Timothy George

Started in 2017, Timothy George, founder of Elo, a plant-based products company, wants to add more colors and energy to a bland vegan space that some may call out of touch.According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy was valued at more than 4 trillion in 2018, with personal care and beauty products a big chunk of that. With images of Gwyneth Paltrow gracing the pages of magazines with expensive elixirs, it makes wellness look far from holistic. As wellness companies become less siloed and integrated into our environments, companies like Elo, who sell vegan fragrances and lip balms, want to become part of our everyday life from work to play, and show that wellness is attainableby all.

Along with his director of brand development, Marques Francis, George and Francis share how they plan to do that.

Maryann Reid: Some may say the wellness industry is packed with blonde, rich, and elite services that many women cannot afford.For example, Gwyneth Paltrow has become the face of a wellness brand that some find unattainable.How do you fit in?

Marques Francis: Elo lies in the intersection of luxury and comfort. Wellness is something that we all need, and by siloing this need through pricing is simply unfair. We have a product that is sustainable, beautiful, easily accessible and premium at a tier structure that many can reach.Elo is black-owned. We have a superior product than what's offered on the market currently, and it's always the goal to make aspirational obtainable.

Reid: Along with personal care products, what is another wellness space that needs more blacks and why is it ripe for opportunity?

Francis: The wellness space where we see a bunch of opportunity is in health coaching. No one wants to go to the gym after a really tough day at work, but that doesnt mean meditating, well cooked meals and basic movement cant help balance out tension. With that said we chose to collaborate with Caton Wellness, a black-owned workplace wellness organization for all of our holistic needs.

Reid: Can you describe that moment when you knew you had to start this business?

Timothy George: I admit, I was once addicted to lip balm, but I discovered most lip balms are created to dry the lips, in turn forcing you to use more product. It frustrated me that this was how the industry worked, and I wanted to create something that was better than anything I had experienced.

Reid: Where do you source your ingredients?

George: We source the Tonka Beans found in our Gloria Luxury Cotton Spray from South America.We also purchase our Vetiver essential oil from a company that imports it directly from Haiti.

Reid: Where did you get the money to fund this?

George:My first year in New York, I moved to Harlem and I wanted to meet locals to get my idea out there. I thought it would be a great idea to volunteer for the Harlem Brownstone Tour.I received access to all the beautiful homes and had the opportunity to meet all of the owners. On the 2nd day, I was a guide for a home belonging to an amazing artist who had lived in the home since she was a child.While there I met Stephanie Francis, creator and founder of Harlem Week and, in conversation, I began chatting about why I moved to New York and what my mission was.Without hesitation, Stephanie offered me a spot to sell products at the upcoming Harlem Week. At the time, I had never shown products in that way. I was still selling one-by-one to friends and family, so this was a big deal.Fast forward, the popup model has become what Elo is known for.In fact, my first year in business all our revenue stemmed from popups.

Reid: How did right people connections help you start this business? Explain the importance of strategic partners or relationships.

George: I've been invited to homes in Strivers Row for holiday dinners where I would set up a display of products.I once had a woman order 700 lip balms to pass out at her 60th birthday party.I owe a majority of my success to Harlem. I even gave a speech at Abyssinian Church to help get the word out.Early on, I saw the value of collaboration.We now collaborate with brands such as Equinox, Pottery Barn, Harlem Haberdashery, and Les Belles Dentistry.We align ourselves with brands that have similar core values and with those who cater to our ideal customer.

Reid: What is the deeper problem you want to target?

George: After leaving an Elo experience we like consumers to feel empowered, well versed on ingredients, to have a better understanding of their spending habitsto feel our intention.We are far more than just the world's first wax-free lip balm, we are a lifestyle.

Reid: When you walk in the room and people see you own this brand, what reactions have you received?

George: The questions are more aligned with when did you join the brand? or and what's your role in all of this? I get a kick out of it at this point, as I sometimes enjoy not being the face and pretending to be an intern.At times, being the founder is a great addition, like at our installation at Essence Fest, and at other moments, it seems it can get in the way. At the end of the day, I'm selling a lifestyle that appeals to many, not just those who look like me and I've made peace with it.

Reid: What has surprised you through this whole process?

George: I am constantly surprised how capable and resilient I am.Growing and scaling a brand is tough, however, I have been blessed with the ability to pivot when needed and knowing when to listen.

Reid: What makes your brand different?

Francis: Elo Vegan lifestyle has made it our mission to make sustainability sexy. We never want to be the brand that looks vegan, because a lot of those brands miss the mark of aspirational. It isnt just about green and light hues, its about celebrating the vibrant colors and energy that stems from nature.

Reid: Whats next in the future for your brand?

Francis: We have started to cultivate very unique partnerships that blend function and form in every way. We would love to continue to evolve with the way we have traversed various industries outside of beauty. Branching out into hospitality, we are also targeting design, automotive and travel.

George: In November 2019, we are launching a deet-free insect repellant to diversify the brand.Our customers are always traveling and looking for simplified experiences.With the success of our new home fragrance packaging, we have decided to expand on the concept.We would also like to partner with companies such as Harlem Capital and other minority focused venture capitalists as we begin our seed round.It is important for us to align with brands that understand our core values, as well as, those that support generational wealth in our community.

Here is the original post:
When Gwyneth Paltrow Isnt The Face of Wellness This Happens - Forbes

By Ben Baker-Katz 10/29/19 9:53pm

Golf finished its fall slate of competition last weekend with an 8th-place finish out of 13 teams at the two-day Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in Loxley, Alabama.

According to head coach Justin Emil, the invitationals playing conditions posed problems for Rice.

Its already a difficult golf course, with difficult, fast greens, Emil said. Throw in some poor weather and it makes it really hard. We struggled a bit, but we played the last nine holes seven under par, to move past a couple of teams right at the end.

During the first day of the tournament, the Owls shot 28 over par as a team.

Senior Nick Duggan said the first day of play was difficult not only because of the weather but also because of the time spent on the course.

Its really important on 36 hole days, when were out there for 11 or 12 hours, to stay patient, Duggan said. Especially in bad weather, its easy to start getting frustrated.

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Duggan said the team gained experience playing in bad weather conditions at a tournament earlier this month in West Virginia.

Still, we made quite a lot of bogeys in places that we shouldnt have, Duggan said. But we also made a lot of birdies, and its not always easy to do that. But just too many bogeys, and too many high numbers that hurt us as a team.

The Owls played better on the last day of the tournament, bringing their score for the weekend to 20 over par.

According to Emil, Steelwood was challenging even for junior Jake Benson, who has been the top performer on the team this fall.

Jake played really solid over the first three tournaments, Emil said. He didnt play as well this week at Steelwood, but he still managed to shoot a couple of good rounds for us. Overall, I think hes going to have a nice ranking going into the offseason.

Benson started the fall with a fourth-place finish at the Lone Star Invitational, followed by a seventh-place finish at the Trinity Forest Invitational and a second-place finish at the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational in West Virginia. Benson said his play develops with experience.

Im gradually learning how to play courses at the college level, Benson said. Each round I try to put the same level of effort in, and making sure there arent really bad mistakes.

According to Emil, as the Owls look back at their fall competition, the tournament that stands out the most is the Trinity Forest Invitational.

We posted two rounds under par [at Trinity] and finished the weekend seven under, Emil said. We beat some really good teams that weekend and really showed what we are capable of. I think there is a lot more of that golf in our team, as long as we have a productive offseason and these guys believe that they can do it.

Duggan said he agrees with Emil, citing their teams fourth-place finish as the benchmark for their level of play.

[Trinity] shows our potential going forward, I still think that our team hasnt quite played to our potential, Duggan said. Were really good this year, and I think everyone on the team feels that. We know how good we are, we just have to keep going through the motions and let it unfold.

Duggan said the part of what made playing at Trinity stand out was the team aspect of the performance.

We had really good camaraderie in that final round, Duggan said. I remember looking around and everyone was playing well, everyone on the team was under par. It felt great to know that the team can go that low and we can play that well. Its good to get that little taste of how well we can play as a team, it makes us want it even more.

In order to make sure that they can carry over that success, Emil said the Owls will spend the offseason getting stronger and perfecting their short game.

We gotta get a little bit better at putting the ball in play off of the tee, Emil said. We had a little bit of ball control trouble over the whole fall season, and we need to do a better job with wedges and short game. This is a good group of guys, and they work really hard. Were going to have a really productive offseason.

Duggan said he agrees that the short game is going to be a priority for the team this offseason. He said that one thing he tried to get the team to do over the course of the fall season was to set a personal goal, something that only they could control, every week.

Weve tried to implement some new tactics this year, Duggan said. For me personally, its pre-shot routine. Thats something I know I can control and do before I hit every shot on the course. I think that was good for everyone on the team, to have a goal that helps your mind focus and to stay in the present moment.

The team spends an extra day in the weight room each week and also works on some of the mental aspects of the game, according to Benson.

We want to think our way around the courses and make sure we dont have big mistakes, Benson said. If we do that, we can have a really good spring.

The Owls will start competitive play again Feb. 16 with the All-American Intercollegiate, a tournament they co-host with the University of Houston.

Original post:
Golf wraps up fall schedule - The Rice Thresher

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 16: Singer/guitarist Yungblud performs at The Underground on ... [+] October 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)

Dominic Harrison, known to music fans as YUNGBLUD, is a real artist. You talk to him and you feel that fire that is making him a rising star on the music scene. He began attracting attention when his song "Falling Skies" was featured on the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why.

Then this year he hit American airwaves with "11 Minutes," with Halsey and Travis Barker, YUNGBLUD has sold out shows around the U.S. I met up with him in L.A. recently, the day after a sold-out show in San Francisco and the day before a sold-out gig in L.A.

A thoroughly enjoyable and compelling conversation, we spoke about finding his own voice as an artist, writing about politics, getting positive feedback from Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance and those artists, from Foo Fighters to Green Day, he wants to be like in 20 years.

Steve Baltin: Where did you come in from?

YUNGBLUD:We played in San Francisco. F**king mental. Regency ballroom. Couldn't believe it to be honest. Everywhere is just f**king going crazy. Right now. I don't understand I'm just trying to get a gauge on it.

.Baltin: What was your turning point moment?

YUNGBLUD: Interesting, I can see it right now, really clear. I grew up in a very industrial part of England, in the North of England, and where I was from, it was very backwards in the way people would think to put it plainly. And I always was massively in awe. It's like Marilyn Manson or Lady Gaga and David Bowie. I'd want to like cross dress or put makeup on and my mum would love it. My mum would be like, "Oh you look cute." But my granddad would be like, "What the f**k have you got on? Take that off." So all my life, I felt where I was from would never accept me for who I was. So I had a vision that I would move down to London, the city, and it will be able to be myself and be liberated and feel amazing. And I did at 16 I was like, "F**k this I'm out. I'm going to go to the city and going to where lipstick and get up to all sorts of naughty s**t. I thought by moving to London, I would be able to be myself and slot into or onslaught myself out of any box or any possible thing. And the thing was it was completely f**king opposite. The first taste I had in the music industry was, they were telling me that I couldn't write songs about politics. They were telling me, I couldn't dress like I did. I won't paint my nails because it was too disruptive. I said to myself, "F**k this, I'm not going to listen to these people because they have no idea." I completely figured out exactly who I was and always thought I was going to be.

Baltin: Do you feel like now because you did follow your own voice, does the success feel much more gratifying?

YUNGBLUD:Dude, it's crazy.That's what I always say. Just do what you think is right because if it ain't real, it's not going to resonate. Or if it's not real, you're going to exhaust yourself and it's going to run out eventually and you'll get big but you won't be remembered.

Baltin: Who are those artists that you look at and think like, okay that's who I want to be in 20 years?

YUNGBLUD:Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Billy Joel, Arctic Monkeys, Marilyn Manson, Eminem, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, John Lennon, loads of people. My Chemical Romance is like, I always wanted to build something, I didn't fit a mold so I wanted to build my own and I want to connect to people and I want to build a culture. I never want people to go, "I love this song, who sings it?" I want it to be, "I love this artist."

Baltin: I was reading the BBC thing that came where you talked about the fact that after playing at Leeds you were crying because, I talked with so many artists about this too, those moments that where they feel something is happening and so many artists have said to me, it's that moment when fans are singing their words back to them.

YUNGBLUD:Completely, man. It's like Leeds and Reading was such a crazy experience to me because I grew up there. I mean I saw myself in the crowd in a bucket hat and glasses. To me having a gold disc is great, a platinum disc is great, but what is most important to me is having this mutual feeling in my community. That I look at one of them and go, you saved my life and I saved those back. Yeah. That's what I said about YUNGBLUD isn't me. YUNGBLUD is us and if it ever becomes me in them instead of us then I **cked it.

Baltin: When you're writing a song, a lot of times writing is subconscious anyway.So you don't even know what you are thinking about.

YUNGBLUD:You don't know what you're thinking about sometimes until months afterwards, and you go that's what was going from my brain at that time. And it's crazy. And you know what man, it's completely unfathomable. I stand on the stage and they're so passionate and I would ask myself, "Why me?" The answer is what we mean to each other, cause I need them as much as they need me.

Baltin: But what do you think about being a fan back in the day, I'm sure it was the exact same feeling for you. What was that show for you where you had that same feeling?

YUNGBLUD: Arctic Monkeys. He [Alex Turner] knew what I was thinking and he'd never even met me. And it blew my mind. I was like, everything I was going through, he knew it. Gerard Way knew every single thing I was going through.

Baltin: Have you met either of them since?

YUNGBLUD:No. but I just hope they like me. I spoke about it a lot in the press and apparently I think Gerard, unless they're bullshi**ing me, they reached out to my label and said that he was moved by what I said and I was like, "Whoa, it's crazy." Cause I just loved that guy. He again, as I said, made stamping culture. Ain't a singer, he's an activist. And that's what I want to be. I think it's like when you get on stage, man. It's so weird, you can have the shi**iest day. Your girlfriend can break up with you. Your mom can call and say she got sick. You trip up and break your ankle. But when he got on stage, everything disappears. It's like "F**k the girl, f**k the mom, f**k the leg, f**k everything cause me and you." And then you got off stage and you go back to the sad again. It's kind of crazy. And I said that to him last night. Now my war is going on in my personal life and in their personal lives. For that hour and half, hour and forty the crowd is good. We have a magical connection.

Baltin: I saw this coming. So after our election in 2016 right from December 2016 through middle of 2018, every person that I talked with, every single one, whether it was, you, Dave Gahan, whether it was Metallica, we talked about writing and recording under the influence of this administration. And the reason I bring that up is because one thing that I noticed is people want people to speak out now. So it's interesting that you say about wanting to be an activist. Are you finding that when you engage with the fans that it's the fact that you talk about real issues?

YUNGBLUD:It's so funny when we talk about a turning point, man. I always felt like I always listened to other people, don't listen to anybody else. You want to feel reassured. Listen, I asked people all the time, that's just my own insecurity and people have their own insecurities. You'll gut is always right. You know, I think and I want to talk about this stuff. I wanted to talk about this stuff all my life and people said I couldn't and as soon as I started to and as soon started actually being real, that's when people start to listen.

Baltin: Was there a song for you where you first were finding that voice?

YUNGBLUD:"King Charles" of the first record, it came out, the song was written and recorded in four hours. As I talk about, I wrote all this poetry, I designed the pink socks. I knew exactly what we're going to look like, exactly what we're going to say, wrote the name out and it just happened. Iit just happened and it was so quick. I didn't have to think about it and I've been so prolific ever since.

Baltin: Where do you think it came from then?

YUNGBLUD:It came from Brexit. It came from, that was the first time I had a vote. The first time I could make my voice count in a numerical factor that would actually matter. And then, it was ripped away from me by part of an older generation that didn't understand or aren't even going to be here when the consequences of Brexit are going to be in action. And I felt wronged. I felt hurt and I felt, "F**k it, I'm going to write about it and I'm going to put it out." I did it. And people started to listen. I think that's it. I think YUNGBLUD is a call out, saying it is alright to be yourself, no matter who that may be. It's alright to change. It's alright to grow. It's all right to be not the same person you were six months ago.

Baltin: When you look back then, are there moments that you can look back and see how you changed from six months ago?

YUNGBLUD: Flat out. I've got the EP is out and the new EP is out. And if you listened to that compared to the first EP that came up it's worlds apart. It's a good different experiences. I'll just say it starts angry but then ends emotionally. That's kind of my cycles as an artist from the beginning, Then EP, it's my journey from the beginning. It's called The Underrated Youth EP and the experience I've had since everything else has been so much more emotional. I've met so much more people, I have heard so many more stories. "Hope For The Underrated Youth" was a song for my fan base. It's about us. It's about me looking at the world and excepting that it tells me to fall in line, it tells us to conform. It tells us which f**king air to breathe some days. But the one common denominator I find in the people I've met and the young people, the people of all ages I've met in my career is the constant optimism, the constant fire, the constant drive to fight for equality and to unite and not divide anymore. And that's why it's called, "Hope For The Underrated Youth" because the future's bright because we are simply in it. Well then it goes to a song like "Original Me," with Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons and that talks about me, being originally myself and going every day, "You tell people to be yourself. Don't forget to be yourself, Don't forget to check in sometimes, Dom. Don't forget to be yourself, Dom."

See more here:
YUNGBLUD On The Constant Fire And Optimism In Todays Youth - Forbes

A friend of mine shares this story. She grew up with five siblings and an alcoholic father. The effect of her fathers alcoholism was devastating on her family. Heres how she tells the story:

By the time my father died, his alcoholism had destroyed our family. None of us kids could talk to each other anymore. Wed drifted apart to different parts of the country and had nothing to do with each other.

My mother was a saint and kept trying through the years to have us reconcile with each other, inviting us to gather for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the like, but it never worked. All her efforts were for nothing. We hated each other.

Then, as my mother lay dying of cancer, in hospice, bedridden, and eventually in a coma, we, her kids, gathered by her bedside, watching her die, and she, helpless and unable to speak, was able to accomplish what she couldnt achieve through all those years when she could speak. Watching her die, we reconciled.

We all know similar stories of someone in their dying, when they were too helpless to speak or act, powerfully impacting, more powerfully than they ever did in word or action, those around them, pouring out a grace that blessed their loved ones.

Sometimes, of course, this isnt a question of reconciling a family but of powerfully strengthening their existing unity.Such was the case in a family history shared by Carla Marie Carlson, in her book,Everyday Grace.

Her family was already closely knit, but Carlson shares how her mothers dying strengthened those family bonds and graced all the others who witnessed her dying:

Those who took the opportunity to be with my Mom during that journey have told me that their lives were forever changed. It was a remarkable time, which I will always treasure. Lessons of acceptance and courage were abundant as she struggled with the realities of a dying body. It was dramatic and intense, but yet filled with peace and gratitude.

Most anyone who has ever sat in vigil around a loved one who was dying can share a similar story.

Theres a lesson here and a mystery. The lesson is that we dont just do important things for one another and impact one anothers lives by what we actively do for one another; we also do life-changing things for one another in what we passively absorb in helplessness. This is the mystery of passivity which we see, paradigmatically, played out in what Jesus did for us.

As Christians, we say that Jesusgave his life for usand that hegave his death for us, but we tend to think of this as one and the same thing. Its not. Jesus gave his life for usthrough his activity; he gave his death for usthrough his passivity.These were two separate movements.

Like the woman described earlier who tried for years to have her children reconcile with one another through her activity, through her words and actions, and then eventually accomplished that through the helplessness and passivity of her deathbed, so, too, with Jesus.

For three years he tried in every way to make us understand love, reconciliation, and faith, without full effect. Then, in less than 24 hours, in his helplessness, when he couldnt speak, in his dying, we got the lesson. Both Jesus and his mother were able, in their helplessness and passivity, to give the world something that they were unable to give as effectively in their power and activity.

Unfortunately, this is not something our present culture, with its emphasis on health, productivity, achievement, and power very much understands.

We no longer much understand or value the powerful grace that is given off by someone dying of a terminal illness, nor the powerful grace present in a person with a disability, or indeed the grace thats present in our own physical and personal disabilities.

Nor do we much understand what we are giving to our families, friends, and colleagues when we, in powerlessness, have to absorb neglect, slights, and misunderstanding. When a culture begins to talk about euthanasia, it is an infallible indication that we no longer understand the grace within passivity.

In his writings, Father Henri Nouwen makes a distinction between what he terms our achievements and our fruitfulness.Achievementsstem more directly from our activities: What have we positively accomplished? What have we actively done for others? And our achievements stop when we are no longer active.

Fruitfulness, on the other hand, goes far beyond what we have actively accomplished and is sourced as much by what we have passively absorbed as by what we actively produced. The family described above reconciled not because of their mothers achievements, but because of her fruitfulness. Such is the mystery of passivity.

Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, in his spiritual classic,The Divine Milieu,tells us that we are meant to help the world through both our activities and our passivities, through both what we actively give and through what we passively absorb.

See original here:
The grace within passivity - Angelus News

Its Army week for Air Force, which means the inevitable flashback to a certain White House visit in May.

President Donald Trump honored the Black Knights and coach Jeff Monken for winning the Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy for a second straight time by beating Air Force and Navy.

Air Force is tough, Trump said to Monken. Theyve always been tough, coach.

Not that tough, Monken replied.

Falcons players were reminded of Monkens comments Saturday after lambasting Utah State.

I guess well see next week, defensive end Jordan Jackson said.

Of course, Air Force doesnt need extra motivation for this game.

After dominating Army with 24 victories in 27 contests from 1989 through 2016, the Falcons have seen the Black Knights win back-to-back meetings starting with a 21-0 victory at Falcon Stadium in 2017.

The Falcons cant win the Commander-in-Chiefs trophy this season after losing at Navy on Oct. 5, but they can exact some revenge on Army and continue their own climb with relation to national prominence. Air Force has received votes in the Coaches Poll for the second consecutive week and is up to No. 35 in the Sagarin computer rankings. Army is No. 101 according to that metric.

The final four matchups for Air Force (6-2) include just one opponent in the Top 100, and thats a home game vs. No. 65 Wyoming.

With four regular-season games left before a bowl game, this team thats riding a three-game streak of blowout victories could make a run at just the programs third season with more than 10 victories and could make a case for its first appearance in The Associated Press Top 25 since 2010.

The Falcons put their most complete effort together Saturday, possessing the ball for more than 45 minutes in a 31-7 victory over Utah State.

Going into Army, regardless of the week before, is always a big one for us; a little extra momentum, a little bit of extra fire going into practice, Jackson said. But coming off a win like this is even better. We know how we can work; we know what we can do when were at our best, and thats what were trying to do next week.

Army (3-5), by contrast, is struggling after going 21-5 the past two seasons.

The Black Knights lost only at No. 7 Michigan (in a 24-21 thriller) during a 3-1 start, but have since lost four straight games.

They fell at home 34-29 to San Jose State on Saturday, the same Spartans squad the Falcons led by 31 points at the academy Sept. 27 before a few mop-up time touchdowns in the final 4 minutes made the final score 41-24.

Air Force is an early 14.5-point favorite in the game, which has its full attention for so many reasons.

Were focused on Army, quarterback Donald Hammond III said about 20 minutes after the Utah State game ended. Thats all we care about.

This performance made Air Force bowl eligible. It ought to make it dream about bigger things, too.

Revisiting three areas we identified as being keys or storylines worth tracking as Air Force hosted Utah State.

Air Force linebacker Demonte Meeks is the Falcons' player of the game for getting the job done and helping keep Utah State's offense off the field.

Facts and figures that tell more of the story of Air Force's 31-7 victory over Utah State on Saturday night.

Read the original here:
Air Force football finds plenty of motivation as it begins preparations for Army - Colorado Springs Gazette

Did you know that your brain circuits can actually change when you're feeling unmotivated?

Although it might take some time for this change to occur (thankfully, we're not talking a couple of slow Monday mornings), research has found what chronic lack of motivation could look like on a brain scan. This new study, published in the journal Neuron, has discovered how the brain changes in mice who experience lack of motivation, a common symptom of depression.

Past research on depression has used similar animal studies to categorize mice as either stressed (meaning depressed) or non-stressed (not depressed).

However, authors of the study Ignas Cerniauskas and Stephan Lammel, Ph.D., believed that this past research disregards the variability of the disease, as two people diagnosed with depression can experience completely different symptoms and respond to entirely different treatments.

That being said, they sought to find changes in the brain that were associated with each specific symptom rather than depression as a whole.

Mouse models have been used in depression research for the past 60 years, and scientists have been able to find that putting mice under constant stress produces at least three common symptoms of human depression: anxiety, lack of motivation, and loss of pleasure.

What's new about this study, in particular, is that researchers were able to discover the specific genes within a brain region that are associated with lack of motivation.

During the experiment, genes within a brain region called the lateral habenula were strongly turned on in mice that showcased reduced motivation as a result of chronic stress. Anxiety and loss of pleasure weren't associated with this brain region, suggesting that different symptoms of depression affect different areas of the brainand as a result, require unique modes of treatment.

"Our strategy, one we think all basic researchers should adopt, is to move away from considering depression as a single or homogeneous disease," Lammel says. "Many physicians already view depression this way, which shows that it is critical to have collaboration between basic and clinical researchers."

Once these researchers can figure out the brain markers for anxiety and loss of pleasure, maybe we can start to devise specific treatment plans for each symptom. After all, health care professionals are quickly becoming enamored with personalized medicine, and this new wave should go beyond physical health and include psychiatric disorders like depression as well.

Here's what that precision medicine would look like in a mental health setting, according to Lammel: "If we had a biomarker for specific symptoms of depression, we simply could do a blood test or image the brain and then identify the appropriate medication for that patient. We think that our study not only has the potential to transform how basic scientists study depression in animals, but the combination of anatomical, physiological and molecular biomarkers described could lay the foundation for guiding the development of the next generation of antidepressants that are tailored to specific depression symptoms."

While the next generation of antidepressants sounds promising, this new research can only lay the foundation for this future of personalized mental health care. Lammel says we have a long way to go before his vision can become a reality: "That would be the ideal case, but we are far away from that situation right now."

Either way, it sure is a hopeful start.

Read more from the original source:
Scientists Find What Lack Of Motivation Looks Like In The Brain - mindbodygreen.com

Though he didnt win the UFC middleweight championship in his last bout,Kelvin Gastelums performance in a narrow decision loss to Israel Adesanyain April in one of the great fights of the year proved that if nothing else, Gastelum is a legitimate BMF.

Now, its Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal who are going to meet on Saturday in the main event of UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, PPV) for the Diaz-inspired BMF, or Baddest Mother[expletive], belt.

Gastelum proved to be one of the scariest BMFs one may ever find during that loss to Adesanya. The proof positive, for those who somehow havent seen the compelling back-and-forth battle, is all the fighters who called Gastelum out in the aftermath of that bout.

The one who got him is Darren Till, who is moving up from welterweight after consecutive losses to Tyron Woodley and Masvidal to face Gastelum at middleweight in the co-main event.

The Till bout doesnt seem to do much for Gastelum, who is ranked fourth at middleweight. Till is ninth at welterweight and coming off back-to-back defeats.

But Gastelum has plenty of motivation to fight, not the least of which was his failure to so much as make it to the weigh-in at UFC 205 in New York when he was supposed to meet Donald Cowboy Cerrone in a welterweight bout.

That failure led to his move to middleweight, where hes carved a big reputation with a win over former champion and UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping as well as over Jacare Souza.

The loss to Adesanya in what will probably be the Fight of the Year did a lot for his reputation, as well. But Gastelum needs no extra motivation.

Ive come to New York with a lot on my mind, Gastelum said. A few years ago, I was supposed to fight Cowboy and I didnt make it. This is a place so many fighters want to come to to compete and I didnt do it. There are a lot of motivations for me. Im looking to go out and make a statement in this fight, both to give the New York fans a show they didnt get but also for my own, personal reasons.

Till is the guy and thats fine; its just too bad hes the guy in my way. When were locked in that cage, its going to be a real fight.

Kelvin Gastelum throws a punch at Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in their interim middleweight championship bout during UFC 236 at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

Gastelum is looking to put himself back into position for a rematch with Adesanya. Though his teammate, Henry Cejudo, told TMZ earlier this year that Gastelum had a staph infection and that he wasnt anywhere close to 100 percent when he fought Adesanya, Gastelum didnt want to go down that path with Yahoo Sports.

He said fighters are rarely at 100 percent when they compete and had nothing but compliments for Adesanya.

I was expecting a war, although I was thinking I was going to go in there and overwhelm him with my power, Gastelum said. But he was a lot more durable than Id given him credit for being before. Man, he gained my respect after that fight.

We both leveled up. He did just as I did. I feel like theres a bond that will never be broken and I have a lot of respect for him.

Gastelum said he has a lot of respect for both Diaz and Masvidal as fighters, but has mixed feelings about the belt.

UFC president Dana White created a belt specifically for this match that he and actor Dwayne The Rock Johnson will unveil Friday in New York. Johnson will put the belt around the waist of the winner on Saturday.

Though the BMF is supposed to be a one-off, even if its not, Gastelum isnt all that interested in fighting for it.

Before I was a UFC fighter, I was a UFC fan and I get the promotional side of it, he said. Its really cool from a fans standpoint, I think, and I love the promotion behind it. From a competitors standpoint, I just dont know. I go, So were making up belts now? You want to win a belt because of the history and the prestige it has and who had it before, and this is something that doesnt make sense. These are two guys who have over 20 losses combined and so its not a real thing.

I love it from a fans standpoint but I dont really think that much about it as an athlete. Im focused on winning my fights and getting myself back to a title shot.

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Kelvin Gastelum has added motivation to give New York fans a show at UFC 244 - Yahoo Sports

Eddie Pepperell isn't a complex man. He's not a starving artist nor an enigma wrapped inside a riddle. He is not an international man of mystery nor a trafficker of life's philosophical highways and bi-ways. Instead he enjoys a hot meal, a good laugh, and, most of all, making his nearest and dearest friends' lives an absolute living nightmare. Just ask Martin Kaymer.

On Friday at the Portugal Masters, Pepperell revealed that his chief motivation this week isn't, in fact, winning a golf tournament, but instead traumatizing his friend on national television per the conditions of a little round two wager. Friends, can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em.

In case you're watching this without volume in the stall at work, Pepperell and Kaymer agreed to a bet stating that if Pepperell beat Kaymer's score on Friday, he would apply for the two-time major champ to appear on First Dates, a reality dating show in England where participants go on a first date at London's Paternoster Chop House and, at the end of the episode, have to decide if they would like to see each other again. The goal, as Pepperell states, is to find Kaymer his life partner, which he alleges his dear friend so desperately needs. What a guy that Eddie Pepperell.

The bad news for Kaymer? While he shot a respectable one-under on Friday, Pepperell, driven by his romantic designs, fired a five-under 66, and now sits atop the leaderboard alongside Brandon Stone. The good news? At least he'll get a good steak out of it...

RELATED: Eddie Pepperell cant stop, wont stop roasting Bryson DeChambeau for slow play

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Eddie Pepperell's primary motivation at the Portugal Masters is finding love for Martin Kaymer - Golf Digest

Shakib''s absence will act as a motivation for us: Mahmudullah

New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Ravaged by controversies, the most impactful being star player and regular Test and T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan being suspended by the ICC for failing to report corrupt approaches, stand-in skipper Mahmudullah Riyad said on Wednesday that they will not focus on what has happened and move ahead. He added that Shakib''s absence will act more as motivation.

A 15-member squad arrived in the national capital a day after Shakib was suspended from all cricket for two years, with one year of that suspended, after he accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code on Tuesday.

Bangladesh will be playing three T20 Internationals in New Delhi (November 3), Rajkot (November 7) and Nagpur (November 10) and two Tests in Indore (November 14-18) and Kolkata (November 22-26).

"We have to play with our heart for the country," Mahmudullah was quoted as saying by the ESPNCricinfo.

"I think this (Shakib''s absence) will work as motivation for us. I think there''s no greater honour than playing for the country. The responsibility to lead the side lies with me, so I will try to give it my all," said the T20 skipper and a veteran of many battles.

India will start as overwhelming favourites and Mahmudullah admitted that it will be a tough ask.

"The statistics don''t lie. It is a tough ask, but it is not impossible. We have to perform as a team, and ensure we take advantage of every opportunity."

Bangladesh will be without opener Tamim Iqbal also who opted out of the tour in the aftermath of the players'' strike.

Senior player Mushfiqur Rahim said the team will without doubt miss Shakib but at the same time it is an opening for a youngster to stake a claim.

"Definitely, I will miss him (Shakib), since we have played together for so long," Mushfiqur said.

"It is tough to play without him as he is the No. 1 player. If someone was injured for a year, which could have been anyone, then it would have been an opening for the younger players. It is a challenge to beat India in their home turf but a challenge also means an opportunity," he added.

Bangladesh T20I squad: Mahmudullah (c), Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Atif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Abu Hider Rony.

--IANS

dm/bbh

Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: IANS

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Shakib''s absence will act as a motivation for us: Mahmudullah - Outlook India

Andy Ruiz Jr says he will envisage Anthony Joshua trying to take his kids cereal to motivate him ahead of their crucial heavyweight rematch on December 7.

The Mexican produced one of the greatest upsets in boxing history back in June, stopping Joshua in seven rounds at Madison Square Garden to become the unified heavyweight champion of the world.

After stepping in as a last-minute replacement for drug-shamed Jarrell Miller, Ruiz made a mockery of the pre-fight odds when he climbed off the canvas to knock the overwhelming favourite down four times and deliver his first professional defeat.

AJ has the chance to reclaim his WBA Super, IBF and WBO titles when he locks horns with Ruiz again in a pivotal Saudi Arabia rematch labelled Clash on the Dunes.

But the new champion isn't planning on handing the belts back to Joshua, revealing his extraordinary motivation technique on the Hotboxin with Mike Tyson podcast.

When asked by Iron Mike what goes through his head before a fight, Ruiz said: Im just like damn man, the guy in front of me, hes trying to rip my head off, hes trying to take my kids Cheerios away from the kitchen, their Cornflakes.

Im mostly just thinking about them, because I dont wanna lose and I dont want them to be disappointed.

At the end of the day, I just fight for my kids and my family.

Tyson then asked what his childrens friends at school say about his monumental success.

Im like a superhero, especially to my kids, Ruiz replied.

At least they can say my Daddy can beat your Daddy up or something.

So yeah, theyre really happy man. Theyre really blessed.

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Tyson was recently critical of Ruiz, who was ridiculed for his chubby physique prior to the win over Joshua.

There have been rumours he has lost weight. I dont like that, he told Parimatch.

I believe losing the weight can affect power sometimes.

If its not broken, dont fix it. He did well at that weight, so he should stay at that weight.

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Andy Ruiz imagines Anthony Joshua stealing his kids' cereal as motivation for rematch - Daily Star