It’s cold in Jordan for 6 months of the year, extreme weather threw can even throw an icy blanket over my neighbors in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. How to stay warm today? Knit a beard. Look local.

Middle Eastern men who follow strict Jewish and Muslim teachings have built-in winter defenses in the form of thick facial hair. I can’t grow a beard (despite those mustaches on my Italian great-aunts), but I can fake it. I’ll show you how too.

Green Prophet archives hold a brilliant story on a handknit sunnah beard. You can buy one online at prices hovering around $35, not bad for a handmade item, but I need a face-warmer now. So I concocted a recipe to make my own.  Give it a try?

You can pick up quick knitting skills from YouTube instructional videos. Knock one of these out in a weekend.

It’ll take a few balls of yarn and a day’s worth of clicking.  Or fast forward to finished product by only making the beard: attach it to a purchased hat and you’ll be looking like a member of the Jordanian ski team in under an hour. If you’re sort-of local to Jordan, I can make one for you.

A beard is sunnah. What does that mean?

Keeping a beard is standard practice according to the “sunnah” in Islam.  That Arabic term generally refers to ways of the prophet Mohammad: he was fully bearded.  Muslim men are encouraged to grow beards when reaching adulthood as a symbol of manhood, purity and maturity.

The Zohar, one of the primary sources of Kabbalah (a mystical aspect of Judaism), also attributes holiness to the beard.  Beard hairs symbolize channels of subconscious holy energy that flow into the human soul from the Divine.  Most Hasidim don’t even trim their beards, and during religious periods such as Passover, Sukkot, the Counting of the Omer and the Three Weeks, traditional Jewish men commonly refrain from shaving. Oh and remember Samson? All of his powers came from his long hair. Hair cut – powers gone.

Parking religion aside, beards make for a provocative scientific subject.

Charles Darwin offered an evolutionary explanation for the furry face in his book The Descent of Man, which hypothesized that the sexual selection process may have led to beards’ popularity. Modern biologists have reaffirmed the anthropological role of beards in human mating, concluding that there’s evidence that females find bearded mates more attractive than clean-shaven alternatives.

Throughout history, facial forestation has been viewed as a sign of wisdom, manliness, and high social status.  But beards also indicate eccentricity, dirtiness and low social rank.

Surveys show modern men love them in direct proportion to women hating them.

Environmentalists now widely accept that beard-growing is “green”.

The jury may be out as to whether real beards turn up the romantic heat, but the knitted types will absolutely let you lower your thermostats.

The post Knit Your Own Sustainable Beard appeared first on Green Prophet.

Jewish and Muslim customs require the body to be buried within 24 hours,  a very sensible custom born in the hot Middle East climate where decomposition began quickly. So when an elderly neighbor of a neighbor passed away last week, we got to talking about the added misery of dealing with traditional burial requirements in the midst of a powerful storm in Amman, Jordan where I live.

Let’s not get too – well – grave, but with world population passing seven billion and an estimated 150,000 people dying daily, we ought to take a closer look at how we celebrate life’s end. Maybe explore new options that respect and celebrate the deceased as well as the planet they leave behind.

Talking about death is uncomfortable. Doubly so when modern funeral practices increasingly jeopardize the environment. Did you know most Middle Eastern funerals are inherently “green”? Ancient nomadic people with limited resources developed the simplest methods of dealing with their dead. Over centuries, traditions evolved – varying by region – but all following basic rituals that are some of the most earth-friendly practices around. So while the Western funeral industry scrambles to become less polluting, they could instead take a few pages from the burial playbook of Muslims and Jews.

Both faiths prescribe that, within hours of death, the body is carefully bathed and wrapped in a modest cloth shroud. Well-wishers pay their respects and bury the deceased in a grave, without a casket.

Cremation and embalming are forbidden – wisely, as both are proven pollutants to our air and water. In the parched Middle East, water-guzzling cemeteries carpeted with grass (kept artificially lush with toxic pesticides and weed killers) are a rare exception, and Islam tends to skip extravagant headstones.

But what if you live outside of this region? How can you buck Western trends (and in some cases, mandatory burial regulations) and stay close to planet-friendly practices? You may already be living a green lifestyle, so why not check out a more sustainable deathstyle too? Welcome to the world of green burials, where an entirely new industry competes for your funeral budget.

1. Turn your loved one into a coral reef. Cremation is forbidden in both Islam and Orthodox Judaism. But for those who embrace it, they can offset the serious pollutants it dumps in the air by using the ashes to form artificial reefs. Eternal Reefs create “grief balls” (lead image above) mix your loved one’s remains with concrete to make new habitat for marine life. Perfect for “crabby” people.

2. Turn your father into a tree. Green-up cremation by burying the remains in a special flower-pot that converts ashes into a tree – just bury the fully biodegradable Bios Urna (pre-planted with soil, seeds, and human remains). The decomposing urn acts as fertilizer, literally allowing the loved one to live on in nature. That mighty oak was once a nut called Abu Ahmed!

3. Prefer a grave marker? Memorialize the deceased with a Poetree Burial Planter. Pop ashes in a biodegradable cork pot, planted with a boxwood sapling and ringed with the deceased’s inscription in ceramic. It’s a low-maintenance memorial and gentle reminder of the cycle of life.

4. Fire away. Take your dearly departed to one last Arab wedding, where they can go out with a bang. A company called Holy Smoke turns the deceased’s ashes into live ammunition for pistols, rifles or shotguns. Aimed at gun enthusiasts, they offer discounts to active and retired military, law enforcement and firefighters. What a blast!

5. Spin yourself into a record. How about becoming an album of klezmer tunes – for eternity? A company called Vinyly (website is down) will press your remains into a vinyl disc containing your fave tunes, jacketed in bespoke cover art (the deceased’s portrait!). Make multiple records from body parts: making more to share with the music lovers in your life (or death?)!

6. Designer coffin from sustainable wood. Sticking with burial? Fancy pictures of your last Petra visit on your casket lid? Skip high-end coffins made from exotic wood or never-degrading metal & pick one made from sustainably sourced wood. Reflections Coffins are 80% waste wood & 20% FSC-certified wood. Personalize your box with their (I’m not kidding) “design a coffin” web app.

7. A woollen coffin to rest in fleece. The coffin market is making biodegradable coffins to die for. Bamboo and cardboard, linen and banana leaf are now common casket materials. Wool is also rising in popularity – Hainsworth, a leading British textile mill, reported a 700% rise in demand for its woollen coffins in 2011 to 2012. A brilliant way to “rest in fleece”.

8. Woven willow coffins are a popular green alternative, made from a highly renewable and carbon neutral crop that’s harvested annually with minimal machine and chemical processing. Willow also degrades rapidly in soil, and can be jazzed up in bright colors, making any funeral feel like a roadside picnic.

9. Personalized images. Tragedy links to comedy when you send your loved one off in a flat-pack coffin printed with personalized images. Celebrate their life or go for big laughs (how about a box of veg that reads “Rest in Peas”?). Creative Coffins are made from non-toxic carton-board and natural glues. Guaranteed the funeral guests will howl, “Stop, you’re killing me!”

10. Turn them into a diamond. Arab royals love their bling! Why not turn that special person into a gem for eternity? LifeGem diamonds and gemstones are created from the carbon in cremated ashes or a lock of hair. Reset your loved one into “cremation jewelry” – rings, earrings and pendants commemorate their original sparkle. (Hey, did anyone see where I left mom?)

I mean no disrespect by this story, but have you ever noticed, the first three letters of “funeral” are FUN?

The post 10 ways to green your burial appeared first on Green Prophet.

The design duo explain that their larger concept is to create entire cemeteries full of trees instead of tombstones. Low maintenance swaths of land that require minimal irrigation (if any at all) will – when mature – provide new and protected wildlife habitat, and serve as carbon sinks and natural ‘air-fresheners’ to nearby urban areas.

They anticipate advance purchasing of their burial capsules, stating that each client will be able to choose their favorite tree.The project’s site already has a number of trees to choose from.

As with other green burials such as Bios Urna (shrub pots pre-planted with soil, seeds, and human remains) and Poetree Burial Planter (human ashes in a biodegradable cork pot, planted with a boxwood sapling and ringed with the deceased’s inscription in ceramic), families and friends could visit the future flora, care for it and rest in its shade.

Presumably, if we chose a fruit tree, they could harvest some fruit and make jam. If it was a maple, they could tap it for pancake syrup. Unique ways to remember deceased and continue the “circle of life”, indeed.

The designers point out on their website that the process circumvents the need for coffins, saving valuable resources.  Bodies would be left in a natural state, with no embalming chemicals to poison the soil and groundwater. It’s certainly sustainable, so why does this scheme give me the creeps?

I attribute my unease to the burial process. Unlike the schemes in our past post, the Capsula Mundi uses whole bodies, not cremated remains. Stretchable fabric encapsulates bodies bent into fetal position and shaped up in an egg-like orb, with a sapling atop the planted human bulb.

It’s that fetal pose part, so adorable in a newborn, but for others? The idea makes me ache.  And don’t get me started on their story-board (above). The only thing pulls my gaze from the curled-up cute dead guy is the ant.

No zen-like picnics in the lovely forest for me, I’d be obsessed with all those shrinking sacks of below-ground people tucked tightly into tree-feeding balls. Call me claustrophobic, but it’s like being trapped in an economy airplane seat for eternity.

The project is now only a concept because Italian law forbids such burials. But rest assured I’ll think of it every time I fly on the cheap.

Update 2025: you can buy a Capsula Mundi urn

The Capsula Mundi urn is a biodegradable urn. The ashes are put in through a hole, closed with a cone shaped screw top. After the burial, a tree, chosen in life by the deceased, in consideration of the local ecosystem, will be planted in top of it. Capsula Mundi biodegradable urn turns the ashes into a tree. Capsula Mundi urns are made in Italy. Each urn is unique, thanks to handcrafted interventions during production. And it comes in two versions: Sand and White.

“Capsula Mundi for the body is still in a start-up phase,” write the designers. “This kind of burial is legal in many countries but not everywhere. In Italy, where this project was born, only the Capsula Mundi urn is permitted. However, “green cemeteries” are popular in many other countries, especially in the English speaking countries.

Since 2003, when Capsula Mundi was exhibited for the first time at the “Salone del Mobile” (an international furniture exhibition in Milan, Italy) our team has been working to raise awareness and to promote the idea, fully convinced that before changing laws, we need to challenge the way people think.

Capsula Mundi was likely inspired by Ran Morin and his Jaffa hanging tree installation Oranger Suspendu.

The post Capsula Mundi burial pods grow live trees from dead people appeared first on Green Prophet.

Celebrate Christmas without a tree?  Absolutely! Skip the chopped-down conifer, pass on the plastic fakes, and leave the live sapling planted out in the wild. Start a new tradition. You’ll save a tree, save the planet, and save money too.

I’m in the middle of another international move, marking the eighth Christmas that my daughter has experienced in a most atypical way. Families everywhere base travel on school holidays, and for us that usually meant trips happened in late December. No need to “tree up” since we weren’t staying home, which meant the run-up to the day was fairly Scrooge-like in terms of decor.

Amanda took it on herself to make tabletop trees out of painted cardboard, like those I crafted from old magazines in a 1970s Girl Scout troop (lead image), or the one shown below made from corrugated cardboard.

Another year, she taped ornaments in a tree-shape on the inside face of our apartment entrance door, including some colorful fairy lights.  A version appears below. She topped hers with a cut-out of Justin Beiber’s face (“Hey, ma, every tree needs a ‘star’!”).

But no need to take a page from my kid’s book.  Tear a few from your own old magazines or phone directory, and repurpose some pages into a sculptural tree. Just be sure to send them to recycling when the holiday is over.

Can’t condone destroying old books?  Then temporarily enlist them as holiday decoration, as shown below in the color-coded virtual Christmas tree. If you lack sufficient tomes in tonal alignment, add some quick book covers using old newspaper or kraft wrap.

Hello book lovers!  Make some sense of those towers of hardcovers sprouting all over your digs, and stack them in a sort-of-tree-shape.Suggest you pass on the large tree light bulbs and go with low-voltage fairy lights instead.  Don’t want to spoil the holidays with an unintended book burning.

I especially like this next one – borrow a neighbor’s ladder if you must – and you can find many variations on the theme. Trick it up in oversized paper ornaments as shown here – or wind some cotton cord through the steps and hang traditional tress decorations along the threadlines.

Glue shells (or buttons, or corks, or bottle caps) to a conical styrofoam base and create a forest of small trees that can be displayed year-round.

Or go fully eco-event-planner and paint empty egg cartons in a palette of greens, here trimmed with empty Keurig coffee cups. Be sure to use water-based or acrylic paints and non-toxic glues, so that the entire assemblage can be recycled when the party’s over.

Drop the Ho Ho Ho, and instead chant Reduce Reuse Recycle. It’s what the Ghost of Christmas Future is all about. Or when all else fails, rent a Christmas tree.

The post 8 alternative Christmas trees green up your holiday! appeared first on Green Prophet.

It raises the question, is it the allure of a thing denied that makes us more desirous? Spend a moment to see what you’re missing.

Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East. Slightly smaller than France in geographic area, it boasts four properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites including the old city of Sanaa (following two images), the historic town of Zabid, the old walled city of Shibam made from earth, and the otherworldly Socotra Archipelago and islands with the trees that bleed.

Ten other Yemeni sites await determination on UNESCO’s “tentative list”.

Yemen has been at the crossroads of the Middle East,  Africa, and Asia for thousands of years thanks to its place on the ancient spice routes. It’s capital city Sanaa is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. The country is the only republic on the Arab peninsula, all others are emirates or kingdoms each ruled by a single family.

The country is an unhappy marriage between two distinct states, historically divided as North and South Yemen. North Yemen declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British had set up a protectorate centered on the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, and when they withdrew in 1967, South Yemen emerged.

Following years of civil war, Northern Yemen became a republic in 1970. Two decades later, Southern Yemen agreed to merge with the  northern republic but the states soon entered into a new civil war, resulting in thousands of casualties. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990.

Twenty million people call Yemen home; half are under age fifteen.  They are predominantly Arab, but native ethnicities also include Afro-Arab, South Asians, and Europeans. Ninety-nine percent of the population is Muslim, fairly evenly split between Sunni and Shi’a, with tiny numbers of Christians, Jews and Hindus.

Life is difficult. Unemployment hovers at 30%, with most people employed in agriculture and herding. Less than a quarter of those employed work in white-collar or professional services or in trades. Per capita income hovers around $1000 USD per year.  Life expectancy is short: 59 for men and 63 for women. The average Yemeni woman gives birth to 6.75 children.

Yemen has several distinct climate regions due to extensively variable topography. It’s high mountain ridges run parallel to its coastline, trapping moisture from winds blowing in from nearby seas.  The country has adequate water supplies and is one of the most arable spots on Arabian Peninsula.

It is perhaps most famed for Socotra Island, which boasts its own unique fauna and flora, including the ethereal Dragons Trees – umbrella-like plants that bleed red sap when cut. (See them atop the mountain above.)

Centuries of intensive hunting and agriculture have decreased the natural fauna and vegetation. But Yemen’s natural environment remains fairly robust with about 3,000 plant species, 85 types of mammals, 400 birds and over 100 reptile species. This does not account for Socotra Island’s unique ecosystems.

Have you tried Yemen’s Sidr honey from the mystical and biblical Sidr Tree?

The Grand Mosque in Sanaa is one of the most important mosques in the Islamic world.  Built during the life of the Prophet Mohammad in the 7th century AD, it is the world’s third earliest mosque, preceded only by the Qa’ba Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.

Some embassies are warning visitors to defer “nonessential travel” to my stable hometown of Amman, advising people to avoid “western” shopping malls and areas of peaceful demonstrations, precautionary guidance that we swallow with a grain of salt.

There are wide opportunities for stellar and safe exploration of the Middle East, but the long-term effects of civil unrest threatens tourism in general, and the environmental programs that depend on touristic income for support.

These important images remind us of the breathtakingly beautiful countries, rich with history, that may one day soon be reopened for exploration.

That will be a happy day for Yemen, long ago described in Latin as the Happy Arabia.

Images from Mashable, taken by – in order of appearance – boats by Michael Runkel/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis; Haraz mountains by Arne Hodalic/Corbis; Sana’a clothes-seller by Michael Runkel/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis; shopkeeper in Old Town by Michael Runkel/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis;Village in the Haraz Mountains by Arne Hodalic/Corbis; mosque by Arne Hodalic/Corbis; and Sana’a at night by Arne Hodalic/Corbis

The post If I could travel to Yemen this is where I’d go appeared first on Green Prophet.

Mono Lake is three times as salty as the ocean with an alkaline pH of 10. Before this new study, only two other animal species were known to live in the lake: brine shrimp and diving flies.

In the new work, Caltech Professor Paul Sternberg, University of Haifa’s Dr. Amir Sapir and colleagues from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Israel found eight more animal species, all belonging to a class of worms called nematodes. Only three of them are known to science.

All eight species are diverse, ranging from microbe-grazers to parasites and predators. Importantly, all are resilient to the arsenic-laden conditions in the lake and are thus considered extremophiles.

“Extremophiles can teach us so much about innovative strategies for dealing with stress,” said Caltech Dr. Pei-Yin Shih, first author of the study.

“Our study shows we still have much to learn about how these 1,000-celled animals have mastered survival in extreme environments.”

One of the new species, Auanema sp., exists in three different sexes: hermaphrodites, females, and males.

The hermaphrodites can produce offspring by themselves, but the females and males need to mate in order to produce their young. The females and males are often produced early in the reproductive cycle of the mother, followed by the hermaphrodites.

“One potential explanation for this three-sex life cycle in Auanema sp. is that the females and males could help maintain genetic diversity through sexual recombination, while the hermaphrodites could disperse into new environments and establish new populations there — since they can grow a population by themselves,” said Caltech Dr. James Siho Lee, co-author of the study.

When comparing Auanema sp. to sister species in the same genus, the researchers found that the similar species also demonstrated high arsenic resistance, even though they do not live in environments with high arsenic levels.

In another surprising discovery, Auanema sp. itself was found to be able to thrive in the laboratory under normal, non-extreme conditions. Only a few known extremophiles in the world can be studied in a laboratory setting.

“Our findings expand Mono Lake’s ecosystem from two known animal species to ten, and they provide a new system for studying arsenic resistance,” the scientists said.

“The dominance of nematodes in Mono Lake and other extreme environments and our findings of preadaptation to arsenic raise the intriguing possibility that nematodes are widely pre-adapted to be extremophiles.”

The research was published in the journal Current Biology.

_____

Pei-Yin Shih et al. Newly Identified Nematodes from Mono Lake Exhibit Extreme Arsenic Resistance. Current Biology, published online September 26, 2019; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.024

The post Gender-fluid worms discovered appeared first on Green Prophet.

CBD of cannabidiol is one of dozens of healing molecules found in the cannabis plant. We know the marijuana plant for its psychotropic effects of getting high, but that’s another molecule altogether, known as THC. 

With shifting cannabis laws and a choice to not play with one’s sanity or mind during working hours, a number of people have found that just the CBD from the cannabis plant can help with a night’s sleep, reduce period pain, calm anxiety and back inflammation. It offers a whole host of therapeutic effects that mainstream companies that produce water and cola are even trying to find ways to extract it and add it to beverages and food. 

If growing and using cannabis is legal in your state or country, like Canada, you can simply order seeds online, choosing a variety of cannabis that is known to be bred with little THC and a lot of CBD and from there you can go into the decision to create oil from the plant. It can be an important part of the therapeutic process, rearing those cannabis plants and extracting the oil, but it’s time consuming and definitely requires know-how possibly beyond a few YouTube videos. Start your search with  CBD websites online if you are ready to skip ahead of the growing process.  

What to look for when buying CBD of any natural remedy online

Cost point

Anyone can open a CBD oil shop these days because there is little regulation in the business. There are multiple ways and processes for extracting CBD from the plant. Some processes are more costly because they use “cleaner” methods that may pull out more material from the plant. Some CBD oils may be highly diluted with a carrier agent. Speak to a friend who is in the know and see what works for her. Try to find something that fits your budget and try it out. Consider that if it works for you the cost you paid will be a recurring price –– so be sure it’s something you can afford. 

Types of CBD

CBD can come in endless packaging but at the end of the day it’s still the same molecule. You can find it in oil drops, gummies, capsules, brownies, vape liquids, CBD drops. Again the speed at which it enters your system can be affected by the carriers that come with your CBD so start by trying it in a way that makes sense to you. 

Look to the source

Before you buy from any website, dig around a little bit on Google. Do they have good reviews? Do they have socials and an updated Instagram and Facebook page? Products must be tested in a lab that is trusted and which as authority and should be a place you can find on the internet –– and even call if you have concerns. 

Just because cannabis is not yet a widely accepted medicine in pharmacies doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be treated seriously like any other medicine. Go to a reliable source, with well tested products that are available in multiple formats for you to try. 

The post Find therapeutic CBD medicine online appeared first on Green Prophet.

And the sign appeared to me in Bernie Sanders’ clunky upcycled mittens. 

The octogenarian’s accessory nearly upstaged last week’s US presidential inauguration. Crafted by a Vermont schoolteacher out of repurposed sweaters and gifted to her Senator a few years back, Bernie’s choice of handwear kept him toasty during the crisp 40°F outdoor ceremony and launched a flurry of comic memes. 

The mittens’ pattern was loud, as was their message of sustainability. GP has long applauded rethinking, reusing, and recycling all we consume. Throughout history, we’ve applauded people who riff off Rumpelstiltskin, in this case making sartorial “gold” from cast-off clothes.  Think Scarlett O’Hara’s antebellum gown sewn from velvet drapes.  Maria Von Trapp outfitted her whole brood using the Baron’s old curtains.

Jen Ellis’ mittens are made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles. Her sudden fame depleted her supply.

“Thanks for all the interest in Bernie’s mittens!”, she tweeted, “I’m so flattered that Bernie wore them to the inauguration. Sadly, I have no more mittens for sale. There are a lot of great crafters on ETSY who make them.”

No worries. You can make your own with an old sweater and any soft lining materials (t-shirts, sweatpants, or simply more old sweater).

While newsworthy, Bernie’s mitts aren’t new.  Six years ago – while living in Amman, Jordan – I stumbled onto this YouTube instructional video posted by Sandy Luft-Schafer – which sent me scouring for wool sweaters from the jumble at the weekend souk. 

Basic sewing skills are all you need.  But not feeling “handy”? Google will lead you to ready-made pairs. I’m smitten with Bernie, more so in his mittens.

The year 2021 is looking up.

The post Make your own Bernie Sanders’ Recycled Mittens appeared first on Green Prophet.

Henna is an earthy, paste-like dye sourced from a flowering plant (or “henna tree”) used over centuries to temporarily stain hair and skin. It’s usually applied as an embellishment to hands, feet, and sometimes faces during Eid and for special celebrations such as weddings. The artform has been experiencing a bit of a rebirth, prompted largely by Middle Eastern millennials who are not willing to be permanently inked but still desire to express themselves.

Khamissa’s family background is Canadian-South African. They moved to the United Arab Emirates when she was 12-years-old. “It was a fresh start in a new country, and I went to an Arabic school in Jumeirah,” she said in an interview with The National.

“We’re Muslim, I was covering, and we started adapting to Emirati culture.” A decade on, her style is fully Emirati, albeit with a modern, trendy flair.

A trained chiropractor as well as a handbag designer, Khamissa added “henna artist” to her resume purely by accident. While waiting for a photoshoot of her handbag collection to get underway, she passed time applying henna to her hand.

“We were waiting for the model to arrive, so we just took a photo of the henna with a camel, and the picture was so cool – it ended up getting featured in ID Magazine,” said Khamissa. She continued to experiment with new designs, posting images on her Instagram account, soon attracting followers who admired her minimalist patterns.

“Traditional designs never really worked for me and my aesthetic, and a lot of girls obviously feel the same way,” she said. Her chiropractic training makes her very body-aware, “I look at the hand as a whole, so I use the joints and the different planes and try to incorporate the whole hand in the design,” she said.

Khamissa says henna markings can be used to convey messages that are deep and effective, much like tattoos. “It’s a way of expressing how you feel, and it’s also a great tool for Muslims who cannot or do not want to get a tattoo.”

Last March, Puma recruited her for a collection launch where she worked on guests’ hands in a makeshift tattoo parlor.  The event was as daring as her designs, since conventional tattoo parlors are forbidden in the UAE.

Khamissa has recently launched her own Azra-branded henna cone, in time for the holiday. Made in Dubai, the henna is non-toxic and comes in a biodegradable plastic casing. Each cone costs Dh20 (about $5 US) and delivery is available within the UAE.

She believes that henna can also help third-culture residents or long-term expatriates, connect with their cultures. “My great-grandparents are Indian and it is definitely within their culture, and henna is a deep part of the Emirati culture.

“I’m very detached from my culture – my parents were brought up in South Africa, I was brought up in Canada and Dubai, but henna is one thing that I find connects so many different cultures together,” says Khamissa. “No single culture owns henna; it is just a plant.”

See more of her work on her Instagram page, where she posts as Dr. Azra – link here.

The post Dubai Henna Artist Puts a Modern Mark on an Ancient Stain appeared first on Green Prophet.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna Therapeutics has received fast-track approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273. The company’s chief medical officer, Tal Zaks, M.D., Ph.D., has become a ubiquitous presence on American news programs, explaining how the FDA action allows the company to swiftly proceed to Phase 2 testing of the vaccine, which is expected to begin in weeks.

Zaks explained that the company has had positive results from Phase 1 tests, which involve testing on a small number of healthy humans (about 45 people) to determine if a vaccine produces an immune response that protects against the virus.

According to Moderna, the vaccine proceeding to Phase 2 testing was developed within 42 days of the company obtaining genetic information on the coronavirus. By comparison, it took researchers more than 20 months to start human tests of the vaccine for SARS, an older coronavirus, according to a journal paper written by Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“By about the end of the year, the start of next year, there’s a reasonable likelihood that we’ll see this vaccine on the market, at least on the American market,” he said in a television interview from Moderna headquarters.

Moderna Therapeutics has been a pioneer in the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) Therapeutics across a range of therapeutic applications. mRNA technology platform, which aims to make drugs that direct cells in the body to make proteins to prevent or fight disease.

It makes use of messenger ribonucleic acid, a molecule vital to the proper functioning of the body’s cells. The mRNA approach can produce vaccines faster and more economically than traditional methods, according to UK health policy think tank PHG Foundation.

The Phase 2 studies will include approximately 600 healthy volunteers, half aged 18-55 years old and half over 55 years old, and randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or one of two doses of Moderna’s experimental vaccine. Each participant will receive two shots since early studies suggest two injections might be necessary to jump-start the immune system to generate protection against the COVID-19 virus. Each patient will be monitored for a year as the researchers track their immune responses.

Moderna president Dr. Stephen Hoge said the company plans to launch Phase 3, which is the final stage of human testing, when Phase 2 studies are complete this summer.

Moderna is not the only drug company hoping to find a viable COVID-19 vaccine. Pharma giants Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline are also working on vaccines, as are nearly two dozen U.S. companies and dozens more worldwide.

“Submitting this (investigative new-drug application) is an important next step in the clinical development of our mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, and we are moving rapidly to potentially address this global health emergency,” Zaks said in a statement.

Zaks, a former head of Sanofi Global Oncology, joined Moderna in 2015. He received his M.D. and Ph. D. from the Ben Gurion University in Israel and conducted post-doctoral research at the US National Institutes of Health (the NIH). He completed his clinical training in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Moderna is privately held and currently has strategic agreements with AstraZeneca, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and Merck.

The post Israeli Doctor Announces First COVID-19 Vaccine to Enter Phase 2 Testing appeared first on Green Prophet.