I. Business
8.
Bitcoin price prediction: Here’s why analyst thinks $22,000 is next
KEY POINTS
- Bitcoin
breached $18,000 for the first time in three years;
- The
number of people holding Bitcoin for a period of one year has increased;
- The
number of Bitcoin being transferred out of exchanges is rising.
Bitcoin just hit $18,000 and an analyst
expects the next price target to be $22,000, a figure that is higher than the
previous all-time high.
Bitcoin closed Tuesday (17th
November, 2020) at $17,679, a new 2020 high, breaking the earlier record of
$16,726 which was hit just the previous day (Monday, 16th November,
2020). At the time of writing this report, the benchmark crypto currency hit
$18,000, its highest price in the last three years. Bitcoin last reached
$18,000 in December, 2017, the month when it went on to touch its all-time high
price of just below $20,000.
With the previous all-time high on the
horizon, people are looking forward to what’s to come after that. One analyst
said Bitcoin could reach $20,000 and the first initial target is $22,000.
According to Philip Swift, an analyst and founder of Lookintobitcoin.com,
multiple indicators, including institutional buying and the one-year HODL %,
are still likely to increase soon, Cointelegraph reported.
The one-year HODL % refers to the number of
people whose BTC addresses hold Bitcoin for at least a year. At this point, the
one-year HODL wave chart shows these investors are growing in number. This is
significant because despite Bitcoin being up by 154% already since the start of
the year, the number of people not selling their Bitcoins is still increasing.
This implies that these investors are looking forward to a further upside in
the price of the benchmark crypto currency and that they are not selling any
time soon.
Additionally, the funding rate has remained
neutral. This refers to the balance between buyers and sellers particularly in
the Bitcoin futures market. According to Cointelegraph, the average funding
rate has remained at 0.01%, suggesting a balance between buyers and sellers
which also implies that the market is not yet overheated. If the market becomes
overheated, a reverse in the price trend could happen.
Finally, more and more Bitcoin is being
withdrawn from exchanges. In a separate article, Cointelegraph noted that a
total of 145,000 BTC were moved out of crypto currency exchanges between 15th
October and 15th November. At the price point of Bitcoin on 15th
November, the amount is worth around $2.35 billion transferred out of
exchanges.
Source: International Business Times; By Vincent Figueras – 18th
November, 2020)
II. Science
9. World
Science Day For Peace And Development 2020: Inspirational quotes by famous
scientists
Science influences most aspects of human
life including health, medicines, transportation and energy. Hence, to
highlight the role of science in daily life, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed World Science Day for Peace and
Development in 2001. Since then, the day has been observed annually on 10th
November.
Apart from strengthening public awareness
about science’s role in society, the day also aims at keeping people informed
about the key developments in science and drawing their attention towards the
challenges the progress of science is facing.
On this day, here are a few inspirational
and powerful quotes by famous scientists, courtesy Famous Scientists and
Forbes:
An experiment is a question which science
poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature’s answer – Max Planck
It is strange that only extraordinary men
make the discoveries which later appear so easy and simple – Georg C.
Lichtenberg
We pass through this world but once. Few
tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices
deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit
imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within – Stephen Jay Gould
Science without religion is lame, religion
without science is blind – Albert Einstein
The saddest aspect of life right now is
that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom – Isaac Asimov
Actually, everything that can be known has a
Number; for it is impossible to grasp anything with the mind or to recognise it
without this – Philolaus
Progress is made by trial and failure;
the failures are generally a hundred times more numerous than the successes;
yet they are usually left unchronicled – William
Ramsay
Did the genome of our cave-dwelling
predecessors contain a set or sets of genes which enable modern man to compose
music of infinite complexity and write novels with profound meaning? … It looks
as though the early Homo (sapiens) was already provided with the intellectual
potential which was in great excess of what was needed to cope with the
environment of his time – Susumu Ohno
Source: International Business Times; By Vaishnavi Vaidyanathan – 11th
October, 2020)
III. Health
10. Can’t sleep during quarantine? How to
rest while anxious | Elemental
In the age of coronavirus, sleep is more
important – and more elusive – than ever
May be you’ve always struggled with your
sleep. Or, perhaps because of the coronavirus outbreak you’ve started
experiencing insomnia as a result of changes to your everyday life, fears about
the health and safety of yourself and your loved ones, financial insecurities
and the barrage of coronavirus information and misinformation that’s coming
from all directions. In these uncertain times, it’s not surprising to find that
many people are facing an increase in sleep difficulties.
With all the challenges we’ll be facing over
the next several months as individuals and within our communities, workplaces,
schools and, indeed, globally, there are many reasons to make healthy sleep a
priority and take steps to preserve this vital bodily function.
What constitutes good sleep? First, getting
the right amount for your age: Most adults require seven to eight hours of
sleep for optimal health. Adolescents and emerging adults benefit from eight to
ten hours, school-aged children need between nine and 11 hours, and our littlest
ones should get even more.
Then, timing: Sleep does its best work for
us when we get it at the right ‘time,’ according to our internal, 24-hour body
clock, aka our circadian rhythm. Humans are diurnal, meaning all of the
workings of our body – eating, digestion, hormone secretion, and even learning
and memory – are organised around the basic framework of wakefulness during the
day and sleep at night. For individuals who work at night or follow a rotating
shift schedule, finding the right sleep timing can be complicated because their
sleep-wake schedules are often out of sync with day and night.
Finally, getting high-quality sleep: Sleep
disruptions – whether they are from environmental sources, like noise or light
or children, or due to things we bring to bed with us, like anxiety or an
untreated sleep disorder – diminish the benefits of sleep.
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, we
can’t afford not to sleep well right now. Healthy sleep preserves our
immune function which will be critical if we are exposed to the virus.
Sleep also helps us focus, think clearly and
solve problems. It helps us maintain our composure when emotions are running
high. And for those with common chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity,
high blood pressure, heart disease or depression, healthy sleep promotes better
management of these underlying conditions.
Keep your body clock running on time
Just because you are stuck home does not
mean you cannot go outside. Staying inside decreases your light exposure and
makes it harder for your body clock to maintain its circadian rhythm. If you
can safely get some sunlight, especially in the morning, that will help your
brain and body keep the daytime / night-time schedule running smoothly.
You don’t have to keep the exact same
schedule every day. But if you are stuck at home for a while, adding structure
to your day will help. Plan some anchor activities like meals, social contact
and a concrete beginning and end of your work or school day so that everything
doesn’t run together.
If you have extra time at home, now might be
a good time to work on optimising your sleep environment. Install better window
blinds, put duct tape over those bright LEDs and set your phone for night mode.
Aim to get the amount of sleep you
need
For some people, schedule changes and more
time at home may equal more opportunities for sleep. If you’ve been ‘getting
by’ with less sleep than you need and spending your weekends ‘catching up’ on
sleep, reduced commuting time and prepping children for daycare and school may
allow you to establish new routines that allow you to get a healthier sleep
duration.
On the other hand, although staying home may
increase the time you have to sleep, resist the temptation to drastically
extend your time in bed. Most adults need seven to eight hours and should limit
their time in bed to the time they actually plan to sleep. Spending more time
in bed awake or sleeping on and off increases sleep fragmentation and results
in lighter, less restorative sleep.
Brief naps might be a good idea if you are
sleepy during the day and have the freedom to build a nap into your schedule.
Naps as short as ten minutes can improve energy levels and promote mental
performance. But too much napping across the day can backfire. A nap may make
it harder to sleep at night, leaving you sleepy the next day. Avoid this
vicious cycle whereby daytime napping worsens night-time sleep.
Three in the morning is a terrible time to
calm yourself down – your brain expects to be asleep at that time, not problem-solving!
Keep active to ‘earn’ your sleep
Move your body. Try to exercise. Do not sit
around just because you are home and your routine has changed. You will ‘earn’
better sleep with exercise and it can also keep your body clock synchronised.
Go easy on the booze
With the stress of a global pandemic, wine
might seem like the answer, but it is not. Although alcohol helps you fall
asleep faster, it also makes sleep more shallow and increases
middle-of-the-night insomnia. Best not to ramp up alcohol use.
Attempt to manage your worries
Although it is impossible to completely
avoid coronavirus-related stressors right now, you need to protect yourself
from anxiety-provoking information just as you are avoiding physical contact
with this virus. Depending on your job, you may need to check email and stay
available. Nevertheless, make an effort to limit the amount of information you
consume to what is absolutely necessary. Avoid reading news updates right
before bed.
For those middle-of-the-night wake-ups,
remember most of the problems can wait until tomorrow. Three in the morning is
a terrible time to calm yourself down – your brain expects to be asleep at that
time, not problem-solving! If you are worried that you’ll forget something
important, keep a notebook next to your bed and write it down. Then do your
best to go back to sleep.
Promote healthy sleep for your
children
For those with kids at home who are
transitioning to distance learning, remember that healthy sleep helps with
attention, memory and emotional regulation. Maintaining a structure of bedtime
and wake-time will make your job as ‘Wait, what? Now I’m a homeschool teacher?’
a little bit easier.
You may feel social pressure to keep your
children on their usual schedule, but remember that many schools, especially
middle schools and high schools, start earlier than is optimal for the
adolescent biological clock. A schedule is important, but there is no need to
start the day at a too-early time. Let your tweens and teens start the day at a
biologically acceptable time.
Take special care if you have sleep
apnoea
We should all
wash our hands, especially before bed, when we may unknowingly touch our faces
while sleeping. This is particularly important if you use continuous positive
airway pressure (CPAP) for sleep apnoea as it is common for CPAP users to
adjust their mask and headgear during the night.
If you are quarantined because of Covid-19
exposure or have any kind of cold or respiratory virus, it is wise, if
possible, to sleep separately from your bed partner while wearing CPAP. If you
are infected, then a CPAP machine might blow the virus into the air. By
sleeping in a different room, you will avoid exposing your bed partner to viral
exposure from your CPAP exhalation breaths.
The current public health situation is
stressful and might lead to some new sleep disruptions. We encourage you to use
these strategies to minimise this impact, or even make your sleep better, as we
combat the spread of coronavirus together.
Source: https://elemental.medium.com/pandemic-sleep-advice-straight-from-sleep-researchers-63cc2095f577
(Written by Katie Sharkey, MD, Ph.D. and
co-authored by Kelly Baron, Ph.D., MPH, Brendan Duffy RPSGT CCSH, Michael
Grandner, Ph.D., MTR, Jared Saletin, Ph.D., Rebecca Spencer, Ph.D., and John
Hogenesch, Ph.D. – 25th March, 2020) 
