Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have uncovered evidence that the environments in which World Trade Center responders live today may be quietly shaping their risk of frailty, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. The study, published in Nature Communications, is the first to examine how neighborhood-level environmental exposures later in life may interact with the chemical and psychological injuries sustained during the disaster response, adding a new dimension to one of the most intensively studied disaster health cohorts in the world.

The research team analyzed data from 18,734 responders who both live in New York City and receive care through one of the World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Centers of Excellence. These responders represent a population that experienced an extraordinary confluence of toxic exposures—dust, combustion products, airborne particulates, and a cocktail of known and suspected carcinogens—alongside severe psychological trauma. While decades of prior research have documented elevated rates of respiratory disease, cancer, and mental illness in this group, far less attention had been paid to whether the everyday conditions of their neighborhoods might compound or buffer those effects as responders age.

To answer that question, the researchers linked each responder’s residential address to annual estimates of three environmental factors: air pollution, high ambient temperatures, and neighborhood greenness, the last typically quantified through satellite-derived vegetation indices. This exposure-assessment approach, common in the field of environmental epidemiology, allowed the team to characterize the conditions each participant encountered where they lived year after year, rather than relying on broad regional averages. The researchers then examined whether those exposures were associated with the probability of being classified as frail, and with diagnosed PTSD and depression.

The results were striking in their consistency. Responders living in hotter neighborhoods—areas that experience more extreme heat days, a burden that falls disproportionately on densely built urban districts with impervious surfaces and little tree canopy—showed an elevated risk of frailty, a geriatric syndrome marked by diminished physiological reserve and heightened vulnerability to stressors. Elevated concentrations of air pollution were likewise associated with increased risks of both frailty and adverse mental health outcomes. Frailty itself is increasingly understood as a whole-body phenomenon, involving chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and cumulative cellular wear, all of which are plausible biological pathways through which heat and pollution could accelerate aging.

The mental health findings carried equal weight. Higher pollution and heat exposure were associated with increased odds of PTSD and depression, while responders living in greener surroundings—those with more parks, trees, and vegetated land near their homes—showed lower risks of all three conditions. This inverse association with greenness aligns with a substantial body of literature suggesting that access to green space can reduce psychological stress, encourage physical activity, dampen inflammation, and moderate urban heat, though the observational design of the study means that causation cannot be definitively established.

Perhaps the most provocative finding concerned interaction effects. The researchers found that responders who had experienced higher levels of World Trade Center–related chemical and psychological exposure appeared more vulnerable to the effects of environmental stressors in their current neighborhoods. In other words, the disaster and the decades that followed may not be independent chapters in these individuals’ health histories. Instead, responders already carrying the biological imprint of trauma and toxic dust—including altered inflammatory profiles, epigenetic changes, and persistent hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation—may enter later life with less reserve to absorb additional environmental insults. Everyday exposures that might be merely uncomfortable for a healthy middle-aged adult could, for these individuals, translate into measurable acceleration of physical decline and psychological deterioration.

“Twenty-five years after 9/11, we are still learning about the factors that influence the health of those who responded to the attacks,” said Helena Furman Krasnov, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine and the study’s first author. “Our findings suggest that everyday exposures, including heat, air pollution, and access to green space, may contribute to responders’ long-term physical and psychological well-being. Understanding these factors could help identify new opportunities to support healthy aging in this population.”

The study’s senior and corresponding author, Maayan Yitshak-Sade, MPH, PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental Medicine at Mount Sinai and a member of the Institute for Exposomic Research, framed the work within the broader exposome paradigm—the effort to capture the totality of environmental exposures an individual accumulates over a lifetime. “Our findings suggest that the health consequences of 9/11 may not end with the disaster itself,” she said. “For responders already carrying the biological effects of trauma and toxic exposures, everyday environmental conditions may represent an additional source of stress on the body and mind. These findings highlight the importance of considering where people live, not just what they experienced during the disaster.”

That framing underscores a conceptual shift in disaster medicine. Traditional models tend to treat a catastrophic event as a discrete exposure with a defined aftermath. The Mount Sinai findings instead suggest that disaster-related health effects may unfold across an entire life course, modified by conditions that have no obvious connection to the original event. A responder’s risk of frailty in 2026 may reflect not only the hours spent at Ground Zero, but also the temperature of the summers they have endured since, the particulate matter drifting through their streets, and whether a leafy park sits within walking distance of their apartment.

The study arrives at a moment when urban environmental health has become a pressing policy concern. Extreme heat now kills more Americans annually than any other weather phenomenon, and cities including New York have launched ambitious initiatives to expand tree canopy, create cool corridors, and retrofit public housing with resilient cooling infrastructure. Air pollution, even at levels within regulatory limits, continues to be linked to cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurocognitive harm. If the associations identified in this cohort hold up under further scrutiny, they could strengthen the case for targeted environmental interventions—not as amenities, but as clinical supports for a vulnerable population.

The implications also extend well beyond the World Trade Center community. The researchers point out that survivors and responders from other disasters—wildfires that blanket entire regions in smoke and ash, industrial accidents that release toxic plumes, building collapses that bury rescue workers in dust—may face the same dual burden of physical and psychological exposures that continues to shape health long after the initial event. Climate change is intensifying heat waves and wildfire seasons simultaneously, meaning that disaster-affected populations may increasingly find themselves living in precisely the kinds of hostile urban microclimates the study identifies as risky. The framework developed here could inform how health surveillance programs for disaster cohorts are designed, prompting them to collect residential and environmental data alongside clinical outcomes.

The authors are careful to note the study’s observational nature. Associations between neighborhood environment and health can be confounded by socioeconomic status, housing quality, access to care, and the self-selection of healthier individuals into greener, quieter neighborhoods. The investigators controlled for available covariates, and the sheer size of the cohort lends statistical power, but randomized evidence on green space exposure is practically impossible to generate, and residual confounding remains an inherent limitation of the design. Longitudinal follow-up, and ideally natural-experiment analyses—such as the addition of new parks or major infrastructure changes—will be needed to firm up causal inference.

That work is already on the horizon. The team plans to investigate whether beneficial environmental factors, including green space and access to healthy food, can actively reduce the long-term health effects associated with World Trade Center–related exposures—a question that shifts the framing from risk identification to potential intervention. If confirmatory studies support the protective role of greenness, the findings could justify clinical guidance for responders, and potentially for other disaster-exposed populations, that goes beyond medication and monitoring to encompass the places where patients live.

For a population that has already given so much and borne so much, the idea that healing might partly depend on the landscape outside the front door is both sobering and hopeful. It suggests that some of the damage inflicted on September 11, 2001 may not be fixed, but modifiable—and that the next chapter of care for responders could be written not only in clinics, but in city planning offices, park commissions, and the slow, patient work of greening the neighborhoods where aging heroes live out their lives.

It's already too late for Michael Gove to prevent the "rewilding" of Britain's schools, says Joanna Gray. This Left-wing fantasy of dumbed-down education is already firmly entrenched and working its anti-magic.

The post Sorry Gove, Education Has Already Been Rewilded appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Friday, September 11Already high in the north after sunset, the planetary nebula NGC 6543 in Draco is famously called the Cat’s Eye Nebula. It’s best seen with a large telescope, but even a small scope will pick it up and show it off in tonight’s moonless sky.  Two hours after sunset, you’ll find the Cat’sContinue reading "The Sky This Week from September 11 to 18: Catch the zodiacal light"

The post The Sky This Week from September 11 to 18: Catch the zodiacal light appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Apple recently launched its first foldable phone, and the high price is raising eyebrows. At $1,999, the new iPhone Duo carries a price tag that easily beats out a brand-new MacBook Air. Buyers are naturally asking how a phone that fits in a pocket can cost twice as much as a laptop. The answer comes […]

The post Why Apple’s New iPhone Duo Costs More Than A Base MacBook Air appeared first on The Mac Observer.

Apple UK sells iPhone 18 Pro from £1,199 and iPhone 18 Pro Max from £1,299, pre-orders open at 1:00 pm BST on Saturday 12 September, and the phones go on sale on Friday 18 September. In the UK that headline figure is the whole price, with no carrier attached to it. That is the real […]

The post Buying iPhone 18 Pro in the UK: £1,199 Is the Whole Price, and £455 Is Apple’s Only Trade-In Number appeared first on The Mac Observer.

Apple has published one trade-in figure for the iPhone 18 Pro launch in the UK: customers trading in an iPhone 16 Pro or later can get £455 in credit instantly. That is the whole of it. There is no per-model UK table on any Apple page, and Apple’s own UK trade-in page shows no values […]

The post iPhone 18 Pro UK Trade-In: The One Number Apple Publishes appeared first on The Mac Observer.

There is no carrier-by-carrier comparison to make for the iPhone 18 Pro in the UK yet, because the terms do not exist in published form. No EE, Vodafone, O2 or Three offer appears on any Apple page, and every carrier credit figure Apple does publish is attached to an American network. What is published for […]

The post iPhone 18 Pro Deals on EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three: What Has Actually Been Published appeared first on The Mac Observer.

Nordic Spirit has partnered with Co-op Live, one of the UK’s major entertainment venues, in a move that puts a nicotine pouch presence in the UK inside a high-profile live entertainment environment.

The partnership is particularly notable because the UK’s rules governing the advertising and sponsorship of nicotine products are about to change significantly. The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 introduces a much broader framework covering the promotion and sponsorship of vaping and nicotine products, with the government intending the new advertising and sponsorship restrictions to take effect on June 1, 2027.

That makes the timing of the Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live deal more interesting than a conventional venue partnership. It arrives during a period when nicotine brands are still able to operate within the existing rules, while preparing for a substantially more restrictive marketing environment.

What Is the Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live Partnership?

Nordic Spirit, a nicotine pouch brand, has entered into a partnership with Co-op Live that gives the brand a presence at the Manchester entertainment venue.

Rather than being simply a retail arrangement, the partnership places Nordic Spirit within an entertainment setting where brand visibility and audience engagement are important parts of the commercial relationship.

For Nordic Spirit, the deal provides another way to establish brand awareness among adult nicotine consumers . For Co-op Live, the agreement represents a commercial partnership with a nicotine brand during a period of significant regulatory change across the UK nicotine market.

The timing is therefore an important part of the story.

Why the Timing Matters

The UK nicotine market is approaching a major change in how products can be promoted.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 extends advertising and sponsorship restrictions to nicotine products as well as vaping products. The government’s Department of Health and Social Care says it intends the comprehensive advertising and sponsorship ban to begin on June 1, 2027.

The legislation goes beyond traditional advertising. Section 131 covers sponsorship agreements involving vaping products and nicotine products where contributions are made under an agreement and activities resulting from that agreement promote those products in the UK.

This is important because sponsorship is different from placing a conventional advertisement in a newspaper or on a website.

A sponsorship arrangement can connect a brand with a venue, event, sports organisation or other public-facing activity. Under the new framework, those relationships can therefore become subject to much greater scrutiny when they promote a nicotine product.

What Changes Under the Tobacco and Vapes Act?

The new law represents a substantial expansion of the UK’s approach to nicotine marketing.

The government says the future restrictions will cover advertising, promotion and sponsorship involving vaping and nicotine products. They are intended to apply across the UK.

The legislation also makes clear that sponsorship restrictions can apply when a sponsorship agreement results in activities intended to promote a vaping or nicotine product.

That distinction matters for businesses because the question is not simply whether a company has purchased a conventional advertisement.

The wider issue is whether a commercial arrangement results in promotional activity for a product that falls within the scope of the legislation.

Does the New Law Automatically Make the Co-op Live Deal Illegal?

Not necessarily.

This is an important distinction that should not be overlooked.

The government has stated that it intends the comprehensive advertising and sponsorship restrictions to come into force from June 1, 2027. However, the explanatory notes to the legislation state that the commencement of Section 131 is to be specified by regulations.

That means it would be inaccurate to conclude simply that the existing Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live partnership is already prohibited.

Instead, the more useful question is how the arrangement will be treated as the new rules take effect and whether any existing contractual or promotional activity needs to change.

The final practical impact will depend on the commencement regulations, implementation details and guidance available to businesses.

Why Venue Partnerships Are Becoming More Important to Watch

The Nordic Spirit deal illustrates a broader issue in the nicotine industry.

For years, brands have used different forms of visibility to establish consumer awareness, including retail presence, digital communication, events and sponsorships.

The upcoming UK restrictions could significantly reduce the number of channels available for commercial promotion.

That makes existing partnerships particularly interesting.

A venue partnership can involve more than a logo on a wall. Depending on the agreement, it may include branded areas, promotional material, digital exposure, event-related activity or other forms of brand association.

Under a regulatory framework that specifically addresses sponsorship and promotion, businesses will need to assess those elements individually rather than treating the entire arrangement as a simple advertising purchase.

Nicotine Pouches Face a Different Regulatory Landscape

Nicotine pouches have also become increasingly visible in the UK nicotine market.

Unlike traditional tobacco products, nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco. However, the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 specifically brings nicotine products within the broader advertising and sponsorship framework. The government’s explanatory notes describe the new rules as extending advertising, promotion and sponsorship restrictions to nicotine products as well as vape aerosol products.

This is a significant development for pouch brands.

It means that the industry’s marketing environment cannot be assessed only by looking at traditional tobacco regulations. Companies selling nicotine pouches will also need to consider the new restrictions that apply specifically to nicotine products.

The government has also announced separate changes affecting the sale and promotion of vaping and nicotine products. From October 29, 2026, new age-of-sale and related restrictions will apply, including restrictions on free distribution intended to promote vaping or nicotine products.

What This Could Mean for Future Brand Partnerships

The Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live agreement may become a useful example of the transition taking place in the UK nicotine market.

For brands, the challenge will not simply be finding another advertising channel. Companies will need to reconsider how they build awareness when conventional promotional and sponsorship opportunities become more restricted.

For venues and commercial partners, the issue is equally important.

A partnership involving a nicotine company may require closer review of branding, promotional activity, event integration and contractual obligations. The regulatory question may extend beyond the presence of a brand name to what consumers actually see or experience as a result of the commercial relationship.

That could make compliance more complicated than simply removing an advertisement.

What Consumers Should Take From the Partnership

For adult consumers, the most relevant point is that the nicotine pouch market is entering a period of significant regulatory transition.

The Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live partnership itself is only one commercial arrangement. Its wider significance comes from the timing: it demonstrates how nicotine brands are continuing to explore mainstream commercial partnerships while the UK is preparing to impose broader restrictions on advertising and sponsorship.

The government says the future restrictions are designed to reduce the promotion of nicotine and vaping products, particularly in the context of protecting younger people from exposure to marketing.

As implementation approaches, businesses will need to understand not only what products they can sell, but also how those products can legally be promoted.

Final Thoughts

The Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live partnership is noteworthy because it sits directly within a changing UK nicotine marketing landscape.

The agreement does not, by itself, mean that the partnership is already prohibited. Instead, it highlights the transition from today’s rules toward a system in which advertising and sponsorship of nicotine products are expected to face much tighter restrictions.

The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 provides the legal framework for that change, while the government currently intends the wider advertising and sponsorship restrictions to take effect on June 1, 2027.

For nicotine brands, venues and other commercial partners, the key issue over the coming months will be understanding exactly how existing and future agreements fit within the new rules.

That makes the Nordic Spirit and Co-op Live partnership worth watching—not simply as a brand deal, but as an example of how the UK nicotine industry’s approach to marketing may change before the new restrictions take effect.

The post What the Nordic Spirit-Co-op Live Deal Means for UK Nicotine Sponsorship Rules appeared first on IGeeKphone China Phone, Tablet PC, VR, RC Drone News, Reviews.

A OpenAI anunciou recentemente uma série de novidades para o ChatGPT, incluindo uma atualização muito bem-vinda para usuários do ChatGPT Voice.

Agora, o assistente pode usar os modelos GPT-5.6 ou GPT-6 Astra quando precisa pesquisar ou raciocinar sobre questões mais difíceis — e o usuário pode escolher qual usar com um seletor.

Além disso, a empresa também simplificou os limites de uso diários do GPT-Live:

• Go: até 3 horas com o GPT-Live-1 mini, substituindo o acesso ao GPT-Live-1;
• Plus: até 3 horas com o GPT-Live-1;
• Pro (US$100/mês): até 15 horas com o GPT-Live-1;
• Pro (US$200/mês): uso ilimitado do GPT-Live-1;
• Plus e Pro: não mudam mais para o GPT-Live mini depois de atingir o limite de uso do Voice.

Com essas mudanças, os planos Plus e Pro não mudam mais para o GPT-Live-1 mini depois de atingir o limite de uso do Voice. Além disso, os níveis separados de inteligência do Voice (Instant, Medium e High) foram descontinuados.

Novidades para o ChatGPT Work e Codex

A OpenAI anunciou também que a Deep Research está agora disponível no ChatGPT Work e no Codex para os planos Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise e Edu. Basta ao usuário digitar @Deep Research ou pedir explicitamente para usá-la no comando.

Outra novidade chegando aos dois recursos é o plugin Data, que ajuda a analisar dados de negócios conectados. É possível fazer uma pergunta sobre um negócio, investigar mudanças ou até mesmo criar um dashboard interativo sobre o conteúdo analisado.

Biblioteca

Agora também é possível compartilhar arquivos e pastas no ChatGPT pela Biblioteca. É possível compartilhar com pessoas específicas ou com integrantes do workspace, com opções de gerenciamento de acesso e uma visualização dos conteúdos compartilhados.

Por fim, a Biblioteca também suporta agora o Box, o Dropbox e o SharePoint, que se juntam ao Google Drive para permitir que o usuário pesquise com facilidade por arquivos e pastas disponíveis nessas plataformas e os usem como contexto em conversas.

Source

Tesla’s Cybertruck Powershare feature can now back up your home at the same time as a Powerwall 3, the company announced Thursday. Run together, the truck and the battery add more than three days of backup power, which Tesla says is the equivalent of nine extra Powerwalls.

It’s a feature Tesla first promised for 2025, and it’s showing up nearly two years after Cybertruck deliveries began. But it finally closes one of Powershare’s most annoying gaps.

Confira a atualização do Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS com kernel Linux 7.0 e HWE para melhor desempenho e segurança.

O post Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS lança HWE atualizado com Linux 7.0 e melhorias apareceu primeiro em Blog do Edivaldo - Informações e Notícias sobre Linux.

O iPhone Duo foi apresentado ao mundo há apenas um dia, mas sua divulgação segue de vento em popa. Em uma série de vídeos publicados pela Apple em seu perfil no TikTok, a empresa destaca diversos aspectos do seu primeiro smartphone dobrável, além de também fazer algumas brincadeiras.

No vídeo abaixo, por exemplo, o iPhone Air e o iPad mini estão “sentados” em uma mesma mesa, com a legenda indicando que esse seria o “making of” do iPhone Duo — uma vez que, quando aberto, ele é ainda mais fino do que o Air e possui uma tela com quase o tamanho do display do iPad mini (7,6 contra 8,3 polegadas).

Em outro vídeo, a empresa mostra as diferentes formas de uso do iPhone Duo, que pode ficar semiaberto (inclusive funcionando como um suporte), associando essas possibilidades às poses de meditação.

Na mesma pegada do vídeo acima, a publicação abaixo mostra que é possível apoiar o iPhone Duo e rolar de forma mais agradável por um aplicativo — no caso deste vídeo, o app Fotos (Photos).

Já o vídeo abaixo mostra o contraste de um MacBook Pro e do iPhone Duo, que estão dispostos em uma mesma bancada e na mesma “posição” — de modo que, quando semiaberto, a parte inferior da tela do dobrável funciona como teclado, como no próprio MacBook (porém em um tamanho bastante reduzido, é claro).

Outro vídeo destaca as capacidades de multitarefa do iPhone Duo, que roda uma versão adaptada do iOS para aproveitar as possibilidades da tela dobrável. No vídeo, é possível ver o Apple Music rodando ao lado do app Fotos.

Até mesmo o som ao fechar o dispositivo virou alvo de marketing pela Apple — que, no vídeo abaixo, mostra um usuário tirando uma foto com o aparelho e, em seguida, fechando-o rapidamente, causando um eco no ambiente.

A Apple certamente divulgará mais vídeos ao longo das próximas horas e nos próximos dias — e nós continuaremos de olho!

Genuine death threats against politicians are no joke. But that doesn't mean every joke – such as threatening to turn someone into a sausage roll – should be taken as an actual death threat, says Steven Tucker.

The post Promising to Turn Someone Into a Sausage Roll is Not a Genuine ‘Death Threat’ appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.