Stop and smell the flowers
If you want to enjoy life, take a moment to stop and appreciate the small pleasures. Psychologists agree that those who feel their life matters tend to be happier—but now they have found that a sense of marvel makes a difference, too, reports Scientific American. In a series of studies of more than 3,000 people, researchers asked participants to list their coping strategies for relieving stress in the early stages of the pandemic. They found that those who focused on appreciating everyday beauty reported experiencing life as more meaningful. Next, the researchers determined that people who had a strong appreciation for moments of beauty were also more likely to feel that their own existence was valuable, even after controlling for other aspects of psychological wellbeing. Showing participants an awe-inspiring video, such as the opening sequence of the BBC nature show Planet Earth, produced similar results. “Appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful,” say study co-authors Joshua Hicks from Texas A&M and Frank Martela from Aalto University in Finland. “We should slow down, let life surprise us, and embrace the significance in the everyday.”
cases at least—be numbered, reports The New York Times. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first coronavirus test that uses breath samples. This isn’t a home test: The InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer has several practical limitations. The testing equipment is roughly the size of a piece of carry-on luggage and can be used only by trained technicians, supervised by medical professionals. But the equipment has shown high accuracy in testing and delivers results in just three minutes. “That’s really fast and pretty impressive,” says Nathaniel Hafer, a molecular biologist and testing expert at UMass Chan Medical School. Hafer says expanding the number of testing methods available is “really valuable” because “not everybody can provide a nasal sample very easily.” A positive breath test will still likely need to be confirmed with a PCR test.
But experts say the new test will be helpful as a quick screening tool—and could prove more accurate than similarly speedy temperature screenings. They add that it is likely to be just the first in a series of breath-based options.