Nerdy Science Blog

A thick layer of sheep dung covered the floor of Areni-1 Cave, Vayotz Dzor province, Armenia.  The dung hardened and sealed a leather shoe in a cool, dry and stable condition.  5,500 years later, a team of archaelogists dug the shoe up from the harden dung, and then realized the shoe was the oldest leather shoe human ever known.  The shoe was made of cow skin, but it was unknown to the archaelogists of the gender of the wearer and the purpose of the shoe.  They puzzled and published their discovery in the journal Plos One.

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Steven Platek of Georgia Gwinnett College has discovered what a lot of people already knew: When a man sees a curvaceous woman, he experiences the same reward feeling that’s brought on by drugs or alcohol. Platek and a team of researchers had 14 men (whose average age was 25) look at before and after pictures of naked women who had received plastic surgery to give them more shapely posteriors. Platek added that the women did not lose weight in the surgery, just had it “redistributed,” and indeed that some of the women wound up “fatter” in the process. The men had their brain activity measured as they looked at the photos, and Platek noticed that when the men looked at the photos of curvier women, there was increased activity in the reward area of the brain. Platek and colleague Devendra Singh published their findings online in early February in the journal PLoS One.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online universities accredited.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

Obesity is a major emerging problem face by the world population these days.  Obesity is usually associated with premature death.  Obesity usually leads to many diseases, especially cardiovascular disease.  Through dietary control, obesity problem may be resolved.

French researchers found that polyphenols in red wine has a beneficial effects on obesity-associated disease.  The polyphenol extract is known as Provinols™.  Researchers feed two groups of Zucker fatty (ZF) rats with normal diet or Provinols™ for eight weeks.  The group of ZF rats received Provinols™ showed improved glucose metabolism, reduced circulating triglycerides and total cholesterol.  It is suggested by researchers to use red wine polyphenols as a prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic alterations associated with obesity.

However red wine consumption is recommended to be taken at dietary level.  The study was published on May 18, 2009 in PLoS ONE.

Reference:

Agouni A, Lagrue-Lak-Hal A-H, Mostefai HA, Tesse A, Mulder P, et al. (2009) Red Wine Polyphenols Prevent Metabolic and Cardiovascular Alterations Associated with Obesity in Zucker Fatty Rats (Fa/Fa). PLoS ONE 4(5): e5557. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005557

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Recent studies showed that a protein called kainate receptors response to certain antidepressants, and the protein also involved in depression and suicidal thought.

Scientists at Rockefeller University examined one of the five subunits of kainate receptors, KA1 in rats and the result may help to explain the mechanism of the protein reshaping the brain in response to stress.  Researchers at Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller University studied the impact of stress and steroid on rats.  They induce stress to the rats by restraining them 6 hours per day for over three weeks.  The production of KA1 in these rats increased in certain parts of hippocampus under the instruction sent by messenger RNA.  Hippocampus involved in learning and memory functions.  Scientists also tried to inject hormone called corticosteroids into the unstressed rats.  Low dose of corticosteroids increased KA1 production but high dose did not.

Fortunately the brains will replace the retracted neurons once the stress is removed.  The study was published in the journal PLos ONE.  The authors were Richard G. Hunter, Rudy Bellani, Erik Bloss, Ana Costa, Katharine McCarthy, and Bruce S. McEwen.

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Recently many friends of mine lost their love ones, I truly feel sorry to hear that.

Scientists from University of Oxford published an article in PLoS ONE journal showing that playing tetris may reduce traumatic stress.  40 volunteers were given to watch a film featuring traumatic images of injuries.  The participants were then assigned randomly to do nothing or play tetris for 30 minutes.  Those who played tetris had less ‘flashbacks’ to the traumatic images.

“Flashback” can be triggered by many signals, such as sound, sight, or smell.  Dr Emily Holmes thought that tetris game can be used as a treatment for patients who suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The likely explanation for the tetris-cure is that the subject’s mind is competing for the resources to play the game, and this intefere with the sensory memory usage.  However the practical application of tetris on real patients may be difficult to develop.  The game does not help you forget, but not thinking about things.

Other authors in this paper are Ella L. James, Thomas Coode-Bate, and Catherine Deeprose.

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Your index and ring fingers length can affect your voluntary exercise desire.  According to a recently published paper, people who have higher index:ring finger ratios are more willing to exercise.  Generally women have higher ratio than men.  The study revealed a strong correlation between the digit length and levels of prenatal stress hormones as well, which ultimately affects one’s personality.  This research reminds me of the Chinese palmistry, which use the lines on the hand as well as the shape of the hand, to study one’s life, behaviour, personality, etc.

Reference:

Yan et al. Selective Breeding for a Behavioral Trait Changes Digit Ratio. PLoS ONE, 2008; 3 (9): e3216