Can Zara speak with their recently departed mother through fungal networks?

In April my mom passed away and I attended her funeral as a relative outsider in her life. Seeking some distance from her friends, I borrowed the Israeli custom of wearing sunglasses to her funeral despite being in the oft-cloudy Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It felt like I needed a reason to be there, so I brought my phone and videoed her funeral for my as-yet non-existant children who will never meet her. Doubtless her funeral wasn’t something I’d have been invited to while she was living, yet death is both a final estrangement and reunion. Due to our relationship in life, my mom’s passing was more relief and closure for me than it was grief.

Grieving Disconnection

In life my mom’s absence brought peace and a feeling of security, albeit with dread anticipation of her presence. Her presence brought chaos, instability, and unpredictability along an inevitable gradient to emotional abuse. Yet her absence and presence mutually denied me one thing: a parent capable of and committed to being a parent. No one else ever met the version of her that I knew, so totally different was her attitude towards other people.

As I grew up, I grew up without really ever seeing my home as a home. Not only uprooted, also disconnected from everyone and everything, especially my own Jewish family and heritage. Naturally this led to my ignorant lack of understanding and deep resentments that isolated me further. In that isolation I became kept, feeling more like a caged experiment that a mother’s child.

Finding Healing

After some terrible relationships and serious health problems, I took time to heal and grieve my upbringing. Healing is inarguably non-linear lifelong process, something our minds and bodies do, while we can intentionally practice healing deeply. That has been a painfully serious undertaking for me the past two years, though I have been on this path since 2021. And even before then I spent so much time learning embodied arts, to nourish my body, visiting both doctors and therapists. Still, the lasting sense of peace and sure knowledge of security only arrived as my mom passed.

As morbid as that might sound, the way she died was a death I’ve often feared for myself. Confronting that possibility for myself, I am grateful my mom died as she did and grateful for her teaching me something about life through her death. Looking down at her body empty of what was her, I felt an unburdening of that pain and less fear of mortality. Corpses have always haunted my mind and I’ve dreaded mortality since I was little. On some level I’ve always resonated with the idea that there is spiritual contagion in death. In Judaism, contact with dead bodies both human and other-than-human interacts with complex belief which parallel contagion.

Spiritual Contagion

While it’s true that literal disease can reside in corpses, mine was not a fear of some kind of plague. It was a fear beyond the rational in the deep ruminative spiral of my mind. Being released from that fear is the only gift my mom has given me worth carrying and cherishing. No physical gift could match the unburdening from that fear, so utterly crushing has it been.

I am also glad that she chose green burial instead of cremation or an even more ecologically impactful burial. I hope that someday the cemetary here will allow me to plant her grave with the native wild-flowers she loved, for her body to slowly entangle into over time.

Entangled Tales

I am not a physicist, yet I’ve read that heat destroys quantum entanglement, making cremation weirdly scarring, If there is a trace of what lived, even the trace of an echo, green burial grants continuity. Interestingly, another kind of entanglement persists in death, as I’ve been reading in Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled Life.

Fungi are often decomposers, built of ubiquituous microstructures called hyphae that combine like microscopic fibers into larger masses. Mushrooms are one such structure, yet hardly a universal strategy for fungi. Commonly hyphae weave themselves into lacy mycelial nets capable of moving nutrients and information. Fungi also love to interweave with plant roots or deeper still into plants’ own cells.

Not just plants, rather all life is within hyphae’s reach of the venerable fungi. In death fungi return our bodies to that mighty web of life, an undeniable connection to life’s cycle. In returning our bodies for our fungal friends to reunite with the Earth we enact a lasting stewardship, restful and redemptive.

Psychedelic Blessings

Judaism may have a place for fungal blessings in addition to curses, a connection I’ll explore more in anticipation of the Jewish month of Elul. As for the spiritual symptom of contagion of tzaraat often written about in the Torah, it’s as painful and destructive as any curse, yet that moldy affliction is not all fungi offer. Though Sheldrake references a folk medicine called “chamka” that is supposedly in the Talmud, psychedelics are the blessing he argues for the healing power of. While confined to being viewed with suspicion for decades, psychedelic mushrooms are now the basis of nearly-mainstream healing processes. Though Sheldrake describes some of his experiences with the eccentric Terrence McKenna, the science is serious and goes far beyond pioneering psychonauts.

Research has consistently shown that the fruits of these enigmatic lifeforms unharnesses our brains from controlling thought patterns. This in turn allows for a healing experience where one rearranges their mental connections. This rewiring often creates an experience I personally relate to being a single hypha in a vast interconnected mycelial lifeweb. It’s beyond a visceral or intellectual experience, a lasting reconnection to a sense of something universal. That experience is like a lifeline in a desert of despair, a door out of isolation, and peace with mortality.

Healing Eternally

Albeit eccentric, McKenna proposed that fungi could speak through our minds with mushrooms acting as messengers. And why not, given the complex chemical interactions that scientists have found? If hyphae carry information and people experiencing psychedelics journey through a spiritual death and rebirth, what if it’s a story of that endless cycle as witnessed by fungi? What if fungi remember through their entanglements with life and tell that story again and again inside human minds? While Sheldrake doesn’t delve deeply into the science of psychedelic experiences and understandably glosses over the details of how growing these mushrooms has become as easy as culinary oyster mushrooms, he perfectly describes this emerging field of medicine.

For many, the kind of healing one of my mom’s friends urged on me at her funeral, might be found in that same ancient fungal tale of death and rebirth. In Judaism, there’s a story about the Israelites dropping dead in their tracks and being returned to life, a story that may have a basis in psychedelic experiences more particular to Judaism. While that’s speculative, Sheldrake describes how psychedelic experiences helped McKenna and many other people through the deserts of their fears and the promise of community. That sense of connection breaks down the walls between people and helps them find connections through the substrate of their lives.

Similarly, my own experiences years ago helped me find the perspective to see my mom’s funeral as continuity, a return to universal existence. Despite wearing sunglasses and filming, I felt gratitude during her funeral instead of simply feeling disconnected. I find beauty that through slow decomposition hyphae record, retell, and remember her body’s story to pass onto roots via mycorrhizae and ever onward. I hope someday that story will ride the wind on the seeds of her beloved milkweeds, embroidered into their own story through those hyphae.

The post A Quantum Kaddish? What fungal networks teach us about grief, God and death appeared first on Green Prophet.

Abortion pills, often confused with Plan B (the morning-after pill), and historically referred to as RU486 (mifepristone), are part of a broader category of reproductive health medications that women have been using for decades. But they are not the same thing.

Plan B is emergency contraception used shortly after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy from occurring. Abortion pills, by contrast—typically a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol—are used to terminate an early pregnancy after it has already begun. These medications have become the most common method of abortion in the United States.

Related: scientist shows how her brain changes on birth control

While there are documented health effects if misused, these pills—both emergency contraception and medication abortion—have significantly increased sexual freedom and reproductive autonomy for women. And these effects catch on in the Middle East, where abortion is illegal for for the most part. Most women in the Middle East, and increasingly now in parts of America, if you can believe it, do not have reliable access to abortion pills or even Plan B.

Years ago, I worked with writer Loolwa Khazoom researching a piece for Vogue or Harper’s on an abortion boat, a Dutch-flagged ship that operated off the coast of countries like Spain when abortion was illegal. Women would be taken into international waters where Dutch physician Rebecca Gomberts could legally perform abortions on her floating clinic. She said, “I figured we would sail from country to country and help X number of women per day.”

It was a workaround that was creative, controversial, and telling.

Today, the workaround is digital and under threat.

I am not arguing here whether abortion should or should not be offered on moral or religious grounds. That is a private decision. But the fact that the United States is now moving to restrict the mailing of abortion pills like mifepristone means that some states that have outlawed abortion may end up with women’s lives on their hands.

A recent federal appeals court ruling has moved to block the mailing of abortion pills and require in-person dispensing, challenging long-standing FDA guidance that allowed telehealth prescriptions and pharmacy access. Medication abortion—often prescribed online and delivered by mail—accounts for the majority of abortions in the U.S., and about one in four had been accessed via telehealth.

Related: Turkish woman first to receive womb transplant 

US states where abortion is illegal

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• West Virginia

Like I said, there are a variety of reasons why women seek abortions.

In the Middle East, except in countries like Turkey and Israel, premarital sex is not socially accepted. Of course people have sex secretly and then deal with the consequences according to local customs and doctors who often work quietly behind the scenes. In Egypt, for instance, social pressures have led to practices like hymen reconstruction surgeries. These realities exist regardless of the law. Read here about the creative ways Muslims stay virgins in Arab countries.

In Turkey, many parts of the country are conservative and if you are renting a hotel with a man you do need to say you are married and use his last name. Honor killings still happen. In a shocking case, an 18-year woman Oya Budak was murdered by her fiance after he discovered she was pregnant by her rapist. She was raped by someone familiar to her and did not disclose this fact prior to them making an arranged married.

Women in conservative societies can face severe consequences for pregnancy outside marriage, including violence. The stakes are high. I know a doctor whose patient was killed after not receiving an abortion in time.

Restricting access to abortion pills does not eliminate abortion—it pushes it underground or across borders.

In the U.S., people are already finding ways around restrictions. Some travel across state lines to access care. Others rely on telehealth providers in states with legal protections, or order abortion pills online from international services operating in legal gray zones. Some use misoprostol-only regimens, which are widely recognized as safe and effective. Information networks, encrypted consultations, and nonprofit support systems have become part of the new infrastructure of access.

Restricting access to abortion pills will not stop abortions. It will only make them harder, riskier, and more unequal.

While I do believe marrying young and having children young might be a stable path for some (something I wasn’t taught), I will leave my kids with that decision to make.

If your are connected to the Palestinian cause, where abortions are not legal, maybe you can use some online warrior energy and help women EVERYWHERE get access to abortion pills. Here are the countries in the Middle East with access to abortion pills:

Middle East abortion access (updated)

The post Abortion Pills, Plan B and Mifepristone and what the new US mail ban means appeared first on Green Prophet.

“The future,” says Elon Musk, “is going to be weird.”

Sounds logical, given the billionaire entrepreneur’s typical far-seeing plans, like creating a station on the moon.

But now Neuralink, a company founded by Musk in 2016, has successfully implanted a chip in a human brain. It’s a brain-to-computer interface technology (BCI) called “the Link.” It records and decodes brain activity, passing neural signals on to devices.

Current goals are to treat neurological disease like Parkinson’s and restore autonomy to people with severe physical limitations by controlling exoskeletons and prosthetics. There’s also huge potential to improve cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, and languages.

Even the power to communicate silently via thought alone isn’t out of vision: telepathy, in other words.

The Link has already granted speech to a man made mute by ALS; allowed people paralyzed by spinal cord injury to control a cursor and use their computer to not only play video games but also to study and work, or manipulate a robotic arm – by power of their thought.

Musk foresees a BCI placed in the visual cortex that will allow the blind to “see” their surroundings in real time. The project is called “Blindsight.” Theoretically a blind person will be able to see at high resolution at multiple wavelengths.

Musk says, “You can be like Geordi La Forge in Star Trek and see in radar, infrared, and ultraviolet. Superhuman capabilities. Cybernetic enhancement, essentially.”” He also sees a time when, thanks to BCIs implanted in a person’s brain and spinal cord, corresponding Optimus robotic devices developed by Tesla will replace the functions of missing limbs.

Tesla has already developed a functioning robotic hand whose appearance is designed to mimic the human hand. Potentially, an Optimus robot may restore full body functionality, such that a person will “inhabit” the robot.

Yes, the future does look weird.

How it works

The link between brain and computer is a coin-sized implant. It records neural activity via 1,024 thin, flexible electrode threads inserted into the brain. Neurons are the nerve cells that send messages all over the body to drive nearly all human functions. Where there’s neural damage due to ALS, stroke, or injury, the brain’s signals to, for example, pick up a cup, don’t transfer to the muscles. One of the Neuralink engineers, Skylar Granatir, compares this to a severed internet cable.

“With the BCI, you bypass this (interrupted) pathway completely. You can read directly from your brain to a device that will do the thing you want to do.”

In other words, the BCI makes a bridge that goes past damaged brain areas to the computer or other device that serves you in real time.

The United States Artificial Intelligence Institute defines how a Neuralink BCI works:

“The fundamental principle of Neuralink’s brain-implant technology is a mixture of neuroscience, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

The implant has over 1,000 electrodes linked by ultra-thin threads, which are implanted in the motor cortex of the brain. These threads pick up the electrical activity of the neurons and relay it to the external devices.

How The System Works

When one wants to move or do something, the brain triggers electric signals.The Neuralink implant identifies these signals by using electrodes.The neural data gets transmitted wirelessly to a computer. The commands are decoded by machine learning algorithms. Those commands are then able to govern digital systems such as a cursor, keyboard, or robotic device. Since the implant is far too dependent on AI models and AI algorithms, the system gets better as it becomes accustomed to trends in the neural activity, and the interaction becomes smoother over time.”

The electrode threads are too fine for human hands to handle without damage. To ensure their precise precise placement in the brain, Neuralink developed a specialized robotic surgeon that inserts these micro-threads into the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain containing functions like learning and emotion.

A chip within the implant processes thought signals and transmits them to a digital device through a standard Bluetooth connection.

Currently 21 humans with limited, some with even no physical functionality, are undergoing clinical trials. Surgery – implanting the BCI in the brain – requires only minutes, and causes almost no discomfort. The patient goes home the next day. Neuralink claims there has been no sign of damage to the brain since clinical trials began.

Competition

Neuralink has competitors. Several other companies have been developing surface electrodes offering similar technology for decades. One in particular, Paradromics, uses platinum-iridium microwire electrodes and a hermetically sealed titanium alloy body, as opposed to the flexible polymer threads and plastics in Neuralink’s implant. We have a post on Neuralink’s rival here.

For the love of everything, make it so it can NEVER. EVER. stream ads directly into our brains.

Called “Connexus,” the Paradromics BCI is water tight, which is critical for the salty and warm environment of the body. Neuralink doesn’t claim that advantage. In addition, the Connexus electrodes have a longer longevity as compared to Neuralink’s.

On their website, Pardomics states,

“Platinum-iridium is a medical-grade metal alloy that has been used in implants (like pacemakers and deep brain stimulators) for decades without corrosion or significant degradation. By choosing robust materials, Paradromics aims for its electrodes to last for many years or even decades inside the brain. This focus on durability directly tackles the implant lifespan issues, giving Paradromics an edge in achieving the 10+ year functional lifetime that many BCI users expect.”

The goals of these breakthrough technologies are to reduce suffering and enhance human capabilities. Musk even hopes to explore and expand consciousness. Another of Musk’s concerns is to mitigate the risks of unchecked AI.

Criticism

From Wikipedia: “Neuralink has faced substantial criticism over its animal testing practices. Between 2018 and 2022, at least 1,500 animals—including monkeys, pigs, and sheep—were used in experiments, with reports of complications leading to euthanasia in some cases. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prompting an investigation.”

Neuralink has said that animal testing followed regulatory standards and was necessary for development.

In human trials, the first patient’s implant experienced partial thread retraction in 2024, reducing the number of functional electrodes, though software updates restored much of the lost performance.

Bioethicists have raised concerns about informed consent, long-term patient support, and the absence of trial registration on ClinicalTrials.gov for some studies.

Broader ethical debates include risks of hacking, loss of privacy, and potential misuse of neural data. One person left a cry from the heart under the YouTube Neuralink update: “For the love of everything, make it so it can NEVER. EVER. stream ads directly into our brains.”

Altogether, it’s clear that the lives of clinical trial participants have improved amazingly. One participant, disabled by ALS and unable to communicate for four years movingly says, “Neuralink has given me a purpose. We work together to make this thing (the BCI) better. Maybe I can’t cure ALS, but I can participate in research, I can give feedback. It will give us back a voice.

“It would be a total waste of who I am if I didn’t do all the good I possibly could before I check out to be with the Lord. That’s the number one reason I’m doing this – because I’m doing good for others, and that’s the best thing of all.”

Others, who have regained a part of independence via their computers, are returning to studies and work abandoned when paralysis set in. Some mention the joy of having a purpose again.

So how about this weird future? Are you optimistic about the advances in medicine, health care, and disabled people’s quality of life that BCI offers, or are you worried that cyborgs will overtake control of the planet? I confess to both.

The post How does Neuralink work? appeared first on Green Prophet.

A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York offers a striking insight into how the environments we are born into can quietly shape our brains years later. By analyzing naturally shed baby teeth, the ones tucked under pillows for the tooth fairy, researchers have reconstructed a detailed timeline of exposure to environmental metals during pregnancy and early infancy. What they found reads like a forensic map of vulnerability.

The study, published in Science Advances, followed children from the PROGRESS birth cohort in Mexico City, tracking them from the womb into adolescence. Using a laser-based technique, scientists were able to read the chemical composition of baby teeth much like tree rings: each layer revealing exposure to metals such as lead, manganese, zinc, and magnesium at specific developmental stages.

This approach allowed researchers to pinpoint not just what children were exposed to, but when, and timing, it turns out, is everything.

Two critical windows emerged as especially sensitive: the first between weeks 4 and 8 after birth, and the second between weeks 32 and 42. During these narrow periods, higher exposure to metal mixtures correlated with measurable differences in later brain structure, connectivity, and behavior.

Adolescents who had higher exposures during these windows showed increased symptoms linked to anxiety, attention challenges, and mood disorders.

Many of the metals studied—such as manganese, zinc, magnesium, and lead—are commonly encountered through food, drinking water, and the built environment.

“This study shows that when exposure happens matters just as much as what the exposure is,” said senior author Megan K. Horton, PhD, MPH, Professor, Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Our findings shift prevention from broad early-life exposure concerns to protecting children during specific high-risk windows.”

Lead author Elza Rechtman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, emphasized the broader environmental significance: “What surprised us most was how precisely these vulnerable windows emerged. Exposures occurring during just a few critical weeks—especially in early infancy—were linked to measurable differences in brain structure, connectivity, and behavior more than a decade later. These findings highlight how environmental policies that reduce metal exposure during pregnancy and infancy could have lifelong benefits for brain health.”

“The results suggest that environmental regulations and public health policies may need to focus more specifically on protecting pregnant people and infants from metal exposure in food, water, and housing,” added Dr. Arora.

This isn’t about a single toxin causing harm, the researchers note. Instead, it’s about a complex cocktail of everyday exposures: heavy metals found in food such as fish, water, and pesticides from the urban environments interacting with a developing brain at precisely the wrong moment. About 4% of children in the study showed behavioral scores in the clinical range, suggesting real-world implications for mental health.

Brain imaging backed this up. MRI scans revealed that early exposure was linked to changes in how different brain regions communicate, subtly rewiring that may only become visible years later in behavior or emotional regulation.

For researchers, this marks a shift toward what they call “precision environmental health.” Instead of broadly warning about early-life exposure, the goal is now to identify, and protect, the specific developmental windows when the brain is most at risk. It’s a more targeted, and potentially more actionable, way to think about prevention.

The researchers noted that simple steps that may help reduce exposure include:

• Ensuring safe drinking water
• Careful food preparation and sourcing
• Reducing exposure to known environmental metal sources

The implications ripple outward. For families, it reinforces the importance of reducing exposure to contaminants in water, food, and housing, especially during pregnancy and infancy. For clinicians, it suggests that environmental history should be part of how we understand long-term mental health risks. And for policymakers, it raises a sharper question: are current environmental regulations precise enough to protect the most vulnerable moments of human development?

In a warming, industrialized world where environmental exposures are shifting, this kind of research feels necessary. The idea that a few weeks of exposure early in life could echo across a decade reframes how we think about both risk and responsibility. How we help reduce exposure to toxins is another story.

A brief history: Mount Sinai as a Jewish hospital

Mount Sinai Hospital in New York was founded in 1852 by members of the city’s German Jewish community as the “Jews’ Hospital,” created to serve Jewish immigrants who often faced discrimination in existing medical institutions. It quickly became a center not only for care but for medical training and innovation, open to all regardless of background. Over time, it expanded into one of the leading academic medical centers in the United States, shedding its sectarian name but retaining its roots in community care, social justice, and scientific leadership, which are values that continue to shape its research today.

The post Baby teeth read like tree rings paint a picture of toxins in early life appeared first on Green Prophet.

I grew up with parents in a constant fight, and in a marriage myself know that the day to day isn’t always easy. But if being stressed about getting married is a question in your court, the research is in favor of tying the knot for a healthier, longer life. A large new analysis of more than 4 million cancer cases is raising eyebrows towards conservative values, with a striking finding: people who have never been married appear significantly more likely to develop cancer than those who are or have been married.

According to the research from the University of Miami, cancer risk was 68% higher in never-married men and 85% higher in never-married women.

At first glance, the conclusion seems simple that wearing a wedding ring protects your health. But scientists are also pushing back on the conclusion. Being married, they suggest, may reflect a cluster of lifestyle and social factors that influence long-term health. This lifestyle could be repeated with the non-married people. And what happens if you get a divorce?

Researchers point to differences in behavior. People who are married they say on average, less likely to smoke, more likely to seek medical care, and more likely to go for routine screenings. They may also experience more stable daily routines and emotional support, factors that can reduce chronic stress, which is increasingly linked to disease risk.

For women, reproductive history may also play a role. Having children, something more common among married individuals in many populations, can influence the risk of certain cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer especially if they breast feed.

Clinical psychologist Frank Penedo, one of the researchers involved, emphasizes that the takeaway isn’t about relationship status, it’s about awareness. “If you’re not married,” he says, “you should be paying extra attention to cancer risk factors, getting any screenings you may need, and staying up to date on health care.”

Friends could create cancer-support nodes for screening, recovery and post-care.

That advice applies broadly. You may not have someone on you about regular checkups, healthy eating, exercise, avoiding tobacco, and managing stress. So you should be aware of these co-factors to cancer, regardless if someone is married, single, divorced, or widowed.

The findings also highlight something deeper: the role of social connection in health. Humans are social beings, and strong support systems, whether through partners, friends, or community, can influence how people take care of themselves and respond to illness “It’s a clear and powerful signal that some individuals are at a greater risk,”says Penedo.

Other studies have found that singleness comes with its own benefits, including more close relationships and greater opportunities for personal growth, so, as always, the research needs to be put in context.

There has also been evidence that marriage has its downsides – with a higher risk of dementia attached, for example. It’s not simply that marital status, one way or the other, is the healthier option.

The post Married People Have Lower Cancer Risk, But the Reason is Complex appeared first on Green Prophet.

We all experience aging, yet it is often discussed only in the context of decline or medical care. Despite this, aging is a lifelong process that involves physical development, emotional growth, cognitive change, and evolving social roles. From childhood through adulthood, each stage of life presents unique challenges and opportunities that shape our overall well-being.

When we look at aging from beneath the surface, it becomes easier to understand how different stages of life contribute to long-term health and quality of life. Societies that recognize the importance of these stages are better equipped to support individuals through education, healthcare, community planning, and social support systems. 

While medical professionals play an essential role in helping individuals age well, understanding aging goes beyond just healthcare. It also involves social awareness, public policy, and a cultural appreciation for every phase of life.

Why understanding aging matters

Aging is not simply a matter of getting older; it is the result of biological, environmental, and lifestyle factors that interact over time. 

Researchers who study gerontology emphasize that aging outcomes vary widely between individuals depending on genetics, diet, exercise, stress levels, and access to healthcare throughout their lives. Understanding how these factors influence aging can help people make informed decisions. For example, habits developed during early adulthood, such as maintaining an active lifestyle, managing stress, and building strong social relationships, often have long-term effects on physical and mental health.

Public awareness of aging also helps communities create systems that support individuals across generations. Urban planning, transportation access, healthcare infrastructure, and workplace policies all play a role in helping people remain healthy and independent as they age.

Building a foundation for healthy aging

The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth. Nutrition, safety, and nurturing relationships are particularly important at this stage. Positive early experiences help children develop emotional stability, cognitive skills, and healthy behavioral patterns. 

Research consistently shows that supportive childhood environments can reduce the risk of chronic illness later in life and improve educational and social outcomes. Parents, caregivers, and educators play a crucial role in shaping these early experiences. Encouraging physical activity, balanced nutrition, and curiosity about learning can create habits that continue well into adulthood.

Adolescence represents one of the most transformative periods of human development. During this time, individuals experience rapid physical growth, hormonal changes, and the gradual development of independence. Teenagers begin to form personal identities as they navigate peer relationships, academic pressures, and new social environments. Emotional development during this stage is particularly important because it shapes how individuals handle stress, relationships, and decision-making later in life.

Young adulthood builds upon these developments as individuals establish careers, relationships, and personal goals. Many important lifestyle habits, such as exercise routines, sleep patterns, and dietary choices, are formed during this period. These habits can influence long-term health outcomes, including the risk of heart disease, obesity, and mental health challenges. 

Supporting young adults with education, access to healthcare, and opportunities for personal development helps create a healthier population over time.

Aging in adulthood

Midlife often brings a combination of personal and professional responsibilities. Many adults in their 40s and 50s are balancing careers, raising children, and caring for aging parents simultaneously. While this stage can be demanding, it is also a time when individuals possess valuable life experience and stability. 

Physically, midlife may introduce noticeable changes. Metabolism may slow, muscle mass can decline, and hormonal shifts may occur. However, these changes do not necessarily lead to poor health if individuals maintain preventive habits. Regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and routine medical checkups become increasingly important during this stage. Preventive care, including screenings for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, allows potential health concerns to be addressed early.

Maintaining emotional well-being is equally important. Many adults find that strong friendships, hobbies, and meaningful work help provide balance and reduce stress during this period.

After the peak of adulthood 

Older adulthood is often misunderstood as a period defined solely by health challenges. In reality, many older adults remain active, socially engaged, and intellectually curious well into their later years. Physical changes such as reduced bone density, decreased muscle strength, or slower cognitive processing can occur with age. However, these changes vary widely and are influenced by lifestyle choices made throughout life.

Healthcare professionals with specialized training are essential in supporting individuals in this age group. An adult gerontology nurse practitioner focuses on caring for adolescents through older adults, addressing chronic disease management, preventative care, and overall health maintenance for aging populations. Their expertise helps ensure that older adults receive comprehensive care tailored to the unique challenges of aging.

Physical changes associated with aging

As the body ages, gradual biological changes take place across many systems. Some of the most common include reduced muscle mass and bone density, changes in metabolism, cardiovascular changes, and vision and hearing changes. Although these shifts are natural, they can often be managed or slowed through lifestyle choices. Regular exercise, balanced diets rich in nutrients, and preventive healthcare all play a role in promoting healthy aging.

Emotional and cognitive well-being

Mental health and emotional resilience are just as important as physical health throughout the aging process. While some cognitive changes may occur over time, many intellectual abilities remain strong throughout life. Older adults often retain deep knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and emotional intelligence gained through decades of experience. Maintaining mental engagement through reading, learning new skills, or social interaction can help support cognitive health.

Social connection is particularly important. Loneliness and isolation can negatively impact both mental and physical health, making community programs and intergenerational relationships valuable resources. Activities such as volunteering, participating in community organizations, or joining hobby groups can help older adults remain socially connected and mentally stimulated.

Creating age-friendly communities

As life expectancy increases, communities around the world are recognizing the need to support aging populations in new ways. Age-friendly environments make it easier for people of all ages to remain active, engaged, and independent. These environments often include accessible public spaces, safe walking areas, affordable healthcare services, and community programs designed to encourage social participation.

A lifelong perspective on aging

Aging is a continuous process that begins at birth and evolves over decades. Each stage from childhood to old age contributes to the overall health and well-being of individuals and communities.

By understanding the physical, emotional, and social changes that occur throughout life, societies can create systems that support healthier populations and stronger connections between generations. Ultimately, a broader perspective on aging encourages us to value every stage of life. With the right support, resources, and awareness, individuals can experience growth, purpose, and fulfillment at every age.

The post Understanding the Life Stages: A Broader Look at Aging appeared first on Green Prophet.

Big, gnarly fava bean pods are in season right now, just as winter gives way from cool nights to bright, warm days. Heaps of the greens loved in the Middle East appear in the shouks (Arabic word for market): peas, string beans, asparagus, and for a short while, these fresh fava beans.

Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.

Fresh beans are peeled twice: once when when you slide them out of their pods, and again when you squish each bean out from its rubbery covering. True; a little extra work. But it’s a restful task, and the soup is wonderfully herby, and redolent of green Springtime.

The preparation time listed relates to fresh beans. Frozen beans won’t need the peeling.

You’ll notice that the recipe calls for a fair amount of cilantro, but you can easily swap parsley for it if you prefer.

Fava Bean Soup Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups fresh or frozen fava bean pods
1 large leek, well washed and sliced ​​into thin rings (about 2 cups)
2 celery stalks sliced
2 carrots, sliced thinly
2 zucchini, diced
2 large potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
A bunch of coarsely chopped cilantro (about a cup)
8 cups/2 liters water or more as needed

Pull the strings off each pod and open it along the slit to expose the green beans. Use your thumbnail or a small knife. Push the beans out. Make a small cut in each bean, along the black stripe on its side, and squish it free of its sheath.

If using frozen beans, skip this step.
Heat olive oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery, carrots, zucchini and potatoes. Add turmeric, salt and black pepper, stir and let the vegetables cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 8 cups of water, stir and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, for 45 minutes over medium heat until all the vegetables are tender.

Add the peeled fava beans, bring back to a boil and continue cooking for another 45 minutes. Check the soup once or twice: if necessary, add a little water.

Using a potato masher, mash the vegetables very coarsely.

Taste for seasoning and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.

Turn off the heat and add a bunch of finely chopped cilantro or parsley.
Serve right away, and enjoy.

Love fava beans and want another recipe? Try this fava bean Iranian salad

The post Fresh Fava Bean Soup, A Vegan Springtime Recipe appeared first on Green Prophet.

Women’s health care is a vital component of public health, yet it remains one of the most under-addressed and misunderstood areas in medicine.

From adolescence through menopause and beyond, women face unique health challenges that call for specialised attention, informed care, and ongoing support. A strong medical team, one that includes both general practitioners and gynecologists, is key to ensuring women’s well-being across all stages of life.

This article explores why women’s health care matters, what comprehensive care looks like, and how evolving roles in medicine are helping to close gaps in access and quality.

The Complexity of Women’s Health

Women’s health is not limited to reproductive care. It encompasses a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional needs that are shaped by biological, social, and environmental factors. Women are more likely than men to experience autoimmune disorders, osteoporosis, and certain mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. They also metabolize medication differently and may present atypical symptoms for conditions like heart disease, which has historically been underdiagnosed in women due to male-centric research models.

Reproductive health itself is multifaceted, involving menstrual health, contraception, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and gynecological cancers. These issues are deeply interconnected with other aspects of health. For example, untreated polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can lead to insulin resistance and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Similarly, lack of access to prenatal care can result in complications for both mother and baby, including preterm birth and low birth weight.

Why a Strong Medical Team Matters

Navigating these complexities requires a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach. A good medical team doesn’t just treat symptoms; it builds relationships, monitors long-term health trends, and empowers women to make informed decisions.

Key members of this team include:

• General Practitioners (GPs): These providers offer routine checkups, manage chronic conditions, and serve as the first point of contact for most health concerns. They play a critical role in preventive care and early detection.
• Gynecologists: Specialists in reproductive health, gynecologists provide essential services such as Pap smears, breast exams, contraception counseling, and menopause management. Regular visits can lead to early diagnosis of conditions like cervical cancer or endometriosis.
• Advanced Practice Nurses: Nurses who have completed relevant programs can continue to specialize in areas like women’s health. Their advanced training equips them to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care and to serve as trusted members of a woman’s medical care team.
• Mental Health Professionals: Given the strong link between hormonal changes and mental health, therapists and psychiatrists are often vital in managing conditions like postpartum depression or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

This collaborative model ensures that women receive holistic care; care that sees the whole person, not just isolated symptoms.

The Power of Preventative Care

Preventive care is one of the most effective tools in women’s health. Annual wellness visits, mammograms, pap tests, and bone density scans can detect issues before they become serious.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, yet many women are unaware of their risk factors. Regular checkups with a trusted provider can help monitor blood pressure, cholesterol, and lifestyle habits that contribute to cardiovascular health.

Vaccinations also play a key role. The HPV vaccine, for example, has significantly reduced the prevalence of the virus that causes most cervical cancers. Yet uptake remains uneven, especially in underserved communities. A well-informed medical team can help educate patients and ensure they receive timely immunizations to prevent disease.

Addressing Health Disparities

Despite the importance of women’s health care, access remains uneven across racial, geographic, and socioeconomic lines. Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Native American women face higher rates of cervical cancer and lower screening rates. Rural women often struggle to find nearby providers, especially specialists.

These disparities reflect systemic issues that demand systemic solutions. Expanding telehealth services, increasing funding for community health centers, and supporting culturally competent care are all steps in the right direction. Nurses trained through flexible, accessible courses such as online DNP programs can help bridge these gaps by bringing advanced care to underserved areas and populations.

Building Trust and Communication

One of the most overlooked aspects of women’s health care is the importance of trust. Many women report feeling dismissed or not taken seriously by their providers, especially when discussing pain, fatigue, or mental health concerns. This can lead to delayed diagnoses and worsening outcomes.

A good medical team listens. They validate concerns, explain options clearly, and involve patients in decision-making. This kind of relationship is especially important in women’s health, where stigma and silence have historically surrounded topics like menstruation, sexual health, and menopause.

Advanced practice nurses often excel in this area. Their training emphasizes patient education, empathy, and long-term care relationships. Whether it’s helping a teenager navigate her first gynecological visit or supporting a woman through perimenopause, these professionals can offer both clinical expertise and emotional support.

Empowering Women Through Education

Health literacy is a powerful form of self-advocacy. When women understand their bodies, their risks, and their options, they’re better equipped to make informed decisions. This includes knowing when to seek care, how to interpret symptoms, and what questions to ask during appointments.

Medical teams that prioritize education through workshops, digital resources, or one-on-one counseling help empower women to take charge of their health. This is especially important in an era of misinformation, where social media can spread myths about everything from birth control to vaccines.

The Role of Nurses in Expanding Access

As the health care landscape evolves, nurses are playing an increasingly vital role in expanding access and improving quality. Nurses who have completed online DNP programs are uniquely positioned to specialize in women’s health and contribute meaningfully to care teams. Their advanced clinical training, combined with a focus on leadership and systems thinking, allows them to address both individual and community health needs.

These nurses often work in primary care settings, OB/GYN clinics, and community health centers, where they provide preventive services, manage chronic conditions, and offer reproductive health counseling. Their presence helps reduce wait times, improve patient satisfaction, and ensure continuity of care.

The future of women’s health care depends on our ability to build inclusive, responsive, and well-resourced systems. This means investing in research that reflects women’s experiences, training providers in gender-sensitive care, and expanding the roles of nurses and other professionals who can meet women where they are.

It also means recognizing that women’s health is not just a medical issue, it’s a social one. When women have access to comprehensive care, they are better able to participate in the workforce, care for their families, and contribute to their communities. Health equity for women is health equity for all. By prioritizing preventive care, addressing disparities, and fostering trust, we can build a health care system that truly supports women’s wellbeing through every stage of life.

The post Why Taking Care of Your Health as a Woman is So Important appeared first on Green Prophet.

How do you feel about you afterlife being a part of Kim Kardashian’s butt?

It sounds like a sustainable choice, from a sustainablist’s nightmare. With the excessive and dramatic use of the weight-loss Ozempec, and the gaunt look of a flattened butt and hollow face, more people are looking to liposuction to give more volume where gauntness has created a hole. It can happen in the cheeks, the hips, the rear-end. But not everyone can go through with the painful procedure of liposuction, when there is no fat to harvest.

A new Hollywood secret sauce is called alloClae and Miriam has written about it here. It’s a new injectable filler made from processed human donor fat. Unlike traditional fat grafting, which requires harvesting fat from a patient’s own body, alloClae offers fat “on demand,” purified and ready for injection for about $100,000 a syringe.

The fat is being positioned as a solution for patients who have lost so much weight that they no longer have enough fat for conventional contouring procedures.

Clinics in the US, and who knows where else, are increasingly using it to restore volume in the face, hips, and buttocks, areas most visibly affected by rapid weight loss. In effect, one intervention is being used to counterbalance another: pharmaceuticals to reduce fat, followed by biotech to replace it in more controlled ways.

The global rush to weight-loss drugs like Ozempic is reshaping bodies at unprecedented speed, and not always in ways people expect. While semaglutide (the generic name for Ozempec) has helped millions lose significant weight, and this can be good for the heart and the joints, researchers and clinicians are now documenting a set of unintended physical effects tied to rapid fat loss.  “Ozempic face” reflects accelerated volume loss in the cheeks and temples, producing a more aged appearance and literature describes this as “exaggerated volume loss… resulting in advanced facial aging.”

The impact is not limited to the face. Rapid weight loss has also been linked to reductions in lean mass, including muscle, raising concerns about long-term strength and metabolic health. At the same time, known side effects, ranging from nausea and gastrointestinal distress to more serious complications such as pancreatitis, continue to be studied as usage expands beyond diabetic populations.

According to Noor Saleem, approximately 15 million persons in the United States are currently taking GLP-1 drugs. Off-label use is becoming more common, which raises worries about potential health hazards and significant side effects such as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), or vision problems.

Into this strange and dark landscape steps alloClae. From a macabre sustainability perspective, alloClae occupies an uneasy space. It can be framed as a form of biological reuse, drawing on donated tissue that might otherwise go unused.

Yet it also reflects a deeper shift toward the commodification of the human body (like facials made from baby parts), where fat becomes a standardized product moving through a supply chain. The pairing of Ozempic and alloClae signals something larger than a trend. I’d not want to donate my body for science, if there was a chance I could be a part of Kim Kardashian’s future butt. My friend Mike say otherwise: “F, yea. I’m in.”

Some other concerns, from Robert C, a literature professor in New York: “I hope it is possible to donate one’s body with stipulations that prevent some uses of it.”

Joy P, a business advisor says, “Horrific. A crucial reminder of the importance to place standards and controls alongside innovation; no matter how altruistic the intention, there seem always to be parasites waiting to profit from it.”

Liat C, a journalist in the US: “I think it is a disgusting desecration. I’m signed as an organ donor and I could even perceive of body fat being used for necessary plastic surgery for burn victims etc but not sold for someone’s cosmetic vanities and insanities.”

This all points to a future where bodies are increasingly engineered in stages, shaped by overlapping technologies that subtract, then add back, until the desired form is achieved.

I for one am staying natural. No botox, lasers or fillers for me. I will age, with grace or without. But some women build their self-esteem on their looks. For one user of alloclae, who didn’t show her face or give her real name in a recent article, she’s happy about it. She told the New York Post the alloClae treatment improves her self-esteem.

Karry R, a friend of mine from high-school, is concerned about the source of the cadaver fat. “Where is the honour in donating our bodies?” she tells me. “Our senior citizens think it’s for science.”

The post Fix your Ozempec face with alloClae fat from a human cadaver? appeared first on Green Prophet.

In this Ozempic age, a person may diet themselves down unattractive gauntness. Hip dips, bony shoulders, withered hands; not to mention drooping breasts and flat buttocks: a sad list of body parts needing plumping up to look good again.

“Personal fat banking” is a solution. A person set on losing a lot of weight can have their own fat harvested ahead of time via liposuction and later reinjected into any part of the body that needs a smooth contour. Expensive, but it can be done. Read here about plastic surgery’s environnmental impact.

But what happens when there’s no personal fat left to harvest?

Well, turn to fat harvested from dead people instead. Cadaver fat returns the bounce to the breasts just as efficiently as your own fat. As much as five kilos of fat may be harvested from a corpse. Certified agencies use male and female cadavers from 18-71 years old. The commercial name for processed human fat is Alloclae.

Cosmetic surgeons call it “regenerative medicine. ” Their websites may refer to “donated tissue,” if they mention the fat’s origins at all. To squeamish patients, they soothingly explain that AlloClae is part of a “biologic revolution.” It encourages the patient’s own cells to migrate into the donor matrix, rebuilding tissue.

That sounds so much more scientific, even sort of natural, doesn’t it? It sort of takes the uncomfortable dissonance away, unless you remember that the fat injected into your living body came from a dead person who never consented to its commercial use.

There is no proof that any donor, while living, gave informed consent for companies to make money off their remains; the remains they nobly donated to research and science, not for someone to fill out their bikini.

In fact, it’s not entirely clear if family members who agreed to donate their dear departed’s body are aware that someone may exploit it for sale. The original donors or their families typically do not profit.

Who’s making money from human fat in 2026?

The first parties are companies are known as “body brokers,” officially called non-transplant tissue banks. They acquire, dissect, and sell human bodies and body parts for medical research and education. They are intermediaries between the recently deceased and commercial buyers, such as medical device companies, military researchers, and private surgical training programs.

Tissue banks generate substantial revenue by “parting out” a single body; for instance, a head can fetch roughly $1,000, while a torso might be sold for several thousand dollars. A single corpse can generate up to $10,000 in total sales.

In the United States, no central registry for body brokers exists. Legitimate companies identify themselves as non-transplant tissue banks. If you look it up, you’ll find The American Association of Tissue Banks. They list accredited non-transplant anatomical donation organizations.

Biotech companies buy human fat from body brokers, then process and sterilize it. The finished product, Alloclae, is considered a legal and safe, FDA-compliant human cell and tissue product. It doesn’t technically have to be “approved” or “cleared” by the FDA, per the agency’s web site.

But unlike the organ transplant system, which is strictly regulated by the federal government, this industry operates with significantly less oversight.

Tiger Aesthetics, a subsidiary of the Tiger BioScience company, is the biggest processor of human fat in the USA . They claim that Alloclae, cleansed by detergents, is purified down to DNA residues that may provoke immunogenic response.

And so it may be. The process is still new enough that we don’t have long-term studies on possible secondary effects in patients injected with Alloclae.

The processed human fat is then sold on to specialized clinics and plastic surgeons. Those clinics and surgeons earn big fees for plumping up body parts of the rich and the vain. How much? It depends. Scanning the websites of several clinics, I saw quotes between US$5000 to US$7000 per syringe.

Dr. Sachin M. Shridharani offers the procedure at his Manhattan clinic, Luxurgery. Interviewed by The New York Post, he said that the procedures typically start at $10,000, with costs increase depending on the scope of treatment.

“If you want a full breast augmentation, hip dip and some buttock treatment and you have to use hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of cc’s of AlloClae, well, that’s going to cost tens of thousands of dollars.”

What you get for your money

Traditional fillers come in 1cc syringes, while AlloClae is packaged in much larger 12.5cc and 25cc sizes. This makes it a unique middle ground for “micro-augmentations” – fixing hip dips, “scooped-out” breasts, or post-liposuction dents that are too big for standard fillers but not large enough to justify surgery.

But the effects don’t last forever. While some claim that the “donated” fat is a sort of scaffolding for the patient’s own body to build up tissue, more often the lovely rounded effect wears away and dissolves after 18 months at longest.
Now that can’t be bad for business.

It gets darker.

Brokers frequently target low-income families by offering “free cremation” in exchange for the donation. In effect, the family agrees to sell their relative’s fat to pay for funeral costs. Some funeral directors maintain partnerships with body brokers to provide low-cost burials or cremations for poor families.

Investigations have uncovered instances of families being misled about how bodies would be used, as well as cases of improper handling, such as dismemberment with power tools or the sale of remains to gruesome “exhibits.”

Makes you wonder if any low-income cremations were empty coffins, while the deceased’s body was sold to independent body brokers.

Human Remains, The Newest Cosmetic

Science has given us many medical uses for bits and pieces of the human body. Lives are saved by heart, kidney, liver donations; parts of eyes, of skin, and more. These procedures come from a place of value for human life and dignity.

And maybe you know someone who’s had cosmetic surgery, or had it yourself. Why not; if surgery enhances a person’s appearance, makes them feel more confident and secure, and they can afford it, more power to them.

But would you get yourself injected with Alloclae?

The post The Next New Cosmetic: Human Fat Known as Alloclae appeared first on Green Prophet.