Here’s a weekly recap of what made news in the world of science and technology.
A landmark study in India has revealed that exposure to polluted air is associated with an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. The study, titled PM2.5 exposure, glycemic markers and incidence of type 2 diabetes in two large Indian cities and published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, was conducted in Delhi and Chennai. According to a Press Trust of India report, the team, including researchers from the Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, assessed a group of over 12,000 men and women from 2010 to 2017 and measured their blood sugar levels periodically. The researchers found that one month of exposure to PM2.5 led to increased levels of blood sugar and prolonged exposure of one year or more led to higher risk of diabetes, the report adds. Earlier this week, the AQI in Delhi dropped into the severe category.
Also read: Air pollution: 4 gadgets, apps to help you track the AQI and breathe better
At its ‘Scary Fast’ event on 30 October, Apple announced the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips – calling them the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer. According to the company, these chips are the first personal computer chips built using the industry-leading 3-nanometer process technology, allowing more transistors to be packed into a smaller space and improving speed and efficiency. At the same event, Apple also unveiled a new MacBook Pro and iMac, featuring the M3 chips. Read more about this here.
In a fascinating new study, led by researchers at the California Institute of Technology and published in the journal Nature on 1 November, scientists suggest that two continent-sized blobs of unusual material found deep near the center of the Earth (formally known as large low-velocity provinces or LLVPs and discovered by geophysicists in the 1980s) are remnants of an ancient planet that violently collided with Earth billions of years ago, in the same giant impact that created our Moon. The study presents answers about Theia, a hypothesized ancient planet, and the true origins of the Moon. Read more about the study here.
(Compiled by Nitin Sreedhar, with inputs from wire agencies)
