The epidemic of HIV-1 – which has infected tens of millions of people worldwide – has been traced back to a person who was infected by chimpanzees in south-east Cameroon in the 1930s. The apes are a crucial missing link in the search for the origin of HIV-1, the virus responsible for the most common form of Aids, according to a team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Alabama. Despite the extremely close genetic similarity of chimps and humans, the ape equivalent of HIV – SIV – does not cause an Aids-like illness in chimpanzees. The finding will not only reveal how it came to infect humans – there is already a tell-tale mutation – but could help shed light on how to deal with Aids itself. In the journal Science, Prof Beatrice Hahn, working with a team that included Paul Sharp, from the University of Nottingham, reported finding chimpanzee communities from different areas harbouring variants of SIVcpz. Chimpanzees in one area of south-east Cameroon were found to have viruses most similar to HIV-1. Prof Sharp said: ‘When you consider that HIV-1 probably originated more than 75 years ago, it is most […]
NEW YORK — Chocolate lovers rejoice. A new study hints that eating milk chocolate may boost brain function. ‘Chocolate contains many substances that act as stimulants, such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine,’ Dr. Bryan Raudenbush from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia noted in comments to Reuters Health. ‘These substances by themselves have previously been found to increase alertness and attention and what we have found is that by consuming chocolate you can get the stimulating effects, which then lead to increased mental performance.’ To study the effects of various chocolate types on brain power, Raudenbush and colleagues had a group of volunteers consume, on four separate occasions, 85 grams of milk chocolate; 85 grams of dark chocolate; 85 grams of carob; and nothing (the control condition). After a 15-minute digestive period, participants completed a variety of computer-based neuropsychological tests designed to assess cognitive performance including memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving. ‘Composite scores for verbal and visual memory were significantly higher for milk chocolate than the other conditions,’ Raudenbush told Reuters. And consumption of milk and dark chocolate was associated with improved impulse control and reaction time. Previous research has shown […]
Despite popular belief, a new study shows that people who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk of developing lung cancer. It seems even heavy, long-term marijuana users do not appear to increase the risk of head and neck cancers, such as cancer of the tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus. Senior researcher, Donald Tashkin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles says the findings were a surprise as they expected to find that a history of heavy marijuana use would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana. The study looked at people in Los Angeles County – 611 who developed lung cancer, 601 who developed cancer of the head or neck regions, and 1,040 people without cancer who were matched on age, gender and neighborhood. The researchers used the University of Southern California Tumor Registry, which is notified as soon as a patient in Los Angeles County receives a diagnosis of cancer. The study was limited to people under age 60 as those born prior to 1940, were unlikely to be exposed to marijuana use during […]
Getting a good night’s sleep may help you stay slimmer, new research has indicated. A study has found that women who do not get much sleep – five or fewer hours per night – are at risk of major weight gain. It was found that light sleepers weighed more on average than those who slept for seven hours. Almost 70,000 women took part in the research, part of a major study in the US. Women were monitored for 16 years, keeping records of their weight and sleep patterns. Compared with the sound sleepers, women who slept no more than five hours a night were 32 per cent more likely to have major weight gain – defined as an increase of 33 pounds or more – during the course of the study. They were also 15 per cent more likely to become obese compared with women who slept seven hours. The findings on weight gain had nothing to do with light sleepers eating too much, or taking too little exercise. On average, women who slept five hours or less per night weighed 5.4 pounds more at the beginning of the study than those sleeping […]
Balance problems and a weak handshake are early signs of dementia, according to a new study which suggests regular exercise is a good way to keep your brain healthy. Researchers had expected the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease to be mental. But after following nearly 2,300 elderly people for six years they found that those who were physically more able were up to three times less likely to develop the condition. Among those who did get dementia, the first signs were problems walking and with balance generally, followed by a weak handgrip. The research was conducted at Washington University and the Group Health Centre in Seattle, in the United States. Dr Eric Larson, the centre’s director, said: ‘Everyone had expected the earliest signs of dementia would be subtle cognitive changes. We were surprised to find that physical changes can precede declines in thinking.’ He added that what is considered a brain disease may be intimately connected to physical fitness. The study, which was reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal yesterday, looked at 2,288 people who were aged 65 and older, none of whom showed any signs of dementia. The researchers contacted them every […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
