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Skin color and wealth remain pervasive fault lines in U.S. society, as best proved by the persistence of economically and racially segregated communities. People living in these places face excessive stressors, including poverty, substandard housing, malnutrition and lack of health care. Environmental burdens - notably pollution from power plants, freeway corridors and chemical manufacturing plants - are also concentrated in the same neighborhoods.
If you've been roaming the aisles of your local grocery store recently, you've probably noticed an encouraging trend that we're seeing more and more of lately. On food products not traditionally associated with natural foods that make spaghetti sauces, pizza crusts and whole wheat breads are big banner headlines that read, "Now without High Fructose Corn Syrup."
Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the "warrior gene," are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from The Florida State University that is the first to confirm an MAOA link specifically to gangs and guns.
Findings apply only to males. Girls with the same variant of the MAOA gene seem resistant to its potentially violent effects on gang membership and weapon use.
Led by noted biosocial criminologist Kevin M. Beaver at FSU's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the study sheds new light on the interplay of genetics and environment that produces some of society's most serious violent offenders.
Findings apply only to males. Girls with the same variant of the MAOA gene seem resistant to its potentially violent effects on gang membership and weapon use.
Led by noted biosocial criminologist Kevin M. Beaver at FSU's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the study sheds new light on the interplay of genetics and environment that produces some of society's most serious violent offenders.
© Unknown
The findings contradict the conventional wisdom that the sharp increase in diagnoses of wheat gluten intolerance has come about because of greater awareness and detection. It now seems likely that dramatic changes in the American diet have played a role.
The disease occurs in people whose bodies cannot digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The undigested protein triggers the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine, causing diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain.
The researchers who conducted the study also found that the recruits who had the undiagnosed digestive disorder, called celiac disease, had a four-fold increase in their risk of death.
Sources:
Minneapolis Star Tribune July 1, 2009
Gastroenterology July 2009; 137(1):88-93
© Richard Vogel/AP PhotoAgent Orange victims in Vietnam
An Institute of Medicine report released Friday finds "suggestive but limited" evidence of an elevated risk for these two conditions among soldiers who served in that conflict.
Agent Orange is made up of compounds known to be contaminated with a type of dioxin -- tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD) -- during manufacture. The chemical, named for the color of the barrel it was stored in, was one of the "broad-leaf defoliants" used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation to make enemy activity easier to spot.
Have you ever experienced that eerie feeling of a thought popping into your head as if from nowhere, with no clue as to why you had that particular idea at that particular time? You may think that such fleeting thoughts, however random they seem, must be the product of predictable and rational processes. After all, the brain cannot be random, can it? Surely it processes information using ordered, logical operations, like a powerful computer?
Actually, no. In reality, your brain operates on the edge of chaos. Though much of the time it runs in an orderly and stable way, every now and again it suddenly and unpredictably lurches into a blizzard of noise.
Neuroscientists have long suspected as much. Only recently, however, have they come up with proof that brains work this way. Now they are trying to work out why. Some believe that near-chaotic states may be crucial to memory, and could explain why some people are smarter than others.
The days of wires powering electronic devices could soon be at an end, with the development of a new system that will allow laptops, mobile phones and televisions to be left unplugged in the home while being recharged.
The new technology exploits a recent breakthrough in physics, according to the US company WiTricity. It has shown that it can send electricity "wirelessly" through the air and can switch on a light bulb or keep a computer running.
"Let's face it: wires suck," Eric Giler, chief executive of WiTricity, said at the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford this week. "Batteries also suck."
The new technology exploits a recent breakthrough in physics, according to the US company WiTricity. It has shown that it can send electricity "wirelessly" through the air and can switch on a light bulb or keep a computer running.
"Let's face it: wires suck," Eric Giler, chief executive of WiTricity, said at the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford this week. "Batteries also suck."
Canadian researchers found those with low self-esteem actually felt worse after repeating positive statements about themselves. They said phrases such as "I am a lovable person" only helped people with high self-esteem.
The study appears in the journal Psychological Science.
A UK psychologist said people based their feelings about themselves on real evidence from their lives.
© iStockphotoHealthy baby crying. A new study pointed to an organism called Klebsiella, a normally occurring bacterium that can be found in the mouth, skin and intestines. In the study of 36 babies, half of which had colic, researchers found the bacterium and gut inflammation in the intestines of the babies with colic.
"Right now, pediatric gastroenterologists can treat just about anything that comes through the door," said J. Marc Rhoads, M.D., professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, which is part of the UT Health Science Center at Houston. "With colic, there is no evidence-based treatment we can offer. Colic can be a dangerous situation for a baby. The parent's frustration over the crying can lead to maternal frustration, post-partum depression and even thoughts of harming the baby."
Published in the July 23 online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics, the study pointed to an organism called Klebsiella, a normally occurring bacterium that can be found in the mouth, skin and intestines. In the study of 36 babies, half of which had colic, researchers found the bacterium and gut inflammation in the intestines of the babies with colic.
In 1881, the optimistic Irish economist Francis Edgeworth imagined a strange device called a "hedonimeter" that would be capable of "continually registering the height of pleasure experienced by an individual." In other words, a happiness sensor. His was just a daydream. In practice, for decades, social scientists have had a devilish headache in trying to measure happiness. Surveys have revealed some useful information, but these are plagued by the unpleasant fact that people misreport and misremember their feelings when confronted by the guy with the clipboard. Ditto for studies where volunteers call in their feelings via PDA or cell phone. People get squirrely when they know they're being studied.
But what if you had a remote-sensing mechanism that could record how millions of people around the world were feeling on any particular day - without their knowing?
That's exactly what Peter Dodds and Chris Danforth, a mathematician and computer scientist working in the Advanced Computing Center at the University of Vermont, have created.
Their methods show that Election Day, November 4, 2008, was the happiest day in four years. The day of Michael Jackson's death, one of the unhappiest.
Their results are reported this week in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
But what if you had a remote-sensing mechanism that could record how millions of people around the world were feeling on any particular day - without their knowing?
That's exactly what Peter Dodds and Chris Danforth, a mathematician and computer scientist working in the Advanced Computing Center at the University of Vermont, have created.
Their methods show that Election Day, November 4, 2008, was the happiest day in four years. The day of Michael Jackson's death, one of the unhappiest.
Their results are reported this week in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
Comment: Prolonged exposure to low-level magnetic fields, similar to those emitted by such common household devices as blow dryers, electric blankets and razors, can damage brain cells causing DNA strand breaks. The scientists further found that the damage from brief exposures are cumulative and could be hazardous to humans.