Blood levels of proteins reflect the starting, stopping, and changing of biological processes linked to aging. We make significant changes at three ages. — “The wiser mind mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves behind.” This is the insightful observation of William Wordsworth (1770–1850), the English romantic who (along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge) helped initiate the Romantic Age in English literature. Together, they published Lyrical Ballads in 1798.

SENSITIVITY TO PARTICULAR ODORS correlates with depression or anxiety symptoms. That’s the conclusion of researchers who examined more than 400 subjects. Anxiety symptoms appeared associated with a heightened sensitivity to floral or kitchen smells. Depression seemed linked to an increased awareness of social odors (for example, the “good” and “bad”…

ONE MILLION. THAT’S THE NUMBER OF COVID-19 DEATHS we will soon reach in the United States. That’s more ​​than have died in two decades of car crashes or on battlefields in all of the country’s wars combined. An acquaintance recently reported his infection from the novel coronavirus. Heeding President Biden’s…

“You just can’t differentiate between a robot and the very best of humans.” ― Isaac Asimov, I, Robot BREAST DENSITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH BREAST CANCER RISK. Denser breasts are also more challenging to image; I often allude to trying to find cancer as “looking for a snowball in a snow…

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS POISON FOR YOUR HEALTH. The condition is associated with colorectal cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and more. That’s the bad news. The good? Certain physical activities can reduce your inflammation. Today we turn to three of my favorite ways to reduce chronic…

SKIN BIOPSIES CAN BE PAINFUL. In this context, researchers are developing a low-cost handheld device that may eliminate about half of all skin biopsies, providing rapid diagnoses for skin lesions. Unfortunately, our current management strategies concerning skin lesions leave much to be desired: Biopsies have recently grown approximately four times…

DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ARE FLUSHING valuable health information down the toilet every day? Our bowel movements are full of biomarkers for various conditions, including cancer, COVID-19, irritable bowel disease, etc. I don’t know about you, but I have no great desire to frequently obtain stool samples to send…

A new study on time-restricted feeding is raising eyebrows. — “INTERMITTENT FASTING ISN’T A MAGIC DIET TRICK AFTER ALL.” That is the headline I spotted after researchers recently published a weight-loss study. Time-restricted eating (or intermittent fasting) has been among the most popular recent health trends. …

MAY IS SKIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. I want to review five ways to reduce your risk of getting skin cancer. Spring seems elusive this year for those of us in the Seattle area. …