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"Late last year, a series of crises at the world’s biggest iPhone factory — a Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou, central China — underscored Apple’s need to diversify its manufacturing partners. According to one "estimate, the factory’s delays cost Apple $1 billion a week...Apple has since sped up plans to expand in India. Foxconn is in the middle of doubling its workforce in the country ... Now Chinese engineers are flying to India to train the next generation of iPhone builders.  More at Rest of World ➜

In many cultures, striking up a conversation with a stranger is the norm, and could even lead to a budding friendship. But not for the Swedes....In Sweden, casual chattiness is seen as needless, since conversation is used for exchanging real, meaningful information. More at BBC ➜

"Garment workers in the US are paid far below minimum wage. New legislation, if implemented successfully, would change that. For decades, the “Buy American” movement rested on the belief that such labels guaranteed a certain standard of quality and care. There lingered an assumption that US-made garments were produced in a more ethical manner than their foreign competitors, particularly those imported from lower-cost countries. The reality, however, is a bit more complicated"  More at The Nation ➜

"Your immune system requires a delicate balance to operate properly. When it’s out of balance, your immune system itself can cause disease. Healthy immune systems don’t need to be “boosted.” ... immunologists know that too much of an immune reaction could result in allergies, autoimmune disorders or chronic inflammation. On the flip side, too little of an immune reaction could result in illness or infection"  More at The Conversation ➜

Image credit: NIH NIAD (Scanning electron micrograph of a T cell)

Louie Schwartzberg is an American director, producer, and cinematographer. Since 2004, he has worked as a director for films, including the 2019 film, Fantastic Fungi, and the 2014 Netflix series, Moving Art. More

"This year's  Halloween spending by American shoppers is expected to break a new record. A National Retail Federation survey estimated that an average shopper would spend $108 on candy, costumes and decorations". About 12.2 billion dollars More at The National Retail Federation ➜

In Massachusetts, the onetime cranberry capital of the world, former bogs are transforming into thriving, carbon-storing swamps. More at Reasons to be Cheerful ➜

"A group of three researchers earned the 2023 Nobel Prize in physics for work that has revolutionized how scientists study the electron – by illuminating molecules with attosecond-long flashes of light .... Atto is the scientific notation prefix that represents 10-18, which is a decimal point followed by 17 zeroes and a 1. So a flash of light lasting an attosecond, or 0.000000000000000001 of a second, is an extremely short pulse of light. In fact, there are approximately as many attoseconds in one second as there are seconds in the age of the universe". More at The Conversation ➜

 "First, the shrimp disappeared. In late 1980s, the catch became so poor that Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper, had to take a job running a fish house in Seadrift in Calhoun County, Texas, where she grew up and still lives. Then beached, diseased 300-pound dolphins started appearing, and dead pelicans kept floating to the shores of Lavaca Bay"  More at Reasons to be Cheerful ➜

"A vaccine against tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease, has never been closer to reality, with the potential to save millions of lives. But its development slowed after its corporate owner focused on more profitable vaccines" More at ProPublica ➜

The national debt is composed of distinct types of debt, similar to an individual whose debt may consist of a mortgage, car loan, and credit cards. The different types of debt include non-marketable or marketable securities and whether it is debt held by the public or debt held by the government itself (known as intragovernmental). The U.S. has carried debt since its inception. Debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War amounted to $75 million, primarily borrowed from domestic investors and the French Government for war materials. More at the US Department of the Treasury ➜ 

"Diseases that run in families usually have genetic causes. Some are genetic mutations that directly cause the disease if inherited. Others are risk genes that affect the body in a way that increases the chance someone will develop the disease. In Alzheimer’s disease, genetic mutations in any of three specific genes can cause the disease, and other risk genes either increase or decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s".... More at The Conversation ➜