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Submission + - The real reason for return-to-office policies? Controlling bosses. (techspot.com)

Submitted by jjslash
jjslash writes: Policies regarding returning to the office have sparked significant controversy in the technology sector. Numerous firms had pledged to sustain the work-from-home protocols established during the lockdown indefinitely. However, the majority have since retracted these commitments, with major players like Amazon and Roblox issuing ultimatums to their employees to return to the office or face consequences.

If working from home leads to happy, more productive employees and saves companies money in office space, parking, etc., why are so many firms implementing strict Return-To-Office (RTO) policies? According to new research, the answer could be one that many people already suspected: controlling, narcissistic bosses.

Submission + - Scientists Discover 100 To 1000 Times More Plastics In Bottled Water (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: People are swallowing hundreds of thousands of microscopic pieces of plastic each time they drink a liter of bottled water, scientists have shown — a revelation that could have profound implications for human health. A new paper released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found about 240,000 particles in the average liter of bottled water, most of which were “nanoplastics” — particles measuring less than one micrometer (less than one-seventieth the width of a human hair). [...]

The typical methods for finding microplastics can’t be easily applied to finding even smaller particles, but Min co-invented a method that involves aiming two lasers at a sample and observing the resonance of different molecules. Using machine learning, the group was able to identify seven types of plastic molecules in a sample of three types of bottled water. [...] The new study found pieces of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is what most plastic water bottles are made of, and polyamide, a type of plastic that is present in water filters. The researchers hypothesized that this means plastic is getting into the water both from the bottle and from the filtration process.

Researchers don’t yet know how dangerous tiny plastics are for human health. In a large review published in 2019, the World Health Organization said there wasn’t enough firm evidence linking microplastics in water to human health, but described an urgent need for further research. In theory, nanoplastics are small enough to make it into a person’s blood, liver and brain. And nanoplastics are likely to appear in much larger quantities than microplastics — in the new research, 90 percent of the plastic particles found in the sample were nanoplastics, and only 10 percent were larger microplastics. Finding a connection between microplastics and health problems in humans is complicated — there are thousands of types of plastics, and over 10,000 chemicals used to manufacture them. But at a certain point, [...] policymakers and the public need to prepare for the possibility that the tiny plastics in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the clothes we wear have serious and dangerous effects.

Comment Re:Bad for Canadians (Score 1) 83

by JoeDuncan (#64136537) Attached to: FDA Issues First Approval for Mass Drug Imports To States From Canada

Canada can't "demand" Pharma sell them drugs at whatever price Canada wants to pay...

You are wrong. Canada does exactly that. Our drug prices are actually reasonable because the government regulates the price. The US has *actual laws* PREVENTING the government from regulating drug prices FFS...

Why in the world USians believe they're going to be able to buy drugs at the price enforced by the Canadian government when they're not Canadians is completely ludicrous.

Get a real health care system and stop trying to foist your sick onto other countries.

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