Fortitude

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. A tiny patch could help repair heart post heart attack, Greece is coming for your retirement, and Chicago is hitting the road with Styx next summer 🎺

Let’s get into it!

Life expectancy has risen considerably since the end of the Second World War. With many living 20 years longer than people did in the 1950s, plenty are choosing to make ocean-crossing moves to retire internationally. It’s no surprise countries overseas are making an effort to attract them.

International Living magazine just released its Annual Global Retirement Index for 2026, and revealed the year’s top international place to retire is Greece, which scored the most points across categories like cost of living, healthcare, housing, visas, climate, and ease of integration.

Greece offers the Golden Visa as an invitation to younger retirees looking to move abroad. It automatically nets foreigners a residence permit if they invest a minimum of 250,000 euros in real estate.

“Greece’s rise to number one marks a shift in Europe’s retirement landscape,” says Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living. “For years, Portugal and Spain led the way, but recent visa changes and rising costs have retirees looking elsewhere. Greece now offers what many are seeking—a beautiful, welcoming, and affordable European base with accessible residency options and a lifestyle that feels rich in every sense.”

You can read about the rest of the top ten here, which includes Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, and more.

Researchers at Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Ke Huang, developed a patch that surgeons can place directly on a patient’s heart after the person suffers a heart attack. The patch releases microneedles that dissolve into the muscle and reverse the process that generates scar tissue, healing the damaged area instead.

Scar tissue will form in areas where blood flow is cut off after a heart attack. The microneedles contain molecules of interleukin-4 (IL-4), which is instrumental in regulating the human immune system. In this case, these molecules direct the immune system to repair the damage caused by a heart attack.

“This patch acts like a bridge,” said Huang, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “The microneedles penetrate the outer layer of the heart and allow the drug to reach the damaged muscle underneath, which is normally very hard to access.”

According to Huang, the IL-4 is specifically intended to communicate with immune cells called macrophages, which can either promote the inflammation that generates scar tissue, or promote the actual healing of the area the scar tissue is covering up.

A study published the other day by researchers at MIT suggests AI is already sophisticated enough to replace 11.7% of the entire American workforce, potentially restoring investor faith in AI stocks, but sending shivers up the spines of everyone else.

Called the Iceberg Index: Measuring Skills-centered Exposure in the AI Economy, the study was designed to “identify exposure hotspots, prioritize training and infrastructure investments, and test interventions before committing billions to implementation.”

MIT has a broader page on its site called Project Iceberg, which identifies the benefits of AI and how it can be used to boost human productivity rather than replace human labor.

“AI is transforming work. We have spent years making AIs smart—they can read, write, compose songs, shop for us,” the site reads.

“But what happens when they interact? When millions of smart AIs work together, intelligence emerges not from individual agents but from the protocols that coordinate them. Project Iceberg explores this new frontier: how AI agents coordinate with each other and humans at scale.”

Stakers everywhere will surely be delighted to know Chicago and Styx announced a North American tour for next summer.

“In my early days of live performing I had several mentors who were kind enough to let me join in and play with them despite not being able to read charts,” Styx singer and guitarist Tommy Shaw shared in a press release. “Rod Henley, Ricky Parsons, Bobby and Larry Moore, Eddie Wohlford, Wimpy Jones, Country Boy Eddie and others gave me a shot. And I am thankful for that."

Chicago seems thrilled with the plans as well, based on the statement from trumpeter and co-founder Lee Loughnane. “Chicago has never toured with Styx before so it's going to be a lot of fun, we're looking forward to it.”

If you can believe it, Chicago has toured in some form every single year since the band formed in the late 1960s. It’s a tremendous feat, though certainly not sustainable forever.

"The road is not an easy thing, the travel has never gotten easier," Loughnane said in an interview earlier this year. "But we still enjoy playing live for people, and the guys that we put in the band are incredible players. They bring in their expertise and their personality, we play the same arrangements, but they sound a little bit different.”

Cold as ice

With winter temps and snow arriving in many parts of the country the past week, we thought we’d play it…cool 🤣

We’ve got a set of 10 chilly questions about icy cold characters with today’s trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified on Wednesday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder!*