• Taurine may not be a key driver of ageing after all

    Taurine supplements have been considered promising for delaying ageing, but that may not be the caseShutterstock / Eugeniusz Dudzinski
    The amino acid taurine was once thought to decline with age, and animal research suggested that taurine supplements could delay ageing. But a new study shows that the decline doesn’t happen consistently. In fact, taurine levels tend to increase in people over time, suggesting that low levels of the nutrient aren’t a driver of ageing.

    Previous research has shown that taurine concentrations decline in men as they age and that people with higher taurine levels at 60 years old tend to have better health outcomes. This, along with evidence that taurine supplements extend lifespan in mice and monkeys, suggested that low taurine contributes to ageing.Advertisement
    The trouble is that taurine fluctuates in response to other factors too, such as illness, stress and diet – therefore, declines in this key amino acid may not be due to ageing. Maria Emilia Fernandez at the National Institute on Aging in Maryland and her colleagues analysed taurine levels in 742 people between 26 and 100 years old. The participants, about half of whom were women, didn’t have underlying health conditions and provided three to five blood samples between January 2006 and October 2018.
    On average, taurine levels were almost 27 per cent higher in women at 100 years old than at 26 years old and rose about 6 per cent in men between the ages of 30 and 97. Similar results were seen in 32 monkeys that underwent three to seven blood draws between 3 and 32 years of age. Between 5 and 30 years of age, taurine levels rose 72 per cent in female monkeys and 27 per cent in male monkeys, on average.
    Together, these findings indicate that taurine levels are not a reliable indication of ageing. What’s more, taurine levels also varied widely between people and even within individuals over time, suggesting that other environmental factors influence them, says Fernandez.

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    However, some people may still benefit from taurine supplementation, says Fernandez, pointing to studies that show it helps regulate blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes or obesity. But whether it can delay ageing in otherwise healthy people is an open question.
    Vijay Yadav at Rutgers University in New Jersey says he and his colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial of taurine supplementation in middle-aged adults. “We hope to finish the trial by the end of 2025,” he says. “Hopefully it will generate sufficiently rigorous data to show whether or not taurine supplementation delays the pace of ageing in humans or increases health and fitness.”
    Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adl2116
    Article amended on 5 June 2025We corrected Vijay Yadav's affiliationTopics:
    #taurine #not #key #driver #ageing
    Taurine may not be a key driver of ageing after all
    Taurine supplements have been considered promising for delaying ageing, but that may not be the caseShutterstock / Eugeniusz Dudzinski The amino acid taurine was once thought to decline with age, and animal research suggested that taurine supplements could delay ageing. But a new study shows that the decline doesn’t happen consistently. In fact, taurine levels tend to increase in people over time, suggesting that low levels of the nutrient aren’t a driver of ageing. Previous research has shown that taurine concentrations decline in men as they age and that people with higher taurine levels at 60 years old tend to have better health outcomes. This, along with evidence that taurine supplements extend lifespan in mice and monkeys, suggested that low taurine contributes to ageing.Advertisement The trouble is that taurine fluctuates in response to other factors too, such as illness, stress and diet – therefore, declines in this key amino acid may not be due to ageing. Maria Emilia Fernandez at the National Institute on Aging in Maryland and her colleagues analysed taurine levels in 742 people between 26 and 100 years old. The participants, about half of whom were women, didn’t have underlying health conditions and provided three to five blood samples between January 2006 and October 2018. On average, taurine levels were almost 27 per cent higher in women at 100 years old than at 26 years old and rose about 6 per cent in men between the ages of 30 and 97. Similar results were seen in 32 monkeys that underwent three to seven blood draws between 3 and 32 years of age. Between 5 and 30 years of age, taurine levels rose 72 per cent in female monkeys and 27 per cent in male monkeys, on average. Together, these findings indicate that taurine levels are not a reliable indication of ageing. What’s more, taurine levels also varied widely between people and even within individuals over time, suggesting that other environmental factors influence them, says Fernandez. Get the most essential health and fitness news in your inbox every Saturday. Sign up to newsletter However, some people may still benefit from taurine supplementation, says Fernandez, pointing to studies that show it helps regulate blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes or obesity. But whether it can delay ageing in otherwise healthy people is an open question. Vijay Yadav at Rutgers University in New Jersey says he and his colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial of taurine supplementation in middle-aged adults. “We hope to finish the trial by the end of 2025,” he says. “Hopefully it will generate sufficiently rigorous data to show whether or not taurine supplementation delays the pace of ageing in humans or increases health and fitness.” Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adl2116 Article amended on 5 June 2025We corrected Vijay Yadav's affiliationTopics: #taurine #not #key #driver #ageing
    WWW.NEWSCIENTIST.COM
    Taurine may not be a key driver of ageing after all
    Taurine supplements have been considered promising for delaying ageing, but that may not be the caseShutterstock / Eugeniusz Dudzinski The amino acid taurine was once thought to decline with age, and animal research suggested that taurine supplements could delay ageing. But a new study shows that the decline doesn’t happen consistently. In fact, taurine levels tend to increase in people over time, suggesting that low levels of the nutrient aren’t a driver of ageing. Previous research has shown that taurine concentrations decline in men as they age and that people with higher taurine levels at 60 years old tend to have better health outcomes. This, along with evidence that taurine supplements extend lifespan in mice and monkeys, suggested that low taurine contributes to ageing.Advertisement The trouble is that taurine fluctuates in response to other factors too, such as illness, stress and diet – therefore, declines in this key amino acid may not be due to ageing. Maria Emilia Fernandez at the National Institute on Aging in Maryland and her colleagues analysed taurine levels in 742 people between 26 and 100 years old. The participants, about half of whom were women, didn’t have underlying health conditions and provided three to five blood samples between January 2006 and October 2018. On average, taurine levels were almost 27 per cent higher in women at 100 years old than at 26 years old and rose about 6 per cent in men between the ages of 30 and 97. Similar results were seen in 32 monkeys that underwent three to seven blood draws between 3 and 32 years of age. Between 5 and 30 years of age, taurine levels rose 72 per cent in female monkeys and 27 per cent in male monkeys, on average. Together, these findings indicate that taurine levels are not a reliable indication of ageing. What’s more, taurine levels also varied widely between people and even within individuals over time, suggesting that other environmental factors influence them, says Fernandez. Get the most essential health and fitness news in your inbox every Saturday. Sign up to newsletter However, some people may still benefit from taurine supplementation, says Fernandez, pointing to studies that show it helps regulate blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes or obesity. But whether it can delay ageing in otherwise healthy people is an open question. Vijay Yadav at Rutgers University in New Jersey says he and his colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial of taurine supplementation in middle-aged adults. “We hope to finish the trial by the end of 2025,” he says. “Hopefully it will generate sufficiently rigorous data to show whether or not taurine supplementation delays the pace of ageing in humans or increases health and fitness.” Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adl2116 Article amended on 5 June 2025We corrected Vijay Yadav's affiliationTopics:
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  • The Wellness Industry Is Coming for Your Kitchen

    A Peloton perched in the living room. A set of weights on the bedroom floor. Some wellness products have a way of making their presence known. But even the smaller things—think daily supplements, mushroom tinctures, herbal teas—can slowly start to sprawl out everywhere. With the rise and awareness of holistic health habits, wellness routines that rival your skincare shelf, and obsessions like ProteinTok—a whole corner of the internet dedicated to everything protein—you might find that wellness has taken over your kitchen. Suddenly, your blender is battling for space with the hydration powders, collagen tubs, and stacks of snack bars. If you don’t have a place to properly store it all, your kitchen can start to be more overwhelming than calming. But with thoughtful design, proper planning, and smart storage solutions, you can integrate it all into your home in a way that feels serene and seamless. We asked designers and wellness experts how they manage their ever-expanding collection of products and design their kitchens with well-being in mind.Consider An Appliance GarageTessa NeustadtGreen cabinet doors conceal the appliances in this kitchen by Interior Archaeology.“For things that need to be in reach and on the counter, we put everything in an appliance garage,” shares Lynn Kloythanomsup of Landed Interiors and Homes. By that she means is a built-in cabinet or nook—typically integrated into the cabinetry—that features a door that lifts, rolls, or swings open and shut to conceal bulky appliances. Designer Hollie Velten of Spaces by Hollie Velten is also a fan of this feature and notices more clients requesting it. “A custom appliance garage allows things like tea supplies to be accessible for entertaining but hidden for everyday use.”It’s not just designers who advocate for this intentional placement—wellness experts themselves are just as mindful of it. “Our juicer must be on the countertop to make juicing as effortless as possible but other appliances are fine tucked away,” says health coach and nutritionist Daphne Javtich of Doing Well. Kerrilynn Pamer of Cap Beauty echoes this: “I keep my juicer on the counter, I have a Nama, and it’s pretty discreet even though it's large. Everything else, I keep behind doors.”Think Beyond The Main KitchenStacy Zarin GoldbergThis auxiliary kitchen by Kate Abt Design makes a perfect spot for wellness essentials.One luxury feature on the rise? Auxiliary kitchens, also known as dirty kitchens. “When designing for clients, we almost always have the ‘family’ or ‘show’ kitchen and then a second kitchen where the real cooking happens,” says Eric Egan of Eric Egan Interior Design. “This is much like in a restaurant show kitchen, where you see them finishing the meals, but you don't see the prep work or the clean up, all of which happens in the background.” Designer Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design has also seen an increase in the request of auxiliary kitchens and loves them because they “provide concealed storage for juicers, blenders, dehydrators, and food processors.” While two kitchens might not be realistic for everyone, if you have access to a nice-sized pantry or closet nearby, that’s an ideal spot to corral it all, as well. Rethink Unused SpacesKEVIN MIYAZAKIRemove the booze, bring in the blender, and this liquor cabinet, in a library designed by Kate Marker, could be a wellness station.Speaking of ideal spots for wellness, consider transforming underutilized spaces like liquor cabinets or part of a mudroom into a wellness hub. “We don't find that too many of our clients have a liquor cabinet or use a bar anymore,” shares Kloythanomsup. “So that area can be repurposed as a wellness area.” While you're repurposing it, consider where you can plug in all those wellness appliances. “Clients are also asking us to design technology-stations, so they have multiple areas to hide their technology and free their view of cords and distractions,” Velten says. Get In The ZoneEmma Farrer//Getty ImagesA dedicated tea zone.If you are going to dedicate counter space to your wellness routine, whether it’s a juicing zone, smoothie station, a hydration corner—keep things arranged in groups or zones. “I keep the bulk of my supplements and remedies in a large, shallow pullout drawer in the kitchen,” Javitch shares. “I find this is the easiest way to organize and find products quickly. And you don't have to remove some to get to others.”“I love setting up thoughtful, dedicated zones, like a wellness drawer with teas, vitamins, and tinctures all in one place, or a water station with a glass water pitcher, reusable bottles, and electrolytes,” shares Blakey. Keeping similar items together allows products to stay top of mind and prevents them from getting lost in the shuffle. Contain YourselfCourtesy Holly BlakeyA pantry organized by Holly Blakey of Breathing Room Home.While baskets are a no-brainer for kitchen organization, designers and experts say that’s for good reason, advising homeowners not to overlook them—and to keep the materials as natural as possible. “Wooden bins are another favorite way to add warmth and style while keeping items grouped,” Blakey says. Velten seconds the idea of rush baskets or wooden bins, “We try to push living finishes as much as we can because with proper care, material that came from the earth just vibrates differently.” No matter how many products you use or how dialed-in your routine may be, “wellness becomes part of the daily flow when your space helps you follow through on your intentions,” says Blakey. For that reason, says Javitch, “I always keep a few small baskets in our cabinets with products I often grab for like the kids' sunblock stick or their multivitamin gummies.”Show Off Your Stash Thomas LeonczikHollie Velten designed this kitchen to keep essentials on view. The alternative to hiding things away? Showing them off! “We worked with a client who described her kitchen goals as ‘California health kitchen,’” shares Velten. “We actually removed the upper cabinets to create an easy-to-access corner of shelving to hold glass jars and sustainable practices for her teas, herbs, spices, tinctures, and other food prep essentials.” After all, some items deserve to be seen—not only from an aesthetic perspective but also to prompt daily use and consistency. “I’ll usually keep my essential daily products on a pretty wood tray on the kitchen counter,” Javtich shares.If you are going to keep things out in the open, Bay Area-based organizer of Breathing Room Home Holly Blakey, says clarity is key. “I swear by glass containers for food storage, not just for sustainability, but because they help you know what you have and when you can clearly see your items, you’re more likely to use them before they expire.”Plus, this keep-it-all-out method a way to incorporate your personal preferences and add a little personality into your kitchen. “Sometimes well-kept essentials really only bring more joy and utility when out in the open,” Velten adds. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.
    #wellness #industry #coming #your #kitchen
    The Wellness Industry Is Coming for Your Kitchen
    A Peloton perched in the living room. A set of weights on the bedroom floor. Some wellness products have a way of making their presence known. But even the smaller things—think daily supplements, mushroom tinctures, herbal teas—can slowly start to sprawl out everywhere. With the rise and awareness of holistic health habits, wellness routines that rival your skincare shelf, and obsessions like ProteinTok—a whole corner of the internet dedicated to everything protein—you might find that wellness has taken over your kitchen. Suddenly, your blender is battling for space with the hydration powders, collagen tubs, and stacks of snack bars. If you don’t have a place to properly store it all, your kitchen can start to be more overwhelming than calming. But with thoughtful design, proper planning, and smart storage solutions, you can integrate it all into your home in a way that feels serene and seamless. We asked designers and wellness experts how they manage their ever-expanding collection of products and design their kitchens with well-being in mind.Consider An Appliance GarageTessa NeustadtGreen cabinet doors conceal the appliances in this kitchen by Interior Archaeology.“For things that need to be in reach and on the counter, we put everything in an appliance garage,” shares Lynn Kloythanomsup of Landed Interiors and Homes. By that she means is a built-in cabinet or nook—typically integrated into the cabinetry—that features a door that lifts, rolls, or swings open and shut to conceal bulky appliances. Designer Hollie Velten of Spaces by Hollie Velten is also a fan of this feature and notices more clients requesting it. “A custom appliance garage allows things like tea supplies to be accessible for entertaining but hidden for everyday use.”It’s not just designers who advocate for this intentional placement—wellness experts themselves are just as mindful of it. “Our juicer must be on the countertop to make juicing as effortless as possible but other appliances are fine tucked away,” says health coach and nutritionist Daphne Javtich of Doing Well. Kerrilynn Pamer of Cap Beauty echoes this: “I keep my juicer on the counter, I have a Nama, and it’s pretty discreet even though it's large. Everything else, I keep behind doors.”Think Beyond The Main KitchenStacy Zarin GoldbergThis auxiliary kitchen by Kate Abt Design makes a perfect spot for wellness essentials.One luxury feature on the rise? Auxiliary kitchens, also known as dirty kitchens. “When designing for clients, we almost always have the ‘family’ or ‘show’ kitchen and then a second kitchen where the real cooking happens,” says Eric Egan of Eric Egan Interior Design. “This is much like in a restaurant show kitchen, where you see them finishing the meals, but you don't see the prep work or the clean up, all of which happens in the background.” Designer Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design has also seen an increase in the request of auxiliary kitchens and loves them because they “provide concealed storage for juicers, blenders, dehydrators, and food processors.” While two kitchens might not be realistic for everyone, if you have access to a nice-sized pantry or closet nearby, that’s an ideal spot to corral it all, as well. Rethink Unused SpacesKEVIN MIYAZAKIRemove the booze, bring in the blender, and this liquor cabinet, in a library designed by Kate Marker, could be a wellness station.Speaking of ideal spots for wellness, consider transforming underutilized spaces like liquor cabinets or part of a mudroom into a wellness hub. “We don't find that too many of our clients have a liquor cabinet or use a bar anymore,” shares Kloythanomsup. “So that area can be repurposed as a wellness area.” While you're repurposing it, consider where you can plug in all those wellness appliances. “Clients are also asking us to design technology-stations, so they have multiple areas to hide their technology and free their view of cords and distractions,” Velten says. Get In The ZoneEmma Farrer//Getty ImagesA dedicated tea zone.If you are going to dedicate counter space to your wellness routine, whether it’s a juicing zone, smoothie station, a hydration corner—keep things arranged in groups or zones. “I keep the bulk of my supplements and remedies in a large, shallow pullout drawer in the kitchen,” Javitch shares. “I find this is the easiest way to organize and find products quickly. And you don't have to remove some to get to others.”“I love setting up thoughtful, dedicated zones, like a wellness drawer with teas, vitamins, and tinctures all in one place, or a water station with a glass water pitcher, reusable bottles, and electrolytes,” shares Blakey. Keeping similar items together allows products to stay top of mind and prevents them from getting lost in the shuffle. Contain YourselfCourtesy Holly BlakeyA pantry organized by Holly Blakey of Breathing Room Home.While baskets are a no-brainer for kitchen organization, designers and experts say that’s for good reason, advising homeowners not to overlook them—and to keep the materials as natural as possible. “Wooden bins are another favorite way to add warmth and style while keeping items grouped,” Blakey says. Velten seconds the idea of rush baskets or wooden bins, “We try to push living finishes as much as we can because with proper care, material that came from the earth just vibrates differently.” No matter how many products you use or how dialed-in your routine may be, “wellness becomes part of the daily flow when your space helps you follow through on your intentions,” says Blakey. For that reason, says Javitch, “I always keep a few small baskets in our cabinets with products I often grab for like the kids' sunblock stick or their multivitamin gummies.”Show Off Your Stash Thomas LeonczikHollie Velten designed this kitchen to keep essentials on view. The alternative to hiding things away? Showing them off! “We worked with a client who described her kitchen goals as ‘California health kitchen,’” shares Velten. “We actually removed the upper cabinets to create an easy-to-access corner of shelving to hold glass jars and sustainable practices for her teas, herbs, spices, tinctures, and other food prep essentials.” After all, some items deserve to be seen—not only from an aesthetic perspective but also to prompt daily use and consistency. “I’ll usually keep my essential daily products on a pretty wood tray on the kitchen counter,” Javtich shares.If you are going to keep things out in the open, Bay Area-based organizer of Breathing Room Home Holly Blakey, says clarity is key. “I swear by glass containers for food storage, not just for sustainability, but because they help you know what you have and when you can clearly see your items, you’re more likely to use them before they expire.”Plus, this keep-it-all-out method a way to incorporate your personal preferences and add a little personality into your kitchen. “Sometimes well-kept essentials really only bring more joy and utility when out in the open,” Velten adds. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok. #wellness #industry #coming #your #kitchen
    WWW.HOUSEBEAUTIFUL.COM
    The Wellness Industry Is Coming for Your Kitchen
    A Peloton perched in the living room. A set of weights on the bedroom floor. Some wellness products have a way of making their presence known. But even the smaller things—think daily supplements, mushroom tinctures, herbal teas—can slowly start to sprawl out everywhere. With the rise and awareness of holistic health habits, wellness routines that rival your skincare shelf, and obsessions like ProteinTok—a whole corner of the internet dedicated to everything protein—you might find that wellness has taken over your kitchen. Suddenly, your blender is battling for space with the hydration powders, collagen tubs, and stacks of snack bars. If you don’t have a place to properly store it all, your kitchen can start to be more overwhelming than calming. But with thoughtful design, proper planning, and smart storage solutions, you can integrate it all into your home in a way that feels serene and seamless. We asked designers and wellness experts how they manage their ever-expanding collection of products and design their kitchens with well-being in mind.Consider An Appliance GarageTessa NeustadtGreen cabinet doors conceal the appliances in this kitchen by Interior Archaeology.“For things that need to be in reach and on the counter, we put everything in an appliance garage,” shares Lynn Kloythanomsup of Landed Interiors and Homes. By that she means is a built-in cabinet or nook—typically integrated into the cabinetry—that features a door that lifts, rolls, or swings open and shut to conceal bulky appliances. Designer Hollie Velten of Spaces by Hollie Velten is also a fan of this feature and notices more clients requesting it. “A custom appliance garage allows things like tea supplies to be accessible for entertaining but hidden for everyday use.”It’s not just designers who advocate for this intentional placement—wellness experts themselves are just as mindful of it. “Our juicer must be on the countertop to make juicing as effortless as possible but other appliances are fine tucked away,” says health coach and nutritionist Daphne Javtich of Doing Well. Kerrilynn Pamer of Cap Beauty echoes this: “I keep my juicer on the counter, I have a Nama, and it’s pretty discreet even though it's large. Everything else, I keep behind doors.”Think Beyond The Main KitchenStacy Zarin GoldbergThis auxiliary kitchen by Kate Abt Design makes a perfect spot for wellness essentials.One luxury feature on the rise? Auxiliary kitchens, also known as dirty kitchens. “When designing for clients, we almost always have the ‘family’ or ‘show’ kitchen and then a second kitchen where the real cooking happens,” says Eric Egan of Eric Egan Interior Design. “This is much like in a restaurant show kitchen, where you see them finishing the meals, but you don't see the prep work or the clean up, all of which happens in the background.” Designer Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design has also seen an increase in the request of auxiliary kitchens and loves them because they “provide concealed storage for juicers, blenders, dehydrators, and food processors.” While two kitchens might not be realistic for everyone, if you have access to a nice-sized pantry or closet nearby, that’s an ideal spot to corral it all, as well. Rethink Unused SpacesKEVIN MIYAZAKIRemove the booze, bring in the blender, and this liquor cabinet, in a library designed by Kate Marker, could be a wellness station.Speaking of ideal spots for wellness, consider transforming underutilized spaces like liquor cabinets or part of a mudroom into a wellness hub. “We don't find that too many of our clients have a liquor cabinet or use a bar anymore,” shares Kloythanomsup. “So that area can be repurposed as a wellness area.” While you're repurposing it, consider where you can plug in all those wellness appliances. “Clients are also asking us to design technology-stations, so they have multiple areas to hide their technology and free their view of cords and distractions,” Velten says. Get In The ZoneEmma Farrer//Getty ImagesA dedicated tea zone.If you are going to dedicate counter space to your wellness routine, whether it’s a juicing zone, smoothie station, a hydration corner—keep things arranged in groups or zones. “I keep the bulk of my supplements and remedies in a large, shallow pullout drawer in the kitchen,” Javitch shares. “I find this is the easiest way to organize and find products quickly. And you don't have to remove some to get to others.”“I love setting up thoughtful, dedicated zones, like a wellness drawer with teas, vitamins, and tinctures all in one place, or a water station with a glass water pitcher, reusable bottles, and electrolytes,” shares Blakey. Keeping similar items together allows products to stay top of mind and prevents them from getting lost in the shuffle. Contain YourselfCourtesy Holly BlakeyA pantry organized by Holly Blakey of Breathing Room Home.While baskets are a no-brainer for kitchen organization, designers and experts say that’s for good reason, advising homeowners not to overlook them—and to keep the materials as natural as possible. “Wooden bins are another favorite way to add warmth and style while keeping items grouped,” Blakey says. Velten seconds the idea of rush baskets or wooden bins, “We try to push living finishes as much as we can because with proper care, material that came from the earth just vibrates differently.” No matter how many products you use or how dialed-in your routine may be, “wellness becomes part of the daily flow when your space helps you follow through on your intentions,” says Blakey. For that reason, says Javitch, “I always keep a few small baskets in our cabinets with products I often grab for like the kids' sunblock stick or their multivitamin gummies.”Show Off Your Stash Thomas LeonczikHollie Velten designed this kitchen to keep essentials on view. The alternative to hiding things away? Showing them off! “We worked with a client who described her kitchen goals as ‘California health kitchen,’” shares Velten. “We actually removed the upper cabinets to create an easy-to-access corner of shelving to hold glass jars and sustainable practices for her teas, herbs, spices, tinctures, and other food prep essentials.” After all, some items deserve to be seen—not only from an aesthetic perspective but also to prompt daily use and consistency. “I’ll usually keep my essential daily products on a pretty wood tray on the kitchen counter,” Javtich shares.If you are going to keep things out in the open, Bay Area-based organizer of Breathing Room Home Holly Blakey, says clarity is key. “I swear by glass containers for food storage, not just for sustainability, but because they help you know what you have and when you can clearly see your items, you’re more likely to use them before they expire.”Plus, this keep-it-all-out method a way to incorporate your personal preferences and add a little personality into your kitchen. “Sometimes well-kept essentials really only bring more joy and utility when out in the open,” Velten adds. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.
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  • We can reshore American manufacturing

    In my last Fast Company column, I shared my reasons for manufacturing my electric trucks in the U.S. I’m not alone. While near-shoring to North America has been underway for several years, the current tariff shifts and shipping complexities make U.S. manufacturing a higher priority still.

    However, there were 292,825 factories in the U.S. as of 2021. Of those, 846 employ 1,000 people or more. Some of these are my engineering firm’s clients, giving us a front row seat to the complexity of retrofitting an existing factory to full U.S. manufacturing. While building a new factory is expensive and lengthy, these companies’ tasks are more difficult still.

    There are good reasons for making the shift as quickly as possible. Moving to most or fully U.S. manufacturing brings higher visibility, faster response time, and higher resilience to supply chain disruption, as well as greater protection from tariff shifts and geopolitical change.

    But if you’re early in the process, here’s my advice for your transition:

    Determine a priority ranking for the refining and raw materials you shift to in-country and North American sourcing. Give highest ranking to categories including defense, high value items, and consumer safety items.

    Be more strategic in the offshore suppliers you continue using for non-advanced manufacturing by prioritizing closer and more geographic-friendly locations for production and shipment such as Mexico and Argentina.

    Utilize government-backed capital, where possible, for extracting/mining minerals and metals such as lithium, red mud, magnesium, etc.

    Beyond the high-ranking product categories, move to domestic suppliers for primary materials such as steel, aluminum, cement, and plastics. Likewise, reduce offshoring of technical staff as well as raw materials, where possible.

    Use all means possible to become power independent through solar production, micro-grids, and nuclear power production.

    Consider creating a 4-year completion bonus for military vets. Hire vets wherever possible, as they make great workers and entrepreneurs.

    Likewise, we can press for future policy changes that best support Made in America manufacturing, as follows:

    Encourage ship building in the U.S., as well as creating new means of automated freight transit.

    Work towards transformation plans for government-funded R&D to include more attractive loans, rebates, and grants, as well as programs for tax-free status for intellectual property during commercialization, to incent and support organizations making the shift.

    Consider energy rebates to U.S. manufacturers and distributors to make American manufacturing more cost-effective and viable.  

    Create policies to include the cost of offshore staff in tariff calculations. Expand trade relationships with Caribbean nations for products such as sugar, avocados, bananas, etc.

    Avoid or even ban foreign ownership of the food supply chain.

    Create fair competition for government contracting.

    Make health supplements and homeopathic medicines tax deductible, to promote a healthy workforce.

    While it may not be readily evident, these policy changes are related to successful reshoring. In all, we need larger scale, lower costs, and more automated and simplified mechanisms for product manufacturing. These issues, in my experience, are as equally important as the raw materials we require. We need increased support for niche manufacturing. In my opinion, we also need deregulation, and increased access to land.

    I believe we need better education, self-reliance, health, and incentive structures to get the capital, entrepreneurs, and workers for Made in America manufacturing. Who’s with me?

    Matthew Chang is the founding partner of Chang Robotics.
    #can #reshore #american #manufacturing
    We can reshore American manufacturing
    In my last Fast Company column, I shared my reasons for manufacturing my electric trucks in the U.S. I’m not alone. While near-shoring to North America has been underway for several years, the current tariff shifts and shipping complexities make U.S. manufacturing a higher priority still. However, there were 292,825 factories in the U.S. as of 2021. Of those, 846 employ 1,000 people or more. Some of these are my engineering firm’s clients, giving us a front row seat to the complexity of retrofitting an existing factory to full U.S. manufacturing. While building a new factory is expensive and lengthy, these companies’ tasks are more difficult still. There are good reasons for making the shift as quickly as possible. Moving to most or fully U.S. manufacturing brings higher visibility, faster response time, and higher resilience to supply chain disruption, as well as greater protection from tariff shifts and geopolitical change. But if you’re early in the process, here’s my advice for your transition: Determine a priority ranking for the refining and raw materials you shift to in-country and North American sourcing. Give highest ranking to categories including defense, high value items, and consumer safety items. Be more strategic in the offshore suppliers you continue using for non-advanced manufacturing by prioritizing closer and more geographic-friendly locations for production and shipment such as Mexico and Argentina. Utilize government-backed capital, where possible, for extracting/mining minerals and metals such as lithium, red mud, magnesium, etc. Beyond the high-ranking product categories, move to domestic suppliers for primary materials such as steel, aluminum, cement, and plastics. Likewise, reduce offshoring of technical staff as well as raw materials, where possible. Use all means possible to become power independent through solar production, micro-grids, and nuclear power production. Consider creating a 4-year completion bonus for military vets. Hire vets wherever possible, as they make great workers and entrepreneurs. Likewise, we can press for future policy changes that best support Made in America manufacturing, as follows: Encourage ship building in the U.S., as well as creating new means of automated freight transit. Work towards transformation plans for government-funded R&D to include more attractive loans, rebates, and grants, as well as programs for tax-free status for intellectual property during commercialization, to incent and support organizations making the shift. Consider energy rebates to U.S. manufacturers and distributors to make American manufacturing more cost-effective and viable.   Create policies to include the cost of offshore staff in tariff calculations. Expand trade relationships with Caribbean nations for products such as sugar, avocados, bananas, etc. Avoid or even ban foreign ownership of the food supply chain. Create fair competition for government contracting. Make health supplements and homeopathic medicines tax deductible, to promote a healthy workforce. While it may not be readily evident, these policy changes are related to successful reshoring. In all, we need larger scale, lower costs, and more automated and simplified mechanisms for product manufacturing. These issues, in my experience, are as equally important as the raw materials we require. We need increased support for niche manufacturing. In my opinion, we also need deregulation, and increased access to land. I believe we need better education, self-reliance, health, and incentive structures to get the capital, entrepreneurs, and workers for Made in America manufacturing. Who’s with me? Matthew Chang is the founding partner of Chang Robotics. #can #reshore #american #manufacturing
    WWW.FASTCOMPANY.COM
    We can reshore American manufacturing
    In my last Fast Company column, I shared my reasons for manufacturing my electric trucks in the U.S. I’m not alone. While near-shoring to North America has been underway for several years, the current tariff shifts and shipping complexities make U.S. manufacturing a higher priority still. However, there were 292,825 factories in the U.S. as of 2021. Of those, 846 employ 1,000 people or more. Some of these are my engineering firm’s clients, giving us a front row seat to the complexity of retrofitting an existing factory to full U.S. manufacturing. While building a new factory is expensive and lengthy, these companies’ tasks are more difficult still. There are good reasons for making the shift as quickly as possible. Moving to most or fully U.S. manufacturing brings higher visibility, faster response time, and higher resilience to supply chain disruption, as well as greater protection from tariff shifts and geopolitical change. But if you’re early in the process, here’s my advice for your transition: Determine a priority ranking for the refining and raw materials you shift to in-country and North American sourcing. Give highest ranking to categories including defense, high value items (such as steel, aluminum, and rare minerals, etc.), and consumer safety items (such as pharmaceutical components, etc.). Be more strategic in the offshore suppliers you continue using for non-advanced manufacturing by prioritizing closer and more geographic-friendly locations for production and shipment such as Mexico and Argentina. Utilize government-backed capital, where possible, for extracting/mining minerals and metals such as lithium, red mud, magnesium, etc. Beyond the high-ranking product categories, move to domestic suppliers for primary materials such as steel, aluminum, cement, and plastics. Likewise, reduce offshoring of technical staff as well as raw materials, where possible. Use all means possible to become power independent through solar production, micro-grids, and nuclear power production. Consider creating a 4-year completion bonus for military vets. Hire vets wherever possible, as they make great workers and entrepreneurs. Likewise, we can press for future policy changes that best support Made in America manufacturing, as follows: Encourage ship building in the U.S., as well as creating new means of automated freight transit. Work towards transformation plans for government-funded R&D to include more attractive loans, rebates, and grants, as well as programs for tax-free status for intellectual property during commercialization, to incent and support organizations making the shift. Consider energy rebates to U.S. manufacturers and distributors to make American manufacturing more cost-effective and viable.   Create policies to include the cost of offshore staff in tariff calculations. Expand trade relationships with Caribbean nations for products such as sugar, avocados, bananas, etc. Avoid or even ban foreign ownership of the food supply chain. Create fair competition for government contracting. Make health supplements and homeopathic medicines tax deductible, to promote a healthy workforce. While it may not be readily evident, these policy changes are related to successful reshoring. In all, we need larger scale, lower costs, and more automated and simplified mechanisms for product manufacturing. These issues, in my experience, are as equally important as the raw materials we require. We need increased support for niche manufacturing. In my opinion, we also need deregulation, and increased access to land (particularly in the west; the federal government owns great quantities of the available land, which is choking available supply). I believe we need better education, self-reliance, health, and incentive structures to get the capital, entrepreneurs, and workers for Made in America manufacturing. Who’s with me? Matthew Chang is the founding partner of Chang Robotics.
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  • Spot fake online stores, avoid Facebook subscription scams

    Published
    June 2, 2025 10:00am EDT close 'CyberGuy' warns of cyberscams costing Americans billions a year Tech expert Kurt Knutsson joins "Fox & Friends" to warn of new cyberscams and give tips on how to avoid them. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
    Given the number of phishing scams we have all faced over the past decade, most of us have developed a basic skill to spot and avoid obvious phishing emails or SMS messages. Cybercriminals are aware of this, and they have evolved their tactics by shifting to more complex and convincing schemes designed to bypass skepticism and lure victims.Their goal remains the same: to trick you into handing over sensitive information, especially credit card data. One of the latest examples is the rise in subscription scam campaigns. Scammers are creating incredibly convincing websites selling everything from shoes and clothes to electronics, tricking people into signing up for monthly subscriptions and willingly providing their credit card information. Facebook is being used as the primary platform to promote these new and sophisticated scams. A woman shopping onlineWhat you need to knowBitdefender researchers have uncovered a massive and highly coordinated subscription scam campaign involving more than 200 active websites designed to look like real online stores. These sites, often promoted through Facebook ads, sell everything from clothes and electronics to beauty products, but the real goal is to trick users into signing up for recurring payments, often without realizing it.One of the most common lures is the "mystery box" scam, where you are promised a surprise package at a bargain price. These offers are made to look fun and harmless, but behind the scenes you are giving away personal and credit card information while unknowingly agreeing to hidden subscription terms, often written in tiny fine print.The scam doesn’t stop there. Once you’re convinced and reach the checkout page, scammers often layer in a second scam, like loyalty cards or VIP memberships that further lock you into payments. It’s all designed to confuse you, overwhelm you with supposed perks and make the scam feel like a good deal.Researchers found that many of these websites share a single Cyprus address, possibly tied to offshore entities linked to the Paradise Papers. Despite being spread across different categories and brand names, the sites often use the same layouts, AI agents and payment structures, all pointing to a centralized fraud network.Scammers frequently rotate the brands they impersonate and have started moving beyond mystery boxes, now peddling low-quality products, counterfeit goods, fake investment schemes, dubious supplements and more. To avoid automatic detection, they employ several tactics. These include running multiple versions of an ad, with only one of which is actually malicious while the others display harmless product images, uploading ad images from platforms like Google Drive so they can be swapped out later and cropping visuals to alter recognizable patterns. Listing fake productsThe scam is expandingWhat started with simple "mystery box" scams has grown into a sprawling, coordinated campaign. These scams now feature fake surveys, tiered "VIP" memberships and deceptive credit systems that make the purchase process intentionally confusing. Users are promised deep discounts or access to exclusive deals, but in reality they’re just being locked into recurring payments.Many of the scam websites trace back to the same physical address in Cyprus, pointing to what appears to be a centralized operation. Researchers also found links to entities mentioned in the Paradise Papers, suggesting these fraudsters are hiding behind offshore infrastructure.And it’s not just mystery boxes anymore. The same scam format is being used to sell low-quality goods, fake supplements and even bogus investment opportunities. With high-quality site design, aggressive advertising and increasingly sophisticated tactics, subscription scams are becoming the new face of online fraud. A person shopping online10 proactive measures to take to protect your dataEven as scammers become more sophisticated, there are practical steps you can take right now to protect your personal and financial information from subscription fraud and other online threats. Here are ten proactive measures to help keep your data safe:1) Always read the fine print: One of the simplest yet most effective ways to protect yourself from subscription scams is to slow down and read the fine print, especially on checkout pages. Scammers often hide recurring payment terms in small or lightly colored text that’s easy to miss. What seems like a one-time purchase could actually sign you up for a biweekly or monthly charge. Taking just a moment to scan for hidden terms before hitting "Pay" can help you avoid weeks of silent billing.2) Avoid mystery box or VIP-style deals: These offers often prey on curiosity and the promise of surprise or luxury for a low fee. In reality, the "mystery" is the trap: you might receive nothing or a low-quality item while being unknowingly enrolled in a recurring subscription. Scammers use the illusion of exclusivity or urgency to pressure quick decisions.3) Don’t trust ads blindly on social media: Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are a hotbed for these scams, with criminals running paid ads that mimic well-known brands or influencers. These ads often link to professional-looking but fake storefronts. If you’re interested in a deal you see online, don’t click through immediately. Instead, look up the brand or offer in a separate tab and check if it exists outside social media.4) Investigate before you buy: Before purchasing from any unfamiliar site, take a few quick steps to verify its legitimacy. Search the brand's name alongside words like "scam" or "reviews" to see what others have experienced. Look up the company's physical address and check if it actually exists using tools like Google Maps. Make sure the website uses HTTPS, review the site's contact information and cross-check reviews on trusted third-party sites like the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports.5) Use strong antivirus software: Adding a strong antivirus program to your devices can provide an extra layer of defense against fraudulent websites and phishing attempts. Strong antivirus software warns you about suspicious links, blocks malicious ads and scans downloads for malware. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.6) Invest in personal data removal services: Scammers often rely on leaked or publicly available personal information to target victims with convincing subscription scams. Investing in a personal data removal service can help minimize your digital footprint by removing your information from data broker databases and reducing the chances of being targeted in future campaigns. Regularly monitoring and cleaning up your online presence makes it harder for fraudsters to exploit your data for financial gain. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web.7) Be cautious with payment methods: Use secure payment options like credit cards, which often offer better fraud protection than wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.8) Limit personal information shared on social media: Scammers often gather details from public profiles to craft convincing scams. Review your privacy settings and only share necessary information.9) Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication: Create strong, unique passwords for each of your online accounts, especially those tied to your finances or shopping. Enable multifactor authentication wherever possible, as this adds an extra layer of security and makes it harder for scammers to access your accounts, even if your password is compromised. Also, consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.10) Keep your devices and software updated: Regularly update your operating system, browsers and apps. Security updates often patch vulnerabilities that scammers exploit to gain access to your information or install malicious software.Kurt’s key takeawayWhile the rise of subscription scams and deceptive ads is concerning, it’s especially troubling that platforms like Facebook continue to allow these fraudulent ads to run unchecked. Facebook has repeatedly failed to adequately vet or prevent these malicious campaigns from reaching vulnerable individuals. The platform’s ad approval system should be more proactive in spotting and blocking ads promoting scams, particularly those that impersonate well-known brands or content creators. How do you feel about Facebook’s role in allowing scam ads to circulate? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
    #spot #fake #online #stores #avoid
    Spot fake online stores, avoid Facebook subscription scams
    Published June 2, 2025 10:00am EDT close 'CyberGuy' warns of cyberscams costing Americans billions a year Tech expert Kurt Knutsson joins "Fox & Friends" to warn of new cyberscams and give tips on how to avoid them. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Given the number of phishing scams we have all faced over the past decade, most of us have developed a basic skill to spot and avoid obvious phishing emails or SMS messages. Cybercriminals are aware of this, and they have evolved their tactics by shifting to more complex and convincing schemes designed to bypass skepticism and lure victims.Their goal remains the same: to trick you into handing over sensitive information, especially credit card data. One of the latest examples is the rise in subscription scam campaigns. Scammers are creating incredibly convincing websites selling everything from shoes and clothes to electronics, tricking people into signing up for monthly subscriptions and willingly providing their credit card information. Facebook is being used as the primary platform to promote these new and sophisticated scams. A woman shopping onlineWhat you need to knowBitdefender researchers have uncovered a massive and highly coordinated subscription scam campaign involving more than 200 active websites designed to look like real online stores. These sites, often promoted through Facebook ads, sell everything from clothes and electronics to beauty products, but the real goal is to trick users into signing up for recurring payments, often without realizing it.One of the most common lures is the "mystery box" scam, where you are promised a surprise package at a bargain price. These offers are made to look fun and harmless, but behind the scenes you are giving away personal and credit card information while unknowingly agreeing to hidden subscription terms, often written in tiny fine print.The scam doesn’t stop there. Once you’re convinced and reach the checkout page, scammers often layer in a second scam, like loyalty cards or VIP memberships that further lock you into payments. It’s all designed to confuse you, overwhelm you with supposed perks and make the scam feel like a good deal.Researchers found that many of these websites share a single Cyprus address, possibly tied to offshore entities linked to the Paradise Papers. Despite being spread across different categories and brand names, the sites often use the same layouts, AI agents and payment structures, all pointing to a centralized fraud network.Scammers frequently rotate the brands they impersonate and have started moving beyond mystery boxes, now peddling low-quality products, counterfeit goods, fake investment schemes, dubious supplements and more. To avoid automatic detection, they employ several tactics. These include running multiple versions of an ad, with only one of which is actually malicious while the others display harmless product images, uploading ad images from platforms like Google Drive so they can be swapped out later and cropping visuals to alter recognizable patterns. Listing fake productsThe scam is expandingWhat started with simple "mystery box" scams has grown into a sprawling, coordinated campaign. These scams now feature fake surveys, tiered "VIP" memberships and deceptive credit systems that make the purchase process intentionally confusing. Users are promised deep discounts or access to exclusive deals, but in reality they’re just being locked into recurring payments.Many of the scam websites trace back to the same physical address in Cyprus, pointing to what appears to be a centralized operation. Researchers also found links to entities mentioned in the Paradise Papers, suggesting these fraudsters are hiding behind offshore infrastructure.And it’s not just mystery boxes anymore. The same scam format is being used to sell low-quality goods, fake supplements and even bogus investment opportunities. With high-quality site design, aggressive advertising and increasingly sophisticated tactics, subscription scams are becoming the new face of online fraud. A person shopping online10 proactive measures to take to protect your dataEven as scammers become more sophisticated, there are practical steps you can take right now to protect your personal and financial information from subscription fraud and other online threats. Here are ten proactive measures to help keep your data safe:1) Always read the fine print: One of the simplest yet most effective ways to protect yourself from subscription scams is to slow down and read the fine print, especially on checkout pages. Scammers often hide recurring payment terms in small or lightly colored text that’s easy to miss. What seems like a one-time purchase could actually sign you up for a biweekly or monthly charge. Taking just a moment to scan for hidden terms before hitting "Pay" can help you avoid weeks of silent billing.2) Avoid mystery box or VIP-style deals: These offers often prey on curiosity and the promise of surprise or luxury for a low fee. In reality, the "mystery" is the trap: you might receive nothing or a low-quality item while being unknowingly enrolled in a recurring subscription. Scammers use the illusion of exclusivity or urgency to pressure quick decisions.3) Don’t trust ads blindly on social media: Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are a hotbed for these scams, with criminals running paid ads that mimic well-known brands or influencers. These ads often link to professional-looking but fake storefronts. If you’re interested in a deal you see online, don’t click through immediately. Instead, look up the brand or offer in a separate tab and check if it exists outside social media.4) Investigate before you buy: Before purchasing from any unfamiliar site, take a few quick steps to verify its legitimacy. Search the brand's name alongside words like "scam" or "reviews" to see what others have experienced. Look up the company's physical address and check if it actually exists using tools like Google Maps. Make sure the website uses HTTPS, review the site's contact information and cross-check reviews on trusted third-party sites like the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports.5) Use strong antivirus software: Adding a strong antivirus program to your devices can provide an extra layer of defense against fraudulent websites and phishing attempts. Strong antivirus software warns you about suspicious links, blocks malicious ads and scans downloads for malware. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.6) Invest in personal data removal services: Scammers often rely on leaked or publicly available personal information to target victims with convincing subscription scams. Investing in a personal data removal service can help minimize your digital footprint by removing your information from data broker databases and reducing the chances of being targeted in future campaigns. Regularly monitoring and cleaning up your online presence makes it harder for fraudsters to exploit your data for financial gain. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web.7) Be cautious with payment methods: Use secure payment options like credit cards, which often offer better fraud protection than wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.8) Limit personal information shared on social media: Scammers often gather details from public profiles to craft convincing scams. Review your privacy settings and only share necessary information.9) Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication: Create strong, unique passwords for each of your online accounts, especially those tied to your finances or shopping. Enable multifactor authentication wherever possible, as this adds an extra layer of security and makes it harder for scammers to access your accounts, even if your password is compromised. Also, consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.10) Keep your devices and software updated: Regularly update your operating system, browsers and apps. Security updates often patch vulnerabilities that scammers exploit to gain access to your information or install malicious software.Kurt’s key takeawayWhile the rise of subscription scams and deceptive ads is concerning, it’s especially troubling that platforms like Facebook continue to allow these fraudulent ads to run unchecked. Facebook has repeatedly failed to adequately vet or prevent these malicious campaigns from reaching vulnerable individuals. The platform’s ad approval system should be more proactive in spotting and blocking ads promoting scams, particularly those that impersonate well-known brands or content creators. How do you feel about Facebook’s role in allowing scam ads to circulate? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com. #spot #fake #online #stores #avoid
    WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
    Spot fake online stores, avoid Facebook subscription scams
    Published June 2, 2025 10:00am EDT close 'CyberGuy' warns of cyberscams costing Americans billions a year Tech expert Kurt Knutsson joins "Fox & Friends" to warn of new cyberscams and give tips on how to avoid them. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Given the number of phishing scams we have all faced over the past decade, most of us have developed a basic skill to spot and avoid obvious phishing emails or SMS messages. Cybercriminals are aware of this, and they have evolved their tactics by shifting to more complex and convincing schemes designed to bypass skepticism and lure victims.Their goal remains the same: to trick you into handing over sensitive information, especially credit card data. One of the latest examples is the rise in subscription scam campaigns. Scammers are creating incredibly convincing websites selling everything from shoes and clothes to electronics, tricking people into signing up for monthly subscriptions and willingly providing their credit card information. Facebook is being used as the primary platform to promote these new and sophisticated scams. A woman shopping online (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What you need to knowBitdefender researchers have uncovered a massive and highly coordinated subscription scam campaign involving more than 200 active websites designed to look like real online stores. These sites, often promoted through Facebook ads, sell everything from clothes and electronics to beauty products, but the real goal is to trick users into signing up for recurring payments, often without realizing it.One of the most common lures is the "mystery box" scam, where you are promised a surprise package at a bargain price. These offers are made to look fun and harmless, but behind the scenes you are giving away personal and credit card information while unknowingly agreeing to hidden subscription terms, often written in tiny fine print.The scam doesn’t stop there. Once you’re convinced and reach the checkout page, scammers often layer in a second scam, like loyalty cards or VIP memberships that further lock you into payments. It’s all designed to confuse you, overwhelm you with supposed perks and make the scam feel like a good deal.Researchers found that many of these websites share a single Cyprus address, possibly tied to offshore entities linked to the Paradise Papers. Despite being spread across different categories and brand names, the sites often use the same layouts, AI agents and payment structures, all pointing to a centralized fraud network.Scammers frequently rotate the brands they impersonate and have started moving beyond mystery boxes, now peddling low-quality products, counterfeit goods, fake investment schemes, dubious supplements and more. To avoid automatic detection, they employ several tactics. These include running multiple versions of an ad, with only one of which is actually malicious while the others display harmless product images, uploading ad images from platforms like Google Drive so they can be swapped out later and cropping visuals to alter recognizable patterns. Listing fake products (Bitdefender) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The scam is expandingWhat started with simple "mystery box" scams has grown into a sprawling, coordinated campaign. These scams now feature fake surveys, tiered "VIP" memberships and deceptive credit systems that make the purchase process intentionally confusing. Users are promised deep discounts or access to exclusive deals, but in reality they’re just being locked into recurring payments.Many of the scam websites trace back to the same physical address in Cyprus, pointing to what appears to be a centralized operation. Researchers also found links to entities mentioned in the Paradise Papers, suggesting these fraudsters are hiding behind offshore infrastructure.And it’s not just mystery boxes anymore. The same scam format is being used to sell low-quality goods, fake supplements and even bogus investment opportunities. With high-quality site design, aggressive advertising and increasingly sophisticated tactics, subscription scams are becoming the new face of online fraud. A person shopping online (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)10 proactive measures to take to protect your dataEven as scammers become more sophisticated, there are practical steps you can take right now to protect your personal and financial information from subscription fraud and other online threats. Here are ten proactive measures to help keep your data safe:1) Always read the fine print: One of the simplest yet most effective ways to protect yourself from subscription scams is to slow down and read the fine print, especially on checkout pages. Scammers often hide recurring payment terms in small or lightly colored text that’s easy to miss. What seems like a one-time purchase could actually sign you up for a biweekly or monthly charge. Taking just a moment to scan for hidden terms before hitting "Pay" can help you avoid weeks of silent billing.2) Avoid mystery box or VIP-style deals: These offers often prey on curiosity and the promise of surprise or luxury for a low fee. In reality, the "mystery" is the trap: you might receive nothing or a low-quality item while being unknowingly enrolled in a recurring subscription. Scammers use the illusion of exclusivity or urgency to pressure quick decisions.3) Don’t trust ads blindly on social media: Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are a hotbed for these scams, with criminals running paid ads that mimic well-known brands or influencers. These ads often link to professional-looking but fake storefronts. If you’re interested in a deal you see online, don’t click through immediately. Instead, look up the brand or offer in a separate tab and check if it exists outside social media.4) Investigate before you buy: Before purchasing from any unfamiliar site, take a few quick steps to verify its legitimacy. Search the brand's name alongside words like "scam" or "reviews" to see what others have experienced. Look up the company's physical address and check if it actually exists using tools like Google Maps. Make sure the website uses HTTPS, review the site's contact information and cross-check reviews on trusted third-party sites like the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports.5) Use strong antivirus software: Adding a strong antivirus program to your devices can provide an extra layer of defense against fraudulent websites and phishing attempts. Strong antivirus software warns you about suspicious links, blocks malicious ads and scans downloads for malware. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.6) Invest in personal data removal services: Scammers often rely on leaked or publicly available personal information to target victims with convincing subscription scams. Investing in a personal data removal service can help minimize your digital footprint by removing your information from data broker databases and reducing the chances of being targeted in future campaigns. Regularly monitoring and cleaning up your online presence makes it harder for fraudsters to exploit your data for financial gain. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web.7) Be cautious with payment methods: Use secure payment options like credit cards, which often offer better fraud protection than wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.8) Limit personal information shared on social media: Scammers often gather details from public profiles to craft convincing scams. Review your privacy settings and only share necessary information.9) Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication: Create strong, unique passwords for each of your online accounts, especially those tied to your finances or shopping. Enable multifactor authentication wherever possible, as this adds an extra layer of security and makes it harder for scammers to access your accounts, even if your password is compromised. Also, consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.10) Keep your devices and software updated: Regularly update your operating system, browsers and apps. Security updates often patch vulnerabilities that scammers exploit to gain access to your information or install malicious software.Kurt’s key takeawayWhile the rise of subscription scams and deceptive ads is concerning, it’s especially troubling that platforms like Facebook continue to allow these fraudulent ads to run unchecked. Facebook has repeatedly failed to adequately vet or prevent these malicious campaigns from reaching vulnerable individuals. The platform’s ad approval system should be more proactive in spotting and blocking ads promoting scams, particularly those that impersonate well-known brands or content creators. How do you feel about Facebook’s role in allowing scam ads to circulate? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
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  • Vital for Bone Health, Vitamin D May Also Slow Aging at the Cellular Level

    The anti-aging supplement industry is valued at many billions of dollars, with North America offering the largest market worldwide. Through clever marketing, many such supplements have promised consumers everything from halting to reversing the aging process — often without clear scientific evidence to back it up.However, recent findings from a long-term randomized controlled study have put a widely used and potent supplement into the anti-aging spotlight: Vitamin D.A sub-study from the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia, has revealed that long-term Vitamin D supplementation may actually slow aging on a cellular level. This adds even more promise to Vitamin D’s already impressive list of health benefits.There's More to Vitamin D Roughly a quarter of Americans take Vitamin D supplements daily — and for good reason. While this fat-soluble vitamin is best known for maintaining bone health by helping regulate calcium and phosphorus, its role in the body extends far beyond that. Vitamin D also supports immune function, regulates inflammation, and influences cell growth to name a few.That said, getting enough Vitamin D naturally can be challenging. It’s found mainly in fatty animal products like fish, red meat, and eggs. Our skin can also synthesize it through sun exposure — which isn’t always a reliable source due to lifestyle, geography, or sunscreen use. This is why many people end up deficient.With the latest findings from the VITAL Trial, the benefits of adequate Vitamin D supplementation may now include not just stronger bones and better immunity but also support for healthy aging.Read More: What's the Difference Between Vitamin D2 and D3?Vitamin D Prevented Aging on Cellular Level“VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to show that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and preserve telomere length,” said JoAnn Manson, principal investigator of VITAL and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in a press statement.Telomeres — repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes — protect genetic material during cell division. As we age, telomeres naturally shorten, a process linked to increased risk of age-related diseases and general cellular aging.While earlier small-scale studies offered mixed results, the VITAL Telomere sub-study stands out due to its size and rigor. It followed 1,054 participants aged 50 and older over four years, comparing those who took 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 dailywith those who took a placebo. Telomere length was measured at the start, at two years, and at four years.The results? Vitamin D3 supplementation significantly slowed telomere shortening — effectively preserving the equivalent of close to three years of cellular aging compared to the placebo group.Why Aging Research Matters“Our findings suggest that targeted vitamin D supplementation may be a promising strategy to counter a biological aging process, although further research is warranted,” said study’s first author Haidong Zhu, a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia in the news release.Aging research often gets lumped in with science fiction-like efforts to stop aging or live forever, but its real goal is far more grounded: to improve health across the lifespan. Instead of chasing immortality, scientists aim to extend the health span — the number of years people live free of chronic disease and disability.By uncovering interventions like Vitamin D that can support healthier aging, researchers hope to help more people enjoy a higher quality of life well into their later years, without resorting to expensive or unproven treatments.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Cleveland Clinic: Vitamin D DeficiencyNational Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D Fact Sheet for Health ProfessionalsHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.
    #vital #bone #health #vitamin #also
    Vital for Bone Health, Vitamin D May Also Slow Aging at the Cellular Level
    The anti-aging supplement industry is valued at many billions of dollars, with North America offering the largest market worldwide. Through clever marketing, many such supplements have promised consumers everything from halting to reversing the aging process — often without clear scientific evidence to back it up.However, recent findings from a long-term randomized controlled study have put a widely used and potent supplement into the anti-aging spotlight: Vitamin D.A sub-study from the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia, has revealed that long-term Vitamin D supplementation may actually slow aging on a cellular level. This adds even more promise to Vitamin D’s already impressive list of health benefits.There's More to Vitamin D Roughly a quarter of Americans take Vitamin D supplements daily — and for good reason. While this fat-soluble vitamin is best known for maintaining bone health by helping regulate calcium and phosphorus, its role in the body extends far beyond that. Vitamin D also supports immune function, regulates inflammation, and influences cell growth to name a few.That said, getting enough Vitamin D naturally can be challenging. It’s found mainly in fatty animal products like fish, red meat, and eggs. Our skin can also synthesize it through sun exposure — which isn’t always a reliable source due to lifestyle, geography, or sunscreen use. This is why many people end up deficient.With the latest findings from the VITAL Trial, the benefits of adequate Vitamin D supplementation may now include not just stronger bones and better immunity but also support for healthy aging.Read More: What's the Difference Between Vitamin D2 and D3?Vitamin D Prevented Aging on Cellular Level“VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to show that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and preserve telomere length,” said JoAnn Manson, principal investigator of VITAL and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in a press statement.Telomeres — repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes — protect genetic material during cell division. As we age, telomeres naturally shorten, a process linked to increased risk of age-related diseases and general cellular aging.While earlier small-scale studies offered mixed results, the VITAL Telomere sub-study stands out due to its size and rigor. It followed 1,054 participants aged 50 and older over four years, comparing those who took 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 dailywith those who took a placebo. Telomere length was measured at the start, at two years, and at four years.The results? Vitamin D3 supplementation significantly slowed telomere shortening — effectively preserving the equivalent of close to three years of cellular aging compared to the placebo group.Why Aging Research Matters“Our findings suggest that targeted vitamin D supplementation may be a promising strategy to counter a biological aging process, although further research is warranted,” said study’s first author Haidong Zhu, a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia in the news release.Aging research often gets lumped in with science fiction-like efforts to stop aging or live forever, but its real goal is far more grounded: to improve health across the lifespan. Instead of chasing immortality, scientists aim to extend the health span — the number of years people live free of chronic disease and disability.By uncovering interventions like Vitamin D that can support healthier aging, researchers hope to help more people enjoy a higher quality of life well into their later years, without resorting to expensive or unproven treatments.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Cleveland Clinic: Vitamin D DeficiencyNational Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D Fact Sheet for Health ProfessionalsHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard. #vital #bone #health #vitamin #also
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    Vital for Bone Health, Vitamin D May Also Slow Aging at the Cellular Level
    The anti-aging supplement industry is valued at many billions of dollars, with North America offering the largest market worldwide. Through clever marketing, many such supplements have promised consumers everything from halting to reversing the aging process — often without clear scientific evidence to back it up.However, recent findings from a long-term randomized controlled study have put a widely used and potent supplement into the anti-aging spotlight: Vitamin D.A sub-study from the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (or VITAL Trial), published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia, has revealed that long-term Vitamin D supplementation may actually slow aging on a cellular level. This adds even more promise to Vitamin D’s already impressive list of health benefits.There's More to Vitamin D Roughly a quarter of Americans take Vitamin D supplements daily — and for good reason. While this fat-soluble vitamin is best known for maintaining bone health by helping regulate calcium and phosphorus, its role in the body extends far beyond that. Vitamin D also supports immune function, regulates inflammation, and influences cell growth to name a few.That said, getting enough Vitamin D naturally can be challenging. It’s found mainly in fatty animal products like fish, red meat, and eggs. Our skin can also synthesize it through sun exposure — which isn’t always a reliable source due to lifestyle, geography, or sunscreen use. This is why many people end up deficient.With the latest findings from the VITAL Trial, the benefits of adequate Vitamin D supplementation may now include not just stronger bones and better immunity but also support for healthy aging.Read More: What's the Difference Between Vitamin D2 and D3?Vitamin D Prevented Aging on Cellular Level“VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to show that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and preserve telomere length,” said JoAnn Manson, principal investigator of VITAL and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in a press statement.Telomeres — repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes — protect genetic material during cell division. As we age, telomeres naturally shorten, a process linked to increased risk of age-related diseases and general cellular aging.While earlier small-scale studies offered mixed results, the VITAL Telomere sub-study stands out due to its size and rigor. It followed 1,054 participants aged 50 and older over four years, comparing those who took 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily (a high dosage usually recommended for those with deficiency) with those who took a placebo. Telomere length was measured at the start, at two years, and at four years.The results? Vitamin D3 supplementation significantly slowed telomere shortening — effectively preserving the equivalent of close to three years of cellular aging compared to the placebo group.Why Aging Research Matters“Our findings suggest that targeted vitamin D supplementation may be a promising strategy to counter a biological aging process, although further research is warranted,” said study’s first author Haidong Zhu, a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia in the news release.Aging research often gets lumped in with science fiction-like efforts to stop aging or live forever, but its real goal is far more grounded: to improve health across the lifespan. Instead of chasing immortality, scientists aim to extend the health span — the number of years people live free of chronic disease and disability.By uncovering interventions like Vitamin D that can support healthier aging, researchers hope to help more people enjoy a higher quality of life well into their later years, without resorting to expensive or unproven treatments.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Cleveland Clinic: Vitamin D DeficiencyNational Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D Fact Sheet for Health ProfessionalsHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.
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  • AI Pace Layers: a framework for resilient product design

    Designing human-centered AI products can be arduous.Keeping up with the overall pace of change isn’t easy. But here’s a bigger challenge:The wildly different paces of change attached to the key elements of AI product strategy, design, and development can make managing those elements — and even thinking about them — overwhelming.Yesterday’s design processes and frameworks offer priceless guidance that still holds. But in many spots, they just don’t fit today’s environment.For instance, designers used to map out and user-test precise, predictable end-to-end screen flows. But flows are no longer precisely predictable. AI generates dynamic dialogues and custom-tailored flows on the fly, rendering much of the old practice unhelpful and infeasible.It’s easy for product teams to feel adrift nowadays — we can hoist the sails, but we’re missing a map and a rudder. We need frameworks tailored to the traits that fundamentally set AI apart from traditional software, including:its capabilities for autonomy and collaboration,its probabilistic nature,its early need for quality data, andits predictable unpredictability. Humans tend to be perpetually surprised by its abilities — and its inabilities.AI pace layers: design for resilienceHere’s a framework to address these challenges.Building on Stewart Brand’s “Shearing Layers” framework, AI Pace Layers helps teams grow thriving AI products by framing them as layered systems with components that function and evolve at different timescales.It helps anticipate points of friction and create resilient and humane products.Each layer represents a specific domain of activity and responsibility, with a distinct pace of change.* Unlike the other layers, Services cuts across multiple layers rather than sitting between them, and its pace of change fluctuates erratically.Boundaries between layers call for special attention and care — friction at these points can produce destructive shearing and constructive turbulence.I’ll dive deeper into this framework with some practical examples showing how it works. But first, a brief review of the precursors that inspired this framework will help you put it to good use.The foundationsThis model builds on the insights of several influential design frameworks from the professions of building architecture and traditional software design.Shearing layersIn his 1994 book How Buildings Learn, Stewart Brand expanded on architect Frank Duffy’s concept of shearing layers. The core insight: buildings consist of components that change at different rates.Shell, Services, Scenery, and Sets..“…there isn’t any such thing as a building. A building properly conceived is several layers of longevity of built components.” — Frank DuffyShearing Layers of Change, from How Buildings Learn: What Happens after they’re built.Expanding on Duffy’s work, Brand identified six layers, from the slow-changing “Site” to the rapidly evolving “Stuff.”As the layers move at different speeds, friction forms where they meet. Buildings designed without mindful consideration of these different velocities tear themselves apart at these “shearing” points. Before long, they tend to be demolished and replaced.Buildings designed for resiliency allow for “slippage” between the moving layers — flexibility for the different rates of change to unfold with minimal conflict. Such buildings can thrive and remain useful for hundreds of years.Pace layers In 1999, Brand drew insights from ecologists to expand this concept beyond buildings and encompass human society. In The Clock Of The Long Now: Time And Responsibility, he proposed “Pace Layers” — six levels ranging from rapid fashion to glacially-slow nature.Brand’s Pace Layersas sketched by Jono Hey.Brand again pointed out the boundaries, where the most intriguing and consequential changes emerge. Friction at the tension points can tear a building apart — or spur a civilization’s collapse–when we try to bind the layers too tightly together. But with mindful design and planning for slippage, activity along these boundary zones can also generate “constructive turbulence” that keeps systems balanced and resilient.The most successful systems survive and thrive through times of change through resiliency, by absorbing and incorporating shocks.“…a few scientistshave been probing the same issue in ecological systems: how do they manage change, how do they absorb and incorporate shocks? The answer appears to lie in the relationship between components in a system that have different change-rates and different scales of size. Instead of breaking under stress like something brittle, these systems yield as if they were soft. Some parts respond quickly to the shock, allowing slower parts to ignore the shock and maintain their steady duties of system continuity.” — Stewart BrandRoles and tendencies of the fastand slowlayers. .Slower layers provide constraints and underpinnings for the faster layers, while faster layers induce adaptations in the slower layers that evolve the system.Elements of UXJesse James Garrett’s classic The Elements of User Experiencepresents a five-layer model for digital design:SurfaceSkeletonStructureScopeStrategyStructure, Scope, and Strategy. Each layer answers a different set of questions, with the questions answered at each level setting constraints for the levels above. Lower layers set boundaries and underpinnings that help define the more concrete layers.Jesse James Garrett’s 5 layers from The Elements of User Experience Design This framework doesn’t focus on time, or on tension points resulting from conflicting velocities. But it provides a comprehensive structure for shaping different aspects of digital product design, from abstract strategy to concrete surface elements.AI Pace Layers: diving deeperBuilding on these foundations, the AI Pace Layers framework adapts these concepts specifically for AI systems design.Let’s explore each layer and understand how design expertise contributes across the framework.SessionsPace of change: Very fastFocus: Performance of real-time interactions.This layer encompasses real-time dialogue, reasoning, and processing. These interplays happen between the user and AI, and between AI agents and other services and people, on behalf of the user. Sessions draw on lower-layer capabilities and components to deliver the “moments of truth” where product experiences succeed or fail. Feedback from the Sessions layer is crucial for improving and evolving the lower layers.Key contributors: Users and AI agents — usually with zero direct human involvement backstage.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: User/AI dialogue. Audio, video, text, images, and widgets are rendered on the fly. Real-time adaptations to context.SkinPace of change: Moderately fastFocus: Design patterns, guidelines, and assetsSkin encompasses visual, interaction, and content design.Key contributors: Designers, content strategists, front-end developers, and user researchers.Design’s role: This is where designers’ traditional expertise shines. They craft the interface elements, establish visual language, define interaction patterns, and create the design systems that represent the product’s capabilities to users.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: UI component libraries, brand guidelines, prompt templates, tone of voice guidelines, navigation systems, visual design systems, patterns, content style guides.ServicesPace of change: Wildly variableFocus: AI computation capabilities, data systems orchestration, and operational intelligenceThe Services layer provides probabilistic AI capabilities that sometimes feel like superpowers — and like superpowers, they can be difficult to manage. It encompasses foundation models, algorithms, data pipelines, evaluation frameworks, business logic, and computing resources.Services is an outlier that behaves differently from the other layers:• It’s more prone to “shocks” and surprises that can ripple across the rest of the system.• It varies wildly in pace of change.• It cuts across multiple layers rather than sitting between two of them. That produces more cross-layer boundaries, more tension points, more risks of destructive friction, and more opportunities for constructive turbulence.Key contributors: Data scientists, engineers, service designers, ethicists, product teamsDesign’s role: Designers partner with technical teams on evaluation frameworks, helping define what “good” looks like from a human experience perspective. They contribute to guardrails, monitoring systems, and multi-agent collaboration patterns, ensuring technical capabilities translate to meaningful human experiences. Service design expertise helps orchestrate complex, multi-touchpoint AI capabilities.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Foundation model selection, changes, and fine-tuning. Evals, monitoring systems, guardrails, performance metrics. Business rules, workflow orchestration. Multiagent collaboration and use of external toolsContinual appraisal and adoption of new tools, protocols, and capabilities.SkeletonPace of change: Moderately slowFocus: Fundamental structure and organizationThis layer establishes the foundational architecture — the core interaction models, information architecture and organizing principles.Key contributors: Information architects, information designers, user researchers, system architects, engineersDesign’s role: Designers with information architecture expertise are important in this layer. They design taxonomies, knowledge graphs, and classification systems that make complex AI capabilities comprehensible and usable. UX researchers help ensure these structures fit the audience’s mental models, contexts, and expectations.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Taxonomies, knowledge graphs, data models, system architecture, classification systems.ScopePace of change: SlowFocus: Product requirementsThis layer defines core functional, content, and data requirements, accounting for the probabilistic nature of AI and defining acceptable levels of performance and variance.Key contributors: Product managers, design strategists, design researchers, business stakeholders, data scientists, trust & safety specialistsDesign’s role: Design researchers and strategists contribute to requirements through generative and exploratory research. They help define error taxonomies and acceptable failure modes from a user perspective, informing metrics that capture technical performance and human experience quality. Design strategists balance technical possibilities with human needs and ethical considerations.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Product requirements documents specifying reliability thresholds, data requirements, error taxonomies and acceptable failure modes, performance metrics frameworks, responsible AI requirements, risk assessment, core user stories and journeys, documentation of expected model variance and handling approaches.StrategyPace of change: Very slowFocus: Long-term vision and business goalsThis foundation layer defines audience needs, core problems to solve, and business goals. In AI products, data strategy is central.Key contributors: Executive leadership, design leaders, product leadership, business strategists, ethics boardsDesign’s role: Design leaders define problem spaces, identify opportunities, and plan roadmaps. They deliver a balance of business needs with human values in strategy development. Designers with expertise in responsible AI help establish ethical frameworks and guiding principles that shape all other layers.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Problem space and opportunity assessments, market positioning documents, long-term product roadmaps, comprehensive data strategy planning, user research findings on core needs, ethical frameworks and guiding principles, business model documentation, competitive/cooperative AI ecosystem mapping.Practical examples: tension points between layersTension point example 1: Bookmuse’s timeline troublesBookmuse is a promising new AI tool for novelists. Samantha, a writer, tries it out while hashing out the underpinnings of her latest time-travel historical fiction thriller. The Bookmuse team planned for plenty of Samantha’s needs. At first, she considers Bookmuse a handy assistant. It supplements chats with tailored interactive visualizations that efficiently track character personalities, histories, relationships, and dramatic arcs.But Samantha is writing a story about time travelers interfering with World War I events, so she’s constantly juggling dates and timelines. Bookmuse falls short. It’s a tiny startup, and Luke, the harried cofounder who serves as a combination designer/researcher/product manager, hasn’t carved out any date-specific timeline tools or date calculators. He forgot to provide even a basic date picker in the design system.Problem: Bookmuse does its best to help Samantha with her story timeline. But it lacks effective tools for the job. Its date and time interactions feel confusing, clumsy, and out of step with the rest of its tone, look, and feel. Whenever Samantha consults the timeline, it breaks her out of her creative flow.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Present feedback mechanisms that ensure this sort of “missing piece” event results in the product team learning about the type of interaction pothole that appeared — without revealing details or content that compromise Samantha’ privacy and her work.b) Improve timeline/date UI and interaction patterns. Table stakes: Standard industry-best-practice date picker components that suit Bookmuse’s style, tone, and voice. Game changers: Widgets, visualizations, and patterns tailored to the special time-tracking/exploration challenges that fiction writers often wrestle with.c) Update the core usability heuristics and universal interaction design patterns baked into the evaluation frameworks, as part of regular eval reviews and updates. Result: When the team learns about a friction moment like this, they can prevent a host of future similar issues before they emerge.These improvements will make Bookmuse more resilient and useful.Tension point example 2: MedicalMind’s diagnostic dilemmaThousands of healthcare providers use MedicalMind, an AI-powered clinical decision support tool. Dr. Rina Patel, an internal medicine physician at a busy community hospital, relies on it to stay current with rapidly evolving medical research while managing her patient load.Thanks to a groundbreaking update, a MedicalMind AI modelis familiar with new medical research data and can recognize newly discovered connections between previously unrelated symptoms across different medical specialties. For example, it identified patterns linking certain dermatological symptoms to early indicators of cardiovascular issues — connections not yet widely recognized in standard medical taxonomies.But MedicalMind’s information architecturewas tailored to traditional medical classification systems, so it’s organized by body system, conditions by specialty, and treatments by mechanism of action. The MedicalMind team constructed this structure based on how doctors were traditionally trained to approach medical knowledge.Problem: When Dr. Patel enters a patient’s constellation of symptoms, MedicalMind’s AI can recognize potentially valuable cross-specialty patterns. But these insights can’t be optimally organized and presented because the underlying information architecturedoesn’t easily accommodate the new findings and relationships. The AI either forces the insights into ill-fitting categories or presents them as disconnected “additional notes” that tend to be overlooked. That reduces their clinical utility and Dr. Patel’s trust in the system.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Create an “emerging patterns” framework within the information architecturethat can accommodate new AI-identified patterns in ways that augment, rather than disrupt, the familiar classification systems that doctors rely on.b) Design flexible visualization components and interaction patterns and stylesspecifically for exploring, discussing, and documenting cross-category relationships. Let doctors toggle between traditional taxonomies and newer, AI-generated knowledge maps depending on their needs and comfort level.c) Implement a clinician feedback loop where specialists can validate and discuss new AI-surfaced relationships, gradually promoting validated patterns into the main classification system.These improvements will make MedicalMind more adaptive to emerging medical knowledge while maintaining the structural integrity that healthcare professionals rely on for critical decisions. This provides more efficient assistants for clinicians and better health for patients.Tension point example 3: ScienceSeeker’s hypothesis bottleneckScienceSeeker is an AI research assistant used by scientists worldwide. Dr. Elena Rodriguez, a molecular biologist, uses it to investigate protein interactions for targeted cancer drug delivery.The AI enginerecently gained the ability to generate sophisticated hypothesis trees with multiple competing explanations, track confidence levels for each branch, and identify which experiments would most efficiently disambiguate between theories. It can reason across scientific domains, connecting molecular biology with physics, chemistry, and computational modeling.But the interfaceremains locked in a traditional chatbot paradigm — a single-threaded exchange with responses appearing sequentially in a scrolling window.Problem: The AI engine and the problem space are natively multithreaded and multimodal, but the UI is limited to single-threaded conversation. When Dr. Rodriguez inputs her experimental results, the AI generates a rich, multidimensional analysis, but must flatten this complex reasoning into linear text. Critical relationships between hypotheses become buried in paragraphs, probability comparisons are difficult, and the holistic picture of how variables influence multiple hypotheses is lost. Dr. Rodriguez resorts to taking screenshots and manually drawing diagrams to reconstruct the reasoning that the AI possesses but cannot visually express.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Develop an expandable, interactive, infinite-canvas “hypothesis tree” visualizationthat helps the AI dynamically represent multiple competing explanations and their relationships. Scientists can interact with this to explore different branches spatially rather than sequentially.b) Create a dual-pane interface that maintains the chat for simple queries but provides the infinite canvas for complex reasoning, transitioning seamlessly based on response complexity.c) Implement collaborative, interactive node-based diagrams for multi-contributor experiment planning, where potential experiments appear as nodes showing how they would affect confidence in different hypothesis branches.This would transform ScienceSeeker’s limited text assistant into a scientific reasoning partner. It would help researchers visualize and interact with complex possibilities in ways that better fit how they tackle multidimensional problems.Navigating the future with AI Pace LayersAI Pace Layers offers product teams a new framework for seeing and shaping the bewildering structures and dynamics that power AI products.By recognizing the evolving layers and heeding and designing for their boundaries, AI design teams can:Transform tension points into constructive innovationAnticipate friction before it damages the product experienceGrow resilient and humane AI systems that absorb and integrate rapid technological change without losing sight of human needs.The framework’s value isn’t in rigid categorization, but in recognizing how components interact across timescales. For AI product teams, this awareness enables more thoughtful design choices that prevent destructive shearing that can tear apart an AI system.This framework is a work in progress, evolving alongside the AI landscape it describes.I’d love to hear from you, especially if you’ve built successful AI products and have insights on how this model could better reflect your experience. Please drop me a line or add a comment. Let’s develop more effective approaches to creating AI systems that enhance human potential while respecting human agency.Part of the Mindful AI Design series. Also see:The effort paradox in AI design: Why making things too easy can backfireBlack Mirror: “Override”. Dystopian storytelling for humane AI designStay updatedSubscribe to be notified when new articles in the series are published. Join our community of designers, product managers, founders and ethicists as we shape the future of mindful AI design.AI Pace Layers: a framework for resilient product design was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
    #pace #layers #framework #resilient #product
    AI Pace Layers: a framework for resilient product design
    Designing human-centered AI products can be arduous.Keeping up with the overall pace of change isn’t easy. But here’s a bigger challenge:The wildly different paces of change attached to the key elements of AI product strategy, design, and development can make managing those elements — and even thinking about them — overwhelming.Yesterday’s design processes and frameworks offer priceless guidance that still holds. But in many spots, they just don’t fit today’s environment.For instance, designers used to map out and user-test precise, predictable end-to-end screen flows. But flows are no longer precisely predictable. AI generates dynamic dialogues and custom-tailored flows on the fly, rendering much of the old practice unhelpful and infeasible.It’s easy for product teams to feel adrift nowadays — we can hoist the sails, but we’re missing a map and a rudder. We need frameworks tailored to the traits that fundamentally set AI apart from traditional software, including:its capabilities for autonomy and collaboration,its probabilistic nature,its early need for quality data, andits predictable unpredictability. Humans tend to be perpetually surprised by its abilities — and its inabilities.AI pace layers: design for resilienceHere’s a framework to address these challenges.Building on Stewart Brand’s “Shearing Layers” framework, AI Pace Layers helps teams grow thriving AI products by framing them as layered systems with components that function and evolve at different timescales.It helps anticipate points of friction and create resilient and humane products.Each layer represents a specific domain of activity and responsibility, with a distinct pace of change.* Unlike the other layers, Services cuts across multiple layers rather than sitting between them, and its pace of change fluctuates erratically.Boundaries between layers call for special attention and care — friction at these points can produce destructive shearing and constructive turbulence.I’ll dive deeper into this framework with some practical examples showing how it works. But first, a brief review of the precursors that inspired this framework will help you put it to good use.The foundationsThis model builds on the insights of several influential design frameworks from the professions of building architecture and traditional software design.Shearing layersIn his 1994 book How Buildings Learn, Stewart Brand expanded on architect Frank Duffy’s concept of shearing layers. The core insight: buildings consist of components that change at different rates.Shell, Services, Scenery, and Sets..“…there isn’t any such thing as a building. A building properly conceived is several layers of longevity of built components.” — Frank DuffyShearing Layers of Change, from How Buildings Learn: What Happens after they’re built.Expanding on Duffy’s work, Brand identified six layers, from the slow-changing “Site” to the rapidly evolving “Stuff.”As the layers move at different speeds, friction forms where they meet. Buildings designed without mindful consideration of these different velocities tear themselves apart at these “shearing” points. Before long, they tend to be demolished and replaced.Buildings designed for resiliency allow for “slippage” between the moving layers — flexibility for the different rates of change to unfold with minimal conflict. Such buildings can thrive and remain useful for hundreds of years.Pace layers In 1999, Brand drew insights from ecologists to expand this concept beyond buildings and encompass human society. In The Clock Of The Long Now: Time And Responsibility, he proposed “Pace Layers” — six levels ranging from rapid fashion to glacially-slow nature.Brand’s Pace Layersas sketched by Jono Hey.Brand again pointed out the boundaries, where the most intriguing and consequential changes emerge. Friction at the tension points can tear a building apart — or spur a civilization’s collapse–when we try to bind the layers too tightly together. But with mindful design and planning for slippage, activity along these boundary zones can also generate “constructive turbulence” that keeps systems balanced and resilient.The most successful systems survive and thrive through times of change through resiliency, by absorbing and incorporating shocks.“…a few scientistshave been probing the same issue in ecological systems: how do they manage change, how do they absorb and incorporate shocks? The answer appears to lie in the relationship between components in a system that have different change-rates and different scales of size. Instead of breaking under stress like something brittle, these systems yield as if they were soft. Some parts respond quickly to the shock, allowing slower parts to ignore the shock and maintain their steady duties of system continuity.” — Stewart BrandRoles and tendencies of the fastand slowlayers. .Slower layers provide constraints and underpinnings for the faster layers, while faster layers induce adaptations in the slower layers that evolve the system.Elements of UXJesse James Garrett’s classic The Elements of User Experiencepresents a five-layer model for digital design:SurfaceSkeletonStructureScopeStrategyStructure, Scope, and Strategy. Each layer answers a different set of questions, with the questions answered at each level setting constraints for the levels above. Lower layers set boundaries and underpinnings that help define the more concrete layers.Jesse James Garrett’s 5 layers from The Elements of User Experience Design This framework doesn’t focus on time, or on tension points resulting from conflicting velocities. But it provides a comprehensive structure for shaping different aspects of digital product design, from abstract strategy to concrete surface elements.AI Pace Layers: diving deeperBuilding on these foundations, the AI Pace Layers framework adapts these concepts specifically for AI systems design.Let’s explore each layer and understand how design expertise contributes across the framework.SessionsPace of change: Very fastFocus: Performance of real-time interactions.This layer encompasses real-time dialogue, reasoning, and processing. These interplays happen between the user and AI, and between AI agents and other services and people, on behalf of the user. Sessions draw on lower-layer capabilities and components to deliver the “moments of truth” where product experiences succeed or fail. Feedback from the Sessions layer is crucial for improving and evolving the lower layers.Key contributors: Users and AI agents — usually with zero direct human involvement backstage.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: User/AI dialogue. Audio, video, text, images, and widgets are rendered on the fly. Real-time adaptations to context.SkinPace of change: Moderately fastFocus: Design patterns, guidelines, and assetsSkin encompasses visual, interaction, and content design.Key contributors: Designers, content strategists, front-end developers, and user researchers.Design’s role: This is where designers’ traditional expertise shines. They craft the interface elements, establish visual language, define interaction patterns, and create the design systems that represent the product’s capabilities to users.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: UI component libraries, brand guidelines, prompt templates, tone of voice guidelines, navigation systems, visual design systems, patterns, content style guides.ServicesPace of change: Wildly variableFocus: AI computation capabilities, data systems orchestration, and operational intelligenceThe Services layer provides probabilistic AI capabilities that sometimes feel like superpowers — and like superpowers, they can be difficult to manage. It encompasses foundation models, algorithms, data pipelines, evaluation frameworks, business logic, and computing resources.Services is an outlier that behaves differently from the other layers:• It’s more prone to “shocks” and surprises that can ripple across the rest of the system.• It varies wildly in pace of change.• It cuts across multiple layers rather than sitting between two of them. That produces more cross-layer boundaries, more tension points, more risks of destructive friction, and more opportunities for constructive turbulence.Key contributors: Data scientists, engineers, service designers, ethicists, product teamsDesign’s role: Designers partner with technical teams on evaluation frameworks, helping define what “good” looks like from a human experience perspective. They contribute to guardrails, monitoring systems, and multi-agent collaboration patterns, ensuring technical capabilities translate to meaningful human experiences. Service design expertise helps orchestrate complex, multi-touchpoint AI capabilities.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Foundation model selection, changes, and fine-tuning. Evals, monitoring systems, guardrails, performance metrics. Business rules, workflow orchestration. Multiagent collaboration and use of external toolsContinual appraisal and adoption of new tools, protocols, and capabilities.SkeletonPace of change: Moderately slowFocus: Fundamental structure and organizationThis layer establishes the foundational architecture — the core interaction models, information architecture and organizing principles.Key contributors: Information architects, information designers, user researchers, system architects, engineersDesign’s role: Designers with information architecture expertise are important in this layer. They design taxonomies, knowledge graphs, and classification systems that make complex AI capabilities comprehensible and usable. UX researchers help ensure these structures fit the audience’s mental models, contexts, and expectations.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Taxonomies, knowledge graphs, data models, system architecture, classification systems.ScopePace of change: SlowFocus: Product requirementsThis layer defines core functional, content, and data requirements, accounting for the probabilistic nature of AI and defining acceptable levels of performance and variance.Key contributors: Product managers, design strategists, design researchers, business stakeholders, data scientists, trust & safety specialistsDesign’s role: Design researchers and strategists contribute to requirements through generative and exploratory research. They help define error taxonomies and acceptable failure modes from a user perspective, informing metrics that capture technical performance and human experience quality. Design strategists balance technical possibilities with human needs and ethical considerations.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Product requirements documents specifying reliability thresholds, data requirements, error taxonomies and acceptable failure modes, performance metrics frameworks, responsible AI requirements, risk assessment, core user stories and journeys, documentation of expected model variance and handling approaches.StrategyPace of change: Very slowFocus: Long-term vision and business goalsThis foundation layer defines audience needs, core problems to solve, and business goals. In AI products, data strategy is central.Key contributors: Executive leadership, design leaders, product leadership, business strategists, ethics boardsDesign’s role: Design leaders define problem spaces, identify opportunities, and plan roadmaps. They deliver a balance of business needs with human values in strategy development. Designers with expertise in responsible AI help establish ethical frameworks and guiding principles that shape all other layers.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Problem space and opportunity assessments, market positioning documents, long-term product roadmaps, comprehensive data strategy planning, user research findings on core needs, ethical frameworks and guiding principles, business model documentation, competitive/cooperative AI ecosystem mapping.Practical examples: tension points between layersTension point example 1: Bookmuse’s timeline troublesBookmuse is a promising new AI tool for novelists. Samantha, a writer, tries it out while hashing out the underpinnings of her latest time-travel historical fiction thriller. The Bookmuse team planned for plenty of Samantha’s needs. At first, she considers Bookmuse a handy assistant. It supplements chats with tailored interactive visualizations that efficiently track character personalities, histories, relationships, and dramatic arcs.But Samantha is writing a story about time travelers interfering with World War I events, so she’s constantly juggling dates and timelines. Bookmuse falls short. It’s a tiny startup, and Luke, the harried cofounder who serves as a combination designer/researcher/product manager, hasn’t carved out any date-specific timeline tools or date calculators. He forgot to provide even a basic date picker in the design system.Problem: Bookmuse does its best to help Samantha with her story timeline. But it lacks effective tools for the job. Its date and time interactions feel confusing, clumsy, and out of step with the rest of its tone, look, and feel. Whenever Samantha consults the timeline, it breaks her out of her creative flow.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Present feedback mechanisms that ensure this sort of “missing piece” event results in the product team learning about the type of interaction pothole that appeared — without revealing details or content that compromise Samantha’ privacy and her work.b) Improve timeline/date UI and interaction patterns. Table stakes: Standard industry-best-practice date picker components that suit Bookmuse’s style, tone, and voice. Game changers: Widgets, visualizations, and patterns tailored to the special time-tracking/exploration challenges that fiction writers often wrestle with.c) Update the core usability heuristics and universal interaction design patterns baked into the evaluation frameworks, as part of regular eval reviews and updates. Result: When the team learns about a friction moment like this, they can prevent a host of future similar issues before they emerge.These improvements will make Bookmuse more resilient and useful.Tension point example 2: MedicalMind’s diagnostic dilemmaThousands of healthcare providers use MedicalMind, an AI-powered clinical decision support tool. Dr. Rina Patel, an internal medicine physician at a busy community hospital, relies on it to stay current with rapidly evolving medical research while managing her patient load.Thanks to a groundbreaking update, a MedicalMind AI modelis familiar with new medical research data and can recognize newly discovered connections between previously unrelated symptoms across different medical specialties. For example, it identified patterns linking certain dermatological symptoms to early indicators of cardiovascular issues — connections not yet widely recognized in standard medical taxonomies.But MedicalMind’s information architecturewas tailored to traditional medical classification systems, so it’s organized by body system, conditions by specialty, and treatments by mechanism of action. The MedicalMind team constructed this structure based on how doctors were traditionally trained to approach medical knowledge.Problem: When Dr. Patel enters a patient’s constellation of symptoms, MedicalMind’s AI can recognize potentially valuable cross-specialty patterns. But these insights can’t be optimally organized and presented because the underlying information architecturedoesn’t easily accommodate the new findings and relationships. The AI either forces the insights into ill-fitting categories or presents them as disconnected “additional notes” that tend to be overlooked. That reduces their clinical utility and Dr. Patel’s trust in the system.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Create an “emerging patterns” framework within the information architecturethat can accommodate new AI-identified patterns in ways that augment, rather than disrupt, the familiar classification systems that doctors rely on.b) Design flexible visualization components and interaction patterns and stylesspecifically for exploring, discussing, and documenting cross-category relationships. Let doctors toggle between traditional taxonomies and newer, AI-generated knowledge maps depending on their needs and comfort level.c) Implement a clinician feedback loop where specialists can validate and discuss new AI-surfaced relationships, gradually promoting validated patterns into the main classification system.These improvements will make MedicalMind more adaptive to emerging medical knowledge while maintaining the structural integrity that healthcare professionals rely on for critical decisions. This provides more efficient assistants for clinicians and better health for patients.Tension point example 3: ScienceSeeker’s hypothesis bottleneckScienceSeeker is an AI research assistant used by scientists worldwide. Dr. Elena Rodriguez, a molecular biologist, uses it to investigate protein interactions for targeted cancer drug delivery.The AI enginerecently gained the ability to generate sophisticated hypothesis trees with multiple competing explanations, track confidence levels for each branch, and identify which experiments would most efficiently disambiguate between theories. It can reason across scientific domains, connecting molecular biology with physics, chemistry, and computational modeling.But the interfaceremains locked in a traditional chatbot paradigm — a single-threaded exchange with responses appearing sequentially in a scrolling window.Problem: The AI engine and the problem space are natively multithreaded and multimodal, but the UI is limited to single-threaded conversation. When Dr. Rodriguez inputs her experimental results, the AI generates a rich, multidimensional analysis, but must flatten this complex reasoning into linear text. Critical relationships between hypotheses become buried in paragraphs, probability comparisons are difficult, and the holistic picture of how variables influence multiple hypotheses is lost. Dr. Rodriguez resorts to taking screenshots and manually drawing diagrams to reconstruct the reasoning that the AI possesses but cannot visually express.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Develop an expandable, interactive, infinite-canvas “hypothesis tree” visualizationthat helps the AI dynamically represent multiple competing explanations and their relationships. Scientists can interact with this to explore different branches spatially rather than sequentially.b) Create a dual-pane interface that maintains the chat for simple queries but provides the infinite canvas for complex reasoning, transitioning seamlessly based on response complexity.c) Implement collaborative, interactive node-based diagrams for multi-contributor experiment planning, where potential experiments appear as nodes showing how they would affect confidence in different hypothesis branches.This would transform ScienceSeeker’s limited text assistant into a scientific reasoning partner. It would help researchers visualize and interact with complex possibilities in ways that better fit how they tackle multidimensional problems.Navigating the future with AI Pace LayersAI Pace Layers offers product teams a new framework for seeing and shaping the bewildering structures and dynamics that power AI products.By recognizing the evolving layers and heeding and designing for their boundaries, AI design teams can:Transform tension points into constructive innovationAnticipate friction before it damages the product experienceGrow resilient and humane AI systems that absorb and integrate rapid technological change without losing sight of human needs.The framework’s value isn’t in rigid categorization, but in recognizing how components interact across timescales. For AI product teams, this awareness enables more thoughtful design choices that prevent destructive shearing that can tear apart an AI system.This framework is a work in progress, evolving alongside the AI landscape it describes.I’d love to hear from you, especially if you’ve built successful AI products and have insights on how this model could better reflect your experience. Please drop me a line or add a comment. Let’s develop more effective approaches to creating AI systems that enhance human potential while respecting human agency.Part of the Mindful AI Design series. Also see:The effort paradox in AI design: Why making things too easy can backfireBlack Mirror: “Override”. Dystopian storytelling for humane AI designStay updatedSubscribe to be notified when new articles in the series are published. Join our community of designers, product managers, founders and ethicists as we shape the future of mindful AI design.AI Pace Layers: a framework for resilient product design was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. #pace #layers #framework #resilient #product
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    AI Pace Layers: a framework for resilient product design
    Designing human-centered AI products can be arduous.Keeping up with the overall pace of change isn’t easy. But here’s a bigger challenge:The wildly different paces of change attached to the key elements of AI product strategy, design, and development can make managing those elements — and even thinking about them — overwhelming.Yesterday’s design processes and frameworks offer priceless guidance that still holds. But in many spots, they just don’t fit today’s environment.For instance, designers used to map out and user-test precise, predictable end-to-end screen flows. But flows are no longer precisely predictable. AI generates dynamic dialogues and custom-tailored flows on the fly, rendering much of the old practice unhelpful and infeasible.It’s easy for product teams to feel adrift nowadays — we can hoist the sails, but we’re missing a map and a rudder. We need frameworks tailored to the traits that fundamentally set AI apart from traditional software, including:its capabilities for autonomy and collaboration,its probabilistic nature,its early need for quality data, andits predictable unpredictability. Humans tend to be perpetually surprised by its abilities — and its inabilities.AI pace layers: design for resilienceHere’s a framework to address these challenges.Building on Stewart Brand’s “Shearing Layers” framework, AI Pace Layers helps teams grow thriving AI products by framing them as layered systems with components that function and evolve at different timescales.It helps anticipate points of friction and create resilient and humane products.Each layer represents a specific domain of activity and responsibility, with a distinct pace of change.* Unlike the other layers, Services cuts across multiple layers rather than sitting between them, and its pace of change fluctuates erratically.Boundaries between layers call for special attention and care — friction at these points can produce destructive shearing and constructive turbulence.I’ll dive deeper into this framework with some practical examples showing how it works. But first, a brief review of the precursors that inspired this framework will help you put it to good use.The foundationsThis model builds on the insights of several influential design frameworks from the professions of building architecture and traditional software design.Shearing layers (Duffy and Brand)In his 1994 book How Buildings Learn, Stewart Brand expanded on architect Frank Duffy’s concept of shearing layers. The core insight: buildings consist of components that change at different rates.Shell, Services, Scenery, and Sets. (Frank Duffy, 1992).“…there isn’t any such thing as a building. A building properly conceived is several layers of longevity of built components.” — Frank DuffyShearing Layers of Change, from How Buildings Learn: What Happens after they’re built (Stewart Brand, 1994).Expanding on Duffy’s work, Brand identified six layers, from the slow-changing “Site” to the rapidly evolving “Stuff.”As the layers move at different speeds, friction forms where they meet. Buildings designed without mindful consideration of these different velocities tear themselves apart at these “shearing” points. Before long, they tend to be demolished and replaced.Buildings designed for resiliency allow for “slippage” between the moving layers — flexibility for the different rates of change to unfold with minimal conflict. Such buildings can thrive and remain useful for hundreds of years.Pace layers (Brand)In 1999, Brand drew insights from ecologists to expand this concept beyond buildings and encompass human society. In The Clock Of The Long Now: Time And Responsibility, he proposed “Pace Layers” — six levels ranging from rapid fashion to glacially-slow nature.Brand’s Pace Layers (1999) as sketched by Jono Hey.Brand again pointed out the boundaries, where the most intriguing and consequential changes emerge. Friction at the tension points can tear a building apart — or spur a civilization’s collapse–when we try to bind the layers too tightly together. But with mindful design and planning for slippage, activity along these boundary zones can also generate “constructive turbulence” that keeps systems balanced and resilient.The most successful systems survive and thrive through times of change through resiliency, by absorbing and incorporating shocks.“…a few scientists (such as R. V. O’Neill and C. S. Holling) have been probing the same issue in ecological systems: how do they manage change, how do they absorb and incorporate shocks? The answer appears to lie in the relationship between components in a system that have different change-rates and different scales of size. Instead of breaking under stress like something brittle, these systems yield as if they were soft. Some parts respond quickly to the shock, allowing slower parts to ignore the shock and maintain their steady duties of system continuity.” — Stewart BrandRoles and tendencies of the fast (upper) and slow (lower) layers. (Brand).Slower layers provide constraints and underpinnings for the faster layers, while faster layers induce adaptations in the slower layers that evolve the system.Elements of UX (Garrett)Jesse James Garrett’s classic The Elements of User Experience (2002) presents a five-layer model for digital design:Surface (visual design)Skeleton (interface design, navigation design, information design)Structure (interaction design, information architecture)Scope (functional specs, content requirements)Strategy (user needs, site objectives)Structure, Scope, and Strategy. Each layer answers a different set of questions, with the questions answered at each level setting constraints for the levels above. Lower layers set boundaries and underpinnings that help define the more concrete layers.Jesse James Garrett’s 5 layers from The Elements of User Experience Design (2002)This framework doesn’t focus on time, or on tension points resulting from conflicting velocities. But it provides a comprehensive structure for shaping different aspects of digital product design, from abstract strategy to concrete surface elements.AI Pace Layers: diving deeperBuilding on these foundations, the AI Pace Layers framework adapts these concepts specifically for AI systems design.Let’s explore each layer and understand how design expertise contributes across the framework.SessionsPace of change: Very fast (milliseconds to minutes)Focus: Performance of real-time interactions.This layer encompasses real-time dialogue, reasoning, and processing. These interplays happen between the user and AI, and between AI agents and other services and people, on behalf of the user. Sessions draw on lower-layer capabilities and components to deliver the “moments of truth” where product experiences succeed or fail. Feedback from the Sessions layer is crucial for improving and evolving the lower layers.Key contributors: Users and AI agents — usually with zero direct human involvement backstage.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: User/AI dialogue. Audio, video, text, images, and widgets are rendered on the fly (using building blocks provided by lower levels). Real-time adaptations to context.SkinPace of change: Moderately fast (days to months)Focus: Design patterns, guidelines, and assetsSkin encompasses visual, interaction, and content design.Key contributors: Designers, content strategists, front-end developers, and user researchers.Design’s role: This is where designers’ traditional expertise shines. They craft the interface elements, establish visual language, define interaction patterns, and create the design systems that represent the product’s capabilities to users.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: UI component libraries, brand guidelines, prompt templates, tone of voice guidelines, navigation systems, visual design systems, patterns (UI, interaction, and conversation), content style guides.ServicesPace of change: Wildly variable (slow to moderately fast)Focus: AI computation capabilities, data systems orchestration, and operational intelligenceThe Services layer provides probabilistic AI capabilities that sometimes feel like superpowers — and like superpowers, they can be difficult to manage. It encompasses foundation models, algorithms, data pipelines, evaluation frameworks, business logic, and computing resources.Services is an outlier that behaves differently from the other layers:• It’s more prone to “shocks” and surprises that can ripple across the rest of the system.• It varies wildly in pace of change. (But its components rarely change faster than Skin, or slower than Skeleton.)• It cuts across multiple layers rather than sitting between two of them. That produces more cross-layer boundaries, more tension points, more risks of destructive friction, and more opportunities for constructive turbulence.Key contributors: Data scientists, engineers, service designers, ethicists, product teamsDesign’s role: Designers partner with technical teams on evaluation frameworks, helping define what “good” looks like from a human experience perspective. They contribute to guardrails, monitoring systems, and multi-agent collaboration patterns, ensuring technical capabilities translate to meaningful human experiences. Service design expertise helps orchestrate complex, multi-touchpoint AI capabilities.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Foundation model selection, changes, and fine-tuning. Evals, monitoring systems, guardrails, performance metrics. Business rules, workflow orchestration. Multiagent collaboration and use of external tools (APIs, A2A, MCP, etc.) Continual appraisal and adoption of new tools, protocols, and capabilities.SkeletonPace of change: Moderately slow (months) Focus: Fundamental structure and organizationThis layer establishes the foundational architecture — the core interaction models, information architecture and organizing principles.Key contributors: Information architects, information designers, user researchers, system architects, engineersDesign’s role: Designers with information architecture expertise are important in this layer. They design taxonomies, knowledge graphs, and classification systems that make complex AI capabilities comprehensible and usable. UX researchers help ensure these structures fit the audience’s mental models, contexts, and expectations.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Taxonomies, knowledge graphs, data models, system architecture, classification systems.ScopePace of change: Slow (months to years)Focus: Product requirementsThis layer defines core functional, content, and data requirements, accounting for the probabilistic nature of AI and defining acceptable levels of performance and variance.Key contributors: Product managers, design strategists, design researchers, business stakeholders, data scientists, trust & safety specialistsDesign’s role: Design researchers and strategists contribute to requirements through generative and exploratory research. They help define error taxonomies and acceptable failure modes from a user perspective, informing metrics that capture technical performance and human experience quality. Design strategists balance technical possibilities with human needs and ethical considerations.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Product requirements documents specifying reliability thresholds, data requirements (volume, diversity, quality standards), error taxonomies and acceptable failure modes, performance metrics frameworks, responsible AI requirements, risk assessment, core user stories and journeys, documentation of expected model variance and handling approaches.StrategyPace of change: Very slow (years)Focus: Long-term vision and business goalsThis foundation layer defines audience needs, core problems to solve, and business goals. In AI products, data strategy is central.Key contributors: Executive leadership, design leaders, product leadership, business strategists, ethics boardsDesign’s role: Design leaders define problem spaces, identify opportunities, and plan roadmaps. They deliver a balance of business needs with human values in strategy development. Designers with expertise in responsible AI help establish ethical frameworks and guiding principles that shape all other layers.Example actions/decisions/artifacts: Problem space and opportunity assessments, market positioning documents, long-term product roadmaps, comprehensive data strategy planning, user research findings on core needs, ethical frameworks and guiding principles, business model documentation, competitive/cooperative AI ecosystem mapping.Practical examples: tension points between layersTension point example 1: Bookmuse’s timeline troubles(Friction between Sessions and Skin)Bookmuse is a promising new AI tool for novelists. Samantha, a writer, tries it out while hashing out the underpinnings of her latest time-travel historical fiction thriller. The Bookmuse team planned for plenty of Samantha’s needs. At first, she considers Bookmuse a handy assistant. It supplements chats with tailored interactive visualizations that efficiently track character personalities, histories, relationships, and dramatic arcs.But Samantha is writing a story about time travelers interfering with World War I events, so she’s constantly juggling dates and timelines. Bookmuse falls short. It’s a tiny startup, and Luke, the harried cofounder who serves as a combination designer/researcher/product manager, hasn’t carved out any date-specific timeline tools or date calculators. He forgot to provide even a basic date picker in the design system.Problem: Bookmuse does its best to help Samantha with her story timeline (Sessions layer). But it lacks effective tools for the job (Skin layer). Its date and time interactions feel confusing, clumsy, and out of step with the rest of its tone, look, and feel. Whenever Samantha consults the timeline, it breaks her out of her creative flow.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Present feedback mechanisms that ensure this sort of “missing piece” event results in the product team learning about the type of interaction pothole that appeared — without revealing details or content that compromise Samantha’ privacy and her work. (For instance, a session tagging system can flag all interaction dead-ends during date choice interactions.)b) Improve timeline/date UI and interaction patterns. Table stakes: Standard industry-best-practice date picker components that suit Bookmuse’s style, tone, and voice. Game changers: Widgets, visualizations, and patterns tailored to the special time-tracking/exploration challenges that fiction writers often wrestle with.c) Update the core usability heuristics and universal interaction design patterns baked into the evaluation frameworks (in the Services layer), as part of regular eval reviews and updates. Result: When the team learns about a friction moment like this, they can prevent a host of future similar issues before they emerge.These improvements will make Bookmuse more resilient and useful.Tension point example 2: MedicalMind’s diagnostic dilemma(Friction between Services and Skeleton)Thousands of healthcare providers use MedicalMind, an AI-powered clinical decision support tool. Dr. Rina Patel, an internal medicine physician at a busy community hospital, relies on it to stay current with rapidly evolving medical research while managing her patient load.Thanks to a groundbreaking update, a MedicalMind AI model (Services layer) is familiar with new medical research data and can recognize newly discovered connections between previously unrelated symptoms across different medical specialties. For example, it identified patterns linking certain dermatological symptoms to early indicators of cardiovascular issues — connections not yet widely recognized in standard medical taxonomies.But MedicalMind’s information architecture (Skeleton layer) was tailored to traditional medical classification systems, so it’s organized by body system, conditions by specialty, and treatments by mechanism of action. The MedicalMind team constructed this structure based on how doctors were traditionally trained to approach medical knowledge.Problem: When Dr. Patel enters a patient’s constellation of symptoms (Sessions layer), MedicalMind’s AI can recognize potentially valuable cross-specialty patterns (Services layer). But these insights can’t be optimally organized and presented because the underlying information architecture (Skeleton layer) doesn’t easily accommodate the new findings and relationships. The AI either forces the insights into ill-fitting categories or presents them as disconnected “additional notes” that tend to be overlooked. That reduces their clinical utility and Dr. Patel’s trust in the system.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Create an “emerging patterns” framework within the information architecture (Skeleton layer) that can accommodate new AI-identified patterns in ways that augment, rather than disrupt, the familiar classification systems that doctors rely on.b) Design flexible visualization components and interaction patterns and styles (in the Skin layer) specifically for exploring, discussing, and documenting cross-category relationships. Let doctors toggle between traditional taxonomies and newer, AI-generated knowledge maps depending on their needs and comfort level.c) Implement a clinician feedback loop where specialists can validate and discuss new AI-surfaced relationships, gradually promoting validated patterns into the main classification system.These improvements will make MedicalMind more adaptive to emerging medical knowledge while maintaining the structural integrity that healthcare professionals rely on for critical decisions. This provides more efficient assistants for clinicians and better health for patients.Tension point example 3: ScienceSeeker’s hypothesis bottleneck(Friction between Skin and Services)ScienceSeeker is an AI research assistant used by scientists worldwide. Dr. Elena Rodriguez, a molecular biologist, uses it to investigate protein interactions for targeted cancer drug delivery.The AI engine (Services layer) recently gained the ability to generate sophisticated hypothesis trees with multiple competing explanations, track confidence levels for each branch, and identify which experiments would most efficiently disambiguate between theories. It can reason across scientific domains, connecting molecular biology with physics, chemistry, and computational modeling.But the interface (Skin layer) remains locked in a traditional chatbot paradigm — a single-threaded exchange with responses appearing sequentially in a scrolling window.Problem: The AI engine and the problem space are natively multithreaded and multimodal, but the UI is limited to single-threaded conversation. When Dr. Rodriguez inputs her experimental results (Sessions layer), the AI generates a rich, multidimensional analysis (Services layer), but must flatten this complex reasoning into linear text (Skin layer). Critical relationships between hypotheses become buried in paragraphs, probability comparisons are difficult, and the holistic picture of how variables influence multiple hypotheses is lost. Dr. Rodriguez resorts to taking screenshots and manually drawing diagrams to reconstruct the reasoning that the AI possesses but cannot visually express.Constructive turbulence opportunities:a) Develop an expandable, interactive, infinite-canvas “hypothesis tree” visualization (Skin) that helps the AI dynamically represent multiple competing explanations and their relationships. Scientists can interact with this to explore different branches spatially rather than sequentially.b) Create a dual-pane interface that maintains the chat for simple queries but provides the infinite canvas for complex reasoning, transitioning seamlessly based on response complexity.c) Implement collaborative, interactive node-based diagrams for multi-contributor experiment planning, where potential experiments appear as nodes showing how they would affect confidence in different hypothesis branches.This would transform ScienceSeeker’s limited text assistant into a scientific reasoning partner. It would help researchers visualize and interact with complex possibilities in ways that better fit how they tackle multidimensional problems.Navigating the future with AI Pace LayersAI Pace Layers offers product teams a new framework for seeing and shaping the bewildering structures and dynamics that power AI products.By recognizing the evolving layers and heeding and designing for their boundaries, AI design teams can:Transform tension points into constructive innovationAnticipate friction before it damages the product experienceGrow resilient and humane AI systems that absorb and integrate rapid technological change without losing sight of human needs.The framework’s value isn’t in rigid categorization, but in recognizing how components interact across timescales. For AI product teams, this awareness enables more thoughtful design choices that prevent destructive shearing that can tear apart an AI system.This framework is a work in progress, evolving alongside the AI landscape it describes.I’d love to hear from you, especially if you’ve built successful AI products and have insights on how this model could better reflect your experience. Please drop me a line or add a comment. Let’s develop more effective approaches to creating AI systems that enhance human potential while respecting human agency.Part of the Mindful AI Design series. Also see:The effort paradox in AI design: Why making things too easy can backfireBlack Mirror: “Override”. Dystopian storytelling for humane AI designStay updatedSubscribe to be notified when new articles in the series are published. Join our community of designers, product managers, founders and ethicists as we shape the future of mindful AI design.AI Pace Layers: a framework for resilient product design was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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  • Vitamin D May Slow Cells’ Aging by Protecting DNA

    May 21, 20254 min readVitamin D May Slow Cells’ AgingVitamin D supplements may help prevent the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences that shrink with aging, a large study shows. But the health effects aren’t yet clearBy Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna BrynerA new study suggests vitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by protecting telomeres. Olga Pankova/Getty ImagesVitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by preventing the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that shorten in old age, a new study suggests. The health effects of these findings aren’t yet clear.Vitamin D had been touted as a panacea for a number of health conditions, from cardiovascular disease to bone loss. In 2020 a large randomized controlled trial of supplementation instead found benefits only in a few conditions, particularly autoimmune disease and advanced cases of cancer, says the new study’s co-author JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator of that large trial, called the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL. The new study is an analysis of data from VITAL. Its finding could explain the protective effect of vitamin D supplements on these specific aging-related diseases, Manson says.“If is replicated in another randomized trial of vitamin D supplements, I think this could translate into clinical effects for chronic diseases of aging,” she says. “We’re already seeing that vitamin D does reduce inflammation; it reduces advanced cancers and cancer deaths, as well as autoimmune diseases. This could provide a biological mechanism.”On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.In the VITAL project, researchers enrolled nearly 26,000 women aged 55 or older and men aged 50 or older, and they randomly assigned participants to take vitamin D supplements, fish oil supplements, a combination of both or a placebo. For the new study, published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists looked at a subset of 1,054 participants who lived close enough to Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Science Center in Boston to have their blood drawn three times over four years so researchers could measure their telomeres.Inside the nuclei of most cells in the human body reside 46 chromosomes, where our DNA is neatly packed. Each time a cell divides, these chromosomes unravel and copy themselves, and the copies coil back into the nuclei of the new cells. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes. They stabilize the chromosomes during cell division, though they get shorter each time cells divide. When the telomeres get very short, the cells stop dividing and die. Over time, as more and more of our cells die, the body ages and ultimately stops functioning. Telomeres aren’t a perfect clock for health—very long telomeres can increase cancer risk by stabilizing mutated cells—but they’re often used as a biomarker for aging.Participants in the placebo and supplement groups had similar telomere lengths at the beginning of the study, the researchers found. But over the four years of follow-up, people assigned to take 2,000 international units of vitamin D per day showed less shortening of their telomeres compared with people in the placebo group. Fish oil had no significant effect.“Vitamin D supplementation is able to slow down the telomere shortening process, at least during the four-year period,” says the study’s first author Haidong Zhu, a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.Participants started out with an average of 8,700 base pairs of DNA telomere length, and vitamin D supplementation slowed the loss of length by about 140 base pairs over four years, the study found.The health implications of that number aren’t clear. “It’s only at the extremes that telomere length really matters in terms of aging,” cautions Mary Armanios, a professor of oncology and director of the Telomere Center at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in the research. The magnitude of difference seen in the vitamin D trial is within the normal range of human variation, meaning it may not equate with aging or youthfulness in any clinical sense.“Most of us are going to be within this normal range, and there is a wide buffer for how much telomere length can change,” Armanios says.In addition, Armanios says, the study used a method called quantitative polymerase chain reactionto assess telomere length, and this method can be very sensitive to factors such as when samples were collected and what time elapsed between collection and testing. “The methodology for telomere length measurement has been compared to others and found to be the least reproducible,” she says.A large study of people aged 60 and older in the U.K. also found that very high levels of vitamin D in the blood were associate with shorter telomeres, suggesting that more is not always better. The participants in the VITAL study were supplemented with a moderate amount of vitamin D, Manson says.Most of the participants in the new study were white, Zhu adds, so the results need to be replicated in a more diverse sample. The researchers are also currently analyzing data from the 1,054 VITAL participants to understand other facets of cellular aging, including DNA methylation, a type of regulation of gene expression.The results are intriguing, says Anastassios Pittas, a professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. Vitamin D supplements are now recommended by the Endocrine Society for people aged 75 and older, as well as for people of any age with prediabetes to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, Pittas says. “These new findings from the VITAL study lend scientific support to these recommendations, highlighting possible mechanisms through which vitamin D may influence long-term health outcomes,” he says.The findings are leading researchers toward a better understanding of who should pop a daily supplement, Manson says. “It shouldn’t be a universal recommendation to be screened for vitamin D blood levels or to take a supplement,” she says. “But it appears that selected high-risk groups may benefit.”
    #vitamin #slow #cells #aging #protecting
    Vitamin D May Slow Cells’ Aging by Protecting DNA
    May 21, 20254 min readVitamin D May Slow Cells’ AgingVitamin D supplements may help prevent the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences that shrink with aging, a large study shows. But the health effects aren’t yet clearBy Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna BrynerA new study suggests vitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by protecting telomeres. Olga Pankova/Getty ImagesVitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by preventing the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that shorten in old age, a new study suggests. The health effects of these findings aren’t yet clear.Vitamin D had been touted as a panacea for a number of health conditions, from cardiovascular disease to bone loss. In 2020 a large randomized controlled trial of supplementation instead found benefits only in a few conditions, particularly autoimmune disease and advanced cases of cancer, says the new study’s co-author JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator of that large trial, called the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL. The new study is an analysis of data from VITAL. Its finding could explain the protective effect of vitamin D supplements on these specific aging-related diseases, Manson says.“If is replicated in another randomized trial of vitamin D supplements, I think this could translate into clinical effects for chronic diseases of aging,” she says. “We’re already seeing that vitamin D does reduce inflammation; it reduces advanced cancers and cancer deaths, as well as autoimmune diseases. This could provide a biological mechanism.”On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.In the VITAL project, researchers enrolled nearly 26,000 women aged 55 or older and men aged 50 or older, and they randomly assigned participants to take vitamin D supplements, fish oil supplements, a combination of both or a placebo. For the new study, published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists looked at a subset of 1,054 participants who lived close enough to Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Science Center in Boston to have their blood drawn three times over four years so researchers could measure their telomeres.Inside the nuclei of most cells in the human body reside 46 chromosomes, where our DNA is neatly packed. Each time a cell divides, these chromosomes unravel and copy themselves, and the copies coil back into the nuclei of the new cells. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes. They stabilize the chromosomes during cell division, though they get shorter each time cells divide. When the telomeres get very short, the cells stop dividing and die. Over time, as more and more of our cells die, the body ages and ultimately stops functioning. Telomeres aren’t a perfect clock for health—very long telomeres can increase cancer risk by stabilizing mutated cells—but they’re often used as a biomarker for aging.Participants in the placebo and supplement groups had similar telomere lengths at the beginning of the study, the researchers found. But over the four years of follow-up, people assigned to take 2,000 international units of vitamin D per day showed less shortening of their telomeres compared with people in the placebo group. Fish oil had no significant effect.“Vitamin D supplementation is able to slow down the telomere shortening process, at least during the four-year period,” says the study’s first author Haidong Zhu, a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.Participants started out with an average of 8,700 base pairs of DNA telomere length, and vitamin D supplementation slowed the loss of length by about 140 base pairs over four years, the study found.The health implications of that number aren’t clear. “It’s only at the extremes that telomere length really matters in terms of aging,” cautions Mary Armanios, a professor of oncology and director of the Telomere Center at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in the research. The magnitude of difference seen in the vitamin D trial is within the normal range of human variation, meaning it may not equate with aging or youthfulness in any clinical sense.“Most of us are going to be within this normal range, and there is a wide buffer for how much telomere length can change,” Armanios says.In addition, Armanios says, the study used a method called quantitative polymerase chain reactionto assess telomere length, and this method can be very sensitive to factors such as when samples were collected and what time elapsed between collection and testing. “The methodology for telomere length measurement has been compared to others and found to be the least reproducible,” she says.A large study of people aged 60 and older in the U.K. also found that very high levels of vitamin D in the blood were associate with shorter telomeres, suggesting that more is not always better. The participants in the VITAL study were supplemented with a moderate amount of vitamin D, Manson says.Most of the participants in the new study were white, Zhu adds, so the results need to be replicated in a more diverse sample. The researchers are also currently analyzing data from the 1,054 VITAL participants to understand other facets of cellular aging, including DNA methylation, a type of regulation of gene expression.The results are intriguing, says Anastassios Pittas, a professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. Vitamin D supplements are now recommended by the Endocrine Society for people aged 75 and older, as well as for people of any age with prediabetes to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, Pittas says. “These new findings from the VITAL study lend scientific support to these recommendations, highlighting possible mechanisms through which vitamin D may influence long-term health outcomes,” he says.The findings are leading researchers toward a better understanding of who should pop a daily supplement, Manson says. “It shouldn’t be a universal recommendation to be screened for vitamin D blood levels or to take a supplement,” she says. “But it appears that selected high-risk groups may benefit.” #vitamin #slow #cells #aging #protecting
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    Vitamin D May Slow Cells’ Aging by Protecting DNA
    May 21, 20254 min readVitamin D May Slow Cells’ AgingVitamin D supplements may help prevent the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences that shrink with aging, a large study shows. But the health effects aren’t yet clearBy Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna BrynerA new study suggests vitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by protecting telomeres. Olga Pankova/Getty ImagesVitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by preventing the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that shorten in old age, a new study suggests. The health effects of these findings aren’t yet clear.Vitamin D had been touted as a panacea for a number of health conditions, from cardiovascular disease to bone loss. In 2020 a large randomized controlled trial of supplementation instead found benefits only in a few conditions, particularly autoimmune disease and advanced cases of cancer, says the new study’s co-author JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator of that large trial, called the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL). The new study is an analysis of data from VITAL. Its finding could explain the protective effect of vitamin D supplements on these specific aging-related diseases, Manson says.“If is replicated in another randomized trial of vitamin D supplements, I think this could translate into clinical effects for chronic diseases of aging,” she says. “We’re already seeing that vitamin D does reduce inflammation; it reduces advanced cancers and cancer deaths, as well as autoimmune diseases. This could provide a biological mechanism.”On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.In the VITAL project, researchers enrolled nearly 26,000 women aged 55 or older and men aged 50 or older, and they randomly assigned participants to take vitamin D supplements, fish oil supplements, a combination of both or a placebo. For the new study, published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists looked at a subset of 1,054 participants who lived close enough to Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Science Center in Boston to have their blood drawn three times over four years so researchers could measure their telomeres.Inside the nuclei of most cells in the human body reside 46 chromosomes, where our DNA is neatly packed. Each time a cell divides, these chromosomes unravel and copy themselves, and the copies coil back into the nuclei of the new cells. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes. They stabilize the chromosomes during cell division, though they get shorter each time cells divide. When the telomeres get very short, the cells stop dividing and die. Over time, as more and more of our cells die, the body ages and ultimately stops functioning. Telomeres aren’t a perfect clock for health—very long telomeres can increase cancer risk by stabilizing mutated cells—but they’re often used as a biomarker for aging.Participants in the placebo and supplement groups had similar telomere lengths at the beginning of the study, the researchers found. But over the four years of follow-up, people assigned to take 2,000 international units of vitamin D per day showed less shortening of their telomeres compared with people in the placebo group. Fish oil had no significant effect.“Vitamin D supplementation is able to slow down the telomere shortening process, at least during the four-year period,” says the study’s first author Haidong Zhu, a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.Participants started out with an average of 8,700 base pairs of DNA telomere length, and vitamin D supplementation slowed the loss of length by about 140 base pairs over four years, the study found.The health implications of that number aren’t clear. “It’s only at the extremes that telomere length really matters in terms of aging,” cautions Mary Armanios, a professor of oncology and director of the Telomere Center at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in the research. The magnitude of difference seen in the vitamin D trial is within the normal range of human variation, meaning it may not equate with aging or youthfulness in any clinical sense.“Most of us are going to be within this normal range, and there is a wide buffer for how much telomere length can change,” Armanios says.In addition, Armanios says, the study used a method called quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to assess telomere length, and this method can be very sensitive to factors such as when samples were collected and what time elapsed between collection and testing. “The methodology for telomere length measurement has been compared to others and found to be the least reproducible,” she says.A large study of people aged 60 and older in the U.K. also found that very high levels of vitamin D in the blood were associate with shorter telomeres, suggesting that more is not always better. The participants in the VITAL study were supplemented with a moderate amount of vitamin D, Manson says.Most of the participants in the new study were white, Zhu adds, so the results need to be replicated in a more diverse sample. The researchers are also currently analyzing data from the 1,054 VITAL participants to understand other facets of cellular aging, including DNA methylation, a type of regulation of gene expression.The results are intriguing, says Anastassios Pittas, a professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. Vitamin D supplements are now recommended by the Endocrine Society for people aged 75 and older, as well as for people of any age with prediabetes to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, Pittas says. “These new findings from the VITAL study lend scientific support to these recommendations, highlighting possible mechanisms through which vitamin D may influence long-term health outcomes,” he says.The findings are leading researchers toward a better understanding of who should pop a daily supplement, Manson says. “It shouldn’t be a universal recommendation to be screened for vitamin D blood levels or to take a supplement,” she says. “But it appears that selected high-risk groups may benefit.”
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  • New Class of Drugs Blocks Wakefulness Chemical and Offers Relief from Insomnia

    May 21, 202510 min readSleep Better with New Drugs, Select Cannabinoids and Wearable DevicesDrugs that target wakefulness, molecules in cannabis and wearable devices that modulate brain activity could help people with insomniaBy Rachel Nuwer carlofranco/Getty ImagesThis Nature Outlook is editorially independent, produced with financial support from Avadel.Miranda cannot remember a time in her life when she did not have insomnia. The 23 year old, who asked for her last name to be withheld, started struggling with sleep when she was a child. As she’s grown older, it’s only become worse. She takes “a myriad of medications” each night, she says, but usually still cannot fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. “I can’t get up and be functional until halfway through the day,” she says. She had to drop out of university because she couldn’t attend classes, and she can’t hold down a job. Her insomnia exacerbates other medical conditions as well, including migraines and the pain condition fibromyalgia. “It’s hugely debilitating,” she says. “It affects everything.”In the United States, about 12% of adults have been diagnosed with chronic insomnia — when a person struggles to sleep for more than three nights each week for at least three months, and experiences daytime distress as a result. Research suggests that the worldwide figure is 10–30%. It also often co-occurs with and creates a vicious cycle with other conditions, including chronic pain, depression and anxiety.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Fortunately for Miranda and millions of others with chronic insomnia, new treatments are arriving. The emergence of a class of pharmaceuticals that induces sleep through a different brain pathway from existing drugs is a welcome development, and molecules in cannabis and specialized medical devices to promote sleep are also showing potential as sleep aids. Soon, those struggling with sleep could have a range of new options available to help.Imperfect solutionsCognitive behavioural therapy for insomniais usually the recommended first treatment. This specialized talking therapy focuses on establishing healthy sleep behaviours and addressing thoughts that can interfere with sleep. But CBT-I is not covered by all health-care insurance plans in the United States. In the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, public health-care systems usually provide it, but waiting times can be long. This is because, around the world, there is a limited availability of therapists, says Andrew Krystal, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. “We keep hiring new people, but almost immediately their schedules are completely filled and the wait list is a year.”CBT-I also doesn’t work for everyone. Miranda has tried it and has received conventional talking therapy for over a decade, with limited success. “It only helps so much,” she says.Pharmacological interventions are the next line of defence, Krystal says. Benzodiazepines and a class of medicines called Z-drugs, which include zolpidem, are among the most prescribed insomnia medications. These sedative hypnotics enhance the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA, thereby dampening brain activity. They also reduce anxiety. But they can create a hangover effect and increase the risk of falls in older people. These drugs also have the potential for misuse and can cause dependence. Some studies have even found an association between long-term use of Z-drugs and benzodiazepines and an increased risk of death.Miranda tried Ambien, but says that she quickly became chemically dependent. She eventually weaned herself off it and switched to benzodiazepines, but she began developing a tolerance to them, too — she once wound up in hospital with withdrawal symptoms after she tried to cut back on her dosage. “They’re horrible drugs to be on,” she says. But she cannot fall asleep without them. Each night, she now takes two benzodiazepines, as well as gabapentin, an anticonvulsant medication that is sometimes given off-label for insomnia.Physicians frequently provide other off-label prescriptions for insomnia, including trazodone, which is approved for depression. Over-the-counter products such as antihistamines are also used for sleeplessness. None are ideal, however, because they have not been evaluated as sleep aids, says Emmanuel Mignot, a sleep-medicine researcher at Stanford University in California.Miranda has experience with many of these products. When she first developed chronic insomnia as a child, her paediatrician recommended melatonin, which is available without a prescription in the United States. It helped her fall asleep, but it did not keep her asleep. During her teenage years, different neurologists prescribed off-label antidepressants and other mood medications, including trazodone and mirtazapine. But they came with what she calls “torturous” side effects: she felt constantly anxious and exhausted during the day, and her memory became “incredibly foggy”.Blocking wakefulnessMignot was studying narcolepsy, a chronic disorder that affects sleep–wake cycles and causes people to fall asleep suddenly, when he inadvertently helped to pave the way towards the latest means of treating insomnia. He discovered that dogs with narcolepsy have a genetic mutation that affects one of two receptors used by the neurotransmitter orexin, the primary role of which was initially thought to be the regulation of appetite. Mignot then found that people with narcolepsy lack orexin, confirming the chemical’s main job: promoting wakefulness. If drugs could be developed to prevent orexin from binding to its receptors, Mignot thought, then people with insomnia would become “narcoleptic for one night”.In 2007, researchers at the pharmaceutical firm Actelionshowed that blocking orexin’s two receptors induced sleep in rats, dogs and people. In 2014, the biopharmaceutical company Merck, received US Food and Drug Administrationapproval for the first dual orexin receptor antagonistdrug, suvorexant. In 2019, another DORA drug — lemborexant— was approved, followed, in 2022, by daridorexant.Compared with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, which inhibit activity all over the brain, DORA drugs affect only the neurons activated by orexins. “The beauty of it is it does nothing but block the stimulation of wakefulness,” says neurologist Joe Herring, who heads neuroscience clinical research at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey. “It’s a physiologically better way to promote sleep.”Alisdair Macdonald/NatureDaridorexant is the only DORA drug for which data are available about daytime functioning, says Antonio Olivieri, chief medical officer at Idorsia, which produces daridorexant. In clinical trials, Idorsia showed that, compared with those given a placebo, people who received daridorexant experienced significant improvements in daytime insomnia symptoms the following day. Data reported in the approvals database of the FDA also indicate that daridorexant has the lowest fatigue and drowsiness scores of the three DORA drugs, possibly because it leaves the body the quickest.So far, there have been no one-to-one comparisons of DORA drugs. “Ideally, you’d have direct evidence of how those drugs compare to each other,” says Daniel Buysse, a sleep scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. “But we rarely have such evidence, so instead, we have to rely on statistical techniques that allow you to make indirect comparisons.” It’s also difficult to say definitively how DORA drugs compare with older treatments for insomnia, but Buysse says that drug registration trials suggest that DORA drugs have fewer adverse cognitive or hangover effects compared with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, as well as less potential for dependence and misuse. The European Insomnia Guideline 2023 placed daridorexant as the next recommended insomnia treatment after CBT-I.The main drawback to DORA drugs, Buysse says, is not medical but financial: their high cost keeps them out of reach of many people who could benefit from them. “There are many patients I would like to prescribe these drugs for, but I know in order for them to get one of these medications we’ll have to go through trials of several other drugs before the request will be considered,” Buysse says. DORA drugs are also available only in a few countries, so far.Given her long history of insomnia, Miranda was given a prescription for suvorexant. Her psychiatrist recommended the drug to her about a year ago. “I was really sceptical that an anti-wakefulness drug would be any different to a pro-sleep drug,” she says. But she quickly felt the difference, and has now come to see the drug as “a saviour”. Without the drug, she says, “I’d probably be on a much higher benzodiazepine dose than I am.” She hopes her suvorexant dose can continue to increase, so that some of her other medications can be reduced.Expanding availabilityOther drugs that target the orexin system are in the clinical pipeline. Seltorexant, for example, is being developed by the US pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson for people with both major depressive disorder and insomnia. Around 70% of people with depression have insomnia, so having a medication that treats both of those disorders “has the potential to fill an important gap”, says Krystal, who has consulted for Johnson & Johnson on the drug. In a phase III trial, participants who took the drug experienced meaningful improvement in both sleep and depressive symptoms, with an antidepressant effect that seemed to be independent of the participants getting better sleep. Seltorexant might have an antidepressant effect because it is designed to block only one of the two types of orexin receptor, Krystal adds, whereas other DORA drugs block both receptor types.Investigations of already-approved DORA drugs are also expanding into other populations. Merck has sponsored investigator-led studies of suvorexant in people with insomnia as well as depression or substance-use disorders, and Idorsia is sponsoring studies of daridorexant’s safety and efficacy in sub-groups of people who have insomnia and other conditions.In 2020, suvorexant became the first medication to be approved for treating sleep disorders in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Insomnia is often a precursor to and co-morbid with Alzheimer’s, and the disease seems to manifest differently in people with the condition. In one study comparing older people with insomnia with those with both insomnia and Alzheimer’s, people with both conditions had a number of extra changes to their sleep patterns, including less time spent in deep sleep — sometimes called slow-wave sleep because that describes the pattern of the brain’s electrical activity during these intervals. Sleep problems in people with Alzheimer’s also seem to have a causal role in increasing levels of toxic substances in the brains of those individuals. Preliminary data suggest that suvorexant could also help to reduce toxic brain proteins. The results of a follow-up study testing that finding are expected in 2026.In the weedsSleeplessness is already among the most common conditions for the medicinal use of the drug cannabis. Miranda, for example, supplements her nightly pharmaceutical regimen with a cannabis tincture that contains a few of the plant’s 100-plus cannabinoids. “It’s definitely a key player in my sleep-medication arsenal,” she says.Yet, scientifically, little is known about which cannabinoids — if any — promote sleep, and what a safe and effective dose is. “Tens of millions of people around the world are probably using cannabinoids for insomnia, but we have very little good-quality evidence to support that,” says Iain McGregor, director of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney in Australia.McGregor is investigating cannabinol, a molecule that develops in cannabis as the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinoloxidizes. His group reported that CBN increased sleep in rats to a similar degree as zolpidem, but without the drug’s known negative side effect of suppressing rapid-eye-movement sleep. Unpublished data of a single-night trial with 20 people with insomnia disorder show that people fell asleep 7 minutes faster after taking 300 milligrams of CBN compared with those taking a placebo; participants also reported subjective improvements in sleep and mood. Although 7 minutes “doesn’t sound like a lot”, it is on a par with what benzodiazepines and Z-drugs typically accomplish, says Camilla Hoyos, a sleep researcher at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, who led the work. McGregor, Hoyos and their colleagues are aiming to follow up the work with a large, community-based trial in which people with insomnia take either CBN or a placebo for six weeks at home.As for cannabidioland THC — the most well-known cannabinoids — the prospects for efficacy against insomnia are doubtful, at least for the doses used in trials so far. Several small studies have failed to find a sleep benefit from taking CBD. In one experiment, researchers observed that participants in a study who received 10 milligrams of THC and 200 milligrams of CBD actually slept for 25 minutes less compared with when they received a placebo. Several other company-sponsored trials of low-dose CBD for insomnia were not published, McGregor adds, because they found no significant improvement. “It’s been one failure after the next,” he says.Insomnia’s new frontiersThe search for more effective insomnia treatments continues in other realms, as well. Some research groups are experimenting with different receptors that they hope could lead to new classes of drugs. Gabriella Gobbi, a clinical psychiatrist and research neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, for example, has homed in on one of the brain’s two melatonin receptors, MT2. “We want to find an alternative mechanism without any addiction liability and with fewer side effects, especially for use in children and elderly people,” she says. A molecule that the team developed that binds to MT2 increased the time that rats spent in deep sleep by 30%. Gobbi aims to launch clinical trials in the next two to three years.A few companies and health systems, including the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, have also created or are developing digital platforms for delivering CBT-I. These apps take users through regimens that are tailored to their symptoms. SleepioRx, for example, is a 90-day digital programme that has been evaluated in more than two dozen clinical trials and has showed efficacy as high as 76%. This includes helping people to fall asleep faster, sleep better throughout the night and feel better the next day. In August 2024, the programme, developed by Big Health in San Francisco, California, received FDA clearance. A 2024 meta-analysis of 15 studies that compare in-person and electronically delivered CBT-I concluded that the two approaches were equally effective.Uptake among physicians has been slow so far, Krystal says. But once practitioners catch on, he adds, “I can imagine a world where you have digital care as your first stop, and if that’s not successful, you see a therapist.”Some studies suggest that insomnia can stem from a high level of underlying brain activity during sleep. This raises the question of whether reducing this activity could treat insomnia, says Ruth Benca, a psychiatrist at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. Companies and academic research groups are beginning to test this proposition with wearable devices that use auditory tones or mild electrical stimulation to increase slow-wave activity in the brain. Some devices are already on the market, and evidence suggests that they can increase the duration of deep sleep. Last June, for example, researchers at Elemind Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, confirmed that auditory stimuli delivered in sync with specific brain-wave rhythms generated in a headband allowed people who usually struggle for more than 30 minutes to fall asleep to shave an average of 10.5 minutes off that time.In the coming years, according to Benca, researchers hope to learn enough about insomnia’s causes and treatments to be able to recommend personalized therapies based on an individual’s specific demographics, genetics and co-morbidities. These are the frontiers people are working at, she says.Even after a lifetime of struggling to find safe and effective help, Miranda says that she still holds out hope that better treatments for insomnia are on the horizon. “I can’t be on these medications forever,” she says. “They’re going to take years off my life.”
    #new #class #drugs #blocks #wakefulness
    New Class of Drugs Blocks Wakefulness Chemical and Offers Relief from Insomnia
    May 21, 202510 min readSleep Better with New Drugs, Select Cannabinoids and Wearable DevicesDrugs that target wakefulness, molecules in cannabis and wearable devices that modulate brain activity could help people with insomniaBy Rachel Nuwer carlofranco/Getty ImagesThis Nature Outlook is editorially independent, produced with financial support from Avadel.Miranda cannot remember a time in her life when she did not have insomnia. The 23 year old, who asked for her last name to be withheld, started struggling with sleep when she was a child. As she’s grown older, it’s only become worse. She takes “a myriad of medications” each night, she says, but usually still cannot fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. “I can’t get up and be functional until halfway through the day,” she says. She had to drop out of university because she couldn’t attend classes, and she can’t hold down a job. Her insomnia exacerbates other medical conditions as well, including migraines and the pain condition fibromyalgia. “It’s hugely debilitating,” she says. “It affects everything.”In the United States, about 12% of adults have been diagnosed with chronic insomnia — when a person struggles to sleep for more than three nights each week for at least three months, and experiences daytime distress as a result. Research suggests that the worldwide figure is 10–30%. It also often co-occurs with and creates a vicious cycle with other conditions, including chronic pain, depression and anxiety.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Fortunately for Miranda and millions of others with chronic insomnia, new treatments are arriving. The emergence of a class of pharmaceuticals that induces sleep through a different brain pathway from existing drugs is a welcome development, and molecules in cannabis and specialized medical devices to promote sleep are also showing potential as sleep aids. Soon, those struggling with sleep could have a range of new options available to help.Imperfect solutionsCognitive behavioural therapy for insomniais usually the recommended first treatment. This specialized talking therapy focuses on establishing healthy sleep behaviours and addressing thoughts that can interfere with sleep. But CBT-I is not covered by all health-care insurance plans in the United States. In the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, public health-care systems usually provide it, but waiting times can be long. This is because, around the world, there is a limited availability of therapists, says Andrew Krystal, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. “We keep hiring new people, but almost immediately their schedules are completely filled and the wait list is a year.”CBT-I also doesn’t work for everyone. Miranda has tried it and has received conventional talking therapy for over a decade, with limited success. “It only helps so much,” she says.Pharmacological interventions are the next line of defence, Krystal says. Benzodiazepines and a class of medicines called Z-drugs, which include zolpidem, are among the most prescribed insomnia medications. These sedative hypnotics enhance the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA, thereby dampening brain activity. They also reduce anxiety. But they can create a hangover effect and increase the risk of falls in older people. These drugs also have the potential for misuse and can cause dependence. Some studies have even found an association between long-term use of Z-drugs and benzodiazepines and an increased risk of death.Miranda tried Ambien, but says that she quickly became chemically dependent. She eventually weaned herself off it and switched to benzodiazepines, but she began developing a tolerance to them, too — she once wound up in hospital with withdrawal symptoms after she tried to cut back on her dosage. “They’re horrible drugs to be on,” she says. But she cannot fall asleep without them. Each night, she now takes two benzodiazepines, as well as gabapentin, an anticonvulsant medication that is sometimes given off-label for insomnia.Physicians frequently provide other off-label prescriptions for insomnia, including trazodone, which is approved for depression. Over-the-counter products such as antihistamines are also used for sleeplessness. None are ideal, however, because they have not been evaluated as sleep aids, says Emmanuel Mignot, a sleep-medicine researcher at Stanford University in California.Miranda has experience with many of these products. When she first developed chronic insomnia as a child, her paediatrician recommended melatonin, which is available without a prescription in the United States. It helped her fall asleep, but it did not keep her asleep. During her teenage years, different neurologists prescribed off-label antidepressants and other mood medications, including trazodone and mirtazapine. But they came with what she calls “torturous” side effects: she felt constantly anxious and exhausted during the day, and her memory became “incredibly foggy”.Blocking wakefulnessMignot was studying narcolepsy, a chronic disorder that affects sleep–wake cycles and causes people to fall asleep suddenly, when he inadvertently helped to pave the way towards the latest means of treating insomnia. He discovered that dogs with narcolepsy have a genetic mutation that affects one of two receptors used by the neurotransmitter orexin, the primary role of which was initially thought to be the regulation of appetite. Mignot then found that people with narcolepsy lack orexin, confirming the chemical’s main job: promoting wakefulness. If drugs could be developed to prevent orexin from binding to its receptors, Mignot thought, then people with insomnia would become “narcoleptic for one night”.In 2007, researchers at the pharmaceutical firm Actelionshowed that blocking orexin’s two receptors induced sleep in rats, dogs and people. In 2014, the biopharmaceutical company Merck, received US Food and Drug Administrationapproval for the first dual orexin receptor antagonistdrug, suvorexant. In 2019, another DORA drug — lemborexant— was approved, followed, in 2022, by daridorexant.Compared with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, which inhibit activity all over the brain, DORA drugs affect only the neurons activated by orexins. “The beauty of it is it does nothing but block the stimulation of wakefulness,” says neurologist Joe Herring, who heads neuroscience clinical research at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey. “It’s a physiologically better way to promote sleep.”Alisdair Macdonald/NatureDaridorexant is the only DORA drug for which data are available about daytime functioning, says Antonio Olivieri, chief medical officer at Idorsia, which produces daridorexant. In clinical trials, Idorsia showed that, compared with those given a placebo, people who received daridorexant experienced significant improvements in daytime insomnia symptoms the following day. Data reported in the approvals database of the FDA also indicate that daridorexant has the lowest fatigue and drowsiness scores of the three DORA drugs, possibly because it leaves the body the quickest.So far, there have been no one-to-one comparisons of DORA drugs. “Ideally, you’d have direct evidence of how those drugs compare to each other,” says Daniel Buysse, a sleep scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. “But we rarely have such evidence, so instead, we have to rely on statistical techniques that allow you to make indirect comparisons.” It’s also difficult to say definitively how DORA drugs compare with older treatments for insomnia, but Buysse says that drug registration trials suggest that DORA drugs have fewer adverse cognitive or hangover effects compared with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, as well as less potential for dependence and misuse. The European Insomnia Guideline 2023 placed daridorexant as the next recommended insomnia treatment after CBT-I.The main drawback to DORA drugs, Buysse says, is not medical but financial: their high cost keeps them out of reach of many people who could benefit from them. “There are many patients I would like to prescribe these drugs for, but I know in order for them to get one of these medications we’ll have to go through trials of several other drugs before the request will be considered,” Buysse says. DORA drugs are also available only in a few countries, so far.Given her long history of insomnia, Miranda was given a prescription for suvorexant. Her psychiatrist recommended the drug to her about a year ago. “I was really sceptical that an anti-wakefulness drug would be any different to a pro-sleep drug,” she says. But she quickly felt the difference, and has now come to see the drug as “a saviour”. Without the drug, she says, “I’d probably be on a much higher benzodiazepine dose than I am.” She hopes her suvorexant dose can continue to increase, so that some of her other medications can be reduced.Expanding availabilityOther drugs that target the orexin system are in the clinical pipeline. Seltorexant, for example, is being developed by the US pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson for people with both major depressive disorder and insomnia. Around 70% of people with depression have insomnia, so having a medication that treats both of those disorders “has the potential to fill an important gap”, says Krystal, who has consulted for Johnson & Johnson on the drug. In a phase III trial, participants who took the drug experienced meaningful improvement in both sleep and depressive symptoms, with an antidepressant effect that seemed to be independent of the participants getting better sleep. Seltorexant might have an antidepressant effect because it is designed to block only one of the two types of orexin receptor, Krystal adds, whereas other DORA drugs block both receptor types.Investigations of already-approved DORA drugs are also expanding into other populations. Merck has sponsored investigator-led studies of suvorexant in people with insomnia as well as depression or substance-use disorders, and Idorsia is sponsoring studies of daridorexant’s safety and efficacy in sub-groups of people who have insomnia and other conditions.In 2020, suvorexant became the first medication to be approved for treating sleep disorders in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Insomnia is often a precursor to and co-morbid with Alzheimer’s, and the disease seems to manifest differently in people with the condition. In one study comparing older people with insomnia with those with both insomnia and Alzheimer’s, people with both conditions had a number of extra changes to their sleep patterns, including less time spent in deep sleep — sometimes called slow-wave sleep because that describes the pattern of the brain’s electrical activity during these intervals. Sleep problems in people with Alzheimer’s also seem to have a causal role in increasing levels of toxic substances in the brains of those individuals. Preliminary data suggest that suvorexant could also help to reduce toxic brain proteins. The results of a follow-up study testing that finding are expected in 2026.In the weedsSleeplessness is already among the most common conditions for the medicinal use of the drug cannabis. Miranda, for example, supplements her nightly pharmaceutical regimen with a cannabis tincture that contains a few of the plant’s 100-plus cannabinoids. “It’s definitely a key player in my sleep-medication arsenal,” she says.Yet, scientifically, little is known about which cannabinoids — if any — promote sleep, and what a safe and effective dose is. “Tens of millions of people around the world are probably using cannabinoids for insomnia, but we have very little good-quality evidence to support that,” says Iain McGregor, director of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney in Australia.McGregor is investigating cannabinol, a molecule that develops in cannabis as the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinoloxidizes. His group reported that CBN increased sleep in rats to a similar degree as zolpidem, but without the drug’s known negative side effect of suppressing rapid-eye-movement sleep. Unpublished data of a single-night trial with 20 people with insomnia disorder show that people fell asleep 7 minutes faster after taking 300 milligrams of CBN compared with those taking a placebo; participants also reported subjective improvements in sleep and mood. Although 7 minutes “doesn’t sound like a lot”, it is on a par with what benzodiazepines and Z-drugs typically accomplish, says Camilla Hoyos, a sleep researcher at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, who led the work. McGregor, Hoyos and their colleagues are aiming to follow up the work with a large, community-based trial in which people with insomnia take either CBN or a placebo for six weeks at home.As for cannabidioland THC — the most well-known cannabinoids — the prospects for efficacy against insomnia are doubtful, at least for the doses used in trials so far. Several small studies have failed to find a sleep benefit from taking CBD. In one experiment, researchers observed that participants in a study who received 10 milligrams of THC and 200 milligrams of CBD actually slept for 25 minutes less compared with when they received a placebo. Several other company-sponsored trials of low-dose CBD for insomnia were not published, McGregor adds, because they found no significant improvement. “It’s been one failure after the next,” he says.Insomnia’s new frontiersThe search for more effective insomnia treatments continues in other realms, as well. Some research groups are experimenting with different receptors that they hope could lead to new classes of drugs. Gabriella Gobbi, a clinical psychiatrist and research neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, for example, has homed in on one of the brain’s two melatonin receptors, MT2. “We want to find an alternative mechanism without any addiction liability and with fewer side effects, especially for use in children and elderly people,” she says. A molecule that the team developed that binds to MT2 increased the time that rats spent in deep sleep by 30%. Gobbi aims to launch clinical trials in the next two to three years.A few companies and health systems, including the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, have also created or are developing digital platforms for delivering CBT-I. These apps take users through regimens that are tailored to their symptoms. SleepioRx, for example, is a 90-day digital programme that has been evaluated in more than two dozen clinical trials and has showed efficacy as high as 76%. This includes helping people to fall asleep faster, sleep better throughout the night and feel better the next day. In August 2024, the programme, developed by Big Health in San Francisco, California, received FDA clearance. A 2024 meta-analysis of 15 studies that compare in-person and electronically delivered CBT-I concluded that the two approaches were equally effective.Uptake among physicians has been slow so far, Krystal says. But once practitioners catch on, he adds, “I can imagine a world where you have digital care as your first stop, and if that’s not successful, you see a therapist.”Some studies suggest that insomnia can stem from a high level of underlying brain activity during sleep. This raises the question of whether reducing this activity could treat insomnia, says Ruth Benca, a psychiatrist at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. Companies and academic research groups are beginning to test this proposition with wearable devices that use auditory tones or mild electrical stimulation to increase slow-wave activity in the brain. Some devices are already on the market, and evidence suggests that they can increase the duration of deep sleep. Last June, for example, researchers at Elemind Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, confirmed that auditory stimuli delivered in sync with specific brain-wave rhythms generated in a headband allowed people who usually struggle for more than 30 minutes to fall asleep to shave an average of 10.5 minutes off that time.In the coming years, according to Benca, researchers hope to learn enough about insomnia’s causes and treatments to be able to recommend personalized therapies based on an individual’s specific demographics, genetics and co-morbidities. These are the frontiers people are working at, she says.Even after a lifetime of struggling to find safe and effective help, Miranda says that she still holds out hope that better treatments for insomnia are on the horizon. “I can’t be on these medications forever,” she says. “They’re going to take years off my life.” #new #class #drugs #blocks #wakefulness
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    New Class of Drugs Blocks Wakefulness Chemical and Offers Relief from Insomnia
    May 21, 202510 min readSleep Better with New Drugs, Select Cannabinoids and Wearable DevicesDrugs that target wakefulness, molecules in cannabis and wearable devices that modulate brain activity could help people with insomniaBy Rachel Nuwer carlofranco/Getty ImagesThis Nature Outlook is editorially independent, produced with financial support from Avadel.Miranda cannot remember a time in her life when she did not have insomnia. The 23 year old, who asked for her last name to be withheld, started struggling with sleep when she was a child. As she’s grown older, it’s only become worse. She takes “a myriad of medications” each night, she says, but usually still cannot fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. “I can’t get up and be functional until halfway through the day,” she says. She had to drop out of university because she couldn’t attend classes, and she can’t hold down a job. Her insomnia exacerbates other medical conditions as well, including migraines and the pain condition fibromyalgia. “It’s hugely debilitating,” she says. “It affects everything.”In the United States, about 12% of adults have been diagnosed with chronic insomnia — when a person struggles to sleep for more than three nights each week for at least three months, and experiences daytime distress as a result. Research suggests that the worldwide figure is 10–30%. It also often co-occurs with and creates a vicious cycle with other conditions, including chronic pain, depression and anxiety.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Fortunately for Miranda and millions of others with chronic insomnia, new treatments are arriving. The emergence of a class of pharmaceuticals that induces sleep through a different brain pathway from existing drugs is a welcome development, and molecules in cannabis and specialized medical devices to promote sleep are also showing potential as sleep aids. Soon, those struggling with sleep could have a range of new options available to help.Imperfect solutionsCognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is usually the recommended first treatment. This specialized talking therapy focuses on establishing healthy sleep behaviours and addressing thoughts that can interfere with sleep. But CBT-I is not covered by all health-care insurance plans in the United States. In the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, public health-care systems usually provide it, but waiting times can be long. This is because, around the world, there is a limited availability of therapists, says Andrew Krystal, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. “We keep hiring new people, but almost immediately their schedules are completely filled and the wait list is a year.”CBT-I also doesn’t work for everyone. Miranda has tried it and has received conventional talking therapy for over a decade, with limited success. “It only helps so much,” she says.Pharmacological interventions are the next line of defence, Krystal says. Benzodiazepines and a class of medicines called Z-drugs, which include zolpidem (Ambien), are among the most prescribed insomnia medications. These sedative hypnotics enhance the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA, thereby dampening brain activity. They also reduce anxiety. But they can create a hangover effect and increase the risk of falls in older people. These drugs also have the potential for misuse and can cause dependence. Some studies have even found an association between long-term use of Z-drugs and benzodiazepines and an increased risk of death.Miranda tried Ambien, but says that she quickly became chemically dependent. She eventually weaned herself off it and switched to benzodiazepines, but she began developing a tolerance to them, too — she once wound up in hospital with withdrawal symptoms after she tried to cut back on her dosage. “They’re horrible drugs to be on,” she says. But she cannot fall asleep without them. Each night, she now takes two benzodiazepines, as well as gabapentin, an anticonvulsant medication that is sometimes given off-label for insomnia.Physicians frequently provide other off-label prescriptions for insomnia, including trazodone, which is approved for depression. Over-the-counter products such as antihistamines are also used for sleeplessness. None are ideal, however, because they have not been evaluated as sleep aids, says Emmanuel Mignot, a sleep-medicine researcher at Stanford University in California.Miranda has experience with many of these products. When she first developed chronic insomnia as a child, her paediatrician recommended melatonin, which is available without a prescription in the United States. It helped her fall asleep, but it did not keep her asleep. During her teenage years, different neurologists prescribed off-label antidepressants and other mood medications, including trazodone and mirtazapine. But they came with what she calls “torturous” side effects: she felt constantly anxious and exhausted during the day, and her memory became “incredibly foggy”.Blocking wakefulnessMignot was studying narcolepsy, a chronic disorder that affects sleep–wake cycles and causes people to fall asleep suddenly, when he inadvertently helped to pave the way towards the latest means of treating insomnia. He discovered that dogs with narcolepsy have a genetic mutation that affects one of two receptors used by the neurotransmitter orexin, the primary role of which was initially thought to be the regulation of appetite. Mignot then found that people with narcolepsy lack orexin, confirming the chemical’s main job: promoting wakefulness. If drugs could be developed to prevent orexin from binding to its receptors, Mignot thought, then people with insomnia would become “narcoleptic for one night”.In 2007, researchers at the pharmaceutical firm Actelion (part of which is now Idorsia Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland) showed that blocking orexin’s two receptors induced sleep in rats, dogs and people. In 2014, the biopharmaceutical company Merck, received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the first dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) drug, suvorexant (Belsomra). In 2019, another DORA drug — lemborexant (Dayvigo) — was approved, followed, in 2022, by daridorexant (Quviviq).Compared with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, which inhibit activity all over the brain, DORA drugs affect only the neurons activated by orexins (see ‘Blocking wakefulness’). “The beauty of it is it does nothing but block the stimulation of wakefulness,” says neurologist Joe Herring, who heads neuroscience clinical research at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey. “It’s a physiologically better way to promote sleep.”Alisdair Macdonald/NatureDaridorexant is the only DORA drug for which data are available about daytime functioning, says Antonio Olivieri, chief medical officer at Idorsia, which produces daridorexant. In clinical trials, Idorsia showed that, compared with those given a placebo, people who received daridorexant experienced significant improvements in daytime insomnia symptoms the following day. Data reported in the approvals database of the FDA also indicate that daridorexant has the lowest fatigue and drowsiness scores of the three DORA drugs, possibly because it leaves the body the quickest.So far, there have been no one-to-one comparisons of DORA drugs. “Ideally, you’d have direct evidence of how those drugs compare to each other,” says Daniel Buysse, a sleep scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. “But we rarely have such evidence, so instead, we have to rely on statistical techniques that allow you to make indirect comparisons.” It’s also difficult to say definitively how DORA drugs compare with older treatments for insomnia, but Buysse says that drug registration trials suggest that DORA drugs have fewer adverse cognitive or hangover effects compared with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, as well as less potential for dependence and misuse. The European Insomnia Guideline 2023 placed daridorexant as the next recommended insomnia treatment after CBT-I.The main drawback to DORA drugs, Buysse says, is not medical but financial: their high cost keeps them out of reach of many people who could benefit from them. “There are many patients I would like to prescribe these drugs for, but I know in order for them to get one of these medications we’ll have to go through trials of several other drugs before the request will be considered,” Buysse says. DORA drugs are also available only in a few countries, so far.Given her long history of insomnia, Miranda was given a prescription for suvorexant. Her psychiatrist recommended the drug to her about a year ago. “I was really sceptical that an anti-wakefulness drug would be any different to a pro-sleep drug,” she says. But she quickly felt the difference, and has now come to see the drug as “a saviour”. Without the drug, she says, “I’d probably be on a much higher benzodiazepine dose than I am.” She hopes her suvorexant dose can continue to increase, so that some of her other medications can be reduced.Expanding availabilityOther drugs that target the orexin system are in the clinical pipeline. Seltorexant, for example, is being developed by the US pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson for people with both major depressive disorder and insomnia. Around 70% of people with depression have insomnia, so having a medication that treats both of those disorders “has the potential to fill an important gap”, says Krystal, who has consulted for Johnson & Johnson on the drug. In a phase III trial, participants who took the drug experienced meaningful improvement in both sleep and depressive symptoms, with an antidepressant effect that seemed to be independent of the participants getting better sleep. Seltorexant might have an antidepressant effect because it is designed to block only one of the two types of orexin receptor, Krystal adds, whereas other DORA drugs block both receptor types.Investigations of already-approved DORA drugs are also expanding into other populations. Merck has sponsored investigator-led studies of suvorexant in people with insomnia as well as depression or substance-use disorders, and Idorsia is sponsoring studies of daridorexant’s safety and efficacy in sub-groups of people who have insomnia and other conditions.In 2020, suvorexant became the first medication to be approved for treating sleep disorders in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Insomnia is often a precursor to and co-morbid with Alzheimer’s, and the disease seems to manifest differently in people with the condition. In one study comparing older people with insomnia with those with both insomnia and Alzheimer’s, people with both conditions had a number of extra changes to their sleep patterns, including less time spent in deep sleep — sometimes called slow-wave sleep because that describes the pattern of the brain’s electrical activity during these intervals. Sleep problems in people with Alzheimer’s also seem to have a causal role in increasing levels of toxic substances in the brains of those individuals. Preliminary data suggest that suvorexant could also help to reduce toxic brain proteins. The results of a follow-up study testing that finding are expected in 2026.In the weedsSleeplessness is already among the most common conditions for the medicinal use of the drug cannabis. Miranda, for example, supplements her nightly pharmaceutical regimen with a cannabis tincture that contains a few of the plant’s 100-plus cannabinoids (she lives in a state where cannabis use is legal). “It’s definitely a key player in my sleep-medication arsenal,” she says.Yet, scientifically, little is known about which cannabinoids — if any — promote sleep, and what a safe and effective dose is. “Tens of millions of people around the world are probably using cannabinoids for insomnia, but we have very little good-quality evidence to support that,” says Iain McGregor, director of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney in Australia.McGregor is investigating cannabinol (CBN), a molecule that develops in cannabis as the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) oxidizes. His group reported that CBN increased sleep in rats to a similar degree as zolpidem, but without the drug’s known negative side effect of suppressing rapid-eye-movement sleep. Unpublished data of a single-night trial with 20 people with insomnia disorder show that people fell asleep 7 minutes faster after taking 300 milligrams of CBN compared with those taking a placebo; participants also reported subjective improvements in sleep and mood. Although 7 minutes “doesn’t sound like a lot”, it is on a par with what benzodiazepines and Z-drugs typically accomplish, says Camilla Hoyos, a sleep researcher at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, who led the work. McGregor, Hoyos and their colleagues are aiming to follow up the work with a large, community-based trial in which people with insomnia take either CBN or a placebo for six weeks at home.As for cannabidiol (CBD) and THC — the most well-known cannabinoids — the prospects for efficacy against insomnia are doubtful, at least for the doses used in trials so far. Several small studies have failed to find a sleep benefit from taking CBD. In one experiment, researchers observed that participants in a study who received 10 milligrams of THC and 200 milligrams of CBD actually slept for 25 minutes less compared with when they received a placebo. Several other company-sponsored trials of low-dose CBD for insomnia were not published, McGregor adds, because they found no significant improvement. “It’s been one failure after the next,” he says.Insomnia’s new frontiersThe search for more effective insomnia treatments continues in other realms, as well. Some research groups are experimenting with different receptors that they hope could lead to new classes of drugs. Gabriella Gobbi, a clinical psychiatrist and research neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, for example, has homed in on one of the brain’s two melatonin receptors, MT2. “We want to find an alternative mechanism without any addiction liability and with fewer side effects, especially for use in children and elderly people,” she says. A molecule that the team developed that binds to MT2 increased the time that rats spent in deep sleep by 30%. Gobbi aims to launch clinical trials in the next two to three years.A few companies and health systems, including the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, have also created or are developing digital platforms for delivering CBT-I. These apps take users through regimens that are tailored to their symptoms. SleepioRx, for example, is a 90-day digital programme that has been evaluated in more than two dozen clinical trials and has showed efficacy as high as 76%. This includes helping people to fall asleep faster, sleep better throughout the night and feel better the next day. In August 2024, the programme, developed by Big Health in San Francisco, California, received FDA clearance. A 2024 meta-analysis of 15 studies that compare in-person and electronically delivered CBT-I concluded that the two approaches were equally effective.Uptake among physicians has been slow so far, Krystal says. But once practitioners catch on, he adds, “I can imagine a world where you have digital care as your first stop, and if that’s not successful, you see a therapist.”Some studies suggest that insomnia can stem from a high level of underlying brain activity during sleep. This raises the question of whether reducing this activity could treat insomnia, says Ruth Benca, a psychiatrist at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. Companies and academic research groups are beginning to test this proposition with wearable devices that use auditory tones or mild electrical stimulation to increase slow-wave activity in the brain. Some devices are already on the market, and evidence suggests that they can increase the duration of deep sleep. Last June, for example, researchers at Elemind Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, confirmed that auditory stimuli delivered in sync with specific brain-wave rhythms generated in a headband allowed people who usually struggle for more than 30 minutes to fall asleep to shave an average of 10.5 minutes off that time.In the coming years, according to Benca, researchers hope to learn enough about insomnia’s causes and treatments to be able to recommend personalized therapies based on an individual’s specific demographics, genetics and co-morbidities. These are the frontiers people are working at, she says.Even after a lifetime of struggling to find safe and effective help, Miranda says that she still holds out hope that better treatments for insomnia are on the horizon. “I can’t be on these medications forever,” she says. “They’re going to take years off my life.”
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  • Should you buy the viral $350 tri-fold projector? My buying advice after a week of testing

    ZDNET's key takeaways The Aurzen Zip is currently available for on Amazon. Its design and construction give it a premium feel, and the ability to project at various angles. Connection issues and limitations on what you can view with it are areas of improvement. When Aurzen sent me its new Zip Tri-fold Projector, it arrived in a dense, well-designed 5" x 6.5" x 1.75" box. I said aloud to no one, "Wow, this is the smallest projector I've ever seen." But when I opened the box, I was blown away by its actual size -- because it literally fits in the palm of my hand. "OK then," I asked myself, "Is this the world's first true pocket projector?"Also: I replaced my TV with a 4K UST projector - and the visual upgrade was worth itAs it turns out, it isn't. Kodak makes a smaller one for almost half the price of the Zip. But comparing the quality of that model with the Zip will have to wait for a future review. 
    details
    View Initial impressions and setupThe Zip is 3" x 3" x 1" and weighs less than 10 ounces. Shapewise, it reminds me of a small-bite artisanal hamburger, although much heavier. I can literally fit it easily inside the pocket of my jeans.I already mentioned the delightfully smart packaging, which includes two stylish, magnetic box top flaps for storing the Aurzen Zip, should you need to. You don't need to keep the original housing box, though, because the Zip also comes with a zippable clamshell carrying case that is about the size of a regular sandwich. Also: The best outdoor projectors: Expert tested and reviewedThe carrying case measures only 5.75" x 5" x 1.5", has a plush, velvety interior, and is equipped with a carabiner -- you know, in case you want to clip a mini-projector to your backpack on a 20-mile hiking trip. The Aurzen Zip projector in its carrying case. Adam Breeden/ZDNETOut of the box, the waxpaper sleeve surrounding the unit warns not to "fully flatten the ZIP, as exceeding these angles or forcing it into a flat position may result in irreversible damage." This becomes evident as you tug on the top component to unfold the projector. It's also evident how strong the high-quality hinges are, which jibes with the projector's overall sturdiness.The Zip comes in two colorways: Goldand Grey. A row of five pinhole white lights indicates the charge status, and a solid green light indicates fast charging. The onboard controls are minimal, having only five illuminated touch buttons that you'll rarely use after initially checking the settings on its extremely condensed home menu.Its only USB-C port supports 24W power delivery, and its 5,000mAh battery capacity is about the same as most high-end smartphones. The problem is that this battery is running moving parts, generating 100 ANSI lumens, and projecting a large image, unlike any smartphone. Well, most smartphones.Also: This Android phone that doubles as a projector will make any tech enthusiast smileAs light as it is, the bottom of the unit is coated with a silicon-based texture that gives the base enough grip to prevent it from scooting across high-varnish furniture -- another thoughtful touch that adds to the Zip's premium appeal.By the way, the Aurzen "Zip" is named for its Z-shaped, tri-fold design, but is also meant to evoke a ZIP file, which can be compressed and decompressed. Smart.How does it perform?The Zip is a short-throw projector. At two feet from a screen, it can project a 25-inch image, and at 6.33 feet, it can project an 80-inch image.The Zip only supports vertical keystone correction, but the keystone adjustment is automatic -- and impressively so. As soon as I pointed it at a wall, the trapezoidal projection straightened itself out symmetrically.While this 1280 x 720p projector will never display crisp, highly detailed images, its autofocus feature went to work instantaneously. Whatever surface I targeted, the on-screen text was legible even when protracting its image by moving back as far as seven feet. Also: Finally, a portable 4K projector worthy of replacing my TV - and it gets plenty brightThe Zip also won't deliver high contrast, true blacks, or any of those lofty measures of image quality we look for in LED TVs -- that's asking too much of any projector. But I have to say, the colors were rich enough, and overall, the videos I played looked pretty good.In a dark room, the Zip's brightness level was plenty adequate. A small amount of ambient light creeping into the room, however, will wash out the screen. The only switch on the unit is for a brightness booster, which, when turned on, ostensibly makes the image maybe 10% brighter. So I wondered why bother with this option? Why not always make the image as bright as possible? Yet, the booster does make a noticeable difference in a very dark area. Adam Breeden/ZDNETThe brightness booster is an option because it saps the Zip's battery. In fact, the feature is available only when the projector is at a certain battery level. Turning the brightness boost switch on affected power use so significantly that I could hear the poor unit straining. Normally, the little fan inside the Zip emits a subtle white noise, a consistent low-decibel fuzz that could lull you to sleep. With the brightness booster turned on, those decibels triple as the cooling fan accelerates like a tiny jet engine. Turning it off to the dimmer setting, you can hear the engine decelerate and wind down to a glide. I should say that the "engine noise" isn't a problem when videos are playing at any level of volume.Also: One of my favorite smart home accessories turns any room into an aurora showTaking advantage of its folding design, I wanted to see how the Zip would work if I aimed it at the ceiling above my bed. I put it on the nightstand, but this offset the 16:9 projection to the right, placing it above my nightstand, not me. So I set the unit on my chest and watched its image on my popcorn-textured ceiling swell and unswell from my breathing and shake slightly with each heartbeat.I realize this does not paint the picture of an ideal viewing scenario. But, if you have spinal or shoulder injuries that require you to fall asleep on your back with no craning of your neck, and if another "requirement" is that you must be watching TV to fall asleep, then the Aurzen Zip is the only projector I've found that makes that possible. And from five feet away, the image on my ceiling looked just fine for sleepy nighttime viewing.The Zip's middle component houses two 1-watt speakers on opposite sides. They're as powerful as you'd expect for the size; not too much. But what can we expect from such a diminutive device? The volume is certainly adequate for one or two people positioned a few feet away from it, perhaps in a bedroom or inside a tent. Areas of improvementI didn't mean to bury the lede here, but a major shortcoming of the Zip is that it has no built-in operating system. Thereby, it has no streaming capability and zero apps. It operates solely through the command of your phone, tablet, or laptop. I was surprised to open the instruction booklet and read, "Copyrighted content from Netflix, Hulu, and other similar streaming services cannot be wirelessly mirrored or cast due to copyright restrictions."Since you can only screen-mirror content from another device -- and apps like Disney+ or Apple TV won't play because it is illegal --your viewing options become severely limited. I was only able to tune into YouTube to sample videos with a 16:9 layout. Otherwise, I could watch things like TikTok or Instagram in a vertical format, meaning the Zip indeed produced a larger 2D version of my phone on the wall. To access more content, Aurzen claims you can purchase a USB-C-to-HDMI video adapter and an HDMI dongle that streams material through your phone. These supplements could set you back another to and I'm honestly not sure that this will circumvent the copyright issue.I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I had trouble connecting the Zip to my phone. When trying to screen-mirror using AirPlay, my iPhone 16 could detect its presence, but I would repeatedly get the message, "Unable to connect to ZIP-287544D4." Thinking my phone's Defender Otterbox might be jamming the transmission, I borrowed an iPhone 16 Plusand, sadly, got the same result. At just over half a pound, the Zip is one of the smallest, most portable projectors on the market. Adam Breeden/ZDNETBesides the deluxe carrying case, the only accessory that comes with the Zip is a 3.5-foot USB-C cord. Out of desperation, I used it to connect the Zip to my laptop so I could finally play some videos. Yet, in another attempt to screen mirror, I used that cable to hardwire the Zip to my phone. Not only did that not work, but the Zip projected a warning message that dumbfoundingly said: "Please insert the standard adapter." This is the cable it came with!Then I noticed the solid green light on the Zip, indicating that it was fast-charging. It was fast-charging by leaching off my phone's battery to juice itself up, like a cute little robotic parasite. If you want to fast-charge a Zip the right way, you'll need to supply your own USB-C wall adapter.Also: Tariff-proof tech? Back Market's refurbished devices keep prices downThe Zip's max battery life is only about one and a half hours, and that is with the brightness booster turned off. This is certainly problematic if you plan to watch a football game or most feature films. After unboxing, I charged it overnight and was surprised to see how quickly the battery light indicators diminished once I got it up and running.You can always get a power bank, but then you have another device and another cable to deal with. And as I mentioned before, the Zip only has one USB-C port. Assuming you can get the Zip to screen mirror with your phone wirelessly, you'll be able to change it and watch content at the same time.ZDNET's buying adviceThis is my first encounter with Aurzen Zip, and I like what the company is trying to achieve with this projector. Holding it in my hand, the Zip's heft makes it feel solid and durable, while the sleek elegance of its metallic outer package betrays a premium device. I really love the way it looks and feels.The ideal scenario for using the Zip would be in a very dark, quiet space with only one or two people watching. For professional purposes like showing a PowerPoint in a boardroom, it might do in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it. The boardroom would have to be pitch black, and you'd need an external Bluetooth speaker. Also: Your TV's USB port is seriously underutilized: 5 features you're not using enoughAnd if you want more power or morestreaming capabilities, you'll need peripheral devices like a power bank and a dongle, not to mention a heartier sound system. This formula would detract from the true portability of the Zip in that now you're carting around three or four things instead of one.As future iterations and copycat designs emerge, the price of the Zip will go down, so I'd consider waiting it out. Incidentally, it is available on Amazon now for 15% off, and also on the Aurzen website for an equivalent discount if you use code ZIP15 at checkout.With loads of potential, I believe the Zip represents a promising example of what future mini projectors will look like, except they'll be smarter, brighter, and commensurate with their price tag.Featured reviews
    #should #you #buy #viral #trifold
    Should you buy the viral $350 tri-fold projector? My buying advice after a week of testing
    ZDNET's key takeaways The Aurzen Zip is currently available for on Amazon. Its design and construction give it a premium feel, and the ability to project at various angles. Connection issues and limitations on what you can view with it are areas of improvement. When Aurzen sent me its new Zip Tri-fold Projector, it arrived in a dense, well-designed 5" x 6.5" x 1.75" box. I said aloud to no one, "Wow, this is the smallest projector I've ever seen." But when I opened the box, I was blown away by its actual size -- because it literally fits in the palm of my hand. "OK then," I asked myself, "Is this the world's first true pocket projector?"Also: I replaced my TV with a 4K UST projector - and the visual upgrade was worth itAs it turns out, it isn't. Kodak makes a smaller one for almost half the price of the Zip. But comparing the quality of that model with the Zip will have to wait for a future review.  details View Initial impressions and setupThe Zip is 3" x 3" x 1" and weighs less than 10 ounces. Shapewise, it reminds me of a small-bite artisanal hamburger, although much heavier. I can literally fit it easily inside the pocket of my jeans.I already mentioned the delightfully smart packaging, which includes two stylish, magnetic box top flaps for storing the Aurzen Zip, should you need to. You don't need to keep the original housing box, though, because the Zip also comes with a zippable clamshell carrying case that is about the size of a regular sandwich. Also: The best outdoor projectors: Expert tested and reviewedThe carrying case measures only 5.75" x 5" x 1.5", has a plush, velvety interior, and is equipped with a carabiner -- you know, in case you want to clip a mini-projector to your backpack on a 20-mile hiking trip. The Aurzen Zip projector in its carrying case. Adam Breeden/ZDNETOut of the box, the waxpaper sleeve surrounding the unit warns not to "fully flatten the ZIP, as exceeding these angles or forcing it into a flat position may result in irreversible damage." This becomes evident as you tug on the top component to unfold the projector. It's also evident how strong the high-quality hinges are, which jibes with the projector's overall sturdiness.The Zip comes in two colorways: Goldand Grey. A row of five pinhole white lights indicates the charge status, and a solid green light indicates fast charging. The onboard controls are minimal, having only five illuminated touch buttons that you'll rarely use after initially checking the settings on its extremely condensed home menu.Its only USB-C port supports 24W power delivery, and its 5,000mAh battery capacity is about the same as most high-end smartphones. The problem is that this battery is running moving parts, generating 100 ANSI lumens, and projecting a large image, unlike any smartphone. Well, most smartphones.Also: This Android phone that doubles as a projector will make any tech enthusiast smileAs light as it is, the bottom of the unit is coated with a silicon-based texture that gives the base enough grip to prevent it from scooting across high-varnish furniture -- another thoughtful touch that adds to the Zip's premium appeal.By the way, the Aurzen "Zip" is named for its Z-shaped, tri-fold design, but is also meant to evoke a ZIP file, which can be compressed and decompressed. Smart.How does it perform?The Zip is a short-throw projector. At two feet from a screen, it can project a 25-inch image, and at 6.33 feet, it can project an 80-inch image.The Zip only supports vertical keystone correction, but the keystone adjustment is automatic -- and impressively so. As soon as I pointed it at a wall, the trapezoidal projection straightened itself out symmetrically.While this 1280 x 720p projector will never display crisp, highly detailed images, its autofocus feature went to work instantaneously. Whatever surface I targeted, the on-screen text was legible even when protracting its image by moving back as far as seven feet. Also: Finally, a portable 4K projector worthy of replacing my TV - and it gets plenty brightThe Zip also won't deliver high contrast, true blacks, or any of those lofty measures of image quality we look for in LED TVs -- that's asking too much of any projector. But I have to say, the colors were rich enough, and overall, the videos I played looked pretty good.In a dark room, the Zip's brightness level was plenty adequate. A small amount of ambient light creeping into the room, however, will wash out the screen. The only switch on the unit is for a brightness booster, which, when turned on, ostensibly makes the image maybe 10% brighter. So I wondered why bother with this option? Why not always make the image as bright as possible? Yet, the booster does make a noticeable difference in a very dark area. Adam Breeden/ZDNETThe brightness booster is an option because it saps the Zip's battery. In fact, the feature is available only when the projector is at a certain battery level. Turning the brightness boost switch on affected power use so significantly that I could hear the poor unit straining. Normally, the little fan inside the Zip emits a subtle white noise, a consistent low-decibel fuzz that could lull you to sleep. With the brightness booster turned on, those decibels triple as the cooling fan accelerates like a tiny jet engine. Turning it off to the dimmer setting, you can hear the engine decelerate and wind down to a glide. I should say that the "engine noise" isn't a problem when videos are playing at any level of volume.Also: One of my favorite smart home accessories turns any room into an aurora showTaking advantage of its folding design, I wanted to see how the Zip would work if I aimed it at the ceiling above my bed. I put it on the nightstand, but this offset the 16:9 projection to the right, placing it above my nightstand, not me. So I set the unit on my chest and watched its image on my popcorn-textured ceiling swell and unswell from my breathing and shake slightly with each heartbeat.I realize this does not paint the picture of an ideal viewing scenario. But, if you have spinal or shoulder injuries that require you to fall asleep on your back with no craning of your neck, and if another "requirement" is that you must be watching TV to fall asleep, then the Aurzen Zip is the only projector I've found that makes that possible. And from five feet away, the image on my ceiling looked just fine for sleepy nighttime viewing.The Zip's middle component houses two 1-watt speakers on opposite sides. They're as powerful as you'd expect for the size; not too much. But what can we expect from such a diminutive device? The volume is certainly adequate for one or two people positioned a few feet away from it, perhaps in a bedroom or inside a tent. Areas of improvementI didn't mean to bury the lede here, but a major shortcoming of the Zip is that it has no built-in operating system. Thereby, it has no streaming capability and zero apps. It operates solely through the command of your phone, tablet, or laptop. I was surprised to open the instruction booklet and read, "Copyrighted content from Netflix, Hulu, and other similar streaming services cannot be wirelessly mirrored or cast due to copyright restrictions."Since you can only screen-mirror content from another device -- and apps like Disney+ or Apple TV won't play because it is illegal --your viewing options become severely limited. I was only able to tune into YouTube to sample videos with a 16:9 layout. Otherwise, I could watch things like TikTok or Instagram in a vertical format, meaning the Zip indeed produced a larger 2D version of my phone on the wall. To access more content, Aurzen claims you can purchase a USB-C-to-HDMI video adapter and an HDMI dongle that streams material through your phone. These supplements could set you back another to and I'm honestly not sure that this will circumvent the copyright issue.I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I had trouble connecting the Zip to my phone. When trying to screen-mirror using AirPlay, my iPhone 16 could detect its presence, but I would repeatedly get the message, "Unable to connect to ZIP-287544D4." Thinking my phone's Defender Otterbox might be jamming the transmission, I borrowed an iPhone 16 Plusand, sadly, got the same result. At just over half a pound, the Zip is one of the smallest, most portable projectors on the market. Adam Breeden/ZDNETBesides the deluxe carrying case, the only accessory that comes with the Zip is a 3.5-foot USB-C cord. Out of desperation, I used it to connect the Zip to my laptop so I could finally play some videos. Yet, in another attempt to screen mirror, I used that cable to hardwire the Zip to my phone. Not only did that not work, but the Zip projected a warning message that dumbfoundingly said: "Please insert the standard adapter." This is the cable it came with!Then I noticed the solid green light on the Zip, indicating that it was fast-charging. It was fast-charging by leaching off my phone's battery to juice itself up, like a cute little robotic parasite. If you want to fast-charge a Zip the right way, you'll need to supply your own USB-C wall adapter.Also: Tariff-proof tech? Back Market's refurbished devices keep prices downThe Zip's max battery life is only about one and a half hours, and that is with the brightness booster turned off. This is certainly problematic if you plan to watch a football game or most feature films. After unboxing, I charged it overnight and was surprised to see how quickly the battery light indicators diminished once I got it up and running.You can always get a power bank, but then you have another device and another cable to deal with. And as I mentioned before, the Zip only has one USB-C port. Assuming you can get the Zip to screen mirror with your phone wirelessly, you'll be able to change it and watch content at the same time.ZDNET's buying adviceThis is my first encounter with Aurzen Zip, and I like what the company is trying to achieve with this projector. Holding it in my hand, the Zip's heft makes it feel solid and durable, while the sleek elegance of its metallic outer package betrays a premium device. I really love the way it looks and feels.The ideal scenario for using the Zip would be in a very dark, quiet space with only one or two people watching. For professional purposes like showing a PowerPoint in a boardroom, it might do in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it. The boardroom would have to be pitch black, and you'd need an external Bluetooth speaker. Also: Your TV's USB port is seriously underutilized: 5 features you're not using enoughAnd if you want more power or morestreaming capabilities, you'll need peripheral devices like a power bank and a dongle, not to mention a heartier sound system. This formula would detract from the true portability of the Zip in that now you're carting around three or four things instead of one.As future iterations and copycat designs emerge, the price of the Zip will go down, so I'd consider waiting it out. Incidentally, it is available on Amazon now for 15% off, and also on the Aurzen website for an equivalent discount if you use code ZIP15 at checkout.With loads of potential, I believe the Zip represents a promising example of what future mini projectors will look like, except they'll be smarter, brighter, and commensurate with their price tag.Featured reviews #should #you #buy #viral #trifold
    WWW.ZDNET.COM
    Should you buy the viral $350 tri-fold projector? My buying advice after a week of testing
    ZDNET's key takeaways The Aurzen Zip is currently available for $339 on Amazon. Its design and construction give it a premium feel, and the ability to project at various angles. Connection issues and limitations on what you can view with it are areas of improvement. $339.99 at Amazon When Aurzen sent me its new Zip Tri-fold Projector, it arrived in a dense, well-designed 5" x 6.5" x 1.75" box. I said aloud to no one, "Wow, this is the smallest projector I've ever seen." But when I opened the box, I was blown away by its actual size -- because it literally fits in the palm of my hand. "OK then," I asked myself, "Is this the world's first true pocket projector?"Also: I replaced my TV with a 4K UST projector - and the visual upgrade was worth itAs it turns out, it isn't. Kodak makes a smaller one for almost half the price of the Zip. But comparing the quality of that model with the Zip will have to wait for a future review.  details View at Amazon Initial impressions and setupThe Zip is 3" x 3" x 1" and weighs less than 10 ounces. Shapewise, it reminds me of a small-bite artisanal hamburger, although much heavier (and less tasty). I can literally fit it easily inside the pocket of my jeans.I already mentioned the delightfully smart packaging, which includes two stylish, magnetic box top flaps for storing the Aurzen Zip, should you need to. You don't need to keep the original housing box, though, because the Zip also comes with a zippable clamshell carrying case that is about the size of a regular sandwich. Also: The best outdoor projectors: Expert tested and reviewedThe carrying case measures only 5.75" x 5" x 1.5", has a plush, velvety interior, and is equipped with a carabiner -- you know, in case you want to clip a mini-projector to your backpack on a 20-mile hiking trip. The Aurzen Zip projector in its carrying case. Adam Breeden/ZDNETOut of the box, the waxpaper sleeve surrounding the unit warns not to "fully flatten the ZIP, as exceeding these angles or forcing it into a flat position may result in irreversible damage." This becomes evident as you tug on the top component to unfold the projector. It's also evident how strong the high-quality hinges are, which jibes with the projector's overall sturdiness.The Zip comes in two colorways: Gold (which actually looks more titanium) and Grey (which I'd call more like Carbon). A row of five pinhole white lights indicates the charge status, and a solid green light indicates fast charging. The onboard controls are minimal, having only five illuminated touch buttons that you'll rarely use after initially checking the settings on its extremely condensed home menu.Its only USB-C port supports 24W power delivery, and its 5,000mAh battery capacity is about the same as most high-end smartphones. The problem is that this battery is running moving parts (internal fans), generating 100 ANSI lumens (and thereby a good deal of heat), and projecting a large image, unlike any smartphone. Well, most smartphones.Also: This Android phone that doubles as a projector will make any tech enthusiast smileAs light as it is (0.62 pounds), the bottom of the unit is coated with a silicon-based texture that gives the base enough grip to prevent it from scooting across high-varnish furniture -- another thoughtful touch that adds to the Zip's premium appeal.By the way, the Aurzen "Zip" is named for its Z-shaped, tri-fold design, but is also meant to evoke a ZIP file, which can be compressed and decompressed. Smart.How does it perform?The Zip is a short-throw projector. At two feet from a screen, it can project a 25-inch image, and at 6.33 feet, it can project an 80-inch image.The Zip only supports vertical keystone correction, but the keystone adjustment is automatic -- and impressively so. As soon as I pointed it at a wall, the trapezoidal projection straightened itself out symmetrically.While this 1280 x 720p projector will never display crisp, highly detailed images, its autofocus feature went to work instantaneously. Whatever surface I targeted, the on-screen text was legible even when protracting its image by moving back as far as seven feet. Also: Finally, a portable 4K projector worthy of replacing my TV - and it gets plenty brightThe Zip also won't deliver high contrast, true blacks, or any of those lofty measures of image quality we look for in LED TVs -- that's asking too much of any projector. But I have to say, the colors were rich enough, and overall, the videos I played looked pretty good.In a dark room, the Zip's brightness level was plenty adequate. A small amount of ambient light creeping into the room, however, will wash out the screen. The only switch on the unit is for a brightness booster, which, when turned on, ostensibly makes the image maybe 10% brighter. So I wondered why bother with this option? Why not always make the image as bright as possible? Yet, the booster does make a noticeable difference in a very dark area. Adam Breeden/ZDNETThe brightness booster is an option because it saps the Zip's battery. In fact, the feature is available only when the projector is at a certain battery level (above 50%). Turning the brightness boost switch on affected power use so significantly that I could hear the poor unit straining. Normally, the little fan inside the Zip emits a subtle white noise, a consistent low-decibel fuzz that could lull you to sleep. With the brightness booster turned on, those decibels triple as the cooling fan accelerates like a tiny jet engine. Turning it off to the dimmer setting, you can hear the engine decelerate and wind down to a glide. I should say that the "engine noise" isn't a problem when videos are playing at any level of volume.Also: One of my favorite smart home accessories turns any room into an aurora showTaking advantage of its folding design, I wanted to see how the Zip would work if I aimed it at the ceiling above my bed. I put it on the nightstand, but this offset the 16:9 projection to the right, placing it above my nightstand, not me. So I set the unit on my chest and watched its image on my popcorn-textured ceiling swell and unswell from my breathing and shake slightly with each heartbeat.I realize this does not paint the picture of an ideal viewing scenario. But, if you have spinal or shoulder injuries that require you to fall asleep on your back with no craning of your neck, and if another "requirement" is that you must be watching TV to fall asleep, then the Aurzen Zip is the only projector I've found that makes that possible. And from five feet away, the image on my ceiling looked just fine for sleepy nighttime viewing.The Zip's middle component houses two 1-watt speakers on opposite sides. They're as powerful as you'd expect for the size; not too much. But what can we expect from such a diminutive device? The volume is certainly adequate for one or two people positioned a few feet away from it, perhaps in a bedroom or inside a tent. Areas of improvementI didn't mean to bury the lede here, but a major shortcoming of the Zip is that it has no built-in operating system. Thereby, it has no streaming capability and zero apps. It operates solely through the command of your phone, tablet, or laptop. I was surprised to open the instruction booklet and read, "Copyrighted content from Netflix, Hulu, and other similar streaming services cannot be wirelessly mirrored or cast due to copyright restrictions."Since you can only screen-mirror content from another device -- and apps like Disney+ or Apple TV won't play because it is illegal --your viewing options become severely limited. I was only able to tune into YouTube to sample videos with a 16:9 layout. Otherwise, I could watch things like TikTok or Instagram in a vertical format, meaning the Zip indeed produced a larger 2D version of my phone on the wall. To access more content, Aurzen claims you can purchase a USB-C-to-HDMI video adapter and an HDMI dongle that streams material through your phone. These supplements could set you back another $50 to $100, and I'm honestly not sure that this will circumvent the copyright issue.I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I had trouble connecting the Zip to my phone. When trying to screen-mirror using AirPlay, my iPhone 16 could detect its presence, but I would repeatedly get the message, "Unable to connect to ZIP-287544D4." Thinking my phone's Defender Otterbox might be jamming the transmission, I borrowed an iPhone 16 Plus (wearing no protective case) and, sadly, got the same result. At just over half a pound, the Zip is one of the smallest, most portable projectors on the market. Adam Breeden/ZDNETBesides the deluxe carrying case, the only accessory that comes with the Zip is a 3.5-foot USB-C cord. Out of desperation, I used it to connect the Zip to my laptop so I could finally play some videos. Yet, in another attempt to screen mirror, I used that cable to hardwire the Zip to my phone. Not only did that not work, but the Zip projected a warning message that dumbfoundingly said: "(!) Please insert the standard adapter." This is the cable it came with!Then I noticed the solid green light on the Zip, indicating that it was fast-charging. It was fast-charging by leaching off my phone's battery to juice itself up, like a cute little robotic parasite. If you want to fast-charge a Zip the right way, you'll need to supply your own USB-C wall adapter.Also: Tariff-proof tech? Back Market's refurbished devices keep prices downThe Zip's max battery life is only about one and a half hours, and that is with the brightness booster turned off. This is certainly problematic if you plan to watch a football game or most feature films. After unboxing, I charged it overnight and was surprised to see how quickly the battery light indicators diminished once I got it up and running.You can always get a power bank, but then you have another device and another cable to deal with. And as I mentioned before, the Zip only has one USB-C port. Assuming you can get the Zip to screen mirror with your phone wirelessly, you'll be able to change it and watch content at the same time.ZDNET's buying adviceThis is my first encounter with Aurzen Zip, and I like what the company is trying to achieve with this projector. Holding it in my hand, the Zip's heft makes it feel solid and durable, while the sleek elegance of its metallic outer package betrays a premium device. I really love the way it looks and feels.The ideal scenario for using the Zip would be in a very dark, quiet space with only one or two people watching. For professional purposes like showing a PowerPoint in a boardroom, it might do in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it. The boardroom would have to be pitch black, and you'd need an external Bluetooth speaker. Also: Your TV's USB port is seriously underutilized: 5 features you're not using enoughAnd if you want more power or more (make that ANY) streaming capabilities, you'll need peripheral devices like a power bank and a dongle, not to mention a heartier sound system. This formula would detract from the true portability of the Zip in that now you're carting around three or four things instead of one.As future iterations and copycat designs emerge, the price of the Zip will go down, so I'd consider waiting it out. Incidentally, it is available on Amazon now for 15% off (at $339), and also on the Aurzen website for an equivalent discount if you use code ZIP15 at checkout.With loads of potential, I believe the Zip represents a promising example of what future mini projectors will look like, except they'll be smarter, brighter, and commensurate with their price tag.Featured reviews
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