In the first half, plastic surgeon Dr. Tony Youn talked about trends and dangers in cosmetic procedures, and outlined the difference between holistic techniques and more old-fashioned approaches. Youn was trained how to cut as a plastic surgeon and perform such procedures as facelifts and tummy tucks. Though adept at these surgeries, he is an advocate for non-invasive and minimally-invasive treatments, as well as skincare and nutrition. "There's so much you can do to get the look you're looking for," he noted, "and surgery should always be used as an absolute last resort." The popularity of social media has hyped various procedures, and amplified the problem of body dysmorphia (in which minor flaws are perceived as huge defects). One such operation that has been gaining in popularity is the 'Brazilian Butt Lift,' but it has a high mortality rate (1 in 3,000), he warned. Injected fat, if it gets into a major vein, can travel into the lungs and cause immediate death.
Facial injections or fillers can also be dangerous and cause blindness, he added, if they are done incorrectly. Regarding thinning hair, as an alternative to hair transplantation, low light laser therapy, which encourages new hair growth, has shown a great deal of promise, he reported. A new treatment for the face, the Gold Filltox Facial, a combination of micro-needling with superficial injections of Botox, fillers, and growth factors, has become a popular option for more youthful, healthy-looking skin, he cited. For combating stomach fat and getting the look of a six-pack, he praised Emsculpt and related treatments, in which the abdominal muscles are stimulated to contract 20,000 times in a half-hour.
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Steve Alten is a bestselling author of fifteen novels, including the MEG series, and the DOMAIN series, about the Mayan doomsday calendar. In the latter half, he discussed his latest research in cryptozoology, including news about the Loch Ness monster. A few weeks ago, a team of scientists from New Zealand presented the results of DNA tests taken at Loch Ness that indicate the creature is not a plesiosaur but possibly an eel. They even suggested a giant 30-foot eel, which is similar to what Alten wrote about 14 years ago in his thriller, The Loch. The idea of an eel was first suggested to him by cryptozoologist and forensic artist Bill McDonald, who had studied track marks in the frozen mud around the Loch in Scotland.
Alten talked about the long process to turn his book MEG into a movie-- it was a commercial success upon its release in 2018 and starred Jason Statham. In the Chinese-American production, a gigantic shark (created through CGI), previously thought to be extinct, terrorizes a deep-sea mission. He spoke about his novel Undisclosed, which delves into the UFO enigma. Several years ago, he befriended Dr. Steven Greer, who gave him access to testimonials from military intelligence regarding UFOs, which inspired his book that he characterized as a "Trojan horse for truth." The recent military revelations regarding UFOs, such as the AATIP program, align with his research, he added.
News segment guests: Howard Bloom, John M. Curtis, Lauren Weinstein