Please share: Presentation for 4/23 9 PM EST Urban Survivors Union sex worker organizing group conference call: Shawna Ferris and (time-permitting) Amy Lebovitch will be discussing how to protect ourselves from potentially exploitative researchers as our sex worker orgs gain visibility. Shawna Ferris wrote the groundbreaking _Street Sex Work and Canadian Cities: Resisting A Dangerous Order_, the most brilliant book I’ve ever read on sex work, neoliberalism, gentrification, and media tropes. Of course, most of us know Amy Lebovitch as the acclaimed sex worker activist famous for being one of the plaintiffs in Bedford v. Canada. Outdoor sex workers in particular,as well as other marginalized groups of workers, get pressure to take part in research, so it behooves outsider sex worker orgs made up of street workers, drug-using workers, trans workers, migrant workers, etc, to prepare strategies for responding to these queries. Shawna and Amy will go over how to set agendas and protect ourselves from or in research w/various kinds of academics-students, graduates, university professors, etc. They’ll also outline what different kinds of researchers can offer our communities and what they can pay us as subjects. As usual, any current or ex drug-using sex workers or current or ex sex workers interested in harm reduction or drug users union work are invited to the call! Respectful harm reduction and drug users union allies who don’t center themselves at our expense are also welcome. Again, this biweekly call will take place on 4/23, 9 PM EST. The info for the call is always the same–over laptop/tablet/smartphone– https://www.gotomeet.me/LouiseVincent
On your phone in the US–+1 (786) 535-3211
Access Code–615-430-549

‘Water bears’ are first animal to survive space vacuum

Tiny invertebrates called 'water bears’ can survive in the vacuum of space, a European Space Agency experiment has shown. They are the first animals known to be able to survive the harsh combination of low pressure and intense radiation found in space.

Water bears, also known as tardigrades, are known for their virtual indestructibility on Earth. The creatures can survive intense pressures, huge doses of radiation, and years of being dried out.

After 10 days of exposure to space, the satellite returned to Earth. The tardigrades were retrieved and rehydrated to test how they reacted to the airless conditions in space, as well as ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and charged particles from space called cosmic rays.

The vacuum itself seemed to have little effect on the creatures. But ultraviolet radiation, which can damage cellular material and DNA, did take its toll.

Pollution Leads to Drop in Life Span in Northern China, Research Finds

BEIJING — Southern Chinese on average have lived at least five years longer than their northern counterparts in recent decades because of the destructive health effects of pollution from the widespread use of coal in the north.

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Marijuana and blood sugar control linked, study says

 Regular marijuana use is associated with favorable indices related to diabetic control, say investigators. They found that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin and were less likely to be insulin resistant, even after excluding patients with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Their findings are reported in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Participants who reported using marijuana in the past month had lower levels of fasting insulin and HOMA-IR and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). These associations were weaker among those who reported using marijuana at least once, but not in the past thirty days, suggesting that the impact of marijuana use on insulin and insulin resistance exists during periods of recent use. Current users had 16% lower fasting insulin levels than participants who reported never having used marijuana in their lifetimes.

Marijuana has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood and increase appetite. Outlawed in the United States in 1937, its social use continues to increase and public opinion is swinging in favor of the medicinal use of marijuana. There are an estimated 17.4 million current users of marijuana in the United States. Approximately 4.6 million of these users smoke marijuana daily or almost daily. A synthetic form of its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, has already been approved to treat side-effects of chemotherapy, AIDS-induced anorexia, nausea, and other medical conditions. With the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in two states and the legalization of medical marijuana in 19 states and the District of Columbia, physicians will increasingly encounter marijuana use among their patient populations.

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Initial research Antoine and I made for Polo & Pan’s Feel Good music video + close-ups of some of my takes