ULTIMATE CURES FOR CHOLESTEROL AND CANCER?

As I begin this posting, I look to my right and see.....a rainbow.

Next, the Iran War:

• Yesterday, President Donald Trump warned Oman not to work with Iran to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz.
• Oman has been a close strategic partner of the U.S. for 50 years, and has been involved in peacemaking.
• That article hinted that Trump was confused, as he has been recently, and misspoke in even mentioning Oman.

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  As you can see, Iran and Oman are the two countries through which the strait passes, so a cooperative agreement actually makes a lot of sense.
• The strait is only 21 miles wide at the choke point, and you can see Iran from Oman.
• Yesterday, again, the U.S. struck Iran's Bandar Abbas.
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  However, today the news is that the the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative deal to extend the ceasefire.  What does this mean?
• First of all, this so-called deal is unofficial, as the agreement has no yet been approved by the leadership of either country.  And where is Israel, still actively striking Lebanon?

• 
  But there now exists an unofficial draft of a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which the White House called a complete fabrication.  Trump said that he wants a couple of days to think about it.  To quote the BBC:

The report included the lifting of Washington's naval blockade of Iranian ports, the withdrawal of US forces from the "vicinity of Iran", and the restoration of non-military traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran and Oman in control of the management and routing of vessels.

• 
  People keep complaining about inflation and the economy, but maybe President Trump is doing something right.  All stock market indexes today began at historically record highs.  I asked Google AI, if this is true:

Yes, all three major U.S. stock market indexes—the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite—closed at fresh record highs together. [1]

This trifecta milestone was driven by investor optimism over ongoing negotiations to end the U.S.-Iran war, easing geopolitical concerns, and a strong rotation into risk-on artificial intelligence and tech shares. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The specific closing numbers on Wednesday included: [1, 2]

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Closed at 50,644.28, a new all-time high.
• S&P 500: Finished at 7,520.36, marking a new record close.
• Nasdaq Composite: Settled at 26,674.73, achieving a record close of its own. [1]

Now on to my medical topic of today, Eli Lilly announced earlier this week that its gene-editing therapy can reduce Low Density Lipoprotein, that bad one. HDL is good.

• Called VERVE-102, a one-time infusion over the course of four hours will cure this problem for most, one third of patients had lower levels of LDL for up to 18 months after treatment.
• This drug switches off the PCSK9 gene in the liver that makes a protein that regulates cholesterol levels.

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  Replaces for many the daily finger prick and pill process.
• High LDL is a major risk factor for heart disease, the leading  cause of death.
• Mind you, this is only a first study of  35 patients.  The larger Phase 2 study will be launched later this year.

How is medical science doing to cure cancer, the second-most cause of death?

• Cancer will not be cured this year.  Why?
• Cancer is an umbrella term for more than 200 distinct diseases, for which there will never be a magic bullet to cure all.
• What is happening is a range of approaches.
• Personalized vaccines which are mRNA-based.

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  Advanced cell therapies like CAR T-cell, shifting to durable remission.
• Precision targeting, new molecular glues and targeted radioligand therapies to treat previously untreatable cancers.

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  Earlier interception, using liquid biopsies and artificial intelligence for doctors to cath and map tumor DNA earlier than before.
• Are sound waves the next big cancer breakthrough?

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  The pathway now is to turn the disease into a manageable, chronic condition to maximize the patient's quality of life.
• Read this report from the Van Andel Institute or go to the American Cancer Society for further details.

The world is now 2 weeks away from the first FIFA World Cup game.

• That selfie is being taken by FIFA President Gianni Infantino of the presidents of the USA, Mexico and Canada, the combined hosts of the series.

• 
  Happens every four years.
• 48 countries will play 104 games, with the U.S. hosting the final at MetLife Park in New Jersey, where ticket prices are sky high.
• Well, there are a very few $60 seats, but most are around $1000, and as high as $10,000.
• According to Google AI, the cheapest resale price seats are now going for $8300 to $11,000, with listings as high as $2.3 million.

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