people fall in love at fourth sight
lovers need to meet at least four times before cupid strikes, according to a new study. Researchers from Hamilton College in the US gave pictures of people's faces to a group of young men and women. They wired their brains to monitors as the participants ranked the attractiveness of people in the photos. Participants were then shown the images for a second time. They rated the faces which they found attractive highly. The attraction was higher on the third occasion and strongest of all on the fourth, researchers said. Monitors showed extra activity around the excitement and pleasure centres of the brain, dailystar.co.uk reported. "Much to their surprise, people often find themselves drawn to individuals after multiple encounters, even when there was no initial attraction," said Ravi Thiruchselvam, psychologist at Hamilton College. "Cupid's arrow is often slow to strike.It may be attributable to the gradual change in attractiveness from repetition," he said.
women have more nightmares than men
Women not only have more nightmares than men, their nightmares are emotionally more intense than mens', finds a study. Men also typically dream more of exciting and joyful things, the researchers said. "Nightmares come from anxiety. The extent to which women are more prone to anxiety disorders than men may be an underlying reason for this," Anne Cutler, a US-based psychoanalyst, was quoted as saying to dailymail.co.uk. The findings showed that the most common nightmare for females is about their partner cheating on them. Teeth falling out, being chased, and seeing spiders are the other three most frequently-occurring nightmares among women.
eye colour can determine cancer risk
Clinical and epidemiological data have always pointed to eye cancer being more common among individuals with light eye colouration and fair skin — however, the genetic mechanisms underlying disease development have been largely unknown. New research from investigators at The Ohio State University (OSU) and New York University (NYU) sheds light on specific inherited genetic differences for an increased risk of uveal melanoma, a rare cancer that arises from the pigment cells that determine eye colour. "This is a very important discovery that will guide future research efforts to explore the interactions of these pigmentary genes with other genetic and environmental risk factors in cancers not linked to sun exposure,” explained co-senior study author Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, MD, PhD, ophthalmologic pathologist and cancer geneticist at OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center.