The scenic route

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. AI data center opposition is becoming an election issue; living near dry cleaners may drive higher risk of Parkinson’s; and a man dressed as Darth Vader speaks in support of surveillance.

Let’s get into it!

According to a new study conducted by researchers at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, living near a dry cleaners may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

The study looked at the Medicare records of over 19 million Americans, and found those living within 500 feet of a dry cleaners had a 14% higher chance of developing Parkinson’s. It also found the likelihood decreased with further distance.

"This study adds to growing evidence that environmental exposures may play an important role in Parkinson's disease," said Brad Racette, M.D., chair of neurology and senior vice president of Barrow Neurological Institute, and senior author of the study. "Identifying those exposures is an important step toward understanding how we might reduce the burden of this disease in the future."

Those exposures include chlorinated solvents like trichlorethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), which have long been associated with Parkinson’s disease. While the former was mostly phased out of use in dry cleaning years ago, the latter continues to be used, and is known to linger in soil and groundwater for years.

Apple sent out a round of notifications to users in over 100 countries indicating they may have been sent mercenary spyware.

Mercenary spyware is a highly sophisticated type of cyber weapon typically used by actors targeting individuals like journalists, government employees, or business executives. They are often traced back to corrupt governments themselves targeting other individuals for nefarious reasons.

While these types of attacks usually target a relatively small number of people, this one appears to have hit many more, based on the number of service requests received by Access Now, the company Apple sends users to for tech support under such circumstances.

At the same time, it’s possible more people are just reporting the threat this time, since Apple improved its notification system.

“Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone. There are actions you can take now to help protect your data and device,” says a notification that shows up directly on a user’s lockscreen.

Apple recommends taking those actions immediately, for anyone receiving the notification.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) completed its five-year study earlier this year.

DESI had been surveying the night sky in 20 minute intervals for five years, and collected small fragmented pieces of the cosmos that would eventually come to make up the largest-ever high-resolution map of the observable universe.

47 million galaxies were mapped by the instrument for the purpose of—perhaps ironically—learning more about the space that’s between them.

70% of the universe is believed to be comprised of dark energy. It’s what’s driving the universe’s expansion—an expansion that isn’t just proof that it was once a lot smaller before the Big Bang, but also an expansion that is somehow accelerating.

Over 900 scientists from 70 institutes around the world are working on the ongoing experiment to understand this mysterious phenomena that’s stumped all disciplines of astronomical science since it was first hypothesized.

“Ultimately, we are doing this for all humanity, to better understand our Universe and its eventual fate. After finding hints that dark energy might deviate from a constant, potentially altering that fate, this moment feels like sitting on the edge of my seat as we analyze the new map to see whether those hints will be confirmed,” said Stephanie Juneau, associate astronomer and NSF NOIRLab representative for DESI.

A man dressed as Darth Vader attended a San Diego City Council meeting the other day, and spoke in favor of the city’s police force using Flock cameras.

Flock cameras are surveillance tools that take photographs of license plates, collecting several other data points in the process before storing them in a searchable database.

They’ve been the source of controversy recently due to multiple officers getting caught using Flock to keep tabs on their ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, or other relatives.

“The Emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum as they move from playground to playground; from playground to pool; from pool to gymnasium,” Mr. Vader said.

“Because we all know that the Flock cameras are not only following the license plate readers, they are following children. They are following children in parks and gymnasiums. And we need this. I need this so I can stalk my ex-girlfriend.”

On the topic of state surveillance, he mockingly spoke in favor of its multiple uses, while calling for more funding for methods that “imprison the population.”

Quizmaster’s choice

You know the drill, Staker! It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for another round of à la carte. The questions are random, but they’re all relevant for folks born in the ’60s. See how well you fare with today’s trivia 😎