Author: Staff Writer

100-Year-Old Woman Says Drinking Wine Is The Key To A Long Life

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 20, 2017

Florence Bearse says that she knows the key to a long, healthy life.
Bearse recently celebrated her 100th birthday, surrounded by her friends and family at the Westgate Center for Rehabilitation in Bangor, Maine. The centenarian spoke to local news channel WLBZ-TV, succinctly explaining her secret.
“I like my wine,” she told the station, a broad smile breaking across her face. “Don’t take it away from me.”

The Bangor resident was a successful restaurateur, and she says that her career helped her learn to appreciate other people.
“The people have taken me, I think,” she said before cracking a joke. “They understand me…that I’m crazy.”
Bearse also provided a bit of simple advice for living life to the fullest: “Don’t take any baloney.”
With that in mind, we decided to look into the science of red wine. Does it really provide notable health benefits—and could moderate wine consumption help a person reach age 100?

Science supports some centenarian claims.

Some red wines include resveratrol, one of several antioxidants that protects cell membranes, potentially reducing some of the effects of aging.

Cornell University researchers recently discovered that wines from New York state tend to have the highest resveratrol concentrations, with the Pinot Noir variety holding higher concentrations than Cabernet or Merlot.
White wines contain much lower levels of resveratrol, since the antioxidant is most commonly associated with the skins of red grapes.

Research also shows that moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the risk of heart disease. Scientists frequently cite this as a potential explanation for the “French paradox.”
That paradox notes that the French diet, which is high in saturated fats, doesn’t seem in line with the country’s relatively low rate of coronary heart disease. Some researchers believe that red wine may help to mitigate some of the effects of high-fat diets.

The American Heart Association notes that moderate intake of any type of alcoholic beverage seems to be beneficial to heart health, and red wine seems especially beneficial. However, the AHA stops short of recommending a glass of red wine each day, as excessive alcohol use contributes to high blood pressure, neurological disorders, and a host of other health issues.
“Patients are not advised to drink wine for their health,” wrote researchers Paul E. Szmitko and Subodh Verma, “but rather to drink—moderately—to their health.”

Bearse’s love of wine isn’t unique among centenarians.

According to the latest census data, the number of centenarians in the United States is growing. As of July 2015, the U.S. Census reported 76,974 individuals aged 100 or older.

John and Charlotte Henderson, 104 and 102, told USA Today that they typically enjoy wine or cocktails before dinner. But John noted that moderation is key.
“We never do anything,” he said. “Eat well. Sleep well. Don’t overdrink. Don’t overeat. And exercise regularly.”
Charlotte concurred with her husband, adding that their marriage is a source of strength. “We had such a good time when John retired. We traveled a lot,” she said. “We just stay busy all the time, and I’m sure that helps.”

Tags 50029551, balance, hemingway

Nosh

According To New Research, Drinking More Coffee Is Associated With A Longer Life

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 20, 2017

Few things are worse than suddenly discovering that one of your favorite foods is bad for you. We were shocked to discover that grilled meat, roasted potatoes, and toast can all carry serious health risks (okay, maybe the grilled meat wasn’t completely surprising).

But if you’re a coffee drinker, we’ve got good news: You probably don’t need to lay off your java habit.

Research backs up coffee as a healthy drink.

Two recent studies from Annals of Internal Medicine show a link between coffee and decreased mortality.
The studies don’t attempt to explain the link, opting to simply demonstrate the relationship between coffee consumption and the incidence of various diseases. One study focused on European countries, and the other chose participants of varying ethnicities in Los Angeles and Hawaii. The results were similar across the board: Increased coffee consumption led to longer lives.

The European study followed more than 500,000 people from 10 countries. Researchers followed up with the participants after 16.4 years to assess their health. The 25 percent of men who drank the most coffee were 12 percent less likely to die than the group who drank no coffee at all.
For women, the difference was slightly less noticeable; the heavy coffee drinkers had a 7 percent lower mortality rate.

Multi-ethnic study backs up European findings.

Many earlier studies focused on Europeans and Americans of European descent. An American study funded by the National Cancer Institute tracked people of diverse ethnicities to determine whether genetics played a role in coffee’s apparent benefits.

The researchers confirmed that coffee decreased mortality in African Americans, Japanese Americans, Latinos, and Caucasians. However, the study did not show a statistically significant decrease in mortality for native Hawaiian coffee drinkers.

Polyphenols may be the key.

Although scientists have extensively studied coffee’s beneficial effects, they haven’t conclusively shown how the beverage decreases mortality. Some scientists believe that polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, could be the key to the coffee’s health benefits.
A recent study showed that consuming dietary polyphenols can protect against hypertension, dyslipidemias, inflammation, and other conditions that are associated with cardiovascular disease. Dietary polyphenols are found in dark chocolate, tea, and coffee.

That’s good news for decaf drinkers, since the results also indicate that caffeine probably isn’t an important factor. In fact, caffeine causes several of coffee’s detrimental health effects, including headaches, insomnia, anxiety, and upset stomach. Insomnia is especially problematic, as scientists have linked poor sleep habits with fibromyalgia and various other conditions.

Should everyone drink coffee?

Additional studies should show how coffee affects specific areas of health. In the meantime, coffee seems to be a perfectly safe addition to your diet, provided that you drink it black. Adding sugar and cream can increase the risk of obesity, counteracting many of the heart-healthy benefits of your daily cup. One study even showed that milk can reduce the antioxidant capacity of coffee or tea.

Finally, if you can’t stand java, don’t feel compelled to start. Other substances like dark chocolate and tea can also provide substantial benefits by delivering the same types of polyphenols.

Tags 50029686, fuel, hemingway

Health x Body Wellbeing

According To Science, Drinking More Coffee Is Associated With A Longer Life

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 20, 2017

Few things are worse than suddenly discovering that one of your favorite foods is bad for you. Everything from grilled meat to roasted potatoes, and toast have been labeled as potentially harmful.
But if you’re a coffee drinker, we’ve got good news: You probably don’t need to lay off your java habit.

Research backs up coffee as a healthy drink.

Two recent studies from Annals of Internal Medicine show a link between coffee and decreased mortality.
The studies don’t attempt to explain the link, opting to simply demonstrate the relationship between coffee consumption and the incidence of various diseases. One study focused on European countries, and the other chose participants of varying ethnicities in Los Angeles and Hawaii. The results were similar across the board: Increased coffee consumption led to longer lives.
The European study followed more than 500,000 people from 10 countries. Researchers followed up with the participants after 16.4 years to assess their health. The 25 percent of men who drank the most coffee were 12 percent less likely to die than the group who drank no coffee at all.
For women, the difference was slightly less noticeable; the heavy coffee drinkers had a 7 percent lower mortality rate.

Multi-ethnic study backs up European findings.

Many earlier studies focused on Europeans and Americans of European descent. An American study funded by the National Cancer Institute tracked people of diverse ethnicities to determine whether genetics played a role in coffee’s apparent benefits.
The researchers confirmed that coffee decreased mortality in African Americans, Japanese Americans, Latinos, and Caucasians. However, the study did not show a statistically significant decrease in mortality for native Hawaiian coffee drinkers.

Polyphenols may be the key.

Although scientists have extensively studied coffee’s beneficial effects, they haven’t conclusively shown how the beverage decreases mortality. Some scientists believe that polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, could be the key to the coffee’s health benefits.
A recent study showed that consuming dietary polyphenols can protect against hypertension, dyslipidemias, inflammation, and other conditions that are associated with cardiovascular disease. Dietary polyphenols are found in dark chocolate, tea, and coffee.
That’s good news for decaf drinkers, since the results also indicate that caffeine probably isn’t an important factor. In fact, caffeine causes several of coffee’s detrimental health effects, including headaches, insomnia, anxiety, and upset stomach. Insomnia is especially problematic, as scientists have linked poor sleep habits with fibromyalgia and various other conditions.

Should everyone drink coffee?

Additional studies should show how coffee affects specific areas of health. In the meantime, coffee seems to be a perfectly safe addition to your diet, provided that you drink it black. Adding sugar and cream can increase the risk of obesity, counteracting many of the heart-healthy benefits of your daily cup. One study even showed that milk can reduce the antioxidant capacity of coffee or tea.
If you aren’t part of the #butfirstcoffee crew, no worries—other substances like dark chocolate and tea can also provide substantial benefits by delivering the same types of polyphenols.

Tags organic

Nosh

This Is Why You Should Never Refill Your Plastic Water Bottle

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 19, 2017

Disposable water bottles are just that—disposable.

Still, it feels like a crime against the environment to just toss out a water bottle after a single use. We’re supposed to reduce and reuse before we recycle, right? A perfectly noble commitment to sustainability might urge you to refill an old disposable water bottle over and over before tossing it out.
Here’s why that’s a bad idea.

1. Washing, refilling, and reusing disposable water bottles degrades the plastic itself.

As the plastic breaks down, it releases harmful chemicals into the water. The main bad guy here is bisphenol A—which you’ve probably heard being called by its nickname, BPA.

But even BPA-free water bottles contain chemicals that mimic the effects of estrogen, potentially sparking a whole range of maladies.

2. The chemicals in water bottles can cause all kinds of health issues.

Refill an old water bottle too many times and you’ll find BPA and all its harmful buddies swimming around in your hydration sauce. When these chemicals enter your body, they can really mess with your health.
Nutritionist Marilyn Glenville, PhD, told Good Housekeeping about all the health concerns that come with exposure to the chemicals found in most plastics.

“Certain chemicals found in plastic bottles can have effects on every system in our bodies,” she said. “They can affect ovulation, and increase our risk of hormonally driven problems like [polycystic ovary syndrome], endometriosis, and breast cancer, among other things.”

3. As disposable plastic bottles break down, they fill with tiny networks of cracks and fissures that harbor unhealthy bacteria.

Even if you’re not worried about chemical exposure, you probably don’t want to swallow robust colonies of bacteria. The microscopic fissures that develop in old plastic make great homes for germs.

A recent study in the runner’s site Treadmill Reviews found an average bacteria count of more than 300,000 colony-forming units (CFU) per square centimeter. By way of comparison, your dog’s favorite chew toy probably has fewer than 3,000 CFU. So that’s gross.
Oh, and those bottles that Treadmill Reviews looked at were actually made of reusable plastic. Given that disposable bottles develop more cracks more quickly, they’re probably even worse.

This is all plenty alarming, but a body has to remain hydrated, right?

The healthy way to tote your water, Treadmill Reviews concluded, is in a stainless steel bottle with a straw top. For some reason, the straw-top bottle they tested only contained 25.4 CFU. Compare that with the squeeze-top in the study: That thing had 161,971 CFU.
Oh, and these weren’t gut-healthy probiotics, either. More than 60 percent of the germs the researchers found in the water bottles were the type that can actually cause illness.

The takeaway is this: Recycle your disposable water bottles. Get yourself a stainless steel reusable water bottle. Wash your water bottle after each use.
It’s actually pretty simple. Whatever you do, make sure you stay hydrated. With a nice, clean, reusable steel bottle, you can sip safe in the knowledge that you aren’t risking your health.

Tags 50029391, fuel, hemingway

Nosh

5 Foods That Repair A Day Of Unhealthy Eating

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 19, 2017

No one is immune to unhealthy food days. While it’s fine to let loose and indulge every once in a while, poor food choices can leave you feeling pretty crummy. Here are a few foods to eat to help get your body back on track.

1. Walnuts

Walnuts are a tasty and incredibly nutritious treat. These nuts are packed with appetite-reducing omega-3 fatty acids and protein. They are also full of vitamins and minerals—such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium—that will rev up your metabolism.

There are many health benefits to incorporating walnuts into your diet. This snack can help keep your bones strong and healthy, improve heart function, reduce stress, and keep dementia at bay.

2. Fermented Treats

You know how your stomach feels after a day of eating a ton of sugary foods—not good, right? Eating or drinking items that contain high levels of probiotics will help balance out your gut and get you feeling better quickly.
Probiotics can be found in foods and drinks that are fermented, such as pickles, sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, kimchi, kombucha, and kefir.

The probiotic bacteria in fermented foods help break down excess sugar. They also aid in the absorption of nutrients. Ideally, it’s best to incorporate some kind of fermented item as part of your diet every day, not just when you need them to recover.

3. Dandelion Tea

High-sugar junk food binges can leave you feeling sluggish and bloated the next day. Another way to reverse the effects of a sugar crash is to drink a cup of dandelion tea.

Dandelion tea contains high levels of vitamins A, C, and D. These vitamins can help fight fatigue while improving your circulation, which in turn will help make you feel better faster. This tea is also a strong diuretic that will help your body flush out toxins and eliminate excess fluid.

4. Wild Salmon

If you are suffering from serious inflammation issues after a day of poor food choices, wild salmon can help with your recovery. Oily fish, such as sardines, mackerel, and the almighty salmon, contain high levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is a very beneficial omega-3 fatty acid.
Some doctors believe that the underlying causes of chronic illnesses (such as cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis) can be traced to inflammation. DHA, when it’s a regular part of one’s diet, can help reduce inflammation throughout the entire body, potentially keeping those diseases at bay.

Studies have also shown that DHA helps with brain development and can reduce one’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease. In a report by the Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, researchers found that:
“Those individuals having the lowest levels of DHA had significantly lower total brain volume as well as significantly greater levels of small strokes in their brains compared to individuals with higher levels of DHA.”

5. Aloe Vera Juice

Aloe vera juice is a great way to hydrate and provide your body with vitamins and minerals after a binge. Nikki Ostrower, founder of NAO Nutrition in New York, encourages people to drink aloe vera juice for its digestive benefits.
“It stimulates the stomach, but will empty it of unhealthy foods, while also replenishing nutrients.”

Aloe vera juice is a perfect way to get things “moving” in your body, since junk foods tend to cause a lot of constipation.
Remember: You are what you eat. If you’re tired of feeling bad all the time, do something about it. You have the power to change your diet and lifestyle, and incorporating foods from this list could be a great place to start.

Tags 50029446, fuel, hemingway

Lifestyle

Dry Shampoo Is Actually A Scam

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 19, 2017

When we first heard about dry shampoo, we thought our lives had changed forever.

We’re not exactly sure why washing our hair is so unappealing, but for the most part, it’s an obnoxious ritual. Dry shampoo seems like an excellent alternative; if you’re running late and you don’t have time to run through the shower, why not give your hair a quick spritz and be on your way?

Unfortunately, dry shampoo is problematic—from both scientific and functional standpoints.

These products work by soaking up grease and oil, but they’re not nearly as effective as soap and water. If you decide to forgo “wet washing” indefinitely, you’re going to run into a few issues right away.
To understand why, let’s consider the typical ingredients of popular dry shampoos. Most contain cornstarch, which binds to sebum, the oils created by your scalp.

To keep the cornstarch from caking together, many formulas also include magnesium stearate, along with a sizable dose of kaolin, a soft clay that reduces reflectivity. That makes your hair and scalp appear less shiny (and therefore less gross).
Most spray-on dry shampoos also include alcohol and petroleum, which propel the ingredients out of the bottle. The alcohol helps the mixture evaporate quickly.

Together these ingredients prevent oil from building up on your hair and keep your locks from looking greasy. But they don’t magically leave your head—they stick around, leaving a light residue on your scalp.

The good news is that the residue is fairly safe.

“Most shampoos today developed by major cosmetic houses are very safe, whether they’re wet or dry. They’re compounded so you can use them without problems,” said Wilma Bergfeld, MD, in an interview with Cleveland Clinic. “The question is whether it’s important to clean the scalp, and that answer is yes.”
The bad news? Dry shampoo certainly isn’t a substitute for wet shampoo.

“Your hair and scalp needs to be washed and rinsed intermittently to keep it clean,” Dr. Bergfeld said. “The scalp collects chemicals and pollutants both from the air and from cosmetic care products, and if you only use a dry shampoo, the cleansing is only minimal but it does freshen the hair by removing oils.”
Given enough time, your dry shampoo habit could make your hair more brittle, leading to damage and hair loss. It also doesn’t do much for your scalp, since it’s designed to improve your appearance, not to act as a complete cleanser.

Dry shampoo “deposits substances to coat the follicle that can build up,” L.A. dermatologist Sonia Batra told The Atlantic. “The resulting inflammation can weaken the follicles and increase shedding. These products can also cause hair follicles to stick together, so that a hair that would normally shed during brushing may take two or three strands along with it.”

If you’re going to use dry shampoo, make sure to use it correctly.

Dermatologists recommend spraying only the oily part of your hair, not the scalp. Don’t use dry shampoo for more than two days in a row, and if possible, opt for the non-spray shampoos, since they don’t contain alcohol or petroleum.
Finally, the most important—and disappointing—piece of advice: Don’t expect to see the same results you’d get from a typical cleaning.

Tags 50029316, body, hemingway

Lifestyle

Why Are So Many Kids Having Scary Reactions To Sunscreen? Experts Weigh In

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date July 5, 2017

The sun shone brightly in May of 2017.

A Canadian mom named Rebecca Cannon planned to take her 14-month old daughter, Kyla, out for a day in the sunshine. Like any good mother, she planned to protect her child’s sensitive skin from harsh UV rays. So she took out a can of an aerosol SPF-50 sunscreen and sprayed little Kyla down.

A few days later, Cannon shared frightening pictures of Kyla’s badly burned face on social media.

“It has been verified and confirmed 3 times now a 2nd-degree caustic burn (chemical burn)[sic],” Cannon wrote. In an interview with CBC News, Cannon went deeper into her terrifying experience.

“As the day went on, she got a little redder and redder and the next morning she woke up and was swollen, she was bright red, there were blisters starting to pop up,” Cannon said in that interview. “We immediately took her up to the doctors and found out she has second-degree burns.”

So what’s going on?

Did the sunscreen somehow magnify the strength of the UV rays hitting Kyla’s face? Was there some caustic chemical in the sunscreen that was injuring the poor little girl?

Parents magazine tasked writer Melissa Willets with finding out. So Willets did what journalists do: She talked to the experts.

Rachel Prete, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children didn’t think there was anything special about the brand of sunscreen involved in this incident.

“To my knowledge there is no additional ingredient [this sunscreen] uses that their competitor sunscreens do not,” she told Parents. “Each child is different in the way they respond to sunscreen, especially on the face where the skin can be more sensitive.”

Prete suggests that Kyla may have had an allergic reaction to a substance called oxybenzone, which “is present in about 65 percent of chemical sunscreens on the market,” she said.

Willets had another question. Could it have been the fact that this sunscreen was packaged in an aerosol can that caused the injury? She asked dermatologist Janet Prystowsky of Livad Skin Care. Prystowsky couldn’t say for sure, but she did mention that she doesn’t recommend aerosol sunscreens for infants in the first place.

“The problem with [aerosol sunscreens] is that, with infants and toddlers, it can be tough to apply adequate coverage,” Prystowsky said. “You don’t want your child to inhale the sunscreen either, which is always a risk with aerosols. Plus, the child may rub it off almost immediately. It can be hard to tell for any parent.”

Unfortunately, the sad case of Kyla and the sunscreen remains a mystery.

However, there are steps parents can take to protect their children from a similar fate, whether it’s an allergic reaction or a harsh chemical. Start by choosing the right sunscreen to keep in your beach bag.

“I recommend broad-spectrum mineral-based sunscreens that come in a lotion or stick for the face,” Prystowsky said. “Choose a sunscreen that is age-appropriate. If you choose a high SPF of 50+, make sure that your active ingredients are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. You’ll notice adds a white tint and doesn’t blend in fully. For small children, this can be an easy way to ensure that they are wearing sunscreen.”

In addition to sunscreen, use hats and clothing to cover your infant fully.

” I can’t stress enough how important clothing is for your child’s sun protection,” she said. “A bucket hat will protect their scalp, ears, and upper face.”

Finally, Prystowsky reminded us that infants shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight at all until they’re at least 6 months old. After that, parents should limit sun exposure. With these tips and the right kind of sunscreen, you should be able to avoid an ordeal like the one Kyla and her mother experienced.

Tags 50028306, care, hemingway

Sweat

3 Ways You Might Get Pregnant While On The Pill

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date June 27, 2017

Let’s be clear: Hormonal birth control pills are awesome.
They uncoupled passion from pregnancy in a way that men have taken for granted since, well, Adam and Eve. The oral contraceptive pill was an essential building block of the movement for women’s equality and has prevented countless unplanned pregnancies.
Still, as any expert will tell you, oral contraceptives are not 100 percent effective. Few things are. Abstinence, sure, but that’s not realistic for most people. When taken correctly—on schedule, without missing a dose—the pill is 99 percent effective.

But nobody is perfect, and so the pill only has a 91 percent effectiveness rating. Here are a few things you should avoid if you want to stay out of that dreaded 9 percent.

1. Taking a Progestin-Only Pill at Different Times Every Day

The combination hormone pill, which contains both estrogen and progestin, isn’t terribly time sensitive. But some women can’t take estrogen. There’s still a pill for them, but it only contains progestin, which makes it really important that they take the pill at the same time every day.

Progestin-only pills work a little bit differently from their combined cousins. Estrogen/progestin pills both prevent ovulation and thicken cervical mucus. Progestin-only pills just do the second. That—along with thinning the lining of the uterus—is designed to prevent Sperm from meeting Egg.
However, the cervical mucus returns to its natural, sperm-friendly state just three hours after the progestin wears off. That’s why it’s so important to take the minipill at precisely the same moment every single day. Otherwise, as cervical mucus thins out, your risk of pregnancy increases.

2. Combining the Pill With Certain Other Medications, Including Antibiotics and Drugs for Seizures and Migraines

The pill doesn’t necessarily play well with others. Certain medications that treat seizures do so by breaking down hormones faster. When hormones are in charge of preventing ovulation and blocking sperm, you definitely don’t want them broken down faster. (Unless you want a baby.)

A few rare classes of antibiotics, including rifampicin and rifabutin, can mess with your system when you’re on birth control. As with all things health related, talk to your doctor, and be sure to tell them you take oral birth control.

3. Forgetting to Take Your Pill

Now we’ve arrived at the crux of the matter. You can’t expect it to work if you don’t take it as directed. Most women who get pregnant on the pill do so because, well, they weren’t on the pill when they got pregnant. Not practically speaking, anyway.

“For most pills, if you are in the middle or toward the end of your pack you should be fine, but if it is the first day of active pills and you forget to restart, this might be a problem,” Nikki B. Zite, professor of obstetrics and gynecology surgery at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, told Fox News.
“The first week of pills after the placebos are the most important to stop the egg from developing.”

It’s best never to miss a pill. Even the placebos can help women remember to take the pill every day, which is crucial in the early weeks of the pack. But if you skip the placebos, be sure you never miss the first active pills. They are the most critical.
And always keep in touch with your doctors. Ask them about any possible side effects or risks associated with all of your medications. Remember: Birth control doesn’t do a darn thing to stop STDs.

Tags 50027766, body, hemingway

Health x Body Wellbeing

Biosensing Tattoo Changes Colors When Blood Sugar Levels Change

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date June 27, 2017

What would your parents say if you came home with a big, beautiful tattoo on your face?
That bad, huh?
Okay, now what do you think they’d say if you’d had type 1 diabetes since you were 6 years old, they’d spent their whole lives worrying about your blood sugar levels, and that dragon on your face would change colors the instant you needed an insulin shot, before any symptoms could develop?

We don’t know your parents, but we imagine they’d say, “That’s great, but why did you get a dragon on your face when, like, a discrete butterfly on your wrist would have worked just as well, healthwise?”
The correct answer, of course, is “Because I’m baaaad.”

Point being: Health-sensing tattoos aren’t just a sci-fi trope.

They are going to happen. In a way, they’re happening right now, although we’re still in the early stages. And for the coolest new development in tattooing, we have to go to a place that, at first glance, seems a little nerdy: MIT Media Lab.

For the past 40 years, students from every discipline have come together in the MIT Media Lab to think up strange new technologies. These are some of the nation’s best designers, engineers, nanotechnologists, and computer scientists.
Not exactly “bad boy” material. Except that they are. These innovators are to technology what Sailor Jerry was to the art of tattooing. They’re pushing everything forward, and we just have to hold on for the ride.
MIT researchers Katie Vega, Xin Liu, Viirj Kan, and Nick Barry got together with Harvard Medical School’s Ali Yetisen and Nan Jiang to create a project called DermalAbyss. The “dermal” is for skin and the “abyss” just sounds cool, but neither is as amazing as what the project is actually doing.

They’re trying to create a tattoo ink that contains “biosensors whose colors change in response to variations in the interstitial fluid.” That is, tats that measure and reflect changes in pH, glucose, and sodium.

That’s a very big deal if you have diabetes.

“With DermalAbyss, we imagine the future where the painful procedure [of testing glucose levels with a needle] is replaced with a tattoo, of which the color from pink to purple [is] based on the glucose levels,” the researchers wrote on their MIT Media Lab site. “Thus, the user could monitor the color changes and the need of insulin.”
But you don’t have to have diabetes to reap the rewards of a DermalAbyss tattoo. At least, we don’t think so.

“It could be used for applications in continuous…monitoring such as medical diagnostics, quantified self, and data encoding in the body,” the site reads.
Medical diagnostics: Check. As for “quantified self” and “data encoding in the body,” that sounds like some post-human, singularity-type stuff that always goes right over our heads. We’re more the stick-and-poke tattoo types, anyway.
For now, DermalAbyss is just a “proof of concept.” They’ve tried it on pig skin, but that’s about it. We’ll have to wait for the next step, but in 10 years when folks are walking around with chameleon-like, color-changing tattoos, just remember: You heard it here first.

Tags 50027771, body, hemingway

Lifestyle

Here's How To Remove A Gel Manicure At Home Without Destroying Your Fingernails

Post author By Staff Writer
Post date June 27, 2017

Gel manicures last longer, they dry faster, and you just can’t get a shine like that from traditional polish. But when that mani finally starts to fade, it’s a lot harder to get rid of a disintegrating gel polish than the old-school enamel variety.
You might be tempted to simply scrape the gel polish off your nails when you’re sick of the look. That does seem to work—but only if you like trashing your natural nails in the process. To safely remove gel polish by yourself without damaging your nails, just follow these four simple steps.

1. Buff off the shiny surface of your manicure.

The very thing we love about gel polish is the thing that makes it so hard to remove. The gel manicure has a shiny top layer. This stuff is a beast to remove with chemicals alone. So we suggest you blast it off the old-fashioned way.

Take your finest nail file and sand that layer of gel right off. You’ll know you’ve gone deep enough when your manicure stops reflecting the light. Once you’ve got a soft matte layer of color, stop buffing. You don’t want to sand down to your actual nails. That’s how they get damaged.

2. Soak your nails in acetone nail polish remover.

Note that we didn’t say “soak your fingertips.” You really don’t want your skin to contact acetone for very long. To keep this chemical polish remover against your nail without dipping your whole hand in a vat of the stuff, grab some cotton balls and pull them apart into little nail-sized chunks.
Soak a bit of cotton in acetone and place it on your fingernail. Then hold it in place with a layer of foil. Even better, stick it in place with masking tape. Repeat for all of your other fingers.

Here’s a word of warning: Don’t wrap your fingertips up too tight. You don’t want to cut off the circulation, right? Of course you don’t. So wrap up that polish-destroying cotton just tight enough to hold it firmly in place. Then wait 15 minutes while the acetone does its destructive magic.

3. Slide off the weakened gel with a wooden cuticle stick.

After 15 minutes, unwrap your fingertips and grab the nearest wooden cuticle stick. If you’re thrifty, a popsicle stick will work almost as well. Gently slough away the gel.

Although 15 minutes in the acetone chamber should be enough to take the fight out of most gel polishes, you might find yourself with a stubborn hanger-on. Do not try to take it by force! Instead, reapply the polish-remover–soaked cotton, wrap again, and wait another five or 10 minutes. Then try again.

4. Use cuticle oil to replenish your nails after the ordeal.

Acetone polish remover is some toxic stuff. It melts away nail polish, but it also pulls all of the moisture out of your fingernails. That’s why it’s important to moisturize when you’re done removing that old gel mani.

Pick your favorite cuticle oil and give your nails a generous coating. Then you’re ready to go natural or plan your next manicure, whatever you want. Your fingernails are a blank slate; go write your story!

Tags 50027751, body, hemingway