Nearly 26 years ago, the first episode of Survivor aired — changing the reality TV landscape forever. Tonight, the series’ 50th season begins, bringing together returning players for a highly anticipated showdown. Read one TV critic’s take on how Survivor is a reflection of American society and check out the latest trailer, which is White Lotus-inspired in honor of Mike White’s return to the competition show.
How to avoid getting scammed this tax season (top tip: when in doubt, hang up and call the IRS yourself)
Health
FDA Proposes Streamlined Gene Therapy Approval Process for Ultra-Rare Diseases
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
Patients with rare diseases may no longer have to wait years for gene therapies to clear the Food and Drug Administration. The agency issued draft guidance on Monday outlining a new “plausible mechanism” framework that would allow for the approval of targeted treatments for ultra-rare diseases without requiring large-scale randomized clinical trials — which can be impossible to run when patient numbers are low. Under the proposal, the FDA would consider approving a treatment when there’s solid scientific reasoning for why and how it should work, in hopes of creating tailored, cutting-edge therapies for those who have long had few or no options. The policy was partly inspired by an infant treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia last year who became the world’s first patient to receive a personalized CRISPR-based gene therapy for his rare metabolic disease. The same approach, supporters say, could be adapted for other, similar conditions. “We realized we can do this over and over again, individualizing the therapy for many patients,” Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who helped develop the baby’s treatment, said at a briefing this week, per NPR. “It will allow doctors to treat many, many patients.”
Together With Cholesterol Conquered
Cholesterol Conquered Says This Fruit Is Artery-Revitalizing
Italian researchers found that a unique fruit could support healthy cholesterol — without side effects or having to live on salads. The fruit was shown to revitalize arteries after six months, improving blood flow throughout the body. These results caught the attention of health professionals. In the video below, Dr. George Karanastasis explains which fruit and dives into some of the science behind cholesterol.
Deep in the caves of southwestern Germany, researchers have uncovered evidence that humans were experimenting with symbolic writing over 40,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The team studied 260 relics (including the mammoth tusk figurine pictured above) etched with repeating geometric signs, like lines, crosses, dots, and notches. After analyzing more than 3,000 of these carvings using quantitative linguistics and statistical modeling, they found thesigns showed similarities to the earliest-known writing from ancient Mesopotamia, which didn’t emerge until around 3000 B.C. The findings challenge the timeline of written communication. “The human ability to encode information in signs and symbols was developed over many thousands of years,” study co-author Christian Bentz explained in a statement. Fellow co-author Ewa Dutkiewicz added: “There are many sign sequences to be found on artifacts. We’ve only just scratched the surface.”
Culture
Got 60 Seconds? That’s All You Need to Watch a Microdrama
Ivan Rodriguez Alba/iStock
Make room, 20-minute sitcoms, 40-minute dramas, and watch-in-one-sitting miniseries marathons. Hollywood’s latest streaming trend is the microdrama: a full TV series made up of one to three-minute episodes, designed to be watched on your phone — maybe in line at a coffee shop, on the subway, before bed, or in between meetings. The novel format is “sort of the Triple Crown of the modern entertainment industry,” Tomm Polos, director of creator arts at the University of Southern California, told NBC News. “Because they’re social-friendly, they’re cost-effective, and they’re data-driven. That is what everyone wants.” The numbers back that up, as short dramas made $1.4 billion in the U.S. last year, according to the consulting firm Owl & Co. The shoots are quick and lean, with little time for extra takes. “This is sort of a different beast, because you’re just moving so fast,” said director Chris Baker, who likened the bite-size content to “snacks,” while feature films are more like “dinners.”
In Other News
More effective RSV therapies are in the works thanks to pediatricians’ blood (read more)
How do horses whinny? A new study explored the unique sound, a combination of whistling and singing (read more)
An Olympic medal from the first modern Games is headed to the auction block this Friday (read more)
Prosthetics go way back: A 2,500-year-old skull shows how Iron Age surgeons creatively repaired a shattered jaw (read more)
A baby pygmy hippo at Arizona’s Wildlife World Zoo was named after a sweet treat following a fan vote (read more)
Something We Love
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Inspiring Story
From the ground up
When Natasha Norie Standard was serving as a paratrooper in the military, she noticed her combat boots were made for men’s feet — she and her fellow servicewomen were left to make do with footwear that didn’t account for the differences in their arches, foot shapes, and bone density. After retiring, Standard studied shoe design in Milan and launched her own brand, Eqwal Footing, to sell the first military-grade combat boots designed specifically for women.
Photo of the Day
Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images
It may be hard to believe for those still knee-deep in snow, but early signs of spring are already in sight in Japan. While most cherry blossoms don’t bloom until late March or April, the Kawazu-zakura hybrids lining the banks of the Kawazu River in Shizuoka Prefecture get a head start. Their deep-pink petals peak in February, drawing over 1 million visitors to a riverside festival each year to soak in the stunning scene (and smells).
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