Author: healthadmin
A study by researchers at St. Mary’s University found that microplastics can shorten the lifespans of microscopic insects, inhibit their reproduction, and act as toxic carriers that carry chemicals and plastic additives into the body once ingested. Jennifer Herr is a biology professor and researcher specializing in biochemistry, epigenetics, and forensics, and has been at Saint Mary’s University since 2019. Ha led the study and a team of undergraduate researchers. Their findings were published in December. micro plasticis an open access, peer-reviewed journal focused on the science behind microplastics. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that have become an increasingly…
New research suggests that when people are distracted by a visual task, they’re more likely to consciously notice neutral spoken words than negative ones. These findings published in the journal psychological scienceprovides evidence that the human brain may filter out distracting emotional sounds before they reach consciousness. This research helps explain how the mind manages the overwhelming amount of auditory information we encounter every day. Our sensory environment is filled with a constant stream of sights and sounds. Because humans have limited attention spans, our brains must prioritize which information enters our consciousness. Conscious awareness refers to our ability to…
Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a potential new approach to tackling Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Both conditions are associated with the accumulation of harmful clumps formed by the proteins tau and alpha-synuclein in the brain. In a study published in nature communicationsResearchers have discovered that tubulin, a protein that functions as a component of microtubules, may help prevent the buildup of these toxic substances. Microtubules act as “railroads” inside cells, helping to transport materials and maintain structure. The findings show that tubulin can prevent tau and alpha-synuclein from forming damaging aggregates and instead encourage them to perform…
The more certain an AI lie detection system is to accuse someone of deception, the more likely people will distrust it, and this distrust will actively undermine the AI’s accuracy. This new research Computers in human behavior. Artificial intelligence (AI) has proven to have an uncanny ability to spot deception. By analyzing patterns in written language, AI models can classify statements as truthful or deceptive with an accuracy far beyond what humans can typically achieve on their own. In fact, research has shown that trained professionals, such as civilians and police officers, perform only slightly better than chance when trying…
The lakes, rivers, and ponds you’ve been visiting for years are probably looking browner than they used to. And people fishing in these waters may be catching different types and sizes of fish than before. Our study identified a link between these two developments. This means that trout, bass, perch, and whitefish may be less common in lakes without fish. But pike and walleye anglers may be in for a trophy-sized surprise. Over the past few decades, many freshwater ecosystems in much of northeastern North America and northern Europe are darkening and, as a result, changing in other ways.What is…
aDougna Woessa was a young boy when drought first tore his country apart. When crops failed in Ethiopia’s rain-starved regions in the early 1970s, and his school turned classrooms into granaries for farmers to send aid, he never imagined that scientists would begin to link the forces that depleted fields to the cyclical changes in trade winds that have long accelerated violent weather from South America to Australia.Now infamous El Niño – means “little boy” in Spanish – Although it was named by Pacific fishermen in the 1800s, it wasn’t until the 1970s that scientists began to understand its global…
Explore strategies for implementing evidence-based psychiatric treatments, precision mental health care, and policy reforms to strengthen mental health infrastructure.
New research published in journal e-life This provides evidence that babies begin processing the structure of music very early in life, but that developing the ability to physically adjust their bodies to the beat of the music takes much longer. The findings suggest that while infants’ brains can distinguish between organized songs and unorganized sounds, complex rhythmic movements emerge gradually. These insights help explain how human musicality transitions from passive listening to active physical activity during the first year of life. Musicality generally includes two main elements. The first is the sensory component, which involves the ability to perceive and…
The days of distant fathers are long gone. By some estimates, the average amount of time fathers spend caring for their children each day has quadrupled over the past 50 years. The way they think about raising children is also changing. Today, men are almost as likely as mothers to say that raising children is an important source of meaning and a central priority in their lives. Approximately 85% of fathers identify parenthood as one of the most important aspects of their identity. As a parenting researcher who focuses on fathers, I am pleased to see fathers so engaged with…
More than 40 million people in the United States and Canada depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water. Each glass of treated lake water contains tiny pieces of plastic, or microplastics, made of toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases. Also contaminated are fish that are a staple of Midwestern fish fries and fish boils and are an important part of the diets of indigenous tribes, certain immigrant populations, and communities of color. But this pollution is unregulated, and manufacturers are looking to dramatically increase the amount of plastic they produce in the United States. The Chicago Tribune…