A variant of the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme ADH1B*3 is associated with reduced rates of alcohol dependence (AD), according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical&Experimental Research.
The enzyme variant appears to cause sedation and reduce the amount alcohol a person will drink. ADH1B*3 is found almost exclusively in populations with African ancestry, the study's authors say.
Problem gamblers react more intensely to "near misses" than casual gamblers, possibly spurring them on to play more, according to new research published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Researchers found that the brain region that responds to rewards by delivering a dose of the chemical dopamine was especially active in these individuals.
Studies have shown that pathological gambling is an addiction, similar in many ways to drug addiction. The new study suggests that the degree to which a person's brain responds to near misses may indicate the severity of addiction.
A new study published in PLoS Medicine has found that skepticism about the benefit of the HPV vaccine remains high among parents of adolescent girls.
Even when financial and healthcare barriers are removed, some parents remain hesitant to have their daughters receive the vaccine - the more educated parents are, the less likely it is they will consent, says the new study. As a result, policymakers must spend more money to ensure that the debate is properly framed.
The authors surveyed parents of sixth-grade girls (age 11) in a publicly funded school-based program in British Columbia, Canada, to determine the level of uptake of the first dose of the HPV vaccine, and to examine the factors involved in their decision to allow receipt of the vaccine.
Pregnant mothers who smoke during pregnancy may be putting their children at risk psychiatric problems in childhood and young adulthood, according to a new study.
Finnish researchers found that adolescents who had been exposed to prenatal smoking were at increased risk for use of all psychiatric drugs especially those uses to treat depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addiction compared to non-exposed youths. The study will be presented tomorrow at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Researchers from the Seattle Children's Research Institute have found that teenagers who sleep less are more likely to gain weight. Their study, they say, is one of the first studies to document an association between sleep duration and weight in adolescents, even after controlling for calorie intake, activity level and depressive symptoms.
"Sleep has long been recognized as an important health behavior," said lead author Leslie A. Lytle. "We are just beginning to recognize its relationship to overweight and obesity in children and adults alike."
A University of Florida engineer has crafted a nickel-sized imaging device that uses organic light-emitting diode technology similar to that found in laptop screens for night vision. The device is paper-thin, light and inexpensive, making it a possible add-on for cell phones.
Other applications could include night vision technology for car windshields, or even for standard glasses to use at night.
A paper detailing the infrared-to-vision device was published in a recent issue of Advanced Materials.
A new report in the May issue of Cell Metabolism shows that our arteries can also suffer the effects of insulin resistance, though for entirely different reasons than other areas of the body.
Earlier studies showed that in the context of systemic insulin resistance, blood vessels become resistant, too. Doctors also knew that insulin resistance and the high insulin levels to which it leads are independent risk factors for vascular disease. But it wasn't clear if arteries become diseased because they can't respond to insulin or because they get exposed to too much of it.
Insulin sends a signal in our arteries that helps prevent the buildup of fatty plaques that can cause arteries to harden.
In 1872 Charles Darwin completed what may be the first example of a prospective "single-blind" study of human perception of emotional expression.
Through scrutiny of Darwin's previously unpublished handwritten notes on his experiments, neuroscientists have demonstrated how this early experiment has direct implications to current work today in the areas of schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders and other neuropsychiatric conditions.
The appears in the Journal of the History of the Neurosciences.
If human CO2 emissions continue unabated, the earth could become a difficult place to live before the end of the century, according to a new study in PNAS.
Researchers from Purdue University and the University of New South Wales, Australia calculated the highest tolerable "wet-bulb" temperature and found that this temperature could be exceeded for the first time in human history if future climate change scenarios are to be believed.
Wet-bulb temperature is equivalent to what is felt when wet skin is exposed to moving air. It includes temperature and atmospheric humidity and is measured by covering a standard thermometer bulb with a wetted cloth and fully ventilating it.
New Volcano Plume - New Partial Flight BanA significant ash plume from Iceland is headed to U.K. airspace.
Precautionary flight bans affect Irish Republic, Northern Ireland and Scotland's Outer Hebrides.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has informed Irish-based airlines that it will be imposing restriction on all flights in and out of Ireland from 0700hrs local until 1300hrs tomorrow, Tuesday, 4th May 2010 due to risk of ash ingestion in aircraft engines. Ireland falls within the predicted area of ash concentrations that exceed acceptable engine manufacturer tolerance levels.
