Tag: animals

creativity

A monster created Ozempic

Christa Avampato
Gila monster. 2023. Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

If you’ve benefitted from the medications Ozempic, Wegovy, and others like them to treat diabetes and support weight management, thank the Gila monster. They have a hormone (exendin-4) that controls their blood sugar and delays the stomach from emptying, prolonging feelings of fullness. It’s similar in chemical composition to our GLP-1 hormone that performs the same functions in our bodies. However, the Gila monster’s exendin-4 allows them to stay healthy while eating only 5 to 10 times per year.

This ability to fast for long periods of time without impacting their health piqued the interest of endocrinologist Dr. John Eng and his team of researchers in the 1980s and 1990s. They set out to discover if a medication that mimics exendin-4 would help humans manage their blood sugar and weight.

A component of their venom, the Gila monster’s exendin-4 while similar to our GLP-1 was found by Eng and his team to be effective for much longer. In clinical trials, one injection of a medication inspired by exendin-4 helped diabetics keep their blood sugar under control for an entire week and decreased their appetite, helping them to lose weight, too.

Though it took decades of testing and evaluation, exenatide, a synthetic version of exendin-4 was approved by the FDA in 2005 to treat Type-2 diabetes. Research continued to evaluate it as a treatment for obesity and weight management. That research led the creation of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

Gila monsters are our elders. They trace their ancestry back to the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs ruled the planet, 145 – 66 million years ago, nearly 60 million years before our earliest ancestors made an appearance. Gila monsters are in essence “living fossils”. In that time, they evolved astounding abilities that we’re just beginning to fully understand.

Unfortunately, this creature who survived the catastrophic asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs is steadily being wiped out by us. Their population is declining due to the pet trade and the destruction of habitat from agriculture and urbanization despite the fact that without them, the multi-billion-dollar drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, and others wouldn’t exist.

Nature, and the species with whom we share this one planet, are intricately tied to our health and well-being. Stories like that of the Gila monster and Ozempic remind us that nature is a research lab, pharmacy, archive, library, concert hall, and constant source of inspiration. When we threaten the lives of other species, we compromise our own opportunities to live well. There’s no getting around it: We are a part of nature, not apart from nature. How bright our future will be depends on how much we respect and safeguard the natural world, and the health of the ecosystems within which we all live.

creativity

What an albatross, a whale, and a tortoise taught me about aging

Christa Avampato
The Laysan albatross known as Wisdom in December 2016 at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Kristina McOmber/Kupu Conservation Leadership Development Program and USFWS, Public Domain, https://www.fws.gov/media/laysan-albatross-known-wisdom-december-2016-midway-atoll-national-wildlife-refuge

Wisdom the albatross, bowhead whales, and Jonathan the tortoise taught me to age well. We equate aging with loss, and often forget that aging has bonuses, too. Age contains stories and experience, wisdom and strength. As more time passes, the more I understand that every moment counts. Aging has shown me what matters, and just important, what doesn’t. My capacity for love, gratitude, generosity, vulnerability, and openness increases every day. The older I get, the more I value my relationships and community.

In Indigenous cultures, as in nature, aging is the ultimate prize. Artists of all mediums also understand the power of aging. I know my writing now is better than it was 10 years ago, and 10 years from now it will be better still. I think it’s one reason I was drawn to becoming a writer – it’s a skill that gets better with age.

Aging is a privilege denied to many. Having nearly lost my battle with cancer several times, I know how lucky I am to be here, how fortunate I am every day to get another day. Nature understands this, too. Nature is filled with examples of individuals and species that get better with age and defy stereotypes. Below are three of my favorite nature stories about the gifts of aging.

The many loves of Wisdom the albatross
Wisdom, a senior female Laysan albatross, is a prime example of how to thrive in old age. She was banded in 1956 by legendary ornithologist, Chandler Robbins. He died in 2017, so Wisdom has outlived the man who most closely studied her – something no one would have believed nearly 70 years ago when they first met.

This species is monogamous and mates for life. Wisdom has outlived at least three mates. Scientists estimate she’s had 50 – 60 offspring in her lifetime. Not too shabby for a bird who was rearing young during the Eisenhower administration.

At the ripe old age of 74, Wisdom is preparing to welcome another chick early this year with her current, much-younger mate. 74 is ancient for this species. The average age in the wild is 30 and after Wisdom, the next oldest known Laysan albatross is 45.

Losing someone we love, especially someone we’ve built a life with, is a painful and difficult loss. I admire Wisdom for embracing every new chapter, for leaving herself open to the possibility to love in every season of her very long life.

Whales sing to survive
Bowhead whales are the longest-living mammal species. In 2007, a harpoon tip was found in the blubber of a bowhead whale; the harpoon was from the late 1800s. Recent research has found they can live to be over 200 years.

Bowheads live in the Arctic Seas, some of the harshest environments in the world. They’re able to thrive there because of their strong communications skills; studies have shown they have as many as 184 distinct songs composed of a vast array of sounds. They use these songs to find food and navigate in a world dominated by icy darkness. Their strong sense of community and their ability to freely and generously share information with one another helps them thrive despite the challenges in this difficult ecosystem.

Slow and steady, Jonathan the tortoise wins the race
Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise is an animal who helped save my life. He lives on the island of Saint Helena off the southwestern coast of Africa. The oldest known living land animal, he’s estimated to be a minimum of 192 years old, born decades before the U.S. Civil War.

When I was going through cancer treatment, I’d often find myself staring at the ceiling at 3am, wracked with anxiety and worry. I’d switch on Wonder, a Calm app sleep story by Matthew McConaughey, and he’d talk about how somewhere in the world Jonathan was turning his face up to the stars, pondering the passing of another day. Though the world had radically transformed during his lifetime, Jonathan lived moment-to-moment, taking life as it comes. Thinking about Jonathan, I’d feel my breathing slow, and my mind would stop racing. He lived life day-by-day, savoring each one. I could do that, too. We all can.   

Nature provides all the insight and inspiration I need aging. All these animals have much to teach us about living long and well into our golden years: Embrace love, nurture community, share openly, sing, and live each moment. I have no need for the anti-aging products that glut the market and my social media feeds. I’ll stick with the 3.8 billion years of experience amassed by nature and offered to us by our elders such as Wisdom, bowhead whales, and Jonathan. As they say in the movie When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll have what they’re having.”

creativity

Marking the one year anniversary since my soul dog, Phineas, passed away

Christa Avampato
The last photo I took of Phinny before I rushed him to the ER 4 hours later.

Dear Phinny,
Today marks one year since I held you. One year since I felt the weight of your perfect body in my arms. One year since I kissed your forehead between your sweet honey eyes. And yet, you have never left me. Not really. Your spirit has been with me every day. Your ashes sit on your ofrenda, next to your portrait and photograph, toys, food bowl, sweater, harness, collar, and leash. The last bed you slept in and the last blanket you rested your head on are exactly where they were the last time I saw you peacefully resting in them.

I still talk to you every day. I ask you for help and guidance. I tell you I love you before I go to sleep and when I wake up. You have visited me in my dreams and showed me around your home across the rainbow bridge. The forest, the beach, the mountains. We’ve gone hiking together there. You are happy and healthy and youthful. You are living now, forever, as you did during your best days with me.

And still, what I wouldn’t give for one more day, one more hour. Something I will never get and always want. I know I did the best I could for you, and it never feels like it was enough. I know you don’t feel that way, that you have always continued to love me, even at my most imperfect moments. I’m still trying to forgive myself for making that terrible that decision a year ago.

Though I didn’t think it would be possible, I love you and miss you more today than I did a year ago when we said goodbye. The grief of losing you is even heavier now; you have helped me get stronger so that I am better able to carry it. The joy I have for all the years we spent together is also greater; you have helped me become even more grateful for our bond. You are and always will be my soul dog. I was meant for you, and you were meant for me.

In your honor, I’m fostering dogs who need help and love to heal. I know you’re working your magic behind-the-scenes, and we’re doing this together. I know you will always be looking out for me, just as you always did when you were here in your physical form. And as crazy as it sounds, I know when you’re ready you will find a way to infuse a ray of your bright, shiny spirit into another dog who will find their way to me. I will take one look at that dog and know. I trust the process. I trust you. That will never change. Our love story continues now, and always.

Love forever,
Your Mom

creativity

My favorite organizations for Giving Tuesday

Christa Avampato
Photo by Sticker Mule on Unsplash

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day during the holiday season that raises awareness for giving to nonprofit organizations. I’ve worked professionally in the nonprofit space for many years in different capacities including fundraising, product development and product management, program direction, strategy, operations, and communications. These have been some of my most gratifying career experiences. I’ve also been fortunate to be an active volunteer and donor.

If you want to make donations this holiday season, and / or get more involved with nonprofit organizations, here is a list of the ones I support as a donor and volunteer:

Animals and Pets
Muddy Paws Rescue
I’m a foster parent for dogs through Muddy Paws Rescue. The support, guidance, advice, and services they provide to dogs, fosters, and adopters is unparalleled. Through a partnership with Tito’s Vodka, donations today will be matched.

Animal Care Centers of NYC (NYCACC)
This is our city shelter system for animals who are homeless. They don’t turn away any animals and work closely with groups such as Muddy Paws to help these animals find forever homes. With the help of the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare, they also provide support for people who are struggling financially to take care of their pets with food assistance and medical care so that people can keep their beloved pets. With the help of the pet food company, Ollie, I’ve arranged to have an entire pallet of Ollie treats shipped to NYCACC to support the shelter pups.

White Whiskers Senior Dog Sanctuary
I learned about this organization when I wanted to make a gift to a senior dog organization in honor of my soul dog, Phineas, who passed away in January. I love their mission to find loving homes for sweet senior pups.

15/10 Foundation
This organization is doing the tough work of providing funds for medical care for pets to help them find forever homes. This is the same group that runs We Rate Dogs, famous for their joyful posts on social media that make everyone’s day. I adore them. I became a monthly donor as a way to thank all the people who have supported my Emerson Page novels which feature Friday, Emerson’s service dog who is also a rescue!

Climate and Environment
Prospect Park Alliance
I moved to Brooklyn in June 2023, a short 15-minute walk to Prospect Park. I love having that nature sanctuary as my backyard and I’m happy to support them. Today, your donations will be doubled.

National Parks Association
The U.S. is so fortunate to have so much protected public land in our national parks. In 2025, they will need our help more than ever as we navigate a new federal administration. Today, all donations will be tripled!

Arbor Day Foundation
Trees provide us with so many gifts – clean air, water filtration, food, and storm protection to name just a few! A gift to the Arbor Day Foundation makes sure our trees receive the protection and care they deserve.

The Climate Reality Project
Since 2006, Vice President Al Gore has trained over 45,000 climate leaders and change makers in all 50 states and 190 countries, me included. (I was trained in NYC in April 2024.) Today, all gifts will be matched.

Humanitarian and Health
World Central Kitchen
Hands-down, World Central Kitchen founded by Chef Jose Andres is the premiere organization for humanitarian relief. With a small staff, mostly employing local people on the ground in areas they serve, they feed anyone and everyone in need. I’m a proud monthly donor.

Coalition for the Homeless
This year I provided a donation to support their back-to-school program that provides new backpacks filled with new school supplies for New York City children who are homeless. They do so much to help our most vulnerable neighbors.

Fisher House Foundation
Most of the members of my small family have served in the U.S. military. As a Christmas gift every year for my uncle who served in Vietnam, I donate to Fisher House. With 98 locations, they have housed 500,000 military families for free when a loved one is in the hospital.

Education
Brooklyn Public Library
I use my local library all the time and our city is made better for all of the services our library systems provide to everyone. All donations to Brooklyn Public Library will be matched today!

Letters to a Pre-Scientist (LPS)
I’m now in my second year of being a STEM pen pal for students in grades 5 through 10 in low-income communities. LPS pairs students with a worldwide network of STEM professionals for a yearlong pen pal program during science class. We help broaden students’ awareness of what STEM professionals look like and do at work and inspire all students to explore a future in STEM.

creativity

What’s it like to foster a dog? Meet my first foster, Ace

Christa Avampato
My foster dog, Ace, from Muddy Paws Rescue NYC

Welcome to Brooklyn, Ace! I picked up my cutie foster dog from Muddy Paws Rescue NYC, and he lives up to his name. By all accounts, he is absolutely aces! Below are some photos from our first day together.

We don’t know much about his history. He’s 6 months old and 19 pounds with a cute trot that makes him look like a little fox. He was found with his siblings in Kentucky and ended up in a shelter. They all had terrible mange (a skin infection) and are healing up well now. Ace has a few bare spots where his fur is growing back. His siblings were also transported by Muddy Paws and are being fostered, too!

Despite all of the new sights, sounds, and scents in NYC, Ace is adjusting incredibly well. We’re working on crate training and he’s taking to it so quickly. He walks well on a leash though it’s clear he’s never had a leash or collar before. He does shake is head when wearing the collar trying to figure out what the heck this is! He listens well and is very smart. We’re working on some basic commands and structured walks. Though he had two accidents in my apartment when we got home for the first time yesterday, I realize now I didn’t know his cues. By this morning, I completely understood when he was telling me he needed to go. He caught on to house training at lightning speed!

Ace is definitely a velcro dog. He loves to cuddle and he’s a sweet, loving pup. Belly rubs, kisses, and pets are his favorite. Never enough love for this guy. Working out at home today with him out of his crate was hilarious to say the least. Try doing burpees and sit-ups when a dog just wants to sit in your lap!

He’s motivated by treats and affection. He doesn’t know what a toy is so hasn’t shown any interest in them (also very common for street dogs who are new to a home.)

He’s unsure about other dogs at the moment, either ignoring them, giving a bark or 2, or freezing in place when he sees a dog. This is very normal for strays as they have been taught to be wary of other dogs just to survive on the streets.

Ace shows absolutely no aggression nor any prey drive. I can touch all his food and treats without him doing a thing. I left him alone in his crate for about 30 minutes today and within 15 minutes he settled down. He slept in his crate as well and slept through the night (except when he had a dry throat and needed some water, which I got for him.) We’re going to try a walk in Prospect Park this afternoon.

Ace will be available for adoption applications on the Muddy Paws website starting on Tuesday, November 26th. Since he is small, sweet, smart, and a puppy, I think there will be a lot of interest in him. Happy to answer any questions about Ace, fostering dogs, or Muddy Paws Rescue.

creativity

NYC’s Harbor is cleaner and more resilient. Thank the oysters.

Christa Avampato
Billion Oyster Party. Photo by Christa Avampato.

On Thursday night I wound my way through Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. Past industrial buildings, natural gas smoke stacks, and heavy machinery, I found myself at building 269 to celebrate a sustainability milestone in our city. 

For 10 years, Billion Oyster Project has used the nature-based solution of oyster restoration to clean the water of the Hudson River to a level unprecedented in the last century. Restored oyster reefs will also protect the coastline from storm surges, a threat the city faces from climate change. To commemorate all their work, and look toward the future, 2,000 guests gathered together this week to sample trays of freshly harvested oysters, enjoy small bites and drinks from over 20 of New York’s best restaurants, and celebrate the efforts of oyster over 50 oyster farmers from all over the country at the organization’s 10th Anniversary Billion Oyster Party — Back to Nature, Back to Health. 

New York City used to be the oyster capital of the world, home to half of the world’s oysters. When the Dutch arrived in the 1600s, New York Harbor’s oysters measured up to 10 inches long, the city was known for them, and the oyster industry helped lay the foundation for the city. Liberty and Ellis Islands where the Statue of Liberty now stands and where millions of immigrants landed to begin new lives here were originally known as Oester (Oyster) Islands. New York’s oyster industry ended due to overharvesting, water pollution, and shoreline build-outs from the city’s rapid expansion. The pollution of the river prompted a typhoid scare, and the city shut down oyster farming in 1927. 

The book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky tells the fascinating history of New York’s oysters. The Billion Oyster Project is creating its future. The city’s 220,000 acres of oyster reefs were once homes to whales, dolphins, seals, seahorses, herring, striped bass, and hundreds of other species. Thanks to Billion Oyster Project, they’re on their way to being this home again. Today, the organization has 18 active oyster restoration sites across 16 acres of New York Harbor. Their efforts have restored 100 million juvenile oysters to the harbor. Oysters are starting to reproduce in the Harbor — a clear sign that this once booming industry can be revived and be self-sustaining. Billion Oyster Project’s goal for the next 10 years is to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor by 2035.  

To grow the oyster population 10-fold in the next 10 years, they need our help. Volunteer, become a member or donate, share their mission through education efforts, dine at their restaurant partners, or attend an event. 

All photos taken at Billion Oyster Party by Christa Avampato.

creativity

I became a monthly donor to 15/10 Foundation

Christa Avampato
Honoring Phinny through 15/10 Foundation. Painting of Phin under the cherry blossoms by Ashley Semrick.

My rescue dog, Phineas, was my writing buddy and he inspired the character of Friday in my Emerson Page novels. To honor him as part of my book launch, I pledged to make a donation to 15/10 Foundation for every person who attended the launch party. Because you packed the room, I became a monthly donor to help shelter dogs who have medical challenges get the care they need to restore their health and be adopted into their forever homes. I know Phinny would be so happy to help other rescue dogs like him. Every time that monthly donation happens, his spirit will shine a little brighter. Learn more about 15/10 Foundation and the incredible dogs they help at https://15outof10.org

creativity

The inspiring resilience of water bears

Christa Avampato
Tardigrades in space (and everywhere on Earth!) https://youtu.be/TV7qAsp6x3w

Water bears look like works of science fiction. The microscopic, 8-legged 1,300 species of water bears (tardigrades) are alive and well. Their remarkable abilities to survive and thrive in harsh conditions make them seem even more improbable. They’re one of the most resilient lifeforms that’s ever lived.

When I had 6 weeks of daily radiation to treat cancer, I thought a lot about the perseverance of water bears. The technicians would position me on the table, then close the heavy door behind them as they left the room to protect themselves from the radiation. Click. Through a small window, they’d watched me, alone, unmoving, exposed on a table with no protection from the radiation blasting my body. I imagined myself as a tardigrade, opening to the light and radiation, absorbing it to kill any microscopic cancer cells floating around my body. I would think of Rumi’s quote, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”

By the end of week six, I had a painful burn the size of a baseball in the middle of my chest. “What would a tardigrade do with a burn like this?”, I wondered. They’d tend to what needed tending. So, that’s what I did. I changed dressings and applied the medication twice a day. I meditated on my wound, imagining it closing and healing. It was painful and frightening to have a wound like that, but like so much along my cancer journey, it passed. To my amazement and my doctors’, it healed in 2 weeks. Today it’s only a few freckles and the tattoo that marks the focus of the radiation beam, the place where the light entered me and healed me.

My healing is nothing compared to tardigrades. I bow in deep humility to them. Devastating drought? A sprinkle of water revives them from completely dried out to fully functioning. Deep freeze of outer space? They thaw and don’t know they’ve been away from Earth. Crushing pressure? They flatten and bounce back. Blast of radiation 1,400 times stronger than what would kill humans? They repair their shattered DNA and go about their day.

Tardigrades instill awe, wonder, and confusion in scientists. How do they survive everywhere under such extremes? Why have they evolved to do this?

They’re ubiquitous, found from the top of the Himalayas to Antarctic depths, at temperatures from -328°F (-200°C) to 304°F (151°C). We know they repair damaged DNA rapidly and completely. It’s not that they aren’t impacted by their environment. They take the destruction around them, then they pick up the pieces, build back, and carry on.

As we consider how to create a world resilient to climate change impacts, again I’m thinking of tardigrades. How can we withstand hardship, quickly and completely fixing what breaks? How can we endure? Nature-based solutions to our most dire challenges are found all around us if only we look, listen, and seek to understand. In a world where we constantly navigate change and manage difficulty, I want to be a tardigrade — repairing myself, my ecosystem, and all beings with whom I share it.

creativity

An orangutan practices medicine

Christa Avampato

The wonders of nature amaze me every day, and today a piece of natural news left me in awe. A paper was just published in the journal Nature about an orangutan who was observed self-medicating with remarkable effects that even trained medical doctors would have trouble reproducing.

In Sumatra, a 35-year-old orangutan known to researchers as Rakus had a large, deep, open wound on his face close to his eye. To look at it even made me wince, and I’m not at all squeamish about medical issues! With his teeth, he ground yellow root, an herb he rarely ate that has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. He then applied the yellow root paste to his facial wound. In several days, it scabbed over. A little over a month later, it was barely noticeable with no sign of infection. (The images of Rakus above are from the paper in Nature.)

How could Rakus possibly act as his own doctor and healer? Where did he learn this yellow root technique? Scientists don’t know yet. While other animals have been observed in the wild tending to their injuries and the injuries of others, some even administering self-care and preventative-care, this was the first time an animal was observed medicinally treating a wound and with remarkable success.

There is so much we don’t know nor understand about the natural world. This is one of the many reasons why conservation is so vital for the health of people and our planet. Nature-based solutions to what ails us are everywhere, and to allow us to learn from them we must conserve the ecosystems where they occur. Perhaps Rakus has shown us a new medication that we could use to treat human wounds. He and his species are sentient, thoughtful beings who hurt and heal just as we do, deserve respect and concern, and have a right to survive and thrive.

creativity

JoyProject Podcast: The Joy of Fostering Animals with Mary Talalay

Christa Avampato
The Joy of Fostering Animals with Mary Talalay

What could instantly elicit more joy than a puppy or kitten? This week we talk to Mary Talalay, an expert in fostering animals to get them ready to find their forever homes. She also mentors new fosters, especially first-timers. Mary offers advice to those new to fostering and potential fosters who are curious about what’s involved in the process. She shares stories of fosters that hold a special place in her heart and how she and her daughter initially got involved in their foster community in Maryland.

At the end of the episode I share two resources created by Best Friends Animal Society. They put together a foster program training playbook with an e-learning module, care manuals for dogs, cats, and kittens, and other helpful links. They also have free online recordings of webinars, town halls, online courses, and helpful tips on fostering.

This is a heart-warming episode for all the animal lovers out there and those who want to play a part in animals rescue and adoption.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • What it’s like to be a foster as well as the commitment needed (it can be as a big or as small a commitment as you have time for!)
  • The community of fosters that Mary and her teenage daughter discovered and are now a part of
  • Memorable fosters that found shelter and safety in Mary’s home
  • Ways to get involved in the foster community even if you can’t take an animal into your home

Links to resources:


About Mary:
Mary Talalay has a BS in Journalism from Temple University, an MS in Organizational Dynamics from University of Pennsylvania, and an MPH from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She played goalie for Temple University’s Division 1 Final Four Women’s Lacrosse team and was a member of Phi Sigma Sigma.

She also studied Epidemiology in Krakow, Poland with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has certifications from Quality Matters, Sloane Consortium, (Online Learning Consortium) and is a Blackboard Exemplary Course reviewer.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Mary worked as a technical and medical writer for companies such as Baxter BioScience, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and many local biotechnology companies.

She worked as a project manager for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s MD-PhD program, creating a comprehensive database of the program alumni and assisting with grants and admissions.

She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Slovak Republic, working as a project manager for the Slovak Ministry of Health, helping the government achieve compliance in the area of Public Health for accession into the EU. She continues to assist her Slovak colleagues with manuscript preparation pro bono.

She enjoys photography (her work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Maryland Zoo Annual Report, and KIWI Magazine), writing children’s books, travel, and kayaking.

One of her favorite overseas trips was spending Halloween in Transylvania.  Her family fosters animals for the Maryland SPCA and they lost count after the 100th kitten.