LAB 044: 2021 Mixtape

casette tape with lab 044: our 2021 mixtape in yellow text above the tape. below the tape text reads @dopelabspodcast

About This Lab

At the end of the year, we try to recap all of the things we’ve seen around us. Pull out your lab notebooks and get ready to drop some of your favorite moments in the comments.

2021. What a time to be alive!

I don’t know how it felt for you, but this past year really showed me that time is just a social construct. Somehow January was 12 weeks long, but December only lasted three days. Make it make sense!

The good news is that we might have made some progress in science communication over the past year. My friend shared a Wired article about how the pandemic is making us more scientifically literate, and it’s too good not to pass along.

Technology

You’re probably all Zoom-ed out from 2020, but not to fear Facebook aka Meta is the bulk of our technology segment. Separate from the name change, there was lots of talk about joining the metaverse. Get your avatars ready, we’re moving into our computers! Some folks like it, and some are giving major pushback. Which camp are you in?

What is the metaverse and are we already in it?
Facebook changed it’s name to Meta, and it came after some pretty terrible findings
Folks are getting married and buying property in the metaverse.

Even though we didn’t have time to talk about it in the lab, this was a huge year for crypto, bitcoin, NFTs, and ethereum. There’s a lot to unpack there - maybe a lab in the future?

Health & Wellness

After a whole year of staring at our faces on Zoom in 2020, we might have began to fixate on the way we look. Plastic surgeons reported increased consultations for Botox once offices reopened and are attributing some growth to “Zoom dysmorphia,” coined by Dr. Shadi Kourosh.

While the first wave of pandemic demand saw a rush on facial procedures in response to a significant surge in Zoom calls and downtime for discreet recovery at home, the national survey results show that tummy tucks (22%) and liposuction (17%) are among the top procedures that women who are extremely or very likely to consider procedures within six months are seeking. The reason is attributed to weight fluctuation during quarantine, and more time to consider procedures long delayed due to time or cost. - American Society of Plastic Surgeons

In this lab, we focused on a procedure with more risks than botox - the Brazilian Butt Lift, better known as the BBL.

An anatomical illustration of butt vasculature from Sobotta's Human Anatomy 1908 — An anatomical illustration from Sobotta's Human Anatomy 1908

The BBL can be broken down into 3 main steps

Liposuction of the thighs, abdomen, and/or other areas
Separation of fat from other liquids collected during liposuction
Fat transfer to buttocks to produce desired shape/volume

Some of the risk with BBLs occurs when fat cells get into the bloodstream via arteries and veins in the butt. Once fat is in the bloodstream, it can get into the heart or lungs and may cause issues or in some cases, death. Additionally, the surgery is difficult to perform and more non-board certified doctors (& in some cases doctors that are not plastic surgeons) are performing the surgery.

The BBL goes mainstream - Vox

Other trends

Increased use of Telehealth to avoid in-person appointments during pandemic
Wellness apps covering everything from physical & mental health to sleep tracking

Politics

We tracked the timeline of political stories, and honestly, there were too many to name. The theme seemed to be civil rights. We missed many stories (remember the podcast is ~30 minutes), but additional ones are linked below. If you have one to share, drop it in the comments!