Photo: ArturVerkhovetskiy/Depositphotos

Arts and crafts like painting, pottery, and weaving have been around for centuries, and there’s just something about making things with your hands that people can’t get enough of. Today, there’s a growing number of individuals embracing these timeless skills. Even celebrities, known primarily for their achievements in acting or sports, are channeling their talents into the world of crafts.

Olympian Tom Daley, for example, has become famous for his knitting, and Seth Rogen has discovered a real passion for pottery. However, learning a craft is about more than creating beautiful objects. Researchers are now saying that creative endeavors can actually improve your happiness and wellbeing.

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, looked at data from a random sample of 7,182 people aged 16 and over. The information came from the UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport’s Taking Part Survey, which conducted home visits between April 2019 and March 2020.

Participants were asked to evaluate various aspects of their well-being, using 10-point scales and provide information about any art-related activities they were involved in. About 37.4% reported taking part in at least one art or craft activity in the past 12 months, including painting, drawing, pottery, textile crafts, and photography. These individuals also reported higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction compared to those who didn't have a creative outlet.

The link between creativity and well-being held true even when considering other factors like age, gender, income level, health, and job status. The researchers also found that life satisfaction tends to grow with age, and that engaging in arts and crafts contributes to a higher a sense of well-being compared to traditional employment.

Dr. Helen Keyes, a co-author of the research says, “That was probably our most interesting finding, because you would certainly think you get a lot of your sense of worth from being in employment.” This finding suggests that even if someone’s day-to-day job isn’t fulfilling, engaging in creative activities can help offset that lack of satisfaction.

On average, people who engaged in arts and crafts saw a 2% increase in well-being. While this might seem like a small boost, it’s quite meaningful when considered across the entire population.

“If you’re a national health service, or you’re a government,” Keyes explains, “seeing a 2% increase in the overall wellbeing of your population is going to be really significant at that kind of national level.” Plus, many arts and crafts are affordable and accessible, making taking up a creative hobby a no-brainer.

Check out the researchers’ full report to learn more.

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, have recently found that engaging in arts and crafts can lead to greater life satisfaction than traditional employment.

Photo: chika_milan/Depositphotos

The link between creativity and well-being held true even when considering other factors like age, gender, income level, health, and job status.

Photo: silverkblack/Depositphotos

h/t: [The Guardian]

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READ: New Research Suggests That Doing Arts and Crafts Can Improve Your Mental Health

Senior research nurse Keenjee Nama with trial participant Janusz Racz (Photo: Aaron Chown/PA)

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, taking 1.8 million lives annually. Traditionally combated using surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, survival rates have improved. But now, a new vaccine is looking to stop the cancer by harnessing the body's immune system. Trials for the world's first lung cancer vaccine have started in 34 research centers across seven countries.

The groundbreaking vaccine uses mRNA technology to combat the most common form of lung cancer—non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Most of the world became familiar with mRNA vaccines during COVID-19, the first time mRNA vaccines were commercially developed. Now, there's great hope that mRNA cancer vaccines could provide an alternate treatment to eradicate cancer cells and keep them away for good.

The BNT116 vaccine, made by BioTech, works by injecting the body with messenger RNA that carries NSCLC tumor markers. This primes the immune system to view a particular protein expressed by NSCLC cancer cells as foreign so that the body attacks it from within the moment the protein is detected. This method is particularly favorable because it should also strengthen the patient's immune system.

“It’s simple to deliver, and you can select specific antigens in the cancer cell, and then you target them,” Professor Siow Ming Lee, a consultant medical oncologist at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), told The Guardian. “This technology is the next big phase of cancer treatment.”

The trials, which involve about 130 cancer patients, are taking place in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and Spain. BNT116 is one of about 60 mRNA cancer vaccines currently in trial, as the success of COVID-19 vaccines has brought a lot of attention and funding to this type of treatment.

In London, 67-year-old scientist Janusz Racz was the first person in the UK to receive the vaccine. According to The Guardian, he received six consecutive injections, five minutes apart over 30 minutes, that contained different RNA strands. He'll receive injections every week for six weeks and then every three weeks for 54 weeks. Racz, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in May, remains hopeful about the treatment.

“I thought it over and … decided to take part because I hope it will provide a defense against cancer cells,” he shares. “But I also thought that my participation in this research could help other people in the future and help this therapy become more widely available.

“As a scientist myself, I know that science can only advance if people agree to participate in programs like this.”

Lung cancer has long been a heartbreaking disease that has taken many lives, but now there's new hope.

UCLH consultant medical oncologists Prof Siow-Ming Lee and Dr Sarah Benafif with trial participant Janusz Racz (Photo: Aaron Chown/PA)

Lung cancer vaccine trials have begun in seven countries.

h/t: [The Guardian]

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Photo: IMTMPHOTO/Depositphotos

Aging is difficult, both emotionally and physically. Knuckles may develop arthritis in the joints, while hair turns grays and wrinkles crowd the corners of our eyes. Eventually, cognitive function may slow as the body, too, is no longer able to do what was once easy. Everyone deals with aging in different ways, sometimes accepting and sometimes fighting the tides of time. But scientists are still learning a lot about the process of human aging which can help improve health outcomes at all phases of life. A new study, published in Nature Aging, has recently revealed that the process of aging is not linear but rather has powerful accelerated periods around certain ages, particularly 44 and 60 years old.

Most would assume that each year older would equate to our bodies aging and changing one year's-worth more. However, certain periods bring on dramatic changes. The study followed 108 volunteers who every few months for months or years let researchers analyze the products of their body. Stool, blood, nasal, skin, and oral samples were taken. The researchers then assessed these samples for 135,000 types of molecules and microbes contained within or on the samples. Changes in the levels of a molecule like RNA or the presence of a bacteria can tell them about how our bodies react to aging.

Large shifts in the molecules and microbes studied indicated periods of more intense aging change. The first occurred around age 44, the second at about 60. As the study only examined ages 25 to 75, the period after 75 remains less certain, but prior studies have suggested 78 may also be an intense age. Initially, the researchers thought the dramatic changes around 44 were perimenopausal and that women accounted for this data. However, men show significant shifts as well.

While there may be other factors such as changing behaviors in middle age which affect the data, it clearly is a time of intense aging. Similarly, after 60, risk greatly rises for certain conditions such as cardiovascular conditions. The body after 44 is less able to process alcohol. And after 60, metabolism drops significantly.

“We’re not just changing gradually over time. There are some really dramatic changes,” paper author Michael Snyder of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University said. “It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s—and that’s true no matter what class of molecules you look at.”

A recent study took a look at how the human body ages and found that rather than linearly, it seems we age in bursts.

Photo: ALEBLOSHKA/Depositphotos

From 25 to 75, our major aging events occur around 44 and 60 years of age.

Photo: TAWNG/Depositphotos

h/t: [The Guardian]

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A Greenland shark photographed in 2007 at Admiralty Inlet, Nunavut. (Photo: Hemming1952 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Aging is a process all living beings seem to go through, but certainly not in the same ways. Currently, the oldest living person is 117, while the oldest living dog and cat are 24 years and 28, respectively. Some animals, like parrots and tortoises, can clock many decades, with species such as the Galapagos tortoise easily outstripping human lifetimes. But no animal has mastered longevity with the finesse of the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), also known as the gurry or grey shark. These large, slow-moving Arctic recluses can live up to 500 years. Scientists are still hoping to learn the secrets of this long life to better understand both the species and biological aging processes.

The Greenland shark is a variety of sleeper shark and one of the largest shark species. It stretches an impressive length of up to 23 feet and weighs in at about 1.5 tons. It typically inhabits the chilly, deep waters of the Arctic, although it can migrate to other regions. Despite being a fierce predator, it is quite slow-moving and enjoys a lazy scavenge. The massive beasts are listed as vulnerable. Their incredibly slow gestation period of about eight to eighteen years does not inspire confidence in their rebound ability, nor does the fact that they only reach sexual maturity around age 150.

How does all this reproducing take so long? Well, the extended timeframe is possible due to the record-setting life span of the Greenland shark, the longest-living vertebrate. While scientists continue to investigate just how long this species can persist, testing of one individual's eyes with radiocarbon technology produced a range of possible birthdates between 1504 and 1744. This shark may have swum at the same time Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I lived, and he certainly predated the American Revolution.

Scientists are still working on the answer as to why these sharks have such longevity, but it is possible that metabolism may play a role. Recent work has revealed the sharks' metabolism does not seem to slow in the same way as aging humans. Enzyme activity preservers, suggesting they may be able to resist the slowing of aging.

“My best guess would be that the deep waters of the Arctic can be a challenging environment to live in, where an animal such as the Greenland shark may not have consistent access to plenty of food, and they may not frequently be in contact with other Greenland sharks,”  shared biologist Ewan Camplisson, a doctoral student at the University of Manchester. “Therefore, as a species with low natural mortality rates, their optimal life strategy would be one of a slow growth and building reserves of energy, so that when they do interact with the opposite sex they are in a suitable condition to reproduce.

I believe that if we can work out how the Greenland shark lives so long and how they seem to be so resilient to age-related diseases (such as cardiac disease), we may be able to improve the quality of life within the elderly human population.”

Greenland sharks are an ancient species, living deep within cold ocean waters where they can reach incredible ages of up to 500 years old.

h/t: [Science Alert, Yahoo]

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Photo: galdzer/Depositphotos

It is often said that money can't buy happiness, and there might be some truth in those words. Even though it is generally believed that wealthier nations are among the happiest on Earth, a recent survey found that low income individuals living in small-scale communities often report feeling just as happy, if not more so, than their high-income counterparts.

The scientists leading the global survey gathered their information by researching nearly 3,000 individuals from 19 sites spread across five continents. While the study was initially intended to examine the impacts of climate change on small-scale communities, many of which were Indigenous, the researchers also included the question, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life on a scale from 0 to 10?” as a metric for understanding happiness.

The information gathering stage was far from easy. All of the communities that the researchers visited were remote and sometimes required them to traverse South American jungles, South Asian mountains, and African grasslands and deserts. The team also translated the surveys into local languages and conducted interviews with randomly selected individuals from over 100 small villages. As many of the people interviewed did not have a daily set income and often relied on their local ecosystems to survive and eat, researchers ended up estimating income by adding up the value of household possessions that the person had purchased. For many communities, this metric resulted in the average daily earnings of a few U.S. dollars per person.

The researchers found that, despite only making a few dollars per day, many of the people surveyed reported feeling just as satisfied as people in more industrialized parts of the world. Some of the communities in the survey even reported “very high levels of satisfaction (above 8 out of 10) that exceeded the national average in many wealthy countries,” according to Eric Galbraith, one of the lead researchers who worked on the study.

Notably, these findings go against the belief that it is often the richest countries on Earth that are the happiest. This could be explained partially by the Easterlin paradox, which explains that an increase in societal wealth does not always correspond to an increase in societal happiness over time. It is also possible that, historically, researchers have placed too much emphasis on the correlation between wealth and happiness, which has caused the two factors to appear more closely linked than they actually are.

Additionally, studies such as the World Happiness Report tend to ask questions in the form of the Cantril ladder method, which is described by the World Happiness Report as a method that “asks respondents to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale.” But recent findings have shown that the Cantril ladder method tends to encourage individuals to focus on their income relative to others, which could cause respondents to answer the questions in regard to their income rather than quality of life. This could explain why wealthier nations tend to place higher on global happiness rankings, even if that isn't necessarily the case.

In the end, there may be something even more valuable than money when it comes to gauging happiness, and that is the vital role that social relationships play in many people's lives.

“As deeply social animals, humans are tightly attuned to the security of their position within society, including the support they can count on from others,” writes Galbraith. “This primarily comes from the strength of interpersonal relationships and an assessment of one’s social standing. But social relations do not necessarily go together with wealth. What’s more, although the communities we studied have little money, they are not poor in the sense of lacking basic necessities, and many of the people in these societies spend their days in close contact with natural surroundings, something many studies suggest benefits well-being.”

You can read the full report on PNAS.

h/t: [Scientific American]

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Photo: olly18/Depositphotos

When we're angry, we often look for ways to blow off steam—a vent session with a friend, a long run, or even a few rounds of boxing are common options. But, according to new research, this actually isn't the best way to cope with anger. Contrary to popular belief, these activities can have the opposite effect.

A study published in Clinical Psychology Review shows that mindfulness activities, such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing, are actually much more effective in dissipating anger. Sophie Kjærvik, a postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University, led the study for her dissertation at Ohio State University. She was inspired to take on the work due to the rise in popularity of rage rooms, which promote smashing things as a way to cope with anger.

“I wanted to debunk the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it,” she said. “We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and actually the physiological aspect of it, is really important.”

To do so, Kjærvik and a team of researchers analyzed over 150 studies involving 10,189 participants of different genders, races, ages, and cultures. The analysis was guided by something known as the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory, which states that all emotions—including anger—are guided by physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal. Arousal allows us to identify the strength of the emotion, while appraisal is our way of putting a label on what we feel.

Previous studies often examine how behavioral therapy can help people adjust their cognitive appraisal, but Kjærvik wanted to see how arousal levels affect people's abilities to cope with anger. To do so, the team analyzed activities that increased arousal, such as hitting a bag, jogging, cycling, and swimming, versus arousal-decreasing activities.

Photo: ufabizphoto/Depositphotos

They discovered that, across the board, activities like deep breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, meditation, slow-flow yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmic breathing, and taking a timeout all decreased anger levels.

“I think it’s really important to bust the myth that if you’re angry you should blow off steam—get it off your chest,” says senior author Brad Bushman, professor of communication at Ohio State University. “Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory. To reduce anger, it is better to engage in activities that decrease arousal levels.”

Interestingly, jogging was the activity seen as least effective. Rather than help people calm down, it was found to actually increase anger. But that doesn't mean that physical activity is completely off-limits. The researchers found that participating in physical education classes or playing ball sports decreased arousal, which suggests that incorporating play is an important factor in keeping things calm.

While these findings might contradict popular instincts, the best answer is to deal with anger using the same strategies we use to combat stress.

“It was really interesting to see that progressive muscle relaxation and just relaxation in general might be as effective as approaches such as mindfulness and meditation,” Kjærvik says. “Obviously, in today’s society, we’re all dealing with a lot of stress, and we need ways of coping with that, too. Showing that the same strategies that work for stress actually also work for anger is beneficial.”

“It’s really a battle because angry people want to vent, but our research shows that any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression,” addes Bushman.

This may change how you deal with things the next time you are angry, but the good news is that many of these coping strategies are readily available and often free. Whether you download a wellness app or look up a YouTube video on breathing practices, help is at your fingertips.

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The idea of a mechanical heart might seem like a plotline from a science fiction movie, but the Texas Heart Institute (THI); BiVACOR®, a clinical-stage medical device company; Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center; and Baylor College of Medicine have made it a reality. The group has just announced the first successful in-human implantation of the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH).

Designed to help those with end-stage heart failure, it effectively pumps blood through the body using a magnetically levitated rotor. The compact design doesn't include valves, which makes it more durable and less prone to wear and tear. The titanium heart is operated by a smart controller that lets it adapt to a patient's activity level, even allowing them to exercise, thanks to its ability to pump up to 3 gallons (12 liters) per minute through the lungs and body.

The implantation occurred as part of an FDA-approved feasibility study. The study is testing the usability of the mechanical heart for people experiencing severe heart failure where traditional devices are not recommended. The goal is to allow these people a higher quality of life while they await a heart transplant.

“I’m incredibly proud to witness the successful first-in-human implant of our TAH,” shares Dr. Daniel Timms, founder and chief technology officer of BiVACOR. “This achievement would not have been possible without the courage of our first patient and their family, the dedication of our team, and our expert collaborators at The Texas Heart Institute.

“Utilizing advanced MAGLEV technology, our TAH brings us one step closer to providing a desperately needed option for people with end-stage heart failure who require support while waiting for a heart transplant.”

According to the World Heart Federation, heart failure of the world's leading cause of hospitalization and affects more than 64 million people around the globe. Though heart failure is treatable, more than half of people diagnosed with it die within five years due to lack of treatment. This makes devices like the TAH even more critical, as they can provide a bridge in care.

“With heart failure remaining a leading cause of mortality globally, the BiVACOR TAH offers a beacon of hope for countless patients awaiting a heart transplant,” said Dr. Joseph Rogers, president and chief executive officer of THI and National Principal Investigator of the research.

After this first successful surgery, four more patients will also receive the implant in a bid to see if it can be safely rolled out to a wider audience and gain full FDA approval.

Physicians have successfully implanted the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart in a human for the first time.

BiVACOR: Website | X

All images via BiVACOR.

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We all know that getting a good night's sleep is important, but a new study sheds light on just how much. According to researchers from Stockholm University, sleep actually affects how old you feel. This means that sleeping well can leave you feeling young and refreshed. But, on the flip side, a few bad nights of sleep will age you.

“Given that sleep is essential for brain function and overall well-being, we decided to test whether sleep holds any secrets to preserving a youthful sense of age,” says Leonie Balter, researcher at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm University.

To get answers, they surveyed 429 individuals aged 18 to 70 and asked how many nights of bad sleep they'd gotten over the past month and how old they felt. It turns out that for every night of bad sleep, each participant felt an average of 0.23 years older.

For the second part of the study, researchers asked 186 participants aged 18 to 46 to restrict their sleep to just four hours for two nights in a row. They were then asked to sleep nine hours for two consecutive evenings. Each time, they were asked how old they felt. On average, the participants felt 4.4 years older when their sleep was restricted.

Interestingly, how the participants viewed their age has a lot to do with their level of sleepiness. When extremely alert, they felt four years younger. Conversely, when extremely tired, they felt much older—six years, to be exact.

“This means that going from feeling alert to sleepy added a striking 10 years to how old one felt,” says Balter. “Safeguarding our sleep is crucial for maintaining a youthful feeling. This, in turn, may promote a more active lifestyle and encourage behaviors that promote health, as both feeling young and alert are important for our motivation to be active.”

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Photo: StudioLightAndShade /Depositphotos

Many office workers have a beloved coffee mug that they cling to for dear life. It's common for people to become possessive over their precious cup, which serves both as a vessel for their caffeine boost and an expression of their personality. It also acts as a conduit for warm drinks which have been shown to improve metaphorical feelings of warmth. Despite the comfort the humble office mug may bring, researchers have suggested that there might be something sinister lurking within.

Dr. Charles Gerba, microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, told LifeHacker that “around 90% of most office coffee mugs harbor dangerous germs, and 20% of those carry fecal bacteria.” Where are those dangerous germs coming from? Probably the cleaning process itself. Kitchen sponges and sinks are rife with bacteria and viruses that make your toilet pale in comparison. A communal sink and sponge only exacerbates the problem as they are cesspools for germs.

Is this vindication for the less hygienically minded among us who are happy with a quick rinse of their mugs? Maybe. But don't let sugar or milk sit in your mug. As infectious-disease expert Jeffrey Starke, professor at Baylor College of Medicine, explains, “If you leave cream or sugar in your mug over the weekend, that can certainly cause mold to grow.” In that case, the best solution is taking your mug home to wash it. Alternatively, you can avoid touching kitchen surfaces and only use disposable paper towels during your wash-up. Of course that might be frustrating news to the eco-conscious who only have a reusable mug to limit paper waste.

So, what's the answer to the age-old question How often should you wash your office coffee mug? Ultimately, there is no clear-cut solution for all. For extra precaution, the main pieces of advice appear to be to rinse your office cup after every use, avoid using a communal sponge, and take the cup home for a clean in the dishwasher each day.

Scientists encourage washing your office coffee mug often, but not necessarily with a sponge.

Photo: Zetor2010/Depositphotos

If you keep your coffee mug in an office kitchenette, it's bound to have bacteria on it and the likelihood of dangerous germs is greater with the use of a communal sponge.

Photo: seb_ra/Depositphotos

Microbiologists suggest that “around 90% of most office coffee mugs harbor dangerous germs, and 20% of those carry fecal bacteria.”

Photo: AI-generated image via Depositphotos

So, your best option is to rinse your cup in the office, and then take it home for a cleaning in the dishwasher.

Photo: NewAfrica/Depositphotos

h/t: [IFL Science]

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Image: Pexels

From face yoga and applying daily sunscreen to ideal thermostat settings and the infamous “5-second rule,” health and hygiene tips are everywhere. We're inundated with ever-changing advice on how to take care of ourselves and what’s considered right or wrong in our daily routines. But there's one health myth that recently sparked a debate: Do we really need to wash our legs in the shower?

While some swear by washing their legs, others think it's overkill since the soap from washing the rest of our bodies naturally runs down and does the job for us. To get to the bottom of it, hosts of HuffPost’s Am I Doing It Wrong? podcast, Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, invited medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatologist and the founder of Ocean Skin & Vein Institute Dr. Divya Shokeen to discuss the surprising ways in which we may be showering wrong.

The group talk about the ideal shower temperature, the best time to hop in, and how long to linger under the water, all highlighting how these decisions can enhance both physical and mental well-being. Dr. Shokeen even weighs in on the debate over loofahs, washcloths, or just using our hands for washing. But when it comes to the question of washing our legs, she admits that it's probably unnecessary.

“I don't think you do [need to wash them],” Dr. Shokeen says. “Unless you're, like, aggressively sweating and you just biked 20 miles. Then, yes, please wash your legs.” She further explains that since our legs are usually covered by clothing, they stay relatively clean throughout the day. Unlike armpits or the groin area, which are prone to bacteria growth, our legs aren't major “hot spots.”

So unless you've recently waded through a swamp, you can likely save on soap and water and let gravity and suds do the work for you. “I think water dripping down or soap dripping down [your legs] is okay [for cleansing],” Dr. Shokeen suggests. She also points out that actively washing your legs too frequently can dry out and irritate the skin.

However, Dr. Shokeen's advice doesn't mean that we should get lazy when showering. Although skipping legs is generally fine, there are other—more dirt prone—areas of the body that need extra attention. In fact, you should be leaving your body wash on those areas for at least 60 seconds. “That doesn’t mean you have to be rubbing down there for a minute,” Dr. Shokeen says. “If you have the time, then do it, but you can suds up [those areas] and leave it [while you wash other parts], so your cleanser has to have the chance to actually do something.”

While Dr. Shokeen provides her expert advice, ultimately, it's up to you how you choose to wash your body. For more insights, you can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Professional dermatologist Dr. Divya Shokeen reveals that we don't actually need to wash our legs in the shower.

Image: Pexels

She explains that because the soap used on the rest of our bodies naturally runs down, it effectively cleans our legs as well.

Image: Freepik

Am I Doing It Wrong? Acast | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Dr. Divya Shokeen: Website
h/t: [BuzzFeed]

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