Study stress in kids spurring ADHD
According to a new study, the increasing academic stress on younger children is likely to be the reason behind the high prevalence of attention-deficit disorder. Researchers from the University of Miami in the US hypothesised that increased academic standards since the 1970s have contributed to the rise in diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). From time spent studying to enrolment rates in pre-primary programmes, everything had increased, and not surprisingly, in the past 40 years also saw ADHD diagnoses double, the study revealed. The results showed that from 1981 to 1997, time spent teaching three to five-year-olds letters and numbers increased 30 per cent. Also, the percentage of young children enrolled in full-day programmes increased from 17 per cent in 1970 to 58 per cent in the mid-2000s. Six to eight-year-olds in 1997 saw time spent on homework increase to more than two hours a week, when a decade earlier, their peers were studying less than an hour.
Ageing clock starts ticking before birth
It seems like we are old before our time as a new study has suggested that the process of ageing begins in the womb. In the University of Cambridge study using rats to model pregnancy and fetal development, researchers also found that providing mothers with antioxidants during pregnancy meant that their offspring aged more slowly in adulthood. However, the offspring of mothers with lower levels of oxygen in the womb, which, in humans, can be a consequence of smoking during pregnancy or of pregnancy at high altitude, aged more quickly in adulthood. Senior author Dino Giussani said that the study in rats suggests that the ageing clock begins ticking even before we are born and enter this world.
Bubbles key to cleaning our teeth
The formation of tiny bubbles around the head of ultrasonic scalers, used by dentists to remove built-up plaque, is key to the cleaning process, researchers including an Indian-origin scientist have revealed. The bubble formation, or cavitation of water around the head of the scaler, was observed using high-speed cameras. The findings are the first to prove that cavitation takes place around the free end of ultrasonic scalers. Removing dental plaque and calculus that is the build-up of what we know as tartar or hard plaque, is a big part of maintaining oral health and a regular occurrence in dental check-ups. “These findings will help us understand how to make the tools as effective as possible,” said Damien Walmsley from University of Birmingham. “Altering the shape and power of these commonly used tools makes them more effective, and hopefully, pain-free,” said lead author Nina Vyas.