🧠🫀Smorgasbord of features on rest and more

This week, quite an eclectic mix of news and features!

Autumn (or fall) has arrived! Hot chocolate bombs and creative rest feature while soup features as unusual art! We lost the genius of Robbie Coltrane (and so the lovable Hagrid).

There's more alarming climate news about wildlife depletion,. There's a positive and a negative story in Feminist Features (all I can say is that Nancy Pelosi is the real deal!)

We learned more about how the gut microbiome and its potential around social anxiety therapy as well human brain cells meshing with rat brain cells to further improve our understanding of human brain conditions. Stanford and Caltech leading the way.

Please share the newsletter and let me know what you'd like to see here and what you think of this newsletter's choices.

Sunflowers survived Soup

Van Gogh's masterpiece 'Sunflowers' was attacked with soup at London's National Gallery this week. It looked rather like Heinz Tomato Soup and miraculously the masterpiece is apparently unharmed. This was part of a protest by climate protestors and the photo by Just Stop Oil.

While they are certainly creative in their protests, they're not always featured in MSM. Does the lack of coverage encourage or discourage the escalation of their protests? Aren't we better to engage with them, as well as the issue?

Poor LDV - others glued themselves to the frame of 'The Last Supper' - surely that one was more suited to soup?

TeleHealth News and funding

Stat Health tells us white, urban higher-educated people more commonlkyb use Telehealth. That's prbably not a surprise.

It is interesting that of the HealthTech Startups getting funded include $30 M for Folx Health for queer and trans people including expert-led support groups and later emotional and behaviour support via an app. Also Shimmer for adult ADHD support.

Just as the Telehealth data isn't surprising these previously marginalised groups may have resources to use these services.

We Lost Hagrid & Fitz

Robbie Coltrane (Anthony Robert McMillan a real Glaswegian like myself) died this weekend at 72. He oozed fun even after finding success in Cracker as the rather flawed alcoholic forensic psychologist Fitz (you couldn't help loving him anyway) where he won 3 BAFTAs. I hadn't realised his dad was a GP and forensic police surgeon - Rutherglen back in the day will have been pretty exciting!)

His character in the Harry Potter movies was iconic. Hell, he was iconic, and a film star! He acted a little slow in the role while having some cunning plans - always with a sparkle.That's what we'll miss most - that hint of naughtiness with a heart of gold.

My only claim to fame with the Potter franchise is having been in the same year as JK Rowling's husband (and his first wife). He was quiet & strikingly similar to Harry Potter (including in our Yearbook - minus the scar). I'm sure that is purely coincidental!

I had to share this tweet from Stephen Fry - honking helplessly is something we could all use!

Ukraine's Starlink Satellite Internet for Ukraine dropped

Elon Musk announced that he could no longer fund this vital service. The Twitter legal wranglings may have impacted this.

Rogue or genius?

This was needed and now is critical. Without him it may not have happened.

There may have been a significant shift in the Ukraine war (Putin rumoured to be open to talks), and who knew it would last this long at the start?

Did he always know and know that it needed to happen quickly and that the US would eventually pick up the tab - was it his plan all along?

Perhaps the Stralink logo directly entering his ear here was partly to blame?

Elon gonna Elon as they say!

Friday was National Desert Day

Seemed churlish not to celebrate it this side of the pond!

Fall is here (autumn to us!) and pumpkin spice will be wafting very soon. Meantime I spotted my favourite hot chocolate bombs again this year.

Add them to milk and the chocolate bomb melts exploding open a pile of mini-marshmallows. If you think you can beat that - I'm up for it. Let me know!

You can even make your own. I'm so up for that!

New Discovery - Wait but Why Website

Is it a blog or something else? It seems made for me - it questions anything and everything & deep dives into it.

Real research, presented graphically. I've shared the FAQs because they are hilarious and the site is awesome.

How did I come across it?

Via Morning Brew the world's top Newsletter. See Newsletters are great! This newsletter is hosted by some of the original Morning Brew creators at Beehiiv (which is particularly awesome - check it out here). Morning Brew talked about Tim Urban from Wait But Why posing a thought discussion.

🥁🥁🥁

What's something thought healthy today that we'll later shake our heads at?

Or the inverse, what is seen now as unhealthy but you see as healthy (they suggested Mountain Dew!)

Climate News

We have lost 69% of the global wildlife population in under 50 years (in my lifetime), mostly from farming encroaching their habitats, driven partly by climate change. Only 37% of rivers longer than 600 miles flow freely along their full length having devastating effects on local habitats.

Which species? There were 5000 examined including pink Brazilian dolphins (quite an image) as well as gorillas and others.

I hope to have many more years and how many more will be lost? Hopes are pinned on a global meeting in Montreal in December to provide resources and impetus. Do it for the pink dolphins.

Via Reuters Oct 13

Creative Rest

Who knew there were 7 types of rest? 7!

the others are:

• sensory

• social

• spiritual

• emotional

• mental

• of course physical - the most important though not enough in isolation

Feeling meh? It might be lifestyle fatigue rather than burnout

For creative rest, try (fun not talent required)

• Listening to music

• Painting

• Colouring

• A walk outside

• Mooching around a shop

• Learning something new

• Take a real day off!

Happy to try all of them. Years ago I did a Bootcamp at Champneys. It was great and let me try out a whole smorgasbord of activities to see not only what I enjoyed but what worked well for me. Zumba and fast walking at it turned out were effective, the infrared heat therapy and thalassotherapy were my favourite experiences.

I thought it might work for busy folk to have snippets of different practices rather than long painful mandatory ones! So trying restorative yoga poses, different coloured sounds (weird concept, huh?) Tai-Chi and more. Like a buffet to see what you like and then choose to go back for more.

Microbiome Bacteria could unlock Mental Health Benefits

Mazmanian's lab @ Caltech discovered that in mice specific microbes alone could activate part of the hypothalamus to reduce corticosterone the stress hormone. Higher levels in mice were associated with reduced microbiomes. One particular bacteria (Enterococcus Faecalis - literally round gut bug found in faeces) was found to promote social activity and reduce corticosterone levels following social stress. (Invasive forms of it cause UTIs in kids and sepsis in tiny ones occasionally so sure this is a different strain!)

Alongside this, Stanford scientists have transplanted human brain cells into mice brains. The human cells grew and connected with the rat brain cells creating so-called hybrid circuits. While I see the massive potential of this (autism, schizophrenia and more) - the logistics of it make me feel quite unwell.

Feminism Feature(s)

2 this week

1) The Mayo Clinic analysed 91 000 messages in its Electronic Medical Record, and women were twice as likely to be addressed by their first name. I only usually use mine (Paediatrics & ED are a bit of an extreme for this).

They noted though that patients used casual text tone even when addressing female doctors who had introduced themselves as their full title. It was even more pronounced for Osteopaths and Primary Care Physicians. So-called untitling is subtle.

I probably wouldn't have been too upset by the title issue. It also appears that women doctors got many more messages from patients too.

These effects accumulate and can lead to burnout and loss from the profession.

2) Badass Nancy Pelosi was featured in Jan 6th footage.

Despite being in actual mortal danger (and a specific target) she was icy calm and laser-focused on certifying the election results to prevent the intruders from further damage. She calmly rung adjacent state governors to help. The men who helped were clearly more scared. The men who didn't help included some who literally ran away.

The Guardian asks 'do you believe this?' - oh yeah! Totally!

Go Nancy - a lifetime of service and this proves she's the real deal.

Until next time let's all channel our inner Nancy!