One of the greatest follies of human endeavour since 1945 has been the relentless drive to turn out ever greater quantities of food at ever lower prices. Starting perhaps from a well-meaning intention to “feed the world” it has resulted in little more than an epidemic of obesity, poor nutrition and associated diseases such as diabetes and infirmities of the cardiovascular system.

And one of the most egregious follies recursed within this greater folly has been the reckless application of antibiotics to livestock in all forms in the neurotic chase for ever greater production targets and profits. The consequences were clear to anyone with even a passing understanding of the laws of Natural Selection. Hit bacteria with a heavy raid of antibiotics, and the resistant survivors will breed and multiply until there is nothing you can do about them. It’s where we are today as long-term readers of this blog will recall. And we thought it problem enough!

Now Hannah Devlin of the Guardian reports that the above is only half the problem. Because according to a study from Oxford University, the uncontrolled use of antibiotics may be undermining our natural immune system, regardless of what artificial aids which we use to supplement it. Take one example; the antimicrobial colistin, beloved of farmers in the 1980s is rahter similar to a class of compounds called AMP s which are part of our bodies’ natural immune response. The uncontrolled use of colistin of course led to strains of E Coli which were resistant to it, and by implication to our own AMP. Colistin use has been restricted; but the damage that has been done is permanent. We’ll leave the last word to Professor Maclean, quoted in Hannah’s superb article

This is potentially much more dangerous than resistance to antibiotics,” said Prof Craig MacLean, who led the research at the University of Oxford. “It highlights the danger of indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in agriculture. We’ve accidentally ended up compromising our own immune system to get fatter chickens.”

The consequences of short sighted thinking indeed. Yet that leads to one tiny consolation. The next time some know it all offers you a solution to anything, anything at all, ask yourself this: what are the long term consequences of what he is saying?”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/25/use-of-antibiotics-in-farming-endangering-human-immune-system

#antibiotic resistance #agriculture #food production #Oxford University #health #obesity

Why has our world gone so disastrously wrong? Is their a way forward? Today we look at the failures of the right wing project

In 1991 the Right had the game of History in its hands. All the nostrums of the Left-Marxism, collectivism, socialism-were smashed by the failure of the Soviet Union. The Right’s notions of individual Liberty, the supremacy of the market, had not only triumphed, but seemed to constitute an irresistible force in human affairs. Human society, under the tutelage of a hegemonic United States, would move toward ever greater freedom and prosperity. The Right were the true inheritors of the Enlightenment, and the rest would follow. Yet within twenty years this position had been irredeemably squandered. How did this happen?

To look for an answer one need go no further than the right-wing belief sphere of websites, chat rooms, TV studios and newspapers. Where the word “Liberal” is flung around as the greatest imaginable form of insult, a form of intellectual and moral treason. They forget their greatest icons-Smith, Hayek, Thatcher- were proudly self-proclaimed Liberals, anxious wherever possible to reduce constraints on human freedom, in the name of ever wider, ever more efficient markets. This intellectual confusion masked a terrible truth. The Right was always divided into two latently hostile tribes-the Free Marketeers and the Ethnic Nationalists, In the 1990s the flow of money could temporarily bridge this chasm. But the massively growing inequalities and the massive flows of migration, inherent features of a market system, steadily antagonised the nationalists. The whole edifice fell in in the crisis of 2007-8, and the Ethnic Nationalists, bewildered and afraid, rose in angry rebellion. They have been rising ever since. Everywhere.

Populism attempts to retain the loyalty of these ethnic nationalists to a system which has brought them to the brink of ruin. Yet its attempts to relentlessly address the consequences of economic failure, while studiously avoiding any discussion of the causes, results in disastrous outcomes of which Trump and Brexit are only the most egregious examples.  No true Free Market can long survive the election of an undemocratic government, where no one’s property is safe from the President’s greed. The Free Marketeers know this; but wince in fear of the conclusion.

The Left’s traditional answers, socialism and collectivism, have been discredited, as we will see . Yet the problems we face-climate change, pandemics, growing totalitarianism- are both overwhelmingly vast and urgent. A naïve, almost undergraduate, faith that free markets will wash away all problems betrays the same intellectual inadequacies as cavalry generals faced with tanks. We believe that freedom is not just a pleasant licence but is actually the optimal economic and intellectual outcome. It can  survive, and even prosper, as we shall see in later parts of this series.

In the next part-The failures of Communism and The Left

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/14/labour-policies-philosophy-john-rawls-neoliberalism

#hayek #adam smith #margaret thatcher #free markets #inequality #donald trump #brexit

It’s 20th of August 1991, and you think you have woken from a bad dream. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall two years ago, the ideological split that has sundered the world into nuclear camps has been fading. Yesterday the coup in the Soviet Union provided the coup de grace. As you stretch your legs to greet the new dawn you can look forward to a new world of peace and prosperity as borders are washed away. The End of History, as some deluded thinkers hailed it.

Fast forward to April 24th 2023. Who’s dreaming now? Suddenly the democratic nations are confronted by totalitarian and theological adversaries on all sides, nuclear-armed and grimly determined to eradicate all traces of free thought and liberty. In the background, existential crises like ecological destruction and hovering pandemics. The United States itself, whose Constitution was the ultimate homage to the Renaissance and Enlightenment, as almost lost to party division and the mental pollution of fake and partisan news. Should you despair?

We think not. We think there are still grounds for hope. Cautious optimism, even. And maybe there’s even someone out there who can help. His name is John Rawls. [1] And over the next few days we’re going to look, in one one of our little miniseries, about where things have gone wrong, and why and how they might be put right again. What a new grouping might look like. And this man Rawls will be our guide.

Spoiler alert: The Harvard Philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) had no family or other connection to Lou Rawls (1933-2006) the popular musician and singer, at least to the best of our knowledge. We put this in at the request of several perplexed readers

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/14/labour-policies-philosophy-john-rawls-neoliberalism

#totalitarianism #communism #marxism #populism #liberal #dictator #enlightenment

The real test of a society is the value of the future which it leaves to its children. By this criteria, Europe is failing very badly. Air pollution is scarring the lives of millions of us, and it falls particularly hard on children, as this article from Fiona Harvey of the Guardian makes lugubriously clear. [1]

Because children are not little adults, as Fiona points out. They go out more. They’re closer to the ground. Above all, their respiratory rates are higher. The consequences? Asthma. Respiratory problems. Impaired mental development, If you want to know more, try this little link to the Clean Air Fund [2] Basically it adds up to about 1200 premature deaths a year. But don’t believe us-try our links. Especially if you are a parent or grandparent, and that makes you feel somehow responsible. Shame on you if it doesn’t.

But, gentle readers, when would we not leave you without hope? A little comfort, and sweet balm. The EU and associates like Switzerland are trying to do something. And we can all copy their ideas. Planting more trees and hedges, especially near school. Exclusion zones around schools-no more idling SUVs poisoning everyone else’s kids might be a fine start. The target is to reduce levels of poisons like PM 2.5 s and Nitrous Oxide by 2030. Cutting deaths by a whopping 55%, or so the EEA estimates. No mean achievement.

For decades the conventional wisdom has always been that happiness consists in spending ever more money, and in rising to ever more frantic levels of personal activity. How funny to see that real progress can be achieved by the inversion of these tattered beliefs.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/24/europe-failing-its-children-on-air-pollution-eea-says

[2]https://www.cleanairfund.org/theme/children/#:~:text=This%20early%20exposure%20to%20air%20pollution%20can%20have,psychological%20and%20behaviour%20problems%

#child development #pollution PM 2.5 #nitrous oxide #health

things we thought about this week

These Foolish Things A few weeks ago we praised UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for trying to put mathematics at the heart of the education curriculum(LSS 4 1 2023) You know-clear thinking, Bertrand Russell, avoiding foolish opinions, logical thinking, all that sort of thing. Hints that the policy may be less sagacious than we had hoped are dropped in this article from Huffpost

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/himiliation-rishi-sunak-expert-criticises-maths-plan_uk_643e3415e4b0482824b778a3?ncid=APPLENEWS00001

Thanks to P Seymour

The season of all natures, sleep Alzheimers and dementia, their causes and cures, are still a swirling pool of opinions, projects and discoveries. Which is all the more reason to research any advance in this field. Could the common sleep drug suvorexant have a role to play? The Mail thinks so:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11994909/Common-sleeping-pill-slashes-Alzheimers-proteins-fifth-24-HOURS-study-finds.html

Now I’m living in Ecstasy PTSD can ravage the lives not just of sufferers but the families and loved ones around them. Survivors of the 1990s will cast a wry eye on the news that their old friend MDMA may hold the promise of relief for this unfortunate condition Here’s Nature Briefings

The US government could soon approve the hallucinogenic drug MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychedelics had long been investigated as mental-illness treatments, until their ban made them difficult to study. The theory is that MDMA allows people to confront their trauma by dampening the fight-or-flight response. Questions linger about how MDMA will be administered and by whom: in recent clinical trials, the drug was combined with psychotherapy, which isn’t regulated. And because MDMA has been around since 1912 and cannot be patented, there’s little financial incentive.Nature | 10 min read

Who guards the guards? When the Sudanese Government set up a special elite guard to keep everyone else in check, it seemed like a great wheeze. They forgot one important lesson Quis Custodiet ipsos cusodes? As any Roman Emperor could have told them, your biggest threat is always from the Commander of your guards. Maybe elections are actually safer for everyone in the long run? This week’s hisory lesson is from The Conversation

https://theconversation.com/sudan-created-a-paramilitary-force-to-destroy-government-threats-but-it-became-a-major-threat-itself-203974?utm_medium=email&utm_cam

It’s the rich wot ‘as the pleasure, it’s the poor wot takes the blame Since at least 1918, the same lesson is relentlessly drummed into English schoolchildren of all ages, via a thousand propaganda outlets “inflation is caused by greedy workers asking for money” Well, maybe so, And then again, maybe not, as this counterintuitive from Larry Elliott ponders for the Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/19/wage-price-inflation-greedflation-pay-cost-of-living

The heat is on The evidence that climate change is real, is here, and is harming us all now is unmistakeable, as this story from the BBC makes clear. Time is short, and we’d strongly advise that if you come across a denialist you just press the delete button from now on. Let them rot with flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and the flying saucer crowd.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65317469

Your Face and under the Linden Tree I Remember your eyes These carefully crafted and lucid lyrics will recall that warm and sunny summer of 2004 when O Zone topped the Hits Parade with their memorable ditty Dragostea din tei. So for notalgists everywhere, her’e the Moldovan Maestros back,as t’were in fine song

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=o+zone+dragostea+din+tei&&view=detail&list=zffMWjGvsNzK6A&FORM=VRPPLA&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Do%2Bzone%2Bdragostea%

#mdma #alzheimers #sudan #ptsd #climate change #global warming #economics

Our first guest in the new series is Mark Arbouine, who gives us a way to enjoy wonderful tropical flavours without the sometime inconvenience of alcohol. Over to you, Mark!

Don’t Mock Mocktails – In Praise of The Virgin Piña Colada

Let’s talk about cocktails for the teetotallers amongst us. This might be where I lose those belonging to the booze brigade who think alcohol-free means bland and boring but they couldn’t be more wrong. Non-alcoholic cocktails, also known as mocktails, are a great option for those who choose not to consume alcohol or who simply want a refreshing and flavourful drink without the hangover. They can be made with a variety of ingredients, including fruit juices, herbs, and sodas, and can be just as delicious as their alcoholic counterparts. Mocktails are perfect for social events as they allow everyone including teetotallers, designated drivers, people on medication and those who want to limit their alcohol intake, to participate in the celebration without feeling left out.

One of the great things about non-alcoholic cocktails is that they are incredibly versatile. They can be sweet and fruity, like the clientele at a classy Mayfair bar, or tart and spicy, like the regulars at a less salubrious drinking establishment. Either way, there are countless taste combinations to explore to create complex and nuanced flavours that can rival any alcoholic drink.

Non-alcoholic cocktails are not only delicious, but they can also be a healthier option than their boozy counterparts. Many mocktails are made with fresh fruits and vegetables, which are high in vitamins and nutrients. They are often be lower in calories than alcoholic drinks, which can be loaded with sugar and other unhealthy additives. Mocktails are a great way to enjoy a delicious and refreshing drink without compromising your health or wellness goals.

Alcohol-free cocktails can be enjoyed at any time of day or night because unlike alcoholic drinks, which are often reserved for evening events, mocktails can be served at brunches, lunches, and even breakfasts. They are a great way to start the day on a positive note or to refresh and hydrate after a workout. Non-alcoholic cocktails are a fun and versatile beverage option that everyone can enjoy, regardless of their drinking preferences.

One of my favourite non-alcoholic cocktails is the virgin piña colada which I first tried in Bulgaria at the beginning of the millennium. At various points in my life, I have chosen not to drink alcohol, sometimes for a few months, other times for many years and on one such occasion it coincided with a holiday to this Balkan nation. I went into bar in Slanchev Bryag, a coastal resort on the Black Sea coast, thinking I would have to settle for teetotaller’s standby of an orange juice, coke or mineral water but I was pleasantly surprised that on their cocktail menu, in the bottom corner, was a small section for mocktails. The only name I sort of recognised was “Virgin Piña Colada” which I correctly assumed was an alcohol-free version of the famous cocktail. This drink is made with the following ingredients:

• 75ml pineapple juice
• 50ml coconut cream
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 tbsp apple juice
• 1 tsp dark muscovado sugar

Everything is blended together with a small amount of ice until it is smooth and is served in a glass garnished with a pineapple wedge. This drink is easy to make and is a great option for those who want to enjoy the flavours of the original piña colada without the alcohol.

The virgin piña colada’s flavour is an inviting mix of sweet and refreshing notes. The drink’s primary taste is derived from the pineapple, lending a vibrant and juicy sweetness to the mix. The pineapple’s juicy tanginess also adds a hint of sharpness to the beverage, enhancing the depth of its flavour. The smooth and creamy coconut cream bestows a luxurious richness to the drink and its texture perfectly balances the sharpness of the pineapple, adding a delicate, mellow creaminess that elevates the drink’s opulence and sophistication.

There are many of other non-alcoholic cocktails out there to try. You can experiment with different juices, syrups, and garnishes to create your own unique drinks. The great thing about mocktails is there are no rules, just get creative and have fun with it.

#cocktail #alcohol-free #bulgaria #fruit #health

There’s a silent, deadly killer stalking the hospital corridors of the UK. Every year it carries off 1000 babies [1] It affects between 5% and 8% of all pregnancies. When it turns severe it poses a clear and present danger to about 2% of all pregnancies. it’s called Pre-eclampsia, and no one knows what causes it. And, if you scale up the UK figures to get the world wide picture, it gets worse. If we accept the figure of 133.99 million births in 2022, then that implies no less than 6 699 500 cases globally. Quite an epidemic.

Have you seen much about this lately on a news feed or channel near you? Maybe it gets covered occasionally by magazine journalists. Yet all our searches only revealed sites like the NHS, Wikipedia and so on. [2] [3] All high on integrity, helpfulness and informed communication. But where’s the punchy, angry journalism that might push this one over the line and get it the attention it’s so obviously crying out for?

Whisper it if you dare-is this because it only affects women? When a cause and cure for the new disease of AIDS was needed, it all went rather quickly, didn’t it? Remember something called COVID-19? Older readers might. From outbreak to vaccines to control took a couple of years. Yet eclampsia has clearly been around for thousands of years, and still a clear causal mechanism eludes us.

Perhaps if a little less was spent on things that make men look good- like fast cars, fighter planes and gargantuan yachts- and a bit more on things that help women live-biomedical research comes to mind here-we might all do better in the long run.

[1]https://www.wrh.ox.ac.uk/research/pre-eclampsia

[2] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pre-eclampsia/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-eclampsia

#eclampsia #preeclampsia #women #health #pregnancy #mother and baby

Avid readers of our little blog will recall that our interest in antibiotic research predates it by many years. It was around 2015 that we realised the lack of new antibiotics was becoming an existential threat to us all. Since when we joined with the efforts of leading members of the Community of the Great and the Good to try to actually do something about it.

Well, the news we have this morning is good. GSK, the giant pharmaceuticals corporation, is not only trialling a new antibiotic called gepotidacin, but the trials are going well. This implies a few reasons to be cheerful, to quote Ian Dury, so forgive us if we list them. First it shows that leading commercial organisations are finding ways to finance antibiotic research again. The old “profits are God” model just wasn’t delivering social outcomes. Secondly, new antibiotics will only benefit from the economies of scale, experience in good practice and marketing and communication expertise of something the size of GSK. Thirdly, they’ve targeted a real social need, particularly for women, the debilitating complex of UTIs in general and cystitis in particular. Reasons to be cheerful indeed.

So we’ve got three links for you this morning. For a nice journalistic overview, here’s Ethan Ennals of the Daily Mail[1] For a very simple baseline there’s good old Wikipedia [2] And for lovers of linguistic and intellectual complexity, to say the least, we have a piece of text from GSK themselves. Be warned: it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. [3]

[1]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11976115/UK-approves-new-antibiotic-20-years-kills-superbugs-causing-UTIs.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gepotidacin

[3] https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gepotidacin-s-positive-phase-iii-data-shows-potential-to-be-the-first-in-a-new-class-of-oral-antibiotics-for-uncomplicated-urinar

##antibiotic resistance #superbugs #gepotidacin #uti #medicine #pharmaceuticals #research

stories we thought to be of more than passing significance

A generational divide It’s not that we always revere opinion pieces in The Guardian. But sometimes one of them goes to the heart of the matter. The last thirteen years have seen a massive switch of wealth from young to old in the UK, with dire economic and political consequences. Is it happening where you live?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/14/junior-doctors-strike-money-generation-betrayed

From Europe to Europa Rising powers go in big for exploration. Signs that this may be happening in Europe came this week with the successful launch of the JUICE mission, which will show up at Jupiter in 2034. The maths of how you get it to orbit three moons at once is beyond us! Nature Briefings makes all clear

Today, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) successfully launched on its eight-year journey to Jupiter, where it will study three of the planet’s four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. The launch required a precise lift-off time to insert the spacecraft into the correct orbit around the Sun: exactly 12:14 UT. “There is no launch window, only one launch instant,” said programme director and launch operator Véronique Loisel.

The European Space Agency’s spacecraft will be the first to orbit a moon of another planet when it circles Ganymede in search of a hidden ocean beneath the icy surface. A complex manoeuvre around the Sun and Earth will slingshot JUICE towards the outer Solar System. The mission will eventually end with a crash landing on Ganymede’s surface.Nature | 6 min read

Mass shootings explained The plague of mass shootings in the United states is doing that country immense damage. No wonder many countries look askance at alliances with such a system. And at a personal level, we know many who no longer go there for holidays. Before America can confront this haunting devil, it must understand it. Here’s one possible route from The Conversation

https://theconversation.com/why-do-mass-shooters-kill-its-about-more-than-having-a-grievance-198387?utm_medium=em

Climate Change Catalan Style If there is one nation that’s always punched above its weight economically and culturally, it’s Catalonia. But even the “Swiss of Spain” aren’t exempt from the ravages of climate change, as the BBC shows. If it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65129735

Beethoven Blues We thought we’d leave you with something thoughtful this week. Beethoven’s piano sonata no 8 (pathetique) is full of intriguing little touches, bringing the best out of its players, if they’re to do it right!

ps://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=beethoven+piano+sonata+no+8&&view=detail&mid=F9EA0363

have a good weekend

#JUICE #economics #generational divide #climate change

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to throw open Friday Night Cocktails slot to guests. We’ve done a few of these in the past, and now some more pals are stepping up to the plate. It won’t just be cocktails per se-not everyone likes them, after all. But they will be telling us all about their favourite drink, and why they like it. We’ve already got three lined up; but consider this. Why couldn’t YOU be number four? Of course there will be no prize, as we prefer to spend the money on ourselves. But you will be joining, and contributing to, that select band, the readers of LSS who constitute the cream of the elite of the top 3% of the cutting edge of the world’s most erudite and stylish persons. And, by penning a few simple notes, you will at once be deepening and strengthening that community. We can’t make a fairer offer than that.

So, send us your ideas, and for the next few weeks look out for some elegant and stylish guest writers, for whom The Atlantic would give their eye teeth Talking of which, our recommendation this week is Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale, sold widely in every eatery from Brown’s to the Toby Carvery and to which we link below

Enjoy

https://www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk/blogs/beer/atlantic