Medicine Shows Growing Potential to Repair and Regenerate Body Parts
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine uses 3-D bio-printing to build tissue and, in some cases, entire organs for human transplantation.Illustration: Wake Forest Baptist Health
By Diane Cole
The idea of the body healing itself may be close to making a huge leap forward. Much closer than we think.
The rapidly evolving field of regenerative medicine—including stem cells, 3-D printing and bioengineering, among other technologies—is helping repair, and even regenerate, body parts and tissues damaged by disease, trauma or age.
“Regenerative medicine is not trying to create the bionic man but to harness the healing powers of the human body and buttress them,” says Andre Terzic, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine in Rochester, Minn. That means treating chronic or degenerative ailments and replacing failing organs. In the U.S. alone, more than 120,000 people are on organ-transplant waiting lists.
Predictions, of course, are not always borne out. But “we’re making an awful lot of solid discoveries,” says Rosemarie Hunziker, director of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in Bethesda, Md.
Here’s a peek into what regenerative medicine’s human body shop may offer in the next decade.
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is using 3-D bio-printing to automate the process of building human organs for eventual use in transplant surgery. An earlier version of the accompanying graphic stated incorrectly that printed organs have already been implanted in humans. (July 10, 2015)
15 Habits That Will Totally Transform Your Productivity
People who manage to get a lot accomplished each day aren't super human, they've just mastered a few simple habits. Some may be easy to guess: Keep your desk organized and aim for around eight hours of sleep a night. But others, like taking a mid-day nap or complaining, might surprise you.
Here are 15 easy ways to make every day more productive:
Creativity may arise from chaos, but a litter-strewn office probably isn’t helping you get stuff done. "Attention is programmed to pick up what’s novel," says Josh Davis, director of research at the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of Two Awesome Hours. Visible files remind you of unfinished tasks. An unread book is temptation for procrastination. Even if you don’t think you’re noticing the disorder, it hurts your ability to focus.
People with neat offices are more persistent and less frustrated and weary, according to a recent study in Harvard Business Review, which found that a clean desk helps you stick with a task more than one and a half times longer. "While it can be comforting to relax in your mess, a disorganized environment can be a real obstacle," says Grace Chae, a professor at Fox School of Business at Temple University and coauthor of the study.
No matter how crazy your days get, make sure you carve out and ruthlessly protect just 90 minutes—20% of an eight-hour day—for the most important tasks. "Even if you squander the remaining 80% of the day, you can still make great progress if you have spent 90 minutes on your goals or priorities," says Charlotte, North Carolina–based productivity coach Kimberly Medlock.
Think you can get more done by tacking on extra hours? According to a 2014 study by Stanford professor John Pencavel, who examined data from laborers during World War I, output was proportionate to time worked—up to 49 hours. Beyond that, it rose at a decreasing rate, and those who put in 70 hours had the same productivity as someone who worked 56 hours.
You might believe you’re ignoring your iPhone, but unless it’s fully turned off, it’s a major distraction. In a report published this year in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, researchers from Florida State University found that even if you don’t look at your phone when it buzzes, the sound makes your mind wander.
How Alexandra Samuel, author of Work Smarter With Social Media, avoids getting distracted when she’s waiting for an important message:
1. Find the email-to-text format for your cell-phone provider with a quick Google search. Verizon, for example, is @vtext.com, so if your mobile number is 555-123-4567, your address is 5551234567@vtext.com.
2. Using that address, set up your email so it forwards messages from a specific sender to your cell phone via text (in Outlook, find "Rules" in the "Tools" task bar).
3. Shut down your inbox and ignore your emails while focusing on more pressing tasks, knowing you’ll be alerted when the important message comes in.
People are more efficient at things that come naturally, while tasks that feel like a struggle are likely to impede progress. If you can, delegate the duties that feel like an effort, and instead focus on "high value activities." "HVAs are within your mission, leverage your strengths, and create impact or change," says Hillary Rettig, author of The Seven Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer’s Block. "They also create clarity and open your schedule." Delegating your non–HVA activities also helps create community. After all, they could very well be someone else’s HVAs.
Many meetings don’t have a particular agenda, but it’s important to know what you want to accomplish going in. "Keep meetings short by limiting the agenda to three items or less," says Alan Eisner, professor of management at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. "Afterward, send out minutes using your agenda so everyone knows what to work on."
Put nonagenda thoughts into an "idea parking lot." "People bring up ideas that are important to them but not on-topic," says Cary Greene, coauthor of Simple Sabotage: A Modern Field Manual for Detecting & Rooting Out Everyday Behaviors That Undermine Your Workplace. "Instead of losing them, write them down." Don’t let the parking lot be a black hole: Assign follow-up steps right at the end of the meeting.
Walking meetings are gaining popularity, but you can get a similar benefit without hitting the hallway. Set a timer for 30 to 45 minutes. When it goes off, have everyone get up and move. "You can stand and shake it out a bit as a group, which lightens everyone up," says workplace psychologist Karissa Thacker. "Moving regularly is good for us in all kinds of ways, including improving our ability to focus."
It might be tough to convince your boss, but researchers from the University of Michigan found that taking a daytime nap counteracts impulsive behavior and boosts tolerance for frustration. The findings also suggest that workplace dozers could be more productive.
Identifying distractions is the first step to avoiding them. Here are the top five workplace attention destroyers, according to a 2015 survey by CareerBuilder:
"We can’t operate at peak performance all day long," says Zaslow. "When I’m feeling my best, I concentrate on important activities like writing. When I’m feeling tired and foggy, I do relatively mindless tasks like dealing with routine emails."
"In order to focus on urgent or meaningful activities, let some other things slide," she says. For example, open your mail just once a week; these days, nothing urgent arrives with a postage stamp on it. And while some organizers will tell you to touch any piece of paper just once, Zaslow is more forgiving. It’s okay to toss less-pressing work in a pile for later, she says.
It’s not surprising that getting more done starts with a good night’s sleep, but it turns out getting too many hours is as bad as too few. Analyzing the sleep and work habits of 3,760 people over seven years, researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that under-sleepers and oversleepers were both more likely to take extra sick days.
An office with a view sounds like a recipe for mind wandering. Actually, access to sunlight boosts productivity. In a study by the California Energy Commission, workers who sat near a window performed better, processing calls 6% to 12% faster and performing 10% to 25% better on tests that involved mental function and memory recall.
Energize staff by clearly defining expectations and routinely offering positive feedback. According to a recent study by Gallup, companies that engage their workforce see a 65% decrease in turnover, a 21% bump in productivity, and a 10% increase in customer ratings.
But do it the right way. Present your beef with an idea for improvement. "Framing things in terms of solutions lessens the focus on the problem and who might be at fault," says management professor Russell Johnson, coauthor of a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. "It evokes pleasant emotions instead of negative ones that cause mental fatigue."
Exercise not only improves health, it boosts output. And you don’t have to kill yourself in CrossFit—a jog will do. Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand found that a daily 20-minute run helped lab rats complete problem-solving tasks more quickly and efficiently than their nonexercised counterparts.
Although it's ideal to pay off the balance on your credit card each month, sometimes emergencies or life itself gets in the way and you incur a balance you can't fully pay down. The interest on many credit cards can get as high as 25%, but the good news is, you have options. A balance transfer can be a good way to combine multiple credit card balances onto one card or move the complete balance from one to another and save money in the process. But how much can you save with a balance transfer?
What is a balance transfer?
Before we jump into the potential savings a balance transfer can get you, we wanted to make sure you understand what exactly it is. A balance transfer is really quite simple — it allows you to take the balance on your current credit card and transfer it to a new credit card. Why would you want to do that? Well, if you're carrying a balance on a credit card, chances are you're paying too much on interest. By transferring all or part of that balance to a new card with an extended 0% intro APR, you can save yourself money over the long term. Learn more about how they work by reading our balance transfer guide.
How much can you save with a balance transfer?
To illustrate how much you can save with a balance transfer, we determined the projected savings someone with a credit card balance of $1,000, $5,000 or $20,000 to transfer could expect. We compared the savings of transferring from a card with an APR of 20% to a card with a 15-month 0% intro APR and no balance transfer fee — similar to the terms Chase Slate offers.
If your current balance is $1,000, you can save $138 in interest over a 15-month period by transferring your balance to a card with a 0% intro APR and no balance transfer fee.
If your current balance is $5,000, your interest savings with a balance transfer (assuming there’s no balance transfer fee) will be about $693 over a period of 15 months.
If your current balance is $20,000 and you opt to complete a balance transfer to a card without a transfer fee, you will save a whopping $2,769 in interest over the course of 15 months.
These are just estimates, but they illustrate the potential savings at your fingertips if you switch to a balance transfer credit card with a great intro APR offer. Remember that the key is to do a balance transfer when it's going to save you money. While switching from a card with a 20% APR to one with a 15% APR won't save you a lot of money in the long run, especially if there's a fee to transfer the balance, opting for a card with a 0% intro APR for 15, 18 or 21 month will help you get ahead in payments. Also, it's important to keep in mind that while some cards like Chase Slate have an intro $0 balance transfer fee, most charge a 3% or 5% fee to complete each balance transfer. However, even with that fee, you can still save more over the long term since it’s likely that balance transfer fee is a lot lower than your current interest rate, so that shouldn't be a deterrent.
What are the top balance transfer cards?
Now that you know that you can save with a balance transfer, you might be wondering which cards are the best options to transfer your balance to. We rounded up the top-rated cards for balance transfers below.
Chase Slate is a superb choice for people who want to consolidate their high-interest credit cards onto a new card. Not only do cardholders get a 0% intro APR for the first 15 months, but Chase Slate also doesn't charge a balance transfer fee for the first 60 days (after which the fee is $5 or 3% of the total balance, whichever is greater). On top of that, you can also benefit from no penalty APR — meaning your APR won't increase if you are late on a payment — and free monthly Experian FICO scores to help you stay on top of your credit. Unlike most other balance transfer credit cards that require excellent credit, Chase Slate is available to those with good credit. This card is also embedded with chip technology, so you're all set for the switch-over this October.
If 15 months doesn't cut it for you, maybe the 21-month 0% intro APR offered by Citi Simplicity (a NextAdvisor advertiser) will. This card also doesn't charge late fees, annual fees or a penalty rate, making it a great choice for people who want to save money. It should be noted that Citi Simplicity has a balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount of the transfer, whichever is higher.
Not only does the Citi Diamond Preferred credit card (a NextAdvisor advertiser) also offer a 0% intro APR for 21 months, but it also has a reasonable post-intro APR variable rate as well. Perks are plentiful with this card, which include a personal concierge service, Citi Easy Deals points that you can redeem online for merchandise and gift cards and the ability to choose your own payment due date. The balance transfer fee for this card is the greater of $5 or 3% of the amount transferred.
Rounding out our list, the Discover it card provides a long 0% intro APR (18 months) with the opportunity to earn cash back with any purchase you make, meaning you can earn rewards while you save on interest with this card. You'll earn 5% cash back on purchases within select categories that rotate quarterly (up to $1,500) and 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases, plus Discover will double your amount of cash back at the end of your first year. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer, but you don't have to pay an annual fee with this card.
If you want to learn more about balance transfers and see how much you can save based on the amount you need to transfer and how much you plan to pay per month, head over to our balance transfer credit cards page and use our balance transfer calculator. This calculator can show you the best cards for your amount owed and credit rating, helping you save the maximum amount of money when you transfer.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This content was accurate at the time of this post, but card terms and conditions may change at any time. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.
The Truth About Cancer – A Global Quest Docu-series Starts Oct. 13th
A groundbreaking 9-part docu-series is hitting the airwaves on October 13th at 9:00PM Eastern… but you won’t see it on regular television or even HBO…
It’s “too controversial” for them.
When over 100 doctors, researchers, scientists and survivors from across the globe come together in unity and reveal for the first time their amazing new findings and the truth… about Cancer… it’s not just news — it’s a movement.
If you or anyone you love has been touched by cancer, you owe it to them and to yourself to watch this explosive FREE docu-series, “The Truth About Cancer: A Global Quest”.
Simply click the button above for exclusive access.
The Shocking Things Your Birthday Says About Your Health
Most scientists call "bull" on the whole horoscope thing, but new research suggests your birth month may count for something, after all. It could predict your risk of developing more than 50 different health conditions, according to a study recently published in the Journal of American Medical InformaticsAssociation.
Scientists at Columbia University compared the birth dates and medical records of 1.7 million patients treated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/CUMC between 1985 and 2013. In sum, they looked at 1,688 diseases.
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The study ruled out more than 1,600 associations between birth month and disease risk, but the data confirmed 39 suspected links between birthday and disease risk — and uncovered 16 new associations, including nine kinds of heart disease. The researchers ruled out any factors that could skew the results.
So here's your health horoscope: If you were born in the winter (January through March), you may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and lower risk of neurological, respiratory, and reproductive conditions. If you were born in the fall (October through December), chances are you have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, but a higher risk of neurological, respiratory, and reproductive conditions. Otherwise, your birth month could set you up for any of the risks in the image below.
More From Good Housekeeping
The study authors attribute the risks to your mother's environment when she was pregnant, which could compromise your immune system, explains co-study author Mary Regina Boland, a Ph.D. student at Columbia University Medical Center. For instance, some research suggests that pregnant woman who contract the flu have babies who are more prone to cardiovascular disease.
More research is needed to explain other associations between birth month and particular conditions. Until then, study authors can't say whether your birth month will definitely mess with your health (or protect you). In other words, being born during a low-risk birth month doesn't mean you can eat junk food and sit on your butt without it affecting your health — and being born during a high-risk month doesn't mean you're doomed.
So while you can (and should) take all this with a grain of salt, it can't hurt to be extra cautious if you're destined for health issues. So pass the fresh vegetables?
5 Tips for a Peaceful Passing of the Programs (Part 1)
A week or so ago Cindy and I covered a class for our colleague, Monica. It was a one-day program. At first glance it was pretty straightforward... until it wasn't. Do you ever think about writing down all the things you do on a daily basis or all the intricacies of running your events? Or updating your checklists daily? I would say most people don't. Here's what you can do when faced with having to cover for someone.
Learn about the event. If you have the luxury of advanced notice before taking over an event then take advantage as much as possible. Have a meeting to ask about the purpose of the event and who will be in attendance. Gather information about the speakers and their needs during the program. Ask how the event is being funded, if there will be money collected, and what kind of forms the participants will need to fill out.
Ask about the expectations. Ask what is expected of you before, during, and after the event. Based on the scenario I described above, we were only needed on the day of the program. The before and after was being handled by Monica, so we just needed to be attentive on the day of the program, check everyone in, and tend to the speakers' needs.
Think about unexpected scenarios. Talk about what to do when presented with various scenarios. You may not be able to predict everything that will happen during the event, but the more prepared you can be the better. Some things could be, what to do if a speaker doesn't show up or an attendee is allergic to the meal being served. What should you do in the event of an emergency or where can you make last minute copies?
Identify the important decision makers. If you run across a situation where you aren't able to make a decision yourself, find out who in attendance is able to make such key decisions. These people will likely be able to fill in the gaps that you might not have known about beforehand.
Debrief. There is always something to be learned from an event. In this case, Cindy and I recommended that Monica use a typed sign in sheet in the future because it was difficult to read the attendees handwriting to know if they were there. Even though Monica would be the one deciphering the handwriting we collected, it was a good tip for her regardless. We also recommended that she take an allergy order prior to the program to submit to the caterer. Someone in the group was VERY allergic to gluten and had to wait for a separate plate from the caterer, which didn't arrive until the end of lunch.
Obviously, the event I described was a pretty straightforward one to handle. Not all events are so easy. What kind of tips do you have when you have to step into someone else's shoes mid-game?
Tune in tomorrow to read 5 more tips to peacefully pass along your programs, but from the other side of the table. What to do when you are preparing to pass your programs to someone else as opposed to taking them over.
5 MORE Tips for a Peaceful Passing of the Programs (Part 2)
For those of you that missed the post yesterday, you can read that above for what you should do when you're taking over someone else's program. Today's focus is on what you can do to prepare to pass your program along to someone else. I had this experience when I was preparing for maternity leave last year.
It was this time last year that I was putting the final touches on my programs and getting them in "tip-top" shape for someone else to run them and complete the post-program tasks. I was working incredibly hard to get everything done, and as a whole I think it was successful. Here are my 5 tips for preparing your programs for a peaceful takeover.
Make a list. Find a way to make a checklist of everything that needs to be done before the program, during the program, and after the program. No task is too small! This can be down to how many copies need to be made before the event or how much food to order for meal.
Remind yourself that your successor is not a mind reader. If it's in your head and not on paper then don't count on the task being completed upon your return. Even the best event planners haven't developed the unique skill of telepathy. If someone has, please email me and teach me the ways!!
Work ahead. I know this is difficult, but work ahead as far as you can, that way the tasks you leave your successor are less in number. Chances are they are still trying to do their own job in addition to yours.
Communicate expectations. Make sure that you communicate the expectations that you have and that your clients have about the event. You can't expect someone to succeed unless you give them clear expectations and goals. Go over the items that will make your event successful. This will help the next person prioritize which tasks are important and which ones can wait.
Modify your expectations. All event planners have a certain way of running events. I like making sure that things are done for the people I'm serving before they ask. However, not everyone has this same priority. Understand that when you give up control of something that another person might not complete tasks in the same manner that you do, and that's okay. Everyone has their own work flow, so it's important for you to modify your expectations on how each task it getting done.
BONUS TIP: Let it go, breathe, and enjoy! This item is about trust. If you've done everything you can to prepare you need to trust that the person taking over is going to do the best possible job they can. It may not be your way, but it will get done. Take a breath and enjoy your vacation, leave, or whatever you're stepping away to. I bet that whatever that thing is deserves your undivided attention. For me it was my new baby, and it was nice knowing that my programs were taken care of in my absence.
What tips do you have when you are transitioning job responsibilities to others? Leave your comments below!
20 Things Only Highly Creative People Would Understand
There’s no argument anymore. Neuroscience confirms that highly creative people think and act differently than the average person. Their brains are literally hardwired in a unique way. But that gift can often strain relationships. I’ve seen it firsthand while working with New York Times bestselling authors and Grammy-winning musicians.
If you love a highly creative person, you probably experience moments when it seems like they live in a completely different world than you. Truth is, they do. But trying to change them isn’t nearly as effective as trying to understand them.
It all begins by seeing the world through their lens and remembering these 20 things:
1. They have a mind that never slows down.
The creative mind is a non-stop machine fueled by intense curiosity. There is no pause button and no way to power it down. This can be exhausting at times but it is also the source of some crazy fun activities and conversations.
2. They challenge the status quo.
Two questions drive every creative person more than any others: What if? and Why not? They question what everyone else takes at face value. While uncomfortable for those around them, it’s this ability that enables creatives to redefine what’s possible.
3. They embrace their genius even if others don’t.
Creative individuals would rather be authentic than popular. Staying true to who they are, without compromise, is how they define success even if means being misunderstood or marginalized.
4. They have difficulty staying on task.
Highly creative people are energized by taking big mental leaps and starting new things. Existing projects can turn into boring slogs when the promise of something new and exciting grabs their attention.
5. They create in cycles.
Creativity has a rhythm that flows between periods of high, sometimes manic, activity and slow times that can feel like slumps. Each period is necessary and can’t be skipped just like the natural seasons are interdependent and necessary.
6. They need time to feed their souls.
No one can drive cross-country on a single take of gas. In the same way, creative people need to frequently renew their source of inspiration and drive. Often, this requires solitude for periods of time.
7. They need space to create.
Having the right environment is essential to peak creativity. It may be a studio, a coffee shop, or a quiet corner of the house. Wherever it is, allow them to set the boundaries and respect them.
8. They focus intensely.
Highly creative people tune the entire world out when they’re focused on work. They cannot multi-task effectively and it can take twenty minutes to re-focus after being interrupted, even if the interruption was only twenty seconds.
9. They feel deeply.
Creativity is about human expression and communicating deeply. It’s impossible to give what you don’t have, and you can only take someone as far as you have gone yourself. A writer once told me that an artist must scream at the page if they want a whisper to be heard. In the same way, a creative person must feel deep if they are to communicate deeply.
10. They live on the edge of joy and depression.
Because they feel deeply, highly creative people often can quickly shift from joy to sadness or even depression. Their sensitive heart, while the source of their brilliance, is also the source of their suffering.
11. They think and speak in stories.
Facts will never move the human heart like storytelling can. Highly creative people, especially artists, know this and weave stories into everything they do. It takes longer for them to explain something, explaining isn’t the point. The experience is.
12. They battle Resistance every day.
Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, writes:
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
Highly creative people wake up every morning, fully aware of the need to grow and push themselves. But there is always the fear, Resistance as Pressfield calls it, that they don’t have what it takes. No matter how successful the person, that fear never goes away. They simply learn to deal with it, or not.
13. They take their work personally.
Creative work is a raw expression of the person who created it. Often, they aren’t able to separate themselves from it, so every critique is seen either as a validation or condemnation of their self-worth.
14. They have a hard time believing in themselves.
Even the seemingly self-confident creative person often wonders, Am I good enough? They constantly compare their work with others and fail to see their own brilliance, which may be obvious to everyone else.
15. They are deeply intuitive.
Science still fails to explain the How and Why of creativity. Yet, creative individuals know instinctively how to flow in it time and again. They will tell you that it can’t be understood, only experienced firsthand.
16. They often use procrastination as a tool.
Creatives are notorious procrastinators because many do their best work under pressure. They will subconsciously, and sometimes purposefully, delay their work until the last minute simply to experience the rush of the challenge.
17. They are addicted to creative flow.
Recent discoveries in neuroscience reveal that “the flow state” might be the most addictive experience on earth. The mental and emotional payoff is why highly creative people will suffer through the highs and lows of creativity. It’s the staying power. In a real sense, they are addicted to the thrill of creating.
18. They have difficulty finishing projects.
The initial stage of the creative process is fast moving and charged with excitement. Often, they will abandon projects that are too familiar in order to experience the initial flow that comes at the beginning.
19. They connect dots better than others.
True creativity, Steve Jobs once said, is little more than connecting the dots. It’s seeing patterns before they become obvious to everyone else.
20. They will never grow up.
Creatives long to see through the eyes of a child and never lose a sense of wonder. For them, life is about mystery, adventure, and growing young. Everything else is simply existing, and not true living.
ENLARGE
