(Darnel Fernandez) Birth control pills have grown in popularity over the years and are now widespread in usage. While the importance of reproductive health should be recognized, research has shown that these pills can leave unwanted side effects. Now, a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience suggests that oral contraceptives can now affect social judgment, adding to the growing list of adverse side effects these pills can bring.
Science
Sensory Deprivation and its Frightening Effects
Sensory deprivation, particularly for a period of more than 48 hours, can have a huge effect on perception, cognition, and emotion. Experts have proven that social deprivation has similar effects.
The Night Gardeners: Immune Cells Rewire, Repair Brain While We Sleep — And Stress Turns Them OFF
(Justin Deschamps) A recent study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center identified one of the brain systems in charge of repair and new connections. Microglia cells act as repair/connection bots for the mind, working to rewire your brain when you’re learning, whether, by study, daydreaming, getting triggered or action. What’s interesting is that stress seems to shut down this system, giving us insights into how we might maintain health into old age.
The Brain’s Favorite Type of Music
(Science Daily) People prefer songs with only a moderate amount of uncertainty and unpredictability, according to new research.
Conscious Eating – Befriending Your Food
(Exploring Your Mind) Do you ever feel guilty after eating? Do you always eat because you’re hungry?
Molecular Imaging Finds Link Between Low Dopamine Levels and Aggression
(Eurekalert) Study shows people who have lower levels of the brain chemical are more likely to be aggressive when provoked in competitive situations
Keeping a Healthy Mind Ensures a Healthy Body – and Vice Versa
(Isabelle Z.) We are constantly learning more about just how strong the connection between the brain and the body is, and although we tend to think of exercise as leading to improved mental health, it appears the reverse is also true. Finnish researchers have found that people whose mental well-being is high at age 42 are more physically active when they hit their 50s compared to those whose mental well-being is lower in their 40s.
3 Exercises Are All You Need to Naturally Boost Your Sex Drive
(Ralph Flores) Having an active lifestyle is important, especially for maintaining great overall health. According to the latest physical activity guidelines published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a person should have at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercises. It’s too bad that most Americans aren’t physically active. The HHS reports that only five percent of adults engage in 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Even worse, only one in three adults gets his recommended weekly amount of physical activity.
Findings Bridge Knowledge Gap Between Pheromone Sensitivity and Courtship
(Science Daily) Neurobiologists have made a series of discoveries about fruit fly fertility and smell. The findings solve a long-standing puzzle of whether and how courtship-promoting signals are amplified by olfactory receptor neurons, or ORNs. The researchers found that a channel known as PPK25 amplifies courtship signals in the ORNs of male flies. Biologically, PPK25 heightens males’ sensitivity to their mates’ odors at the age of peak fertility, thus promoting courtship when flies are most fertile.
The Two Areas of Sexology
(Exploring Your Mind) Sexology is an area that many psychologists and other health professionals specialize in. But what does it consist of and where can you work once you finish your studies?
Scientists Say Extraterrestrial Collision Triggered Abrupt Climate Change for Earth 12,800 Years Ago
(Christopher R. Moore) What kicked off the Earth’s rapid cooling 12,800 years ago?
Study Says: “Society is rejecting [mainstream] facts” — Public Losing Trust in Medical Establishment
(Justin Deschamps) A study published in the American Journal of Medicine suggests that the public is losing faith in large scientific institutions, like medicine, and other areas of scientific expertise. Researchers don’t know why, yet speculate that the loss of faith is due to social media and the rising power of the internet (fake news), along with a minority of bad scientists muddying the waters for the public. Perhaps the reason why is because these authorities have become drunk on power and refuse to act with dignity despite the public outcry.
A New Discovery: How Our Memories Stabilize While We Sleep
(Science Daily) Scientists have shown that delta waves emitted while we sleep are not generalized periods of silence during which the cortex rests, as has been described for decades in the scientific literature. Instead, they isolate assemblies of neurons that play an essential role in long-term memory formation.
Scientists Discover ‘Stormquakes’: A Never-Before-Seen Geophysical Phenomenon
(Peter Dockkrill) Hurricanes are one thing. Earthquakes are another. But these hazardous events aren’t mutually exclusive, and sometimes one can even feed the other.
Researchers Successfully Generate Electricity from “The Coldness of the Universe”: New Technology Could Complement Alternative Energy Sources like Solar Power
(Edsel Cook) You’ve heard of all the ways to convert light or wind or heat into usable electricity. But have you ever thought that the coldness of the universe might serve as an alternative source of clean and renewable power?