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A couple of things stood out last week when Kevin led our group through the entire process of receiving the pages from the editorial staff to the moments when it gets bundled up and heads out the door to carriers.

When Bonnie Banas arrived recently for her final meeting with our Reader Advisory Board, she did a little show and tell.

Banas, who lives in Canton, has a special history with The Canton Repository. She's not only a longtime subscriber to our print product, she also starred in a stage play that detailed the paper's 200 year history. Called "The Bicentennial Project," it featured several actors who each played numerous roles that depicted events covered by the Rep. One of Banas' roles was as Ida Saxton McKinley. Mrs. McKinley was the granddaughter of John Saxton, who was the founder and first publisher of The Canton Repository, which at the time of its birth on March 30, 1815, was called The Ohio Repository.

Banas showed me a book that the Rep had published Aug. 1, 1953. It showed off the different departments within the building, including advertising, classifieds, circulation, editorial and the press. As we paged through the pages showing off the old press, she said her neighbor had loaned her the book. He was a former pressman for the paper, and told her he worked in the days of "hot type," when the words on the newspaper pages were set by hand.

I told her to be sure to compare the photos in the book with what she was about to see during a tour of our press and production facilities. The tour always takes place during the last meeting for each Advisory Board. The next group is set to kick off at the end of August, and will run through January.

Each tour is guided by a guy who easily takes a spot among the best tour guides or docents I've ever followed around. Kevin Ackerman is GateHouse Ohio's vice president of operations. In an age when titles don't come close to telling the job someone actually performs, I will need to list just some of Kevin's reponsibilities. He manages the press operations in Canton and at The Times Reporter in New Philadelphia; the production facilities, where the ads are inserted into the paper; the composing facilities, where each day's paper is output and many ads are designed; and, the buildings where we work. Much like most workers these days, there are at least 40 other jobs on his plate, too.

Kevin's given this tour to five Advisory Board groups so far, and every one is a little different than the others. I'm lucky, because I've taken in all the tours and learned so much.

A couple of things stood out last week when Kevin led our group through the entire process of receiving the pages from the editorial staff to the moments when it gets bundled up and heads out the door to carriers.

One of our group members asked what type of paper is used for our newsprint. Great question. I've been in this business for 25 years, and have been reading papers for about 20 years longer than that, and I never thought to ask that question!

Spruce.

Our paper comes from Canada, as most newsprint used in the United States does. Kevin said that it's grown on enormous forests that operate a rotation process. Once trees are cut for production of paper, more trees are planted and grown. It's a constant process.

Kevin is one of the hardest working guys I've met. He's here days, nights, weekends, early mornings and late at night. Turns out, the second thing I learned the other day, he learned that work ethic at a young age.

A native of East Canton, Kevin headed off to college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He said he is very much a small-town guy, and because the Art Institute is in the city, he wasn't able to get comfortable. He called his dad a little bit into his first year and told him that he was coming home. He didn't quit, though.

No, Kevin drove every day to Pittsburgh for his classes, then headed home to East Canton. After a few years, he graduated, never missing a day of classes along the way. Oh, and he also worked during those days at the Rep in the circulation department.

Impressive.

Earlier, I mentioned Bonnie's lesson in how the method of printing the newspaper has changed. I think, too, about how Kevin's jobs have changed over that time.

All of our tasks have shifted so much over time. Most of the technical lessons I learned in school have become obsolete over my 25 years, while the newsgathering rules such as fairness and fact-checking are more important than ever. "M" and "W" are always going to be the widest letters in the alphabet, while "I" will always be the skinniest. We no longer use wax to affix our stories to pages that get photographed by an enormous camera before it heads off to about three other steps before it reaches the press.

Efficiency has helped to speed up our ability to get the news out there for our readers, and experienced staff members, like Kevin Ackerman, will always be the backbone of our product.

The rest is here:
Laura Kessel: Press tour a lesson in how longevity brings efficiency - Canton Repository

He also wrote a musical for children when he was 88 and a best-selling book when he was 101. He recently took up golf. Until a few months ago he was still treating patients and kept a date book with space for five more years of appointments.

In the early 1950s, Dr. Hinohara pioneered a system of complete annual physicals called human dry-dock that has been credited with helping to lengthen the average life span of Japanese people. Women born there today can expect to live to 87; men, to 80.

In the 1970s, he reclassified strokes and heart disorders commonly perceived as inevitable adult diseases that required treatment to lifestyle ailments that were often preventable.

Dr. Hinohara insisted that patients be treated as individuals that a doctor needed to understand the patient as a whole as thoroughly as the illness. He argued that palliative care should be a priority for the terminally ill.

He imposed few inviolable health rules, though he did recommend some basic guidelines: Avoid obesity, take the stairs (he did, two steps at a time) and carry your own packages and luggage. Remember that doctors cannot cure everything. Dont underestimate the beneficial effects of music and the company of animals; both can be therapeutic. Dont ever retire, but if you must, do so a lot later than age 65. And prevail over pain simply by enjoying yourself.

We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep, he often said. I believe we can keep that attitude as adults it is best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.

Dr. Hinohara maintained his weight at about 130 pounds. His diet was spartan: coffee, milk and orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil for breakfast; milk and a few biscuits for lunch; vegetables with a small portion of fish and rice for dinner. (He would consume three and a half ounces of lean meat twice a week.)

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara was born on Oct. 4, 1911, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, in western Japan. He decided to study medicine after his mothers life was saved by the familys doctor. His father was a Methodist pastor who had studied at Duke University.

Have big visions and put such visions into reality with courage, his father had advised him, Dr. Hinohara told the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network. The visions may not be achieved while you are alive, but do not forget to be adventurous. Then you will be victorious.

Dr. Hinohara graduated in 1937 from Kyoto Imperial Universitys College of Medicine. (He later studied for a year at Emory University in Atlanta.) He began practicing at St. Lukes International Hospital in 1941. (It was founded by a missionary at the beginning of the 20th century.) He became its director in 1992.

In 1970, he was flying to a medical conference in Japan when his plane was hijacked by radical Communists armed with swords and pipe bombs. He was among 130 hostages who spent four days trapped in 100-degree heat until the hijackers released their captives and flew to North Korea, where they were offered asylum.

I believe that I was privileged to live, he later said, so my life must be dedicated to other people.

After spending his first six decades supporting his family, Dr. Hinohara devoted the remainder of his life largely to volunteer work.

In 2000, he conceived a musical version of Leo Buscaglias book The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, which was performed in Japan and played Off Off Broadway in New York. He wrote scores of books in Japanese, including Living Long, Living Good (2001), which sold more than a million copies.

Until the last few months, he would work up to 18 hours a day. Using a cane, he would exercise by taking 2,000 or more steps a day. In March, unable to eat, he was hospitalized. But he refused a feeding tube and was discharged. Months later, he died at home.

Dr. Hinohara said his outlook toward life had been inspired by Robert Brownings poem Abt Vogler, especially these lines:

There shall never be one lost good! What was, shall live as before;The evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound;What was good shall be good, with, for evil, so much good more;On the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven a perfect round.

What the poem evoked for him, he once explained, was a circle drawn so big that only the arch was visible. Seeing it in full, he said, could never be realized in his lifetime.

Read the rest here:
Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, Longevity Expert, Dies at (or Lives to) 105 - New York Times

Updated 16 hours ago

Pastor Bob J. Lecocq said his parents, Bob G. and Rosetta Lecocq, thought that coffee had a divine quality to it.

They used to say that it's always a full cup of God's love, Lecocq said of his parents, who owned Lazarus Tomb Coffee House Ministries, now known as Sheep Inc. in Arnold.

Lecocq's parents may have been right about the special properties of coffee. Two recent studies published by the Annals of Internal Medicine found that there is a link between coffee and increased longevity.

One of the studies funded by the National Cancer Institute found that those who drank at least one cup of coffee a day had a 12 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, diabetes, respiratory disease and kidney disease. The study also found that those who drank three cups a day decreased those risks by 18 percent. These findings were consistent among white people, black people, Latinos and Japanese Americans.

Both studies found that the longevity correlations existed whether the coffee was regular or decaf.

However, the studies don't prove that coffee is the cause of the increased longevity, only that there is a correlation or association between coffee drinkers and longevity.

Residents and cafe owners in the Alle-Kiski Valley and Greensburg areas had plenty to say about their own coffee drinking habits on Tuesday.

Coffee drinking habits

Every morning at 5 a.m., I have a shot in the dark' to get me going, said Lisa Hegedus, owner of Caffe Barista in Greensburg.

A shot in the dark for Hegedus is a two-and-a-half-cup pot of coffee with two shots of espresso and a little bit of cream and sugar. For her, it is what she needs to start her day.

Darnicka Koskey, owner of Koskey's Korner Ice Cream Cafe in Tarentum, said she needs her morning cup strong and with some cream and no sugar.

If I don't get that morning cup, I feel all discombobulated, Koskey said.

Naturally, growing up in a family that owned a coffee house, Lecocq started early around 12 years old.

Lecocq, with the Monroeville Assembly of God, said his father sometimes used to eat coffee soup, a bowl of coffee with bread broken up into it for breakfast, though he didn't make it for customers.

Health benefits

Hegedus, who has been drinking coffee most of her adult life, said she never thought coffee was bad for her health.

Obviously it makes you feel like you have more energy, but I'm 52 years old and I don't feel or look it, Hegedus said.

Jess McGovern, an employee at Sun Dawg Cafe in Greensburg, said she drinks coffee and tea. But she said she understood that tea may be a little more effective for promoting heart health than coffee.

However, not everyone agreed that coffee was as healthy as the studies made it out to be.

David Durcy of Brackenridge said he knows coffee is addictive.

Any time I try to stop, it takes two or three weeks to get it completely out of my system, Durcy said.

Mike Rametta of Allegheny Township said studies often contradict other studies.

It seems like everything that's good for you is also bad for you, Rametta said.

Effects of the studies

Koskey said she might add a cup or two to her day if it could decrease her chance of serious health issues.

Cancer runs in my family. If I can do something to dodge that bullet, I'll do it, Koskey said.

Durcy said he doesn't plan to drink more coffee, but he will smile a lot more when he's drinking his morning pot.

McGovern said she thinks coffee drinkers would stick with the beverage whether or not they believe it is good for them.

Leif Greiss is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4681, lgreiss@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Leif_Greiss.

Read more:
Longevity study a shot in the arm for Western Pa. coffee lovers - Tribune-Review

Estimated reading time: 8 min

Ever feel as if motherhood literally sucked the life out of you? Well, theres some science to back that up. A recent study in the journalPLOS One reported that the more children a woman gave birth to, the faster she aged.

Poke around in the literature and you will find as many articles describing the protective effects of childbearing as those that suggest it is utterly depleting.

Thestudy, which looked at DNA in 100 postmenopausal women, found that those whod experienced more pregnancies and births had increased levels of oxidative damage an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants that is an indication of accelerated cellular aging. The authors declared their findings the first evidence for oxidative stress as a possible cost of reproductive effort in humans.

But wait: Maybe having children revitalizes you, keeps you young. Because the week before that study was published, another had come out in the same journal showing that the more children a woman gave birth to, the more slowly she aged.

Thatstudy, on 94 women with an average age of about 40, found that over the course of 13 years, those who gave birth to more children had longer telomeres, the protective casings at the end of a DNA strand. Like a candle that burns down every time you light it, telomeres get shorter each time a cell divides. The authors suggest that elevated estrogen levels in pregnancy may protect DNA from the damaging effects of oxidative stress.

Individually, such studies make for irresistible headlines, but few news stories acknowledge the persistently contradictory nature of findings in this area. We want the answer to be simple, but it just isnt. Poke around in the literature and you will find as many articles describing the protective effects of childbearing as those that refer to it as utterly depleting.

How could having kids affect health and longevity in such disparate ways? Why cant we definitively say how pregnancy will affect any human body?

I dont think there is a simple answer, says Grazyna Jasienska, head of the Human Reproductive and Evolutionary Ecology group in Poland and a co-author of the study showing accelerated aging in mothers. Its interesting because its complicated.

Nearly 15 years ago, Jasienska established the Mogielica Human Ecology Study Site, which collects data on the inhabitants of five villages in the mountains of southern Poland. Its a rural population in which women still perform a lot of manual labor on small farms. She was attracted to the populations broad fertility rate: from zero to 16 children.

Were comparing women with five kids with women with 12 kids. This makes it possible to really look at the costs of reproduction, Jasienska says.

Life-history theory asserts that since the body has a finite amount of energy to work with, energy put toward reproduction is energy not spent on self-maintenance. Its maternal martyrdom at the cellular level. In most species, increased reproduction is linked to decreased lifespan. This is the theory researchers expect to confirm when studying how childbearing affects longevity in humans, but apparently, it isnt quite that cut and dried.

Although the relationship between womens fertility and their post-reproductive longevity has been extensively studied, the nature of this relationship remains unclear, the authors of yetanotherPLOS Onearticledeclared in December 2015. A meta-analysis of 31 studies on this topic did not show a consistent pattern. The relationship can be negative, positive, or absent.

I was very puzzled, said Pablo Nepomnaschy, about his findings on cellular health among Mayan women in Santa Cruz La Laguna, in the highlands of Guatemala.

Visual by David Samson

Childbearing comes with a vast array of variables: maternal nutrition, disease risk, time between pregnancies, breastfeeding duration, number of pregnancies, even the babys gender. Boys tend to grow faster in utero, to weigh more at birth, and to make higher lactational demands, so having sons may be more energetically expensive for mothers than having daughters, Jasienska explains in The Arc of Life.

And breastfeeding is even more energetically expensive than pregnancy. Women who exclusively breastfeed their babies need to eat an extra 640 calories a day; only 300 additional calories per day are needed during the last two trimesters of pregnancy. Its a factor that tends to be neglected by research into the relationship between fertility and longevity.

The [overall] costs are not the same for someone who eats well compared to someone whose food intake cant cover the excess energy needs of pregnancy and lactation, Jasienska says. [In] well-off women who have many children, we see increases in longevity. For someone in an economically developing country, for example, the costs of reproduction are much more intensely received by the organism.

Childbearing has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis, Jasienska noted. Conversely, the hormones involved in pregnancy and lactation can reduce the risk of pancreatic and reproductive cancers. So a womans lifestyle habits and baseline risks for these diseases will all play a part in the ultimate effects of childbearing. Did having kids end your drinking and smoking days, or do your children drive you to drink? According to Jasienska, this is why some studies see no effect: because everything evens out.

Moreover, she says, having a child every year is much different from having, say, one child every four years.The question is: is the damage reversible? For women who have children close together, is [the body] only repairing itself a little, but accumulating damage that leads to problems at an older age?

Not all studies account for all of these variables, but that doesnt mean their findings arent valid, just that we should understand the limits of their broader applicability. To study all of what reproduction does and how Im not sure if a perfect study is possible at all, Jasienska says.

Half a world away, in the highlands of Guatemala, Pablo Nepomnaschy found a population to study with similarly wide-ranging fertility rate: between one and 10 children. Nepomnaschy is the director of the Maternal and Child Health Lab at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and co-author of the study that linked childbearing with longer telomeres. He began collecting data on a group of indigenous Kaqchikel Mayan women in 2000, expecting his findings to support life-history theory. Instead, he found the opposite.

I was very puzzled, says Nepomnaschy, speaking from the field in Guatemala. So I had my team redo the results, but they kept coming out the same way I soon discovered we were not the only ones to find these results, but nobody had a good explanation of why.

He says he then happened upon a study in which researchers in Israel found that both mice and humans exhibited faster tissue rejuvenation after pregnancy. The fetal cells that mingle in the mothers organs and bloodstream, the authors suggested, may act like an injection of youth.

I was blown away by [these results] reproduction is costly, but maybe its associated with biological mechanisms that slow down aging, Nepomnaschy said. On average, women live longer than men. So there may be something built into female DNA, or into the process of reproduction, that helps maternal cells recover from being temporarily neglected.

Perhaps its that theres an optimum number of human offspring. A recentanalysis of 18 cohort studies, seven of which included men,uncovered a J-shaped association between number of children and risk of mortality from all causes: Parents of one to five children had a reduced risk of death compared with those who had either no children or at least six. For both men and women, the greatest reduction was for parents of three to four children. Other large studies cite the magic number as two.

Since youd have to start young and have relatively short periods between pregnancies to give birth to six kids, this assessment is in line with Jasienskas concern about the bodys ability to withstand such demands. Another possibility is that the genes linked to increased fertility are also associated with increased levels of oxidative stress, as well as increased susceptibility to infectious diseases.

Pregnancy is one thing: parenting is another. Do social support systems after birth or lack thereof affect a mothers recuperation? Surely decreased sleep and increased stress play roles here, too.

Pregnancy is one thing: parenting is another. Do social support systems affect a mothers recuperation? Surely decreased sleep and increased stress play roles, too.

Nepomnaschy says that as with childbearing, the biological costs and benefits of childrearing may vary by population and counteract each other. Jasienska explains that on one hand, if parents have limited resources and must share them with many kids, this is not going to be good for their health. On the other hand, children help their parents and also take care of aging parents. Our study showed that women with high fertility have shorter life span, but in men, number of daughters is related to longer life span.

Its likely that no study will ever separate out all of the factors to definitively say how pregnancy and parenting affect the body. Especially not if what were looking for is a simple answer an irresistible headline that purports to be applicable to anyone.

Olivia Campbell, a science journalist and essayist, is a regular contributor atNew YorkMagazine. Her work has also appeared in The WashingtonPost, Scientific American, Quartz, VICE,Pacific Standard,and STAT News.

See the article here:
The Curious Case of Motherhood and Longevity - Undark Magazine

In Japan, Fukurokuju () (from Japanese fuku, "happiness"; roku, "wealth"; and ju, "longevity") is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. It has been theorized that he is a Japanese assimilation of the Chinese Three Star Gods (Fulushou) embodied in one deity. Most related in appearance to the Chinese star god Shou, he is the God of wisdom and longevity. According to some, before attaining divinity, he was a Chinese hermit of the Song Dynasty and a reincarnation of the Taoist god Xuanwu. It is said that during his human incarnation, he was a sennin; a philosopher who could exist without eating food.

Fukurokuju probably originated from an old Chinese tale about a mythical Chinese Taoist hermit sage renowned for performing miracles in the Northern Song period (9601127). In China, this hermit (also known as Jurjin) was thought to embody the celestial powers of the south polar star. Fukurokuju was not always included in the earliest representations of the Seven in Japan. He was instead replaced by Kichijten (goddess of fortune, beauty, and merit). He is now, however, an established member of the Seven Lucky Gods.

He is sometimes confused with Jurjin, another of the Several Gods of Fortune, who by some accounts is Fukurokuju's grandson and by other accounts inhabits the same body as Fukurokuju.[1] As such, the two are often confused.[2]

Usually portrayed as bald with long whiskers, he is said to be an incarnation of the Southern Polestar. In many depictions, Fukurokuju has an abnormally high forehead. The sacred book tied to his staff either contains the lifespan of every person on earth or a magical scripture. He is accompanied by a crane and a turtle, which are considered to be symbols of longevity. He is also sometimes accompanied by a black deer (ancient legends say a deer turns black if it is over 2000 years old).

He is the only member of the Seven Lucky Gods credited with the ability to revive the dead.

See original here:
Fukurokuju - Wikipedia

Despite Theresa Mays plea to opposition parties to contribute to policy, there is little sign of co-operation so far. Following the launch of the Taylor Reportonemployment practices, theSNP have said the findings fall shamefully short, while Jeremy Corbyn has called it a huge missed opportunity to tackle insecure employment. As Isabel notes, Taylor could be forgiven for wondering whether he might as well have just written a blog post instead and spent the rest of the time eating crisps.

Still, the Prime Minister doesappear to have listened to other parties on one issue. Following cross-party pressure, No 10 has said an inquiry will be held into the contaminated blood scandal that left at least 2,400 people dead. But given that the government would have been expected to be defeated in a Parliamentary vote on the issue, it still looks as though May is being pushed into making decisions rather than choosing to seek a higher ground.

So far the two issues May has had to concede on (the blood contamination inquiry and NHS-funded abortions for Northern Irish women who travel to England) have showed that she is weakened but they have not undermined her party. They are issues on which the Conservatives have not had to deviate from long-held ideology. This is why the real test of her longevity will be on matters related to Brexit. The Repeal Bill comes to Parliament on Thursday and any government concessions let alone defeats could prove career-ending for May 2.0.

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The real test of Theresa May's longevity will be on Brexit | Coffee ... - Spectator.co.uk (blog)

There's something truly magical about a cup of coffee. A steaming cup in the morning can help you face the day, a sweating glass of iced coffee will perk you up in the afternoon heat, and a warm mug after dinner helps settle your meal.

Yet people frequently try to limit their coffee consumption for health reasons, fearing negative effects.

Two major studies published July 10 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, however, should help assuage those fears.

The studies involved more than 700,000 people and found that the more coffee individuals consumed, the less likely they were to die an early death from a number of diseases including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

And for those who don't want to consume more caffeine, don't worry - decaf seems to offer the same health benefits.

More coffee, lower risk of death

For the larger of the two new studies, researchers analysed data from a nutrition study that tracked more than 520,000 people from 10 European countries for an average of 16.4 years. The more coffee those participants consumed, the lower their risk of death, researchers found.

The top 25 percent of coffee drinkers in the study had three or more cups a day. Among that group, men were 12 percent less likely to die early than comparable people who avoided coffee completely. And women who consumed a lot of coffee were 7 percent less likely to die early.

In addition to lower general risk of early death, researchers found reduced risk of death from diseases of the digestive system and circulatory system. For men, coffee consumption was also associated with a lower risk of suicide.

The second study followed the diet and health habits of 185,855 Americans for just over 16 years and found similar reductions in risk of death - in this case from heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease.

Compared to people who didn't drink coffee at all, people who drank two to three cups per day were 18 percent less likely to die early. People who drank one cup a day were 12 percent less likely to die than those who abstained.

This second study was particularly noteworthy because it focused on American populations of different ethnicities, including black, white, Latino, Japanese, and Hawaiian-Americans. Most previous studies on the effects of coffee on longevity have focused on people of European descent.

Causation versus correlation

These studies are observational, meaning they can't establish cause and effect - no one can say based on this data that drinking more coffee will definitely extend your life. The researchers tried to control for factors like diet, obesity, and smoking status, but it's still possible that people who consume coffee are already healthier in some way they didn't control for.

However, this isn't the first research to indicate that coffee may improve your health. In both studies, authors noted that previous research has found coffee consumption to be associated with improvements in liver function, blood sugar levels, and inflammation.

Since decaf coffee was also associated with improved longevity, it's probably not the caffeine that's responsible for these benefits, even if that's the reason most of us drink coffee.

In an editorial published alongside the studies, a group of researchers speculated that the benefits of coffee may come from other compounds that are extracted when the beverage is prepared, especially antioxidant polyphenols. (Caffeine may still have some benefits, though.)

Even if we don't know whether coffee causes this increased longevity, these new findings suggest that people shouldn't feel guilty about their coffee consumption.

Drinking unlimited amounts of caffeinated coffee could eventually put you at risk, but up until about five cups per day, the researchers say you don't need to worry.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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Drinking More Coffee Is Associated With a Longer Life, New Studies Show - ScienceAlert

New Delhi: A high-protein diet often topped the list of nutritionists' diet chart, especially when it comes to building muscle and losing weight.

Weight loss through diet offers a range of health benefits, including reducing your risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Lowering your risk from these conditions could mean you are making a wise decision, promoting health and longevity.

Generally, these high-protein diets often restrict carbs like cereals, grains, fruits, and possibly vegetables.

Talking about high-protein diets, this extra protein can come from either plants or animals.

Beans and legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas, soybeans), nuts, seeds, and vegetables like spinach, broccoli are plant products/plants high in protein.

Chicken breast, seafood, eggs, cheese, diary and whey protein are animal products high in protein.

While both have health benefits, studies have shed light on which one is a healthy long-term option plant-based proteins or animal-based proteins.

Researchers found that people who consumed high levels of animal proteins were at an increased risk of death from heart disease. They were also found to be overweight, more sedentary.

Also, consuming high amount of proteins from processed and unprocessed red meat has been linked to a higher mortality rate compared to those taking in more of proteins from plant sources.

So now, hope you know how much is required and which one to consume more!

See more here:
Animal-based protein vs plant-based protein - Which is better for longevity? - Zee News

BIEN Chair Louise Haagh spoke basic income at Journey to 100, a longevity-themed conference held last month in Guernsey.

Guernsey, an island with a population of about 63,000, aspires to join the worlds blue zones regions boasting an exceptionally high proportion of centenarians and become the first country with a life expectancy over 100. To begin pursuing this goal, Guernseys Dandelion Foundation and Evolution of Medicine founder James Maskell organized Journey to 100, a world-exclusive conference held on June 30 in St. Peter Port.

In additional to diverse experts in areas such as medicine, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture, the events 20 speakers included BIEN Chair Louise Haagh (University of York), who spoke about basic income as a means to rethink and change the way our institutions are governed. Haagh stressed that basic income is neither a radical restructuring of the current welfare state, nor mere business as usual, but a chance to pause and rethink our systems of social insurance; in contrast to welfare programs that impose strict terms and conditions on recipients, basic income, would allow all people to enjoy independence in the form of selvstaendiggrelse to stand in themselves.

Watch the full conference, including Haaghs talk (beginning around 6 hr 30 min), below:

Kate McFarland has written 447 articles.

Kate has previously made a living as a professional student (current interests: philosophy of language, pragmatics, sociolinguistics), but is retired for the time being. Regarding her present work in the UBI community, you may read more here. If you think that market norms pretty much suck, and you're interested in the hypothesis that UBI could help to support a society in which people work predominantly out of non-financial motivations, please feel free to connect with her (Facebook works well). Same goes if you're interested in UBI out of a general opposition to job/career culture.

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GUERNSEY: BIEN Chair discusses basic income at longevity event - Basic Income News

Mikel Darling

In an age where music documentaries are all the rage, particularly those chronicling the rise of hip-hops most iconic and influential figures, veteran director Allen Hughes latest film project, The Defiant Ones, stands in a class of its own. The documentary, released in four parts, focuses on rap legend Dr. Dre and record executive Jimmy Iovines tenured partnership and the impact their union has had on the music industry as a whole. The Defiant Ones finds Hughes taking one of the greatest, yet most rehashed stories ever told and giving it added context and character by attacking it from a unique vantage point.

While Dr. Dre and Iovines deal to sell their Beats Electronics empire to Apple in 2014, and their musical partnershipwhich dates back to 1992stand as the crux of the documentaries narrative, Hughes delves even deeper, beginning at their respective genesis. Dre, an impoverished kid from Compton, and Iovine, a native of Red Hook, Brooklyn and the product of a working class family. Candid commentary from Dr. Dres mother Verna Griffin, who provides never-before-seen home footage and photos, includes revelations of the abuse she suffered from Dr. Dres biological father and stepfather, and fond memories of her sons earliest forays into music.

Rare nuggets like Alonzo Williams recollection of becoming privy to Dr. Dres prodigious talent and enlisting him as a member of his World Class Wrecking Cru are appreciated, but the insights The Defiant Ones provides while covering the life and times of Jimmy Iovine are pure gold. In addition to highlighting his work as an engineering and production vanguardhe helped jumpstart the careers of Hall of Fame rockers Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Stevie NicksThe Defiant Ones dispels the notion of Iovine being a music industry blue blood. His beginnings as a failed musician and a novice engineer are documented, as well as the paranoia and uncertainty that engulfed him while toiling with obscurity during the 1970s.

The life and career of a star like Dr. Dre are typically dissected to the most minute detail in standard music docs, however, figures like Iovine, who control many of the strings being pulled behind the scenes, are usually cloaked with an air of anonymity. The result is an enigma, akin to the man referenced in blaxploitation films of old. The Defiant Ones brings one of the most talked about high ranking executives in rap history and strips him to his bare essentials, giving him an identity beyond that of a stuffy check writer. Hes presented as a true champion of artistic expression and creativity.

In addition to Dr. Dre and Iovine, the players that benefited from or helped facilitate the pairs rise also make appearances throughout The Defiant Ones, providing their own view of the men while detailing how their respective roles held together the fabric of the bigger picture. Rapper The D.O.C. speaks candidly about the events that led to the nearly fatal 1989 car crash that cost him his voice and career as a rap artist, as well as his experience of being the unsung cog in the machine that was Ruthless Records and N.W.A. Then there are executives Doug Morris and Ted Field, who recall the formation of Interscope Records and their own roles in the creation of one of the biggest juggernauts in music history.

The Defiant Ones does a great job in unmasking both Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine and humanizing their guts and glory. One of the more compelling moments is Dr. Dre addressing the infamous 1991 attack on TV host Dee Barnes, which has long served as a dark stain on his otherwise storied career. After years of avoiding the subject all together, Dre owns up to his actions and attacks it head on. He subsequently closes an ill-fated chapter and avoids making The Defiant Ones a one-sided affair, as director Hughes examines both men from all angles, flattering or otherwise.

The first two parts of The Defiant Ones focuses more so on the music, whereas the last two include insight on Dr. Dres comeback with Aftermath Records and his discovery of Eminem. However, the latter parts focus more on his transformation from controversial rapper and record producer into a family man, business mogul and philanthropist. Jimmy Iovine, who is often criticized for capitalizing off the explosion and fetishization of gangster rap, shares his own reservations about the toll the drama and violence surrounding the music took on him and his business partners. He also opens up about his bitter war with Time Warner over his indecision to part ways with Dr. Dre in the wake of the East Coast vs. West Coast war.

Pulling together a cast that includes talents spanning multiple generationsTom Petty, Fab 5 Freddy, Gwen Stefani and Kendrick Lamar, to name a fewand encapsulating more than 45 years worth of history is no easy feat in any capacity, let alone when the subjects are two of the most important figures in entertainment responsible for the career of dozens of other transcendent figures. But Allen Hughes accomplishes this and more with The Defiant Ones, a glimpse into the love, loyalty and longevity of two of the greatest men to ever impact pop culture as we know it.

To experience The Defiant Ones for yourself, the episodes are currently available on HBO GO and HBO NOW.

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Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's Love for Music, Loyalty and Longevity Explored in 'The Defiant Ones' - XXLMAG.COM

A wise person once said, Great eyebrows dont happen by chance. They happen by appointment.

Although microblading has been a popular procedure in Asia and in Europe for over 25 years now, its relatively new in South Africa. Meaning, there arent too many places to get your eyebrows done yet. However, there are a few studios and practices introducing it to satisfy the otherwise meagerness Joburg market. This procedure can be performed in many different ways. And, anyone with a tattoo license may perform the cosmetic procedure. Henceforth, the procedure may often be performed by untrained professionals. Given the nature of this procedure, it also comes highly advised to do some research to verify the credentials of the practitioner you select. Here are a few trusted professionals in Joburg to hopefully help make your decision.

Brow Specialist Samantha Divaris and her team of highly skilled professionals run thisdexterous studio in glamorousbustle of Melrose Arch. Diviaris boastsa Masters in Health and Skincare Therapy from the renowned Beauty Therapy Institute in Cape Town amongst other impressive qualifications. The self- confessed perfectionist developed her love and passion for eyebrows 13 years ago. Amongst her team is brow and microblading specialist Monique. 7 years of experience in the beauty industry and being internationally accredited explainjust some of Moniques credentials.

Positioned in Weltevreden Park, Roodepoort, the boutique hasonly been open since 2016. However, the boutique isowned by the incredibly impressiveJess Hollingdrake. Afterqualifyingwith international Masters Training in Microblading, Colour Knowledge and PigmentRemoval, Jess established herself as one of the first microblading artists in South Africa. This small boutique salon is situated in a small boutique garden setting.

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Want To Try Microblading In Joburg? - Longevity LIVE

The secret to living to 100? This woman is convinced its wine.

Florence Bearse of Bangor, Maine, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, told WLBZ the key to living a long life is a glass of wine.

I like my wine. Dont take it away from me, she told the broadcaster.

On her birthday, Bearse drank a glass of red, and was also treated to birthday cake, gifts and balloons. Working in the restaurant industry, WLBZ notes, Bearse said she learned how to dedicate her life to serve others.

READ MORE: 100-year-old Doug Snair may be the luckiest Canadian alive

This isnt the first time booze has been lauded for leading to a long life. Other centenarians have attributed their longevity to alcohol: in 2016, Antonio Docampo, who was 107, drank a mix of brandy and red wine daily, Mic reports.

And 105-year-old Eileen Ash, a yoga-loving grandmother in Norwich, England, said two glasses of red wine every day was the true key to living a long and healthy life, the BBC reports.

Vancouver-basedregistered dietitian Desiree Nielsen says the official rule on moderate drinking within a healthy lifestyle, is to consume no more than one standard drink a day for women and two a day for men.

The clincher here is what constitutes a standard drink. A 750-ml bottle should pour five to six drinks. Some wine goblets can easily drain a third of the bottle, she tells Global News.

READ MORE: 100-year-old South Carolina woman marks birthday by attempting to break world record

There have been countless studies on the health benefits of wine, especially red wine. One University of Alberta report found a glass of red wine was equivalent to an hour at the gym, Huffpost U.K. reports, while another study found red wine in moderation could also be beneficial to heart health.

The vast majority of research points to the polyphenols in red wine not white being the beneficial component, Nielsen says. White wine is made by removing the skin of the grapes before fermentation, which is where most of the phytochemical compounds are found. So if youre drinking as part of a healthy lifestyle, red is the better choice.

However, Nielsen says, if you dont drink much, you shouldnt start just because of this research (or because of anecdotes told by booze-loving 100-year-olds). You can get plenty of anti-inflammatory polyphenols from berries, green tea and naturally processed cocoa, she says.

While there is evidence that a moderate amount of wine may have health benefits, we also have to weigh that against the potential risks for the individual, she explains. If there is a strong family history of cancer, it is worth noting that any amount of alcohol consumption above zero increases risk a bit.

READ MORE: Is wine actually good for you? We asked 2 Harvard-educated doctors

If anti-inflammatory living and cardiovascular health are concerns, she says, red wine isnt a bad idea.

To keep your body as healthy as possible, I recommend going at least two or three days without any alcohol consumption, in line with national guidelines. Even better, keep drinks to the weekend most weeks, but just remember, you cant save up your weekly allotment and spend it all in two days.

arti.patel@globalnews.ca

2017Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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100-year-old woman says the key to longevity is drinking wine - Globalnews.ca

Could a diet of cheese, bread and wine be the secret to longevity?

For the people of Sardinia, it just might be, says Dan Buettner, a National Geographic magazine writer and Emmy award-winning documentarian.

Buettner, the noted author of "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest," says certain aspects of the Sardinian diet seem to make a difference, adding about six years to life expectancy.

For one thing, the people of Sardinia -- the Italian island located in the Mediterranean -- drink very dark red wine.

That's because combining the Mediterranean diet with the dark wine creates antioxidants that scrub the arteries, Buettner said.

Not surprisingly, Buettner encourages the consumption of nuts, fruits and vegetables, and discourages a lot of meat.

"Meat is a once-a-week celebration," he said. "Not something you heap on your plate several times a day."

Surprisingly, though, he doesn't place too much emphasis on the importance of fish. He says that in the so-called Blue Zones -- the areas of the world he's studied where people live the longest -- fish consumption doesn't seem to be overemphasized.

"The longest-lived diets don't include a lot of fish," Buettner said. "If you're gonna include protein in your diet, I suggest this cheese that the Sardinians eat."

The cheese, called pecorino sardo, is made from the milk of grass-fed sheep, resulting in a product that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Sardinia is also known for having another kind of cheese -- one that actually is infested with live maggots.

That cheese may contain bacteria that are good for the gut.

"We don't know," Buettner acknowledged. "We just know the longest-lived men in the world eat this. And they eat it as a manifestation of toughness."

Here are some things Buettner says you might find on the table in Sardinia:

Carta de musica A thin, whole wheat bread high in vitamin D.

Leavened bread Bacteria used to rise bread also create a variety of substances with positive effects, including vitamins, and lactic acid and may compete against possibly harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.

Fava beans High in fiber and folate.

Cannonau A dark, red wine with the world's highest levels of antioxidants for wine.

Pecorino Sard Comes from grass-fed sheep and is high in Omega 3.

Almonds and hazelnuts

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Does the Sardinian Diet Hold the Secret to Longevity ...

By Dr. Mercola

Do you want to live to be 100? How about 110, or even 120? Statistically, the younger you are, the greater your chances of reaching those milestonesthat much is known.

There is even a fairly strong possibility that lifespans beyond 150 will be possible in the next few decades as improvements in 3D printing, stem cell, and nanotech continue to improve.

But when it comes to understanding the complexity of human longevity and all of the factors that determine your lifespan, there is much we still don't understand. Researchers have the advantage of an ever-growing pool of centenarians and supercentenarians. Supercentenarians are those rare individuals who live past 110.

Both demographics are growing. And the good news is, most centenarians and supercentenarians are quite healthy until very near the end of their lives. Research tell us that the older the age group, the later the onset of degenerative diseases and cognitive decline.1 Here are a few interesting facts about centenarianswho now represent the fastest growing segment of the American population:2

Scientific explanations for longevity remain elusive. Researchers studying centenarians agree: there is no specific pattern.

There appears to be a connection between your longevity and the age your mother gave birth. Researchers at the University of Chicago Center on Aging found that if your mother was under age 25 when you were born, your chances of reaching age 100 are twice as high as for someone whose mother was older than 25. Makes me grateful my mother was only 19 when she had me.

This presumably has something to do with the robustness of a woman's eggs over time, but this is just one potential factor among many. According to Israeli physician Nir Barzilai of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York:8

"There is no pattern. The usual recommendations for a healthy lifenot smoking, not drinking, plenty of exercise, a well-balanced diet, keeping your weight downthey apply to us average people. But not to them. Centenarians are in a class of their own."

Based on years of data from studying centenarians, Barzilai reports that when analyzing the data from his particular pool of centenarians, at age 70:

Despite this, centenarians as a population have 60 percent lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.9 Depression and other psychiatric illnesses are almost nonexistent. Barzalai is quick to emphasize you should not disregard the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices (such as keeping your insulin level low). He explains:

"Today's changes in lifestyle do in fact contribute to whether someone dies at the age of 85 or before age 75. But in order to reach the age of 100, you need a special genetic make-up. These people age differently. Slower. They end up dying of the same diseases that we dobut 30 years later and usually quicker, without languishing for long periods."

The majority of centenarians do not feel their chronological age; on average, they report feeling 20 years younger. They also tend to have positive attitudes, optimism, and a zest for life. Could it be that personality characteristics and worldviews play a more significant role than genetics, diet, or exercise?

One way to determine this is to ask centenarians questions about how they see the world, what they value, and to what they attribute their own longevity. What are their secrets to aging well? These individuals represent centuries of wisdom that should not be overlooked. So that's what researchers are now doingmining the minds of centenarians for nuggets of wisdom. Regardless of which interviews you read, this is where patterns really DO emerge. In interviews and surveys with centenarians, the following themes come up time and time again when asked to explain why they've lived so long:10

Some jokingly said they attribute their longevity to "avoiding dying." Others give hints to their life philosophy, such as "Find your passion and live it," "Make time to cry," and "Practice forgiveness." Centenarians overwhelmingly cite stress as the most important thing to avoid. Their lives are marked by as many stressful events as the rest of us, but they differ in how well they manage their stress. Rather than dwelling on it, they let it go. And they are very happy people!

Happy people live longerby 35 percent, according to one study.11 Another study found that happiness and contentment increases health and longevity.12 Other studies show optimists live longer than pessimists.13 So it's no surprise that centenarians are a happy and optimistic lot. Positive thoughts and attitudes seem to somehow do things in your body that strengthen your immune system, boost positive emotions, decrease pain, and provide stress relief. In fact, it's been scientifically shown that happiness can alter your genes!

A team of researchers at UCLA showed that people with a deep sense of happiness and well-being had lower levels of inflammatory gene expression and stronger antiviral and antibody responses.14 This falls into the realm of epigeneticschanging the way your genes function by turning them off and on.

Part of your longevity may depend on the DNA you were born with, but an even larger part depends on epigeneticsover which you have more control. Your thoughts, feeling, emotions, diet, and other lifestyle factors exert epigenetic influences every minute of the day, playing a central role in aging and disease.15 Perhaps it's not as important to avoid that bowl of ice cream as it is to feel sheer bliss when eating it... at least, on occasion!

The fact that you can manipulate your genes with happiness doesn't mean you can completely disregard lifestyle choices, as that would be foolhardy. The basics are still importantdiet, exercise, sleep, etc. Research suggests the modern American diet is increasingly low in four important nutrients that have a direct bearing on aging, and our brains are suffering for it. If you hope to one day become a healthy, happy centenarian, you must address the following:16

Vitamin D's list of health benefits is amazingly long, including helping your brain combat the damage from free radicals, which helps prevent cognitive decline. The important factor when it comes to vitamin D is your serum level, which should be between 50-70 ng/ml year-round, and the only way to determine this is with a blood test.

Your skin produces vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light, so sun exposure or a safe tanning bed are the preferred methods of boosting your vitamin D. However, a D3 supplement can be used when necessary. Most adults need about 8,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per day to achieve serum levels of 40 ng/ml. If you take supplemental vitamin D3, you also need to make sure you're getting enough vitamin K2, as these two nutrients work in tandem to ensure calcium is distributed into the proper areas in your body.

Sources

DHA is an omega-3 fat that plays a role in keeping your cell membranes healthy, flexible, and resistant to oxidative stress, which decreases inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a key factor in many degenerative diseases, including dementia. Low DHA is has been linked with depression, memory loss, and even elevated hostility, which reflect its importance to optimal brain function.

The American diet has far too many omega-6 fats and not enough omega-3 fats due to its heavy reliance on processed food. You can boost your DHA by eating more fish, such as salmon and sardines, but so much of the fish today is contaminated with mercury and other toxic compounds that I prefer to take a high quality omega-3 fat supplement such as krill oil.

Folate helps prevent depression, seizure disorders, brain atrophy, and other neurological problems. Folate deficiencies correlate with impaired memory, slowed mental processing and overall cognitive decline, particularly in the elderly. Your body also needs folate to make red blood cells. Folate deficiency has been thought to lead to elevated homocysteine levels, which can be a major contributor to heart disease and Alzheimer's. However, recent studies may have disproven that idea.17

People often confuse folate with folic acid, and it's important to know the difference. Folate is the naturally-occurring form of the vitamin and contains all of the related isomers your body needs for optimal use. Folic acid is the synthetic form of the vitamin that is used in most supplements and in fortified foods.

It is always preferable to raise your folate levels by modifying your diet, as opposed to eating "enriched" foods or taking a multivitamin. Foods rich in folate include egg yolks, sunflower seeds, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, basil, parsley, and greens such as romaine, turnip, collards, and spinach.18 If you do think you need a supplement, make sure it lists "folate" on the label, rather than folic acid, as this suggests food sources were used.

Magnesium plays a role in your body's detoxification processes and is therefore important for minimizing damage from environmental chemicals, heavy metals and other toxins. Even glutathione, considered by many to be your body's most powerful antioxidant, requires magnesium in order to be synthesized. But this important mineral also helps your brain.

Magnesium acts as a buffer between neuron synapses, particularly those involved with cognitive functions (learning and memory). Magnesium "sits" on the receptor without activating it, in effect protecting the receptor from over-activation by other neurochemicals, especially glutamate. Glutamate is an "excitotoxin," which can harm your brain if it accumulates, and magnesium helps prevent this. That's why you often see magnesium advertised as a "calming" nutrient.

Good sources of magnesium are whole organic foods, especially dark green leafy vegetables, seaweed, dried pumpkin seeds, unsweetened cocoa, flaxseed, almond butter, and whey. If you choose to add a magnesium supplement, there are many forms so it can be a bit confusing. A newer type called magnesium threonate is particularly good due to its ability to penetrate cell membranes and cross your blood-brain barrier, which is important for preserving good cognitive function as you age.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to aging well. Generally speaking, the better you treat your body throughout your life, the better your aging experience will be. Most people do not revel in the thought of getting older because, for many, aging is synonymous with aches and pains, forgetfulness and loneliness. It is inevitable that you're going to get older, but I can tell you from personal experience that this need not be a bad thing!

Now, as I approach my 60th birthday in a few months, I am the fittest I have ever beenand I live every day to its fullest potential. I may have been able to run faster when I was younger, but I would never trade that for the muscle strength, flexibility and knowledge I have today. You too can achieve wellness on both physical and mental fronts, at any age. In fact, for me in many ways life continues to get better as the years go by.

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Centenarians Explain Their Secret to Happiness and Longevity

Bloodlust, bad haircuts and the use of urine as a tooth whitener aside, the Romans did a whole lot of things right.

For starters, Romans connoisseurs of conveyance that they were developed the world's first highways, erected massive bridges and aqueducts and introduced the world to the convenience of sewers. But perhaps most notably, the master builders of the Roman Empire constructed hulking concrete edifices that were really built to last.

Calling Roman concrete "an extraordinarily rich material in terms of scientific possibility," Philip Brune, a research scientist at DuPont Pioneer and expert in ancient Roman construction, goes on to tell the Washington Post that it "is the most durable building material in human history, and I say that as an engineer not prone to hyperbole."

Kudos aside, the exact reason why Roman concrete known as opus caementicium, with ingredients including volcanic ash, calcium oxide or quicklime and hunks of volcanic rock which served as an aggregate is so damned durable has remained a mystery. Why has it withstood the test of time while modern concrete, which uses carbon-intensive Portland cement as a bonding agent, tends to crack and crumble into the sea over a relatively short time when exposed to salt water?

In addition to seawalls and subaquatic structures, the Romans built numerous millennia-spanning monuments such as the Colosseum with concrete made from lime, rock and volcanic ash. (Photo: Maria_Globetrotter/flickr)

According to a new study published in American Mineralogist, the answer has been sitting in front of us all along: Salt water, the same substance that hastens corrosion in modern concrete, is what has enabled some Roman piers and seawalls to stand strong for millennia.

More specifically, researchers have found that Roman concrete's seawater-aided endurance results from a chemical reaction that occurs when salt water seeps into the concrete fabric and comes in contact with the volcanic ash. The reaction creates aluminous tobermorite, a mineral that's difficult to produce in laboratory settings. This rare concrete crystal serves as a naturally occurring reinforcement that's matchless in modern times.

The great Roman author Pliny the Elder was certainly on to something when he wrote circa 79 A.D. in his "Naturalis Historia" that frequent lashings by an angry sea only made Roman harbors and seawalls more resilient "a single stone mass, impregnable to the waves and every day stronger."

"Contrary to the principles of modern cement-based concrete, the Romans created a rock-like concrete that thrives in open chemical exchange with seawater, " Marie Jackson, the study's lead author and a geologist at the University of Utah, tells the BBC. "It's a very rare occurrence in the Earth."

A University of Utah press release goes on to explain the chemical process:

"We're looking at a system that's contrary to everything one would not want in cement-based concrete," Jackson explains. "We're looking at a system that thrives in open chemical exchange with seawater."

Excellent. So does this research mean that some day down the line we'll experience a rebirth of ancient Roman building techniques? Will this antediluvian building material be used to as first line of defense when protecting our cities from rising seas unleashed by a rapidly warming planet?

Perhaps but not so fast.

The author of a new study on the chemical process that makes ancient concrete so durable believes that the seawater-strengthened material is the right fit for a proposed Welsh power plant that harnesses the power of the tides. (Rendering: Tidal Lagoon Power)

With the exact ingredients of Roman concrete having been discovered some time ago, Jackson and her fellow mineral cement sleuths now have a greater understanding of the chemical process behind the remarkable longevity of aquatic structures found across the ancient Roman Empire. Yet the exact method employed by Roman builders when mixing this ultra-durable building material remains a mystery. After all, if we knew exactly how they did it, wouldn't we have started replicating Roman concrete long ago?

"The recipe was completely lost," Jackson says in a press release.

While long-lasting, Roman concrete also lacks the compressive strength of Portland cement-based concrete, limiting its applications. And in a society that demands immediate results, structures that take decades centuries, even to gain optimum strength don't seem likely to gain serious traction anytime soon.

And there's another formidable obstacle: The basic aggregate found in Roman concrete volcanic rock collected by Roman builders from the region around present day Naples isn't easy to come by.

"Romans were fortunate in the type of rock they had to work with," Jackson says. "They observed that volcanic ash grew cements to produce the tuff. We don't have those rocks in a lot of the world, so there would have to be substitutions made."

And substitutions Jackson is making. Determined to find a satisfactory modern-day facsimile to reactive Roman concrete, Jackson has teamed with geological engineer Tom Adams to develop a "replacement recipe" composed of aggregate materials (read: rocks) collected from across the American West mixed with seawater pulled straight from the San Francisco Bay.

As the duo work to develop a potential seawater-aggregate mix that could yield the same crack-healing chemical reaction as the Pliny the Elder-beloved building material of civilizations past, Jackson is already thinking of potential applications for modern-day Roman concrete.

Earlier this year, she identified a proposed seawall in Swansea, Wales, as a structure in which Roman concrete would be a highly preferable choice over modern concrete reinforced with cement and steel. She believes that such a structure could potentially hold strong for upwards of 2,000 years.

"Their technique was based on building very massive structures that are really quite environmentally sustainable and very long-lasting," Jackson told the BBC in January. "I think Roman concrete or a type of it would be a very good choice. That project is going to require 120 years of service life to amortise [pay back] the investment."

Despite promises of longevity and putting an end to the planet-harming cement manufacturing process, there are sizable caveats that come along with the idea of protecting Swansea's tidal lagoon the world's first tidal lagoon power plant with a Roman-style seawall. As the BBC elaborates, local steel manufacturers are banking on the ambitious project being built with cement-based, steel-reinforced concrete. The environmental cost of transporting huge amounts of volcanic ash sourced from who knows where to the Welsh coast is also an issue.

"There's many applications but further work is needed to create those mixes. We've started but there is a lot of fine-tuning that needs to happen," Jackson tells The Guardian. "The challenge is to develop methods that use common volcanic products and that is actually what we are doing right now."

Matt Hickman ( @mattyhick ) writes about design, architecture and the intersection between the natural world and the built environment.

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Scientists unlock the mystery behind Roman concrete's amazing ... - Mother Nature Network (blog)

New Delhi: Coffee, for most people around the globe, is an essential apparatus to help kickstart the day. It is a cup for all seasons and without their favourite brew, the day seems incomplete.

Known for its high caffeine content, coffee has often been on the list of 'things to avoid' given to us by dieticians and health and fitness experts.

However, many studies in the past have shown coffee to contain numerous health benefits like weight loss, improvement in physical performance, reduction in risk of diabetes, protection from Alzheimer's and dementia, among others.

Now, US researchers have come up with some more good news for coffee lovers by concluding that drinking coffee could lead to a longer life!

As per the study, which included the participation of more than 180,000 volunteers, researchers found that people who drank regular or decaffeinated coffee experienced health benefits, such as increased longevity.

The researchers report in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine that people who consumed a cup of coffee a day were 12 percent less likely to die earlier compared to those who didn't drink coffee. This association was even stronger for those who drank two to three cups a day 18 percent reduced chance of death.

Lower mortality was present regardless of whether people drank regular or decaffeinated coffee, suggesting the association is not tied to caffeine.

Claimed to be the largest of its kind, the study had ethnically diverse participants who included African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Latinos and whites. "Such investigations are important because lifestyle patterns and disease risks can vary substantially across racial and ethnic backgrounds, and findings in one group may not necessarily apply to others."

Since the association (between coffee drinking and longer life) was seen in four different ethnicities, it is safe to say the results apply to other groups, the authors claim. "Seeing a similar pattern across four different populations gives stronger biological backing to the argument that coffee is good for you whether you are white, African-American, Latino or Asian."

According to the authors, although this study does not show what chemicals in coffee may have this beneficial effect, it is clear that coffee "can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle".

(With IANS inputs)

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Coffee lovers, rejoice! Your favourite hot cuppa can increase your longevity - Zee News

311 (from left: Chad Sexton, Nick Hexum, SA Martinez, Tim Mahoney and P-Nut) released its 12th studio album, Mosaic, earlier this year. Brian Bowen Smith/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

311 (from left: Chad Sexton, Nick Hexum, SA Martinez, Tim Mahoney and P-Nut) released its 12th studio album, Mosaic, earlier this year.

You'd be forgiven if it's been a while since you thought about the band 311; it was the mid-1990s when the Omaha, Neb., quintet's biggest hits, like "Down" and "All Mixed Up," came out. But after 27 years of 311's hard-to-peg sound a meld of rock, reggae, metal, funk, rap and ska hordes of fans are as in love with the band as ever. Billboard recently called 311 "one of the biggest cult bands in America, whether you love or hate them."

That's no exaggeration. 311 has its own Caribbean cruise, where fans can revel in a sea of fellow die-hards. It's got its own cannabis product, a vape pen aptly called the Grassroots Uplifter. And the band even has an unofficial holiday: Legions of devout followers celebrate March 11 (yes, that's 3/11) every two years by making a pilgrimage to a designated site for a special 311 concert that can go on for hours.

The cover art of 311's new album, Mosaic, is made up of almost 10,000 photos of the band's fans. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

The cover art of 311's new album, Mosaic, is made up of almost 10,000 photos of the band's fans.

On 311's 12th studio album, Mosaic, those devoted fans are front-and-center literally. The album's cover art features an image of the band made up of close to 10,000 photos taken with and submitted by fans. Frontman Nick Hexum has said the cover and album title speak to the "collective nature" of 311 and "the bond between the band members and our fans."

Hexum joined NPR for a conversation about navigating the challenges of longevity, the experimental attitude the band adopted in creating Mosaic and the positive message it's tried to spread over nearly three decades of making music. Hear the conversation at the audio link and read on for an edited transcript.

Lakshmi Singh: Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana, whose music tapped into youth angst, helped define the 1990s but your music seemed to sway in a different direction. Tell me about that.

Nick Hexum: I addressed it on [the] "Blue Album" in a song called "Misdirected Hostility," where I just felt that I didn't really relate with all the anger. I felt it was a time of prosperity, and we didn't have the Soviets getting ready to blow us up like we did in the '80s ... And these were a lot of suburban kids that were pretty angry about something, and so we felt we were gonna be the antidote for that ... We see the glass as more than half full. And that's the seeds of what turned us into a bit of a cult band, because we had our own unique attitude, and people see it as a way of looking at the world, a lifestyle.

How have the five of you in 311 the same members for the better part of three decades managed to stay together all this time?

Well, you have to be ready to not get your way, and know that what the group conscience decides is gonna be the rule. We know that we're better together than we could ever be apart ... It's like a marriage, and you have to be willing to do things you don't exactly wanna do, and keep the egos in check.

We were happy to find out the other day that we are the fourth-longest-running band of original members out today, with U2 being the first, Radiohead being the second, De La Soul being the third, and we're the fourth. So that's really cool company to be in. And I feel like, who knows, we could just be at the halfway point of our band. We always feel that success is measured in longevity and enjoying the process how long can we get to do something we really love instead of basing it on any sort of sales metric.

You've said that there's always a risk of repeating yourself when you get to album 12. What did it take to keep that from happening on Mosaic?

Really, it was just keeping an eye towards [the idea that] anything that was weird is good. Anything that is new, anything that is fresh those are the ideas that we pursued. And also just mixing up the process: Instead of being in our own little bubble, we asked other people into the room with us to record. ... I think that's an exercise in remaining teachable and being humble to realize that you can learn from others. And I think that's the biggest block that an artist of our age can have, is when you don't reach out, you don't keep mixing it up and bringing new people in, because your ego makes you feel like you can't accept help.

Everything you've just told me makes me think of the track "Wildfire," which sounds a little different than the others.

"Wildfire" was the first song written for Mosaic. ... I wanted something that started big and then had this real trip in the middle. And it goes through this sort of cinematic thing where there's even like beach sounds and waves and seagulls and stuff, because it represents what I'm talking about in the song the calmness of knowing that you have people that will be there for you singing about my family, singing about the band. So it's a very emotional song. And then it ends in a big guitar-shredding, almost classic-rock kind of thing, because at some point there's no words that can express, and you just need to express through music. ... I've had some fans on Twitter say, "You don't need to do epics, just keep it simple." But for me, that's where real creativity lies to just let yourself go.

You decided to end Mosaic with a song called "On A Roll." It seems to be an intimate message to fans what are you telling them?

It's about our longevity, it's a nod to the fans of gratitude. ... You know, the fact that we were able to have 10 top-10 albums [with] sporadic radio support, made us just feel really grateful. And this song, "On A Roll," it's kind of about that feeling of, like we don't have to have anxiety because we have this support of the bandmates, of our fans, and you know, we're on a roll.

Still, some fans have wondered if this is sort of a goodbye letter. Is this it for 311?

No, I don't see that at all. I'm saying, on a roll, here we go, we keep going, this feels good, we've got momentum. I've said before that we could be at our halfway point of our career. And some people say, "Well, you don't wanna be rolling out there in wheelchairs," but who knows? We could still be a good band to see in wheelchairs why not? All we know is that we're gonna do our best today, keep it going and take good care of what we've been so fortunate to find.

Radio producer Dustin DeSoto and web editor Rachel Horn contributed to this story.

Link:
311's Nick Hexum On 'Mosaic,' Longevity And The Fans : NPR - NPR

A team led by researchers at La Jollas Human Longevity reports developing a faster and more accurate method for determining immune type. The method will speed up immune matching for organ transplant and other purposes such as treating infectious and autoimmune diseases, the scientists say.

The method characterizes a region of the genome called human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, that regulates the immune system. Located on Chromosome 6, this region contains a high number of short, repetitive DNA sequences.

Because these repeats are so similar, placing them in the correct order is difficult. So even when people have their genome sequenced, the precise HLA type may not be clear. People can have HLA typing done separately, but that adds time and expense, said J. Craig Venter, one of the studys authors.

The study was published July 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Go to j.mp/humanhla for the study. Venter was senior author. The first author was Chao Xie.

The Human Longevity-led team invented an algorithm called xHLA to read these sequences correctly. Results are available within about 3 minutes from a desktop computer, instead of several minutes or even hours, the study stated. Moreover, the method helps identity potential matches that purely DNA-based methods would miss.

Making HLA typing a routine part of sequencing will help doctors advance the practice of precision medicine, the study stated.

For example, autoimmune disorder patients often have chronic problems with no exact diagnosis for many years after repeated doctor visits, the study stated. Knowing patients HLA types could lead to early diagnosis and reduce the burden on both patients and the healthcare system.

Venter said Human Longevity now offers HLA typing as part of its genome sequencing service. And in the future, this technology will be omnipresent and in the hands of patients.

If a family member needs a kidney transplant, you can just look it up on your iPhone and compare the sequences, and everybody will know immediately if theres a match in the family, or other places, Venter said.

Popular sequencing technologies cut up DNA into short pieces for sequencing. These pieces are reassembled by computer like an electronic jigsaw puzzle. But the many repetitive components in HLA can fool the computer programs, like similarly shaped or colored jigsaw puzzle pieces can do to a human.

The xHLA algorithm works with sequencing technology from Illumina to improve accuracy. An important component of the algorithm is that it examines the sequence of amino acids the DNA codes for, the study said. This helps accuracy by accepting DNA variations that happen to code for the same amino acid.

Since immune compatibility is determined at the protein level, using these synonymous variations produces a more accurate result than typing by DNA alone.

The problem with DNA-level alignment is that it cannot distinguish synonymous from nonsynonymous mismatches, the study stated. For example, it will rank five synonymous mismatches as more dissimilar than a single nonsynonymous one.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020

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Immune-matching process improved, reports Human Longevity-led study - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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USA Today Network Zach Blanchard, WLBZ-TV, Bangor, Maine Published 8:13 a.m. ET July 7, 2017 | Updated 10:58 a.m. ET July 7, 2017

The perfect wine is less about taste buds and more about personality! Buzz60's Lindsey Granger is helping you find your perfect pairing. Buzz60

The birthday girl, Florence Bearse, center, takes a drink of wine during her 100th birthday party at Westgate Center for Rehabilitation & Alzheimer's Care in Bangor, Maine, on Thursday, July 6, 2017.(Photo: WLBZ-TV, Bangor, Maine)

BANGOR, Maine Known for her no-nonsense attitude and sense of humor, Florence Bearse celebrated her 100th birthday Thursday.

At her birthday party at the Westgate Center for Rehabilitation & Alzheimer's Care in Bangor, Maine, Bearse did not shy away from sharing her secret to long life: wine.

I like my wine. Don't take it away from me, she said.

More: 100-year-old never could use free-food-for-life gift

Originally from Massachusetts, Bearse said it did not take long to find the beauty of Maine.

I like my wine. Don't take it away from me.

"Maine is beautiful," she said. "I tell everybody, 'You want a trip? Go to Maine.' "

Bearse said she ran a restaurant in Lagrange, Maine, where she dedicated her life to serving others.

"The people have taken me I think. They understand me ... that I'm crazy," she joked.

More: Want to live past 100? Centenarians share their secrets

Bearse spent much of her time joking around during the party, which was complete with birthday cake, balloons and gifts.

She even had some advice for those looking to make it as far as she has:

"Don't take any baloney, Bearse said.

Follow Zach Blanchard on Twitter:@ZachBlanchard

More: McDonald's gives 100-year-old free food for life

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Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2tZnlt0

Originally posted here:
100-year-old woman's secret to longevity? Wine - USA TODAY

Greenland sharks are the longest living vertebrates on Earth. Photograph: Julius Nielsen

Greenland sharks, the longest living vertebrates on Earth, which can be found off the northern coast of Ireland, could hold the secret to long life, geneticists mapping their DNA have predicted.

The sharks, which live for up to 400 years, are believed to have unique genes that could help explain not only their remarkably long life span but also life expectancy in other vertebrates including humans.

Prof Kim Praebel of UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, described the sequencing of the DNA from Greenland sharks at a symposium of the University of Exeter this week. Many living Greenland sharks are so old that they pre-date the industrial revolution and the introduction of intensive commercial fishing.

With collaborators, Prof Praebel is searching for unique genes which could hold the secret to the sharks longevity.

They have obtained Greenland shark DNA from tiny clippings from the fin of sharks, which are caught on a line live, tagged and released.

The team has sequenced the full mitochondrial genome (complete DNA information) of almost 100 Greenland sharks, which includes individuals born in the 1750s.

The genetic sequences have helped them understand whether the Greenland shark has evolved specific metabolic adaptations towards extreme longevity, he said.

Their research that suggested the sharks may be up to 400 years old was published in the leading journal Science last year. They are now attempting to find the genes that hold the secret to why the sharks live so long.

They believe the Greenland sharks extreme life span makes it so unique that there is a case for giving it a special conservation status, he added.

This is the longest living vertebrate on the planet. Together with colleagues in Denmark, Greenland, USA, and China, we are currently sequencing its whole nuclear genome which will help us discover why the Greenland shark not only lives longer than other shark species but other vertebrates, he said. The results will help us understand more about the biology of this elusive species.

Its long-life genes could shed light on why all vertebrates have a limited life span, and what dictates the life expectancy of different species including humans, Prof Praebel told the Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Greenland sharks do not seem to succumb to diseases that kill related species much earlier.

Little is known about the biology and genetics of the Greenland shark which is found in deep waters in the Atlantic ocean from Canada to Norway including north of Ireland and Britain. It is a member of the sleeper shark family that has existed for around 110 million years.

The oldest and largest Greenland shark at just over five meters analysed by the scientists was estimated to be 392 years, plus or minus 120 years, ie at least 272-years- old.

To determine when key indicator proteins were laid down, the scientists deployed radiocarbon dating a method that relies on determining within a material the levels of a type of carbon, known as carbon-14, that undergoes radioactive decay over time.

The DNA study has shed new light on its behaviour, and how it is related to other members of its species living thousands of kilometres away, Prof Praebel added.

Since the Greenland shark lives for hundreds of years, they also have enough time to migrate over long distances and our genetic results showed exactly that. Most of the individuals in our study were genetically similar to individuals caught thousands of kilometres away.

It is still not known where and how the Greenland shark reproduces, but it may prefer to mate in deep hidden fjords of the Arctic. With adult female Greenland sharks known hit sexual maturity only once they reach more than four metres in length, the scientists found that females have to clock up an age of around 150 years before they can produce young.

Equally, there are still far from understanding how and why this elusive species, which feeds on seals and fish, lives so much longer than other sharks and vertebrate species. Other shark species living in the same regions as the Greenland shark live between 30 and 50 years.

Tissues, bones, and genetic data from the shark will also help measure the impact of climate change on the population, when and how contaminants and chemical pollution from industry began to affect the oceans, and the extent to which commercial fishing over hundreds of years has affected the shark population.

The longest living vertebrate species on the planet has formed several populations in the Atlantic Ocean. This is important to know, so we can develop appropriate conservation actions, he said.

Original post:
Greenland sharks beginning to shed their secrets on longevity - Irish Times