Dr. Wendy Murphy

Babson College professor & Mom of 3 spirited children. Coauthor of Strategic Relationships at Work. Thoughts here are my own.

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Finnish scientists trucked in real forest dirt and grass and laid it over the gravel at four daycare yards. They let the kids dig around in it for a month. The blood tests came back with changes the researchers hadn’t expected to see so fast or so clear.

The study ran at ten daycares in two Finnish cities with 75 kids aged three to five. Four of the yards got the forest treatment: about a tennis court worth of soil and grass laid over the gravel, plus planters and peat blocks the kids could dig and climb on. Three others stuck with their normal gravel yards. The last three were daycares where the kids were already visiting real forests every day.

After one month, the variety of bacteria living on the kids’ skin shot up, and the kind that helps train the skin’s immune defenses jumped the most. Their gut bacteria started to look like the gut bacteria of the forest-visiting kids. Their blood showed more of the immune cells whose job is to keep the body from freaking out at harmless stuff like pollen and peanuts, and overall inflammation dropped. The kids on the plain gravel yards showed none of this.

Childhood asthma in the US doubled between 1980 and 1995. Food allergies in kids jumped 50 percent between 1997 and 2011, then jumped another 50 percent between 2007 and 2021. And peanut allergies in one-year-olds tripled between 2001 and 2017.

The Finnish researchers think one of the reasons is simple: kids today don’t get dirty enough. 37 percent of American preschoolers now spend an hour or less outside on a normal weekday. Their immune systems are getting trained in environments stripped of the bacteria humans have always lived around.

Aki Sinkkonen, who led the study, put it in plain words: “It would be best if children could play in puddles and everyone could dig organic soil.” The Finnish government is now helping pay for daycares across the country to make the same changes.

[Simons @Simon_Ingari]

Leaving a toxic workplace is a weird feeling… like you’re relieved you’ve finally left, but also annoyed that a perfectly good job has been unnecessarily ruined by a few people creating a horrible work culture.

[♏️ 𝓓𝓪𝓻 ♏️ @DameScorpio]

THIS! 👇 Is awesome. 🐕 ❤️ I’m not tearing 🥹 up…you are. Perfect matches. 😊

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

Working parent confession: I've done most of these minimizing strategies for years now. For me, it's older children active in sports/activities and with disabilities (ADHD, Autism). Working lunches are a favority strategy.
https://t.co/DL8O9YxuUQ

[Parmita Mishra @parmita]

"Our results reveal that whenever handwriting movements are included as a learning strategy, more of the brain gets stimulated, resulting in the formation of more complex neural network connectivity...typewriting do[es] not activate...networks the same way that handwriting does."

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

Prof. Erik Noyes explains how @babson will seize the "AI Moment" and lead through #Entrepreneurial #Leadership

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

And @kristigirdharry explains why the college essay is not dead- it's about your approach to #learning. "It's different here" @babson. #entrepreneurial

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

Listening to @tdav talk about how @babson can help #startup #entrepreneurs capitalize on #GenAI. Launching the Metropoulos Institute today!

[Babson Alumni @babsonalumni]

🚨🚨 Just in: Babson has been named the No. 2 college in America by The Wall Street Journal.

Read more at the link below:

https://t.co/1P6Sds1yng

#babsoncollege #babsonalumni

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

Our list of the best American colleges is even bigger this year. See where your school ranks. https://t.co/SNPd8bxNPd https://t.co/SNPd8bxNPd

[Center for Creative Leadership @CCLdotORG]

Accessibility is one of the core traits of successful leadership communication. https://t.co/KNTXEzcZ6f

[National Park Service @NatlParkService]

One day you’re young and wild; the next, it’s Monday, and you’re dialing into a video call.

[DSHS Athletics @DSRaidersSports]

7. Softball: 2-14 record
TVL Honorable Mentions: Delaney Byrne, Maggie Neyenhouse & Alexa Murphy

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

Illustration of the "Innovator's Journey" by Nimra Taqi of @MGBInnovation for commercialization #CILP @MassGenBrigham @babson

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

Inspired by Dr. Zara Cooper's keynote for CILP where we are fostering inclusive innovation @MGBInnovation @BrighamSurgery @babson

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

Inspired by Dr. Zara Cooper's keynote for CILP where we are fostering inclusive innovation @MGBInnovation @BrighamSurgery @babson

[The Chronicle of Higher Education @chronicle]

Academics across the country are talking about how students struggle with reading: Many have weak vocabulary, are unable to analyze complex texts, or understand different points of view.

Here's what they're seeing — and what may need to change. https://t.co/4dBUGsRs2x

[Rob Major @DeanRMajor]

Please consider a contribution to the 10K for Babson run next week. https://t.co/54GjBv7cf2 #Babson #10KforBabson

[Dr. Wendy Murphy @wcmurphy]

@DanMulroyjr because the U.S. math curriculum was developed in the 1950s when we were trying to win the space race, and hasn't been substantively updated since. As a result, we train all our children to be rocket scientist rather than give them the math they need for life skills.

[Christophe Mascarin @chmascarin]

"Leadership behaviors that nurture
interpersonal collaboration
are the true drivers of change."

by @robcross_ona @amycedmondson @wcmurphy via @mitsmr #change #collaboration #leadership
https://t.co/2IH6m8DbEj