Naps Don’t Counter Sleep Deprivation
Razi Berry A nap during the day won’t restore a sleepless night, says the latest study from Michigan State University’s Sleep and Learning Lab. “We are interested in understanding cognitive deficits associated with sleep deprivation. In this study, we wanted to know if a short nap during the deprivation period would mitigate these deficits,” said […]
Poverty Correlates to Smaller Brain Areas
Razi Berry Children in poverty are more likely to have cognitive and behavioral difficulties than their better-off peers. Plenty of past research has looked into the physical effects of childhood poverty, or documented mental health disparities between socioeconomic classes. But Deanna Barch, chair and professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts […]
Where does the Sensation of Motivation Come From?
Razi Berry Our motivation to put effort for achieving a goal is controlled by a reward system wired in the brain. However, many neuropathological conditions impair the reward system, diminishing the will to work. Recently, scientists in Japan experimentally manipulated the reward system network of monkeys and studied their behavior. They deciphered a few critical […]
Light Therapy for Improved Burn Healing
Razi Berry Light therapy may accelerate the healing of burns, according to a University at Buffalo-led study. The research, published in Scientific Reports, found that photobiomodulation therapy — a form of low-dose light therapy capable of relieving pain and promoting healing and tissue regeneration — sped up recovery from burns and reduced inflammation in mice […]
Father’s Genes May Determine Sex of Offspring
Razi Berry A Newcastle University study involving thousands of families is helping prospective parents work out whether they are likely to have sons or daughters. The work by Corry Gellatly, a research scientist at the university, has shown that men inherit a tendency to have more sons or more daughters from their parents. This means […]
Breathing Practices Lower BP as Exercise and Drugs
Razi Berry Working out just five minutes daily via a practice described as “strength training for your breathing muscles” lowers blood pressure and improves some measures of vascular health as well as, or even more than, aerobic exercise or medication, new CU Boulder research shows. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart […]
Taking Breaks Help Improve Memory
Razi Berry Many of us have experienced the following: the day before an exam, we try to cram a huge amount of information into our brain. But just as quickly as we acquired it, the knowledge we have painstakingly gained is gone again. The good news is that we can counteract this forgetting. With expanded […]
How You Think Your Metabolism Changes with Age May Be Incorrect
Razi Berry Most of us remember a time when we could eat anything we wanted and not gain weight. But a new study suggests your metabolism, the rate at which you burn calories, actually peaks much earlier and starts its inevitable decline later than you might think. The findings appear in the journal Science. “As […]
Plant Based Diet Lowers Risk of Heart Disease in Women
Razi Berry Eating more nutritious, plant-based foods is heart-healthy at any age, according to two research studies published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. In two separate studies analyzing different measures of healthy plant food consumption, researchers found that both young adults and postmenopausal […]
Lifestyle Can Lower Risk of Cancer
Razi Berry Healthy lifestyle factors such as abstinence from smoking and drinking, low body mass index, and exercise correlated with decreased cancer incidence, even in individuals with a high genetic risk. As genetic research continues to uncover loci, or areas in DNA, with specific changes that influence cancer risk, researchers can define polygenic risk scores […]
