Must Reads

• The next Nice News Book Club meeting is one week away — RSVP here​
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• Drum roll, please: The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class is in

Health

Breakthrough Study Points to a Bright Future for Food Allergy Treatment

In a landmark U.K. trial, two-thirds of participating adults with a severe peanut allergy were desensitized thanks to oral immunotherapy. While oral immunotherapy has previously been successful in infants and children, this is the first study to provide evidence that adults can also benefit from the medical treatment — and it nods to a bright future for treating food allergies more broadly.
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“Up until 15 years ago we never offered anything other than complete avoidance and carry your epinephrine,” Robert Wood, the director of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins University, told The Guardian. “Now we have options.”
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​These new options come at a vital time, as food allergies have surgedat unprecedented levels around the world and can take a profound toll. “Living with peanut allergy is a huge burden due to the need for constant vigilance and the risk of accidental exposures,” lead study author Hannah Hunter said in a statement. “Everyday situations such as eating in restaurants and social events are anxiety provoking and our patients tell us that the condition also affects travel choices and career options.”
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For Chris Brookes-Smith, one of the trial participants, the results are nothing short of life-altering. “All of my life I had associated the taste and smell of peanuts with fear and death,” he said, adding: “Before, a tiny mistake could have life-threatening impacts but now I don’t have the fear that I might collapse and die from eating a takeaway.”

Together With Timeline

Experts Identify Major Culprit Behind Aging

It’s well known that as we age, we can expect less energy, more tiredness, and weaker muscles, but did you know the root of this issue lies at the cellular level? Starting in our 30s, the mitochondria, responsible for 90% of your body’s energy, take on damage with time, and our cells slowly lose the ability to repair it, wearing down our physical strength and endurance.
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Meet Mitopure®, a clinically proven breakthrough over 15 years in the making that replaces aging mitochondria and increases cellular energy. The results? Studies found participants saw muscle strength and endurance increase without any changes to exercise.
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Humanity

This Club Found the Sweet Spot to Help Older Men Socialize

ROMEO is helping men socialize in their later years. We’re not referring to the Shakespeare character, but rather a global program called “Retired Older Men Eating Out.” One recently established faction in Harpswell, Maine, gathers once a month over a free lunch to listen to different speakers share advice on everything from avoiding scams to taking a good cellphone picture, all the while building new friendships.
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The goal is to get men who lack social connections to mingle and support one another (that’s particularly needed in Maine, which has the oldest population in the country). However, this mission is notmentioned anywhere in the promotional materials, by design. “If we said it was a support group for men, they’re not gonna come,” Tom Mahoney, who helped bring the Harpswell program to life, told NPR. “Because that would indicate, or say to them, ‘I’m vulnerable, I need this.’ And we don’t want to be perceived as being vulnerable.”
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But whether or not someone admits to feeling alone, that doesn’t mean they aren’t seeking community, said Jess Maurer, the executive director of the Maine Council on Aging: “We kind of, as a stereotype, have this idea that men are OK and we don’t need to do programming or specific outreach to them. That’s a stereotype that’s wrong,” she said.
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The club’s steady growth speaks for itself. Since last September, attendance has grown nearly fivefold, from about a dozen men to around 55. Among those men is Jim Hays, who was initially encouraged to attend the lunches by his wife, but now happily goes monthly. “We men, we have worked all our lives and it’s hard to get out of the chair and get involved with something,” he said. “You know, we lose our contacts with the outside world, and it takes something like this to pull us back in.” Find a ROMEO Club near you.​

Culture

Social Psychologist Explains How to Practice Gratitude When Times Are Stressful

This article was written by Monica Y. Bartlett, a professor of psychology at Gonzaga University, for The Conversation.
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​A lot has been written about gratitude over the past two decades and how we ought to be feeling it. There is advice for journaling and a plethora of purchasing options for gratitude notebooks and diaries. And research has consistently pointed to the health and relationship benefits of the fairly simple and cost-effective practice of cultivating gratitude.
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Yet, Americans are living in a very stressful time, worried about their financial situation and the current political upheaval. How then do we practice gratitude during such times?
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​I am a social psychologist who runs the Positive Emotion and Social Behavior Lab at Gonzaga University. I teach courses focused on resilience and human flourishing. I have researched and taught about gratitude for 18 years. At the best of times, awareness of the positive may require more effort than noticing the negative, let alone in times of heightened distress. There are, however, two simple ways to work on this: Learn them.

In Other News

1. Bike boom: The number of daily cyclists in London increased by more than 50% in two years (read more)
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2. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is honoring Steven Spielberg and three other American leaders (read more)
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3. Check out the eco-friendly golf balls that dissolve in the water and double as fish food (read more)
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4. A dachshund named Valerie was rescued after 529 days missing — and the rescuers say she’s “safe and sound” (read more)
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5. Bain, a Korean boy band member, became the first active K-pop star to come out as gay (read more)

Something We Love

Merit Beauty Five Minute Morning Set​
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​Merit’s (Nice News-approved) Five Minute Morning set includes everything you need to get ready in five minutes or less. This curated lineup, including everyday essentials like The Minimalist complexion stick and Flush Balm cream blush, is easy to use, buildable, and impossible to mess up. Even better? You can get the set for 15% off, and with your first purchase on MeritBeauty.com, you’ll also get a free Signature Makeup Bag.*

*Indicates a Nice News brand partnership or affiliate

Inspiring Story

Waltzing into retirement

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Sheena Gough has dedicated the past seven decades to the art of ballet. Now, the 89-year-old dance teacher is ready to slip off her ballet shoes, marking what one of her students called “the end of an era.” Watch the grand dame in action.​

Photo of the Day

Wrexham AFC’s Cinderella story continues. The Welsh soccer club entered the national conversation in 2020, when actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased it and began facilitating a Ted Lasso-like turnaround thanks to an infusion of fans and funds. Over the weekend, Wrexham was promoted from League One to the EFL Championship — putting it one year away from potential promotion to the Premier League. The team also became the first in English history to be promoted in three consecutive seasons, “a football miracle,” according to ESPN.

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Odds & Ends

👯 Seeing and hearing double​
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🍞 Someone has to tell Paddington about this world championship
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🛍️ Need a Mother’s Day gift? Brands like Steve Madden and ASTR are up to 60% off at Nordstrom Rack!*
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👞 Here’s the deal with those pointy medieval shoes
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*Indicates a Nice News brand partnership or affiliate

Quote of the Day

“When you’re filled with self-love, you make better choices.”

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– SHAUNA SHAPIRO