ScienceDaily: Living Well News

Brain can plan actions toward things the eye doesn't see

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:47:47 EDT

People can plan strategic movements to several different targets at the same time, even when they see far fewer targets than are actually present, according to a new study.

Dietary fructose causes liver damage in animal model

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:44:44 EDT

The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories. However, a new study conducted in an animal model showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain. The researchers found that over the six-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control group.

Distracted walking: Injuries soar for pedestrians on phones

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:10:10 EDT

More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study.

Beliefs about causes of obesity may impact weight, eating behavior

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:38:38 EDT

Whether a person believes obesity is caused by overeating or by a lack of exercise predicts his or her actual body mass, according to new research.

Parenting and home environment influence children's exercise and eating habits

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:36:36 EDT

Kids whose moms encourage them to exercise and eat well, and model those healthy behaviors themselves, are more likely to be active and healthy eaters, according to researchers. Their findings remind parents that they are role models for their children, and underscore the importance of parental policies promoting physical activity and healthy eating.

Iodine in bread not enough for pregnant women

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:36:36 EDT

Iodized salt used in bread is not enough to provide healthy levels of iodine for pregnant women and their unborn children, new research shows.

Exposure to high pollution levels during pregnancy may increase risk of having child with autism

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:17:17 EDT

Women in the US exposed to high levels of air pollution while pregnant were up to twice as likely to have a child with autism as women who lived in areas with low pollution.

IQ link to baby's weight gain in first month

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:11:11 EDT

New research shows that weight gain and increased head size in the first month of a baby's life is linked to a higher IQ at early school age.

Moderate drinking during pregnancy does not seem to harm baby's neurodevelopment, study suggests

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:27:27 EDT

Moderate drinking during pregnancy -- 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol a week -- does not seem to harm fetal neurodevelopment, as indicated by the child's ability to balance, suggests a large study. In the study, moderate alcohol intake was a marker for social advantage, which may itself be the key factor in better balance, possibly overriding subtle harmful effects of moderate alcohol use, say the authors.

Quality of waking hours determines ease of falling sleep

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:31:31 EDT

The quality of wakefulness affects how quickly a mammal falls asleep, researchers report in a study that identifies two proteins never before linked to alertness and sleep-wake balance.

Study finds the sweet spot -- and the screw-ups -- that make or break environmental collective actions

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:08:08 EDT

Sustainability programs are a Goldilocks proposition -- some groups are too big, some are too small, and the environment benefits when the size of a group of people working to save it is just right. Scientists have found a sweet spot -- a group size at which the action is most effective. More importantly, the work revealed how behaviors of group members can pull bad policy up or drag good policy down.

Improving overall employee wellness could yield multiple benefits

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:07:07 EDT

Controlling health care costs is crucial for manufacturers to remain competitive. That's why researchers are working with manufacturers to determine if employee wellness programs will cut costs and improve productivity.

Testosterone improves verbal learning and memory in postmenopausal women

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:20:20 EDT

Postmenopausal women had better improvement in verbal learning and memory after receiving treatment with testosterone gel, compared with women who received sham treatment with a placebo, a new study found.

Chemical in antibacterial soap fed to nursing rats harms offspring, study finds

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:21:21 EDT

A mother's exposure to triclocarban, a common antibacterial chemical, while nursing her babies shortens the life of her female offspring, a new study in rats finds.

Prenatal exposure to BPA affects fat tissues in sheep

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:21:21 EDT

New research suggests that fetal exposure to the common environmental chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, causes increased inflammation in fat tissues after birth, which can lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Planes, trains, or automobiles: Travel choices for a smaller carbon footprint

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:13:13 EDT

Planes, trains, or automobiles: what's the most climate-friendly way to travel? A new study by researchers from IIASA and CICERO brings better estimates of how much personal travel impacts the climate.

Too little sleep may trigger the 'munchies' by raising levels of an appetite-controlling molecule

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:09:09 EDT

Insufficient sleep may contribute to weight gain and obesity by raising levels of a substance in the body that is a natural appetite stimulant, a new study finds.

Excessive salt consumption appears to be bad for your bones

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:09:09 EDT

A high-salt diet raises a woman’s risk of breaking a bone after menopause, no matter what her bone density is, according to a new study.

Adolescents' high-fat diet impairs memory and learning

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:08:08 EDT

A high-fat diet in adolescence appears to have long-lasting effects on learning and memory during adulthood, a new study in mice finds.

Babies seeing violence show aggression later

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:07:07 EDT

Aggression in school-age children may have its origins in children 3 years old and younger who witnessed violence between their mothers and partners, according to a new study.

Healthy, full-term babies use a different stress hormone than their mother

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:46:46 EDT

New research has identified how a steroid hormone may indicate infant distress during labor and delivery. The study suggests that a full-term, healthy baby preferentially secretes a different stress hormone than its mother does.

Sibling aggression linked to poor mental health

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:11:11 EDT

Fights between siblings are so common they’re often dismissed as simply part of growing up. Yet a new study finds that sibling aggression is associated with significantly worse mental health in children and adolescents. In some cases, effects of sibling aggression on mental health were the same as those of peer aggression.

Sugar overload can damage heart

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:51:51 EDT

Too much sugar can set people down a pathway to heart failure, according to a new study.

Why are there so many youth baseball-throwing injuries?

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:51:51 EDT

Surgeons and sports medicine specialists may have some answers as to why youth baseball pitching injuries continue to rise despite the implementation of nationally recommended pitching limits.

Automated 'coach' could help with social interactions

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:56:56 EDT

A new software system could help people improve their conversational and interview skills.

Scientists explode the myth about running injuries

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:08:08 EDT

Ordinary running shoes function perfectly well for new runners regardless of how they pronate, according to new research. Healthy newcomers to running who overpronate/underpronate do not actually suffer more running injuries than other runners if their first pair of running shoes do not have any special support.

Helping pet owners make tough choices

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:28:28 EDT

Perhaps the hardest part of owning a pet is making difficult decisions when a beloved companion becomes seriously ill. That's why researchers are developing a new tool to help people assess their ailing pets' quality of life, a key factor in decisions about when to order life-prolonging procedures and when an animal's suffering means it's time to let go.

Severe maternal complications less common during home births, study suggests

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:28:28 EDT

Women with low risk pregnancies who choose to give birth at home have a lower risk of severe complications than women who plan a hospital birth, finds a new study.

Menopause may be an unintended outcome of men's preference for younger mates

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:26:26 EDT

After decades of laboring under other theories that never seemed to add up, biologists have concluded that menopause is actually an unintended outcome of natural selection generated by men's historical preference for younger mates.

High prevalence of NSAID prescription in those at risk of heart attack/death in primary care

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:26:26 EDT

A new study demonstrates a high prevalence of NSAID prescriptions in patients at risk of ischaemic heart disease.

From the mouths of babes: Toddlers' speech is far more advanced than previously thought

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:25:25 EDT

The sound of small children chattering away as they learn to talk has always been considered cute -- but not particularly sophisticated. However, new research has shown that toddlers' speech is far more advanced than previously understood.

Smile's better to boost small businesses, says new research

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:21:21 EDT

A simple smile and a friendly greeting can make customers feel much more loyal towards small independent companies, according to new research.

Gustatory tug-of-war key to whether salty foods taste good

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:26:26 EDT

As anyone who's ever mixed up the sugar and salt while baking knows, too much of a good thing can be inedible. What hasn't been clear, though, is how our tongues and brains can tell when the saltiness of our food has crossed the line from yummy to yucky -- or, worse, something dangerous. Now researchers report that in fruit flies, at least, that process is controlled by competing input from two different types of taste-sensing cells: one that attracts flies to salty foods, and one that repels them.

Dangerous strains of E. coli may linger longer in water than benign counterparts, study finds

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:36:36 EDT

A toxin dangerous to humans may help E. coli fend off aquatic predators, enabling strains of E. coli that produce the toxin to survive longer in lake water than benign counterparts, a new study finds. The research may help explain why water quality tests don't always accurately capture health risks for swimmers.

Helmet crash tests: Don't hit the road without one

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:24:24 EDT

A new laboratory study shows bicycle helmets significantly reduce the causes of head, skull and brain injury -- linear and angular head accelerations, and the impact force of a crash. The biomechanical research with crash test dummies found that crashing without a helmet exposes the head to loads up to 9.5 times greater than with a helmet.

Volunteering reduces risk of hypertension in older adults

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:23:23 EDT

It turns out that helping others can also help you protect yourself from high blood pressure. New shows that older adults who volunteer for at least 200 hours per year decrease their risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure, by 40 percent. The study suggests that volunteer work may be an effective non-pharmaceutical option to help prevent the condition. Hypertension affects an estimated 65 million Americans and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease.

Every 10 tobacco ad sightings boost teens' risk of starting to smoke by almost 40 percent

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:42:42 EDT

Tobacco ads really do persuade teens to take up smoking, with every 10 sightings boosting the risk by almost 40 percent, reveals new research.

Sleep mechanism identified that plays role in emotional memory

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:41:41 EDT

Sleep researchers have identified the sleep mechanism that enables the brain to consolidate emotional memory and found that a popular prescription sleep aid heightens the recollection of and response to negative memories.

BPA linked to obesity risk in puberty-age girls

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:33:33 EDT

Girls between nine and 12 years of age with higher-than-average levels of bisphenol-A (BPA) in their urine had double the risk of being obese than girls with lower levels of BPA, according to a new study.

Infants express non-verbal sympathy for others in distress

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:33:33 EDT

Infants as young as ten months old express sympathy for others in distress in non-verbal ways, according to new research.

Taking back the yard: Dealing with invasive plants

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:23:23 EDT

There’s nothing more frustrating for gardeners than discovering that their well-planned plots or rolling lawns have been infiltrated by invasive plant species, the perennial marauders of the back yard set. While many people panic and immediately start yanking or mowing the intruders when they first make their appearance, a gardening expert advises that it’s best to investigate the plant that’s choking your columbines or blighting your lawn before complicating the problem with an errant course of action.

Laws help limit junk foods in schools

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:23:23 EDT

A US nationwide school survey shows availability of sugar- and fat-laden foods and drinks.

'Spiritual' young people more likely to commit crimes than 'religious' ones

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:47:47 EDT

Young adults who deem themselves “spiritual but not religious” are more likely to commit property crimes — and to a lesser extent, violent ones — than those who identify themselves as either “religious and spiritual” or “religious but not spiritual,” according to researchers.

People anticipate others' genuine smiles, but not polite smiles

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:33:33 EDT

Smile and the world smiles with you -- but new research suggests that not all smiles are created equal. The research shows that people actually anticipate smiles that are genuine but not smiles that are merely polite. The differing responses may reflect the unique social value of genuine smiles.

Big movies and other cultural products have evolutionary roots

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:33:33 EDT

Epic battles, whirlwind romances, family feuds, heroic attempts to save the lives of strangers: these are stories guaranteed to grace the silver screen. According to new research, that's not lazy scriptwriting, that's evolutionary consumerism.

Lab experiments question effectiveness of green coffee bean weight-loss supplements

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:31:31 EDT

A major ingredient in those green coffee bean dietary supplements -- often touted as "miracle" weight-loss products -- doesn't prevent weight gain in obese laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet when given at higher doses. A new study also linked the ingredient to an unhealthy build-up of fat in the liver.

NYC-style cap on soda size would target the overweight, not the poor

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:30:30 EDT

Legislation to restrict consumption of large sugar-sweetened beverages in food service establishments would affect 7.5 percent of Americans on a given day, and a greater percentage among those who are overweight, including 13.6 percent of overweight teenagers, according to new research. Challenging criticism that the restriction is discriminatory against the poor, the study finds low-income individuals would not be disproportionately affected.

Humans are happier when they do the right thing; It also helps them overcome difficulties

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:30:30 EDT

Communities that stick together and do good for others cope better with crises and are happier for it, according to a new study. Part of the reason for this greater resilience is the fact that humans are more than simply social beings, they are so-called 'pro-social' beings. In other words, they get happiness not just from doing things with others, but from doing things both with and for others.

Wristband simplifies blood pressure measurement

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:30:30 EDT

The consequences of high blood pressure are one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Despite this, according to the World Health Organization WHO, fewer than one in two of those affected measures their blood pressure regularly. The main reason for this is that regular measurements are costly or inconvenient. An innovative wrist sensor should now change that.

Dad's life stress exposure leaves mark on sperm, can affect offspring brain development

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:26:26 EDT

Stress felt by dad -- whether as a preadolescent or adult -- leaves a lasting impression on his sperm that gives sons and daughters a blunted reaction to stress, according to a new preclinical study. The findings point to a never-before-seen epigenetic link to stress-related diseases such as anxiety and depression passed from father to child.

Workplace and financial stress lead to poor health choices

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:25:25 EDT

Two studies highlight the impact work and financial stress can have on health behaviors. The lead author urges workplace wellness programs to consider such impacts as the economy sputters along.

Commonly prescribed drugs may influence the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:25:25 EDT

Multiple drug classes commonly prescribed for common medical conditions are capable of influencing the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers.

Cyberbullying puts teens at risk

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:16:16 EDT

Teenage victims of cyberbullying, defined as the use of the internet or cell phones to send hurtful and harassing messages, are more likely to develop symptoms of depression, substance abuse and internet addiction, reports a new study.

Walking leads to better health for older men

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:16:16 EDT

The more an older man walks, the better his physical and mental health and his quality of life are likely to be, finds a new study.

Parents' activity unlikely to influence teen fitness

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:16:16 EDT

Teens don’t necessarily follow in their parents’ footsteps when it comes to physical activity, finds a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Teens have unsupervised access to prescription drugs

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:16:16 EDT

Most teens have unsupervised access to their prescription drugs at home, including drugs with potential for abuse, finds a new study.

Hot flashes before menopause? It can happen

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:38:38 EDT

More than half of middle-aged women who still have regular cycles have hot flashes.

Moderate-intensity walking timed just right might help protect against Type 2 diabetes

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:37:37 EDT

A 15-minute walk after each meal appears to help older people regulate blood sugar levels and could reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

Sport at competitive level improves the academic performance of secondary education students

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:36:36 EDT

Academic performance is better if young people play sports competitively, new research suggests.

Hands-free talking and texting are unsafe for drivers, study shows

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:29:29 EDT

Using hands-free devices to talk, text or send e-mail while driving is distracting and risky, contrary to what many people believe, says a new study.