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Sure, being in a good mood changes the way you see the world, but it also looks like it changes the way the brain works. Dr. Adam Anderson, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, has been using functional MRI to look at how the mood we're in affects the way the brain works. Anderson had people look at a picture that either put them in a good mood or a bad mood, and then had them do a simple task that measured their attention. At the same time, he looked at their brain activation levels with the fMRI scans. It turns out that people in a positive mood took in more information about the world around them, while people in a negative mood took in less. Anderson says the brain is like a camera and the particular mood we're in is kind of like a lens that determines how much of the world we see. The idea is that the way we perceive the world -- and therefore think about it -- is heavily influenced by our emotional state.
Recent research demonstrates that artistic activities light up parts of the brain that nothing else does. Waldorf educators use a curriculum that is long-premised on this knowledge: Artistic activity encourages motivation; highly motivated children stay engaged in activities; through working with artistic activities, both hemispheres of children's developing brains are stimulated and their learning is deepened.
Recently, Johns Hopkins University sponsored a one-day Roundtable on Arts and the Brain, based on a report released by the Dana Foundation that demonstrates how the arts light up parts of the brain like nothing else does. This was followed in Washington, DC by the tenth annual conference on Learning and the Brain. The Roundtable was an invitation-only event and included 200 researchers, teachers, educational leaders, superintendents, principals, and policy makers.
Recently, Johns Hopkins University sponsored a one-day Roundtable on Arts and the Brain, based on a report released by the Dana Foundation that demonstrates how the arts light up parts of the brain like nothing else does. This was followed in Washington, DC by the tenth annual conference on Learning and the Brain. The Roundtable was an invitation-only event and included 200 researchers, teachers, educational leaders, superintendents, principals, and policy makers.
A psychologist, neuroscientist and philosopher got together to debate the meaning of free will. They walked onto the auditorium stage, sat down before an eager audience, and all crossed their left legs over their right.
The psychologist pointed out the similarity and asked if crossing their legs like so was a consequence of free will or a predetermined action.
This isn't the start of a long, bad joke.
At the World Science Festival, these three academics debated the age-old questions about the existence, meaning and moral consequences of free will in light of emerging knowledge of how the brain works. Paul Nurse, a Nobel laureate and president of Rockefeller University, moderated the debate on Saturday night among Daniel Wegner, a Harvard psychologist; Patrick Haggard, a neuroscientist at University College of London, and Alfred Mele, a philosopher at Florida State University.
The psychologist pointed out the similarity and asked if crossing their legs like so was a consequence of free will or a predetermined action.
This isn't the start of a long, bad joke.
At the World Science Festival, these three academics debated the age-old questions about the existence, meaning and moral consequences of free will in light of emerging knowledge of how the brain works. Paul Nurse, a Nobel laureate and president of Rockefeller University, moderated the debate on Saturday night among Daniel Wegner, a Harvard psychologist; Patrick Haggard, a neuroscientist at University College of London, and Alfred Mele, a philosopher at Florida State University.
For centuries, love has been probed -- and of course celebrated -- mostly by poets, artists and balladeers. But now its mysteries are yielding to the tools of science, including modern brain-scanning machines.
At State University of New York at Stony Brook, a handful of young people who had just fallen madly in love volunteered to have their brains scanned to see what areas were active when they looked at pictures of their sweethearts. The brain areas that lighted up were precisely those known to be rich in a powerful "feel-good" chemical, dopamine, which brain cells release in response to cocaine and nicotine. Dopamine is the key chemical in the brain's reward system, a network of cells that is associated with pleasure -- and addiction.
At State University of New York at Stony Brook, a handful of young people who had just fallen madly in love volunteered to have their brains scanned to see what areas were active when they looked at pictures of their sweethearts. The brain areas that lighted up were precisely those known to be rich in a powerful "feel-good" chemical, dopamine, which brain cells release in response to cocaine and nicotine. Dopamine is the key chemical in the brain's reward system, a network of cells that is associated with pleasure -- and addiction.
Nestlé USA recalled its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough on Friday after health officials linked the dough to infections from the bacteria E. coli in as many as 66 people in 28 states.
The recall, by a company with a reputation for strong quality-control measures, once again demonstrates the difficulty of ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply. The increasingly disparate nature of contaminated foods - recently including pistachios, peanut butter and chicken pot pies - has complicated the task of illness hunters and food inspectors because no one is sure anymore which foods may be risky.
"You can't assume it's the usual ground beef or fresh produce," said Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the Food and Drug Administration.
The recall, by a company with a reputation for strong quality-control measures, once again demonstrates the difficulty of ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply. The increasingly disparate nature of contaminated foods - recently including pistachios, peanut butter and chicken pot pies - has complicated the task of illness hunters and food inspectors because no one is sure anymore which foods may be risky.
"You can't assume it's the usual ground beef or fresh produce," said Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the Food and Drug Administration.
Compound Toxic for Bacteria
Until now, Manuka Honey has been sold in health food stores as a natural medicine. That is probably about to change. Writing in (June 18, 2009), John Stapleton reports "...new research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs' plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world."
Professor Dee Carter is one of the research team that made the discovery. She said a compound in the honey called methylglyoxal is the key ingredient to the effectiveness of the honey. However, methylglyoxal on its own is toxic but when it combines with what are, as yet, unknown compounds it causes "multi-system failure" in bacteria.
Regular prostate cancer screening has no effect on the risk of death from the disease, according to a large-scale, long-term study conducted by researchers from the National Cancer Institute and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"There was little or no scientific evidence that it saved lives," said Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which measures blood levels of a protein produced by the prostate gland, has been controversial as a cancer screening test since it first became popular in the 1990s. At the time, Brawley was one of many scientists who raised concern over the usefulness of the test.
"There was little or no scientific evidence that it saved lives," said Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which measures blood levels of a protein produced by the prostate gland, has been controversial as a cancer screening test since it first became popular in the 1990s. At the time, Brawley was one of many scientists who raised concern over the usefulness of the test.
If perfected, screening method could make disease detection easier, experts say
Scientists say they may be moving closer to developing a genetic test for colorectal cancer that could indicate who needs a more advanced colonoscopy screening.
In a study released this week, an international team of researchers report that they've found a genetic red flag that indicates the presence of cancer more than half the time.
The research is in its preliminary stages. But "molecular genetics will likely be the future of colon cancer screening," predicted cancer specialist Dr. Jerald Wishner.
Scientists say they may be moving closer to developing a genetic test for colorectal cancer that could indicate who needs a more advanced colonoscopy screening.
In a study released this week, an international team of researchers report that they've found a genetic red flag that indicates the presence of cancer more than half the time.
The research is in its preliminary stages. But "molecular genetics will likely be the future of colon cancer screening," predicted cancer specialist Dr. Jerald Wishner.
Study refutes belief that living near fast-food joints makes children fat
Living near a fast-food outlet doesn't make children fat, nor does living near a supermarket stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables make them thin, new research shows.
The study by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers examined a decade of data on more than 60,000 children aged 3 to 18. They compared the children's weights before and after fast-food outlets or supermarkets opened near their homes. The study found that living near a fast-food outlet had little effect on weight gain and living near a supermarket wasn't associated with lower weight.
Living near a fast-food outlet doesn't make children fat, nor does living near a supermarket stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables make them thin, new research shows.
The study by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers examined a decade of data on more than 60,000 children aged 3 to 18. They compared the children's weights before and after fast-food outlets or supermarkets opened near their homes. The study found that living near a fast-food outlet had little effect on weight gain and living near a supermarket wasn't associated with lower weight.
Health experts have long warned of the risk of obesity, but a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is even more dangerous, and that slightly chubby people live longer.
People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.
People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.
Comment: In the podcast related to this article, Dr. Adam Anderson remarked that the "good mood" subjects also demonstrated excellent creative problem-solving. Conversely, when a "bad mood" group was challenged, they tended to see the problem all in the same way, which short-circuited the possiblity of developing a novel or innovated approach.
It does then suit the PTB to keep us continually upset and stressed, and unable to approach our dilemmas in any way except what we already know.