Stephen Jack Blignaut’s Post

💊An interesting review article (Link 1) identified the potential health impacts of #microplastics laden with #pharmaceuticals and personal care products (#PPCPs). 🔬Unlike hydrophobic organic contaminants, PPCPs are hydrophilic, which allows them to adhere to plastic surfaces differently. 💧This review highlights the complex interaction between microplastics and PPCPs, via the influence of environmental factors like pH, salinity, and dissolved organic matter on their binding dynamics. 🌡️This can cause various health issues, from respiratory problems to reproductive disorders. 🧬Moreover, antibiotics on microplastics may contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, posing a serious threat to public health. 🌊Our SATOORNIK Gen I Tech offers an innovative solution for collecting microplastics directly from #wastewater outlets and polluted #waters. This effectively reduces their release at the source and prevents the adsorption of harmful pollutants like PPCPs, reducing their potential impact on human #health and the #environment. Link 1: https://lnkd.in/eJ-ZC7Br Link 2: https://lnkd.in/ewpwgp6K

As a science communication editor, this week we offer you on the TecScience website a very interesting explanation about the possible influence of microplastics on obesity written by Silvia Aldana #obesidad #sciencecommunication #microplastics

🔔 Registration is now open for the final EXIMIOUS Symposium! Join us online for the sixth and final symposium on Emerging Contaminants: Health Risks Associated with Microplastics and Indoor Air Quality. Mark your calendar for 31st October 2024 and be part of this important discussion from 15:00 – 17:00 (CET). 🌍 What are emerging contaminants (ECs)? They include chemicals such as flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics, which can persist in the environment and potentially pose greater toxicity risks. 👥 What will we discuss? Experts will share their latest research on the impact of EC exposure on human health and indoor air quality, exploring crucial questions around risk assessment and policy needs. 📅 Programme Overview: Presentations by leading experts Live Q&A sessions This symposium is open to everyone! Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with cutting-edge science and policy discussions. 👉 Register now and secure your spot: https://lnkd.in/e7m_PTcn #EXIMIOUSSymposium #EmergingContaminants #Microplastics #AirQuality #EnvironmentalHealth #EHEN

Over the past three years, the research teams within the CUSP_Research (AURORA Research, Imptox, PlasticsFatE, Polyrisk Research Project and PlasticHeal) have made significant strides in uncovering the health risks posed by micro- and #nanoplastics (MNPLs). The Cluster has just launched its latest policy brief, "Micro- and Nanoplastics and Public Health: A Reasonable Concern," which highlights key findings and emphasizes the urgency of addressing this emerging issue. Key insights include: ❗ MNPLs, particularly nanoplastics, may have carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive toxic effects. ⚠MNPLs can enter the human body through inhalation and ingestion, with the potential to translocate into the bloodstream. 😷 Long-term health impacts remain understudied and further research is required to understand dose-response relationships and mechanisms of action. The CUSP research underscores the importance of: ☣ Investigating the hazards, exposures, and risks of various types of plastics and their additives. 🔬 Conducting long-term studies to close the current knowledge gaps. 🇪🇺 Informing European policies on chemicals, plastics, food, and water safety. This findings are critical for regulatory decision-making, highlighting areas such as carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, respiratory #toxicity, and environmental fate. We call for more comprehensive studies to ensure a safer future for all. 🔗 Read the full policy brief and discover more about our research and its implications for public health: https://lnkd.in/dVzaXxFJ #Microplastics #Nanoplastics #PublicHealth #Research #Policy #HealthImpact #Environment #Health #Sustainability #EUResearch #Cancer #Plastic

Game Changer Alert! 🤯 New Synthetic Antibiotic Shows Promise Against Superbugs 💪 Huge shoutout to the brilliant scientists at Harvard for developing cresomycin, a new weapon in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria! This is a massive step forward, but let's be honest – will it ever reach the people who need it most? Here's the thing: accessibility is just as important as innovation. While this new antibiotic holds tremendous potential, will the pharmaceutical industry prioritize affordability over profit? We need a healthcare system that puts people before profit. 💰🩺 What are your thoughts on this? How can we ensure groundbreaking discoveries like cresomycin become readily available to everyone who needs them? Let's keep the conversation going! Share your thoughts in the comments. 👇 #healthcare #antibiotics #drugdiscovery #publichealth #sciencematters #affordablehealthcare #accesstomedicine #pharmindustry #cresomycin #harvard

Boldness in Management and Leadership to innovate Bold Solutions: Lessons Learned as a Bold Global Servant Leader from my World-class Travels across Countries, Cultures, Organizations, Industries and Sectors to transform global challenges into great opportunities: 1) What is the list of the TOP 50 High Risks and Challenges in 2024? How to define Boldness in Effective Leadership? 2)How to implement new frameworks and practices to get the most value from Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How to explore good governance and best practices to assess and demonstrate value from AI to the business? How to apply best practices in ranking in prioritizing AI use cases? 3) What is Policy? How to assess the application of Cognitive and Generative AI in Policy Formulation, Problem-solving and Decision-making? 4) Can AI streamline inefficient processes and help organizations save millions, billions, and trillions of dollars? Is technology a game-changer? 5) What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How to define and describe the main barriers to AI implementation? As a Bold Global Servant Leader with world-class experience, it's my distinct honor to share this important information with my followers across 190 countries: "Switzerland has once again named the world’s most talent-competitive country." This country offers a high-quality life, including High Education in STEM. What is Boldness in Effective Leadership? Please allow me to share the Positive feedback about “Boldness in Effective Leadership” from millions of my followers across 190 countries: “Dear Vanel, Bold and insightful approach towards global challenges Bold and insightful approach towards global challenges.” “Dear Vanel, "Boldness in Effective Transformational, Strategic, Digital, and Servant Leadership" is a strategic tool.” “Dear Vanel, Such a well-rounded perspective on the Tech Trends 2024 report! Continuous learning and bold leadership are truly key in navigating the digital age.” I am thankful to millions of my followers across 190 countries for taking the time out of their busy schedule to read my comprehensive messages. In my executive and leadership career, I witnessed firsthand that breakthroughs in state-of-the-art science and cutting-edge technologies are transforming global challenges into great opportunities. As a lifelong learner, voracious reader, and world-class traveler, I just read the Tech Trends 2024: From the industrial metaverse to GenAI. This Deloitte's 15th annual report is to help business and technology leaders to separate signal from noise, and dreams from digital realities.   This morning, I was honored by the opportunity to watch a special video: " Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bill Gates came together for an engaging and insightful exchange. The conversation spanned a range of topics, including the future of Artificial Intelligence, the importance of Digital Public Infrastructure, and vaccination programs in India."

My Life Sciences journey began in the world of Antimicrobials. Drug resistance was and is the achilles heel of the majority of therapies. Harvard has created a new synthetic compound Cresomycin which is kill many resistant strains of bacteria. This compound was developed via AI. #AI #LLM #Breakthrough

"New report in NEJM warns of deadly health risks from fossil fuel pollution, including alarming rise in neurodevelopmental issues." "Citing data from dozens of studies, the report points to an alarming rise in neurodevelopmental issues, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and certain cancers in young people taking place amid what the paper’s author calls “explosive growth” in the petrochemical industry. Between 1990 and 2019, rates of certain cancers in people under 50 increased dramatically. Meanwhile, fossil fuel use and petrochemical production have increased fifteen-fold since the 1950s, according to the report." “One of the major factors driving climate change is also increasing our exposures to chemicals that are adversely impacting health,” said the report’s author, Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). “Typically people say cancer is a disease of the aging, but now we’re seeing it increasing in people under 50.” The report points to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), chemicals commonly found in plastics and other products that interfere with healthy hormonal function, as a key threat." https://lnkd.in/gHz8Kv2C #EDCs #CancerPrevention #PreventCancerNow #PCN

Here is what the World Economic Forum has to say on the efforts to kill strains of bacteria resistant to known drugs. See below.

Just In Time: New Antibiotic Drug Development To Knock Out Super Bugs: (Click on photo below:) #superbugs #cresomycin #drugresistentbacteria #drugresearch #wec #globalfuturecouncil #antibiotic #syntheticcompound #harvardscientists #antimicrobialresistence