Martial arts

• Researchers at the Australian Sports Brain Bank have today reported the world’s first diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a female athlete.
• Heather’s family donated her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank hoping to better understand why she died.

What is chronic traumatic encephalopathy?

• It is increasingly associated with athletes who play contact sports, such as football, boxing and martial arts.
• Athletes with long careers in contact sport are at particular risk, especially if they play from an early age.
• Read more:
  Repeated head injury may cause degenerative brain disease for people who play sport – juniors and amateurs included

A sporting life

• She played representative football in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory before being drafted into the inaugural season of the AFLW in 2017.
• Anderson played a single season with the Adelaide Crows, during which she won a premiership and suffered a career-ending shoulder injury.

Was this diagnosis expected?

• The Australian Sports Brain Bank team believe Anderson is a “sentinel case” we can learn from.
• Although Australian women have historically been excluded from the sports most associated with repeated head injuries, this is changing.

Are women more prone to CTE than men?

• There is emerging evidence that women are at significantly higher risk of mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) and may suffer more severe symptoms.
• Concussion alone does not cause CTE, but an athlete’s number of concussions is a reliable indicator of their cumulative exposure to brain trauma, which is the biggest predictor of CTE.
• Given their growth in participation and the enhanced risks they face in sport, it is concerning that women and girls are underrepresented in concussion research.

A disease that does not discriminate

• This world-first report of CTE in a female athlete is proof the disease does not discriminate and lends urgency to calls for greater representation of women in brain injury studies.
• Efforts to reduce concussion in women’s sport must first address resource inequalities between men’s and women’s sport.
• This includes giving women access to quality training and coaching support, as well as greater attention from sport science and medical research.

• It's also the origin of one of China's oldest Kung Fu styles: Qingcheng Kung Fu.
• Why are millions of people "Kung Fu fighting" in Chengdu?
• In this video, American host Katherine, determined to acquire some awesome Kung Fu moves, makes a pilgrimage to Qingcheng Mountain where she meets up with Master Liu Suibin, the current head of Qingcheng Kung Fu.
• Check the video and see more interesting stories of Kung Fu culture in Chengdu.

• How to stop chores from taking over can become a tricky balance.
• Indeed, it’s the one time in life when you can really devote yourself to hobbies and interests, leisure and pleasure.
• This uncertain picture means that approaching retirement can be a time of fear – retirement anxiety is a real thing.
• Similarly, the charity The Centre for Better Ageing has found that social connections are just as important as money and health to a good later life.

Beyond routine

• But my research also found that negative notions of ageing can become internalised and prevent people from having fun and making new connections.
• In my study, people said they were conscious that others might judge the suitability of their leisure choices.

From anxiety to adventure

• It’s a time to embrace the convivial in the presence of others, not just the usual people you see.
• But if there is a little something missing, a little fun that could enhance it, consider adding in something new.
• Think outside the box of what’s “suitable for your age group”, (what does that even mean?).
• If you enjoy that, you could join a community choir, or drag your friends and family to a karaoke night.
• Anything you try will make a good story to tell the younger people in your life – they need to know that later life is an adventure worth working towards.

• Peng first took her guests to a Qinqiang opera art museum in the Yisushe Theater cultural block, where they viewed exquisite items related to the folk opera.
• China stands ready to strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation with Central Asian countries and promote mutual understanding and friendship among peoples, Peng said.
• China has become one of the main destinations and preferred countries for students in Central Asian countries to study abroad.
• The number of Central Asian students studying in China has rapidly increased after the COVID-19 pandemic.