FB, instagram may predict Alcoholism
Social media users’ posts about alcohol can help predict alcohol problems among college students, a new study found. Having this type of “alcohol identity” increases the students’ risks of developing booze issues. Researchers from Ohio University and North Carolina State University found that alcohol-related posts on social media are better indicators compared with actually having a drink. Study co-author lynsey Romo, North Carolina State University’s assistant professor of communication, said that the study highlights social networking sites’ essential role in helping college students advertise and facilitate their own drinking experiences. The findings also suggested that social media sites can help identify the students who have the highest risks of developing alcohol problems. “The strongest predictor of both drinking alcohol and posting about it on SNSs was espousing an alcohol identity — meaning that the individuals considered drinking a part of who they are,” said the study.
Air pollutionmay up heart disease risk
long-term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of developing heart disease, a new study in the US has warned. The decade-long study of thousands of Americans found that people living in areas with more outdoor pollution accumulate deposits in the arteries that supply the heart faster than do people living in less polluted areas. Previous studies have shown associations between particle pollution, referred to as particulate matter, and heart disease. It has been unclear, however, how exposure to particulate matter leads to diseases of the cardiovascular system. Now, a study of more than 6,000 people from six US States, shows that air pollution accelerates atherosclerosis.
New research to help you beat jet lag
If you are a frequent traveller and get bogged down by jet lag with every flight, help is on the way. Researchers have designed new molecules that can help modify the human biological clock to manage sleep-deprived travellers as well as improve treatment for sleep disorders. Most living organisms, including humans, have a circadian rhythm or the 24-hour biological clock that regulates functions such as sleep-wake cycles, hormone secretion and metabolism. This cycle often gets disrupted in situations like jet lag and sleep disorders like sleep apnea where long-term sleep loss ensues. “We can make bioactive molecules that can control the circadian rhythm of animals and gain further insight into the circadian clock mechanism which will contribute to medical applications, food production and advances in clock research,” said Takashi Yoshimura, professor at Nagoya University’s ITbM in Japan.