Apple to Remove Vaping Apps From Store

Ina Fried and Mike Allen, writing for Axios:

Amid growing health concerns over e-cigarettes, Apple will remove all 181 vaping-related apps from its mobile App Store.

Apple is acting from a good place here, yet still missing the mark. Vaping saves lives, and reducing access to vape technology makes it more difficult for people to choose an alternative to smoking cigarettes. And as far as cannabis vapes go, PAX is already lobbying against this decision:

PAX says that while it respects Apple's leadership, it is concerned with Apple's ban because it prevents consumers in legal stages from "having access to important information and the ability to better control their cannabis experience."

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Paul Stamets Announces the Launch of First-Ever Microdosing App

Paul Austin at The Third Wave:

On Wednesday, November 13, renowned mycologist Paul Stamets announced the launch of the world’s first mobile microdosing study on the Joe Rogan podcast. Dr. Zachary Walsh is conducting the study in collaboration with MAPS Canada, the BC Centre on Substance Use, and Quantified Citizen. Study results will help researchers better understand the effects of microdosing psychedelics on cognitive performance and mental health.

Participation in this cutting-edge research is completely anonymous as participants will not be asked to identify name, email, or date of birth. Due to the legal status of psychedelics, researchers will not provide the actual microdoses. It is up to each person to source the psychedelic, with a clear understanding that psychedelic use outside of clinical trials is still illegal in almost every jurisdiction.

An app for microdosing research. Interesting.

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What’s the Most Eco-Friendly Way to Dispose of a Body?

Ammar Kalia, writing for The Guardian:

In the middle of a cavernous factory floor in Pudsey, Leeds, sits a gleaming steel cylinder. One day, its maker believes, most of us will end up in something similar.

The machine is a Resomator – a pressurised canister in which corpses are submerged in a mixture of 150C water and potassium hydroxide solution for three to four hours until the flesh is dissolved, leaving behind only soft, greyish bones. After drying in an adjacent oven, these are ground down into paper-white powder, while the fluid is sent to a water treatment plant for disposal. The entire process is operated by a touchscreen and a single “start” button, away from the view of mourners. Ashes to ashes no more.

This was the first time I’ve heard of alkaline hydrolysis (also known as “resomation”) before. After reading this absolutely fascinating piece, I started thinking about what I want my survivors do with my corpse after I die. Going into the Resomator seems like such a great option, especially for the environment. If you’ve considered cremation or burial before, give this article a thorough read—you might just change your mind afterward.

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E*Trade May Offer Trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum

Jon Fingas, writing for Engadget:

Cryptocurrency traders might soon have an important ally. A Bloomberg source claims E*Trade is in the midst of work to enable trading cryptocurrencies, starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

If true, this is huge news for the mainstreamification of crypto. As the barriers to trading with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum erode, more and more people will begin using them.

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The World’s Biggest Dark Net Market Has Shut Down

Mike Power, writing for VICE:

Just over two weeks ago, on the 26th of March, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide logged on to the dark net market site, Dream, and found the following message:

[This market is shutting down on 04/30/2019 and is transferring its services to a partner company, onion address: [REDACTED] onion (currently offline, opening soon)]

All buying and selling on Dream (the largest, longest-running and most-used dark net market) had been halted. Most vendors and users have, however, been able to access the site and withdraw funds. But when it shuts for good at the end of the month, it will mark the closure of hundreds of thousands of listings generating millions of dollars in trade each week.

The move has left customers, observers and dealers wondering whether Dream’s closure could mark a shift in the way the dark web is used to buy and sell drugs. There is talk of a mysterious new and yet-to-open partner site, but many are wondering whether this could be a honeypot devised by the authorities.

Something seems a bit off here.

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