Try this idea for chemical-free, all-natural mosquito control that’s also beautiful: a mosquito-repellent garden that works all summer long to keep bugs out of your outdoor living spaces.
Photo by Michelle White. Image sourced from Mother Earth News. Available at: https://ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com/www.motherearthnews.com/images/2016/06/22120509/2CB9BA70356843B5980C3E88A8AEA4FF.jpg
And beyond the emotional connection adults may feel to the way we learned to write, there is a growing body of research on what the normally developing brain learns by forming letters on the page, in printed or manuscript format as well as in cursive.
Photo by The New York Times. Image sourced from The New York Times. Available at: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/06/21/science/wellKLASS/wellKLASS-tmagArticle.jpg
The apricot, which was cultivated in China and Central Asia as early as 2000 B.C., migrated with the country's traders, who traveled the Great Silk Road. The Chinese merchants, botanist Berthold Laufer suggests, very probably introduced the fruit to the Persians. They called it the "yellow plum" (zardaloo). Widely dispersed, it was spread throughout the Eurasian steppe by nomadic, horseback-riding tribesmen.
The 'Turkey' apricot, a hand-colored engraving after a drawing by Augusta Innes Withers (1792-1869), from the first volume of John Lindley's Pomological Magazine (1827-1828). The Romans dubbed the apricot the "precious one." Poets praised its beauty. The conquering Arabs took it to the Mideast, where the luxurious fruit was exploited in sugary confections. The Royal Horticultural Society Diary/Wikimedia Commons
We’ve gone to the moon, we’ve gone to Mars, but we don’t know the way of the bee? asked Stamets, who owns the medicinal mushroom company Fungi Perfecti near Olympia, Washington.
Commercial honeybees have teetered on the brink of collapse for nearly a decade. Scientists are now looking to forest mushrooms as a possible remedy. Photo by Ken Christensen/EarthFix/KCTS 9. Image sourced from PBS NewsHour. Available at: https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/newshour/app/uploads/2015/09/honeybee-1-1024x576.jpg
Traditional medicine, including acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage, homeopathy, apitherapy (the medical use of honey bee products), ozone treatment, and exercise such as tai qi and qi gong, has been formally incorporated into Cuban healthcare practices for more than 40 years. Medical students study acupuncture in China and nurses are also highly trained to perform acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping. Physicians receive specialty training in acupuncture in Shanghai. None of these forms of treatment are considered "alternative;" they are all completely incorporated into the fabric of the Cuban healthcare system. Patients and their providers determine which forms of healthcare are preferable and most appropriate for them. Treatment becomes a seamless blend of whatever approaches are selected.
Photo by Acupuncture Today. Image of an acupuncture session in Cuba sourced from Acupuncture Today. Available at: https://acupuncturetoday.com/images/jcogs_img/cache/cuba__1_2_2369_-_abcdef_-_7bd8f1f8bd5741be38b311536b9a23e06b118d31.jpg
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Different countries have different types of rice dumplings. In Taiwan, the regional differences are quite distinct. As a wrapper, the north uses Makino bamboo leaves and the south uses sweet bamboo. Hakka people on the island use neither and opt for the fragrant leaves of a plant called alpinia zerumbet, or shell ginger.
Photo by Clarissa Wei. Image of a dragon boat race sourced from Munchies. Available at: https://munchies-images.vice.com/wp_upload/dragonboat-race_27284614380_o.jpg?resize=20:*
Fresh grass jelly is fragrant, with a lightly smoky undertone. The grass in question is Chinese mesona, a plant in the mint family grown usually as a secondary crop. It’s a perennial herb that’s harvested only once a year in the spring.
Photo by Munchies. Image of grass jelly in Los Angeles sourced from Munchies. Available at: https://munchies-images.vice.com/wp_upload/grassjelly-in-los-angeles_27045654290_o.jpg?crop=1xw:0.84941275167785xh;*,*&resize=20:*
Digestion is crucial to overall health. If your digestion isn’t working, then the rest of your body can slowly start to fall apart: Your sleep will become poor, you'll lack energy, your bowel movements will change, your skin will be affected, and much more.
Image by Shutterstock. Image of pepper rasam, a South Indian dish, sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/pepper-rasam-south-india-which-very-319143509
Step back, and you see a method to this madness: The pots are arranged in a decorative circle, and for all their variety, they share one trait. They are all herbs. Culinary herbs, household herbs, healing herbs.
Image by Shutterstock. Image of a kitchen garden with vegetables, herbs, and flowers sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/kitchen-garden-vegetables-herbage-flowers-55549897
Tao Porchon-Lynch, 97, breezed into her regular Wednesday evening yoga class in a brightly colored outfit: stretch pants, sleeveless top, flowing scarf and three-inch heels.
Tao Porchon-Lynch teaches a yoga class in Scarsdale, N.Y. “I haven’t finished learning,” says Ms. Porchon-Lynch, who is 97. “My students are my teachers.” CreditGregg Vigliotti for The New York Times
Plants like the periwinkle have contributed to the development of 25 to 50 percent of all prescription drugs used in the United States, either directly or by providing biochemical models, or templates, used to make synthetic compounds. Digitalis, which is used to treat chronic heart failure, comes from the leaves of the foxglove plant, and ephedrine, a component of many commonly prescribed respiratory medicines, is derived from a chemical formula from the ephedra plant. But overall, in the past 40 years there has been little development of new plant-based pharmaceuticals. During that period the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fewer than a dozen drugs derived from plants.
In Chinese medicine, every organ has its functions or “responsibilities” . These are not all physical, they are psychological and spiritual as well. The heart has special importance in TCM as it is seen to be the “ruler” of all the other organs, and when the body is healthy and balanced, it is a kind and benevolent leader.
Photo by Chinese Medicine Living. Image of a person holding a heart-shaped object sourced from Chinese Medicine Living. Available at: https://www.chinesemedicineliving.com
Diabetes mellitus is among the most common disorder in developed and developing countries, and the disease is increasing rapidly in most parts of the world. It has been estimated that up to one-third of patients with diabetes mellitus use some form of complementary and alternative medicine. One plant that has received the most attention for its anti-diabetic properties is bitter melon, Momordica charantia (M. charantia), commonly referred to as bitter gourd, karela and balsam pear. Its fruit is also used for the treatment of diabetes and related conditions amongst the indigenous populations of Asia, South America, India and East Africa.
Image by Shutterstock. Image of slices of bitter gourd arranged on a white background sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/slices-bitter-gourd-arranged-on-white-286289255
Results of a three-month study released Monday by the university show opioids, such as morphine, cause an increase in chronic pain in lab rats, something that could have implications for people, too.
Image by Shutterstock. Image of hands of a woman holding a pack of medicament sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/hands-woman-holding-pack-medicament-255027928
Elevated blood viscosity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis, Aquifoliaceae) tea, a popular South American beverage made from the leaves, has been found to have lipid-lowering effects, antioxidant activity, and other potential cardiovascular benefits. There were, however, no clinical studies that evaluated the effects of yerba maté tea on blood viscosity. So, the aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the effects of yerba maté tea on blood viscosity, microcirculatory parameters, and other CVD risk factors in subjects with high blood viscosity.
In 999 A.D. they recorded a flowering of Chinese Mainland Bamboo. It was probably an astonishing sight, since no one alive at the time had ever seen the species flower before. The bamboo plants died, their seeds sprouted, and the forests did not flower again till 1114. After the species was imported to Japan, the Japanese recorded flowers in the early 1700s, and then again in 1844 to 1847. The flowering in the late 1960s was just the next burst of a 120-year cycle.
Phyllostachys bambusoides, a species of bamboo with a 120-year flowering cycle. Photo by Emmanuel Lattes, Alamy. Image sourced from National Geographic. Available at: https://i.natgeofe.com/n/c701f64e-551c-40d1-ab74-b6aa820cc7a6/bamboo-1200.jpg?w=1280&h=677
On the other hand, Patel says, there’s now a growing body of work that suggests that actually learning to play a musical instrument does have impacts on other abilities. These include speech perception, the ability to understand emotions in the voice and the ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
A bassist at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston plays during a recital rehearsal. Research has found music instruction has beneficial effects on young brains. Photo by Jesse Costa/WBUR. Image sourced from KQED. Available at: https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/07/cellist.jpg
They don’t snore, but might creak during their slumbers. For the first time, trees have been shown to undergo physical changes at night that can be likened to sleep, or at least to day-night cycles that have been observed experimentally in smaller plants.
Time to rest your weary branches. Photo by Dmitry Savin/Getty. Image of tree branches with leaves sourced from New Scientist. Available at: https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/18162330/gettyimages-1495132231.jpg?width=800