1. Good Cardiovascular Habits Can Knock 6 Years off Your Biological Age
Good cardiovascular health can knock six years off your biological age, says a team from Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. The researchers tested the American Heart Association’s Essential 8 checklist and the effects of sticking to it.
To take care of the heart and blood vessels, which are linked to many diseases, adopt the Essential 8 habits: healthy sleep, not smoking, regular physical activity, healthy diet, healthy body weight, and healthy blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure.
The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 in Philadelphia, examined 6,500 adults from varying backgrounds and found that sticking to the Essential 8 could significantly extend life and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other age-related diseases.
2. University Creates 2-Year Debt-Free College Degree to Help Underserved Students
Butler University of Indianapolis has created a 2-year debt-free college to offer an associate’s degree aimed at helping prospective first-generation laureates get access to higher education. Graduates of the facility can then continue their path to a bachelor’s degree for a flat rate of $10,000, a quarter of the current normal tuition of $45,000.
Butler University is a private liberal arts college in Indiana, and the new college and programs will be funded by endowments and donations, and accessible to students in low-income housing areas and those who would be the first in their family history to go to college.
3. New Pacemaker Developed that Uses the Heartbeat to Recharge its Battery
By generating electrical energy from the heartbeat, a new pacemaker developed by scientists in Seattle was able to partially recharge itself.
Although the beat only generated 10% of the energy needed for the next heartbeat, the researchers hope that their breakthrough will become the standard, since changing a battery in a wireless pacemaker requires heart surgery, convincing most people to just implant a second one.
The new device is much smaller than a traditional pacemaker due to its wireless nature, measuring about one-third the size of a AAA battery and residing entirely in the heart’s right ventricle.
