Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Obesity links to prostate cancer confirmed
Obesity increases a man’s risk of dying from prostate cancer, according to a massive new study by researchers in the UK, however, the causal mechanisms underpinning the link are not yet clear.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer to be detected in men. It is a slow-growing form of cancer, so patients can live many years after diagnosis. In fact, many patients diagnosed with prostate cancer ultimately die of other causes before the cancer develops enough to cause its own problems.
Because of the prevalence of this kind of cancer, researchers have been working to understand what factors may contribute to the development of more aggressive types of prostate cancer. Aurora Perez-Cornago, lead on the new research from the University of Oxford, said knowing the risk factors for fatal prostate cancer could help patients avoid certain damaging lifestyle practices.
“Knowing more about factors that increase the risk of prostate cancer is key to preventing it,” said Perez-Cornago. “Age, family history and black ethnicity are known risk factors but they are not modifiable, and so it is important to discover risk factors that it is possible to change.”
Excess body fat has previously been linked to higher rates of fatal prostate cancer. This new research set out to get a clearer insight on the association between body weight and prostate cancer by conducting a meta-analysis of 19 prior studies, including data from more than 2.5 million men.
The overall finding affirmed prior suspicions, with higher volumes of body weight linked to higher rates of fatal prostate cancer. Quantifying that increased risk the research found for every five point rise in body mass index (BMI), a person increased their risk of dying from prostate cancer by 10 percent.
The association between body weight and fatal prostate cancer was independent of where a person’s body weight was concentrated. But the researchers did calculate a seven percent increase in risk of dying from prostate cancer for every 10-cm (3.9-in) increase in waist circumference. Looking at UK data the study estimated around 1,300 fewer people would die from prostate cancer every year if the average BMI of men dropped by five points.
Perez-Cornago said the link between body weight and fatal prostate cancer may be clear but it still is not known what could be driving the association. It is plausible to suggest higher volumes of body fat may be driving the progression of prostate cancer. In fact, a 2018 study did hypothesize a mechanistic link between dietary fat and the metastatic progression of prostate cancer.
But the researchers also indicate other factors are likely playing a role, including differences in cancer detection between obese men and those with a healthy weight. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations in blood samples, for example, can be lower in subjects with high BMI, meaning cancers may be detected at later stages leading to worse outcomes.
“More research is needed to determine if the association is biologically driven or due to delays in detection in men with higher adiposity,” said Perez-Cornago. “In either case, our latest results provide another reason for men to try to maintain a healthy weight.”
The new study was published in BMC Medicine.
Source: The European Association for the Study of Obesity
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
The BYD Shark hybrid ute
From Drive
The BYD Shark has finally been fully unveiled, with the first ute from the giant Chinese car brand due in Australia by the end of [2024] also representing the first plug-in hybrid pick-up to reach local showrooms.
It claims fuel consumption of 7.5 litres per 100km – similar to a four-cylinder diesel – in hybrid mode, and up to 100km of driving range on electric propulsion alone, but if BYD's claims are accurate, more power and quicker acceleration than a twin-turbo petrol V6 Ford Ranger Raptor.
The Shark is larger than a Ford Ranger or Toyota HiLux – but smaller than a Ford F-150 or Ram 1500 – and mirrors their use of ladder-frame underpinnings, with a braked towing capacity of 2500kg.
Another key distinction from other top-selling utes is the use of passenger vehicle-like independent rear suspension – in addition to independent front suspension, which is common in the category – which could enhance off-road performance but reduce its performance when laden.
The Shark is fitted with a relatively small 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, but it is paired with two electric motors – divided between front and rear axles – for a combined power output of "more than" 316kW.
BYD claims a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 5.7 seconds in hybrid mode – as quick as a Honda Civic Type R hot hatch, and about four seconds quicker than Australia's top-selling four-cylinder diesel utes.
If BYD's claims prove true, the Shark would be quicker and more powerful than the Ford Ranger Raptor – Australia's quickest ute, excluding full-size V8 US pick-ups – which has a 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, and has completed 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds in Drive's testing.
BYD claims up to 100km of electric driving range from the Shark's plug-in battery pack – or, in hybrid mode, fuel consumption of 7.5L/100km, and a total driving range of 840km, based on NEDC lab testing.
For context, a dual cab Ford Ranger bi-turbo diesel quotes 7.2L/100km – with auto engine stop-start technology fitted – and a claimed driving range of approximately 1100km.
The Shark is billed as having "the world's first longitudinal electric hybrid system," with illustrations released by BYD showing all four wheels are driven by the electric motors – and the petrol engine can only directly drive the front wheels.
It is said the hybrid system "prioritises electric motor propulsion for up to 80 per cent of total journeys."
The battery pack can be recharged from 30 to 80 per cent in a claimed 20 minutes. Vehicle-to-load technology allows the Shark's battery to power external electrical devices while camping.
The Shark will beat the Ford Ranger PHEV to showrooms as the first plug-in hybrid ute on sale in Australia.
Based on a ladder-frame chassis – with independent front and rear suspension – the Shark measures 5457mm long, 1971mm wide and 1925mm tall, on a 3260mm wheelbase.
It is 87mm longer nose to tail, 53mm wider and 39mm taller than a Ford Ranger Wildtrak, but has a 10mm-shorter wheelbase.
BYD quotes a payload of up to 835kg, and a 2500kg braked towing capacity – down on the 1000kg and 3500kg respectively of the benchmarks in the ute class – plus a 1450-litre tray volume, compared to a Ford Ranger's 1233L.
The car maker says 54 per cent of the body is made from high-strength steel, and "the battery is part of the chassis structure with a structural rigidity of up to 38 per cent."
The split of torque between the front and rear wheels can be varied, BYD says, and three 'terrain' modes – Snow, Mud and Sand – are offered for off-road use.
The Shark is priced at A$57,900, and so far, it has received 5,500 orders.
BYD slashes the price of its Dolphin EV
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| The BYD Dolphin |
BYD has just cut the price of its cheapest Dolphin hatchback EV to A$29,990. This compares with the cheapest Toyota Corolla at A$29,880.
This is it, folks: EVs now have a "sticker price" equal to petrol cars. (They've been much cheaper to run for ages) This is before any tax incentives (if you lease a car through your company in Australia, you can save a minimum 30% off the price). And remember, you can (or soon will be able to) run your house from your EV: while a single 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwall costs $A13,500, you get a car and a battery with 45 kWh of storage for $A30,000.
Right now, about half the electricity my solar panels generate is fed into the grid, but the feed-in tariff is negligible. However, when I draw power from the grid in the evening, I pay peak rates. 20% of a Dolphin BYD's battery will produce enough electricity to run my house from 5 pm to 10 pm, and then I can charge the battery up using late night low price electricity. My electricity bill will be negligible. Not only will I be able to drive for zero cost, I will also save a few hundred dollars a year on my electricity. In fact, it will pay me to put more panels on my roof. Many commentators ignore the benefits for the grid of EVs with V2H capacity. (V2H and V2G have just been introduced in Australia, and I don't know whether the BYD Dolphin is yet capable of this)
Even if you don't have solar panels, electricity utilities will soon see the sense of allowing EV owners to charge up their cars when there is excess supply of electricity (at midday and between midnight and 5 am), when wholesale prices are negative.
The decline in EV prices is just going to continue. There is fierce competition between car makers in China. Battery manufacturers are competing to cut battery prices, increase energy density, and make charging quicker, and their competition is driving battery prices down. And the Chinese Yuan is falling because the Chinese economy is so weak.
Does anybody still think it's going to take until 2035 for EV sales to make up 100% of car sales? They're currently stagnating in Australia because Tesla sales are falling so fast. But in 2025, BYD will more than make up for that.
(I'll talk about BYD's luscious new PHEV ute (bakkie/pick-up) in my next piece.)
EV charging gets a makeover
From SEVR
If you are the owner of an Electric Vehicle (EV), at some point you have probably wondered whether you could use that enormous battery for anything else. Say, powering your home, or even feeding excess power into the energy grid and getting paid for it. This is what’s known as vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology (we will use V2G in this article to refer to both). With the news that Australian regulations have been updated to allow this technology to go live by the end of 2024, we expect 2025 to be the year V2G becomes mainstream.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what this really means, let’s first cover some EV battery basics:EV owners can already power individual appliances and devices using their EV battery, with most vehicles including plugs/cables to do this. Powering devices is known as vehicle-to-load (V2L), and could mean powering a TV, laptop, or a combination of devices up to the 1.5-3.6kW maximum limited by the EV. Perfect when out camping, or during a blackout.
A typical EV battery in Australia will be around 50kWh and can be as high as 100kWh. For a 50kWh battery, this is enough to power the average 4-person Australian home for nearly 2.5 days (based on 2023 energy data). However, this power can’t be accessed through V2L (i.e. you can’t plug your entire home into a car’s V2L power socket).
For comparison, a home battery system such as Tesla Powerwall has a 13kWh rating. EV batteries are several times larger.
The average Australian driver only travels 35km per day, using a small fraction of an EVs battery capacity.
What’s so exciting about V2G coming online is that it now becomes possible to tap into the full capacity of an EV battery through the same connection used for charging. This means that just like controlling when and how your EV charges (e.g. only at night during off-peak times), you can also control when and how the EV feeds back into the home or grid (e.g. when prices are highest, or only when there is a blackout). The missing piece in this puzzle has been access to special V2G chargers that can manage this two-way load, called bidirectional charging. But with changes to regulations making it possible to buy and install these systems by the end of 2024, manufacturers and suppliers of EV chargers are now racing to gain approvals and bring these to market.
For consumers, tapping into V2G is going to require an upgrade of the charger as the one you currently have is only designed for the one-way flow of energy into the car. V2G charging has required new technologies to be added to chargers to allow two-way electrical flow. It has also required updates to standards, like Australia’s AS/NZS 4777.2 Grid connection of energy systems via inverters—Installation requirements, which is the same standard used for solar inverters. Why? Because most V2G chargers are inverters (or they must be connected to inverters), converting the DC power from the vehicle back to AC for the home. This also means that these new V2G chargers need to be approved and listed on the Clean Energy Council’s database just like a solar inverter system.
V2G is also going to require a software update for most vehicles to unlock this capability and tell the car how to manage the battery. Most of the major car manufacturers have announced they are working through this now. One of the big questions car companies and consumers alike will have is whether using the car battery for V2G will degrade the battery and shorten its lifespan? There is limited data about this right now, but it seems clear that some limits will be implemented, for example limiting the speed and extent of battery discharge through V2G. Some research even suggests that controlled V2G use can extend battery life by optimising the discharge to counteract battery fade. Understanding this will be critical for battery warranties and the appeal of V2G systems to the public.
At the time of writing, only the Nissan Leaf and a couple of Mitsubishi hybrid vehicles have the capacity to work with V2G in Australia, and a very small number of Australians have worked with their local energy providers to be early adopters of V2G systems. The CSIRO has also been running a large trial in Port Macquarie to understand the full impact of V2G systems on households and energy grids. For many, the allure of V2G is that a vehicle could be charging for free through the day using solar, and then feed this back into the home at night. Basically, off-grid living enabled by electric vehicles.
One of the other big selling points that EV manufacturers may hope to leverage is that V2G can be used to offset the cost of buying an EV – if you consider that a home battery system may cost $10-15k to buy and install today, you could put this money towards buying an EV instead and gain a significantly higher capacity battery, that can also drive you around.
Several articles have summarised the first V2G chargers likely to hit Australian markets. Other than the Sigenergy system, which is already available due to existing certifications of their stand-alone inverter, most companies are suggesting V2G charger releases in Q1/Q2 2025. However, some of the most exciting developments that will start to drive prices down are likely to come from the mainstream EV charging brands, like Myenergi (manufacturer of Zappi), and Zaptec (one of the largest European EV charger manufacturers), who have announced they are finalising their own V2G chargers. While this new generation of chargers is going to be more expensive than standard chargers for the foreseeable future, there will be a numbers and convenience factor that encourages many to either upgrade their existing charger, or buy into the EV market for the first time.
Follow SEVR to be the first to see our shift into the V2G market in 2025. Big things are coming!
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