Health & Wellness
The veil over the Bush administration's war on women's reproductive health was pulled back recently by the president's own former surgeon general. When Richard H. Carmora told Congress he was muzzled by the administration when he wanted to speak out on issues of sex and science, he highlighted one of the news media's major failures over the past seven years.
Our experiences - the things we see, hear, or do - can trigger long-term changes in the strength of the connections between nerve cells in our brain, and these persistent changes are how the brain encodes information as memory. As reported in Neuron this week, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a new biochemical mechanism for memory storage, one that may have a connection with addictive behavior.
Previously, the long-term changes in connection were thought to only involve a fast form of electrical signaling in the brain, electrical blips lasting about one-hundredth of a second. Now, neuroscience professor David Linden, Ph.D., and his colleagues have shown another, much slower form of electrical signaling lasting about a second can also be persistently changed by experience.
Previously, the long-term changes in connection were thought to only involve a fast form of electrical signaling in the brain, electrical blips lasting about one-hundredth of a second. Now, neuroscience professor David Linden, Ph.D., and his colleagues have shown another, much slower form of electrical signaling lasting about a second can also be persistently changed by experience.
Children with the behavioural condition ADHD are continuing to be prescribed drugs such as Ritalin, despite an ongoing investigation.
BBC Scotland has learned a review of the medical guidelines used by doctors to diagnose and treat ADHD will not be available until March 2008.
Parents groups and education experts have claimed children could be prescribed the medication needlessly.
They have called for the review to be urgently accelerated.
An assessment of doctors' procedures was launched in 2004 after mounting concern over a tenfold increase in Ritalin prescription rates.
BBC Scotland has learned a review of the medical guidelines used by doctors to diagnose and treat ADHD will not be available until March 2008.
Parents groups and education experts have claimed children could be prescribed the medication needlessly.
They have called for the review to be urgently accelerated.
An assessment of doctors' procedures was launched in 2004 after mounting concern over a tenfold increase in Ritalin prescription rates.
Joining the thumb and index finger while spreading out the remaining fingers may mean "OK" for Americans, but how the gesture is perceived may change as people from different cultures interact, a new study has found.
Researchers at UCLA studying the response to hand gestures say brain activity depends on both the conveyor of the message and the gesture itself.
In a study published Wednesday in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS One, UCLA researchers Istvan Molnar-Szakacs and Marco Iacoboni found subjects responded more strongly to cultural gestures when they were performed by an actor of a similar culture.
"Culture has a measurable influence on our brain and, as a result, our behavior," Molnar-Szakacs said in a statement. "Researchers need to take this into consideration when drawing conclusions about brain function and human behavior."
Researchers at UCLA studying the response to hand gestures say brain activity depends on both the conveyor of the message and the gesture itself.
In a study published Wednesday in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS One, UCLA researchers Istvan Molnar-Szakacs and Marco Iacoboni found subjects responded more strongly to cultural gestures when they were performed by an actor of a similar culture.
"Culture has a measurable influence on our brain and, as a result, our behavior," Molnar-Szakacs said in a statement. "Researchers need to take this into consideration when drawing conclusions about brain function and human behavior."
The Army is trying to teach all of its soldiers to recognize symptoms of brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder - and not be ashamed of seeking treatment for the signature injuries of the Iraq war.
And the Pentagon also said Tuesday it would increase the number of R&R days troops can take while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Beginning Wednesday, service leaders will start a program to educate more than 1 million soldiers within 90 days, whether at home or deployed overseas, including active duty soldiers, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. The program also will be made available to families.
And the Pentagon also said Tuesday it would increase the number of R&R days troops can take while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Beginning Wednesday, service leaders will start a program to educate more than 1 million soldiers within 90 days, whether at home or deployed overseas, including active duty soldiers, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. The program also will be made available to families.
Two independent groups of scientists have discovered genes linked to Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), a disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and causes disturbed sleep. One group also found a link between iron deficiency and a gene associated with RLS.
MIT biochemists have identified a molecular mechanism behind fear, and successfully cured it in mice, according to an article in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Researchers from MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory hope that their work could lead to the first drug to treat the millions of adults who suffer each year from persistent, debilitating fears - including hundreds of soldiers returning from conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Researchers from MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory hope that their work could lead to the first drug to treat the millions of adults who suffer each year from persistent, debilitating fears - including hundreds of soldiers returning from conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Review covers 136 countries in US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Spain.
Leukaemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities, but no clear explanation exists to explain the rise, according to a research review published in the July issue of European Journal of Cancer Care.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina carried out a sophisticated meta-analysis of 17 research papers covering 136 nuclear sites in the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and Spain.
They found that death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 per cent, depending on their proximity to nuclear facilities, and by two to 18 per cent in children and young people up to the age of 25.
Incidence rates were increased by 14 to 21 per cent in zero to nine year olds and seven to ten percent in zero to 25 year-olds.
Leukaemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities, but no clear explanation exists to explain the rise, according to a research review published in the July issue of European Journal of Cancer Care.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina carried out a sophisticated meta-analysis of 17 research papers covering 136 nuclear sites in the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and Spain.
They found that death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 per cent, depending on their proximity to nuclear facilities, and by two to 18 per cent in children and young people up to the age of 25.
Incidence rates were increased by 14 to 21 per cent in zero to nine year olds and seven to ten percent in zero to 25 year-olds.
Taking a break in the middle of your workout may metabolize more fat than exercising without stopping, according to a recent study in Japan. Researchers conducted the first known study to compare these two exercise methods-exercising continually in one long bout versus breaking up the same workout with a rest period. The findings could change the way we approach exercise. Who wouldn't want to take a breather for that"
"Many people believe prolonged exercise will be optimal in order to reduce body fat, but our study has shown that repetitions of shorter exercise may cause enhancements of fat mobilization and utilization during and after the exercise. These findings will be informative about the design of [future] exercise regimens," said lead researcher Kazushige Goto, Ph.D. "Most people are reluctant to perform a single bout of prolonged exercise. The repeated exercise with shorter bouts of exercise will be a great help [in keeping up with fitness]."
"Many people believe prolonged exercise will be optimal in order to reduce body fat, but our study has shown that repetitions of shorter exercise may cause enhancements of fat mobilization and utilization during and after the exercise. These findings will be informative about the design of [future] exercise regimens," said lead researcher Kazushige Goto, Ph.D. "Most people are reluctant to perform a single bout of prolonged exercise. The repeated exercise with shorter bouts of exercise will be a great help [in keeping up with fitness]."
Accepting food cravings and keeping them in check may be an important component of weight management, according to findings from the first six-month phase of a calorie-restriction study conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University. Supplemental results from the Comprehensive Assessment of the Long-term Effects of Restricting Intake of Energy (CALERIE) trial provide new insights into food cravings, specific types of foods craved, and their role in weight control.
"Cravings are really normal; almost everyone has them," says corresponding author Susan Roberts, PhD, director of the USDA HNRCA's Energy Metabolism Laboratory. At the start of the study, 91 percent of the participants reported having food cravings, which are defined as an intense desire to eat a specific food. "Most people feel guilty about having food cravings," says Roberts, "but the results of this study indicate that they are so normal that nobody needs to feel they are unusual in this respect."
In addition, the results indicate that cravings don't go away during dieting. "In fact, 94 percent of the study participants reported cravings after six months of dieting. However,"Roberts says, "participants who lost a greater percentage of body weight gave in to their cravings less frequently. Allowing yourself to have the foods you crave, but doing so less frequently may be one of the most important keys to successful weight control," she adds.
"Cravings are really normal; almost everyone has them," says corresponding author Susan Roberts, PhD, director of the USDA HNRCA's Energy Metabolism Laboratory. At the start of the study, 91 percent of the participants reported having food cravings, which are defined as an intense desire to eat a specific food. "Most people feel guilty about having food cravings," says Roberts, "but the results of this study indicate that they are so normal that nobody needs to feel they are unusual in this respect."
In addition, the results indicate that cravings don't go away during dieting. "In fact, 94 percent of the study participants reported cravings after six months of dieting. However,"Roberts says, "participants who lost a greater percentage of body weight gave in to their cravings less frequently. Allowing yourself to have the foods you crave, but doing so less frequently may be one of the most important keys to successful weight control," she adds.
Comment: The Pentagon and the guys at darpa.com are gonna love this one! Creating an army of merciless killing machines has never been easier.