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news archive: Nov-Dec 2008
Health & longevity news archive: November-December 2008
Smiles and scowls 'in our genes'
(Dec 29, 2008)
The facial expressions we make to show or hide our emotions are
hardwired into our brains rather than learned during life, a study
has concluded. Blind and sighted athletes made the same expressions
when they won and lost, US researchers found. This, the study
reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology study
suggests, meant the expressions were not picked up by watching
others.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Skipping sleep 'hardens arteries'
(Dec 24, 2008)
People who scrimp on sleep are more likely to develop hardening
of their arteries, a precursor to heart disease, research suggests.
Calcified arteries were found in nearly a third of people who
slept fewer than five hours a night. This dropped to around one
in 10 for those who slept an extra hour, the Journal of the American
Medical Association study of 495 adults found.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Happiness 'rubs off on others'
(Dec 8, 2008)
Happiness is infectious and can "ripple" through social groups,
according to US researchers. A study of 5,000 adults suggests
a person's happiness is dependent on the happiness of those around
them. A friend who becomes happy and lives less than a mile away
increases your likelihood of happiness by 25%, the British Medical
Journal reported.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Antioxidants 'cannot slow ageing'
(Dec 1, 2008)
Diets and creams claiming their antioxidant properties could cheat
ageing may be worthless, a study says. Using Nematode worms, scientists
found even those given enhanced antioxidant powers to deal with
tissue damaging "free radicals" did not live longer. The team
from University College London said, in the Genes and Development
journal, there was "no clear evidence" they could slow ageing.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Has universal ageing mechanism been found?
(Nov 27, 2008)
An overworked protein, called Sir1, that causes yeast to age when
it neglects one of its functions may trigger ageing in mice too.
If the same effect is found in people, it may suggest new ways
to halt or reverse age-related disease.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Windpipe transplant breakthrough
(Nov 19, 2008)
Surgeons in Spain have carried out the world's first tissue-engineered
whole organ transplant – using a windpipe made with the
patient's own stem cells. The groundbreaking technology also means
for the first time tissue transplants can be carried out without
the need for anti-rejection drugs. Five months on the patient,
30-year-old mother-of-two Claudia Castillo, is in perfect health,
The Lancet reports.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Elixir of youth' drug could fight HIV
and ageing
(Nov 14, 2008)
A drug extracted from a plant used in Chinese medicine has helped
immune cells fight HIV and raises the possibility of slowing the
ageing process in other parts of our bodies. The method hinges
upon telomeres – caps of repetitive DNA found at the ends
of chromosomes. These get shorter as cells age and are thought
to affect the cell's lifespan.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Child's play 'better than a jog'
(Nov 4, 2008)
Running around like a child in a playground may be better for
you than traditional grown-up ways of taking exercise like jogging
and cycling. Researchers have found short sharp sprints of up
to 30 seconds could be as beneficial as doing up to five sessions
of an hour's exercise a week. Fewer than one in three adults in
Wales follow recommended exercise guidelines.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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