Verve’s monthly round up of what’s new, interesting, and happening… in a paragraph!
Fortune Tellers
Like the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces, telomeres act as a protective barrier at the end of chromosomes to protect DNA from being damaged. But, as cells repeatedly divide, telomeres shorten to the point of ineffectiveness causing cells to die (this has led to telomeres also being compared to fuses on a bomb). This shortening process is associated with ageing and age-related disease like cancer. However, after decades of the study of telomeres, a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that simply extending telomere length may not be the key to immortality as those with longer than average telomeres may be just as prone to some disease as those whose telomeres had depleted. (Mice, also, have both abnormally long telomeres and short lifespans.) “Ageing biology is a lot more complicated than we’d hoped,” Dr Sharpless, professor of cancer and policy and innovation at the University of North Carolina and a former director of the National Cancer Institute, tells the New York Times. “There is no free lunch.”
Pot Luck
Potted plants don’t just look pretty, they play a vital role in improving our health – and more. A study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information concluded that “indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress”, while other studies have shown that even looking at pictures of greenery can have a positive impact on our mental state. Attention rates of schoolchildren has been shown to improve – along with attendance rates – in the presence of plants, and they can even play a role in speeding up recovery following illness or injury. People who spend time with potted plants are more likely to report higher levels of happiness, focus, and life satisfaction. And of course, they clean the air. “There’s an evolutionary response when you see green – it’s almost like you created yourself a sanctuary,” Gary L Altman, associate director of the horticultural therapy program at Rutgers University, tells Time. “It reduces feelings of fear and anxiety, and even if you’re angry, it’ll calm you down.”
A Stitch in Time
The wonderful Premmie Knitting Club (PKC) is a registered Kiwi charity that provides knitted items such clothing and blankets for premature babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) both in New Zealand and Australia. “I was a premmie baby, so this project is extremely close to my heart and my way of giving back,” says founder Courtney Bennet. The project has now attracted knitters of all stripes, from teenagers to residents at retirement villages – and with the cold weather upon us, they’re busier than ever. “Blankets, singlets and cardigans are always most in need,” says Courtney, “and this year we’re hearing more from hospitals that there’s a shortage of hats.” Heaps of useful information – including knitting patterns and how to donate – can be found on the charity’s website
The Joy of Less
We’ve all heard of – and no doubt experienced – fomo (the fear of missing out), but there’s a new antithetical acronym in town that’s far friendlier to our wellbeing: jomo, or the joy of missing out. In our social media-ridden world that constantly encourages us to compares ourselves to others – and usually fail, at least in our heads – it’s a much-needed tonic, and there’s ample data to prove it. When Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp went down for around six hours around the world towards the end of 2021, it caused untold to stress to many of the disconnected billions. But research over the following days published by Sage found that a good chunk of respondents reported feelings of joy and relief. Was jomo born then? “At its core, JOMO means proudly living life in the slow lane and deriving pleasure from social exclusion,” writes Rosie Bell for BBC’s Worklife. “… By taking a step back… Our most precious resource is reclaimed: time.”
Real Deal
In an ingenious marketing strategy, Lululemon recently hosted a ‘Dupe Swap’ at its Los Angeles store, to allow customers to trade in their knockoff Align pants for the original thing. For the uninitiated, dupe – short for duplicate – is the name given to cheap copies of high-end brands, usually without the logos to avoid legal issues. And it’s big business, especially with younger generations – the hashtag #dupe has more than 3.5 billion TikTok views, while the hashtag #lululemondupes has more than 150 million. Lululemon chief brand officer Nikki Neuburger remarked that it was a “very fun way to step into a cultural conversation”. Not only did it generate great publicity – but an increase in sales, too.
Visionary Vogue
Even after publishing for more than a century, British Vogue is still finding ways to open doors and push boundaries, having just released it’s first braille edition for the blind and partially sighted. The May issue, titled ‘Reframing Fashion’ was also praised for including disabled stars, like Irish writer and activist Sinéad Burke who has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, and actor Selma Blair, who has MS. “The time has come for us to get real about who we are as a society, and for fashion to build a better, more accessible and inclusive industry,” wrote Edward Enninful in his editor’s letter. The magazine was produced in collaboration with Tilting the Lens, an accessibility and inclusion consultancy company that has previously advised the likes of Netflix and Starbucks how to make their businesses more disability friendly.
