All posts tagged: active

Active Grandparenting Could Slow Brain Ageing

Active Grandparenting Could Slow Brain Ageing

Published by Sam Flores

Not all of our dementia risk is in our control. But The Lancet’s standing commission on dementia previously found that 45% of factors that can increase our likelihood of developing the condition are “potentially modifiable”. This includes things like not smoking, exercising more often, and controlling high blood pressure. But these might not be the only ways to lower our risk of cognitive decline, sometimes seen as a precursor to dementia. According to research published in Psychology and Ageing, being an active grandparent might slow brain ageing. “Grandparents who provide care for their grandchildren tend to show better cognitive functioning than those who do not” This paper looked at 2,887 grandparents aged 50+ (their average age was 67) who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Researchers asked participants to fill in questionnaires and take cognitive tests three times in the period from 2016-2022. Questions centred on how active grandparents were in their grandchildren’s lives, including by watching them overnight, caring for them while ill, helping them with homework, playing with them, prepping …

Ötzi’s frozen remains may harbour metabolically active microbes

Ötzi’s frozen remains may harbour metabolically active microbes

Published by skeptic

The mummy is preserved in a refrigeration chamber at a constant temperature of -6°C South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Eurac Research/Marion Lafogler Some of the microbes lingering on the 5300-year-old remains of “Ötzi the Iceman” may still be metabolically active, despite being kept in icy conservation conditions. Ötzi’s mummified body was discovered in 1991 thawing out of an Alpine glacier close to the border of Austria and Italy. He is estimated to have lived at some point between 3350 and 3120 BC, and in the 35 years since he was found, studies of his remains have revealed a treasure trove of information, including that he was probably dark-skinned and balding, had numerous tattoos and had a wound in his shoulder from an arrow, suggesting he was murdered. Ötzi is now kept at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy, in conditions designed to mimic some of those inside the glacier where he was found: a temperature of -6°C (21°F) and a relative humidity of 99 per cent. Frank Maixner at Eurac Research’s Institute for Mummy Studies in …

Scientists reveal the brain’s surprisingly active role in building exercise endurance

Scientists reveal the brain’s surprisingly active role in building exercise endurance

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in the journal Neuron suggests that the brain plays a direct role in how the body builds endurance after physical activity. Scientists found that a specific group of brain cells springs into action immediately after a workout, sending signals that tell the muscles to adapt and grow stronger. This research provides evidence that the benefits of exercise depend on the brain as much as they depend on the muscles themselves. The study was led by J. Nicholas Betley, a professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, Erik Bloss, an assistant professor at The Jackson Laboratory, and Kevin W. Williams, an associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The project’s co-first authors were Morgan Kindel, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ryan J. Post, an assistant professor at Providence College. The scientists conducted the research to explore how physical training creates long-lasting health benefits. People naturally assume that building endurance is a process that happens entirely within the body. When a person …

San Diego police say they are responding to an active shooter at a local mosque

San Diego police say they are responding to an active shooter at a local mosque

Published by Sam Flores

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An active shooter opened fire at a San Diego mosque Monday, and police believe people have been shot, authorities said. Officer Anthony Carrasco said people reported multiple shots at the Islamic Center of San Diego, about 9 miles (14 km) north of downtown San Diego. It was unclear if the shooter was outside or inside, or had been captured yet. The San Diego Police Department posted that the scene is “still active but contained.” Carrasco said he did not have more information at the moment. The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website. The campus includes the Al Rashid School, which the website says offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran. Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the center that is surrounded by scores of police vehicles. The white mosque is in a neighborhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets. Gov. …

Cosmic beacon unveiled inside nearby active galaxy by JWST

Cosmic beacon unveiled inside nearby active galaxy by JWST

Published by Jenni Sidey

As far as galaxies go, our Milky Way is a relatively quiet place. Sure, there are star-forming regions that are active right now within our galactic plane, giving birth to thousands of new stars at once over timescales of a few million years, including relatively nearby in places like the Orion Nebula. But most of our galaxy isn’t forming stars, just a few select locations along our spiral arms. In terms of the overall star-formation rate, we form less than one solar mass’s worth of new stars with each year that passes. Even our galactic center is relatively quiet, with just the occasional “blip” in X-ray light emanating from our own supermassive black hole. Across the Universe, however, there are many galaxies that are much more active than we are. This includes: galaxies that are undergoing intense episodes of star-formation across large regions, galaxies where gas in the central regions are rapidly forming new stars all at once, and galaxies whose central nucleus is actively feeding right now, creating copious high-energy signatures that our own …

Here’s What It’s Like Shooting a Fashion Campaign Inside an Active Volcano

Here’s What It’s Like Shooting a Fashion Campaign Inside an Active Volcano

Published by Jenni Sidey

“You can mitigate as much risk as possible, but yeah, it is a dangerous environment, and there’s a beauty to be found in dangerous environments,” Chris Horsley tells me. The renowned volcano specialist is calling in from his home in Scotland at the moment, but over the past dozen years, he has climbed up, descended into, and even boarded down the fire-breathing mountains. One thing he’d never done in or on a volcano until recently, however? Model for one of the world’s biggest luxury outerwear brands. Horsley is one of the faces of the latest campaign by Snow Goose, the fashion-forward Canada Goose offshoot led by designer Haider Ackermann. To launch its spring-summer 2026 line, Snow Goose cooked up the Adrenaline Expedition series, which sent three extreme athletes off to farflung destinations. For Horsley, that meant a trip to Mount Yasur in Vanuatu, a tiny archipelagic country in the South Pacific. There, the thrill seeker put some of the label’s latest threads through its paces under some of the most harrowing conditions on the planet. …

The daily habits an active 85-year-old uses to “fight off old age”

The daily habits an active 85-year-old uses to “fight off old age”

Published by Jenni Sidey

At 85 years young, Jim Owen believes he’s only getting better with age. Technically, he’s only really in the early stages of his fitness journey, having gone from a “35lb overweight couch potato” at 70 to a 10-time San Diego Senior Games gold medal winner. Those past 15 years have proven to him that it’s never too late to take control of your health and fitness, and he’s spreading the message with a short film, The Virtuous Circle: A Geezer’s Guide to Successful Aging, which premieres on PBS on May 17. Latest Videos From You may like Now, the former Wall Street executive has a set of daily rituals or habits he adheres to, which he believes help him “live young” and “fight off old age”. 1. He starts the day with shadow boxing Owen starts every day the same way: he looks in the mirror, puts his hands up and starts throwing jabs. “It’s the first thing I do every morning,” he tells Fit&Well. “Call me crazy. I do shadow boxing. I’ve got boxing …

‘Active’ man died eight months after terminal cancer diagnosis – despite showing no signs

‘Active’ man died eight months after terminal cancer diagnosis – despite showing no signs

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore A widow whose husband died just eight months after a terminal cancer diagnosis, despite showing no prior “signs”, has shared how navigating her grief taught her that “life is for living”. Jemma Hough, 42, from Sharnbrook, north Bedfordshire, said her husband Jon had initially dismissed stomach pain and weight gain in March 2024 to middle age or food intolerances. However, tests in July 2024 revealed he had stage 4 terminal cancer of unknown primary, believed to be centred around the stomach, in July 2024, with doctors giving him only “weeks” to live. While his chemotherapy was initially like “magic juice”, it soon brought on severe fatigue, nausea and sickness – and in February 2025, doctors said the treatment was no longer effective. Jon was moved into a hospice for the final weeks of his life before he died on March 24 …

Royal Navy warship HMS Iron Duke ‘quietly withdrawn’ to leave Britain with just five active frigates

Royal Navy warship HMS Iron Duke ‘quietly withdrawn’ to leave Britain with just five active frigates

Published by Sam Flores

The Royal Navy’s active frigate fleet has reportedly shrunk to just five vessels after HMS Iron Duke was effectively taken out of service, despite no official decommissioning announcement. The Type 23 warship has been stripped of its weapons and sensors and has not been operational at sea since last October, according to specialist news website Navy Lookout. This development comes as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) progresses plans to replace its Type 23 frigates, including HMS Iron Duke, with a new generation of warships. Eight anti-submarine warfare Type 26 frigates are expected to join the fleet before 2030, complemented by five general-purpose Type 31 frigates. The MoD plans to replace Type 23 frigates, including HMS Iron Duke, with a new generation of warships (PA Media) The modernisation aims to build a “hybrid” force, integrating crewed ships with drones and other advanced technology, a vision outlined by First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins. The decision to effectively sideline HMS Iron Duke follows the government’s confirmation last November that a planned conversion project for the vessel …

Was your grandmother religious? And if she is still alive, is she still active in a religion? – OpentheWord.org

Was your grandmother religious? And if she is still alive, is she still active in a religion? – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

When I was a boy, my parents took us to church, or sent us, at least three times a week. My father often worked away from home, so Mom kept the faith, at home. I just got used to the idea that women are religious, and men support them. That was an older generation, and probably most other people my age had the same experience. I had some good friends, two boys, in my neighborhood, and their mother was searching for something to believe. At least that’s what I was told. One day, someone knocked on her door to talk about God. Those people were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they convinced the mother of my friends to join them. I still remember trying to sleep, on a Saturday morning, when someone knocked on the front door of our house. I knew what was going to happen after that. My sleep time was over. My religious mother would open the door, and a team of Jehovah’s Witnesses would be there to speak to her. That team included …