Author: Alerts CC

Everyone knows that smoking tobacco causes cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and doubles the risk of age-related macular degeneration. However, scientists have recently discovered that smoking can also permanently damage a person’s DNA.

A recent study of 16,000 people revealed that smoking leads to a process called methylation, which is the alteration of DNA to inactivate a gene or change how that gene functions. If a person quits smoking, most of these genetic footprints fade after about five years of being tobacco-free. However, some of these alterations stick around forever.

“Our study has found compelling evidence that smoking has a long-lasting impact on our molecular machinery, an impact that can last more than 30 years,” said Roby Joehanes, a researcher from Harvard Medical School and Hebrew SeniorLife. “The encouraging news is that once you stop smoking, the majority of DNA methylation signals return to never-smoker levels after five years, which means your body is trying to heal itself of the harmful impacts of tobacco smoking.”

In their study, researchers found that the pattern of methylation alterations affected more than 7,000 genes, many of which have known links to cancers and heart disease. Among subjects who had quit smoking, most of these changes reverted back to the patterns found in individuals who had never smoked.

Unfortunately, changes that occurred in 19 particular genes, including the one linked to lymphoma, lasted up to 30 years after smoking cessation.

“These results are important because methylation, as one of the mechanisms of the regulation of gene expression, affects what genes are turned on, which has implications for the development of smoking-related diseases,” said the director of the study, Dr. Stephanie London. “Equally important is our finding that even after someone stops smoking, we still see the effects of smoking on their DNA.”

In other words, quitting can often mean the difference between life and death for a smoker; however, it doesn’t totally wipe the slate clean. Some risks still remain.

Most everyone knows that millennials have a lot of student loans, but do you know much this debt costs them? The average Millennial carries a staggering $27,162 in student loan debt, and has a monthly payment of $317.

According to a survey by online loan marketplace LendingTree, these hefty student loans are preventing Millennials from saving their money for important financial decisions down the line. A full 53.27% report being financially unable to travel, 44.74% admit they cannot buy a vehicle, and 38.7% are unable to save for retirement.

Research by LendingTree shows that the average salary of an employed Millennial is $48,146 annually. To put this into perspective, after tax deductions, insurance, and Social Security payments are taken out, each Millennial is only bringing home $2,808 per month.

The study shows that the average student loan payment comprises almost 12% of a Millennial’s net monthly income. When the Millennials were asked how much their debt affects their everyday spending ability, almost one-third answered, “very much.”

What’s worse is that more than half — 55.9% — regret spending so much money on a secondary education. Most of the survey participants admit they should have gone to a more affordable school, followed by wishing they chose a more profitable area of study.

Sadly, 10.4% of these Millennials believe they shouldn’t have gone to school at all, as they feel they are over-educated for their current career path.

LendingTree also asked what Millennials would do with their finances if they had extra funds and no student loans. All in all, 53.98% of respondents said this money would go towards saving for emergencies, 41.76% would buy a home, and 31.68% would save for retirement.

However, those who have been saving up for retirement their entire working lives aren’t necessarily spending their money responsibly.

After years of hard work under their belts, the average American retires at 63. However, new research completed by the the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows that all this new-found free time has retirees living a more lavish lifestyle than they can afford.

Research on EBRI.org shows that over half of all retirees spent more money within the first two years of retirement than what they had when they were working. In fact, 28% of families spent 120% of their yearly budgets within the first years of retirement. By the sixth year of retirement, a full 23.4% still continued these spending habits.

It’s spending like this that can pose a problem if these retirees actually want to stay retired, as the retirees aren’t spending money on necessary life expenses. Only a slim majority of their household budget was spent on durable goods, and the rest was spent on luxury items they couldn’t necessarily afford.

For example, travel. Retirees are going on vacations more and more because it simply makes them happy. In fact, 37% of families — retirees included– say that vacations make them happiest. It’s clear that retirees will put their finances aside to create memories with their families.

So what should retirees do in order to prevent having to go back to work? Financial experts say that developing a spending plan — and sticking to it — is key. This can be broken into three separate goals.

First, each retiree needs to take time to digest what is happening to them during this sometimes overwhelming life change.

“My first recommendation is to give yourself permission to not know what you want to do next,” Malcolm Harris, CEO of the National Care Financial Group in Washington, D.C., explained to 10 NEWS. “Give yourself a finite amount of time, say one year, and tell yourself: ‘I will only spend X amount of money.'”

Secondly, factor in lifestyle and income. It is important to keep a list of monthly expenses on hand to determine how much residual income is left over after each month.

Last but not least, keep learning. Attending a community college class will not only expand your mind but grow your social circle, too, negating the feeling of loneliness some retirees may experience.

Many car buyers — 43%, in fact — finance their vehicles. While many people take out loans to pay for their vehicles up-front, and pay back the bank, many others opt for financing straight through the dealership.

By advertising low financing costs and reduced prices, dealers are able to offer appealing financing options. Some dealers will allow the buyer to take the vehicle home before completing the financing option, then charge them more money to keep the ride after telling them that their credit is too poor.

This practice known as a “yo-yo” tactic, and is illegal. This is exactly how Sage Auto Group managed to land in hot water with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, after they’d unfairly targeted individuals with poor credit, as well as non-English speaking customers.

The FTC has filed a lawsuit against Sage Auto Group, citing yo-yo tactics as well as other “deceptive and unfair sales and finance practices.” The lawsuit includes Universal City Nissan, Kia of Downtown Los Angeles, Mercedes-Benz of Valencia, Sage Hyundai, Sage Covina Chevrolet, and West Covina Toyota. Only one Sage dealership — Sage Lotus in West Covina — was not named in the lawsuit.

Sage Auto has also been accused by the FTC of posting phony online reviews, written by employees, not customers, as well as charging customers for warranties and add-ons without their consent, and not disclosing credit or lease requirements.

Owner of the auto group, Michael Sage, says that he is aware of the FTC requirements, and he holds his dealerships to high standards as well.

“We look forward to vigorously defending ourselves. We will fight this,” said Sage. “When you’re on top of the pyramid, you’re going to get attacked by everybody. We’re number one. We keep kicking it.”

In 2015, the FTC expanded its definition of deceptive practice beyond advertising and into loan application fraud and adding charges to the vehicle’s lease or bill of sale without the customer’s consent.

Sage Auto Group, which was founded in 1969, has had no prior accusations by the FTC. This case marks the first time that yo-yo tactics have been addressed in a lawsuit.

Weeks after storms and flooding destroyed much of southeast Louisiana, one actor’s frustrated post went viral.

‘Dukes of Hazzard’ actor and Louisiana resident John Schneider’s post about conditions in the state has reached countless people, seemingly overnight.

Schnieder played the part of Bo Duke in the beloved television series, which ran seven seasons from 1979 to 1985.

Now, however, the actor is living in Louisiana and suffering along with the other residents whose belongings were destroyed in the flooding earlier in the summer.

Schneider’s home and studio in Holden were both damaged in the flood.

Five weeks after the initial flooding occurred, he shared a post expressing his frustration with the lack of progress being made on the recovery efforts.

“We are five weeks and counting into what’s going on here, so when you hear someone saying we’re doing all we can, they’re not telling you the truth,” said Schneider. “The fact that all this stuff is still here is terrible. It smells.”

Leaders in Livingston Parish have reported that approximately 125 trucks are working to pick up all of the debris scattered around the area.

Earlier this week, one finally visited the area near Schneider. He reported that he was extremely happy to see even one truck picking up debris in the area.

While the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ actor works to further the flood relief efforts, those ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ fans in Niagara Falls, NY are also getting a taste of the classic show.

If someone was speeding through Hazzard County, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane would probably be behind the wheel of his police car in no time.

However, the driver of a 1981 Chevrolet Caprice, complete with red and white emergency lights on the hood, is a man named Wallace Friesman, who lives in Niagara Falls, NY.

Friesman has built the car to look exactly like the 1989 Chevrolet that was used in the movie version of the hit classic show.

He said that the car was “basically junk” when he initially purchased it, and that practically every part of it is brand new. The car is so important to him that nobody else is allowed to drive it.

Friesman also said that although the car may look finished on the outside, he’s not done working on it yet.

While Friesman brings a bit of joy to those fans in Niagara Falls, cleanup efforts can hopefully bring a bit of joy back to Louisiana residents.

“I think people need to know that there are people who care, I think people need to turn into people who care. I’m trying to be a better friend because of what’s going on here,” said Schnieder.

A new study has found a scientific reason to get involved in the arts: an increased awareness of and sensitivity to the emotions of others.

Given the very nature of ballet — expressing emotion through physical movement — it only makes sense that its participants would be highly attuned to the emotions of others and how they are expressed. But the study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, now proves that dancers tend to be more sensitive to emotional response.

During the study, two different groups were shown short ballet video clips. One group was made up of professional ballet dancers, and the other was a control group with no dance experience. The clips were black-and-white and silent, with the dancers’ faces obscured. Participants had to rate their emotional response to the brief clips based only on the shapes of the dancers’ moving bodies.

Although both groups “read” the emotional responses correctly and were able to identify whether the clips made them happy or sad, the difference was most apparent in the participants’ sweat response, detected by fingertip electrodes.

The dancers were found to have much stronger emotional reactions to the clips. Not only did they recognize the emotions displayed in the clips more accurately, their bodies displayed a more sensitive, emotional response in kind. Their bodies were found to differentiate between the emotions of the clips. Participants in the control group were not found to have this reaction.

Of course, this finding was not surprising. In fact, it’s exactly what was expected. Because dancers are trained to express and recognize physical manifestation and expression of human emotions, they are therefore more sensitive to them. Researcher Julia F. Christensen believes these findings show why everyone should dance.

Christensen also hypothesizes that involvement in dance could actually make dancers more empathetic. Because they are trained to recognize emotion, dancers may learn to automatically react to the expressions of others. However, this theory needs to be tested further — perhaps with video clips that do not directly involve dance.

The study gives credence to the idea that involvement in the arts could play a significant role in empathy training. Though empathy training programs are still in their infancy — mainly because replicating results is not a completely understood science — they do show great promise. More and more corporate businesses are embracing the idea of empathy training in order to improve management and retain employees.

Involvement in the arts and empathy training are incredibly useful in various areas of professional life. It can assist in anything from public speaking to making a good first impression at a job interview. And since nonverbal cues can have over four times the impact of nonverbal ones in a first impression, having additional emotional awareness and training could benefit both employer and potential employee.

Although the effect of arts and performance training on emotional awareness is in need of more time and study, the future seems promising — and it gives those of us who are creatively inclined yet another reason to stay involved in our art of choice.

In 1950, Morton Sultanoff invented a high-speed camera that took frames at one-millionth of a second. Since then, photography has advanced to the point where now, NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has been able to provide data that allows researchers to observe and study the activity of black holes.

According to NASA, when black holes swallow stars, they release a burst of energy in the form of a flare containing high-energy radiation. The flare consists of space dust, which is only able to survive further out from the origin point of the flare.

However, the human eye doesn’t have the capacity to see that flare. Now, thanks to data from WISE, researchers have been able to observe it for the first time.

Using this data, researchers were able to measure the radiation this “hot dust” gives off.

The dust “shell” formed from the flare extends several trillion miles from the black hole. That’s about half a light year away, according to NASA.

“The black hole has destroyed everything between itself and this dust shell,” Sjoert van Velzen, postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University, said in a NASA news release. “It’s as though the black hole has cleaned its room by throwing flames.”

However, space may be seeing a new addition, including human life, in the not-so-distant future.

China has just launched its second small Tiangong space station into orbit.

Tiangong-2 lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on September 15, aiming for an orbit 240 miles over Earth’s surface.

Beijing’s effort to establish a long-term human presence in space has been noted as commendable, but technologically, China has only just accomplished what the U.S. and Russia did in the 1970s.

“China is currently doing nothing in space that the U.S. hasn’t done already, much sooner, and often with a much higher level of technological sophistication,” said Joan Johnson-Freese, professor at the U.S. Naval War College and space expert.

When compared to the International Space Station, the single-unit stations China has launched simply seem tiny.

However, Tiangong-2 is an improvement from China’s first attempt at a station, Tiangong-1, which could only support two crew for just eight days in 2012 and 12 days in 2013.

Like its predecessor, Tiangong-2 is designed to be temporary. Although China does plan on launching a larger, permanent station around 2020.

Unlike NASA, China is in no hurry to launch their next project.

NASA may not be focused on the space race anymore, but their studies into black hole activity have only amplified excitement.

“Our study confirms that the dust is there, and that we can use it to determine how much energy was generated in the destruction of the star,” Varoujan Gorjian, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-author of the paper, said in the news release.

According to a new report by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the upcoming shift in U.S. workforce demographics will open up opportunities for Latino workers in the near future.

The report, which covers the Latino “skills gap,” highlights two distinct trends – baby boomers entering retirement in record numbers, creating a major void in the workforce, and 80 million millennials entering the workforce.

According to the State of Aging and Health in America, the last baby boomers will turn 65 in 2030 and one in five Americans (about 72 million people) will be considered an “older adult.”

The report states that “as the fastest-growing U.S.-born ethnic segment, Hispanics are a culturally rich, highly motivated demographic poised to address the void left by the baby boomers.”

While Latinos currently comprise 16% of the U.S. labor market, the report says that they will account for one out of every two new workers entering the workforce by 2025. Authors of the report suggest that as long as Latinos are equipped with the right tools and resources, they could be a boon to employers, particularly in areas with major skills shortages like the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

“Our community must do something so that our young people are prepared for the job market of the future, so that they can embark on their careers and be successful,” said CHCI President and CEO Domenika Lynch. “We are committed to the idea that this report does not become another ‘white paper’ in Washington. We want it to be a call to action, and to show companies what they can do towards recruiting, training, and retaining Latino workers.”

Unfortunately, Latino college completion rates are still lagging behind those of other demographics. Among Hispanics between the ages of 25 and 29, only 15% have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher. Deborah Santiago, chief operating officer of Excelencia in Education, believes that this issue should concern all Americans.

“If Latinos are limited in what they can achieve, this limits our entire economy,” she said. “Latino educational attainment should be seen as something with potential, as something with a significant ROI – that is an incentive for people to act.”

Following a string of foodborne illnesses connected to the restaurant chain last year, Chipotle Mexican Grill has been quietly settling over 100 lawsuits out of court in recent months.

More than 500 cases of E. coli, norovirus, and salmonella were linked back to Chipotle last year, which significantly hampered the burrito chain’s food safety reputation. Every year, approximately 48 million Americans, or one in six people, contracts a foodborne illness; around 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 people die. Chipotle temporarily shut down several locations after two different outbreaks of E. coli spread across more than a dozen states.

Each case brought against Chipotle had a medically-confirmed diagnosis of food poisoning, said attorney Bill Marler, who has represented more than 100 people so far. All but one of his clients have so far settled out of court, he added.

“The way that Chipotle has been handling the legitimate claims has been textbook appropriate,” Marler told Reuters last week. “They’ve taken responsibility.”

Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said in a statement: “We are a company that does the right things for our customers and we simply believed settling these claims was the right thing to do.”

The company is still struggling to recover from the outbreaks, both in terms of their stock trading prices and their reputation in the public eye. The quiet handling of these cases over the past six months indicates their continued attempts to put the embarrassing gaffe behind them.

“The last thing that they want is a battle in the courtroom over paying these people money because that keeps it in the news,” said Howard Penney, managing director for Hedgeye Risk Management, a research firm that follows Chipotle.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ended its investigations into the restaurant, Chipotle still faces federal questioning over whether management misled investors about food safety protocol practices.