Category Archives: Human Longevity

City of Passaic prepares for New Year's Eve piata drop

Passaic gives New Year's Eve piata a test run ahead of the festivities on Friday.

Anne-Marie Caruso, NorthJersey.com

WAYNE Mayor Christopher Vergano startedanotherterm Saturday, telling guests at the municipal reorganization that he felt happy to be reelected and lucky to be alive.

The long-reigning mayor, who had a bone marrowtransplant in June, was sworn in with his wife, Deneen,andchildren by his side. Butfirst, he shareda moment with the judge who administered his oath of office.

"Judge Weiss and I have done this on multiple occasions," Vergano said, hinting at their longevity.

Yes, the magistrate agreed, "But with different-color hair."

Such was the positivevibeas the governing bodykicked off the new year. The township attorney andauditor were reappointedwithout incident, andCouncilman Franco Mazzei, of the 3rd Ward, was selected unanimously to be Township Council president.

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"Most of you know that I had a very long summer," the mayor said after taking the oath. "But I'm here today, and I'm happy to be here today."

Vergano, 62, vice president of human resources and sales for Hishi Plastics U.S.A. Inc. in Lincoln Park, served on the Board of Educationand council before becoming mayor in 2008. He took over for Scott Rumana, who resigned to assume a positionin the state General Assembly.

He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a cancer that attacks plasma cells in August 2019. His surgical procedure was followed by extended stays at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Vergano's cancer was in remission by November, when he garnered more than 70% of the vote in a sound defeat of Arlene Sullivan, a Democrat.

"Battling what I did made me even stronger than I was before," the Republican mayor said at the reorganization meeting.

Vergano thanked all of his supporters, promising that he and his administration "will not let you down."

"To the 5,576 people who chose not to vote for me," the mayorsaid, "we'll work harder to take care of you and the people of Wayne."

Also taking oaths Saturday were council members Jill Sasso and David Varano, each returning for asecond term, and Councilman Jason DeStefano, embarking on his first.

DeStefano, 34, is the youngest member of the governing body 53 years the junior of the man he was elected to replace. Former Councilman Joseph Schweighardt stepped down at the end of the year after five terms and a total of 3 decades ofpublic service.

"Joe certainly leftbig shoes for me to fill," DeStefano said, "but I look forward to the challenge of filling them."

Philip DeVencentisis a local reporter forNorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community,please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email:devencentis@northjersey.com

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'Happy to be here': Wayne mayor, a cancer survivor, sworn in to fourth term - NorthJersey.com

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For months, editors at People magazine had been zeroing in on Betty White for an end-of-year cover article. Her 100th birthday was coming up on Jan. 17, and readers always seemed to warm to her self-deprecating, slightly naughty observations. As the toast of social media in recent years, Ms. White appealed to old and young.

By mid-December, Liz McNeil, a 29-year-veteran of the magazine, and a new colleague, Dory Jackson, were collaborating on the piece, with Ms. White responding to questions via email, according to Wendy Naugle, Peoples deputy editor. On Dec. 23, editors closed the issue. It hit newsstands on Wednesday and began arriving in subscriber mailboxes on Friday.

Next to a glossy photograph of Ms. White, her eyes twinkling, the People trumpets sounded: Betty White Turns 100!

Ms. White died on Friday morning. She was 99.

As tributes began to wash across Twitter, with fans celebrating Ms. Whites comedic performances on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, People also began to trend. Some fans blamed the magazine for jinxing Ms. White. (In addition to its weekly issue, People also marked her impending centennial with a commemorative issue entirely devoted to her seven-decade career.)

Others were pleased that Ms. White, known for her devilish sense of humor and impeccable comedic timing, had seemed to have pulled off one last laugh.

Dan Wakeford, Peoples editor, was in London when he got the word that Ms. White had died, turning his cover into a Hall of Fame example of the risk of reporting something that hasnt quite happened yet. (The most infamous example remains the Chicago Daily Tribunes decision in 1948 to mistakenly announce that Dewey Defeats Truman.)

Perhaps adding insult to injury, a competing celebrity news outlet, TMZ.com, broke the news of Ms. Whites death, citing anonymous law enforcement sources.

Still, People was able to get the first official confirmation from her agent, Jeff Witjas, who had helped arrange the interview. Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever, Mr. Witjas told the magazine. I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much.

People then posted a comment from Mr. Wakeford on its Twitter account. We are deeply saddened by the news of Betty Whites passing, he said. We are honored that she recently chose to work with People to celebrate her extraordinary life and career.

Speaking by phone, Ms. Naugle said she and other staffers were all in shock. Ms. White, she noted, on Tuesday had shared an image of her 100th-birthday cover with her 1.3 million Twitter followers. People Magazine is celebrating with me! the post read.

It turned out to be Ms. Whites last post. In one from Dec. 15, she promoted a documentary, Betty White: 100 Years Young, which was scheduled to be shown in theaters on Jan. 17. Im going BIG for my birthday right to the BIG SCREEN! Ms. White had said.

The films producers, Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, said the film will come out as scheduled. Betty always said she was the luckiest broad on two feet to have had a career as long as she did, they said in a statement. And honestly, we were the lucky ones to have had her for so long.

Asked to reconcile the sadness of Ms. Whites death with the whoops of the cover, Ms. Naugle looked on the bright side. I think fans will be touched to know that she was funny and in good spirits right until the end, she said.

Ms. White had quipped to People, for instance, that her longevity could be attributed, in part, to her diet. I try to avoid anything green, she said. I think its working.

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People Magazines Premature Cover Toasts Betty Whites 100th Birthday - The New York Times

We asked 18 area residents from the newly named Colorado Teacher of the Year and local government leaders to first responders, community organizers, health care professionals, a student and other personalities what they think will be the top issues facing our local communities in the new year.

Heres what they had to say:

Autumn Rivera, Glenwood Middle School science teacher/Colorado 2022 Teacher of the Year

As we ready ourselves for 2022, it is important to first look back on 2021. The first half of the 2021-22 school year has been one of the hardest in teaching. Trying to yet again reinvent the wheel, while helping students feel safe in an ever-changing world, plus all the other regular duties that come with being a teacher, is exhausting. Continuing to support all our educators in the new year will be crucial to the success of the rest of the year.

However, this is not the largest issue I see facing our community in the upcoming year. The largest area of growth in education in our community is to continue focusing on equity in our classrooms, schools and beyond. Students need to learn in an area where they feel safe and they belong. Things as small as which students are represented on the walls of our classroom, to larger institutionalized decisions such as access to resources, must be examined in order to ensure all our students are able to learn to the best of their ability.

We have begun work in this area, but I know we still have a long way to go. In the words of Maya Angelou, Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Debra Figueroa, Glenwood Springs city manager

When it comes to infrastructure, a citys work is never done. Whether building a bridge over the Roaring Fork River, digging a tunnel under Colorado Highway 82 or replacing water lines beneath Red Mountain, Glenwood Springs has a sizable project list for the new year.

The design phase for South Bridge, the proposed evacuation route for south Glenwood residents, is slated to be complete by spring. That will allow the city to move forward acquiring the right of ways and easements needed for the project, but funding the $58.1 million infrastructure package remains a challenge.

The two-year-long reconstruction of South Midland Avenue, with a price tag of about $13.2 million, is slated to wrap up by summer.

The city also plans to partner with the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and the Colorado Department of Transportation, breaking ground on the 27th Street pedestrian tunnel under Highway 82.

This project is being headed up by RFTA. It will increase pedestrian safety as they cross Highway 82, and could relieve some of the traffic pressure at that signal.

The city could pay up to $1 million of the projects $10 million estimated cost.

Joseph Deras, Glenwood Springs Police chief

Glenwood Springs Police Department is ramping up its recruitment strategies in 2022. Staffing shortages continue to be a challenge. Weve established a robust recruitment and retention strategy that I think will really pay off in the coming months.

GSPD officers are reaching out to police academies, posting on social media and talking with other law enforcement departments in an effort to attract more applicants.

The department has received about 100 applications for its 10 open positions.

On the community relationship side, the Police Explorer program kicked off in 2021 and has experienced some success with teens around the Glenwood Springs area.

All of our spots are full for that program. Were excited to see so much interest in the program. Theyll be able to help supplement us for some of the community events in 2022.

The department could also acquire some new vehicles in the new year, introduce upgrades to less-lethal restraint devices like the BolaWRAP and provide training to officers focused on handling mental health crises.

Jonathan Godes, mayor of Glenwood Springs

Addressing affordable housing, planning for climate change and updating the citys comprehensive plan are high on Glenwood Springs City Councils to-do list.

We have a lot on our plate in 2022. With all the snow out the window, everyone is sighing in relief that the snowpack will likely be decent this year.

City Council is slated to update its climate plan, which summarizes the citys intentions in relation to building codes and development, water conservation and progressive energy rates.

The search for funding for the South Bridge Project also continues, but its not the only council project in need of revenue flows.

We came very close to putting an attractions tax on the 2021 ballot to fund a robust affordable housing program. The council decided to wait a year, allowing time for a large ad hoc committee to be formed and outline the communitys needs as well as spending priorities for potential attractions tax revenues.

Fire evacuation planning is another big-ticket item. Every year we dont dont do something like this, were playing with fire literally.

Crystal Mariscal, New Castle trustee, Latino Community organizer

You dont have to be an economist to realize that the labor shortage is going to be a topic trend in our valley for 2022.

Businesses struggling with hiring and retaining their employees can have many reasons, including the cost of living, the COVID-19 vaccine, child care and the work environment. Also, it may be that our younger generation is focusing more on graduating with a degree and looking for better opportunities, something that may offer health benefits and/or the opportunity to keep growing. And thats great.

However, the cleaning, construction, kitchen and landscaping jobs (to mention some) are less attractive but as much needed as a CEO or executive director position. Plus it is hard to compete with the ski towns salaries for the season.

As a New Castle councilor, I see many local businesses being impacted by this issue, but as a Latina and resident of this valley, I can see this issue in a different perspective, because the majority of laborers in the hospitality industry are Latinos. This can be a puzzle for many, trying to solve pieces around. The solution is going to create another political debate.

Even though this is going to be a national issue, my intention is definitely to highlight the importance of facing this problem at a local level. In the meantime the local economy is going to struggle.

Ben Bohmfalk, Carbondale trustee

The top issue facing Carbondale and the Roaring Fork Valley in 2022 is workforce housing. While housing affordability has long been a pressing concern here, the cost increases during the pandemic have fundamentally altered the dynamics. Rents are skyrocketing past anything we thought was possible just months ago, and single-family homes under $1 million are fading into Carbondales history books.

Add in a national labor shortage, and you have serious limitations on local employers ability to attract enough employees to stay open. In 2022, we need to come together to consider every strategy to address the housing crisis on both a local and regional basis. In Carbondale, this may include regulations to prevent workforce housing from being converted to short-term rentals, adjustments to our codes to encourage more affordable housing and dedicating staff time to focus intently on this issue.

Some may consider the high demand for housing to be a good problem to have; we live in a great place, and many others want to live here, too. But when local businesses cant expand, police departments are critically understaffed, and artists, immigrants and retirees are getting pushed out of the communities they helped define, we must address this threat to our economy and community.

Leif Sackett, Colorado River Fire Rescue chief

What started out as a year of adapting to a new normal due to the ongoing pandemic and continued uncertainty due to financial constraints, ended on a positive note and a sense of excitement for the future of the Colorado River Fire District. 2021 found CRFR focused on securing future financial stability through community engagement.

CRFR will start 2022 with a fresh outlook and new direction thanks to our communities support in passing a mill levy increase. Members of CRFR have always been and will continue to be service-minded while fulfilling our mission of Protecting Life, Home, and Property through Leadership, Education, and Partnerships. Our continued pursuit of excellence, combined with high level service, sets CRFR and the communities of New Castle, Silt, Rifle and surrounding areas up for success.

Gail Schwartz, Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley president

Will we address the affordable housing crisis in our region as communities are being transformed by unprecedented appreciation rates in home prices, coupled with demand for affordable rentals and homes that continues to outpace supply?

This year has been a game changer for cities in western Garfield County, which historically have been the affordable communities for the upper valleys workforce, as they are now grappling with their own workforce housing issues.

If we can generate consensus regionally on a range of policies and advocate for them at the state as they deploy $400 million, we can begin to address the housing crisis.

Funding for land banking in impacted rural cities and counties

Funds for local governments to develop housing policies for affordable ownership and rental development

Provide businesses with grants, state tax incentives/ credits to provide housing for their employees

Expand the housing stock through coalitions and convert units from the free market and protect with deed restrictions

The Western Slope needs our fair share. If we agree that these tools will help us address this crisis over the next decade, then with the help of our legislators, we can work together to address this crisis.

Dr. Kevin Coleman, Grand River Health chief medical officer

You ask what the biggest threat to health care is in 2022? My answer is battle fatigue. Medicine is all consuming in a normal year, and now for two years running add COVID-19 and all the societal intricacies it brings beyond the workday. Hard work deserves a reward beyond money or recognition. The best reward would be an end.

The biggest threat to health care in 2022 isnt access, quality or cost. Its making sure health care has the workforce to continue caring for its communities. It is estimated that one in five health care workers has left the profession since the beginning of the pandemic, based on a study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Health care workers want to help patients, and their inability to adequately do so is taking its toll. Providers arent exiting the field because they cant handle their jobs theyre quitting because they cant handle being unable to do their jobs, it states in an article in the November 2021 issue of The Atlantic. The article states that many health care workers believed vaccines would ease the traumas endured in initial surges. However, plateauing vaccination rates, lifted mask mandates and the delta variant, and now omicron, undid such hopes. The unrealized promise of some sort of normalcy has made the feelings of exhaustion and frustration worse, said Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, president-elect of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

In a recent internal survey conducted by Grand River Health, findings showed there is still a strong level of commitment to mission and purpose by the staff in their work with their patients and co-workers. It is also good to report that many are continuing to enter the health care workforce in large numbers and through our strong partnerships with Colorado Mountain College and Colorado Mesa University. Grand River is seeing a new workforce entering the market locally, eager to make a difference in the lives of the people they will serve in the community.

Kathryn Kuhlenberg, Roaring Fork School District Board of Education president

In my opinion, the biggest issue we face in 2022 as a community is adequately supporting families and children. The issues facing families in our valley are complex and all encompassing the incredibly high cost of housing, the accessibility of early childhood education and the infant/toddler care crisis, the inability of families to take time off to care for new babies and themselves after birth, the impacts of COVID-19 on education and work, and the astronomical costs of insurance and health care in our valley, just to name a few.

The continued success of our community is dependent on families and children being able to live and work here comfortably. As our elected leaders (myself included) push forward and make important policy decisions, it is imperative we not only consider these issues but that we prioritize them for the health and longevity of our citizens, our businesses and our community.

Hannah Feeney, Glenwood Springs High School student

The biggest issue that has faced our community and with which we continue to struggle is the spread of misinformation.

Community on every level is hindered by not being able to agree on solutions to issues or the fact that were facing issues at all.

If we could decide on what information is reputable, I feel confident in our communitys ability to overcome any challenges we face.

Theresa Hamilton, Garfield Re-2 director of communications

As we look toward 2022, three things rise to the top for the Garfield Re-2 School District.

The main priority for Garfield Re-2 is to keep students learning in-person and teachers teaching in front of students in-person. We know students learn best when they are in school, in person with their teacher, reaping the benefits of all the love and support that our staff can provide. This has been a challenge, not only due to the issues created by the pandemic but also because of the nationwide teacher shortage. School districts, just like private businesses, have had to fight daily for teachers and staff members to support our schools.

The issue of recruitment and retention of staff will also be a high priority for Garfield Re-2. All positions within the educational system are integral to providing support for our families, students, teachers and staff. The affordability of housing and cost of living in our valley does not help us in our efforts to recruit and retain staff. Our district will be conducting a review of all positions in the coming months to help develop a plan to keep our dedicated staff and recruit talented people to join us in loving and supporting our students, families, staff and communities.

Finally, we will continue to focus on helping each and every student close the achievement gaps that have developed in the last 18 months.

Our administrators, teachers and staff continually seek the resources to provide academic and mental health support to meet the individual needs of each and every student and help them become the best learners and leaders they can be.

Crista Barlow, Roaring Fork High School athletic director

Unfortunately, 2022 is starting a lot like 2021 did, the rise of another COVID-19 strain that is looming over us as we come back from winter break. I worry about our students and our sports programs. The previous two years took a toll on our school spirit and the general well-being of our school community. Students and athletes that lack a strong support system have struggled to get back into the swing of school and the responsibilities of being a student.

Our athletes are students first, and their performance as a student determines their eligibility to play a sport. Many of our athletes have been ineligible to play during parts of their seasons, and a few have been unable to play at all. School spirit and peer support influences our student athletes desire to stay on track within the classroom and in competition.

Our challenge is to continue to get our students and athletes to be successful in academics, and their ability to participate and compete in sports will follow. We need to find ways to support the students who have little support at home. The continuing issues around COVID-19 threaten to reverse the progress we have made to regain some sense of normalcy for our students and athletic programs.

Gabe Cohen, Discovery Cafe executive director

Traditionally, a person receives support when they are in crisis and finds that the support is removed once they begin to experience stability. That model of emergency intervention and abandonment sets one up for a roller-coaster existence. That is not only cruel in that it locks one into a cycle of intense suffering and failure, it is expensive, ineffective and a waste of human potential. We are embracing a more effective and compassionate system of care at the Discovery Caf.

I see the top mental health issues in our community as the lack of affordable housing, the ripple effect of the pandemic and the increasing fentanyl-related overdoses (rose by 50% from 2019-2020, and, according to the national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Americans died of drug overdoses last year than in car crashes and gun violence deaths combined.)

Discovery Caf has a model that meets people where they are on the recovery continuum, engages them for a lifetime of managing their disease, focuses holistically on a persons needs and empowers them to build a life that realizes their full potential. This person-centered system of care supports a person as they establish a healthy life and recognizes that we all need a meaningful sense of membership and belonging in community.

Since February 2021 we have opened in Rifle and Basalt and will start in the Rifle Correctional Center in mid-January 2022.

Our peer-to-peer recovery, nonclinical support system is making a great impact on many lives in our community, and we hope to continue to grow in order to help transform lives throughout the Western Slope of Colorado.

Samuel Bernal, Radio Tricolor host

I see mental health as one of the top issues facing our communities in 2022. It is a national matter, but in rural communities like ours, it gets more complicated due to the lack of efficient services, not to mention the extra challenges one would face if you are undocumented and/or speak only Spanish.

Inflation, housing, lack of workforce, climate change, COVID-19 they all have something in common: stress. Although stress is a normal response to everyday pressures, chronic stress is proven to lead to mental health problems.

Mental Health America claims that our state has the nations highest rate of adult mental illness and the lowest access to care. This was underlined in a recent investigation by Colorado News Collaborative that also found that state officials stated they dont know what happens to tax dollars centers received for services they end up not providing, according to journalist Susan Greene.

Stephanie Keister, director of public relations, Mind Springs Health

The biggest challenge facing Mind Springs Health in 2022 is one that is similar to most employers in Colorado staffing. We have a number of open positions, from clinical positions working directly with clients to support and administrative positions, such as customer service, finance, billing and human resources.

The shortages across the state (and country) in businesses of all types and sizes are putting increased pressure on existing staff. Consumers are frustrated with service issues, whether shopping at the local market or sitting on hold with their bank or waiting for an appointment with a psychiatrist. Increased demands on workers and amplified pressures (work, family, school) on the general population leads to more anxiety and stress.

As a community, well need to support each other and be kind to one another in the year to come. In moments of frustration, take a deep breath. Take another deep breath. Then remember that were all human, were all in a similar boat, and we all need to respect one anothers individual trauma and stressors.

As individuals, we need to remember the importance of self-care. Looking out for your own mental and physical wellness is truly important in todays chaotic world.

Angie Anderson, Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association president and CEO

As the pandemic trudges into its third year, tourism and local business leaders are focused on balancing health precautions while engaging the areas visitors with a return to pre-pandemic events.

We are planning to get back to as normal as possible while we remain as vigilant and take precautions as much as we can.

Some of the events being planned include the Spring Gala and Strawberry Days, which is scheduled for summer.

Visitation was high in 2021, despite natural disasters interfering with travel plans. Through October, accommodations tax receipts were up about 18% over 2019 cumulative, and sales tax was up about 18% year-to-date compared to 2019.

This year was a bit of an anomaly, because there was so much pent up tourism demand. We think it could level out in 2022, but its too early to tell yet.

Bill Kight, Glenwood Springs Historical Society

The biggest issue facing our community in 2022 cannot be distilled into one word. Scientifically it is known as carrying capacity.

What Ive determined, from the majority of people I speak with about the issues we are contending with locally, is that theyre as concerned as I am about the quantity of people that our region can support without environmental degradation. Think about our water, air, infrastructure, traffic and more; the resulting social degradation is just as perilous.

What it means to live in the place we call home, our sense of place, differs for every one of us. However, when people feel their individual or collective sense of place is threatened and theyre not being heard, they will push back. And the result, more often than not, isnt pretty.

Do we have the ability to agree on what kind of future we want in order to effect change before its too late? If the people who stock and check out our groceries, the nurses dedicated to caring for us, those taking our garbage to the landfill if people in service to others cannot afford to live where we live, what kind of community have we wrought?

Glenwood Springs Post Independent/Citizen Telegram reporters John Stroud, Ray Erku, Ike Fredregill and Rich Allen contributed to this report.

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Looking forward: Locals offer their thoughts on the top issues facing our communities in 2022 - Glenwood Springs Post Independent

Sal Guzman bought a tote bag in 2010 that has not left his side since. Walking around one day through a small London street fair, he spotted a tote with denim blue fabric, sturdy straps, and a simple illustration of the Daunt Books bookstore.

Though he loved the bag, Guzman who was a student at the time thought that at around 10, it was a bit pricey. But he decided to buy it anyway after noticing a really cool label that said the tote was made by a not-for-profit organization that helps people in India earn a living while supporting the environment. For him, that tag made the tote bag transform, becoming not just a way to carry things but a way to express his personal style while helping other communities.

The tote bag was almost like an investment, said Guzman, saying that he loved how it was cool, but also that it was supporting a local bookshop, and that it was made with so much care and was helping people.

For many of us, totes are more than just receptacles for running errands, and have instead become an essential part of our daily lives, bringing us a sense of comfort and connection everywhere from the grocery store to our TikTok feeds. Even the ever-fashion-conscious Carrie Bradshaw will be exchanging her Fendi baguette for an NPR tote bag in And Just Like That, the Sex and the City reboot.

The tote bag didnt become an omnipresent accessory overnight. Over recent decades, however, it has become a go-to bag for so many people, largely because of the easy, functional way it allows for self-expression.

The canvas of a tote bag is, well, a blank canvas. Yours can say a lot about you: what publications you read, where you align politically, what you believe in, what you dream of, or who you love. All of that can live on a single piece of cloth, neutral or brash, simple or complicated. The customizable, mutable nature of this accessory has helped the obsession transcend generations.

There are drawbacks, of course, to a totes simplicity, which is its lack of nuance, in that it becomes easy to talk the talk without walking the walk. Someone might carry a tote bag that declares them to be a feminist, for example, but not actually care for the issues women face in their communities. A tote bag with a slogan will not bring us liberation. But for some of us whose identities are inherently political, the tote can serve as an expression of our stances and identities.

Even when theyre falling off our shoulders every five seconds when wearing our coats in the winter, we still love them. They give each of us the power to say who we are, and to do so in a practical, affordable way. Is it any wonder were obsessed?

The tote bag fits a larger trend of the democratization of fashion, said professor Dicky Yangzom, a cultural and economic sociologist at New York University. Originally, these textiles [like canvas] were meant for labor. Similarly to utility wear in fashion with the rise of the jumpsuit, this wasnt designed for mass fashion. It was more geared toward people who do more manual work, right? So all of these categories are shifting.

Now, tote bags are everywhere: as marketing tools, as merch for artists, and for designers to have a more accessible accessory to sell. A $6 Forever 21 avocado tote, a $15 hand-painted bag from an Etsy seller, the free Vogue or New Yorker canvas carry-all that comes with a subscription to the magazine, and a $3,250 Dior tote bag all fall under the same (fairly lucrative) category: According to market research by Technavio, the tote bag market is worth $334.5 million.

Luxury brands have taken up the idea of the tote itself, which is how capitalism works, Yangzom said. From Dior to Marc Jacobs, high-fashion brands have designed their own version of totes, complete with their branding and elevated price range. A tote bag is one of those things that has so successfully as this mundane, humble object broken through, she explained. Tote bags are here to stay.

Part of the reason for the tote bags longevity is how the item makes us feel. Its like oh, Im an intellectual! Nicki Camberg, a junior at Barnard College, said, referring to the traditional New Yorker tote bag and others used as marketing for literary and journalistic publications.

Camberg calls her own totes her emotional support tote bags. A tote bags utility can be sentimental, as it brings you the comfort of feeling prepared, but it can also be very literal since it can hold everything you could possibly need. I just need a way to have every possession I have on me accessible at all times, she explained, whether shes running errands or just walking around. What if I need 20 hairbands and a pack of gum?

When she was a freshman in college, Camberg found herself drawn to tote bags for their practicality as well as for how they made others see her.

I was like, Well, my back hurts, after using a backpack for a while, she explained. And everyones really judgmental of backpacks, but no one judges a tote bag. Plus I felt like I looked less like a child.

For Julles Hernandez, a fashion writer and stylist from Puerto Rico also known as The Bold Budget, the tote bags she owns are statement pieces that complement her outfits and hold dear memories. I have $1 and designer totes, probably over 25 in total. Theyre my favorite thing in the world, Hernandez said. (She even has an Off-White tote named after her best friend.)

The tote bag has symbolic depths. Yangzom explained that the vital aspect of the tote bag carries a lot of value because of humans history of rituals. In the pre-modern age, she said, people had very strong beliefs about religion and what symbols were aligned with their respective religious practices. These institutions havent entirely collapsed, of course, but the relationship many have with them, and certainly our collective values, has changed and evolved. However, the human need to hold some object dearly is innate.

What doesnt change is our need to believe in something and to have our beliefs solidified by an object or a symbol. So before, maybe you worshiped statues or a photograph or something, right, but how is that any different from the tote bag? she explained. The ritual of packing our lives into these bags, taking them with us daily, feeling their weight on our shoulders, having their messages visible to all perhaps has become essential to our every day and to our identities.

As a proud owner of too many tote bags, I have stories and memories for each of them. They represent parts of me and have brought comfort to my college and post-college life, weaving in my experiences through the years.

My favorite tote bag looks simple, but the words written on it represent everything I dream of for my country of Puerto Rico: Repblica del Caribe: Libre, Mgica, Independiente, which translates to Republic of the Caribbean: Free, Magical, Independent in large red letters, designed by an art collective called Macondo Herald. One day at my godfathers apartment, I showed up with the tote bag and his wife said to me, Youre always with that tote bag! I smiled. It has become an extension of me, a reflection of my identity.

The truth is this piece of fabric, a simple sack with two straps, can always hug you as you walk around or as you explore a new place, with all its memories, with the strength to carry anything you put inside it, and the ability to share a little bit of yourself with the world anywhere you go.

Nicole Collazo Santana is a New York City-based journalist and a part of the first cohort of the Vox Media Writers Workshop. Her work has appeared in Refinery29, NPR, 9 Millones, and more.

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How tote bag obsession took over the world - Vox.com

Whenever the topic of horological complications comes up among WIS, they seem to love mentioning which complications are their favorites or to get the debate going which one is the best. People love a debate (NOT) and love to flex horological knowledge.

The usual suspects show up among the favorite useful complications: a power reserve on a manual wind movement for its critical role in preventing a watch from winding down; the perpetual calendar for its extreme longevity before needing to be adjusted; the GMT for the business traveler crossing time zones and doing business internationally; and the ultimately functional chronograph for its wide variety of timing uses.

Someone might say that the best complication is the tourbillon because it was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the patron saint of Swiss watchmaking. This will undoubtedly be challenged as many dont consider the tourbillon a complication and in most tourbillon wristwatches its usefulness is seriously in doubt anyway.

But in every debate, there are complications that dont get mentioned simply because they lack wide acclaim as being very useful to the modern watch aficionado.

You probably wont hear someone make the case for the astrolabe dial or praise the local solar time indication.

Sure, the moon phase might have its fans (me among them), but people arent really claiming it has a critical modern function for anyone other than a technology-averse fisherman who needs to know the tides.

Still, the case could be made for all of these being functional to certain segments of the society, even if it is relatively narrow.

But there are definitely a few complications that have dramatically little to no use for almost any user, especially when it comes to making the watch more functional, accurate, or versatile. Such complications are a novelty among novelties and tend to only show up on grande complications or watches vying for the title of most complicated watch.

But in the real world, some of these complications are pretty useless. Dont think I am saying they arent cool, because they are. Each complication that has little real world application is still pretty darn awesome for some technical reason, and today I want to run through what I think might be the top five most useless complications. Immediately followed by why they are awesome and deserve to be seen in watches more!

So lets get the ball rolling and count down from my first pick for least useful complication.

Like the tourbillon, you probably shouldnt call this a complication because it doesnt add a function. Im getting that out of the way first.

A close look at the Zenith Defy Zero Gs gyroscopic balance module

The gyroscopic balance module is a very rare feature, only found in Zenith watches such as the Defy Zero G, and there have only been a handful of editions over the past decade or so.

The idea is that the balance and escapement are mounted in a gyroscopic gimbal that can rotate in any direction regardless of the position of the watch. It supposedly keeps the balance perfectly flat so that it can eliminate the effects of gravity on a balance constantly changing orientation.

The only problem is that it would be hard to prove that it works in the real world because a gimbal that small simply cannot work as intended. The weight is too near the pivot points, so instead of a steadicam-like motion, you get something akin to a whirling rotor, but in every direction.

Zenith Defy Zero G on the wrist

Ive seen this in action, and it simply spins willy nilly because the weight cannot keep it perfectly level unless the watch is barely moving. The only way it could work would be if the weight was made from a nugget of neutron star, otherwise its just going to flail around and not provide any real stability.

But that doesnt mean the engineering behind it isnt spectacular!

View through the display back of the Zenith Defy Zero G with the Gravity Control escapement module on the left

The mechanism had to allow the balance and escapement to be constantly driven with sufficient torque via a complex set of differentials allowing it move in any direction at any moment. No easy task. And the latest version saw a major reduction in size, meaning that it is even more incredibly complex to engineer and assemble.

Too bad that it probably does very little for what its supposed to do, but I absolutely love it nonetheless.

The chronograph is arguably one of the most useful complications in watchmaking. It allows for precise control over the movement and the ability to time things down to a fraction of a second, some even allowing splits, on-the-go flyback, and high-frequency timing.

But the one that enters into the realm of useless is the 1/1000th of a second chronograph, most famously exemplified by the TAG Heuer Mikrotimer Flying 1000.

TAG Heuer Mikrotimer Flying 1000

The reason it is useless comes down to biology: human reaction time is, on average, around 0.25 seconds, possibly up to 0.15 seconds in ideal conditions. Did you see how that was measured? With two decimal places because anything more is leaving the realm of significant figures.

Human reaction time is never fast enough to need anything more than 1/100th of a second precision, and in a majority of cases anything over one-tenth of a second is probably too fine to really distinguish for most people.

The level of precision in a 1/1000th of a second chronograph is for no other purpose than because they can: no human can take advantage of the fine graduations after one considers all the factors involved in reacting and pushing a button.

But who cares! The engineering behind such a mechanism is the incredible part: getting components to move that fast . . . starting and stopping and starting again is seriously hard on the tiny components.

The forces engineers had to overcome were significant, including challenges related to power consumption, lubrication, and the high precision tolerances necessary.

Sure, you cant take advantage of it in any appreciable way, but you can watch it fly around the dial and pretend like you actually tried to stop it at a different point each time instead of it being more the result of the interactions of the components and your slow biological processes.

Christians make up 30 percent of the human population, so clearly a lot of people would like to be aware of the date of Easter, one of the religions most important holidays. But since only a handful of machines have ever been created to automatically display this date, it clearly wouldnt be reaching its intended audience.

And since we know the moon phases for the next few millennia due to astronomers calculating this, and we know how to count, we also know the exact days of Easter for a long, long time.

This complications intended use is remarkably slim and definitely not necessary.

But what is interesting is that the date of Easter is one of the most difficult mechanical problems in horology due to the variability that comes from how it is calculated. This makes it a long-time holy grail (pun intended) of mechanical complications.

The date of Easter is based on the lunisolar calendar (moon phases relative to the time of the solar year) and is the first Sunday after the full moon that comes on or after March 21 meaning it can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25.

So the date of Easter requires combining a perpetual calendar and an accurate moon phase simply to calculate the hopscotching Sunday of Easter.

Patek Philippe Caliber 89 in yellow gold

As I mentioned, crafting a mechanical complication for this is not an easy task and one showing why it is rarely ever attempted. The calculation is known as the Comptus, and as far as I know very few clocks in history have integrated it, and only one watch: Caliber 89 by Patek Philippe.

Konstantin Chaykin made a clock with the date of Easter, though this was also a very complicated four-sided clock with tons of complications. Creating an Easter date complication is a ton of work, and blatantly not necessary.

Konstantin Chaykin Moscow Comptus Clock

Oh, and what makes it even more difficult? Different groups of Christians (namely the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anabaptists, and Christian Berbers) use different calendars to calculate Easter, specifically the Julian calendar (as opposed to the Gregorian calendar everyone else uses), which puts the date 13 days later than the western (Gregorian) date.

So even if you build a complication for one, it would be off for the other unless you added another complication to display the difference.

While it is extremely limited in its use, the mechanical solution is incredibly difficult and supremely cool. Of course Ill still just use my phones calendar.

The hidden-time display, otherwise known as time on demand, is a group of complications that keep either the minutes or hours, or both, hidden from view or from being displayed until a pusher is pressed or in one case, until the watch is oriented in a very specific way.

The complication is often used as a playful take on the time display or as a way to get you to stop focusing on the time in a busy world. Depending on the iteration, you may not even see the hands until the mechanism is activated and they spring out to show you the time.

Genius Temporis by Konstantin Chaykin

An interesting take on this comes from Konstantin Chaykin, who created the Genius Temporis, a watch with a single (double-ended) hand that displays the current hour with the large end of the hand. When a pusher at 2 oclock is pressed, the hand spins around until the small end comes to point at the current minutes.

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Mercury Only Watch 2019

The method for creating this variable on-demand display can differ for every single watch that includes one. Maurice Lacroix recently released the Aikon Mercury in which the hour and minute hands spin freely at all times until the watch is held perfectly upright when you see the hands spin into the proper position to display the current time.

Clearly, this mechanism, while thematically similar to the Genius Temporis, is dramatically different in design and function.

Another variation is a time display that can change to display something else before returning to displaying the current time.

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Spring

Van Cleef & Arpels has an example of this with the Agenhor-engineered Pont des Amoureux, where the time is displayed via two figures slowly climbing an arched bridge to meet in the middle and kiss at noon and midnight.

The time is always displayed, but you can activate the midnight kiss on demand thanks to a pusher at 8 oclock. Functionally, this is the same intent as the time on demand, but in reverse; it also shows the mechanical creativity possible with such a complication.

But if we are talking about how useful hiding the time is, I cant come up with many practical reasons for it outside of keeping someone from being distracted by not allowing him or her to always check the time.

This is a laudable use for the right people, but I would venture that hardly anyone would need a watch like that for that specific reason. And one could argue that a pocket watch might be a better and easier solution of keeping the time out of easy view.

But, really, it doesnt feel like there is any sufficiently valid reason to have the complication other than because it is interesting and playful.

Mechanically, these are sort of a smorgasbord of creative solutions, each one providing another way to achieve the same goal. But like others on this list, I dont think there is an objective reason for more than a handful of people to ever need something like this.

And finally we reach the complication that I believe is the most useless complication found in a watch today.

Drumroll, please . . .

Unless you are a complication nerd into every type of mechanical complication and very well versed in the odd, you many not initially even know what this is. And that is my first piece of evidence supporting its utter uselessness.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomtre Chronographe

The foudroyante is a hand displaying each individual tick of an escape wheel, usually by a wheel that meshes with another toothed wheel attached to the escape wheel.

This foudroyante wheel will have the same number of teeth as the beats per second of the balance, so one rotation of the gear equals exactly one second. This creates a blazingly fast hand that races in circles, but stops completely with every tick, causing a hand that looks like a super-low framerate animation of a spinning hand.

The technical challenges accompanying the foudroyante include rapid power consumption, introducing significant timing inaccuracies, and requiring a very well balanced and lightweight hand to prevent wear or drag on the escapement (part of those timing inaccuracies).

It is an odd thing to watch, somewhat disconcerting because it covers so much distance but stops completely with every beat of the balance. Unlike a sweeping second hand or the dead second display, it doesnt have much use because it simply moves too darn fast.

F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain Anniversaire

Visually it is incredibly impressive, and I would say rivals a high-speed chronograph hand or a tourbillon for a feature destined to capture the attention of those glancing at your watch.

Anything moving that fast is bound to grab the gaze, but it really lacks much in usefulness. That is unless it is found on a chronograph and can be stopped. And this is precisely where one might find a foudroyante: as a fraction-of-a-second display for a chronograph function.

And while this might help to determine the fractions of a second that you measured, the regular chronograph second hand will also be able to display this, albeit in a smaller and possibly harder-to-read format, but still as a typical feature of a chronograph.

So the foudroyante is often an addition that isnt entirely necessary in that context, even though it technically makes sense.

But it isnt always used in conjunction with a chronograph, and in that instance I can find no justification for its presence outside of being a quirky feat of mechanical watchmaking. The display moves too fast to be read; it is more of a visual representation of the escapement than anything.

Watches featuring a foudroyante chronograph include the Habring Foudroyante Felix, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomtre Chronographe (a semi-useful iteration), and the F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain (another chronograph).

The enticing Breguet Classique Chronomtrie Reference 7727

Foudroyante is sometimes called flying seconds, though I personally would say that the name flying seconds should refer to something different, specifically the semi-foudroyante, which displays the rapidly moving second hand but with a rotational period of more than one single second.

Some high-frequency chronographs do this, displaying six seconds or ten seconds so that the display is less jarring. This is also found on the Breguet Classique Chronomtrie 7727, which features a two-second subdial that makes 20 distinct stops in one rotation. But since the subdial is so small, the distance between each stop is miniscule, making it appear much smoother and lacking the dramatic display of a true, one-second foudroyante.

And that is, in my opinion, why it is included on any chronograph or regular wristwatch: drama.

The lightning speed (which incidentally is the origin of the name: foudre is French for lightning) of the start and stop, five to ten times a second, is very alluring. But it is also very negligible to the use of the watch, and unless it is the only measurement of the fractions of a second on a chronograph, it is superfluous put there simply to make reading the fraction displayed elsewhere more visually friendly.

And for that reason, I think it is the most useless complication in a wristwatch, and simultaneously why it is so dang cool.

It has very little reason to exist as it does and makes the movement vulnerable to many issues thanks to its inclusion, but tickles my visual cortex so precisely that I have to stop and ogle.

I mean, this is why we get into mechanical watches in the first place: they are, as a category, wholly impractical and pointless thanks to technological advances over the last century. But they do cool things and that makes us smile, so I guess its even.

* This article was first published on December 15, 2019 at Top 5 Least Useful Horological Complications (And Why They Are Still Awesome).

Zenith Defy Zero G: A Lesson In Miniaturization

A Mechanical Masterpiece By A Mechanical Mastermind: The Konstantin Chaykin Moscow Comptus Easter ClockIn The Face Of Complexity, Simplicity Rules: The Konstantin Chaykin Genius Temporis

Van Cleef & Arpels Iconic Pont Des Amoureux Timepiece Makes A Comeback Paying Tribute To Tales Of Love

Why I Bought It: Breguet Classique Chronomtrie Reference 7727

The 10 Most Accurate Moon Phase Wristwatches Today (Plus Honorable Mention)

Read this article:
Top 5 Least Useful Horological Complications: And Why They Are Still Awesome - Reprise - Quill & Pad

Update 3/8/2021: This post has been updated since we originally published it in August 2020. Several new studies showing the possibility of life extension in animals and humans have been added, and the post has been cleaned up and links made current.

You might live to be 150 years old.

In fact, if some scientists are to be believed, you might live to be a good deal older even than that.

Sounds crazy right? Like some wild fantasy birthed in the fevered brain of a modern-day Ponce de Len?

Perhaps.

But we thinkfrom our own initial research into the many medical, technological, and scientific advances targeting agingthat it could also be true.

Which is a very exciting possibility.

And whats more exciting is that as human life extension research becomes more mainstream, the advances it makes possible are becoming more accessible, if you know where to look.

Today tons of money and talent and time are being poured into developing life-extension treatments and technology, yet most people remain totally ignorant of the rapid progress made in the quest to reverse aging.

We live in a unique moment where life-extension science has advanced to a point that credible life-extension methods and supplements already existindeed many therapies are currently in clinical trialsbut before most of this knowledge has filtered out to the broader public and non-scientists.

We believe that theres a need for a resource for the transition. That resource is Longevity Advice.

We started researching the possibility of radical human life extension out of personal curiosity (and probably also from having read too much science fiction). But the more we dug into the subject, the more interesting discoveries we made, and so the more we felt compelled to share what we learned with a wider audience.

Buried in the reams of obtuse medical studies and scientific papers are actionable insights that we think most people can take advantage of today, not in five years, not in ten years, but right now, to extend their healthy lifespan.

Buried in the reams of obtuse medical studies and scientific papers are actionable insights that we think most people can take advantage of today, not in five years, not in ten years, but right now, to extend their healthy lifespan.

And thats exactly what we hope to do here on Longevity Advice: translate the cutting-edge of longevity science into accessible lessons so that you and your loved ones can learn what to do to live longer, starting today.

Dont believe human life extension is possible? Think were navely buying into junk science from snake oil salesmen?

Let us share with you some of the evidence thats convinced us (and many, many, practicing scientists and doctors) that treatments to delay and even reverse human aging could already be here.

Though, for that evidence to make sense to you, we first have to answer the question: What is aging?

Youd think thatd be an easy answer.

Youd be wrong.

As humans get older, they face creeping physical and psychological decline.

Wrinkles, for example, are a sign of aging. According to Scientific American, the amount of collagen the body naturally produces diminishes every year after turning about 20-years-old. Our bodies age out of producing enough elastinAn important protein that keeps skin and other tissues elastic. and glycosaminoglycansA type of polysaccharide (sugar molecules) that includes keratan and keeps tissues like skin hydrated and able to repair themselves. to keep the skin stretchy and hydrated. The result? Older skin is drier, less stretchy, and less able to protect itself from damage.

In other words, as we get older, some natural bodily functions predictably dont work as well as wed like them to.

But look at these faces. All of these people were born in the same year. Notice how some have significantly more wrinkles than others. Were their collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycans dissipating at roughly the same rate?

The differences in the formation of wrinkles may be genetic. For example, one study found that genetics determine whether women face a greater chance of wrinkles earlier in life depending on how efficiently their bodies process lung toxins. African-Americans have more compacted skin and a higher intercellular lipid content, which may contribute to more resistance to skin aging than Caucasians. Even epidermal thickness, which is determined entirely by your genes, impacts how quickly your skin starts to show fine lines.

With all that said, however, research has consistently shown that genetics and aging processes account for only a small fraction of what causes variability in wrinkling skin. Lifestyle factors play a massive role; one oft-cited study found that up to 90% of visible skin aging can be attributed to UV light exposure. Smoking, alcohol, and sugar consumption can all affect when and how you get wrinkles over the course of your life.

Lets think back on those 60-year-olds pictured above. They were all born in 1960they have all lived the exact same number of years. Sixty is their chronological age, but their biological age varies widely; the difference explains why one person can be 60 but look 30. Its also why some people get cancer at 65, and others dont get it until 85: their biological ages are different.

While wrinkles might be a visible indicator of biological age, scientists still disagree on the cause (or causes) of aging itself. That said, there are nine hallmarks of aging that, while were not 100% sure cause aging, are associated closely enough with aging to be able to describe it pretty comprehensively.

If these hallmarks remind you of Star Trek technobabble, youre not alone. The science of biological aging is ridiculously complicated, often requiring a Ph.D. to wade through. The point is this: chronological aging and biological aging are two separate concepts, and we are only concerned with biological aging.

Why?

The possibility of human life extensionchronological life extension, as in living to 150may be a consequence of mitigating the causes of biological aging.

(Curious about what your biological age is? We reviewed the top biological age tests available for 2021.)

In 1950, life expectancy in the United States was 63 years old. In 2020, it was 77 years old (its worth noting that COVID played a role in the decline from 78 the year prior). Thats about a 25% increase in life expectancy over 70 years but thats not the whole picture.

Calculating life expectancy is a force of averages; Americans are far more likely to survive childhood than they were 70 years ago, average life expectancy increased. Americans who survive childhood arent necessarily living longer than their parents.

Throughout history, there have been people who have lived to 100. There have even been a few who have lived to 110 (currently, there are about 60 to 70 supercentenarians total in the United States and 300 to 450 internationally). Only one person has been verified to have lived past 120. Maximum human lifespan has not increased over the course of human history. Researchers from the Albert Einstein School of Medicine concluded in 2016 that, the probability in a given year of seeing one person live to 125 anywhere in the world is less than 1 in 10,000. In other words, its incredibly unlikely to happen naturally.

Now picture being 110 years old. You might imagine yourself in a wheelchair. A lack of focus and personal independence. A life of loneliness and incontinence pads. Living for a very long time is hardly appealing because of the physical, mental, and social limitations old age tends to bring with it.

Human life extension addresses both chronological and biological aging; it asks not just how can we live longer, but how long can we live well. Healthspan, or the years of our lives when were unencumbered by disease or disability, addresses just that. What if you could have the body you had at 25 well into your 80s or 100s or 120s? What more could you do with those extra rich years of life? Who could you become?

Extending our healthspans also forces us to ask what we can do individually and as a society to change the odds of living to 110 and beyond. Right now, only 0.002% of women and .00002% of men live to become a supercentenarian. What if we could change those odds to the current odds of reaching 60 years of age after surviving childhood (91% for women and 85% for men)?

Human life extension is both science and art. It seeks to extend the maximum human lifespan while also lengthening the amount of time people spend in the prime of their physical lives.

As beautiful as the possibility sounds, theres a lot of skepticism about whether or not its possible to accomplish.

There is one major scientific discovery that indicates human life extension beyond 125 may be impossible, or at least highly improbable. Its worth acknowledging this discovery before going into all the reasons why we do think human life extension is possible.

That discovery is called the Hayflick limit.

Like cells in every other living organism, human cells divide to create daughter cells. Cell divisionand the accuracy of their replication of the mother cellis important to sustaining a healthy body; without it, you would likely die almost immediately, as its cell division that underpins the systems keeping your skin attached to your body, your brain secured in your head, and your heart beating reliably.

After several divisions, cells can either continue dividing, die, or become senescent. In broad terms, senescent cells are cells that are no longer capable of dividing. These cells are not dead but, like undead zombies, they remain active in the body.

While senescent cells are useful for repairing tissue damage, they are largely harmful to the body. Research has correlated senescent cells with cancerous tumor progression, Alzheimers, and age-related loss of muscle mass. In other words, the more senescent cells you have, the more likely you are to be biologically olderand the more prone you are to age-related diseases (youll remember cellular senescence is one of the nine hallmarks of aging we listed above).

While researching cellular division in 1961, Leonard Hayflick discovered that human fetal cells can divide up to 60 times before dying (entering apoptosisA programmed 'cell death' to get rid of damaged or malfunctioning cells. Cancer cells are cells that have malfunctioned but avoided apoptosis and continue dividing.) or becoming senescent. This theory was bolstered when Elizabeth Blackburn and her colleagues discovered telomeres. Telomeres are like a bleed for a printing jobthey protect the DNA inside chromosomes from getting cut off when a cell divides (or prints). Every time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter. Cells with shorter telomeres are more likely to become senescent.

The Hayflick limit would support what some other scientists have found from census data and mathematical models: it is impossible for humans to live past 125 because of the inevitable accumulation of senescent cells and absence of healthy cells.

The Hayflick limit is the best argument against investing more time and energy into human life extension research (unless you believe that its unethical to try to extend human life). And though the Hayflick limit is compelling, we argue that its not a good enough reason to cease all investigations into living longer, healthier lives. For example:

So now that weve gone over the main arguments against the possibility of human life extension (that our cells have an in-built limit that, even if we cured every other disease, would still cause us to age and die), now we want to share the scientific evidence that has made us so excited about this field.

The first thing you should be aware of is that scientists know, and have known for decades (or almost a century in some cases) how to extend the healthy lifespan of a host of different organisms. In fact, in many of these organisms, specifically in animal studies, life extension interventions are so trivially easy and commonplace they are almost unremarked on anymore.

For instance, in 1988 scientists discovered that a gene mutation in the worm C. elegans that promoted greater autophagyThe process cells use to clean out damaged parts of themselves and regenerate new healthy cells. Ancient Greek for 'self' (auto) 'eating' (phagein). (literally meaning self eating of the junk and damaged cells that build up in the body over time) resulted in extending the maximum lifespan of the mutant worms by 110%, an extension that, in humans, would have extended average lifespan to 168 years.

This led to lots of research around methods to induce autophagy without having to breed a genetically altered organism. One of the most successful methods of doing so was caloric restriction. Basically, if you starve an organism, its body activates autophagy pathways in order to convert its accumulated molecular junk (like dangerous senescent cells and mutated pre-cancerous parts of cells) into energy.

The longevity-promoting effects of moderate starvation have been known as far back as 1914, when a study showed that caloric restriction in mice inhibited tumor growth, while in 1935 a different study showed that caloric restriction increased average rat lifespan from 483 days to 894 days. In humans, that would be the equivalent of getting an extra seven decades of life.

Caloric restriction has now been found to extend lifespan in organisms as varied as yeast, fish, dogs, worms, and hamsters. It also has longevity-promoting effects even if started later in life. The fact that it extends healthy lifespan in such a wide variety of different animals and life forms means it likely impacts humans in similar ways, too.

And, luckily for those of us who dont want to be perpetually hungry, recent research has shown intermittent fasting (limiting the time you eat to a specific daily window, but not limiting the amount you eat) and even drugs that act as calorie restriction mimetics can have similar effects.

In addition to caloric restriction, scientists have also found a host of different genetic pathways they can tweak to increase lifespan in fruit flies, worms, mice, and all kinds of other animals.

One method found you could breed longevity into fruit flies by pairing off the longest-lived members of a group of flies until, after a few generations, you had fruit fly descendants that live twice as long as their ancestors.

Other methods have shown genes that downregulate insulin signalling can increase lifespan by 18% in mice, and as much as 500% in roundworms, genes that activate sirtuinsLongevity enyzmes that repair damaged parts of DNA. Named after the first sirtuin gene discovered in yeast, SIR2. (a type of body-repair protein) also increase mice lifespan, and a gene therapy that increases telomeres (the caps at the ends of DNA chromosome strands) in mice increases lifespan up to 24%.

A 2020 paper showed that treatment with specific stem cell genetic factors could reverse the age of damaged mouse optic nerve cells and even allow them to regrow and restore vision.

And beyond the genetic angle, a multitude of other therapies and interventions have shown life extension and even aging reversal in lots of different animals.

One such intervention you may already be familiar with given its popularization by the media and comedy TV shows like HBOs Silicon Valley: blood transfusions.

A 1972 study stitched together old and young mice in a process known as parabiosisLiterally meaning 'living beside' and referring to the anatomical joining of two individuals. A little creepy., allowing the two to share each-others blood, and found that older mice lived four to five months longer than controls.

Since then, additional studies of mice and rats have shown that older mice given transfusions of blood from younger, healthy mice exhibit lots of signs of increased vitality and healthy tissue rejuvenation as well as signs of actually reversed aging up to 54% (as measured by an epigenetic clockA blood test that looks at epigenetic changes to the body, like methyl groups attached to DNA, to predict biological age.).

And, in fact, even just replacing a portion of old blood with a saline-albumin solution seems to rejuvenate mice, possibly by removing toxic, pro-aging signaling molecules from circulation.

But certain drugs have also been shown to increase lifespan in animals, possibly by mimicking the effects of things like caloric restriction or by activating other body repair and longevity pathways.

For instance, metformin, a common (and inexpensive) diabetes drug, has been shown to extend maximum lifespan in mice more than 10%.

Resveratrol, a compound found in small amounts in things like red wine and blueberries, increases lifespan in a host of different organisms from yeast to worms, and also increases survival rates for mice fed an unhealthy, high-calorie diet.

And rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug first discovered in bacteria on Easter Island, has been shown to extend life in fruit flies, worms, and rather famously in aged mice (this specific study won the Methuselah Foundations M-Prize for its results) .

FOXO4-DRI, a senolyticA drug being developed to selectively destroy senescent cells. From 'senescent' and '-lytic,' meaning 'destroying.' peptide that induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in senescent cells, has been shown in mice to restore fitness, hair density, and renal function in fast-[aging] and naturally aged mice.

Two other senolytics, Dasatinib and Quercetin, have been shown to alleviate age-related cognitive impairment and brain inflammation in mice.

As you can see, there are reams upon reams of studies showing we can slow, treat, and even reverse aging across a whole host of different animals and model organisms.

And all the stuff discussed and linked above? All that is only scratching the surface of all the anti-aging animal research thats out there.

Really, its a lot.

So if youre still of the opinion that aging cant be treated or prevented, the sheer volume of studies showing it can be done in animals should maybe give you pause.

But of course, all the animal studies in the world dont mean a thing if none of that can be translated into humans.

Luckily, theres already quite a bit of evidence that these results can be replicated in our own species.

While its very difficult for a human trial to show actual life extension from any particular treatment (because youd have to wait 80+ years for everyone in the trial to die) other measures of healthspan can be used in humans to show apparent longevity and anti-aging effects.

For example, things like immune function, tissue elasticity/regrowth, and decreased cancer risk can all be used as longevity biomarkers to measure possible anti-aging treatments on humans.

And many of the same methods that increase lifespan in animals have been shown to have positive impacts on health indicators in humans as well.

For example, a recent two-year study of 238 healthy men and women aged 21-50 called CALERIE found that caloric restriction lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, and decreases inflammatory factors in the blood while increasing insulin sensitivityThis is a good thing. You want to be more sensitive to insulin because it allows your cells to use blood glucose more efficiently and reduce blood sugar..

A 1957 Spanish study of older people in a nursing home also found that intermittent fasting using an alternate-day fasting method (fewer calories every other day but the same total calories as controls) led to fewer deaths in the subjects (6 vs. 13 for people not doing the intermittent fasting) and fewer days spent in the hospital as well (123 days vs. 219 for controls).

Intermittent fasting has also been shown in men to lower blood pressure, decrease oxidative stress, and increase insulin sensitivity even without weight loss.

Drugs that have been shown to extend lifespan in animals, like rapamycin, have also been shown in humans to have positive effects like improved immune function, better response to vaccines, and lower incidences of respiratory disease and other infections.

Metformin, the diabetes drug that was shown to possibly extend lifespan in mice by 10%, seems to be acting as a longevity drug in humans as well. In addition to being associated with lower cancer risk, according to a recent metformin meta-analysis, Diabetics taking metformin had significantly lower all-cause mortality than non-diabetics.

Additionally, dozens of drugs and therapies that target different aspects of the aging process have moved past animals and are already in human clinical trials.

In fact, a study much like the one that showed certain genetic factors could reverse aging in mouse retinas and restore vision has shown human cells can be similarly reprogrammed to look and act younger.

Two additional trials, both recent and both getting larger follow-up trials to attempt replication, have shown the first-ever recorded epigenetic age reversal in actual human beings (as opposed to just human cells in a culture dish).

The first, called the TRIIM trial (for ThymusThe small organ in your chest that creates immune T-cells. They're literally called 'T' cells for 'thymus.' Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation), treated nine men for one year using rhGH (human growth hormone), DHEAA natural hormone used by the body to create male and female sex hormones like androgen and estrogen. Like other hormones it declines in the body with age., metformin, zinc, and vitamin d3. The goal was to regenerate the thymus and help restore immune function in older men but, almost as an afterthought, each subject had their epigenetic age tested before and after the trial using Horvaths clock, one of the most accurate measures of biological age we have.

At the end of the trialand after a year of treatmentthe subjects were, on average, 2.5 years younger than they should have been (i.e. 1.5 years younger than their epigenetic ages at the beginning of the trial).

In addition, a whole host of relevant biomarkers improved, including regeneration of healthy thymus and bone marrow tissue, improved kidney function, positive changes to the ratio of immune cells in the blood, and even a reversal of gray hair reported in three subjects (and documented in two).

Already a larger TRIIM-X trial is being planned with the hopes of replicating these results with a bigger pool of subjects across a more varied range of age, sex, and ethnicity.

A second recent, but promising, intervention to show biological aging reversal in humans comes from a pilot consumer study by the company Ponce de Leon Health. The company makes a supplement called Rejuvant LifeTabs, whose active ingredient, calcium-alpha-ketoglutarateA form of mineral calcium used to restore normal calcium levels in the blood. Often used by bodybuilders who have low calcium due to high intake of protein supplements. or CaAKG, has been shown in a recent study to extend the median lifespan in mice by almost 20%.

According to Ponce de Leon Health, 17 customers had their biological age tested using an epigenetic clock before taking Rejuvant, and then again after taking it for four to six months. The results were encouraging, showing an average 8.5-year reduction in biological age across all 17 subjects.

Similar to the planned follow-up to the TRIIM trial, the company is hoping to replicate this early success with a larger, more rigorous clinical trial: Ponce De Leon is currently enrolling participants for a larger, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, to be conducted at Indiana University Medical Center later this year.

And, finally, a third study has also shown a reversal of human biological age by 1.96 years after eight weeks of treatment using diet and lifestyle interventions, including a Mediterranean-style diet high in cruciferous vegetables with some high-quality proteins like eggs and liver every week, plus 30 minutes of physical activity a day, and other interventions like breathing exercises.

While all the above is not conclusive evidence that eternal life is right around the corner, there are still compelling data showing that human life extension treatment is likely. Whats more, it may even be already available to a limited degree.

For the length of this article so far, weve been saying we a lot, and you may be wondering just who the authors of Longevity Advice are and why you should listen to these internet randos.

Well, first, to get the most important stuff out of the way right up front, there are a couple of things we are not:

What we are is a couple of interested amateurs who wanted to research this space for our own personal edification (and possible application) and who didnt really see a resource for people like us: people who want an introductory, but smart, guide to human life extension and to what sorts of things they can be doing now (not perpetually five years from now) to extend their lives and the lives of their loved ones based on good research.

On to the introductions:

More here:
Is Human Life Extension Possible? - Longevity Advice

To calculate prorated longevity, first calculate the full longevity amount the employee would receive at the next longevity anniversary.

Full Longevity = (Annual salary at time of separation) x (longevity %), rounded to the nearest dollar

Then calculate the prorated payment:

Prorated Longevity Payment = Full Longevity x (# of months now eligible / 12), rounded to the nearest cent

Example 1Employees TSSD is 2/1/93 and annual salary is $28,362. Last longevity payment received was in February 2003. Employee is terminating university/state employment on November 30, 2003.

Calculation is as follows:Full Longevity = $28,362 x 1.5% = $425.430, rounded to the nearest dollar = $425Prorated Longevity Payment = $425 x 10/12 = $354.166, rounded to the nearest cent = $354.17

Example 2Employees TSSD is 2/1/93 and annual salary is $28,362. Last longevity payment received was in February 2003. Employee is terminating university/state employment on November 10, 2003.

Calculation is as follows:Full Longevity = $28,362 x 1.5% = $425.430, rounded to the nearest dollar = $425Prorated Longevity Payment = $425 x 9/12 = $318.750, rounded to the nearest cent = $318.75

Notes:

See the article here:
Longevity Pay - UNC Human Resources

Turning back the biological clock is just the stuff of science fiction, right? Not quite. Recent studies have found that you can literally make yourself younger and increase your lifespan by making certain simple lifestyle choices. You can start doing some right now, right where you are. Read on to find out moreand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

A study recently published in the journal Cell Metabolism found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may reverse the aging of cells and muscles in older people. "Based on everything we know, there's no substitute for these exercise programs when it comes to delaying the aging process," says Sreekumaran Nair, MD, the study's lead author. "These things we are seeing cannot be done by any medicine."

He added: "We encourage everyone to exercise regularly, but the take-home message for aging adults that supervised high-intensity training is probably best, because, both metabolically and at the molecular level, it confers the most benefits."

Danish researchers recently found that regularly playing certain sports could extend your life expectancy by yearsin one case, by nearly a decade. The top contributors to longevity: tennis (9.7 years), badminton (6.2 years), and soccer (4.7 years). The 25-year study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, noted that all three sports are highly socialpotentially reinforcing previous research that's found social isolation and loneliness are associated with chronic illness and a shorter lifespan.

RELATED: Over 50? Don't Do This 5 Things Ever Again

This summer, researchers at Columbia University published a study that found gray hair really is caused by stressand aging might be paused or even turned back. The scientists observed stressed-out people with graying hair; they found that hair regained its color when the source of stress was removed. "Our data add to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that human aging is not a linear, fixed biological process but may, at least in part, be halted or even temporarily reversed," said Martin Picard, Ph.D., associate professor of behavioral medicine.

RELATED: I'm an ER Doctor and Here's What Omicron Feels Like

And on that note: "People who are in happier, more satisfying relationships live longer," Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, told CNN recently. The study, which has been ongoing for nearly a century, tracks the effect of various life changes on longevity. One major finding: "The most important predictor of who was going to be a healthy, happy octogenarian was how satisfied they were in their relationships," said Waldinger. Experts say you should consider social interaction to be as important to your health as diet and exercise.

RELATED: How to Smooth Out Your Wrinkles, Say Experts

Might be time to reschedule that dentist's appointment you've been avoiding for two years. According to a study published in the journal BMJ Open, people with high levels of dental plaque are 80 percent more likely to die prematurely of cancer than those who have a small amount of plaqueeven after adjusting for other major risk factors. The potential culprit: Bodywide inflammation, which can start in gums irritated by plaque. Cancer isn't the only potential dangerinflammation is so linked with the aging process that it's spurred the nickname "inflammaging." And to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

Link:
How to Turn Back the Clock on Aging, Say Experts Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

As the clock ticks to Dec. 31, 2021, theres also the acknowledgment that in a few days it will be January 2022. One question some people are asking quietly is, will I make it through 2022? Undoubtedly, it is a difficult question to answer.

In reflecting on our journey through 2021, we recall dramas related to COVID-19, too many gunshot deaths, family and friends who passed on and the associated stress. There were some things to smile at too. The hurricanes passed us by in 2021. Some of the money government withheld from its workers was refunded. The changes to the road east of the Legislatures building have made it scenic and different. Now, it should get a worthy name; one which evokes good, positive memories.

Usually, when a New Year begins, there is much thought about wellness. Some people set health goals and hope they can achieve them during the New Year. Unfortunately, when the year starts, young or old, sick or well, there is some uncertainty, which at times becomes stressful. And stress does have a negative impact on longevity. It is never a good experience to live with stress crippling ones life.

Meanwhile, even if we cannot answer the question about whether we will make it through the year, there are things we can do to insulate our bodies, making them resistant to illnesses. As we go through the year all of our lifestyle choices will matter.

One of the best paths to wellness and longevity for human beings is through the food we eat and drink. Always, we are what we eat. When we eat and drink junk food, our bodies become prone to numerous illnesses. During enslavement, black people were limited to left over foods. They got the blood and entrails from animals, while the planters ate the meat. Today, blood and entrails are still foods for some people. However, researchers and honest food specialists, now say that such foods are dangerous to health since they limit longevity. It is now an established fact that meats, which have been accepted as good for food and eaten through the years along with foods such as shell fish, can impact our wellness negatively.

In Blue Zones, where many people live beyond 90, they practice vegetarianism: including in their diets, greens, fruits and lots of vegetables. Sugar, salt and meats are avoided. In both young and older people, these three foods can impact wellness negatively. Water is also needed by our bodies daily and in good quantities. When this is not done, debilitating illnesses can result. Also, smoking and drinking of alcohol kill the body slowly. Our choices impact longevity.

Many people do begin the New Year pledging to eat better, walk more, and to include other exercises in their daily routine. They get started, slow down, then stop after a few weeks into the year. Despite such blunders, exercising on a regular basis remains an important path to longevity. Exercises impact the consumption of food, functioning of the heart, brain, ones attitude, and diminishes stress. While exercising is very important, one should also be aware that 24/7 work schedules can be detrimental to the body. When God created human beings, he suggested right at the start, work for six days and take one for rest.

Our societies are changed and have become very complex today. There are some people who rest seven days, while others work seven days. Neither approach to life is good for the body. If ones hope is to maintain wellness and make it safely through Dec. 31, 2022, paying attention to exercising, regular periods of rest, including hours of sound sleep daily, are all very important good health factors.

Working contributes to wellness and longevity, too. Usually we use our minds to set ourselves in place to get jobs. That includes study, learning, planning, relating to others, and exchanging ideas. All of these are aspects of human development. They contribute to wellness, and psychological normalcy. At times, too, working can bring on stress. Admittedly, any source of stress to the human body undermines wellness. Meanwhile, to go through life without having the opportunity to work, develop special skills, interact with others, and to participate in earning ones living, can have negative impacts on peoples lives and personalities, undermining sanity, wellness and longevity.

At the beginning of the New Year, young people must be included in the planning for wellness. Effort should be made by parents and societies to ensure that all children, not just some, are educated. Educating children in societies contributes to more than just personal wellness and longevity. Whenever children are not educated, such societies are doomed. Both the people and their culture die young. In every society, education is a necessary strategy for human success and long-term survival.

Being ethical when dealing with others contributes to wellness and longevity in societies. And despite the tendency at times to see one-self as the center, and to praise it for successes, human beings always need God, and a continuous development of the spiritual self. That ensures confidence, peace, and a certain calmness in this life. It also gives hope and assurance for the next!

Whitman Browne, Ph.D., St. Thomas, is a retired educator.

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A wish for hope and good health in the coming year - Virgin Islands Daily News