In the wild, stingrays pin prey like crabs or small fish to the sandy
bottom using their wide, disc-shaped bodies. In an aquarium, they use
the glass as a secondary barrier to "pinch" and secure the fish, making
escape nearly impossible
"Anthony Scaramucci has said he owns shares of SpaceX. So does 2
Chainz, the rapper; Betsy DeVos, the former education secretary; and the
hosts of a podcast called “Rich Habits” and more than 150 of its
followers.
Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company is about to hold what could
be the largest initial public offering ever, allowing anyone to own its
stock after 24 years as a private firm. So why does it seem that so many
people already do?
The answer lies in the opaque market for private company shares,
driven largely by what are known as special purpose vehicles, or SPVs.
These legal entities, which are designed to hold assets like equities,
have become a popular way to invest in private company stock as groups
of investors can pool money for a single investment. . ."
SpaceX, founded in 2002, is among the private companies that
investors have formed the most SPVs for, according to a tally by The New
York Times.
More than 170 such investment vehicles with the name
“SpaceX” or “Space Exploration” in them were set up mostly in the past
six years, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Not
all of the entities that own SpaceX stock include the company in their
names.
Kyle Ellingson for ProPublica
How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership
as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy
hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is certainly a
policy of obfuscation,” an expert said.
Only Musk can effectively remove himself as CEO or chairman through voting rights tied to super-voting Class B shares, according to filing after IPO.He will hold dominant voting power, allowing control over board elections and decisions, enabling tight oversight of board. Source: Reuters
Midlife
men are increasingly facing pressure to maintain their physical
attractiveness—not just their health—well into their later years, a
phenomenon dubbed the "Hotspan".
While older generations might have looked forward to a more relaxed
retirement with fewer aesthetic expectations, many modern men feel a
new, relentless drive to stay "hot" into their 60s and beyond.
What is the "Hotspan"?
The term "hotspan" evolves from concepts like longevity and healthspan
(the years lived in good health). It specifically refers to the period
during which a man maintains a high level of physical appeal.
The Shift: Previously, midlife was seen as a time of stability and "arrival". Now, it is often a period of high-maintenance reassessment.
The Pressure:
Men who once expected to "get off the hamster wheel" of competition
find themselves still sprinting—this time against the mirror.
Drivers of the Hotspan Trend
Several factors contribute to this growing obsession with maintaining youthfulness:
Social Media and Media Imagery:
Constant exposure to unrealistic examples of "eternally youthful"
celebrities, like Brad Pitt or George Clooney, creates a standard that
many feel they must match.
Advancements in Longevity Culture:
The rise of longevity science has normalized the idea of fighting aging
through everything from strict nutrition to cosmetic surgery
What it means for coffee drinkers For now, the research does not change current recommendations around coffee consumption, and individual responses can vary. However, it offers something researchers have long been missing—a clearer understanding of why coffee appears to support long-term health. "I think it helps explain why coffee has the effects that it does," Safe said. "It's not just an observation—there's a mechanism behind it."
Coffee doesn't just wake you up—a key biological pathway illuminates widespread health effects
A handful of roasted coffee beans highlights the
natural compounds researchers are studying to better understand coffee’s
potential health benefits. Credit: Nadya Pichkasova/Texas A&M
University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
For decades, research has linked coffee consumption to longer
life and lower risk of chronic disease—but exactly how those benefits
occur has remained unclear.
Now, new research from the Texas A&M
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) suggests
that compounds in coffee may work, in part, by activating a receptor in
the body known as NR4A1—a protein increasingly recognized for its role
in aging, stress response and disease.
Connecting coffee to a biological mechanism
The findings, recently published in Nutrients,
provide one of the first direct connections between coffee and this
receptor, offering a potential explanation for the beverage's widespread
health effects.
"Coffee has well-known health-promoting properties," said Dr. Stephen
Safe, distinguished professor and Sid Kyle Endowed Chair in Veterinary
Toxicology in VMBS' Department of Veterinary Physiology and
Pharmacology.
"What we've shown is that some of those effects may be
linked to how coffee compounds interact with this receptor, which is
involved in protecting the body from stress-induced damage."
NR4A1 belongs to a family of nuclear receptors that help regulate
gene activity in response to stress and damage in the body. In previous work,
Safe and collaborators described NR4A1 as a "nutrient sensor"—a
receptor that responds to compounds found in the diet and plays a role
in maintaining health as the body ages.
"If you damage almost any tissue, NR4A1 responds to bring that damage
down," ---Safe said.
"If you take that receptor away, the damage is
worse."
Research has shown that NR4A1 is involved in a wide range of
biological processes, including inflammation, metabolism and tissue
repair—all of which are closely tied to age-related diseases such as
cancer, neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders.
While coffee has long been associated with reduced risk of conditions
like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and metabolic disease,
most studies have been observational, leaving scientists searching for a
clear biological explanation.
Safe's team hypothesized that some of
coffee's benefits could be linked to NR4A1.
The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from across
Texas A&M, including Dr. Robert Chapkin, Dr. Roger Norton, Dr.
James Cai and Dr. Shoshana Eitan, whose work helped demonstrate coffee's
protective effects in neurological models.
In their study, researchers found that multiple compounds in
coffee—particularly polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds such as
caffeic acid—bind to the receptor and influence its activity.
"What we're saying is that at least part of coffee's health benefits
may come through binding and activating this receptor," Safe said.
The team also found that these compounds could influence cell behavior
in ways consistent with disease protection, including reducing cellular
damage and slowing cancer cell growth in laboratory models.
Importantly, when NR4A1 was removed from cells, those protective
effects disappeared—further supporting the receptor's role in mediating
coffee's impact.
More than just caffeine
While caffeine is the major individual component of coffee, the study
suggests that it may not be the primary driver of these health effects.
Instead, a range of naturally occurring compounds—many also found in fruits and vegetables—appear to play a larger role.
"Caffeine binds the receptor, but it doesn't do much in our models,"
Safe said.
"The polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds are much more
active."
This may help explain why both regular and decaffeinated coffee have
been associated with similar health benefits in large population
studies.
A complex but promising pathway
Despite the findings, Safe emphasized that coffee's effects are
likely not limited to a single pathway. "There are many receptors and
many mechanisms involved," he said. "What we're showing is that this
could be one of the important pathways."
The study is primarily mechanistic, meaning it focuses on how
biological processes work rather than proving direct cause-and-effect in
humans."There's still a lot of work to be done," Safe said.
"We've
made the connection, but we need to better understand how important that
connection is."
The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that
diet—particularly plant-based compounds—plays a critical role in
regulating aging and disease processes.
Because NR4A1 is involved in multiple conditions, the research could
also inform future efforts to develop new therapies. Safe's team is
already exploring synthetic compounds
that target the receptor more effectively than natural dietary
compounds, with the goal of developing treatments for cancer and other
diseases.
At the same time, the work reinforces the potential benefits of
everyday dietary choices. "Coffee is a very complex mixture of
compounds," Safe said. "It's a very potent combination."
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