Gardening promotes healthy life
A new study has revealed that gardening, often considered to be an activity reserved for adults, is beneficial for children as well and they can also reap the benefits of digging, raking, and weeding. Researchers Sin-Ae Park, Ho-Sang lee, Kwan-Suk lee, Ki-Cheol Son, and Candice Shoemaker in South Korea said that the data can inform future development of garden-based programs that help engage children in physical activity and promote healthy lifestyles. The research team studied 17 children as they engaged in 10 gardening tasks: digging, raking, weeding, mulching, hoeing, sowing seeds, harvesting, watering, mixing growing medium, and planting transplants, to reach the conclusion.
Our Immune system and cancer cells
Our immune system is constantly working to prevent cancer by eliminating certain potentially cancerous cells in their early stages, a new study suggests. Immune cells undergo ‘spontaneous’ changes on a daily basis that could lead to cancers if not for the diligent surveillance of our immune system, scientists have found. The research team from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne found that the immune system was responsible for eliminating potentially cancerous immune B cells in their early stages, before they developed into B-cell lymphomas. This immune surveillance accounts for what researchers call the ‘surprising rarity’ of B-cell lymphomas in the population, given how often these spontaneous changes occur. The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Sleep right to keep depression at bay
Getting the right amount of sleep might keep depression at bay, according to American Academy of Sleep Medicine study. Researchers said that sub-optimal sleep or too much sleep can trigger genes linked with the condition and increase the risk for major depression. For the study, the researchers conducted a genetic study of adult twins and a community-based study of adolescents. Both the studies found a link between sleep duration and depression. In the first study, the researchers found that twins who had a good night sleep of seven to 8.9 hours per night, had a 27 percent heritability of depressive symptoms and this genetic influence increased up to 53 percent in those that slept for five hours per night, while it was 49 percent among those who got 10 hours of sleep per night.