Worth Noting
- When you eat as important as what
When it comes to weight gain, when you eat might be at least as important as what you eat. That’s the conclusion of a study reported in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism. When mice on a high-fat diet are restricted to eating for eight hours per day, they eat just as much as those who can eat around the clock, yet they are protected against obesity and other metabolic ills, the new study shows.
- Simple Task at Six Months of Age May Predict Risk of Autism
A new prospective study of six-month-old infants at high genetic risk for autism identified weak head and neck control as a red flag for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and language and/or social developmental delays. Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute concluded that a simple “pull-to-sit” task could be added to existing developmental screenings at pediatric well visits to improve early detection of developmental delays.
- Don’t get too familiar – warning to brands
Although it is tempting to use the word “we” to make consumers feel like part of the family, people react negatively when brands overstep their boundaries, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
- Circadian clock common to almost all life forms
A group of biology researchers, led by Akhilesh Reddy from Cambridge University have found an enzyme that they believe serves as a circadian clock that operates in virtually all forms of life.
- Gene therapy holds back aging
Mouse lifespan was extended up to 24 percent with a single gene treatment in research at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), using gene therapy, a strategy never before employed to combat aging.
- Paralysed, but moves arm with thoughts
A paralyzed woman was able to reach for and sip from a drink on her own – for the first time in nearly 15 years – by using her thoughts to direct a robotic arm.
- Buying beauty boosts us
People who feel good about themselves are less likely to choose an attractive product than a functional one. But choosing highly aesthetic products may make people more open-minded.
- Dietary supplements increase cancer risk
Beta-carotene, selenium and folic acid – taken up to three times their recommended daily allowance, these supplements are probably harmless. But taken at much higher levels as some supplement manufacturers suggest, these three supplements have now been proven to increase the risk of developing a host of cancers.
- Pictures of sexy women seen as objects not people
A new study finds that both men and women see images of sexy women’s bodies as objects, while they see sexy-looking men as people.
- Trust – based on looks not history
Our decisions to trust people with our money are based more on how they look then how they behave, according to new research from the University of Warwick.
- Doctors’ empathy improves with training
Resident physicians’ participation in a brief training program designed to increase empathy with their patients produced significant improvement in how patients perceived their interactions with the residents.
- Emotion can shut down thought and we may never know
For the last quarter of a century, psychologists have been aware of, and fascinated by the fact that our brain can process high-level information such as meaning outside consciousness. What the psychologists at Bangor University have discovered is the reverse- that our brain can unconsciously ‘decide’ to withhold information by preventing access to certain forms of knowledge.
- Writing to heal – James Pennebaker’s work
Dr James Pennebaker tells people: write down your deepest feelings about an emotional upheaval in your life for 15 or 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days. Many of those who do find their immune systems strengthened. Others have seen their grades improved. Sometimes entire lives have changed.
- Nostalgia warms us
Reminiscing about the past can combat loneliness and off-set the discomfort of thinking about death. Now a team led by Xinyue Zhou has shown that nostalgia brings physical comforts too, making us feel warmer and increasing our tolerance to cold.
- Why do we choke when the stakes are high?
When there are high financial incentives to succeed, people can become so afraid of losing their potentially lucrative reward that their performance suffers
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