Friday Night: : Chinchón, a mystery drink from a mystery novel (until now)

For easy reading we’ve always been fans of Spanish crime novels or el novela policíaca as they call them down Old Castile way. We normally let the detectives solve the mystery: we paid the money, let them do the work! Until that is, we came across an intriguing mystery of our own early in the pages of Ritos de Muerte by Alicia Giménez Bartlett. Whose protagonist Petra Delicado surprised us by knocking back something called Chinchón, not once but several times in the course of the novel. It being an utter unknown to us, we decided to employ our most assiduous Forensic skills in pursuit of further knowledge. And this is what we came up with.

Chinchón is a traditional anise liqueur from the town of Chinchón (Comunidad de Madrid), made by macerating anís verde (Pimpinella anisum) in alcohol and then distilling it. It comes in several strengths, from sweet and gentle to “knock‑your‑uncle‑over” levels of potency. The liqueur is produced exclusively in the eponymous town, where anise and vines have been cultivated since at least the 11th–12th centuries. There are four official varieties::

Dulce — 35–40% ABV, about 200 g of sugar per litre.

Seco — 40–50% ABV.

Extraseco — 50–55% ABV.

Seco Especial — a formidable 74% ABV.

If you like your drinks as a cultural marker, then this one tends to suggest Madrid. It’s an unfussy working drink. Something you’d find in bars where cops, civil servants, and old men argue about football. It’s usually served in a small anís glass and may be taken chilled or at room temperature. Ok, the novel is set in Barcelona: but it’s early days yet and so we await the Madrid Connection con antelación.

Good! Mystery solved. Now you can have a nice weekend.

Our background/showcase today comes from the Los Vinos website which seems to have content in both in English Spanish, making it good for language learners too!

Cocktails | Chichón A Digestive Par Excellence! Los Vinos

Ritos de Muerte Alicia Giménez Bartlett 1996 Ediciones Destino

#Petra Delicado #Chinchón #Castilian #Madrid‑#liqueur

Round Up: Arctic Melts, Testicular Transplants, Doubtful Drugs- and Car Parkinsons?

Here’s a few we saw but didn’t have time to cover:

Melt and melt again We are still worried about arctic ice and rising sea levels ,as The Conversation explores in some depth

https://theconversation.com/arctic-sea-ice-decline-seemed-to-be-slowing-until-two-record-breaking-low-ice-winters-287637?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=

Transplant restores sperm making There’s always some good news from Nature Briefing, often of the medical kind and if you like this you ought to find ways to subscribe to their newsletter

A man’s ability to make sperm has been restored after a transplant of tissue samples that were removed from one of his testicles and frozen 16 years earlier, when he was ten years old. The samples were taken shortly before he received chemotherapy treatments that put his fertility at risk. Whether the sperm collected from the transplanted tissue can successfully fertilize an egg, and produce a healthy baby, remains to be seen. But the achievement could mark the beginning of a new wave of fertility treatments, scientists say.

Nature | 5 min read
Reference: medRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed)

One in ten medicines could be fake or substandard speculates that excellent read, The Conversation People who get obsessive about cutting regulations would do well to read this first: here’s what happens

https://theconversation.com/one-in-ten-medicines-worldwide-could-be-fake-or-substandard-heres-how-to-protect-yourself-287395?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign

Car Parkinsons? Most of us knew about the toxic chemicals in traffic pollution But a surprising new study seems to have uncovered an intriguing link between traffic noise and Parkinson’s disease which causes such dreadful suffering to millions. Yet another reason to push for traffic calmed neighbourhoods, we wonder. Here’s the Guardian

Risk of Parkinson’s disease may increase with prolonged exposure to road traffic noise | Parkinson’s disease | The Guardian

Quote of the week

Oft expectation fails, and most oft there / Where most it promises.

All’s Well That Ends Well Act 1 Scene 2

#global warming #arctic ocean #testicular transplant #parkinsons disease #traffic pollution #medicine

Alternatives to a World Government#2: the deep, deep problem with a consumer society

All our breezy prescriptions for a World Government will fail miserably if they don’t address the same problem that the Governments of the Nations are grappling with. And one of the biggest is the widening gap between People and Rulers. Almost within days of arriving in office, the government of our poor namesake Sir Keir Starmer found itself plagued by a deep and inveterate hostility from the voters.

Those same voters demand endlessly lower taxes, then complain bitterly about potholes, weak defence and the lack of capacity in the prison system. They demand an end to red tape and regulation while simultaneously clamouring for restrictions on immigration, the sale of certain drugs, and the use of the internet by minors. Where has such demanding — and self‑contradictory — behaviour come from?

One possible source, we wondered (and at first this was mere speculation), is consumer society. For decades people have been born and raised in a milieu that specialises in gratifying their capricious wants: for sweet foods, for psychologically active substances, and for ever faster ways of travelling towards the next traffic jam. We do not blame companies like Amazon, Netflix or Deliveroo; they have simply perfected trends in a culture a century in the making.

So we asked: do people now demand the same instantly gratifying solutions from politicians that they expect from fast‑food companies?

Readers will be glad to know that help arrived from a much deeper thinker. We came across the work of a remarkable philosopher, Luke Yates, whose book was published in that far‑off year of 2022. Modern society, Luke argues, is based on consumption practices: convenience, speed and instant gratification. If this is how people come to perceive politics, then our outlook is dire indeed.

For, as those of us in the — er — more reflective- elements of the population have known for centuries, politics isn’t like that at all. Its word‑cloud comprises such elements as slow, procedural, available resources, nuance, evidence and above all: choose options. To expect any politician, world emperor or local councillor to wave a magic wand and solve all is to chase mare’s nests and even, dare we say it, bark at the Moon.

Which leads us to a third, depressing metaphor: dead ducks. For if Luke’s thesis is even halfway reasonable, our plan for a World Government will solve absolutely nothing at all.

Oh well. We tried.

Luke Yates (2022), How everyday life matters: everyday politics, everyday consumption and social change, Consumption and Society, 1(1): 144–169.

#world government #luke yates #consumer society #politics#economics #culture

Rogue AI cyberwars: when the twenty first century punches us right in the face

The news that the most advanced AI models went “rogue autonomous” and effectively compromised another AI system would be intriguing enough in itself. But the implications are much deeper, and there’s an actual cognitive lesson for us poor humans in there if you will — but bear with us.

The facts have been widely reported, but we have chosen Raphael Satter of good old Reuters as our showcase. OpenAI was testing frontier‑level models, including GPT‑5.6 Sol and an even more capable unreleased system. Protections were deliberately reduced to evaluate the limits of their cyber‑capabilities. During this testing, the model broke containment, found a way to obtain internet access, and then targeted Hugging Face, a major AI‑model hosting platform. It attempted to steal information in order to complete its evaluation task. Hugging Face later confirmed that the attack was “driven, end to end, by an autonomous AI agent system” and unlike anything they had seen before.

It reads like the report from a scared colonel in a mid‑level sci‑fi movie, doesn’t it? Except it’s real, right here, right now. These are things that matter. New things. Unprecedentedly powerful things of the twenty‑first century. And that is our real point.

Because we seem to be surrounded en masse by people whose mindsets are left over from preceding and quite different ages. No, we are not going to comment on the rights and wrongs of Mr Putin’s policy in Ukraine, not here and now anyway. But we cannot forget that shortly before the undertaking he issued a document called On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians. Its tone eerily echoed the old Teutonic geopoliticians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — thinkers like Friedrich Ratzel and Rudolf Kjellén — who imagined nations as organic beings with mystical trajectories shaped by soil, blood, and geography. The way important people thought about things in 1914. And then there are all those blood‑and‑soil, racial‑purity nationalists whose mindsets seem to echo certain politicians of the 1930s……….

To all of them we say: boys, your concerns are out of date. It’s not a question of rights and wrongs, whatever your grievances. Out there in laboratories in California and goodness‑knows‑where else, entities are now evolving that will make all your destinies as cold and forgotten as the ashes of a mummy in the museum. Time to think again; because the stars you currently sail by can never bring you to a safe port.

[1] OpenAI says AI models went rogue during testing, triggering ‘unprecedented’ breach at startup

Vladimir Putin “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” July 2021

#openAI # HuggingFace #autonomous AI # history #geopolitics #technology

Why antibiotic resistance will be very bad news for your Grandchildren

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Despite our occasional diversions into such recondite fields as History and Economics, this is still front and centre an Antibiotics resistance blog, gentle readers. Which is why when an article as good as the one we’re showcasing today called Antibiotic Resistant bacteria increasingly leaving children vulnerable to common infections, global study finds by the inestimable Melissa Davey of the Guardian, we drop all else in its favour.

And it’s packed with goodies, it touches so many bases: if you’re antibiotics fan get a load of this:

There’s a whopping great survey of 82 countries: 106, 581 samples, over 22 years, all controlled by some of Australia’s most prestigious learned bodies. If that isn’t great statistics then you can call us David Spiegelhalter [2]

Several of this blog’s sinister old favourites such as Acinetobacter baumanii, Klebsiella have their usual run out-don’t you love ‘em?

There’s a forward prediction to 2035 which ought to make anyone pause for reflection.

Despite the efforts of brilliant journalists like Melissa, learned scientists of all stripes and even dare we say our own humble efforts, antibiotic resistance is still the ignored elephant in the room of ~~medical science.~~ Sorry we meant human existence. Yep, we meant it.

Talking of which, the all too human failings of poor diagnosis and over prescription, agricultural misuse and poor public health are driving our collective squandering of this precious, once only ever, resource.

The less discussed economic aspects are touched on. Get this: there is sometimes a reluctance to run trials on children and developing treatments for them can be less lucrative for pharmaceutical companies There’s yer problem, guvnor.

The usual hero organisations such as the WHO get a mention, and rightly so given the Herculean task they face.

And a sad, sad story about a lad called Harry whose brief life will be utterly dependent on the rest of us finally doing something about this common peril

If we were to present a class of Freshpersons with a jumping off point which summarises just about every trope in the antibiotics story, then this article would be our choice. Well done Melissa, And keep ‘em coming.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/21/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-increasingly-leaving-children-vulnerable-to-common-infections-global-study-find

[2] David Spiegelhalter – Wikipedia

#antibiotic resistance #bacteria #microbiology #health #medicine #infection

Renewables: Six more reasons to be cheerful

We sometimes think we’re a bit on the gloomy side here at LSS, spelling out a bit too much of the problems and a bit too little about the hopeful solutions. Some people are trying, you know! So to redress the balance here are six(count ‘em folks! Six! ) innovative ways how all that renewable energy can be stored and harnessed, All brought to you by the redoubtable Jillian Ambrose of the Guardian, whose prose is so good we instantly refer you to her via this link [1]

Read it now: to learn about a UAE renewable energy scheme the size of 12 600 football pitches; the development of ultra small lithium ion batteries in Colorado in the USA; some thing called liquid air batteries in Manchester in the UK; molten salt batteries in Nevada USA (again!); sand batteries in Finland: and oddest of all, the development of special patches you wear on your skin so the sweat will produce renewable energy, from Japan. Where else?

And as you read, consider the chagrin of the oil industry and their various outriders in the media and politics. For no one knows better than they that the writing is truly on the wall. Afford yourself a brief smile, if you wish. Then go back to work.

[1] Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy | Renewable energy | The Guardian

#renewable energy #sustainability #global warming #batteries #clean energy

Friday Night: The Grenada Cocktail

We freely admit that our choice of cocktail this week was inspired by a visit as guests of a Gentleman to the bar of the excellent Ardington Hotel in the fashionable seaside resort of Worthing. Where the superlative barman offered us a rum cocktail worthy to match the sweltering tropical conditions. Sadly, we neglected to obtain the precise recipe and method. So the nearest we could get was this Grenada cocktail from the Hamlyn Ultimate Cocktail Book, which we hope will go some way to offer that authentic Caribbean Island ambience.

Put 4-5 ice cubes into a mixing glass. Add the juice of half a fresh orange, 1 measure of sweet vermouth and three measures of dark rum to a mixing glass. Stir, then pour to a true cocktail glass and decorate with some pieces of cinnamon stick if you wish.

And as you sip and slip into your sub-tropical experience, ask yourself this question: Is Global warming a form of political and economic oppression?

#grenada cocktail #worthing #ardington hotel #rum #climate change

Round up: Hairy Giant Spiders, Spanish Science, Persecuted Conservationists, MS and Viruses, and goodbye to twentieth century weather forever

Hairy Horror is fastest Spider Arachnophobes everywhere will relish this revelation that the giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda jugulans) is not only huge and hairy, it’s now won the crown for the fastest arachnid on the planet. Yet Australians seem utterly unphased by these monsters living among them: clearly they have far more courage than we do! Here’s the Guardian:

This huge, hairy-legged Australian arachnid may be the fastest spider in the world | Spiders | The Guardian

The Spanish agree with us Apply the scientific method and accept the results whether you like them or not is probably the neatest summary of what we’re about in this blog. So it’s nice to read those sentiments echoed in the Spanish speaking world via its foremost journal, El País:Menos mal que nos queda la ciencia, de momento | Sociedad | EL PAÍS

Let the cat researchers out of the bag The war in the Middle East is not between goodies and baddies but two lots of baddies, as this story from Nature Briefing makes abundantly clear:

Iran has re-arrested biologist Houman Jokar and conservationist Sepideh Kashani, two members of a wildlife-conservation charity whose arrests on allegations of espionage in 2018 prompted an outcry from the international community. They were pardoned in April, after spending six years in Evin Prison. Other members of the group who are dual citizens have already been released, but the charity’s co-founder, sociologist Kavous Seyed Emami, died in custody. Mongabay | 4 min read
Read more: Global science must stand up for Iran’s imprisoned scholars (Nature | 6 min read, from 2022)

Epstein Barr and MS: more links Researchers seem to be getting closer and closer to understanding the origins of Multiple Sclerosis, as this fascinating story, T cell overdrive links virus to MS, again from the inimitable Nature Briefing, relates Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) triggers a particularly strong immune response from a particular type of T cell, which hints at why the virus is implicated in the development of the autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers found that the activity of CD4⁺ T cells in response to EBV was twice as high in people with MS compared to people without the condition, but responsiveness decreased markedly when CD4⁺ cells were depleted. A treatment that depletes B cells, the immune cells that EBV infects, also reduced CD4⁺ response, because the cells had fewer stimuli to respond to. Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Science Translational Medicine paper

That lane is NOT going faster? Everyone has experienced one of those frustrating moments on the M25 when all the other lanes seem to be going faster in the traffic jam But sudden switches may not be a good idea as this article from the Conversation makes clear Incidentally overseas visitors who want to know what the English phrase traffic jam means should visit the M25. You’ll soon find out. https://theconversation.com/dont-change-lanes-the-maths-of-holiday-traffic-jams-287389?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Should%20you%20change%20lanes%20in%20a%20tra

The twentieth century has finally gone anyone still nostalgic for Oasis, The Beatles or Dada Art should finally give up on a lost cause. That most defining characteristic of an epoch-the weather- has gone forever. As this sorry tale from the BBC makes clear UK’s extreme weather is the new normal – Met Office – BBC News

Quote of the Week Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself.” Milton Areopagitica

#huntsman spider #science #iran #conservation #climate change #multiple sclerosis #epstein-barr

New batteries offer more hope on Climate Change

Ever since climate deniers lost the argument on basic science, they have spent their time sneering at every new sustainable initiative. Targets of their scorn include solar panels, windfarms and of course batteries, which will never be big enough/stable enough/environmentally friendly enough for their liking. That last bit always makes us laugh; so should their reaction to this new development in sodium-ion batteries as explained by Nature Briefing in this excellent piece called The Battery that could change everything

Sodium-ion batteries promise to be cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly than the lithium-ion cells that currently dominate technologies such as electric cars. And the sea-change could finally be here: CATL — the world’s largest battery producer — has announced that it will start mass-producing sodium-ion batteries by the end of the year. A swell of interest from battery makers and researchers has helped to solve longstanding challenges, such as a lack of durability. Nature | 10 min read

There’s so much to like here that we don’t know where to begin. Sodium is so much more abundant and easier to mine than lithium: so that’s the environmental and cost bases covered in a nutshell. Sodium batteries[1] will be safer, and better in cold weather than their lithium-ion cousins that we use so much now, Yes, they will be heavier and have lower energy densities. But that will not matter in most applications such as short-range cars, domestic and industrial power storage, the delivery market and back up of all kinds. Lithium will still probably win out in areas of high performance like luxury long distance EVs and aircraft propulsion. But- energy technology is not about final winners, it’s about horses for courses.

And there’s a final, Devil-whispers-in-our-ear warning for fans of Geopolitics. Note once again how the initiative in all this is coming from China. One hundred years ago, America was the home of all that was new. Now it seems determined to stick to the old methods of fossil fuels as if the blissful moment of its perfection can somehow be preserved forever. Not a happy choice.

[1] Sodium-ion battery – Wikipedia

#sodium ion batteries #lithium batteries #climate change #renewables #global warming #energy #sustainability

Sepsis v antibiotics: the Doctor’s dangerous dilemma

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Anyone visiting the South Coast towns of England will know we have a huge sepsis awareness campaign on at the moment, as every ambulance you see is plastered with messages on the subject. And rightly so: sepsis is the cause of enormous suffering and mortality, not to mention its toll on NHS resources. Which is why today we are showcasing the NHS sepsis framework (published only yesterday, gentle readers-we sure do scoop ‘em these days!) [1]. because down in the appendix is a little section which impinges directly on the fons et origo of this whole humble blog: microbial resistance to antibiotics, as if you haven’t guessed already. Because sepsis affords the physician the most awful, excruciating, dilemma.

It’s one of those medical emergencies where every hour counts, truly. When bacteria invade the bloodstream and the immune system spirals out of control, doctors just can’t wait days for laboratory cultures. Broad spectrum antibiotics must be thrown in immediately, because delay will be truly deadly. Maybe it’s sepsis, maybe it isn’t: but the only logical decision at that stage is to assume that it is.

Thereby creating an acute paradox. Because prescribing the antibiotics exerts evolutionary pressure on the bacteria, increasing the strain’s likelihood of developing resistance. And as we know here (LSS passim) every unnecessary course of antibiotics puts the bacteria one step ahead. Modern medicine is trying to perform two contradictory tasks: treat, but avoid overtreatment So although the report puts it in the calm precise language of an official report, sepsis management and antimicrobial resistance must be seen as two sides of the same coin.

And our thoughts? Firstly, we are full of admiration for the medical staff who are dropped into this agonising situation, recognising that they possess levels of emotional and intellectual intelligence far beyond our own limited capacities. Secondly that to shout for “more antibiotics“ is cheap rhetoric, as it just begs the question. And we’re always doing it anyway. A more fruitful answer might lie in things like better DNA sequencing, molecular diagnostics and AI assisted decisions, all of which might better identify the invading pathogen more quickly. Thus opening the possibility of a bespoke antibiotic to be delivered to the right patient at the right time. Now that would be a creative step indeed.

[1] NHS England » Sepsis modern service framework

#antibiotic resistance #medicine #health #microbiology #bacteria #sepsis #treatment