View All Editions

Daily Edition • Wednesday, June 24

Disappointment Might Be Doing You a Favor

A scientist in a lab coat stands by a microscope, with a large yellow brain hovering above and plants around.

Midjourney

Try, Try Again: Maybe you’ve been staying up late doomscrolling — when you should be sleeping — more nights than you’d like to admit. Then, one rough morning of feeling exhausted finally makes you put the phone down earlier. New research from Japan offers a clue about what happens in the brain when you reach a breaking point like that.

The Study: Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology trained mice to navigate a virtual maze to reach a reward. Once the mice learned the route, the scientists changed it so the reward no longer appeared. Brain imaging showed that when the reward disappeared, the mice’s brains released a surge of acetylcholine, a chemical involved in learning. Mice with bigger surges were more likely to abandon the old route and try something new. Blocking acetylcholine made mice stick with the same choice even after the blocking agent stopped working.

The Takeaway: That frustrated feeling when a bad habit stops paying off might be your brain’s cue that it’s time to drop it and try something new.

Keep in Mind: Mice aren’t people, and our brains, fortunately, don’t work exactly the same way. However, the role of acetylcholine is worth a closer look because it’s also linked to addiction and OCD.

✲

Lithium Extraction Hasn’t Changed Since 1850

Aerial view of a large energy facility with solar panels, storage tanks, and industrial buildings set in a wooded landscape.

Courtesy: EnergyX

The way the world gets its lithium is embarrassing.

They dig massive ponds in the desert. Pump brine into them. Then wait for up to 18 months while the sun slowly evaporates the water. In the end, just 30% of the lithium is recovered.

It’s not just the environment suffering, either. Lithium demand projects to grow 5X by 2040, and Morgan Stanley forecasts an 80,000-ton shortage this year alone.

Enter EnergyX†. Their patented tech recovers up to 98% of lithium 500X faster than evaporation ponds, with minimal environmental disruption.

Now, after bringing America’s largest lithium facility of its kind online in Texas, EnergyX is preparing to unlock up to 13M tons.

General Motors and POSCO have already invested. Join them as an early-stage EnergyX shareholder before the July 16 deadline.

Invest Now

Thank you for supporting our sponsors! They help us keep All Healthy free.

✿

Beauty & Skincare

Despite the Risks, Gen Z Is Tanning Again

A person relaxes on a sun lounger by a pool, wearing a blue swimsuit and shielding their eyes from the sun.

Gino Marcelo Hernandez Sanchez/Unsplash

The Trend: Tanning beds and “laying out” might seem like throwbacks, but they’re still very much a thing among Gen Z. The link between tanning and skin cancer is clear, so why is a generation that’s so focused on wellness (and skincare) skipping sun protection in favor of suntans?

What People Are Saying: No surprise: Social media plays a big role. Misinformation about sunscreen and UV exposure is rampant. Content from “tanfluencers” posting videos of themselves using tanning beds and tanning outdoors has gone viral. Some experts posit Gen Z could be less concerned about long-term consequences and more mistrustful of traditional medical advice.

What to Know: Laying out for hours is certainly harmful, but so is a quick stint in a tanning bed. Indoor tanning can triple your risk of skin cancer. Some experts place tanning beds in the same category as asbestos and plutonium for their cancer-causing capabilities. It’s a good idea to get 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight several times a week for vitamin D synthesis, but limit direct sun exposure during peak times (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Always wear — and regularly reapply — plenty of sunscreen of at least SPF 30 when outside.

☼

SPOTLIGHT

The Maintenance of Everything

A smiling elderly man wearing a hat and denim jacket, with a scarf around his neck.

STEWART BRAND
Author, Thinker, Merry Prankster

Courtesy: Stewart Brand

Stewart Brand has spent a lifetime chasing big ideas. He created the Whole Earth Catalog (which Steve Jobs famously called “Google in paperback form”), co-founded one of the first online communities, and convinced generations of thinkers to zoom out and consider the next 10,000 years.

Now, at 87 and living with a terminal lung disease that requires supplemental oxygen, Brand has turned his attention to something decidedly less glamorous: maintenance.

His new book, Maintenance of Everything: Part One, argues that civilization runs not on breakthroughs, but on upkeep. In classic Brand fashion, the book meanders through sailboats, cars, manufacturing, military logistics, and the history of repair. He argues that the people who keep bridges standing, machines humming, institutions functioning, and bodies moving rarely get celebrated, but they’re the reason everything works in the first place and continues to do so.

There’s something poignant about Brand making this statement now. As his own body requires more maintenance than ever, he’s reminding us that care and stewardship may feel mundane and unrewarding — but that toiling is, in fact, fundamental to life as we know it.

READ | LISTEN | WATCH

➺

Quick Picks

Power Moves — Try these exercises to improve your agility.

H2-Woah — This is what our editor uses to stay hydrated.*

A Hairy Situation — Are beards really unhygienic?

Stay Focused — This is how to protect your attention span.

Fowl Play — What’s the risk of getting sick from bird flu?

^*Indicates a brand partnership

✾

What We're Cooking

Cacio e Pepe Panzanella With Corn & Burrata

A plate of salad with bread, cherry tomatoes, corn, and greens, alongside a bowl of cream and a glass of water.

Courtesy: Food52

Serves: 4 | Cook Time: 15 minutes

This twist on the classic Italian bread and tomato salad, panzanella, brings together simple summer ingredients like sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, basil, and arugula with cream chunks of burrata. The croutons are tossed in a cacio e pepe-inspired dressing made with Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground black pepper, creating a fresh yet decadent meal or flavor-packed side salad.

Get The Full Recipe

By clicking, you are agreeing to receive a daily recipe from Better Plates.

☞

This, Not That

A Better Way to Sweeten

A bowl filled with assorted frozen berries, including raspberries, blackberries, and a few red berries.

THIS

A bowl of chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream with a spoon beside it, resting on a textured surface.

NOT THAT

Ashley Winkler/Unsplash, David Trinks/Unsplash

This: Frozen Fruit
Not That: Ice Cream Every Night

Frozen mango, berries, cherries, or bananas scratch the “cold and sweet” itch surprisingly well — especially after dinner. You still get the dessert experience, just with more fiber and less added sugar.

✲

The Lithium Gold Rush Just Minted a $1B Unicorn

This lithium producer surpassed a $1B private valuation, joining some of America’s most powerful startups. The difference is, you can invest in EnergyX today†. General Motors already has. EnergyX’s patented tech can recover up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. Now they’ve just announced plans for their second American lithium facility. Invest by July 16.

Invest Now

Thank you for supporting our sponsors! They help us keep All Healthy free.

❦

HEALTHY HABIT

Pause Before Seconds

Before going back for more, wait a minute and check in. Still hungry? Great, eat more. The pause just gives your body a chance to weigh in before autopilot handles the plate.

★

Final Thought

A lone green sprout grows amid wavy patterns in the brown desert sand.

The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.”

– Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History

Rafael Peier/Unsplash