Joseph Blanc (French, 1846-1904)

Not to be dramatic but I’m in Love with Michelangelo’s David

Russian legends

Cute little flowers 🌼

Detail of Lady Maria Conyngham, c. 1825, by Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)

This virus actually may boost -- not weaken -- our immune system

Lifelong cytomegalovirus infection may be beneficial, boosting the immune system in old age, when we need it most, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Our immune system is at its peak when we’re young, but after a certain age, it declines and it becomes more difficult for our bodies to fight off new infections.

“That’s why older people are more susceptible to infections than younger people,” explains Janko Nikolich-Zugich, MD, PhD, co-director or the University of Arizona Center on Aging and chairman of the Department of Immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson.

In search of a way to rejuvenate the immune system of older adults, Dr. Nikolich-Zugich and Megan Smithey, PhD, have found that one particular virus may not weaken, but actually enhance our immune system. Their findings are published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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‘Bereginya’ by Andrei Shishkin.

Bereginya (Russian: Берегиня) is an east slavic tutelary deity.

John William Godward (1861-1922)

The Mirror, 1899 l A Priestess, 1894 l A Priestess II, 1893

John William Godward (1861-1922)

The Mirror, 1899 l A Priestess, 1894 l A Priestess II, 1893

Wolves by Ivan Bilibin.