We are all torn and broken. Life and its trials have a way of damaging your emotions and your soul. Perhaps you feel like a pinball, knocked about against trial after trauma. Or maybe your soul feels like the loser in a knife fight. Does a shattered pile of broken pottery describe you? Photo by Andrew Petrischev on Unsplash The good news is that God heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3), tends to our wounds, is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). He is the master potter, and we are clay in His hands. He is using our brokenness to reform us in the ima ..read more

You may remember watching Dr. McCoy from Star Trek. He could wave a gadget over the bodies of crew members and diagnose and heal. Or you may recall Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. He received a bionic arm after Darth Vader amputated his arm with a light-saber. We can't teleport a person yet, but science is getting closer to bringing the reversal of aging to reality. AI We may soon reverse biological aging thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). Revealing how proteins and cells react to treatments allows AI to advance medicine.  "Until recently, the best we could do was slow aging." D ..read more

More than one million patients undergo successful total hip replacement (THR) procedures yearly, which is expected to double in the next 20 years. Having lived through 10 hip surgeries (1985-2016), I feel qualified to discuss the process and progress of hip replacement surgery over the years. In 1985, I had my first total hip replacement after learning that my hips had severely deteriorated from congenital hip dysplasia (shallow hip sockets like German shepherds get). Although hip replacement surgery dates back as far as 1891, modern-day hip surgery essentially dates back to the 1960s w ..read more

Our circulatory system has a supplemental system to balance fluids and filter pathogens called the lymphatic system. The brain has a similar adjunct system called the glymphatic system. This system is made up of cells called astrocytes. By GerryShaw     The astrocytes provide nutrition to nerve cells. They also help maintain electrolyte balance and assist in repairing damage within the brain and spinal cord. Astrocytes help with communication and energy within the brain and with the removal of waste products.   Research at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at M ..read more

As the colors of a diamond are best revealed against black velvet, so the majesty of God’s love stands out in a world of darkness. When Jesus was on earth, He stood out because He lived and taught in a way that contrasted with the culture of society of his time. As Christ followers, filled with his spirit, we are to shine brightly within our culture. How can we show the sparkle of God’s love better? By FlyD on Unsplash 1.   Remain Authentic & Truthful An honest authentic person is true to themselves and gives truthful feedback to others.  It doesn’t mean saying everything t ..read more

My mother had a green thumb. My sister has a green thumb. Me-I tend to love plants to death, literally. One of my treasures is a daughter plant from my mother’s Christmas cactus. My mother passed away in 2015. My sister and I each took parts of her cactus to remember her by. It felt like I was keeping a part of her alive. I split the Christmas cactus into three plants last Thanksgiving and gave my brother some pieces to start a baby of my mother's Christmas cactus. Miraculously, I haven’t killed mine yet. After having it for several years, I also recently managed to get my purple African viol ..read more

Don’t feel bad. I’m a nurse, and I knew nothing about the disease until after a diagnosis with it in my late 50s. In my experience, most doctors don’t know much about it either. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited neuromuscular disorder. It poses increasing challenges as one grows older. It is lifelong, and progressive. CMT affects an estimated 1 in 2,500 people in the United States and 2.6 million people worldwide. There are at least 11 variations of the genetic disorder. I have the most common type, which is CMT 1A. It causes a duplication of a gene called PMP22. Parents h ..read more

My two children are grown and living their lives. Is it the life I would have chosen for either of them? No Do I leave the door open if life throws them a significant curve ball? Yes. I used to feel guilty when I heard they were struggling or were in a tumultuous relationship. When they were making stupid decisions, I’d ask myself, "What did we do wrong"? I lost sleep, worried, and beat myself up. I’ve tried reliving their childhoods in my mind. Were we perfect parents? No, but I’ve realized that there is no such thing. Were my parents perfect? By no means. We did our very best, like my paren ..read more

Photo courtesy of MIT Biology Antibiotic resistance is killing more than 1.2 million people per year. Very few new classes of antibiotics have been discovered in the last 60 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antimicrobial resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. Resistant infections can be difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat. Only a few recently identified antibiotic classes effectively combat Methicillin-resist ..read more

#Winterreflections, #christianperspectiveofwinter, #seasonofwaiting Because I live in California, I can sit outside on January 1st and enjoy the warm sun on my face and feel a slight refreshing breeze. I reflect that even when I can’t feel the sun, it is still as bright and warm. When storm clouds obstruct it, it blazes behind those clouds just as much as when I can feel it. I examine the trees around me in Winter and think about how their leafless branches hold tiny buds, waiting patiently for warmer weather and Spring to bloom. They sleep knowing that the seasons will change and the su ..read more