Author Archives: Emily Facoory

Origami-inspired bots that can fold into a number of different shapes have been created, with the miniature bots having the potential to carry out different types of surgery – like patch wounds, remove objects and take samples.

Researchers from MIT, the University of Sheffield and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a new kind of origami robot that transforms into a microsurgeon inside your stomach. They squished the robot inside a pill, which the stomach acid dissolves. A magnet embedded in the middle allows you or a medical practitioner to control the microsurgeon from the outside using another magnet. It also picks up the battery or other objects stuck inside your stomach.

The team decided to focus on battery retrieval, because people swallow 3,500 button batteries in the US alone. While they can be digested normally, they sometimes burn people’s stomach and oesophagus linings. This robot can easily fish them out of one’s organs before that happens.

“It’s really exciting to see our small origami robots doing something with potential important applications to health care,” Daniela Rus, who directs MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), said in a press release.

Published on April 6, 2018 on She Society

With the royal wedding now just a few days away, we thought that these selection of books would be perfect as a precursor to the royal event. So sit back with one of these books and with the only beverage that is acceptable in this case, tea and enjoy the fascinating stories.

Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan in their own words

Royally suited reveals the true story behind Prince Harry’s and Meghan Markle’s romance through a selection of quotations from the couple. Royal Correspondent Phil Dampier has dug deep into the lovers’ pasts to reveal their shared mischievous sense of humor and how both grew up with divorced parents. The book also reveals the story of how they fell in love and the aftermath that occurred throughout their courtship and engagement.

Elizabeth: The Queen and The Crown

Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most recognised figures in the world, with her reign still continuing with 2018 being her 66th year in power. Elizabeth: The Queen and The Crown covers from Elizabeth’s birth to present day, reveal details about her incredible life. Sarah Gristwood follows the twists and turns and key events in the Queen’s life, including her teenage years during the war, meeting and marrying the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip Mountbatten, and her ascension to the throne in 1952.

Meghan: A Hollywood Princess

Meghan: A Hollywood Princess comes from the same author Andrew Morton who wrote Diana: Her True Story. The biography details her childhood growing up in Los Angeles, her fraught family life and career success. Drawing on exclusive interviews with her family members and closest friends, and including never-before-seen photographs, Morton introduces readers to the real Meghan as he reflects on the impact that she has already had on the rigid traditions of the House of Windsor, as well as what the future might hold.

Harry: A Biography of a Prince

An eye-opening biography on Prince Harry, giving readers a three-dimensional look at what Harry is really like as a person, both on and off royal duty. It is written by distinguished journalist and author Angela Levin, who accompanied Prince Harry on many of his engagements and had exclusive access to him at Kensington Palace.

Published on May 16, 2018 on She Society

176 million women worldwide suffer with endometriosis, a debilitating condition that affects all aspects of a woman’s life. With no known cure, more awareness needs to be made, the Australian Government took a step last year creating a national action plan for endometriosis.

She Society had a chat with Meredith East-Powell, a member of Endometriosis Queensland (QENDO)and the creator of The Healing Yogi. A blog that details her own struggles with endometriosis and her approach to living a holistic lifestyle to help combat the disease.

Constantly experiencing pain and crippling fatigue, Meredith said that there were times where she could barely work or go out socially. The Healing Yogi is Meredith’s way to share her knowledge on endometriosis, to help people better understand the condition. Once she’s a qualified nutritionist people will be able to book consultations so she can assist them in achieving their health goals.

She came to the realisation that a holistic approach was best when she found out that her doctor could only do so much. “I could either take pain killers continuously or have surgery. I was desperate to feel better, so I researched and educated myself about the possible treatments for endo and saw a naturopath, I started seeing some results which set the wheels in motion for me to makeover my diet and lifestyle.”

According to Meredith nutrition can help with reducing the symptoms of endometriosis. “Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease, it is also an estrogen dependent disease. By lowering the intake of inflammatory foods such as processed meat (or processed food in general), gluten, sugar and soy, and increasing our intake of whole foods (particularly vegetables and fruit) it will assist in reducing inflammation.”

Taking time to meditate also helps endometriosis sufferers, helping them to manage stress, anxiety and depression. “Meditation allows us to be more in tune with our body and helps switch on the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), this is when our body can recover and heal, it can’t do this when we’re stressed out and in fight or flight mode,” she said.

With many misconceptions floating around, Meredith discussed the idea that pregnancy or a hysterectomy can cure endometriosis. “Even today I still hear that from people (including doctors). That bad period pain is just part of being a woman; pain that prevents you from functioning is not normal and requires treatment. Another one is that people believe a hysterectomy is a cure, it isn’t, in fact there is no cure.”

What’s your advice to other women suffering with endometriosis? Getting a team of health professionals in your corner who really understand and treat endo. Unfortunately there are still health professionals out there who don’t understand the disease. Ask questions and if you’re not comfortable with what is being proposed or the attitude being displayed by your health professional, find someone else, it’s not in your head and you deserve the best treatment available.”

What do you wish people knew about endometriosis? It affects more people than many realise, approximately 1 in 10 women. It is a physiological condition and the cause is not yet known.

What are you most proud of? To change and start living a heart centred life and according to my values, the best move I’ve ever made.

What has been the biggest lesson you have learnt? (in life or business) Not to underestimate yourself and that mistakes are ok; just learn from them, forgive yourself quickly and come back from them.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? To find three positive things to say (or think) about yourself everyday, it is a wonderful form of self-care.

QENDO is holding an endometriosis Education Series in 3 parts at the University of Queensland, tickets can be found here!

Published on February 28, 2018 on She Society

Do you believe you’re getting what you pay for when you go out to eat at a restaurant? We’ve all had the experience where either yourself or the person you’re with complains about their meal, whether it be over the pricing or portion size. But are your complaints really valid? SheSociety spoke to The Golden Pig’s chef Katrina Ryan and Americo Fernandes from Margo Restaurant and Bar about restaurant food and what we should be expecting when it comes to fine dining.

“I think pricing in a restaurant reflects a lot more than the actual food on the plate and the time it has taken to make it. For example, does the restaurant have fantastic views (high rent!), are they using linen tablecloths and napkins (laundry costs), do they serve complimentary bread – is it or the butter homemade, is the glassware and crockery of high quality?  All these things translate to a higher meal cost,” Katrina said.

Chef Katrina Ryan

For Katrina the difference between quality fine dining and mediocre dining is always the quality of ingredients and taste. “Personally I don’t like food that has been too deconstructed and is too prissy and fussy. Sometimes I would prefer the chefs to spend LESS time on plating the food! Mediocre establishments will try and cut costs by serving cheap ingredients. e.g nasty tasting olives and feta etc.”

Americo said that as diners, we need to stop looking at the size and start looking at the quality. “In terms of pricing, some customers underestimate the cost of luxury ingredients so in moments throughout my career customers have complained about dishes not having enough of X/Y ingredient for the price of the dish.”

Chef Americo Fernandes

In regards to getting their money’s worth Americo said that “the long and short of it, yes customers are getting their money’s worth. Ultimately, people should learn to appreciate the quality of ingredients rather than being consumed by the portion size. Learn to eat more mindfully and you will see how quickly it takes to be full.”

Americo said that he believes the difference between quality fine dining and mediocre dining is simply love and has noticed that customers are often surprised by how much they enjoy more adventurous dishes.

“Customers will often doubt unfamiliar flavour combinations and basically say, “No! That can’t work!” then they try it and they are so wonderfully astounded (most of the time…) haha.”

“Over the years, I have also noticed that some diners are very adaptable to an ever-changing gastronomic space whereas other customers like to stick to what they know. I am happy to meet those customers in the middle and tweak some of the old favourites…” Americo said.

The craziest complaint that Americo has heard? That a customer once commented that the beef tartar was a bit too rare.

Published on February 27, 2018 on She Society

Jessica Watson made her worldwide debut back in 2010 for being the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world. At just 16 years old the Queensland native completed her circumnavigation and became a worldwide sensation. While still sailing the now 24 year old has been busy completing her studies and has now just recently debuted her first young adult novel, Indigo Blue.

Is there any similarities between you and Alex besides your love of sailing?

Alex is her own character but I can’t deny that there’s a bit of me and many of the people around me in her. Besides her obvious love of sailing I suppose another thing that we share is a belief that fairy tales can be real, but that we’re responsible for creating them.

How long did it take for you to write Indigo Blue?

It wasn’t a quick process! For as long as I can remember I’ve always known that I wanted to write stories. Since the voyage around the world I’ve found myself spending a lot of time telling other people that they should pursue their own dreams so when I had a few quieter weeks during uni holidays back in 2014 I decided I’d better listen to my own advice and make a start. Then once I’d started, and although I was also busy with a lot of other things, I couldn’t stand the idea of not finishing something so it became a matter of working out what I needed to do to finish it. I enrolled myself in writing courses, took on relevant uni subjects, and sortout as many opportunities to write as possible. Taking on assignments with publications like Australian Geographic were fantastic as their editors really pushed me. Then began the process of making it a publishable book with my amazing editors, there were so many ‘oh I get it now’ moments as they showed me where I was going wrong with the stories structure.

What did you find was the hardest part of the writing process?

Getting the first rough draft out on paper was the part that I found most challenging. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the redrafting and restructuring process.

What advice would you give to your 17 year old self?

I certainly wasn’t doing everything right at the time, but I’m not sure that my 17-year-old self would have really benefited from any advice that I could give now. Any of the silly things I did at the time made me who I am now. Perhaps I would tell myself to start being obsessive about sun protection asap!

What inspired you to write Indigo Blue?

I couldn’t understand why the story hadn’t already been written, it seemed obvious to me. And I suppose that I audaciously thought that my love of sailing and adventure would do it justice.

Why did you choose to write a young adult novel specifically?

When I started writing I wasn’t sure exactly what ago I was writing for although I suspected that it would sit about where it does.

Have you always been a big reader?

Absolutely, being dyslexic I got off to a slow start but my amazing Mum and my best friend read to me in the early days and gave me a love for stories. It was books that inspired my around the world voyage and I read a lot during the voyage itself. For a while at uni I found it hard to justify spending time reading novels but now that I’m writing myself I prioritise it and make time.

What’s your all time favourite novel?

There’s so many, how difficult to name just one! But I’m not sure that I can think of a story I love more than Enid Blyton’s The Secret Island.

What are you reading now?

I’m currently listening to Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. My MBA gave me an appetite for books like that.

What are you up to nowadays and how often do you get to sail?

Now that I’ve finished studying I have my weekends back and love heading to down to the local yacht club as much as possible. It’s been amazing to sneak in a bit of twilight sailing over summer. I love sailing more than ever but it’s a hobby for now.

Published on February 22, 2018 on She Society

With the start of the school year comes the influx of school shoes and the excruciating decision parents have to make when choosing the right pair. Lasting through 365 days of wear and tear, rain and shine, school shoes are the most important pair of shoes your child will have. She Society had a chat to Sophie McLellan, a podiatrist who founded Skobi Shoes after seeing the lack of options that school children have for good quality school shoes. The name Skobi itself comes from the Danish word sko for shoe and bi comes from the biomechanical aspect of podiatry.

After stocking ranges of kids shoes in their podiatry clinic, Sophie and her husband realised that the quality was becoming underwhelming, brown school shoes were becoming less and less and there were fewer options for good European brands.

“We decided we had a few good contacts in the industry and so we decided to work with one of our suppliers in Europe and create our own range.” Sophie said.

“There are quite a number of schools that have brown school shoes, and we found over the years that a lot of parents were coming up to us and asking specifically for brown and only a few places carried them. So with Skobi we made a big point of our styles coming in brown and carrying a lot of brown in our warehousing.”

“We have year round stock unlike other brands who only have the one drop per year in January and when they run out they run out. For us the focus is always the school shoes because children generally spend the greater portion of their week in school shoes, about 80% of their time,” Sophie said.

As an entrepreneur Sophie said that it has given her two really great perspectives because she can look at things from that podiatry angle as well as a parent.

“It gives us a more of a wholesome approach because we can look at it from both angles and obviously really identify what the kids needs are, what the parents needs are and what we really like as podiatrists as well. Parents and children don’t often see eye to eye and oftentimes the footwear thats getting chosen is not appropriate for the child’s activity level. So it’s really important that you choose a shoe that meets the needs of the child.”

“We will continue to refine and develop new designs all throughout the year and to bring out designs that the kids want and need. For now our focus is very much Australia and going forward New Zealand in the immediate future.”

Published on February 19, 2018 on She Society

These 5 health trends have become staples in the health community, promoting all sorts of benefits including a better gut, improved energy and brain function. While some have been around for quite a while, they have all been constantly talked about or seen on insta stories and posts from our favourite health and wellness advocates.

Turmeric

Turmeric has become a worldwide phenomenon and if you haven’t heard of the endless benefits of this bright spice then you’re a bit behind. Claiming to help fight Alzheimer’s and cancer, the super spice contains curcumin, a strong antioxidant which helps slow the signs of ageing and the cellular damage seen in most cancers. With anti-inflammatory properties turmeric has replaced cinnamon as the beloved spice of the moment, especially when it comes to teas and coffees, as turmeric lattes has become a common favourite for the health conscious. To make the strong flavour more palatable its best to add small amounts first into your meals, such as adding it over roasted vegetables, in smoothies and adding it in scrambled eggs.

Bone Broth

Bone Broth is starting to make its appearance in our mainstream markets and has been praised by the health community. It claims to boost your immune system, improve joint health and reduce inflammation in the body. Rich in protein, bone broths are extremely easy to prepare and are quite inexpensive to make. So if you’re looking for that extra boost of goodness and you want to feel great, then definitely give bone broth a try.

Kombucha

With a vinegary taste comes a fermented bottle of nutrients and good bacteria that aids in detoxification, joint care and gut health. While not a magical cure all, Kombucha is extraordinarily antioxidant rich and claims to boost energy levels. This probiotic beverage was originally consumed in China more than 2000 years ago and has now found its way into the mainstream cafes and supermarkets of our cities. If you can get past the quirky taste then you’ll be one step closer to wellness.

Tahini

Tahini has become a great alternative for heavy calorie laden dressings such as mayonnaise. Made from ground sesame seeds, the paste adds a nutty taste that can complement a range of dishes. It’s perfect for salads, on top of grilled meat and falafels and contains more protein than milk. Along with B vitamins that boosts brain function, it also has vitamin E which helps protect against strokes and heart disease.

Maca Root

Considered to be another superfood in powder form, maca root is starting to make a name for itself. A type of cruciferous vegetable that’s native to Peru, its high in antioxidants and is said to improve female sexual health and boosts male fertility. It has a slight nutty flavour with a butterscotch undertone, so it’s perfect to add to smoothies and even mixed in with your morning bowl of oatmeal.

Published on February 8, 2018 on She Society

Regardless of whether you’re a novice dancer or a professional, the Supercell Festival in Brisbane is the perfect way to immerse yourself in everything contemporary dance.

Kate Usher, who is one of the creators behind the festival said that, “there’s a variety of performances, and a variety of styles within the main stage offerings so if you don’t like one thing or one particular performance, there’s so many other things you can try or taste out to experience contemporary dance.”

“We have performances that are lyrical and highly visceral all the way through to quite avant-garde, very conceptual pieces from Norway and Scandinavian artists.”

“The other exciting thing for us is the participate program, which offers dance classes, workshops and conversations for the dance lover, all the way through to the professional artist.”

Having had their inaugural festival last year, Kate said it was an amazing experience with over 5000 attendees.

“We cover artistically a very broad wide range of movement styles but thematically we are looking at the hot topics, the cultural zeitgeist that is happening today, that is situating us in our world. We look at things from identity to gender to the first nation experience and heritage all the way to mental illness and health and wellbeing and we gather all of these topics together.”

Kate herself was originally a contemporary dancer who trained through the Queensland University of Technology, but ended up retraining in business and put all of her love for the arts together and spent the last ten years producing and managing events and has now started to move into curation.

“Curation can often take many different pathways in being able to pull together a program, for me it always starts with a conversation with an artist, about their work and the respect for the ideas they are exploring and what their contribution is to the narrative of our day, of our life and who we are.”

Supercell Festival started when Kate and her friend and colleague Glyn Roberts were in Korea on a young curator’s program. “We had the most amazing experience meeting with other people all over the world. Robyn Archer is one of the key advocates and leaders in this space and one evening over kimchi she just went to Glenn and I and said, ‘what are you doing, what are you going to contribute back to Brisbane, back to Australia out of this?’ “

“After that, we came back to Brisbane and decided that we wanted to step up, we wanted to make something happen and there wasn’t at that time much aggregation or championing of dance in Queensland,” Kate said.

“We have three amazing contemporary dance companies here which no other state has, but there is very little opportunity for them to interact with each other and interact with our community and our audiences. That was kind of a driving force, it took us 18 months to get to the first festival and now we are rolling on annually as best we can.”

Picking her favourite performance in the festival was a tough choice for Kate. “It’s like having children, you love them all equally, but my festival pick would be to take a risk on Everything Remains. Which is the piece that we brought out from Norway, Denmark and Sweden and it’s a great collaboration with the Baltic dance houses.”

“It’s a very meditative, stripped back, sculptural piece that looks at the experience of the trans body. We have this artist Juli Apponen who is a trans artist and she talks and explains what her journey is and how much the pain and the toll her self-identity has physically taken on her. The lighting is stunning, and the performer is actually naked for the entire piece, but they are never put in a situation where they are vulnerable, or they are not in control, it’s exquisite and beautiful to watch.”

The workshops that are available throughout the festival include, everything from a basic introduction to what is contemporary dance, to taking a master class where you can learn a bit of the choreography from some of the performances you might have seen. All the way through to the Common People Dance Project run by Neridah Waters, a local artist here in Brisbane. Kate said that it’s, “literally all about cracking out your favourite hot tunes and not worrying about what you look like, it’s about having fun and coming together, and to actually just share a moment of joy through dance.”

The Supercell Festival runs from February 10 to 18 with the main stage being at the Brisbane Powerhouse but other performances can also be seen at the Judith Wright Centre in Fortitude Valley. Click here for more information.

Published on February 7, 2018 on She Society

These simple yet genius and invaluable websites will help you sort out your everyday problems, you’ll realise just how much you actually need them after a while.

1. The age old question that still haunts us to this day…do I need a jacket? When going out to places there’s always the uncertainty of what the weather will be like, and if a jacket was actually needed or if it would just ruin our perfectly put together outfit. Well those days of pressured decision-making when you’re just about to head out the door are over because we have found the solution. The website is called Do I Need A Jacket and all you have to do is enter your town or city and results will pop up whether you need a jacket, detailing the temperature and whether you’ll need a jacket in 2, 4 or 8 hours.

2. My Fridge Food is the answer to all of your cooking woes. Ever found yourself with an array of odd ingredients and you just can’t seem to think of anything to make out of them? We’ve all been there! My Fridge Food takes that anguish away and instead helps you create meals with the ingredients you already possess. Just by you clicking on the ingredients that are in their list, they will then collate a variety of recipes, proving that you do actually have something to eat.

3. Stuck on what book to read next? Then this website will introduce you to a range of books and authors based off of your previous reads, favourite books or authors. What Should I Read Next allows readers to type in a title or author’s name and they will then provide a list of similar recommendations, perfect if you’re in a reading rut and feeling like taking a chance.

4. Drinkify is perfect when you’re listening to a certain artist and can’t decide what to drink. Maybe you’re at a bar or a concert and feel as if you need the perfect drink to complement the night and the atmosphere. Just by typing in an artist’s name, you can get a drink suggestion that will aim to be the ideal accompaniment.

5. Ever been at the movies and you desperately need to pee? But you’re scared of missing a vital part so you hold on until you can’t anymore and run out the door, and yet you still end up missing a crucial point in the movie. Well now there’s no need to fret that you’re going to burst anytime soon with this invaluable idea. RunPee has a list of all major movies showing at the cinemas, they proceed to give you the best time to run out and go to the bathroom, giving you the exact minute in the movie where not much happens. They also summarise the missing parts and allow you to see if there is anything after the credits start to roll.

Published on February 1, 2018 on She Society