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Air Pollution Appears To Heighten The Risk Of Dementia

A huge new study has found a link between air pollution and dementia. Led by the University of London and King’s College London, the team stress that the causes of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, are still ambiguous and “may be multifactorial.”

Nevertheless, their work should encourage further research, especially as the future global burden of dementia will be substantial.

Published in BMJ Open, the study looked at 130,978 adults aged 50-79, who, prior to 2005, had no history of dementia. Their addresses were used to approximate concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and ozone. These are common components of various air pollution sources, from traffic to fossil fuel-fired power plants, and are linked to a range of negative health outcomes.

Of those adults, 1.7 percent were diagnosed with dementia; 39 percent developed Alzheimer’s and 29 percent got the vascular variety. Adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, smoking, and body mass index, the researchers found that adults living in areas with the highest degrees of nitrogen dioxide had a 40 percent higher risk of dementia than those in low-pollution areas.

That’s increased risk, not absolute, so here’s another way of looking at it: The paper suggests that if all their subjects were living in the low-pollution zones, 7 percent of the total number of current dementia cases in the UK could still be attributable to air pollution.

Dementia is the leading cause of death in England and Wales. The World Health Organization (WHO), noting that 10 million new cases are diagnosed worldwide each year, has made it a public health priority. It currently has no cure.

As a retrospective cohort study – in which correlations are described, but cause-and-effect mechanisms can’t be established – the interpretation of the data must be taken cautiously, something the authors themselves acknowledge. This paper doesn’t stand in isolation, though: the link between air pollution and dementia, along with cognitive problems, has been looked into several times, and worrying trends are emerging.

A 2017 study, for example, found that people who live near busier roads have higher dementia rates. Again, this was an association, not a causal link, but it still added to an increasingly high pile of circumstantial evidence. It’s also clear that air pollution particles can make their way into the human brain, which won’t exactly be beneficial.

Air pollution, which comes from a variety of outdoor and indoor sources, is indubitably damaging to your health. It kills millions of people all over the world every single year, and is certainly linked to cardiovascular, respiratory, and pregnancy problems, per the US National Institutes of Health. Dementia links remain under investigation, but few would say that no association exists.

Outside experts agree that this new study is solid. Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at The Open University, told the Science Media Centre that this is a “good, well-conducted study that adds to what is known,” pointing out that such studies are particularly difficult to conduct.

Like others, he suggests interpretations aren’t easy. Other factors linked to dementia, like socio-economic background, couldn’t be taken into account; people’s backgrounds affect how close to areas of high air pollution they reside.

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Nevertheless, people living in particularly high-pollution areas still rarely got dementia. As McConway notes, there's “considerable uncertainty about exactly how big the increase in risk is.” Individual exposure to air pollution also couldn’t be determined, which is problematic.

Martie Van Tongeren, Professor of Occupational & Environmental Health at the University of Manchester, praised the study and its “solid data.” Despite the unavoidable shortcomings, Tongeren agrees that the increasingly substantial evidence suggests the best course of action is obvious: authorities must act to reduce air pollution.

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Jeff Flake refuses to look at two women who confront him in elevator after he announces support for Kavanaugh.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) surprise announcement of support for Brett Kavanaugh all but ensures the Supreme Court nominee will move to a full vote, and approval, to the nation’s highest court.

We need to do better than this.

Flake may be the one senator who was somehow swayed to support Brett Kavanaugh after his widely panned testimony before the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

After announcing his support, he tried to quietly duck out of the Senate in an elevator reserved for members and their staff. It didn’t work out like he planned.

Flake was cornered and confronted by two women who identified themselves as sexual assault survivors.

One woman told Flake that by announcing his support for Kavanaugh, he was effectively, "telling all women that they don't matter, that they should just stay quiet, because if they tell you what happened to them you are going to ignore them."

"You have children in your family, think about them."

It’s an uncomfortable moment that’s hard to watch. But Jeff Flake is an elected member of the U.S. Senate and presumably would have the backbone to engage with a citizen, particularly one sharing such a heartfelt moment.

Instead, he looks down passively, and refuses to address the woman, clearly waiting for the elevator door to close as he mumbles, "I need to go. I need to go to the hearing."

"What you are doing, is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court," she responds. "This is not tolerable."

Without actually stepping into the elevator, she moves just close enough to delay the doors closing and calls out Flake for literally refusing to acknowledge her presence, something darkly symbolic of what many feel was revealed in the Kavanaugh hearing on Thursday by the judge’s supporters.

"That's what you're telling all of these women,” she continued. “That's what you're telling me right now. Look at me when I'm talking to you. You are telling me that my assault doesn't matter."

The second woman in the video steps in and says to Flake:

"You are allowing someone unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions and unwilling to hold the harm he has done to one woman, actually three women, and not repair it."

Over the past two years, Flake has been a consistent check on the power of President Trump and his administration. Despite being a staunch conservative, Flake has won accolades for his independence and commitment to principle in ways that brought to mind the conviction of his former Arizona colleague Sen. John McCain.

But in this moment, we see a man literally racing to get out of responsibility for his actions, refusing to hear the testimony of women clearly affected by his choice.

Flake is fully within his rights as an elected official to support Kavanaugh no matter what these women, or anyone, thinks. However, his refusal to even hear them out and defend his own position is revealing in a way that the entire nomination of Kavanaugh has been.

At worst, we are seeing a serial sexual predator about to be elevated to a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court and one of the essential branches of federal government with the power to affect policy for decades to come.

At best, we are seeing a deeply flawed nominee who is anything but essential being propped up by a broken system incapable and unwilling to do better.

You can watch the full CNN video here.

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The witches are back on ‘American Horror Story’ and fan theories are getting ridiculous

Image: Frank Ockenfels/FX

Spoilers forAmerican Horror Story: Apocalypse and Coven lie ahead.

Hell to the yes. The latest installment of American Horror Story: Apocalypse featured a sexy blood bath, a world-ending Billy Eichner, and finally some witches. 

The long-awaited return of Season 3's Coven came within the episode's last few minutes when Cordelia Foxx, Myrtle Snow, and Madison Montgomery made an appearance at Outpost Three's puke-covered Halloween soirée/mass murder.

SEE ALSO: 'American Horror Story' has robots now and I'm terrified

Loyal AHS fans lost their minds for this first major crossover plot point and the reappearance of three beloved characters—while new viewers were left completely in the dark. (Check out GameSpot's recap or stream Coven on Netflix if you're the latter.) 

Regardless of your witchy cannon knowledge, this scene was super confusing and raised a lot of questions for where Apocalypse might be headed. Here's a refresher on what went down.

"Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me."

Accompanied by The Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow," the trio sweeps in through a haze of radiation, looking as enchanting as ever. "Find our sisters," Cordelia demands. The recently deceased and not at all Coven-related Mallory, Coco, and Dinah are soon resurrected. In shock, Mallory removes her suddenly blurry glasses.

Then comes the iconic line from Madison to Mallory. "Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me." End episode.

To say this scene complicated the matters of Apocalypse is a massive understatement. Luckily, the internet is filled with super sleuth fans ready to crack the case on AHS's latest bizarre plot turn and predict a course back to sanity.

Here are the top fan theories on what went down during that resurrection, how Mallory knows Madison, and where our favorite Salem-descendants are taking this season. 

A bunch of Coven witches just came back... but not the ones you think.

If Dinah, Mallory, and Coco are The Coven's sisters, obviously, they're witches. But, is it possible they're not the witches we think?

Season 3 made it extra clear that what is dead in the AHS-verse doesn't have to stay dead. (Enter Misty Day resurrecting folks left and right.) 

Naturally, that could mean that instead of bringing back Dinah, Mallory, and Coco, Cordelia actually resurrected the souls of Season 3 witches in the body's of Season 8 characters. Mallory's earlier episode description of feeling like she has someone "trapped" inside of her could have foreshadowed this development. 

Tons of viewers agree that reincarnation is the best possible explanation for Madison's "Surprise, bitch" line to Mallory—she said the same thing to Jessica Lange's character in Season 3 following her own return from the dead. However, there's tons of disagreement on who could be inhabiting which body. Is it Fiona Goode? Queenie? Nan? Misty? Zoe? 

If Fiona Goode is back in the body of Mallory and starts acting like her evil mean bitch self in #AHSApocalpyse. Then American Horror Story is back to being my FAV TV show 🤟🏻 you guys did it again!!!

— Joan Perera (@Joanperera_L) September 27, 2018

@AHSFX blew me away. Definitely thinking that resurrection is Zoe, Misty, and Queenie. pic.twitter.com/qfIbJSSmIH

— Brett (@bretticus8051) September 27, 2018

Regardless of who is who, I'm just hoping this body takeover theory is correct because Coco doesn't get to be a witch. I simply won't allow it.

Could Mallory be the next Supreme? 

If the body takeover theory is correct, Mallory slowly taking off her glasses à la She's All That makes complete sense. (None of her possible body dwellers wore glasses.)

But if the reincarnation theory is wrong, then this eyewear moment could indicate Mallory is actually the next Supreme aka head leader of The Coven. One of the signs that the next Supreme is emerging is glowing health, like 20/20 vision. Not to mention, she was able to battle the supposed antichrist effectively, albeit briefly, earlier in the episode.

I bet Mallory is the new supreme. Mark my words for the future. She didn't need glasses anymore and she seemed powerful enough to keep Langdon at bay, aka she's getting stronger and stronger #AHSApocalypse #AHS

— Maria 💙 (@Marmoisell) September 27, 2018

Or maybe Mallory's an angel?

A few fans are speculating that Mallory is something even more powerful than a witch. In the battle of good vs. evil, we've got the devil running around (more on that later)... so why not a super powerful good guy to battle him? Like an archangel perhaps? 

Aside from Frances Conroy's brief stint as the Angel of Death in Asylum, this would take American Horror Story into completely new and intimidating territory. But it would also explain Cordelia saying, "Mallory, we need your help" in the Episode 4 promo. I mean, they added robots so I guess angels are possible. 

Note: Calling Mallory by her real name may not totally discount the possession theory... but it does indicate that if she is inhabited by someone or something else they're living alongside each other.

Or does Madison know Mallory from Scream Queens?

Let's throw all of that out and go with the fun option! 

This is probably the least plausible theory out there, but certainly one of the more entertaining ones. Emma Roberts and Billie Lourd starred in Ryan Murphy's other terrifying series Scream Queens for two seasons. And Roberts played essentially the same character in both shows. Meaning, the "Surprise, bitch" could have come from Scream Queens' Chanel #1 instead of Madison.

Personally, while I agree this theory is technically viable, I highly doubt (and don't really hope) that it's true. It would needlessly complicate the series and add a whole lot of unnecessary plot points to think through.

That being said, a double crossover could bring Jamie Lee Curtis to AHS. And Emma Roberts was seen onset in a very Scream Queens outfit... Never mind, I'm in.

so madison knows mallory and emma roberts was on the ahs set dressed like chanel, I’m sensing a scream queens crossover #ahsapocalypse pic.twitter.com/5JE0XcIiHF

— beth | 72 (@midtownbarnes) September 27, 2018

Or did Mallory used to be Madison's personal assistant?

Both Mallory and Madison worked in Hollywood. It makes sense that their paths could have crossed in a totally real-world sense.  But this theory is reasonable, logical, and totally boring... and AHS is anything but!

Now, a theory that they're soap opera style long-lost sisters?! That I'm into. 

I have two theories.
1. Maddison and Mallory are sisters.
2. Mallory was Maddison’s personal assistant.
Either way I am here for this. #AHSApolcalypse pic.twitter.com/BKq7PdfnKZ

— Mary Leishman (@MaryLeishman) September 27, 2018

Michael isn't the devil and the bunker is basically Hogwarts

Michael Langdon definitely hasn't been awesome this season, but fans are starting to wonder if he's actually the devil. I mean, that's a big claim: being the devil. So far, Michael has been a homicidal a-hole at best. 

In the latest episode, Michael asked for guidance from his "father" on multiple occasions. This could be referencing (A) Tate from Murder House, his canonical father (B) the actual devil (C) some other being we haven't been introduced to yet. No matter the answer on that, all options indicate that Michael may be less powerful than originally anticipated. 

And that's where the warlock theory starts popping up. Since the premiere of Apocalypse, during which a school for boys was mentioned, fans have wondered if Michael was one of the warlocks mentioned in Season 3 and not really the antichrist. This would put his battle against The Coven on an even playing field and explain his connection to the bunker.  

The promo for Episode 4 showed us what appears to be flashbacks of Michael in the alleged warlock school. Next week may officially confirm this theory, but we won't know until then.

(The only thing that's certain? Satan or not, fans are super into this guy. It's... a lot.)

me when Michael Langdon wants new followers #AHSApolcalypse pic.twitter.com/Zl0T7In8KM

— Cat Wininger (@CatWininger) September 20, 2018

The Coven is The Cooperative and they're here to stop the apocalypse

Right when it would make sense for The Cooperative to show up and handle the mass murder that occurred at its outpost we get... witches? And they're completely unscathed by nuclear fallout? Almost like they've been in The Cooperative's "sanctuary?" Very suspicious.

This theory has been buzzing around since Episode 1, but the closest we've gotten to any confirmation is Cordelia and Myrtle's sound bites from Episode 4's promo. They clearly think they can spearhead the saving of Earth and appear to have the resources to do so. Plus, they want everyone to help save it together. To assist one another. To work as a team. To cooperate. 

what if...

the cooperative...

is the coven #AHSApocalypse pic.twitter.com/QViEOzvEiN

— jax 🤙🏼 (@jacka_line) September 20, 2018

Seeing as there has got to be more madness headed our way (namely, that "huge thing that happens in Episode 5"), here's hoping we get some confirmation on these theories next week. Otherwise this could be a very bumpy and very confusing ride.

WATCH: This student-created 'Mario Kart' mod will have you hyperfocused

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Think young voters don’t have power in this country? Think again.

The 2018 midterm elections are rapidly approaching, and many — especially first-time voters — believe that they will make an impact on our government.

After the devastating Parkland, Florida shooting in February, young people came out in droves to protest America’s existing gun laws and call on all lawmakers to do something about them. When little action was taken, the protestors threatened to unseat them in the 2018 midterm elections, saying that young voters will decide the outcome.

Photo via Unsplash/Jerry Kiesewetter.

While several polls suggest voters ages 18 to 29 are registering to vote this years in higher numbers than in previous midterm election years, it’s difficult to say whether or not those registering will actually cast their ballots this November.

That’s why young people across the country are making it a priority to inspire others, young and old, to use their voting power in these pivotal elections.

Not only are they helping newly eligible voters get properly registered, they’re also keeping the election a constant conversation in their community so it doesn’t lose its potency.

And, thanks to School the Vote, a campaign run by DoSomething.org, largest tech not-for-profit for young people and social change, these young voter registration members are making an even greater impact.

Here’s a look at four of them:

Lindsey Luis Washington from Vancouver, Washington is helping prospective voters weed through the fake news on their candidates.

Photo via Washington. Used with permission.

Even though she’s only 17, and not quite eligible to vote, she runs voter registration tables at her high school and in her town. She’s also part of a project called Democracy Now!, which plans to canvas the neighborhood and carpool voters to the polls on election day.

“I truly believe youth are the future. We are living in a time where what is occurring in this world affects each and every one of us in some way,” Lindsey writes in an email.

She recognizes that historically, young voters don’t turn out as much in midterm elections, but at the same time, the activism her generation’s sparked in response to the dissatisfaction with the status quo over the past two years has been extraordinary. Thanks to the internet and social media, they’re tuned in to the issues that affect them, and can see a direct path to making themselves heard.

However, Lindsey notes that the flood of information her generation receives daily can also work against them, especially when it comes to voting. It’s becoming harder and harder to separate genuine reporting from fake news, and as a result, they’ll end up sharing articles and opinions that skew the facts and incorrectly tarnish political candidates.

Of course, that’s hardly just a habit of Gen Z’s, but Lindsey’s doing what she can to curtail it by regularly fact-checking her own posts and the candidates she supports, and encouraging her peers to do likewise.

Megan Dombrowski from Detroit, Michigan is spreading the message that every vote really does matter.

Photo via Dombrowski. Used with permission.

Megan’s main motivation is to turn the enthusiasm she’s seeing among her peers into actual votes, because she knows that even a few hundred can swing an election. Like Lindsey, she’s manned registration tables, and keeping voting relevant through campaigns like “Get Out the Vote.”

“In the 2014, only 15% of voters aged 18-24 turned out to vote,” says Megan. “Our demographic is large enough to swing elections and elect representatives who are willing to listen to us. If we do not stand up and participate in our democracy, we have no right to complain about what is happening.”

Unfortunately, she feels like her generation is susceptible to the negative narrative around politics today, and that may dissuade them from voting.

“Many brush off elections as no big deal, and say that they’ll just vote for who their parents are voting for. It’s time for all of us to realize that our vote is our voice, and that everyone of ours’ is important.”

That said, she’s so grateful to be working with DoSomething to help more people realize the significance of voting. The organization’s incredibly user-friendly, and someone’s always available to answer questions, no matter how big or small.

Her ideal political system would include new voters being automatically registered, gerrymandering outlawed, and women, minorities, and young people running for office in record numbers. Thanks to women like her, that’s no longer out of reach.

Meanwhile, Amethyst O’Connell from Roseville, Minnesota is focusing on the college demographic, because they often need extra encouragement to vote.

Photo via Amethyst O'Connell. Used with permission.

Last year, as the Student Senate President of Saint Paul College, they were part of a massive statewide voter registration campaign on National Voter Registration Day that helped 1,313 people get registered.

Amethyst believes it’s incredibly important for students to vote because legislation, especially on the state level, can have a major impact on their education. They know this from first-hand experience:

“I graduated from Saint Paul College debt-free due to a pilot program, the Minnesota Occupational Grant program, that was signed into law by my state legislators,” writes Amethyst in an email.

However, despite what legislation like this has done for students, college life doesn’t make voting easy. For one thing, housing insecurity is a real issue, which can impede voter registration. And busy college students will often be turned away from voting booths because they don’t have up-to-date voter identification. Juggling class, work and other school responsibilities can be a major deterrent as well.

But Amethyst does their best to convince them why it’s worth navigating through all those obstacles so they can vote, especially in local elections.

“The elections that are the most likely to affect your day-to-day life are the local elections, and ironically, the elections that everyday people tend to ignore,” they explain.

Veniece Miller from Fruita, Colorado spearheaded a youth voting initiative in her small town, because she wants to get as many 18-year-olds to the polls as possible.

Photo via Veniece Miller. Used with permission.

With the help of the nonprofit, Western Colorado Alliance, she trained students in her community to hold voter registration drives in their schools. Now there are 25 student ambassadors holding drives this fall.

“If society has taught us anything in the past year, it is that students can make a real difference. They are engaged, knowledgeable, and ready to take part in our right as citizens of the United States,” writes Veniece in an email.

Unfortunately, she notes that civics is woefully underrepresented in our country’s education system, so many voting age youths won't even learn about the voting process until well after an election.

“Youth can feel the imposter effect; like they are not knowledgeable enough or qualified enough to vote,” she explains.

So Veniece is raising awareness by getting as many 16-year-olds pre-registered to vote as she can, so they’re primed when they become eligible to vote. She’s also helping young voters see how quick and easy the registration process is.

“A short one hundred years ago, my gender did not have the right to vote. An even shorter 49 years ago, my age did not have the right. I feel a great sense of responsibility to those that have gone before me that have fought and gained the right for me to vote.”

We are coming to a pivotal moment in our country’s history where our youngest voters could change the landscape of our government. With youth leaders like these, the chances are looking good.

“The more youth that vote, the more voice we are gaining, saying to our representatives that we are here and holding them accountable,” writes Veniece.

But that responsibility isn’t not just up to them, it’s up to all of us to show up if we want things to change.

Learn more and register to vote in just two minutes at DoSomething.org.

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This Guy Sued His Ex-Fiance To Get His Engagement Ring Back Betches

To all my NY-based friends posting insufferable inspiring pictures of recently acquired diamond rings, I have a warning for you. You better make that marriage work, or the ring is going right back in your boyfriend’s pocket. (You hear that, Lala? Hold that $150k engagement ring CLOSE.) At least, that was the case for New York woman Jennifer Rutten, who was court ordered to return her $40,000 engagement ring to ex-fiancé Rodney Ripley last week. The couple split back in 2011, after being engaged for a little under a year. But due to some extremely brilliant shady evasion tactics by Rutten, it took Ripley nearly five years in court to get this result. (I wouldn’t have spent five years in court with my ex for anything less than a million, but to each their own.) So, how did this get so drawn out? Let’s dig in.

From all accounts, it sounds like this couple was OD dramatic with everything they did. They fell in love while being halfway across the country from each other (Ripley in Wisconsin, Rutten in New York), but decided to get engaged anyway. What could go wrong, right? Rutten balled out on a 3-carat cushion-cut ring, and staged a proposal on the Brooklyn Bridge, a place that’s probably now ruined for both of them and makes inter-borough travel very difficult. For unknown reasons, they broke up less than a year later. Ripley asked Rutten to return the ring; Rutten’s response can essentially be summed up like this:

Rutten came up with a number of excuses over the years for why she wasn’t returning the ring. First, she claimed that she was “dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy” and didn’t have time for her former fiancé’s “harassment.” This could be very sad and true, but given the extent of Sandy’s damage is probably just a ridiculous lie, unless Rutten was living out on Long Island or in Jersey. But whatever, if given the option, I would definitely use a natural disaster as an excuse to hold on to jewelry too.

Rutten then tried the argument that the ring wasn’t worth enough to warrant legal action. But Ripley had taken out a $40,000 insurance policy, so she was kind of out of luck. Finally, she claimed in court that “[Ripley] became more typically abusive, emotionally abusive” as the relationship went on. While I always want to take claims of abuse seriously, whether or not Riply was abusive has no bearing on her legal right to keep the ring. Finally, Rutten stated plainly that she was “angry” and “didn’t want to return it.” There it is. Don’t get me wrong, feeling angry and vindictive is v understandable, but most of us would just bury those feelings in ice cream instead of legal fees for a case you will almost definitely lose.

Ultimately, the judge ruled that she has 45 days to either return the ring or pay her ex the equivalent. If you learn anything from this, it should be following. According to NY state law, engagement rings are conditional gifts, and “if no marriage occurs, they must be returned.” So if you’re out there dating with the sole intent of putting a year’s salary on your finger, just make sure you actually get to the “I do.”

Images: Giphy (2); Jasmine Wallace Carter / Pexels

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Why Scientists Are Using Frog Eggs to Power Tiny Electronics

Luigi Catacuzzeno lines up a long, thin needle against a frog egg. Peering at it through a microscope, he turns the knob of a machine to nudge the needle a fraction of a micron forward. Then he deftly punctures the membrane of the soft little egg to wire it to a small capacitor, an electrical component similar to a battery.

This unusual arrangement is Catacuzzeno’s attempt to harvest energy from biological cells to power tiny electronics. Each of these frog eggs is a single cell—albeit a very large, pinhead-sized one—and “every cell is like a battery,” says Catacuzzeno, who works at the University of Perugia in Italy. Cells store and transfer electrical charge by moving electrolytes like potassium and sodium ions in and out of their membranes. “Usually, the cell’s energy is used for normal physiological function,” he says. “Neurons use this energy to send signals, and muscles use the energy to contract.” Unlike lithium batteries, cells recharge on their own, with chemical energy from the food you eat. The Gatorade you drink after a workout helps to run tiny electrical currents in cells all over your body.

Catacuzzeno’s team recently showed that they could steal some electrical power from a frog egg to charge a capacitor, and then use the stored electrical energy to produce a radio signal. Essentially, they used an egg to power a tiny walkie-talkie. The results, still under peer review, are posted on the website arXiv.

The point of all this is to eventually design microscopic robots and other medical gadgets that can run inside a person’s body and recharge themselves entirely on the inside, without relying on external power sources. Using the concepts behind Catacuzzeno’s egg power, a sensor implanted in a vein could measure your blood sugar, or a next-generation endoscope could photograph your gut and release drugs at the same time. These devices would periodically tap into your body’s own cells to refuel. “This is a new direction we could go to build very tiny machines that operate autonomously inside living organisms,” says physicist Luca Gammaitoni of the University of Perugia in Italy, Catacuzzeno’s collaborator.

A single egg produces a measly amount of power compared to everyday electronics. The researchers got the egg to produce 1.1 nanowatts of power, which means you’d need more than 10 million frog eggs to light a single LED. After charging the capacitor for about 13 minutes, it stored energy equivalent to 16 nano-ampere-hours. At that rate, it would take more than 100 million frog eggs to match the energy stored in a single AA battery.

But the specs are “reasonable for wireless sensing,” says mechanical engineer Shad Roundy at the University of Utah, who was not involved in the work. You don’t need a lot of juice to send a radio signal every 13 minutes. Then the microbot’s capacitor could recharge from another cell and gear up for the next transmission 13 minutes later. This recharge cycle would suffice for certain types of medical sensors. “Think of a diabetic pricking their finger a few times a day,” Roundy says. “If you could get an update on your glucose every 30 minutes, that would be a massive improvement.”

The bigger issue is miniaturizing the capacitor, says Roundy. Right now, the capacitor is too big to operate inside a human. Charging the capacitor inside an animal or person will also require more complicated techniques than Catacuzzeno’s demo under a microscope.

They will also have to make sure these tiny electronics are compatible with living creatures, which tend to reject foreign objects, Roundy says. At the very least, Gammaitoni says, that the amount of energy harvested is negligible to a human. Stealing a couple nanowatts here and there shouldn’t affect a person’s health. “A huge number of cells die and are regenerated every few minutes in our bodies,” he says. “Statistically, this is not something harmful to the body itself.”

The team is trying rat muscle cells next. “We want to show many cells are compatible with this approach,” Gammaitoni says. Besides, harvesting electricity from muscle cells would expand the types of sensors that could be designed, since muscles exist all over the body. It’ll give new purpose to getting swole.

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8 Drugstore Eye Creams Under $25 That Work Betches

Ugh, aging. It’s great that we’re slowing easing out of the acne phase. It blows that we’re running headfirst into the wrinkles phase. But, if you catch on early, you can help prevent having your eyes look like wrinkly old sacks on your face. The best time to start using an eye cream is actually now—like, in your 20s and 30s—if you want to prevent the look of lines and bags and dark circles later. Just add it to your already 18-step routine. It’ll be fine. The good thing is that when it comes to eye cream, you don’t need to empty your life savings to get good sh*t. There are tons of drugstore brands that’ll get the job done since we’re like, v poor right now. Look for creams and serums that’ll help de-puff, smooth, moisturize, and plump, depending what your issue is. Here are a few drugstore eye creams we like that are literally under $25.

1. Burt’s Bees Sensitive Eye Cream

Aloe is my fav when the sun has done me wrong (v rude), and it works well on your eyes, too. Typical of Burt’s Bees, this eye cream has natural extracts that will make you feel one with nature. It’s also hypoallergenic, so it probably won’t bother your precious eyes.

2. Olay Eyes Ultimate Eye Cream

Nicole Kidman keeps telling me that Olay is amazing, and I’ll be damned if I won’t listen to that eternally 30-year-old betch (like, I’m sure they don’t just keep putting soft lenses on her so she appears younger, right?). Sorcery or not, Olay is a formula that’s been worshipped for decades, and its eye cream stands up to the best of the department store brands. The cream actually has a teeeeny tiny bit of concealer in it along with vitamins and niacinamide, which help with circles over time. So, count this one in as the daytime eye savior.

3. CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

CeraVe is one of the only drugstore brands I could find when I was in Le France, so, therefore, everything CeraVe does is très amazing. The formula is made with CeraVe’s combo of ceramides and hyaluronic acid with some other cool stuff I can’t pronounce. The best part? It doesn’t have any fragrances and is non-comedogenic so it’s perfect if you have sensitive skin.

4. Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller

Throw this sh*t in the fridge and apply when you watch something sad or are dealing with a late season allergy that’s f*cking your life up and now your eyes are puffy and omg I feel like Rocky after battling Apollo Creed. Anyway, this Garnier roller ball acts like a teeny massage for your eye and the gel, which has caffeine in it, can de-puff in a few minutes.

5. RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Eye Cream

Using retinol, a known fighter of wrinkles, this eye cream combats sagging. It also contains hyaluronic acid, so you’ll be fighting crow’s feet from two angles.

6. Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Eye Cream

I hate Jennifer Aniston, but I love Aveeno, which makes me feel all sorts of conflicted. Anyway, blackberry and dill extract plus a few other natural ingredients make the Aveeno eye cream a great choice to help strengthen the elastin around your eye before it gets droopy and gross.

7. Yes To Grapefruit Brightening Dark Circle Eye Cream

The Yes To line is great for hippie girls who don’t shower yet still somehow have amazing skin (wtf, teach me your ways). The grapefruit line helps a lot with dark circles, thanks to fruit acids that will brighten your skin in a natural highlighter sort of way.

8. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream

Neutrogena rules, and this gel cream is pumped full of hyaluronic acid, which I promise is not as scary as it sounds. Basically, it’s a gel formula that sinks into your skin and hydrates your eyes without it feeling like you just rubbed Vaseline into your corneas. Praise be.

Images: Remy_Loz, Unsplash; Giphy (1); Amazon (8)
Betches may receive a portion of revenue if you click a link and purchase a product or service. The links are independently placed and do not influence editorial content.

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Brad Meltzer: Why Neil Armstrong is making news again

(CNN)Neil Armstrong is making news again. Some might think it's because of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the moon landing, or the new Ryan Gosling film "First Man," or especially the fact that Donald Trump is publicly complaining about said movie and whether or not the American flag has enough screen time. But in my mind, the real reason Neil Armstrong is back is because we need him. More than ever.

For years, in our "I Am" book series, I've studied and written about American heroes. If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: You don't get the heroes you want; you get the heroes you need. So look around -- and look especially at Neil Armstrong's sudden resurgence. Certainly, his greatest accomplishment was being the first person to walk on the moon. But in 2018, what's equally important are the lessons he gave us throughout his journey.

Lesson #1 -- Humility matters

Whenever Armstrong talked about flying an aircraft or a spacecraft, he used the term "we" -- not "I." He knew that every milestone he achieved required the help of so many others -- from scientists and engineers, to welders and mathematicians, to the tailors who sewed the spacesuits, to all the astronauts from previous missions.

When Apollo 11 was finally ready, he said to the flight director, "Please tell everyone who worked on this that this is their launch. Tell them they'll be riding with us all the way."

'One giant leap for mankind'

Remember when our leaders used the term "we" rather than "I?"

It was the same after he became famous. With his legendary moonwalk, Armstrong became the most famous person in the world. But even then, he never bragged, never sold out, and never put his face on T-shirts or opened a fast food joint with his name on it. He was humble.

Remember when humility was an American virtue? Our leaders have lost this idea. We need to get it back. It's the only way we'll take off. Indeed, Armstrong's sense of humility is why I decided to write "I am Neil Armstrong." I wanted to show my kids that Instagram fame isn't nearly as impressive as understated modesty.

So how does that prove Armstrong is the hero we need today? Back during the 2016 election, as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were bashing each other on a daily basis, something surprising happened with the sales of our "I Am" books. Three books in particular started taking off: "I am George Washington," "I am Rosa Parks" and "I am Martin Luther King Jr." Parents and grandparents were tired of turning on the TV and seeing politicians. What they wanted to show their kids were leaders. How do I know? In twenty years as an author, I've never sold out a book at Amazon. With the 2016 election, Amazon was sold out of "I am Martin Luther King Jr." for nearly a month. For a full year after, sales of all the books, from George Washington, to Rosa Parks, to Abraham Lincoln, skyrocketed.

Throughout history, heroes appear when there's a hunger. Right now, whatever your political side, America is starving for heroes. Especially humble ones.

Lesson #2 -- Hard work matters

When Neil Armstrong was eight years old, his goal was to climb a silver maple tree -- the biggest one in his backyard. It seemed impossible to young Neil. The tree was so big and he was small. How did he do it? He needed to be brave (though as a kid, he was afraid of Santa Claus). He needed to be smart (in first grade, he read more than 100 books). And he needed to be patient (he remained calm, even when his frustrated brother kicked the table during Monopoly).

But in order for Neil to get to the top of the tree, he had to take that first step. To him, climbing the tree was like a puzzle. He needed to pick the right branches in the right order. But on that day he was finally climbing the tree, he grabbed a dead branch. The branch snapped and young Neil fell fifteen feet, landing flat on his back.

His sister came running. The wind was knocked out of him, but he was okay. Still, the most important thing young Neil did?

He got back up again.

Even as a child, Armstrong knew success takes hard work. At ten years old, he mowed grass at a cemetery for ten cents an hour. Then he worked at a bakery. With the money he earned, he saved up for what he loved most: airplanes.

First, he collected toy planes. Then he saved for a flying license. Eventually, he got his real pilot's license before he got his driver's license. From there, he moved up to be a military pilot, then a test pilot, then, of course, to be an astronaut, each step vital to helping him climb to the top.

Today, we love to tell the story of Neil Armstrong taking that giant leap for all mankind. But the only reason he got to take that leap is because of the thousands of smaller steps that came before it.

Lesson 3 -- Instead of being loud, be calm

In March of 1966, Neil Armstrong's first spaceflight was on the Gemini VIII. The goal was to fly alongside and dock with another spacecraft so they were both linked together. It was the first time two spacecraft ever connected in space. When they docked, everyone started celebrating. But then, suddenly, there was a short circuit in one of their thrusters. The spacecraft became undocked and spun out of control.

Even in this chaos, Armstrong stayed perfectly calm. He kept his eyes on the controls, firing a different thruster to stop their spin. Right there, he learned another vital lesson: Nothing in space is easy.

He saw that firsthand during his most famous moon landing. As the Lunar Module (Eagle) was headed to the moon's surface, landing was challenging. Their radar and instruments weren't very accurate. They couldn't even tell how far they were from the moon's surface. Armstrong had to use a stopwatch and quick math to figure it out.

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Oh, and did I mention they weren't close to NASA's planned landing spot? On top of all that, the ground wasn't smooth. The moon rocks were as big as cars.

Armstrong never panicked -- even when they had less than a minute of fuel left.

Again, Armstrong made it work.

Today, whether it's on Twitter or anywhere else, we value those who are the loudest -- those who are best at getting noticed. But let's never forget -- and let's never stop teaching our kids -- that it's quite often the calm and quiet ones, the hardest working ones, and yes, the most humble ones, who offer America far more valuable lessons.

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This 81-yr-old baby cuddler who gave $1 million to the NICU is your new favorite human.

Is there anything sweeter than seeing an old man cuddling a newborn baby? No, there isn't.

Except maybe when that gentleman donates a million dollars to the NICU where he's volunteered for the past year and a half.

Screenshot via ​University of South Alabama/Youtube​.

81-year-old Louis Mapp has become enamored with his role in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at USA Children's and Women's Hospital in Mobile, Alabama. Every Tuesday, he drives 45 minutes to the hospital to rock, feed, and burp babies whose families aren't able to be there 24/7. As a grandfather of eight and great-grandfather of two, he's an experienced baby cuddler, but he doesn't seem to tire of it.

"I love to look at their expressions when I rock them. This one is smiling at me right now, and it just makes your day to do that,"  Mapp told WKRG news.

Swoon.

Mapp's generosity of spirit is reflected in his million dollar donation to the hospital.

Through their foundation, Mapp and his wife, Melinda, have donated $1 million to the NICU be used however the doctors and nurses choose.  

“After being there and seeing what a special place it is, and what an impact they have on people’s lives, my wife and I decided we wanted to do something for them,” Mapp told PEOPLE. “We have been blessed, and we said, ‘What a good place, to share some of those blessings, with the NICU.’”

The Mapps wanted their endowment to be large enough that when the caregivers recognize a need that might not be in the budget, they'd have a pool of funds to draw from. He told WKRG that he was happy to give the money to a place that "has his heart."

Screenshot via ​University of South Alabama/Youtube​

Mapp says he's using his time left on earth to help others, giving us all a fresh round of #aginggoals.

Mapp has given out around 600 grants through his foundation, which have helped fund free clinics, food banks, and drug rehab programs. But he doesn't stop at donating money.

“Every day, I ask the Lord, ‘Show me, somebody, where I can help them,’ ” Mapp told PEOPLE. “It may not be financially, it may be giving them a ride, or making a phone call, but I figure, while I’m here on earth, I need to do everything I can to help others.”

Once a week, the answer to that prayer looks like rocking newborn babies, giving them the vital, hands-on care they need. The hospital serves families from a wide area, and some aren't able to stay at the hospital with their babies because they have to return to work, care for other children, or other reasons. So volunteers like Mapp provide the essential human touch newborn babies need, and get a regular dose of newborn wonder in return.

"These babies are so precious," Mapp told the University of Southern Alabama, "It's just hard to put it in words."

See? New favorite. Keep up the awesome humaning, Mr. Mapp.

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When mindfulness goes wrong.

Image by geralt via pixabay

By now, almost everyone is familiar with the purported benefits of meditation.

What was once a fringe spiritual practice in the West has, within the space of decades, transformed into a mainstay of modern culture and wellness advice.

Over the past few years, science has increasingly started to back popular claims about the effects of mindfulness and contemplation.

And studies now link regular attempts to focus our minds and calm our bodies via breathing exercises, chanting, or other meditative techniques to a host of benefits—everything from decreased stress and blood pressure, to increased cognitive abilities, to fundamental shifts in the way we process the world. Last January, Time even ran a cover story on America’s meditative “Mindful Revolution.”

Yet this rush to validate, package, and promote meditation as a universal good may actually come with unforeseen risks.

Although sitting and thinking may seem like an innocuous process, the fact remains that meditation is an altered state that we use as a tool to transform our bodies and minds.

And like any tool, although intended for good things—like introspectively confronting our thoughts and feelings and coming to terms with troubling realities—it can wind up causing harm when set towards tasks that it just isn’t meant for (like acting as a quick-fix concentration booster or anesthesia for emotional strife). In the case of meditation, as the practice proliferates in the West, we’ve become increasingly aware that for some people, especially those with mental or personality conditions, mindfulness can trigger anxiety, depressive episodes, or flashbacks to past traumas.

“Because meditation cultivates a type of witness awareness (I’m witnessing my thoughts, I am not my thoughts),” wrote Andrew Holecek, Buddhist spiritualist and teacher, “which if done properly can help us distance ourselves safely and beneficially from the contents of our mind, it can also exacerbate certain kinds of dissociative and depersonalization disorders.”

The Buddhist teachers and scriptures from which many Western teachers draw in creating their local adaptations of meditation regimens have long recognized these risks, with some texts describing anxiety and emotional pain as typical stages in one’s progress through meditative studies.

Some even describe these stresses as the mirror state to enlightenment, the confrontation of which is vital.

“There is a sutta [Buddhist scriptural verse]” where monks go crazy and commit suicide after doing contemplation on death,” writes Chris Kaplan of the Mind and Life Institute.

Photo by MeditationMusic.net via Flickr.

Most Buddhist teachers believe that, through the idiosyncratic personal guidance of a spiritual teacher and the supportive structure of institutions that have dealt with similar cases in years past, we can move past or benefit from confrontations with these troubling experiences.

But extracting good from the bad takes time, guidance, and patience that many of us in the meditative hoi polloi just don’t have access to or the inclination to use.  

Western practitioners have not completely ignored the risks that meditation poses. Groups like the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine have long included disclaimers in their descriptions of meditation and its benefits, pointing towards its potential dark side:

“Meditation is considered safe for healthy people. There have been rare reports that meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people who have certain psychiatric problems, but this question has not been fully researched.”

Western practitioners have not completely ignored the risks that meditation poses. Groups like the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine have long included disclaimers in their descriptions of meditation and its benefits, pointing towards its potential dark side:

“Meditation is considered safe for healthy people. There have been rare reports that meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people who have certain psychiatric problems, but this question has not been fully researched.”

Even this disclaimer (as is the wont of disclaimer style) makes the problem seem miniscule.

And it’s true that we don’t have a real sense of the scale of the problem in terms of the number of people it effects or the impact of negative meditative states. But the lack of research the NCCAM points to is now being filled by studies like Willoughby Britton’s Dark Night Project—a combination psychological study and recovery home for those damaged by meditation.

Britton was inspired to launch the project by two encounters during her psychiatry residency, when patients claimed severe emotional trauma caused by meditation.

These incidents were swiftly followed by her own personal case of meditative malaise that hit the problem home to the young psychiatrist and meditator.

“I thought that I had gone crazy,” recalls Britton of the experience. “I thought I was having a nervous breakdown. I mean I had no idea why I was suddenly having all these… like terror was a big symptom of [my own negative meditative episode].”

As of now, the Dark Night Project has catalogued several dozen cases of negative meditative experiences so powerful they resulted in months to years of psychological incapacitation; this is why Britton established a recovery center alongside the study.

It will be years until this data is actually compiled into a meaningful body of information. But even these initial anecdotes—along with other lurid and haphazard accounts of “spiritual sickness” and erratic, dangerous behavior brought on by extreme meditative retreats and practices—seem to suggest that the perils of meditation, even if niche, are worth popular consideration and address.  

Photo by Ruth Hartnup via Flickr.

As we await definitive studies, one of the best ways to resolve the issue may be to appeal to older meditative traditions that already recognize and cope with the downsides of meditation.

Some meditation researchers, like Pacific University’s Sarah Bowen, suggest that trauma may arise because Western meditative traditions bypass the rigorous practices and intensive guidance of older meditation cultures.

By treating meditation like a spiritual smoothie rather than an intense and complex practice, we run the risk of confronting meditation’s dark sides, or at least sinking into them more easily than those who have a framework of coping and recovery in place.

There may, then, be some benefit, even if only prophylactic, in seeking out meditation traditions that privilege structure. Promoting this style of meditative practice may help to deter those who don’t want to take meditation seriously from pursuing the practice too far down risky, fast track paths. Yet encouraging this type of moderation will be difficult, as humanity loves a simple, silver bullet solution (as so many believe meditation to be).

It seems likely that people will continue to suffer under the dark side of meditation until high profile cases reach a critical capacity or—as the pendulum of pop obsession starts to swing in the other direction—the meditative trend begins to regulate itself. Until then, if your post-yoga om session has your mind turning to anxious or disturbing thoughts that you just can’t process or move past, it might be a good idea to just get up and walk away, rather than pushing yourself into the void. Or if you’re dead set on meditating, at least find yourself a therapist or spiritual guide familiar with the practice who can help you work through the dark states you’re coming up against.

This article originally appeared on GOOD.

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This mom left an abusive relationship and fell into poverty. Here’s how she got out.

Almost 10 years ago, Stephanie Land and her baby daughter Mia had no choice but to check into a homeless shelter.

Stephanie was fleeing an abusive relationship. She had no family to turn to, and she couldn't afford a place of her own. For the next three months, she and Mia lived in the Port Townsend homeless shelter in Washington.

Stephanie knew she needed help — and that's why one of the places she turned to was the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Applying for SNAP benefits can be an an ordeal under the best circumstances, but it was even more challenging for Stephanie because she lacked internet access. Thankfully, her persistence paid off and she soon began receiving benefits to help her pay for food.

Photo via iStock.

Her SNAP benefits were usually $200 to $300 a month — a mere $7 to $10 a day — and it was often all she had to pay for food.

But the SNAP benefits went a long way for her family. Mia was a picky eater, so Stephanie had to get creative to make sure she was getting as much nutritious food as she could afford. Sometimes that meant adding vegetables and a homemade sauce to packages of instant ramen to get Mia to eat them.

It was a process, but ultimately, SNAP, along with other welfare benefits like health care and child care, helped them stay afloat while Stephanie looked for work.

Photo via iStock.

Unfortunately, looking for work was easier said than done during the 2008 recession.

"All the jobs that were available during normal child care hours were more professional jobs," Stephanie recalls.

The only jobs she could get were entry-level, minimum-wage jobs that usually involved her working late hours, when affordable child care services are rarely available.

This balancing act of working low-paying jobs, caring for her daughter, and living on welfare wore on Stephanie. But she knew that college could be her ticket out of it.

The Land family in their studio apartment in low-income housing. Photo via Stephanie Land.

Stephanie applied for and received the Pell Grant and the Women's Independence Scholarship, which helps survivors of domestic violence pay tuition. She also took out student loans.  

While these helped significantly, she had to keep working because the federal benefits she needed to survive — like food stamps — would only continue if she was working at least 20 hours a week.

As a full-time student and single mom, working that much proved near impossible. But Stephanie kept pushing forward, relying on her resourcefulness and persistence to make it to each next day.

"I learned the only person I really had to depend on is myself," she says.

Stephanie Land. Image via Stephanie Land/Stepville.

Stephanie didn't feel comfortable turning to friends for support during this time because she knew some of them believed that people who rely on federal benefits are lazy, entitled, and refuse to work hard.

It's a hurtful stigma and, unfortunately, one that many believe about people who have no choice but to rely on programs like SNAP.

"Being on food stamps and on Facebook at the same time, you learn what your friends really think of people on welfare," Stephanie explains. "You learn pretty quickly not to offer that information readily."

While Stephanie is proof positive that this stigma's message is false, she still felt embarrassed about needing federal assistance. In fact, it was that discomfort that made her all the more determined to change her situation.

After six years of hard work, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in English and started making a living wage writing.

Stephanie and Mia. Photo via Stephanie Land.

She wrote about various aspects of her day-to-day life, like working as a house cleaner and being a single mom living on $6 a day.

"I found a niche that not too many people can write about from a first-person perspective," Stephanie says.

She can  provide a window into a world that's often just speculated over rather than clearly seen. Many people push away the idea of poverty because they want to believe it could never happen to them. Through her insightful writing, though, Stephanie has proven no one is immune.  

"While it’s terrifying to come out and openly admit those things, it was also something people needed to read about," Stephanie says. "Especially from someone who doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of what people connect with someone living in poverty."

When an article Stephanie wrote for Vox about cleaning houses went viral, she got a call from a well-known literary agent the same day asking to sign her. A year later, she was offered a book deal.  

Today, Stephanie lives in her first real house with her two daughters.

"It was quite a moment finally watching my girls play in a backyard," she recalls.

But, she says, she'll never forget those years she lived in poverty.  

Stephanie with her daughters Coraline (left) and Mia (right). Photo via Stephanie Land.

She's written about her experience for a number of publications, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. She's also a regular writer for the Center for Community Change, whose mission is to help improve low-income families' lives. And she's received a number of emails from people who were, or currently are, dealing with the issues she's faced, thanking her for giving them a voice.

As a result, she looks at the world through a different filter — one of compassion for everyone she comes across.

"I try not to make any assumptions about other people’s lives because it’s so easy to suddenly be in that place where you have nowhere to go," Stephanie explains. "And you never know who’s going through something like that."

If you or someone you know is living in poverty or with food insecurity, a good first step for them to take is to call 211 or check out 211.org online. There, you can find information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as many other federal assistance programs.

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