Five Amazing Breakthroughs
Hello to Womancake readers in 28 countries around the world! I started this series last year, in the wake of so much global darkness and uncertainty. I need hope, inspiration and wonder to thrive, so I began hunting for amazing breakthroughs in medicine, longevity, tech, science, climate solutions and other areas to lift me up. Sharing them with the Womancake community has been my pleasure, and I’ll continue to do it every month so we can all stay as positive as possible.
Let’s start with a genuine breakthrough in cancer diagnosis for women
AI is now capable of scanning your current mammogram for future breast cancer risk. This new tool does not replace all the current metrics for determining your risk, such as family history and/or testing for the BRCA mutation. But it can be helpful in a different way, by comparing your mammo to many, many others and detecting subtle changes that can’t be viewed any other way. Anyone who has had a mammo in the last year can request it from their doctor. Note that it costs $250 and is not covered by insurance. Note also that there are some risks that come with using this tool, so read the full article at the link above. I just got my mammo last month, and I’m planning to try this thing out.
[One other thing: I want to take a moment to share something that happened at my most recent mammogram appointment. After I changed into the half-body hospital garment and seated myself in the waiting area with the other women, I performed my super power, which is eavesdropping without anyone noticing. And holy hell, I’m glad I did. Most of the women in the waiting room were reading, but one woman was a talker. She announced loudly that this was her very first mammogram at age 51, and that she’d been putting it off because she had paid good money for her implants, and was “afraid that the machine would wreck the shape of her boobs.”
I don’t mean to cast aspersions on anyone, but that attitude is insane. First of all, it is 100% safe and recommended for women with implants to get mammos. Second, while it’s true that the mammogram machine does squish your boobs down to the size of thick pancakes, they’re only in that position for about 10 seconds, and then they spring right back.
I know that we’re all subject to impossible standards of beauty, and that we’re caught in a billion-dollar sinkhole of products and services that are designed to help us feel and look younger. As a 53 year old woman, I know that the world is harder on us as we age, and it can be tempting to try drastic measures to hold back time. But IT IS NOT SAFE TO SKIP MAMMOGRAMS! They remain the gold-standard for detecting breast cancer, and now with this new AI tool, they’re going to get even better. So please, let’s not let vanity prevent us from taking care of ourselves. Book your next mammo right now.]
A blockbuster breakthrough for bone health is in the pipeline
A new stem-cell process can prevent and even restore the damaging effects of osteoporosis in older women. The mother of the lead scientist on this trial was strictly vegan for decades, and by her 40s she was experiencing multiple bone fractures (you already know that your bones need calcium and Vitamin D, right? Talk to your doctor about supplementing). So he tweaked a simple stem-cell process to make it able to regenerate bone. The regenerative cells work their way right into bone marrow, which pumps up the surrounding bone matter. The results of his first trial are interesting, though not yet ready for large-scale clinical application. More trials are coming up, and I’ll be keeping an eye on them.
How about a breakthrough in astrophysics
A glamorous new object has been spotted billions of years from Earth. Scientists at NASA are calling it a “black hole star”. They were able to capture its image through the James Webb telescope, which revealed that it’s the size of a solar system, and glows with red light. Apparently it looks almost exactly like an ordinary star, but it puts out over 100 billion times more energy than stars do. Black holes are kind of like gods who can determine when and how star formations emerge, how they evolve, and what type of planets get created. These new ones are super-powerful, and there might be more of them all over the Universe! Personally I’ve always felt that discoveries like these prove that absolutely anything is possible. But also, the Earth is an extraordinary miracle, and we’re lucky to be born on it and know the secrets of the Universe, y’know?
Here’s one that I find fascinating
Signs of dementia can be detected in the human voice. You already know that hearing loss can increase dementia risk, right? It now appears that vocal disorders carry a similar risk. This is the first larger-scale study of its kind, involving data from more than 800,00 adults over age 50, and the results are staggering. Those who had a voice disorder were 29% more likely to have or develop a cognitive condition. For those who had both hearing loss and a vocal disorder, the percentage was even higher. As we care for our elders, and ourselves, this is something worth bringing up with healthcare providers. As far as treatment goes, not much is currently understood about vocal issues, but we do know that treating hearing loss (for example, with hearing aids) can reduce the risk of cognitive decline. So treating vocal issues might have a similar effect.
Lastly, a tiny ray of hope in the climate crisis
A new report shows that tigers, sea turtles and bluefin tuna populations are recovering. The number of wild tigers, in particular, has jumped 70% since 2010. But this report also contains a sobering warning about the world’s food production, because agriculture is a massive source of greenhouse gasses, which are horribly destructive to the fragile ecosystems of our planet. Read the entire article and get inspired to write your reps and make some good changes of your own.
BONUS BREAKTHROUGHS:
I can’t even tell you how delighted I am to read that Jonathan, a 194 year old tortoise, might hold the keys to longevity.
He’s the world’s oldest animal, and lordy, he’s a miracle! Some combo of genetics and lifestyle are keeping this guy going, and scientists are sequencing his genome to learn his secrets. He may be old, but he’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so let’s get excited about what he can teach us.
Here’s a recent cooking breakthrough: you know how much I love my Staub dutch oven, and I’m always looking for new recipes to use it. I found this slow-roasted Pull-Apart Chicken recipe gives the tenderest, most flavorful roast chicken I’ve ever eaten. You don’t even need a knife to cut it, you can just separate the parts with your fingers or a spoon. I threw some carrots and parsnips in there with it, making sure to chop them in large pieces so they wouldn’t cook down too much in the 3-hour roast. Spooned it all into bowls over brown rice, and chopped parsley on top. Heaven!
How about a beauty breakthrough: All the cooking I’ve been doing lately has done a number on my hands, but I found this drugstore lotion to be bursting with hyaluronic acid, the most moisturizing ingredient known to humankind. Every time I put it on I have to shout Moisture is the essence of wetness! to Hubs, who knows a Zoolander reference when he hears one.
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This article originally appeared on Womancake Magazine and was syndicated by MediaFeed.co.
