Table of ContentsTable of ContentsTying smartwatch data to geneticsA new dawn for psychiatryOver the past couple of years, the medical science community has shifted its attention to wearables in a serious fashion, thanks to their mass uptake. Those efforts have yielded some remarkable results in the efficacy and potential of these wearable devices.The latest such scientific revelation comes from the experts at the University of Barcelona. In a paper published in the Cell Journal, the team described how smartwatches can be used to accurately detect psychological disorders using biomarkers.Recommended VideosUsing the data provided by continuous monitoring from a smartwatch, the team behind the latest research was able to identify 16 significant genetic loci and 37 psychiatric-associated genes.Please enable Javascript to view this contentOur methodology has made it possible, for the first time, to simultaneously analyze the relationship between genetics and the different measures provided by smartwatches, notes co-author of the paper, Diego Garrido Martn.The team trained an AI model that took into account physiological information collected using smartwatch sensors. As part of the study, data was collected from over five thousand participants aged 9-14 years using Fitbit smartwatches.Experts used wearable measurements such as heart rate, calories, steps, workout intensity, sleep level, and more. When fed to an AI model, the team was able to create a digital phenotype, or in simpler terms, a set of observable traits collected in a digital format.These digital phenotypes, for the first time, offer an alternative approach to prediction, or diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses that would otherwise require an in-person consultation with a certified expert. But more importantly, the wearable-based approach also ties into the genetic depth of such disorders.One advantage of doing this is that we can use the digital phenotype almost as a diagnostic tool or a biomarker, and also bridge the gap between disease and genetics, one of the co-authors, Jason Liu, explained.The core challenge here is creating a reliable system that can process all the data provided by a smartwatch and derive accurate conclusions. The team argues that the sensor data provides enough details about physical and behavioral patterns that we can tie them to psychiatric illnesses with a high degree of reliability.Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsThese measurements quantify an individuals physiological processes and their real-time changes in response to environmental stimuli, and they can thus provide key information about an individuals behavior, says the research paper.For example, sleep analysis proved to be the more important factor when it comes to diagnosing anxiety, while heart rate proved to be the more valuable tool for predicting behavioral developmental woes such as Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The latest research marks the first time that digital phenotype data collected from real-time monitoring using smartwatches have been linked to psychiatric illnesses and the genetic profile of a person.The latter is the most promising element of the new research. We are talking about a fundamental shift in how we diagnose and prescribe cures for psychological illnesses, moving beyond the traditional behavioral analysis and into a territory where biomarkers and physiological data play a crucial role.Google Pixel Watch 2 Joe Maring / Digital TrendsTheir findings may serve as inspiration to move beyond traditional clinical diagnostics and adopt quantitative behavioral measurements that may be of greater use in identifying genetic biomarkers, says the team.At the heart of this revolution would be smartwatches. Notably, the biomarkers sourced from the Fitbit smartwatches used in the research can also be collected from a majority of mass-market wearables across the smartwatch, band, and even smart ring form factors.Our accurate predictions suggest that these quantitative features could be useful for studying other aspects of psychiatric disorders, such as their underlying genetic architecture, adds the research paper.The team concludes that the processed biomarker data captured via smartwatches can be used to more accurately categorize patients across different diagnostic tiers, enhancing the overall quality of treatment delivery.Editors Recommendations

I took a trip with my mom and grandma when I was 6. A jellyfish stung me, and my mom peed on me, which mortified me. Still, I look back fondly at that trip with my family. "Don't swim there, there's a jellyfish!" It was 1996, I was 6 years old, and I was vacationing with my mom and grandma on the remote Colombian island archipelago of San Andres and Providencia. I saw nothing in the perfectly clear water, so I ignored my grandma's warning. Sure enough, I got stung in the stomach. My screams filled the beach and didn't stop when my mom frantically picked me up and ran back to our room (which was, thankfully, very close). Then, she did something I am very embarrassed to admit: She peed on me. In the moment, I didn't even care, I was just relieved. But afterward, I felt so grossed out that I wanted to cry. That was my first real trip ever. It was a complete disaster, but it's also one of my most formative childhood memories.There was no kids' menuEven before that happened, the trip had proved challenging. Most tourists in Providencia's tiny but gorgeous island stay at locally-owned guest houses or hotels, but since my mom had lived there for several years, we were staying with our island "family." In the '90s, there was no A/C in the house, and water was limited. To shower, we had to fill buckets with water and then use bowls to pour the water on ourselves. I was used to the comforts of Bogota, a huge capital city whose year-round 60-degree weather made the island heat difficult to bear. I also had to eat crab soup and other seafood I didn't like. We ate whatever was at the house no kids' menu or choices.But rather than ruining the vacation for me, these challenges made it memorable. This has convinced me of one important truth: Kids don't always need to be comfortable while traveling. Seeing my mom and my grandma seamlessly adapt to the circumstances without complaining or even remarking on them made me react the same way.The trip helped me growLiving without the comforts of the city and trying foods that I didn't necessarily like felt like small adventures to my six-year-old self. These experiences helped me build a sense of identity as someone adventurous, flexible, and willing to step out of her comfort zone. Four years after the trip, this identity helped me navigate life in a new country when my family moved to the US. It's also helped me as an adult as I've traveled to over 45 countries and lived in four continents.Even the very painful jellyfish sting (and its very embarrassing cure) became my first tale of travel misadventure, which I was excited to share with my siblings when I returned to Bogota. In my brain, these challenges were stored in the same place as the good memories of the trip: floating in the Sea of Seven Colors next to my grandmother, falling asleep in a hammock, reading with my mom as we lay on the sand, and being on an island that truly feels disconnected from the rest of the world. As a whole, I remember it as a beautiful trip with two of the people that I loved the most.My grandmother died very recently. This was the only real trip we ever went on together, and I am now more grateful than ever for those hot, uncomfortable nights spent in a tiny room with her. I'm also glad that the jellyfish taught me at a young age that I should (almost) always listen to her wisdom. I'm sure that it saved me from even harsher stings in life.

Authorities are warning about scam texts that claim unpaid toll fees to access bank info.Scammers imitate legitimate toll services like FastTrak and EZdriveMA to deceive users.Avoid clicking links in suspicious texts; report scams to 7726 to protect personal data.Did you get a text saying that you owe unpaid toll fees? It's probably a scam.Authorities across the United States are warning about a wave of scam text messages that claim the person receiving the message has unpaid fees. The real goal of the scam is to give the criminals access to your bank account information, police say.The text messages are the latest phishing scam targeting victims across the country, according to the Federal Trade Commission.California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a warning that the text messages usually contain a link designed to "deceive drivers into entering banking or credit card information into a website.""Scammers have become skilled at imitating legitimate companies, sometimes even linking to legitimate websites," Bonta said in a statement. "Text-based toll charge scams are prevalent right now and knowing what to look for can keep consumers safe against these tactics."Bonta said that scam texts in California may claim to come from the state's toll payment service, FastTrak. One scam text message reviewed by Business Insider claimed to be from Massachusetts' EZdriveMA toll service.Both state services, EZdriveMA and FastTrak, say they do not send text messages to non-account holders to collect toll payments.Authorities say the best way to avoid becoming a victim of these fake toll text messages is not to click on the link provided in the message.Clicking on the link could expose your personal information, such as a driver's license number, to the scammers and put you at risk of identity theft.The FTC also recommends checking where suspicious messages may come from to see if the source is legitimate and forward scam messages to 7726 (SPAM) to report them as junk mail.The Better Business Bureau told Business Insider last month that a similar scam text campaign impersonating the US Postal Service was one of the largest scams the organization saw during the holiday season.Melanie McGovern, BBB director of public relations, also told BI that the best method to spot a phishing scam is to check from where the text or email came. Scam text messages from the USPS scam last month and the toll collection scam viewed by Business Insider had area codes of +63, originating in the Philippines.

By Ed Cara Published January 25, 2025 | Comments (2) | Around 3% of the population is estimated to have ADHD, though it commonly goes undiagnosed. Olena Malik via Getty As if having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder isnt bad enough: New research this week suggests that people with ADHD are living shorter lives than expected. Scientists at University College London in the UK conducted the study, which compared the health records of similar people with and without ADHD. They found that people who had ADHD tended to be sicker and die sooner than their counterparts. The findings indicate that those with the condition are often not getting the support they need, the researchers say. ADHD is a complex disorder characterized by symptoms like restlessness, impulsiveness, and having trouble staying focused, especially on everyday tasks. The condition is caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors, such as exposure to lead or other toxins early on in life. ADHD tends to first appear in childhood, but many people are only diagnosed as adults or never diagnosed at all. While the condition typically doesnt go away with age, a persons symptoms can change as they get older. People with ADHD are known to be higher risk of other health issues, such as not getting enough good sleep and substance use problems; theyre also more likely to experience stressful life events like prolonged unemployment. Some studies have also suggested that ADHD sufferers are more likely to die early than the general public. However, the scientists behind the new research argue that not enough prior work has been done to quantify the impact of ADHD on peoples life expectancy. Hence the new study. The researchers analyzed primary care data from around 30,000 adult UK residents diagnosed with ADHD. These people were compared to a larger group of residents without ADHD but who were similar in age, sex, and the doctors they visited.The researchers found that people with ADHD were more likely to have a variety of other common physical and mental health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. They also had higher mortality rates across different age groups, which was seen in both men and women. Overall, the researchers estimated that diagnosed ADHD was tied to a reduction in life expectancy of 6.78 years for men and 8.64 years for women. The evidence that people with diagnosed ADHD are living shorter lives than they should is extremely concerning, and highlights unmet support needs that require urgent attention, the scientists wrote in their paper, published Thursday in The British Journal of Psychiatry.The researchers do note that they were only able to study people with diagnosed ADHD, which is likely an undercount. Only about 0.32% of people in their sample were diagnosed with ADHD, whereas other research suggests that roughly 3% of the population has the condition. People with diagnosed ADHD might be more likely to have other health problems than undiagnosed cases, the researchers say. This gap could mean that theyre overestimating the toll that ADHD in general is having on peoples life expectancy. The researchers also lacked data on peoples specific causes of death, so this study cant tell us exactly how ADHD is raising peoples risk of early death. All that said, its clear that people with ADHD are facing unique health and societal challenges, and that not enough is being done to diagnose and help people with ADHD as early as possible, the authors say. It is crucial that we find out the reasons behind premature deaths so we can develop strategies to prevent these in the future, said lead researcher Liz ONions in a statement from UCL.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Matt Novak Published January 24, 2025 By Ed Cara Published January 3, 2025 By Ed Cara Published January 2, 2025 By Ed Cara Published December 26, 2024 By Margherita Bassi Published December 15, 2024 By Ed Cara Published October 24, 2024

In the wake of recent allegations of sexual assault and abuse against Neil Gaiman, comics publisher Dark Horse has ended its longtime relationship with the fantasy author. We take seriously the allegations against him, said Dark Horse, and we are no longer publishing his works. Earlier this month, Vulture published an extensive, potentially triggering report detailing the alleged abuse Gaiman conducted against his victims. The story corroborated information previously revealed late last year through various sources and included new information of its own, including testimonies from victims. For decades, Dark Horse has released graphic novels penned by Gaiman, or adapted his novels for the format, such as a limited comic series for Anansi Boysthats now ending at seven issues. Marc Bernardin, who co-wrote the Anansicomic, revealed the book would be ending earlier this week. While hes incredibly proud of the work he did with artist Shawn Martinbrough, colorist Chris Sotomayor and cover artist David Mack, he said it all pales next to Gaimans actions. Dark Horse will not release a trade, he wrote. My heart breaks for the survivors and any pain seeing these books on the shelves might have caused. After the initial allegations against Neil Gaiman received further reporting, Amazon announced it would cap off his TV adaptation of Good Omenswith a 90-minute special. At time of writing, the streamer hasnt revealed what it intends to do about theAnansi Boysadaptationnot only is Gaiman an executive producer on the upcoming show, he also wrote its pilot and sixth episode. Similarly, Netflix has been quiet for how itll handle Sandmans second season, as have DC Comics and Marvel with the comics he previously wrote for them. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Consorzio Agrario Adaptive Reuse into Aparto Ripamonti / Park AssociatiSave this picture! Nicola ColellaArchitects: Park AssociatiAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:32000 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Nicola Colella, Gabriele BasilicoManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Grohe, Gerflor, Infiniti, MARAZZI, Pedrali, Sassuolo, Simas Spa, Technogym Plants: ESA Engineeringstructure: F&M IngegneriaMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Adaptive Reuse meets Student Living in Milan - Park Associati's latest transformation challenges the conventional approach to student housing, breathing new life into Milan's former agricultural consortium. This adaptive reuse project preserves the memory of a 1940s industrial landmark while creating a vibrant community for over 700 students in Via Ripamonti.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Working with the building's rich historical context, the studio has crafted a sophisticated dialogue between past and present. "Our vision was to honor the site's industrial heritage while creating spaces that nurture both learning and community," explains Filippo Pagliani, Founding Partner of Park Associati. "Rather than erasing the past, we've allowed it to guide us toward new possibilities for student living."Save this picture!Save this picture!The design approach celebrates contrasts. The original building retains its powerful industrial presence through grey plaster and sandstone, now crowned by a contemporary addition that seems to float above the historic facade. Alongside it, a new extension rises with its own distinct identity, creating a harmonious counterpoint through a rhythmic play of glass and metal. Between these two volumes emerges the heart of the project a courtyard that serves as an outdoor living room for the student community. This space dissolves boundaries between study and leisure, offering green areas for relaxation alongside spaces for sports and social interaction. "We wanted to create a place where students could move fluidly between focused study and spontaneous connection" continues Pagliani.Save this picture!A colored staircase leads to a basement level that houses everything from a cinema to music rooms, while the ground floor offers fluid spaces for studying, meeting, and sharing ideas. Custom furnishings in wood and bold colors bring warmth to the industrial setting, creating intimate spaces within the larger whole. In the residential areas, the studio has turned architectural constraints into opportunities. Each living space, whether a cozy single room or an innovative duplex studio, balances private retreat with community connection. The cluster apartments offer a particularly innovative solution, creating small communities where 8 to 12 students share living spaces while maintaining their private domains.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!On the upper floors, study rooms and communal terraces offer sweeping views of Milan. A surprising highlight emerges on the fourth floor of the new building a basketball court that transforms sport into a celebration of community life. "This project represents more than just student housing," reflects Michele Rossi, Founding Partner of Park Associati. "It's about creating a place where Milan's industrial heritage becomes a backdrop for new ways of living and learning, where historical memory and contemporary life engage in constant dialogue."Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Milano, ItalyLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officePark AssociatiOfficeMaterialConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on January 25, 2025Cite: "Consorzio Agrario Adaptive Reuse into Aparto Ripamonti / Park Associati" 25 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026122/consorzio-agrario-adaptive-reuse-into-aparto-ripamonti-park-associati&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

We know very little about some parts of Earth's atmosphere.

A melting ice patch in the Rocky Mountains uncovered an ancient forest, and these trees have stories to tell about dynamic landscapes and climate change.

Roblox's Fisch is a popular fishing game where you catch fish of different rarities, like Common, Uncommon, Unusual, Rare, Legendary, Mythical, and more. While catching common fish is easy, getting higher-rarity ones can be a real challenge, especially with the vast ocean and so many islands to explore.

On January 21, 2025, developer S-GAME released Phantom Blade Zeros Year of the Snake gameplay trailer to celebrate the start of the Chinese zodiac calendar year. The unedited boss fight was as creative as it was fluid, and it immediately drove two points home: dark, grisly combat is here to stay, and Black Myth: Wukong was just the tip of the iceberg in Chinese tradition and culture. Thats saying something since theres a lot of content that Phantom Blade Zeros developer is still holding close to its chest.