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Fear that freezes the blood in your veins

"The blood froze in my veins" or "My blood curdled" - these common figures of speech can be taken literally, according to the latest studies. Indeed, more literally than some of us would like. For it turns out that intense fear and panic attacks can really make our blood clot and increase the risk of thrombosis or heart attack.

Earlier studies showed that stress and anxiety can influence coagulation. However, they were based almost entirely on questionnaire surveys of healthy subjects. In contrast, the Bonn-based research team around Franziska Geiser (from the Clinic and Policlinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy) and Ursula Harbrecht (from the Institute of Experimental Haematology and Transfusion Medicine) have been the first to conduct a very careful examination of coagulation in patients with anxiety disorders.

Roses

Why a lack of sleep makes women grumpier than men

If your wife or a woman colleague snarls at you this morning, lack of sleep may be to blame.

Females need far more sleep than men and suffer more mentally and physically if forced to go without it, research suggests.

Lack of sleep can also put them at higher risk of heart disease, depression and psychological problems.

Magnify

Protein map of human spit created

Chicago - U.S. researchers have identified all 1,116 unique proteins found in human saliva glands, a discovery they said on Tuesday could usher in a wave of convenient, spit-based diagnostic tests that could be done without the need for a single drop of blood.

Health

Anger problems 'left untreated'

People who cannot control their anger have nowhere to turn leading to family breakdown, sickness and mental health problems, a charity has warned. The Mental Health Foundation says anger is often dealt with only after someone has committed an aggressive crime.

Magic Wand

Miss Bimbo website promotes extreme diets and surgery to 9-year-olds

A website that encourages girls as young as 9 to embrace plastic surgery and extreme dieting in the search for the perfect figure was condemned as lethal by parents' groups and healthcare experts yesterday.

The Miss Bimbo internet game has attracted prepubescent girls who are told to buy their virtual characters breast enlargement surgery and to keep them "waif thin" with diet pills.

Pills

Sedatives and Sex Hormones in Our Water Supply

An AP journalist who helped lead an frightening investigative report considers the dangers posed to the country's drinking water.

Pills

Internet addictions: A real medical menace?

Alcohol, drugs, food, sex, and even shopping are all candidates for medical treatment and are recognized as genuine mental disorders, so what about the Internet? Internet addiction -defined as "excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations, and email/text messaging" - is becoming so common that at least one psychiatrist says it merits inclusion in psychiatry's official handbook of mental illness, the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders."

Health

Under-fives to be subjected to 500 developmental targets



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Leaders of teachers groups fear that the pre school national curriculum will encourage a tick box culture in nurseries

A new national curriculum for all under-fives risks producing a "tick-box" culture in nursery schools that relies too heavily on formal learning and not enough on play, teachers' leaders will claim today.

Health

Subliminal messages make us work harder

Bad news for hard pressed workers: a subliminal "pep talk" can make people work harder, even though they do not realise it.

Take 2

Here's Looking At You, Kids

Sociologists have begun to question the narcissistic self-promoting tendencies in young people, which are fueled by media, reality TV and online social networks. Can today's young people form durable identities off-camera, or are they so used to producing their images for outside consumption that images have replaced their essences? Will a generation for whom all secrets are fair game and every private moment can become public trust each other and form intimate relationships?