Risk-takers have brain imbalanceIJ
Scientists at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas have found that certain regions in the brain become highly active in risk-taking teens. The study says human brains have an emotion-regulation network that controls and influences an individual’s decision making process concerned with antisocial or risk-seeking activities. They attribute risk-taking behaviours to imbalances in the network. A total of 36 adolescents in the age group 12 and 17 were studied to test the scientists’ theory. The researchers divided the participants into two groups — risk-takers and non-risk takers. Each group was also assessed for behaviours such as drug abuse and violence.
Vitamin D can help Asthmatics
Asthma sufferers who received vitamin D supplements for six months, in addition to their regular inhalers, could breathe a little easier than those who relied only on the inhalers, according to a recent study. Researchers say the results if confirmed by larger studies might help those who have asthma symptoms despite medication. “It does build some on the growing amount of data that shows vitamin D might help those affected by asthma,” Dr Mario Castro, who was not involved in the study, said. He said researchers only measured patients’ lung function, and not whether their symptoms improved. “Given that vitamin D is a benign supplement, the small improvement in lung function would be worthwhile if it was confirmed with other improvements in asthma control,” he said.
Deodorants make you smell worse
Antiperspirants can alter your armpit bacteria and actually make you smell worse, a new study has found. Researchers at the University of Ghent in Belgium asked eight test subjects to stop using deodorant or antiperspirant for a month. Another subject who did not regularly use either was asked to use deodorant for a month. The timeframe was selected because it takes around 28 days for a new layer of skin cells to form. The armpit bacterial community of each subject was tested at the start and the end of the month, and the results showed that each armpit ecosystem had been altered, Science Alert reported. Researchers found that antiperspirant use was linked to an increase in actinobacteria, the ‘bad’ type of armpit bacteria that instigate armpit odour.