#012 · 23rd October 2023

Hola hola, cómo estás?

My Duolingo streak almost took a hit this week, I feel like busy is just my vibe right now. So, get used to more openings about how busy life is.

On top of work, I’ve been researching and writing another article, and planning my now 4-year-old’s birthday party (which was a roaring success). I always count my kids' birthdays as mine too, let's just say a few bottles of Crémant were consumed and good times were had (my mum would probably say lairy, but hey).

This week is half-term, so I have a short week at work. The weather is a bit of a washout, so I thought I’d squeeze in this overdue issue of CULTURx before we head out into the rain.

Let’s just jump in…

(Any Vegan/Vegetarian readers move on; you won’t like this one)

It feels like we can’t go a few years without bird flu entering the hype cycle, usually a new strain, a new outbreak, and a ton of stories about whether you should be worried about it. This time the news is a little different because researchers in the UK have come up with a novel approach to protecting poultry flocks from avian flu – using CRISPR*.

With gene-editing research they have been able to make the first chickens that are partially resistant to the virus. Whilst I am not gonna pretend to fully understand the science here, the gist that I got is that they knocked out one protein that the virus interacts with and aids the replication. But viruses become resistant and mutate, so we are far from having a gene-edited chicken on a plate at the dinner table, for now. But this is certainly the future!

*CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. It is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows scientists to make precise changes to the DNA of living organisms, including plants, animals and humans.

Ballet flats (you know, those thin-heeled lightweight slip-on shoes) are back. Everyone, and I mean everyone is saying so. Vogue, TikTok, Insta, The New York Times. Why!? Didn’t they learn anything? This is not just a fashion faux pas, it could be a health faux pas too.

It’s easy to see why they’ve made a comeback; on paper, they are versatile, easy to wear super soft and flexible. But, from what I recall from the first time around in the mid-2000s, is that they were quite damaging to my feet... cue flashbacks to trench foot. I did a dive into this, and it looks like the evidence is a bit complex and mixed (and I don’t want to be part of the misinformation problem) … but there’s some stuff to think about like narrow-toe boxes (the part of the shoe where your toe goes) and that flat shoes place more tension on the foot arch. And whilst there is no evidence to show a connection between ballet flats and trench foot, maybe autumn/winter is not the best season to crack ‘em out.

What’s my message? If you work in foot care – get on this trending topic and be part of the debate. If not, wear with caution!

So, in the past couple of weeks, Walmart made the headlines with some seemingly outrageous claims to Bloomberg that people taking the infamous ‘skinny jab’ (i.e. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) are putting less food in their baskets – well the actual claim was “slight change” in their purchasing habits: “just less units, slightly less calories”. My first reaction again was ‘wow’. Another day, another story about how these drugs are piercing through culture. 

But then the big question jumps in: How does Walmart know this? Turns out they are using customer data to study changes in sales patterns of people who fill a prescription for these drugs. Comparing their prescription history against their food shopping patterns to identify if they are buying less food. Walmart claims that the data has been anonymised so it cannot be linked back to specific patients. However, this kind of data mining raises serious questions about how healthcare data should be handled.

There’s no denying the value this customer data provides Walmart and perhaps Amazon for that matter (who also now have a healthcare service). But is linking this health data to the retail experience even ethical? And what options (if any) can customers expect to opt out? All this currently seems unsettlingly unclear.

Since the last issue of the newsletter, World Mental Health Day has come and gone. Maybe you have already seen these but I can’t resist sharing them as IMO these were the standout awareness videos (in the UK) to support the day and to get people sharing, talking, and knowing that mental health matters.

The first is from ITV and an extension of its Britain Get Talking campaign. The new video calls on schools and parents across the UK to set a homework task like no other – encouraging young people to have a proper conversation with a grown-up they trust about the hardest topic on their mind. ITV worked directly with schools and charities (such as Mind), to create this conversation starter and help children share more.

The second is from a partnership with Norwich City Football Club and The Samaritans – a powerful video to remind fans to check in on each other and has a strong message for suicide prevention.  This is not the first time the club has used its platform to campaign for mental health causes either.

I thought this was gonna be a short one this week… However I abandoned the writing this morning, and I’ve since been to Brighton Pier, lost my boy in soft play, eaten a lot of pizza and somehow, it’s now Monday evening and I haven’t published this. But I’m close… so here are a few final bits to keep you busy, because they kept me busy too:

🌱 Plants and bookcases really do matter on video calls – if you want to come across as super smart and trustworthy on your next Zoom call read this.

🏈 Have you seen the viral sensation that is the NFL roof cam? Read about it here (paywall remover needed).

👨‍⚕️ Maybe don’t visit your doctor on a Monday morning – find out why here

🎉 Rave pharmacy? – why not?

Thanks for stopping by, and if you enjoyed this issue's links and ponderings, please consider sharing with a friend or colleague… you might inspire them too!

Until next time ✌️

EML