Teenagers are strongly affected by Internet marketing in a way that has yet to be addressed by scientific research or government regulation, a group of scientists has warned in a review published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
"As the media marketplace continues its rapid transformation, becoming a ubiquitous presence in young people's lives, further academic research is needed to understand fully the nature, scope, and extent of interactive advertising's impact on youth," the researchers wrote.
According to the paper, the United States still regulates advertising to children and teenagers based on studies conducted in the 1970s on how television influences young minds. The authors said that the Internet is a fundamentally different medium than television, however.
"In the Internet era, children and teens are not passive viewers; they are active participants and content creators in an interactive digital environment that pervades their personal and social lives," they wrote.
Health & Wellness
A study by York University researchers reveals that infants as young as six months old know when we're "playing" them -- and they don't like it.
Researchers in York's Centre for Infancy Studies examined six-and nine-month-old babies' reactions to a game in which an experimenter was either unable or unwilling to share a toy. Babies detected and calmly accepted when an experimenter was unable to share for reasons beyond her control, but averted their gazes and became agitated when it was clear she simply wouldn't share.
"Babies can tell if you're teasing or being manipulative, and they let you know it," says study lead author Heidi Marsh, a PhD student who worked under the direction of psychology professor Maria Legerstee, head of the Centre for Infancy Studies in York's Faculty of Health.
Researchers in York's Centre for Infancy Studies examined six-and nine-month-old babies' reactions to a game in which an experimenter was either unable or unwilling to share a toy. Babies detected and calmly accepted when an experimenter was unable to share for reasons beyond her control, but averted their gazes and became agitated when it was clear she simply wouldn't share.
"Babies can tell if you're teasing or being manipulative, and they let you know it," says study lead author Heidi Marsh, a PhD student who worked under the direction of psychology professor Maria Legerstee, head of the Centre for Infancy Studies in York's Faculty of Health.
Dr. Bill Osmunson -- a general and cosmetic dentist -- explains why he is now concerned about fluoride and water fluoridation
© SPL
Twice as many patients had constricted blood vessels in their brains
Twice as many patients had constricted blood vessels in their brains
The preliminary results are from the first 500 patients enrolled in a trial at the University of Buffalo.
The abnormality was found in 56.4% of MS patients and also in 22.4% of healthy controls.
The MS Society said it was intriguing but not proof that this caused MS - as one leading expert claims.
Ventral striatum is smaller, which may explain impulsiveness, researchers say
A link appears to exist between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anomalies in the brain's reward system, a new study suggests.
Spanish researchers used MRI to scan the brains of 42 children with ADHD and 42 other children with no signs of ADHD and found that the ventral striatum was smaller, particularly on the right side, in those with ADHD. The ventral striatum includes the nucleus accumbens, which maintains levels of motivation when a person starts a task and continues to maintain motivation until the task is completed.
The reduced size of the ventral striatum in children with ADHD was associated with symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness, the researchers said.
A link appears to exist between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anomalies in the brain's reward system, a new study suggests.
Spanish researchers used MRI to scan the brains of 42 children with ADHD and 42 other children with no signs of ADHD and found that the ventral striatum was smaller, particularly on the right side, in those with ADHD. The ventral striatum includes the nucleus accumbens, which maintains levels of motivation when a person starts a task and continues to maintain motivation until the task is completed.
The reduced size of the ventral striatum in children with ADHD was associated with symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness, the researchers said.
'Condition' may be included in new edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the industry bible
Childhood temper tantrums, teenage irritability and binge eating may soon rate as psychiatric disorders in the US, according to proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the bible of the psychiatric profession.
The proposals are the product of a 10-year effort to update the handbook, which influences the vast network of American healthcare providers, insurance companies, courts, prisons and universities. At stake are billions of dollars in insurance payments, pharmaceutical sales and medical fees. The proposed revisions, published online today , will be subject to public comment until late April.
"It not only determines how mental disorders are diagnosed, it can impact how people see themselves and how we see each other," Alan Schatzberg, president of the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the guide, told reporters. "It influences how research is conducted as well as what is researched. It affects legal matters, industry and government programmes."
Childhood temper tantrums, teenage irritability and binge eating may soon rate as psychiatric disorders in the US, according to proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the bible of the psychiatric profession.
The proposals are the product of a 10-year effort to update the handbook, which influences the vast network of American healthcare providers, insurance companies, courts, prisons and universities. At stake are billions of dollars in insurance payments, pharmaceutical sales and medical fees. The proposed revisions, published online today , will be subject to public comment until late April.
"It not only determines how mental disorders are diagnosed, it can impact how people see themselves and how we see each other," Alan Schatzberg, president of the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the guide, told reporters. "It influences how research is conducted as well as what is researched. It affects legal matters, industry and government programmes."
A recent study on dietary influences on IQ turned up a surprising connection: children who ate margarine regularly scored significantly lower on intelligence tests than their peers.
The study was conducted by researchers from Auckland University in New Zealand and published in the journal Intelligence.
Researchers studied the dietary intake and intelligence scores of children born in the mid-1990s.
"We found a number of dietary factors to be significantly associated with intelligence measures," the researchers said. "The association between margarine consumption and IQ scores was the most consistent and novel finding."
The study was conducted by researchers from Auckland University in New Zealand and published in the journal Intelligence.
Researchers studied the dietary intake and intelligence scores of children born in the mid-1990s.
"We found a number of dietary factors to be significantly associated with intelligence measures," the researchers said. "The association between margarine consumption and IQ scores was the most consistent and novel finding."
Thinking about a typical victim of college dating violence, you're probably imagining her, not him.
Researchers often think the same way, according to a Kansas State University expert on intimate partner violence. Sandra Stith, a professor of family studies and human services, said most research has looked at men as offenders and women as victims.
"In the research on college students in particular, we're finding both men and women can be perpetrators," she said. "In our growing-up years, we teach boys not hit their sister, but we don't teach girls not to hit their brother."
She and a K-State research team are looking at the impact that being a victim of violence has on male versus female college students in heterosexual relationships.
Researchers often think the same way, according to a Kansas State University expert on intimate partner violence. Sandra Stith, a professor of family studies and human services, said most research has looked at men as offenders and women as victims.
"In the research on college students in particular, we're finding both men and women can be perpetrators," she said. "In our growing-up years, we teach boys not hit their sister, but we don't teach girls not to hit their brother."
She and a K-State research team are looking at the impact that being a victim of violence has on male versus female college students in heterosexual relationships.
Although several studies involving laboratory animals have provided tantalizing clues that eating blueberries improves memory, could the delicious fruit actually help people retain their mental sharpness as they age? The good new appears to be "yes". In fact, blueberries might even boost brain power. For the very first time, a study has found evidence that blueberry juice improves memory in humans.
For the research project, a team of scientists from the University of Cincinnati, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Canadian Department of Agriculture worked with a group of volunteers in their 70s who suffered from early memory decline. Half the group drank the equivalent of two to two and 1/2 cups of blueberry juice every day for two months. As a control, a second group drank a different beverage that did not contain any blueberry juice.
After about eight weeks, the scientists conducted learning and memory tests to see if the research participants' cognitive abilities had undergone any measurable changes. The results, which were recently published in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed that the elders who had been regularly drinking blueberry juice demonstrated significant improvement in their mental faculties.
For the research project, a team of scientists from the University of Cincinnati, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Canadian Department of Agriculture worked with a group of volunteers in their 70s who suffered from early memory decline. Half the group drank the equivalent of two to two and 1/2 cups of blueberry juice every day for two months. As a control, a second group drank a different beverage that did not contain any blueberry juice.
After about eight weeks, the scientists conducted learning and memory tests to see if the research participants' cognitive abilities had undergone any measurable changes. The results, which were recently published in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed that the elders who had been regularly drinking blueberry juice demonstrated significant improvement in their mental faculties.
In response to growing awareness about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, what does the manufacturer of one of the world's most notable artificial sweeteners do? Why, rename it and begin marketing it as natural, of course. This is precisely the strategy of Ajinomoto, maker of aspartame, which hopes to pull the wool over the eyes of the public with its rebranded version of aspartame, called "AminoSweet".
Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first introduced into the European food supply. Today, it is an everyday component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums in countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general public is waking up to the truth about artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the harm they cause to health. The latest aspartame marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public into accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence to the contrary.
Aspartame was an accidental discovery by James Schlatter, a chemist who had been trying to produce an anti-ulcer pharmaceutical drug for G.D. Searle & Company back in 1965. Upon mixing aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally-occurring amino acids, he discovered that the new compound had a sweet taste. The company merely changed its FDA approval application from drug to food additive and, voila, aspartame was born.
Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first introduced into the European food supply. Today, it is an everyday component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums in countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general public is waking up to the truth about artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the harm they cause to health. The latest aspartame marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public into accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence to the contrary.
Aspartame was an accidental discovery by James Schlatter, a chemist who had been trying to produce an anti-ulcer pharmaceutical drug for G.D. Searle & Company back in 1965. Upon mixing aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally-occurring amino acids, he discovered that the new compound had a sweet taste. The company merely changed its FDA approval application from drug to food additive and, voila, aspartame was born.
