Prenatal exposure to famine might increase the risk of both hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes for individuals of the next generation, says a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Data from Great Famine of China Researchers from Brown University and China’s Harbin Medical University came together to analyse data obtained from
Category: Social Science
Our Days Are Getting 1.8 Milliseconds Longer
Days on Earth get longer by 1.8 milliseconds every century, says a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A. The data gathered by the team shows that the spin was slowing down to a lesser extent centuries and centuries ago—3,000 years ago, it used to be only by 2.3 milliseconds per 100
Head Impacts in Football Cause Brain Changes
Head impacts in football might be leading to changes in the grey and white matter of the brain, says a new study presented at Radiological Society of North America‘s (RSNA) annual meeting. The researchers, led by Elizabeth Moody Davenport from Texas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center, focused on high school football players, and the consequences of
Brains of People Who Do Not Like Music Explored
What is different in the brains of people who do not find music to be appealing? A new study published in the PNAS journal attempts to explain the mystery. In case you’ve ever wondered as to how does the brain of people who are not pleasantly stimulated by music work (a condition known as musical
Distractions Benefit The Ageing Brain
Distractions might be good for older adults in carrying out certain tasks, says a new study published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Ageing comes with too many unpleasant effects that humankind has always attempted to tackle. Perhaps, distractions might do the trick? Ageing makes concentrating on specific tasks more challenging. Thus, if distractions are
Catchy Songs: The Science Behind
We all have that one song that we just can’t get out of our mind. We hear it once, and dang, it gets stuck in our head, and we start humming it or singing it all the time in spite of ourselves. Why? Science now has an answer to this mystery. The study documenting the
With Age, The Shape Of Your Brain Folding Changes
The folding characterising our brain changes with age, says a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This change might be linked with Alzheimer’s disease. Ageing comes hand in hand with unpleasant experiences that youthfulness would never know. We go through a plethora of changes as we age, and
Evidence for Right-Handedness in 1.8-Million-Year-Old Fossil
The earliest evidence for right-handedness has been found in a Homo habilis fossil. The findings are published in the Journal of Human Evolution. The Homo habilis has been found to be more similar to humans than to apes. The resemblance appears to include handedness as well. “We already know that Homo habilis had brain lateralization
Hormonal Contraceptives Linked With Depression
Women on hormonal contraceptives have a greater risk of suffering from depression, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Contraceptives of different types are produced: from the combined oral pill to the hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs). They are often associated with risks of harm to the woman. A new research has now linked
A Foetus Can Hear Inside The Mother’s Womb As From Week 24
Have you ever wondered as to when does a foetus actually start hearing? We all hear of how babies respond to sounds from within their mother’s womb, from voices to music. Do they really hear, and if yes, when does it all begin? The development of a foetus occurs in stages, as is the tradition
Memory of Ancestors’ Heart Attacks Remain in Genes
If your ancestors had heart attacks, this information will be saved in your genes, says a new study published in in the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Conducted by researchers from Uppsala University, the study shows that the memory of a heart attack is stored as genetic information. This occurs as a result of epigenetic changes
You Can Teach Pigeons How to Read – Here Is How
You can teach pigeons how to read, says a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The birds can even differentiate actual words from other ‘nonsense’ sounds. A group of 18 pigeons were initiated to distinguish between words by a team of scientists from New Zealand’s University of Otago. The learning