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Tattoos: Unlikely but Plausible Friends of the Immune System
“Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment.” Until a few decades ago, the earliest known tattoos were those found on several Egyptian female mummies dated to 2000 B.C. However, the discovery of the Ötzi, an ancient mummified human body found by a German tourist on the Italian-Austrian border in 1991, provided the first evidence that tattoos have been around for more than 5,000 years. Using imaging techniques, anthropologists have mapped 61 tattoos on the mummified Ötzi. The tattoos were made…
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The unexpected gift of a strong immune system: we’re more attractive
By Roberta Attanasio Why are we attracted to one face over another? What makes a face attractive and another one less attractive? “Research finds that features such as clear skin, prominent cheekbones, bright eyes, and full, red lips have been deemed attractive throughout recorded human history Research also finds a consistent preference for symmetrical and average faces. Although some argue that standards of beauty are primarily the product of Western media exposure, research suggests these standards transcend age and cultural boundaries, being demonstrated in infants, as well as in those living in societies with little exposure to Western media.” Evolutionary theories propose that our preferences for certain facial features evolved…
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How COVID-19 sets off ravaging inflammation in some people
By Roberta Attanasio Back in March 2020, Jane Brody wrote in The New York Times “While most people focus, as they should, on social distancing, face coverings, hand washing and even self-isolation to protect against the deadly coronavirus now ravaging the country, too few are paying serious attention to two other factors critically important to the risk of developing a Covid-19 infection and its potential severity. Those factors are immunity, which should be boosted, and inflammation, which should be suppressed.” However, major efforts were already underway at that time not only to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, but also to understand how the virus triggers a blizzard of uncontrolled inflammatory immune…
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Breastfeeding regulates the immune system and improves babies’ health
By Roberta Attanasio “As long as there have been babies, there have been breastfeeding mothers, providing infants with basic, essential nutrition. But for a surprisingly long time, there have also been baby bottles, used to feed infants when mothers couldn’t. ‘We talk about the golden age where everybody breastfed, and that age never happened,’ says Suzanne Barston, author of Bottled Up: How the Way We Feed Babies has Come to Define Motherhood, and Why it Shouldn’t.” Although the way we feed babies should not define motherhood, and mothers should decide what works best for them in their own situation, it is well established that breastfeeding is one of the most…
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Measles outbreak in Samoa: potential effects on COVID-19
By Roberta Attanasio Measles—one of the world’s most contagious diseases—induces immune amnesia, an anomaly of the immune system that results in increased susceptibility to infections by other pathogens. Not surprisingly, there are concerns globally about populations that have recently experienced measles outbreaks. These populations could be at elevated risk of developing more severe COVID-19 illness, resulting in increased mortality. The emergence of the current COVID-19 pandemic in the first months of 2020 occurred closely after a global resurgence of measles. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by November 2019, measles case numbers had tripled compared with the same period in the previous year. Measles spreads easily when an infected…
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Childhood Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution
By Roberta Attanasio “I explain it to people like you are breathing through a coffee stirrer straw, and you just can’t get enough breath. The attacks can happen so quickly and out of nowhere, so I feel like I’m really not in control of my own body. Not being able to breathe in and out the way my body is designed to do is quite scary” says one of the 19 million adults who currently have asthma in the US. Asthma is a chronic disorder that causes swelling and inflammation in the lungs—the airways narrow and produce extra mucus, making breathing difficult and causing coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing,…
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Nature, Health, and Things in Between
By Roberta Attanasio A decade ago, Richard Louv — author of the bestsellers Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle — coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” to describe the increasing disconnection between children and the natural world. Such disconnection negatively affects health and spiritual well-being. The concept, which was later extended to adults, provides the basis for a working framework to reshape our lives. Louv argues that by tapping into the restorative powers of nature, we can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. Although results from several studies point out the deleterious health…
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E-Cigarettes and Vaping May Cause Lung Damage and Impaired Immune Responses
By Roberta Attanasio A few months ago, Oxford Dictionaries announced “vape” as its international Word of the Year 2014 – language research conducted by their editors revealed that its use in 2014 had more than doubled compared to 2013 (and increased by 30-fold since 2012), mostly because of the rapidly growing popularity of electronic cigarettes and the expanding debate over their safety. Although e-cigarettes are portrayed as devices that can help adult smokers quit while providing a safe alternative to tobacco smoking, mounting evidence shows that these devices may cause considerable harm. Indeed, about two weeks ago, California health officials said that e-cigarettes represent a rising public-health risk that threaten…
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From Old to Young: Rejuvenating Effects of Fasting on the Immune System
By Roberta Attanasio The beneficial effects of prolonged fasting — fasting that lasts 48–120 hours — have been known for several years. One of these effects is the enhancement of the cellular resistance to toxins in both experimental animals and humans. Now, results from a new study (Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression) published in the journal Cell Stem Cell (June 5, 2014), show that cycles of prolonged fasting protect against damage to the immune system and induce its regeneration, shifting hematopoietic stem cells from an inactive state to a state of self-renewal. Stem cells are cells that have the ability to divide and develop into many different…
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“Iceman” Wim Hof and the Flow Within: The Immune System Goes with It
By Roberta Attanasio Scientists generally believe that it is not possible to voluntarily influence the autonomic nervous system, which regulates — among other physiological processes — heart rate, breathing, blood circulation and the immune response. However, results from a new study show that, using techniques developed by Wim Hof, it is indeed possible to modulate our own autonomic nervous system and, consequently, our own immune response. “Iceman” Wim Hof is internationally known for his unusual accomplishments — he ran a marathon above the Arctic circle and climbed the highest mountains on earth in only shorts, appeared on several television stations by sitting in a cylinder filled with ice cubes up to his neck, run…
