Early start is bad for kids
A 30-minute delay in a high schooler's morning could mean the difference between productive learning and dozing through class.
Countering concerns that the later school starts would lead kids to stay up later the night before. A new study by researchers at Hasbro Children's Hospital found that when ninth-to-12th-graders started school at 8:30 am instead of 8 am, they went to bed 18 minutes earlier and slept an average of 45 minutes more each school night. They also reported of less depression and more alertness, and the percentage of kids falling asleep in class dropped two-fold.
Being in love is similar to addiction
Overcoming heartbreak may be similar to kicking an addiction, say researchers studying brain images of the lovelorn. Scientists asked 15 college students who had recently been rejected by their romantic partners to look at pictures of their exs with whom they were still deeply in love and found that the most active areas of the students' brains were those involved in motivation, craving, addiction and pain. The findings may help explain why feelings of romantic love and rejection are so hard to control. However, the study also confirmed that time does heal a broken heart. The students who had been separated the longest had the weakest reactions to the pictures.
Mammals choose sex of offspring
In analyzing 90 years of breeding records from the San Diego Zoo, the researchers were able to prove for the first time what has been a fundamental theory of evolutionary biology, that mammals rely on an unknown physiologic mechanism to manipulate the sex ratios of their offspring as part of a highly adaptive evolutionary strategy. The scientists assembled three-generation pedigrees of over 2300 animals and found that grandmothers and grandfathers were able to strategically choose to give birth to sons, if those sons in turn reward them with more grandchildren. The process is controlled mainly by females, said Joseph Garner, PhD, associate professor of comparative medicine.
Asprin slows cancer growth
A recent study published in the journal PlOS Genetics suggests that the drug slows the accumulation of a type of DNA change called “somatic genome abnormalities” (SGA’s). The production of this type of DNA leads to uncontrollable cell growth and makes it very hard for the process to be reversed, especially if it is not treated early. There was a 90 per cent reduction rate in the rate of mutations. This is a high success rate, however, it is important to note that the study was done on a very small population and would need to be tested again.
Sitting still can be fatal
Research shows that sitting still for long periods of time can increase the risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The body’s immune system is also less likely to fight common diseases when it is inactive for long periods of time, therefore making it easier to get sick.
It is not only your physical health that is jeopardised, either. On top of the demands from work or school, sitting down for long periods can also cause a great deal of mental distress and anxiety. If that’s not bad enough, a study published in 2010 by the American Journal of Epidemiology found that women who sat down for six or more hours per day were almost 40 per cent more likely to die over a the next 13 years than those who sat for less than three hours. Men who sat still for the same span of time were 18 per cent more likely to die.