Inequality starts at womb
Sexual inequality between boys and girls starts as early as in the mother's womb, but how and why this occurs could be a key to preventing higher rates of preterm birth, stillbirth and neonatal death among boys. A team from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute has been studying the underlying genetic and developmental reasons why male babies generally have worse outcomes than females, with significantly increased rates of pregnancy complications and poor health outcomes for males. The results — published in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction — show that male and female babies develop in very different ways, and the placenta plays a key role in these gender differences.
Sleep enhances memory
Researchers at NYU langone Medical Center show for the first time that sleep after learning encourages the growth of dendritic spines, the tiny protrusions from brain cells that connect to other brain cells and facilitate the passage of information across synapses, the junctions at which brain cells meet. Moreover, the activity of brain cells during deep sleep, or slow-wave sleep, after learning is critical for such growth. The findings, in mice, provide important physical evidence in support of the hypothesis that sleep helps consolidate and strengthen new memories, and show how learning and sleep cause physical changes in the motor cortex, a brain region responsible for voluntary movements.
light treatment cures Alzheimer’s
A new study suggests that light treatment tailored to increase circadian stimulation during the day may improve sleep, depression and agitation in people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Results show that exposure to the tailored light treatment during daytime hours for four weeks significantly increased sleep quality, efficiency and total sleep duration. It also significantly reduced scores for depression and agitation. “It is a simple, inexpensive, non-pharmacological treatment to improve sleep and behavior in Alzheimer's disease and dementia patients," said principal investigator Mariana Figueiro, light and Health program director of the lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
Divorce might lead to obesity in kids
Divorce may be linked to higher risk of overweight or obesity among kids involved, and boys may be especially prone to excess weight gain, new research indicates. The researchers base their findings on a nationally representative sample of more than 3000 pupils attending 127 schools across Norway. All the children were part of the national 2010 Norwegian Child Growth Study. The results were stratified by gender and parents' marital status, married, never married, to include co-habiting, single and separated, and divorced, taking account of influential factors, such as the mother's educational attainment, ethnic origin and area of residence.
Smoking causes hearing loss
Giving up or reducing smoking and avoiding passive exposure to tobacco smoke may reduce your risk of hearing loss, new research shows. Smokers and passive smokers are more likely to suffer hearing loss, study shows. Current smokers have a 15.1per cent higher odds of hearing loss than non-smokers. Passive smoking also increased the likelihood of hearing loss by 28 per cent. But ex-smokers had a slightly reduced risk of going deaf, which may be because once they quit they adopt a more healthy life style overall. The study is published in the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.