The genetic recipe for youthful skin
Scientists have identified a group of genes that allows some people to look up to 10 years younger than their actual age. They studied one million people and found that 10 per cent of white and 20 per cent of black Americans carry the ‘genetic recipe’ for youthful skin. Researchers believe its presence can result in people looking up to 10 years younger. The genes fit into seven categories that govern functions such as DNA repair, the maintenance of the junctions between skin cells, and the performance of the skin’s barrier against damaging environmental factors. Another category covers the production of elements in the skin called lamellar bodies that produce lipids, molecules containing fats, waxes and nutrients that help keep the skin moist. “Many of us felt that people with darker skin aged better because of more pigment and better photo protection, but we have found there is much more to it than that,” said Alexa Kimball, professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and a member of the research team.
Quieting down to save heart disease costs
Reducing hazardous noise levels — a risk factor for high blood pressure and heart disease — could save in heart disease costs, to the tune of more than $3 billion in the US annually, according to a new US economic assessment. “A lot of work is done on air pollution and the public health burden, but noise just never seems to get the same consideration,” said senior author Richard l Neitzel. High noise levels have been tied to poor health outcomes, including heart disease, possibly because sleep disturbances cause stress and interrupt body cycles, he said. “These are crude estimates of what could be the savings if we reduced exposures to this very common thing.”
NO health benefits of eating placenta
Eating a baby’s placenta after birth does not stop depression or increase energy levels of new mothers, a US study has found. But advocates in Australia have welcomed the review, saying the area needs more scientific research. The research, published in the periodical Archives of Women’s Mental Health, reviewed 10 published articles on placenta eating. It found no data to support claims of preventing depression, reducing pain or increasing energy. “Our sense is that women are willing to ingest something without evidence of its benefits and, more importantly, of its potential risks to themselves and their nursing infants,” said the study’s lead author, psychologist Cynthia Coyle from Northwestern University in Illinois. “There are no regulations as to how the placenta is stored and prepared, and the dosing is inconsistent. Women really don’t know what they are ingesting,” she said.