07.29.2024

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Venezuela Votes

Venezuelans are awaiting the results of yesterday's presidential election, as of this writing. The election is believed to be the biggest test to the ruling socialist party since the death of Hugo Chávez. 

Exit polling last night showed opposition leader Edmundo González earning over 60% of the vote, more than double the roughly 30% secured by President Nicolás Maduro. Official results could vary significantly; Maduro has ruled since Chávez's death in 2013 and has warned of a "bloodbath" if he is defeated. González is a former diplomat and stand-in for María Corina Machado, herself a former lawmaker barred from running on corruption allegations. González has led Maduro by double digits in recent polls.

The Biden administration has conditioned sanctions relief on free and fair elections. Once the richest country in South America, Venezuela has undergone a prolonged economic crisis. At least 7.7 million people—roughly one-quarter of the country's population—have fled since 2015.

Olympics Day Three

Today is Day Three of the Paris 2024 Olympics, with 19 medals up for grabs, including in swimming and men's gymnastics. See full schedule of events here.

The US men's swimming team won Team USA's first gold medal of the year for the  4x100 meter freestyle relay. LeBron James and Kevin Durant, recovering from a calf injury, helped defeat Serbia 110-84. The US women's soccer team meanwhile defeated Germany 4-1, while defending champion Canada suffered a penalty over a spying scandal involving drones.

Separately, Simone Biles—the world's most decorated gymnast—notched the highest all-around score in yesterday's qualifying round, becoming the first woman to land the Yurchenko Double Pike (known as the Biles II) at the Olympics. Her teammate and defending Olympic all-around champion, Suni Lee, will seek to make history by performing a full-twisting Jaeger on the uneven bars Sunday.

Meanwhile, American swimming star Katie Ledecky came in third in the 400-meter freestyle, with Australia's Ariarne Titmus taking gold. See updated medal count here.

Blood Test Breakthrough

A new diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer's disease was found to correctly identify the condition around 90% of the time, outperforming specialists' assessments based on physical and cognitive symptoms. The breakthrough offers a potential tool to accurately diagnose the disease and at earlier stages of development. 

Alzheimer's affects almost 7 million Americans yet remains notoriously difficult to diagnose. Accumulations of molecules known as amyloid beta plaques and misfolded tau proteins are believed to play a key role (see 101) but are challenging to detect and measure.

The new test—called PrecivityAD2—measures the ratios of both present in a patient’s blood, plugging the result into a proprietary algorithm to predict the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Doctors hope the simple and cheap test can replace expensive scans and invasive spinal taps currently considered best-in-class for diagnosis.

Watch our overview on what Alzheimer's is and how it works here (w/video).

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