WE ALL WANT TO BE SPECIAL:

Excessive Worry About Health Could be Signs of Illness Anxiety Disorder (Sean Mowbray, Jan 20, 2025, Discover)

Those with illness anxiety disorder will often have trouble finding reassurance in a reasonable way, which can drive “repetitive behaviors or escalating strategies to try to relieve that,” says David Smithson, outreach manager with Anxiety UK.

This can lead to frequent visits to the doctor and recurrent medical testing to gain that reassurance. It can also lead to behaviors that can be harmful to health, such as social isolation, substance misuse, and can lead to other mental health issues such as depression.

“People become preoccupied with that, in some cases, and worry about the slightest suggestion or hint of one of those symptoms being present in their body,” says Smithson. “If you suspect you’ve got a serious life-threatening illness, it can become very debilitating and can be extremely concerning to you as an individual.”

See under Long Covid

I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER…:

Researchers design mind-blowing construction material to replace steel: ‘This technology holds a lot of promise’ (Simon Sage, January 20, 2025, The Cool Down)

Researchers at the University of Maine have managed to 3D print an organic building material with the strength of steel. […]

The nice thing about this set-up is that these panels can be printed in bulk off-site and get shipped to the construction area. Since there are already channels in the floor for electrical and plumbing, the only other thing that needs to be applied by hand is soundproofing and floor covering.

…when the Right insisted 3-D printyers would never be more than glorified Play-doh Factories….