It’s an innovative way to control the D.C. area’s mosquito population. For the first time, a Silver Spring, Maryland, business is releasing hundreds of thousands of infected mosquitoes this summer.
“We’re releasing 600,000 in total within the DMV for 2026,” said Todd Montgomery, owner of Bee Safe Mosquito Control. “Hopefully, we’ll increase that for next season.”
They’re releasing male mosquitoes infected with the gut bacteria Wolbachia, called ZAP males. Males don’t bite, and when a ZAP male mates with a female mosquito, she will no longer be able to produce offspring.
“When they mate with a female, they actually cause that female to then become infertile for the rest of her life,” Montgomery said. “She’s going around laying eggs that will never hatch.”
The program targets the aggressive Asian Tiger Mosquito, one of the most common species in the D.C. area, which can transmit Dengue Fever, Zika and Yellow Fever.
ZAP males are shipped from Kentucky-based MosquitoMate, which has nationwide EPA approval to use the mosquitoes as a biopesticide. The technology is relatively new in the United States but has already proven successful internationally.
“In parts of South America, they have reduced Dengue [fever] cases by over 98% using Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes,” Montgomery said. “The introduction of males in order to control the population is a technique that has been tried time and time again. And it’s worked really well against many species.”
Google’s parent company Alphabet has plans to release up to 32 million Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in California and Florida as part of its Debug program. Bee Safe Mosquito Control is the only company offering this service in our region.
“We’re definitely the first in the DMV to do this,” he said. “We’re a tiny, small business that started four years ago. So it’s super cool that we’re at the forefront of it.”
The company began releasing ZAP males in early June and will continue through September. The service costs about $1,000 and the business has already sold out for the season.
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We are officially living in the “maxxing” era.
From “looksmaxxing” to improve appearance to “sleepmaxxing” for better rest, these viral terms all point to the same goal: squeezing every ounce of potential out of a specific trait or habit.
With a growing focus on optimizing wellness and maximizing longevity, the trend has evolved into what’s known as “humanmaxxing,” sparking a bigger question: How far can people go to optimize the human body?
While there is no single definition of humanmaxxing, the trend generally refers to efforts to optimize health, performance and longevity through a combination of lifestyle habits, health tracking, supplements and, in some cases, more experimental interventions.
For some, the movement begins with biohacking. According to Dave Asprey, a Texas-based wellness expert who refers to himself as the “father of biohacking,” optimizing your body starts with changing your environment.
Asprey has defined biohacking as “the art and science of changing the environment around you or inside you so that you have full control of your own biology.”
His public advice focuses on boosting cellular energy through everyday choices like intermittent fasting, high-fat diets, red-light therapy and supplement routines.
“My goal right now is 180 years, because I’m doing something about it now instead of waiting,” he once said.
Others have embraced a more data-driven approach. Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, creator of the multimillion-dollar longevity project Blueprint in Los Angeles, argues that optimizing the body means removing human error from health decisions and instead relying on medical data.
“Methodically, we sought to build an algorithm with science and data that could better care for me than I can myself,” Johnson wrote on his website. “My mind did not have the authority to override the algorithm.”
Johnson’s routine involves tracking hundreds of health metrics, eating a precisely measured diet, taking dozens of supplements, and undergoing advanced medical treatments in an effort to reduce his biological age.
At the far end of the spectrum are those investing in technologies aimed at pushing the limits of human performance.
London-based tech investor Christian Angermayer recently described humanmaxxing as a strategy toward human maximization.
“I don’t think we should become something different, because I think humans are awesome, but I think we can maximize the potential [that] is already in us,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.
Angermayer’s investment firm, Apeiron Investment Group, focuses on technologies intended to help people “live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.” He also founded atai Life Sciences, a biotechnology company that develops psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions that are currently being evaluated in clinical trials.
As interest in humanmaxxing grows, mainstream health experts urge consumers to separate evidence-based wellness practices from experimental interventions.
Public guidance from the National Institute on Aging notes that while some anti-aging therapies have shown promise in laboratory research, there is not yet sufficient evidence that they can safely extend human life.
Clinical experts also caution that extreme self-experimentation can bypass the rigorous safety standards applied to conventional medical treatments.
According to the Endocrine Society, taking substances such as testosterone or growth hormone without a medical need can lead to serious health risks, including cardiovascular complications and long-term disruption of the body’s chemical balance.
While many humanmaxxing habits overlap with standard healthy lifestyle practices, experts say consumers should be cautious of expensive or experimental interventions that promise dramatic anti-aging or longevity benefits without strong scientific evidence.

A glass of wine might help you fall asleep, but it won’t help you stay asleep. Prescription and over-the-counter sleeping pills have side effects. But what, if any, are the downsides of sleep masks? Can they give you zits? Squash your corneas overnight? And are there any benefits beyond longer, deeper sleep?
I asked sleep experts – plus a dermatologist and ophthalmologist – to answer these questions and more. (We also tested 32 sleep masks to find the very best. Here are our winning best overall sleep mask and best Bluetooth mask.)
How does light affect my sleep?
Light helps to keep you awake by interacting with your brain via special receptors in your eyes that signal the hypothalamus and pineal gland to suppress the hormone melatonin. “One function of melatonin is to regulate sleep timing, so light tends to delay sleep onset,” explains neurologist Chris Winter, a sleep specialist and the host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast. In other words, light tells your brain that it’s daytime.
Do even small amounts of light matter?
“Small amounts of light can still have a measurable effect,” says Winter. One small study by Korean researchers, for example, showed that overnight exposure to dim artificial light increased the frequency of arousal and the amount of shallow sleep. Accordingly, sleep experts say that the maximum amount of light that reaches special circadian rhythm – regulating cells in your eye should be a mere one lux overnight (compared to a minimum recommendation of 250 lux during the day). Translation: your bedroom should be as dark as possible. Kristin L Daley PhD, a licensed psychologist and fellow of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, suggests this test to gauge just how cave-like yours is: “Turn out the lights, give your eyes a few moments to adjust to the dark, and then reach out your hand,” she advises. “If you can still see it, your environment has too much light.”
Read more: The best sleep masks in the US in 2026: I spent nine weeks testing 32 masks, and these are my favorites
What does the research say about sleep masks specifically?
Researchers have conducted a number of studies on sleep masks, 31 of which were included in a 2023 meta-analysis comparing 11 different interventions for improving sleep quality, including aromatherapy, listening to music, and guided imagery. The findings? The two most effective interventions were wearing an eye mask, and wearing earplugs plus an eye mask.
What do doctors say about sleep masks?
Most doctors take a “sleep masks can’t hurt, and they may well help” approach. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the professional association for sleep-medicine physicians, doesn’t officially endorse sleep masks for the general population, but they do advise sleeping in a dark environment – and sleep masks can help with that. Winter recommends them to patients, particularly if they have trouble controlling the amount of light in their bedroom, have to sleep on a plane, or work the nightshift. “I suggest people try sleeping in a mask for a week and see how they respond to it,” he says. “Masks can be a gamechanger.”
What is the most comfortable sleep mask material?
There’s no single comfiest material, but some are definitely more skin-friendly than others. “Think of masks like sheets for your face: breathability and friction matter,” says Mona Gohara, a clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine. “Silk is the overachiever here: it’s smooth and less absorbent – so it doesn’t steal your skincare – and it tends to be gentler on acne-prone or sensitive skin. Cotton is breathable and easy to clean, but it can be a little more absorbent and slightly rougher, which may matter if your skin is reactive.” And synthetics like polyester can trap heat and sweat, which can clog pores.
How often should I wash my sleep mask?
Think of your sleep mask as a mini pillowcase sitting directly on your T-zone, suggests Gohara. Accordingly, you should launder it at least as often as you wash your pillowcases in order to prevent rashes, acne and eye infections. Ideally, though, you’d wash it every two or three uses – and even more frequently if you have acne. If you sleep with an eye mask every night, you may want more than one mask in your rotation.
How can I avoid pimples while using a sleep mask?
If acne is a concern, start by choosing a mask made from a breathable fabric (see above), and launder it regularly (see above). Wash your face before bed, because “makeup or sunscreen under a mask is basically asking for clogged pores”, warns Gohara. And give your products a few minutes to absorb before you put on your sleep mask. Otherwise you’re occluding everything, “which is great for hydration but not always great for pores”, she says.
Can sleep masks help prevent wrinkles?
“There’s no strong evidence that sleep masks prevent wrinkles. They’re not a magic antiaging tool,” says Gohara. “What they can do is reduce friction and minimize sleep creases, especially if they’re made of smooth materials like silk. Less tugging on the skin overnight can, in theory, mean fewer temporary lines when you wake up, and possibly less repetitive folding over time. But true wrinkle prevention comes down to daily sunscreen, good skincare – like retinoids, if appropriate – and overall skin health. A sleep mask is more of a supporting character than the main event.”
Can sleep masks put too much pressure on your eyes?
“A standard flat eye mask resting gently on the eyelids does not typically place enough pressure on the eyes to cause harm,” says Kamat. “Contoured masks may feel more comfortable for some people because they reduce contact with the lids and lashes. But there’s no evidence that a properly fitted flat mask damages eyes.”
Which is better, Velcro or sliding adjusters?
There are pros and cons to each. Straps that fasten with Velcro tend to be wider and more padded, which some people prefer. With that said, Velcro can lose its stickiness over time. Sliding adjusters, meanwhile, allow for a more precise fit, and they’re totally silent. But straps with sliding adjusters are typically more narrow and therefore likelier to leave a dent in your hair and put slightly more pressure on the back of your head. TLDR? It’s really a matter of personal preference.
Is it OK to wear a sleep mask every night?
If you have longstanding sleep issues, a sleep mask – or white noise machine, earplugs, or any other sleep aid – could be considered a method of attempting to control sleep, which sometimes makes sleep issues worse, says Daley. But if you just can’t get your room dark enough – and you can keep your sleep mask clean – there’s no physical reason not to. In fact, even if you have an eye condition, “sleep masks are safe to wear nightly”, says Kamat.
Who shouldn’t wear sleep masks?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a safe sleep environment for babies is one that’s free of soft items, which would include sleep masks. Young children – who typically can’t put on, adjust or remove a mask reliably, especially in the middle of the night – shouldn’t wear them. And older individuals with cognitive impairment or who are at risk of falling may also want to avoid sleep masks, says Winter.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:

It’s mid-October 2025, and I’m home with my boys, 8 and 5, and my 3-year-old daughter. It’s not yet Halloween, but I feel disguised as someone else. My face is tomato red, inflamed and covered in a severe rash — a side effect of my breast cancer treatment.
My daughter looks up at me; her big blue eyes filled with concern. It physically hurts to smile at her, but it would be more painful for me not to. Her little voice rings out, “Mommy, I want to kiss your boo-boos.” I’m stunned. My face looks so dreadful that I had resorted to wearing a surgical mask outside of the house.
Setting my surprise aside, I kneel to her height. She purposefully takes my flaming face in her small hands, pulling me close. Her soft lips meet my rough, red chin. She pulls back, smiling expectantly.
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“Does it feel better, Mommy?”
I’m telling the truth when I match her grin and nod, emotional tears in my eyes. She’d just shown me that love is the purest form of beauty.
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When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in early September, we waited to tell the kids anything. Between the first week of school, a barrage of doctor’s appointments and tests, and my mental health matching my physical, all we could do was try to keep normalcy for them. Once we got through the initial whirlwind, we met with a social worker at the hospital who helped us construct a kid-friendly conversation. I was anxious, but ready to have this weight off my shoulders.
Life had gotten so heavy so fast. On a Tuesday night, we gathered in the living room with ice pops. I curled up next to my husband, my hand instinctively reached for his back, and as we planned, he did the talking.
“We want to share something with you,” he said. “Mommy recently found a bump under her arm. She went to the doctor, and they know exactly how to make it better. She’s going to be taking a really strong medicine to make it go away. We just want to let you know because she might feel extra tired or not feel well after the medicine.”
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Only our oldest son spoke.
“Why are you telling us this?” he plainly asked, seemingly completely reassured that everything was going to be fine. Our middle son and daughter seemed to feel the same, evidenced by nothing other than their happy slurp ups of ice pop juice.
I found myself staring at my daughter — my baby. She was in daycare only part-time, so she was at home with me the most. I wondered sadly how she would manage the changes to her Mommy, but I knew I would do everything I could to continue showing up as the Mommy she loves.
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My cancer treatment, notorious for causing physical changes, began a few days later.
My initial treatment plan included infusions — chemotherapy and other targeted medications — every three weeks for 18 weeks. I scheduled them for Fridays because I was told side effects usually start about three days post-treatment, which meant that I would probably feel well enough over the weekend. I wanted the kids to be in school when I was at my sickest.
As expected, Monday and Tuesday were always the most brutal, but it was usually at least five days of steady fatigue, nausea and stomach issues, among other side effects, like mouth sores and neuropathy, that would come and go. While my physical strength decreased, I grew a new mental muscle that enabled me to mostly hide how I was feeling from the kids.
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At first, there were few changes to my appearance. I lost a little weight. My eyes gave away a newfound tiredness. It wasn’t until about 10 days after my first treatment that there was a truly noticeable change — the severe face rash, which was also all over my back and scalp. I explained to my questioning kids that it was caused by the strong medicine and reassured them that it would go away. Luckily, antibiotics, a steady stream of topical creams, and, of course, my daughter’s kisses, helped it heal.
My hair started to fall out next. I religiously scalp-cooled — a process in which the scalp is cooled with a cooling cap before, during, and after chemotherapy treatment to try to prevent or reduce hair loss — at every treatment, but knew the success rate varied. A few weeks after my first cycle of chemo, nests of long, dark hair came out with every hair comb. I hid them under paper towels in my bathroom garbage because I didn’t want anyone to see them, and because I was also afraid of seeing what I’d lost again.
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Following my second cycle of chemo, after an uncomfortable cold hair wash in the shower, two large bald spots appeared on the top of my head. It was time to get a wig. My best friend had already researched places to buy them, and when she received my panicked text message, she set up the consultation while I stared at someone else in the bathroom mirror.
In the meantime, I had to confront the this new reality with my daughter, who loved to comb and play with my hair. I covered the bald spots with various head coverings and told her Mommy had boo-boos on her head. I said she would have to wait to touch my hair until they were better. She wanted to kiss these too. I bowed down.
“Does it feel better, Mommy?” she asked again, after. Of course it did.
When the wig came in, I wore it home from the salon. I introduced it to my kids as extensions – extra hair to make my normal hair look bigger and healthier. My daughter told me I was beautiful.
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I lost my eyebrows sometime after the fourth treatment cycle, but my daughter never raised her own. She continued to tell me I was beautiful — more than she ever had.
I mused to my husband about what an intuitive child she was. Every day, she would grab my face, put her nose to mine, and tell me she loved my face, my hair, my eyes, and my heart. She’d end this ritual with a kiss to my heart and tell me it was sparkly, and pink and purple, like her own. I’d squeeze her tightly, thank her, and tell her how good she made me feel. The ease with which she accepted my physical changes —and still found me beautiful — truly colored my heart.
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Still, I experienced more changes. I grew more fatigued with each treatment, and persistent bags lived under my hollowed eyes. The highest wave of exhaustion would hit around 7 p.m., the start of my daughter’s bedtime routine. My husband took over reading all the bedtime stories while I lay on the floor next to them, listening but often dozing. Giggling that Mommy was falling asleep, my daughter would bring me pillows from her bed and curl up next to me to listen to her stories.
My husband started a new ritual of having the children put me to sleep after story time. I’d melt into my bed, and my daughter would happily whisper, “Goodnight, Mommy,” and turn off the light. I’d gratefully close my eyes, but always sneak a peek of her beaming as the door gently shut. She not only put me to bed, but she also put to bed any fears I had about her love changing.
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My love for my daughter, in the form of my smile, laugh, words and affection, was beautiful to her. So, I was beautiful to her, no matter the boo-boo.
As adults, we don’t kiss each other’s boo-boos, but when we recognize and reflect love as the purest form of beauty, I think it’s like what my daughter did — a kiss to the heart.
For now, literal kisses to any part of my chest have to wait, as I’m recovering from my double mastectomy surgery. It’s the biggest physical change — and loss — so far, and yet all I can think about is what I’ve gained.
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At the top of the list is a lesson on love from my daughter — a real-time representation of the mother-daughter bond, and a new perspective on parenting.
I learned that a young child’s instinct is to love the person, regardless of the physical — something we adults often forget. My daughter taught me to look deeper, soul-level, in all of my relationships — current and future ones. This experience changed my first instinct on how to define beauty. From here on out, it’ll always be led by love.
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Parenting through all of this has been scary, exhausting and traumatic, which should be easy to understand. But it has also felt brave, effortless and healing. Brave because going through the chaos of cancer required full-bodied courage, from my reassuring smiles to my confident answers to my children’s questions, to willing my tired body to do school drop-offs, pick-ups, and everything in between. It felt brave to show up with strength in any way that I could.
It’s felt effortless because the love I feel for my children is effortless, and it was magnified by the thought of it being taken away if I was taken away. Even with the physical hardships, there was a newfound feeling of ease associated with my parenting. Loving them and being there for them felt like the easiest thing in the world, alongside going through what felt like the hardest thing in the world.
Finally, as I literally heal from the effects of my cancer, it has felt healing to parent as a new version of myself — softer, stronger and more present. I always believe we can grow as parents and people, and this version of motherhood, and myself, feels like a wholeness cancer can’t ever destroy.
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I’ve been a cancer patient for over half a year, and the care I’ve received from my medical team saved, and changed, my life. I’m grateful for everything they’ve done for me and my family. However, the “care” I’ve received from my family — and the love my daughter has doled out simply because it’s what her soul tells her to do — has changed my life, too.
Lauren Joy Doll began freelance writing after her breast cancer diagnosis in September 2025, and her first essay was featured in Newsweek. She’s a communications professional working for a New York City-based nonprofit that organizes the TCS New York City Marathon. Lauren is a lifelong runner and found a love for adult gymnastics at age 40. She resides in central New Jersey with her husband, Keith, and three young children.

Americans today live roughly twice as long, on average, as they did when the Declaration of Independence was signed.
When the nation was founded in 1776, life expectancy was around 35 to 40 years old, historians estimate. However, someone who survived childhood in colonial America often lived into their 60s or even 70s.
Today, the average lifespan is about 79 years old, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The improvement in lifespan over the centuries has been largely attributed to reduced deaths in infancy and from infectious diseases, multiple researchers have stated. Advances in sanitation, clean water, nutrition, vaccination and medical care have also contributed to lower mortality rates.
“Much of this vast discrepancy is related to the extremely high rates of infant, childhood and maternal mortality,” Dr. Omer Awan, physician and professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“Childbirth was dangerous, and without antibiotics and vaccines, many infectious diseases, such as measles, smallpox and pneumonia, were deadly,” he went on. “Now we have cleaner water and sanitation, vaccines and antibiotics that have significantly prolonged life.”
Advances in treatments of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes have also significantly prolonged life, the Harvard-trained doctor noted.
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According to the CDC, improved prevention and treatment of high blood pressure has helped reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke, two of the nation’s leading causes of death.
Mia Kazanjian, MD, a Stanford-trained body and breast radiologist with an interest in longevity who is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, attributes the shorter life expectancy in the 1700s to suboptimal sanitation, poor hygiene and limited medical treatments.
“Many babies and children died from infections like dysentery, diphtheria, scarlet fever and pneumonia,” she told Fox News Digital. Children who survived into adulthood often succumbed to infections like tuberculosis, cholera and typhoid fever.
Maternal mortality has also fallen dramatically over the past century due to advances in antibiotics, blood transfusions and safer obstetric care, according to the CDC.
Milestones in public health
Kazanjian pointed to several key advancements over the centuries that contributed to longevity improvements, including the development of early municipal water systems that provided cleaner drinking sources.
“Sewer system networks were built, the first in Brooklyn in 1857,” she said. “These allowed people to drink clean water and dispose of waste. Indoor plumbing with toilets and bathrooms became more widespread.”
“Without antibiotics and vaccines, many infectious diseases, such as measles, smallpox and pneumonia, were deadly.”
At this time, people’s understanding of disease started to improve, and public health measures were developed to minimize risk.
During the late 1800s, germ theory became widely accepted in medicine and public health, helping shape the Sanitary Era, the expert said.
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“The Federal Quarantine Act of 1878 allowed the government to prevent spread of infection from out of the country, from epidemics like yellow fever,” she said. “Food safety regulations went into effect in 1906, when the Pure Food and Drug Act and Federal Meat Inspection Act were passed.”
By 1900, the average life expectancy was about 49 years old, according to the National Vitals Statistics Report.
Another major landmark in increasing lifespan came with the development of vaccines and antibiotics to prevent and treat disease, Kazanjian noted.
“Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine in 1796, Pasteur created vaccines for rabies and anthrax in the 1880s, and several scientists created vaccines for polio, measles, influenza, mumps and rubella in the mid 1900s,” she said.
“Antibiotics proliferated in the 1940s, specifically penicillin and tetracycline. By 1950, the US life expectancy was about 68 years old.”
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From the mid-20th century to 2014, life expectancy continued to rise, Kazanjian said, largely due to “major gains” in medical knowledge of ways to prevent heart disease and stroke.
Public health campaigns promoting smoking cessation also played a role, as declining smoking rates helped reduce deaths from lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, according to the CDC.
“Motor vehicles became safer and carseats became staples,” Kazanjian noted.
According to the National Institutes of Health, advances in emergency medical services and trauma care have substantially reduced deaths after serious injuries.
Development of pharmaceuticals for cardiovascular disease and cancer also contributed to longer lives, according to Kazanjian.
Today’s longevity challenges
Modern longevity is more focused on preventing chronic disease and less about surviving childhood infections, noted Nneoma Oparaji, MD, a triple board-certified media physician specializing in obesity, lifestyle and internal medicine.
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“The next frontier will be less about living longer, but more about living healthier longer,” Houston-based Oparaji told Fox News Digital.
Kazanjian pointed out that between 2014 and 2026, there has been a fall and a rise in lifespan.
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“The fall was due to young adult deaths from drug overdoses, particularly the opioid epidemic, suicides and alcohol-related deaths,” she told Fox News Digital.
The COVID-19 pandemic reduced U.S. life expectancy by more than two years between 2019 and 2021 before it began recovering, CDC data shows.
Although U.S. life expectancy has rebounded since the pandemic, it remains below that of other high-income countries, largely because of higher death rates from chronic diseases, substance use and other preventable causes, according to KFF.
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Obesity rates also continue to climb, contributing to higher numbers of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, Kazanjian said.
“Most concerning is the rise in obesity in children,” she added.
“The next frontier will be less about living longer, but more about living healthier longer.”
Changing cancer trends are also affecting lifespan among younger adults, data shows.
“My generation, the millennials, has seen an unprecedented rise in young adult cancers, particularly colon and breast,” Kazanjian said, citing factors that include sedentary lifestyles, poor diet, alcohol, obesity and smoking, among others.
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The doctor said she aims to raise public health awareness of ways to improve lifespan.