Here’s one of the new health care influencers to keep an eye on – Elizabeth Holmes. Her company, Theranos, is on the cutting edge of an exciting new trend in medicine involving instant diagnosis. The key is the ability to analysis tiny blood samples in real time and use sensors to communicate that information to health care professionals.

Elizabeth is already a billionaire at the age of 30 as her company has the potential to revolutionize the diagnostic lab industry.

Learn more about her and this trend in the video above, and check out some of the articles written about her and her company here, here and here.

Stretch marks have traditionally been one of the most difficult challenges for cosmetic surgeries, even those as esteemed as Cosmos Clinic led by Dr Joseph Ajaka. Due to the fact that they are caused by abnormal collagen formation in the first place, most long term treatments focus on stimulating new collagen production as a means to treating this condition. There are more solutions these days than there used to be and thanks to the introduction of laser skin treatment, stretch marks may soon be a thing of the past. Below are five ways to get rid of stretch marks that use only minimally invasive procedures and avoid long periods of downtime.

Skin Needling

Also called Dermaroller, this treatment involves running a needle-roller over the skin by hand. The aim is to impact the old collagen, stimulating the healing process in order to encourage the production of new collagen. Stimulating collagen production in turn reduces the appearance of scars such as stretch marks and softens the skin as well. Anaesthetic cream applied to the patient’s face ensures only minimal discomfort. The treatment takes about an hour and most patients require around three treatments in all. Combining this treatment with PRP (below) will make a significant difference to the appearance of stretch marks.

PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma)

PRP, or Platelet Rich Plasma treatment, is a non-invasive procedure utilising your body’s own blood plasma and platelets. Platelets are a type of cell that targets healing and regeneration, delivering growth factor proteins to areas of the body where they are most needed. This treatment enriches your own blood plasma with platelets and stem cells to aid the production of collagen. The PRP solution is then injected into the area of skin where treatment is required, strengthening the skin. This in turn improves scarring and texture, while tightening the skin so scars are less visible.

Fractional Laser Treatments

As the name suggests, this treatment involves using lasers to target only a fraction of the skin surface area. The treatment is designed to leave undamaged skin nearby the affected area, in order to encourage faster healing and a decreased down time. Fractional laser treatments are known for speedy and long term results.

Laser Skin Tightening

This minimally invasive procedure places a very thin fibre just below the surface of the skin. Using a highly targeted laser to heat collagen fibres causes these fibres to contract, tightening the skin and reducing the appearance of stretch marks and what is commonly referred to as Mummy Tummy.

Multimodal Treatments

A multimodal approach utilises more than one of the above mentioned procedures to achieve the best results for the patient. For example, combining Fractional Laser Treatments with Skin Tightening and PRP will produce better results for those wishing to see stretch marks disappear than using either of these treatments in isolation.

Stretch marks have been the bane of child-bearing women for centuries. These days however, advances in cosmetic surgery offer a range of treatments options.

Do you know any old fashioned remedies for stretch marks? Share your wisdom in the Comments box below.

Free digital image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/By Naypong

Are you still drinking soda regularly? If so, look in the mirror and understand the fat you see can be traced back to the amount of sugar and simple carbs you consume, and soda is one of the worst things you can have as part of your regular diet.

If you want to eat healthier, soda is the low-hanging fruit in terms of easy changes you can make. Just try substituting options that don’t have all the sugar. Water is best, but if you need some flavor, try juice mixed with water.

The video below talks about the “war on soda” and the many efforts to get soda out of schools or to eliminate huge soda drinks in places like New York in light of our obesity crisis. Some of you might not like the notion of anyone telling you what to drink, but if you have a brain and care about your long-term health, you should realize that drinking this sugar water is bad for you of you do it regularly. You don’t have to ban it from your life, or the lives of your kids, but use some common sense and stop drinking it on a daily basis.

For the most part, becoming an adult and growing as you progress through life is a great thing. But for some people, once you reach a certain stage of life when your children have moved out, your work career is slowing down, and you’re not really sure what your focus is, the natural thing to experience is a crisis of sorts. Clearly, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about this, but the following five steps will definitely help you come back down to earth.

Embrace It

Hey, you know what? You’re going through a crisis for a reason. You’re unsure about what’s happening in your life and it scares you. So you’re acting out and doing things that are definitely out of character for you. But as with anything – you have to learn for yourself why it’s not the best course of action. So go crazy, and act out; soon enough you’ll realise it’s not as satisfying as you thought it would be.

Take Time For Yourself

When you’re not sure what’s happening in your overall life, it can really help your mood and outlook if you take the time to care for yourself in small ways that are normally neglected. Getting your hair done, having a massage, and working out are all ways to make yourself feel better about yourself. A little bit of “me” time certainly doesn’t hurt for a mood boost either – Naughty But Nice can you help you out there.

Talk to the Professionals

Of course, when you’re going through a life change as significant as reaching middle age, sometimes it’s necessary to get out the big guns and see a professional therapist. Their whole job is literally to help analyse where your mind frame is at, so it’s guaranteed they’ll be able to help you out of your funk. A visit to your local GP for a check-up is good too – finding out what your body is up to will also help put your mind at ease.

Get a New Hobby

So yeah, a part of your life is slowly drawing to a close… but that doesn’t mean your entire life is ending! In fact, some would say you’re finally entering the glory years. Nothing but free time and no commitments! So make the most of it and take up a couple of new hobbies and sports. Give your life some purpose, and set goals you’ll be happy to meet. You’ll be so busy you won’t have time to miss your children that have moved out.

Go On a Vacation

Finally – get out of town! Wherever you’re living is obviously feeling very stale with all the perceived negative changes you think you’re going through. So clean your slate and get a fresh outlook! A long weekend (or a long month) in a fun, new city will help lift your spirits and get your fighting game back. Bonus points if the location is one you’ve dreamed about for years.

Growing older and letting go of your past is tough, but not impossible! The above five steps will definitely help you on your way to reaching happiness, no matter what your age is.

Obamacare will cost $104 billion less over the next ten years according to the Congressional Budget Office. This is the latest in a string of good news for the Affordable Care Act, which now has signed up over 7.5 million Americans.

The launch was disastrous, but now we’re seeing important progress.