It’s Bathtub Party Day, so grab a rubber ducky and have yourself a lovely soak.
The warm water already soothes muscles, but consider adding Epsom salt for minerals, music for stress relief (music also helps your brain enter ‘default mode network,’ which promotes cellular healing), and diffusing the essential oil of oregano, which has shown some of the highest antioxidant power. 🌿🎶
This week. The gut-brain connection, the sisters shaking up longevity, a surprising benefit of hot tubs, and the “Batman Effect.” 🦸♂️🧠
Let’s go!
Quick Poll
We’re talking about the ‘Batman Effect’ today. We want to know:
Which superhero shaped the person you’ve become today?
Spotlight
Eavesdropping on the Gut-Brain conversation
Researchers have crafted an implant that listens to the hidden conversation between the gut and the brain, a conversation that influences everything from digestion to mood. 🌀
📡 Published in Nature, the device—developed by teams at Cambridge and Dartmouth—captures electrical signals produced in the gut in real time.
This allows it to function like a wiretap that “eavesdrop[s] on live neural traffic” between the enteric nervous system, the ‘second brain’ in our intestines, and the brain, according to The Rundown Tech. 🧩
The key: This new monitor, already tested in rodents and pigs, tracks how the gut responds to stress, eating, and other physiological signals while the animals are awake. 📊
Why this matters:
Researchers have long suspected that the gut-brain axis plays a role in many conditions affecting digestion and beyond (with recent data suggesting a link to Parkinson’s disease) 🔬. But tracking this conversation has been notoriously difficult, says the co-first author, Dr Alex Boys of Dartmouth, in a press release.
The new tool could lead researchers to discover more insights into how brain signals affect the entire body, supporting the development of diagnostic tools and treatments that target the brain to improve gut health–and vice versa. 🔄✨
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Wellness Watch
These sisters are shaking up longevity
Using AI, they discovered what they believe to be the most effective path to longevity.
IMAGE CREDIT: TOM JACKSON FOR THE TIMES MAGAZINE.
“I’d like to get the first drug approved for aging,” says Dr. Carina Kern, in The Times.
🧬 Kern and sister Serena Kern-Libera are the founders of LinkGevity, and they believe the quickest path to greater health span (disease-free years) lies in targeting key ‘nodes,’ or biological processes. Their first node of business is to prevent necrosis, or premature cell death. 💥
Hitting the right ‘node ’: The shortcut to slowing aging
Using AI, they discovered that targeting necrosis could involve altering the function of the cell membrane. This is a bodyguard-like barrier in our cells.
⚠️ When the cell membrane gets weak, too much calcium enters the cell, causing it to die.
💊 The fix, based on findings, is to block excess calcium from entering cells.
Encouraging preclinical data in mice show that blocking the cell’s calcium uptake preserves cells and reduces tissue damage! Where some drugs show promise because they get rid of unhealthy cells, LinkGevity’s necrosis drug targets how a cell functions.
🚀 The takeaway: The research is early, but promising. It’s attracting NASA and major investors, and human studies are next. They’ll focus on kidney necrosis, one of the most susceptible organs to necrosis. Kidney disease is also a leading cause of death globally.
Step Into Leadership. Become a Livelong Ambassador!
We’re looking for someone who can propel the movement. If that’s you, we want you on our team for the upcoming Livelong Women’s Health Summit. As an Ambassador, you’ll amplify a movement, connect with an inspiring community, and help shape a global movement. Reach out to [email protected] and let’s get the conversation started.
In Other News
Hot tubs might beat the sauna – here’s how
Sauna is one of the hottest longevity interventions, but hot tubs might have a hidden advantage.
In a study from the University of Oregon, which compared a dry sauna, a far-infrared sauna, and hot-water immersion (i.e., hot tub), only the hot tub produced an immune-boosting inflammatory response. 🌡️
Unlike a sauna, hot water inhibits the ability to sweat. It had the biggest impact on core body temperature, creating an inflammatory response that could support immune health, explains study author Jessica Atencio. ➡️🔥
Heat for the ages: Participants were 20-somethings, but adults in their 50s and beyond can benefit from heat therapy, which can have an effect not unlike exercise, improving blood flow, vascular health, and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. ❤️🔥💪
Long-levity: Because happiness cultivates health
What Batman Teaches Us About Aging Better
In a new social experiment, Italian researchers discovered that Batman makes people kinder. 🥹 When a man dressed as Batman entered a subway car, two-thirds (67.21%) of passengers offered their seats to another person. Only around 38% offered up their seat when he wasn’t on board. 💺➡️💛
What Batman? Almost half of the riders didn’t consciously notice Batman was even there. Nevertheless, researchers believe his presence may unknowingly shake people from their routine. 🌪️
Beyond its role in deriving fulfillment from life, kindness is linked to better aging and lower mortality risk. Kindness (prosocial behavior):
Reduces cortisol and disease risk
Increases empathy and connection: these strengthen relationships, among the strongest predictors of longevity 💞
If you ever feel like donning a cape, science shows it adds a little more kindness (and health) into the world. 🦸♂️✨
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Longevity We’re Loving
FROM THE LIVELONG WOMEN: Are you missing this important health screening? Read more.
THE PEPTIDE PROMISE: What dermatologists want you to know before using peptide skincare. Read more.
POLL RESPONSE: Which part of longevity feels most worth spending on right now?
The top 3 responses:
Strength + Muscle
Sleep + Rest
Stress + Mental Health
Strength is crucial for being independent and active. It looks like hikes with friends. Playing with the grandchildren. Lifting a suitcase. But all of this matters for longevity. One Livelong reader says that good sleep feels like winning the lottery, showing that the return on investment is worth so much more than the spend.
Thanks for reading!
The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.
