Scientists say they have solved one of the greatest mysteries plaguing mankind - just what is the secret of happiness? The answer, apparently, is nothing as simple as true love, lots of money, or an exciting job. Instead, it can be neatly summarised in the following equation: Happiness = P + (5xE) + (3XH) Just to explain, P stands for Personal Characteristics, including outlook on life, adaptability and resilience. E stands for Existence and relates to health, financial stability and friendships. And H represents Higher Order needs, and covers self-esteem, expectations, ambitions and sense of humour. So that's clear then. Apparently the formula was worked out by psychologists after interviews with more than 1,000 people. (C) BBC

Keyword: Emotions; Stress
Link ID: 3265 - Posted: 01.06.2003

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition For 40 years, anthropologists have leaned toward the notion that rich, nourishing meat - brought home by hunters and shared out - played a crucial role in human origins. This would explain why evolution selected for larger, smarter hunters with lighter jaws and teeth: precisely the changes seen as Homo erectus arose in eastern Africa. The hunter-driven scenario also included the formation of nuclear family groups, in which men hunted while women gathered plants and cared for their children, thus kicking off humans' social evolution as well. But this picture may be wrong on several counts. To begin with, early men probably were not bringing meat home to the family. Most evidence of hunting by early African Homo erectus comes from archaeological sites containing both animal bones and primitive stone tools. But most of these lie next to rivers, the kind of predator-filled habitat that today's Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania call a "city of lions". © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 3264 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ELAINE SCIOLINO PARIS, — These are dark days in the City of Light. It is a cruel trick played on those who are not forewarned. Paris is a northern city, on about the same latitude as Seattle and Vancouver. New York, by contrast, sits on a level with Madrid and Naples. So when winter comes, Paris's northern position combines with humidity, above-freezing temperatures, the absence of fierce winds and a location at the bottom of a basin to rob the city of sun and light. Daylight arrives well after 8 a.m. and leaves only eight hours later. Even as the days begin to grow longer now that the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, has passed, the demons of darkness linger. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression; Biological Rhythms
Link ID: 3263 - Posted: 06.24.2010

There is no convincing or consistent evidence giving hyperactive children stimulant drugs such as Ritalin leads to drug abuse later in life, US researchers report. The finding confirms results from 11 previous studies and should dispel public concern the chemical similarity of such stimulants to cocaine could lead to adult drug habits, a worry unwarranted but persistent, the study say. "The present results indicate that clinicians probably need not fear that the stimulant treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is predisposing those children to later drug use, dependence or abuse," concluded the report published in the January issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics [sic]. © 2002 Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Keyword: ADHD; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 3262 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Although researchers have known for years that certain nerve cells sense cold they've had a harder time tracking down the exact process. Recently, however, their search has heated up. A collection of studies indicates that molecular doorways on nerve cells, termed channels, detect cold temperatures and create reactions that trigger the cells to send off messages that report the sensation to the brain. These insights may influence the development of new cool and refreshing snacks and beverages as well as new treatments for cold-related pain. Brrrrrr. It's the worst table in the house. You curse the restaurant's front door every time a patron enters or exits, allowing winter winds to chill your cheeks. A new collection of studies, however, indicates that your anger is misdirected. Tiny molecular doorways that line nerve cells inside your body are the real source of the frosty feelings, according to evidence. Some of these doorways, technically termed channels, appear to detect a drop in temperature and then either open or close to trigger the cell to send a message to the brain that there is a chill in the air. The findings are leading to: Copyright © 2003 Society for Neuroscience

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 3261 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By NICHOLAS WADE Hot on the scent of a suspected terrorist? Darpa — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — hopes to give literal meaning to the phrase. It wants someone to develop a sniffing machine that can detect individuals by their body odor. The idea is not as rank as it may seem. Dogs are said, at least by dog handlers, to recognize the scents of individual people. Researchers have found that mice can detect from body odor and urine how closely they are related to one another, a useful way to avoid inbreeding. So Darpa, the grand patron of exotic military arts (not everything it does works, but it did have a hand in creating the precursor of the Internet), is soliciting "innovative proposals to (1) determine whether genetically-determined odortypes can be used to identify specific individuals, and if so (2) to develop the science and enabling technology for detecting and identifying specific individuals by such odortypes." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 3260 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Benedict Carey Health Correspondent For generations scientists have studied the peacock feathers of human mating, the swish and swagger that advertise sexual interest, the courtship dance at bars, the public display. They've left the private experience -- what's happening in the brain when we fall for someone -- mostly to poets. We know there's an inborn human urge to mate, after all. Love is a mystery, a promise, an arrow from Cupid's bow. Yet recent research suggests that romantic attraction is in fact a primitive, biologically based drive, like hunger or sex, some scientists argue. While lust makes our eye wander, they say, it's the drive for romance that allows us to focus on one particular person, though we often can't explain why. The biology of romance helps account for how we think about passionate love, and explain its insanity: why we might travel cross-country for a single kiss, and plunge into blackest despair if our beloved turns away. Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 3259 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Fears that taking the anti-impotence drug Viagra may damage nerves in the eye have been eased by a new study. However, researchers found that the drug may cause damage to the optic nerves of people whose blood vessels are already in a poor state. And they still cannot explain why taking the drug seems to be linked to problems in picking up subtle changes of colour. When Viagra was introduced in 1999, the drug's manufacturers warned of a number of visual side effects, including possible nerve damage to the eyes. But researchers at the University of California, Irvine found that nerve damage in healthy people is extremely unlikely - even when Viagra is taken in high doses. Since Viagra lowers blood pressure overall, there was persistent suspicion that the drug might reduce blood flow to the eyes, which can cause nerve damage. (C) BBC

Keyword: Vision; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 3258 - Posted: 01.04.2003

By BLOOMBERG NEWS WASHINGTON, (Bloomberg News) — Prozac, the antidressant made by Eli Lilly, was approved for treating children and adolescents with depression, federal regulators said today. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Prozac for use in treating patients 7 to 17 years of age, the agency said after reviewing Lilly's research on the drug's safety. Lilly does not plan to promote the depression pill for children, the company said. For years, doctors have prescribed Prozac and similar drugs for children even though these medications were approved only for adults. Federal officials wanted to review safety issues for the drug, once the world's top-selling depression treatment with annual sales of more than $2 billion. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 3257 - Posted: 06.24.2010

For many animals, making sense of odors is a matter of survival. Researchers studying mice have now discovered that a hormone called prolactin enhances the sense of smell by stimulating the development of new neurons. The upgrade is kick-started by mating and pregnancy, which cause prolactin levels to surge. Odors from putrid to pleasant are detected by specialized neurons that line the nose. These neurons alert the brain’s smell center, the olfactory bulb. From there, information is sent around the brain and processed, eventually confirming, for example, that yep, that milk has gone sour, and perhaps conjuring up the memory of the time you took a big gulp without checking. New olfactory neurons are created throughout life, but until now, researchers haven’t understood what regulates this neurogenesis. Copyright © 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 3256 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Alderley Park, UK – AstraZeneca has announced that it has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for quetiapine (Seroquel) to be granted a licence for the treatment of acute mania associated with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness). The application to the FDA follows the completion of a comprehensive clinical trial programme in bipolar disorder undertaken by AstraZeneca. The trials examined the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine in the treatment of acute mania on two levels: as monotherapy (i.e to be prescribed on its own) and as adjunctive therapy with standard mood stabilising medication. These clinical trials have delivered strong and positive results in both the monotherapy and adjunctive therapy studies, which confirm quetiapine to be an ideal first line therapy for the treatment of acute mania associated with bipolar disorder. "Quetiapine is destined to be an important treatment option for patients suffering from bipolar disorder" commented Dr. Gary Sachs from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and lead investigator on the studies.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 3255 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Flashing lights are being used in a computer programme designed to help dyslexics improve their reading and writing skills. The makers say trials have shown a dramatic improvement in both adults and children with dyslexia. They claim children who went through the six-week programme advanced their reading age by 11 months. Under the programme, a person's heart is monitored and they are shown flashing lights and colours. The makers of the technology - called Brightstar - say watching the lights trains structures in the brain to work more efficiently and so helps word recognition. The company behind Brightstar is Advanced Learning Science. Chief Executive Jim Hinds says the results of trials have been very impressive. (C) BBC

Keyword: Dyslexia
Link ID: 3254 - Posted: 01.03.2003

The pharmaceutical industry has "created" a disease out of female sexual problems, it has been suggested. An article in the British Medical Journal suggests drug manufacturers are defining the condition in order to have a new market for products. Since the launch of Viagra to treat male impotence in 1998, its manufacturers Pfizer has reported sales of $1.5bn. Drug companies are now looking to recreate that kind of market with female sexual dysfunction, says the BMJ. It says females sexual problems are being wrongly "medicalised", and the numbers affected exaggerated. It also suggests some researchers are too closely linked to drug companies who sponsor conferences and research. (C) BBC

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 3253 - Posted: 01.03.2003

By JANE E. BRODY Over the course of a decade, despite trying every conceivable healthy way to lose weight and to keep it off, Sharon Clapp watched with alarm as her weight soared to 320 pounds from 220. Now 62 and about to become a grandmother for the second time, Mrs. Clapp, who is from St. Paul, had to face facts: physically, by some miracle, she was still healthy (and she wanted to stay that way), but she could not tie her own shoes, walk uphill unaided or travel to distant lands for fear she would not fit in narrow bus and airline seats. Nor did she want her grandchildren to grow up embarrassed by a hugely fat grandmother who could not take proper care of them. So, after careful investigation and discussions with a psychotherapist and various medical experts, Mrs. Clapp decided to undergo what has become the only truly successful weight-loss technique for the morbidly obese: surgery to greatly reduce the number of calories her body can consume and absorb. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 3252 - Posted: 01.03.2003

By CAROL KAESUK YOON Orangutans, those red-haired knuckle-dragging apes, are loping today into the upper echelons of the primate hierarchy. According to research reported in the journal Science, they exhibit what was until very recently considered a uniquely human attribute, culture. Drawing on years of research and thousands of hours of observations from six sites in the wild, an international team of scientists found evidence that orangutan groups differ across a spectrum from bedtime rituals to eating habits to sexual practices, patterns of behavior learned from being around others in a group that scientists call culture. Other researchers said four years ago that chimpanzees also exhibited widespread cultural differences, for example, in how they groom, hunt, eat and so on. Scientists say that the new work suggests that the two remaining great-ape species, gorillas and bonobos, are highly likely to have culture, as well, and that great-ape culture dates from at least the group's origin 14 million years ago. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 3251 - Posted: 01.03.2003

DURHAM, N.C. -- An international collaboration of primatologists has gleaned evidence from decades of observations of orangutans that the apes show behaviors that are culturally based. The scientists' findings push back the origins of culturally transmitted behavior to 14 million years ago, when orangutans first evolved from their more primitive primate ancestors. Previous evidence for cultural transmission in chimpanzees suggested an origin of cultural traits 7 million years ago. The researchers also warn that illegal logging and other habitat destruction in the forests of Sumatra and Borneo could not only threaten further research into the earliest origins of culture, but continue the dangerous decline in orangutan populations.

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 3250 - Posted: 01.03.2003

COLLEGE STATION – They behaved just like pigs. Or at least, that's what a study of cloned pigs found at Texas A&M University. The behavior of cloned pigs, produced last year at Texas A&M, were compared to pigs bred normally. The recent study was completed by master's of science student Greg Archer, under the supervision of Dr. Ted Friend, professor of applied ethology in the department of animal science. "We found the variation within a litter of clones to be as variable or greater (than the normal litters) at least 80 percent of the time for all the tests that we did," Archer said.

Keyword: Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 3249 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By CATHERINE CLABBY, Staff Writer What do you get when you kidnap lobsters from their home waters, blindfold them and test whether they find their way back? Big news. Animals with brains the size of peas can navigate in places they've never been. Science long assumed that only a handful of creatures, mostly migrating birds, had smarts enough to pull that off. © Copyright 2003, The News & Observer Publishing Company

Keyword: Animal Migration
Link ID: 3248 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists have developed a new test for a rare brain disorder similar to Parkinson's Disease. They have found that all patients have a distinctive pattern of brain changes which can be detected by scanning. The genetic disease, known as Hallervorden-Spatz Syndrome (HSS), affects the basal ganglia. A number of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's, Huntingdon's disease and Tourette's syndrome, are also believed to arise from problems in this part of the brain. Researchers hope the test could lead to a better understanding of what goes wrong as well as improved diagnosis of the rare condition. (C) BBC

Keyword: Genes & Behavior; Movement Disorders
Link ID: 3247 - Posted: 01.02.2003

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition A bonobo has surprised his trainers by appearing to make up his own "words". It is the first report of an ape making sounds that seem to hold their meaning across different situations, and the latest challenge to the orthodox view that animals do not have language. Kanzi is an adult bonobo kept at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He has grown up in captivity among humans, and is adept at communicating with symbols. He also understands some spoken English, and can respond to phrases such as "go out of the cage" and "do you want a banana?" Jared Taglialatela and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, who work with Kanzi, noticed that he was making gentle noises during his interactions with them. "We wanted to know if there was any rhyme or reason to when they were produced," says Taglialatela. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Language; Animal Communication
Link ID: 3246 - Posted: 06.24.2010