People who think they’re getting a good workout obtain more benefits than those who perform the exact same activities but don’t think what they are doing is exercise, according to the findings of a study by Harvard researchers. These results support the idea that the benefits of exercise may involve a placebo effect. Hotel cleaners who were told that their work of cleaning roughly 15 rooms each day was enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle were more trim and fit four weeks later than their peers who weren’t given this message, Dr. Ellen Langer and her student Alia J. Crum report in the February issue of Psychological Science. While the placebo effect of fake pills is widely accepted, Crum and Langer note, no one has yet studied whether the belief that exercise is maintaining fitness might exert a kind of placebo effect as well. To investigate, the researchers recruited at 84 female housekeepers working at seven different hotels. Workers in four of the hotels were told that the exercise they got on the job met or exceeded the Surgeon General’s activity recommendations for a healthy lifestyle, while those in the three other hotels were not […]
A number of scientific studies suggest that some types of cocoa contain substances that could enhance blood flow in the brain and improve brain function. An international panel of scientists presented their findings yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The session was titled ‘The Neurobiology of Chocolate: A Mind- Altering Experience?’ It was sponsored by Mars Incorporated. The company has been sponsoring research on the nutritional and medical potential of cocoa’s naturally occurring flavanols for the last 15 years. The scientists suggested that a special cocoa could be made to retain the naturally occurring compounds known as flavanols to help keep the brain healthy and to prevent cognitive decline and dementia. The Chief Science Officer at Mars Inc, Dr Harold H. Schmitz, said that many laboratories are coming to the same conclusion about flavanol-rich cocoa and its beneficial effects on health. He said the discoveries suggest that products containing ‘this cocoa could be developed to help maintain healthy brain function throughout several life stages. More research examining the potential of this cocoa in this important area of public health need is clearly warranted.’ The scientists reported […]
Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq. Mr Blair is set to make a statement about the 7,000 British troops serving in Iraq at the Commons. The BBC’s James Landale said 1,500 troops were expected to return home in months, rising to 3,000 by Christmas. Downing Street has not confirmed the reports but Whitehall sources have told the BBC the process could be slowed down if the situation in Iraq worsens. ‘Robust force’ A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘It is right that the prime minister should update Parliament first.’ However, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe confirmed that President George W Bush had spoken to Mr Blair on Tuesday. Mr Bush recently announced plans to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq. Mr Johndroe said: ‘While the United Kingdom is maintaining a robust force in southern Iraq, we’re pleased that conditions in Basra have improved sufficiently that they are able to transition more control to the Iraqis. ‘The United States shares the same goal of turning responsibility over to the Iraqi Security Forces and reducing the number of American troops in Iraq.’ […]
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to improve his standing with the party’s conservative voters, said Sunday the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned. ‘I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned,’ the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states. McCain also vowed that if elected, he would appoint judges who ‘strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.’ The landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade gave women the right to choose an abortion to terminate a pregnancy. The Supreme Court has narrowly upheld the decision, with the presence of an increasing number of more conservative justices on the court raising the possibility that abortion rights would be limited. Social conservatives are a critical voting bloc in the GOP presidential primaries. McCain’s campaign also announced early Sunday that he had been endorsed by former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who had been considering his own bid for the White House, and former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, who failed in his bid for the Republican nomination in 1996. Keating told the crowd […]
Pressure on the White House to act on scientific assessments of global warming mounted yesterday after the world’s largest general scientific society said that climate change was a ‘threat to society’. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) joined the growing clamour for political action in a public statement approved by its board. It is the first time that the AAAS, which represents 262 societies and scientific academies, has published a statement of consensus on climate change. It was issued on Sunday during a conference where a series of studies added weight to the body of evidence of human impact on the climate and environment. In the statement the association said: ‘The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society. ‘Accumulating data from across the globe reveal a wide array of effects: rapidly melting glaciers, destabilisation of major ice sheets, increases in extreme weather, rising sea level, shifts in species ranges, and more. ‘The pace of change and the evidence of harm have increased markedly over the last five years. The time to control greenhouse gas emissions is now. […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
