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New research has revealed that a rapid, irregular heartbeat condition known as atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) is three times more common than previously thought. United States-based research, led by the University of California, San Francisco, showed the condition impacted around five percent of the population. About a third of people with A-Fib will experience a stroke without proper treatment. The research report said A-Fib had been growing over the past decade off the back of the aging population, and increased hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Study first author Jean Jacques Noubiap said A-Fib doubled the risk of human mortality and lowered the quality of life for people with the condition. “Fortunately, atrial fibrillation is preventable, and early detection and appropriate treatment can substantially reduce its adverse outcomes,” he said. UCSF investigators reviewed the medical records of nearly 30 million adult patients who received some form of acute or procedural care in California from 2005 to 2019. About two million had been diagnosed with A-Fib, and the numbers grew over time, rising from 4.49 percent between 2005 and 2009 to 6.82 percent between 2015 and 2019. During the study timeframe, A-Fib patients skewed younger, were less likely to be female and more likely to have hypertension and diabetes. “A-Fib has a broad spectrum of complications from shortness of breath and light-headedness to blood clots, stroke and even heart failure,” the study report said. “Studies have shown that people with A-Fib are up to five times more likely to have a stroke.” Study senior and corresponding author Gregory Marcus said digital technologies may reveal the condition was even more common than the current analysis indicated. “With the growing use of consumer wearables designed to detect atrial fibrillation combined with safer and more effective means to treat it, this current prevalence of atrial fibrillation in health care settings may soon be dwarfed by future health care utilization that will occur due to the disease,” he said. https://lnkd.in/gUYuCSTT #health #heart #research Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

The music industry has sounded the alarm over “dying” technology that may result in recorded masters from the 1990s being lost. Music Industry publication Mix reported this week that around 20 percent of disk archives from the 1990s were unreadable. The publication quoted data recovery company Iron Mountain saying that it received thousands of industry archives each year to remaster, and a “huge percentage” were unrecoverable. Iron Mountain Global Director of Studio Growth and Strategic Initiatives Bob Koszela said this meant “historic sessions from the early to mid-’90s that are dying”. Before the year 2000, master tapes were just that – tapes. Tracks were transferred onto vinyl, cassette or CD and then the tapes were put into storage. As technology changed and demand for new versions and remixes grew, it was found that some tapes were deteriorating, some were not playable and not all had been stored under optimum conditions. There were also recordings made on equipment that was obsolete or in formats that could no longer be easily played. As a result of this there was a move towards digitalisation of music and storing masters on hard drives. While most people accepted that this would solve the problem, Iron Mountain has found that these disks may be no easier to recover than the old tapes. “It’s so sad to see a project come into the studio, a hard drive in a brand-new case with the wrapper and the tags from wherever they bought it still in there,” Mr Koszela told Mix. “Next to it is a case with the safety drive in it. Everything’s in order. And both of them are bricks.” https://lnkd.in/gwYvTz_n #music #recordings Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

Australian landlords would loss the tax benefits of negative gearing unless their property met national standards, under a plan to improve conditions for the country’s renters. A new report from Melbourne’s RMIT University urban policy experts recommends using Australia’s tax system to force investors to improve conditions for private renters. Co-author Professor Jago Dodson said the reforms would see negative gearing only available to investors whose properties meet national standards for fair rental contracts and construction quality. Professor Dodson said the benefits for investors would also include discounted capital gains tax, while renters stood to get a better deal with more energy-efficient homes. He said tax breaks were a “good carrot” for property investors to make things better for their tenants. “There’s an opportunity to use negative gearing and capital gains tax to make things better for renters, without relying on negotiation with the states. “It doesn’t require dramatic reform, just some tweaks to our tax laws.” Professor Dodson said investors would still get their tax benefits, but only if they made positive changes for renters. He said proposed improvements included having dwellings meet a seven-star energy rating, with heating, cooling and insulation among the requirements. “Currently only required for new builds, the report recommends expanding the seven-star rating to existing rentals, with investors given tax credits in return for making improvements.” Professor Dodson said as well as physical improvements there would be minimum quality, safety and security standards covering things such as minimum lease periods and rent increase limits. “The reforms would also make the standards national, leading to consistency for renters and investors alike.” https://lnkd.in/gidHKJqs #property #rentals Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

Queensland farmers have reported a more optimistic outlook for the year ahead off the back of rising commodity prices and positive seasonal conditions. The latest quarterly Rabobank Australia Rural Confidence Survey has found a rebound in confidence after a dip midway through the year. The Queensland result was in line with an overall national farmer confidence rise. Despite the lift, farmer confidence remained in negative territory in quarter three at the financial year, rising from minus 13 percent to minus four percent. Rabobank acting state manager Brad James said the rainfall outlook was likely to be “within the typical seasonal range over much of the eastern half of the country in coming months” and this was lifting hopes for the season ahead. “The expectation for interest rates to start easing has come as a relief for many producers, who have been watching monetary policies closely in recent times,” he said. Mr James said the mood was also lifted through improved trade relations with China. The survey showed 19 percent of Queensland farmers expected improved conditions over the year ahead and 54 percent expected conditions to be unchanged. The proportion expecting worse conditions dropped from 28 percent to 22 percent over the quarter. The survey found concerns around rising input costs dropped from 39 percent to 29 percent and farmers worried about soft commodity prices dropped from 28 percent to 18 percent. The Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey questions an average of 1000 primary producers across a wide range of commodities and geographical areas throughout Australia on a quarterly basis. https://lnkd.in/gEZ7h4xU #agriculture #confidence #rural Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

Businesses are hesitant to introduce blockchain into their accounting practices, despite acknowledging the benefits of the technology. A QUT (Queensland University of Technology) study found while survey participants agreed on its efficiency and transparency, they were deterred by blockchain’s complexity and cost of integration into existing accounting systems. PhD researcher Mohsina Akter said the study, which interviewed experts from three Big Four accounting firms, IT professionals, blockchain experts, senior managers and CEOs, looked at the organisational-level adoption of blockchain accounting. Mrs Akter said blockchain had been hyped as a game-changer for accounting transactions as it enabled triple-entry accounting and real-time reporting. “Blockchain enables distributed, immutable ledgers that record and verify transactions as they occur and distribute the same copy of the ledger to participating ‘nodes’ in the network,” she said. “This creates a chain of accounting records instead of retaining separate records and increases the transparency of information for everyone involved.” Mrs Akter said blockchain held promise for improving the accounting and auditing processes, however, application of the technology remained limited. Read the full list of barriers and benefits 👇 https://lnkd.in/gjn8dJcN #blockchain #technology #business Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

The iconic New Zealand flightless bird the kiwi is a “recent” arrival from Australia, according to new research conducted across the ditch. Researchers believe New Zealand’s true ancient species are animals like Kākāpō, small wrens, bats and freshwater limpets, not Aussie immigrants like kiwi, moa and takahē, which they believe only arrived a few million years ago. Canterbury Museum Senior Curator Natural History Dr Paul Scofield is part of an international team of palaeontologists who have spent 20 years at the St Bathans fossil site in Central Otago. Dr Scofield said the team had uncovered thousands of fossil bones at the site which offered the only significant insight into the country’s non-marine wildlife from 20 million years ago. He said new research summarised the creatures discovered in the more than 9000 specimens collected across 23 years and promoted a rethink of New Zealand’s native fauna. “Many of the species that we thought of as iconic New Zealand natives – a classic example would be the takahē – we now know are relatively recent blow-ins from Australia, arriving only a few million years ago,’’ he said. “Twenty-three years of digging at St Bathans has changed our idea about the age of the New Zealand fauna and the importance of some animals over others. For example, until now we thought that birds like kiwi and moa were among the oldest representatives of New Zealand fauna. We are now realising that the Kākāpō, tiny New Zealand wrens and bats, and even a bizarre freshwater limpet, are the real ancient New Zealand natives.” Dr Scofield said the research concluded that this menagerie of exotic animals was wiped out by dramatic temperature drops over the last about 5 million years. https://lnkd.in/gbiaMfC9 #research #fauna Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

Data breaches in Australia are their highest level in more than three years and jumped almost 10 percent in the first six months of this year. New statistics from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) show the number of data breaches notified to the regulator in the first half of 2024 was at its highest in three and a half years. Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said the OAIC was notified of 527 data breaches from January to June 2024. Commissioner Kind said this was the highest number of notifications since July to December 2020 and an increase of nine percent from the second half of 2023. “Almost every day, my office is notified of data breaches where Australians are at likely risk of serious harm. This harm can range from an increase in scams and the risk of identity theft to emotional distress and even physical harm,” she said. “Privacy and security measures are not keeping up with the threats facing Australians’ personal information and addressing this must be a priority.” Commissioner Kind said the MediSecure data breach notified in the period affected approximately 12.9 million Australians, the largest number of Australians affected by a breach since the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme came into effect six years ago. “Similar to previous reports, malicious and criminal attacks are the main source of breaches (67 percent), with 57 percent of those cyber security incidents.” She said the health industry and the Australian Government notified the most data breaches of all sectors (19 percent and 12 percent respectively), highlighting both the private and public sectors were vulnerable. https://lnkd.in/gZ6ZUSHQ #datasecurity Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

Researchers are looking to fast-track the use of marine-based bio-materials in building materials to aid the transition to net zero and help the Brisbane Games deliver on its climate-positive goal. A global innovation network, which includes two QUT (Queensland University of Technology) researchers, aims to accelerate the use of algae, seagrass and shellfish, as scalable solutions for low-carbon and future-focused building products. Professor Tim Schork and Associate Professor Müge Belek Fialho Teixeira are members of the Building with Blue Biomass network, which is examining ways blue biomass can help reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and accelerate the building industry’s transition towards circular and renewable bio-based materials. “Amidst our global ecological challenges, growing housing crisis and resource scarcity, the urgency to find sustainable materials for the built environment is paramount,” Professor Schork said. “The built environment is one of the largest producers of carbon dioxide, and one of the largest consumers of energy and resources in the world, significantly contributing to the overconsumption of our world’s resources.” He said a net-zero carbon future depended on decarbonising buildings, however, this could not be achieved using only conventional building materials. “It will require a shift to a circular bioeconomy in the building industry.” Professor Schork said Queensland was a national leader in aquaculture, which presented opportunities to repurpose blue-biomass. “The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is set to be the world’s first climate-positive Olympics, and building with blue biomass could be part of the means of achieving that,” he said. https://lnkd.in/eTkVk2fb #biomass #circulareconomy #building Sign-up the to free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

The finance industry has begun to take action to limit the working hours of its employees following growing concerns about health risks from overwork. The Wall Street Journal reported on the weekend that JPMorganChase was limiting the weekly hours of junior investment bankers to 80. While this is still the equivalent of more than 11-hour days, seven days a week, it one of the first signs of tangible action to break the culture of “face time” in the industry. The issue has sparked renewed debate after a 35-year-old Bank of America employee died from a coronary blood clot after working multiple 100-hour weeks. Since the death, the Bank of America has reportedly implemented a new timekeeping system requiring junior associates to describe their hours in more detail. The global debate about reasonable working hours has also been fuelled by the introduction in Australia last month of “right to disconnect” laws that restrict outside hours contact with employees. Employees of businesses employing 15 or more people now have the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact (or attempted contact) outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. Whether a refusal is unreasonable will depend on the circumstances. The following factors must be considered: - The reason for the contact. - The nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility. - The employee’s personal circumstances. - How the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee. - Any relevant extra pay or compensation they receive for working additional hours or remaining available to work out of hours. For employees of small businesses, the right to disconnect does not start until August 26, 2025. https://lnkd.in/ez92rsGf #workhours #righttodisconnect Sign-up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDGxznVv #newsreel

It took me a long time to realise that you can’t do quality work without quality rest. Our bodies were not meant to be in top gear all the time. #worknado #worklifebalance