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Anti-gay statements trigger elevated stress in lesbian, gay and bisexual study participants

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Previous research has suggested that the stress of discrimination may play a role in the development of health problems that disproportionately affect lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals.

A study published today finds that when lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are exposed to even mild anti-gay prejudice, it triggers bodily changes such as increases in blood pressure that can contribute to heart disease.

“This study provides strong evidence that when LGB people experience anti-gay prejudice, their bodies respond with increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and in the stress hormone cortisol,” David M. Huebner, a professor of prevention and community health at the George Washington University and lead author of the study, said. [Read more…] about Anti-gay statements trigger elevated stress in lesbian, gay and bisexual study participants

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    Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask studyA new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help…
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  • Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe not
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    Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe notIt's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests…
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  • One cup of leafy green vegetables a day lowers risk of heart disease
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    One cup of leafy green vegetables a day lowers risk of heart diseaseNew Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that by eating just one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables each day people can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease. The study investigated whether people who regularly ate higher quantities of nitrate-rich vegetables, such as leafy greens and beetroot, had lower blood…
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  • People who eat a plant-based dinner could reduce their risk of heart disease by 10 percent
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    People who eat a plant-based dinner could reduce their risk of heart disease by 10 percentPeople who eat too many refined carbs and fatty meats for dinner have a higher risk of heart disease than those who eat a similar diet for breakfast, according to a nationwide study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Cardiovascular diseases like congestive heart failure,…
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How childhood exercise could maintain and promote cognitive function in later life

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A research group including Professor MATSUDA Tetsuya of Tamagawa University’s Brain Science Institute and Assistant Professor ISHIHARA Toru from Kobe University’s Graduate School of Human Development and Environment has illuminated the changes in the brain’s neural network and cortex structure that underlie the positive association between childhood exercise and the maintenance and promotion of cognitive function in later life.

These results were published in the academic journal NeuroImage on May 23, 2021. [Read more…] about How childhood exercise could maintain and promote cognitive function in later life

Men make more extreme choices and decisions, find scientists

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This is the main finding of new research involving more than 50,000 participants in 97 samples, published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

The findings show that the more extreme choices and decisions of men can be both positive and negative.

“The question of whether men and women make systematically different choices and decisions is one on the most fundamental (and controversial) questions in psychological research,” Associate Professor Stefan Volk from the University of Sydney Business School said. [Read more…] about Men make more extreme choices and decisions, find scientists

Slow yoga prevents fainting

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Guided yoga is more effective than conventional treatment for preventing fainting in repeat sufferers, according to research published today in EP Europace, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Guided yoga therapy was also more beneficial in terms of quality of life than the standard treatment.

“Repeated fainting gives rise to mental stress, anxiety, depression, and a constant dread of the next episode,” said study author Professor Jayaprakash Shenthar of the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bangalore, India. “Quality of life is negatively affected due to the unpredictability. Besides, some countries do not allow patients to drive.”

Fainting or “vasovagal syncope” is a brief loss of consciousness caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. It can be triggered by prolonged standing, fear, pain, seeing blood, and hot, humid environments. It is estimated that approximately half of the general population will have one syncopal event during their lifetime. [Read more…] about Slow yoga prevents fainting

Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ use can alter brain representation of the hand

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Using a robotic ‘Third Thumb’ can impact how the hand is represented in the brain, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

The team trained people to use a robotic extra thumb and found they could effectively carry out dextrous tasks, like building a tower of blocks, with one hand (now with two thumbs).

The researchers report in the journal Science Robotics that participants trained to use the thumb also increasingly felt like it was a part of their body. [Read more…] about Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ use can alter brain representation of the hand

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Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions

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Businesses sometimes align themselves with important values such as a clean environment, feminism, or racial justice, thinking it’s a win-win: the value gets boosted along with the company’s bottom line.

But be careful, warns new research from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Using these values primarily for self-interested purposes such as profit or reputation can ultimately undermine their special status and erode people’s commitment to them. [Read more…] about Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions

Our attention is captured by eye-glance

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Eyes play an important role in social communication by expressing the intentions of our interlocutors, and even more so in times of pandemic when half of the face is hidden.

But is this eye contact automatic and rapid? Is it based on a priority attentional reaction or, on the contrary, on a particular emotional reaction?

To answer these questions, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, looked at the way we process human gaze, focusing on the estimation of the temporal duration of social interactions. [Read more…] about Our attention is captured by eye-glance

New research on good cholesterol possibly finds better marker for cardiovascular disease

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Good cholesterol, which is transported in HDLs (high-density lipoproteins), plays a key part in the prevention of atherosclerosis and thus the risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, according to a new paper co-authored by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and published in the journal Circulation, the anti-inflammatory properties of HDLs could be an even better biomarker for future cardiovascular events.

Atherosclerosis is considered a chronic local inflammation that leads to plaques in the blood vessels and that, if left untreated, can cause cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death in the world. [Read more…] about New research on good cholesterol possibly finds better marker for cardiovascular disease

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Japanese consumers more concerned about gene-editing of livestock than of vegetables, survey shows

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A statistically rigorous survey of Japanese consumers has found that they have more negative opinions about the use of new gene-editing techniques on livestock than they do about use of the same technologies on vegetables.

The survey findings were reported in the journal BMC CABI Agriculture and Bioscience on March 31st, 2021.

Because humans tend to feel closer to animals than plants, and commonly express feelings regarding animal welfare but not plant welfare, the researchers, led by Naoko Kato-Nitta, a research scientist at Tokyo’s Joint Support Center for Data Science Research and Institute of Statistical Mathematics, wanted to see if such moral or taxonomic distinctions would produce any difference in their attitudes towards use of emerging gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9. [Read more…] about Japanese consumers more concerned about gene-editing of livestock than of vegetables, survey shows

Why the brain enjoys music

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Communication between the brain’s auditory and reward circuits is the reason why humans find music rewarding, according to new research published in JNeurosci.

Despite no obvious biological benefits, humans love music. Neuroimaging studies highlight similarities between how the brain’s reward circuits process music and other rewards like food, money, and alcohol.

Yet neuroimaging studies are correlational by nature. [Read more…] about Why the brain enjoys music