🐤 Building blocks

Markets: Earnings season kicked off this week and investors were optimistic upon seeing the early third-quarter reports from a handful of companies. The news was enough to push the three major indexes higher, capping off a fifth-straight winning week for the S&P 500.

Equity researcher Craig Sterling interpreted the current mood, explaining: “What we’re seeing — and I think you’re seeing it hit pretty hard today, in a good way — is a broadening of the market.”

Purple rain: In addition to strong winds, frequent lightning, and pounding precipitation, there was another unmistakable sign of Hurricane Milton’s arrival on Florida’s shore earlier this week. Many people across the region reported a purple hue in the sky, leading to widespread social media speculation regarding the cause of this phenomenon. Experts say it’s as simple as understanding how light scatters. Since hurricanes release more particles into the atmosphere and reduce the sun’s angle, more red and blue light makes it to our eyes.

Series of events: Postseason action is underway for the MLB as League Championship brackets take shape this week. There have been a number of exciting plays thus far on the road to the World Series — including Mets slugger Francisco Lindor clobbering a decisive home run against the Phillies to secure his team a spot in the National League championship. And there were some nail-biters, including the Game 5 showdown between the Padres and Dodgers to determine which team would be advancing to take on the Mets on Sunday.

Order in the quartz: The humanitarian toll of Hurricane Helene across much of North Carolina was clear in devastating photos, videos, and firsthand accounts from those in the area during the storm’s aftermath. But there were many other less obvious impacts from the powerful storm. In one case, operations halted at a quartz mine in Spruce Pine, but the company, Sibelco, confirmed on Thursday that work had resumed. This is the only place in the United States where quartz pure enough to be used in the creation of computer chips can be found.

Search and find: A dispute between Google and Epic Games ended recently with a court order determining that Google must display third-party app stores in its own Play Store. Now, a number of other digital marketplaces are making it clear that they intend to explore this new opportunity. Perhaps the most notable example is Xbox, which confirmed in a social media statement by its president, Sarah Bond, that beginning next month “players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android.”

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From his work with the Neptunes to his collaborations with various music industry legends to his multi-generational hit “Happy,” almost everybody is somewhat familiar with Pharrell Williams’ work.

But if you want to know more about the man behind a seemingly endless line of catchy tunes, your best bet might be to check out the latest Lego movie.

Building the narrative

There’s been a cinematic trend in recent years to recreate popular film franchises using Lego bricks instead of human actors or traditional animation. But using this strategy to make documentaries was understandably never a popular pursuit.

If there’s one subject that could change that, it would probably be the life of Pharrell Williams.

Early reviews of “Piece By Piece,” which made its debut in theaters last night, describe its playful presentation as a perfect portrayal of Williams’ colorful and upbeat influence within the entertainment industry.

And the Lego aspect isn’t just an afterthought. Individual bricks and other elements of this alternate universe are integrated into the plotline with purpose, making this a more visually interesting experience than most documentaries.

One particularly compelling scene depicted Williams’ trip around the world by recreating iconic landmarks in those familiar interlocking toy bricks.

A hit-and-miss script

Most of the first impressions have been good, particularly about the visual aspect of the film. When it comes to the story itself, however, that’s more of a mixed bag. Some say it’s not as creative or innovative as the filmmaking would suggest. It has also attracted criticism from those who think it skimmed over some important, if uncomfortable, aspects of Williams’ life.

Others, however, applauded the film’s ability to weave a cohesive narrative using such an atypical medium.

In the end, it seems clear that this PG-rated film is geared toward the widest audience possible.

While you’ve probably heard that it’s spread by ticks and might know a few common symptoms, unless you or someone you know has experienced Lyme Disease there are likely some details you haven’t learned.

So before you head out for a hike or a camping trip this autumn, make sure you’re as protected as possible.

What it is and what it does

According to London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine professor James Logan: “Lime disease is a bacterial infection caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks.”

Initial symptoms can mimic the flu and often come along with a bullseye rash that might not appear until several months after the initial bite. The disease can continue to intensify from there, going on to cause serious issues including:

• Joint pain and arthritis
• Limb pain or numbness
• Facial paralysis
• Chronic tiredness
• Severe headaches
• Light sensitivity
• Vision problems
• Cardiovascular problems

While most tick bites don’t lead to Lyme disease, one European study found that it is spread in as many as 5% of all bites — and perhaps in as many as 1 in 10 cases across parts of England and Wales.

How to improve your odds

If you love spending time outdoors but don’t want to end up with Lyme disease, experts recommend using appropriate insect repellant and refraining from venturing too far from the beaten path.

When you return, check warm areas of your body — armpits, groin, waist, etc. — for ticks and, if you find one, be on the lookout for symptoms. Your doctor can perform a diagnostic test and prescribe antibiotics if it comes back positive.

Some cases caught during the early stages can be cured with appropriate treatment, but many people live with symptoms for years after they were infected.

We keep hearing stories about the next big thing in artificial intelligence, but every once in a while a story surfaces about a product that could really have a positive impact on our society. Many of these projects involve some aspect of the healthcare industry, from triage to surgery, and one new company thinks its platform can identify symptoms of a global killer more effectively than existing tools.

Important progress

The Switzerland-based company Aktiia has long been focused on reimagining blood pressure tech, and arguably its biggest project to date is one step closer to being used around the world. Its AI interface has been trained with a staggering 11 billion different pieces of data in order to monitor blood pressure without the expensive and intrusive inflatable cuffs found in a doctor’s office.

Making blood pressure monitoring easier and more accessible could have a huge impact. Research indicates that roughly 1.3 billion people worldwide are living with hypertension … and only about one-fifth of them have the condition under control.

Aktiia has now secured the approval of a key European Union regulator, so chances are good that its new product will continue moving toward a widespread rollout across the EU and beyond.

How it all works

Like many other breakthroughs in recent years, AI is a central component of this program. Essentially, it allows healthcare providers and patients to monitor blood pressure and heart rate using just an app and smartphone camera.

As Aktiia CEO Rags Gupta explained: “We shine a light into your finger, we capture signals and deliver back a medical valid blood pressure and heart rate reading.”

Providing easy access to screening is a “big deal,” he said, because early diagnoses and treatments can “save massive, massive costs downstream to the systems and to people’s lives.”