Smiling Improves Women's Self Esteem and Appearance, Scientists Say

Recent study claims that a woman can significantly improve their appearance by simply smiling. Researchers discovered that the smile improves the appearance of women who feel unhappy about their look.
A considerable improvement in self esteem brought psychologists to the idea that feeling confident about your appearance is associated with social acceptance. Scientists performed their study, led by psychologist Carolien Martijn, with women of normal body weight, who showed different degrees of satisfaction with their appearance.
"The positive effect we witnessed for women with a high level of body concern supports the idea that body satisfaction may be linked to the idea of social approval," said Carolien Martijn. She added that by simply showing women pictures of themselves followed by a happy face, considerably improved their self esteem. Scientists mentioned that the experiment is worth carrying out on people, who were clinically diagnosed with eating disorders.
In their research, scientists analyzed the degree of body satisfaction and self-esteem of 57 women with normal body weight index. They also took pictures of each study participant. Then women were shown photographs of themselves among pictures of other women and each picture was followed by a photograph of either by a smiling, frowning or neutral face.
The participants were then divided into two groups. Women from the first group were shown pictures followed by a smiling face, while those from the second group were shown pictures followed randomly by neutral, frowning of smiling faces. Afterwards women were once again examined for body satisfaction and self esteem.
Those who were shown a smiling face after their photograph, showed an increased body satisfaction. According to Miss Martijn, women with high concerns about their body showed a significant improvement in body satisfaction. In addition, these women had the level of their self esteem considerably increased as well. The same results were reported in the second group.
According to researchers, they will carry on with their experiments together with experts from the University of Sheffield and develop specific strategies to improve body image. link....

Drug to Help Wipe Bad Memories

Together with his team, Andreas Luthi, of the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland, is close to developing a drug able to clean one's head from unpleasant memories. After successful test performed on animals, scientists look forward to try their latest invention on humans and if everything goes well, the pill they created could selectively wipe bad memories in humans.
In their latest study, the team of researchers tested on animals a drug that has the ability to dissolve a barrier around the amygdala, which is the almond-shaped organ found in the brain that has the main role of storing memory of emotional reactions. After the treatment, animals stopped being afraid of sounds that were associated with electric shock, which, according to scientists, means that their memories had been erased.
Researchers consider that their latest invention could work on humans, due to the fact that just like animals people have amygdala in the brain. The idea of erasing bad memories sounds attractive, but the latest invention also raised a number of medical concerns as well as several ethical questions. Some claims that there is a potential danger of the drug misuse, others are concerned about the drug wiping some good memories.
According to Joseph LeDoux, professor of neuroscience at New York University, our brain had similar sheaths and the new drug could help people 'overwrite' bad memories with happier ones, reports Daily Mail. In addition, the drug treatment could also prove to be effective in helping soldiers who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or those who have severe phobias associated with unpleasant memories.
Public mockery is the main memory that the majority of people would like to erase, says Ashok Hegde, a neurologist at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. "Public humiliation is a constant source of lingering memories," she mentioned. However, Dr Hegde considers that a lot of bad memories are forgotten naturally after a while. link....

Recalling the War is Good for Health, Researchers Say

Scientists say that encouraging elderly people to talk about the war could be good for their health. It was found that when old people gather in groups and talk about the times when they were young (reminiscence therapy), it helps them limit the effects of dementiaimprove their memory.
Researchers say that such therapy may improve the cognitive recall as well as agility of the mind by about 12 percent in 6 weeks. The current study adds more evidence to earlier researches that found that communication within a social environment is good for health.
People who suffered strokes and heart attacks were found to recover much better if they communicated with their friends and family. In previous studies scientists found that loneliness is as hazardous for human health as obesity and smoking.
During their current study, the team of researchers, led by Professor Catherine Haslam, analyzed 73 study participants aged between 70 and 90. Some of them suffered from dementia. Researchers split people into 3 groups. The team encouraged the first group to come together once a week in sets of five and recall memories from their past. People in the first group were given such discussion topics as childhood, weddings and family holidays. They were also advised to remember some specific objects that could help bring to mind beautiful memories, like for example old-fashioned ink pots and hats.
At the end of a six-week study, researchers estimated the memory of the participants by using standard cognitive tests. They discovered that the memory of people from the first group improved by 12 percent. In addition, people suffering from dementia registered an eight-percent improvement, reports Times Online.
Very little improved has been registered by the other two groups, one of which was persuaded to play skittles and the other to have one on one conversations. According to Prof Haslam, a neuropsychologist, most of elderly people they have talk to enjoyed recalling the war, which proved to be one of the most important things of their lives. You can find more interesting studies here at www.InfoNIAC.com - please check the links at the bottom of the story.
"It doesn't actually reverse dementia but it seems to make the most of their residual abilities,"
he said.
Professor Alex Haslam, her husband, said: "I think talking to a group gives you a reason to live. We have memory so that we can have language so that we can engage in a social life." link....

Biogel that Heals Brain Injuries

Recently it was announced that in the next three years the field of medicine will benefit from the latest invention of U.S. researchers - an injectable "biogel" that can cure brain injuries of car crash victims as well as wounded soldiers. In 3 years scientists look forward to test their latest invention on patients.
Biogel represents a mix of synthetic and natural chemicals. It stimulates neural stem cells which afterwards fix damaged nerves. Researchers decided to test the biogel on humans shortly after the studies on rats showed promising results. Scientists presented detailed information of their studies at the Military Research Forum that took place in Kansas City, US, and which has the goal of informing about the latest inventions in medicine that can help military troops.
According to Dr Ning Zhang, the lead researcher in the biogel development team at Clemson University in South Carolina, there has been an increasing number of brain injuries among soldiers and the biogel could help them all of them recover. You can find more inventions (including those from the field of medicine) here at www.InfoNIAC.com - check the links at the bottom of the story. But, biogel can also be used to help patients with head injuries that occurred as a result of car accidents and falls.
The biogel is injected into the patient's wound site in order to direct the reaction of neural stem cells. It is worth mentioning that stem cells are able to produce various types of tissue, thus, in the brain, they can generate nerve cells. Chemicals contained in the biogel make it possible for neural stem cells to restore normal brain tissue in the head wound. The US Defense Department has given a $220,000 grant for the research. link....

First baby born from new egg-screening technique

A midwife examines a pregnant woman. The first baby born using a new egg-screening technique that could double the odds of an implanted embryo taking hold in the womb has been unveiled by British experts.
LONDON (AFP) - - Meet Oliver, the first baby in the world born using a new egg-screening technique that could double the odds of an implanted embryo taking hold in the womb, unveiled by British experts on Wednesday.Baby Oliver was born in Britain to a 41-year-old woman after 13 failed attempts at in vitro fertilisation (IVF).The new technique, called array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH), makes it possible to ensure eggs have a normal number of chromosomes, boosting the likelihood of a successful pregnancy."Chromosomal abnormality plays a major part in the failure to establish a pregnancy," said Simon Fishel, managing director of the CARE Fertility Group, which oversaw the procedure."Full chromosome analysis may double the chance of success in couples who have a poor chance of conceiving or a history of failed treatments and miscarriage," he said.The technique has the potential to dramatically reduce the incidence of miscarriages and multiple pregnancies in IVF patients, he said.It could also help screen against birth defects.The most common cause of failure in IVF -- in which a woman's eggs are fertilised outside the body and then placed in the womb -- is an abnormal number of chromosomes in the egg, studies have shown."Up to half of the eggs in younger women and up to 75 percent in women over 39 are chromosomally abnormal," Fisher said.The new screening technique is faster that conventional CGH, which means that the embryo does not have to be frozen.The results come back in 24-to-48 hours rather than five days or a week.In the case of Oliver, of eight eggs tested from the mother only two were found to be chromosomally normal.One of these produced the embryo that became Oliver.Human cells have 46 chromosomes, with 23 inherited from each parent. Before an egg is fertilised, it ejects half of its full set of chromosomes to make room for the 23 coming from the sperm.These discarded chromosomes, held in a structure called the "polar body," are a mirror image of those remaining in the egg.Array CGH examines this cast-off genetic material. If there are too few or too many chromosomes, doctors know that the egg is not suitable for use.The treatment is currently only available at Care Fertility, Britain's largest independent provider of assisted conception.Oliver arrives in the midst of a controversy in Britain and elsewhere over so-called pre-implantation genetic screening (PSG).A recent review by the British Fertility Society found that there was no compelling evidence that PSG improves clinical pregnancy rates or reduces miscarriage rates.BFS chairman Tony Rutherford said array CGH "offers much promise", and could help improve the accuracy of such genetic tests.But he also urged caution."It is absolutely essential that these new techniques are subject to further rigorous research, and should only be offered to patients within the context of a robustly designed clinical trial," he said."The widespread use of this technology should await the outcome of such research to ensure we know which patients might benefit," he told journalists. link....

Search: Swine flu vaccine to cost up to 20 dollars per dose: WHO

A woman is given a shot during trials of an H1N1 vaccine, developed by CSL of Australia, at the University of Iowa Health Center in August 2009 in Iowa City, Iowa. Countries can expect to pay between 2.50 and 20 dollars for a dose of swine flu vaccine depending on their ability to meet the costs,a WHO official said in remarks published Wednesday.
GENEVA (AFP) - - Countries can expect to pay between 2.50 and 20 dollars for a dose of swine flu vaccine depending on their ability to meet the costs, a WHO official said in remarks published Wednesday.

Marie-Paule Kieny, the head of vaccine research at the World Health Organisation, also warned that there would not be enough vaccines for the world's population and that people should not rely entirely on the vaccine.

Rather, they should take other preventive measures against the A(H1N1) virus, such as avoiding large gatherings, closing schools and observing personal hygiene.

"Coverage will be partial and not only in developing countries. But we should not be 'hypnotised' by vaccines," said Kieny in the interview published Wednesday in the WHO's Bulletin, a health journal.

"There are other measures, such as social distancing, school closure, avoidance of large gatherings, antibiotics and personal hygiene. This is not like rabies, which is 100 percent fatal: we are talking about a disease from which most people recover very well," she added.

Kieny reiterated that the WHO will help countries to get as much vaccine as possible, and that the wealthiest countries may have to pay up to 20 dollars.

"The industry will use tiered pricing, so high-income countries might pay between 10 and 20 dollars per dose, middle-income countries may pay about half that and low-income half that price again," she said.

"These are ballpark figures but this is the order of magnitude," she added.

Britain and France have received their first batches of swine flu vaccine in late August, as governments began to arm themselves against an expected second wave of the pandemic in the northern winter.

At least 2,185 people have died after contracting the swine flu virus which has overtaken other viruses to become the most prevalent flu strain. link....

Be aware about HIV Symptoms

The letters HIV stand for Human Immuno-defiency Virus. This virus infects cells of the human immune system and either arrests or destroys them. Someone whose immune system has been damaged by HIV is vulnerable to all types of infections. AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Someone with HIV does not have AIDS unless his or her immune system has been severely weakened. To the question what are the symptoms, medical experts opine that are no decisive early symptoms of HIV.In the absence of symptoms of HIV and AIDS, the only way to diagnose whether a person is infected with HIV is to have an HIV test. Once HIV has broken down the body's defences, symptoms of HIV infection like serious fever and symptoms/swollen glands can affect the person. But many illnesses have flu-like symptoms or cause swollen glands. Therefore, they can not by themselves be interpreted as definite signs of HIV infection or AIDS.There is a popular misconception that HIV oral sex carries little or no risk. In fact, some consider oral sex as a safer sex alternative. But the truth is, like any other sexual activity, oral sex also carries a risk of transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. It's always better to gain a first-hand knowledge of any disease and if the talk is about HIV, it really becomes essential to be aware. All you need to have is a little precaution with alertness against the disease. link....