A new study suggests that sleeping in front of a television or computer screen can cause depression, because of the light during sleep. Scientists split hamsters into two groups. One was exposed to natural cycles of light and darkness, the other to dim light at night, like city lights or the glow of a TV […]
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In the first study of its kind, researchers have identified the physical structure of intelligence and the set of brain areas responsible for tasks linked to it, such as language, spatial reasoning and memory. The study, published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology, is unusual in that it recruited 182 American veterans of the Vietnam […]
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If you suspect your child has signs of autism, you may no longer have to live with constant worry while waiting for a doctor to carry out the usual diagnostic assessment, which takes several hours. American scientists have announced a new way to diagnose autism in children accurately in just a few minutes, needing nothing […]
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A group of scientists say they have found evidence that conditions involving hearing voices or hallucinations, such as schizophrenia, may improve when patients play specially designed computer games. The head of the research team, Dr Sophia Vinogradov of the University of California, says that current drugs for schizophrenia ease the symptoms but do not fix […]
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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common complaints. It is usually so mild that many people live with it without knowing they have it, but in many cases it can cause severe symptoms and intense pain. IBS has many causes, but most are directly linked to everyday habits, including: The main symptom […]
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Most people read "fat-free" as "good for you". In fact this is a misjudgement, because we hear so much about the benefits of cutting fat for weight loss and health. Cutting fat out of your diet does not make you lose weight, and cutting it for a long time does the body more harm than […]
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A recent study has found that constant exposure to noise at work, together with hearing loss, can cause sleep problems. The study compared the sleep of people in the same workplace, some with hearing loss and some without. One difference between the groups was that those with hearing loss were usually older and had spent […]
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A new study funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has shown that a natural growth factor, IGF-II, helps rats remember and prevents forgetting of shocks and pain. Injected into the memory areas of the brain, it improves long-term memory. Earlier studies had suggested that insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) has a positive […]
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Only a few years ago, a girl wearing trousers was frowned upon; now it is the other way round. And if a man here wore a skirt, as Scotsmen do, what would people in the street say about him? Some Arabic names, such as Issam, Sabah or Nihad, are given to both boys and girls, […]
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A new study in the United States found that insulin breathed in through the nose improves memory in people with Alzheimer's disease (dementia). Patients took insulin for four months, and their memory improved in tests over the following two months. The researchers called the results promising and worth testing in clinical trials. Alzheimer's disease affects […]
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This quick test of ten questions shows some features of your personality, especially how other people see you. Get a pen and paper and write down the number of your answer to each question. 1. When do you feel at your best? 2. You usually walk 3. When you talk to people, you 4. When […]
Read moreThe Lancet Neurology reports that levodopa, the drug used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, causes loss of function and dyskinesia with long-term use: being unable to control the limbs, with involuntary movements. Clinical studies suggest that pulsatile stimulation of the receptors on the receiving nerve cell causes dyskinesia, but the exact mechanism has […]
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