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Good morning. At a Cambridge bar on Saturday, I watched straight-seeming couples congregate by a television showing basketball, while a more queer-coded crowd lingered at another showing soccer. I don’t think that’s anything, really, but it was fun.
This ‘never event’ is happening more frequently
A child born with congenital syphilis could suffer dire consequences: bone deformities, brain damage, blindness, deafness, and more. But that should be a ‘never event’ as public health officials say: A pregnant person can receive an injectable form of penicillin to prevent the infection. Somehow, rates keep going up anyway. Between 2012 and 2024, the U.S. saw an 800% increase in babies born with the disease. And since last year, there’s been a shortage of the drug.
That’s good for health—one Lancet study estimated that AC prevented nearly 200,000 premature deaths in 2019 alone—but bad for the planet. Artificial chill already accounts for 7% of global electricity use and 3% of greenhouse-gas emissions, and if improperly disposed of, the units can leak refrigerants with more global-warming potential than carbon dioxide.
Feeling the heat, a number of scientists and startups are hoping to amp up solid-state cooling, which is currently used at a small scale for things like mini fridges, EV batteries, and some high-end gaming computers. Traditional ACs transfer heat by using a compressor and a fan to circulate a refrigerant and turn it from liquid to gas.
Solid-state systems, on the other hand, move heat through conductive materials like gadolinium and bismuth telluride—which could theoretically cool spaces and surfaces with fewer messy side effects.
The catch is whether they can match the efficiency of conventional AC. “One of the key questions that remain is why are the solid-state coolers not as efficient as typical thermodynamic cycles?” says Pramod Reddy, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan who studies heat transfer.
Research and pilot programs are underway to test a range of approaches. Brooklyn-based Mimic Systems uses thermoelectric cooling, which passes a current through semiconductive materials to shift heat from one side to another. Its room-scale climate control system is being piloted in an apartment in Vancouver.
The German company Magnotherm is set to test its system, which relies on a magnetocaloric setup that transfers heat by magnetizing and demagnetizing materials, in a chain of supermarkets. A team in Hong Kong has announced that its elastocaloric device, whose material heats and cools as it expands and contracts, can dip below 0 °C. And the UK’s Barocal is betting on barocaloric systems, which change temperature in response to shifts in pressure.
But experts, especially in thermoelectrics, have doubts about how well any solid-state scheme can compete. For most modern HVAC systems, the coefficient of performance (COP) is 3, explains Jeff Snyder, a professor at Northwestern University who studies electrical and thermal conductivity. That essentially means the system moves three units of heat for every unit of energy that goes into it.
Thermoelectrics in particular tend to have a much lower performance at high levels of temperature change, Snyder says, which means they’re best suited for niche uses such as cooling the back of a car seat.
Mimic’s room-scale thermoelectric HVAC unit is being tested in a Vancouver apartment.
COURTESY OF MIMIC SYSTEMS, INC
Efficiency, however, isn’t everything, argues Lindsay Rasmussen, a manager at the Rocky Mountain Institute’s climate tech accelerator Third Derivative, which supports both Magnotherm and Mimic. In the US, most ACs currently in use employ a refrigerant called R410A, which has a global-warming potential more than 2,000 times that of carbon dioxide. Plus, their moving parts can make them less durable, especially compared with a solid-state model that’s less mechanically complex.
Still, a dearth of units makes it hard to answer the efficiency question. To understand how well alternatives work, says Rasmussen, researchers need to compare their long-term energy consumption with that of conventional models instead of simply looking at COP. Mimic claims, for example, that its room-scale model should match the draw of a typical AC unit over the course of a year. Elastocaloric and barocaloric systems also have promise, Rasmussen adds, but room-scale prototypes are probably two to three years away.
In the end, the likelihood that solid-state cooling could replace compressor-based AC is slim. But as the planet warms and places like India install tens of millions of new AC units over the next decade, supplanting even a small number could make a dent. “If [solid-state] could take over even a 5% market share,” Rasmussen says, “that is a really large potential impact.”
Sara Kiley Watson is a science journalist specializing in climate and sustainability. She’s based in The Hague.
California legislator Jesse Gabriel has made a name for himself with a suite of bills aimed at reducing the health harms of ultra-processed food. So it might seem counterintuitive that inside his office is a pillow shaped like a bag of Skittles, complete with the brand’s iconic upside-down rainbow and a few oversized felt candies peeking through a clear plastic window.
“It’s an inside joke,” Gabriel explained one recent afternoon over Zoom, speaking from his office in downtown Sacramento. His staff gave him the pillow after he introduced a bill in 2023 that opponents dubbed, inaccurately, the “Skittles ban.” In fact, Skittles remain alive and well since his California Food Safety Act was signed into law, prohibiting the use of four additives (including brominated vegetable oil and potassium bromate) that have been linked to higher risk of cancer, reproductive problems, and other health issues. And the Food and Drug Administration eventuallyfollowed California’s lead by taking action on all four additives.
Gabriel was elected to the California State Assembly in 2018, but it’s only in the last few years that he’s emerged as a leader on the national stage in the fight against ultra-processed food. Since the 2023 food additives law, he’s been the force behind another state law banning six artificial food dyes, as well as one establishing the first U.S. legal definition of ultra-processed foods and banning those foods from school meals.
The request was an emergency. In late March, a woman in Gila County, Arizona, was diagnosed with syphilis, and she was pregnant. She needed an injection of penicillin — if possible, 30 days before delivery — but the bacteria corkscrewing through her body increased her risk of delivering early. Without timely treatment, her pregnancy could end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death, and if the infant survived, the child might live with bone deformities, brain damage, blindness, and deafness, among other complications.
All of that could be prevented with one of the oldest antibiotics in the book — specifically, an injectable form of penicillin sold under the brand name Bicillin L-A.
It was the only treatment approved in the United States for syphilis during pregnancy, and there’d been a national shortage since July 2025. But Pfizer, the only company that sells it, had a protocol in place for exactly this scenario: an emergency request system “to be used for confirmed congenital and risk of congenital syphilis patients only.”
That was what was unfolding in Gila County — and on Friday, March 27, public health officials submitted a request. Pfizer confirmed receipt the next Monday, according to emails obtained by STAT. But over a week after that, on April 7, the medication still hadn’t arrived.
“What can be done to get bicillin for this patient ASAP? These are the kind of delays that make the emergency request line not a viable option for public health response,” a leader at the National Coalition of STD Directors wrote to a Pfizer representative, stepping in to help secure the drug.
“Did they submit a medical request form first? I checked with Customer Service and they can’t locate. If we can get this medical request we will get it processed,” the Pfizer representative wrote back that same day.
But by the time this exchange was taking place, it was already too late. “Mom has delivered and we have missed our opportunity to prevent congenital syphilis,” wrote an official at the Arizona Department of Health Services, adding, “Yes, the county completed the medical request form.”
It was the outcome everyone was trying to avert. In February, the National Coalition of STD Directors had asked Pfizer to donate a fraction of its Bicillin L-A reserves to state health departments, so they’d have it on hand as a backstop in case this kind of emergency arose. But Pfizer hadn’t — and in early June, nearly four months after the coalition’s proposal, the company said it was still evaluating the idea of proactively sending out doses. This case in Arizona was a realization of the fears that had spurred the suggestion in the first place.
It’s hard for Jennifer Kucera to escape the past. The nursing home where she says she got scabies, was punched in the face, and was sexually assaulted is just three short blocks away from her current home in Berea, Ohio.
“I didn’t even know what scabies were,” said Kucera, who has spinal muscular atrophy and needs around-the-clock care from Medicaid-funded providers to help her bathe, dress, and otherwise navigate her life. “These are all things that really shouldn’t happen in a place where you’re supposed to be protected.”
The IOCDF is thrilled to announce our newest cohort of Advocate volunteers! We’re welcoming 13 incredible new Advocates to our program, bringing our total to 64 dedicated volunteers working together to create meaningful change for the OCD and related disorders community.
These passionate individuals join us from bustling cities and quiet rural towns across the United States and around the world. From California to Massachusetts, and from countries including Canada and Ireland, this mix of local and global perspectives ensures we can reach and represent diverse communities everywhere.
The Power of Diverse Voices
Our newest cohort has a wide range of experiences and interests. They are passionate about addressing critical topics including:
Access to treatment
Diversity, multicultural issues, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion
Family issues and family accommodation
Young adult mental health and academic challenges
Public policy
Research advancement
Suicide prevention
Nutrition, fitness, and anxiety in athletes
This diversity of focus areas ensures that we can better represent and serve the full spectrum of our community’s needs.
Inspired by our Advocates? You can make a difference! Here are ways to start advocating today:
Fuel Our Mission Through Fundraising
Turn your passion into action by launching a personal fundraiser. Whether for a birthday, a race, or a creative project, you can rally your friends and family to raise critical funds. Every dollar helps build a world where everyone affected by OCD can thrive. Start your fundraiser here or explore all ways to give back here.
Advocate for policy change
Your voice can shape laws that improve access to care and insurance coverage. The IOCDF Public Policy Action Center makes it simple to find the latest bills and contact your elected officials with just a few clicks. True change starts here.
Join an IOCDF Special Interest Group
Connect with people who share your experiences or professional interests. IOCDF Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide a platform for deeper discussion.
Whether you advocate on the national stage, share your story to fight stigma, or fundraise your way, every action creates a ripple effect of hope and understanding. Your journey, your voice, and your commitment are powerful tools.
Start today and help us build a world where everyone affected by OCD feels supported, seen, and empowered. Join a dedicated community committed to raising awareness.
Welcome again to our new IOCDF Advocates, we’re grateful to have you joining our mission!
