RH Visit the Channel @architecturetopics Support My Shop And Get Free Assets https://buymeacoffee.com/architecturetopics Follow Me on Social Media!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/architecturetopics101/ Download Blender 3D https://www.blender.org/ _________________________________________________________________ Sub .........Visit the Channel for more dope jiggly wiggly stuff @architecturetopics ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#3d #blender #blender3d
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  • What is the right resin for you? - Reviewing Nova3D Resin
    www.youtube.com
    I thought this might help out with what to look for when deciding on a resin to buy and also to look at a lesser known company creating some excellent resin. The also offered viewers a discount code, which I thought was really nice.Nova3D Mecha Resin: https://amzn.to/40crVAP Nova3D Tough Resin: https://amzn.to/3PwqFni Nova3D 8K Resin: https://amzn.to/426HVHl Support the channel on Patreon and get videos a week early: https://www.patreon.com/ArtisansofVaul Vogman YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@vogman
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  • Is drinking alcohol ever good for you? Heres what the science says.
    www.popsci.com
    There is no debate when it comes to the harms of excessive alcohol consumption.Credit: SERGEY PAPSHEV/Getty Images ShareIts a new year, which means its time to take stock of old habits. For many that means resolutions to get healthier and a month long break from booze, in observation of Dry January.Yet as 2025 begins, what hasnt changed is the muddled messaging over the health effects of moderate drinking. Two recently released federal documents offer contrasting perspectives on alcohol and healthunderscoring a long-standing, ongoing scientific debate thats reverberated through some of the most prestigious scientific journals and institutions.A review published in December by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine tows what some see as an outdated line: suggesting that up to a drink or two a day is associated with health benefits like reduced risks of heart disease and death. The National Academies analysis will likely inform revised national dietary guidelines set to come out later this year. (Current U.S. guidelines state that alcohol consumption should be limited to one standard drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. This is also considered the upper limit on moderate consumption by many U.S. researchers and agencies.)Then, on January 3rd, the office of the U.S. Surgeon General released an official advisory unequivocally stating that drinking alcohol, at levels as low as one drink per day, can cause certain cancers. The advisory calls for updating the existing health warning labels on alcoholic beverages to include a warning about the cancer risks.So what gives? How can any substance be simultaneously associated with reduced risk of death and also increased cancer risk? How can big studies in well-regarded journals disagree on something as basic as harm or benefit? Why is the U.S. government seemingly arguing with itself? Is any amount of alcohol healthy?Answers to all of the above are complicated. Theres statistical biases and confounding factors that muddy the data, the financial interests and outside influence, and a lack of consensus on how to define terms such as risk and moderate. Researchers sometimes disagree with each other about how to interpret the available evidence, and what guidance is best for boosting health. But there are some things we know for sure. Heres whats clear and what remains murky, when it comes to alcohol and health.Consensus, straight upPopular Science spoke with six expert sources for this article, including some who endorse the idea that moderate drinking may be associated with health benefits and those who say that drinking at every level carries only health risks. Every single source agreed that alcohol consumption exceeding one standard drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men can have negative health consequences, and that drinking beyond that level brings significantly increased risks of accidental injury and death, certain cancers, heart problems, liver disease, cognitive impairments, and more.Internationally, the definition of a standard drink varies. But in the U.S. and Canada its defined as 0.6 fluid ounces or about 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is equivalent to 12 oz of a 5% beer, 5 oz of a 12% wine, or 1.5 oz of a 40% distilled spirit.All sources agree that binge drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol use disorder are serious public health problems, and none directly endorse starting or increasing alcohol consumption for any health reason.I wouldnt want to recommend drinking, especially to someone who isnt otherwise going to drink, says Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Even if there are protective effects, which I acknowledge is possible, I dont think that the level of evidence is high enough to recommend initiating it, he adds. Thats despite his own, ongoing research trying to tease out potential heart health benefits of moderate drinking and his perspective that light drinking may have salutary effects that are biologically plausible.Further, its firmly established that alcohol is an addictive substance with systemic effects in the body that can lead to physiological dependence. Use at low levels carries the risk of increasing and excessive consumption. Upwards of 20% of Americans who drink will experience an alcohol use disorder in their lifetime, according to data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.There is no debate when it comes to the harms of excessive alcohol consumption. Instead the ongoing scientific discussion is about how to research and classify the health effects of relatively low alcohol consumption and how to communicate to the public about those effects.Increasingly, theres also burgeoning scientific agreement that the risk-relationship for alcohol and certain cancers is straightforward: every additional volume of alcohol consumed is associated with increased risk of cancer. Alcohol is a carcinogen. That link is very well established, says Adam Sherk, a senior scientist at the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction, an NGO founded and overseen by the Canadian government.Different analyses disagree about what level of alcohol consumption poses what level of risk for what cancers. But even the new National Academies report, which critics say is conservative in its assessment of health harms, found a 10% increase in breast cancer risk among moderate drinkers compared with those who reported never drinking alcohol.According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there is robust evidence linking moderate drinking with increased risk of head and neck, esophageal, colorectal, and breast cancers. Light drinking (variably defined, but loosely: a few standard drinks a week, and less than a drink a day) is associated with measurable increased risk of esophageal and breast cancers, per NCI.Finally, sources generally agree that, when it comes to assessing the cumulative health effects of occasional or light drinkingwhatever benefits or harms may exist are modest. Its entirely possible that light or moderate alcohol consumption has no meaningful health impact for many people, according to Marcus. These are not major, large effects, he says.Tim Stockwell, a psychologist and professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, also views the effects of low level drinking as small. Stockwell studies the measurement and prevention of alcohol related harms, and stations himself squarely in the camp of researchers who believe no level of alcohol consumption is without risk. Despite his firm stance that evidence indicates drinking in any volume is net bad for health, averaged over a population, he explains each drink is likely equivalent to only a few minutes of lost life. If you [consistently] have six drinks a week, its probably about two or three months of lost life expectancy, he adds. At something like two drinks per week, its a very small risk, Stockwell says.Where things gets fuzzyYet a small risk is a very different thing from a small benefit, at the public health level, and thats where the consensus breaks down. Despite the fact that individual effects of low and moderate drinking may be small, Stockwell notes that they can add up across the population. We shouldnt just focus on the high end of the spectrum, he says. Unfortunately, the broader view remains confusing.Beginning in the 1990s reports about the purported health benefits of red wine began to lend moderate drinking a health halowherein the prevailing assumption among the drinking public became that a small amount of alcohol is good for you, especially for the heart. Subsequent studies of alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality found whats known as a j-shaped curve: Those who drank some had a lower risk of dying than those who reported entirely abstaining. Meanwhile heavy drinkers mortality risk was far higher than both groups. This furthered the idea that a little bit of alcohol every day is healthy, despite the harms of overconsumption.But in ensuing decades, research into all-cause mortality and other health metrics has yielded inconsistent results. For instance, a 2017 study found that even moderate drinking is associated with brain volume loss. Some reviews, like a meta-analysis co-authored by Stockwell in 2023, conclude that low-level drinking offers no protective effect. In 2022 the World Health Organization surveyed the available research and concluded, No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.Whereas other assessments, like the recent National Academies meta-analysis, continues to report measurable benefits associated with alcohol consumption at low and moderate levels. In one particularly complicating instance, The Lancetamong the highest impact and most esteemed medical journalspublished a 2018 analysis on alcohols global burden of disease reporting no j-shaped curve and no health benefit of drinking. Two years later, the same research group published a revision, stating that the data does, in fact, support a reduction in cardiovascular risk and all-cause death associated with small amounts of alcohol consumption among certain age groups.Again, its worth noting that all of these review studies combine research that defines moderate and low levels of drinking in different ways. In the National Academies study, a few of the studies used to inform the all-cause mortality finding set the upper threshold for moderate drinking at 0.7 U.S. standard drinks per day. Only one set an upper limit on moderate drinking as high as how its defined by existing U.S. dietary guidelines. That means that the reported findings on all-cause mortality related to moderate drinking dont necessarily apply evenly to all amounts of alcohol consumption between 0 and 2 drinks a day.Regardless, the basic idea is that, even if alcohol increases cancer or other health risks, at low or moderate levels (somewhere between 0 and 1-2 drinks per day) it may simultaneously reduce cardiovascular risk. And, in the U.S. where heart disease is the biggest killer, that could seem a worthwhile trade-off.Proposed mechanisms for alcohols cardiovascular health boost include that it might increase the amount of the bodys good HDL-cholesterol, inhibit clotting, or help moderate blood sugar levelsthough its hard to disentangle the effects of alcohol itself from the other compounds present in beverages like red wine. Some also suggest that the social aspect of alcohol may mean those who engage in moderate drinking have richer social lives and are less lonely. Social interaction is a positive thing, says Ned Calonge, a physician, professor of epidemiology, and an associate dean in the school of public health at Colorado University. Calonge chaired the consensus committee that wrote the National Academies report. Perhaps, he suggests, there are things associated with moderate drinking that have nothing to do with alcohol, which could account for some of the observed heart and lifespan benefits.The key thing to know here is that nearly all studies of alcohol in humans are observational, meaning they look for correlations among large research cohorts who self-report habits. These arent randomized control studies, which serve as the gold standard for understanding the effects of pharmaceuticals. Instead, observational studies can only really demonstrate associations, not causal relationships. Drinking habits are complex and heavily influenced by non-random factors. Observational research can easily be inadvertently biased.One of the primary difficulties is abstainer bias, wherein studies may lump together never drinkers with those who previously drank and then quit. People who stop drinking often do so, in part, because of health problemsand so they may constitute an inherently less healthy group compared with those who keep drinking moderately. Calonge notes that the National Academies report sought to eliminate this problem by only including studies that separate never drinkers from quitters.Yet that, along with other stringent selection criteria, left Calonge and his co-authors with only a small handful of studies to assess. Their primary all-cause mortality finding was based on just eight research papers and some of their all-cause and cancer findings on as few as two. For many of the questions they asked, they concluded insufficient evidence.They looked at probably about 1% of the studies that have been published and said theres not enough evidence, says Stockwell. I thought that was very misleading.Further, abstainer bias can cut both ways: by eliminating those who quit drinking for health reasons from a study, you may artificially be inflating the health profile of drinkers, Stockwell explains. Plus, self-reporting is an unreliable metric of actual drinking habits, different studies (even those equated in meta-analyses) define moderate drinking at different levels, and people who are true never drinkers may be an inherently less healthy group because lifelong health conditions prevent them from drinking. Confounding demographic factors like age and socioeconomic status also play a role. Some research, including Stockwells own, has shown that heart and health risk factors among non-drinkers and moderate drinkers vary for reasons completely unrelated to alcohol.In the U.S., about 5% of deaths are attributed to alcohol annually. Yet somehow, the National Academies report found a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality for moderate drinkers. I think thats logically impossible alcohol would have to have an immense benefit, says Sherk, and other evidence doesnt support that. I just feel like it has to be an artifact, because otherwise every single study would send immensely clear messages that low volume use is hugely protective.All-cause mortality as a metric has come into question and fallen out of favor for many scientists because its so difficult to control for data artifacts, bias, and confounders, says Jrgen Rehm a senior scientist and professor at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Toronto who contributed to the 2022 WHO guidance. All cause mortality studies use middle class samples who die of completely different causes of death than the rest of the population [and] theyre very specific per country, he explains. One major flaw in the National Academies review is that they include some observational studies of non-U.S. cohorts to make a judgement about Americans risk, Rehm says. Its nonsenseSouth Korea has a completely different profile of causes of death and you cannot do that if you want to create guidelines for the U.S.Some research has begun to embrace alternate methods beyond observational cohort studies. There are, for instance, studies that attempt to randomize participants based on genetics, which Rehm says have more potential to illuminate causal relationships. (Though Marcus thinks this type of research is often over-interpreted.) And there are a handful of randomized control studies looking at the effects of alcohol dosage on health. To clear the ethical hurdles inherent in assigning people to drink alcohol, most of these studies instead take a group of moderate drinkers and prescribe some portion to drink less. So far, some of this research has found low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption has no significant effect on factors like blood pressure or mild negative effects on abnormal heart rhythms.For now, the state of the research leaves even experts unconvinced one way or the other on the potential benefits of alcohol. There is no consensus of scientists on the cardiovascular effects, says Rehm.Im quite agnostic Im willing to let well-designed studies decide, says Sherk. And again, those studies might not yet exist.Whats at stake?Money is often a talking point for those on both sides of the moderate drinking debate. The alcohol industry and its lobbying arm have funded, advised, and promoted research endorsing health benefits associated with drinking. In 2018, an National Institutes of Health study was shut down because of an investigation revealing financial conflicts of interest. Similar issues have cropped up since.On the flipside, drink-defenders note that this accounts for a small portion of the total research, according to one 2020 analysis. And, at the same time, temperance and religious organizations have a vested interest in promoting research demonstrating alcohols harms. Stockwell admits that, at different points in his career, hes accepted small amounts of conference and travel reimbursement from both an alcohol industry group and, more recently, Movendi International, a Swedish temperance group.Its clear that official guidance, online trends, and shifting research tides do change peoples drinking and buying behavior, so any group with a moral position or financial stake has good reason to try to involve itself with scientists. Following a 60 Minutes broadcast promoting the idea of red wines health benefits in 1991, sales of red wine spiked. Amid the current health and wellness wave, which tends to endorse drinking less, wineries are experiencing a downturn. But ideally, our health decisions would be well-informed and free from the influence of profit or proselytizers.Public health organizations and researchers try to help, by parsing the evidence simplifying whats known and unknown for the public. Our role is really to raise awareness and to put the evidence out there and support people in understanding what the risks are, says Carina Ferreira-Borges, a regional program manager for WHO Europe who focuses on alcohol. Then, she says, groups like WHO advocate for harm reduction policies accordingly. Labels, regulations, and consumption guidelines can all be tools for doing so.Yet even official guidelines cant capture the nuance and individual factors that might shift the outcomes of drinking for any one person at any one time. If, perhaps, you know youre at high risk of developing cancer, then cutting out alcohol entirely might make sense. If, on the other hand, youre more worried about a heart attack, then maybe thats not a reason to become a teetotaler, says Marcus.If you believe in both the [positive and negative] effects, you should try to look at the reasonable risks youre willing to take, says Rehm. Whether or not to drink is a personal choice, and sometimes science has limits.
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