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Rabu, 30 November 2016

What Is a Trust and Who Needs One? Expert Attorney Gives Advice

What Is a Trust and Who Needs One? Expert Attorney Gives Advice Many people have heard of trusts but don’t really know what they are or who needs one.

In a nutshell, a trust is a fiduciary relationship where the creator or trustor gives another party, the trustee, the right to own and manage assets for the benefit of a third party, the beneficiary.

You create the rules on how the trust will operate and when the beneficiary can have access to the assets held in the trust. You can even appoint yourself as the trustee and have multiple beneficiaries, such as family members or charities.

If a trust is revocable, you can change the rules at any time. But if it’s irrevocable, you can’t. I know, it’s a complex topic.

If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, creating a trust may be right for your situation:

Do you have a family member with a disability who may need future financial help after your death?
Do you have heirs who you believe would not manage an inheritance responsibly?
Do you have children and believe that your spouse would remarry after your death?
Do you want to be sure that your assets go directly to your heirs right away and avoid the public probate process?
Would you like a charity or grandchildren to receive your assets once you’re gone?

To help break down the topic of trusts with simple language and examples, I interviewed Jules Haas, a New York attorney with more than 30 years of experience in matters that include trusts, estate planning, estate litigation, probate, guardianship, and real estate.

[Listen to the interview using the audio player in the upper right sidebar of this page or on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify]

Even though thinking about death and what may happen to your loved-ones after you’re gone is a heavy issue, I think you’ll take away some important information from our conversation. We cover:

The difference between a will and a trust—and are they just for wealthy people?
Common estate planning mistakes you should avoid
Special considerations for couples who are not married
Types of trusts that average people benefit from the most
Key legal documents that every adult should have and whether you can use templates
When an account beneficiary supersedes information in a will
How to find a great estate planning attorney

The bottom line is that you owe it to your significant other, spouse, children, and any other close family members to have your legal affairs in order. It might be one of the best gifts you can leave behind.

But if you haven’t made necessary arrangements, your death could be a major financial burden on your family. I hope this expert interview will be a wake-up call to everyone who doesn’t have a will or other critical documents that we discuss.

I know it takes time and money to set up these documents. But once it’s done, it’s done! You’ll have so much peace of mind that you’re finally protecting yourself and your family the right way.

If you haven't already set up necessary legal documents, I challenge you not to let another month go by without getting your affairs in order!

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Selasa, 29 November 2016

Tips for Baking with Alternative Grains

“Ancient” Grains and Other Alternative Wheat Varieties

Why the quotation marks around the word “ancient”? Well, it turns out that there’s not much evidence in science, botany, or history to suggest that what are being called ancient grains have actually been cultivated for longer than ordinary wheat. The ﬁrst known cultivation of wheat coincides with the start of recorded history—which is as far back as you can go. All wheat varieties have ancient origins, but some of them didn’t have a high yield or didn’t store or travel well, so they haven’t been widely cultivated for a long time. They’re delicious and subtly different from standard wheat. All of these wheat varieties have gluten (though often they have less), so they’re not for people with celiac disease.

Spelt ﬂour: A variety of wheat that is high in protein, but slightly lower in glu- ten than standard wheat. It has a delicious ﬂavor, and is noticeably less bitter than regular whole wheat. Look for whole grain varieties.

Emmer ﬂour: Closely related to spelt, emmer is another lesser-known wheat variant. Confusing the picture is that both grains are sometimes called farro, especially when left in whole-kernel form and served as a side dish like rice. But emmer is higher in protein than spelt, and some of our diabetic readers are using it in the hope that it might be slower to raise blood sugar than other wheats (the jury is still out on that one). The germ and bran make up a larger portion of the emmer grain than they do in spelt, and while this is a very nutritious package, it can create a dense bread if used in high proportion in recipes. We’ve found a whole grain version in the U.S., grown by Bluebird Grain Farms.

Kamut (khorasan) ﬂour: Strictly speaking, this wheat variety should be called by its generic name, khorasan, but most bakers have heard of it by its registered trademark, Kamut, which is the name owned by the company that has successfully marketed it. We tested with an organic version from Bob’s Red Mill. It’s less bitter than ordinary whole wheat, and it bakes up with a lighter color. Of all the whole wheat ﬂours we’ve tested, this makes the closest approximation of white bread that we’ve experienced.

Sprouted wheat ﬂour: You’ll hear health claims about sprouted wheat ﬂour, made from wheat kernels that are allowed to sprout before being kiln-dried and ground. The newly formed wheat plant begins to digest some of the starch and gluten in the wheat kernel, and that has prompted the health claims—in theory, this means a lower-carbohydrate and lower-gluten ﬂour. While we don’t think there’s convincing medical evidence to support any health claims here, and we don’t know whether the decreases in carbs or gluten have health signiﬁcance, what we can tell you is that this ﬂour makes a delicious and very moist whole wheat bread—in fact, the moistest we’ve ever baked. If whole grains have turned you off because the results seem dry, this is the ﬂour for you. We tested with an organic version from Arrow- head Mills, and natural food co-ops are your best bet to ﬁnd it in a store rather than online. Be sure to fully bake bread made with this ﬂour, or you may ﬁnd it gummy.

GLUTEN-FREE GRAINS

Double-check with your doctor before consuming any new grain if you are al- lergic or intolerant of wheat or wheat gluten—all wheats and wheat variants contain gluten. We use some gluten-free ingredients listed below in wheat-based breads throughout the book, but those recipes are not gluten-free overall and can’t be eaten by celiacs. We tested our gluten-free recipes using Bob’s Red Mill products, because they’re the only widely distributed gluten-free baking ingredients in U.S. supermarkets. If you swap for a different brand, you’ll probably have to make signiﬁcant water adjustments. Measuring gluten-free ﬂours: If you measure gluten-free ﬂours by volume, be sure to pack them ﬁrmly into the measuring cup (as if you were measuring brown sugar). Otherwise, you’ll get inconsistent results.

Buckwheat: Buckwheat is actually a cousin to the rhubarb plant, and not wheat at all, but its seeds behave and taste like a grain when ground into ﬂour. The unground kernels are called groats. It is high in antioxidants and protein.

Cornmeal and corn masa: Look for whole grain varieties and avoid cornmeal products labeled as “degerminated”; this process strips away the germ, which contains most of the nutrients (though degerminated cornmeal has a longer shelf life). Yellow cornmeal is higher in vitamin A than the white variety. In Latin American cultures, corn is treated with alkali to create masa (also known as masa harina); this releases niacin, an essential B vitamin. Untreated corn is a poor source of niacin because it remains bound to indigestible parts of the kernel.

Cornstarch: Cornstarch is often found in gluten-free recipes. It has very little nutritional value, but helps to create a nice smooth texture and acts as a binder in the dough.

Mesquite ﬂour: Mesquite is a woody plant native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Many people have had Southwestern specialties grilled over the plant’s fragrant branches, but less well-known are the edible pod and seed, which can be ground into a high-protein and nutritious ﬂour. It makes a fabulous and unusual bread or focaccia. It has a naturally sweet ﬂavor that goes well with agave syrup. It’s not easy to ﬁnd; we got ours by mail order from Native Seeds/SEARCH, where it’s sold as “mesquite bean ﬂour.” Note that our mequite bread recipe has wheat ﬂour in it, so it’s not for celiacs.

Millet: This tiny grain is high in protein and vitamin B. Unground, it has a mild ﬂavor that becomes nutty when toasted, and it creates a terriﬁc texture in our Toasted Millet and Fruit Bread. That loaf is not gluten-free, but we do have a gluten-free millet loaf in Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (2014).

Quinoa (keen-wah): Quinoa is a relative of Swiss chard and beets. It has a lovely ﬂavor, cooks quickly, and has lots of high-quality protein, which means it contains all the essential amino acids. It is also high in calcium, iron, and B vitamins. Like the millet bread, the quinoa loaf we included on page 192 is not gluten-free.

Rice and rice ﬂours: Rice is one of the world’s great food staples—all the cultures of the Far East depended on it to develop their civilizations. Brown rice ﬂour has its external bran left in place, and it’s higher in nutrients than white rice ﬂour. It’s much higher in ﬁber than white rice ﬂour, but has half the ﬁber content of whole wheat. In our gluten-free chapter, we only used brown rice ﬂour where we call for rice, and tested with the Bob’s Red Mill product. Avoid “glutinous” rice ﬂour, Asian market ﬂours, “superﬁne rice ﬂour,” or “sweet” rice ﬂour, all of which will give you completely different results.

Sorghum: Sorghum is a very popular cooking grain related to sugarcane. It is used around the world, but has just recently found its way into American kitchens.

Soy ﬂour: This ﬂour is milled from soy beans, which are very high in protein. They are also one of the few foods that contain all of the essential amino acids.

Soy ﬂour is an excellent way to boost the protein in gluten-free bread, and it can also be used in wheat breads the same way.

Tapioca ﬂour/Tapioca starch: Tapioca is made from a root that’s known by many names: cassava, manioc, or yuca. It is extracted and ground into a ﬂour that is high in calcium and vitamin C, but low in protein. It has traditionally been used for its starchy thickening properties, but it is now frequently used in gluten-free baking. It is sold as both tapioca ﬂour and tapioca starch, and the most popular product has both of those names on the label.

Teff: An indispensable grain in Ethiopia, teff has been virtually unheard of in the rest of the world until recently. It is a type of millet that is very small but packed with iron and calcium. It is a wonderful sweet grain that is gluten-free and therefore gaining in popularity. When combined with caraway seeds in a bread, it’s a dead ringer for a traditional German or Eastern European caraway rye loaf.

Wild rice: Although technically an aquatic grass like plain rice, wild rice from North America distinguishes itself from its Asian counterpart by its distinct ﬂavor and texture. It has long been prized in traditional Native American cultures, and more recently its nutritional proﬁle and ﬂavor have attracted interest from health-conscious eaters.

Xanthan gum: This powdered additive, a naturally derived gum that creates gas- trapping structure in gluten-free dough, is used in gluten-free baking to replace the stretchiness and chew that breads would otherwise get from gluten in wheat. It’s a tried-and-true ingredient that’s been around for years.

Ground psyllium husk: When some of our readers reported sensitivities to xanthan gum, we began testing ground psyllium husk as a substitute, and it works well. This product, milled from the outer coating of an edible seed, has been used as a natural ﬁber supplement for years. It’s available at your local pharmacy, food co-op, or online, and is sometimes labeled “powdered” psyllium husk.

Excerpted from The N ew Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Copyright © 2016 by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François Reprinted by permission of Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press, a division of Macmillan Publishers.

3 Ways to Make Your Diet More Sustainable

Sustainability is a very hot topic in the food and nutrition world these days and for good reason. Every year, we have about 80 million more people to feed than we did the year before. But of course, the amount of land and water we have to grow food—on this planet anyway—is fixed. ugly produce how to eat sustainably

In order to meet the ever-increasing demand for food, we’re going to need to make the best possible use of our finite natural resources. We need to develop ways to produce food more efficiently. And we need to preserve the long-term health and viability of the environment and do what we can to forestall irreversible climate changes that will make it harder to grow food.

Many of us are trying to make food choices that support these goals and efforts. We’re trying to eat sustainably. And while these efforts are well-intended, I’m not sure they are always well-directed. As I’ve been thinking about this lately, it seems to me that there are three big factors that contribute to the sustainability of our individual and collective diets—and that one or two of these often gets overlooked.

What Does It Cost to Grow Our Food?

The first factor to consider is how much land, water, and energy it takes to produce various kinds of food and how many greenhouse gases are generated in the process. One of the biggest arguments for plant-based diets is that plant crops use less water and energy and create fewer greenhouse gases than meat and dairy. Shifting more of your calories from animal sources to plant sources can reduce both the carbon and water footprint of your diet.

When it comes to sustainability, this is where most of us tend to focus our efforts, or at least our thinking. We’ve all seen the charts and graphs comparing the environmental impact of plant and animal foods and it really seems like a slam dunk. If you want to save the planet, you need to become a vegetarian ... or at least shift your diet in that direction.

The High Cost of Food Processing

But there’s a second factor to consider, and that is the amount of water and energy and carbon emissions involved in the processing of those raw ingredients. It may take fewer resources to produce a pound of soybeans than it does to produce a pound of milk. On the other hand, it takes a lot more resources to convert a pound of soybeans into a gallon of soymilk than it does to convert a gallon of milk into … a gallon of milk.

Whether you’re turning chicken into chicken nuggets or jackfruit into fake chicken nuggets, food processing uses a lot of water and energy and produces a lot of greenhouse gases. In fact, according the USDA’s Economic Research Service, food processing actually uses significantly more energy than agriculture.

A diet based on minimally-processed plant foods might be the most sustainable and a diet that includes a lot of heavily-processed animal foods might be the least sustainable. But I wouldn’t assume that a vegetarian diet that includes a lot of highly-processed foods would be that much more sustainable than a diet that includes a mix of minimally-processed plant and animal foods. If we’re concerned about the sustainability of our diets, I think we need to consider both the source of our calories as well as the degree of processing.

The Overlooked Impact of Food Waste

There’s a third factor to consider—one that might actually be the most impactful of all and the one that gets the least attention: food waste.

About a third of the food that we produce never gets eaten; it ends up in the landfill. And if you’re worried about the carbon footprint of your diet, consider this: If food waste were a country, it would be the #3 contributor of greenhouse gasses in the world, right behind the U.S. and China. And that’s on top of whatever greenhouse gases were released during the production and processing of that food.

Although plant foods require less energy to produce, they are wasted at a far greater rate. We consume about 80% of the meat and dairy that is produced, throwing about 20% away. But 50% of the fruits and vegetables and about 40% of the grain that we grow is wasted.

Food waste occurs at every step of food production and distribution—from the farm to the warehouse to the grocery store to our own kitchens. A lot of fresh wholesome produce ends up in the landfill because it’s not cosmetically perfect. A lot more is discarded because it is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and it’s cheaper to pay for it to be hauled to the landfill than it is to store it or transport it to where it can be sold.

Reducing food waste was the topic of podcast #258, where I offered lots of tips on reducing food waste and readers and listeners added lots more. Since then, I learned about a very cool start-up company called Hungry Harvest. Every week, these guys are diverting millions of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables destined for the landfill and delivering them instead to subscribers, who save a bundle and also contribute to reducing food waste. Companies like Hungry Harvest, industry efforts like the Food Waste Alliance, and volunteer initiatives like the student-led Food Recovery Network have the capacity to put a major dent in food waste and the greenhouse gasses it produces so let's support them however we can.

Sustainability Is a Three-Legged Stool

As you consider how you can contribute to a sustainable food system, I urge you to keep all three of these factors in mind:

1) If you get a large percentage of your calories from animal foods, consider shifting the balance to get more of your calories from plant foods. You don’t necessarily have to become a strict vegan in order to make a big difference.

2) If you consume a lot of highly-processed foods, consider shifting your choices to include more whole and minimally-processed foods. Not only will you be reducing the carbon footprint of your diet but you’ll probably be improving the nutritional quality as well. (And just because you’re a vegetarian doesn’t get you off the hook here. That organic hemp protein powder and those gluten-free frozen pizza rolls don't grow on trees.

3) Be on the lookout for ways to reduce food waste, whether that means bringing leftovers home from restaurants, keeping track of what’s in the fridge so that it doesn’t spoil, buying “ugly” produce, or volunteering for an organization that works to reduce food waste by redirecting surplus food to food banks and shelters.

Thoughts? Questions? Resources to Share? Post them below or on the Nutrition Diva Facebook page.

5 Sweater Hacks That Will Blow Your Mind

How to Fix a Stretched-Out Sweater

Are the cuffs or neckline of your favorite sweater starting to get stretched out? Bring them back to their original size again by blowing them with hot air from your hairdryer! Just wet the cuffs or collar with water, set the hairdryer on its highest setting, and then blow-dry until no longer wet. The heat will shrink them slightly, bringing them back down to the right size.

What to Do if You Shrunk a Sweater

If you’ve accidentally shrunk a sweater in the dryer, there may still be hope. Let it sit in a bucket of water with a generous amount of hair conditioner mixed in. The chemicals in the conditioner can untangle the fibers in your sweater, making them expand back to their original condition. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to cut up the sweater and make some new mittens!

Make An Old Sweater Look Like New

If your favorite cashmere or angora sweater is looking a little worn, put it in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer for half an hour. The cold causes the fibers to expand, making your sweater look new again! Who knew there was such a thing as sweater cryogenics?

Sweater Storage Secrets

To eliminate moth damage or mildew from your wool sweaters and down jackets, wash the garments before storing, and never keep them in plastic bags or airtight containers. Your clothes need air, so consider a trunk made of wicker, cedar, or rattan, and avoid hot attics or damp basements. When putting away your sweaters for the spring and summer months, wrap them in newspaper and tape the sides. The newspaper will keep away both moths and moisture.

Rejuvenate a Cedar Chest

Cedar chests are wonderful because they not only look great, but their scent keeps moths away, too. But what to do when they begin to lose their scent? Get out some fine sandpaper and go to work! Gently sanding the inside of the chest will bring its scent back to life, making sure your clothes are safe and your room smells wonderful.

For more ways to solve everyday problems from all around the internet, check out our Lifehacks board on Pinterest. And don't forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Why You Should Study a Foreign Language in School

Are you a language-learning dropout? Maybe you remember "la discoteca" from seventh-grade Spanish class but don’t recall enough actual grammar to string a sentence together. Don’t give up: learning a foreign language isn’t easy, but the benefits can be long-lasting.

Here are just a few of the reasons studying a foreign language is an important part of your education:

You can be a stronger candidate for jobs and internships

You probably already know that having a second language on your resume looks impressive. Beyond that, fluency in another language can open new career doors for you and give you a real edge over the competition in your field. And while being multilingual can be an asset in any business environment, you may find yourself in particularly high demand if you can go into interpretation or translation, which is a fast-growing job market.

Language skills may increase your chances of keeping your job or internship once you have one, too. If you are the only intern in your department or company who can speak Mandarin, for example, you may be seen as more invaluable. Census numbers show 80 percent of the U.S. population speaks only English at home, so you are very likely to have a leg up on the competition if you are fluent in second language.

So, what languages give you the biggest edge? It may depend on your industry, but with a fast-growing number of speakers in the U.S. and worldwide, Spanish is often helpful (although more widely spoken by Americans than most languages). Worldwide, Mandarin Chinese has the largest number of speakers and is important to many in the business world. Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian are also among the most widely spoken languages worldwide.

Your communication skills will improve

Think about how sheepish you feel when trying to pronounce unfamiliar words in another language. Correct pronunciation is the most basic thing you learn about a new language, and mastering it can help your ability to communicate effectively within other cultures. Remember that without knowing the rules of how the letters sound, you can’t begin to speak it properly. If you’ve taken a few years of Spanish, you may not remember 10 years later that “mantequilla” means “butter,” but you’ll probably still know to pronounce the double l’s like a y.

You will sharpen your mind

To put it simply, being multilingual is good for your brain. Research has shown that knowing a foreign language has strong effects on the brain that can protect against dementia later in life. Those benefits come from the way your brain resolves internal conflict between active language systems. Essentially, even when a bilingual person is using only one language, both languages are active in the brain, giving it a greater cognitive workout.

You'll have more study-abroad opportunities

Don’t you want to be one of those people who just can’t stop telling stories that start with, “During my semester in Barcelona …”? There’s a reason those who study abroad typically can’t stop talking about it: It can change your worldview and your life.

Yes, it costs money and you might get homesick. But the practice you’ll get in your foreign language by encountering it daily is something unique that you can’t replicate solely in the classroom. To learn a language, you have to speak it, and the cultural lessons and understanding you’ll learn by spending a few months in another country are priceless.

It will make you better at English, too

When you speak and write English as your native language, you’re probably not thinking much about grammatical rules on a daily basis. You may or may not be following the rules correctly, but either way, the way you use English is ingrained knowledge. With a new language, though, you’ll be more aware of grammatical nuances, spelling, and word use, and that can boost your overall language skills and comprehension.

Lora Wegman is a contributing writer for Varsity Tutors, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement.

Senin, 28 November 2016

How Are Seasonal Flu Vaccines Made?

Coughing, chills, runny nose, and fatigue mean it’s that time of year again—the time when we spread holiday cheer and, well, the flu. Here at QDT we know what the flu is, how it’s different than the common cold, who is more susceptible to flu symptoms, and how to avoid getting and spreading the flu (like getting a flu shot!). You may also know that the flu shot changes each year, but how is the vaccine made? Who decides what strains of flu go into the vaccine each year, and how do they make that choice?

What Goes into a Flu Vaccine?

All year long, 142 national influenza centers in 113 different countries collect data on the flu viruses impacting the world’s population. Specifically, they monitor which strains of the virus are making people sick, how efficiently those strains are spreading, and how well previous vaccines have worked to combat their targeted viruses.

All of these smaller centers then pass the results from their wide-reaching investigations to one of five World Health Organization Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (aka the CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia; the National Institute for Medical Research in London, UK; the Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia; the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, Japan; and the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing, China.

Scientists at each of the five main centers then gather and analyze the data together to identify new flu strains and to determine which strains of the virus are most likely to spread and cause illness in the upcoming flu season. Consultants from each center then meet twice each year. They meet in February to determine the recommended composition for the yearly flu vaccine to be produced in the northern hemisphere for the upcoming flu season, and they also meet in September to make the same decision for future patients in the southern hemisphere.

The virologic surveillance data used to help make their decision are reported through several different channels. Clinical laboratories and hospitals monitor where and when flu cases occur, as well as what strains are detected and what kinds of patients are affected. Patients who have flu-like symptoms with no other obvious cause but who still do not have officially confirmed cases of the flu are also monitored and recorded. Any changes in the strains of flu themselves, as well as the geographic reach of each strain, are also tracked. To see just how the flu is spreading in your home state, the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch in the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control in the US, produces an interactive report of their findings.

Another factor that can determine which strains of the flu will be included in the current flu shot is the ability to produce a working vaccine against that particular strain. Every vaccine must be thoroughly tested and approved by the FDA before it is made available to the public. If for any reason the production process is particularly slow for a given strain, that strain will not be included in the World Health Organization’s list.

Ultimately, however, the World Health Organization only recommends which viruses go into the flu vaccine each year. Individual countries make the final decision on whether or not to follow that recommendation. In the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) has the final say. To see the make up of the 2015-2016 flu vaccine, check out the CDC’s website.

How Are Flu Vaccines Manufactured?

In the US, once the FDA has determined the flu vaccine concoction for the year, all vaccines are then made by manufacturers in the private sector. Private companies can have their own slight variations in the production technologies that they use, but flu shots are most commonly made using fertilized eggs.

A research center, usually the CDC, provides a manufacturer with flu viruses that have been grown in chicken eggs. The manufacturer then injects those viruses into other, fertilized chicken eggs where the are incubated for several days so that the virus can replicate. The fluid containing the virus is then harvested and the virus is killed. (Note that for the nasal spray, an alternative to the flu shot, the virus is merely weakened and not killed entirely.)

The virus antigens—molecular structures found on the surface of the virus’s proteins that are responsible for triggering a body’s immune response, or, in other words, the part of the virus that inspires the production of the antibodies which will eventually fight it off—are then purified. The resulting vaccine is then tested by the FDA on a lot by lot basis before approval.

According to the CDC, the process takes at least six months to produce a vaccine in large quantities. Thus, some manufacturers will make an educated guess as to which strains will need to be harvested for the upcoming flu season and will begin growing some of the virus in January, before the February meeting that produces the recommendations from the World Health Organization so that they are ready to meet demand.

In addition to the long time requirement (relative to the need for yearly updates), the egg-based manufacture of flu vaccines also requires a huge number of eggs. Certain strains of the virus grow poorly in eggs and thus our ability to inoculate against them is limited.

New Flu Shot Technology

Despite having used egg-based production methods for more than 70 years, scientists are now looking to new methods for harvesting the flu virus, in part to produce vaccines more quickly. After being grown in chicken eggs, manufacturers are allowed, since being approved by the FDA in 2012, to harvest the flu virus in canine kidney cells. This process is shorter, and obviously involves fewer eggs, but is currently only being used in one vaccine.

In 2013, the FDA approved the use of recombinant technology, a process that does not use chicken eggs at all. Manufacturers instead harvest proteins directly from the flu virus and combine them with another virus that grows well in insect cells. This combination virus is then allowed to replicate in insect cells before being harvested and purified.

The use of recombinant technology has clear advantages: it does not rely on a supply of virus-containing eggs which come from a limited number of facilities, nor is it limited to the production of vaccines against viruses that can grow well in eggs. Thus, if we face a fast-paced, Contagion-level outbreak of a flu strain, the use of recombinant DNA will allow us to respond quickly.

Who Should Get a Flu Shot?

The CDC recommends that anyone over six months of age who is not allergic to the materials used in the production of flu vaccines (like eggs!) should get a flu shot every year, especially those people who spend time around others who are particularly vulnerable to the flu like children and the elderly.

Even if, after all of the extensive data collection and research, the viruses chosen for the flu vaccine are not a good match to those that end up in circulation, the flu shot still offers some protection. Antibodies made by your body in response to the strains of flu in the vaccine can still fight against, although not as effectively, any flu virus that you contract. Every flu shot also contains protection against at least three or four strains, so even if one strain proves to not have its predicted impact, you are still inoculated against the other two or three.

Until next time, this is Sabrina Stierwalt with Everyday Einstein’s Quick and Dirty Tips for helping you make sense of science. You can become a fan of Everyday Einstein on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, where I’m @QDTeinstein. If you have a question that you’d like to see on a future episode, send me an email at everydayeinstein@quickanddirtytips.com.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

How Technology Can Tank Your Success in Class: Part 2

We saw in the first part of this episode that technology can tank your success in class. So it’s a good idea to train yourself not to use it when it’s potentially going to turn your brain into a pile of mush and short-circuit the important relationships you need to jumpstart your career.

Let’s explore a bit more about the non-technological solutions, and when they might actually be better than using your tech.

When Intern MG is being his over-the-top, uber-productive, over-achieving self, he can often be seen scurrying around the castle (did I mention he’s living in a castle this semester? Yes, a castle. With turrets. I’m not jealous at all.) carrying his notebook. Not his notebook computer; an actual paper notebook. From Moleskine, of course. But why paper?

Buy physical notebooks for classes

He uses the paper for his class notes and to-do lists. For starters, paper has no distractions. He can take notes without being reminded that his shmoopie Sam just bought a new outfit. Even though he’s hopelessly devoted to his relationship, study time shouldn’t be interrupted by feeling like he has to compliment a new dress. Paper notebooks have no interruptions.

Physical notebooks win in reliability! When using them, you can’t swipe by accident and wipe out important information. Plus the battery never runs out of power, and lack of internet connection won’t leave you stranded. When the zombie apocalypse comes and takes the power grid with it, your to-do list will still work, while all those other people’s to-do lists won’t.

As we’ve explored before in this podcast, research shows hand-written note-taking is simply more effective, even if you don’t capture as much of the information, instead of on a computer. You’ll remember more, which was the main reason you were taking notes in the first place. It’s also a distraction-free zone. There are no squiggly red lines or formatting settings to “augment your workflow.” Writing shouldn’t be mixed with editing or spell-checking. You want the purity of you, your class, and your thoughts.

Sit in the front of the classroom

In business school, I got up super-early the first day of class to sit at the very back of the room. It was called the “Skydeck” and was where all the cool kids hang out. And at long last, I got to hang out there too!

Apparently, the cool kids all had 20/15 vision and super-hearing powers. A couple of months into class, I voluntarily moved to the “Wormdeck,” as the front row was called.

I could hear the professor. I could read the chalkboard. And I was focused on the learning, rather than passing around notes and “top–10 lists,” which was the main Skydeck activity.

Sitting in front forces to focus on the learning. Constant eye contact with your teacher promotes healthy feelings of guilt if you spend time on your computer not listening to what they’re saying. The guilt will make you smart. And if guilt isn’t enough, they’ll be able to see you using your computer, which will add shame and public embarrassment to the mix. That’s a potent mixture that will not only get you learning, but also support the economy, as you’ll have to deal with the lingering after-effects of all that negativity by employing a small army of therapists once you’ve graduated.

And just in case you’re thinking that you can sneak a peek at someone else’s computer … you can’t! You’re in the front row and no one else’s computer is in your sight line. Like it or not, your technology detox is under way.

Steal your professor’s brain!

As an extra bonus, sitting in the front row also helps you read your professor’s mind and suck the knowledge directly out of their brains. Bwahah hah hah hah! Actually, I’m completely serious. As an undergrad, I noticed that learning in-person from a professor who really understood the material gave me much better learning, much faster, than learning on my own or from someone with a lesser understanding. I’m sure it has something to do with mirror neurons, or subtle nonverbal cues, or something like that. Unfortunately, I was playing Halo 3 on my laptop during the day we covered that material, so I don’t remember it.

Delete distracting apps

Some classes require using a computer, and they may even ask you to look things up on the web. But they don’t require you to look up YouTube videos like the latest Adam Ruins Everything: The Truth about Hymens (which is actually quite educational and if you’re a guy, will teach you things you never knew before).

Keep your web surfing focus intact by using a blocker. Intern MG is a sucker for browsing ZooBorns.com when he’s supposed to be paying attention in Perfectionism 101. He uses blacklisting apps like SelfControl or Focus. He turns them on, adds ZooBorns to the blacklist, and can still look up the many faces of perfectionism but not… not… not… the many faces of cute, adorable ZooBorns.

When in doubt, throw them out

If the computer is just too much of a distraction, downgrade. Buy a cheap, “dumb” laptop that’s only loaded up with note taking, work processor, spreadsheets, and other productivity apps. It’ll be just like the 1990s, back when Silicon Valley actually tried to make computers useful tools rather than soul-sucking distraction, surveillance, and mass manipulation devices. You only need a few applications to do your most productive work, as I discussed in my episode on writing fast.

That still doesn’t solve the problem of being distracted by a smartphone. As horrifying as he may find the prospect, MG might get a lot more out of his education by trading in his smartphone for a flip phone.

Find an accountability buddy who hates technology

As I recounted in my episode on getting a boundary buddy, you can team up with a friend to help hold each other accountable. My friend Timmy is my accountabilibuddy, and you can have one too! Just find a friend and ask them to help you stay true to putting learning first, and technology second.

Your accountabilibuddy can set with you in the front row, so you can be A+++ students together. Have a daily chat right before class where you remind each other of your in-class goals. An accountabilibuddy doesn’t do much except listen. And just talking about progress with someone else can help you build momentum.

Once you’ve created good habits by explicitly choosing your non-tech tools over your tech tools when it makes sense, sitting in the front of the classroom, using website blockers, and hanging with your accountabilibuddy, you’ll be more present. You’ll learn more. You’ll take an active voice. You’ll lead in class discussions, and you might even convince other students to get off their laptops, too. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to join MG at the very top of the class, where you can duke it out for the top spot in Perfectionism 101.

This is Stever Robbins. Follow Get-It-DoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. I run webinars and other programs to help people be Extraordinarily Productive, and build extraordinary careers. If you want to know more, visit SteverRobbins.com

Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!